A head-mounted display system for augmented reality: Initial evaluation for interventional MRI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wendt, M.; Wacker, F.K.

2003-01-01

Purpose: To discuss the technical details of a head mounted display with an augmented reality (AR) system and to describe a first pre-clinical evaluation in interventional MRI. Method: The AR system consists of a video-see-through head mounted display (HMD), mounted with a mini video camera for tracking and a stereo pair of mini cameras that capture live images of the scene. The live video view of the phantom/patient is augmented with graphical representations of anatomical structures from MRI image data and is displayed on the HMD. The application of the AR system with interventional MRI was tested using a MRI data set of the head and a head phantom. Results: The HMD enables the user to move around and observe the scene dynamically from various viewpoints. Within a short time the natural hand-eye coordination can easily be adapted to the slightly different view. The 3D perception is based on stereo and kinetic depth cues. A circular target with a diameter of 0.5 square centimeter was hit in 19 of 20 attempts. In a first evaluation the MRI image data augmented reality scene of a head phantom allowed good planning and precise simulation of a puncture. Conclusion: The HMD in combination with AR provides a direct, intuitive guidance for interventional MR procedures. (orig.) [de

Light Field Rendering for Head Mounted Displays using Pixel Reprojection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Anne Juhler; Klein, Jákup; Kraus, Martin

2017-01-01

Light field displays have advantages over traditional stereoscopic head mounted displays, for example, because they can overcome the vergence-accommodation conflict. However, rendering light fields can be a heavy task for computers due to the number of images that have to be rendered. Since much ...

Google Glass Glare: disability glare produced by a head-mounted visual display.

Science.gov (United States)

Longley, Chris; Whitaker, David

2016-03-01

Head mounted displays are a type of wearable technology - a market that is projected to expand rapidly over the coming years. Probably the most well known example is the device Google Glass (or 'Glass'). Here we investigate the extent to which the device display can interfere with normal visual function by producing monocular disability glare. Contrast sensitivity was measured in two normally sighted participants, 32 and 52 years of age. Data were recorded for the right eye, the left eye and then again in a binocular condition. Measurements were taken both with and without the Glass in place, across a range of stimulus luminance levels using a two-alternative forced-choice methodology. The device produced a significant reduction in contrast sensitivity in the right eye (>0.5 log units). The level of disability glare increased as stimulus luminance was reduced in a manner consistent with intraocular light scatter, resulting in a veiling retinal illuminance. Sensitivity in the left eye was unaffected. A significant reduction in binocular contrast sensitivity occurred at lower luminance levels due to a loss of binocular summation, although binocular sensitivity was not found to fall below the sensitivity of the better monocular level (binocular inhibition). Head mounted displays such as Google Glass have the potential to cause significant disability glare in the eye exposed to the visual display, particularly under conditions of low luminance. They can also cause a more modest binocular reduction in sensitivity by eliminating the benefits of binocular summation. © 2015 The Authors Ophthalmic & Physiological Optics © 2015 The College of Optometrists.

Recording stereoscopic 3D neurosurgery with a head-mounted 3D camera system.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Brian; Chen, Brian R; Chen, Beverly B; Lu, James Y; Giannotta, Steven L

2015-06-01

Stereoscopic three-dimensional (3D) imaging can present more information to the viewer and further enhance the learning experience over traditional two-dimensional (2D) video. Most 3D surgical videos are recorded from the operating microscope and only feature the crux, or the most important part of the surgery, leaving out other crucial parts of surgery including the opening, approach, and closing of the surgical site. In addition, many other surgeries including complex spine, trauma, and intensive care unit procedures are also rarely recorded. We describe and share our experience with a commercially available head-mounted stereoscopic 3D camera system to obtain stereoscopic 3D recordings of these seldom recorded aspects of neurosurgery. The strengths and limitations of using the GoPro(®) 3D system as a head-mounted stereoscopic 3D camera system in the operating room are reviewed in detail. Over the past several years, we have recorded in stereoscopic 3D over 50 cranial and spinal surgeries and created a library for education purposes. We have found the head-mounted stereoscopic 3D camera system to be a valuable asset to supplement 3D footage from a 3D microscope. We expect that these comprehensive 3D surgical videos will become an important facet of resident education and ultimately lead to improved patient care.

Head-mounted LED for optogenetic experiments of freely-behaving animal

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Ki Yong; Gnade, Andrew G.; Rush, Alexander D.; Patten, Craig D.

2016-03-01

Recent developments in optogenetics have demonstrated the ability to target specific types of neurons with sub-millisecond temporal precision via direct optical stimulation of genetically modified neurons in the brain. In most applications, the beam of a laser is coupled to an optical fiber, which guides and delivers the optical power to the region of interest. Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are an alternative light source for optogenetics and they provide many advantages over a laser based system including cost, size, illumination stability, and fast modulation. Their compact size and low power consumption make LEDs suitable light sources for a wireless optogenetic stimulation system. However, the coupling efficiency of an LED's output light into an optical fiber is lower than a laser due to its noncollimated output light. In typical chronic optogenetic experiment, the output of the light source is transmitted to the brain through a patch cable and a fiber stub implant, and this configuration requires two fiber-to-fiber couplings. Attenuation within the patch cable is potential source of optical power loss. In this study, we report and characterize a recently developed light delivery method for freely-behaving animal experiments. We have developed a head-mounted light source that maximizes the coupling efficiency of an LED light source by eliminating the need for a fiber optic cable. This miniaturized LED is designed to couple directly to the fiber stub implant. Depending on the desired optical power output, the head-mounted LED can be controlled by either a tethered (high power) or battery-powered wireless (moderate power) controller. In the tethered system, the LED is controlled through 40 gauge micro coaxial cable which is thinner, more flexible, and more durable than a fiber optic cable. The battery-powered wireless system uses either infrared or radio frequency transmission to achieve real-time control. Optical, electrical, mechanical, and thermal

Photosensor-Based Latency Measurement System for Head-Mounted Displays

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Min-Woo Seo

2017-05-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a photosensor-based latency measurement system for head-mounted displays (HMDs is proposed. The motion-to-photon latency is the greatest reason for motion sickness and dizziness felt by users when wearing an HMD system. Therefore, a measurement system is required to accurately measure and analyze the latency to reduce these problems. The existing measurement system does not consider the actual physical movement in humans, and its accuracy is also very low. However, the proposed system considers the physical head movement and is highly accurate. Specifically, it consists of a head position model-based rotary platform, pixel luminance change detector, and signal analysis and calculation modules. Using these modules, the proposed system can exactly measure the latency, which is the time difference between the physical movement for a user and the luminance change of an output image. In the experiment using a commercial HMD, the latency was measured to be up to 47.05 ms. In addition, the measured latency increased up to 381.17 ms when increasing the rendering workload in the HMD.

Flying Drosophilamelanogaster maintain arbitrary but stable headings relative to the angle of polarized light.

Science.gov (United States)

Warren, Timothy L; Weir, Peter T; Dickinson, Michael H

2018-05-11

Animals must use external cues to maintain a straight course over long distances. In this study, we investigated how the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster selects and maintains a flight heading relative to the axis of linearly polarized light, a visual cue produced by the atmospheric scattering of sunlight. To track flies' headings over extended periods, we used a flight simulator that coupled the angular velocity of dorsally presented polarized light to the stroke amplitude difference of the animals' wings. In the simulator, most flies actively maintained a stable heading relative to the axis of polarized light for the duration of 15 min flights. We found that individuals selected arbitrary, unpredictable headings relative to the polarization axis, which demonstrates that D . melanogaster can perform proportional navigation using a polarized light pattern. When flies flew in two consecutive bouts separated by a 5 min gap, the two flight headings were correlated, suggesting individuals retain a memory of their chosen heading. We found that adding a polarized light pattern to a light intensity gradient enhanced flies' orientation ability, suggesting D . melanogaster use a combination of cues to navigate. For both polarized light and intensity cues, flies' capacity to maintain a stable heading gradually increased over several minutes from the onset of flight. Our findings are consistent with a model in which each individual initially orients haphazardly but then settles on a heading which is maintained via a self-reinforcing process. This may be a general dispersal strategy for animals with no target destination. © 2018. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Optoelectronic Mounting Structure

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Gene R.; Armendariz, Marcelino G.; Baca, Johnny R. F.; Bryan, Robert P.; Carson, Richard F.; Chu, Dahwey; Duckett, III, Edwin B.; McCormick, Frederick B.; Peterson, David W.; Peterson, Gary D.; Reber, Cathleen A.; Reysen, Bill H.

2004-10-05

An optoelectronic mounting structure is provided that may be used in conjunction with an optical transmitter, receiver or transceiver module. The mounting structure may be a flexible printed circuit board. Thermal vias or heat pipes in the head region may transmit heat from the mounting structure to the heat spreader. The heat spreader may provide mechanical rigidity or stiffness to the heat region. In another embodiment, an electrical contact and ground plane may pass along a surface of the head region so as to provide an electrical contact path to the optoelectronic devices and limit electromagnetic interference. In yet another embodiment, a window may be formed in the head region of the mounting structure so as to provide access to the heat spreader. Optoelectronic devices may be adapted to the heat spreader in such a manner that the devices are accessible through the window in the mounting structure.

Surgeon point-of-view recording: Using a high-definition head-mounted video camera in the operating room

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akshay Gopinathan Nair

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: To study the utility of a commercially available small, portable ultra-high definition (HD camera (GoPro Hero 4 for intraoperative recording. Methods: A head mount was used to fix the camera on the operating surgeon′s head. Due care was taken to protect the patient′s identity. The recorded video was subsequently edited and used as a teaching tool. This retrospective, noncomparative study was conducted at three tertiary eye care centers. The surgeries recorded were ptosis correction, ectropion correction, dacryocystorhinostomy, angular dermoid excision, enucleation, blepharoplasty and lid tear repair surgery (one each. The recorded videos were reviewed, edited, and checked for clarity, resolution, and reproducibility. Results: The recorded videos were found to be high quality, which allowed for zooming and visualization of the surgical anatomy clearly. Minimal distortion is a drawback that can be effectively addressed during postproduction. The camera, owing to its lightweight and small size, can be mounted on the surgeon′s head, thus offering a unique surgeon point-of-view. In our experience, the results were of good quality and reproducible. Conclusions: A head-mounted ultra-HD video recording system is a cheap, high quality, and unobtrusive technique to record surgery and can be a useful teaching tool in external facial and ophthalmic plastic surgery.

Surgeon point-of-view recording: Using a high-definition head-mounted video camera in the operating room.

Science.gov (United States)

Nair, Akshay Gopinathan; Kamal, Saurabh; Dave, Tarjani Vivek; Mishra, Kapil; Reddy, Harsha S; Della Rocca, David; Della Rocca, Robert C; Andron, Aleza; Jain, Vandana

2015-10-01

To study the utility of a commercially available small, portable ultra-high definition (HD) camera (GoPro Hero 4) for intraoperative recording. A head mount was used to fix the camera on the operating surgeon's head. Due care was taken to protect the patient's identity. The recorded video was subsequently edited and used as a teaching tool. This retrospective, noncomparative study was conducted at three tertiary eye care centers. The surgeries recorded were ptosis correction, ectropion correction, dacryocystorhinostomy, angular dermoid excision, enucleation, blepharoplasty and lid tear repair surgery (one each). The recorded videos were reviewed, edited, and checked for clarity, resolution, and reproducibility. The recorded videos were found to be high quality, which allowed for zooming and visualization of the surgical anatomy clearly. Minimal distortion is a drawback that can be effectively addressed during postproduction. The camera, owing to its lightweight and small size, can be mounted on the surgeon's head, thus offering a unique surgeon point-of-view. In our experience, the results were of good quality and reproducible. A head-mounted ultra-HD video recording system is a cheap, high quality, and unobtrusive technique to record surgery and can be a useful teaching tool in external facial and ophthalmic plastic surgery.

MRTouch: Adding Touch Input to Head-Mounted Mixed Reality.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Robert; Schwarz, Julia; Throm, Nick; Wilson, Andrew D; Benko, Hrvoje

2018-04-01

We present MRTouch, a novel multitouch input solution for head-mounted mixed reality systems. Our system enables users to reach out and directly manipulate virtual interfaces affixed to surfaces in their environment, as though they were touchscreens. Touch input offers precise, tactile and comfortable user input, and naturally complements existing popular modalities, such as voice and hand gesture. Our research prototype combines both depth and infrared camera streams together with real-time detection and tracking of surface planes to enable robust finger-tracking even when both the hand and head are in motion. Our technique is implemented on a commercial Microsoft HoloLens without requiring any additional hardware nor any user or environmental calibration. Through our performance evaluation, we demonstrate high input accuracy with an average positional error of 5.4 mm and 95% button size of 16 mm, across 17 participants, 2 surface orientations and 4 surface materials. Finally, we demonstrate the potential of our technique to enable on-world touch interactions through 5 example applications.

Immersive vision assisted remote teleoperation using head mounted displays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vakkapatla, Veerendrababu; Singh, Ashutosh Pratap; Rakesh, V.; Rajagopalan, C.; Murugan, S.; Sai Baba, M.

2016-01-01

Handling and inspection of irradiated material is inevitable in nuclear industry. Hot cells are shielded radiation containment chambers equipped with master slave manipulators that facilitates remote handling. The existing methods using viewing windows and cameras for viewing the contents of hot cell to manipulate the radioactive elements have problems such as optical distortion, limited distance teleoperation, limited field of view that lead to inefficient operation. This paper presents a method of achieving immersive teleoperation to operate the master slave manipulator in hot cells by exploiting the advanced tracking and display capabilities of head mounted display devices. (author)

Integration Head Mounted Display Device and Hand Motion Gesture Device for Virtual Reality Laboratory

Science.gov (United States)

Rengganis, Y. A.; Safrodin, M.; Sukaridhoto, S.

2018-01-01

Virtual Reality Laboratory (VR Lab) is an innovation for conventional learning media which show us whole learning process in laboratory. There are many tools and materials are needed by user for doing practical in it, so user could feel new learning atmosphere by using this innovation. Nowadays, technologies more sophisticated than before. So it would carry in education and it will be more effective, efficient. The Supported technologies are needed us for making VR Lab such as head mounted display device and hand motion gesture device. The integration among them will be used us for making this research. Head mounted display device for viewing 3D environment of virtual reality laboratory. Hand motion gesture device for catching user real hand and it will be visualized in virtual reality laboratory. Virtual Reality will show us, if using the newest technologies in learning process it could make more interesting and easy to understand.

Head-mounted display for use in functional endoscopic sinus surgery

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Brian J.; Lee, Jon P.; Dugan, F. Markoe; MacArthur, Carol J.

1995-05-01

Since the introduction of functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS), the procedure has undergone rapid change with evolution keeping pace with technological advances. The advent of low cost charge coupled device 9CCD) cameras revolutionized the practice and instruction of FESS. Video-based FESS has allowed for documentation of the surgical procedure as well as interactive instruction during surgery. Presently, the technical requirements of video-based FESS include the addition of one or more television monitors positioned strategically in the operating room. Thought video monitors have greatly enhanced surgical endoscopy by re- involving nurses and assistants in the actual mechanics of surgery, video monitors require the operating surgeon to be focused on the screen instead of the patient. In this study, we describe the use of a new low-cost liquid crystal display (LCD) based device that functions as a monitor but is mounted on the head on a visor (PT-O1, O1 Products, Westlake Village, CA). This study illustrates the application of these HMD devices to FESS operations. The same surgeon performed the operation in each patient. In one nasal fossa, surgery was performed using conventional video FESS methods. The contralateral side was operated on while wearing the head mounted video display. The device had adequate resolution for the purposes of FESS. No adverse effects were noted intraoperatively. The results on the patients ipsalateral and contralateral sides were similar. The visor did eliminated significant torsion of the surgeon's neck during the operation, while at the same time permitted simultaneous viewing of both the patient and the intranasal surgical field.

Optical Head-Mounted Computer Display for Education, Research, and Documentation in Hand Surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Funk, Shawn; Lee, Donald H

2016-01-01

Intraoperative photography and capturing videos is important for the hand surgeon. Recently, optical head-mounted computer display has been introduced as a means of capturing photographs and videos. In this article, we discuss this new technology and review its potential use in hand surgery. Copyright © 2016 American Society for Surgery of the Hand. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Helmet-mounted display requirements: just another head-up display (HUD) or a different animal altogether?

Science.gov (United States)

Newman, Richard L.; Haworth, Loran A.

1994-06-01

The helmet-mounted display (HMD) presents flight, navigation, and weapon information in the pilot's line of sight. The HMD was developed to allow the pilot to retain aircraft and weapon information while looking off boresight. The present study reviewed the state-of-the-art in HMDs and identified a number of issues applying to HMDs. Several are identical to head-up display (HUD) issues: symbol standardization, excessive clutter, and the need for integration with other cockpit displays and controls. Other issues are unique to the head-mounted display: symbol stabilization, inadequate definitions, undefined symbol drive laws, helmet considerations, and field-of-view (FOV) vs. resolution tradeoff requirements. Symbol stabilization is critical. In the Apache helicopter, the lack of compensation for pilot head motion creates excessive workload during hovering and nap-of-the-earth (NOE) flight. This high workload translates into excessive training requirements. At the same time, misleading symbology makes interpretation of the height of obstructions impossible. The underlying cause is the absence of design criteria for HMDs. The existing military standard does not reflect the current state of technology. In addition, there are inadequate test and evaluation guidelines. The situation parallels the situation for HUDs several years ago.

A Statistical Approach to Continuous Self-Calibrating Eye Gaze Tracking for Head-Mounted Virtual Reality Systems

OpenAIRE

Tripathi, Subarna; Guenter, Brian

2016-01-01

We present a novel, automatic eye gaze tracking scheme inspired by smooth pursuit eye motion while playing mobile games or watching virtual reality contents. Our algorithm continuously calibrates an eye tracking system for a head mounted display. This eliminates the need for an explicit calibration step and automatically compensates for small movements of the headset with respect to the head. The algorithm finds correspondences between corneal motion and screen space motion, and uses these to...

A Survey of Calibration Methods for Optical See-Through Head-Mounted Displays

OpenAIRE

Grubert, Jens; Itoh, Yuta; Moser, Kenneth; Swan II, J. Edward

2017-01-01

Optical see-through head-mounted displays (OST HMDs) are a major output medium for Augmented Reality, which have seen significant growth in popularity and usage among the general public due to the growing release of consumer-oriented models, such as the Microsoft Hololens. Unlike Virtual Reality headsets, OST HMDs inherently support the addition of computer-generated graphics directly into the light path between a user's eyes and their view of the physical world. As with most Augmented and Vi...

Immersive virtual walk-through development for tokamak using active head mounted display

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dutta, Pramit

2015-01-01

A fully immersive virtual walk-through of the SST-1 tokamak has been developed. The virtual walkthrough renders the virtual model of SST-1 tokamak through a active stereoscopic head mounted display to visualize the virtual environment. All locations inside and outside of the reactor can be accessed and reviewed. Such a virtual walkthrough provides a 1:1 scale visualization of all components of the tokamak. To achieve such a virtual model, the graphical details of the tokamak CAD model are enhanced. Such enhancements are provided to improve lighting conditions at various locations, texturing of components to have a realistic visual effect and 360° rendering for ease of access. The graphical enhancements also include the redefinition of the facets to optimize the surface triangles to remove lags in display during visual rendering. Two separate algorithms are developed to interact with the virtual model. A fly-by algorithm, developed using C#, uses inputs from a commercial joystick to navigate within the virtual environment. The second algorithm uses the IR and gyroscopic tracking system of the head mounted display to render view as per the current pose of the user within the virtual environment and the direction of view. Such a virtual walk-thorough can be used extensively for design review and integration, review of new components, operator training for remote handling, operations, upgrades of tokamak, etc. (author)

Computer-enhanced stereoscopic vision in a head-mounted operating binocular

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Birkfellner, Wolfgang; Figl, Michael; Matula, Christian; Hummel, Johann; Hanel, Rudolf; Imhof, Herwig; Wanschitz, Felix; Wagner, Arne; Watzinger, Franz; Bergmann, Helmar

2003-01-01

Based on the Varioscope, a commercially available head-mounted operating binocular, we have developed the Varioscope AR, a see through head-mounted display (HMD) for augmented reality visualization that seamlessly fits into the infrastructure of a surgical navigation system. We have assessed the extent to which stereoscopic visualization improves target localization in computer-aided surgery in a phantom study. In order to quantify the depth perception of a user aiming at a given target, we have designed a phantom simulating typical clinical situations in skull base surgery. Sixteen steel spheres were fixed at the base of a bony skull, and several typical craniotomies were applied. After having taken CT scans, the skull was filled with opaque jelly in order to simulate brain tissue. The positions of the spheres were registered using VISIT, a system for computer-aided surgical navigation. Then attempts were made to locate the steel spheres with a bayonet probe through the craniotomies using VISIT and the Varioscope AR as a stereoscopic display device. Localization of targets 4 mm in diameter using stereoscopic vision and additional visual cues indicating target proximity had a success rate (defined as a first-trial hit rate) of 87.5%. Using monoscopic vision and target proximity indication, the success rate was found to be 66.6%. Omission of visual hints on reaching a target yielded a success rate of 79.2% in the stereo case and 56.25% with monoscopic vision. Time requirements for localizing all 16 targets ranged from 7.5 min (stereo, with proximity cues) to 10 min (mono, without proximity cues). Navigation error is primarily governed by the accuracy of registration in the navigation system, whereas the HMD does not appear to influence localization significantly. We conclude that stereo vision is a valuable tool in augmented reality guided interventions. (note)

Study of wavefront error and polarization of a side mounted infrared window

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jiaguo; Li, Lin; Hu, Xinqi; Yu, Xin

2008-03-01

The wavefront error and polarization of a side mounted infrared window made of ZnS are studied. The Infrared windows suffer from temperature gradient and stress during their launch process. Generally, the gradient in temperature changes the refractive index of the material whereas stress produces deformation and birefringence. In this paper, a thermal finite element analysis (FEA) of an IR window is presented. For this purpose, we employed an FEA program Ansys to obtain the time-varying temperature field. The deformation and stress of the window are derived from a structural FEA with the aerodynamic force and the temperature field previously obtained as being the loads. The deformation, temperature field, stress field, ray tracing and Jones Calculus are used to calculate the wavefront error and the change of polarization state.

Meteor head echo polarization at 930 MHz studied with the EISCAT UHF HPLA radar

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Wannberg

2011-06-01

Full Text Available The polarization characteristics of 930-MHz meteor head echoes have been studied for the first time, using data obtained in a series of radar measurements carried out with the tristatic EISCAT UHF high power, large aperture (HPLA radar system in October 2009. An analysis of 44 tri-static head echo events shows that the polarization of the echo signal recorded by the Kiruna receiver often fluctuates strongly on time scales of tens of microseconds, illustrating that the scattering process is essentially stochastic. On longer timescales (> milliseconds, more than 90 % of the recorded events show an average polarization signature that is independent of meteor direction of arrival and echo strength and equal to that of an incoherent-scatter return from underdense plasma filling the tristatic observation volume. This shows that the head echo plasma targets scatter isotropically, which in turn implies that they are much smaller than the 33-cm wavelength and close to spherically symmetric, in very good agreement with results from a previous EISCAT UHF study of the head echo RCS/meteor angle-of-incidence relationship. Significant polarization is present in only three events with unique target trajectories. These all show a larger effective target cross section transverse to the trajectory than parallel to it. We propose that the observed polarization may be a signature of a transverse charge separation plasma resonance in the region immediately behind the meteor head, similar to the resonance effects previously discussed in connection with meteor trail echoes by Herlofson, Billam and Browne, Jones and Jones and others.

76 FR 75554 - Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Mount Hope Project...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-02

... Environmental Impact Statement for the Mount Hope Project, Eureka County, NV AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management... Impact Statement (EIS) for the Mount Hope Project and by this notice is announcing the opening of the... Mount Hope Project Draft EIS within 90 days following the date the Environmental Protection Agency...

77 FR 62256 - Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Mount Hope Project...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-10-12

... of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Mount Hope Project, Eureka County, NE AGENCY... prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Mount Hope Project and by this notice is... Register. ADDRESSES: Copies of the Mount Hope Project Final EIS are available at the Battle Mountain...

Hybrid diffractive-refractive optical system design of head-mounted display for augmented reality

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Huijuan

2005-02-01

An optical see-through head-mounted display for augmented reality is designed in this paper. Considering the factors, such as the optical performance, the utilization ratios of energy of real world and virtual world, the feelings of users when he wears it and etc., a structure of the optical see-through is adopted. With the characteristics of the particular negative dispersive and the power of realizing random-phase modulation, the diffractive surface is helpful for optical system of reducing weight, simplifying structure and etc., and a diffractive surface is introduced in our optical system. The optical system with 25 mm eye relief, 12 mm exit pupil and 20° (H)x15.4° (V) field-of-view is designed. The utilization ratios of energy of real world and virtual world are 1/4 and 1/2, respectively. The angular resolution of display is 0.27 mrad and it less than that of the minimum of human eyes. The diameter of this system is less than 46mm, and it applies the binocular. This diffractive-refractive optical system of see-through head-mounted display not only satisfies the demands of user"s factors in structure, but also with high resolution, very small chromatic aberration and distortion, and satisfies the need of augmented reality. In the end, the parameters of the diffractive surface are discussed.

Virtual reality exposure treatment of agoraphobia: a comparison of computer automatic virtual environment and head-mounted display

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Meyerbröker, K.; Morina, N.; Kerkhof, G.; Emmelkamp, P.M.G.; Wiederhold, B.K.; Bouchard, S.; Riva, G.

2011-01-01

In this study the effects of virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) were investigated in patients with panic disorder and agoraphobia. The level of presence in VRET was compared between using either a head-mounted display (HMD) or a computer automatic virtual environment (CAVE). Results indicate

Inverse axial mounting stiffness design for lithographic projection lenses.

Science.gov (United States)

Wen-quan, Yuan; Hong-bo, Shang; Wei, Zhang

2014-09-01

In order to balance axial mounting stiffness of lithographic projection lenses and the image quality under dynamic working conditions, an easy inverse axial mounting stiffness design method is developed in this article. Imaging quality deterioration at the wafer under different axial vibration levels is analyzed. The desired image quality can be determined according to practical requirements, and axial vibrational tolerance of each lens is solved with the damped least-squares method. Based on adaptive interval adjustment, a binary search algorithm, and the finite element method, the axial mounting stiffness of each lens can be traveled in a large interval, and converges to a moderate numerical solution which makes the axial vibrational amplitude of the lens converge to its axial vibrational tolerance. Model simulation is carried out to validate the effectiveness of the method.

Amblyopia treatment of adults with dichoptic training using the virtual reality oculus rift head mounted display: preliminary results.

Science.gov (United States)

Žiak, Peter; Holm, Anders; Halička, Juraj; Mojžiš, Peter; Piñero, David P

2017-06-28

The gold standard treatments in amblyopia are penalizing therapies, such as patching or blurring vision with atropine that are aimed at forcing the use of the amblyopic eye. However, in the last years, new therapies are being developed and validated, such as dichoptic visual training, aimed at stimulating the amblyopic eye and eliminating the interocular supression. To evaluate the effect of dichoptic visual training using a virtual reality head mounted display in a sample of anisometropic amblyopic adults and to evaluate the potential usefulness of this option of treatment. A total of 17 subjects (10 men, 7 women) with a mean age of 31.2 years (range, 17-69 year) and anisometropic amblyopia were enrolled. Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and stereoacuity (Stereo Randot graded circle test) changes were evaluated after 8 sessions (40 min per session) of dichoptic training with the computer game Diplopia Game (Vivid Vision) run in the Oculus Rift OC DK2 virtual reality head mounted display (Oculus VR). Mean BCVA in amblyopic eye improved significantly from a logMAR value of 0.58 ± 0.35 before training to a post-training value of 0.43 ± 0.38 (p virtual reality head mounted display seems to be an effective option of treatment in adults with anisometropic amblyopia. Future clinical trials are needed to confirm this preliminary evidence. Trial ID: ISRCTN62086471 . Date registered: 13/06/2017. Retrospectively registered.

Markerless Augmented Reality via Stereo Video See-Through Head-Mounted Display Device

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chung-Hung Hsieh

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Conventionally, the camera localization for augmented reality (AR relies on detecting a known pattern within the captured images. In this study, a markerless AR scheme has been designed based on a Stereo Video See-Through Head-Mounted Display (HMD device. The proposed markerless AR scheme can be utilized for medical applications such as training, telementoring, or preoperative explanation. Firstly, a virtual model for AR visualization is aligned to the target in physical space by an improved Iterative Closest Point (ICP based surface registration algorithm, with the target surface structure reconstructed by a stereo camera pair; then, a markerless AR camera localization method is designed based on the Kanade-Lucas-Tomasi (KLT feature tracking algorithm and the Random Sample Consensus (RANSAC correction algorithm. Our AR camera localization method is shown to be better than the traditional marker-based and sensor-based AR environment. The demonstration system was evaluated with a plastic dummy head and the display result is satisfactory for a multiple-view observation.

A Dose of Reality: Overcoming Usability Challenges\\ud in VR Head-Mounted Displays

OpenAIRE

McGill, M.; Boland, Daniel; Murray-Smith, Roderick; Brewster, Stephen

2015-01-01

We identify usability challenges facing consumers adopting\\ud Virtual Reality (VR) head-mounted displays (HMDs) in a survey\\ud of 108 VR HMD users. Users reported significant issues\\ud in interacting with, and being aware of their real-world\\ud context when using a HMD. Building upon existing work on\\ud blending real and virtual environments, we performed three\\ud design studies to address these usability concerns. In a typing\\ud study, we show that augmenting VR with a view of reality\\ud sig...

A miniature shoe-mounted orientation determination system for accurate indoor heading and trajectory tracking.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Shengzhi; Yu, Shuai; Liu, Chaojun; Liu, Sheng

2016-06-01

Tracking the position of pedestrian is urgently demanded when the most commonly used GPS (Global Position System) is unavailable. Benefited from the small size, low-power consumption, and relatively high reliability, micro-electro-mechanical system sensors are well suited for GPS-denied indoor pedestrian heading estimation. In this paper, a real-time miniature orientation determination system (MODS) was developed for indoor heading and trajectory tracking based on a novel dual-linear Kalman filter. The proposed filter precludes the impact of geomagnetic distortions on pitch and roll that the heading is subjected to. A robust calibration approach was designed to improve the accuracy of sensors measurements based on a unified sensor model. Online tests were performed on the MODS with an improved turntable. The results demonstrate that the average RMSE (root-mean-square error) of heading estimation is less than 1°. Indoor heading experiments were carried out with the MODS mounted on the shoe of pedestrian. Besides, we integrated the existing MODS into an indoor pedestrian dead reckoning application as an example of its utility in realistic actions. A human attitude-based walking model was developed to calculate the walking distance. Test results indicate that mean percentage error of indoor trajectory tracking achieves 2% of the total walking distance. This paper provides a feasible alternative for accurate indoor heading and trajectory tracking.

Linear versus circular polarization of head coils - comparison on phantom and in the clinic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schratter, M.; Kramer, J.; Prayer, L.; Wimberger, D.; Imhof, H.; Schmid, W.

1990-01-01

Two different head coils - one with linear polarization and the other with circular polarization - were compared under the same measurement conditions. Comparison was done on a phantom with waterfilled and gadolinium-filled pin-holes, as well as on anatomical MR images of 23 volunteers. In three volunteers the whole brain was examined while, in the remaining 20 volunteers the sella region or cerebellopontine angleregion was examined. Criteria for comparison were signal-to-noise ratio, background noise, and detail resolution (phantom), as well as subjective criteria - image sharpness, anatomical, contrast, and recognition of anatomical details -, evaluated on anatomical MR images by four radiologists independently of each other. The results show a significant improvement of signal-to-noise ratio, lower background noise and therefore marked improvement of images harpness, and moderate improvement in the recognition of anatomical details using the circular polarized head coil; as for as detail resolution and anatomical contrast were concerned, however, no significant difference was seen between the two coils. Major advantages of the circular, polarized head coil in clinical application are shorter measurement times (reduced number of acquisitions), as well as thinner slices without loss of signal-to-noise ratio. (orig.) [de

The Effect of Head Mounted Display Weight and Locomotion Method on the Perceived Naturalness of Virtual Walking Speeds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nilsson, Niels Chr.; Serafin, Stefania; Nordahl, Rolf

This poster details a study investigating the effect of Head Mounted Display (HMD) weight and locomotion method (Walking-In-Place and treadmill walking) on the perceived naturalness of virtual walking speeds. The results revealed significant main effects of movement type, but no significant effec...

Application of head-mounted devices with eye-tracking in virtual reality therapy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lutz Otto Hans-Martin

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Using eye-tracking to assess visual attention in head-mounted devices (HMD opens up many possibilities for virtual reality (VR-based therapy. Existing therapy concepts where attention plays a major role can be transferred to VR. Furthermore, they can be expanded to a precise real-time attention assessment, which can serve as a foundation for new therapy approaches. Utilizing HMDs and eye-tracking in a clinical environment is challenging because of hygiene issues and requirements of patients with heterogeneous cognitive and motor impairments. In this paper, we provide an overview of those challenges, discuss possible solutions and present preliminary results of a study with patients.

Visual Search and Target Cueing: A Comparison of Head-Mounted Versus Hand-Held Displays on the Allocation of Visual Attention

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Yeh, Michelle; Wickens, Christopher D

1998-01-01

We conducted a study to examine the effects of target cueing and conformality with a hand-held or head-mounted display to determine their effects on visual search tasks requiring focused and divided attention...

Automatic cell identification and visualization using digital holographic microscopy with head mounted augmented reality devices.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Connor, Timothy; Rawat, Siddharth; Markman, Adam; Javidi, Bahram

2018-03-01

We propose a compact imaging system that integrates an augmented reality head mounted device with digital holographic microscopy for automated cell identification and visualization. A shearing interferometer is used to produce holograms of biological cells, which are recorded using customized smart glasses containing an external camera. After image acquisition, segmentation is performed to isolate regions of interest containing biological cells in the field-of-view, followed by digital reconstruction of the cells, which is used to generate a three-dimensional (3D) pseudocolor optical path length profile. Morphological features are extracted from the cell's optical path length map, including mean optical path length, coefficient of variation, optical volume, projected area, projected area to optical volume ratio, cell skewness, and cell kurtosis. Classification is performed using the random forest classifier, support vector machines, and K-nearest neighbor, and the results are compared. Finally, the augmented reality device displays the cell's pseudocolor 3D rendering of its optical path length profile, extracted features, and the identified cell's type or class. The proposed system could allow a healthcare worker to quickly visualize cells using augmented reality smart glasses and extract the relevant information for rapid diagnosis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the integration of digital holographic microscopy with augmented reality devices for automated cell identification and visualization.

Piloting the feasibility of head-mounted video technology to augment student feedback during simulated clinical decision-making: An observational design pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Forbes, Helen; Bucknall, Tracey K; Hutchinson, Alison M

2016-04-01

Clinical decision-making is a complex activity that is critical to patient safety. Simulation, augmented by feedback, affords learners the opportunity to learn critical clinical decision-making skills. More detailed feedback following simulation exercises has the potential to further enhance student learning, particularly in relation to developing improved clinical decision-making skills. To investigate the feasibility of head-mounted video camera recordings, to augment feedback, following acute patient deterioration simulations. Pilot study using an observational design. Ten final-year nursing students participated in three simulation exercises, each focussed on detection and management of patient deterioration. Two observers collected behavioural data using an adapted version of Gaba's Clinical Simulation Tool, to provide verbal feedback to each participant, following each simulation exercise. Participants wore a head-mounted video camera during the second simulation exercise only. Video recordings were replayed to participants to augment feedback, following the second simulation exercise. Data were collected on: participant performance (observed and perceived); participant perceptions of feedback methods; and head-mounted video camera recording feasibility and capability for detailed audio-visual feedback. Management of patient deterioration improved for six participants (60%). Increased perceptions of confidence (70%) and competence (80%), were reported by the majority of participants. Few participants (20%) agreed that the video recording specifically enhanced their learning. The visual field of the head-mounted video camera was not always synchronised with the participant's field of vision, thus affecting the usefulness of some recordings. The usefulness of the video recordings, to enhance verbal feedback to participants on detection and management of simulated patient deterioration, was inconclusive. Modification of the video camera glasses, to improve

Projective geometry for polarization in geometric quantization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campbell, P.; Dodson, C.T.J.

1976-12-01

It is important to know the extent to which the procedure of geometric quantization depends on a choice of polarization of the symplectic manifold that is the classical phase space. Published results have so far been restricted to real and transversal polarizations. Here we also consider these cases by presenting a formulation in terms of projective geometry. It turns out that there is a natural characterization of real transversal polarizations and maps among them using projective concepts. We give explicit constructions for Rsup(2n)

Head-mounted eye tracking of a chimpanzee under naturalistic conditions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fumihiro Kano

Full Text Available This study offers a new method for examining the bodily, manual, and eye movements of a chimpanzee at the micro-level. A female chimpanzee wore a lightweight head-mounted eye tracker (60 Hz on her head while engaging in daily interactions with the human experimenter. The eye tracker recorded her eye movements accurately while the chimpanzee freely moved her head, hands, and body. Three video cameras recorded the bodily and manual movements of the chimpanzee from multiple angles. We examined how the chimpanzee viewed the experimenter in this interactive setting and how the eye movements were related to the ongoing interactive contexts and actions. We prepared two experimentally defined contexts in each session: a face-to-face greeting phase upon the appearance of the experimenter in the experimental room, and a subsequent face-to-face task phase that included manual gestures and fruit rewards. Overall, the general viewing pattern of the chimpanzee, measured in terms of duration of individual fixations, length of individual saccades, and total viewing duration of the experimenter's face/body, was very similar to that observed in previous eye-tracking studies that used non-interactive situations, despite the differences in the experimental settings. However, the chimpanzee viewed the experimenter and the scene objects differently depending on the ongoing context and actions. The chimpanzee viewed the experimenter's face and body during the greeting phase, but viewed the experimenter's face and hands as well as the fruit reward during the task phase. These differences can be explained by the differential bodily/manual actions produced by the chimpanzee and the experimenter during each experimental phase (i.e., greeting gestures, task cueing. Additionally, the chimpanzee's viewing pattern varied depending on the identity of the experimenter (i.e., the chimpanzee's prior experience with the experimenter. These methods and results offer new

Continued Testing of Head-Mounted Displays for Deaf Education in a Planetarium

Science.gov (United States)

Hintz, Eric G.; Jones, M.; Lawler, J.; Bench, N.; Mangrubang, F. R.

2013-06-01

For more than a year now we have been developing techniques for using Head-Mounted Displays (HMD) to help accommodate a deaf audience in a planetarium environment. Our target audience is primarily children from 8 to 13 years of age, but the methodologies can be used for a wide variety of audiences. Applications also extend beyond the planetarium environment. Three tests have been done to determine if American Sign Language (ASL) can be delivered to the HMD and the student view both the planetarium show and the ASL ‘sound track’. From those early results we are now at the point of testing for comprehension improvement on a number of astronomical subjects. We will present a number of these early results.

IceCube Polar Virtual Reality exhibit: immersive learning for learners of all ages

Science.gov (United States)

Madsen, J.; Bravo Gallart, S.; Chase, A.; Dougherty, P.; Gagnon, D.; Pronto, K.; Rush, M.; Tredinnick, R.

2017-12-01

The IceCube Polar Virtual Reality project is an innovative, interactive exhibit that explains the operation and science of a flagship experiment in polar research, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. The exhibit allows users to travel from the South Pole, where the detector is located, to the furthest reaches of the universe, learning how the detection of high-energy neutrinos has opened a new view to the universe. This novel exhibit combines a multitouch tabletop display system and commercially available virtual reality (VR) head-mounted displays to enable informal STEM learning of polar research. The exhibit, launched in early November 2017 during the Wisconsin Science Festival in Madison, WI, will study how immersive VR can enhance informal STEM learning. The foundation of this project is built upon a strong collaborative effort between the Living Environments Laboratory (LEL), the Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center (WIPAC), and the Field Day Laboratory groups from the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. The project is funded through an NSF Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) grant, under a special call for engaging students and the public in polar research. This exploratory pathways project seeks to build expertise to allow future extensions. The plan is to submit a subsequent AISL Broad Implementation proposal to add more 3D environments for other Antarctic research topics and locations in the future. We will describe the current implementation of the project and discuss the challenges and opportunities of working with an interdisciplinary team of scientists and technology and education researchers. We will also present preliminary assessment results, which seek to answer questions such as: Did users gain a better understanding of IceCube research from interacting with the exhibit? Do both technologies (touch table and VR headset) provide the same level of engagement? Is one technology better suited for specific learning outcomes?

Dual decomposition for parsing with non-projective head automata

OpenAIRE

Koo, Terry; Rush, Alexander Matthew; Collins, Michael; Jaakkola, Tommi S.; Sontag, David Alexander

2010-01-01

This paper introduces algorithms for non-projective parsing based on dual decomposition. We focus on parsing algorithms for non-projective head automata, a generalization of head-automata models to non-projective structures. The dual decomposition algorithms are simple and efficient, relying on standard dynamic programming and minimum spanning tree algorithms. They provably solve an LP relaxation of the non-projective parsing problem. Empirically the LP relaxation is very often tight: for man...

Latency requirements for head-worn display S/EVS applications

Science.gov (United States)

Bailey, Randall E.; Arthur, Jarvis J., III; Williams, Steven P.

2004-08-01

NASA's Aviation Safety Program, Synthetic Vision Systems Project is conducting research in advanced flight deck concepts, such as Synthetic/Enhanced Vision Systems (S/EVS), for commercial and business aircraft. An emerging thrust in this activity is the development of spatially-integrated, large field-of-regard information display systems. Head-worn or helmet-mounted display systems are being proposed as one method in which to meet this objective. System delays or latencies inherent to spatially-integrated, head-worn displays critically influence the display utility, usability, and acceptability. Research results from three different, yet similar technical areas - flight control, flight simulation, and virtual reality - are collectively assembled in this paper to create a global perspective of delay or latency effects in head-worn or helmet-mounted display systems. Consistent definitions and measurement techniques are proposed herein for universal application and latency requirements for Head-Worn Display S/EVS applications are drafted. Future research areas are defined.

Small and low head pumped storage projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Makarechian, A.H.

1991-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to focus attention on small and low head pumped storage projects. These projects may be defined as having a capacity of less than 200-300 MW and down to about 20 MW, with heads of 1200 ft to about 300 ft or less. Many advantages of these smaller pumped storage projects include more flexibility in siting of a project, considerably shorter licensing and construction period, adaptability to closed system design concept to reduce adverse environmental impacts, considerably reduced risks of delays and substantial cost over-runs, better suited to meeting peaking capacity requirements for individual utilities, and much less transmission inter-connection requirements. An overall licensing and construction schedule of about 3 to 3 1/2 years is realistic for many smaller pumped storage projects, and competitive costs in terms of dollars per kW installed can be achieved

Optical gesture sensing and depth mapping technologies for head-mounted displays: an overview

Science.gov (United States)

Kress, Bernard; Lee, Johnny

2013-05-01

Head Mounted Displays (HMDs), and especially see-through HMDs have gained renewed interest in recent time, and for the first time outside the traditional military and defense realm, due to several high profile consumer electronics companies presenting their products to hit market. Consumer electronics HMDs have quite different requirements and constrains as their military counterparts. Voice comments are the de-facto interface for such devices, but when the voice recognition does not work (not connection to the cloud for example), trackpad and gesture sensing technologies have to be used to communicate information to the device. We review in this paper the various technologies developed today integrating optical gesture sensing in a small footprint, as well as the various related 3d depth mapping sensors.

Brain state-dependence of electrically evoked potentials monitored with head-mounted electronics.

Science.gov (United States)

Richardson, Andrew G; Fetz, Eberhard E

2012-11-01

Inferring changes in brain connectivity is critical to studies of learning-related plasticity and stimulus-induced conditioning of neural circuits. In addition, monitoring spontaneous fluctuations in connectivity can provide insight into information processing during different brain states. Here, we quantified state-dependent connectivity changes throughout the 24-h sleep-wake cycle in freely behaving monkeys. A novel, head-mounted electronic device was used to electrically stimulate at one site and record evoked potentials at other sites. Electrically evoked potentials (EEPs) revealed the connectivity pattern between several cortical sites and the basal forebrain. We quantified state-dependent changes in the EEPs. Cortico-cortical EEP amplitude increased during slow-wave sleep, compared to wakefulness, while basal-cortical EEP amplitude decreased. The results demonstrate the utility of using portable electronics to document state-dependent connectivity changes in freely behaving primates.

Design of a {O}94 cm mirror mount for the Petawatt Project on Nova

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hamilton, R.; Tietbohl, G.L.

1995-10-01

The authors have designed a large optical gimbal mount that will be used on the Petawatt Project currently under construction on the Nova laser. These mounts are designed to hold and tilt {O}94 cm mirrors and gratings that will redirect the {O}60 cm beam through the Petawatt vacuum compressor. Lacking the commercial availability to house this size optic, they have engineered a large mirror mount with a high natural frequency (42 Hz), low self-weight deflection of the mirror (< {lambda}/46), and high positioning accuracy characteristics (< 1 {micro}rad using flexures and stepping motors). Analysis details and methodology are presented.

Design of a OE 94 cm mirror mount for the Petawatt Project on Nova

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hamilton, R.; Tietbohl, G.L.

1995-10-01

The authors have designed a large optical gimbal mount that will be used on the Petawatt Project currently under construction on the Nova laser. These mounts are designed to hold and tilt OE 94 cm mirrors and gratings that will redirect the OE 60 cm beam through the Petawatt vacuum compressor. Lacking the commercial availability to house this size optic, they have engineered a large mirror mount with a high natural frequency (42 Hz), low self-weight deflection of the mirror (< λ/46), and high positioning accuracy characteristics (< 1 microrad using flexures and stepping motors). Analysis details and methodology are presented

A Depth-Based Head-Mounted Visual Display to Aid Navigation in Partially Sighted Individuals

Science.gov (United States)

Hicks, Stephen L.; Wilson, Iain; Muhammed, Louwai; Worsfold, John; Downes, Susan M.; Kennard, Christopher

2013-01-01

Independent navigation for blind individuals can be extremely difficult due to the inability to recognise and avoid obstacles. Assistive techniques such as white canes, guide dogs, and sensory substitution provide a degree of situational awareness by relying on touch or hearing but as yet there are no techniques that attempt to make use of any residual vision that the individual is likely to retain. Residual vision can restricted to the awareness of the orientation of a light source, and hence any information presented on a wearable display would have to limited and unambiguous. For improved situational awareness, i.e. for the detection of obstacles, displaying the size and position of nearby objects, rather than including finer surface details may be sufficient. To test whether a depth-based display could be used to navigate a small obstacle course, we built a real-time head-mounted display with a depth camera and software to detect the distance to nearby objects. Distance was represented as brightness on a low-resolution display positioned close to the eyes without the benefit focussing optics. A set of sighted participants were monitored as they learned to use this display to navigate the course. All were able to do so, and time and velocity rapidly improved with practise with no increase in the number of collisions. In a second experiment a cohort of severely sight-impaired individuals of varying aetiologies performed a search task using a similar low-resolution head-mounted display. The majority of participants were able to use the display to respond to objects in their central and peripheral fields at a similar rate to sighted controls. We conclude that the skill to use a depth-based display for obstacle avoidance can be rapidly acquired and the simplified nature of the display may appropriate for the development of an aid for sight-impaired individuals. PMID:23844067

Development of a surgical navigation system based on augmented reality using an optical see-through head-mounted display.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xiaojun; Xu, Lu; Wang, Yiping; Wang, Huixiang; Wang, Fang; Zeng, Xiangsen; Wang, Qiugen; Egger, Jan

2015-06-01

The surgical navigation system has experienced tremendous development over the past decades for minimizing the risks and improving the precision of the surgery. Nowadays, Augmented Reality (AR)-based surgical navigation is a promising technology for clinical applications. In the AR system, virtual and actual reality are mixed, offering real-time, high-quality visualization of an extensive variety of information to the users (Moussa et al., 2012) [1]. For example, virtual anatomical structures such as soft tissues, blood vessels and nerves can be integrated with the real-world scenario in real time. In this study, an AR-based surgical navigation system (AR-SNS) is developed using an optical see-through HMD (head-mounted display), aiming at improving the safety and reliability of the surgery. With the use of this system, including the calibration of instruments, registration, and the calibration of HMD, the 3D virtual critical anatomical structures in the head-mounted display are aligned with the actual structures of patient in real-world scenario during the intra-operative motion tracking process. The accuracy verification experiment demonstrated that the mean distance and angular errors were respectively 0.809±0.05mm and 1.038°±0.05°, which was sufficient to meet the clinical requirements. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Amblyopia treatment of adults with dichoptic training using the virtual reality oculus rift head mounted display: preliminary results

OpenAIRE

Žiak, Peter; Holm, Anders; Halička, Juraj; Mojzis, Peter; Piñero, David P.

2017-01-01

Background The gold standard treatments in amblyopia are penalizing therapies, such as patching or blurring vision with atropine that are aimed at forcing the use of the amblyopic eye. However, in the last years, new therapies are being developed and validated, such as dichoptic visual training, aimed at stimulating the amblyopic eye and eliminating the interocular supression. Purpose To evaluate the effect of dichoptic visual training using a virtual reality head mounted display in a sample ...

On polars of mixed projection bodies

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Chang-Jian; Leng, Gang-Song

2006-04-01

Recently, Lutwak established general Minkowski inequality, Brunn-Minkowski inequality and Aleksandrov-Fenchel inequality for mixed projection bodies. In this paper, following Lutwak, we established their polar forms. As applications, we prove some interrelated results.

Projected polar bear sea ice habitat in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamilton, Stephen G; Castro de la Guardia, Laura; Derocher, Andrew E; Sahanatien, Vicki; Tremblay, Bruno; Huard, David

2014-01-01

Sea ice across the Arctic is declining and altering physical characteristics of marine ecosystems. Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) have been identified as vulnerable to changes in sea ice conditions. We use sea ice projections for the Canadian Arctic Archipelago from 2006 - 2100 to gain insight into the conservation challenges for polar bears with respect to habitat loss using metrics developed from polar bear energetics modeling. Shifts away from multiyear ice to annual ice cover throughout the region, as well as lengthening ice-free periods, may become critical for polar bears before the end of the 21st century with projected warming. Each polar bear population in the Archipelago may undergo 2-5 months of ice-free conditions, where no such conditions exist presently. We identify spatially and temporally explicit ice-free periods that extend beyond what polar bears require for nutritional and reproductive demands. Under business-as-usual climate projections, polar bears may face starvation and reproductive failure across the entire Archipelago by the year 2100.

On the use of polar coordinate system in the projective graphic drawings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivashchenko Andrey Viktorovich

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Projective graphics is a polyhedra simulation method, which is based on the use of trace diagrams of initial polyhedron. Previously developed computer software allows using Cartesian coordinates. In some cases it is advisable to use polar coordinate system for description of projective graphics drawings. Using the example of icosahedron the authors analyzed the advantages of using projective graphics drawings in the polar coordinate system. The transition to the polar coordinate system is a tool that allows using certain patterns of projective graphics drawings in the process of calculation. When using polar coordinate system the search of Polar correspondence for the directs is simplified. In order to analyze the two lines in the polar coordinate system it is enough to compare the corresponding coefficients of the equations of these lines. The authors consider a diagram of the icosahedron in polar coordinates, and a corresponding fragment of calculation program in the Mathematica system. Some examples of forming based on icosahedrons are offered. Optimization of computer programs using polar coordinate system will simplifies the calculations of projective graphics drawings, accelerates the process of constructing three-dimensional models, which expand the possibilities of selecting original solutions. Finally, the authors conclude that it is appropriate to use the polar coordinate system only in the construction of projective graphics diagrams of the planes system having rich symmetry. All Platonic and Archimedean solids, Catalan solid possess this property.

Evaluating the image quality of Closed Circuit Television magnification systems versus a head-mounted display for people with low vision. .

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Chern Sheng; Jan, Hvey-An; Lay, Yun-Long; Huang, Chih-Chia; Chen, Hsien-Tse

2014-01-01

In this research, image analysis was used to optimize the visual output of a traditional Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) magnifying system and a head-mounted display (HMD) for people with low vision. There were two purposes: (1) To determine the benefit of using an image analysis system to customize image quality for a person with low vision, and (2) to have people with low vision evaluate a traditional CCTV magnifier and an HMD, each customized to the user's needs and preferences. A CCTV system can electronically alter images by increasing the contrast, brightness, and magnification for the visually disabled when they are reading texts and pictures. The test methods was developed to evaluate and customize a magnification system for persons with low vision. The head-mounted display with CCTV was used to obtain better depth of field and a higher modulation transfer function from the video camera. By sensing the parameters of the environment (e.g., ambient light level, etc.) and collecting the user's specific characteristics, the system could make adjustments according to the user's needs, thus allowing the visually disabled to read more efficiently.

Scintillation crystal mounting apparatus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Engdahl, L.W.; Deans, A.J.

1982-01-01

An improved detector head for a gamma camera is disclosed. The detector head includes a housing and a detector assembly mounted within the housing. Components of the detector assembly include a crystal sub-assembly, a phototube array, and a light pipe between the phototube array and crystal sub-assembly. The invention provides a unique structure for maintaining the phototubes in optical relationship with the light pipe and preventing the application of forces that would cause the camera's crystal to crack

Optical methods for enabling focus cues in head-mounted displays for virtual and augmented reality

Science.gov (United States)

Hua, Hong

2017-05-01

Developing head-mounted displays (HMD) that offer uncompromised optical pathways to both digital and physical worlds without encumbrance and discomfort confronts many grand challenges, both from technological perspectives and human factors. Among the many challenges, minimizing visual discomfort is one of the key obstacles. One of the key contributing factors to visual discomfort is the lack of the ability to render proper focus cues in HMDs to stimulate natural eye accommodation responses, which leads to the well-known accommodation-convergence cue discrepancy problem. In this paper, I will provide a summary on the various optical methods approaches toward enabling focus cues in HMDs for both virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).

Projected polar bear sea ice habitat in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephen G Hamilton

Full Text Available Sea ice across the Arctic is declining and altering physical characteristics of marine ecosystems. Polar bears (Ursus maritimus have been identified as vulnerable to changes in sea ice conditions. We use sea ice projections for the Canadian Arctic Archipelago from 2006 - 2100 to gain insight into the conservation challenges for polar bears with respect to habitat loss using metrics developed from polar bear energetics modeling.Shifts away from multiyear ice to annual ice cover throughout the region, as well as lengthening ice-free periods, may become critical for polar bears before the end of the 21st century with projected warming. Each polar bear population in the Archipelago may undergo 2-5 months of ice-free conditions, where no such conditions exist presently. We identify spatially and temporally explicit ice-free periods that extend beyond what polar bears require for nutritional and reproductive demands.Under business-as-usual climate projections, polar bears may face starvation and reproductive failure across the entire Archipelago by the year 2100.

COMPARISON OF A HEAD MOUNTED IMPACT MEASUREMENT DEVICE TO THE HYBRID III ANTHROPOMORPHIC TESTING DEVICE IN A CONTROLLED LABORATORY SETTING.

Science.gov (United States)

Schussler, Eric; Stark, David; Bolte, John H; Kang, Yun Seok; Onate, James A

2017-08-01

Reports estimate that 1.6 to 3.8 million cases of concussion occur in sports and recreation each year in the United States. Despite continued efforts to reduce the occurrence of concussion, the rate of diagnosis continues to increase. The mechanisms of concussion are thought to involve linear and rotational head accelerations and velocities. One method of quantifying the kinematics experienced during sport participation is to place measurement devices into the athlete's helmet or directly on the athlete's head. The purpose of this research to determine the accuracy of a head mounted device for measuring the head accelerations experienced by the wearer. This will be accomplished by identifying the error in Peak Linear Acceleration (PLA), Peak Rotational Acceleration (PRA) and Peak Rotational Velocity (PRV) of the device. Laboratory study. A helmeted Hybrid III 50th percentile male headform was impacted via a pneumatic ram from the front, side, rear, front oblique and rear oblique at speeds from 1.5 to 5 m/s. The X2 Biosystems xPatch® (Seattle, WA) sensor was placed on the headform's right side at the approximate location of the mastoid process. Measures of PLA, PRA, PRV from the xPatch ® and Hybrid III were analyzed for Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), and Absolute and Relative Error (AE, RE). Seventy-six impacts were analyzed. All measures of correlation, fixed through the origin, were found to be strong: PLA R 2 =0.967 pstandard yet above the average error of testing devices in both PLA and PRA, but a low error in PRV. PLA measures from the xPatch® system demonstrated a high level of correlation with the PLA data from the Hybrid III mounted data collection system. 3.

Practical demonstration of the theory of the principle of reflection and refraction of light polarized lenses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miranda Diaz, L. J.

2016-01-01

Using an optical system comprising a light source to semiconductor, two collimating lenses, one rotating polarizer, two focusing lenses and an electronic circuit mounted amplifiers based on operational, two pulse outputs of variable width is obtained according to the orientation of the plane of polarized light incident on the lenses coplanar standing together with the electronic circuit inside the optoelectronic head. The difference between the width of both pulses is equivalent to the amount has rotated the plane of polarization and is calculated by the use and programming of a PIC and displayed on an alphanumeric LCD. the result of the measurements are shown performed well plates that you can see the change in the value on the LCD to rotate the polarizer. (Author)

Visuomotor adaptation in head-mounted virtual reality versus conventional training

Science.gov (United States)

Anglin, J. M.; Sugiyama, T.; Liew, S.-L.

2017-01-01

Immersive, head-mounted virtual reality (HMD-VR) provides a unique opportunity to understand how changes in sensory environments affect motor learning. However, potential differences in mechanisms of motor learning and adaptation in HMD-VR versus a conventional training (CT) environment have not been extensively explored. Here, we investigated whether adaptation on a visuomotor rotation task in HMD-VR yields similar adaptation effects in CT and whether these effects are achieved through similar mechanisms. Specifically, recent work has shown that visuomotor adaptation may occur via both an implicit, error-based internal model and a more cognitive, explicit strategic component. We sought to measure both overall adaptation and balance between implicit and explicit mechanisms in HMD-VR versus CT. Twenty-four healthy individuals were placed in either HMD-VR or CT and trained on an identical visuomotor adaptation task that measured both implicit and explicit components. Our results showed that the overall timecourse of adaption was similar in both HMD-VR and CT. However, HMD-VR participants utilized a greater cognitive strategy than CT, while CT participants engaged in greater implicit learning. These results suggest that while both conditions produce similar results in overall adaptation, the mechanisms by which visuomotor adaption occurs in HMD-VR appear to be more reliant on cognitive strategies. PMID:28374808

Effects of Videogame Distraction using a Virtual Reality Type Head-Mounted Display Helmet on Cold Pressor Pain in Children

OpenAIRE

Dahlquist, Lynnda M.; Weiss, Karen E.; Dillinger Clendaniel, Lindsay; Law, Emily F.; Ackerman, Claire Sonntag; McKenna, Kristine D.

2008-01-01

Objective To test whether a head-mounted display helmet enhances the effectiveness of videogame distraction for children experiencing cold pressor pain. Method Forty-one children, aged 6–14 years, underwent one or two baseline cold pressor trials followed by two distraction trials in which they played the same videogame with and without the helmet in counterbalanced order. Pain threshold (elapsed time until the child reported pain) and pain tolerance (total time the child kept the hand submer...

Recognition of American Sign Language (ASL) Classifiers in a Planetarium Using a Head-Mounted Display

Science.gov (United States)

Hintz, Eric G.; Jones, Michael; Lawler, Jeannette; Bench, Nathan

2015-01-01

A traditional accommodation for the deaf or hard-of-hearing in a planetarium show is some type of captioning system or a signer on the floor. Both of these have significant drawbacks given the nature of a planetarium show. Young audience members who are deaf likely don't have the reading skills needed to make a captioning system effective. A signer on the floor requires light which can then splash onto the dome. We have examined the potential of using a Head-Mounted Display (HMD) to provide an American Sign Language (ASL) translation. Our preliminary test used a canned planetarium show with a pre-recorded sound track. Since many astronomical objects don't have official ASL signs, the signer had to use classifiers to describe the different objects. Since these are not official signs, these classifiers provided a way to test to see if students were picking up the information using the HMD.We will present results that demonstrate that the use of HMDs is at least as effective as projecting a signer on the dome. This also showed that the HMD could provide the necessary accommodation for students for whom captioning was ineffective. We will also discuss the current effort to provide a live signer without the light splash effect and our early results on teaching effectiveness with HMDs.This work is partially supported by funding from the National Science Foundation grant IIS-1124548 and the Sorenson Foundation.

National Ingition Facility subsystem design requirements optical mounts SSDR 1.4.4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Richardson, M.

1996-01-01

This SSDR establishes the performance, design, development and test requirements for NIF Beam Transport Optomechanical Subsystems. optomechanical Subsystems includes the mounts for the beam transport mirrors, LMl - LM8, the polarizer mount, and the spatial filter lens mounts

Evaluation of Extraction Protocols for Simultaneous Polar and Non-Polar Yeast Metabolite Analysis Using Multivariate Projection Methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicolas P. Tambellini

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Metabolomic and lipidomic approaches aim to measure metabolites or lipids in the cell. Metabolite extraction is a key step in obtaining useful and reliable data for successful metabolite studies. Significant efforts have been made to identify the optimal extraction protocol for various platforms and biological systems, for both polar and non-polar metabolites. Here we report an approach utilizing chemoinformatics for systematic comparison of protocols to extract both from a single sample of the model yeast organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Three chloroform/methanol/water partitioning based extraction protocols found in literature were evaluated for their effectiveness at reproducibly extracting both polar and non-polar metabolites. Fatty acid methyl esters and methoxyamine/trimethylsilyl derivatized aqueous compounds were analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry to evaluate non-polar or polar metabolite analysis. The comparative breadth and amount of recovered metabolites was evaluated using multivariate projection methods. This approach identified an optimal protocol consisting of 64 identified polar metabolites from 105 ion hits and 12 fatty acids recovered, and will potentially attenuate the error and variation associated with combining metabolite profiles from different samples for untargeted analysis with both polar and non-polar analytes. It also confirmed the value of using multivariate projection methods to compare established extraction protocols.

Talk to the virtual hands: self-animated avatars improve communication in head-mounted display virtual environments.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Trevor J Dodds

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: When we talk to one another face-to-face, body gestures accompany our speech. Motion tracking technology enables us to include body gestures in avatar-mediated communication, by mapping one's movements onto one's own 3D avatar in real time, so the avatar is self-animated. We conducted two experiments to investigate (a whether head-mounted display virtual reality is useful for researching the influence of body gestures in communication; and (b whether body gestures are used to help in communicating the meaning of a word. Participants worked in pairs and played a communication game, where one person had to describe the meanings of words to the other. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In experiment 1, participants used significantly more hand gestures and successfully described significantly more words when nonverbal communication was available to both participants (i.e. both describing and guessing avatars were self-animated, compared with both avatars in a static neutral pose. Participants 'passed' (gave up describing significantly more words when they were talking to a static avatar (no nonverbal feedback available. In experiment 2, participants' performance was significantly worse when they were talking to an avatar with a prerecorded listening animation, compared with an avatar animated by their partners' real movements. In both experiments participants used significantly more hand gestures when they played the game in the real world. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, the studies show how (a virtual reality can be used to systematically study the influence of body gestures; (b it is important that nonverbal communication is bidirectional (real nonverbal feedback in addition to nonverbal communication from the describing participant; and (c there are differences in the amount of body gestures that participants use with and without the head-mounted display, and we discuss possible explanations for this and ideas for future investigation.

Registration of an on-axis see-through head-mounted display and camera system

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Gang; Rensing, Noa M.; Weststrate, Evan; Peli, Eli

2005-02-01

An optical see-through head-mounted display (HMD) system integrating a miniature camera that is aligned with the user's pupil is developed and tested. Such an HMD system has a potential value in many augmented reality applications, in which registration of the virtual display to the real scene is one of the critical aspects. The camera alignment to the user's pupil results in a simple yet accurate calibration and a low registration error across a wide range of depth. In reality, a small camera-eye misalignment may still occur in such a system due to the inevitable variations of HMD wearing position with respect to the eye. The effects of such errors are measured. Calculation further shows that the registration error as a function of viewing distance behaves nearly the same for different virtual image distances, except for a shift. The impact of prismatic effect of the display lens on registration is also discussed.

Binocular vision in a virtual world: visual deficits following the wearing of a head-mounted display.

Science.gov (United States)

Mon-Williams, M; Wann, J P; Rushton, S

1993-10-01

The short-term effects on binocular stability of wearing a conventional head-mounted display (HMD) to explore a virtual reality environment were examined. Twenty adult subjects (aged 19-29 years) wore a commercially available HMD for 10 min while cycling around a computer generated 3-D world. The twin screen presentations were set to suit the average interpupillary distance of our subject population, to mimic the conditions of public access virtual reality systems. Subjects were examined before and after exposure to the HMD and there were clear signs of induced binocular stress for a number of the subjects. The implications of introducing such HMDs into the workplace and entertainment environments are discussed.

Optical see-through head-mounted display with occlusion capability

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Chunyu; Lin, Yuxiang; Hua, Hong

2013-05-01

Lack of mutual occlusion capability between computer-rendered and real objects is one of fundamental problems for most existing optical see-through head-mounted displays (OST-HMD). Without the proper occlusion management, the virtual view through an OST-HMD appears "ghost-like", floating in the real world. To address this challenge, we have developed an innovative optical scheme that uniquely combines the eyepiece and see-through relay optics to achieve an occlusion-capable OST-HMD system with a very compelling form factor and high optical performances. The proposed display system was based on emerging freeform optical design technologies and was designed for highly efficient liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) type spatial light modulator (SLM) and bright Organic LED (OLED) microdisplay. The proposed display technology was capable of working in both indoor and outdoor environments. Our current design offered a 1280x1024 color resolution based on 0.8" microdisplay and SLM. The MTF values for the majority of the fields at the cutoff frequency of 40lps/mm, which is determined by the pixel size of the microdisplay, are better than 15%. The design achieved a diagonal FOV of 40 degrees, 31.7 degrees horizontally and 25.6 degrees vertically, an exit pupil diameter of 8mm (non-vignetted), and an eye clearance of 18mm. The optics weights about 20 grams per eye. Our proposed occlusion capable OST-HMD system can easily find myriads of applications in various military and commercial sectors such as military training, gaming and entertainment.

The International Polar Year in Portugal: A New National Polar Programme and a Major Education and Outreach project

Science.gov (United States)

Mendes-Victor, L.; Vieira, G.; Xavier, J.; Canario, A.

2008-12-01

Before the International Polar Year, in Portugal polar research was conducted by a very small group of scientists integrated in foreign projects or research institutions. Portugal was not member of the Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research (SCAR), the European Polar Board (EPB), neither a subscriber of the Antarctic Treaty. In 2004 Portuguese Polar researchers considered the IPY as an opportunity to change this situation and organized the national Committee for the IPY. The objectives were ambitious: to answer the aforementioned issues in defining and proposing a National Polar Programme. In late 2008, close to the end of the IPY, the objectives were attained, except the Antarctic Treaty signature that is, however, in an advanced stage, having been approved by consensus at the National Parliament in early 2007. Portugal joined SCAR in July 2006, the EPB in 2007 and a set of 5 Antarctic research projects forming the roots of the National Polar Programme (ProPolar) have been approved by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT-MCTES). Scientifically, the IPY can already be considered a major success in Portugal with an improvement in polar scientific research, in the number of scientists performing field work in the Antarctic, organizing polar science meetings and producing an expected increase in the number of polar science peer- reviewed papers. The Portuguese IPY scientific activities were accompanied by a major education and outreach project funded by the Agencia Ciência Viva (MCTES): LATITUDE60! Education for the Planet in the IPY. This project lead by the universities of Algarve, Lisbon and by the Portuguese Association of Geography Teachers is heavily interdisciplinary, programmed for all ages, from kindergarten to adults, and hoped to bring together scientists and society. LATITUDE60! was a major success and focussed on showing the importance of the polar regions for Earth's environment, emphasising on the implications of polar change for

Comparison of optical see-through head-mounted displays for surgical interventions with object-anchored 2D-display.

Science.gov (United States)

Qian, Long; Barthel, Alexander; Johnson, Alex; Osgood, Greg; Kazanzides, Peter; Navab, Nassir; Fuerst, Bernhard

2017-06-01

Optical see-through head-mounted displays (OST-HMD) feature an unhindered and instantaneous view of the surgery site and can enable a mixed reality experience for surgeons during procedures. In this paper, we present a systematic approach to identify the criteria for evaluation of OST-HMD technologies for specific clinical scenarios, which benefit from using an object-anchored 2D-display visualizing medical information. Criteria for evaluating the performance of OST-HMDs for visualization of medical information and its usage are identified and proposed. These include text readability, contrast perception, task load, frame rate, and system lag. We choose to compare three commercially available OST-HMDs, which are representatives of currently available head-mounted display technologies. A multi-user study and an offline experiment are conducted to evaluate their performance. Statistical analysis demonstrates that Microsoft HoloLens performs best among the three tested OST-HMDs, in terms of contrast perception, task load, and frame rate, while ODG R-7 offers similar text readability. The integration of indoor localization and fiducial tracking on the HoloLens provides significantly less system lag in a relatively motionless scenario. With ever more OST-HMDs appearing on the market, the proposed criteria could be used in the evaluation of their suitability for mixed reality surgical intervention. Currently, Microsoft HoloLens may be more suitable than ODG R-7 and Epson Moverio BT-200 for clinical usability in terms of the evaluated criteria. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper that presents a methodology and conducts experiments to evaluate and compare OST-HMDs for their use as object-anchored 2D-display during interventions.

Characterization of Engine Mount Elastomers

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Szabo, Jeffrey P

2005-01-01

As part of a project to develop methods for modelling the performance of engine mounts, several oil resistant alternative materials were prepared, and compared to conventional materials from mounts...

A review of the use of virtual reality head-mounted displays in education and training

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Lasse; Konradsen, Flemming

2017-01-01

In the light of substantial improvements to the quality and availability of virtual reality (VR) hardware seen since 2013, this review seeks to update our knowledge about the use of head-mounted displays (HMDs) in education and training. Following a comprehensive search 21 documents reporting...... on experimental studies were identified, quality assessed, and analysed. The quality assessment shows that the study quality was below average according to the Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument, especially for the studies that were designed as user evaluations of educational VR products......; and affective skills related to controlling your emotional response to stressful or difficult situations. Outside of these situations the HMDs had no advantage when compared to less immersive technologies or traditional instruction and in some cases even proved counterproductive because of widespread...

A new head-mounted display-based augmented reality system in neurosurgical oncology: a study on phantom.

Science.gov (United States)

Cutolo, Fabrizio; Meola, Antonio; Carbone, Marina; Sinceri, Sara; Cagnazzo, Federico; Denaro, Ennio; Esposito, Nicola; Ferrari, Mauro; Ferrari, Vincenzo

2017-12-01

Benefits of minimally invasive neurosurgery mandate the development of ergonomic paradigms for neuronavigation. Augmented Reality (AR) systems can overcome the shortcomings of commercial neuronavigators. The aim of this work is to apply a novel AR system, based on a head-mounted stereoscopic video see-through display, as an aid in complex neurological lesion targeting. Effectiveness was investigated on a newly designed patient-specific head mannequin featuring an anatomically realistic brain phantom with embedded synthetically created tumors and eloquent areas. A two-phase evaluation process was adopted in a simulated small tumor resection adjacent to Broca's area. Phase I involved nine subjects without neurosurgical training in performing spatial judgment tasks. In Phase II, three surgeons were involved in assessing the effectiveness of the AR-neuronavigator in performing brain tumor targeting on a patient-specific head phantom. Phase I revealed the ability of the AR scene to evoke depth perception under different visualization modalities. Phase II confirmed the potentialities of the AR-neuronavigator in aiding the determination of the optimal surgical access to the surgical target. The AR-neuronavigator is intuitive, easy-to-use, and provides three-dimensional augmented information in a perceptually-correct way. The system proved to be effective in guiding skin incision, craniotomy, and lesion targeting. The preliminary results encourage a structured study to prove clinical effectiveness. Moreover, our testing platform might be used to facilitate training in brain tumour resection procedures.

Modular reactor head shielding system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacobson, E. B.

1985-01-01

An improved modular reactor head shielding system is provided that includes a frame which is removably assembled on a reactor head such that no structural or mechanical alteration of the head is required. The shielding system also includes hanging assemblies to mount flexible shielding pads on trolleys which can be moved along the frame. The assemblies allow individual pivoting movement of the pads. The pivoting movement along with the movement allowed by the trolleys provides ease of access to any point on the reactor head. The assemblies also facilitate safe and efficient mounting of the pads directly to and from storage containers such that workers have additional shielding throughout virtually the entire installation and removal process. The flexible shielding pads are designed to interleave with one another when assembled around the reactor head for substantially improved containment of radiation leakage

Head of detector for multi-element analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frynta, Z.

1983-01-01

The detector head mounted on the scintillation counter consists of a hollow hexagonal rotary support axially arranged with the photomultiplier of the scintillation counter. In the walls of the hexagonal rotary support there are openings in which are inserted absorption filters. The mounting of the absorption filters on the rotary support allows the analysis of a greater number of elements without the dismantling of the head and the replacement of filters. The suitable geometry of the head is retained so that it is possible to insert the head into the hollows similarly as the scintillation counter. (J.P.)

Passive method of eliminating accommodation/convergence disparity in stereoscopic head-mounted displays

Science.gov (United States)

Eichenlaub, Jesse B.

2005-03-01

The difference in accommodation and convergence distance experienced when viewing stereoscopic displays has long been recognized as a source of visual discomfort. It is especially problematic in head mounted virtual reality and enhanced reality displays, where images must often be displayed across a large depth range or superimposed on real objects. DTI has demonstrated a novel method of creating stereoscopic images in which the focus and fixation distances are closely matched for all parts of the scene from close distances to infinity. The method is passive in the sense that it does not rely on eye tracking, moving parts, variable focus optics, vibrating optics, or feedback loops. The method uses a rapidly changing illumination pattern in combination with a high speed microdisplay to create cones of light that converge at different distances to form the voxels of a high resolution space filling image. A bench model display was built and a series of visual tests were performed in order to demonstrate the concept and investigate both its capabilities and limitations. Results proved conclusively that real optical images were being formed and that observers had to change their focus to read text or see objects at different distances

Mounting apparatus for a nozzle guide vane assembly

Science.gov (United States)

Boyd, Gary L.; Shaffer, James E.

1995-01-01

The present invention provides a ceramic nozzle guide assembly with an apparatus for mounting it to a metal nozzle case that includes an intermediate ceramic mounting ring. The mounting ring includes a plurality of projections that are received within a plurality of receptacles formed in the nozzle case. The projections of the mounting ring are secured within the receptacles by a ceramic retainer that allows contact between the two components only along arcuate surfaces thus eliminating sliding contact between the components.

Extreme-Scale Alignments Of Quasar Optical Polarizations And Galactic Dust Contamination

Science.gov (United States)

Pelgrims, Vincent

2017-10-01

Almost twenty years ago the optical polarization vectors from quasars were shown to be aligned over extreme-scales. That evidence was later confirmed and enhanced thanks to additional optical data obtained with the ESO instrument FORS2 mounted on the VLT, in Chile. These observations suggest either Galactic foreground contamination of the data or, more interestingly, a cosmological origin. Using 353-GHz polarization data from the Planck satellite, I recently showed that the main features of the extreme-scale alignments of the quasar optical polarization vectors are unaffected by the Galactic thermal dust. This confirms previous studies based on optical starlight polarization and discards the scenario of Galactic contamination. In this talk, I shall briefly review the extreme-scale quasar polarization alignments, discuss the main results submitted in A&A and motivate forthcoming projects at the frontier between Galactic and extragalactic astrop hysics.

Cross-axis adaptation improves 3D vestibulo-ocular reflex alignment during chronic stimulation via a head-mounted multichannel vestibular prosthesis

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, Chenkai; Fridman, Gene Y.; Chiang, Bryce; Davidovics, Natan; Melvin, Thuy-Anh; Cullen, Kathleen E.; Della Santina, Charles C.

2012-01-01

By sensing three-dimensional (3D) head rotation and electrically stimulating the three ampullary branches of a vestibular nerve to encode head angular velocity, a multichannel vestibular prosthesis (MVP) can restore vestibular sensation to individuals disabled by loss of vestibular hair cell function. However, current spread to afferent fibers innervating non-targeted canals and otolith endorgans can distort the vestibular nerve activation pattern, causing misalignment between the perceived and actual axis of head rotation. We hypothesized that over time, central neural mechanisms can adapt to correct this misalignment. To test this, we rendered five chinchillas vestibular-deficient via bilateral gentamicin treatment and unilaterally implanted them with a head mounted MVP. Comparison of 3D angular vestibulo-ocular reflex (aVOR) responses during 2 Hz, 50°/s peak horizontal sinusoidal head rotations in darkness on the first, third and seventh days of continual MVP use revealed that eye responses about the intended axis remained stable (at about 70% of the normal gain) while misalignment improved significantly by the end of one week of prosthetic stimulation. A comparable time course of improvement was also observed for head rotations about the other two semicircular canal axes and at every stimulus frequency examined (0.2–5 Hz). In addition, the extent of disconjugacy between the two eyes progressively improved during the same time window. These results indicate that the central nervous system rapidly adapts to multichannel prosthetic vestibular stimulation to markedly improve 3D aVOR alignment within the first week after activation. Similar adaptive improvements are likely to occur in other species, including humans. PMID:21374081

The Impact of Head Start on Children, Families and Communities. Final Report of the Head Start Evaluation, Synthesis and Utilization Project.

Science.gov (United States)

McKey, Ruth Hubbell; And Others

Including all Head Start research (both published and unpublished) and using, when possible, the statistical technique of meta-analysis, this final report of the Head Start Evaluation, Synthesis, and Utilization Project presents findings on the impact of Head Start on children's cognitive and socioemotional development, on child health and health…

3D Projection on Physical Objects: Design Insights from Five Real Life Cases

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dalsgaard, Peter; Halskov, Kim

2011-01-01

3D projection on physical objects is a particular kind of Augmented Reality that augments a physical object by projecting digital content directly onto it, rather than by using a mediating device, such as a mobile phone or a head- mounted display. In this paper, we present five cases in which we...

A clinical technique for virtual articulator mounting with natural head position by using calibrated stereophotogrammetry.

Science.gov (United States)

Lam, Walter Y H; Hsung, Richard T C; Choi, Winnie W S; Luk, Henry W K; Cheng, Leo Y Y; Pow, Edmond H N

2017-09-29

Accurate articulator-mounted casts are essential for occlusion analysis and for fabrication of dental prostheses. Although the axis orbital plane has been commonly used as the reference horizontal plane, some clinicians prefer to register the horizontal plane with a spirit level when the patient is in the natural head position (NHP) to avoid anatomic landmark variations. This article presents a digital workflow for registering the patient's horizontal plane in NHP on a virtual articulator. An orientation reference board is used to calibrate a stereophotogrammetry device and a 3-dimensional facial photograph with the patient in NHP. The horizontal plane can then be automatically registered to the patient's virtual model and aligned to the virtual articulator at the transverse horizontal axis level. This technique showed good repeatability with positional differences of less than 1 degree and 1 mm in 5 repeated measurements in 1 patient. Copyright © 2017 Editorial Council for the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Steam Generator Group Project. Task 6. Channel head decontamination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Allen, R.P.; Clark, R.L.; Reece, W.D.

1984-08-01

The Steam Generator Group Project utilizes a retired-from-service pressurized-water-reactor steam generator as a test bed and source of specimens for research. An important preparatory step to primary side research activities was reduction of the radiation field in the steam generator channel head. This task report describes the channel head decontamination activities. Though not a programmatic research objective it was judged beneficial to explore the use of dilute reagent chemical decontamination techniques. These techniques presented potential for reduced personnel exposure and reduced secondary radwaste generation, over currently used abrasive blasting techniques. Two techniques with extensive laboratory research and vendors prepared to offer commercial application were tested, one on either side of the channel head. As indicated in the report, both techniques accomplished similar decontamination objectives. Neither technique damaged the generator channel head or tubing materials, as applied. This report provides details of the decontamination operations. Application system and operating conditions are described

Breath-hold monitoring and visual feedback for radiotherapy using a charge-coupled device camera and a head-mounted display. System development and feasibility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshitake, Tadamasa; Nakamura, Katsumasa; Shioyama, Yoshiyuki

2008-01-01

The aim of this study was to present the technical aspects of the breath-hold technique with respiratory monitoring and visual feedback and to evaluate the feasibility of this system in healthy volunteers. To monitor respiration, the vertical position of the fiducial marker placed on the patient's abdomen was tracked by a machine vision system with a charge-coupled device camera. A monocular head-mounted display was used to provide the patient with visual feedback about the breathing trace. Five healthy male volunteers were enrolled in this study. They held their breath at the end-inspiration and the end-expiration phases. They performed five repetitions of the same type of 15-s breath-holds with and without a head-mounted display, respectively. A standard deviation of five mean positions of the fiducial marker during a 15-s breath-hold in each breath-hold type was used as the reproducibility value of breath-hold. All five volunteers well tolerated the breath-hold maneuver. For the inspiration breath-hold, the standard deviations with and without visual feedback were 1.74 mm and 0.84 mm, respectively (P=0.20). For the expiration breath-hold, the standard deviations with and without visual feedback were 0.63 mm and 0.96 mm, respectively (P=0.025). Our newly developed system might help the patient achieve improved breath-hold reproducibility. (author)

Conservation status of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in relation to projected sea-ice declines

Science.gov (United States)

Laidre, K. L.; Regehr, E. V.; Akcakaya, H. R.; Amstrup, S. C.; Atwood, T.; Lunn, N.; Obbard, M.; Stern, H. L., III; Thiemann, G.; Wiig, O.

2016-12-01

Loss of Arctic sea ice due to climate change is the most serious threat to polar bears (Ursus maritimus) throughout their circumpolar range. We performed a data-based sensitivity analysis with respect to this threat by evaluating the potential response of the global polar bear population to projected sea-ice conditions. We conducted 1) an assessment of generation length for polar bears, 2) developed of a standardized sea-ice metric representing important habitat characteristics for the species; and 3) performed population projections over three generations, using computer simulation and statistical models representing alternative relationships between sea ice and polar bear abundance. Using three separate approaches, the median percent change in mean global population size for polar bears between 2015 and 2050 ranged from -4% (95% CI = -62%, 50%) to -43% (95% CI = -76%, -20%). Results highlight the potential for large reductions in the global population if sea-ice loss continues. They also highlight the large amount of uncertainty in statistical projections of polar bear abundance and the sensitivity of projections to plausible alternative assumptions. The median probability of a reduction in the mean global population size of polar bears greater than 30% over three generations was approximately 0.71 (range 0.20-0.95. The median probability of a reduction greater than 50% was approximately 0.07 (range 0-0.35), and the probability of a reduction greater than 80% was negligible.

Verum focus and polar questions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ion Giurgea

2012-01-01

Full Text Available We argue that some word order phenomena in Romanian and Sardinian are the result of a checkingoperation in the left periphery involving verum focus (i.e. focus on the polarity component of the sentence.In particular, this operation accounts for some word order patterns found in polar questions. In Romanian,polarity fronting is realized as head-movement of (V+T to a higher peripheral head which bears a Focusprobe.This licenses VS orders for predications in which VS is not allowed as a neutral order (i-levelpredicates, iteratives, generics. In Sardinian, an entire phrase headed by the lexical predicate (verbal nonfiniteform or non-verbal predicate is fronted before the auxiliary. We argue that this order is obtained bytwo movement operations, head-raising of Aux to Foc and movement of the predicate phrase to SpecFoc. Wealso present the semantics of polarity focus, distinguishing several types of focus (informational, emphatic,contrastive.

Verum focus and polar questions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ion Giurgea

2012-11-01

Full Text Available We argue that some word order phenomena in Romanian and Sardinian are the result of a checking operation in the left periphery involving verum focus (i.e. focus on the polarity component of the sentence. In particular, this operation accounts for some word order patterns found in polar questions. In Romanian, polarity fronting is realized as head-movement of (V+T to a higher peripheral head which bears a Focus-probe. This licenses VS orders for predications in which VS is not allowed as a neutral order (i-level predicates, iteratives, generics. In Sardinian, an entire phrase headed by the lexical predicate (verbal non-finite form or non-verbal predicate is fronted before the auxiliary. We argue that this order is obtained by two movement operations, head-raising of Aux to Foc and movement of the predicate phrase to SpecFoc. We also present the semantics of polarity focus, distinguishing several types of focus (informational, emphatic, contrastive.

A low-cost multimodal head-mounted display system for neuroendoscopic surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Xinghua; Zheng, Yi; Yao, Shujing; Sun, Guochen; Xu, Bainan; Chen, Xiaolei

2018-01-01

With rapid advances in technology, wearable devices as head-mounted display (HMD) have been adopted for various uses in medical science, ranging from simply aiding in fitness to assisting surgery. We aimed to investigate the feasibility and practicability of a low-cost multimodal HMD system in neuroendoscopic surgery. A multimodal HMD system, mainly consisted of a HMD with two built-in displays, an action camera, and a laptop computer displaying reconstructed medical images, was developed to assist neuroendoscopic surgery. With this intensively integrated system, the neurosurgeon could freely switch between endoscopic image, three-dimensional (3D) reconstructed virtual endoscopy images, and surrounding environment images. Using a leap motion controller, the neurosurgeon could adjust or rotate the 3D virtual endoscopic images at a distance to better understand the positional relation between lesions and normal tissues at will. A total of 21 consecutive patients with ventricular system diseases underwent neuroendoscopic surgery with the aid of this system. All operations were accomplished successfully, and no system-related complications occurred. The HMD was comfortable to wear and easy to operate. Screen resolution of the HMD was high enough for the neurosurgeon to operate carefully. With the system, the neurosurgeon might get a better comprehension on lesions by freely switching among images of different modalities. The system had a steep learning curve, which meant a quick increment of skill with it. Compared with commercially available surgical assistant instruments, this system was relatively low-cost. The multimodal HMD system is feasible, practical, helpful, and relatively cost efficient in neuroendoscopic surgery.

Airborne Laser Polarization Sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Kalshoven, James, Jr.; Dabney, Philip

1991-01-01

Instrument measures polarization characteristics of Earth at three wavelengths. Airborne Laser Polarization Sensor (ALPS) measures optical polarization characteristics of land surface. Designed to be flown at altitudes of approximately 300 m to minimize any polarizing or depolarizing effects of intervening atmosphere and to look along nadir to minimize any effects depending on look angle. Data from measurements used in conjunction with data from ground surveys and aircraft-mounted video recorders to refine mathematical models used in interpretation of higher-altitude polarimetric measurements of reflected sunlight.

Usability Comparisons of Head-Mounted vs. Stereoscopic Desktop Displays in a Virtual Reality Environment with Pain Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Tong, Xin; Gromala, Diane; Gupta, Dimple; Squire, Pam

2016-01-01

Researchers have shown that immersive Virtual Reality (VR) can serve as an unusually powerful pain control technique. However, research assessing the reported symptoms and negative effects of VR systems indicate that it is important to ascertain if these symptoms arise from the use of particular VR display devices, particularly for users who are deemed "at risk," such as chronic pain patients Moreover, these patients have specific and often complex needs and requirements, and because basic issues such as 'comfort' may trigger anxiety or panic attacks, it is important to examine basic questions of the feasibility of using VR displays. Therefore, this repeated-measured experiment was conducted with two VR displays: the Oculus Rift's head-mounted display (HMD) and Firsthand Technologies' immersive desktop display, DeepStream3D. The characteristics of these immersive desktop displays differ: one is worn, enabling patients to move their heads, while the other is peered into, allowing less head movement. To assess the severity of physical discomforts, 20 chronic pain patients tried both displays while watching a VR pain management demo in clinical settings. Results indicated that participants experienced higher levels of Simulator Sickness using the Oculus Rift HMD. However, results also indicated other preferences of the two VR displays among patients, including physical comfort levels and a sense of immersion. Few studies have been conducted that compare usability of specific VR devices specifically with chronic pain patients using a therapeutic virtual environment in pain clinics. Thus, the results may help clinicians and researchers to choose the most appropriate VR displays for chronic pain patients and guide VR designers to enhance the usability of VR displays for long-term pain management interventions.

The effect of viewing a virtual environment through a head-mounted display on balance.

Science.gov (United States)

Robert, Maxime T; Ballaz, Laurent; Lemay, Martin

2016-07-01

In the next few years, several head-mounted displays (HMD) will be publicly released making virtual reality more accessible. HMD are expected to be widely popular at home for gaming but also in clinical settings, notably for training and rehabilitation. HMD can be used in both seated and standing positions; however, presently, the impact of HMD on balance remains largely unknown. It is therefore crucial to examine the impact of viewing a virtual environment through a HMD on standing balance. To compare static and dynamic balance in a virtual environment perceived through a HMD and the physical environment. The visual representation of the virtual environment was based on filmed image of the physical environment and was therefore highly similar. This is an observational study in healthy adults. No significant difference was observed between the two environments for static balance. However, dynamic balance was more perturbed in the virtual environment when compared to that of the physical environment. HMD should be used with caution because of its detrimental impact on dynamic balance. Sensorimotor conflict possibly explains the impact of HMD on balance. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Development of a project on North Unit Irrigation District’s Main Canal at the Monroe Drop, using a novel low-head hydropower technology called the SLH100

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schneider, Abraham [Natel Energy, Inc., Alameda, CA (United States); Schneider, Gia [Natel Energy, Inc., Alameda, CA (United States); McKinstry, Katherine [Natel Energy, Inc., Alameda, CA (United States); Harwood, Meghan [Natel Energy, Inc., Alameda, CA (United States)

2017-03-14

Natel Energy is a low­-head, distributed hydropower company based out of Alameda, CA. Natel manufactures and sells proprietary hydroelectric turbines called hydroEngines® that are suitable for low-­head, high-­flow settings, and range from 30kW to 1 MW of capacity per unit. Natel’s hydroEngine is a state­-of­the-­art two stage impulse turbine, using blades mounted symmetrically on two belts perpendicular to the axis of travel, and using linearly­-moving foils, rather than a rotor, to enable efficient conversion of kinetic energy of large volumes of water at low head with no risk of cavitation. In addition, the hydroEngine can be installed at or above tailwater level, reducing the excavation necessary to build the powerhouse and thus reducing total installed cost and project footprint. Thus, the hydroEngine technology enables a new generation of small hydro installations with low cost of project development, fish-­friendly operations, and small project footprint. In September of 2015, Natel Energy formally commissioned its first project installation in Madras, Oregon, installing 1 SLH100 turbine at an existing drop structure on the North Unit Irrigation District (NUID) Main Canal. The water falls between 13.5 feet to 16.5 feet at this structure, depending on flow. The plant has an installed capacity of 250 kW and an expected annual generation of approximately 873 MWh. The plant operates at an annual capacity factor of 40%, and a capacity factor over the irrigation season, or period of available flow, of 80%. Annual capacity factor is calculated as a percentage of plant operating hours relative to a total of 8,760 hours in a year; because the irrigation canal in which the Project is located only runs water from April to October, the available flow capacity factor is higher. Net greenhouse gas reductions from the Monroe Project are estimated to be 602 tCO2/year. The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the specifications for Natel’s first

Development and Design of Next-Generation Head-Mounted Ambulatory Microdose Positron-Emission Tomography (AM-PET) System.

Science.gov (United States)

Melroy, Samantha; Bauer, Christopher; McHugh, Matthew; Carden, Garret; Stolin, Alexander; Majewski, Stan; Brefczynski-Lewis, Julie; Wuest, Thorsten

2017-05-19

Several applications exist for a whole brain positron-emission tomography (PET) brain imager designed as a portable unit that can be worn on a patient's head. Enabled by improvements in detector technology, a lightweight, high performance device would allow PET brain imaging in different environments and during behavioral tasks. Such a wearable system that allows the subjects to move their heads and walk-the Ambulatory Microdose PET (AM-PET)-is currently under development. This imager will be helpful for testing subjects performing selected activities such as gestures, virtual reality activities and walking. The need for this type of lightweight mobile device has led to the construction of a proof of concept portable head-worn unit that uses twelve silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) PET module sensors built into a small ring which fits around the head. This paper is focused on the engineering design of mechanical support aspects of the AM-PET project, both of the current device as well as of the coming next-generation devices. The goal of this work is to optimize design of the scanner and its mechanics to improve comfort for the subject by reducing the effect of weight, and to enable diversification of its applications amongst different research activities.

Development and Design of Next-Generation Head-Mounted Ambulatory Microdose Positron-Emission Tomography (AM-PET System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samantha Melroy

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Several applications exist for a whole brain positron-emission tomography (PET brain imager designed as a portable unit that can be worn on a patient’s head. Enabled by improvements in detector technology, a lightweight, high performance device would allow PET brain imaging in different environments and during behavioral tasks. Such a wearable system that allows the subjects to move their heads and walk—the Ambulatory Microdose PET (AM-PET—is currently under development. This imager will be helpful for testing subjects performing selected activities such as gestures, virtual reality activities and walking. The need for this type of lightweight mobile device has led to the construction of a proof of concept portable head-worn unit that uses twelve silicon photomultiplier (SiPM PET module sensors built into a small ring which fits around the head. This paper is focused on the engineering design of mechanical support aspects of the AM-PET project, both of the current device as well as of the coming next-generation devices. The goal of this work is to optimize design of the scanner and its mechanics to improve comfort for the subject by reducing the effect of weight, and to enable diversification of its applications amongst different research activities.

Analysis of polarization in hydrogen bonded complexes: An asymptotic projection approach

Science.gov (United States)

Drici, Nedjoua

2018-03-01

The asymptotic projection technique is used to investigate the polarization effect that arises from the interaction between the relaxed, and frozen monomeric charge densities of a set of neutral and charged hydrogen bonded complexes. The AP technique based on the resolution of the original Kohn-Sham equations can give an acceptable qualitative description of the polarization effect in neutral complexes. The significant overlap of the electron densities, in charged and π-conjugated complexes, impose further development of a new functional, describing the coupling between constrained and non-constrained electron densities within the AP technique to provide an accurate representation of the polarization effect.

BIOMECHANICS OF HEAD INJURY IN OLYMPIC TAEKWONDO AND BOXING

Science.gov (United States)

Fife, G.P.; Pieter, W.

2013-01-01

Objective The purpose was to examine differences between taekwondo kicks and boxing punches in resultant linear head acceleration (RLA), head injury criterion (HIC15), peak head velocity, and peak foot and fist velocities. Data from two existing publications on boxing punches and taekwondo kicks were compared. Methods For taekwondo head impacts a Hybrid II Crash Dummy (Hybrid II) head was instrumented with a tri-axial accelerometer mounted inside the Hybrid II head. The Hybrid II was fixed to a height-adjustable frame and fitted with a protective taekwondo helmet. For boxing testing, a Hybrid III Crash Dummy head was instrumented with an array of tri-axial accelerometers mounted at the head centre of gravity. Results Differences in RLA between the roundhouse kick (130.11±51.67 g) and hook punch (71.23±32.19 g, d = 1.39) and in HIC15 (clench axe kick: 162.63±104.10; uppercut: 24.10±12.54, d = 2.29) were observed. Conclusions Taekwondo kicks demonstrated significantly larger magnitudes than boxing punches for both RLA and HIC. PMID:24744497

77 FR 64543 - Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Mount Hope Project...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-10-22

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [LLNVB01000 L51100000.GN0000.LVEMF12CF010 241A; NVN-082096; NVN-084632; NVN-091272; 12-08807; MO 4500039779; TAS: 14X5017] Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Mount Hope Project, Eureka County, NV Correction...

Transducer-Mounting Fixture

Science.gov (United States)

Spiegel, Kirk W.

1990-01-01

Transducer-mounting fixture holds transducer securely against stud. Projects only slightly beyond stud after installation. Flanged transducer fits into fixture when hinged halves open. When halves reclosed, fixture tightened onto threaded stud until stud makes contact with transducer. Knurled area on fixture aids in tightening fixture on stud.

An externally head-mounted wireless neural recording device for laboratory animal research and possible human clinical use.

Science.gov (United States)

Yin, Ming; Li, Hao; Bull, Christopher; Borton, David A; Aceros, Juan; Larson, Lawrence; Nurmikko, Arto V

2013-01-01

In this paper we present a new type of head-mounted wireless neural recording device in a highly compact package, dedicated for untethered laboratory animal research and designed for future mobile human clinical use. The device, which takes its input from an array of intracortical microelectrode arrays (MEA) has ninety-seven broadband parallel neural recording channels and was integrated on to two custom designed printed circuit boards. These house several low power, custom integrated circuits, including a preamplifier ASIC, a controller ASIC, plus two SAR ADCs, a 3-axis accelerometer, a 48MHz clock source, and a Manchester encoder. Another ultralow power RF chip supports an OOK transmitter with the center frequency tunable from 3GHz to 4GHz, mounted on a separate low loss dielectric board together with a 3V LDO, with output fed to a UWB chip antenna. The IC boards were interconnected and packaged in a polyether ether ketone (PEEK) enclosure which is compatible with both animal and human use (e.g. sterilizable). The entire system consumes 17mA from a 1.2Ahr 3.6V Li-SOCl2 1/2AA battery, which operates the device for more than 2 days. The overall system includes a custom RF receiver electronics which are designed to directly interface with any number of commercial (or custom) neural signal processors for multi-channel broadband neural recording. Bench-top measurements and in vivo testing of the device in rhesus macaques are presented to demonstrate the performance of the wireless neural interface.

Arizona Head Start for Homeless Children and Families Project. 1994-95 Evaluation Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Mulholland, Lori; Greene, Andrea

Homeless families with children comprise the fastest growing segment of the United States homeless population. This study evaluated Year 1 of the Arizona Head Start for Homeless Children and Families Project, designed to meet educational and social needs of homeless children and families, and to assist Head Start agencies in developing effective…

Arizona Head Start for Homeless Children and Families Project. 1995-96 Evaluation Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Mulholland, Lori

Homeless families with children constitute the fastest growing segment of the United States homeless population. This study evaluated Year 2 of the Arizona Head Start for Homeless Children and Families Project, designed to meet educational and social needs of homeless children and families, and to assist Head Start agencies in developing effective…

Assessing balance through the use of a low-cost head-mounted display in older adults: a pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Saldana, Santiago J; Marsh, Anthony P; Rejeski, W Jack; Haberl, Jack K; Wu, Peggy; Rosenthal, Scott; Ip, Edward H

2017-01-01

As the population ages, the prevention of falls is an increasingly important public health problem. Balance assessment forms an important component of fall-prevention programs for older adults. The recent development of cost-effective and highly responsive virtual reality (VR) systems means new methods of balance assessment are feasible in a clinical setting. This proof-of-concept study made use of the submillimeter tracking built into modern VR head-mounted displays (VRHMDs) to assess balance through the use of visual-vestibular conflict. The objective of this study was to evaluate the validity, acceptability, and reliability of using a VRHMD to assess balance in older adults. Validity was assessed by comparing measurements from the VRHMD to measurements of postural sway from a force plate. Acceptability was assessed through the use of the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire pre- and postexposure to assess possible side effects of the visual-vestibular conflict. Reliability was assessed by measuring correlations between repeated measurements 1 week apart. Variables of possible importance that were found to be reliable ( r ≥0.9) between tests separated by a week were then tested for differences compared to a control group. Assessment was performed as a cross-sectional single-site community center-based study in 13 older adults (≥65 years old, 80.2±7.3 years old, 77% female, five at risk of falls, eight controls). The VR balance assessment consisted of four modules: a baseline module, a reaction module, a balance module, and a seated assessment. There was a significant difference in the rate at which participants with a risk of falls changed their tilt in the anteroposterior direction compared to the control group. Participants with a risk of falls changed their tilt in the anteroposterior direction at 0.7°/second vs 0.4°/second for those without a history of falls. No significant differences were found between pre/postassessment for oculomotor score or total

Development of computer assisted learning program using cone beam projection for head radiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakazeko, Kazuma; Araki, Misao; Kajiwara, Hironori; Watanabe, Hiroyuki; Kuwayama, Jun; Karube, Shuhei; Hashimoto, Takeyuki; Shinohara, Hiroyuki

2012-01-01

We present a computer assisted learning (CAL) program to simulate head radiography. The program provides cone beam projections of a target volume, simulating three-dimensional computed tomography (CT) of a head phantom. The generated image is 512 x 512 x 512 pixels with each pixel 0.6 mm on a side. The imaging geometry, such as X-ray tube orientation and phantom orientation, can be varied. The graphical user interface (GUI) of the CAL program allows the study of the effects of varying the imaging geometry; each simulated projection image is shown quickly in an adjoining window. Simulated images with an assigned geometry were compared with the image obtained using the standard geometry in clinical use. The accuracy of the simulated image was verified through comparison with the image acquired using radiography of the head phantom, subsequently processed with a computed radiography system (CR image). Based on correlation coefficient analysis and visual assessment, it was concluded that the CAL program can satisfactorily simulate the CR image. Therefore, it should be useful for the training of head radiography. (author)

The representation of neutron polarization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Byrne, J.

1979-01-01

Neutron beam polarization representation is discussed under the headings; transfer matrices, coherent parity violation for neutrons, neutron spin rotation in helical magnetic fields, polarization and interference. (UK)

Head-coupled remote stereoscopic camera system for telepresence applications

Science.gov (United States)

Bolas, Mark T.; Fisher, Scott S.

1990-09-01

The Virtual Environment Workstation Project (VIEW) at NASA's Ames Research Center has developed a remotely controlled stereoscopic camera system that can be used for telepresence research and as a tool to develop and evaluate configurations for head-coupled visual systems associated with space station telerobots and remote manipulation robotic arms. The prototype camera system consists of two lightweight CCD video cameras mounted on a computer controlled platform that provides real-time pan, tilt, and roll control of the camera system in coordination with head position transmitted from the user. This paper provides an overall system description focused on the design and implementation of the camera and platform hardware configuration and the development of control software. Results of preliminary performance evaluations are reported with emphasis on engineering and mechanical design issues and discussion of related psychophysiological effects and objectives.

Inspiring students through an authentic polar science expedition: the RESEt Project

Science.gov (United States)

Cattadori, Matteo

2016-04-01

RESEt (Research and Education Svalbard Experience www.resetsvalbard.it) is an ongoing educational project focusing mainly on polar and climate system topics. It started in 2014 and will end in 2017 with the high school diploma of the 22 students (16 y. o.) making the participant class. This class attend a school (Liceo Filzi, Rovereto, Trento. Italy) with a primary focus on disciplines like philosophy and education, rather then STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). Nevertheless their science curricula include climate topics that are rather challenging to grasp and, at the same time, crucial for their scientific citizenship. Some questions arise: How to foster their interest in geosciences topics? How to engage them in authentic scientific knowledge? How to increase their interest in scientific university courses during their post-secondary career? RESEt project will attempt to answer these questions through the development of integrated activities distributed over the last three years of their high school cycle. The most important moment will be an educational scientific expedition at the Svalbard, an archipelago located in the Arctic. The expedition be entirely organized, planned, and directed by students. In Svalbard, students will visit the main scientific facilities devoted to climate studies including those of Italian CNR (National Research Council) and they will perform some environmental measurement using data-loggers. Students are even involved in the fundraising process to raise more than ten thousand Euros needed to for travel expenses. This work is aimed mainly at presenting some of the preliminary data collected during the RESEt project, including the fundraising aspects. The management of the RESEt project strongly relies on the experience and network gained by the abstract author during the participation to the Education and Public Outreach (EPO) program of International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2009 as well as the support of Polar

Conservation status of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in relation to projected sea-ice declines

Science.gov (United States)

Regehr, Eric V.; Laidre, Kristin L.; Akçakaya, H. Resit; Amstrup, Steven C.; Atwood, Todd C.; Lunn, Nicholas J.; Obbard, Martyn E.; Stern, Harry; Thiemann, Gregory W.; Wiig, Øystein

2016-01-01

Loss of Arctic sea ice owing to climate change is the primary threat to polar bears throughout their range. We evaluated the potential response of polar bears to sea-ice declines by (i) calculating generation length (GL) for the species, which determines the timeframe for conservation assessments; (ii) developing a standardized sea-ice metric representing important habitat; and (iii) using statistical models and computer simulation to project changes in the global population under three approaches relating polar bear abundance to sea ice. Mean GL was 11.5 years. Ice-covered days declined in all subpopulation areas during 1979–2014 (median −1.26 days year−1). The estimated probabilities that reductions in the mean global population size of polar bears will be greater than 30%, 50% and 80% over three generations (35–41 years) were 0.71 (range 0.20–0.95), 0.07 (range 0–0.35) and less than 0.01 (range 0–0.02), respectively. According to IUCN Red List reduction thresholds, which provide a common measure of extinction risk across taxa, these results are consistent with listing the species as vulnerable. Our findings support the potential for large declines in polar bear numbers owing to sea-ice loss, and highlight near-term uncertainty in statistical projections as well as the sensitivity of projections to different plausible assumptions.

Conservation status of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in relation to projected sea-ice declines.

Science.gov (United States)

Regehr, Eric V; Laidre, Kristin L; Akçakaya, H Resit; Amstrup, Steven C; Atwood, Todd C; Lunn, Nicholas J; Obbard, Martyn; Stern, Harry; Thiemann, Gregory W; Wiig, Øystein

2016-12-01

Loss of Arctic sea ice owing to climate change is the primary threat to polar bears throughout their range. We evaluated the potential response of polar bears to sea-ice declines by (i) calculating generation length (GL) for the species, which determines the timeframe for conservation assessments; (ii) developing a standardized sea-ice metric representing important habitat; and (iii) using statistical models and computer simulation to project changes in the global population under three approaches relating polar bear abundance to sea ice. Mean GL was 11.5 years. Ice-covered days declined in all subpopulation areas during 1979-2014 (median -1.26 days year -1 ). The estimated probabilities that reductions in the mean global population size of polar bears will be greater than 30%, 50% and 80% over three generations (35-41 years) were 0.71 (range 0.20-0.95), 0.07 (range 0-0.35) and less than 0.01 (range 0-0.02), respectively. According to IUCN Red List reduction thresholds, which provide a common measure of extinction risk across taxa, these results are consistent with listing the species as vulnerable. Our findings support the potential for large declines in polar bear numbers owing to sea-ice loss, and highlight near-term uncertainty in statistical projections as well as the sensitivity of projections to different plausible assumptions. © 2016 The Authors.

Advancement of thyroid surgery video recording: A comparison between two full HD head mounted video cameras.

Science.gov (United States)

Ortensi, Andrea; Panunzi, Andrea; Trombetta, Silvia; Cattaneo, Alberto; Sorrenti, Salvatore; D'Orazi, Valerio

2017-05-01

The aim of this study was to test two different video cameras and recording systems used in thyroid surgery in our Department. This is meant to be an attempt to record the real point of view of the magnified vision of surgeon, so as to make the viewer aware of the difference with the naked eye vision. In this retrospective study, we recorded and compared twenty thyroidectomies performed using loupes magnification and microsurgical technique: ten were recorded with GoPro ® 4 Session action cam (commercially available) and ten with our new prototype of head mounted video camera. Settings were selected before surgery for both cameras. The recording time is about from 1 to 2 h for GoPro ® and from 3 to 5 h for our prototype. The average time of preparation to fit the camera on the surgeon's head and set the functionality is about 5 min for GoPro ® and 7-8 min for the prototype, mostly due to HDMI wiring cable. Videos recorded with the prototype require no further editing, which is mandatory for videos recorded with GoPro ® to highlight the surgical details. the present study showed that our prototype of video camera, compared with GoPro ® 4 Session, guarantees best results in terms of surgical video recording quality, provides to the viewer the exact perspective of the microsurgeon and shows accurately his magnified view through the loupes in thyroid surgery. These recordings are surgical aids for teaching and education and might be a method of self-analysis of surgical technique. Copyright © 2017 IJS Publishing Group Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Oblique Projection Polarization Filtering-Based Interference Suppressions for Radar Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cao Bin

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The interferences coming from the radar members degrade the detection and recognition performance of the radar sensor networks (RSNs if the waveforms of the radar members are nonorthogonal. In this paper, we analyze the interferences by exploring the polarization information of the electromagnetic (EM waves. Then, we propose the oblique projection polarization filtering- (OPPF- based scheme to suppress the interferences while keeping the amplitude and phase of its own return in RSNs, even if the polarized states of the radar members are not orthogonal. We consider the cooperative RSNs environment where the polarization information of each radar member is known to all. The proposed method uses all radar members' polarization information to establish the corresponding filtering operator. The Doppler-shift and its uncertainty are independent of the polarization information, which contributes that the interferences can be suppressed without the utilization of the spatial, the temporal, the frequency, the time-delay and the Doppler-shift information. Theoretical analysis and the mathematical deduction show that the proposed scheme is a valid and simple implementation. Simulation results also demonstrate that this method can obtain a good filtering performance when dealing with the problem of interference suppressions for RSNs.

Measuring fluorescence polarization with a dichrometer.

Science.gov (United States)

Sutherland, John C

2017-09-01

A method for obtaining fluorescence polarization data from an instrument designed to measure circular and linear dichroism is compared with a previously reported approach. The new method places a polarizer between the sample and a detector mounted perpendicular to the direction of the incident beam and results in determination of the fluorescence polarization ratio, whereas the previous method does not use a polarizer and yields the fluorescence anisotropy. A similar analysis with the detector located axially with the excitation beam demonstrates that there is no frequency modulated signal due to fluorescence polarization in the absence of a polarizer. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Computation of Surface Laplacian for tri-polar ring electrodes on high-density realistic geometry head model.

Science.gov (United States)

Junwei Ma; Han Yuan; Sunderam, Sridhar; Besio, Walter; Lei Ding

2017-07-01

Neural activity inside the human brain generate electrical signals that can be detected on the scalp. Electroencephalograph (EEG) is one of the most widely utilized techniques helping physicians and researchers to diagnose and understand various brain diseases. Due to its nature, EEG signals have very high temporal resolution but poor spatial resolution. To achieve higher spatial resolution, a novel tri-polar concentric ring electrode (TCRE) has been developed to directly measure Surface Laplacian (SL). The objective of the present study is to accurately calculate SL for TCRE based on a realistic geometry head model. A locally dense mesh was proposed to represent the head surface, where the local dense parts were to match the small structural components in TCRE. Other areas without dense mesh were used for the purpose of reducing computational load. We conducted computer simulations to evaluate the performance of the proposed mesh and evaluated possible numerical errors as compared with a low-density model. Finally, with achieved accuracy, we presented the computed forward lead field of SL for TCRE for the first time in a realistic geometry head model and demonstrated that it has better spatial resolution than computed SL from classic EEG recordings.

The Polar Crust Project- BSC Diversity and Variability in the Arctic and Antarctica

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Laura; Borchhardt, Nadine; Komisc-Buchmann, Karin; Becker, Burkhard; Karsten, Ulf; Büdel, Burkhard

2015-04-01

The Polar Crust Project is a newly funded DFG initiative that aims to provide a precise evaluation of the biodiversity of eukaryotic green microalgae and cyanobacteria in Biological Soil Crusts (BSC) isolated from the Antarctic Peninsula and Arctic Svalbard. This project will include a thorough investigation into the composition of BSC in the Polar regions, this especially is important for Svalbard due to the severe lack of any previous research on such communities in this area. During our expedition to Spitsbergen, Svalbard in August 2014 we were particularly surprised to find that the coverage of BSC is extremely high and is certainly the dominant vegetation type around Ny Ålesund. Due to this discovery the project has now been extended to include long term measurements of CO2 gas exchange in order to gain exact seasonal carbon fixation rates and therefore discovering how the BSC contributes to the ecosystems carbon balance. The research areas of Spitsbergen were centred around 2 localities: Ny-Ålesund is a research town, home to the AWIPEV station, on the Brøgger peninsula. Longyearbyen, which is the largest settlement on the island, is found in the valley Longyeardalen on the shore of Adventfjorden. Areas where BSC is the prevalent vegetation type were identified, 6 around Ny-Ålesund and 4 for Longyearbyen, and vegetation surveys were conducted. This entailed 625 single point measurements at each site and identifying the crust/or other cover type. For example, green algal lichen, cyanobacterial crust, higher plant, open soil. Samples were also taken at every location in order to study the green algal and cyanobacterial diversity. The vegetation survey will allow us to get a good overview of the BSC composition at the different sites. In January 2015 an expedition to the Antarctic Peninsular took place, here the sampling method was repeated and therefore both Polar Regions BSC composition can be described and compared. Here, we wish to introduce the Polar

A head-mounted display-based personal integrated-image monitoring system for transurethral resection of the prostate.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoshida, Soichiro; Kihara, Kazunori; Takeshita, Hideki; Fujii, Yasuhisa

2014-12-01

The head-mounted display (HMD) is a new image monitoring system. We developed the Personal Integrated-image Monitoring System (PIM System) using the HMD (HMZ-T2, Sony Corporation, Tokyo, Japan) in combination with video splitters and multiplexers as a surgical guide system for transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). The imaging information obtained from the cystoscope, the transurethral ultrasonography (TRUS), the video camera attached to the HMD, and the patient's vital signs monitor were split and integrated by the PIM System and a composite image was displayed by the HMD using a four-split screen technique. Wearing the HMD, the lead surgeon and the assistant could simultaneously and continuously monitor the same information displayed by the HMD in an ergonomically efficient posture. Each participant could independently rearrange the images comprising the composite image depending on the engaging step. Two benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) patients underwent TURP performed by surgeons guided with this system. In both cases, the TURP procedure was successfully performed, and their postoperative clinical courses had no remarkable unfavorable events. During the procedure, none of the participants experienced any HMD-wear related adverse effects or reported any discomfort.

Do the radial head prosthesis components fit with the anatomical structures of the proximal radioulnar joint?

Science.gov (United States)

Wegmann, Kilian; Hain, Moritz K; Ries, Christian; Neiss, Wolfram F; Müller, Lars P; Burkhart, Klaus J

2015-09-01

The fitting accuracy of radial head components has been investigated in the capitulo-radial joint, and reduced contact after prosthetic replacement of the radial head has been observed. The kinematics of the proximal radioulnar joint (PRUJ) are affected by radial head arthroplasty as well, but have not yet been investigated in this regard. The elbow joints of 60 upper extremities of formalin-fixed body donors were disarticulated to obtain a good view of the PRUJ. Each specimen was mounted on the examining table and radial head position in the native PRUJ was assessed in neutral position, full pronation, and full supination. Measurements were repeated after implantation of mono- and bi-polar prostheses. Analysis of the distribution of the joint contacts in the compartments showed significant differences after radial head replacement. In comparison to the native joint, after bipolar and monopolar radial head replacement, the physiological shift of the proximal radius was altered. The physiological shift of the joint contact of the radial head from anterior to posterior during forearm rotation that was found in the native joint in our cadaver model was not observed after prosthetic replacement. With higher conformity and physiological kinematic of radial head prostheses, possibly lower shear forces and lower contact pressures would be generated. The tested radial head prostheses do not replicate the physiological kinematics of the radial head. Further development in the prosthesis design has to be made. The meticulous reconstruction of the annular ligament seems to be of importance to increase joint contact.

Effects of videogame distraction using a virtual reality type head-mounted display helmet on cold pressor pain in children.

Science.gov (United States)

Dahlquist, Lynnda M; Weiss, Karen E; Clendaniel, Lindsay Dillinger; Law, Emily F; Ackerman, Claire Sonntag; McKenna, Kristine D

2009-06-01

To test whether a head-mounted display helmet enhances the effectiveness of videogame distraction for children experiencing cold pressor pain. Forty-one children, aged 6-14 years, underwent one or two baseline cold pressor trials followed by two distraction trials in which they played the same videogame with and without the helmet in counterbalanced order. Pain threshold (elapsed time until the child reported pain) and pain tolerance (total time the child kept the hand submerged in the cold water) were measured for each cold pressor trial. Both distraction conditions resulted in improved pain tolerance relative to baseline. Older children appeared to experience additional benefits from using the helmet, whereas younger children benefited equally from both conditions. The findings suggest that virtual reality technology can enhance the effects of distraction for some children. Research is needed to identify the characteristics of children for whom this technology is best suited.

The fibular head projection is of limited use as a radiographic landmark in preoperative planning of total knee arthroplasty

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matziolis, Doerte; Meiser, Marius; Matziolis, Georg [University Hospital Jena, Orthopedic Department, Eisenberg (Germany); Sieber, Norbert [Radiology Practice Eisenberg, Eisenberg (Germany); Teichgraeber, Ulf [University Hospital Jena, Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Eisenberg (Germany)

2017-10-15

The projection of the fibular head is recommended as a quality indicator of a correct radiographic projection. However, this landmark has yet to be sufficiently validated. The MRIs of 334 knee joints were included. On the MRIs, the distance between the FH and lateral tibial cortical bone was simulated in projections parallel to surgically relevant axes. Then, the Pearson correlation coefficient between the distance of the FH to the lateral tibial cortical bone and the projection plane causing this was determined. A projection of the knee joint perpendicular to Akagi's line projected the center of the fibular head on average 4.8 ± 2.9 mm laterally of the tibial cortical bone, parallel to the maximum mediolateral axis of the tibia 7.5 ± 3.4 mm, parallel to the posterior condylar axis 5.6 ± 3.6 mm and parallel to the surgical epicondylar axis 6.1 ± 3.5 mm laterally of the tibial cortical bone. An almost linear correlation was seen, with 1.9 tilting of the projection plane per mm change in distance between the fibular head and tibial cortical bone. At the same time, the interindividual scatter was over 60 . The rule of thumb for a partial overlap of the fibular head by the tibia in the case of a correct antero-posterior projection plane was also confirmed. However, a considerable interindividual variability of the position of the FH was found, which limits a conclusion regarding the quality of the radiographic projection on the basis of the position of the fibular head. (orig.)

GyroVR: Simulating Inertia in Virtual Reality using Head Worn Flywheels

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gugenheimer, Jan; Wolf, Dennis; Eiríksson, Eyþór Rúnar

2016-01-01

We present GyroVR, head worn flywheels designed to render inertia in Virtual Reality (VR. Motions such as flying, diving or floating in outer space generate kinesthetic forces onto our body which impede movement and are currently not represented in VR. We simulate those kinesthetic forces...... by attaching flywheels to the users head, leveraging the gyroscopic effect of resistance when changing the spinning axis of rotation. GyroVR is an ungrounded, wireless and self contained device allowing the user to freely move inside the virtual environment. The generic shape allows to attach it to different...... positions on the users body. We evaluated the impact of GyroVR onto different mounting positions on the head (back and front) in terms of immersion, enjoyment and simulator sickness. Our results show, that attaching GyroVR onto the users head (front of the Head Mounted Display (HMD)) resulted in the highest...

A comparison of head-mounted and hand-held displays for 360° videos with focus on attitude and behavior change

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fonseca, Diana; Kraus, Martin

2016-01-01

The present study is designed to test how immersion, presence, and narrative content (with a focus on emotional immersion) can affect one's pro-environmental attitude and behavior with specific interest in 360° videos and meat consumption as a non pro-environmental behavior. This research describes...... a between-group design experiment that compares two systems with different levels of immersion and two types of narratives, one with and one without emotional content. In the immersive video (IV) condition (high immersion), 21 participants used a Head-Mounted Display (HMD) to watch an emotional 360° video...... about meat consumption and its effects on the environment; another 21 participants experienced the tablet condition (low immersion) where they viewed the same video but with a 10.1 inch tablet; 22 participants in the control condition viewed a non emotional video about submarines with an HMD...

Using wintergreen oil for mounting mosquito larvae: a safer alternative to xylene.

Science.gov (United States)

Koay, J B; Natasya, N N; Nashithatul, Mag; Ihsanuddin, R; Salleh, F M; Azil, A H

2016-01-01

Permanent mounting of fourth instar mosquito larvae is essential for identifying Aedes spp. This procedure requires extensive exposure to xylene, a clearing agent in the mounting process. We investigated wintergreen oil as a substitute for xylene. Five hundred larvae were mounted on slides to evaluate shrinkage or expansion of specimens after clearing using xylene or wintergreen oil. We examined the ventral brush and siphonal hair tufts for species identification and for preservation of morphological characteristics after clearing specimens in xylene or wintergreen oil. Shrinkage of the length of whole larvae and width of the head, thorax and abdomen after mounting was significantly greater after clearing with xylene than with wintergreen oil. The length of the comb scale nearest the ventral brush was similar for both clearing agents. The clarity of the specimens after mounting was improved by clearing with wintergreen oil, but the integrity of the ventral brush and siphonal hair tufts were similar for both clearing agents.

POLAR on board of the Tiangong 2 Chinese space station: measuring the polarization of hard X-rays photons, in particular the polarization of prompt photons from gamma ray bursts.

Science.gov (United States)

Produit, Nicolas

2012-07-01

POLAR is an homogeneous wide field Compton polarimeter using plastic scintillators and multichannel photomultipliers. The goal of this polarimeter is to measure with controlled systematics the polarization of hard X-ray emitted by unpredictable transient sources The instrument energy range sensitivity is optimized for the detection of the prompt emission of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRB). Monte-Carlo studies and calibration data collected in polarized photon beams predict that POLAR will be able to measure the polarization degree of 10 GRB per year with a combined systematics and statistical accuracy of better then 10%. POLAR will be mounted outside of the Tiangong 2 Chinese space station that will be launched in space in 2014.

IPRT polarized radiative transfer model intercomparison project - Three-dimensional test cases (phase B)

Science.gov (United States)

Emde, Claudia; Barlakas, Vasileios; Cornet, Céline; Evans, Frank; Wang, Zhen; Labonotte, Laurent C.; Macke, Andreas; Mayer, Bernhard; Wendisch, Manfred

2018-04-01

Initially unpolarized solar radiation becomes polarized by scattering in the Earth's atmosphere. In particular molecular scattering (Rayleigh scattering) polarizes electromagnetic radiation, but also scattering of radiation at aerosols, cloud droplets (Mie scattering) and ice crystals polarizes. Each atmospheric constituent produces a characteristic polarization signal, thus spectro-polarimetric measurements are frequently employed for remote sensing of aerosol and cloud properties. Retrieval algorithms require efficient radiative transfer models. Usually, these apply the plane-parallel approximation (PPA), assuming that the atmosphere consists of horizontally homogeneous layers. This allows to solve the vector radiative transfer equation (VRTE) efficiently. For remote sensing applications, the radiance is considered constant over the instantaneous field-of-view of the instrument and each sensor element is treated independently in plane-parallel approximation, neglecting horizontal radiation transport between adjacent pixels (Independent Pixel Approximation, IPA). In order to estimate the errors due to the IPA approximation, three-dimensional (3D) vector radiative transfer models are required. So far, only a few such models exist. Therefore, the International Polarized Radiative Transfer (IPRT) working group of the International Radiation Commission (IRC) has initiated a model intercomparison project in order to provide benchmark results for polarized radiative transfer. The group has already performed an intercomparison for one-dimensional (1D) multi-layer test cases [phase A, 1]. This paper presents the continuation of the intercomparison project (phase B) for 2D and 3D test cases: a step cloud, a cubic cloud, and a more realistic scenario including a 3D cloud field generated by a Large Eddy Simulation (LES) model and typical background aerosols. The commonly established benchmark results for 3D polarized radiative transfer are available at the IPRT website (http

Effects of Videogame Distraction using a Virtual Reality Type Head-Mounted Display Helmet on Cold Pressor Pain in Children

Science.gov (United States)

Weiss, Karen E.; Dillinger Clendaniel, Lindsay; Law, Emily F.; Ackerman, Claire Sonntag; McKenna, Kristine D.

2009-01-01

Objective To test whether a head-mounted display helmet enhances the effectiveness of videogame distraction for children experiencing cold pressor pain. Method Forty-one children, aged 6–14 years, underwent one or two baseline cold pressor trials followed by two distraction trials in which they played the same videogame with and without the helmet in counterbalanced order. Pain threshold (elapsed time until the child reported pain) and pain tolerance (total time the child kept the hand submerged in the cold water) were measured for each cold pressor trial. Results Both distraction conditions resulted in improved pain tolerance relative to baseline. Older children appeared to experience additional benefits from using the helmet, whereas younger children benefited equally from both conditions. The findings suggest that virtual reality technology can enhance the effects of distraction for some children. Research is needed to identify the characteristics of children for whom this technology is best suited. PMID:18367495

76 FR 2370 - Mount Storm Hydro, LLC; Notice of Preliminary Permit Application Accepted for Filing and...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-13

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Project No. 13863-000] Mount Storm..., Motions To Intervene, and Competing Applications January 6, 2011. On October 14, 2010, Mount Storm Hydro... (FPA), proposing to study the feasibility of the Mount Storm Pumped Storage Project to be located near...

An elliptically-polarizing undulator with phase adjustable energy and polarization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lidia, S.

1993-08-01

The authors present a planar helical undulator designed to produce elliptically polarized light. Helical magnetic fields may be produced by a variety of undulators with four parallel cassettes of magnets. In their design, all cassettes are mounted in two planes on slides so that they may be moved parallel to the electron beam. This allows the undulator to produce x-rays of left- or right-handed elliptical or circular polarization as well as horizontal or vertical linear polarization. In model calculations, they have found that by sliding the top pair of rows with respect to the bottom pair, or the left pair with respect to the right pair, they retain the polarization setting but change the magnetic field strength, and hence the x-ray energy. This allows them to select both energy and polarization by independent phase adjustments alone, without changing the gap between the rows. Such a design may be simpler to construct than an adjustable gap machine. The authors present calculations that model its operation and its effects on an electron beam

75 FR 61479 - Kendall Head Tidal Energy Project; Notice of Preliminary Permit Application Accepted for Filing...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-05

... Tidal Energy Project; Notice of Preliminary Permit Application Accepted for Filing and Soliciting... Federal Power Act, proposing to study the feasibility of the Kendall Head Tidal Energy Project, located in.... The proposed project would consist of: (1) 4 OCGen\\TM\\ hydrokinetic tidal devices each consisting of...

Quantifying Microbe-Mineral Interactions Leading to Remotely Detectable Induced Polarization Signals (Final Project Report)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moysey, Stephen [Clemson University; Dean, Delphine [Clemson University; Dimitrios, Ntarlagiannis [Rutgers University

2013-11-13

The objective of this project was to investigate controls on induced polarization responses in porous media. The approach taken in the project was to compare electrical measurements made on mineral surfaces with atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques to observations made at the column-scale using traditional spectral induced polarization measurements. In the project we evaluated a number of techniques for investigating the surface properties of materials, including the development of a new AFM measurement protocol that utilizes an external electric field to induce grain-scale polarizations that can be probed using a charged AFM tip. The experiments we performed focused on idealized systems (i.e., glass beads and silica gel) where we could obtain the high degree of control needed to understand how changes in the pore environment, which are determined by biogeochemical controls in the subsurface, affect mechanisms contributing to complex electrical conductivity, i.e., conduction and polarization, responses. The studies we performed can be classified into those affecting the chemical versus physical properties of the grain surface and pore space. Chemical alterations of the surface focused on evaluating how changes in pore fluid pH and ionic composition control surface conduction. These were performed as column flow through experiments where the pore fluid was exchanged in a column of silica gel. Given that silica gel has a high surface area due to internal grain porosity, high-quality data could be obtained where the chemical influences on the surface are clearly apparent and qualitatively consistent with theories of grain (i.e., Stern layer) polarization controlled by electrostatic surface sorption processes (i.e., triple layer theory). Quantitative fitting of the results by existing process-based polarization models (e.g., Leroy et al., 2008) has been less successful, however, due to what we have attributed to differences between existing models developed for

Research on generating various polarization-modes in polarized illumination system

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Jinping; Lin, Wumei; Fan, Zhenjie

2013-08-01

With the increase of the numerical aperture (NA), the polarization of light affects the imaging quality of projection lens more significantly. On the contrary, according to the mask pattern, the resolution of projection lens can be improved by using the polarized illumination. That is to say, using the corresponding polarized beam (or polarization-mode) along with the off-axis illumination will improve the resolution and the imaging quality of the of projection lens. Therefore, the research on the generation of various polarization modes and its conversion methods become more and more important. In order to realize various polarization modes in polarized illumination system, after read a lot of references, we provide a way that fitting for the illumination system with the wavelength of 193nm.Six polarization-modes and a depolarized mode are probably considered. Wave-plate stack is used to generate linearly polarization-mode, which have a higher degree polarization. In order to generate X-Y and Y-X polarization mode, the equipment consisting of four sectors of λ/2 wave plate was used. We combined 16 sectors of λ/2 wave plate which have different orientations of the "slow" axis to generate radial and azimuthal polarization. Finally, a multi-polarization control device was designed. Using the kind of multi-polarization control device which applying this method could help to choose the polarization modes conveniently and flexibility for the illumination system.

Web-based Tools for Educators: Outreach Activities of the Polar Radar for Ice Sheet Measurements (PRISM) Project

Science.gov (United States)

Braaten, D. A.; Holvoet, J. F.; Gogineni, S.

2003-12-01

The Radar Systems and Remote Sensing Laboratory at the University of Kansas (KU) has implemented extensive outreach activities focusing on Polar Regions as part of the Polar Radar for Ice Sheet Measurements (PRISM) project. The PRISM project is developing advanced intelligent remote sensing technology that involves radar systems, an autonomous rover, and communications systems to measure detailed ice sheet characteristics, and to determine bed conditions (frozen or wet) below active ice sheets in both Greenland and Antarctica. These measurements will provide a better understanding of the response of polar ice sheets to global climate change and the resulting impact the ice sheets will have on sea level rise. Many of the research and technological development aspects of the PRISM project, such as robotics, radar systems, climate change and exploration of harsh environments, can kindle an excitement and interest in students about science and technology. These topics form the core of our K-12 education and training outreach initiatives, which are designed to capture the imagination of young students, and prompt them to consider an educational path that will lead them to scientific or engineering careers. The K-12 PRISM outreach initiatives are being developed and implemented in a collaboration with the Advanced Learning Technology Program (ALTec) of the High Plains Regional Technology in Education Consortium (HPR*TEC). ALTec is associated with the KU School of Education, and is a well-established educational research center that develops and hosts web tools to enable teachers nationwide to network, collaborate, and share resources with other teachers. An example of an innovative and successful web interface developed by ALTec is called TrackStar. Teachers can use TrackStar over the Web to develop interactive, resource-based lessons (called tracks) on-line for their students. Once developed, tracks are added to the TrackStar database and can be accessed and modified

Tourism-Related Impacts on Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania: Implications for Tourism Management on Mountain Ecosystems

OpenAIRE

James WAKIBARA; Kimaro NDESARI; Nyamakumbati MAFURU

2009-01-01

Waste disposal, trail erosion, water contamination and porter head loads were investigated on Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, from 2003-2005. Generated waste was identified and quantified, trail erosion measured, water sources examined for colifom contamination and head loads for Porters re-weighed against official limits. Waste on trails comprised mainly of fluffy items. Trail erosion was directly related to hiking pressure whereas water was contaminated mainly at lower elevation. Porters remov...

Results of the first continuous meteor head echo survey at polar latitudes

Science.gov (United States)

Schult, Carsten; Stober, Gunter; Janches, Diego; Chau, Jorge L.

2017-11-01

We present the first quasi continuous meteor head echo measurements obtained during a period of over two years using the Middle Atmosphere ALOMAR Radar System (MAARSY). The measurements yield information on the altitude, trajectory, vector velocity, radar cross section, deceleration and dynamical mass of every single event. The large statistical amount of nearly one million meteor head detections provide an excellent overview of the elevation, altitude, velocity and daily count rate distributions during different times of the year at polar latitudes. Only 40% of the meteors were detected within the full width half maximum of the specific sporadic meteor sources. Our observation of the sporadic meteors are compared to the observations with other radar systems and a meteor input function (MIF). The best way to compare different radar systems is by comparing the radar cross section (RCS), which is the main detection criterion for each system. In this study we aim to compare our observations with a MIF, which provides information only about the meteoroid mass. Thus, we are using a statistical approach for the elevation and velocity dependent visibility and a specific mass selection. The predicted absolute count rates from the MIF are in a good agreement with the observation when it is assumed that the radar system is only sensitive to meteoroids with masses higher than one microgram. The analysis of the dynamic masses seems to be consistent with this assumption since the count rate of events with smaller masses are low and decrease even more by using events with relatively small errors.

Imaging Local Polarization in Ferroelectric Thin Films by Coherent X-Ray Bragg Projection Ptychography

Science.gov (United States)

Hruszkewycz, S. O.; Highland, M. J.; Holt, M. V.; Kim, Dongjin; Folkman, C. M.; Thompson, Carol; Tripathi, A.; Stephenson, G. B.; Hong, Seungbum; Fuoss, P. H.

2013-04-01

We used x-ray Bragg projection ptychography (BPP) to map spatial variations of ferroelectric polarization in thin film PbTiO3, which exhibited a striped nanoscale domain pattern on a high-miscut (001) SrTiO3 substrate. By converting the reconstructed BPP phase image to picometer-scale ionic displacements in the polar unit cell, a quantitative polarization map was made that was consistent with other characterization. The spatial resolution of 5.7 nm demonstrated here establishes BPP as an important tool for nanoscale ferroelectric domain imaging, especially in complex environments accessible with hard x rays.

Note: 4-bounce neutron polarizer for reflectometry applications

Science.gov (United States)

Nagy, B.; Merkel, D. G.; Jakab, L.; Füzi, J.; Veres, T.; Bottyán, L.

2018-05-01

A neutron polarizer using four successive reflections on m = 2.5 supermirrors was built and installed at the GINA neutron reflectometer at the Budapest Neutron Centre. This simple setup exhibits 99.6% polarizing efficiency with 80% transmitted intensity of the selected polarization state. Due to the geometry, the higher harmonics in the incident beam are filtered out, while the optical axis of the beam remains intact for easy mounting and dismounting the device in an existing experimental setup.

Diamond-coated probe head for measurements in the deep SOL and beyond

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schrittwieser, R.; Xu, G. S.; Yan, Ning

We have tested two cylindrical graphite probe heads coated by a layer of electrically isolating UNCD (Ultra Nano-Crystalline Diamond) using a CVD (Chemical Vapour Deposition) method. The probe heads were mounted on the reciprocating probe manipulator of the Experimental Advanced Superconducting T...

A Versatile Mounting Method for Long Term Imaging of Zebrafish Development.

Science.gov (United States)

Hirsinger, Estelle; Steventon, Ben

2017-01-26

Zebrafish embryos offer an ideal experimental system to study complex morphogenetic processes due to their ease of accessibility and optical transparency. In particular, posterior body elongation is an essential process in embryonic development by which multiple tissue deformations act together to direct the formation of a large part of the body axis. In order to observe this process by long-term time-lapse imaging it is necessary to utilize a mounting technique that allows sufficient support to maintain samples in the correct orientation during transfer to the microscope and acquisition. In addition, the mounting must also provide sufficient freedom of movement for the outgrowth of the posterior body region without affecting its normal development. Finally, there must be a certain degree in versatility of the mounting method to allow imaging on diverse imaging set-ups. Here, we present a mounting technique for imaging the development of posterior body elongation in the zebrafish D. rerio. This technique involves mounting embryos such that the head and yolk sac regions are almost entirely included in agarose, while leaving out the posterior body region to elongate and develop normally. We will show how this can be adapted for upright, inverted and vertical light-sheet microscopy set-ups. While this protocol focuses on mounting embryos for imaging for the posterior body, it could easily be adapted for the live imaging of multiple aspects of zebrafish development.

Discontinuity minimization for omnidirectional video projections

Science.gov (United States)

Alshina, Elena; Zakharchenko, Vladyslav

2017-09-01

Advances in display technologies both for head mounted devices and television panels demand resolution increase beyond 4K for source signal in virtual reality video streaming applications. This poses a problem of content delivery trough a bandwidth limited distribution networks. Considering a fact that source signal covers entire surrounding space investigation reviled that compression efficiency may fluctuate 40% in average depending on origin selection at the conversion stage from 3D space to 2D projection. Based on these knowledge the origin selection algorithm for video compression applications has been proposed. Using discontinuity entropy minimization function projection origin rotation may be defined to provide optimal compression results. Outcome of this research may be applied across various video compression solutions for omnidirectional content.

Project plan for joint FAA/NASA head-up display concept evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Haines, R. F.

1978-01-01

Head-Up Display (HUD) concept for large commercial turbojet transport aircraft is considered for the its contribution to aviation safety in the form of improved performance during the approach and landing phase flight. The basic reearch areas represent fundamental questions that are still unresolved and which were considered important to the effective use of the HUD by pilots. Project documentation and management responsibilities are outlined.

Chronic monitoring of cortical hemodynamics in behaving, freely-moving rats using a miniaturized head-mounted optical microscope

Science.gov (United States)

Sigal, Iliya; Gad, Raanan; Koletar, Margaret; Ringuette, Dene; Stefanovic, Bojana; Levi, Ofer

2016-03-01

Growing interest within the neurophysiology community in assessing healthy and pathological brain activity in animals that are awake and freely-behaving has triggered the need for optical systems that are suitable for such longitudinal studies. In this work we report label-free multi-modal imaging of cortical hemodynamics in the somatosensory cortex of awake, freely-behaving rats, using a novel head-mounted miniature optical microscope. The microscope employs vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) at three distinct wavelengths (680 nm, 795 nm, and 850 nm) to provide measurements of four hemodynamic markers: blood flow speeds, HbO, HbR, and total Hb concentration, across a > 2 mm field of view. Blood flow speeds are extracted using Laser Speckle Contrast Imaging (LSCI), while oxygenation measurements are performed using Intrinsic Optical Signal Imaging (IOSI). Longitudinal measurements on the same animal are made possible over the course of > 6 weeks using a chronic window that is surgically implanted into the skull. We use the device to examine changes in blood flow and blood oxygenation in superficial cortical blood vessels and tissue in response to drug-induced absence-like seizures, correlating motor behavior with changes in blood flow and blood oxygenation in the brain.

Effects of videogame distraction and a virtual reality type head-mounted display helmet on cold pressor pain in young elementary school-aged children.

Science.gov (United States)

Dahlquist, Lynnda M; Weiss, Karen E; Law, Emily F; Sil, Soumitri; Herbert, Linda Jones; Horn, Susan Berrin; Wohlheiter, Karen; Ackerman, Claire Sonntag

2010-07-01

This study examined the effects of videogame distraction and a virtual reality (VR) type head-mounted display helmet for children undergoing cold pressor pain. Fifty children between the ages of 6 and 10 years underwent a baseline cold pressor trial followed by two cold pressor trials in which interactive videogame distraction was delivered via a VR helmet or without a VR helmet in counterbalanced order. As expected, children demonstrated significant improvements in pain threshold and pain tolerance during both distraction conditions. However, the two distraction conditions did not differ in effectiveness. Using the VR helmet did not result in improved pain tolerance over and above the effects of interactive videogame distraction without VR technology. Clinical implications and possible developmental differences in elementary school-aged children's ability to use VR technology are discussed.

Polarizing beam-splitter device at a pulsed neutron source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Itoh, Shinichi; Takeda, Masayasu.

1996-01-01

A polarizing beam-splitter device was designed using Fe/Si supermirrors in order to obtain two polarized neutron beam lines, from one unpolarized neutron beam line, with a practical beam size for investigating the properties of condensed matter. This device was mounted after a guide tube at a pulsed neutron source, and its performance was investigated. (author)

What are Head Cavities? - A History of Studies on Vertebrate Head Segmentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuratani, Shigeru; Adachi, Noritaka

2016-06-01

Motivated by the discovery of segmental epithelial coeloms, or "head cavities," in elasmobranch embryos toward the end of the 19th century, the debate over the presence of mesodermal segments in the vertebrate head became a central problem in comparative embryology. The classical segmental view assumed only one type of metamerism in the vertebrate head, in which each metamere was thought to contain one head somite and one pharyngeal arch, innervated by a set of cranial nerves serially homologous to dorsal and ventral roots of spinal nerves. The non-segmental view, on the other hand, rejected the somite-like properties of head cavities. A series of small mesodermal cysts in early Torpedo embryos, which were thought to represent true somite homologs, provided a third possible view on the nature of the vertebrate head. Recent molecular developmental data have shed new light on the vertebrate head problem, explaining that head mesoderm evolved, not by the modification of rostral somites of an amphioxus-like ancestor, but through the polarization of unspecified paraxial mesoderm into head mesoderm anteriorly and trunk somites posteriorly.

PV module mounting method and mounting assembly

Science.gov (United States)

Lenox, Carl J.S.; Johnson, Kurt M.

2013-04-23

A method for mounting PV modules to a deck includes selecting PV module layout pattern so that adjacent PV module edges are spaced apart. PV mounting and support assemblies are secured to the deck according to the layout pattern using fasteners extending into the deck. The PV modules are placed on the PV mounting and support assemblies. Retaining elements are located over and secured against the upper peripheral edge surfaces of the PV modules so to secure them to the deck with the peripheral edges of the PV modules spaced apart from the deck. In some examples a PV module mounting assembly, for use on a shingled deck, comprises flashing, a base mountable on the flashing, a deck-penetrating fastener engageable with the base and securable to the deck so to secure the flashing and the base to the shingled deck, and PV module mounting hardware securable to the base.

Multiple-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization for Multi-Head Beam-Type Surface Mounting Machines

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Torabi, S.A.; Hamedi, M.; Ashayeri, J.

2010-01-01

The growing demand for electronic devices has made the manufacturing of printed circuit boards (PCBs) a promising industry over the last decades. As the demand for printed circuit boards increases, the industry becomes more dependent on highly automated assembly processes using Surface Mounting

Ground mounted photovoltaic installations. Guide for an impact study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

Legally, an impact study must be performed for ground mounted photovoltaic installations with a power greater than 250 kW. This guide is aimed at helping the actors of the photovoltaic sector to perform impact studies. After the description of the characteristics of a photovoltaic installation (principles, technical characteristics of a ground mounted installation, impact of photovoltaic systems on climate) and a presentation of the legal framework (European commitments, Grenelle de l'Environnement, applicable procedures), this report present the objectives and approach of an impact study, describes how the environment is taken into account from the early stages of a project, how the impact study is to be prepared. The last part describes the different components of the impact study: legal content, project description, analysis of the site initial status and environment, analysis of the project effects, rationale for the choice of the project

Driving with head-slaved camera system

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oving, A.B.; Erp, J.B.F. van

2001-01-01

In a field experiment, we tested the effectiveness of a head-slaved camera system for driving an armoured vehicle under armour. This system consists of a helmet-mounted display (HMD), a headtracker, and a motion platform with two cameras. Subjects performed several driving tasks on paved and in

Assessing balance through the use of a low-cost head-mounted display in older adults: a pilot study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saldana SJ

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Santiago J Saldana,1 Anthony P Marsh,2 W Jack Rejeski,2 Jack K Haberl,2 Peggy Wu,3 Scott Rosenthal,4 Edward H Ip1 1Department of Biostatistical Sciences, Wake Forest School of Medicine, 2Department of Health and Exercise Science, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, 3Research and Development, Smart Information Flow Technologies, Minneapolis, MN, 4Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA Introduction: As the population ages, the prevention of falls is an increasingly important public health problem. Balance assessment forms an important component of fall-prevention programs for older adults. The recent development of cost-effective and highly responsive virtual reality (VR systems means new methods of balance assessment are feasible in a clinical setting. This proof-of-concept study made use of the submillimeter tracking built into modern VR head-mounted displays (VRHMDs to assess balance through the use of visual–vestibular conflict. The objective of this study was to evaluate the validity, acceptability, and reliability of using a VRHMD to assess balance in older adults.Materials and methods: Validity was assessed by comparing measurements from the VRHMD to measurements of postural sway from a force plate. Acceptability was assessed through the use of the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire pre- and postexposure to assess possible side effects of the visual–vestibular conflict. Reliability was assessed by measuring correlations between repeated measurements 1 week apart. Variables of possible importance that were found to be reliable (r≥0.9 between tests separated by a week were then tested for differences compared to a control group. Assessment was performed as a cross-sectional single-site community center-based study in 13 older adults (≥65 years old, 80.2±7.3 years old, 77% female, five at risk of falls, eight controls. The VR balance assessment consisted of four modules: a baseline module, a reaction module, a

SU-G-BRB-12: Polarity Effects in Small Volume Ionization Chambers in Small Fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arora, V; Parsai, E; Mathew, D; Tanny, S; Sperling, N

2016-01-01

Purpose: Dosimetric quantities such as the polarity correction factor (Ppol) are important parameters for determining the absorbed dose and can influence the choice of dosimeter. Ppol has been shown to depend on beam energy, chamber design, and field size. This study is to investigate the field size and detector orientation dependence of Ppol in small fields for several commercially available micro-chambers. Methods: We evaluate the Exradin A26, Exradin A16, PTW 31014, PTW 31016, and two prototype IBA CC-01 micro-chambers in both horizontal and vertical orientations. Measurements were taken at 10cm depth and 100cm SSD in a Wellhofer BluePhantom2. Measurements were made at square fields of 0.6, 0.8, 1.0, 1.2, 1.4, 2.0, 2.4, 3.0, and 5.0 cm on each side using 6MV with both ± 300VDC biases. PPol was evaluated as described in TG-51, reported using −300VDC bias for Mraw. Ratios of PPol measured in the clinical field to the reference field are presented. Results: A field size dependence of Ppol was observed for all chambers, with increased variations when mounted vertically. The maximum variation observed in PPol over all chambers mounted horizontally was <1%, and occurred at different field sizes for different chambers. Vertically mounted chambers demonstrated variations as large as 3.2%, always at the smallest field sizes. Conclusion: Large variations in Ppol were observed for vertically mounted chambers compared to horizontal mountings. Horizontal mountings demonstrated a complicated relationship between polarity variation and field size, probably relating to differing details in each chambers construction. Vertically mounted chambers consistently demonstrated the largest PPol variations for the smallest field sizes. Measurements obtained with a horizontal mounting appear to not need significant polarity corrections for relative measurements, while those obtained using a vertical mounting should be corrected for variations in PPol.

SU-G-BRB-12: Polarity Effects in Small Volume Ionization Chambers in Small Fields

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arora, V; Parsai, E [University of Toledo Medical Center, Toledo, OH (United States); Mathew, D [University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States); Tanny, S [SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse NY (United States); Sperling, N [University of Toledo Medical Center, Sylvania, OH (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: Dosimetric quantities such as the polarity correction factor (Ppol) are important parameters for determining the absorbed dose and can influence the choice of dosimeter. Ppol has been shown to depend on beam energy, chamber design, and field size. This study is to investigate the field size and detector orientation dependence of Ppol in small fields for several commercially available micro-chambers. Methods: We evaluate the Exradin A26, Exradin A16, PTW 31014, PTW 31016, and two prototype IBA CC-01 micro-chambers in both horizontal and vertical orientations. Measurements were taken at 10cm depth and 100cm SSD in a Wellhofer BluePhantom2. Measurements were made at square fields of 0.6, 0.8, 1.0, 1.2, 1.4, 2.0, 2.4, 3.0, and 5.0 cm on each side using 6MV with both ± 300VDC biases. PPol was evaluated as described in TG-51, reported using −300VDC bias for Mraw. Ratios of PPol measured in the clinical field to the reference field are presented. Results: A field size dependence of Ppol was observed for all chambers, with increased variations when mounted vertically. The maximum variation observed in PPol over all chambers mounted horizontally was <1%, and occurred at different field sizes for different chambers. Vertically mounted chambers demonstrated variations as large as 3.2%, always at the smallest field sizes. Conclusion: Large variations in Ppol were observed for vertically mounted chambers compared to horizontal mountings. Horizontal mountings demonstrated a complicated relationship between polarity variation and field size, probably relating to differing details in each chambers construction. Vertically mounted chambers consistently demonstrated the largest PPol variations for the smallest field sizes. Measurements obtained with a horizontal mounting appear to not need significant polarity corrections for relative measurements, while those obtained using a vertical mounting should be corrected for variations in PPol.

Local Polar Fluctuations in Lead Halide Perovskite Crystals

Science.gov (United States)

Yaffe, Omer; Guo, Yinsheng; Tan, Liang Z.; Egger, David A.; Hull, Trevor; Stoumpos, Constantinos C.; Zheng, Fan; Heinz, Tony F.; Kronik, Leeor; Kanatzidis, Mercouri G.; Owen, Jonathan S.; Rappe, Andrew M.; Pimenta, Marcos A.; Brus, Louis E.

2017-03-01

Hybrid lead-halide perovskites have emerged as an excellent class of photovoltaic materials. Recent reports suggest that the organic molecular cation is responsible for local polar fluctuations that inhibit carrier recombination. We combine low-frequency Raman scattering with first-principles molecular dynamics (MD) to study the fundamental nature of these local polar fluctuations. Our observations of a strong central peak in the cubic phase of both hybrid (CH3 NH3 PbBr3 ) and all-inorganic (CsPbBr3 ) lead-halide perovskites show that anharmonic, local polar fluctuations are intrinsic to the general lead-halide perovskite structure, and not unique to the dipolar organic cation. MD simulations indicate that head-to-head Cs motion coupled to Br face expansion, occurring on a few hundred femtosecond time scale, drives the local polar fluctuations in CsPbBr3 .

Rollin' in Style!: Students Design Bike Mounted Skateboard Racks

Science.gov (United States)

Massey, Rick

2008-01-01

Recognizing the increasing popularity of skateboarding, the author has found a project that teaches design and manufacturing concepts--and, of equal importance, really gets his students motivated. He challenges them to design and build a skateboard rack that mounts easily on a bicycle. The project benefits students by teaching creativity, the…

A Portable Shoulder-Mounted Camera System for Surgical Education in Spine Surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Pham, Martin H; Ohiorhenuan, Ifije E; Patel, Neil N; Jakoi, Andre M; Hsieh, Patrick C; Acosta, Frank L; Wang, Jeffrey C; Liu, John C

2017-02-07

The past several years have demonstrated an increased recognition of operative videos as an important adjunct for resident education. Currently lacking, however, are effective methods to record video for the purposes of illustrating the techniques of minimally invasive (MIS) and complex spine surgery. We describe here our experiences developing and using a shoulder-mounted camera system for recording surgical video. Our requirements for an effective camera system included wireless portability to allow for movement around the operating room, camera mount location for comfort and loupes/headlight usage, battery life for long operative days, and sterile control of on/off recording. With this in mind, we created a shoulder-mounted camera system utilizing a GoPro™ HERO3+, its Smart Remote (GoPro, Inc., San Mateo, California), a high-capacity external battery pack, and a commercially available shoulder-mount harness. This shoulder-mounted system was more comfortable to wear for long periods of time in comparison to existing head-mounted and loupe-mounted systems. Without requiring any wired connections, the surgeon was free to move around the room as needed. Over the past several years, we have recorded numerous MIS and complex spine surgeries for the purposes of surgical video creation for resident education. Surgical videos serve as a platform to distribute important operative nuances in rich multimedia. Effective and practical camera system setups are needed to encourage the continued creation of videos to illustrate the surgical maneuvers in minimally invasive and complex spinal surgery. We describe here a novel portable shoulder-mounted camera system setup specifically designed to be worn and used for long periods of time in the operating room.

Head First PMP A Brain-Friendly Guide to Passing the Project Management Professional Exam

CERN Document Server

Greene, Jennifer

2009-01-01

Learn the latest principles and certification objectives in The PMBOK Guide, Fourth Edition, in a unique and inspiring way with Head First PMP . The second edition of this book helps you prepare for the PMP certification exam using a visually rich format designed for the way your brain works. You'll find a full-length sample exam included inside the book. More than just proof of passing a test, a PMP certification means that you have the knowledge to solve most common project problems. But studying for a difficult four-hour exam on project management isn't easy, even for experienced project

Cybersickness provoked by head-mounted display affects cutaneous vascular tone, heart rate and reaction time.

Science.gov (United States)

Nalivaiko, Eugene; Davis, Simon L; Blackmore, Karen L; Vakulin, Andrew; Nesbitt, Keith V

2015-11-01

Evidence from studies of provocative motion indicates that motion sickness is tightly linked to the disturbances of thermoregulation. The major aim of the current study was to determine whether provocative visual stimuli (immersion into the virtual reality simulating rides on a rollercoaster) affect skin temperature that reflects thermoregulatory cutaneous responses, and to test whether such stimuli alter cognitive functions. In 26 healthy young volunteers wearing head-mounted display (Oculus Rift), simulated rides consistently provoked vection and nausea, with a significant difference between the two versions of simulation software (Parrot Coaster and Helix). Basal finger temperature had bimodal distribution, with low-temperature group (n=8) having values of 23-29 °C, and high-temperature group (n=18) having values of 32-36 °C. Effects of cybersickness on finger temperature depended on the basal level of this variable: in subjects from former group it raised by 3-4 °C, while in most subjects from the latter group it either did not change or transiently reduced by 1.5-2 °C. There was no correlation between the magnitude of changes in the finger temperature and nausea score at the end of simulated ride. Provocative visual stimulation caused prolongation of simple reaction time by 20-50 ms; this increase closely correlated with the subjective rating of nausea. Lastly, in subjects who experienced pronounced nausea, heart rate was elevated. We conclude that cybersickness is associated with changes in cutaneous thermoregulatory vascular tone; this further supports the idea of a tight link between motion sickness and thermoregulation. Cybersickness-induced prolongation of reaction time raises obvious concerns regarding the safety of this technology. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Photovoltaic mounting/demounting unit

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2014-01-01

The present invention relates to a photovoltaic arrangement comprising a photovoltaic assembly comprising a support structure defining a mounting surface onto which a photovoltaic module is detachably mounted; and a mounting/demounting unit comprising at least one mounting/demounting apparatus...... which when the mounting/demounting unit is moved along the mounting surface, causes the photovoltaic module to be mounted or demounted to the support structure; wherein the photovoltaic module comprises a carrier foil and wherein a total thickness of the photo voltaic module is below 500 muiotaeta....... The present invention further relates to an associated method for mounting/demounting photovoltaic modules....

Analysis of linear head accelerations from collegiate football impacts.

Science.gov (United States)

Brolinson, P Gunnar; Manoogian, Sarah; McNeely, David; Goforth, Mike; Greenwald, Richard; Duma, Stefan

2006-02-01

Sports-related concussions result in 300,000 brain injuries in the United States each year. We conducted a study utilizing an in-helmet system that measures and records linear head accelerations to analyze head impacts in collegiate football. The Head Impact Telemetry (HIT) System is an in-helmet system with six spring-mounted accelerometers and an antenna that transmits data via radio frequency to a sideline receiver and laptop computer system. A total of 11,604 head impacts were recorded from the Virginia Tech football team throughout the 2003 and 2004 football seasons during 22 games and 62 practices from a total of 52 players. Although the incidence of injury data are limited, this study presents an extremely large data set from human head impacts that provides valuable insight into the lower limits of head acceleration that cause mild traumatic brain injuries.

A universal and smart helmet-mounted display of large FOV

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Nan; Weng, Dongdong; Wang, Yongtian; Li, Xuan; Liu, Youhai

2011-11-01

HMD (head-mounted display) is an important virtual reality device, which has played a vital role in VR application system. Compared with traditional HMD which cannot be applied in the daily life owing to their disadvantage on the price and performance, a new universal and smart Helmet-Mounted Display of large FOV uses excellent performance and widespread popularity as its starting point. By adopting simplified visual system and transflective system that combines the transmission-type and reflection-type display system with transflective glass based on the Huggens-Fresnel principle, we have designed a HMD with wide field of view, which can be easy to promote and popularize. Its resolution is 800*600, and field of view is 36.87°(vertical)* 47.92°(horizontal). Its weight is only 1080g. It has caught up with the advanced world levels.

The polarization of fast neutrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Talov, V.V.

2001-01-01

It is insufficient to know coordinates and momentum to describe a state of a neutron. It is necessary to define a spin orientation. As far as it is known from quantum mechanics, a half spin has a projection in the positive direction or in the negative direction. The probability of both projections in an unpolarized beam is equal. If a direction exists, in which the projection is more probably then beam is called polarized in this direction. It is essential to know polarization of neutrons for characteristics of a neutron source, which is emitting it. The question of polarization of fast neutrons came up in 50's. The present work is the review of polarization of fast neutrons and methods of polarization analysis. This also includes information about polarization of fast neutrons from first papers, which described polarization in the D(d,n) 3 He, 7 Li (p,n) 7 Be, T(p,n) 3 He reactions. (authors)

Head orientation prediction: delta quaternions versus quaternions.

Science.gov (United States)

Himberg, Henry; Motai, Yuichi

2009-12-01

Display lag in simulation environments with helmet-mounted displays causes a loss of immersion that degrades the value of virtual/augmented reality training simulators. Simulators use predictive tracking to compensate for display lag, preparing display updates based on the anticipated head motion. This paper proposes a new method for predicting head orientation using a delta quaternion (DQ)-based extended Kalman filter (EKF) and compares the performance to a quaternion EKF. The proposed framework operates on the change in quaternion between consecutive data frames (the DQ), which avoids the heavy computational burden of the quaternion motion equation. Head velocity is estimated from the DQ by an EKF and then used to predict future head orientation. We have tested the new framework with captured head motion data and compared it with the computationally expensive quaternion filter. Experimental results indicate that the proposed DQ method provides the accuracy of the quaternion method without the heavy computational burden.

Mounting ground sections of teeth: Cyanoacrylate adhesive versus Canada balsam.

Science.gov (United States)

Vangala, Manogna Rl; Rudraraju, Amrutha; Subramanyam, R V

2016-01-01

Hard tissues can be studied by either decalcification or by preparing ground sections. Various mounting media have been tried and used for ground sections of teeth. However, there are very few studies on the use of cyanoacrylate adhesive as a mounting medium. The aim of our study was to evaluate the efficacy of cyanoacrylate adhesive (Fevikwik™) as a mounting medium for ground sections of teeth and to compare these ground sections with those mounted with Canada balsam. Ground sections were prepared from twenty extracted teeth. Each section was divided into two halves and mounted on one slide, one with cyanoacrylate adhesive (Fevikwik™) and the other with Canada balsam. Scoring for various features in the ground sections was done by two independent observers. Statistical analysis using Student's t-test (unpaired) of average scores was performed for each feature observed. No statistically significant difference was found between the two for most of the features. However, cyanoacrylate was found to be better than Canada balsam for observing striae of Retzius (P < 0.0205), enamel lamellae (P < 0.036), dentinal tubules (P < 0.0057), interglobular dentin (P < 0.0001), sclerotic dentin - transmitted light (P < 0.00001), sclerotic dentin - polarized light (P < 0.0002) and Sharpey's fibers (P < 0.0004). This initial study shows that cyanoacrylate is better than Canada balsam for observing certain features of ground sections of teeth. However, it remains to be seen whether it will be useful for studying undecalcified sections of carious teeth and for soft tissue sections.

New POLDI - project of reincarnation of a polarized neutron diffractometer at the reactor PIK

Science.gov (United States)

Zobkalo, I.; Gavrilov, S.; Matveev, V.; Fenske, J.

2017-06-01

The project of a considerable modernization of the polarized neutron diffractometer POLDI is discussed. It assumes the adoption of POLDI to a broader range of magnetic investigations such as determination of magnetic structures, detailed investigation of complex magnetic structures, studies of magnetic domains, study of the magnetization density maps, magnetic form-factor particularities, local susceptibility, etc. The flexible construction should permit to use either spherical neutron polarimetry technique or flipping ratio technique. Different types of polarization system were analyzed. Original focusing fan-like bender is proposed as polarizer unit. Our simulations give evidence that for the wavelength range 1.3 - 3 Å and with suitable size, such a device can give much better efficiency than 3He cells, which are often in use. The higher flux at the sample position of a factor of at least 3.3, with lower divergence and good polarization degree from 98% (1.3 Å) to above 94% (3 Å) makes the bender set-up favorable over the layout with a 3He-cell.

Head-motion-controlled video goggles: preliminary concept for an interactive laparoscopic image display (i-LID).

Science.gov (United States)

Aidlen, Jeremy T; Glick, Sara; Silverman, Kenneth; Silverman, Harvey F; Luks, Francois I

2009-08-01

Light-weight, low-profile, and high-resolution head-mounted displays (HMDs) now allow personalized viewing, of a laparoscopic image. The advantages include unobstructed viewing, regardless of position at the operating table, and the possibility to customize the image (i.e., enhanced reality, picture-in-picture, etc.). The bright image display allows use in daylight surroundings and the low profile of the HMD provides adequate peripheral vision. Theoretic disadvantages include reliance for all on the same image capture and anticues (i.e., reality disconnect) when the projected image remains static, despite changes in head position. This can lead to discomfort and even nausea. We have developed a prototype of interactive laparoscopic image display that allows hands-free control of the displayed image by changes in spatial orientation of the operator's head. The prototype consists of an HMD, a spatial orientation device, and computer software to enable hands-free panning and zooming of a video-endoscopic image display. The spatial orientation device uses magnetic fields created by a transmitter and receiver, each containing three orthogonal coils. The transmitter coils are efficiently driven, using USB power only, by a newly developed circuit, each at a unique frequency. The HMD-mounted receiver system links to a commercially available PC-interface PCI-bus sound card (M-Audiocard Delta 44; Avid Technology, Tewksbury, MA). Analog signals at the receiver are filtered, amplified, and converted to digital signals, which are processed to control the image display. The prototype uses a proprietary static fish-eye lens and software for the distortion-free reconstitution of any portion of the captured image. Left-right and up-down motions of the head (and HMD) produce real-time panning of the displayed image. Motion of the head toward, or away from, the transmitter causes real-time zooming in or out, respectively, of the displayed image. This prototype of the interactive HMD

The Status and Inspection of Bottom Mounted Instrumentation Nozzle in Korea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doh, Euisoon; Kim, Yoonwon; Kim, Jaeyoon; Lee, Tacksu; Lee, Changhun

2012-01-01

The PWSCC Cracking of Alloy 600 material has been issued since CRDM Penetration cracking of Bugey in France in 1990's. And J-groove weld cracking of CRDM at Oconee and PCR Nozzle cracking at Wolf Creek in USA were raising concern of the integrity for Dissimilar Metal Weld of Alloy 600. BMI(Bottom Mounted Instrumentation) Nozzle cracks were found at Takahama unit 1 in Japan and South Texas Project unit 1 in USA in 2003. And recent cracks of Reactor Head Vent line at Yonggwang unit 3 in Korea are enough to cause worry about the integrity for BMI Nozzles in Korea. BMI inspections of Westinghouse type plant were performed by KPS for Kori unit 1 in 2006, Ulchin unit 2 in 2007, and Kori unit 3 in 2008. The first inspection of OCR-1000 plant was carried out on May 2011 at Yonggwang unit 3. KPS developed the inspection technique of OCR-1000 plant for End Effector Module and controller, a quarterly actual sized Bottom head Mock up, Inspection probes meeting the regulatory guide lines and typical configuration of OCR-1000 plant. Two specimens with actual PWSCC cracks were used to demonstrate the Inspection technique of Detection and Sizing. and the quarterly actual sized Bottom head Mock up was very meaningful to check the Interference during the inspection by narrow gap between newly developments led to a successful inspection of the BMI Inspection. And the inspection was concurrently performed with 10 year Reactor Vessel ICI without hurting any critical path of the outage. This BMI inspection is contributing to keep Operational Safety of plants by prevention of Leakage at BMI nozzle and weld. And performing 10 Year ISI for BMI nozzle is very effective to prevent BMI nozzle Break by detecting PWSCC Initiation per PFM Sensitivity study

Studies on optical pumping cells (OPC) to polarize 3He

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hutanu, V.; Rupp, A.

2004-01-01

The technique applied at HMI to obtain nuclear-spin-polarized 3 He, used in neutron spin filters (NSFs), is metastability-exchange optical pumping. To prepare efficient NSF, one must highly polarize 3 He nuclei in the optical pumping volume (OPV) and reduce the polarization losses during the compression phase. Great progress has been achieved in reducing of depolarization due to the recent development of both, large polarization preserving piston compressors and long relaxation time filter cells. It is even more important to significantly enhance the 3 He polarization rate during optical pumping in order to increase NSF efficiency. Different cells materials were tested, such as Duran and quartz glass. In order to use the laser light more efficiently and to decrease the risk of 3 He depolarization due to unfavorable reflections, antireflection (AR) coatings were used on cell windows made of quartz glass. They were compared with the ones without coating, made of quartz, Duran and BK7 glass. The comparison of various techniques to mount the windows such as blowing, gluing or molecular diffusion was also conducted. It indicated that the molecular diffusion is the most suitable technique because of a better purity of the gas in the cell and the preservation of the optical flatness of the windows. Cells, for practical reasons each entirely made from the same material (Duran, Quartz glass) with windows mounted using this method, showed the best polarization performance

Mounted Combat System Crew Shock Loading: Head and Neck Injury Potential Evaluation

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

LaFiandra, Michael E; Zywiol, Harry

2007-01-01

...) ride motion simulator (RMS) was used to simulate the effects of gun firing shock on a Hybrid III instrumented anthropometric test device capable of measuring neck force and torque and head acceleration...

Virtual sine arm kinematic mount system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Z.; Randall, K.J.

1997-01-01

A novel kinematic mount system for a vertical focusing mirror of the soft x-ray spectroscopy beamline at the Advanced Photon Source is described. The system contains three points in a horizontal plane. Each point consists of two horizontal linear precision stages, a spherical ball bearing, and a vertical precision stage. The horizontal linear stages are aligned orthogonally and are conjoined by a spherical ball bearing, supported by the vertical linear stage at each point. The position of each confined horizontal stage is controlled by a motorized micrometer head by spring-loading the flat tip of the micrometer head onto a tooling ball fixing on the carriage of the stage. A virtual sine arm is formed by tilting the upstream horizontal stage down and the two downstream horizontal stages up by a small angle. The fine pitch motion is achieved by adjusting the upstream stage. This supporting structure is extremely steady due to a relatively large span across the supporting points and yields extremely high resolution on the pitch motion. With a one degree tilt and a microstepping motor, the authors achieved a 0.4 nanoradian resolution on the mirror pitch motion

Maximum-intensity-projection CT angiography for evaluating head and neck tumors. Usefulness of helical CT and auto bone masking method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakai, Osamu; Nakashima, Noriko; Ogawa, Chiaki; Shen, Yun; Takata, Yasunori; Azemoto, Shougo.

1994-01-01

Angiographic images of 10 adult patients with head and neck tumors were obtained by helical computed tomography (CT) using maximum intensity projection (MIP). In all cases, the vasculature of the head and neck region was directly demonstrated. In the head and neck, bone masking is a more important problem than in other regions. We developed an effective automatic bone masking method (ABM) using 2D/3D connectivity. Helical CT angiography with MIP and ABM provided accurate anatomic depiction, and was considered to be helpful in preoperative evaluation of head and neck tumors. (author)

Graphics of polar figure; Graficado de figura polar

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Macias B, L.R

1991-11-15

The objective of this work, is that starting from a data file coming from a spectra that has been softened, and of the one that have been generated its coordinates to project it in stereographic form, to create the corresponding polar figure making use of the Cyber computer of the ININ by means of the GRAPHOS package. This work only requires a Beta, Fi and Intensity (I) enter data file. It starts of the existence of a softened spectra of which have been generated already with these data, making use of some language that in this case was FORTRAN for the Cyber computer, a program is generated supported in the Graphos package that allows starting of a reading of the Beta, Fi, I file, to generate the points in a stereographic projection and that it culminates with the graph of the corresponding polar figure. The program will request the pertinent information that is wanted to capture in the polar figure just as: date, name of the enter file, indexes of the polar figure, number of levels, radio of the stereographic projection (cms.), crystalline system to which belongs the sample, name the neuter graph file by create and to add the own general data. (Author)

New Az/El mount for Haystack Observatory's Small Radio Telescope kit

Science.gov (United States)

Cobb, M. L.

2005-12-01

The Small Radio Telescope (SRT) kit was designed by Haystack Observatory as part of their educational outreach effort. The SRT uses a custom designed FFT based radio spectrometer receiver with a controller to position a 2.3m dish to make various radio astronomy observations including the 21 cm spin flip line of atomic hydrogen. Because there is no sizable commercial market for a two dimensional mount for dishes of this size, finding an appropriate provider as been a recurring problem for the project. Originally, the kit used a modified motor mount from Kaultronics called the H180. Two of these motors were combined by a specially designed adaptor to allow motion in azimuth and elevation. When Kaultronics was bought out by California Amplifier they discontinued production of the H180. The next iteration used a compact unit called the alfa-spid which was made in Germany and imported through Canada. The alfa-spid was designed to point various ham radio antennas and proved problematic with 2.3m dishes. Most recently the CASSI (Custom Astronomical Support Services, Inc.) corporation has designed and certified a robust Az/El mount capable of supporting dishes up to 12 feet (3.6m) with 100 MPH wind loads. This paper presents the design and operating characteristics of the new CASSI mount. The CASSI mount is now shipped with the SRT kit and should serve the project well for the foreseeable future.

Where next in polarized leptoproduction?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Close, F.E.

1988-01-01

The implications of the EMC polarized structure function g 1 (x,Q 2 ) will be summarized under three headings: (1) the integrand, (2) what insights future high-energy beams may bring, and (3) the integral. 10 refs., 1 fig

M2-like macrophage polarization in high lactic acid-producing head and neck cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Ohashi, Toshimitsu; Aoki, Mitsuhiro; Tomita, Hiroyuki; Akazawa, Takashi; Sato, Katsuya; Kuze, Bunya; Mizuta, Keisuke; Hara, Akira; Nagaoka, Hitoshi; Inoue, Norimitsu; Ito, Yatsuji

2017-06-01

Reprogramming of glucose metabolism in tumor cells is referred to as the Warburg effect and results in increased lactic acid secretion into the tumor microenvironment. We have previously shown that lactic acid has important roles as a pro-inflammatory and immunosuppressive mediator and promotes tumor progression. In this study, we examined the relationship between the lactic acid concentration and expression of LDHA and GLUT1, which are related to the Warburg effect, in human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Tumors expressing lower levels of LDHA and GLUT1 had a higher concentration of lactic acid than those with higher LDHA and GLUT1 expression. Lactic acid also suppressed the expression of LDHA and GLUT1 in vitro. We previously reported that lactic acid enhances expression of an M2 macrophage marker, ARG1, in murine macrophages. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between the lactic acid concentration and polarization of M2 macrophages in HNSCC by measuring the expression of M2 macrophage markers, CSF1R and CD163, normalized using a pan-macrophage marker, CD68. Tumors with lower levels of CD68 showed a higher concentration of lactic acid, whereas those with higher levels of CSF1R showed a significantly higher concentration of lactic acid. A similar tendency was observed for CD163. These results suggest that tumor-secreted lactic acid is linked to the reduction of macrophages in tumors and promotes induction of M2-like macrophage polarization in human HNSCC. © 2017 The Authors. Cancer Science published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Japanese Cancer Association.

Photovoltaic module mounting system

Science.gov (United States)

Miros, Robert H. J. [Fairfax, CA; Mittan, Margaret Birmingham [Oakland, CA; Seery, Martin N [San Rafael, CA; Holland, Rodney H [Novato, CA

2012-04-17

A solar array mounting system having unique installation, load distribution, and grounding features, and which is adaptable for mounting solar panels having no external frame. The solar array mounting system includes flexible, pedestal-style feet and structural links connected in a grid formation on the mounting surface. The photovoltaic modules are secured in place via the use of attachment clamps that grip the edge of the typically glass substrate. The panel mounting clamps are then held in place by tilt brackets and/or mid-link brackets that provide fixation for the clamps and align the solar panels at a tilt to the horizontal mounting surface. The tilt brackets are held in place atop the flexible feet and connected link members thus creating a complete mounting structure.

Field-trip guide to Mount Hood, Oregon, highlighting eruptive history and hazards

Science.gov (United States)

Scott, William E.; Gardner, Cynthia A.

2017-06-22

This guidebook describes stops of interest for a geological field trip around Mount Hood volcano. It was developed for the 2017 International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior (IAVCEI) Scientific Assembly in Portland, Oregon. The intent of this guidebook and accompanying contributions is to provide an overview of Mount Hood, including its chief geologic processes, magmatic system, eruptive history, local tectonics, and hazards, by visiting a variety of readily accessible localities. We also describe coeval, largely monogenetic, volcanoes in the region. Accompanying the field-trip guidebook are separately authored contributions that discuss in detail the Mount Hood magmatic system and its products and behavior (Kent and Koleszar, this volume); Mount Hood earthquakes and their relation to regional tectonics and the volcanic system (Thelen and Moran, this volume); and young surface faults cutting the broader Mount Hood area whose extent has come to light after acquisition of regional light detection and ranging coverage (Madin and others, this volume).The trip makes an approximately 175-mile (280-kilometer) clockwise loop around Mount Hood, starting and ending in Portland. The route heads east on Interstate 84 through the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. The guidebook points out only a few conspicuous features of note in the gorge, but many other guides to the gorge are available. The route continues south on the Mount Hood National Scenic Byway on Oregon Route 35 following Hood River, and returns to Portland on U.S. Highway 26 following Sandy River. The route traverses rocks as old as the early Miocene Eagle Creek Formation and overlying Columbia River Basalt Group of middle Miocene age, but chiefly lava flows and clastic products of arc volcanism of late Miocene to Holocene age.

Magnetic core mounting system

Science.gov (United States)

Ronning, Jeffrey J.

2002-01-01

A mounting apparatus for an electromagnetic device such as a transformer of inductor includes a generally planar metallic plate as a first heat sink, and a metallic mounting cup as a second heat sink. The mounting cup includes a cavity configured to receive the electromagnetic device, the cavity being defined by a base, and an axially-extending annular sidewall extending from the base to a flange portion of the mounting cup. The mounting cup includes first and second passages for allowing the leads of first and second windings of the electromagnetic device to be routed out of the cavity. The cavity is filled with a polyurethane potting resin, and the mounting cup, including the potted electromagnetic device, is mounted to the plate heat sink using fasteners. The mounting cup, which surrounds the electromagnetic device, in combination with the potting resin provides improved thermal transfer to the plate heat sink, as well as providing resistance to vibration and shocks.

Raytracing, chopper, and guideline for double-headed Dragon monochromators (invited)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, C.T.

1992-01-01

The raytracing of the double-headed Dragon, a recently proposed monochromator for producing two simultaneous left and right circularly polarized soft x-ray beams, is presented. The energy resolution and wavelength of these two beams are confirmed to be identical, and the high performance of the original Dragon is found to be preserved in the double-headed configuration. A compact ultra-high vacuum compatible chopper for rapid alternation between left and right helicities is presented, and a guideline for collecting circularly polarized light from bending magnet sources is given

Polarization sensitivity testing of off-plane reflection gratings

Science.gov (United States)

Marlowe, Hannah; McEntaffer, Randal L.; DeRoo, Casey T.; Miles, Drew M.; Tutt, James H.; Laubis, Christian; Soltwisch, Victor

2015-09-01

Off-Plane reflection gratings were previously predicted to have different efficiencies when the incident light is polarized in the transverse-magnetic (TM) versus transverse-electric (TE) orientations with respect to the grating grooves. However, more recent theoretical calculations which rigorously account for finitely conducting, rather than perfectly conducting, grating materials no longer predict significant polarization sensitivity. We present the first empirical results for radially ruled, laminar groove profile gratings in the off-plane mount which demonstrate no difference in TM versus TE efficiency across our entire 300-1500 eV bandpass. These measurements together with the recent theoretical results confirm that grazing incidence off-plane reflection gratings using real, not perfectly conducting, materials are not polarization sensitive.

An analog VLSI chip emulating polarization vision of Octopus retina.

Science.gov (United States)

Momeni, Massoud; Titus, Albert H

2006-01-01

Biological systems provide a wealth of information which form the basis for human-made artificial systems. In this work, the visual system of Octopus is investigated and its polarization sensitivity mimicked. While in actual Octopus retina, polarization vision is mainly based on the orthogonal arrangement of its photoreceptors, our implementation uses a birefringent micropolarizer made of YVO4 and mounted on a CMOS chip with neuromorphic circuitry to process linearly polarized light. Arranged in an 8 x 5 array with two photodiodes per pixel, each consuming typically 10 microW, this circuitry mimics both the functionality of individual Octopus retina cells by computing the state of polarization and the interconnection of these cells through a bias-controllable resistive network.

Development of the POLAR experiment for the gamma-ray bursts polarimetry

Science.gov (United States)

Zwolinska, Anna

2017-01-01

The polarimetric data taken together with lightcurve and spectral data may provide a powerful probe of the nature of sources and emission mechanisms of Gamma-ray Bursts (GRBs). We would like to know if most of the GRBs are strongly polarized. There were several reports of detections of linear polarization but more accurate observational data and the statistical study are still needed. The POLAR experiment is a space-born polarimeter designed for measurement of γ-ray in the energy range 50-500 keV. The detector was mounted onto the Chinese Tiangong 2 space station in 2016. The preflight status of the POLAR experiment has been presented in the talk.

Coupled-mode theory and Fano resonances in guided-mode resonant gratings: the conical diffraction mounting.

Science.gov (United States)

Bykov, Dmitry A; Doskolovich, Leonid L; Soifer, Victor A

2017-01-23

We study resonances of guided-mode resonant gratings in conical mounting. By developing 2D time-dependent coupled-mode theory we obtain simple approximations of the transmission and reflection coefficients. Being functions of the incident light's frequency and in-plane wave vector components, the obtained approximations can be considered as multi-variable generalizations of the Fano line shape. We show that the approximations are in good agreement with the rigorously calculated transmission and reflection spectra. We use the developed theory to investigate angular tolerances of the considered structures and to obtain mode excitation conditions. In particular, we obtain the cross-polarization mode excitation conditions in the case of conical mounting.

Peculiarities of annihilation of polarized positronium in polarized media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silenko, A.Ya.

2005-01-01

Features of positronium annihilation (PA) in polarized media are investigated. Strong exchange interaction with nonpaired electrons of paramagnetic atoms essentially accelerates the PA in comparison with annihilation of free positrons. The value of the spin projection on the direction of polarized nonpaired electrons has essential effect on the orthopositronium lifetime and on the width of the gamma spectrum annihilation line. It is shown that these features of PA permit to use it for studying the paramagnetic polarization [ru

CT image reconstruction of steel pipe section from few projections using the method of rotating polar-coordinate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peng Shuaijun; Wu Zhifang

2008-01-01

Fast online inspection in steel pipe production is a big challenge. Radiographic CT imaging technology, a high performance non-destructive testing method, is quite appropriate for inspection and quality control of steel pipes. The method of rotating polar-coordinate is used to reconstruct the steel pipe section from few projections with the purpose of inspecting it online. It reduces the projection number needed and the data collection time, and accelerates the reconstruction algorithm and saves the inspection time evidently. The results of simulation experiment and actual experiment indicate that the image quality and reconstruction time of rotating polar-coordinate method meet the requirements of inspecting the steel tube section online basically. The study is of some theoretical significance and the method is expected to be widely used in practice. (authors)

A new optimization approach for nozzle selection and component allocation in multi-head beam-type SMD placement machines

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Torabi, S.A.; Hamedi, M.; Ashayeri, J.

2013-01-01

This paper addresses a highly challenging scheduling problem faced in multi-head beam-type surface mounting devices (SMD) machines. An integrated mathematical model is formulated aiming to balance workloads over multiple heads as well as improving the traveling speed of the robotic arm by

Induced Polarization with Electromagnetic Coupling: 3D Spectral Imaging Theory, EMSP Project No. 73836

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Morgan, F. Dale; Sogade, John

2004-12-14

This project was designed as a broad foundational study of spectral induced polarization (SIP) for characterization of contaminated sites. It encompassed laboratory studies of the effects of chemistry on induced polarization, development of 3D forward modeling and inversion codes, and investigations of inductive and capacitive coupling problems. In the laboratory part of the project a physico-chemical model developed in this project was used to invert laboratory IP spectra for the grain size and the effective grain size distribution of the sedimentary rocks as well as the formation factor, porosity, specific surface area, and the apparent fractal dimension. Furthermore, it was established that the IP response changed with the solution chemistry, the concentration of a given solution chemistry, valence of the constituent ions, and ionic radius. In the field part of the project, a 3D complex forward and inverse model was developed. It was used to process data acquired at two frequencies (1/16 Hz and 1/ 4Hz) in a cross-borehole configuration at the A-14 outfall area of the Savannah River Site (SRS) during March 2003 and June 2004. The chosen SRS site was contaminated with Tetrachloroethylene (TCE) and Trichloroethylene (PCE) that were disposed in this area for several decades till the 1980s. The imaginary conductivity produced from the inverted 2003 data correlated very well with the log10 (PCE) concentration derived from point sampling at 1 ft spacing in five ground-truth boreholes drilled after the data acquisition. The equivalent result for the 2004 data revealed that there were significant contaminant movements during the period March 2003 and June 2004, probably related to ground-truth activities and nearby remediation activities. Therefore SIP was successfully used to develop conceptual models of volume distributions of PCE/TCE contamination. In addition, the project developed non-polarizing electrodes that can be deployed in boreholes for years. A total of 28

Head First PMP A Brain-Friendly Guide to Passing the Project Management Professional Exam

CERN Document Server

Stellman, Andrew

2008-01-01

Media Reviews "I have been doing project management for over 30 years and am considered a subject matter expert in the PMBOK(r) Guide -Third Edition primarily because I am the Project Manager who led the team that developed this edition. As a consultant I was hired to review and evaluate eight of the top selling PMP Exam Preparation books for their accuracy in following the PMBOK® Guide - Third Edition. I have developed and taught a PMP Exam Prep course for a leading R.E.P., and taught PMP Exam preparation classes for PMI Chapters. I can honestly say that Head First PMP is by far the best P

Liner mounting assembly

Science.gov (United States)

Halila, Ely E. (Inventor)

1994-01-01

A mounting assembly includes an annular supporting flange disposed coaxially about a centerline axis which has a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart supporting holes therethrough. An annular liner is disposed coaxially with the supporting flange and includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart mounting holes aligned with respective ones of the supporting holes. Each of a plurality of mounting pins includes a proximal end fixedly joined to the supporting flange through a respective one of the supporting holes, and a distal end disposed through a respective one of the liner mounting holes for supporting the liner to the supporting flange while unrestrained differential thermal movement of the liner relative to the supporting flange.

The Effect of Mounting Vortex Generators on the DTU 10MW Reference Wind Turbine Blade

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skrzypinski, Witold Robert; Gaunaa, Mac; Bak, Christian

2014-01-01

The aim of the current work is to analyze possible advantages of mounting Vortex Generators (VG's) on a wind turbine blade. Specifically, the project aims at investigating at which radial sections of the DTU 10 MW Reference Wind Turbine blade it is most beneficial to mount the VG's in order...

Polarization preservation in the AGS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ratner, L.G.

1983-01-01

The successful operation of a high energy polarized beam at the Argonne Zero Gradient Synchrotron (ZGS) with the concommitant development of depolarizing resonance correction techniques has led to the present project of commissioning such a beam at the Brookhaven Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (AGS). A description of the project was presented at the 1981 National Accelerator Conference. I would like to now present a more detailed description of how we plan to preserve the polarization during acceleration, and to present our game plan for tuning through some 50 resonances and reaching our goal of a 26 GeV polarized proton beam with greater than 60% polarization

Dual-band high-efficiency polarization converter using an anisotropic metasurface

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Baoqin; Wang, Buhong; Meng, Wen; Da, Xinyu; Li, Wei; Fang, Yingwu; Zhu, Zihang

2016-05-01

In this work, a dual-band and high-efficiency reflective cross-polarization converter based on an anisotropic metasurface for linearly polarized electromagnetic waves is proposed. Its unit cell is composed of an elliptical disk-ring mounted on grounded dielectric substrate, which is an anisotropic structure with a pair of mutually perpendicular symmetric axes u and v along ± 45 ° directions with respect to y-axis direction. Both the simulation and measured results show that the polarization converter can convert x- or y-polarized incident wave to its cross polarized wave in the two frequency bands (6.99-9.18 GHz, 11.66-20.40 GHz) with the conversion efficiency higher than 90%; moreover, the higher frequency band is an ultra-wide one with a relative bandwidth of 54.5% for multiple plasmon resonances. In addition, we present a detailed analysis for the polarization conversion of the polarization converter, and derive a formula to calculate the cross- and co-polarization reflections at y-polarized incidence according to the phase differences between the two reflected coefficients at u-polarized and v-polarized incidences. The simulated, calculated, and measured results are all in agreement with the entire frequency regions.

Extreme-scale alignments of quasar optical polarizations and Galactic dust contamination

OpenAIRE

Pelgrims, Vincent

2017-01-01

Almost twenty years ago the optical polarization vectors from quasars were shown to be aligned over extreme-scales. That evidence was later confirmed and enhanced thanks to additional optical data obtained with the ESO instrument FORS2 mounted on the VLT, in Chile. These observations suggest either Galactic foreground contamination of the data or, more interestingly, a cosmological origin. Using 353-GHz polarization data from the Planck satellite, I recently showed that the main features of t...

Design of the PET–MR system for head imaging of the DREAM Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

González, A.J.; Conde, P.; Hernández, L.; Herrero, V.; Moliner, L.; Monzó, J.M.; Orero, A.; Peiró, A.; Rodríguez-Álvarez, M.J.; Ros, A.; Sánchez, F.; Soriano, A.; Vidal, L.F.; Benlloch, J.M.

2013-01-01

In this paper we describe the overall design of a PET–MR system for head imaging within the framework of the DREAM Project as well as the first detector module tests. The PET system design consists of 4 rings of 16 detector modules each and it is expected to be integrated in a head dedicated radio frequency coil of an MR scanner. The PET modules are based on monolithic LYSO crystals coupled by means of optical devices to an array of 256 Silicon Photomultipliers. These types of crystals allow to preserve the scintillation light distribution and, thus, to recover the exact photon impact position with the proper characterization of such a distribution. Every module contains 4 Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) which return detailed information of several light statistical momenta. The preliminary tests carried out on this design and controlled by means of ASICs have shown promising results towards the suitability of hybrid PET–MR systems

Fast in-situ tool inspection based on inverse fringe projection and compact sensor heads

Science.gov (United States)

Matthias, Steffen; Kästner, Markus; Reithmeier, Eduard

2016-11-01

Inspection of machine elements is an important task in production processes in order to ensure the quality of produced parts and to gather feedback for the continuous improvement process. A new measuring system is presented, which is capable of performing the inspection of critical tool geometries, such as gearing elements, inside the forming machine. To meet the constraints on sensor head size and inspection time imposed by the limited space inside the machine and the cycle time of the process, the measuring device employs a combination of endoscopy techniques with the fringe projection principle. Compact gradient index lenses enable a compact design of the sensor head, which is connected to a CMOS camera and a flexible micro-mirror based projector via flexible fiber bundles. Using common fringe projection patterns, the system achieves measuring times of less than five seconds. To further reduce the time required for inspection, the generation of inverse fringe projection patterns has been implemented for the system. Inverse fringe projection speeds up the inspection process by employing object-adapted patterns, which enable the detection of geometry deviations in a single image. Two different approaches to generate object adapted patterns are presented. The first approach uses a reference measurement of a manufactured tool master to generate the inverse pattern. The second approach is based on a virtual master geometry in the form of a CAD file and a ray-tracing model of the measuring system. Virtual modeling of the measuring device and inspection setup allows for geometric tolerancing for free-form surfaces by the tool designer in the CAD-file. A new approach is presented, which uses virtual tolerance specifications and additional simulation steps to enable fast checking of metric tolerances. Following the description of the pattern generation process, the image processing steps required for inspection are demonstrated on captures of gearing geometries.

Polar representation of centrifugal pump homologous curves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Veloso, Marcelo Antonio; Mattos, Joao Roberto Loureiro de

2008-01-01

Essential for any mathematical model designed to simulate flow transient events caused by pump operations is the pump performance data. The performance of a centrifugal pump is characterized by four basic parameters: the rotational speed, the volumetric flow rate, the dynamic head, and the hydraulic torque. Any one of these quantities can be expressed as a function of any two others. The curves showing the relationships between these four variables are called the pump characteristic curves, also referred to as four-quadrant curves. The characteristic curves are empirically developed by the pump manufacturer and uniquely describe head and torque as functions of volumetric flow rate and rotation speed. Because of comprising a large amount of points, the four-quadrant configuration is not suitable for computational purposes. However, it can be converted to a simpler form by the development of the homologous curves, in which dynamic head and hydraulic torque ratios are expressed as functions of volumetric flow and rotation speed ratios. The numerical use of the complete set of homologous curves requires specification of sixteen partial curves, being eight for the dynamic head and eight for the hydraulic torque. As a consequence, the handling of homologous curves is still somewhat complicated. In solving flow transient problems that require the pump characteristic data for all the operation zones, the polar form appears as the simplest way to represent the homologous curves. In the polar method, the complete characteristics of a pump can be described by only two closed curves, one for the dynamic head and other for the hydraulic torque, both in function of a single angular coordinate defined adequately in terms of the quotient between volumetric flow ratio and rotation speed ratio. The usefulness and advantages of this alternative method are demonstrated through a practical example in which the homologous curves for a pump of the type used in the main coolant loops of a

Polarization-dependent thin-film wire-grid reflectarray for terahertz waves

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Niu, Tiaoming [School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005 (Australia); School of Information Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000 (China); Upadhyay, Aditi; Bhaskaran, Madhu; Sriram, Sharath [Functional Materials and Microsystems Research Group, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria 3001 (Australia); Withayachumnankul, Withawat [School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005 (Australia); Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-S9-3, Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552 (Japan); Headland, Daniel; Abbott, Derek; Fumeaux, Christophe, E-mail: cfumeaux@eleceng.adelaide.edu.au [School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005 (Australia)

2015-07-20

A thin-film polarization-dependent reflectarray based on patterned metallic wire grids is realized at 1 THz. Unlike conventional reflectarrays with resonant elements and a solid metal ground, parallel narrow metal strips with uniform spacing are employed in this design to construct both the radiation elements and the ground plane. For each radiation element, a certain number of thin strips with an identical length are grouped to effectively form a patch resonator with equivalent performance. The ground plane is made of continuous metallic strips, similar to conventional wire-grid polarizers. The structure can deflect incident waves with the polarization parallel to the strips into a designed direction and transmit the orthogonal polarization component. Measured radiation patterns show reasonable deflection efficiency and high polarization discrimination. Utilizing this flexible device approach, similar reflectarray designs can be realized for conformal mounting onto surfaces of cylindrical or spherical devices for terahertz imaging and communications.

A Novel Cellular Handset Design for an Enhanced Antenna Performance and a Reduced SAR in the Human Head

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Salah I. Al-Mously

2008-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a novel cellular handset design with a bottom-mounted short loaded-whip antenna. This new handset design is modeled and simulated using a finite difference time-domain (FDTD-based platform SEMCAD. The proposed handset is based on a current commercially available bar-phone type with a curvature shape, keypad positioned above the screen, and top-mounted antenna. The specific absorption rates (SARs are determined computationally in the specific anthropomorphic mannequin (SAM and anatomically correct model of a human head when exposed to the EM-field radiation of the proposed cellular handset and the handset with top-mounted antenna. The two cellular handsets are simulated to operate at both GSM standards, 900 MHz as well as 1800 MHz, having different antenna dimensions and intput power of 0.6 W and 0.125 W, respectively. The proposed human hand holding the two handset models is a semirealistic hand model consists of three tissues: skin, muscle, and bone. The simulations are conducted with handset positions based on the IEEE standard 1528-2003. The results show that the proposed handset has a significant improvement of antenna efficiency when it is hand-held close to head, as compared with the handset of top-mounted antenna. Also, the results show that a significant reduction of the induced SAR in the human head-tissues can be achieved with the proposed handset.

ATST telescope mount: telescope of machine tool

Science.gov (United States)

Jeffers, Paul; Stolz, Günter; Bonomi, Giovanni; Dreyer, Oliver; Kärcher, Hans

2012-09-01

The Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST) will be the largest solar telescope in the world, and will be able to provide the sharpest views ever taken of the solar surface. The telescope has a 4m aperture primary mirror, however due to the off axis nature of the optical layout, the telescope mount has proportions similar to an 8 meter class telescope. The technology normally used in this class of telescope is well understood in the telescope community and has been successfully implemented in numerous projects. The world of large machine tools has developed in a separate realm with similar levels of performance requirement but different boundary conditions. In addition the competitive nature of private industry has encouraged development and usage of more cost effective solutions both in initial capital cost and thru-life operating cost. Telescope mounts move relatively slowly with requirements for high stability under external environmental influences such as wind buffeting. Large machine tools operate under high speed requirements coupled with high application of force through the machine but with little or no external environmental influences. The benefits of these parallel development paths and the ATST system requirements are being combined in the ATST Telescope Mount Assembly (TMA). The process of balancing the system requirements with new technologies is based on the experience of the ATST project team, Ingersoll Machine Tools who are the main contractor for the TMA and MT Mechatronics who are their design subcontractors. This paper highlights a number of these proven technologies from the commercially driven machine tool world that are being introduced to the TMA design. Also the challenges of integrating and ensuring that the differences in application requirements are accounted for in the design are discussed.

Joint Science Education Project: Learning about polar science in Greenland

Science.gov (United States)

Foshee Reed, Lynn

2014-05-01

The Joint Science Education Project (JSEP) is a successful summer science and culture opportunity in which students and teachers from the United States, Denmark, and Greenland come together to learn about the research conducted in Greenland and the logistics involved in supporting the research. They conduct experiments first-hand and participate in inquiry-based educational activities alongside scientists and graduate students at a variety of locations in and around Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, and on the top of the ice sheet at Summit Station. The Joint Committee, a high-level forum involving the Greenlandic, Danish and U.S. governments, established the Joint Science Education Project in 2007, as a collaborative diplomatic effort during the International Polar Year to: • Educate and inspire the next generation of polar scientists; • Build strong networks of students and teachers among the three countries; and • Provide an opportunity to practice language and communication skills Since its inception, JSEP has had 82 student and 22 teacher participants and has involved numerous scientists and field researchers. The JSEP format has evolved over the years into its current state, which consists of two field-based subprograms on site in Greenland: the Greenland-led Kangerlussuaq Science Field School and the U.S.-led Arctic Science Education Week. All travel, transportation, accommodations, and meals are provided to the participants at no cost. During the 2013 Kangerlussuaq Science Field School, students and teachers gathered data in a biodiversity study, created and set geo- and EarthCaches, calculated glacial discharge at a melt-water stream and river, examined microbes and tested for chemical differences in a variety of lakes, measured ablation at the edge of the Greenland Ice Sheet, and learned about fossils, plants, animals, minerals and rocks of Greenland. In addition, the students planned and led cultural nights, sharing food, games, stories, and traditions of

Shoulder-Mounted Robot for MRI-guided arthrography: Accuracy and mounting study.

Science.gov (United States)

Monfaredi, R; Wilson, E; Sze, R; Sharma, K; Azizi, B; Iordachita, I; Cleary, K

2015-08-01

A new version of our compact and lightweight patient-mounted MRI-compatible 4 degree-of-freedom (DOF) robot for MRI-guided arthrography procedures is introduced. This robot could convert the traditional two-stage arthrography procedure (fluoroscopy-guided needle insertion followed by a diagnostic MRI scan) to a one-stage procedure, all in the MRI suite. The results of a recent accuracy study are reported. A new mounting technique is proposed and the mounting stability is investigated using optical and electromagnetic tracking on an anthropomorphic phantom. Five volunteer subjects including 2 radiologists were asked to conduct needle insertion in 4 different random positions and orientations within the robot's workspace and the displacement of the base of the robot was investigated during robot motion and needle insertion. Experimental results show that the proposed mounting method is stable and promising for clinical application.

Exciplex fluorescence emission from simple organic intramolecular constructs in non-polar and highly polar media as model systems for DNA-assembled exciplex detectors.

Science.gov (United States)

Bichenkova, Elena V; Sardarian, Ali R; Wilton, Amanda N; Bonnet, Pascal; Bryce, Richard A; Douglas, Kenneth T

2006-01-21

Organic intramolecular exciplexes, N-(4-dimethylaminobenzyl)-N-(1-pyrenemethyl)amine (1) and N'-4-dimethylaminonaphthyl-N-(1-pyrenemethyl)amine (2), were used as model systems to reveal major factors affecting their exciplex fluorescence, and thus lay the basis for developing emissive target-assembled exciplexes for DNA-mounted systems in solution. These models with an aromatic pyrenyl hydrocarbon moiety as an electron acceptor appropriately connected to an aromatic dimethylamino electron donor component (N,N-dimethylaminophenyl or N,N-dimethylaminonaphthyl) showed strong intramolecular exciplex emission in both non-polar and highly polar solvents. The effect of dielectric constant on the maximum wavelength for exciplex emission was studied, and emission was observed for 1 and 2 over the full range of solvent from non-polar hydrocarbons up to N-methylformamide with a dielectric constant of 182. Quantum yields were determined for these intramolecular exciplexes in a range of solvents relative to that for Hoechst 33,258. Conformational analysis of 1 was performed both computationally and via qualitative 2D NMR using (1)H-NOESY experiments. The results obtained indicated the contribution of pre-folded conformation(s) to the ground state of 1 conducive to exciplex emission. This research provides the initial background for design of self-assembled, DNA-mounted exciplexes and underpins further development of exciplex-based hybridisation bioassays.

Remote biopsy darting and marking of polar bears

Science.gov (United States)

Pagano, Anthony M.; Peacock, Elizabeth; McKinney, Melissa A.

2014-01-01

Remote biopsy darting of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) is less invasive and time intensive than physical capture and is therefore useful when capture is challenging or unsafe. We worked with two manufacturers to develop a combination biopsy and marking dart for use on polar bears. We had an 80% success rate of collecting a tissue sample with a single biopsy dart and collected tissue samples from 143 polar bears on land, in water, and on sea ice. Dye marks ensured that 96% of the bears were not resampled during the same sampling period, and we recovered 96% of the darts fired. Biopsy heads with 5 mm diameters collected an average of 0.12 g of fur, tissue, and subcutaneous adipose tissue, while biopsy heads with 7 mm diameters collected an average of 0.32 g. Tissue samples were 99.3% successful (142 of 143 samples) in providing a genetic and sex identification of individuals. We had a 64% success rate collecting adipose tissue and we successfully examined fatty acid signatures in all adipose samples. Adipose lipid content values were lower compared to values from immobilized or harvested polar bears, indicating that our method was not suitable for quantifying adipose lipid content.

Assessing the Structural, Driver and Economic Impacts of Traffic Pole Mounted Wind Power Generator and Solar Panel Hybrid System

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-01

This project evaluates the physical and economic feasibility of using existing traffic infrastructure to mount wind power : generators. Some possible places to mount a light weight wind generator and solar panel hybrid system are: i) Traffic : signal...

Polarization effects. Volume 2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Courant, E.

1981-01-01

The use of polarized proton beams in ISABELLE is important for several general reasons: (1) With a single longitudinally polarized proton beam, effects involving parity violation can be identified and hence processes involving weak interactions can be separated from those involving strong and electromagnetic interactions. (2) Spin effects are important in the strong interactions and can be useful for testing QCD. The technique for obtaining polarized proton beams in ISABELLE appears promising, particularly in view of the present development of a polarized proton beam for the AGS. Projections for the luminosity in ISABELLE for collisions of polarized protons - one or both beams polarized with longitudinal or transverse polarization - range from 1/100 to 1 times the luminosity for unpolarized protons.

Determining the Position of Head and Shoulders in Neurological Practice with the use of Cameras

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Kutílek

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The posture of the head and shoulders can be influenced negatively by many diseases of the nervous system, visual and vestibular systems. We have designed a system and a set of procedures for evaluating the inclination (roll, flexion (pitch and rotation (yaw of the head and the inclination (roll and rotation (yaw of the shoulders. A new computational algorithm allows non-invasive and non-contact head and shoulder position measurement using two cameras mounted opposite each other, and the displacement of the optical axis of the cameras is also corrected.

Polar crane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Makosinski, S.

1981-01-01

In many applications polar cranes have to be repeatedly positioned with high accuracy. A guidance system is disclosed which has two pairs of guides. Each guide consists of two rollers carried by a sheave rotatable mounted on the crane bridge, the rollers being locatable one on each side of a guideway, e.g. the circular track on which the bridge runs. The pairs of guides are interconnected by respective rope loops which pass around and are locked to the respective pairs of sheaves in such a manner that movement of one guide results in equal movement of the other guide in a sense to maintain the repeatability of positioning of the centre of the bridge. A hydraulically-linked guide system is also described. (author)

Polarized light scattering as a probe for changes in chromosome structure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shapiro, Daniel Benjamin [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

1993-10-01

Measurements and calculations of polarized light scattering are applied to chromosomes. Calculations of the Mueller matrix, which completely describes how the polarization state of light is altered upon scattering, are developed for helical structures related to that of chromosomes. Measurements of the Mueller matrix are presented for octopus sperm heads, and dinoflagellates. Comparisons of theory and experiment are made. A working theory of polarized light scattering from helices is developed. The use of the first Born approximation vs the coupled dipole approximation are investigated. A comparison of continuous, calculated in this work, and discrete models is also discussed. By comparing light scattering measurements with theoretical predictions the average orientation of DNA in an octopus sperm head is determined. Calculations are made for the Mueller matrix of DNA plectonemic helices at UV, visible and X-ray wavelengths. Finally evidence is presented that the chromosomes of dinoflagellates are responsible for observed differential scattering of circularly-polarized light. This differential scattering is found to vary in a manner that is possibly correlated to the cell cycle of the dinoflagellates. It is concluded that by properly choosing the wavelength probe polarized light scattering can provide a useful tool to study chromosome structure.

Computerized tomographic x-ray scanner system and gantry assembly

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doyd, D.P.; Lanzara, G.

1991-01-01

This patent describes a scanner assembly. It comprises: a support head, a C-shaped gantry, means for supporting the gantry in the support head for rotating movement, an x-ray source mounted on one side of the gantry for independent movement with respect to a detector array along the gantry, the x-ray source projecting x-rays across the gantry, and a detector array mounted on the other side of a gantry for independent movement with respect to the x-ray source along the gantry, the detector array serving to receive the projected x-rays

Analysis of adjusting effects of mounting force on frequency conversion of mounted nonlinear optics.

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Ruifeng; Liu, Haitao; Liang, Yingchun; Lu, Lihua

2014-01-10

Motivated by the need to increase the second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency of nonlinear optics with large apertures, a novel mounting configuration with active adjusting function on the SHG efficiency is proposed and mechanically and optically studied. The adjusting effects of the mounting force on the distortion and stress are analyzed by the finite element methods (FEM), as well as the contribution of the distortion and stress to the change in phase mismatch, and the SHG efficiency are theoretically stated. Further on, the SHG efficiency is calculated as a function of the mounting force. The changing trends of the distortion, stress, and the SHG efficiency with the varying mounting force are obtained, and the optimal ones are figured out. Moreover, the mechanism of the occurrence of the optimal values is studied and the adjusting strategy is put forward. Numerical results show the robust adjustment of the mounting force, as well as the effectiveness of the mounting configuration, in increasing the SHG efficiency.

Effect of external viscous load on head movement

Science.gov (United States)

Nam, M.-H.; Lakshminarayanan, V.; Stark, L. W.

1984-01-01

Quantitative measurements of horizontal head rotation were obtained from normal human subjects intending to make 'time optimal' trajectories between targets. By mounting large, lightweight vanes on the head, viscous damping B, up to 15 times normal could be added to the usual mechanical load of the head. With the added viscosity, the head trajectory was slowed and of larger duration (as expected) since fixed and maximal (for that amplitude) muscle forces had to accelerate the added viscous load. This decreased acceleration and velocity and longer duration movement still ensued in spite of adaptive compensation; this provided evidence that quasi-'time optimal' movements do indeed employ maximal muscle forces. The adaptation to this added load was rapid. Then the 'adapted state' subjects produced changed trajectories. The adaptation depended in part on the differing detailed instructions given to the subjects. This differential adaptation provided evidence for the existence of preprogrammed controller signals, sensitive to intended criterion, and neurologically ballistic or open loop rather than modified by feedback from proprioceptors or vision.

Implications of Dynamic Pressure Transducer Mounting Variations on Measurements in Pyrotechnic Test Apparatus

Science.gov (United States)

Dibbern, Andreas; Crisafulli, Jeffrey; Hagopia, Michael; McDougle, Stephen H.; Saulsberry, Regor L.

2009-01-01

Accurate dynamic pressure measurements are often difficult to make within small pyrotechnic devices, and transducer mounting difficulties can cause data anomalies that lead to erroneous conclusions. Delayed initial pressure response followed by data ringing has been observed when using miniaturized pressure transducer mounting adapters required to interface transducers to small test chambers. This delayed pressure response and ringing, combined with a high data acquisition rate, has complicated data analysis. This paper compares the output signal characteristics from different pressure transducer mounting options, where the passage distance from the transducer face to the pyrotechnic chamber is varied in length and diameter. By analyzing the data and understating the associated system dynamics, a more realistic understanding of the actual dynamic pressure variations is achieved. Three pressure transducer mounting configurations (elongated, standard, and face/flush mount) were simultaneously tested using NASA standard initiators in closed volume pressure bombs. This paper also presents results of these pressure transducer mounting configurations as a result of a larger NASA Engineering and Safety Center pyrovalve test project. Results from these tests indicate the improved performance of using face/flush mounted pressure transducers in this application. This type of mounting improved initial pressure measurement response time by approximately 19 s over standard adapter mounting, eliminating most of the lag time; provided a near step-function type initial pressure increase; and greatly reduced data ringing in high data acquisition rate systems. The paper goes on to discuss other issues associated with the firing and instrumentation that are important for the tester to understand.

Comments to a polar bear population model

OpenAIRE

Øritsland, Nils Are

1985-01-01

Larsen, T. & Ugland, K. I. (Polar Research 2 n.s., 117-118) note correctly that a Leslie matrix model treats cubs and females as independent units which is not the case for polar bears. Population projections using the Leslie model with hunting mortalities added are instructive first approximations in evaluations of field data, however, and are recommended as exercises also for polar bear biologists. An APL programme for such projections is available.

The Polarization of Achernar

Science.gov (United States)

McDavid, D.

2005-11-01

Recent near-infrared measurements of the angular diameter of Achernar (the bright Be star alpha Eridani) with the ESO VLT interferometer have been interpreted as the detection of an extremely oblate photosphere, with a ratio of equatorial to polar radius of at least 1.56 ± 0.05 and a minor axis orientation of 39° ± 1° (from North to East). The optical linear polarization of this star during an emission phase in 1995 September was 0.12 ± 0.02% at position angle 37° ± 8° (in equatorial coordinates), which is the direction of the projection of the rotation axis on the plane of the sky according to the theory of polarization by electron scattering in an equatorially flattened circumstellar disk. These two independent determinations of the orientation of the rotation axis are therefore in agreement. The observational history of correlations between Hα emission and polarization as found in the literature is that of a typical Be star, with the exception of an interesting question raised by the contrast between Schröder's measurement of a small polarization perpendicular to the projected rotation axis in 1969--70 and Tinbergen's measurement of zero polarization in 1974.5, both at times when emission was reportedly absent.

Optical modeling and polarization calibration for CMB measurements with ACTPol and Advanced ACTPol

Science.gov (United States)

Koopman, Brian; Austermann, Jason; Cho, Hsiao-Mei; Coughlin, Kevin P.; Duff, Shannon M.; Gallardo, Patricio A.; Hasselfield, Matthew; Henderson, Shawn W.; Ho, Shuay-Pwu Patty; Hubmayr, Johannes; Irwin, Kent D.; Li, Dale; McMahon, Jeff; Nati, Federico; Niemack, Michael D.; Newburgh, Laura; Page, Lyman A.; Salatino, Maria; Schillaci, Alessandro; Schmitt, Benjamin L.; Simon, Sara M.; Vavagiakis, Eve M.; Ward, Jonathan T.; Wollack, Edward J.

2016-07-01

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope Polarimeter (ACTPol) is a polarization sensitive upgrade to the Atacama Cosmology Telescope, located at an elevation of 5190 m on Cerro Toco in Chile. ACTPol uses transition edge sensor bolometers coupled to orthomode transducers to measure both the temperature and polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). Calibration of the detector angles is a critical step in producing polarization maps of the CMB. Polarization angle offsets in the detector calibration can cause leakage in polarization from E to B modes and induce a spurious signal in the EB and TB cross correlations, which eliminates our ability to measure potential cosmological sources of EB and TB signals, such as cosmic birefringence. We calibrate the ACTPol detector angles by ray tracing the designed detector angle through the entire optical chain to determine the projection of each detector angle on the sky. The distribution of calibrated detector polarization angles are consistent with a global offset angle from zero when compared to the EB-nulling offset angle, the angle required to null the EB cross-correlation power spectrum. We present the optical modeling process. The detector angles can be cross checked through observations of known polarized sources, whether this be a galactic source or a laboratory reference standard. To cross check the ACTPol detector angles, we use a thin film polarization grid placed in front of the receiver of the telescope, between the receiver and the secondary reflector. Making use of a rapidly rotating half-wave plate (HWP) mount we spin the polarizing grid at a constant speed, polarizing and rotating the incoming atmospheric signal. The resulting sinusoidal signal is used to determine the detector angles. The optical modeling calibration was shown to be consistent with a global offset angle of zero when compared to EB nulling in the first ACTPol results and will continue to be a part of our calibration implementation. The first

Experimental research of the NN scattering with polarized particles at the VdG accelerator of Charles University. Project 'NN interactions'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borisov, N.S.; Broz, J.; Cerny, J.

2002-01-01

The purpose of the project is to study three-nucleon interactions using 14-16 MeV polarized neutron beam in conjunction with polarized deuteron target. Spin-dependent total cross-section differences Δρ L and Δρ T will be measured in the energy range, where there are no experimental data, with sufficient accuracy to check the contribution of the three-nucleon forces. In the test run, the obtained deuteron vector polarizations were P - = (- 39.5 ± 2)% and P + = (32.9 ± 2)%. The proposed experiment is the continuation of the preceding measurements of the same quantities in the np scattering at the Van de Graaff accelerator of Charles University

Precise Head Tracking in Hearing Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Helle, A. M.; Pilinski, J.; Luhmann, T.

2015-05-01

The paper gives an overview about two research projects, both dealing with optical head tracking in hearing applications. As part of the project "Development of a real-time low-cost tracking system for medical and audiological problems (ELCoT)" a cost-effective single camera 3D tracking system has been developed which enables the detection of arm and head movements of human patients. Amongst others, the measuring system is designed for a new hearing test (based on the "Mainzer Kindertisch"), which analyzes the directional hearing capabilities of children in cooperation with the research project ERKI (Evaluation of acoustic sound source localization for children). As part of the research project framework "Hearing in everyday life (HALLO)" a stereo tracking system is being used for analyzing the head movement of human patients during complex acoustic events. Together with the consideration of biosignals like skin conductance the speech comprehension and listening effort of persons with reduced hearing ability, especially in situations with background noise, is evaluated. For both projects the system design, accuracy aspects and results of practical tests are discussed.

Graphics of polar figure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Macias B, L.R.

1991-11-01

The objective of this work, is that starting from a data file coming from a spectra that has been softened, and of the one that have been generated its coordinates to project it in stereographic form, to create the corresponding polar figure making use of the Cyber computer of the ININ by means of the GRAPHOS package. This work only requires a Beta, Fi and Intensity (I) enter data file. It starts of the existence of a softened spectra of which have been generated already with these data, making use of some language that in this case was FORTRAN for the Cyber computer, a program is generated supported in the Graphos package that allows starting of a reading of the Beta, Fi, I file, to generate the points in a stereographic projection and that it culminates with the graph of the corresponding polar figure. The program will request the pertinent information that is wanted to capture in the polar figure just as: date, name of the enter file, indexes of the polar figure, number of levels, radio of the stereographic projection (cms.), crystalline system to which belongs the sample, name the neuter graph file by create and to add the own general data. (Author)

2011 Joint Science Education Project: Research Experience in Polar Science

Science.gov (United States)

Wilkening, J.; Ader, V.

2011-12-01

The Joint Science Education Project (JSEP), sponsored by the National Science Foundation, is a two-part program that brings together students and teachers from the United States, Greenland, and Denmark, for a unique cross-cultural, first-hand experience of the realities of polar science field research in Greenland. During JSEP, students experienced research being conducted on and near the Greenland ice sheet by attending researcher presentations, visiting NSF-funded field sites (including Summit and NEEM field stations, both located on the Greenland ice sheet), and designing and conducting research projects in international teams. The results of two of these projects will be highlighted. The atmospheric project investigated the differences in CO2, UVA, UVB, temperature, and albedo in different Arctic microenvironments, while also examining the interaction between the atmosphere and water present in the given environments. It was found that the carbon dioxide levels varied: glacial environments having the lowest levels, with an average concentration of 272.500 ppm, and non-vegetated, terrestrial environments having the highest, with an average concentration of 395.143 ppm. Following up on these results, it is planned to further investigate the interaction of the water and atmosphere, including water's role in the uptake of carbon dioxide. The ecology project investigated the occurrence of unusual large blooms of Nostoc cyanobacteria in Kangerlussuaq area lakes. The water chemistry of the lakes which contained the cyanobacteria and the lakes that did not were compared. The only noticeable difference was of the lakes' acidity, lakes containing the blooms had an average pH value of 8.58, whereas lakes without the blooms had an average pH value of 6.60. Further investigation of these results is needed to determine whether or not this was a cause or effect of the cyanobacteria blooms. As a next step, it is planned to attempt to grow the blooms to monitor their effects on

Mounting for ceramic scroll

Science.gov (United States)

Petty, Jack D.

1993-01-01

A mounting for a ceramic scroll on a metal engine block of a gas turbine engine includes a first ceramic ring and a pair of cross key connections between the first ceramic ring, the ceramic scroll, and the engine block. The cross key connections support the scroll on the engine block independent of relative radial thermal growth and for bodily movement toward an annular mounting shoulder on the engine. The scroll has an uninterrupted annular shoulder facing the mounting shoulder on the engine block. A second ceramic ring is captured between mounting shoulder and the uninterrupted shoulder on the scroll when the latter is bodily shifted toward the mouting shoulder to define a gas seal between the scroll and the engine block.

Solar panel truss mounting systems and methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Al-Haddad, Tristan Farris; Cavieres, Andres; Gentry, Russell; Goodman, Joseph; Nolan, Wade; Pitelka, Taylor; Rahimzadeh, Keyan; Brooks, Bradley; Lohr, Joshua; Crooks, Ryan; Porges, Jamie; Rubin, Daniel

2016-06-28

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides a solar panel truss mounting system comprising a base and a truss assembly coupled to the base. The truss assembly comprises a first panel rail mount, second panel rail mount parallel to the first panel rail mount, base rail mount parallel to the first and second panel rail mounts, and a plurality of support members. A first portion of the plurality of support members extends between the first and second panel rail mounts. A second portion of the plurality of support members extends between the first panel rail mount and the base rail mount. A third portion of the plurality of support members extends between the second panel rail mount and the base rail mount. The system can further comprise a plurality of connectors for coupling a plurality of photovoltaic solar panels to the truss assembly.

Solar panel truss mounting systems and methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Al-Haddad, Tristan Farris; Cavieres, Andres; Gentry, Russell; Goodman, Joseph; Nolan, Wade; Pitelka, Taylor; Rahimzadeh, Keyan; Brooks, Bradley; Lohr, Joshua; Crooks, Ryan; Porges, Jamie; Rubin, Daniel

2018-01-30

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides a solar panel truss mounting system comprising a base and a truss assembly coupled to the base. The truss assembly comprises a first panel rail mount, second panel rail mount parallel to the first panel rail mount, base rail mount parallel to the first and second panel rail mounts, and a plurality of support members. A first portion of the plurality of support members extends between the first and second panel rail mounts. A second portion of the plurality of support members extends between the first panel rail mount and the base rail mount. A third portion of the plurality of support members extends between the second panel rail mount and the base rail mount. The system can further comprise a plurality of connectors for coupling a plurality of photovoltaic solar panels to the truss assembly.

Solar panel truss mounting systems and methods

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Haddad, Tristan Farris; Cavieres, Andres; Gentry, Russell; Goodman, Joseph; Nolan, Wade; Pitelka, Taylor; Rahimzadeh, Keyan; Brooks, Bradley; Lohr, Joshua; Crooks, Ryan; Porges, Jamie; Rubin, Daniel

2015-10-20

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides a solar panel truss mounting system comprising a base and a truss assembly coupled to the base. The truss assembly comprises a first panel rail mount, second panel rail mount parallel to the first panel rail mount, base rail mount parallel to the first and second panel rail mounts, and a plurality of support members. A first portion of the plurality of support members extends between the first and second panel rail mounts. A second portion of the plurality of support members extends between the first panel rail mount and the base rail mount. A third portion of the plurality of support members extends between the second panel rail mount and the base rail mount. The system can further comprise a plurality of connectors for coupling a plurality of photovoltaic solar panels to the truss assembly.

Photoelectron linear accelerator for producing a low emittance polarized electron beam

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, David U.; Clendenin, James E.; Kirby, Robert E.

2004-06-01

A photoelectron linear accelerator for producing a low emittance polarized electric beam. The accelerator includes a tube having an inner wall, the inner tube wall being coated by a getter material. A portable, or demountable, cathode plug is mounted within said tube, the surface of said cathode having a semiconductor material formed thereon.

Head Impact Exposure in Junior and Adult Australian Football Players

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark Hecimovich

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This study measured and compared the frequency, magnitude, and distribution of head impacts sustained by junior and adult Australian football players, respectively, and between player positions over a season of games. Twelve junior and twelve adult players were tracked using a skin-mounted impact sensor. Head impact exposure, including frequency, magnitude, and location of impacts, was quantified using previously established methods. Over the collection period, there were no significant differences in the impact frequency between junior and adult players. However, there was a significant increase in the frequency of head impacts for midfielders in both grades once we accounted for player position. A comparable amount of head impacts in both junior and adult players has implications for Australian football regarding player safety and medical coverage as younger players sustained similar impact levels as adult players. The other implication of a higher impact profile within midfielders is that, by targeting education and prevention strategies, a decrease in the incidence of sports-related concussion may result.

Simulated laparoscopy using a head-mounted display vs traditional video monitor: an assessment of performance and muscle fatigue.

Science.gov (United States)

Maithel, S K; Villegas, L; Stylopoulos, N; Dawson, S; Jones, D B

2005-03-01

The direction of visual gaze may be an important ergonomic factor that affects operative performance. We designed a study to determine whether a head-mounted display (HMD) worn by the surgeon would improve task performance and/or reduce muscle fatigue during a laparoscopic task when compared to the use of a traditional video monitor display (VMD). Surgical residents (n = 30) were enrolled in the study. A junior group, consisting of 15 postgraduate year (PGY) = 1 subjects with no previous laparoscopic experience, and a senior group, consisting of 15 PGY 4 and PGY 5 subjects with experience, completed a laparoscopic task that was repeated four times using the Computer Enhanced Laparoscopic Training System (CELTS). Groups alternated between using the HMD with the task placed in a downward frontal position and the VMD with the task at a 30 degrees lateral angle. The CELTS module assessed task completion time, depth perception, path length of instruments, response orientation, motion smoothness; the system then generated an overall score. Electromyography (EMG) was used to record sternocleidomastoid muscle activity. Display preference was surveyed. The senior residents performed better than the junior residents overall on all parameters (p < 0.05) except for motion smoothness, where there was no difference. In both groups, the HMD significantly improved motion smoothness when compared to the VMD (p < 0.05). All other parameters were equal. There was less muscle fatigue when using the VMD (p < 0.05). We found that 66% of the junior residents but only 20% of the senior residents preferred the HMD. The CELTS module demonstrated evidence of construct validity by differentiating the performances of junior and senior residents. By aligning the surgeon's visual gaze with the instruments, HMD improved smoothness of motion. Experienced residents preferred the traditional monitor display. Although the VMD produced less muscle fatigue, inexperienced residents preferred the HMD

Channel uranium-graphite reactor mounting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Polushkin, K.K.; Kuznetsov, A.G.; Zheleznyakov, B.N.

1981-01-01

According to theoretical principles of general engineering technology the engineering experience of construction-mounting works at the NPP with channel uranium-graphite reactors is systematized. Main parameters and structural features of the 1000 MW channel uranium-graphite reactors are considered. The succession of mounting operations, premounting equipment and pipelines preparation and mounting works technique are described. The most efficient methods of fitting, welding and machining of reactor elements are recommended. Main problems of technical control service are discussed. A typical netted diagram of main equipment of channel uranium-graphite reactors mounting is given

Polarization sensitive camera for the in vitro diagnostic and monitoring of dental erosion

Science.gov (United States)

Bossen, Anke; Rakhmatullina, Ekaterina; Lussi, Adrian; Meier, Christoph

Due to a frequent consumption of acidic food and beverages, the prevalence of dental erosion increases worldwide. In an initial erosion stage, the hard dental tissue is softened due to acidic demineralization. As erosion progresses, a gradual tissue wear occurs resulting in thinning of the enamel. Complete loss of the enamel tissue can be observed in severe clinical cases. Therefore, it is essential to provide a diagnosis tool for an accurate detection and monitoring of dental erosion already at early stages. In this manuscript, we present the development of a polarization sensitive imaging camera for the visualization and quantification of dental erosion. The system consists of two CMOS cameras mounted on two sides of a polarizing beamsplitter. A horizontal linearly polarized light source is positioned orthogonal to the camera to ensure an incidence illumination and detection angles of 45°. The specular reflected light from the enamel surface is collected with an objective lens mounted on the beam splitter and divided into horizontal (H) and vertical (V) components on each associate camera. Images of non-eroded and eroded enamel surfaces at different erosion degrees were recorded and assessed with diagnostic software. The software was designed to generate and display two types of images: distribution of the reflection intensity (V) and a polarization ratio (H-V)/(H+V) throughout the analyzed tissue area. The measurements and visualization of these two optical parameters, i.e. specular reflection intensity and the polarization ratio, allowed detection and quantification of enamel erosion at early stages in vitro.

[The organizational projects management led by head nurses: qualitative study from an educational device.

Science.gov (United States)

Dujardin, Pierre-Philippe; Reverdy, Thomas; Valette, Annick; François, Patrice

2017-09-01

The work of operational coordination led by head nurses (HN) is more known than their abilities to change work organization, as well as, care practices. In this article, we explore organizational projects led by HN. Depending on the situations, they may concern their health care team or involve institutional hierarchy or other teams. We rely on an intervention study, which enabled us to follow 17 organizational projects led by HN for one year. The results of this study highlight as the main condition for success, the HN' efforts to enable mutual understanding with other interested actors. Managers, who engage their health care team in the development of solutions, bring sustainable results. When problems involve the hierarchy, the managers focus on the development of personal relationships. When problems involve other departments, which they depend on, then they engage themselves into integrative negotiations. These results invite to open discussion about work organization and to formalize organizational projects. This intervention study also points out that work - training at operational audit is relevant for HN. Activé par Editorial Manager® et ProduXion.

Visualization of polarization state and its application in optics classroom teaching

Science.gov (United States)

Lei, Bing; Liu, Wei; Shi, Jianhua; Wang, Wei; Yao, Tianfu; Liu, Shugang

2017-08-01

Polarization of light and the related knowledge are key and difficult points in optical teaching, and they are difficult to be understood since they are very abstract concepts. To help students understand the polarization properties of light, some classroom demonstration experiments have been constructed by employing the optical source, polarizers, wave plates optical cage system and polarization axis finder (PAF). The PAF is a polarization indicating device with many linear polarizing components concentric circles, which can visualize the polarization axis's direction of linearly polarized light intuitively. With the help of these demonstration experiment systems, the conversion and difference between the linear polarized light and circularly polarized light have been observed directly by inserting or removing a quarter-wave plate. The rotation phenomenon of linearly polarized light's polarization axis when it propagates through an optical active medium has been observed and studied in experiment, and the strain distribution of some mounted and unmounted lenses have also been demonstrated and observed in experiment conveniently. Furthermore, some typical polarization targets, such as liquid crystal display (LCD), polarized dark glass and skylight, have been observed based on PAF, which is quite suitable to help students understand these targets' polarization properties and the related physical laws. Finally, these demonstration experimental systems have been employed in classroom teaching of our university in physical optics, optoelectronics and photoelectric detection courses, and they are very popular with teachers and students.

Detector Mount Design for IGRINS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jae Sok Oh

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The Immersion Grating Infrared Spectrometer (IGRINS is a near-infrared wide-band high-resolution spectrograph jointly developed by the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute and the University of Texas at Austin. IGRINS employs three HAWAII-2RG Focal Plane Array (H2RG FPA detectors. We present the design and fabrication of the detector mount for the H2RG detector. The detector mount consists of a detector housing, an ASIC housing, a Field Flattener Lens (FFL mount, and a support base frame. The detector and the ASIC housing should be kept at 65 K and the support base frame at 130 K. Therefore they are thermally isolated by the support made of GFRP material. The detector mount is designed so that it has features of fine adjusting the position of the detector surface in the optical axis and of fine adjusting yaw and pitch angles in order to utilize as an optical system alignment compensator. We optimized the structural stability and thermal characteristics of the mount design using computer-aided 3D modeling and finite element analysis. Based on the structural and thermal analysis, the designed detector mount meets an optical stability tolerance and system thermal requirements. Actual detector mount fabricated based on the design has been installed into the IGRINS cryostat and successfully passed a vacuum test and a cold test.

Mount Athos: Between autonomy and statehood

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Avramović Dragutin

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Legal status of the Mount Athos is characterized by many special features that make it internationally unique legal regime. The author analyzes peculiarities of Mount Athos territorial status, legal position of residents and visitors, as well as organization of Mount Athos authorities. The author concludes that the Mount Athos is characterized by a kind of para-sovereignty. Its autonomy involves not only the internal organization, autonomous governance and religious autonomy, but it also includes many elements of secular life of their visitors. Mount Athos has its own, separate legislative, administrative and judicial powers, while the Statute of the Mount Athos has greater legal force than all the other laws of the Greek state, because the state can not unilaterally change its provisions. Having in mind that the wide self-government is vested in church authorities and that the monks have very specific way of living, the author takes a position that the Mount Athos represent 'monastic state', but without statehood. The author also states that the Mount Athos will be faced with many challenges in the context of spreading of an assimilating, universal conception of human rights.

Rotation and direction judgment from visual images head-slaved in two and three degrees-of-freedom.

Science.gov (United States)

Adelstein, B D; Ellis, S R

2000-03-01

The contribution to spatial awareness of adding a roll degree-of-freedom (DOF) to telepresence camera platform yaw and pitch was examined in an experiment where subjects judged direction and rotation of stationary target markers in a remote scene. Subjects viewed the scene via head-slaved camera images in a head-mounted display. Elimination of the roll DOF affected rotation judgment, but only at extreme yaw and pitch combinations, and did not affect azimuth and elevation judgement. Systematic azimuth overshoot occurred regardless of roll condition. Observed rotation misjudgments are explained by kinematic models for eye-head direction of gaze.

The PolarSEEDS project: communicating Greenland melting through visualization and sonification

Science.gov (United States)

Tedesco, M.; Perl, J.; Saltz, I.; Ham, E.

2013-12-01

During fall of 2011 a group of faculty at the City College of New York from the Science and Art Divisions drafted a concept for a project about communicating results from his research concerning the melting of the Greenland ice sheet through 'unconventional' venues, such as Visual Arts and Music. The opportunity to build a team and perform a project came to reality when the City College of New York (CCNY) called for the City SEED call proposal (therefore the name POLARSEEDS). The call was looking to fund innovative interdisciplinary work that could create connections among different disciplines within CCNY. The faculty members of the project were affiliated with the Dept. of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (Tedesco), the Music Dept. and the Sonic Arts Center (Perl) and Art Dept. (Saltz and Ham). The PolarSEEDS project involved also six students at graduate and master level from the three departments. The project culminated in an exhibition at CCNY in which soundscapes obtained from sounds recorded during fieldwork in Greenland were combined with sonifications of the outputs of a climate model used to study melting in Greenland to generate ambient sounds. At the exhibit, many sonifications of the model outputs were available at computer stations together with the explanation of the different approaches undertaken to generate them. Large aerial photos of supraglacial streams and lakes over Greenland were exhibited together with infographics addressing some of the causes and implications of melting. Videos showing either footage of melting features or the impact of albedo on melting (through ad hoc experiments carried out in laboratory and filmed for the exhibit) were also exhibited. Lastly, the visitors had the opportunity to play an interactive web game developed for the project in which they had to balance the amount of clouds, solar radiation, rain and snow to keep the Greenland ice sheet from melting completely and flood New York City. In my presentation, I will

Evaluation of stereoscopic video cameras synchronized with the movement of an operator's head on the teleoperation of the actual backhoe shovel

Science.gov (United States)

Minamoto, Masahiko; Matsunaga, Katsuya

1999-05-01

Operator performance while using a remote controlled backhoe shovel is described for three different stereoscopic viewing conditions: direct view, fixed stereoscopic cameras connected to a helmet mounted display (HMD), and rotating stereo camera connected and slaved to the head orientation of a free moving stereo HMD. Results showed that the head- slaved system provided the best performance.

Analysis of real-time head accelerations in collegiate football players.

Science.gov (United States)

Duma, Stefan M; Manoogian, Sarah J; Bussone, William R; Brolinson, P Gunnar; Goforth, Mike W; Donnenwerth, Jesse J; Greenwald, Richard M; Chu, Jeffrey J; Crisco, Joseph J

2005-01-01

To measure and analyze head accelerations during American collegiate football practices and games. A newly developed in-helmet 6-accelerometer system that transmits data via radio frequency to a sideline receiver and laptop computer system was implemented. From the data transfer of these accelerometer traces, the sideline staff has real-time data including the head acceleration, the head injury criteria value, the severity index value, and the impact location. Data are presented for instrumented players for the entire 2003 football season, including practices and games. American collegiate football. Thirty-eight players from Virginia Tech's varsity football team. Accelerations and pathomechanics of head impacts. : A total of 3312 impacts were recorded over 35 practices and 10 games for 38 players. The average peak head acceleration, Gadd Severity Index, and Head Injury Criteria were 32 g +/- 25 g, 36 g +/- 91 g, and 26 g +/- 64 g, respectively. One concussive event was observed with a peak acceleration of 81 g, a 267 Gadd Severity Index, and 200 Head Injury Criteria. Because the concussion was not reported until the day after of the event, a retrospective diagnosis based on his history and clinical evaluation suggested a mild concussion. The primary finding of this study is that the helmet-mounted accelerometer system proved effective at collecting thousands of head impact events and providing contemporaneous head impact parameters that can be integrated with existing clinical evaluation techniques.

CFRP platform and hexapod mount for the Array of MIcrowave Background Anisotropy (AMiBA)

Science.gov (United States)

Raffin, Philippe A.; Martin, Robert N.; Huang, Yau-De; Patt, Ferdinand; Romeo, Robert C.; Chen, Ming-Tang; Kingsley, Jeffrey S.

2004-09-01

AMiBA consists of a 90 GHz interferometric array telescope with dishes ranging in size from 0.3 to 2.4 meter in diameter, mounted on a 6-meter fully steerable platform. The dishes are attached to the receivers, which are mounted on a platform controlled by a six degree of freedom hexapod mount. The hexapod mount is a parallel connection manipulator also called Stewart Platform. The basic reference for this mechanism is a paper by Stewart. The Stewart Platform is a unique kinematically constrained work platform. It can be manipulated through the six degrees of freedom. The hexapod also provides better accuracy, rigidity, load to weight ratio and load distribution than a serial manipulator or traditional manipulator. The advantages of the hexapod shows that it is a great choice for the AMiBA project. Vertex Antennentechnik GmbH fabricates the hexapod. Testing has started in Germany. The telescope will be delivered in the summer of 2004. The 6m in diameter hexagonal platform is made of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) and consists of seven pieces of three different unique types. The platform can be disassembled and fits in a container for transportation. The mounting plane flatness is an important issue for the platform assembly. The deflection angle of the mounting plane relative to any other mounting position must be less than 20 arcsec. Meanwhile, the platform must endure a loading of 3 tons. The platform has been built by Composite Mirror Applications, Inc. (CMA) in Tucson, and mounted on the Hexapod in Germany. This report describes the design and testing of platform and mount for the AMiBA telescope.

Paleomagnetism of the Neoproterozoic Mount Harper Volcanic Complex, Canada

Science.gov (United States)

Eyster, A. E.; Macdonald, F. A.; O'Connell, R. J.

2012-12-01

Paleomagnetism can be used to identify apparent polar wander, which involves contributions from plate tectonics and true polar wander. True polar wander events have been suggested to have played an important role throughout Earth's history. The Neoproterozoic Mount Harper Volcanic Complex (MHVC) provides paleomagnetic data that bears on this issue. The MHVC is located in the southern Ogilvie Mountains in the Yukon Territory, on the north-west corner of the Laurentian craton. The MHVC involves up to 1200 m of basaltic and andesitic flows. The MHVC reflects the propagating rifting event involved in the breakup of the supercontinent Rodinia. The MHVC is well dated with an age of 717.43± 0.14Ma from the top (Macdonald et al., Science, 2010). Below the MHVC are alluvial fan conglomerate and sandstone from Proterozoic normal faulting. Above the MHVC is a glacial diamictite dated to 716.47± 0.24 Ma and related to Snowball Earth glaciation (Macdonald et al., Science, 2010). Both block and core samples were collected from different members of the MHVC for paleomagnetic study. Included in the sampling were several stratigraphic sections. Alternating field and thermal stepwise demagnetization methods were used to analyze specimens. Magnetic components were determined using principal component analysis and Fisher statistical procedures were used to calculate mean directions. The stratigraphically sampled basalt flows yielded two components. One was a common secondary overprint, and the other was a high stability component which yielded two different directions. One pole is the same as the accepted Neoproterozoic Laurentian grand mean pole and the other is ˜50 degrees away from this grand mean pole. Several possible interpretations are explored- tectonic rotation, true polar wander or the presence of a non-dipolar geomagnetic field.

Head Start.

Science.gov (United States)

Greenman, Geri

2000-01-01

Discusses an art project in which students created drawings of mop heads. Explains that the approach of drawing was more important than the subject. States that the students used the chiaroscuro technique, used by Rembrandt and Caravaggio, in which light appears out of the darkness. (CMK)

The ELSA laser beamline for electron polarization measurements via Compton backscattering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Switka, Michael; Hinterkeuser, Florian; Koop, Rebecca; Hillert, Wolfgang [Electron Stretcher Facility ELSA, Physics Institute of Bonn University (Germany)

2016-07-01

The Electron Stretcher Facility ELSA provides a spin polarized electron beam with energies of 0.5 - 3.2 GeV for double polarization hadron physics experiments. As of 2015, the laser beamline of the polarimeter based on Compton backscattering restarted operation. It consists of a cw disk laser with design total beam power of 40 W and features two polarized 515 nm photon beams colliding head-on with the stored electron beam in ELSA. The polarization measurement is based on the vertical profile asymmetry of the back-scattered photons, which is dependent on the polarization degree of the stored electron beam. After recent laser repairs, beamline and detector modifications, the properties of the beamline have been determined and first measurements of the electron polarization degree were conducted. The beamline performance and first measurements are presented.

Local Polar Fluctuations in Lead Halide Perovskite Crystals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yaffe, Omer; Guo, Yinsheng; Tan, Liang Z.; Egger, David A.; Hull, Trevor; Stoumpos, Constantinos C.; Zheng, Fan; Heinz, Tony F.; Kronik, Leeor; Kanatzidis, Mercouri G.; Owen, Jonathan S.; Rappe, Andrew M.; Pimenta, Marcos A.; Brus, Louis E.

2017-03-01

Hybrid lead-halide perovskites have emerged as an excellent class of photovoltaic materials. Recent reports suggest that the organic molecular cation is responsible for local polar fluctuations that inhibit carrier recombination. We combine low-frequency Raman scattering with first-principles molecular dynamics (MD) to study the fundamental nature of these local polar fluctuations. Our observations of a strong central peak in the cubic phase of both hybrid (CH3NH3PbBr3) and all-inorganic (CsPbBr3) leadhalide perovskites show that anharmonic, local polar fluctuations are intrinsic to the general lead-halide perovskite structure, and not unique to the dipolar organic cation. MD simulations indicate that head-tohead Cs motion coupled to Br face expansion, occurring on a few hundred femtosecond time scale, drives the local polar fluctuations in CsPbBr3.

North Polar Cap

Science.gov (United States)

2004-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] This week we will be looking at five examples of laminar wind flow on the north polar cap. On Earth, gravity-driven south polar cap winds are termed 'catabatic' winds. Catabatic winds begin over the smooth expanse of the cap interior due to temperature differences between the atmosphere and the surface. Once begun, the winds sweep outward along the surface of the polar cap toward the sea. As the polar surface slopes down toward sealevel, the wind speeds increase. Catabatic wind speeds in the Antartic can reach several hundreds of miles per hour. In the images of the Martian north polar cap we can see these same type of winds. Notice the streamers of dust moving downslope over the darker trough sides, these streamers show the laminar flow regime coming off the cap. Within the trough we see turbulent clouds of dust, kicked up at the trough base as the winds slow down and enter a chaotic flow regime. The horizontal lines in these images are due to framelet overlap and lighting conditions over the bright polar cap. Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 86.5, Longitude 64.5 East (295.5 West). 40 meter/pixel resolution. Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen

Improved Electron Yield and Spin-Polarization from III-V Photocathodes via Bias Enhanced Carrier Drift: Final Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mulhollan, Gregory A.

2006-01-01

In this DOE STTR program, Saxet Surface Science, with the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center as partner, designed, built and tested photocathode structures such that optimal drift-enhanced spin-polarization from GaAs based photoemitters was achieved with minimal bias supply requirements. The forward bias surface grid composition was optimized for maximum polarization and yield, together with other construction parameters including doping profile. This program has culminated in a cathode bias structure affording increased electron spin polarization when applied to III-V based photocathodes. The optimized bias structure has been incorporated into a cathode mounting and biasing design for use in a polarized electron gun.

Dissection and Flat-mounting of the Threespine Stickleback Branchial Skeleton.

Science.gov (United States)

Ellis, Nicholas A; Miller, Craig T

2016-05-07

The posterior pharyngeal segments of the vertebrate head give rise to the branchial skeleton, the primary site of food processing in fish. The morphology of the fish branchial skeleton is matched to a species' diet. Threespine stickleback fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus) have emerged as a model system to study the genetic and developmental basis of evolved differences in a variety of traits. Marine populations of sticklebacks have repeatedly colonized countless new freshwater lakes and creeks. Adaptation to the new diet in these freshwater environments likely underlies a series of craniofacial changes that have evolved repeatedly in independently derived freshwater populations. These include three major patterning changes to the branchial skeleton: reductions in the number and length of gill raker bones, increases in pharyngeal tooth number, and increased branchial bone lengths. Here we describe a detailed protocol to dissect and flat-mount the internal branchial skeleton in threespine stickleback fish. Dissection of the entire three-dimensional branchial skeleton and mounting it flat into a largely two-dimensional prep allows for the easy visualization and quantification of branchial skeleton morphology. This dissection method is inexpensive, fast, relatively easy, and applicable to a wide variety of fish species. In sticklebacks, this efficient method allows the quantification of skeletal morphology in genetic crosses to map genomic regions controlling craniofacial patterning.

Flush Mounting Of Thin-Film Sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Thomas C., Sr.

1992-01-01

Technique developed for mounting thin-film sensors flush with surfaces like aerodynamic surfaces of aircraft, which often have compound curvatures. Sensor mounted in recess by use of vacuum pad and materials selected for specific application. Technique involves use of materials tailored to thermal properties of substrate in which sensor mounted. Together with customized materials, enables flush mounting of thin-film sensors in most situations in which recesses for sensors provided. Useful in both aircraft and automotive industries.

Local polar fluctuations in lead halide perovskites

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Liang; Yaffe, Omer; Guo, Yinsheng; Brus, Louis; Rappe, Andrew; Egger, David; Kronik, Leeor

The lead halide perovskites have recently attracted much attention because of their large and growing photovoltaic power conversion efficiencies. However, questions remain regarding the temporal and spatial correlations of the structural fluctuations, their atomistic nature, and how they affect electronic and photovoltaic properties. To address these questions, we have performed a combined ab initio molecular dynamics (MD) and density functional theory (DFT) study on CsPbBr3. We have observed prevalent anharmonic motion in our MD trajectories, with local polar fluctuations involving head-to-head motion of A-site Cs cations coupled with Br window opening. We calculate Raman spectra from the polarizability auto-correlation functions obtained from these trajectories and show that anharmonic A-site cation motion manifests as a broad central peak in the Raman spectrum, which increases in intensity with temperature. A comparison of the experimental Raman spectrum of hybrid organometallic MAPbBr3 and fully inorganic CsPbBr3 suggests that structural fluctuations in lead-halide perovskites is more general than rotation of polar organic cations and is intimately coupled to the inorganic framework.

A fully automated calibration method for an optical see-through head-mounted operating microscope with variable zoom and focus.

Science.gov (United States)

Figl, Michael; Ede, Christopher; Hummel, Johann; Wanschitz, Felix; Ewers, Rolf; Bergmann, Helmar; Birkfellner, Wolfgang

2005-11-01

Ever since the development of the first applications in image-guided therapy (IGT), the use of head-mounted displays (HMDs) was considered an important extension of existing IGT technologies. Several approaches to utilizing HMDs and modified medical devices for augmented reality (AR) visualization were implemented. These approaches include video-see through systems, semitransparent mirrors, modified endoscopes, and modified operating microscopes. Common to all these devices is the fact that a precise calibration between the display and three-dimensional coordinates in the patient's frame of reference is compulsory. In optical see-through devices based on complex optical systems such as operating microscopes or operating binoculars-as in the case of the system presented in this paper-this procedure can become increasingly difficult since precise camera calibration for every focus and zoom position is required. We present a method for fully automatic calibration of the operating binocular Varioscope M5 AR for the full range of zoom and focus settings available. Our method uses a special calibration pattern, a linear guide driven by a stepping motor, and special calibration software. The overlay error in the calibration plane was found to be 0.14-0.91 mm, which is less than 1% of the field of view. Using the motorized calibration rig as presented in the paper, we were also able to assess the dynamic latency when viewing augmentation graphics on a mobile target; spatial displacement due to latency was found to be in the range of 1.1-2.8 mm maximum, the disparity between the true object and its computed overlay represented latency of 0.1 s. We conclude that the automatic calibration method presented in this paper is sufficient in terms of accuracy and time requirements for standard uses of optical see-through systems in a clinical environment.

Research on Measurement Accuracy of Laser Tracking System Based on Spherical Mirror with Rotation Errors of Gimbal Mount Axes

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Zhaoyao; Song, Huixu; Chen, Hongfang; Sun, Yanqiang

2018-02-01

This paper presents a novel experimental approach for confirming that spherical mirror of a laser tracking system can reduce the influences of rotation errors of gimbal mount axes on the measurement accuracy. By simplifying the optical system model of laser tracking system based on spherical mirror, we can easily extract the laser ranging measurement error caused by rotation errors of gimbal mount axes with the positions of spherical mirror, biconvex lens, cat's eye reflector, and measuring beam. The motions of polarization beam splitter and biconvex lens along the optical axis and vertical direction of optical axis are driven by error motions of gimbal mount axes. In order to simplify the experimental process, the motion of biconvex lens is substituted by the motion of spherical mirror according to the principle of relative motion. The laser ranging measurement error caused by the rotation errors of gimbal mount axes could be recorded in the readings of laser interferometer. The experimental results showed that the laser ranging measurement error caused by rotation errors was less than 0.1 μm if radial error motion and axial error motion were within ±10 μm. The experimental method simplified the experimental procedure and the spherical mirror could reduce the influences of rotation errors of gimbal mount axes on the measurement accuracy of the laser tracking system.

Loose Coupling of Wearable-Based INSs with Automatic Heading Evaluation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dina Bousdar Ahmed

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Position tracking of pedestrians by means of inertial sensors is a highly explored field of research. In fact, there are already many approaches to implement inertial navigation systems (INSs. However, most of them use a single inertial measurement unit (IMU attached to the pedestrian’s body. Since wearable-devices will be given items in the future, this work explores the implementation of an INS using two wearable-based IMUs. A loosely coupled approach is proposed to combine the outputs of wearable-based INSs. The latter are based on a pocket-mounted IMU and a foot-mounted IMU. The loosely coupled fusion combines the output of the two INSs not only when these outputs are least erroneous, but also automatically favoring the best output. This approach is named smart update. The main challenge is determining the quality of the heading estimation of each INS, which changes every time. In order to address this, a novel concept to determine the quality of the heading estimation is presented. This concept is subject to a patent application. The results show that the position error rate of the loosely coupled fusion is 10 cm/s better than either the foot INS’s or pocket INS’s error rate in 95% of the cases.

Loose Coupling of Wearable-Based INSs with Automatic Heading Evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Bousdar Ahmed, Dina; Munoz Diaz, Estefania

2017-11-03

Position tracking of pedestrians by means of inertial sensors is a highly explored field of research. In fact, there are already many approaches to implement inertial navigation systems (INSs). However, most of them use a single inertial measurement unit (IMU) attached to the pedestrian's body. Since wearable-devices will be given items in the future, this work explores the implementation of an INS using two wearable-based IMUs. A loosely coupled approach is proposed to combine the outputs of wearable-based INSs. The latter are based on a pocket-mounted IMU and a foot-mounted IMU. The loosely coupled fusion combines the output of the two INSs not only when these outputs are least erroneous, but also automatically favoring the best output. This approach is named smart update. The main challenge is determining the quality of the heading estimation of each INS, which changes every time. In order to address this, a novel concept to determine the quality of the heading estimation is presented. This concept is subject to a patent application. The results show that the position error rate of the loosely coupled fusion is 10 cm/s better than either the foot INS's or pocket INS's error rate in 95% of the cases.

Rich Support for Heterogeneous Polar Data in RAMADDA

Science.gov (United States)

McWhirter, J.; Crosby, C. J.; Griffith, P. C.; Khalsa, S.; Lazzara, M. A.; Weber, W. J.

2013-12-01

Difficult to navigate environments, tenuous logistics, strange forms, deeply rooted cultures - these are all experiences shared by Polar scientist in the field as well as the developers of the underlying data management systems back in the office. Among the key data management challenges that Polar investigations present are the heterogeneity and complexity of data that are generated. Polar regions are intensely studied across many science domains through a variety of techniques - satellite and aircraft remote sensing, in-situ observation networks, modeling, sociological investigations, and extensive PI-driven field project data collection. While many data management efforts focus on large homogeneous collections of data targeting specific science domains (e.g., satellite, GPS, modeling), multi-disciplinary efforts that focus on Polar data need to be able to address a wide range of data formats, science domains and user communities. There is growing use of the RAMADDA (Repository for Archiving, Managing and Accessing Diverse Data) system to manage and provide services for Polar data. RAMADDA is a freely available extensible data repository framework that supports a wide range of data types and services to allow the creation, management, discovery and use of data and metadata. The broad range of capabilities provided by RAMADDA and its extensibility makes it well-suited as an archive solution for Polar data. RAMADDA can run in a number of diverse contexts - as a centralized archive, at local institutions, and can even run on an investigator's laptop in the field, providing in-situ metadata and data management services. We are actively developing archives and support for a number of Polar initiatives: - NASA-Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE): ABoVE is a long-term multi-instrument field campaign that will make use of a wide range of data. We have developed an extensive ontology of program, project and site metadata in RAMADDA, in support of the ABo

PolarHub: A Global Hub for Polar Data Discovery

Science.gov (United States)

Li, W.

2014-12-01

This paper reports the outcome of a NSF project in developing a large-scale web crawler PolarHub to discover automatically the distributed polar dataset in the format of OGC web services (OWS) in the cyberspace. PolarHub is a machine robot; its goal is to visit as many webpages as possible to find those containing information about polar OWS, extract this information and store it into the backend data repository. This is a very challenging task given huge data volume of webpages on the Web. Three unique features was introduced in PolarHub to make it distinctive from earlier crawler solutions: (1) a multi-task, multi-user, multi-thread support to the crawling tasks; (2) an extensive use of thread pool and Data Access Object (DAO) design patterns to separate persistent data storage and business logic to achieve high extendibility of the crawler tool; (3) a pattern-matching based customizable crawling algorithm to support discovery of multi-type geospatial web services; and (4) a universal and portable client-server communication mechanism combining a server-push and client pull strategies for enhanced asynchronous processing. A series of experiments were conducted to identify the impact of crawling parameters to the overall system performance. The geographical distribution pattern of all PolarHub identified services is also demonstrated. We expect this work to make a major contribution to the field of geospatial information retrieval and geospatial interoperability, to bridge the gap between data provider and data consumer, and to accelerate polar science by enhancing the accessibility and reusability of adequate polar data.

Post Traumatic Tension Pneumocephalus: The Mount Fuji Sign

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Ryan, J

2017-04-01

Pneumocephalus is defined as the presence of intracranial air. This is most commonly secondary to a traumatic head injury. Tension pneumocephalus presents radiologically with compression of the frontal lobes and widening of the interhemispheric space between the frontal lobes. It is often termed the Mount Fuji sign due to a perceived similarity with an iconic mountain peak in Japan. We present the case of a 52-year-old gentleman who presented to the emergency department shortly before 8am on a Saturday morning following an assault. He was alert and ambulatory with no clinical evidence of raised intracranial pressure. A plain radiograph of the facial bones showed significant pneumocephalus. A later CT was consistent with a tension pneumocephalus which usually necessitates urgent decompression.The patient showed no clinical signs or symptoms of raised intracranial pressure and was managed conservatively. He was discharged home 16 days later with no neurological deficit

Three-dimensional head-mounted gaming task procedure maximizes effects of vestibular rehabilitation in unilateral vestibular hypofunction: a randomized controlled pilot trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Micarelli, Alessandro; Viziano, Andrea; Augimeri, Ivan; Micarelli, Domenico; Alessandrini, Marco

2017-12-01

Considering the emerging advantages related to virtual reality implementation in clinical rehabilitation, the aim of the present study was to discover possible (i) improvements achievable in unilateral vestibular hypofunction patients using a self-assessed head-mounted device (HMD)-based gaming procedure when combined with a classical vestibular rehabilitation protocol (HMD group) as compared with a group undergoing only vestibular rehabilitation and (ii) HMD procedure-related side effects. Therefore, 24 vestibular rehabilitation and 23-matched HMD unilateral vestibular hypofunction individuals simultaneously underwent a 4-week rehabilitation protocol. Both otoneurological measures (vestibulo-ocular reflex gain and postural arrangement by studying both posturography parameters and spectral values of body oscillation) and performance and self-report measures (Italian Dizziness Handicap Inventory; Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale; Zung Instrument for Anxiety Disorders, Dynamic Gait Index; and Simulator Sickness Questionnaire) were analyzed by means of a between-group/within-subject analysis of variance model. A significant post-treatment between-effect was found, and the HMD group demonstrated an overall improvement in vestibulo-ocular reflex gain on the lesional side, in posturography parameters, in low-frequency spectral domain, as well as in Italian Dizziness Handicap Inventory and Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale scores. Meanwhile, Simulator Sickness Questionnaire scores demonstrated a significant reduction in symptoms related to experimental home-based gaming tasks during the HMD procedure. Our findings revealed the possible advantages of HMD implementation in vestibular rehabilitation, suggesting it as an innovative, self-assessed, low-cost, and compliant tool useful in maximizing vestibular rehabilitation outcomes.

Amplified Head Rotation in Virtual Reality and the Effects on 3D Search, Training Transfer, and Spatial Orientation.

Science.gov (United States)

Ragan, Eric D; Scerbo, Siroberto; Bacim, Felipe; Bowman, Doug A

2017-08-01

Many types of virtual reality (VR) systems allow users to use natural, physical head movements to view a 3D environment. In some situations, such as when using systems that lack a fully surrounding display or when opting for convenient low-effort interaction, view control can be enabled through a combination of physical and virtual turns to view the environment, but the reduced realism could potentially interfere with the ability to maintain spatial orientation. One solution to this problem is to amplify head rotations such that smaller physical turns are mapped to larger virtual turns, allowing trainees to view the entire surrounding environment with small head movements. This solution is attractive because it allows semi-natural physical view control rather than requiring complete physical rotations or a fully-surrounding display. However, the effects of amplified head rotations on spatial orientation and many practical tasks are not well understood. In this paper, we present an experiment that evaluates the influence of amplified head rotation on 3D search, spatial orientation, and cybersickness. In the study, we varied the amount of amplification and also varied the type of display used (head-mounted display or surround-screen CAVE) for the VR search task. By evaluating participants first with amplification and then without, we were also able to study training transfer effects. The findings demonstrate the feasibility of using amplified head rotation to view 360 degrees of virtual space, but noticeable problems were identified when using high amplification with a head-mounted display. In addition, participants were able to more easily maintain a sense of spatial orientation when using the CAVE version of the application, which suggests that visibility of the user's body and awareness of the CAVE's physical environment may have contributed to the ability to use the amplification technique while keeping track of orientation.

Arsenic Removal from Drinking Water by Adsorptive Media, U.S. EPA Demonstration Project at LEADS Head Start Building in Buckeye Lake, OH - Final Performance Evaluation Report

Science.gov (United States)

This report documents the activities performed and the results obtained for the arsenic removal treatment technology demonstration project at Licking Economic Action Development Study (LEADS) Head Start School in Buckeye Lake, Ohio. The objectives of the project were to evaluate...

Solar panel parallel mounting configuration

Science.gov (United States)

Mutschler, Jr., Edward Charles (Inventor)

1998-01-01

A spacecraft includes a plurality of solar panels interconnected with a power coupler and an electrically operated device to provide power to the device when the solar cells are insolated. The solar panels are subject to bending distortion when entering or leaving eclipse. Spacecraft attitude disturbances are reduced by mounting each of the solar panels to an elongated boom made from a material with a low coefficient of thermal expansion, so that the bending of one panel is not communicated to the next. The boom may be insulated to reduce its bending during changes in insolation. A particularly advantageous embodiment mounts each panel to the boom with a single mounting, which may be a hinge. The single mounting prevents transfer of bending moments from the panel to the boom.

Polarizing beam splitter of deep-etched triangular-groove fused-silica gratings.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Jiangjun; Zhou, Changhe; Feng, Jijun; Wang, Bo

2008-07-15

We investigated the use of a deep-etched fused-silica grating with triangular-shaped grooves as a highly efficient polarizing beam splitter (PBS). A triangular-groove PBS grating is designed at a wavelength of 1550 nm to be used in optical communication. When it is illuminated in Littrow mounting, the transmitted TE- and TM-polarized waves are mainly diffracted in the minus-first and zeroth orders, respectively. The design condition is based on the average differences of the grating mode indices, which is verified by using rigorous coupled-wave analysis. The designed PBS grating is highly efficient over the C+L band range for both TE and TM polarizations (>97.68%). It is shown that such a triangular-groove PBS grating can exhibit a higher diffraction efficiency, a larger extinction ratio, and less reflection loss than the binary-phase fused-silica PBS grating.

Mounting Thin Samples For Electrical Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Matus, L. G.; Summers, R. L.

1988-01-01

New method for mounting thin sample for electrical measurements involves use of vacuum chuck to hold a ceramic mounting plate, which holds sample. Contacts on mounting plate establish electrical connection to sample. Used to make electrical measurements over temperature range from 77 to 1,000 K and does not introduce distortions into magnetic field during Hall measurements.

Polarization Characterization of a Multi-Moded Feed Structure

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Polarization Characterization of a Multi-Moded Feed Structure projects characterize the polarization response of a multi-moded feed horn as an innovative...

Disseminated Museum Displays and Participation of Students from Underrepresented Populations in Polar Research: Education and Outreach for Joint Projects in GPS and Seismology Solid Earth Science Community

Science.gov (United States)

Eriksson, S. C.; Wilson, T. J.; Anandakrishnan, S.; Aster, R. C.; Johns, B.; Anderson, K.; Taber, J.

2006-12-01

Two Antarctic projects developed by solid earth scientists in the GPS and seismology communities have rich education and outreach activities focused on disseminating information gleaned from this research and on including students from underrepresented groups. Members of the UNAVCO and IRIS research consortia along with international partners from Australia, Canada, Chile, Germany, Italy, New Zealand and the U.K. aim to deploy an ambitious GPS/seismic network to observe the Antarctic glaciological and geologic system using a multidisciplinary and internationally coordinated approach. The second project supports this network. UNAVCO and IRIS are designing and building a reliable power and communication system for autonomous polar station operation which use the latest power and communication technologies for ease of deployment and reliable multi-year operation in severe polar environments. This project will disseminate research results through an IPY/POLENET web-based museum style display based on the next-generation "Museum Lite" capability primarily supported by IRIS. "Museum Lite" uses a standard PC, touch-screen monitor, and standard Internet browsers to exploit the scalability and access of the Internet and to provide customizable content in an interactive setting. The unit is suitable for research departments, public schools, and an assortment of public venues, and can provide wide access to real-time geophysical data, ongoing research, and general information. The POLENET group will work with members of the two consortia to provide content about the project and polar science in general. One unit is to be installed at Barrow's Ilisagvit College through the Barrow Arctic Science Consortium, one at McMurdo Station in Antarctica, and two at other sites to be determined (likely in New Zealand/Australia and in the U.S.). In January, 2006, Museum Lite exhibit was installed at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. Evaluation of this prototype is underway. These

LIMITS ON OPTICAL POLARIZATION DURING THE PROMPT PHASE OF GRB 140430A

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kopac, D.; Mundell, C. G.; Arnold, D. M.; Steele, I. A.; Kobayashi, S.; Lamb, G. P.; Smith, R. J.; Virgili, F. J. [Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool, L3 5RF (United Kingdom); Japelj, J.; Gomboc, A. [Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, University of Ljubljana, Jadranska 19, 1000 Ljubljana (Slovenia); Guidorzi, C.; Dichiara, S. [Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, University of Ferrara, via Saragat 1, I-44122, Ferrara (Italy); Harrison, R. M. [Department of Astrophysics, School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel Aviv University, 69978 Tel Aviv (Israel); Melandri, A. [INAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, via E. Bianchi 46, I-23807 Merate (Italy); Castro-Tirado, A. J.; Gorosabel, J.; Sánchez-Ramírez, R.; Oates, S. R. [Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA-CSIC), Glorieta de la Astronomia s/n, E-18008 Granada (Spain); Järvinen, A. [AIP—Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam, An der Sternwarte 16, D-14482 Potsdam (Germany); Jelínek, M., E-mail: drejc.kopac@fmf.uni-lj.si [ASU-CAS—Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Fričova 298, 251 65 Ondřejov (Czech Republic)

2015-11-01

Gamma-ray burst GRB 140430A was detected by the Swift satellite and observed promptly with the imaging polarimeter RINGO3 mounted on the Liverpool Telescope, with observations beginning while the prompt γ-ray emission was still ongoing. In this paper, we present densely sampled (10-s temporal resolution) early optical light curves (LCs) in 3 optical bands and limits to the degree of optical polarization. We compare optical, X-ray, and gamma-ray properties and present an analysis of the optical emission during a period of high-energy flaring. The complex optical LC cannot be explained merely with a combination of forward and reverse shock emission from a standard external shock, implying additional contribution of emission from internal shock dissipation. We estimate an upper limit for time averaged optical polarization during the prompt phase to be as low as P < 12% (1σ). This suggests that the optical flares and early afterglow emission in this GRB are not highly polarized. Alternatively, time averaging could mask the presence of otherwise polarized components of distinct origin at different polarization position angles.

LIMITS ON OPTICAL POLARIZATION DURING THE PROMPT PHASE OF GRB 140430A

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kopac, D.; Mundell, C. G.; Arnold, D. M.; Steele, I. A.; Kobayashi, S.; Lamb, G. P.; Smith, R. J.; Virgili, F. J.; Japelj, J.; Gomboc, A.; Guidorzi, C.; Dichiara, S.; Harrison, R. M.; Melandri, A.; Castro-Tirado, A. J.; Gorosabel, J.; Sánchez-Ramírez, R.; Oates, S. R.; Järvinen, A.; Jelínek, M.

2015-01-01

Gamma-ray burst GRB 140430A was detected by the Swift satellite and observed promptly with the imaging polarimeter RINGO3 mounted on the Liverpool Telescope, with observations beginning while the prompt γ-ray emission was still ongoing. In this paper, we present densely sampled (10-s temporal resolution) early optical light curves (LCs) in 3 optical bands and limits to the degree of optical polarization. We compare optical, X-ray, and gamma-ray properties and present an analysis of the optical emission during a period of high-energy flaring. The complex optical LC cannot be explained merely with a combination of forward and reverse shock emission from a standard external shock, implying additional contribution of emission from internal shock dissipation. We estimate an upper limit for time averaged optical polarization during the prompt phase to be as low as P < 12% (1σ). This suggests that the optical flares and early afterglow emission in this GRB are not highly polarized. Alternatively, time averaging could mask the presence of otherwise polarized components of distinct origin at different polarization position angles

Resilient mounting systems in buildings

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Breeuwer, R.; Tukker, J.C.

1976-01-01

The basic elements of resilient mounting systems are described and various measures for quantifying the effect of such systems defined. Using electrical analogue circuits, the calculation of these measures is illustrated. With special reference to resilient mounting systems in buildings, under

Performance and retention of lightweight satellite radio tags applied to the ears of polar bears (Ursus maritimus)

Science.gov (United States)

Wiig, Øystein; Born, Erik W.; Laidre, Kristin L.; Dietz, Rune; Jensen, Mikkel Villum; Durner, George M.; Pagano, Anthony M.; Regehr, Eric V.; St. Martin, Michelle; Atkinson, Stephen N.; Dyck, Markus

2017-01-01

BackgroundSatellite telemetry studies provide information that is critical to the conservation and management of species affected by ecological change. Here we report on the performance and retention of two types (SPOT-227 and SPOT-305A) of ear-mounted Argos-linked satellite transmitters (i.e., platform transmitter terminal, or PTT) deployed on free-ranging polar bears in Eastern Greenland, Baffin Bay, Kane Basin, the southern Beaufort Sea, and the Chukchi Sea during 2007–2013.ResultsTransmissions from 142 out of 145 PTTs deployed on polar bears were received for an average of 69.3 days. The average functional longevity, defined as the number of days they transmitted while still attached to polar bears, for SPOT-227 was 56.8 days and for SPOT-305A was 48.6 days. Thirty-four of the 142 (24%) PTTs showed signs of being detached before they stopped transmitting, indicating that tag loss was an important aspect of tag failure. Furthermore, 10 of 26 (38%) bears that were re-observed following application of a PTT had a split ear pinna, suggesting that some transmitters were detached by force. All six PTTs that were still on bears upon recapture had lost the antenna, which indicates that antenna breakage was a significant contributor to PTT failure. Finally, only nine of the 142 (6%) PTTs—three of which were still attached to bears—had a final voltage reading close to the value indicating battery exhaustion. This suggests that battery exhaustion was not a major factor in tag performance.ConclusionsThe average functional longevity of approximately 2 months for ear-mounted PTTs (this study) is poor compared to PTT collars fitted to adult female polar bears, which can last for several years. Early failure of the ear-mounted PTTs appeared to be caused primarily by detachment from the ear or antenna breakage. We suggest that much smaller and lighter ear-mounted transmitters are necessary to reduce the risk of tissue irritation, tissue damage, and tag detachment, and

Design of fused-silica rectangular transmission gratings for polarizing beam splitter based on modal method.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Huajun; Yuan, Dairong

2010-02-10

Examples of optimal designs for a fused-silica transmitted grating with high-intensity tolerance are discussed. It has the potential of placing up to 99% incident polarized light in a single diffraction order. The modal method has been used to analyze the effective indices for TE and TM polarization propagating through the grating region, and the eigenvalue equation of the modal method is transformed to a new form. It is shown that the effective indices of the first two modes depend on the value of the period under Littrow mounting with filling factor f=0.5. The polarization properties of the polarizing beam splitter are analyzed by rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA) at the wavelength of 1.064 microm. The optimal design perfectly matches the RCWA simulation result.

Correction of head movements in positron emission tomography using point source tracking system: a simulation study.

Science.gov (United States)

Nazarparvar, Babak; Shamsaei, Mojtaba; Rajabi, Hossein

2012-01-01

The motion of the head during brain positron emission tomography (PET) acquisitions has been identified as a source of artifact in the reconstructed image. In this study, a method is described to develop an image-based motion correction technique for correcting the post-acquisition data without using external optical motion-tracking system such as POLARIS. In this technique, GATE has been used to simulate PET brain scan using point sources mounted around the head to accurately monitor the position of the head during the time frames. The measurement of head motion in each frame showed a transformation in the image frame matrix, resulting in a fully corrected data set. Using different kinds of phantoms and motions, the accuracy of the correction method is tested and its applicability to experimental studies is demonstrated as well.

Deep-etched sinusoidal polarizing beam splitter grating.

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Jijun; Zhou, Changhe; Cao, Hongchao; Lv, Peng

2010-04-01

A sinusoidal-shaped fused-silica grating as a highly efficient polarizing beam splitter (PBS) is investigated based on the simplified modal method. The grating structure depends mainly on the ratio of groove depth to grating period and the ratio of incident wavelength to grating period. These ratios can be used as a guideline for the grating design at different wavelengths. A sinusoidal-groove PBS grating is designed at a wavelength of 1310 nm under Littrow mounting, and the transmitted TM and TE polarized waves are mainly diffracted into the zeroth order and the -1st order, respectively. The grating profile is optimized by using rigorous coupled-wave analysis. The designed PBS grating is highly efficient (>95.98%) over the O-band wavelength range (1260-1360 nm) for both TE and TM polarizations. The sinusoidal grating can exhibit higher diffraction efficiency, larger extinction ratio, and less reflection loss than the rectangular-groove PBS grating. By applying wet etching technology on the rectangular grating, which was manufactured by holographic recording and inductively coupled plasma etching technology, the sinusoidal grating can be approximately fabricated. Experimental results are in agreement with theoretical values.

Low-Thermal-Resistance Baseplate Mounting

Science.gov (United States)

Perreault, W. T.

1984-01-01

Low-thermal-resistance mounting achieved by preloading baseplate to slight convexity with screws threaded through beam. As mounting bolts around edge of base-place tightened, baseplate and cold plate contact first in center, with region of intimate contact spreading outward as bolts tightened.

Effects of air vessel on water hammer in high-head pumping station

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, L; Wang, F J; Zou, Z C; Li, X N; Zhang, J C

2013-01-01

Effects of air vessel on water hammer process in a pumping station with high-head were analyzed by using the characteristics method. The results show that the air vessel volume is the key parameter that determines the protective effect on water hammer pressure. The maximum pressure in the system declines with increasing air vessel volume. For a fixed volume of air vessel, the shape of air vessel and mounting style, such as horizontal or vertical mounting, have little effect on the water hammer. In order to obtain good protection effects, the position of air vessel should be close to the outlet of the pump. Generally, once the volume of air vessel is guaranteed, the water hammer of a entire pipeline is effectively controlled

Effects of air vessel on water hammer in high-head pumping station

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, L.; Wang, F. J.; Zou, Z. C.; Li, X. N.; Zhang, J. C.

2013-12-01

Effects of air vessel on water hammer process in a pumping station with high-head were analyzed by using the characteristics method. The results show that the air vessel volume is the key parameter that determines the protective effect on water hammer pressure. The maximum pressure in the system declines with increasing air vessel volume. For a fixed volume of air vessel, the shape of air vessel and mounting style, such as horizontal or vertical mounting, have little effect on the water hammer. In order to obtain good protection effects, the position of air vessel should be close to the outlet of the pump. Generally, once the volume of air vessel is guaranteed, the water hammer of a entire pipeline is effectively controlled.

An improved loopless mounting method for cryocrystallography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jian-Xun, Qi; Fan, Jiang

2010-01-01

Based on a recent loopless mounting method, a simplified loopless and bufferless crystal mounting method is developed for macromolecular crystallography. This simplified crystal mounting system is composed of the following components: a home-made glass capillary, a brass seat for holding the glass capillary, a flow regulator, and a vacuum pump for evacuation. Compared with the currently prevalent loop mounting method, this simplified method has almost the same mounting procedure and thus is compatible with the current automated crystal mounting system. The advantages of this method include higher signal-to-noise ratio, more accurate measurement, more rapid flash cooling, less x-ray absorption and thus less radiation damage to the crystal. This method can be extended to the flash-freeing of a crystal without or with soaking it in a lower concentration of cryoprotectant, thus it may be the best option for data collection in the absence of suitable cryoprotectant. Therefore, it is suggested that this mounting method should be further improved and extensively applied to cryocrystallographic experiments. (general)

An improved loopless mounting method for cryocrystallography

Science.gov (United States)

Qi, Jian-Xun; Jiang, Fan

2010-01-01

Based on a recent loopless mounting method, a simplified loopless and bufferless crystal mounting method is developed for macromolecular crystallography. This simplified crystal mounting system is composed of the following components: a home-made glass capillary, a brass seat for holding the glass capillary, a flow regulator, and a vacuum pump for evacuation. Compared with the currently prevalent loop mounting method, this simplified method has almost the same mounting procedure and thus is compatible with the current automated crystal mounting system. The advantages of this method include higher signal-to-noise ratio, more accurate measurement, more rapid flash cooling, less x-ray absorption and thus less radiation damage to the crystal. This method can be extended to the flash-freeing of a crystal without or with soaking it in a lower concentration of cryoprotectant, thus it may be the best option for data collection in the absence of suitable cryoprotectant. Therefore, it is suggested that this mounting method should be further improved and extensively applied to cryocrystallographic experiments.

A novel device for head gesture measurement system in combination with eye-controlled human machine interface

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Chern-Sheng; Ho, Chien-Wa; Chang, Kai-Chieh; Hung, San-Shan; Shei, Hung-Jung; Yeh, Mau-Shiun

2006-06-01

This study describes the design and combination of an eye-controlled and a head-controlled human-machine interface system. This system is a highly effective human-machine interface, detecting head movement by changing positions and numbers of light sources on the head. When the users utilize the head-mounted display to browse a computer screen, the system will catch the images of the user's eyes with CCD cameras, which can also measure the angle and position of the light sources. In the eye-tracking system, the program in the computer will locate each center point of the pupils in the images, and record the information on moving traces and pupil diameters. In the head gesture measurement system, the user wears a double-source eyeglass frame, so the system catches images of the user's head by using a CCD camera in front of the user. The computer program will locate the center point of the head, transferring it to the screen coordinates, and then the user can control the cursor by head motions. We combine the eye-controlled and head-controlled human-machine interface system for the virtual reality applications.

High-flux normal incidence monochromator for circularly polarized synchrotron radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schaefers, F.; Peatman, W.; Eyers, A.; Heckenkamp, C.; Schoenhense, G.; Heinzmann, U.

1986-01-01

A 6.5-m normal incidence monochromator installed at the storage ring BESSY, which is optimized for a high throughput of circularly polarized off-plane radiation at moderate resolution is described. The monochromator employs two exit slits and is specially designed and used for low-signal experiments such as spin- and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy on solids, adsorbates, free atoms, and molecules. The Monk--Gillieson mounting (plane grating in a convergent light beam) allows for large apertures with relatively little astigmatism. With two gratings, a flux of more than 10 11 photons s -1 bandwidth -1 (0.2--0.5 nm) with a circular polarization of more than 90% in the wavelength range from 35 to 675 nm is achieved

Method, apparatus, and system for utilizing augmented reality to improve surgery

KAUST Repository

Cali, Corrado; Besuchet, Jonathan

2016-01-01

of a patient, and superimposing, by a head-mounted display, a projection of the three dimensional reconstruction onto a field of view of a user. The method further includes maintaining alignment between the projection and the user's actual view

Multi-Mounted X-Ray Computed Tomography.

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Jian; Liu, Zhenzhong; Wang, Jingzheng

2016-01-01

Most existing X-ray computed tomography (CT) techniques work in single-mounted mode and need to scan the inspected objects one by one. It is time-consuming and not acceptable for the inspection in a large scale. In this paper, we report a multi-mounted CT method and its first engineering implementation. It consists of a multi-mounted scanning geometry and the corresponding algebraic iterative reconstruction algorithm. This approach permits the CT rotation scanning of multiple objects simultaneously without the increase of penetration thickness and the signal crosstalk. Compared with the conventional single-mounted methods, it has the potential to improve the imaging efficiency and suppress the artifacts from the beam hardening and the scatter. This work comprises a numerical study of the method and its experimental verification using a dataset measured with a developed multi-mounted X-ray CT prototype system. We believe that this technique is of particular interest for pushing the engineering applications of X-ray CT.

Housing And Mounting Structure

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Gene R.; Armendariz, Marcelino G.; Baca, Johnny R.F.; Bryan, Robert P.; Carson, Richard F.; Duckett, III, Edwin B.; McCormick, Frederick B.; Miller, Gregory V.; Peterson, David W.; Smith, Terrance T.

2005-03-08

This invention relates to an optical transmitter, receiver or transceiver module, and more particularly, to an apparatus for connecting a first optical connector to a second optical connector. The apparatus comprises: (1) a housing having at least a first end and at least a second end, the first end of the housing capable of receiving the first optical connector, and the second end of the housing capable of receiving the second optical connector; (2) a longitudinal cavity extending from the first end of the housing to the second end of the housing; and (3) an electromagnetic shield comprising at least a portion of the housing. This invention also relates to an apparatus for housing a flexible printed circuit board, and this apparatus comprises: (1) a mounting structure having at least a first surface and a second surface; (2) alignment ridges along the first and second surfaces of the mounting structure, the alignment ridges functioning to align and secure a flexible printed circuit board that is wrapped around and attached to the first and second surfaces of the mounting structure; and (3) a series of heat sink ridges adapted to the mounting structure, the heat sink ridges functioning to dissipate heat that is generated from the flexible printed circuit board.

Proceedings of the meeting on the acceleration of polarized beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takagi, Akira; Mori, Yoshiharu

1980-08-01

The project for accelerating polarized proton beam with the 12 GeV synchrotron in the National Laboratory for High Energy Physics was started in full scale, and the development of a polarized ion source of high intensity and the analysis of reduced polarization problem on the way to accelerate in the booster or the main ring have been carried out. On the other hand, with the cyclotrons in the Research Center for Nuclear Physics, Osaka University, and the Institute for Nuclear Research, University of Tokyo, and with the tandem machine in the Accelerator Center, Tsukuba University, polarized beams have already been accelerated, and the steady operations have been continued. Taking this opportunity, this study meeting was planned, considering that it is necessary to exchange informations among the researchers on polarized beam. It was the significant study meeting as unexpectedly many persons took part and the useful advices to the polarized beam project in this Laboratory were obtained. The construction of the preaccelerator for polarized protons was commenced in this year in the National Laboratory for High Energy Physics. In the proceedings, the introduction, the foreword, and eight papers are summarized. The progress of polarized beam researches in the world was mentioned in the introduction, and the project for proton acceleration in this Laboratory was explained in the foreword. (Kako, I.)

Penguin head movement detected using small accelerometers: a proxy of prey encounter rate.

Science.gov (United States)

Kokubun, Nobuo; Kim, Jeong-Hoon; Shin, Hyoung-Chul; Naito, Yasuhiko; Takahashi, Akinori

2011-11-15

Determining temporal and spatial variation in feeding rates is essential for understanding the relationship between habitat features and the foraging behavior of top predators. In this study we examined the utility of head movement as a proxy of prey encounter rates in medium-sized Antarctic penguins, under the presumption that the birds should move their heads actively when they encounter and peck prey. A field study of free-ranging chinstrap and gentoo penguins was conducted at King George Island, Antarctica. Head movement was recorded using small accelerometers attached to the head, with simultaneous monitoring for prey encounter or body angle. The main prey was Antarctic krill (>99% in wet mass) for both species. Penguin head movement coincided with a slow change in body angle during dives. Active head movements were extracted using a high-pass filter (5 Hz acceleration signals) and the remaining acceleration peaks (higher than a threshold acceleration of 1.0 g) were counted. The timing of head movements coincided well with images of prey taken from the back-mounted cameras: head movement was recorded within ±2.5 s of a prey image on 89.1±16.1% (N=7 trips) of images. The number of head movements varied largely among dive bouts, suggesting large temporal variations in prey encounter rates. Our results show that head movement is an effective proxy of prey encounter, and we suggest that the method will be widely applicable for a variety of predators.

Polarized 3He gas circulating technologies for neutron analyzers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Watt, David W. [Xemed, LLC, Durham, NH (United States)

2017-10-02

We outline our project to develop a circulating polarized helium-3 system for developing of large, quasi-continuously operating neutron analyzers. The project consisted of four areas: 1) Development of robust external cavity narrowed diode laser output with spectral line width < 0.17 nm and power of 2000 W. 2) Development of large glass polarizing cells using cell surface treatments to obtain long relaxation lifetimes. 3) Refinements of the circulation system with an emphasis on gas purification and materials testing. 4) Design/fabrication of a new polarizer system. 5) Preliminary testing of the new polarizer. 1. Developed Robust High-Power Narrowed Laser The optical configuration of the laser was discussed in the proposal and will be reviewed in the body of this report. The external cavity is configured to mutually lock the wavelength of five 10-bar laser stacks. All the logistical milestones were been met and critical subsystems- laser stack manifold and power divider, external laser cavity, and output telescope- were assembled and tested at low power. Each individual bar is narrowed to ~0.05 nm; when combined the laser has a cumulative spectral width of 0.17 nm across the entire beam due to variations of the bars central wavelength by +/- 0.1 nm, which is similar to that of Volume Bragg Grating narrowed laser bars. This configuration eliminates the free-running “pedestal” that occurs in other external cavity diode lasers. The full-scale laser was completed in 2016 and was used in both the older and newer helium polarizers. This laser was operated at 75% power for periods of up to 8 hours. Once installed, the spectrum became slightly broader (~.25 nm) at full power; this is likely due to very slight misalignments that occurred during handling. 2. Developed the processes to create uniform sintered sol-gel coatings. Our work on cell development comprised: 1) Production of large GE180 cells and explore different means of cell preparation, and 2) Development of

Measurement of electron beam polarization at the SLC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steiner, H.; California Univ., Berkeley

1988-01-01

One of the unique features of the SLC is its capability to accelerate longitudinally polarized electrons. The SLC polarization group has been performed to implement the polarization program at the SLC. Technically the polarization project consists of three main parts: (1) a polarized source, (2) spin-rotating superconducting solenoid magnets to be used to manipulate the direction of the electron spin, and (3) the polarimeters needed to monitor and measure the electron beam polarization. It is this last topic that will concern us here. Two types of polarimeters will be used - Compton and Moeller. (orig./HSI)

Recent trends of severe head injury in Japan Neurotrauma Data Bank with special reference to road traffic accident. Comparison of clinical features and outcome between Project 1998 and Project 2004

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ono, Junichi; Sakamoto, Tetsuya; Kawamata, Tatsuro; Tokutomi, Takashi; Ogawa, Takeki; Shigemori, Minoru; Yamaura, Akira; Nakamura, Norio

2009-01-01

This study was conducted to clarify the recent trends of severe head injury in the Japan Neurotrauma Data Bank (JNTDB) with special reference to traffic accident. In the JNTDB, the number of severely head-injured patients (Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of 8 or less) were 832 in Project 1998 and 797 in Project 2004. Those were divided into 2 groups: traffic accident (TA) group, and non-TA (nTA) group. In addition, the former group was classified into 4 groups: 4 wheel vehicle (4WV) group, motorcycle (MC) group, bicycle (BC) group, and pedestrian (P) group. Analyzed here were cause of injury, age distribution, incidence of alcohol intake, means of transportation, clinical severity (GCS and injury severity score), initial CT findings (Traumatic Coma Data Bank), and outcome at discharge (Glasgow Outcome Scale). In the Project 2004; Traffic accident was less common as the cause of injury. The proportion of younger patients was lower in the TA group, especially in the 4WV and MC groups. Incidence of alcohol intake was lower in the TA group, particularly in the MC groups. Patient transfer by helicopter was more common in both the TA and nTA groups. The proportion of GCS of 3 to 5 was lower in the TA group, especially in the MC group. In the initial CT findings, type 3 of diffuse injury and evacuated mass were less frequent in both groups, and in the 4WV, BC, and P groups. Outcome at discharge: Mortality rate was lower in both groups, and in the 4WV, MC and P groups, but the percentage of good outcomes was unchanged. These results indicated the recent trends of severely head-injured patients who were injured by traffic accident. But there were some problems, such as study protocol and meaningless results, so that further verification is indispensable in the JNTDB study. (author)

PECULIARITIES OF ASSIGNMENT OF ROLLING BEARING MOUNTING AND PARAMETERS OF GEOMETRIC ACCURACY OF MOUNTING SURFACES OF SHAFTS AND FRAMES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adamenko Yu. І.

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The standards and methods concerning assignment of rolling bearing fit with shafts and frames via example of bearing 6-208 are analyzed. We set certain differences of recommendations according to GOST 3325-85, "Rolling bearings. Tolerance zones and technical requirements to mounting surfaces of shafts and frames. Attachment" and by reference of rolling bearing manufacturers. The following factors should be taken into consideration when assigning the mounting with the tension the internal ring of the bearing with shaft and mounting with a gap in the outer ring with a housing bore. The methods of achieving accuracy of mounting surfaces of shafts and frames via form tolerance assignment: roundness tolerance, profile of longitudinal cut, cross section, cylindricity and others. It is possible to limit the bearing rings in different ways, for example appointing the cylindrical mounting surfaces and bead end surfaces the appropriate tolerances, namely: coaxiality tolerance or full radial beat of mounting surfaces, and also perpendicularity tolerance, butt beats and full butt beats of mounting end surfaces. We suggest to expand methods of achieving the accuracy of shafts and frames depending on seriation of production and production operations metrology support.

Transparent 3D display for augmented reality

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Byoungho; Hong, Jisoo

2012-11-01

Two types of transparent three-dimensional display systems applicable for the augmented reality are demonstrated. One of them is a head-mounted-display-type implementation which utilizes the principle of the system adopting the concave floating lens to the virtual mode integral imaging. Such configuration has an advantage in that the threedimensional image can be displayed at sufficiently far distance resolving the accommodation conflict with the real world scene. Incorporating the convex half mirror, which shows a partial transparency, instead of the concave floating lens, makes it possible to implement the transparent three-dimensional display system. The other type is the projection-type implementation, which is more appropriate for the general use than the head-mounted-display-type implementation. Its imaging principle is based on the well-known reflection-type integral imaging. We realize the feature of transparent display by imposing the partial transparency to the array of concave mirror which is used for the screen of reflection-type integral imaging. Two types of configurations, relying on incoherent and coherent light sources, are both possible. For the incoherent configuration, we introduce the concave half mirror array, whereas the coherent one adopts the holographic optical element which replicates the functionality of the lenslet array. Though the projection-type implementation is beneficial than the head-mounted-display in principle, the present status of the technical advance of the spatial light modulator still does not provide the satisfactory visual quality of the displayed three-dimensional image. Hence we expect that the head-mounted-display-type and projection-type implementations will come up in the market in sequence.

Microbiological and ecological responses to global environmental changes in polar regions (MERGE): An IPY core coordinating project

Science.gov (United States)

Naganuma, Takeshi; Wilmotte, Annick

2009-11-01

An integrated program, “Microbiological and ecological responses to global environmental changes in polar regions” (MERGE), was proposed in the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2008 and endorsed by the IPY committee as a coordinating proposal. MERGE hosts original proposals to the IPY and facilitates their funding. MERGE selected three key questions to produce scientific achievements. Prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms in terrestrial, lacustrine, and supraglacial habitats were targeted according to diversity and biogeography; food webs and ecosystem evolution; and linkages between biological, chemical, and physical processes in the supraglacial biome. MERGE hosted 13 original and seven additional proposals, with two full proposals. It respected the priorities and achievements of the individual proposals and aimed to unify their significant results. Ideas and projects followed a bottom-up rather than a top-down approach. We intend to inform the MERGE community of the initial results and encourage ongoing collaboration. Scientists from non-polar regions have also participated and are encouraged to remain involved in MERGE. MERGE is formed by scientists from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Spain, UK, Uruguay, USA, and Vietnam, and associates from Chile, Denmark, Netherlands, and Norway.

Motion control of the Twente humanoid head

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Visser, L.C.; Carloni, Raffaella; Stramigioli, Stefano

2009-01-01

In this work, we present the design and the realization of the motion control algorithm implemented in the Twente hu- manoid head, a seven degrees of freedom (dof) robotic sys- tem. The aim of the project is to have a humanoid head that can serve as a research platform for human-machine interac-

Polar bears and sea ice habitat change

Science.gov (United States)

Durner, George M.; Atwood, Todd C.; Butterworth, Andy

2017-01-01

The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is an obligate apex predator of Arctic sea ice and as such can be affected by climate warming-induced changes in the extent and composition of pack ice and its impacts on their seal prey. Sea ice declines have negatively impacted some polar bear subpopulations through reduced energy input because of loss of hunting habitats, higher energy costs due to greater ice drift, ice fracturing and open water, and ultimately greater challenges to recruit young. Projections made from the output of global climate models suggest that polar bears in peripheral Arctic and sub-Arctic seas will be reduced in numbers or become extirpated by the end of the twenty-first century if the rate of climate warming continues on its present trajectory. The same projections also suggest that polar bears may persist in the high-latitude Arctic where heavy multiyear sea ice that has been typical in that region is being replaced by thinner annual ice. Underlying physical and biological oceanography provides clues as to why polar bear in some regions are negatively impacted, while bears in other regions have shown no apparent changes. However, continued declines in sea ice will eventually challenge the survival of polar bears and efforts to conserve them in all regions of the Arctic.

Mounting support for a photovoltaic module

Science.gov (United States)

Brandt, Gregory Michael; Barsun, Stephan K.; Coleman, Nathaniel T.; Zhou, Yin

2013-03-26

A mounting support for a photovoltaic module is described. The mounting support includes a foundation having an integrated wire-way ledge portion. A photovoltaic module support mechanism is coupled with the foundation.

Portable Wideband Microwave Imaging System for Intracranial Hemorrhage Detection Using Improved Back-projection Algorithm with Model of Effective Head Permittivity

Science.gov (United States)

Mobashsher, Ahmed Toaha; Mahmoud, A.; Abbosh, A. M.

2016-02-01

Intracranial hemorrhage is a medical emergency that requires rapid detection and medication to restrict any brain damage to minimal. Here, an effective wideband microwave head imaging system for on-the-spot detection of intracranial hemorrhage is presented. The operation of the system relies on the dielectric contrast between healthy brain tissues and a hemorrhage that causes a strong microwave scattering. The system uses a compact sensing antenna, which has an ultra-wideband operation with directional radiation, and a portable, compact microwave transceiver for signal transmission and data acquisition. The collected data is processed to create a clear image of the brain using an improved back projection algorithm, which is based on a novel effective head permittivity model. The system is verified in realistic simulation and experimental environments using anatomically and electrically realistic human head phantoms. Quantitative and qualitative comparisons between the images from the proposed and existing algorithms demonstrate significant improvements in detection and localization accuracy. The radiation and thermal safety of the system are examined and verified. Initial human tests are conducted on healthy subjects with different head sizes. The reconstructed images are statistically analyzed and absence of false positive results indicate the efficacy of the proposed system in future preclinical trials.

Polarization profile of RF-sputtered self-polarized PZT thin films

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Suchaneck, G.; Koehler, R.; Sandner, T.; Gerlach, G.; Deineka, Alexander; Jastrabík, Lubomír; Kosarev, A. I.; Andronov, A. N.

2001-01-01

Roč. 32, - (2001), s. 861-869 ISSN 1058-4587 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA202/00/1425 Institutional research plan: CEZ:A02/98:Z1-010-914 Keywords : self-polarization * electrode interaction * interface layer Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 0.512, year: 2001

Reactor vessel head permanent shield

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hankinson, M.F.; Leduc, R.J.; Richard, J.W.; Malandra, L.J.

1989-01-01

A nuclear reactor is described comprising: a nuclear reactor pressure vessel closure head; control rod drive mechanisms (CRDMs) disposed within the closure head so as to project vertically above the closure head; cooling air baffle means surrounding the control rod drive mechanisms for defining cooling air paths relative to the control rod drive mechanisms; means defined within the periphery of the closure head for accommodating fastening means for securing the closure head to its associated pressure vessel; lifting lugs fixedly secured to the closure head for facilitating lifting and lowering movements of the closure head relative to the pressure vessel; lift rods respectively operatively associated with the plurality of lifting lugs for transmitting load forces, developed during the lifting and lowering movements of the closure head, to the lifting lugs; upstanding radiation shield means interposed between the cooling air baffle means and the periphery of the enclosure head of shielding maintenance personnel operatively working upon the closure head fastening means from the effects of radiation which may emanate from the control rod drive mechanisms and the cooling air baffle means; and connecting systems respectively associated with each one of the lifting lugs and each one of the lifting rods for connecting each one of the lifting rods to a respective one of each one of the lifting lugs, and for simultaneously connecting a lower end portion of the upstanding radiation shield means to each one of the respective lifting lugs

Dynamically Polarized Sample for Neutron Scattering At the Spallation Neutron Source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pierce, Josh; Zhao, J. K.; Crabb, Don

2009-01-01

The recently constructed Spallation Neutron Source at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory is quickly becoming the world's leader in neutron scattering sciences. In addition to the world's most intense pulsed neutron source, we are continuously constructing state of the art neutron scattering instruments as well as sample environments to address today and tomorrow's challenges in materials research. The Dynamically Polarized Sample project at the SNS is aimed at taking maximum advantage of polarized neutron scattering from polarized samples, especially biological samples that are abundant in hydrogen. Polarized neutron scattering will allow us drastically increase the signal to noise ratio in experiments such as neutron protein crystallography. The DPS project is near completion and all key components have been tested. Here we report the current status of the project.

Wind farm development project at Mount Copper and Miller at Murdochville : public inquiry report; Projets d'amenagement des parcs d'eoliennes des monts Copper et Miller a Murdochville : rapport d'enquete et d'audience publique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Harvie, A.

2004-03-01

A public hearing was held at the request of the Quebec Minister of the Environment to examine the environmental and socio-economic impacts of a proposed wind farm project at Mount Copper and Mount Miller in Murdochville, Quebec. The first phase of the project involves the construction of a wind turbine array with a capacity of 9 megawatts (MW), followed by a second phase expansion to 45 MW for 2004. The final wind turbine array includes 36 turbines for a total capacity of 54 megawatts (MW). The region is well suited for wind energy projects. Energie Eolienne du Mont Miller Inc. and Northland Power Inc. intend to develop the wind farm at a cost of approximately $90 million. Hydro Quebec has agreed to purchase the electricity. The various impacts of the proposed project were examined, both from an environmental and a socio-economic perspective. The Commission determined that the wind farm would not have significant impacts and that the project is desirable. Certain conditions must be met to ensure sustainable development. In terms of ecology, the Commission would like to have a complete inventory of the bird species and a description of the corridors of migration. It would also like to see the promoters show leadership in minimizing the impacts of the project on the ecotourism activities offered in the area. 17 refs., 1 tab., 1 fig., 2 appendices.

Systems and methods for mirror mounting with minimized distortion

Science.gov (United States)

Antonille, Scott R. (Inventor); Wallace, Thomas E. (Inventor); Content, David A. (Inventor); Wake, Shane W. (Inventor)

2012-01-01

A method for mounting a mirror for use in a telescope includes attaching the mirror to a plurality of adjustable mounts; determining a distortion in the mirror caused by the plurality adjustable mounts, and, if the distortion is determined to be above a predetermined level: adjusting one or more of the adjustable mounts; and determining the distortion in the mirror caused by the adjustable mounts; and in the event the determined distortion is determined to be at or below the predetermined level, rigidizing the adjustable mounts.

Application of vibro-acoustical studies in process of improving dependability of arm-mounted cutter-heads of KGSA-320 shearers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zakrzewski, T; Sikora, W

1986-01-01

Discusses application of acoustic vibration measurements in maintenance of mining machines. A formula is given for the dimensionless directional discriminant using which the technical state of shearer loader cutting heads can be assessed. KGS-320 shearer cutting drums were investigated at suitable points characterized by maximum deviations from zero reference values. Measurements were carried out in idle-run conditions and are given in graphs: distribution of changes in peak directivity coefficient deviation value for vibration displacement in relation to order number N of cutter head as well as location of measurement point; and distribution of changes in peak directivity coefficient deviation value for vibration velocity in relation to order number N of cutter head and location of the measurement point. An aim is to develop classification criteria for vibration acoustic diagnostics and to use the method for designing and manufacturing machines. 12 refs.

Conference on ground-mounted photovoltaic plants in France and in Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Viertl, Cornelia; Argenlieu, Philippe d'; Masson, Gaetan; Schwan, Kurt; Thomas, Christophe; Hoffmann, Uta; Bohl, Johannes; Gossement, Arnaud; Jaclot, Emmanuel

2015-01-01

The French-German office for Renewable energies (OFAEnR) organised a conference on the future of ground-mounted photovoltaic plants both in France and Germany. In the framework of this French-German exchange of experience, about 130 participants debated about the present day and future regulatory framework and about the opportunities and challenges for projects financing and electricity resale. The different steps of plants realisation, from the planning to the site selection, the construction and the environmental issues were addressed as well. This document brings together the available presentations (slides) made during this event: 1 - Introduction of PV tendering within the context of a premium system (Cornelia Viertl); 2 - Ground-mounted solar plants - evolution of the Legal and Regulatory framework in France - New calls for tender (Philippe d'Argenlieu); 3 - Competitiveness of Utility-Scale PV (Gaetan Masson); 4 - Power production by ground-mounted PV systems for nearby industrial parks (Kurt Schwan); 5 - experience feedback of a direct selling operator and the future role of direct solar power selling (Christophe Thomas); 6 - Financing solar plants via crowd-funding - opportunities and challenges (Uta Hoffmann); 7 - The Planning and approval Process in Germany: Potential for Standardization and Optimization? (Johannes Bohl); 8 - Planning and approval Procedures in France: towards an harmonization between the different competent authorities and a reduction of the periods allowed for appeals? (Arnaud Gossement); 9 - EDF Energies Nouvelles: Solar plant of the Base of Toul-Rosieres. Decontamination and valorisation of polluted sites thanks to the construction of ground-mounted plants (Emmanuel Jaclot)

Technical preparation of the Yuzhteploehnergomontazh trust for technological equipment mounting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zayats, A.I.

1982-01-01

Measures of technical preparation for equipment mounting at the Zaporozhe NPP developed with the Yuzhteploehnergomontazh trust experts are considered. These measures envisage the construction of mounting base of heat facilities, calculation of labour contents and determination of necessary quantity of mounters, development of optimal flowsheet of mounting control, improvement of mounting qualification and creation of stable collective body, improvement of technical level of mounting and welding works, organizational-technical measures on mounting logistics. Factors affecting negatively technical preparation quality of equipment mounting at the Zaporozhe NPP are discussed. The flowsheet of mounting control is presented

Observations of paraglacial processes on glacier forelands in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park, Southern Alps, New Zealand

Science.gov (United States)

Winkler, Stefan

2015-04-01

The large and extensively debris-covered valley glaciers in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park immediate east of the Main Divide in the Southern Alps of New Zealand experienced a substantial frontal retreat and vertical downwasting during the past few decades, often connected with the development of a proglacial lake and retreat by calving. Their Holocene glacier forelands are characterised by huge lateral moraines and multi-ridged lateral moraine systems alongside smaller terminal moraines and frontal outwash heads. Placed within a very dynamic general geomorphological regime of various efficient process-systems, these Holocene glacier forelands are currently affected by substantial paraglacial modification. These paraglacial processes have already caused some consequences for the touristic infrastructure in the area and are likely to cause further problems for the accessibility of established tramping routes, tourist huts, and lookouts in the near and medium future. One of the first steps in a project under development presented here is a detailed visual comparison of changes documented during the past 15 Years on the glacier forelands of Hooker, Mueller and Tasman Glaciers in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. It reveals considerable erosion especially on the proximal slopes of the lateral moraines by gully development and retreat of erosion scars at their crest in order of several metres in just a few years. Different processes contribute to high erosion rates, among others rill erosion connected to mid-slope springs that only are temporarily active following substantial rainfall events, efficient gully incision, and slumping. Although any quantification of the actual erosion rates is just preliminary and further studies are necessary in order to make reliable predictions for future development, the amount of paraglacial erosion in this environment is very high compared to other regions and highlights the current importance of the paraglacial process-system in the

Metamerism in cephalochordates and the problem of the vertebrate head.

Science.gov (United States)

Onai, Takayuki; Adachi, Noritaka; Kuratani, Shigeru

2017-01-01

The vertebrate head characteristically exhibits a complex pattern with sense organs, brain, paired eyes and jaw muscles, and the brain case is not found in other chordates. How the extant vertebrate head has evolved remains enigmatic. Historically, there have been two conflicting views on the origin of the vertebrate head, segmental and non-segmental views. According to the segmentalists, the vertebrate head is organized as a metameric structure composed of segments equivalent to those in the trunk; a metamere in the vertebrate head was assumed to consist of a somite, a branchial arch and a set of cranial nerves, considering that the head evolved from rostral segments of amphioxus-like ancestral vertebrates. Non-segmentalists, however, considered that the vertebrate head was not segmental. In that case, the ancestral state of the vertebrate head may be non-segmented, and rostral segments in amphioxus might have been secondarily gained, or extant vertebrates might have evolved through radical modifications of amphioxus-like ancestral vertebrate head. Comparative studies of mesodermal development in amphioxus and vertebrate gastrula embryos have revealed that mesodermal gene expressions become segregated into two domains anteroposteriorly to specify the head mesoderm and trunk mesoderm only in vertebrates; in this segregation, key genes such as delta and hairy, involved in segment formation, are expressed in the trunk mesoderm, but not in the head mesoderm, strongly suggesting that the head mesoderm of extant vertebrates is not segmented. Taken together, the above finding possibly adds a new insight into the origin of the vertebrate head; the vertebrate head mesoderm would have evolved through an anteroposterior polarization of the paraxial mesoderm if the ancestral vertebrate had been amphioxus-like.

Predicting 21st-century polar bear habitat distribution from global climate models

Science.gov (United States)

Durner, George M.; Douglas, David C.; Nielson, R.M.; Amstrup, Steven C.; McDonald, T.L.; Stirling, I.; Mauritzen, Mette; Born, E.W.; Wiig, O.; Deweaver, E.; Serreze, Mark C.; Belikov, Stanislav; Holland, M.M.; Maslanik, J.; Aars, Jon; Bailey, D.A.; Derocher, A.E.

2009-01-01

Projections of polar bear (Ursus maritimus) sea ice habitat distribution in the polar basin during the 21st century were developed to understand the consequences of anticipated sea ice reductions on polar bear populations. We used location data from satellitecollared polar bears and environmental data (e.g., bathymetry, distance to coastlines, and sea ice) collected from 1985 to 1995 to build resource selection functions (RSFs). RSFs described habitats that polar bears preferred in summer, autumn, winter, and spring. When applied to independent data from 1996 to 2006, the RSFs consistently identified habitats most frequently used by polar bears. We applied the RSFs to monthly maps of 21st-century sea ice concentration projected by 10 general circulation models (GCMs) used in the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report, under the A1B greenhouse gas forcing scenario. Despite variation in their projections, all GCMs indicated habitat losses in the polar basin during the 21st century. Losses in the highest-valued RSF habitat (optimal habitat) were greatest in the southern seas of the polar basin, especially the Chukchi and Barents seas, and least along the Arctic Ocean shores of Banks Island to northern Greenland. Mean loss of optimal polar bear habitat was greatest during summer; from an observed 1.0 million km2 in 1985-1995 (baseline) to a projected multi-model mean of 0.32 million km2 in 2090-2099 (-68% change). Projected winter losses of polar bear habitat were less: from 1.7 million km2 in 1985-1995 to 1.4 million km2 in 2090-2099 (-17% change). Habitat losses based on GCM multi-model means may be conservative; simulated rates of habitat loss during 1985-2006 from many GCMs were less than the actual observed rates of loss. Although a reduction in the total amount of optimal habitat will likely reduce polar bear populations, exact relationships between habitat losses and population demographics remain unknown. Density and energetic

San andreas fault zone head waves near parkfield, california.

Science.gov (United States)

Ben-Zion, Y; Malin, P

1991-03-29

Microearthquake seismograms from the borehole seismic network on the San Andreas fault near Parkfield, California, provide three lines of evidence that first P arrivals are "head" waves refracted along the cross-fault material contrast. First, the travel time difference between these arrivals and secondary phases identified as direct P waves scales linearly with the source-receiver distance. Second, these arrivals have the emergent wave character associated in theory and practice with refracted head waves instead of the sharp first breaks associated with direct P arrivals. Third, the first motion polarities of the emergent arrivals are reversed from those of the direct P waves as predicted by the theory of fault zone head waves for slip on the San Andreas fault. The presence of fault zone head waves in local seismic network data may help account for scatter in earthquake locations and source mechanisms. The fault zone head waves indicate that the velocity contrast across the San Andreas fault near Parkfield is approximately 4 percent. Further studies of these waves may provide a way of assessing changes in the physical state of the fault system.

The United States Polar Rock Repository: A geological resource for the Earth science community

Science.gov (United States)

Grunow, Annie M.; Elliot, David H.; Codispoti, Julie E.

2007-01-01

The United States Polar Rock Repository (USPRR) is a U. S. national facility designed for the permanent curatorial preservation of rock samples, along with associated materials such as field notes, annotated air photos and maps, raw analytic data, paleomagnetic cores, ground rock and mineral residues, thin sections, and microfossil mounts, microslides and residues from Polar areas. This facility was established by the Office of Polar Programs at the U. S. National Science Foundation (NSF) to minimize redundant sample collecting, and also because the extreme cold and hazardous field conditions make fieldwork costly and difficult. The repository provides, along with an on-line database of sample information, an essential resource for proposal preparation, pilot studies and other sample based research that should make fieldwork more efficient and effective. This latter aspect should reduce the environmental impact of conducting research in sensitive Polar Regions. The USPRR also provides samples for educational outreach. Rock samples may be borrowed for research or educational purposes as well as for museum exhibits.

The incorporation of fault zone head wave and direct wave secondary arrival times and arrival polarizations into seismic tomography: Application to the Parkfield, California area

Science.gov (United States)

Bennington, N. L.; Thurber, C. H.; Peng, Z.; Zhao, P.

2012-12-01

We present a 3D P-wave velocity (Vp) model of the Parkfield region that utilizes existing P-wave arrival time data, including fault zone head waves (FZHW), plus new data from direct wave secondary arrivals (DWSA). The first-arrival and DWSA travel times are obtained as the global and local minimum travel time paths, respectively. The inclusion of DWSA results in as much as a 10% increase in the across-fault velocity contrast for the Vp model at Parkfield relative to Thurber et al. (2006). Viewed along strike, three pronounced velocity contrast regions are observed: a pair of strong positive velocity contrasts (SW fast), one NW of the 1966 Parkfield hypocenter and the other SE of the 2004 Parkfield hypocenter, and a strong negative velocity contrast (NE fast) between the two hypocenters. The negative velocity contrast partially to entirely encompasses peak coseismic slip estimated in several slip models for the 2004 earthquake, suggesting that the negative velocity contrast played a part in defining the rupture patch of the 2004 Parkfield earthquake. We expand on this work by modifying our seismic tomography algorithm to incorporate arrival polarizations (azimuths). Synthetic tests will be presented to demonstrate the improvements in velocity structure when arrival polarizations are incorporated. These tests will compare the synthetic model recovered when FZHW/DWSA arrivals as well as existing P-wave arrival time data are inverted to that recovered with the same dataset with the inclusion of arrival polarizations. We plan to extend this work to carry out a full scale seismic tomography/relocation inversion at Parkfield, CA utilizing arrival polarizations from all first-P arrivals, and FZHW/DWSA arrivals as well as existing P-wave arrival time data. This effort requires the determination of polarization data for all P-waves and FZHW's at Parkfield. To this end, we use changes in the arrival azimuth from fault normal to source-receiver direction to identify FZHW and

Preserving Geological Samples and Metadata from Polar Regions

Science.gov (United States)

Grunow, A.; Sjunneskog, C. M.

2011-12-01

The Office of Polar Programs at the National Science Foundation (NSF-OPP) has long recognized the value of preserving earth science collections due to the inherent logistical challenges and financial costs of collecting geological samples from Polar Regions. NSF-OPP established two national facilities to make Antarctic geological samples and drill cores openly and freely available for research. The Antarctic Marine Geology Research Facility (AMGRF) at Florida State University was established in 1963 and archives Antarctic marine sediment cores, dredge samples and smear slides along with ship logs. The United States Polar Rock Repository (USPRR) at Ohio State University was established in 2003 and archives polar rock samples, marine dredges, unconsolidated materials and terrestrial cores, along with associated materials such as field notes, maps, raw analytical data, paleomagnetic cores, thin sections, microfossil mounts, microslides and residues. The existence of the AMGRF and USPRR helps to minimize redundant sample collecting, lessen the environmental impact of doing polar field work, facilitates field logistics planning and complies with the data sharing requirement of the Antarctic Treaty. USPRR acquires collections through donations from institutions and scientists and then makes these samples available as no-cost loans for research, education and museum exhibits. The AMGRF acquires sediment cores from US based and international collaboration drilling projects in Antarctica. Destructive research techniques are allowed on the loaned samples and loan requests are accepted from any accredited scientific institution in the world. Currently, the USPRR has more than 22,000 cataloged rock samples available to scientists from around the world. All cataloged samples are relabeled with a USPRR number, weighed, photographed and measured for magnetic susceptibility. Many aspects of the sample metadata are included in the database, e.g. geographical location, sample

Comparison between skin-mounted fiducials and bone-implanted fiducials for image-guided neurosurgery

Science.gov (United States)

Rost, Jennifer; Harris, Steven S.; Stefansic, James D.; Sillay, Karl; Galloway, Robert L., Jr.

2004-05-01

Point-based registration for image-guided neurosurgery has become the industry standard. While the use of intrinsic points is appealing because of its retrospective nature, affixing extrinsic objects to the head prior to scanning has been demonstrated to provide much more accurate registrations. Points of reference between image space and physical space are called fiducials. The extrinsic objects which generate those points are fiducial markers. The markers can be broken down into two classifications: skin-mounted and bone-implanted. Each has distinct advantages and disadvantages. Skin-mounted fiducials require simply sticking them on the patient in locations suggested by the manufacturer, however, they can move with tractions placed on the skin, fall off and perhaps the most dangerous problem, they can be replaced by the patient. Bone implanted markers being rigidly affixed to the skull do not present such problems. However, a minor surgical intervention (analogous to dental work) must be performed to implant the markers prior to surgery. Therefore marker type and use has become a decision point for image-guided surgery. We have performed a series of experiments in an attempt to better quantify aspects of the two types of markers so that better informed decisions can be made. We have created a phantom composed of a full-size plastic skull [Wards Scientific Supply] with a 500 ml bag of saline placed in the brain cavity. The skull was then sealed. A skin mimicking material, DragonSkinTM [SmoothOn Company] was painted onto the surface and allowed to dry. Skin mounted fiducials [Medtronic-SNT] and bone-implanted markers [Z-Kat]were placed on the phantom. In addition, three additional bone-implanted markers were placed (two on the base of the skull and one in the eye socket for use as targets). The markers were imaged in CT and 4 MRI sequences (T1-weighted, T2 weighted, SPGR, and a functional series.) The markers were also located in physical space using an Optotrak

Mounting and Alignment of IXO Mirror Segments

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Kai-Wing; Zhang, William; Evans, Tyler; McClelland, Ryan; Hong, Melinda; Mazzarella, James; Saha, Timo; Jalota, Lalit; Olsen, Lawrence; Byron, Glenn

2010-01-01

A suspension-mounting scheme is developed for the IXO (International X-ray Observatory) mirror segments in which the figure of the mirror segment is preserved in each stage of mounting. The mirror, first fixed on a thermally compatible strongback, is subsequently transported, aligned and transferred onto its mirror housing. In this paper, we shall outline the requirement, approaches, and recent progress of the suspension mount processes.

Apparent Brecciation Gradient, Mount Desert Island, Maine

Science.gov (United States)

Hawkins, A. T.; Johnson, S. E.

2004-05-01

Mount Desert Island, Maine, comprises a shallow level, Siluro-Devonian igneous complex surrounded by a distinctive breccia zone ("shatter zone" of Gilman and Chapman, 1988). The zone is very well exposed on the southern and eastern shores of the island and provides a unique opportunity to examine subvolcanic processes. The breccia of the Shatter Zone shows wide variation in percent matrix and clast, and may represent a spatial and temporal gradient in breccia formation due to a single eruptive or other catastrophic volcanic event. The shatter zone was divided into five developmental stages based on the extent of brecciation: Bar Harbor Formation, Sols Cliffs breccia, Seeley Road breccia, Dubois breccia, and Great Head breccia. A digital camera was employed to capture scale images of representative outcrops using a 0.5 m square Plexiglas frame. Individual images were joined in Adobe Photoshop to create a composite image of each outcrop. The composite photo was then exported to Adobe Illustrator, which was used to outline the clasts and produce a digital map of the outcrop for analysis. The fractal dimension (Fd) of each clast was calculated using NIH Image and a Euclidean distance mapping method described by Bérubé and Jébrak (1999) to quantify the morphology of the fragments, or the complexity of the outline. The more complex the fragment outline, the higher the fractal dimension, indicating that the fragment is less "mature" or has had less exposure to erosional processes, such as the injection of an igneous matrix. Sols Cliffs breccia has an average Fd of 1.125, whereas Great Head breccia has an average Fd of 1.040, with the stages between having intermediate values. The more complex clasts of the Sols Cliffs breccia with a small amount (26.38%) of matrix material suggests that it is the first stage in a sequence of brecciation ending at the more mature, matrix-supported (71.37%) breccia of Great Head. The results of this study will be used to guide isotopic

14 CFR 33.23 - Engine mounting attachments and structure.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Engine mounting attachments and structure... mounting attachments and structure. (a) The maximum allowable limit and ultimate loads for engine mounting attachments and related engine structure must be specified. (b) The engine mounting attachments and related...

76 FR 76689 - Cibola National Forest, Mount Taylor Ranger District, NM, Mount Taylor Combined Exploratory Drilling

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-08

... National Forest, Mount Taylor Ranger District, NM, Mount Taylor Combined Exploratory Drilling AGENCY... proposed action is to approve two Plans of Operations for exploratory uranium drilling on the Cibola... San Mateo. In total, there are up to 279 drill holes that would be drilled over a period not to exceed...

Current activities and plans for polarized neutron instruments of the JSNS/J-PARC project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Furusaka, M.

2005-01-01

Neutron polarization is one of the key technologies for the next generation megawatt-class pulsed spallation neutron sources, such as SNS in the US and the JSNS in Japan. To polarize or analyze neutron spin, several techniques are under development in Japan: a small d-spacing magnetic multilayer mirror, spin exchange type He-3 filter and a dynamical proton polarizer. Several application techniques related to polarized neutrons are also under development, such as, a microwave-induced optical nuclear polarization technique, which allows us to polarize protons in naphtalene doped with pentacene at 77 K; neutron focusing-SANS instrument utilizing a focusing magnet; a Drabkin spin-filter instrument that has two filters in series for neutron-pulse shaping

Comparison of vehicle-mounted forward-looking polarimetric infrared and downward-looking infrared sensors for landmine detection

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cremer, F.; Schavemaker, J.G.M.; Jong, W. de; Schutte, K.

2003-01-01

This paper gives a comparison of two vehicle-mounted infrared systems for landmine detection. The first system is a down-ward looking standard infrared camera using processing methods developed within the EU project LOTUS. The second system is using a forward-looking polarimetric infrared camera.

Get a head in telepresence: active vision for remote intervention

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pretlove, J.

1996-01-01

Despite advances in robotic systems, many tasks needing to be undertaken in hazardous environments require human control. The risk to human life can be reduced or minimised using an integrated control system comprising an active controllable stereo vision system and a virtual reality head-mounted display. The human operator is then immersed in and can interact with the remote environment in complete safety. An overview is presented of the design and development of just such an advanced, dynamic telepresence system, developed at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Surrey. (UK)

Mounting clips for panel installation

Science.gov (United States)

Cavieres, Andres; Al-Haddad, Tristan; Goodman, Joseph

2017-07-11

A photovoltaic panel mounting clip comprising a base, central indexing tabs, flanges, lateral indexing tabs, and vertical indexing tabs. The mounting clip removably attaches one or more panels to a beam or the like structure, both mechanically and electrically. It provides secure locking of the panels in all directions, while providing guidance in all directions for accurate installation of the panels to the beam or the like structure.

49 CFR 179.10 - Tank mounting.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Tank mounting. 179.10 Section 179.10 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation PIPELINE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY... Design Requirements § 179.10 Tank mounting. (a) The manner in which tanks are attached to the car...

Ocean floor mounting of wave energy converters

Science.gov (United States)

Siegel, Stefan G

2015-01-20

A system for mounting a set of wave energy converters in the ocean includes a pole attached to a floor of an ocean and a slider mounted on the pole in a manner that permits the slider to move vertically along the pole and rotate about the pole. The wave energy converters can then be mounted on the slider to allow adjustment of the depth and orientation of the wave energy converters.

Accelerated Innovation Deployment (AID) Demonstration Project : Intelligent Compaction and Infrared Scanning Projects

Science.gov (United States)

2018-02-01

This report documents the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) demonstration grant award for field demonstration projects using intelligent compaction (IC) and infrared scanning (IR) (also called paver-mounted thermal profiles PMTP in the AA...

European Research on Electrochemotherapy in Head and Neck Cancer (EURECA) project

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Plaschke, Christina Caroline; Bertino, Giulia; McCaul, James A.

2017-01-01

Aim Electrochemotherapy is an effective local treatment for cutaneous tumours and metastases. In this prospective trial, six European institutions investigated electrochemotherapy in recurrent, mucosal head and neck tumours. Patient and methods Forty-three patients with recurrent mucosal head....... Primary end-point was local tumour response. Secondary end-points were safety and toxicity, overall and progression free survival, and quality-of-life. Results Thirty-seven patients were evaluable for tumour response, pain score, side-effects and quality of life questionnaires. Six patients were...

Shaded Relief with Height as Color, Mount Meru, Tanzania

Science.gov (United States)

2002-01-01

Mount Meru is an active volcano located just 70 kilometers (44 miles) west of Mount Kilimanjaro. It reaches 4,566 meters (14,978 feet) in height but has lost much of its bulk due to an eastward volcanic blast sometime in its distant past, perhaps similar to the eruption of Mount Saint Helens in Washington State in 1980. Mount Meru most recently had a minor eruption about a century ago. The several small cones and craters seen in the vicinity probably reflect numerous episodes of volcanic activity. Mount Meru is the topographic centerpiece of Arusha National Park. Its fertile slopes rise above the surrounding savanna and support a forest that hosts diverse wildlife, including nearly 400 species of birds, and also monkeys and leopards.Two visualization methods were combined to produce this image: shading and color coding of topographic height. The shade image was derived by computing topographic slope in the north-south direction. Northern slopes appear bright and southern slopes appear dark, as would be the case at noon at this latitude in June. Color coding is directly related to topographic height, with green at the lower elevations, rising through yellow, red, and magenta, to blue and white at the highest elevations.Elevation data used in this image was acquired by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, launched on Feb. 11, 2000. SRTM used the same radar instrument that comprised the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) that flew twice on the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1994. SRTM was designed to collect 3-D measurements of the Earth's surface. To collect the 3-D data, engineers added a 60-meter (approximately 200-foot) mast, installed additional C-band and X-band antennas, and improved tracking and navigation devices. The mission is a cooperative project between NASA, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) of the U.S. Department of Defense and the German and Italian space

Lens-mount stability trade-off: a survey exemplified for DUV wafer inspection objectives

Science.gov (United States)

Bouazzam, Achmed; Erbe, Torsten; Fahr, Stephan; Werschnik, Jan

2015-09-01

The position stability of optical elements is an essential part of the tolerance budget of an optical system because its compensation would require an alignment step after the lens has left the factory. In order to achieve a given built performance the stability error contribution needs to be known and accounted for. Given a high-end lens touching the edge of technology not knowing, under- or overestimating this contribution becomes a serious cost and risk factor. If overestimated the remaining parts of the budget need to be tighter. If underestimated the total project might fail. For many mounting principles the stability benchmark is based on previous systems or information gathered by elaborated testing of complete optical systems. This renders the development of a new system into a risky endeavour, because these experiences are not sufficiently precise and tend to be not transferable when scaling of the optical elements is intended. This contribution discusses the influences of different optical mounting concepts on the position stability using the example of high numerical aperture (HNA) inspection lenses working in the deep ultraviolet (DUV) spectrum. A method to investigate the positional stability is presented for selected mounting examples typical for inspection lenses.

The Twente humanoid head

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Reilink, Rob; Visser, L.C.; Bennik, J.; Carloni, Raffaella; Brouwer, Dannis Michel; Stramigioli, Stefano

2009-01-01

This video shows the results of the project on the mechatronic development of the Twente humanoid head. The mechanical structure consists of a neck with four degrees of freedom (DOFs) and two eyes (a stereo pair system) which tilt on a common axis and rotate sideways freely providing a three more

"Split Cast Mounting: Review and New Technique".

Science.gov (United States)

Gundawar, S M; Pande, Neelam A; Jaiswal, Priti; Radke, U M

2014-12-01

For the fabrication of a prosthesis, the Prosthodontist meticulously performs all the steps. The laboratory technician then make every effort/strives to perform the remaining lab procedures. However when the processed dentures are remounted on the articulator, some changes are seen. These changes may be divided into two categories: Pre-insertion and post-insertion changes, which deal with the physical properties of the materials involved (Parker, J Prosthet Dent 31:335-342, 1974). Split cast mounting is the method of mounting casts on the articulator. It is essentially a maxillary cast constructed in two parts with a horizontal division. The procedure allows for the verification of the accuracy of the initial mounting and the ease of removal and replacement of the cast. This provides a precise means of correcting the changes in occlusion occurring as a result of the processing technique (Nogueira et al., J Prosthet Dent 91:386-388, 2004). Instability of the split mounting has always been a problem to the Prosthodontist thereby limiting its use. There are various materials mentioned in the literature. The new technique by using Dowel pins and twill thread is very easy, cheaper and simple way to stabilize the split mounting. It is useful and easy in day to day laboratory procedures. The article presents different methods of split cast mounting and the new procedure using easily available materials in prosthetic laboratory.

'Unstructured Data' Practices in Polar Institutions and Networks: a Case Study with the Arctic Options Project

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul Arthur Berkman

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Arctic Options: Holistic Integration for Arctic Coastal-Marine Sustainability is a new three-year research project to assess future infrastructure associated with the Arctic Ocean regarding: (1 natural and living environment; (2 built environment; (3 natural resource development; and (4 governance. For the assessments, Arctic Options will generate objective relational schema from numeric data as well as textual data. This paper will focus on the ‘long tail of smaller, heterogeneous, and often unstructured datasets’ that ‘usually receive minimal data management consideration’,as observed in the 2013 Communiqué from the International Forum on Polar Data Activities in Global Data Systems.

Investigating effective support mounts for fans during display by exploring new technologies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah Bright

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Blaise Castle House Museum in Bristol (UK houses a large and impressive collection of 130 European fans ranging from 1700-1950 with 60 brisé and 70 other fans in a generally good condition.  This research project explored how to best support this sort of collection by using 3D fabrication technology to create bespoke mounts.  At present making mounts for fans is complex and time consuming due to the layering and structure of fans, and the need for accuracy if the mount is to support the fan sufficiently.  This project explored how creating a digital 3D image of a fan could enable 3D fabrication technologies to be used to produce an exact ‘imprint’ of the object ensuring that all areas were supported, allowing a more suitable fan display to be created.  This paper outlines the process of exploring the principles of creating mounts for fans; narrates the process of selecting suitable objects for display, and the process of creating a digitally-produced fan mount.Blaise Castle House Museum à Bristol (Royaume-Uni abrite une importante et impressionnante collection de 130 éventails européens, datés de 1700 à 1950, dont 60 brisés et 70 autres dans un bon état général. Ce projet de recherche consiste à présenter au mieux ce type de collection en utilisant la technologie de fabrication 3D pour créer des supports sur mesure. À l'heure actuelle la conception de présentoirs est complexe et prend du temps, en raison de la structure des objets, et d’un besoin extrême de précision lorsque l’objectif est d’apporter un soutien aux différentes composantes des éventails. Ce projet explore donc comment la création d'une image numérique 3D d'un éventail pourrait permettre à des technologies de fabrication en 3D d’être utilisées pour produire une exacte «empreinte» de l'objet et veiller à ce que toutes les composantes soient supportées, permettant ainsi de créer le présentoir. Ce document décrit le processus d

Research on LQR optimal control method of active engine mount

Science.gov (United States)

Huan, Xie; Yu, Duan

2018-04-01

In this paper, the LQR control method is applied to the active mount of the engine, and a six-cylinder engine excitation model is established. Through the joint simulation of AMESim and MATLAB, the vibration isolation performance of the active mount system and the passive mount system is analyzed. Excited by the multi-engine operation, the simulation results of the vertical displacement, acceleration and dynamic deflection of the vehicle body show that the vibration isolation capability of the active mount system is superior to that of the passive mount system. It shows that compared with the passive mount, LQR active mount can greatly improve the vibration isolation performance, which proves the feasibility and effectiveness of the LQR control method.

Time reversal tests in polarized neutron reactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asahi, Koichiro; Bowman, J.D.; Crawford, B.

1998-01-01

This is the final report of a three-year, Laboratory-Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). In recent years the nuclear weak interaction has been studied in the compound nucleus via parity violation. The observed parity-violating effects are strongly enhanced by nuclear structure. The predictions are that the interaction of polarized neutrons with polarized nuclear targets could be also used to perform sensitive tests of time-reversal-violation because of the nuclear enhancements. The author has designed experiments to search for time-reversal violation in neutron-nucleus interactions. He has also developed techniques to polarize neutrons with laser-polarized 3 He gas targets. Using the polarized 3 He neutron spin filter, he has performed two experiments at LANSCE: an absolute neutron beam polarization measurement with an accuracy of 0.2--0.3% and a neutron spin-rotation measurement on a 139 La sample

Mounting clips for panel installation

Science.gov (United States)

Cavieres, Andres; Al-Haddad, Tristan; Goodman, Joseph; Valdes, Francisco

2017-02-14

An exemplary mounting clip for removably attaching panels to a supporting structure comprises a base, spring locking clips, a lateral flange, a lever flange, and a spring bonding pad. The spring locking clips extend upwardly from the base. The lateral flange extends upwardly from a first side of the base. The lateral flange comprises a slot having an opening configured to receive at least a portion of one of the one or more panels. The lever flange extends outwardly from the lateral flange. The spring bonding flange extends downwardly from the lever flange. At least a portion of the first spring bonding flange comprises a serrated edge for gouging at least a portion of the one or more panels when the one or more panels are attached to the mounting clip to electrically and mechanically couple the one or more panels to the mounting clip.

Photoelectric panel with equatorial mounting of drive

Science.gov (United States)

Kukhta, M. S.; Krauinsh, P. Y.; Krauinsh, D. P.; Sokolov, A. P.; Mainy, S. B.

2018-03-01

The relevance of the work is determined by the need to create effective models for sunny energy. The article considers a photoelectric panel equipped with a system for tracking the sun. Efficiency of the system is provided by equatorial mounting, which compensates for the rotation of the Earth by rotating the sunny panel in the plane of the celestial equator. The specificity of climatic and geographical conditions of Tomsk is estimated. The dynamics of power variations of photoelectric panels with equatorial mounting during seasonal fluctuations in Tomsk is calculated. A mobile photovoltaic panel with equatorial mounting of the drive has been developed. The methods of design strategy for placing photovoltaic panels in the architectural environment of the city are presented. Key words: sunny energy, photovoltaics, equatorial mounting, mechatronic model, wave reducer, electric drive.

ispace's Polar Ice Explorer: Commerically Exploring the Poles of the Moon

Science.gov (United States)

Calzada-Diaz, A.; Acierno, K.; Rasera, J. N.; Lamamy, J.-A.

2018-04-01

This work provides the background, rationales, and scientific objectives for the ispace Polar Ice Explorer Project, an ISRU exploratory mission that aims to provide data about the lunar polar environment.

Effect of Putting Grip on Eye and Head Movements During the Golf Putting Stroke

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

George K. Hung

2003-01-01

Full Text Available The objective of this article is to determine the effect of three different putting grips (conventional, cross-hand, and one-handed on variations in eye and head movements during the putting stroke. Seven volunteer novice players, ranging in age from 21 to 22 years, participated in the study. During each experimental session, the subject stood on a specially designed platform covered with artificial turf and putted golf balls towards a standard golf hole. The three different types of grips were tested at two distances: 3 and 9 ft. For each condition, 20 putts were attempted. For each putt, data were recorded over a 3-s interval at a sampling rate of 100 Hz. Eye movements were recorded using a helmet-mounted eye movement monitor. Head rotation about an imaginary axis through the top of the head and its center-of-rotation was measured by means of a potentiometer mounted on a fixed frame and coupled to the helmet. Putter-head motion was measured using a linear array of infrared phototransistors embedded in the platform. The standard deviation (STD, relative to the initial level was calculated for eye and head movements over the duration of the putt (i.e., from the beginning of the backstroke, through the forward stroke, to impact. The averaged STD for the attempted putts was calculated for each subject. Then, the averaged STDs and other data for the seven subjects were statistically compared across the three grip conditions. The STD of eye movements were greater (p < 0.1 for conventional than cross-hand (9 ft and one-handed (3 and 9 ft grips. Also, the STD of head movements were greater (p < 0.1; 3 ft for conventional than cross-hand and one-handed grips. Vestibulo-ocular responses associated with head rotations could be observed in many 9 ft and some 3 ft putts. The duration of the putt was significantly longer (p < 0.05; 3 and 9 ft for the one-handed than conventional and cross-hand grips. Finally, performance, or percentage putts made, was

The PEP-II Project: Low-Energy Ring Design and Project Status

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zisman, Michael S.

2006-01-01

We describe the present status of the PEP-II project. The project comprises four major systems: Injector, High-Energy Ring (HER), Low-Energy Ring (LER), and Interaction Region (IR). We focus in detail on the design of the LER, as its parameters and requirements are most closely related to those required for the Beijing Tau-Charm Factory rings. The PEP-II LER is a high-current, 3.1-GeV positron ring mounted above the 9-GeV HER. The LER uses a wiggler located in one of its six straight sections to provide emittance control and additional damping. We describe the rather complicated IR, which must transport the LER beam into the plane of the HER, focus it to a common beam size, and separate the beams after the head-on collisions. Both permanent magnet and conventional electromagnets are used in this area. The LER lattice has now adopted a simplified non-interleaved sextupole correction scheme that has reduced the required number of sextupoles substantially. We describe the LER vacuum system, one of the most challenging subsystems in PEP-II. It employs several technologies. In the arcs, aluminum extrusions and titanium sublimation pumps are employed; the straight sections use stainless steel chambers with lumped ion pumps. In the wiggler area, an extended copper photon dump with nonevaporable getter (NEG) pumps is employed to handle the very large synchrotron radiation power. The design of the room-temperature RF system, the bunch-by-bunch longitudinal and transverse feedback systems, and some of the special diagnostics will be described briefly. The PEP-II project remains on schedule to begin commissioning of the HER in April 1997, followed by the LER a year later

The CERN polarized atomic hydrogen beam target project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kubischta, W.; Dick, L.

1990-01-01

The UA6-experiment at the CERN p bar p Colider is at present using an unpolarized hydrogen cluster target with a thickness up to 5.10 14 atoms/cm 2 . It is planned to replace this target by a polarized atomic hydrogen beam target with a thickness up to about 10 13 atoms/cm 2 . This paper discusses basic requirements and results of atom optical calculations

Mechanical Mounting and Adhesive Junction for Large Quartz Optics Operatng at Cryogenic Temperature

Science.gov (United States)

Pellizzari, M.; Mosciarello, P.

2012-07-01

Gaia is a global space astrometry mission, with the goal to make the largest, most precise three-dimensional map of our Galaxy. Gaia contains two optical telescopes: in front of their Focal Plane Assembly -FPA- two narrow quartz prisms are mounted for spectrophotometer science: the Blue and Red Photometer Prisms -BPP and RPP-. They are framed in a SiC structure by means of brackets and adhesive junctions between metal parts and quartz optical elements. SELEX GALILEO developed this project as subcontractor of Astrium France. The assembly has to withstand thermoelastic loads due to CTE mismatch at an operative temperature of 120 K. The mechanical mountings design to reduce the stresses due to thermal loads on the adhesive joint is described and the results of the bonding qualification process as well as the flight hardware bonding results are reported.

[The controversy of routine articulator mounting in orthodontics].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Li; Han, Xianglong; Bai, Ding

2013-06-01

Articulators have been widely used by clinicians of dentistry. But routine articulator mounting is still controversial in orthodontics. Orthodontists oriented by gnathology approve routine articulator mounting while nongnathologic orthodontists disapprove it. This article reviews the thoughts of orthodontist that they agree or disagree with routine articulator mounting based on the considerations of biting, temporomandibular disorder (TMD), periodontitis, and so on.

Mechanical analysis of ceramic head for modular hip prosthesis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ravagli, E.

1995-03-01

A study, performed with the department of orthopaedics of the Rome Catholic University, has found out the two possible parameters mainly responsible for head breaking, i. e. errors in conical mating between head and stem, and cracks in the heads. This study has been continued in the frame of the STRIDE-CETMA project, aimed at founding and developing a centre for technologically advanced materials in Brindisi Technology Park (Italy). This report starts a systematic mechanical analysis of the above mentioned head, with the purpose of characterizing it exhaustively. The evaluations made lead to the conclusion that in nomimal conditions, the head is largely overdimensioned, taking into account the maximum load applied to the prosthesis

Development of a Double Glass Mounting Method Using Formaldehyde Alcohol Azocarmine Lactophenol (FAAL) and its Evaluation for Permanent Mounting of Small Nematodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Zahabiun, Farzaneh; Sadjjadi, Seyed Mahmoud; Esfandiari, Farideh

2015-01-01

Permanent slide preparation of nematodes especially small ones is time consuming, difficult and they become scarious margins. Regarding this problem, a modified double glass mounting method was developed and compared with classic method. A total of 209 nematode samples from human and animal origin were fixed and stained with Formaldehyde Alcohol Azocarmine Lactophenol (FAAL) followed by double glass mounting and classic dehydration method using Canada balsam as their mounting media. The slides were evaluated in different dates and times, more than four years. Different photos were made with different magnification during the evaluation time. The double glass mounting method was stable during this time and comparable with classic method. There were no changes in morphologic structures of nematodes using double glass mounting method with well-defined and clear differentiation between different organs of nematodes in this method. Using this method is cost effective and fast for mounting of small nematodes comparing to classic method.

Eye-Head Coordination in 31 Space Shuttle Astronauts during Visual Target Acquisition.

Science.gov (United States)

Reschke, Millard F; Kolev, Ognyan I; Clément, Gilles

2017-10-27

Between 1989 and 1995, NASA evaluated how increases in flight duration of up to 17 days affected the health and performance of Space Shuttle astronauts. Thirty-one Space Shuttle pilots participating in 17 space missions were tested at 3 different times before flight and 3 different times after flight, starting within a few hours of return to Earth. The astronauts moved their head and eyes as quickly as possible from the central fixation point to a specified target located 20°, 30°, or 60° off center. Eye movements were measured with electro-oculography (EOG). Head movements were measured with a triaxial rate sensor system mounted on a headband. The mean time to visually acquire the targets immediately after landing was 7-10% (30-34 ms) slower than mean preflight values, but results returned to baseline after 48 hours. This increase in gaze latency was due to a decrease in velocity and amplitude of both the eye saccade and head movement toward the target. Results were similar after all space missions, regardless of length.

Human papilloma virus: a new risk factor in a subset of head and neck cancers.

Science.gov (United States)

Bisht, Manisha; Bist, Sampan Singh

2011-01-01

Head and neck cancer is the sixth most common malignancy worldwide. Tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption are two well known behavioral risk factors associated with head and neck cancer. Recently, evidence is mounting that infection with human papilloma virus, most commonly human papilloma virus-16 is responsible for a subset of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma especially tumors of tonsillar origin. The molecular pathway used by human papilloma virus to trigger malignant transformation of tissue is different from that of other well known risk factors, i.e. smoking and alcohol, associated with squamous cell carcinoma. Apparently, these subsets of patients with human papilloma virus positive tumor are more likely to have a better prognosis than human papilloma virus negative tumor. Considering this fact, the human papilloma virus infection should be determined in all oropharyngeal cancers since it can have a major impact on the decision making process of the treatment.

A Novel Attitude Determination System Aided by Polarization Sensor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Zhi

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to develop a novel attitude determination system aided by polarization sensor. An improved heading angle function is derived using the perpendicular relationship between directions of E-vector of linearly polarized light and solar vector in the atmospheric polarization distribution model. The Extended Kalman filter (EKF with quaternion differential equation as a dynamic model is applied to fuse the data from sensors. The covariance functions of filter process and measurement noises are deduced in detail. The indoor and outdoor tests are conducted to verify the validity and feasibility of proposed attitude determination system. The test results showed that polarization sensor is not affected by magnetic field, thus the proposed system can work properly in environments containing the magnetic interference. The results also showed that proposed system has higher measurement accuracy than common attitude determination system and can provide precise parameters for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV flight control. The main contribution of this paper is implementation of the EKF for incorporating the self-developed polarization sensor into the conventional attitude determination system. The real-world experiment with the quad-rotor proved that proposed system can work in a magnetic interference environment and provide sufficient accuracy in attitude determination for autonomous navigation of vehicle.

A Novel Attitude Determination System Aided by Polarization Sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhi, Wei; Chu, Jinkui; Li, Jinshan; Wang, Yinlong

2018-01-09

This paper aims to develop a novel attitude determination system aided by polarization sensor. An improved heading angle function is derived using the perpendicular relationship between directions of E-vector of linearly polarized light and solar vector in the atmospheric polarization distribution model. The Extended Kalman filter (EKF) with quaternion differential equation as a dynamic model is applied to fuse the data from sensors. The covariance functions of filter process and measurement noises are deduced in detail. The indoor and outdoor tests are conducted to verify the validity and feasibility of proposed attitude determination system. The test results showed that polarization sensor is not affected by magnetic field, thus the proposed system can work properly in environments containing the magnetic interference. The results also showed that proposed system has higher measurement accuracy than common attitude determination system and can provide precise parameters for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) flight control. The main contribution of this paper is implementation of the EKF for incorporating the self-developed polarization sensor into the conventional attitude determination system. The real-world experiment with the quad-rotor proved that proposed system can work in a magnetic interference environment and provide sufficient accuracy in attitude determination for autonomous navigation of vehicle.

Design of an automated cart and mount for a hyperspectral imaging system to be used in produce fields

Science.gov (United States)

Lefcourt, Alan M.; Kistler, Ross; Gadsden, S. Andrew

2016-05-01

The goal of this project was to construct a cart and a mounting system that would allow a hyperspectral laser-induced fluorescence imaging system (HLIFIS) to be used to detect fecal material in produce fields. Fecal contaminated produce is a recognized food safety risk. Previous research demonstrated the HLIFIS could detect fecal contamination in a laboratory setting. A cart was designed and built, and then tested to demonstrate that the cart was capable of moving at constant speeds or at precise intervals. A mounting system was designed and built to facilitate the critical alignment of the camera's imaging and the laser's illumination fields, and to allow the HLIFIS to be used in both field and laboratory settings without changing alignments. A hardened mount for the Powell lens that is used to produce the appropriate illumination profile was also designed, built, and tested.

Development of a frameless stereotactic radiosurgery system based on real-time 6D position monitoring and adaptive head motion compensation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wiersma, Rodney D; Wen Zhifei; Sadinski, Meredith; Farrey, Karl; Yenice, Kamil M [Department of Radiation and Cellular Oncology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States)], E-mail: rwiersma@uchicago.edu

2010-01-21

Stereotactic radiosurgery delivers radiation with great spatial accuracy. To achieve sub-millimeter accuracy for intracranial SRS, a head ring is rigidly fixated to the skull to create a fixed reference. For some patients, the invasiveness of the ring can be highly uncomfortable and not well tolerated. In addition, placing and removing the ring requires special expertise from a neurosurgeon, and patient setup time for SRS can often be long. To reduce the invasiveness, hardware limitations and setup time, we are developing a system for performing accurate head positioning without the use of a head ring. The proposed method uses real-time 6D optical position feedback for turning on and off the treatment beam (gating) and guiding a motor-controlled 3D head motion compensation stage. The setup consists of a central control computer, an optical patient motion tracking system and a 3D motion compensation stage attached to the front of the LINAC couch. A styrofoam head cast was custom-built for patient support and was mounted on the compensation stage. The motion feedback of the markers was processed by the control computer, and the resulting motion of the target was calculated using a rigid body model. If the target deviated beyond a preset position of 0.2 mm, an automatic position correction was performed with stepper motors to adjust the head position via the couch mount motion platform. In the event the target deviated more than 1 mm, a safety relay switch was activated and the treatment beam was turned off. The feasibility of the concept was tested using five healthy volunteers. Head motion data were acquired with and without the use of motion compensation over treatment times of 15 min. On average, test subjects exceeded the 0.5 mm tolerance 86% of the time and the 1.0 mm tolerance 45% of the time without motion correction. With correction, this percentage was reduced to 5% and 2% for the 0.5 mm and 1.0 mm tolerances, respectively.

Development of a frameless stereotactic radiosurgery system based on real-time 6D position monitoring and adaptive head motion compensation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wiersma, Rodney D; Wen Zhifei; Sadinski, Meredith; Farrey, Karl; Yenice, Kamil M

2010-01-01

Stereotactic radiosurgery delivers radiation with great spatial accuracy. To achieve sub-millimeter accuracy for intracranial SRS, a head ring is rigidly fixated to the skull to create a fixed reference. For some patients, the invasiveness of the ring can be highly uncomfortable and not well tolerated. In addition, placing and removing the ring requires special expertise from a neurosurgeon, and patient setup time for SRS can often be long. To reduce the invasiveness, hardware limitations and setup time, we are developing a system for performing accurate head positioning without the use of a head ring. The proposed method uses real-time 6D optical position feedback for turning on and off the treatment beam (gating) and guiding a motor-controlled 3D head motion compensation stage. The setup consists of a central control computer, an optical patient motion tracking system and a 3D motion compensation stage attached to the front of the LINAC couch. A styrofoam head cast was custom-built for patient support and was mounted on the compensation stage. The motion feedback of the markers was processed by the control computer, and the resulting motion of the target was calculated using a rigid body model. If the target deviated beyond a preset position of 0.2 mm, an automatic position correction was performed with stepper motors to adjust the head position via the couch mount motion platform. In the event the target deviated more than 1 mm, a safety relay switch was activated and the treatment beam was turned off. The feasibility of the concept was tested using five healthy volunteers. Head motion data were acquired with and without the use of motion compensation over treatment times of 15 min. On average, test subjects exceeded the 0.5 mm tolerance 86% of the time and the 1.0 mm tolerance 45% of the time without motion correction. With correction, this percentage was reduced to 5% and 2% for the 0.5 mm and 1.0 mm tolerances, respectively.

Winnebago Tribe Solar Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nieman, Autumn [Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska Solar Project (United States)

2016-02-26

The strategy of the Solar Project was to reduce fuel use within two years by a roof mounted photovoltaic system. The police/fire building is completely powered by electricity. The renewable energy system we have selected has a power capacity of 23kW and the ability to export 44.3 MWh. We anticipate 32.55% kWh energy savings, an excess of the required 30% reduction, in the building’s total fuel use based on the most current 12 months of data (2012). The solar electric system is a grid-tie, ballast mounted on a flat roof over the police/fire station. The solar electric system includes 280 Watt modules for a nominal total of 22.80 kW. Approximately 84 modules are ballast mounted to the flat roof facing south.

Multiband Circular Polarizer Based on Fission Transmission of Linearly Polarized Wave for X-Band Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farman Ali Mangi

2016-01-01

Full Text Available A multiband circular polarizer based on fission transmission of linearly polarized wave for x-band application is proposed, which is constructed of 2 × 2 metallic strips array. The linear-to-circular polarization conversion is obtained by decomposing the linearly incident x-polarized wave into two orthogonal vector components of equal amplitude and 90° phase difference between them. The innovative approach of “fission transmission of linear-to-circular polarized wave” is firstly introduced to obtain giant circular dichroism based on decomposition of orthogonal vector components through the structure. It means that the incident linearly polarized wave is converted into two orthogonal components through lower printed metallic strips layer and two transmitted waves impinge on the upper printed strips layer to convert into four orthogonal vector components at the end of structure. This projection and transmission sequence of orthogonal components sustain the chain transmission of electromagnetic wave and can achieve giant circular dichroism. Theoretical analysis and microwave experiments are presented to validate the performance of the structure. The measured results are in good agreement with simulation results. In addition, the proposed circular polarizer exhibits the optimal performance with respect to the normal incidence. The right handed circularly polarized wave is emitted ranging from 10.08 GHz to 10.53 GHz and 10.78 GHz to 11.12 GHz, while the left handed circular polarized wave is excited at 10.54 GHz–10.70 GHz and 11.13 GHz–11.14 GHz, respectively.

Integrated Display & Environmental Awareness System

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The goal of this project is the development of a head mounted display for use in operations here on Earth and in Space. The technology would provide various means of...

Improved resolution by mounting of tissue sections for laser microdissection.

Science.gov (United States)

van Dijk, M C R F; Rombout, P D M; Dijkman, H B P M; Ruiter, D J; Bernsen, M R

2003-08-01

Laser microbeam microdissection has greatly facilitated the procurement of specific cell populations from tissue sections. However, the fact that a coverslip is not used means that the morphology of the tissue sections is often poor. To develop a mounting method that greatly improves the morphological quality of tissue sections for laser microbeam microdissection purposes so that the identification of target cells can be facilitated. Fresh frozen tissue and formalin fixed, paraffin wax embedded tissue specimens were used to test the morphological quality of mounted and unmounted tissue. The mounting solution consisted of an adhesive gum and blue ink diluted in water. Interference of the mounting solution with DNA quality was analysed by the polymerase chain reaction using 10-2000 cells isolated by microdissection from mounted and unmounted tissue. The mounting solution greatly improved the morphology of tissue sections for laser microdissection purposes and had no detrimental effects on the isolation and efficiency of amplification of DNA. One disadvantage was that the mounting solution reduced the cutting efficiency of the ultraviolet laser. To minimise this effect, the mounting solution should be diluted as much as possible. Furthermore, the addition of blue ink to the mounting medium restores the cutting efficiency of the laser. The mounting solution is easy to prepare and apply and can be combined with various staining methods without compromising the quality of the DNA extracted.

DMSP SSM/I Daily and Monthly Polar Gridded Bootstrap Sea Ice Concentrations

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — DMSP SSM/I Daily and Monthly Polar Gridded Bootstrap Sea Ice Concentrations in polar stereographic projection currently include Defense Meteorological Satellite...

Proceedings of the Japan-US workshop on plasma polarization spectroscopy and the fourth international symposium on plasma polarization spectroscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fujimoto, Takashi; Beiersdorfer, Peter [eds.

2004-07-01

The international meeting on Plasma Polarization Spectroscopy (PPS) was held at Kyoto University during February 4-6, 2004. This Proceedings book includes the summaries of the talks given in that meeting. Starting with the Overview talk by Csanak, the subjects cover: x-ray polarization experiments on z-pinches (plasma foci), and an x-pinch, a laser-produced plasma in a gas atmosphere, an interpretation of the polarized 1<- 0 x-ray laser line, polarization observation from various laser-produced plasmas including a recombining phase plasma, a report on the on-going project of a laser facility, several polarization observations on magnetically confined plasmas including the Large Helical Device and an ECR plasma, a new laser-induced fluorescence diagnostic method. On atomic physics side given are: various polarization measurements on EBIT, precision spectroscopy on the TEXTOR, user-friendly atomic codes. Instrumentation is also a subject of this book. The 18 of the presented papers are indexed individually. (J.P.N.)

A Mental Health Consultation Program for Project Head Start.

Science.gov (United States)

Kawin, Marjorie R.

The Psychological Center provided a family oriented mental health consultation service to 17 delegate agencies who had contracts with Head Start programs in 1966-67. This paper presents an overview of the services which an interdisciplinary staff of 52 professionals provided to 6,780 families and 1,500 agency staff members. Gerald Caplan's (1964)…

Heading assessment by "tunnel vision" patients and control subjects standing or walking in a virtual reality environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Apfelbaum, Henry; Pelah, Adar; Peli, Eli

2007-01-01

Virtual reality locomotion simulators are a promising tool for evaluating the effectiveness of vision aids to mobility for people with low vision. This study examined two factors to gain insight into the verisimilitude requirements of the test environment: the effects of treadmill walking and the suitability of using controls as surrogate patients. Ten "tunnel vision" patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) were tasked with identifying which side of a clearly visible obstacle their heading through the virtual environment would lead them, and were scored both on accuracy and on their distance from the obstacle when they responded. They were tested both while walking on a treadmill and while standing, as they viewed a scene representing progress through a shopping mall. Control subjects, each wearing a head-mounted field restriction to simulate the vision of a paired patient, were also tested. At wide angles of approach, controls and patients performed with a comparably high degree of accuracy, and made their choices at comparable distances from the obstacle. At narrow angles of approach, patients' accuracy increased when walking, while controls' accuracy decreased. When walking, both patients and controls delayed their decisions until closer to the obstacle. We conclude that a head-mounted field restriction is not sufficient for simulating tunnel vision, but that the improved performance observed for walking compared to standing suggests that a walking interface (such as a treadmill) may be essential for eliciting natural perceptually-guided behavior in virtual reality locomotion simulators.

POLAR-PALOOZA Polar Researchers and Arctic Residents Engage, Inform and Inspire Diverse Public Audiences by sharing Polar Science and Global Connections during the International Polar Year, using a New Model of Informal Science Education

Science.gov (United States)

Haines-Stiles, G.; Akuginow, E.

2006-12-01

(Please note that the POLAR-PALOOZA initiative described in this Abstract is-as of 9/7/2006-"pending" for possible support from NSF and NASA as part of this year's IPY solicitation. Subject to decisions expected by 9/30, this presentation would either be withdrawn, or amplified with specific participants, locations and dates.) Despite the success of well-regarded movies like "March of the Penguins", the polar regions remain a great unknown for most people. Public knowledge about the Arctic and Antarctic, and the critical role of the Poles in the entire Earth system, is nonexistent, incomplete or burdened with misperceptions. The International Polar Years of 2007-2009-and associated "I*Y" science years such as IHY, IYPE and eGY-present a unique opportunity to change this. The people who can best effect this change are those who know the Poles best, through living or working there. Based on innovative but proven models, POLAR-PALOOZA will use three complementary strategies to engage, inform and inspire large public audiences. (1) A national tour, under the working title "Stories from a Changing Planet", will include in-person presentations at science centers, museums, libraries and schools across North America, including Canada and Mexico. The presentations will be augmented by High Definition Video taped on location at the Poles, audio and video podcasts, and special education and outreach activities for targeted audiences. "Stories from a Changing Planet" will provide diverse audiences with an exciting opportunity to meet and interact directly with polar experts, and to appreciate why the Poles and the research done there are directly relevant to their lives. (2) The "HiDef Video Science Story Capture Corps" is a team of professional videographers, using the latest generation of low-cost, high-quality cameras, deployed to both Poles. They will document the work of multiple researchers and projects, rather than focusing on one topic for a single broadcast program

Isolation Mounting for Charge-Coupled Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Goss, W. C.; Salomon, P. M.

1985-01-01

CCD's suspended by wires under tension. Remote thermoelectric cooling of charge coupled device allows vibration isolating mounting of CCD assembly alone, without having to suspend entire mass and bulk of thermoelectric module. Mounting hardware simple and light. Developed for charge-coupled devices (CCD's) in infrared telescope support adaptable to sensors in variety of environments, e.g., sensors in nuclear reactors, engine exhausts and plasma chambers.

Flow distortion on boom mounted cup anemometers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lindelöw, Per Jonas Petter; Friis Pedersen, Troels; Gottschall, Julia

In this report we investigate on wind direction dependent errors in the measurement of the horizontal wind speed by boom mounted cup anemometers. The boom mounting on the studied lattice tower is performed according to IEC standard design rules, yet, larger deviations than predicted by flow models...... are observed. The errors on the measurements are likely caused by an underestimation of the flow distortions around the tower. In this paper an experimental method for deriving a correction formula and an in-field calibration is suggested. The method is based on measurements with two cup anemometers mounted...

Unconventional superfluids of fermionic polar molecules in a bilayer system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boudjemâa, Abdelâali, E-mail: a.boudjemaa@univhb-chlef.dz

2017-05-25

We study unconventional superfluids of fermionic polar molecules in a two-dimensional bilayer system with dipoles are head-to-tail across the layers. We analyze the critical temperature of several unconventional pairings as a function of different system parameters. The peculiar competition between the d- and the s-wave pairings is discussed. We show that the experimental observation of such unconventional superfluids requires ultralow temperatures, which opens up new possibilities to realize several topological phases. - Highlights: • Investigation of novel superfluids of fermionic polar molecules in a bilayer geometry. • Solving the gap equation and the l-wave interlayer scattering problem. • Calculation of the critical temperature of several competing pairings using the BCS approach.

Commissioning of polarized-proton and antiproton beams at Fermilab

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yokosawa, A.

1988-01-01

The author described the polarized-proton and polarized-antiproton beams up to 200 GeV/c at Fermilab. The beam line, called MP, consists of the 400-m long primary and 350-m long secondary beam line followed by 60-m long experimental hall. We discuss the characteristics of the polarized beams. The Fermilab polarization projects are designated at E-581/704 initiated and carried out by an international collaboration, Argonne (US), Fermilab (US), Kyoto-Kyushu-Hiroshima-KEK (Japan), LAPP (France), Northwestern University (US), Los Alamos Laboratory (US), Rice (US), Saclay (France), Serpukhov (USSR), INFN Trieste (Italy), and University of Texas (US)

The Polar WRF Downscaled Historical and Projected Twenty-First Century Climate for the Coast and Foothills of Arctic Alaska

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lei Cai

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Climate change is most pronounced in the northern high latitude region. Yet, climate observations are unable to fully capture regional-scale dynamics due to the sparse weather station coverage, which limits our ability to make reliable climate-based assessments. A set of simulated data products was therefore developed for the North Slope of Alaska through a dynamical downscaling approach. The polar-optimized Weather Research and Forecast (Polar WRF model was forced by three sources: The ERA-interim reanalysis data (for 1979–2014, the Community Earth System Model 1.0 (CESM1.0 historical simulation (for 1950–2005, and the CESM1.0 projected (for 2006–2100 simulations in two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios. Climatic variables were produced in a 10-km grid spacing and a 3-h interval. The ERA-interim forced WRF (ERA-WRF proves the value of dynamical downscaling, which yields more realistic topographical-induced precipitation and air temperature, as well as corrects underestimations in observed precipitation. In summary, dry and cold biases to the north of the Brooks Range are presented in ERA-WRF, while CESM forced WRF (CESM-WRF holds wet and warm biases in its historical period. A linear scaling method allowed for an adjustment of the biases, while keeping the majority of the variability and extreme values of modeled precipitation and air temperature. CESM-WRF under RCP 4.5 scenario projects smaller increase in precipitation and air temperature than observed in the historical CESM-WRF product, while the CESM-WRF under RCP 8.5 scenario shows larger changes. The fine spatial and temporal resolution, long temporal coverage, and multi-scenario projections jointly make the dataset appropriate to address a myriad of physical and biological changes occurring on the North Slope of Alaska.

The polar WRF downscaled historical and projected 21st century climate for the coast and foothills of Arctic Alaska

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Lei; Alexeev, Vladimir A.; Arp, Christopher D.; Jones, Benjamin M.; Liljedahl, Anna K.; Gädeke, Anne

2018-01-01

Climate change is most pronounced in the northern high latitude region. Yet, climate observations are unable to fully capture regional-scale dynamics due to the sparse weather station coverage, which limits our ability to make reliable climate-based assessments. A set of simulated data products was therefore developed for the North Slope of Alaska through a dynamical downscaling approach. The polar-optimized Weather Research & Forecast (Polar WRF) model was forced by three sources: The ERA-interim reanalysis data (for 1979-2014), the Community Earth System Model 1.0 (CESM1.0) historical simulation (for 1950-2005), and the CESM1.0 projected (for 2006-2100) simulations in two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) scenarios. Climatic variables were produced in a 10-km grid spacing and a 3-hour interval. The ERA-interim forced WRF (ERA-WRF) proves the value of dynamical downscaling, which yields more realistic topographical-induced precipitation and air temperature, as well as corrects underestimations in observed precipitation. In summary, dry and cold biases to the north of the Brooks Range are presented in ERA-WRF, while CESM forced WRF (CESM-WRF) holds wet and warm biases in its historical period. A linear scaling method allowed for an adjustment of the biases, while keeping the majority of the variability and extreme values of modeled precipitation and air temperature. CESM-WRF under RCP 4.5 scenario projects smaller increase in precipitation and air temperature than observed in the historical CESM-WRF product, while the CESM-WRF under RCP8.5 scenario shows larger changes. The fine spatial and temporal resolution, long temporal coverage, and multi-scenario projections jointly make the dataset appropriate to address a myriad of physical and biological changes occurring on the North Slope of Alaska.

49 CFR 571.212 - Standard No. 212; Windshield mounting.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Standard No. 212; Windshield mounting. 571.212... Motor Vehicle Safety Standards § 571.212 Standard No. 212; Windshield mounting. S1. Scope. This standard..., under the conditions of S6, the windshield mounting of the vehicle shall retain not less than the...

PolarTREC: Successful Methods and Tools for Attaining Broad Educational Impacts with Interdisciplinary Polar Science

Science.gov (United States)

Timm, K. M.; Warburton, J.; Owens, R.; Warnick, W. K.

2008-12-01

PolarTREC--Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating, a program of the Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS), is a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded International Polar Year (IPY) project in which K-12 educators participate in hands-on field experiences in the polar regions, working closely with IPY scientists as a pathway to improving science education. Developing long-term teacher- researcher collaborations through PolarTREC ensures up-to-date climate change science content will permeate the K-12 education system long after the IPY. By infusing education with the cutting edge science from the polar regions, PolarTREC has already shown an increase in student and public knowledge of and interest in the polar regions and global climate change. Preliminary evaluations have shown that PolarTREC's program activities have many positive impacts on educators and their ability to teach science concepts and improve their teaching methods. Additionally, K-12 students polled in interest surveys showed significant changes regarding the importance of understanding the polar regions as a person in today's world. Researchers have been overwhelmingly satisfied with PolarTREC and cited several specific strengths, including the program's crucial link between the teachers' field research experiences and their classroom and the extensive training provided to teachers prior to their expedition. This presentation will focus on other successful components of the PolarTREC program and how researchers and organizations might use these tools to reach out to the public for long-term impacts. Best practices include strategies for working with educators and the development of an internet-based platform for teachers and researchers to interact with the public, combining several communication tools such as online journals and forums, real-time Internet seminars, lesson plans, activities, audio, and other educational resources that address a broad range of scientific

Polarization of spin-1 particles without an anomalous magnetic moment in a uniform magnetic field

OpenAIRE

Silenko, Alexander J.

2008-01-01

The polarization operator projections onto four directions remain unchanged for spin-1 particles without an anomalous magnetic moment in a uniform magnetic field. The approximate conservation of the polarization operator projections onto the horizontal axes of the cylindrical coordinate system takes place.

In search of rules behind environmental framing; the case of head pitch.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Gwendoline Ixia; Norman, Brad; Walker, James; Williams, Hannah J; Holton, M D; Clarke, D; Wilson, Rory P

2015-01-01

Whether, and how, animals move requires them to assess their environment to determine the most appropriate action and trajectory, although the precise way the environment is scanned has been little studied. We hypothesized that head attitude, which effectively frames the environment for the eyes, and the way it changes over time, would be modulated by the environment. To test this, we used a head-mounted device (Human-Interfaced Personal Observation platform - HIPOP) on people moving through three different environments; a botanical garden ('green' space), a reef ('blue' space), and a featureless corridor, to examine if head movement in the vertical axis differed between environments. Template matching was used to identify and quantify distinct behaviours. The data on head pitch from all subjects and environments over time showed essentially continuous clear waveforms with varying amplitude and wavelength. There were three stylised behaviours consisting of smooth, regular peaks and troughs in head pitch angle and variable length fixations during which the head pitch remained constant. These three behaviours accounted for ca. 40 % of the total time, with irregular head pitch changes accounting for the rest. There were differences in rates of manifestation of behaviour according to environment as well as environmentally different head pitch values of peaks, troughs and fixations. Finally, although there was considerable variation in head pitch angles, the peak and trough values bounded most of the variation in the fixation pitch values. It is suggested that the constant waveforms in head pitch serve to inform people about their environment, providing a scanning mechanism. Particular emphasis to certain sectors is manifest within the peak and trough limits and these appear modulated by the distribution of the points where fixation, interpreted as being due to objects of interest, occurs. This behaviour explains how animals allocate processing resources to the

Collision judgment when using an augmented-vision head-mounted display device.

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Gang; Woods, Russell L; Peli, Eli

2009-09-01

A device was developed to provide an expanded visual field to patients with tunnel vision by superimposing minified edge images of the wide scene, in which objects appear closer to the heading direction than they really are. Experiments were conducted in a virtual environment to determine whether users would overestimate collision risks. Given simulated scenes of walking or standing with intention to walk toward a given direction (intended walking) in a shopping mall corridor, participants (12 normally sighted and 7 with tunnel vision) reported whether they would collide with obstacles appearing at different offsets from variable walking paths (or intended directions), with and without the device. The collision envelope (CE), a personal space based on perceived collision judgments, and judgment uncertainty (variability of response) were measured. When the device was used, combinations of two image scales (5x minified and 1:1) and two image types (grayscale or edge images) were tested. Image type did not significantly alter collision judgment (P > 0.7). Compared to the without-device baseline, minification did not significantly change the CE of normally sighted subjects for simulated walking (P = 0.12), but increased CE by 30% for intended walking (P 0.25). For the patients, neither CE nor uncertainty was affected by minification (P > 0.13) in both walking conditions. Baseline CE and uncertainty were greater for patients than normally sighted subjects in simulated walking (P = 0.03), but the two groups were not significantly different in all other conditions. Users did not substantially overestimate collision risk, as the x5 minified images had only limited impact on collision judgments either during walking or before starting to walk.

Heading and head injuries in soccer.

Science.gov (United States)

Kirkendall, D T; Jordan, S E; Garrett, W E

2001-01-01

In the world of sports, soccer is unique because of the purposeful use of the unprotected head for controlling and advancing the ball. This skill obviously places the player at risk of head injury and the game does carry some risk. Head injury can be a result of contact of the head with another head (or other body parts), ground, goal post, other unknown objects or even the ball. Such impacts can lead to contusions, fractures, eye injuries, concussions or even, in rare cases, death. Coaches, players, parents and physicians are rightly concerned about the risk of head injury in soccer. Current research shows that selected soccer players have some degree of cognitive dysfunction. It is important to determine the reasons behind such deficits. Purposeful heading has been blamed, but a closer look at the studies that focus on heading has revealed methodological concerns that question the validity of blaming purposeful heading of the ball. The player's history and age (did they play when the ball was leather and could absorb significant amounts of water), alcohol intake, drug intake, learning disabilities, concussion definition and control group use/composition are all factors that cloud the ability to blame purposeful heading. What does seem clear is that a player's history of concussive episodes is a more likely explanation for cognitive deficits. While it is likely that the subconcussive impact of purposeful heading is a doubtful factor in the noted deficits, it is unknown whether multiple subconcussive impacts might have some lingering effects. In addition, it is unknown whether the noted deficits have any affect on daily life. Proper instruction in the technique is critical because if the ball contacts an unprepared head (as in accidental head-ball contacts), the potential for serious injury is possible. To further our understanding of the relationship of heading, head injury and cognitive deficits, we need to: learn more about the actual impact of a ball on the

Undulator-Based Production of Polarized Photons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McDonald, Kirk

2008-01-01

'Project Title: Undulator-Based Production of Polarized Photons' DOE Contract Number: FG02-04ER41355 Principal Investigator: Prof. Kirk McDonald Period of Performance: 09/10/2004 thru 08/31/2006 This award was to fund Princeton's activity on SLAC experiment E166, 'Undulator-Based Production of Polarized Positrons' which was performed at SLAC during June and September 2005. Princeton U. fabricated a magnetic spectrometer for this experiment, and participated in the commissioning, operation, and analysis of the experiment, for which Prof. McDonald was a co-spokesperson. The experiment demonstrated that an intense positron beam with 80% longitudinal polarization could be generated by conversion of MeVenergy circularly polarized photons in a thin target, which photons were generated by passage of high-energy electrons through a helical undulator. This technique has since been adopted as the baseline for the polarized positron source of the proposed International Linear Collider. Results of the experiment have been published in Physical Review Letters, vol 100, p 210801 (2008) (see attached .pdf file), and a longer paper is in preparation.

New active machine tool drive mounting on the frame

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Švéda J.

2007-10-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with the new active mounting of the machine tool drives. The commonly used machine tools are at this time mainly equipped with fix-mounting of the feed drives. This structure causes full transmission of the force shocks to the machine bed and thereby restricts the dynamic properties of the motion axis and the whole machine. The spring-mounting of the feed drives is one of the possibilities how to partially suppress the vibrations. The force that reacts to the machine tool bed is transformed thereby the vibrations are lightly reduced. Unfortunately the transformation is not fully controlled. The new active mounting of the machine tool drives allows to fully control the force behaviour that react to the machine body. Thereby the number of excited frequencies on the machine tool bed is significantly reduced. The active variant of the feed drive mounting is characterized by the synergistic cooperation between two series-connected actuators (“motor on motor”. The paper briefly describes design, control techniques and optimization of the feed drives with the new active mounting conception.

Heading assessment by “tunnel vision” patients and control subjects standing or walking in a virtual reality environment

Science.gov (United States)

APFELBAUM, HENRY; PELAH, ADAR; PELI, ELI

2007-01-01

Virtual reality locomotion simulators are a promising tool for evaluating the effectiveness of vision aids to mobility for people with low vision. This study examined two factors to gain insight into the verisimilitude requirements of the test environment: the effects of treadmill walking and the suitability of using controls as surrogate patients. Ten “tunnel vision” patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) were tasked with identifying which side of a clearly visible obstacle their heading through the virtual environment would lead them, and were scored both on accuracy and on their distance from the obstacle when they responded. They were tested both while walking on a treadmill and while standing, as they viewed a scene representing progress through a shopping mall. Control subjects, each wearing a head-mounted field restriction to simulate the vision of a paired patient, were also tested. At wide angles of approach, controls and patients performed with a comparably high degree of accuracy, and made their choices at comparable distances from the obstacle. At narrow angles of approach, patients’ accuracy increased when walking, while controls’ accuracy decreased. When walking, both patients and controls delayed their decisions until closer to the obstacle. We conclude that a head-mounted field restriction is not sufficient for simulating tunnel vision, but that the improved performance observed for walking compared to standing suggests that a walking interface (such as a treadmill) may be essential for eliciting natural perceptually-guided behavior in virtual reality locomotion simulators. PMID:18167511

Separate groups of dopamine neurons innervate caudate head and tail encoding flexible and stable value memories

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hyoung F Kim

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Dopamine neurons are thought to be critical for reward value-based learning by modifying synaptic transmissions in the striatum. Yet, different regions of the striatum seem to guide different kinds of learning. Do dopamine neurons contribute to the regional differences of the striatum in learning? As a first step to answer this question, we examined whether the head and tail of the caudate nucleus of the monkey (Macaca mulatta receive inputs from the same or different dopamine neurons. We chose these caudate regions because we previously showed that caudate head neurons learn values of visual objects quickly and flexibly, whereas caudate tail neurons learn object values slowly but retain them stably. Here we confirmed the functional difference by recording single neuronal activity while the monkey performed the flexible and stable value tasks, and then injected retrograde tracers in the functional domains of caudate head and tail. The projecting dopaminergic neurons were identified using tyrosine hydroxylase immunohistochemistry. We found that two groups of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta project largely separately to the caudate head and tail. These groups of dopamine neurons were mostly separated topographically: head-projecting neurons were located in the rostral-ventral-medial region, while tail-projecting neurons were located in the caudal-dorsal-lateral regions of the substantia nigra. Furthermore, they showed different morphological features: tail-projecting neurons were larger and less circular than head-projecting neurons. Our data raise the possibility that different groups of dopamine neurons selectively guide learning of flexible (short-term and stable (long-term memories of object values.

Polar Cooperative Navigation Algorithm for Multi-Unmanned Underwater Vehicles Considering Communication Delays

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zheping Yan

2018-03-01

Full Text Available To solve the navigation accuracy problems of multi-Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (multi-UUVs in the polar region, a polar cooperative navigation algorithm for multi-UUVs considering communication delays is proposed in this paper. UUVs are important pieces of equipment in ocean engineering for marine development. For UUVs to complete missions, precise navigation is necessary. It is difficult for UUVs to establish true headings because of the rapid convergence of Earth meridians and the severe polar environment. Based on the polar grid navigation algorithm, UUV navigation in the polar region can be accomplished with the Strapdown Inertial Navigation System (SINS in the grid frame. To save costs, a leader-follower type of system is introduced in this paper. The leader UUV helps the follower UUVs to achieve high navigation accuracy. Follower UUVs correct their own states based on the information sent by the leader UUV and the relative position measured by ultra-short baseline (USBL acoustic positioning. The underwater acoustic communication delay is quantized by the model. In this paper, considering underwater acoustic communication delay, the conventional adaptive Kalman filter (AKF is modified to adapt to polar cooperative navigation. The results demonstrate that the polar cooperative navigation algorithm for multi-UUVs that considers communication delays can effectively navigate the sailing of multi-UUVs in the polar region.

Organization and processes of the BN-600 reactor mounting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dubrovin, E.Z.; Karpenko, V.N.; Takhtaulov, V.M.

1982-01-01

Structural peculiarities of the BN-600 reactor plant are considered. Experience of metal structure mounting inside the reactor vessel has been analysed. Recommendations on the improvements on the organization of the thermal mechanical equipment mounting are given. It is concluded that the consideration of these recommendations will permit to reduce expenditures of labour by 10-40% for the mounting

46 CFR 61.05-15 - Boiler mountings and attachments.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Boiler mountings and attachments. 61.05-15 Section 61.05... TESTS AND INSPECTIONS Tests and Inspections of Boilers § 61.05-15 Boiler mountings and attachments. (a....05-10. (b) Each stud or bolt for each boiler mounting that paragraph (c) of this section requires to...

Polarized light use in the nocturnal bull ant, Myrmecia midas.

Science.gov (United States)

Freas, Cody A; Narendra, Ajay; Lemesle, Corentin; Cheng, Ken

2017-08-01

Solitary foraging ants have a navigational toolkit, which includes the use of both terrestrial and celestial visual cues, allowing individuals to successfully pilot between food sources and their nest. One such celestial cue is the polarization pattern in the overhead sky. Here, we explore the use of polarized light during outbound and inbound journeys and with different home vectors in the nocturnal bull ant, Myrmecia midas . We tested foragers on both portions of the foraging trip by rotating the overhead polarization pattern by ±45°. Both outbound and inbound foragers responded to the polarized light change, but the extent to which they responded to the rotation varied. Outbound ants, both close to and further from the nest, compensated for the change in the overhead e-vector by about half of the manipulation, suggesting that outbound ants choose a compromise heading between the celestial and terrestrial compass cues. However, ants returning home compensated for the change in the e-vector by about half of the manipulation when the remaining home vector was short (1-2 m) and by more than half of the manipulation when the remaining vector was long (more than 4 m). We report these findings and discuss why weighting on polarization cues change in different contexts.

Fractionation schedules for cancers of the head and neck

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harari, Paul M.

1995-01-01

Purpose/Objective: This refresher course reviews current research activity and treatment results in the field of radiation therapy fractionation. The presentation emphasizes worldwide studies of altered fractionation, highlighting head and neck cancer as the primary teaching model. Basic radiobiological principles guiding the development of altered fractionation regimens, and advancing the understanding of fractionation effects on normal and tumor tissue are reviewed. A 'standard' prescription of 2 Gy x 35 fractions = 70 Gy may not provide the optimal balance between primary tumor control and late normal tissue effects for all patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. The last decade has witnessed the treatment of thousands of head and neck cancer patients with curative radiotherapy using altered fractination schedules designed to improve overall treatment results. Although the number of different fractionation regimens currently being investigated continues to increase, the common guiding principles behind their design are relatively simple. Common fractionation terminology (i.e., accelerated hyperfractionation) will be reviewed, as well as a brief summary of radiobiological concepts pertaining to tumor potential doubling time, tumor proliferation kinetics, overall treatment time and fraction size-dependence of acute and late tissue effects. Several well known head and neck fractionation schedules from around the world (Manchester Christie Hospital-United Kingdom, Princess Margaret Hospital-Canada, Massachusetts General Hospital-USA, MD Anderson Hospital-USA, University of Florida-USA, Mount Vernon Hospital CHART-United Kingdom, RTOG and EORTC trials-USA and Europe) will be summarized with regard to design-rationale, treatment technique and results. The design of several current cooperative group trials investigating altered head and neck fractionation will be presented, as well as concepts prompting the pilot evaluation of several brand new

A helical optical for circular polarized UV-FEL project at the UVSOR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hama, Hiroyuki [Institute for Molecular Science, Okazaki (Japan)

1995-12-31

Most of existing storage ring free electron lasers (SRFEL) are restricted those performances by degradation of mirrors in optical cavities. In general, the SRFEL gain at the short wavelength region with high energy electrons is quite low, and the high reflectivity mirrors such as dielectric multilayer mirrors are therefore required. The mirror degradation is considered as a result of irradiation of higher harmonic photons that are simultaneously emitted from planar optical klystron (OK) type undulators, which are commonly used in SRFEL. This problem is getting severer as the lasing wavelength becomes shorter. The UVSOR-FEL had been originally scheduled to be shutdown by 1996 because another undulator project for spectroscopic studies with circular polarized photon would take the FEL`s place. According to suggestion of the insertion device group of the SPring-8, we have designed a helical undulator that is able to vary degree and direction of the polarization easily. In addition, the undulator can be converted into a helical OK by replacing magnets at the center part of undulator in order to coexist with further FEL experiments. Using a calculated magnetic field for magnet configurations of the OK mode, the radiation spectrum at wide wavelength range was simulated by a Fourier transform of Lienard-Wiechert potentials. As a matter of course, some higher harmonics are radiated on the off-axis angle. However it was found out that the higher harmonics is almost negligible as far as inside a solid angle of the Gaussian laser mode. Moreover the gain at the UV region of 250 nm is expected to be much higher than our present FEL because of high brilliant fundamental radiation. The calculated spatial distribution of higher harmonics and the estimated instantaneous gain is presented. Advantages of the helical OK for SRFEL will be discussed in view of our experience, and a possibility of application two-color experiment with SR will be also mentioned.

Effects of semen preservation on boar spermatozoa head membranes.

Science.gov (United States)

Buhr, M M; Canvin, A T; Bailey, J L

1989-08-01

Head plasma membranes were isolated from the sperm-rich fraction of boar semen and from sperm-rich semen that had been subjected to three commercial preservation processes: Extended for fresh insemination (extended), prepared for freezing but not frozen (cooled), and stored frozen for 3-5 weeks (frozen-thawed). Fluorescence polarization was used to determine fluidity of the membranes of all samples for 160 min at 25 degrees C and also for membranes from the sperm-rich and extended semen during cooling and reheating (25 to 5 to 40 degrees C, 0.4 degrees C/min). Head plasma membranes from extended semen were initially more fluid than from other sources (P less than 0.05). Fluidity of head membranes from all sources decreased at 25 degrees C, but the rate of decrease was significantly lower for membranes from cooled and lower again for membranes from frozen-thawed semen. Cooling to 5 degrees C reduced the rate of fluidity change for plasma membranes from the sperm-rich fraction, while heating over 30 degrees C caused a significantly greater decrease. The presence of Ca++ (10 mM) lowered the fluidity of the head plasma membranes from sperm-rich and extended semen over time at 25 degrees C but did not affect the membranes from the cooled or frozen-thawed semen. The change in head plasma membrane fluidity at 25 degrees C may reflect the dynamic nature of spermatozoa membranes prior to fertilization. Extenders, preservation processes and temperature changes have a strong influence on head plasma membrane fluidity and therefore the molecular organization of this membrane.

Assessing the Impact of Climate Change on Land-Water-Ecosystem Quality in Polar and Mountainous Regions: A New Interregional Project (INT5153)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dercon, Gerd [Soil and Water Management and Crop Nutrition Subprogramme, Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, IAEA, Seibersdorf (Austria); Gerardo-Abaya, Jane [Division for Asia and the Pacific Section 2, Department of Technical Cooperation, IAEA, Vienna (Austria); Mavlyudov, Bulat [Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow (Russian Federation); others, and

2014-07-15

The INT5153 project aims to improve the understanding of the impact of climate change on fragile polar and mountainous ecosystems on both a local and global scale for their better management and conservation. Seven core and five related benchmark sites have been selected from different global regions for specific assessments of the impact of climate change with the following expected outcomes and outputs: Outcomes: • Improved understanding of the impact of climate change on the cryosphere in polar and mountainous ecosystems and its effects on landwater- ecosystem quality at both local and global scales. • Recommendations for improvement of regional policies for soil and agricultural water management, conservation, and environmental protection in polar and mountainous regions. Outputs: • Specific strategies to minimize the adverse effects of, and adapt to, reduced seasonal snow and glacier covered areas on land-water-ecosystem quality in polar and mountain regions across the world. • Enhanced interregional network of laboratories and institutions competent in the assessment of climate change impacts on the cryosphere and land-water-ecosystem quality, using isotopic and nuclear techniques. • Increased number of young scientists trained in the use of isotope and nuclear techniques to assess the impact of climate change on the cryosphere and land-water-ecosystem quality in polar and mountainous ecosystems. • Platform/database with global access for continuing work and monitoring of impact of climate change on fragile polar and mountainous ecosystems at local and global scales, as well as for communicating findings to policy makers and communities. • Improved understanding of the effects of climate change disseminated through appropriate publications, policy briefs, and through a dedicated internet platform. • Methodologies and protocols for investigations in specific ecosystems and conservation/adaptation measures for agriculture areas.

Assessing the Impact of Climate Change on Land-Water-Ecosystem Quality in Polar and Mountainous Regions: A New Interregional Project (INT5153)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dercon, Gerd; Gerardo-Abaya, Jane; Mavlyudov, Bulat

2014-01-01

The INT5153 project aims to improve the understanding of the impact of climate change on fragile polar and mountainous ecosystems on both a local and global scale for their better management and conservation. Seven core and five related benchmark sites have been selected from different global regions for specific assessments of the impact of climate change with the following expected outcomes and outputs: Outcomes: • Improved understanding of the impact of climate change on the cryosphere in polar and mountainous ecosystems and its effects on landwater- ecosystem quality at both local and global scales. • Recommendations for improvement of regional policies for soil and agricultural water management, conservation, and environmental protection in polar and mountainous regions. Outputs: • Specific strategies to minimize the adverse effects of, and adapt to, reduced seasonal snow and glacier covered areas on land-water-ecosystem quality in polar and mountain regions across the world. • Enhanced interregional network of laboratories and institutions competent in the assessment of climate change impacts on the cryosphere and land-water-ecosystem quality, using isotopic and nuclear techniques. • Increased number of young scientists trained in the use of isotope and nuclear techniques to assess the impact of climate change on the cryosphere and land-water-ecosystem quality in polar and mountainous ecosystems. • Platform/database with global access for continuing work and monitoring of impact of climate change on fragile polar and mountainous ecosystems at local and global scales, as well as for communicating findings to policy makers and communities. • Improved understanding of the effects of climate change disseminated through appropriate publications, policy briefs, and through a dedicated internet platform. • Methodologies and protocols for investigations in specific ecosystems and conservation/adaptation measures for agriculture areas

Structural and physicochemical properties of polar lipids from thermophilic archaea.

Science.gov (United States)

Ulrih, Natasa Poklar; Gmajner, Dejan; Raspor, Peter

2009-08-01

The essential general features required for lipid membranes of extremophilic archaea to fulfill biological functions are that they are in the liquid crystalline phase and have extremely low permeability of solutes that is much less temperature sensitive due to a lack of lipid-phase transition and highly branched isoprenoid chains. Many accumulated data indicate that the organism's response to extremely low pH is the opposite of that to high temperature. The high temperature adaptation does not require the tetraether lipids, while the adaptation of thermophiles to acidic environment requires the tetraether polar lipids. The presence of cyclopentane rings and the role of polar heads are not so straightforward regarding the correlations between fluidity and permeability of the lipid membrane. Due to the unique lipid structures and properties of archaeal lipids, they are a valuable resource in the development of novel biotechnological processes. This microreview focuses primarily on structural and physicochemical properties of polar lipids of (hyper)thermophilic archaea.

Correction of head motion artifacts in SPECT with fully 3-D OS-EM reconstruction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fulton, R.R.

1998-01-01

Full text: A method which relies on continuous monitoring of head position has been developed to correct for head motion in SPECT studies of the brain. Head position and orientation are monitored during data acquisition by an inexpensive head tracking system (ADL-1, Shooting Star Technology, Rosedale, British Colombia). Motion correction involves changing the projection geometry to compensate for motion (using data from the head tracker), and reconstructing with a fully 3-D OS-EM algorithm. The reconstruction algorithm can accommodate any number of movements and any projection geometry. A single iteration of 3-D OS-EM using all available projections provides a satisfactory 3-D reconstruction, essentially free of motion artifacts. The method has been validated in studies of the 3-D Hoffman brain phantom. Multiple 36- degree acquisitions, each with the phantom in a different position, were performed on a Trionix triple head camera. Movements were simulated by combining projections from the different acquisitions. Accuracy was assessed by comparison with a motion-free reconstruction, visually and by calculating mean squared error (MSE). Motion correction reduced distortion perceptibly and, depending on the motions applied, improved MSE by up to an order of magnitude. Three-dimensional reconstruction of the 128 x 128 x 128 data set took 2- minutes on a SUN Ultra 1 workstation. This motion correction technique can be retro-fitted to existing SPECT systems and could be incorporated in future SPECT camera designs. It appears to be applicable in PET as well as SPECT, to be able to correct for any head movements, and to have the potential to improve the accuracy of tomographic brain studies under clinical imaging conditions

Fabrication of a Polarizing Neutron Supermirror and Development of its applied Devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, Sang Jin; Ryu, Ji Myoungi; Kim, Sangwon

2013-02-01

Based on the project of neutron guide development, which started in 2005, KAERI has possessed the techniques such as supermirror coating, guide element assembly, guide alignment, special tool development and guide element assembly, guide alignment, special tool development and guide maintenance. With help of multilayer coating technique from supermirror fabrication, a project called 'Development of a Polarizing Supermirror and its applied devices' started early 2011. To begin with, most used coating materials were investigated, and for using polarized beam, G-TS located at CG1 beam line (Guide Test Station: Reflectometer) was modified with adding spin flipper, polarizer, analyzer and magnetic sample holder developed by KAERI. By studying crystallization and oxidation of the FeCo alloy to minimize the layer roughness and magnetization of a magnetic layer to determine minimal magnetic field, the neutron polarizing supermirrors have been developed, which show a average reflectivity of 90% and a polarization of 95% for M=2 and a average reflectivity of 80% and a polarization of 95% for M=2.6

Head-on collisions of electrostatic solitons in multi-ion plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verheest, Frank; Hellberg, Manfred A.; Hereman, Willy A.

2012-01-01

Head-on collisions between two electrostatic solitons are dealt with by the Poincaré-Lighthill-Kuo method of strained coordinates, for a plasma composed of a number of cold (positive and negative) ion species and Boltzmann electrons. The nonlinear evolution equations for both solitons and their phase shift due to the collision, resulting in time delays, are established. A Korteweg-de Vries description is the generic conclusion, except when the plasma composition is special enough to replace the quadratic by a cubic nonlinearity in the evolution equations, with concomitant repercussions on the phase shifts. Applications include different two-ion plasmas, showing positive or negative polarity solitons in the generic case. At critical composition, a combination of a positive and a negative polarity soliton is possible.

Linear and/or curvilinear rail mount system

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Jackie D. (Inventor); Harris, Lawanna L. (Inventor)

2012-01-01

One or more linear and/or curvilinear mounting rails are coupled to a structure. Each mounting rail defines a channel and at least one cartridge assembly is engaged in the channel. Each cartridge assembly includes a housing that slides within the channel. The housing defines a curvilinearly-shaped recess longitudinally aligned with the channel when the housing is in engagement therewith. The cartridge assembly also includes a cleat fitted in the recess for sliding engagement therealong. The cleat can be coupled to a fastener that passes through the mounting rail and the housing when the housing is so-engaged in the channel. The cleat is positioned in the recess by a position of the fastener.

Development of New, Low-Head Hydropower Turbine - Modeling & Laboratory Test DE-EE0005426

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krouse, Wayne [Hydro Green Energy, Westmont, IL (United States)

2014-12-05

Hydro Green Energy, LLC (HGE) will complete the design, fabrication and laboratory testing of a scaled, vertically stackable, low-head hydropower turbine called the Modular Bulb Turbine (MBT). HGE will also complete a summary report that includes the laboratory testing results and analysis of the tests. Project Goals: Design, model and test modular bulb turbine for installation in numerous HGE low-head hydropower projects at non-powered USACE dams. Project Results: The sub-scale prototype was tested successfully at a leading US hydraulic laboratory. Laboratory data results agreed well with predicted results from numerical modeling.

Polarized Drell-Yan measurement at COMPASS-II

CERN Document Server

CERN

2014-01-01

The COMPASS experiment at CERN prepares a new measurement on the nucleon structure via Drell-Yan reactions using a transversely polarized ammonia target and a π− beam. This first-ever polarized Drell-Yan measurement will provide the insight into the transverse momentum depen- dent parton distribution functions such as the Sivers and Boer-Mulders functions, complementary to what is measured in the semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering process. The important features and status of this project are introduced.

Fourier method for modeling slanted lamellar gratings of arbitrary end-surface shapes in conical mounting.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Lifeng

2015-10-01

An efficient modal method for numerically modeling slanted lamellar gratings of isotropic dielectric or metallic media in conical mounting is presented. No restrictions are imposed on the slant angle and the length of the lamellae. The end surface of the lamellae can be arbitrary, subject to certain restrictions. An oblique coordinate system that is adapted to the slanted lamella sidewalls allows the most efficient way of representing and manipulating the electromagnetic fields. A translational coordinate system that is based on the oblique Cartesian coordinate system adapts to the end-surface profile of the lamellae, so that the latter can be handled simply and easily. Moreover, two matrix eigenvalue problems of size 2N × 2N, one for each fundamental polarization of the electromagnetic fields in the periodic lamellar structure, where N is the matrix truncation number, are derived to replace the 4N × 4N eigenvalue problem that has been used in the literature. The core idea leading to this success is the polarization decomposition of the electromagnetic fields inside the periodic lamellar region when the fields are expressed in the oblique translational coordinate system.

Polarized gas targets for storage rings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holt, R.J.

1990-01-01

It is widely recognized that polarized gas targets in electron storage rings represent a new opportunity for precision nuclear physics studies. New developments in polarized target technology specific to internal applications will be discussed. In particular, polarized gas targets have been used in the VEPP-3 electron ring in Novosibirsk. A simple storage cell was used to increase the total target thickness by a factor of 15 over the simple gas jet target from an atomic beam source. Results from the initial phase of this project will be reported. In addition, the plans for increasing the luminosity by an additional order or magnitude will be presented. The application of this work to polarized hydrogen and deuterium targets for the HERA ring will be noted. The influence of beam-induced depolarization, a phenomena encountered in short-pulse electron storage rings, will be discussed. Finally, the performance tests of laser-driven sources will be presented. 8 refs., 12 figs., 1 tab

Drill-specific head impact exposure in youth football practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Campolettano, Eamon T; Rowson, Steven; Duma, Stefan M

2016-11-01

OBJECTIVE Although 70% of football players in the United States are youth players (6-14 years old), most research on head impacts in football has focused on high school, collegiate, or professional populations. The objective of this study was to identify the specific activities associated with high-magnitude (acceleration > 40g) head impacts in youth football practices. METHODS A total of 34 players (mean age 9.9 ± 0.6 years) on 2 youth teams were equipped with helmet-mounted accelerometer arrays that recorded head accelerations associated with impacts in practices and games. Videos of practices and games were used to verify all head impacts and identify specific drills associated with each head impact. RESULTS A total of 6813 impacts were recorded, of which 408 had accelerations exceeding 40g (6.0%). For each type of practice drill, impact rates were computed that accounted for the length of time that teams spent on each drill. The tackling drill King of the Circle had the highest impact rate (95% CI 25.6-68.3 impacts/hr). Impact rates for tackling drills (those conducted without a blocker [95% CI 14.7-21.9 impacts/hr] and those with a blocker [95% CI 10.5-23.1 impacts/hr]) did not differ from game impact rates (95% CI 14.2-21.6 impacts/hr). Tackling drills were observed to have a greater proportion (between 40% and 50%) of impacts exceeding 60g than games (25%). The teams in this study participated in tackling or blocking drills for only 22% of their overall practice times, but these drills were responsible for 86% of all practice impacts exceeding 40g. CONCLUSIONS In youth football, high-magnitude impacts occur more often in practices than games, and some practice drills are associated with higher impact rates and accelerations than others. To mitigate high-magnitude head impact exposure in youth football, practices should be modified to decrease the time spent in drills with high impact rates, potentially eliminating a drill such as King of the Circle

Mount for continuously orienting a collector dish in a system adapted to perform both diurnal and seasonal solar tracking

Science.gov (United States)

Brantley, L. W., Jr.; Lawson, B. D. (Inventor)

1977-01-01

A collector dish is continuously oriented toward the sun in a system adapted to perform both diurnal and seasonal solar tracking. The mount is characterized by a rigid, angulated axle having a linear midportion supporting a collector dish, and oppositely extended end portions normally related to the midportion of the axle and received in spaced journals. The longitudinal axis of symmetry for the midportion of the axle is coincident with a seasonal axis while the axes of the journals are coincident with a diurnal axis paralleling the earth's polar axis. Drive means are provided for periodically displacing the axle about the diurnal axis at a substantially constant rate, while other drive means are provided for periodically indexing the dish through 1 deg about the seasonal axis whereby the position of the dish relative to the axle is varied for accommodating seasonal tracking as changes in the angle of inclination of the polar axis occurs.

Advancing Environmental Prediction Capabilities for the Polar Regions and Beyond during The Year of Polar Prediction

Science.gov (United States)

Werner, Kirstin; Goessling, Helge; Hoke, Winfried; Kirchhoff, Katharina; Jung, Thomas

2017-04-01

Environmental changes in polar regions open up new opportunities for economic and societal operations such as vessel traffic related to scientific, fishery and tourism activities, and in the case of the Arctic also enhanced resource development. The availability of current and accurate weather and environmental information and forecasts will therefore play an increasingly important role in aiding risk reduction and safety management around the poles. The Year of Polar Prediction (YOPP) has been established by the World Meteorological Organization's World Weather Research Programme as the key activity of the ten-year Polar Prediction Project (PPP; see more on www.polarprediction.net). YOPP is an internationally coordinated initiative to significantly advance our environmental prediction capabilities for the polar regions and beyond, supporting improved weather and climate services. Scheduled to take place from mid-2017 to mid-2019, the YOPP core phase covers an extended period of intensive observing, modelling, prediction, verification, user-engagement and education activities in the Arctic and Antarctic, on a wide range of time scales from hours to seasons. The Year of Polar Prediction will entail periods of enhanced observational and modelling campaigns in both polar regions. With the purpose to close the gaps in the conventional polar observing systems in regions where the observation network is sparse, routine observations will be enhanced during Special Observing Periods for an extended period of time (several weeks) during YOPP. This will allow carrying out subsequent forecasting system experiments aimed at optimizing observing systems in the polar regions and providing insight into the impact of better polar observations on forecast skills in lower latitudes. With various activities and the involvement of a wide range of stakeholders, YOPP will contribute to the knowledge base needed to managing the opportunities and risks that come with polar climate change.

Essential radiology for head injury

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mok, D.W.H.; Kreel, L.

1988-01-01

The book covers the guidelines established by the Royal College of Radiologists for the radiographic evaluation of head injuries. It presents a chapter reviewing the normal radiologic anatomy of the skull in six different projections. The advantages and limitations of each projection are addressed. The third chapter, contains 43 radiographs dedicated to the calcified pineal gland and other intracranial calcifications. The book reports on specific types of fractures: linear fractures of the vault, depressed fractures of the vault, fractures in children, fractures of the base of the skull, and fractures of the facial bones

Methods and apparatus for radially compliant component mounting

Science.gov (United States)

Bulman, David Edward [Cincinnati, OH; Darkins, Jr., Toby George; Stumpf, James Anthony [Columbus, IN; Schroder, Mark S [Greenville, SC; Lipinski, John Joseph [Simpsonville, SC

2012-03-27

Methods and apparatus for a mounting assembly for a liner of a gas turbine engine combustor are provided. The combustor includes a combustor liner and a radially outer annular flow sleeve. The mounting assembly includes an inner ring surrounding a radially outer surface of the liner and including a plurality of axially extending fingers. The mounting assembly also includes a radially outer ring coupled to the inner ring through a plurality of spacers that extend radially from a radially outer surface of the inner ring to the outer ring.

Fluorescent whole-mount RNA in situ hybridization (F-WISH) in plant germ cells and the fertilized ovule.

Science.gov (United States)

Bleckmann, Andrea; Dresselhaus, Thomas

2016-04-01

First evidence on gene function and regulation is provided by the cellular expression pattern in complex tissues. However, to understand the activity of a specific gene, it is essential to analyze the regulatory network, which controls the spatio-temporal translation pattern during the entire life span of the transcribed mRNA. To explore mechanisms which control mRNA abundance and localization in space and time, it is necessary to visualize mRNAs quantitatively with a subcellular resolution, without sectioning the tissues. We have adapted and optimized a protocol for colorimetric whole-mount RNA in situ hybridization (WISH) using egg cell-specific digoxigenin (DIG) labeled probes (Hejátko et al., 2006) [1] on ovules and early seeds of Arabidopsis. Furthermore, we established a fluorescent whole-mount RNA in situ hybridization (F-WISH) protocol, which allows mRNA visualization on a subcellular level. The polar localized mRNA of SBT4.13, encoding a subtilase, was identified using this protocol. Both methods are described and discussed in detail. Additionally a (F)-WISH flow-chart is provided along with a troubleshooting table. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Diagnostic and organizational error in head injuries].

Science.gov (United States)

Zaba, Czesław; Zaba, Zbigniew; Swiderski, Paweł; Lorkiewicz-Muszyíska, Dorota

2009-01-01

The study aimed at presenting a case of a diagnostic and organizational error involving lack of detection of foreign body presence in the soft tissues of the head. Head radiograms in two projections clearly demonstrated foreign bodies that resembled in shape flattened bullets, which could not have been missed upon evaluation of the X-rays. On the other hand, description of the radiograms entered by the attending physicians to the patient's medical record indicated an absence of traumatic injuries or foreign bodies. In the opinion of the authors, the case in question involved a diagnostic error: the doctors failed to detect the presence of foreign bodies in the head. The organizational error involved the failure of radiogram evaluation performed by a radiologist.

Vertical repositioning accuracy of magnetic mounting systems on 4 articulator models.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Wonsup; Kwon, Ho-Beom

2018-03-01

Research of the ability of a cast mounted on an articulator on maintaining the identical position of a cast mounted on an articulator after repeated repositioning is lacking, despite the possible effects this may have on the occlusion of a mounted cast. The purpose of this in vitro study was to verify and compare the vertical repositioning accuracy of 4 different, commercially available articulator magnetic mounting plate systems. Four articulators and their associated magnetic mounting plates were selected for the study. These were the Artex AR articulator (Amann Girrbach AG), the Denar Mark II articulator (Whip Mix Corp), the Kavo Protar Evo articulator (Kavo Dental GmbH), and the SAM3 articulator (SAM Präzisionstechnik GmbH). Three new magnetic mounting plates were prepared for each articulator system. The repositioning accuracy of each mounting plate was evaluated by comparing the standard deviation of the vertical distances measured between the mounting plate and a laser displacement sensor. The lower arm of the articulator was secured, and the vertical distance was measured by positioning the laser displacement sensor positioned vertically above the mounting plate. Once the vertical distance was measured, the mounting plate was detached from the articulator and reattached manually to prepare for the next measurement. This procedure was repeated 30 times for each of the 3 magnetic mounting plates. Data were analyzed by ANOVA for 2-stage nested design and the Levene test (α=.05). Significant differences were detected among articulator systems and between magnetic mounting plates of the same type. The standard deviations of the measurements made with the Artex AR articulator, Denar Mark II articulator, Kavo Protar Evo articulator, and SAM3 articulator were 0.0027, 0.0308, 0.0214, and 0.0215 mm, respectively. Thus, the repositioning accuracy could be ranked in the order as follows: Artex AR, Kavo Protar Evo, SAM3, and Denar Mark II. The position of the

CELSS Antarctic Analog Project (CAAP): A New Paradigm for Polar Life Support and CELSS Research

Science.gov (United States)

Bubenheim, David L.; Straight, Christian; Flynn, Michael; Bates, Maynard; Harper, Lynn D. (Technical Monitor)

1994-01-01

The CELSS Antarctic Analog Project (CAAP) is a joint National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) project for the development, deployment and operation of CELSS technologies at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. CAAP is implemented through the joint NSF/NASA Antarctic Space Analog Program (ASAP), initiated to support the pursuit of future NASA missions and to promote the transfer of space technologies to the NSF. Under a Memorandum of Agreement, the CAAP represents an example of a working dual agency cooperative project. NASA goals are operational testing of CELSS technologies and the conduct of scientific study to facilitate . technology selection, system design and methods development, including human dynamics as required for the operation of a CELSS. Although not fully closed, food production, water purification, and waste recycle and reduction provided by CAAP will improve the quality of life for the South Pole inhabitants, reduce logistics dependence, and minimize environmental impacts associated with human presence on the polar plateau. The CAAP facility will be highly integrated with the new South Pole Station infrastructure and will be composed of a deployed hardware facility and a research activity. This paper will include a description of CAAP and its functionality, conceptual designs, component selection and sizing for the crop growth chamber, crop production expectations, and a brief report on an initial on-site visit. This paper will also provide a discussion of issues associated with power and energy use and the applicability of CAAP to direct technology transfer to society in general and remote communities in particular.

Internally Mounting Strain Gages

Science.gov (United States)

Jett, J. R., Jr.

1984-01-01

Technique for mounting strain gages inside bolt or cylinder simultaneously inserts gage, attached dowel segment, and length of expandable tubing. Expandable tubing holds gage in place while adhesive cures, assuring even distribution of pressure on gage and area gaged.

Relationships between POPs, biometrics and circulating steroids in male polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from Svalbard.

Science.gov (United States)

Ciesielski, Tomasz M; Hansen, Ingunn Tjelta; Bytingsvik, Jenny; Hansen, Martin; Lie, Elisabeth; Aars, Jon; Jenssen, Bjørn M; Styrishave, Bjarne

2017-11-01

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and biometric variables on circulating levels of steroid hormones (androgens, estrogens and progestagens) in male polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from Svalbard, Norway (n = 23). Levels of pregnenolone (PRE), progesterone (PRO), androstenedione (AN), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), testosterone (TS), dihydrotestosterone (DHT), estrone (E1), 17α-estradiol (αE2) and 17β-estradiol (βE2) were quantified in polar bear serum by gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS), while POPs were measured in plasma. Subsequently, associations between hormone concentrations (9 steroids), POPs (21 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), 8 OH-PCBs, 8 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and OCP metabolites, and 2 polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)) and biological variables (age, head length, body mass, girth, body condition index), capture date, location (latitude and longitude), lipid content and cholesterol levels were examined using principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal projections to latent structures (OPLS) modelling. Average concentrations of androgens, estrogens and progestagens were in the range of 0.57-83.7 (0.57-12.4 for subadults, 1.02-83.7 for adults), 0.09-2.69 and 0.57-2.44 nmol/L, respectively. The steroid profiles suggest that sex steroids were mainly synthesized through the Δ-4 pathway in male polar bears. The ratio between androgens and estrogens significantly depended on sexual maturity with androgen/estrogen ratios being approximately 60 times higher in adult males than in subadult males. PCA plots and OPLS models indicated that TS was positively related to biometrics, such as body condition index in male polar bears. A negative relationship was also observed between POPs and DHT. Consequently, POPs and body condition may potentially affect the endocrinological function of steroids, including development of reproductive tissues and sex organs and the

Polarization measurement for internal polarized gaseous targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ye Zhenyu; Ye Yunxiu; Lv Haijiang; Mao Yajun

2004-01-01

The authors present an introduction to internal polarized gaseous targets, polarization method, polarization measurement method and procedure. To get the total nuclear polarization of hydrogen atoms (including the polarization of the recombined hydrogen molecules) in the target cell, authors have measured the parameters relating to atomic polarization and polarized hydrogen atoms and molecules. The total polarization of the target during our measurement is P T =0.853 ± 0.036. (authors)

Ultra-wideband reflective polarization converter based on anisotropic metasurface

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Jia-Liang; Lin, Bao-Qin; Da, Xin-Yu

2016-08-01

In this paper, we propose an ultra-wideband reflective linear cross-polarization converter based on anisotropic metasurface. Its unit cell is composed of a square-shaped resonator with intersectant diagonal and metallic ground sheet separated by dielectric substrate. Simulated results show that the converter can generate resonances at four frequencies under normal incident electromagnetic (EM) wave, leading to the bandwidth expansion of cross-polarization reflection. For verification, the designed polarization converter is fabricated and measured. The measured and simulated results agree well with each other, showing that the fabricated converter can convert x- or y-polarized incident wave into its cross polarized wave in a frequency range from 7.57 GHz to 20.46 GHz with a relative bandwidth of 91.2%, and the polarization conversion efficiency is greater than 90%. The proposed polarization converter has a simple geometry but an ultra wideband compared with the published designs, and hence possesses potential applications in novel polarization-control devices. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61471387, 61271250, and 61571460).

Application of Evolutionary Computation in Automotive Powertrain Mount Tuning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anab Akanda

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Engine mount tuning is a multi-disciplinary exercise since it affects Idle-shake, Road-shake and power-train noise response. Engine inertia is often used as a tuned absorber for controlling suspension resonance related road-shake issues. Last but not least, vehicle ride and handling may also be affected by mount tuning. In this work, Torque-Roll-Axis (TRA decoupling of the rigid powertrain was used as a starting point for mount tuning. Nodal point of flexible powertrain bending was used to define the envelop for transmission mount locations. The frequency corresponding to the decoupled roll mode of the rigid powertrain was then adjusted for idle-shake and road-shake response management.

Flat mount preparation for observation and analysis of zebrafish embryo specimens stained by whole mount in situ hybridization.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Christina N; Li, Yue; Marra, Amanda N; Verdun, Valerie; Wingert, Rebecca A

2014-07-17

The zebrafish embryo is now commonly used for basic and biomedical research to investigate the genetic control of developmental processes and to model congenital abnormalities. During the first day of life, the zebrafish embryo progresses through many developmental stages including fertilization, cleavage, gastrulation, segmentation, and the organogenesis of structures such as the kidney, heart, and central nervous system. The anatomy of a young zebrafish embryo presents several challenges for the visualization and analysis of the tissues involved in many of these events because the embryo develops in association with a round yolk mass. Thus, for accurate analysis and imaging of experimental phenotypes in fixed embryonic specimens between the tailbud and 20 somite stage (10 and 19 hours post fertilization (hpf), respectively), such as those stained using whole mount in situ hybridization (WISH), it is often desirable to remove the embryo from the yolk ball and to position it flat on a glass slide. However, performing a flat mount procedure can be tedious. Therefore, successful and efficient flat mount preparation is greatly facilitated through the visual demonstration of the dissection technique, and also helped by using reagents that assist in optimal tissue handling. Here, we provide our WISH protocol for one or two-color detection of gene expression in the zebrafish embryo, and demonstrate how the flat mounting procedure can be performed on this example of a stained fixed specimen. This flat mounting protocol is broadly applicable to the study of many embryonic structures that emerge during early zebrafish development, and can be implemented in conjunction with other staining methods performed on fixed embryo samples.

Mount Saint Helens, Washington, USA, SRTM Perspective: Shaded Relief and Colored Height

Science.gov (United States)

2004-01-01

Mount Saint Helens is a prime example of how Earth's topographic form can greatly change even within our lifetimes. The mountain is one of several prominent volcanoes of the Cascade Range that stretches from British Columbia, Canada, southward through Washington, Oregon, and into northern California. Mount Adams (left background) and Mount Hood (right background) are also seen in this view, which was created entirely from elevation data produced by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. Prior to 1980, Mount Saint Helens had a shape roughly similar to other Cascade peaks, a tall, bold, irregular conic form that rose to 2950 meters (9677 feet). However, the explosive eruption of May 18, 1980, caused the upper 400 meters (1300 feet) of the mountain to collapse, slide, and spread northward, covering much of the adjacent terrain (lower left), leaving a crater atop the greatly shortened mountain. Subsequent eruptions built a volcanic dome within the crater, and the high rainfall of this area lead to substantial erosion of the poorly consolidated landslide material. Eruptions at Mount Saint Helens subsided in 1986, but renewed volcanic activity here and at other Cascade volcanoes is inevitable. Predicting such eruptions still presents challenges, but migration of magma within these volcanoes often produces distinctive seismic activity and minor but measurable topographic changes that can give warning of a potential eruption. Three visualization methods were combined to produce this image: shading of topographic slopes, color coding of topographic height, and then projection into a perspective view. The shade image was derived by computing topographic slope in the northeast-southwest (left to right) direction, so that northeast slopes appear bright and southwest slopes appear dark. Color coding is directly related to topographic height, with green at the lower elevations, rising through yellow and tan, to white at the highest elevations. The perspective view simulates the

UHV mirror mounts for photophysics beamline at Indus-I

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meenakshi Raja Rao, P.; Bhattacharya, S.S.; Das, N.C.; Rajasekhar, B.N.; Roy, A.P.

1995-01-01

Photophysics beamline makes use of a combination of two toroidal mirrors and one meter Seya-Namioka Monochromator in its fore optics. The fore optics monochromatises and steers the synchrotron radiation source (SRS) beam from its tangent point to the sample situated at a distance of about five meters. Slit widths of the monochromator are of the order of 100μ and the sample size is one mm 2 . Hence it is essential to impart precision rotational and translational movements of the same order of magnitude to the mirrors with the use of appropriate mirror mounts. Since Indus-1 operates at a pressure -9 mbar, the mirror mounts should be UHV compatible and the movements should be actuated under UHV. The mirrors along with the mirror mounts are enclosed in UHV chambers. The mirror chambers have been fabricated at Centre for Advanced Technology (CAT) workshops and tested up to a pressure of 10 -9 mbar. The mirror mounts are designed, fabricated and leak checked (He leak rate -10 std cc/s) The precision movements are achieved with the help of bellow sealed shaft mechanism and adjustable screws provided with the kinematic mount of the mirror frame. The performance of the mirror mount was tested at atmospheric pressure by using a laser beam and found to be good. The minimum displacement of the laser beam at slit and sample positions is ∼ 70μ which is quite adequate for optical alignment. The performance of the mirror mount under UHV conditions is being evaluated. (author). 4 refs., 3 figs

Controversies surrounding Human Papilloma Virus infection, head & neck vs oral cancer, implications for prophylaxis and treatment

OpenAIRE

Campisi, G.; Giovannelli, L.

2009-01-01

Head & Neck Cancer (HNC) represents the sixth most common malignancy worldwide and it is historically linked to well-known behavioural risk factors, i.e., tobacco smoking and/or the alcohol consumption. Recently, substantial evidence has been mounting that Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection is playing an increasing important role in oral cancer. Because of the attention and clamor surrounding oral HPV infection and related cancers, as well as the use of HPV prophylactic vaccines, in this in...

The Impact of Head Start on Children, Families and Communities. Final Report of the Head Start Evaluation, Synthesis and Utilization Project. Executive Summary.

Science.gov (United States)

McKey, Ruth Hubbell; And Others

This report summarizes the results of a study on the impact of Head Start on children's cognitive and socioemotional development, on child health and health institutions in the community, on enrollees' families, and on communities where Head Start programs operate. After discussing the background and methodology of the study, the report concludes…

Thermal analysis of a prototype cryogenic polarization modulator for use in a space-borne CMB polarization experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Iida, T.; Sakurai, Y.; Matsumura, T.; Sugai, H.; Imada, H.; Kataza, H.; Ohsaki, H.; Hazumi, M.; Katayama, N.; Yamamoto, R.; Utsunomiya, S.; Terao, Y.

2017-12-01

We report a thermal analysis of a polarization modulator unit (PMU) for use in a space-borne cosmic microwave background (CMB) project. A measurement of the CMB polarization allows us to probe the physics of early universe, and that is the best method to test the cosmic inflation experimentally. One of the key instruments for this science is to use a halfwave plate (HWP) based polarization modulator. The HWP is required to rotate continuously at about 1 Hz below 10 K to minimize its own thermal emission to a detector system. The rotating HWP system at the cryogenic environment can be realized by using a superconducting magnetic bearing (SMB) without significant heat dissipation by mechanical friction. While the SMB achieves the smooth rotation due to the contactless bearing, an estimation of a levitating HWP temperature becomes a challenge. We manufactured a one-eighth scale prototype model of PMU and built a thermal model. We verified our thermal model with the experimental data. We forecasted the projected thermal performance of PMU for a full-scale model based on the thermal model. From this analysis, we discuss the design requirement toward constructing the full-scale model for use in a space environment such as a future CMB satellite mission, LiteBIRD.

A modified face mask device for radiotherapy of head and neck tumor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adamietz, I.A.; Kremmin, B.; Emminger, A.

1991-01-01

The reproducibility during radiotherapy of head and neck tumors has been significantly improved by special devices like individual masks. However, the temporary fixation of head and neck region to the irradiation berth induces in many patients anxiety state and reduces this way the compliance. By means of modification of the device used till now a new model in which the set up mask is only coupled to the berth, could be developed. The clinical evaluation showed that this form of fixation device is much better tolerated by the patients and can be adapted without any problems to all equipment pieces in a radiotherapy department. The estimated reproducibility was comparable to that obtained with mounted device. The average translation of the central beam during 21 days observation period was 2.6±1.4 mm (0 to 9 mm) in the sagittal plane and 3.4±1.0 mm (1 to 8 mm) in the frontal plane. (orig.) [de

Flare line impact polarization Na D2 589 nm line polarization in the 2001 June 15 flare

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Hénoux, J. C.; Karlický, Marian

2013-01-01

Roč. 556, August (2013), A95/1-A95/8 ISSN 0004-6361 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP209/12/0103 Institutional support: RVO:67985815 Keywords : Sun * polarization * activity Subject RIV: BN - Astronomy, Celestial Mechanics, Astrophysics Impact factor: 4.479, year: 2013

Lateral polarity control of III-nitride thin film and application in GaN Schottky barrier diode

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Junmei; Guo, Wei; Sheikhi, Moheb; Li, Hongwei; Bo, Baoxue; Ye, Jichun

2018-05-01

N-polar and III-polar GaN and AlN epitaxial thin films grown side by side on single sapphire substrate was reported. Surface morphology, wet etching susceptibility and bi-axial strain conditions were investigated and the polarity control scheme was utilized in the fabrication of Schottky barrier diode where ohmic contact and Schottky contact were deposited on N-polar domains and Ga-polar domains, respectively. The influence of N-polarity on on-state resistivity and I–V characteristic was discussed, demonstrating that lateral polarity structure of GaN and AlN can be widely used in new designs of optoelectronic and electronic devices. Project partially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2016YFB0400802), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 61704176), and the Open project of Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Advanced Microelectronic Intelligent Systems and Applications (No. ZJUAMIS1704).

POLARIZATION REMOTE SENSING PHYSICAL MECHANISM, KEY METHODS AND APPLICATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Yang

2017-09-01

Full Text Available China's long-term planning major projects "high-resolution earth observation system" has been invested nearly 100 billion and the satellites will reach 100 to 2020. As to 2/3 of China's area covered by mountains，it has a higher demand for remote sensing. In addition to light intensity, frequency, phase, polarization is also the main physical characteristics of remote sensing electromagnetic waves. Polarization is an important component of the reflected information from the surface and the atmospheric information, and the polarization effect of the ground object reflection is the basis of the observation of polarization remote sensing. Therefore, the effect of eliminating the polarization effect is very important for remote sensing applications. The main innovations of this paper is as follows: (1 Remote sensing observation method. It is theoretically deduced and verified that the polarization can weaken the light in the strong light region, and then provide the polarization effective information. In turn, the polarization in the low light region can strengthen the weak light, the same can be obtained polarization effective information. (2 Polarization effect of vegetation. By analyzing the structure characteristics of vegetation, polarization information is obtained, then the vegetation structure information directly affects the absorption of biochemical components of leaves. (3 Atmospheric polarization neutral point observation method. It is proved to be effective to achieve the ground-gas separation, which can achieve the effect of eliminating the atmospheric polarization effect and enhancing the polarization effect of the object.

Ultra-broadband and high-efficiency polarization conversion metasurface with multiple plasmon resonance modes

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Guo-Xiang; Shi, Hong-Yu; Xia, Song; Li, Wei; Zhang, An-Xue; Xu, Zhuo; Wei, Xiao-Yong

2016-08-01

In this paper, we present a novel metasurface design that achieves a high-efficiency ultra-broadband cross polarization conversion. The metasurface is composed of an array of unit resonators, each of which combines an H-shaped structure and two rectangular metallic patches. Different plasmon resonance modes are excited in unit resonators and allow the polarization states to be manipulated. The bandwidth of the cross polarization converter is 82% of the central frequency, covering the range from 15.7 GHz to 37.5 GHz. The conversion efficiency of the innovative new design is higher than 90%. At 14.43 GHz and 40.95 GHz, the linearly polarized incident wave is converted into a circularly polarized wave. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61471292, 61331005, 61471388, 51277012, 41404095, and 61501365), the 111 Project, China (Grant No. B14040), the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2015CB654602), and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation ( Grant No. 2015M580849).

Ultra-low-head hydroelectric technology: A review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou, Daqing; Deng, Zhiqun (Daniel)

2017-10-01

In recent years, distributed renewable energy-generation technologies, such as wind and solar, have developed rapidly. Nevertheless, the utilization of ultra-low-head (ULH) water energy (i.e., situations where the hydraulic head is less than 3 m or the water flow is more than 0.5 m/s with zero head) has received little attention. We believe that, through technological innovations and cost reductions, ULH hydropower has the potential to become an attractive, renewable, and sustainable resource. This paper investigates potential sites for ULH energy resources, the selection of relevant turbines and generators, simplification of civil works, and project costs. This review introduces the current achievements on ULH hydroelectric technology to stimulate discussions and participation of stakeholders to develop related technologies for further expanding its utilization as an important form of renewable energy.

TMI-2 Vessel Investigation Project Metallurgical Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diercks, D.R.; Neimark, L.A.

1990-01-01

The TMI-2 [Three Mile Island unit 2] Vessel Investigation Project Metallurgical Program at Argonne National Laboratory is a part of the international TMI-2 Vessel Investigation Project being conducted jointly by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The overall project consists of three phases, namely (1) recovery of material samples from the lower head of the TMI-2 reactor, (2) examination and analysis of the lower head samples and the preparation and testing of archive material subjected to a similar thermal history, and (3) procurement, examination, and analysis of companion core material located adjacent to or near the lower head material. The specific objectives of the ANL Metallurgical Program, which accounts for a major portion of Phase 2, are to prepare metallographic and mechanical test specimen blanks from the TMI-2 lower head material, prepare similar test specimen blanks from suitable archive material subjected to the appropriate thermal processing, determine the mechanical properties of the lower vessel head and archive materials under the conditions of the core-melt accident, and assess the lower head integrity and margin-to-failure during the accident. The ANL work consists of three tasks: (1) archive materials program, (2) fabrication of metallurgical and mechanical test specimens from the TMI-2 pressure vessel samples, and (3) mechanical property characterization of TMI-2 lower pressure vessel head and archive material

The Development and Clinical Use of a Beam ON-LINE PET System Mounted on a Rotating Gantry Port in Proton Therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishio, Teiji; Miyatake, Aya; Ogino, Takashi; Nakagawa, Keiichi; Saijo, Nagahiro; Esumi, Hiroyasu

2010-01-01

Purpose: To verify the usefulness of our developed beam ON-LINE positron emission tomography (PET) system mounted on a rotating gantry port (BOLPs-RGp) for dose-volume delivery-guided proton therapy (DGPT). Methods and Materials: In the proton treatment room at our facility, a BOLPs-RGp was constructed so that a planar PET apparatus could be mounted with its field of view covering the iso-center of the beam irradiation system. Activity measurements were performed in 48 patients with tumors of the head and neck, liver, lungs, prostate, and brain. The position and intensity of the activity were measured using the BOLPs-RGp during the 200 s immediately after the proton irradiation. Results: The daily measured activity images acquired by the BOLPs-RGp showed the proton irradiation volume in each patient. Changes in the proton-irradiated volume were indicated by differences between a reference activity image (taken at the first treatment) and the daily activity-images. In the case of head-and-neck treatment, the activity distribution changed in the areas where partial tumor reduction was observed. In the case of liver treatment, it was observed that the washout effect in necrotic tumor cells was slower than in non-necrotic tumor cells. Conclusions: The BOLPs-RGp was developed for the DGPT. The accuracy of proton treatment was evaluated by measuring changes of daily measured activity. Information about the positron-emitting nuclei generated during proton irradiation can be used as a basis for ensuring the high accuracy of irradiation in proton treatment.

Hall Current Plasma Source Having a Center-Mounted or a Surface-Mounted Cathode

Science.gov (United States)

Martinez, Rafael A. (Inventor); Williams, John D. (Inventor); Moritz, Jr., Joel A. (Inventor); Farnell, Casey C. (Inventor)

2018-01-01

A miniature Hall current plasma source apparatus having magnetic shielding of the walls from ionized plasma, an integrated discharge channel and gas distributor, an instant-start hollow cathode mounted to the plasma source, and an externally mounted keeper, is described. The apparatus offers advantages over other Hall current plasma sources having similar power levels, including: lower mass, longer lifetime, lower part count including fewer power supplies, and the ability to be continuously adjustable to lower average power levels using pulsed operation and adjustment of the pulse duty cycle. The Hall current plasma source can provide propulsion for small spacecraft that either do not have sufficient power to accommodate a propulsion system or do not have available volume to incorporate the larger propulsion systems currently available. The present low-power Hall current plasma source can be used to provide energetic ions to assist the deposition of thin films in plasma processing applications.

Galvanic coupling effects for module-mounting elements of ground-mounted photovoltaic power station

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pierozynski Boguslaw

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This communication reports on the concerns associated with possible generation of galvanic coupling effects for construction materials that are used to manufacture mounting assemblies for ground-mounted photovoltaic (PV power stations. For this purpose, six macro-corrosion galvanic cells were assembled, including: hot-dip Zn/Magnelis®-coated steel/Al and stainless steel (SS/Al cells. Corrosion experiments involved continuous, ca. three-month exposure of these couplings in 3 wt.% NaCl solution, conducted at room temperature for a stable pH value of around 8. All corrosion cells were subjected to regular assessment of galvanic current-density and potential parameters, where special consideration was given to compare the corrosion behaviour of Zn-coated steel samples with that of Magnelis®-coated electrodes. Characterization of surface condition and elemental composition for examined materials was carried-out by means of SEM and EDX spectroscopy techniques.

5 June 2013 - European Union Ambassador to Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein R. Jones in the ATLAS cavern with ATLAS Collaboration Deputy Spokesperson T. Wengler, in the LHC tunnel at Point 1 with Technology Department Head F. Bordry and signing the guest book with Director-General R. Heuer. Head of the EU Projects Office S. Stavrev present.

CERN Multimedia

Jean-Claude Gadmer

2013-01-01

5 June 2013 - European Union Ambassador to Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein R. Jones in the ATLAS cavern with ATLAS Collaboration Deputy Spokesperson T. Wengler, in the LHC tunnel at Point 1 with Technology Department Head F. Bordry and signing the guest book with Director-General R. Heuer. Head of the EU Projects Office S. Stavrev present.

Ultra-wideband circular-polarization converter with micro-split Jerusalem-cross metasurfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Xi; Yu, Xing-Yang; Cao, Wei-Ping; Jiang, Yan-Nan; Yu, Xin-Hua

2016-12-01

An ultrathin micro-split Jerusalem-cross metasurface is proposed in this paper, which can efficiently convert the linear polarization of electromagnetic (EM) wave into the circular polarization in ultra-wideband. By symmetrically employing two micro-splits on the horizontal arm (in the x direction) of the Jerusalem-cross structure, the bandwidth of the proposed device is significantly extended. Both simulated and experimental results show that the proposed metasurface is able to convert linearly polarized waves into circularly polarized waves in a frequency range from 12.4 GHz to 21 GHz, with an axis ratio better than 1 dB. The simulated results also show that such a broadband and high-performance are maintained over a wide range of incident angle. The presented polarization converter can be used in a number of areas, such as spectroscopy and wireless communications. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61461016 and 61661012), the Natural Science Foundation of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China (Grant Nos. 2014GXNSFAA118366, 2014GXNSFAA118283, and 2015jjBB7002), and the Innovation Project of Graduate Education of Guilin University of Electronic Technology, China (Grant No. 2016YJCX82).

High-resolution brain SPECT imaging by combination of parallel and tilted detector heads.

Science.gov (United States)

Suzuki, Atsuro; Takeuchi, Wataru; Ishitsu, Takafumi; Morimoto, Yuichi; Kobashi, Keiji; Ueno, Yuichiro

2015-10-01

To improve the spatial resolution of brain single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), we propose a new brain SPECT system in which the detector heads are tilted towards the rotation axis so that they are closer to the brain. In addition, parallel detector heads are used to obtain the complete projection data set. We evaluated this parallel and tilted detector head system (PT-SPECT) in simulations. In the simulation study, the tilt angle of the detector heads relative to the axis was 45°. The distance from the collimator surface of the parallel detector heads to the axis was 130 mm. The distance from the collimator surface of the tilted detector heads to the origin on the axis was 110 mm. A CdTe semiconductor panel with a 1.4 mm detector pitch and a parallel-hole collimator were employed in both types of detector head. A line source phantom, cold-rod brain-shaped phantom, and cerebral blood flow phantom were evaluated. The projection data were generated by forward-projection of the phantom images using physics models, and Poisson noise at clinical levels was applied to the projection data. The ordered-subsets expectation maximization algorithm with physics models was used. We also evaluated conventional SPECT using four parallel detector heads for the sake of comparison. The evaluation of the line source phantom showed that the transaxial FWHM in the central slice for conventional SPECT ranged from 6.1 to 8.5 mm, while that for PT-SPECT ranged from 5.3 to 6.9 mm. The cold-rod brain-shaped phantom image showed that conventional SPECT could visualize up to 8-mm-diameter rods. By contrast, PT-SPECT could visualize up to 6-mm-diameter rods in upper slices of a cerebrum. The cerebral blood flow phantom image showed that the PT-SPECT system provided higher resolution at the thalamus and caudate nucleus as well as at the longitudinal fissure of the cerebrum compared with conventional SPECT. PT-SPECT provides improved image resolution at not only upper but also at

The alpine flora of Mount Wilhelm (New Guinea)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoogland, R.D.

1958-01-01

The flora of the higher mountains of New Guinea has been the object of several extensive collecting trips in the past forty years. Until quite recently, however, a serious gap in our knowledge was the very scanty information available from the area between Mount Wilhelmina in the West and Mount

Usability in virtual and augmented environments : A qualitative and quantitative study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dias, P.; Pimentel, A.; Ferreira, C.; Van Huussen, F.; Baggerman, J.W.; Van der Horst, P.; Madeira, J.; Bidarra, R.; Sousa Santos, B.

2007-01-01

Virtual and Augmented Reality are developing rapidly: there is a multitude of environments and experiments in several laboratories using from simple HMD (Head-Mounted Display) visualization to more complex and expensive 6-wall projection CAVEs, and other systems. Still, there is not yet a clear

Optimization of Classical Hydraulic Engine Mounts Based on RMS Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Christopherson

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Based on RMS averaging of the frequency response functions of the absolute acceleration and relative displacement transmissibility, optimal parameters describing the hydraulic engine mount are determined to explain the internal mount geometry. More specifically, it is shown that a line of minima exists to define a relationship between the absolute acceleration and relative displacement transmissibility of a sprung mass using a hydraulic mount as a means of suspension. This line of minima is used to determine several optimal systems developed on the basis of different clearance requirements, hence different relative displacement requirements, and compare them by means of their respective acceleration and displacement transmissibility functions. In addition, the transient response of the mount to a step input is also investigated to show the effects of the optimization upon the time domain response of the hydraulic mount.

Scattering Polarization in Solar Flares

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Štěpán, Jiří; Heinzel, Petr

2013-01-01

Roč. 778, č. 1 (2013), L6/1-L6/6 ISSN 2041-8205 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP209/12/1652; GA ČR GPP209/12/P741 Institutional support: RVO:67985815 Keywords : line formation * polarization * radiative transfer Subject RIV: BN - Astronomy, Celestial Mechanics, Astrophysics Impact factor: 5.602, year: 2013

Polarized protons at the AGS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krisch, A.D.

1981-01-01

Various aspects of the project of modifying the Brookhaven AGS for the production of polarized proton beams are discussed. It is observed that pure spin state cross sections are of great importance in many investigations since differences between spin states are frequently significant. Financial and technical aspects of the modification of the Brookhaven accelerator are also discussed

"POLAR-PALOOZA" and "International POLAR-PALOOZA": Taking Researchers on the Road to Engage Public Audiences across America, and Around the World

Science.gov (United States)

Haines-Stiles, G.; Akuginow, E.

2010-12-01

POLAR-PALOOZA and its companion project, "International POLAR-PALOOZA" shared the same central premise: that polar researchers, speaking for themselves, could be powerful communicators about the science and mission of the 4th International Polar Year, and could successfully engage a wide variety of public audiences across America and around the world. Supported for the US tour by NSF and NASA, and internationally by NSF alone, the project enlisted more than forty American researchers, and 14 polar scientists from Brazil, China and Australia, to participate in events at science centers and natural history museums, universities, public libraries and schools, and also for targeted outreach to special audiences such as young female researchers in Oklahoma, or the Downtown Rotary in San Diego. Evaluations by two different ISE groups found similar results domestically and internationally. When supported by HD video clips and presenting informally in teams of 3, 4, 5 and sometimes even 6 researchers as part of a fast-paced "show," the scientists themselves were almost always rated as among the most important aspects of the program. Significant understandings about polar science and global climate change resulted, along with a positive impression of the research undertaken during IPY. This presentation at Fall AGU 2010 will present results from the Summative Evaluation of both projects, show representative video clips of the public presentations, share photographs of some of the most dramatically varied venues and candid behind-the-scenes action, and share "Lessons Learned" that can be broadly applied to the dissemination of Earth and space science research. These include: collaboration with partner institutions is never easy. (Duh.) Authentic props (such as ice cores, when not trashed by TSA) make a powerful impression on audiences, and give reality to remote places and complex science. And, most importantly, that since 85% of Americans have never met a scientist, that

Mirror boxes and mirror mounts for photophysics beamline

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raja Rao, P.M.; Raja Sekhar, B.N.; Das, N.C.; Khan, H.A.; Bhattacharya, S.S.; Roy, A.P.

1996-01-01

Photophysics beamline makes use of one metre Seya-Namioka monochromator and two toroidal mirrors in its fore optics. The first toroidal mirror (pre mirror) focuses light originating from the tangent point of the storage ring onto the entrance slit of the monochromator and second toroidal mirror (post mirror) collects light from the exit slit of the monochromator and focuses light onto the sample placed at a distance of about one metre away from the 2nd mirror. To steer light through monochromator and to focus it on the sample of 1mm x 1mm size require precision rotational and translational motion of the mirrors and this has been achieved with the help of precision mirror mounts. Since Indus-1 operates at pressures less than 10 -9 m.bar, the mirror mounts should be manipulated under similar ultra high vacuum conditions. Considering these requirements, two mirror boxes and two mirror mounts have been designed and fabricated. The coarse movements to the mirrors are imparted from outside the mirror chamber with the help of x-y tables and precision movements to the mirrors are achieved with the help of mirror mounts. The UHV compatibility and performance of the mirror mounts connected to mirror boxes under ultra high vacuum condition is evaluated. The details of the design, fabrication and performance evaluation are discussed in this report. 5 refs., 9 figs., 1 tab

TMI-2 Vessel Investigation Project (VIP) Metallurgical Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diercks, D.R.; Neimark, L.A.

1990-06-01

The TMI-2 Vessel Investigation Project (VIP) Metallurgical Program is a part of the international TMI-2 Vessel Investigation Project being conducting jointly by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The overall project consists of three phases, namely (1) recovery of material samples from the lower head of the TMI-2 reactor, (2) examination and analysis of the lower head samples and the preparation and testing of archive material subjected to a similar thermal history, and (3) procurement, examination, and analysis of companion core material located adjacent to or near the lower head material. The specific objectives of the ANL Metallurgical Program, which comprises a major portion of Phase 2, are to prepare metallographic and mechanical test specimen blanks from the TMI-2 lower head material, prepare similar test specimen blanks from suitable archive material subjected to the appropriate thermal processing, determine the mechanical properties of the lower vessel head and archive materials under the conditions of the core-melt accident, and assess the lower head integrity and margin-to-failure during the accident. The ANL work consists of three tasks: (1) archive materials program, (2) fabrication of metallurgical and mechanical test specimens from the TMI-2 pressure vessel samples, and (3) mechanical property characterization of TMI-2 lower pressure vessel head and archive material

Development and Climate Change in Tanzania. Focus on Mount Kilimanjaro

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agrawala, S.; Moehner, A.; Van Aalst, M.; Smith, J.; Hitz, S.; Hemp, A.; Meena, H.; Mwakifwamba, S.M.; Hyera, T.; Mwaipopo, O.U.

2003-01-01

This document is an output from the OECD Development and Climate Change project, an activity jointly overseen by the EPOC Working Party on Global and Structural Policies (WPGSP), and the DAC Network on Environment and Development Co-operation (ENVIRONET). The overall objective of the project is to provide guidance on how to mainstream responses to climate change within economic development planning and assistance policies, with natural resource management as an overarching theme. This report presents the integrated case study for Tanzania carried out under an OECD project on Development and Climate Change. The report is structured around a three-tiered framework. First, recent climate trends and climate change scenarios for Tanzania are assessed, and key sectoral impacts are identified and ranked along multiple indicators to establish priorities for adaptation. Second, donor portfolios in Tanzania are analyzed to examine the proportion of donor activities affected by climate risks. A desk analysis of donor strategies and project documents as well as national plans is conducted to assess the degree of attention to climate change concerns in development planning and assistance. Third, an in-depth analysis is conducted for climate change impacts and response strategies for Mount Kilimanjaro - a critical ecosystem, biodiversity hotspot, and source of freshwater. This part of the analysis draws upon extended field research by a case study consultant in collaboration with national and international partners

Crack growth rates in vessel head penetration materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gomez Briceno, D.; Lapena, J.; Blazquez, F.

1994-01-01

The cracks detected in reactor vessel head penetrations in certain European plants have been attributed to Primary Water Stress Corrosion Cracking (PWSCC). The penetrations in question are made from Inconel 600. The susceptibility of this alloy to PWSCC has been widely studied in relation to use of this material for steam generator tubes. When the first reactor vessel head penetration cracks were detected, most of the available data on crack propagation rates were from test specimens made from steam generator tubes and tested under conditions that questioned the validity of these data for assessment of the evolution of cracks in penetrations. For this reason, the scope of the Spanish Research Project on the Inspection and Repair of PWR reactor vessel head penetrations included the acquisition of data on crack propagation rates in Inconel 600, representative of the materials used for vessel head penetrations. (authors). 1 fig., 2 tabs., 6 refs

Ball mounting fixture for a roundness gage

Science.gov (United States)

Gauler, Allen L.; Pasieka, Donald F.

1983-01-01

A ball mounting fixture for a roundness gage is disclosed. The fixture includes a pair of chuck assemblies oriented substantially transversely with respect to one another and mounted on a common base. Each chuck assembly preferably includes a rotary stage and a wobble plate affixed thereto. A ball chuck affixed to each wobble plate is operable to selectively support a ball to be measured for roundness, with the wobble plate permitting the ball chuck to be tilted to center the ball on the axis of rotation of the rotary stage. In a preferred embodiment, each chuck assembly includes a vacuum chuck operable to selectively support the ball to be measured for roundness. The mounting fixture enables a series of roundness measurements to be taken with a conventional rotating gagehead roundness instrument, which measurements can be utilized to determine the sphericity of the ball.

Tension pneumocephalus: Mount Fuji sign

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pulastya Sanyal

2015-01-01

Full Text Available A 13-year-old male was operated for a space occupying lesion in the brain. A noncontrast computed tomography scan done in the late postoperative period showed massive subdural air collection causing compression of bilateral frontal lobes with widening of interhemispheric fissure and the frontal lobes acquiring a peak like configuration - causing tension pneumocephalus-"Mount Fuji sign." Tension pneumocephalus occurs when air enters the extradural or intradural spaces in sufficient volume to exert a mass or pressure effect on the brain, leading to brain herniation. Tension pneumocephalus is a surgical emergency, which needs immediate intervention in the form of decompression of the cranial cavity by a burr hole or needle aspiration. The Mount Fuji sign differentiates tension pneumocephalus from pneumocephalus.

Ignimbrites of Armenia - Paleomagnetic constraints on flow direction and stratigraphy of pyroclastic activity of Mount Aragats

Science.gov (United States)

Kirscher, Uwe; Meliksetian, Khachatur; Gevorgyan, Hripsime; Navasardyan, Gevorg; Bachtadse, Valerian

2017-04-01

The Aragats volcano is one of the largest stratovolcanoes within the Turkish-Armenian-Iranian orogenic plateau. It is located close to the Armenian capital Yerevan, and only 30 km from the only nuclear power plant within the country. Additional to numerous lava flows, Mount Aragats is thought to be the source of at least two large pyroclastic eruptions leading to a huge number of ignimbrite outcrops, which are located surrounding Mount Aragats with an evaluated eruption radius of 50 km. The age of several ignimbrite outcrops has recently been determined to be 0.65 Ma (Meliksetian et al., 2014). The different ignimbrite flows are characterized by huge diversity of colors, degree of welding and textures. Due to that reason some disagreement exist on how these outcrops can be linked and how the eruption process actually happened in terms of different eruption phases and mixing mechanism of magmas during the eruption. To add constraints to this debate we carried out an intensive paleomagnetic investigation on most of the ignimbrite outcrops (32 sites) in terms of directional and anisotropy measurements. Paleomagnetic directional measurements yield basically two polarities: (1) a well grouped normal polarity is present in the majority of the studied sites including 3 sites which have supposedly originated from a different vent located on Turkish territory in the west; (2) a reversed polarity of the remaining sites with a somewhat increased scatter. Based on secular variation arguments and considering the high quality of the data we suggest that at least all young outcrops represent a single eruption phase in the area at 0.65 Ma, which is in agreement with an occurrence during the Brunhes geomagnetic chron. Additional to that, at least one earlier phase of pyroclastic activity took place prior to the Brunhes-Matuyama boundary (0.781 Ma). Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) suggests initial radial flow directions, which shortly after the eruption become

Investigations of the polarization behavior of quantum cascade lasers by Stokes parameters.

Science.gov (United States)

Janassek, Patrick; Hartmann, Sébastien; Molitor, Andreas; Michel, Florian; Elsäßer, Wolfgang

2016-01-15

We experimentally investigate the full polarization behavior of mid-infrared emitting quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) in terms of measuring the complete Stokes parameters, instead of only projecting them on a linear polarization basis. We demonstrate that besides the pre-dominant linear TM polarization of the emitted light as governed by the selection rules of the intersubband transition, small non-TM contributions, e.g., circularly polarized light, are present reflecting the birefringent behavior of the semiconductor quantum well waveguide. Surprisingly unique is the persistence of these polarization properties well below laser threshold. These investigations give further insight into understanding, manipulating, and exploiting the polarization properties of QCLs, both from a laser point of view and with respect toward applications.

Taking Charge: Walter Sydney Adams and the Mount Wilson Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Brashear, R.

2004-12-01

The growing preeminence of American observational astronomy in the first half of the 20th century is a well-known story and much credit is given to George Ellery Hale and his skill as an observatory-building entrepreneur. But a key figure who has yet to be discussed in great detail is Walter Sydney Adams (1876-1956), Hale's Assistant Director at Mount Wilson Observatory. Due to Hale's illnesses, Adams was Acting Director for much of Hale's tenure, and he became the second Director of Mount Wilson from 1923 to 1946. Behind his New England reserve Adams was instrumental in the growth of Mount Wilson and thus American astronomy in general. Adams was hand-picked by Hale to take charge of stellar spectroscopy work at Yerkes and Mount Wilson and the younger astronomer showed tremendous loyalty to Hale and Hale's vision throughout his career. As Adams assumed the leadership role at Mount Wilson he concentrated on making the observatory a place where researchers worked with great freedom but maintain a high level of cooperation. This paper will concentrate on Adams's early years and look at his growing relationship with Hale and how he came to be the central figure in the early history of Mount Wilson as both a solar and stellar observatory. His education, his years at Dartmouth and Yerkes (including his unfortunate encounter with epsilon Leonis), and his formative years on Mount Wilson are all important in learning how he shaped the direction of Mount Wilson and the development of American astronomy in the first half of the 20th century. This latter history cannot be complete until we bring Adams into better focus.

Digital Data for Volcano Hazards in the Mount Jefferson Region, Oregon

Science.gov (United States)

Schilling, S.P.; Doelger, S.; Walder, J.S.; Gardner, C.A.; Conrey, R.M.; Fisher, B.J.

2008-01-01

Mount Jefferson has erupted repeatedly for hundreds of thousands of years, with its last eruptive episode during the last major glaciation which culminated about 15,000 years ago. Geologic evidence shows that Mount Jefferson is capable of large explosive eruptions. The largest such eruption occurred between 35,000 and 100,000 years ago. If Mount Jefferson erupts again, areas close to the eruptive vent will be severely affected, and even areas tens of kilometers (tens of miles) downstream along river valleys or hundreds of kilometers (hundreds of miles) downwind may be at risk. Numerous small volcanoes occupy the area between Mount Jefferson and Mount Hood to the north, and between Mount Jefferson and the Three Sisters region to the south. These small volcanoes tend not to pose the far-reaching hazards associated with Mount Jefferson, but are nonetheless locally important. A concern at Mount Jefferson, but not at the smaller volcanoes, is the possibility that small-to-moderate sized landslides could occur even during periods of no volcanic activity. Such landslides may transform as they move into lahars (watery flows of rock, mud, and debris) that can inundate areas far downstream. The geographic information system (GIS) volcano hazard data layer used to produce the Mount Jefferson volcano hazard map in USGS Open-File Report 99-24 (Walder and others, 1999) is included in this data set. Both proximal and distal hazard zones were delineated by scientists at the Cascades Volcano Observatory and depict various volcano hazard areas around the mountain.

A magneto-rheological fluid mount featuring squeeze mode: analysis and testing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Peng; Bai, Xian-Xu; Qian, Li-Jun; Choi, Seung-Bok

2016-01-01

This paper presents a mathematical model for a new semi-active vehicle engine mount utilizing magneto-rheological (MR) fluids in squeeze mode (MR mount in short) and validates the model by comparing analysis results with experimental tests. The proposed MR mount is mainly comprised of a frame for installation, a main rubber, a squeeze plate and a bobbin for coil winding. When the magnetic fields on, MR effect occurs in the upper gap between the squeeze plate and the bobbin, and the dynamic stiffness can be controlled by tuning the applied currents. Employing Bingham model and flow properties between parallel plates of MR fluids, a mathematical model for the squeeze type of MR mount is formulated with consideration of the fluid inertia, MR effect and hysteresis property. The field-dependent dynamic stiffness of the MR mount is then analyzed using the established mathematical model. Subsequently, in order to validate the mathematical model, an appropriate size of MR mount is fabricated and tested. The field-dependent force and dynamic stiffness of the proposed MR mount are evaluated and compared between the model and experimental tests in both time and frequency domains to verify the model efficiency. In addition, it is shown that both the damping property and the stiffness property of the proposed MR mount can be simultaneously controlled. (paper)

Solar rotation measurements at Mount Wilson. Pt. 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Labonte, B.J.; Howard, R.; Carnegie Institution of Washington, Pasadena

1981-01-01

Possible sources of systematic error in solar Doppler rotational velocities are examined. Scattered light is shown to affect the Mount Wilson solar rotation results, but this effect is not enough to bring the spectroscopic results in coincidence with the sunspot rotation. Interference fringes at the spectrograph focus at Mount Wilson have in two intervals affected the rotation results. It has been possible to correlate this error with temperature and thus correct for it. A misalignment between the entrance and exit slits is a possible source of error, but for the Mount Wilson slit configuration the amplitude of this effect is negligibly small. Rapid scanning of the solar image also produces no measurable effect. (orig.)

The first acceleration test of polarized protons in KEK PS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hiramatsu, Shigenori; Sato, Hikaru; Toyama, Takeshi

1984-03-01

The outline of the polarized proton acceleration project at KEK and the results of the first acceleration test are described. Depolarization in the 500 MeV booster synchrotron was investigated as the first step of this program. The beam polarization was measured in the 20 MeV beam transport line from the linac to the booster and in the main ring at the injection energy. About 40 % of the linac beam polarization was kept in the main ring. This acceleration test encouraged us to proceed with this program. (author)

Rapid mounting of adult Drosophila structures in Hoyer's medium.

Science.gov (United States)

Stern, David L; Sucena, Elio

2012-01-01

The Drosophila cuticle carries a rich array of morphological details. Thus, cuticle examination has had a central role in the history of genetics. This protocol describes a procedure for mounting adult cuticles in Hoyer's medium, a useful mountant for both larval and adult cuticles. The medium digests soft tissues rapidly, leaving the cuticle cleared for observation. In addition, samples can be transferred directly from water to Hoyer's medium. However, specimens mounted in Hoyer's medium degrade over time. For example, the fine denticles on the larval dorsum are best observed soon after mounting; they begin to fade after 1 week, and can disappear completely after several months. More robust features, such as the ventral denticle belts, will persist for a longer period of time. Because adults cannot profitably be mounted whole in Hoyer's medium, some dissection is necessary.

Avascular necrosis of the femoral head and M.R.I

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gires, F.; Leroy-Willig, A; Chevrot, A.; Wolff, J.L.

1987-01-01

Normal and pathologic femoral heads have been studied by MRI at 1.5 Tesla. The study was centered upon avascular necrosis (53 lesions). Twenty normal subjects and three patients with algodystrophy were examined. The osteonecrosis patterns were established from known lesions. A low signal rim surrounds an upper polar zone of conserved (Type I) or decreased (Type II) signal. The lesions age correlates significatively with their type: amongst type I lesions, 6 are asymptomatic and the 21 others have a mean age of 5.5 months; Type II lesions have a mean age of 12.7 months. Fourteen lesions were not seen on plain radiographs and six were not detected by bone scan. The older lesions with femoral head deformation are better depicted by standard radiologic techniques. Conservely MRI is the most efficient examination for recent avascular necrosis lesions [fr

Mounting system for optical frequency reference cavities

Science.gov (United States)

Notcutt, Mark (Inventor); Hall, John L. (Inventor); Ma, Long-Sheng (Inventor)

2008-01-01

A technique for reducing the vibration sensitivity of laser-stabilizing optical reference cavities is based upon an improved design and mounting method for the cavity, wherein the cavity is mounted vertically. It is suspended at one plane, around the spacer cylinder, equidistant from the mirror ends of the cavity. The suspension element is a collar of an extremely low thermal expansion coefficient material, which surrounds the spacer cylinder and contacts it uniformly. Once the collar has been properly located, it is cemented in place so that the spacer cylinder is uniformly supported and does not have to be squeezed at all. The collar also includes a number of cavities partially bored into its lower flat surface, around the axial bore. These cavities are support points, into which mounting base pins will be inserted. Hence the collar is supported at a minimum of three points.

Volume sums of polar Blaschke–Minkowski homomorphisms

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

In this article, we establish Minkowski and Aleksandrov–Fenchel type inequalities for the volume sum of polars of Blaschke–Minkowski homomorphisms. Keywords. Blaschke–Minkowski homomorphism; volume differences; volume sum; projection body operator. 2010 Mathematics Subject Classification. 52A40, 52A30. 1.

Mount Oku, Cameroon Volcanic Line

African Journals Online (AJOL)

and continental sectors especially for trace elements in basalts. ... continental sector of the trend is a complex .... values higher than those of HIMU but is within ...... (Mount Cameroon, Central Africa): petrogenetic implications. Miner. Petrol.,.

Micro-inverter solar panel mounting

Science.gov (United States)

Morris, John; Gilchrist, Phillip Charles

2016-02-02

Processes, systems, devices, and articles of manufacture are provided. Each may include adapting micro-inverters initially configured for frame-mounting to mounting on a frameless solar panel. This securement may include using an adaptive clamp or several adaptive clamps secured to a micro-inverter or its components, and using compressive forces applied directly to the solar panel to secure the adaptive clamp and the components to the solar panel. The clamps can also include compressive spacers and safeties for managing the compressive forces exerted on the solar panels. Friction zones may also be used for managing slipping between the clamp and the solar panel during or after installation. Adjustments to the clamps may be carried out through various means and by changing the physical size of the clamps themselves.

Colliding-beams polarized ion source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trainor, T.A.; Douglas, J.G.; Badt, D.; Christiensen, C.; Herron, A.; Leach, D.; Olsen, J.; Osborne, J.L.; Zeps, V.

1985-01-01

This ion source was to be purchased from ANAC, Inc., a New Zealand-based supplier of beam optics hardware and atomic beam polarized ion sources in December 1982. Shortly before scheduled delivery ANAC went into receivership. During 1983 little work was done on the project as various steps were taken by us, first to get the ion source completed at ANAC, and then, failing that, to obtain the existing parts. In early 1984 we began work to finish the ion source in Seattle. The project is nearly complete, and this article presents progress to date. 2 refs