WorldWideScience

Sample records for sonar image returns

  1. Sidescan Sonar Image Matching Using Cross Correlation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thisen, Erik; Sørensen, Helge Bjarup Dissing; Stage, Bjarne

    2003-01-01

    When surveying an area for sea mines with a sidescan sonar, the ability to find the same object in two different sonar images is helpful to determine the nature of the object. The main problem with matching two sidescan sonar images is that a scene changes appearance when viewed from different vi...

  2. Review of research on sonar imaging technology in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Haitao; Li, Renping; Xu, Feng; Liu, Liyuan

    2013-11-01

    Over the past 20 years, sonar imaging technology particularly for the high-technology sector has been a focus of research, in which many developed countries, especially those with coast lines, have been competing with each other. It has seen a rapid development with increasing widespread applications that has played an important and irreplaceable role in underwater exploration with great prospects for social, economic, scientific, and military benefits. The fundamental techniques underlying sonar imaging, including multi-beamforming, synthetic-aperture and inverse synthetic-aperture sonar, acoustic lensing, and acoustical holography, are described in this paper. This is followed by a comprehensive and systematic review on the advantages and disadvantages of these imaging techniques, applicability conditions, development trends, new ideas, new methods, and improvements in old methods over recent years with an emphasis on the situation in China, along with a bold and constructive prediction to some development characteristics of sonar imaging technology in the near future in China. The perspectives presented in this paper are offered with the idea of providing some degree of guidance and promotion of research on sonar imaging technology.

  3. Multiresolution 3-D reconstruction from side-scan sonar images.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coiras, Enrique; Petillot, Yvan; Lane, David M

    2007-02-01

    In this paper, a new method for the estimation of seabed elevation maps from side-scan sonar images is presented. The side-scan image formation process is represented by a Lambertian diffuse model, which is then inverted by a multiresolution optimization procedure inspired by expectation-maximization to account for the characteristics of the imaged seafloor region. On convergence of the model, approximations for seabed reflectivity, side-scan beam pattern, and seabed altitude are obtained. The performance of the system is evaluated against a real structure of known dimensions. Reconstruction results for images acquired by different sonar sensors are presented. Applications to augmented reality for the simulation of targets in sonar imagery are also discussed.

  4. Probability-Based Recognition Framework for Underwater Landmarks Using Sonar Images †.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Yeongjun; Choi, Jinwoo; Ko, Nak Yong; Choi, Hyun-Taek

    2017-08-24

    This paper proposes a probability-based framework for recognizing underwater landmarks using sonar images. Current recognition methods use a single image, which does not provide reliable results because of weaknesses of the sonar image such as unstable acoustic source, many speckle noises, low resolution images, single channel image, and so on. However, using consecutive sonar images, if the status-i.e., the existence and identity (or name)-of an object is continuously evaluated by a stochastic method, the result of the recognition method is available for calculating the uncertainty, and it is more suitable for various applications. Our proposed framework consists of three steps: (1) candidate selection, (2) continuity evaluation, and (3) Bayesian feature estimation. Two probability methods-particle filtering and Bayesian feature estimation-are used to repeatedly estimate the continuity and feature of objects in consecutive images. Thus, the status of the object is repeatedly predicted and updated by a stochastic method. Furthermore, we develop an artificial landmark to increase detectability by an imaging sonar, which we apply to the characteristics of acoustic waves, such as instability and reflection depending on the roughness of the reflector surface. The proposed method is verified by conducting basin experiments, and the results are presented.

  5. Reliability of fish size estimates obtained from multibeam imaging sonar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hightower, Joseph E.; Magowan, Kevin J.; Brown, Lori M.; Fox, Dewayne A.

    2013-01-01

    Multibeam imaging sonars have considerable potential for use in fisheries surveys because the video-like images are easy to interpret, and they contain information about fish size, shape, and swimming behavior, as well as characteristics of occupied habitats. We examined images obtained using a dual-frequency identification sonar (DIDSON) multibeam sonar for Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus, striped bass Morone saxatilis, white perch M. americana, and channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus of known size (20–141 cm) to determine the reliability of length estimates. For ranges up to 11 m, percent measurement error (sonar estimate – total length)/total length × 100 varied by species but was not related to the fish's range or aspect angle (orientation relative to the sonar beam). Least-square mean percent error was significantly different from 0.0 for Atlantic sturgeon (x̄  =  −8.34, SE  =  2.39) and white perch (x̄  = 14.48, SE  =  3.99) but not striped bass (x̄  =  3.71, SE  =  2.58) or channel catfish (x̄  = 3.97, SE  =  5.16). Underestimating lengths of Atlantic sturgeon may be due to difficulty in detecting the snout or the longer dorsal lobe of the heterocercal tail. White perch was the smallest species tested, and it had the largest percent measurement errors (both positive and negative) and the lowest percentage of images classified as good or acceptable. Automated length estimates for the four species using Echoview software varied with position in the view-field. Estimates tended to be low at more extreme azimuthal angles (fish's angle off-axis within the view-field), but mean and maximum estimates were highly correlated with total length. Software estimates also were biased by fish images partially outside the view-field and when acoustic crosstalk occurred (when a fish perpendicular to the sonar and at relatively close range is detected in the side lobes of adjacent beams). These sources of

  6. A novel underwater dam crack detection and classification approach based on sonar images.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Pengfei; Fan, Xinnan; Ni, Jianjun; Khan, Zubair; Li, Min

    2017-01-01

    Underwater dam crack detection and classification based on sonar images is a challenging task because underwater environments are complex and because cracks are quite random and diverse in nature. Furthermore, obtainable sonar images are of low resolution. To address these problems, a novel underwater dam crack detection and classification approach based on sonar imagery is proposed. First, the sonar images are divided into image blocks. Second, a clustering analysis of a 3-D feature space is used to obtain the crack fragments. Third, the crack fragments are connected using an improved tensor voting method. Fourth, a minimum spanning tree is used to obtain the crack curve. Finally, an improved evidence theory combined with fuzzy rule reasoning is proposed to classify the cracks. Experimental results show that the proposed approach is able to detect underwater dam cracks and classify them accurately and effectively under complex underwater environments.

  7. A novel underwater dam crack detection and classification approach based on sonar images.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pengfei Shi

    Full Text Available Underwater dam crack detection and classification based on sonar images is a challenging task because underwater environments are complex and because cracks are quite random and diverse in nature. Furthermore, obtainable sonar images are of low resolution. To address these problems, a novel underwater dam crack detection and classification approach based on sonar imagery is proposed. First, the sonar images are divided into image blocks. Second, a clustering analysis of a 3-D feature space is used to obtain the crack fragments. Third, the crack fragments are connected using an improved tensor voting method. Fourth, a minimum spanning tree is used to obtain the crack curve. Finally, an improved evidence theory combined with fuzzy rule reasoning is proposed to classify the cracks. Experimental results show that the proposed approach is able to detect underwater dam cracks and classify them accurately and effectively under complex underwater environments.

  8. An integrated environment for fast development and performance assessment of sonar image processing algorithms - SSIE

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Henriksen, Lars

    1996-01-01

    The sonar simulator integrated environment (SSIE) is a tool for developing high performance processing algorithms for single or sequences of sonar images. The tool is based on MATLAB providing a very short lead time from concept to executable code and thereby assessment of the algorithms tested...... of the algorithms is the availability of sonar images. To accommodate this problem the SSIE has been equipped with a simulator capable of generating high fidelity sonar images for a given scene of objects, sea-bed AUV path, etc. In the paper the main components of the SSIE is described and examples of different...... processing steps are given...

  9. HULU SUNGAI PERAK BED SEDIMENT MAPPING USING UNDERWATER ACOUSTIC SONAR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. Arriafdi

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Development in acoustic survey techniques in particular side scan sonar have revolutionized the way we are able to image, map and understand the riverbed environment. It is now cost effective to image large areas of the riverbed using these techniques and the backscatter image created from surveys provides base line data from which thematic maps of the riverbed environment including maps of morphological geology, can be derived when interpreted in conjunction with in situ sampling data. This article focuses on investigation characteristics of sediments and correlation of side scan backscatter image with signal strength. The interpretation of acoustic backscatter rely on experienced interpretation by eye of grey scale images produced from the data. A 990F Starfish Side Scan Sonar was used to collect and develop a series of sonar images along 6 km of Hulu Sungai Perak. Background sediments could be delineated accurately and the image textures could be linked to the actual river floor appearance through grab sampling. A major difference was found in the acoustic returns from the two research area studies: the upstream area shows much rougher textures. This is due to an actual differences in riverbed roughness, caused by a difference in bottom currents and sediment dynamics in the two areas. The highest backscatter correlates with coarsest and roughness sediment. Result suggest that image based backscatter classification shows considerable promise for interpretation of side scan sonar data for the production of geological maps.

  10. Sonar Image Enhancements for Improved Detection of Sea Mines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jespersen, Karl; Sørensen, Helge Bjarup Dissing; Zerr, Benoit

    1999-01-01

    In this paper, five methods for enhancing sonar images prior to automatic detection of sea mines are investigated. Two of the methods have previously been published in connection with detection systems and serve as reference. The three new enhancement approaches are variance stabilizing log...... transform, nonlinear filtering, and pixel averaging for speckle reduction. The effect of the enhancement step is tested by using the full prcessing chain i.e. enhancement, detection and thresholding to determine the number of detections and false alarms. Substituting different enhancement algorithms...... in the processing chain gives a precise measure of the performance of the enhancement stage. The test is performed using a sonar image database with images ranging from very simple to very complex. The result of the comparison indicates that the new enhancement approaches improve the detection performance....

  11. Enhanced echolocation via robust statistics and super-resolution of sonar images

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Kio

    Echolocation is a process in which an animal uses acoustic signals to exchange information with environments. In a recent study, Neretti et al. have shown that the use of robust statistics can significantly improve the resiliency of echolocation against noise and enhance its accuracy by suppressing the development of sidelobes in the processing of an echo signal. In this research, the use of robust statistics is extended to problems in underwater explorations. The dissertation consists of two parts. Part I describes how robust statistics can enhance the identification of target objects, which in this case are cylindrical containers filled with four different liquids. Particularly, this work employs a variation of an existing robust estimator called an L-estimator, which was first suggested by Koenker and Bassett. As pointed out by Au et al.; a 'highlight interval' is an important feature, and it is closely related with many other important features that are known to be crucial for dolphin echolocation. A varied L-estimator described in this text is used to enhance the detection of highlight intervals, which eventually leads to a successful classification of echo signals. Part II extends the problem into 2 dimensions. Thanks to the advances in material and computer technology, various sonar imaging modalities are available on the market. By registering acoustic images from such video sequences, one can extract more information on the region of interest. Computer vision and image processing allowed application of robust statistics to the acoustic images produced by forward looking sonar systems, such as Dual-frequency Identification Sonar and ProViewer. The first use of robust statistics for sonar image enhancement in this text is in image registration. Random Sampling Consensus (RANSAC) is widely used for image registration. The registration algorithm using RANSAC is optimized for sonar image registration, and the performance is studied. The second use of robust

  12. Colour Sonar: Multi-Frequency Sidescan Sonar Images of the Seabed in the Inner Sound of the Pentland Firth, Scotland

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Duncan Tamsett

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The backscatter response of a seabed to an incident sonar signal is dependent on the carrier wave frequency: i.e., the seabed is acoustically colourful. Colour is implemented in a prototype three-frequency sidescan sonar system deployed in the Pentland Firth, north Scotland. Sonar amplitude data as a function of frequency are processed to render them an unconfounded effect of the seabed normalized to the response at a reference inclination angle, for colour to be a meaningful property of the seabed. Methods for mapping data at sonar frequencies to optical primary colours for human visualisation are explored. We recommend methods that in our opinion generate colour characteristics harmonious with human vision in which: shadow is white; saturation black; colour shade darkness is proportional to backscatter strength; and shades of red, green and blue are seen in proportion to the backscatter amplitudes of the low-, mid- and high-frequency sonar data. Frequency equalisation is applied to achieve a balance in colour responses in images. The seabed in the survey area is acoustically colourful. Using the “negative BGR” colour mapping method: a weakly backscattering sand dune in the north of the survey area appears as shades of light blue and purple; a strongly backscattering halo of cobbles around the dune appears as shades of hazel brown; a strongly backscattering gravel ridge across the south of the survey area appears as shades of royal blue; and exposed rock as textures ranging in colour from light brown to light blue/green. There is evidence for colour anisotropy (a dependence of colour on the direction of ensonification. Similarities between anthropic colour sonar and the natural sonar of Microchiropteran bats are noted. Bats’ sonar satisfies the information criteria for acoustic colour, and it is hypothesized that it informs a colourfully-perceived world view.

  13. The fusion of large scale classified side-scan sonar image mosaics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reed, Scott; Tena, Ruiz Ioseba; Capus, Chris; Petillot, Yvan

    2006-07-01

    This paper presents a unified framework for the creation of classified maps of the seafloor from sonar imagery. Significant challenges in photometric correction, classification, navigation and registration, and image fusion are addressed. The techniques described are directly applicable to a range of remote sensing problems. Recent advances in side-scan data correction are incorporated to compensate for the sonar beam pattern and motion of the acquisition platform. The corrected images are segmented using pixel-based textural features and standard classifiers. In parallel, the navigation of the sonar device is processed using Kalman filtering techniques. A simultaneous localization and mapping framework is adopted to improve the navigation accuracy and produce georeferenced mosaics of the segmented side-scan data. These are fused within a Markovian framework and two fusion models are presented. The first uses a voting scheme regularized by an isotropic Markov random field and is applicable when the reliability of each information source is unknown. The Markov model is also used to inpaint regions where no final classification decision can be reached using pixel level fusion. The second model formally introduces the reliability of each information source into a probabilistic model. Evaluation of the two models using both synthetic images and real data from a large scale survey shows significant quantitative and qualitative improvement using the fusion approach.

  14. High-Resolution Sonars: What Resolution Do We Need for Target Recognition?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pailhas Yan

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Target recognition in sonar imagery has long been an active research area in the maritime domain, especially in the mine-counter measure context. Recently it has received even more attention as new sensors with increased resolution have been developed; new threats to critical maritime assets and a new paradigm for target recognition based on autonomous platforms have emerged. With the recent introduction of Synthetic Aperture Sonar systems and high-frequency sonars, sonar resolution has dramatically increased and noise levels decreased. Sonar images are distance images but at high resolution they tend to appear visually as optical images. Traditionally algorithms have been developed specifically for imaging sonars because of their limited resolution and high noise levels. With high-resolution sonars, algorithms developed in the image processing field for natural images become applicable. However, the lack of large datasets has hampered the development of such algorithms. Here we present a fast and realistic sonar simulator enabling development and evaluation of such algorithms.We develop a classifier and then analyse its performances using our simulated synthetic sonar images. Finally, we discuss sensor resolution requirements to achieve effective classification of various targets and demonstrate that with high resolution sonars target highlight analysis is the key for target recognition.

  15. Review: Marine Seismic And Side-Scan Sonar Investigations For Seabed Identification With Sonar System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Zainuddin Lubis

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Marine seismic reflection data have been collected for decades and since the mid-to late- 1980s much of this data is positioned relatively accurately. Marine geophysical acquisition of data is a very expensive process with the rates regularly ship through dozens of thousands of euros per day. Acquisition of seismic profiles has the position is determined by a DGPS system and navigation is performed by Hypack and Maxview software that also gives all the offsets for the equipment employed in the survey. Examples of some projects will be described in terms of the project goals and the geophysical equipment selected for each survey and specific geophysical systems according to with the scope of work. For amplitude side scan sonar image, and in the multi-frequency system, color, becoming a significant properties of the sea floor, the effect of which is a bully needs to be fixed. The main confounding effect is due to absorption of water; geometric spread; shape beam sonar function (combined transmit-receive sonar beam intensity as a function of tilt angle obtained in this sonar reference frame; sonar vehicle roll; form and function of the seabed backscatter (proportion incident on the seabed backscattered signal to sonar as a function of the angle of incidence relative to the sea floor; and the slope of the seabed. The different angles of view are generated by the translation of the sonar, because of the discrete steps involved by the sequential pings, the angular sampling of the bottom.

  16. Automatic Target Recognition in Synthetic Aperture Sonar Images Based on Geometrical Feature Extraction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Del Rio Vera

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a new supervised classification approach for automated target recognition (ATR in SAS images. The recognition procedure starts with a novel segmentation stage based on the Hilbert transform. A number of geometrical features are then extracted and used to classify observed objects against a previously compiled database of target and non-target features. The proposed approach has been tested on a set of 1528 simulated images created by the NURC SIGMAS sonar model, achieving up to 95% classification accuracy.

  17. Textural Segmentation of High-Resolution Sidescan Sonar Images

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Kalcic, Maria; Bibee, Dale

    1995-01-01

    .... The high resolution of the 455 kHz sonar imagery also provides much information about the surficial bottom sediments, however their acoustic scattering properties are not well understood at high frequencies...

  18. Inversion of Side Scan Sonar Motion and Posture in Seabed Geomorphology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tao Weiliang

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Side scan sonar measurement platform, affected by underwater environment and its own motion precision, inevitably has posture and motion disturbance, which greatly affects accuracy of geomorphic image formation. It is difficult to sensitively and accurately capture these underwater disturbances by relying on auxiliary navigation devices. In this paper, we propose a method to invert motion and posture information of the measurement platform by using the matching relation between the strip images. The inversion algorithm is the key link in the image mosaic frame of side scan sonar, and the acquired motion posture information can effectively improve seabed topography and plotting accuracy and stability. In this paper, we first analyze influence of platform motion and posture on side scan sonar mapping, and establish the correlation model between motion, posture information and strip image matching information. Then, based on the model, a reverse neural network is established. Based on input, output of neural network, design of and test data set, a motion posture inversion mechanism based on strip image matching information is established. Accuracy and validity of the algorithm are verified by the experimental results.

  19. Bayesian reconstruction of seafloor shape from side-scan sonar measurements using a Markov Random Field

    OpenAIRE

    Woock, P.; Pak, Alexey

    2014-01-01

    To explore the seafloor, a side-scan sonar emits a directed acoustic signal and then records the returning (reflected) signal intensity as a function of time. The inversion of that process is not unique: multiple shapes may lead to identical measured responses. In this work, we suggest a Bayesian approach to reconstructing the 3D shape of the seafloor from multiple sonar measurements, inspired by the state-of-the-art methods of inverse raytracing that originated in computer vision. The space ...

  20. An Adaptive Cultural Algorithm with Improved Quantum-behaved Particle Swarm Optimization for Sonar Image Detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xingmei; Hao, Wenqian; Li, Qiming

    2017-12-18

    This paper proposes an adaptive cultural algorithm with improved quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization (ACA-IQPSO) to detect the underwater sonar image. In the population space, to improve searching ability of particles, iterative times and the fitness value of particles are regarded as factors to adaptively adjust the contraction-expansion coefficient of the quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization algorithm (QPSO). The improved quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization algorithm (IQPSO) can make particles adjust their behaviours according to their quality. In the belief space, a new update strategy is adopted to update cultural individuals according to the idea of the update strategy in shuffled frog leaping algorithm (SFLA). Moreover, to enhance the utilization of information in the population space and belief space, accept function and influence function are redesigned in the new communication protocol. The experimental results show that ACA-IQPSO can obtain good clustering centres according to the grey distribution information of underwater sonar images, and accurately complete underwater objects detection. Compared with other algorithms, the proposed ACA-IQPSO has good effectiveness, excellent adaptability, a powerful searching ability and high convergence efficiency. Meanwhile, the experimental results of the benchmark functions can further demonstrate that the proposed ACA-IQPSO has better searching ability, convergence efficiency and stability.

  1. Bats coordinate sonar and flight behavior as they forage in open and cluttered environments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Falk, Benjamin; Jakobsen, Lasse; Surlykke, Annemarie

    2014-01-01

    Echolocating bats use active sensing as they emit sounds and listen to the returning echoes to probe their environment for navigation, obstacle avoidance and pursuit of prey. The sensing behavior of bats includes the planning of 3D spatial trajectory paths, which are guided by echo information....... The temporal patterning of sonar sound groups was related to path planning around obstacles in the forest. Together, these results contribute to our understanding of how bats coordinate echolocation and flight behavior to represent and navigate their environment........ In this study, we examined the relationship between active sonar sampling and flight motor output as bats changed environments from open space to an artificial forest in a laboratory flight room. Using high-speed video and audio recordings, we reconstructed and analyzed 3D flight trajectories, sonar beam aim...

  2. Real-time underwater object detection based on an electrically scanned high-resolution sonar

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Henriksen, Lars

    1994-01-01

    The paper describes an approach to real time detection and tracking of underwater objects, using image sequences from an electrically scanned high-resolution sonar. The use of a high resolution sonar provides a good estimate of the location of the objects, but strains the computers on board, beca...

  3. Principles of Sonar Performance Modeling

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ainslie, M.A.

    2010-01-01

    Sonar performance modelling (SPM) is concerned with the prediction of quantitative measures of sonar performance, such as probability of detection. It is a multidisciplinary subject, requiring knowledge and expertise in the disparate fields of underwater acoustics, acoustical oceanography, sonar

  4. FPGA-Based Sonar Processing

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Graham, Paul; Nelson, Brent

    1998-01-01

    This paper presents the application of time-delay sonar beamforming and discusses a multi-board FPGA system for performing several variations of this beamforming method in real-time for realistic sonar arrays...

  5. Side-Scan Sonar Image Mosaic Using Couple Feature Points with Constraint of Track Line Positions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jianhu Zhao

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available To obtain large-scale seabed surface image, this paper proposes a side-scan sonar (SSS image mosaic method using couple feature points (CFPs with constraint of track line positions. The SSS geocoded images are firstly used to form a coarsely mosaicked one and the overlapping areas between adjacent strip images can be determined based on geographic information. Inside the overlapping areas, the feature point (FP detection and registration operation are adopted for both strips. According to the detected CFPs and track line positions, an adjustment model is established to accommodate complex local distortions as well as ensure the global stability. This proposed method effectively solves the problem of target ghosting or dislocation and no accumulated errors arise in the mosaicking process. Experimental results show that the finally mosaicked image correctly reflects the object distribution, which is meaningful for understanding and interpreting seabed topography.

  6. SONAR: A High-Throughput Pipeline for Inferring Antibody Ontogenies from Longitudinal Sequencing of B Cell Transcripts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schramm, Chaim A; Sheng, Zizhang; Zhang, Zhenhai; Mascola, John R; Kwong, Peter D; Shapiro, Lawrence

    2016-01-01

    The rapid advance of massively parallel or next-generation sequencing technologies has made possible the characterization of B cell receptor repertoires in ever greater detail, and these developments have triggered a proliferation of software tools for processing and annotating these data. Of especial interest, however, is the capability to track the development of specific antibody lineages across time, which remains beyond the scope of most current programs. We have previously reported on the use of techniques such as inter- and intradonor analysis and CDR3 tracing to identify transcripts related to an antibody of interest. Here, we present Software for the Ontogenic aNalysis of Antibody Repertoires (SONAR), capable of automating both general repertoire analysis and specialized techniques for investigating specific lineages. SONAR annotates next-generation sequencing data, identifies transcripts in a lineage of interest, and tracks lineage development across multiple time points. SONAR also generates figures, such as identity-divergence plots and longitudinal phylogenetic "birthday" trees, and provides interfaces to other programs such as DNAML and BEAST. SONAR can be downloaded as a ready-to-run Docker image or manually installed on a local machine. In the latter case, it can also be configured to take advantage of a high-performance computing cluster for the most computationally intensive steps, if available. In summary, this software provides a useful new tool for the processing of large next-generation sequencing datasets and the ontogenic analysis of neutralizing antibody lineages. SONAR can be found at https://github.com/scharch/SONAR, and the Docker image can be obtained from https://hub.docker.com/r/scharch/sonar/.

  7. NMFS Water Column Sonar Database

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Water column sonar data are an important component of fishery independent surveys, habitat studies and other research. NMFS water column sonar data are archived here.

  8. SONAR: A high-throughput pipeline for inferring antibody ontogenies from longitudinal sequencing of B cell transcripts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chaim A Schramm

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The rapid advance of massively parallel or next-generation sequencing technologies has made possible the characterization of B cell receptor repertoires in ever greater detail, leading to a proliferation of software tools for processing and annotating this data. Of especial interest, however, is the capability to track the development of specific antibody lineages across time, which remains beyond the scope of most current programs. We have previously reported on the use of techniques such as inter- and intra-donor analysis and CDR3 tracing to identify transcripts related to an antibody of interest. Here, we present Software for the Ontogenic aNalysis of Antibody Repertoires (SONAR, capable of automating both general repertoire analysis and specialized techniques for investigating specific lineages. SONAR annotates next-generation sequencing data, identifies transcripts in a lineage of interest, and tracks lineage development across multiple time points. SONAR also generates figures, such as identity-divergence plots and longitudinal phylogenetic birthday trees, and provides interfaces to other programs such as DNAML and BEAST. SONAR can be downloaded as a ready-to-run Docker image or manually installed on a local machine. In the latter case, it can also be configured to take advantage of a high-performance computing cluster for the most computationally intensive steps, if available. In summary, this software provides a useful new tool for the processing of large next-generation sequencing datasets and the ontogenic analysis of neutralizing antibody lineages. SONAR can be found at https://github.com/scharch/SONAR and the Docker image can be obtained from https://hub.docker.com/r/scharch/sonar/.

  9. mos114_0402b.tif -- Side scan sonar image from survey effort HMPR-114-2004-02b in the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This side scan sonar image of the sea floor was mosaiced from data collected in August 2004 onboard the NOAA vesselTatoosh. An EG&G 272 side scan system was used...

  10. Higher-Order Statistics for the Detection of Small Objects in a Noisy Background Application on Sonar Imaging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Amate

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available An original algorithm for the detection of small objects in a noisy background is proposed. Its application to underwater objects detection by sonar imaging is addressed. This new method is based on the use of higher-order statistics (HOS that are locally estimated on the images. The proposed algorithm is divided into two steps. In a first step, HOS (skewness and kurtosis are estimated locally using a square sliding computation window. Small deterministic objects have different statistical properties from the background they are thus highlighted. The influence of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR on the results is studied in the case of Gaussian noise. Mathematical expressions of the estimators and of the expected performances are derived and are experimentally confirmed. In a second step, the results are focused by a matched filter using a theoretical model. This enables the precise localization of the regions of interest. The proposed method generalizes to other statistical distributions and we derive the theoretical expressions of the HOS estimators in the case of a Weibull distribution (both when only noise is present or when a small deterministic object is present within the filtering window. This enables the application of the proposed technique to the processing of synthetic aperture sonar data containing underwater mines whose echoes have to be detected and located. Results on real data sets are presented and quantitatively evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC curves.

  11. Acoustic Imaging of Selected Areas of Gdansk Bay with the Aid of Parametric Echosounder and Side-Scan Sonar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grelowska Grażyna

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The article presents and analyses the data recorded during sounding of the Gdansk Bay seabed with the aid of a parametric echosounder and a side-scan sonar. The accuracy of seabed structure examination, as a condition for obtaining valuable results, requires correct configuration of echolocation devices and proper calibration of peripheral devices, such as the survey unit geographical position sensor - GPS, the navigation unit, the MRU-Z sensor of pitch, roll and heave, and the sound velocity meter, which deliver the data to the bathymetric measurement system. Parametric seabed profilers deliver two types of data: the envelope, and the detailed echo signal without processing. The envelope is used for data visualisation in the form of online echograms, while the echo signal is stored for further analyses, to be performed using dedicated software or, after relevant conversion, in arbitrary programming environment1. The presented data analysis is illustrated by selected sample images recorded by the parametric echosounder and the side-scan sonar during Gdansk Bay sounding.

  12. hab108_0201_east.tif -- Side scan sonar image (East mosaic) from survey effort HMPR-108-2002-01 in the Olympic Coast national marine sanctuary.

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This side scan sonar image of the sea floor (120-350 m water depths) was mosaiced from data collected in 2002.An Edgetech DF1000 side scan system was used for...

  13. Analysis of the Detectability of Sonar Under the Virtual Battlefield

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hou Chengyu

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Due to the high propagation speed and the low attenuation in the water, the sonar has played a crucial role in developing the ocean resources and the marine target detection. Therefore, simulation of the sonar detectability is indispensable to the virtual battlefield. This paper will combine the background noise model of the ocean, the reverberation model, the target strength model and the transmission loss to build the sonar performance model, and realize the calculation of the sonar detectability. Ultimately, the parameters’ effect in the sonar equation on the performance of the sonar detection is analyzed, and the validity of this model is verified by two serving sonars parameters.

  14. A Spatial Reference Grid for Real-Time Autonomous Underwater Modeling using 3-D Sonar

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Auran, P.G.

    1996-12-31

    The offshore industry has recognized the need for intelligent underwater robotic vehicles. This doctoral thesis deals with autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and concentrates on a data representation for real-time image formation and analysis. Its main objective is to develop a 3-D image representation suitable for autonomous perception objectives underwater, assuming active sonar as the main sensor for perception. The main contributions are: (1) A dynamical image representation for 3-D range data, (2) A basic electronic circuit and software system for 3-D sonar sampling and amplitude thresholding, (3) A model for target reliability, (4) An efficient connected components algorithm for 3-D segmentation, (5) A method for extracting general 3-D geometrical representations from segmented echo clusters, (6) Experimental results of planar and curved target modeling. 142 refs., 120 figs., 10 tabs.

  15. Radar, sonar, and holography an introduction

    CERN Document Server

    Kock, Winston E

    1974-01-01

    Radar, Sonar, and Holography: An Introduction provides an introduction to the technology of radar and sonar. Because the new science of holography is affecting both these fields quite strongly, the book includes an explanation of the fundamental principles underlying this new art (including the subjects of wave coherence, interference, and diffraction) and of the hologram process itself. Finally, numerous examples are discussed which show how holography is providing new horizons to radar and sonar systems. The book thus also provides a simple approach to the new technology of holography. The

  16. Recreational-Grade Sidescan Sonar: Transforming a Low-Cost Leisure Gadget into a High Resolution Riverbed Remote Sensing Tool

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamill, D. D.; Buscombe, D.; Wheaton, J. M.; Wilcock, P. R.

    2016-12-01

    The size and spatial organization of bed material, bed texture, is a fundamental physical attribute of lotic ecosystems. Traditional methods to map bed texture (such as physical samples and underwater video) are limited by low spatial coverage, and poor precision in positioning. Recreational grade sidescan sonar systems now offer the possibility of imaging submerged riverbed sediments at coverages and resolutions sufficient to identify subtle changes in bed texture, in any navigable body of water, with minimal cost, expertise in sonar, or logistical effort, thereby facilitating the democratization of acoustic imaging of benthic environments, to support ecohydrological studies in shallow water, not subject to the rigors of hydrographic standards, nor the preserve of hydroacoustic expertise and proprietary hydrographic industry software. We investigate the possibility of using recreational grade sidescan sonar for sedimentary change detection using a case study of repeat sidescan imaging of mixed sand-gravel-rock riverbeds in a debris-fan dominated canyon river, at a coverage and resolution that meets the objectives of studies of the effects of changing bed substrates on salmonid spawning. A repeat substrate mapping analysis on data collected between 2012 and 2015 on the Colorado River in Glen, Marble, and Grand Canyons will be presented. A detailed method has been developed to interpret and analyze non-survey-grade sidescan sonar data, encoded within an open source software tool developed by the authors. An automated technique to quantify bed texture directly from sidescan sonar imagery is tested against bed sediment observations from underwater video and multibeam sonar. Predictive relationships between known bed sediment observations and bed texture metrics could provide an objective means to quantify bed textures and to relate changes in bed texture to biological components of an aquatic ecosystem, at high temporal frequency, and with minimal logistical effort

  17. Automatic Detection of Sand Ripple Features in Sidescan Sonar Imagery

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-07-09

    Among the features used in forensic scientific fingerprint analysis are terminations or bifurcations of print ridges. Sidescan sonar imagery of ripple...always be pathological cases. The size of the blocks of pixels used in determining the ripple wavelength is evident in the output images on the right in

  18. Multibeam sonar backscatter data processing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schimel, Alexandre C. G.; Beaudoin, Jonathan; Parnum, Iain M.; Le Bas, Tim; Schmidt, Val; Keith, Gordon; Ierodiaconou, Daniel

    2018-06-01

    Multibeam sonar systems now routinely record seafloor backscatter data, which are processed into backscatter mosaics and angular responses, both of which can assist in identifying seafloor types and morphology. Those data products are obtained from the multibeam sonar raw data files through a sequence of data processing stages that follows a basic plan, but the implementation of which varies greatly between sonar systems and software. In this article, we provide a comprehensive review of this backscatter data processing chain, with a focus on the variability in the possible implementation of each processing stage. Our objective for undertaking this task is twofold: (1) to provide an overview of backscatter data processing for the consideration of the general user and (2) to provide suggestions to multibeam sonar manufacturers, software providers and the operators of these systems and software for eventually reducing the lack of control, uncertainty and variability associated with current data processing implementations and the resulting backscatter data products. One such suggestion is the adoption of a nomenclature for increasingly refined levels of processing, akin to the nomenclature adopted for satellite remote-sensing data deliverables.

  19. mos115_0403.TIF -- Multibeam backscatter sonar image for the nearshore Cape Flattery area: Data from survey effort HMPR-115-2004-03 in the Olympic Coast national marine sanctuary.

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This multibeam backscatter sonar image of the sea floor (0-200 m water depths) was mosaiced from data collected fromvarious mapping efforts each October from...

  20. A micro-Doppler sonar for acoustic surveillance in sensor networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Zhaonian

    Wireless sensor networks have been employed in a wide variety of applications, despite the limited energy and communication resources at each sensor node. Low power custom VLSI chips implementing passive acoustic sensing algorithms have been successfully integrated into an acoustic surveillance unit and demonstrated for detection and location of sound sources. In this dissertation, I explore active and passive acoustic sensing techniques, signal processing and classification algorithms for detection and classification in a multinodal sensor network environment. I will present the design and characterization of a continuous-wave micro-Doppler sonar to image objects with articulated moving components. As an example application for this system, we use it to image gaits of humans and four-legged animals. I will present the micro-Doppler gait signatures of a walking person, a dog and a horse. I will discuss the resolution and range of this micro-Doppler sonar and use experimental results to support the theoretical analyses. In order to reduce the data rate and make the system amenable to wireless sensor networks, I will present a second micro-Doppler sonar that uses bandpass sampling for data acquisition. Speech recognition algorithms are explored for biometric identifications from one's gait, and I will present and compare the classification performance of the two systems. The acoustic micro-Doppler sonar design and biometric identification results are the first in the field as the previous work used either video camera or microwave technology. I will also review bearing estimation algorithms and present results of applying these algorithms for bearing estimation and tracking of moving vehicles. Another major source of the power consumption at each sensor node is the wireless interface. To address the need of low power communications in a wireless sensor network, I will also discuss the design and implementation of ultra wideband transmitters in a three dimensional

  1. Sonar Tank Area

    Data.gov (United States)

    Federal Laboratory Consortium — The Sonar Tank Facility permits low cost initial 'wet' testing and check out prior to full scale deployment at sea. It can manage controlled conditions calibration...

  2. Digital sonar design in underwater acoustics principles and applications

    CERN Document Server

    Li, Qihu

    2012-01-01

    "Digital Sonar Design in Underwater Acoustics Principles and Applications" provides comprehensive and up-to-date coverage of research on sonar design, including the basic theory and techniques of digital signal processing, basic concept of information theory, ocean acoustics, underwater acoustic signal propagation theory, and underwater signal processing theory. This book discusses the general design procedure and approaches to implementation, the design method, system simulation theory and techniques, sonar tests in the laboratory, lake and sea, and practical validation criteria and methods for digital sonar design. It is intended for researchers in the fields of underwater signal processing and sonar design, and also for navy officers and ocean explorers. Qihu Li is a professor at the Institute of Acoustics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

  3. Real-Time 3D Sonar Modeling And Visualization

    Science.gov (United States)

    1998-06-01

    looking back towards Manta sonar beam, Manta plus sonar from 1000m off track. 185 NUWC sponsor Erik Chaum Principal investigator Don Brutzman...USN Sonar Officer LT Kevin Byrne USN Intelligence Officer CPT Russell Storms USA Erik Chaum works in NUWC Code 22. He supervised the design and...McGhee, Bob, "The Phoenix Autonomous Underwater Vehicle," chapter 13, AI-BasedMobile Robots, editors David Kortenkamp, Pete Bonasso and Robin Murphy

  4. Adaptive motion compensation in sonar array processing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Groen, J.

    2006-01-01

    In recent years, sonar performance has mainly improved via a significant increase in array ap-erture, signal bandwidth and computational power. This thesis aims at improving sonar array processing techniques based on these three steps forward. In applications such as anti-submarine warfare and mine

  5. Automated detection of submerged navigational obstructions in freshwater impoundments with hull mounted sidescan sonar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morris, Phillip A.

    The prevalence of low-cost side scanning sonar systems mounted on small recreational vessels has created improved opportunities to identify and map submerged navigational hazards in freshwater impoundments. However, these economical sensors also present unique challenges for automated techniques. This research explores related literature in automated sonar imagery processing and mapping technology, proposes and implements a framework derived from these sources, and evaluates the approach with video collected from a recreational grade sonar system. Image analysis techniques including optical character recognition and an unsupervised computer automated detection (CAD) algorithm are employed to extract the transducer GPS coordinates and slant range distance of objects protruding from the lake bottom. The retrieved information is formatted for inclusion into a spatial mapping model. Specific attributes of the sonar sensors are modeled such that probability profiles may be projected onto a three dimensional gridded map. These profiles are computed from multiple points of view as sonar traces crisscross or come near each other. As lake levels fluctuate over time so do the elevation points of view. With each sonar record, the probability of a hazard existing at certain elevations at the respective grid points is updated with Bayesian mechanics. As reinforcing data is collected, the confidence of the map improves. Given a lake's current elevation and a vessel draft, a final generated map can identify areas of the lake that have a high probability of containing hazards that threaten navigation. The approach is implemented in C/C++ utilizing OpenCV, Tesseract OCR, and QGIS open source software and evaluated in a designated test area at Lake Lavon, Collin County, Texas.

  6. Sonar path correction in synthetic aperture processing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Groen, J.; Hansen, R.E.; Sabel, J.C.

    2003-01-01

    In the next generation of mine hunting sonars, in particular on Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), Synthetic Aperture Sonar (SAS) will play an important role. The benefit of SAS is to increase resolution and signal-tonoise ratio by coherent processing of successive pings. A challenge in SAS is

  7. Side-Scan-Sonar Points for Hudson River, NY

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Side Scan Point Files. These points correspond to individual pings which produced hte side-scan-sonar backscatter imagery. Sonar data were collected November 6 to...

  8. Characteristics of a sandy depositional lobe on the outer Mississippi fan from SeaMARC IA sidescan sonar images

    Science.gov (United States)

    Twichell, David C.; Schwab, William C.; Nelson, C. Hans; Kenyon, Neil H.; Lee, Homa J.

    1992-01-01

    SeaMARC IA sidescan sonar images of the distal reaches of a depositional lobe on the Mississippi Fan show that channelized rather than unconfined transport was the dominant transport mechanism for coarse-grained sediment during the formation of this part of the deep-sea fan. Overbank sheet flow of sands was not an important process in the transport and deposition of the sandy and silty sediment found on this fan. The dendritic distributary pattern and the high order of splaying of the channels, only one of which appears to have been active at a time, suggest that coarse-grained deposits on this fan are laterally discontinuous.

  9. Long range echo classification for minehunting sonars

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Theije, P.A.M. de; Groen, J.; Sabel, J.C.

    2006-01-01

    This paper focesus on single-ping classification of sea mines, at a range of about 400 m, and combining a hull mounted sonar (HMS) and a propelled variable-depth sonar (PDVS). The deleoped classifier is trained and tested on a set of simulated realistic echoes of mines and non-mines. As the mines

  10. Monitoring upstream sinkhole development by detailed sonar profiling

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rigbey, S. [Acres International Ltd., Niagara Falls, ON (Canada)

    2004-09-01

    This paper describes the development and use of a simple sonar system that has been used by engineers for routine monitoring of small sinkholes on the upstream face of a distressed earth dam. Improper construction of the dam led to the development of several sinkholes measuring 10 to 20 m in diameter upstream from the dam which is founded on deep alluvial sands and gravels. The dam has a central core of silt and leakage varies between 200 and 500 l/s, depending on the water level of the reservoir. The main issues with the upstream blanket are: improper fill placement due to the inability to dewater the area properly; omission of a filter material between the blanket and the alluvium foundation; thin placement of fill and runnelling of the blanket prior to impoundment; and, short upstream extent of the blanket. A downstream weighting toe of material was placed to address the seepage and piping that developed immediately following impounding. Other incidents continued over the years, such as downstream sinkholes, slumping of the crest and repairs about 12 years after construction. An inverter filter was also constructed to better control the seepage. Simple bathymetric surveys conducted by sounding the bottom of the reservoir from the ice surface each winter revealed the presence of several large sinkholes. Although infilling programs were conducted, sinkholes redeveloped after each program. The bathymetric surveys were found to be limited in accuracy and repeatability. Therefore, it was not possible to monitor small developments on a yearly basis. A 3-dimensional seepage model was developed to reconcile some of the unexplained piezometric patterns and to better understand the seepage patterns. However, this was also unsuccessful on its own. A trial sonar survey was then undertaken in 2002 by a Vancouver-based sonar company using an Imagenix profiling sonar head. It was successful in locating a small, previously unknown sinkhole measuring a few metres in diameter at

  11. General Ultrasound Imaging

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... echoes from the tissues in the body. The principles are similar to sonar used by boats and ... work? Ultrasound imaging is based on the same principles involved in the sonar used by bats, ships ...

  12. Passive Sonar Target Detection Using Statistical Classifier and Adaptive Threshold

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hamed Komari Alaie

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation about target detecting with passive sonar in Persian Gulf. Detecting propagated sounds in the water is one of the basic challenges of the researchers in sonar field. This challenge will be complex in shallow water (like Persian Gulf and noise less vessels. Generally, in passive sonar, the targets are detected by sonar equation (with constant threshold that increases the detection error in shallow water. The purpose of this study is proposed a new method for detecting targets in passive sonars using adaptive threshold. In this method, target signal (sound is processed in time and frequency domain. For classifying, Bayesian classification is used and posterior distribution is estimated by Maximum Likelihood Estimation algorithm. Finally, target was detected by combining the detection points in both domains using Least Mean Square (LMS adaptive filter. Results of this paper has showed that the proposed method has improved true detection rate by about 24% when compared other the best detection method.

  13. The Method of a Standalone Functional Verifying Operability of Sonar Control Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. A. Sotnikov

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This article describes a method of standalone verifying sonar control system, which is based on functional checking of control system operability.The main features of realized method are a development of the valid mathematic model for simulation of sonar signals at the point of hydroacoustic antenna, a valid representation of the sonar control system modes as a discrete Markov model, providing functional object verification in real time mode.Some ways are proposed to control computational complexity in case of insufficient computing resources of the simulation equipment, namely the way of model functionality reduction and the way of adequacy reduction.Experiments were made using testing equipment, which was developed by department of Research Institute of Information Control System at Bauman Moscow State Technical University to verify technical validity of industrial sonar complexes.On-board software was artificially changed to create malfunctions in functionality of sonar control systems during the verifying process in order to estimate verifying system performances.The method efficiency was proved by the theory and experiment results in comparison with the basic methodology of verifying technical systems.This method could be also used in debugging of on-board software of sonar complexes and in development of new promising algorithms of sonar signal processing.

  14. Digital Signal Processing Applied to the Modernization Of Polish Navy Sonars

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marszal Jacek

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available The article presents the equipment and digital signal processing methods used for modernizing the Polish Navy’s sonars. With the rapid advancement of electronic technologies and digital signal processing methods, electronic systems, including sonars, become obsolete very quickly. In the late 1990s a team of researchers of the Department of Marine Electronics Systems, Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics, Gdansk University of Technology, began work on modernizing existing sonar systems for the Polish Navy. As part of the effort, a methodology of sonar modernization was implemented involving a complete replacement of existing electronic components with newly designed ones by using bespoke systems and methods of digital signal processing. Large and expensive systems of ultrasound transducers and their dipping and stabilisation systems underwent necessary repairs but were otherwise left unchanged. As a result, between 2001 and 2014 the Gdansk University of Technology helped to modernize 30 sonars of different types.

  15. A Study for Optimum Survey Method of Underwater Structure Using the Dual Sonar Sensor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Youngseok Kim

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available We have developed dual sonar equipment and an improved operating method for improving resolution in order to solve the problems of limitations of the optical equipment and the application method of SSS (side scan sonar in the investigation of damage of underwater structures. We analyzed the influence factors of the resolution of sonar data through the comparison of resolution and data quality in indoor test. Also we confirmed the problems about the overlapping area of the dual sonar. Depth and distance were analyzed as major influencing factors for survey angle. Specimens were scanned while adjusting distance and towfish angle according to depth change in order to verify applicability of the developed dual sonar in the field experiment. Optimal resolution was found to be 3 cm in specimen spacing, and 20 sample data items were extracted. We developed the regression model based on the multiple regression analysis and developed the RealDualSONAR-DAQ tool, the dual sonar optimum operating method program based on proposed correlation equations. We can use the developed tools to get the value of the major influencing factors for dual sonar operation and obtain high quality sonar data to analyze damage of underwater structures.

  16. Water Column Sonar Data Collection

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The collection and analysis of water column sonar data is a relatively new avenue of research into the marine environment. Primary uses include assessing biological...

  17. Sonar Subsea Images of Large Temples, Mammoths, Giant Sloths. Huge Artwork Carvings, Eroded Cities, Human Images, and Paleo Astronomy Sites that Must be Over Ten Thousand Years Old.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, R. L.

    2016-12-01

    Computer enhancing of side scanning sonar plots revealed images of massive art, apparent ruins of cities, and subsea temples. Some images are about four to twenty kilometers in length. Present water depths imply that many of the finds must have been created over ten thousand years ago. Also, large carvings of giant sloths, Ice Age elk, mammoths, mastodons, and other cold climate creatures concurrently indicate great age. In offshore areas of North America, some human faces have beards and what appear to be Caucasian characteristics that clearly contrast with the native tribal images. A few images have possible physical appearances associated with Polynesians. Contacts and at least limited migrations must have occurred much further in the ancient past than previously believed. Greatly rising sea levels and radical changes away from late Ice Age climates had to be devastating to very ancient civilizations. Many images indicate that these cultures were capable of construction and massive art at or near the technological level of the Old Kingdom in Egypt. Paleo astronomy is obvious in some plots. Major concerns are how to further evaluate, catalog, protect, and conserve the creations of those cultures.

  18. Children's (Pediatric) Abdominal Ultrasound Imaging

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... echoes from the tissues in the body. The principles are similar to sonar used by boats and ... work? Ultrasound imaging is based on the same principles involved in the sonar used by bats, ships ...

  19. NPS ARIES Forward Look Sonar Integration

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Healey, A. J; Horner, D. P

    2004-01-01

    This work integrated an experimental Blazed Array Forward Looking Sonar (FLS) developed by the University of Washington, Applied Physics Laboratories into the ARIES autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV...

  20. Multibeam sonar (DIDSON) assessment of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) approaching a hydroelectric dam

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grote, Ann B.; Bailey, Michael M.; Zydlewski, Joseph D.; Hightower, Joseph E.

    2014-01-01

    We investigated the fish community approaching the Veazie Dam on the Penobscot River, Maine, prior to implementation of a major dam removal and river restoration project. Multibeam sonar (dual-frequency identification sonar, DIDSON) surveys were conducted continuously at the fishway entrance from May to July in 2011. A 5% subsample of DIDSON data contained 43 793 fish targets, the majority of which were of Excellent (15.7%) or Good (73.01%) observation quality. Excellent quality DIDSON targets (n = 6876) were apportioned by species using a Bayesian mixture model based on four known fork length distributions (river herring (alewife,Alosa psuedoharengus, and blueback herring, Alosa aestivalis), American shad, Alosa sapidissima) and two size classes (one sea-winter and multi-sea-winter) of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). 76.2% of targets were assigned to the American shad distribution; Atlantic salmon accounted for 15.64%, and river herring 8.16% of observed targets. Shad-sized (99.0%) and salmon-sized (99.3%) targets approached the fishway almost exclusively during the day, whereas river herring-sized targets were observed both during the day (51.1%) and at night (48.9%). This approach demonstrates how multibeam sonar imaging can be used to evaluate community composition and species-specific movement patterns in systems where there is little overlap in the length distributions of target species.

  1. A Mobile Robot Sonar System with Obstacle Avoidance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1994-03-01

    WITH OBSTACLE - AVOIDANCE __ by __ Patrick Gerard Byrne March 1994 Thesis Advisor : Yutaka Kanayama Approved for public release; distribution is...point p is on a line L whose normal has an orientation a and whose distance from the origin is r (Figure 5). This method has an advantage in expressing...sonar(FRONTR); Wine(&pl); while(hitl I >’- 100.0 11 hitl 1 - 0.0 ){ hitl I = sonar(FRONTR); I skipO; line(&p3); gat- robO (&posit 1); while(positl.x

  2. Airborne Low-Frequency Sonar (ALFS) Lab

    Data.gov (United States)

    Federal Laboratory Consortium — The ALFS lab is dedicated to support acoustic data analysis and processing software support to the AN/AQS-22 dipping sonar system. It includes stand-alone Software...

  3. High-Resolution Multibeam Sonar Survey and Interactive 3-D Exploration of the D-Day Wrecks off Normandy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mayer, L. A.; Calder, B.; Schmidt, J. S.

    2003-12-01

    Historically, archaeological investigations use sidescan sonar and marine magnetometers as initial search tools. Targets are then examined through direct observation by divers, video, or photographs. Magnetometers can demonstrate the presence, absence, and relative susceptibility of ferrous objects but provide little indication of the nature of the target. Sidescan sonar can present a clear image of the overall nature of a target and its surrounding environment, but the sidescan image is often distorted and contains little information about the true 3-D shape of the object. Optical techniques allow precise identification of objects but suffer from very limited range, even in the best of situations. Modern high-resolution multibeam sonar offers an opportunity to cover a relatively large area from a safe distance above the target, while resolving the true three-dimensional (3-D) shape of the object with centimeter-level resolution. The combination of 3-D mapping and interactive 3-D visualization techniques provides a powerful new means to explore underwater artifacts. A clear demonstration of the applicability of high-resolution multibeam sonar to wreck and artifact investigations occurred when the Naval Historical Center (NHC), the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping (CCOM) at the University of New Hampshire, and Reson Inc., collaborated to explore the state of preservation and impact on the surrounding environment of a series of wrecks located off the coast of Normandy, France, adjacent to the American landing sectors The survey augmented previously collected magnetometer and high-resolution sidescan sonar data using a Reson 8125 high-resolution focused multibeam sonar with 240, 0.5° (at nadir) beams distributed over a 120° swath. The team investigated 21 areas in water depths ranging from about three -to 30 meters (m); some areas contained individual targets such as landing craft, barges, a destroyer, troop carrier, etc., while others contained multiple smaller

  4. 3D Imaging with a Sonar Sensor and an Automated 3-Axes Frame for Selective Spraying in Controlled Conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Reiser

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Autonomous selective spraying could be a way for agriculture to reduce production costs, save resources, protect the environment and help to fulfill specific pesticide regulations. The objective of this paper was to investigate the use of a low-cost sonar sensor for autonomous selective spraying of single plants. For this, a belt driven autonomous robot was used with an attached 3-axes frame with three degrees of freedom. In the tool center point (TCP of the 3-axes frame, a sonar sensor and a spray valve were attached to create a point cloud representation of the surface, detect plants in the area and perform selective spraying. The autonomous robot was tested on replicates of artificial crop plants. The location of each plant was identified out of the acquired point cloud with the help of Euclidian clustering. The gained plant positions were spatially transformed from the coordinates of the sonar sensor to the valve location to determine the exact irrigation points. The results showed that the robot was able to automatically detect the position of each plant with an accuracy of 2.7 cm and could spray on these selected points. This selective spraying reduced the used liquid by 72%, when comparing it to a conventional spraying method in the same conditions.

  5. Cleaning Massive Sonar Point Clouds

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Arge, Lars Allan; Larsen, Kasper Green; Mølhave, Thomas

    2010-01-01

    We consider the problem of automatically cleaning massive sonar data point clouds, that is, the problem of automatically removing noisy points that for example appear as a result of scans of (shoals of) fish, multiple reflections, scanner self-reflections, refraction in gas bubbles, and so on. We...

  6. Swath sonar mapping of Earth's submarine plate boundaries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carbotte, S. M.; Ferrini, V. L.; Celnick, M.; Nitsche, F. O.; Ryan, W. B. F.

    2014-12-01

    The recent loss of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in an area of the Indian Ocean where less than 5% of the seafloor is mapped with depth sounding data (Smith and Marks, EOS 2014) highlights the striking lack of detailed knowledge of the topography of the seabed for much of the worlds' oceans. Advances in swath sonar mapping technology over the past 30 years have led to dramatic improvements in our capability to map the seabed. However, the oceans are vast and only an estimated 10% of the seafloor has been mapped with these systems. Furthermore, the available coverage is highly heterogeneous and focused within areas of national strategic priority and community scientific interest. The major plate boundaries that encircle the globe, most of which are located in the submarine environment, have been a significant focus of marine geoscience research since the advent of swath sonar mapping. While the location of these plate boundaries are well defined from satellite-derived bathymetry, significant regions remain unmapped at the high-resolutions provided by swath sonars and that are needed to study active volcanic and tectonic plate boundary processes. Within the plate interiors, some fossil plate boundary zones, major hotspot volcanoes, and other volcanic provinces have been the focus of dedicated research programs. Away from these major tectonic structures, swath mapping coverage is limited to sparse ocean transit lines which often reveal previously unknown deep-sea channels and other little studied sedimentary structures not resolvable in existing low-resolution global compilations, highlighting the value of these data even in the tectonically quiet plate interiors. Here, we give an overview of multibeam swath sonar mapping of the major plate boundaries of the globe as extracted from public archives. Significant quantities of swath sonar data acquired from deep-sea regions are in restricted-access international archives. Open access to more of these data sets would

  7. Selection of a Suitable Wall Pressure Spectrum Model for Estimating Flow-Induced Noise in Sonar Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. Bhujanga Rao

    1995-01-01

    Full Text Available Flow-induced structural noise of a sonar dome in which the sonar transducer is housed, constitutes a major source of self-noise above a certain speed of the vessel. Excitation of the sonar dome structure by random pressure fluctuations in turbulent boundary layer flow leads to acoustic radiation into the interior of the dome. This acoustic radiation is termed flow-induced structural noise. Such noise contributes significantly to sonar self-noise of submerged vessels cruising at high speed and plays an important role in surface ships, torpedos, and towed sonars as well. Various turbulent boundary layer wall pressure models published were analyzed and the most suitable analytical model for the sonar dome application selected while taking into account high frequency, fluid loading, low wave number contribution, and pressure gradient effects. These investigations included type of coupling that exists between turbulent boundary layer pressure fluctuations and dome wall structure of a typical sonar dome. Comparison of theoretical data with measured data onboard a ship are also reported.

  8. Mid-Frequency Sonar Interactions with Beaked Whales

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Foote, Kenneth G; Feijoo, Gonzalo R; Rye, Kent; Reidenberg, Joy; Hastings, Mardi

    2007-01-01

    The top-level goal of this project is to build an interactive online modeling and visualization system, called the Virtual Beaked Whale, to enable users to predict mid-frequency sonar-induced acoustic...

  9. A novel approach to surveying sturgeon using side-scan sonar and occupancy modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flowers, H. Jared; Hightower, Joseph E.

    2013-01-01

    Technological advances represent opportunities to enhance and supplement traditional fisheries sampling approaches. One example with growing importance for fisheries research is hydroacoustic technologies such as side-scan sonar. Advantages of side-scan sonar over traditional techniques include the ability to sample large areas efficiently and the potential to survey fish without physical handling-important for species of conservation concern, such as endangered sturgeons. Our objectives were to design an efficient survey methodology for sampling Atlantic Sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus by using side-scan sonar and to developmethods for analyzing these data. In North Carolina and South Carolina, we surveyed six rivers thought to contain varying abundances of sturgeon by using a combination of side-scan sonar, telemetry, and video cameras (i.e., to sample jumping sturgeon). Lower reaches of each river near the saltwater-freshwater interface were surveyed on three occasions (generally successive days), and we used occupancy modeling to analyze these data.We were able to detect sturgeon in five of six rivers by using these methods. Side-scan sonar was effective in detecting sturgeon, with estimated gear-specific detection probabilities ranging from 0.2 to 0.5 and river-specific occupancy estimates (per 2-km river segment) ranging from 0.0 to 0.8. Future extensions of this occupancy modeling framework will involve the use of side-scan sonar data to assess sturgeon habitat and abundance in different river systems.

  10. Sonar backscatter differentiation of dominant macrohabitat types in a hydrothermal vent field.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Durand, Sébastien; Legendre, Pierre; Juniper, S Kim

    2006-08-01

    Over the past 20 years, sonar remote sensing has opened ways of acquiring new spatial information on seafloor habitat and ecosystem properties. While some researchers are presently working to improve sonar methods so that broad-scale high-definition surveys can be effectively conducted for management purposes, others are trying to use these surveying techniques in more local areas. Because ecosystem management is scale-dependent, there is a need to acquire spatiotemporal knowledge over various scales to bridge the gap between already-acquired point-source data and information available at broader scales. Using a 675-kHz single-pencil-beam sonar mounted on the remotely operated vehicle ROPOS, 2200 m deep on the Juan de Fuca Ridge, East Pacific Rise, five dominant habitat types located in a hydrothermal vent field were identified and characterized by their sonar signatures. The data, collected at different altitudes from 1 to 10 m above the seafloor, were depth-normalized. We compared three ways of handling the echoes embedded in the backscatters to detect and differentiate the five habitat types; we examined the influence of footprint size on the discrimination capacity of the three methods; and we identified key variables, derived from echoes that characterize each habitat type. The first method used a set of variables describing echo shapes, and the second method used as variables the power intensity values found within the echoes, whereas the last method combined all these variables. Canonical discriminant analysis was used to discriminate among the five habitat types using the three methods. The discriminant models were constructed using 70% of the data while the remaining 30% were used for validation. The results showed that footprints 20-30 cm in diameter included a sufficient amount of spatial variation to make the sonar signatures sensitive to the habitat types, producing on average 82% correct classification. Smaller footprints produced lower percentages of

  11. Recent Developments in SOBEK Passive Sonar Technology

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hunter, A.J.; Fillinger, L.; Zampolli, M.; Clarijs, M.C.

    2012-01-01

    Surveillance of waterside locations for protection against threats from small fast surface vessels and underwater intruders is a very relevant but challenging problem. For this reason, the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) is developing SOBEK – a family of passive sonar

  12. Sensor Fusion - Sonar and Stereo Vision, Using Occupancy Grids and SIFT

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Plascencia, Alfredo; Bendtsen, Jan Dimon

    2006-01-01

    to the occupied and empty regions. SIFT (Scale Invariant Feature Transform) feature descriptors are  interpreted using gaussian probabilistic error models. The use of occupancy grids is proposed for representing the sonar  as well as the features descriptors readings. The Bayesian estimation approach is applied...... to update the sonar and the SIFT descriptors' uncertainty grids. The sensor fusion yields a significant reduction in the uncertainty of the occupancy grid compared to the individual sensor readings....

  13. Development of Discrete Power Supply with Charge Pump Method for High Powered Sonar System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kristian Ismail

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Power supply is one of the electronic devices that can provide electric energy for electronic systems or other systems. There are several types of power supplies that can be applied depend on the requirement and functions. One example is the use of power supply for sonar systems. Sonar system is a device which can be used to detect a target under water. The sonar system is an electronic circuit that requires a power supply with specific characteristics when the sonar functions as a transmitter and a receiver in the specific span time (when on and the specific lag time (when off. This paper discusses the design of power supply for high-powered sonar systems with discrete methods in which high power supply is only applied when the acoustic waves radiated under water. Charge pump was used to get the appropriate output voltage from lower input voltage. Charge pump utilized a combination of series and parallel connections of capacitors. The working mode of this power supply used the lag time as the calculation of time to charge charge pump capacitors in parallel while the span time was used for the calculation of discharging the charge pump capacitors in series.

  14. Biologically-inspired radar and sonar lessons from nature

    CERN Document Server

    Balleri, Alessio; Baker, Chris

    2017-01-01

    This book presents some of the recent work that has been carried out to investigate how sophisticated sensing techniques used in nature can be applied to radar and sonar systems to improve their performance.

  15. Side-Scan-Sonar Lines for Hudson River, NY

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Side Scan Sonar and Subbottom Profiler Tracklines. Data was collected November 5 to December 15, 2009, in the estuary north from Saugerties to Troy. Fugro utilized...

  16. Bathymetry mapping using a GPS-sonar equipped remote control boat: Application in waste stabilisation ponds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coggins, Liah; Ghadouani, Anas; Ghisalberti, Marco

    2014-05-01

    Traditionally, bathymetry mapping of ponds, lakes and rivers have used techniques which are low in spatial resolution, sometimes subjective in terms of precision and accuracy, labour intensive, and that require a high level of safety precautions. In waste stabilisation ponds (WSP) in particular, sludge heights, and thus sludge volume, are commonly measured using a sludge judge (a clear plastic pipe with length markings). A remote control boat fitted with a GPS-equipped sonar unit can improve the resolution of depth measurements, and reduce safety and labour requirements. Sonar devices equipped with GPS technology, also known as fish finders, are readily available and widely used by people in boating. Through the use of GPS technology in conjunction with sonar, the location and depth can be recorded electronically onto a memory card. However, despite its high applicability to the field, this technology has so far been underutilised. In the case of WSP, the sonar can measure the water depth to the top of the sludge layer, which can then be used to develop contour maps of sludge distribution and to determine sludge volume. The coupling of sonar technology with a remotely operative vehicle has several advantages of traditional measurement techniques, particularly in removing human subjectivity of readings, and the sonar being able to collect more data points in a shorter period of time, and continuously, with a much higher spatial resolution. The GPS-sonar equipped remote control boat has been tested on in excess of 50 WSP within Western Australia, and has shown a very strong correlation (R2 = 0.98) between spot readings taken with the sonar compared to a sludge judge. This has shown that the remote control boat with GPS-sonar device is capable of providing sludge bathymetry with greatly increased spatial resolution, while greatly reducing profiling time. Remotely operated vehicles, such as the one built in this study, are useful for not only determining sludge

  17. PMHT Approach for Multi-Target Multi-Sensor Sonar Tracking in Clutter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xiaohua; Li, Yaan; Yu, Jing; Chen, Xiao; Dai, Miao

    2015-11-06

    Multi-sensor sonar tracking has many advantages, such as the potential to reduce the overall measurement uncertainty and the possibility to hide the receiver. However, the use of multi-target multi-sensor sonar tracking is challenging because of the complexity of the underwater environment, especially the low target detection probability and extremely large number of false alarms caused by reverberation. In this work, to solve the problem of multi-target multi-sensor sonar tracking in the presence of clutter, a novel probabilistic multi-hypothesis tracker (PMHT) approach based on the extended Kalman filter (EKF) and unscented Kalman filter (UKF) is proposed. The PMHT can efficiently handle the unknown measurements-to-targets and measurements-to-transmitters data association ambiguity. The EKF and UKF are used to deal with the high degree of nonlinearity in the measurement model. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can improve the target tracking performance in a cluttered environment greatly, and its computational load is low.

  18. Improving Protection Agains Intruders Using Passive Sonar

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fillinger, L.; Hunter, A.J.; Zampolli, M.; Clarijs, M.C.; Verolme, J.L.

    2011-01-01

    Divers and small vessels are increasingly recognized as a potential threat to high value assets. Harbour and waterside surveillance systems that are used to counter the threat of divers are usually based on active sonar, whose performance can be limited by reverberation in a harbour environment.

  19. Groups of bats improve sonar efficiency through mutual suppression of pulse emissions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jenna eJarvis

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available How bats adapt their sonar behavior to accommodate the noisiness of a crowded day roost is a mystery. Some bats change their pulse acoustics to enhance the distinction between theirs and another bat’s echoes, but additional mechanisms are needed to explain the bat sonar system’s exceptional resilience to jamming by conspecifics. Variable pulse repetition rate strategies offer one potential solution to this dynamic problem, but precisely how changes in pulse rate could improve sonar performance in social settings is unclear. Here we show that bats decrease their emission rates as population density increases, following a pattern that reflects a cumulative mutual suppression of each other’s pulse emissions. Playback of artificially-generated echolocation pulses similarly slowed emission rates, demonstrating that suppression was mediated by hearing the pulses of other bats. Slower emission rates did not support an antiphonal emission strategy but did reduce the relative proportion of emitted pulses that overlapped with another bat’s emissions, reducing the relative rate of mutual interference. The prevalence of acoustic interferences occurring amongst bats was empirically determined to be a linear function of population density and mean emission rates. Consequently as group size increased, small reductions in emission rates spread across the group partially mitigated the increase in interference rate. Drawing on lessons learned from communications networking theory we show how modest decreases in pulse emission rates can significantly increase the net information throughput of the shared acoustic space, thereby improving sonar efficiency for all individuals in a group. We propose that an automated acoustic suppression of pulse emissions triggered by bats hearing each other's emissions dynamically optimizes sonar efficiency for the entire group.

  20. Modulation, resolution and signal processing in radar, sonar and related systems

    CERN Document Server

    Benjamin, R; Costrell, L

    1966-01-01

    Electronics and Instrumentation, Volume 35: Modulation, Resolution and Signal Processing in Radar, Sonar and Related Systems presents the practical limitations and potentialities of advanced modulation systems. This book discusses the concepts and techniques in the radar context, but they are equally essential to sonar and to a wide range of signaling and data-processing applications, including seismology, radio astronomy, and band-spread communications.Organized into 15 chapters, this volume begins with an overview of the principal developments sought in pulse radar. This text then provides a

  1. Sonar Headphone Selection for Optimum Performance: An Overview

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Russotti, Joseph

    1995-01-01

    .... The advantages and disadvantages of open and sealed circumaural headsets and recent developments in noise canceling headsets are discussed, along with the possibility of reducing noise levels in sonar spaces to permit use of higher fidelity headphone designs.

  2. Correlation Based Testing for Passive Sonar Picture Rationalization

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Mellema, Garfield R

    2007-01-01

    .... The sample correlation coefficient, is a statistical measure of relatedness. This paper describes the application of a test based on that measure to compare tracks produced by a probabilistic data association filter from a set of towed array sonar data. Keywords.

  3. Tongue-driven sonar beam steering by a lingual-echolocating fruit bat.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wu-Jung Lee

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Animals enhance sensory acquisition from a specific direction by movements of head, ears, or eyes. As active sensing animals, echolocating bats also aim their directional sonar beam to selectively "illuminate" a confined volume of space, facilitating efficient information processing by reducing echo interference and clutter. Such sonar beam control is generally achieved by head movements or shape changes of the sound-emitting mouth or nose. However, lingual-echolocating Egyptian fruit bats, Rousettus aegyptiacus, which produce sound by clicking their tongue, can dramatically change beam direction at very short temporal intervals without visible morphological changes. The mechanism supporting this capability has remained a mystery. Here, we measured signals from free-flying Egyptian fruit bats and discovered a systematic angular sweep of beam focus across increasing frequency. This unusual signal structure has not been observed in other animals and cannot be explained by the conventional and widely-used "piston model" that describes the emission pattern of other bat species. Through modeling, we show that the observed beam features can be captured by an array of tongue-driven sound sources located along the side of the mouth, and that the sonar beam direction can be steered parsimoniously by inducing changes to the pattern of phase differences through moving tongue location. The effects are broadly similar to those found in a phased array-an engineering design widely found in human-made sonar systems that enables beam direction changes without changes in the physical transducer assembly. Our study reveals an intriguing parallel between biology and human engineering in solving problems in fundamentally similar ways.

  4. Behavioral Response of Reef Fish and Green Sea Turtles to Midfrequency Sonar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watwood, Stephanie L; Iafrate, Joseph D; Reyier, Eric A; Redfoot, William E

    2016-01-01

    There is growing concern over the potential effects of high-intensity sonar on wild fish populations and commercial fisheries. Acoustic telemetry was employed to measure the movements of free-ranging reef fish and sea turtles in Port Canaveral, FL, in response to routine submarine sonar testing. Twenty-five sheepshead (Archosargus probatocephalus), 28 gray snapper (Lutjanus griseus), and 29 green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) were tagged, with movements monitored for a period of up to 4 months using an array of passive acoustic receivers. Baseline residency was examined for fish and sea turtles before, during, and after the test event. No mortality of tagged fish or sea turtles was evident from the sonar test event. There was a significant increase in the daily residency index for both sheepshead and gray snapper at the testing wharf subsequent to the event. No broad-scale movement from the study site was observed during or immediately after the test.

  5. Adaptive Port-Starboard Beamforming of Triplet Sonar Arrays

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Groen, J.; Beerens, S.P.; Been, R.; Doisy, Y.

    2005-01-01

    Abstract—For a low-frequency active sonar (LFAS) with a triplet receiver array, it is not clear in advance which signal processing techniques optimize its performance. Here, several advanced beamformers are analyzed theoretically, and the results are compared to experimental data obtained in sea

  6. MSPOT a performance optimisation tool for ASW sonar

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Beerens, S.P.; Benders, F.P.A.

    2012-01-01

    Several navies are operating or procuring low-frequency active sonar systems (LFAS) as the primary part of their ASW capability. Since LFAS is a relatively new sensor with a performance strongly depending on environmental conditions, the proper operational sensor settings, such as depth and pulse

  7. A risk function for behavioral disruption of Blainville's beaked whales (Mesoplodon densirostris from mid-frequency active sonar.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Moretti

    Full Text Available There is increasing concern about the potential effects of noise pollution on marine life in the world's oceans. For marine mammals, anthropogenic sounds may cause behavioral disruption, and this can be quantified using a risk function that relates sound exposure to a measured behavioral response. Beaked whales are a taxon of deep diving whales that may be particularly susceptible to naval sonar as the species has been associated with sonar-related mass stranding events. Here we derive the first empirical risk function for Blainville's beaked whales (Mesoplodon densirostris by combining in situ data from passive acoustic monitoring of animal vocalizations and navy sonar operations with precise ship tracks and sound field modeling. The hydrophone array at the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center, Bahamas, was used to locate vocalizing groups of Blainville's beaked whales and identify sonar transmissions before, during, and after Mid-Frequency Active (MFA sonar operations. Sonar transmission times and source levels were combined with ship tracks using a sound propagation model to estimate the received level (RL at each hydrophone. A generalized additive model was fitted to data to model the presence or absence of the start of foraging dives in 30-minute periods as a function of the corresponding sonar RL at the hydrophone closest to the center of each group. This model was then used to construct a risk function that can be used to estimate the probability of a behavioral change (cessation of foraging the individual members of a Blainville's beaked whale population might experience as a function of sonar RL. The function predicts a 0.5 probability of disturbance at a RL of 150 dBrms re µPa (CI: 144 to 155 This is 15dB lower than the level used historically by the US Navy in their risk assessments but 10 dB higher than the current 140 dB step-function.

  8. Applying multibeam sonar and mathematical modeling for mapping seabed substrate and biota of offshore shallows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herkül, Kristjan; Peterson, Anneliis; Paekivi, Sander

    2017-06-01

    Both basic science and marine spatial planning are in a need of high resolution spatially continuous data on seabed habitats and biota. As conventional point-wise sampling is unable to cover large spatial extents in high detail, it must be supplemented with remote sensing and modeling in order to fulfill the scientific and management needs. The combined use of in situ sampling, sonar scanning, and mathematical modeling is becoming the main method for mapping both abiotic and biotic seabed features. Further development and testing of the methods in varying locations and environmental settings is essential for moving towards unified and generally accepted methodology. To fill the relevant research gap in the Baltic Sea, we used multibeam sonar and mathematical modeling methods - generalized additive models (GAM) and random forest (RF) - together with underwater video to map seabed substrate and epibenthos of offshore shallows. In addition to testing the general applicability of the proposed complex of techniques, the predictive power of different sonar-based variables and modeling algorithms were tested. Mean depth, followed by mean backscatter, were the most influential variables in most of the models. Generally, mean values of sonar-based variables had higher predictive power than their standard deviations. The predictive accuracy of RF was higher than that of GAM. To conclude, we found the method to be feasible and with predictive accuracy similar to previous studies of sonar-based mapping.

  9. Sonar gas flux estimation by bubble insonification: application to methane bubble flux from seep areas in the outer Laptev Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leifer, Ira; Chernykh, Denis; Shakhova, Natalia; Semiletov, Igor

    2017-06-01

    Sonar surveys provide an effective mechanism for mapping seabed methane flux emissions, with Arctic submerged permafrost seepage having great potential to significantly affect climate. We created in situ engineered bubble plumes from 40 m depth with fluxes spanning 0.019 to 1.1 L s-1 to derive the in situ calibration curve (Q(σ)). These nonlinear curves related flux (Q) to sonar return (σ) for a multibeam echosounder (MBES) and a single-beam echosounder (SBES) for a range of depths. The analysis demonstrated significant multiple bubble acoustic scattering - precluding the use of a theoretical approach to derive Q(σ) from the product of the bubble σ(r) and the bubble size distribution where r is bubble radius. The bubble plume σ occurrence probability distribution function (Ψ(σ)) with respect to Q found Ψ(σ) for weak σ well described by a power law that likely correlated with small-bubble dispersion and was strongly depth dependent. Ψ(σ) for strong σ was largely depth independent, consistent with bubble plume behavior where large bubbles in a plume remain in a focused core. Ψ(σ) was bimodal for all but the weakest plumes. Q(σ) was applied to sonar observations of natural arctic Laptev Sea seepage after accounting for volumetric change with numerical bubble plume simulations. Simulations addressed different depths and gases between calibration and seep plumes. Total mass fluxes (Qm) were 5.56, 42.73, and 4.88 mmol s-1 for MBES data with good to reasonable agreement (4-37 %) between the SBES and MBES systems. The seepage flux occurrence probability distribution function (Ψ(Q)) was bimodal, with weak Ψ(Q) in each seep area well described by a power law, suggesting primarily minor bubble plumes. The seepage-mapped spatial patterns suggested subsurface geologic control attributing methane fluxes to the current state of subsea permafrost.

  10. On the environmental impact of continuous active sonar

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vossen, R. van; Spek, E. van der; Dekeling, R.P.A.; Beerens, S.P.; Lam, F.P.A.; Benda Beckmann, A.M. von

    2013-01-01

    Continuous Active Sonar (CAS) is an emerging technology in anti-submarine warfare operations. The feasibility of the technology has been demonstrated and it has been shown that CAS has a potential to reduce false alarm rates in reverberation-limited conditions. Now that the feasibility has been

  11. Archaeological use of Synthetic Aperture Sonar on deepwater wreck sites in Skagerrak

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Maarleveld, Thijs J.; Ødegård, Øyvind; Hansen, Roy E.

    2018-01-01

    Marine archaeological surveying in deep waters has so far been challenging, mainly due to operational and technological constraints. The standard tool has been Side Scan Sonar (SSS) towed behind a surface vessel. Synthetic Aperture Sonar (SAS) technology is not subject to the traditional range....../resolution tradeoff, and produces results of considerably higher quality than traditional SSS. In 2015 and 2016 a comprehensive mapping of wrecks in Skagerrak, a large deepwater area off the south coast of Norway was undertaken, using an interferometric SAS system deployed on an autonomous underwater vehicle...

  12. Contact-Level Multistatic Sonar Data Simulator for Tracker Performance Assessment

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Grimmett, Doug; Coraluppi, Stefano

    2006-01-01

    ...). A brief description of the simulation approach is given, which includes simple sonar equation modeling, resulting in sensor-to-sensor target fading effects, as well as contact localization modeling...

  13. 77 FR 52317 - Record of Decision for Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System Low Frequency Active Sonar

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-08-29

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Navy Record of Decision for Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System Low Frequency Active Sonar AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DoD. ACTION: Notice of decision... to employ up to four Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System Low Frequency Active (SURTASS LFA) sonar...

  14. Studies on a Spatialized Audio Interface for Sonar

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-10-03

    addition of spatialized audio to visual displays for sonar is much akin to the development of talking movies in the early days of cinema and can be...than using the brute-force approach. PCA is one among several techniques that share similarities with the computational architecture of a

  15. Boundary layer structure observed by Shipborne Doppler Sonar in the Suez Canal zone

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fiocco, G. (Rome Univ. (Italy). Ist. di Fisica); Mastrantonio, G.; Ricotta, A. (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Frascati (Italy). Lab. per il Plasma nello Spazio)

    Observations of the boundary layer with a monostatic Sonar and other instrumentation were carried out in the Suez canal zone in January and March 1979, from the Italian m.v. Salernum on its way to and from a GARP assignment. The Sonar was operated almost continuously throughout the passages. In addition to the intensity records, an off-line Doppler analysis involving the use of the fast Fourier transform of the digitized Sonar echoes has provided the vertical component w of the velocity. In general, because of efficient filtering and of the good quality of the data, a vertical profile of w has been determined for each transmitted pulse. During a prolonged stay in the Bitter lakes vertical profiles of temperature and humidity were also obtained by deploying a tethered balloon. Large temporal and spatial temperature contrasts exist in the canal zone due to the presence of the desert and of large and small bodies of water. The ensuring phenomenology during the time of observation was quite varied.

  16. Seafloor identification in sonar imagery via simulations of Helmholtz equations and discrete optimization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engquist, Björn; Frederick, Christina; Huynh, Quyen; Zhou, Haomin

    2017-06-01

    We present a multiscale approach for identifying features in ocean beds by solving inverse problems in high frequency seafloor acoustics. The setting is based on Sound Navigation And Ranging (SONAR) imaging used in scientific, commercial, and military applications. The forward model incorporates multiscale simulations, by coupling Helmholtz equations and geometrical optics for a wide range of spatial scales in the seafloor geometry. This allows for detailed recovery of seafloor parameters including material type. Simulated backscattered data is generated using numerical microlocal analysis techniques. In order to lower the computational cost of the large-scale simulations in the inversion process, we take advantage of a pre-computed library of representative acoustic responses from various seafloor parameterizations.

  17. AWARE Sonar and Sperm Whale Tagging (DE9906, EK500)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The AWARE sonar and sperm whale tagging cruise primarily focuses on whales in the continental shelf areas, with the following objectives: 1) Develop a better...

  18. AWARE Sonar and Sperm Whale Tagging (DE0007, EK500)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The AWARE sonar and sperm whale tagging cruise primarily focuses on whales in the continental shelf areas, with the following objectives: 1) Develop a better...

  19. IDENTIFIKASI PROFIL DASAR LAUT MENGGUNAKAN INSTRUMEN SIDE SCAN SONAR DENGAN METODE BEAM PATTERN DISCRETE-EQUI-SPACED UNSHADED LINE ARRAY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Zainuddin Lubis

    2017-05-01

    which was a sea of Riau Island in Indonesia. Side scan sonar (SSS is an instrument based on sonar system wich capable of showing the image of two-dimensional surface of the seabed with contour conditions, topography, and the underwater target simultaneously. Beam Pattern Discrete-equispaced unshaded Line Array Method is used to compute the two-dimensional beam pattern which depends on the angle of the incoming sound waves from the axis of the array are acceptable depending on the angle at which the sound beam array. This research was conducted in December 2016 in the sea Punggur, Batam, Riau Islands-Indonesia, with coordinate system  104 ° 08,7102 E and 1° 03,2448 N until 1 ° 03.3977N and 104 ° 08,8133 E,  using Side Scan Sonar Tow C-Max CM2 fish instruments with a frequency of 325 kHz. The Results obtained from the recording there are 7 targets, and Beam pattern of Discrete-Beam method Equi-Spaced unshaded Line Array in targets 4 have the highest value in the Pattern is 21:08 dB directivity. The results of the model's beam pattern have anaxis value at the incidence angle (o of the directivity pattern (dB are not on the value 0 or the central beam pattern generated on the target 6 with incident angle -1.5 o and 1.5o have declined by -40 dB. Characteristics of bottom sediment in the sea waters Punggur found more sand.Discrete-method result Beam Equi-Spaced unshaded Line Array discovered the sunken wreck. Keywords: Side Scan Sonar, Beam Pattern Discrete-Equi-Spaced Unshaded Line Array, Incidence angle, Directivity pattern

  20. Side-Scan_Sonar backscatter tiles for Hudson River, NY (.xtf)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Raw XTF files. Sonar data were collected November 6 to December 15, 2009, in the estuary north from Saugerties to Troy. Data Collection and Processing: The...

  1. Assessing Sonar Performance in Realistic Environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-10-01

    Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada (Department of National Defence), 2012 c© Sa Majesté la Reine en droit du Canada (Ministère de la Défense... Victoria Class submarine. Q316 included a number of objectives specific to the ASPIRE project. These included demonstrating the use of gliders for the... Victoria Class C3 Optimization’ for the high level architecture for synthetic environment simulations • 20EA05: ‘Support to CMS: Ruggedized Sonar Test

  2. Sonar atlas of caverns comprising the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Volume 2, Big Hill Site, Texas.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rautman, Christopher Arthur; Lord, Anna Snider

    2007-08-01

    Downhole sonar surveys from the four active U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve sites have been modeled and used to generate a four-volume sonar atlas, showing the three-dimensional geometry of each cavern. This volume 2 focuses on the Big Hill SPR site, located in southeastern Texas. Volumes 1, 3, and 4, respectively, present images for the Bayou Choctaw SPR site, Louisiana, the Bryan Mound SPR site, Texas, and the West Hackberry SPR site, Louisiana. The atlas uses a consistent presentation format throughout. The basic geometric measurements provided by the down-cavern surveys have also been used to generate a number of geometric attributes, the values of which have been mapped onto the geometric form of each cavern using a color-shading scheme. The intent of the various geometrical attributes is to highlight deviations of the cavern shape from the idealized cylindrical form of a carefully leached underground storage cavern in salt. The atlas format does not allow interpretation of such geometric deviations and anomalies. However, significant geometric anomalies, not directly related to the leaching history of the cavern, may provide insight into the internal structure of the relevant salt dome.

  3. Sonar atlas of caverns comprising the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Volume 1, Bayou Choctaw site, Louisiana.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rautman, Christopher Arthur; Lord, Anna Snider

    2007-10-01

    Downhole sonar surveys from the four active U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve sites have been modeled and used to generate a four-volume sonar atlas, showing the three-dimensional geometry of each cavern. This volume 1 focuses on the Bayou Choctaw SPR site, located in southern Louisiana. Volumes 2, 3, and 4, respectively, present images for the Big Hill SPR site, Texas, the Bryan Mound SPR site, Texas, and the West Hackberry SPR site, Louisiana. The atlas uses a consistent presentation format throughout. The basic geometric measurements provided by the down-cavern surveys have also been used to generate a number of geometric attributes, the values of which have been mapped onto the geometric form of each cavern using a color-shading scheme. The intent of the various geometrical attributes is to highlight deviations of the cavern shape from the idealized cylindrical form of a carefully leached underground storage cavern in salt. The atlas format does not allow interpretation of such geometric deviations and anomalies. However, significant geometric anomalies, not directly related to the leaching history of the cavern, may provide insight into the internal structure of the relevant salt dome.

  4. Sonar atlas of caverns comprising the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Volume 3, Bryan Mound Site, Texas.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rautman, Christopher Arthur; Lord, Anna Snider

    2007-09-01

    Downhole sonar surveys from the four active U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve sites have been modeled and used to generate a four-volume sonar atlas, showing the three-dimensional geometry of each cavern. This volume 3 focuses on the Bryan Mound SPR site, located in southeastern Texas. Volumes 1, 2, and 4, respectively, present images for the Bayou Choctaw SPR site, Louisiana, the Big Hill SPR site, Texas, and the West Hackberry SPR site, Louisiana. The atlas uses a consistent presentation format throughout. The basic geometric measurements provided by the down-cavern surveys have also been used to generate a number of geometric attributes, the values of which have been mapped onto the geometric form of each cavern using a color-shading scheme. The intent of the various geometrical attributes is to highlight deviations of the cavern shape from the idealized cylindrical form of a carefully leached underground storage cavern in salt. The atlas format does not allow interpretation of such geometric deviations and anomalies. However, significant geometric anomalies, not directly related to the leaching history of the cavern, may provide insight into the internal structure of the relevant salt dome.

  5. Sonar atlas of caverns comprising the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Volume 4, West Hackberry site, Louisiana.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rautman, Christopher Arthur; Lord, Anna Snider

    2007-09-01

    Downhole sonar surveys from the four active U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve sites have been modeled and used to generate a four-volume sonar atlas, showing the three-dimensional geometry of each cavern. This volume 4 focuses on the West Hackberry SPR site, located in southwestern Louisiana. Volumes 1, 2, and 3, respectively, present images for the Bayou Choctaw SPR site, Louisiana, the Big Hill SPR site, Texas, and the Bryan Mound SPR site, Texas. The atlas uses a consistent presentation format throughout. The basic geometric measurements provided by the down-cavern surveys have also been used to generate a number of geometric attributes, the values of which have been mapped onto the geometric form of each cavern using a color-shading scheme. The intent of the various geometrical attributes is to highlight deviations of the cavern shape from the idealized cylindrical form of a carefully leached underground storage cavern in salt. The atlas format does not allow interpretation of such geometric deviations and anomalies. However, significant geometric anomalies, not directly related to the leaching history of the cavern, may provide insight into the internal structure of the relevant salt dome.

  6. Cetacean Social Behavioral Response to Sonar Exposure

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-09-30

    likely a social response which anticipates against potential loss of social cohesion, which may be induced by masking of their communication signals...Discrimination of fast click series produced by Risso’s dolphins for echolocation or communication . Wensveen P. et al (in review). The effectiveness of ramp...up of naval sonar to reduce sound levels received by marine mammals : experimental tests with humpback whales. Kvadsheim et al. (2015). The 3S2

  7. Submarine Upward Looking Sonar Ice Draft Profile Data and Statistics

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set consists of upward looking sonar draft data collected by submarines in the Arctic Ocean. It includes data from both U.S. Navy and Royal Navy...

  8. mos113_0401r.tif -- Side scan sonar image from survey effort HMPR-113-2004-01r in the Olympic Coast national marine sanctuary.

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This side scan sonar imagery of the sea floor (50-80 m water depths) was mosaiced from acoustic data collected in 2004 aboard the NOAA ship McArthurII.A Klein System...

  9. mos119_0601c.tif-- Side scan sonar image from survey effort HMPR-119-2006-01c in the Olympic Coast national marine sanctuary.

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This side scan sonar imagery of the sea floor (120-210 m water depths) was mosaiced from acoustic data collected in April 2006 aboard the NOAA ship McArthurII. A...

  10. mos113_0401d.tif -- Side scan sonar image from survey effort HMPR-113-2004-01d in the Olympic Coast national marine sanctuary.

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This side scan sonar imagery of the sea floor (120-350 m water depths) was mosaiced from acoustic data collected in 2004 aboard the NOAA ship McArthurII. A Klein...

  11. mos119_0601a.tif-- Side scan sonar image from survey effort HMPR-119-2006-01a in the Olympic Coast national marine sanctuary.

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This side scan sonar imagery of the sea floor (90-270 m water depths) was mosaiced from acoustic data collected in April 2006 aboard the NOAA ship McArthurII.A Klein...

  12. mos118_0503a.tif -- Side scan sonar image from survey effort HMPR-118-2005-03a in the Olympic Coast national marine sanctuary.

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This side scan sonar imagery of the sea floor (140-350 m water depths) was mosaiced from acoustic data collected in 2005 aboard the NOAA ship McArthurII. A Klein...

  13. Object Classification in Semi Structured Enviroment Using Forward-Looking Sonar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matheus dos Santos

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The submarine exploration using robots has been increasing in recent years. The automation of tasks such as monitoring, inspection, and underwater maintenance requires the understanding of the robot’s environment. The object recognition in the scene is becoming a critical issue for these systems. On this work, an underwater object classification pipeline applied in acoustic images acquired by Forward-Looking Sonar (FLS are studied. The object segmentation combines thresholding, connected pixels searching and peak of intensity analyzing techniques. The object descriptor extract intensity and geometric features of the detected objects. A comparison between the Support Vector Machine, K-Nearest Neighbors, and Random Trees classifiers are presented. An open-source tool was developed to annotate and classify the objects and evaluate their classification performance. The proposed method efficiently segments and classifies the structures in the scene using a real dataset acquired by an underwater vehicle in a harbor area. Experimental results demonstrate the robustness and accuracy of the method described in this paper.

  14. Imaging beneath the skin of large tropical rivers: System morphodynamics of the Fly and Beni Rivers revealed by novel sub-surface sonar, deep coring, and modelling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aalto, R. E.; Grenfell, M.; Lauer, J. W.

    2011-12-01

    Tropical rivers dominate Earth's fluvial fluxes for water, carbon, and mineral sediment. They are characterized by large channels and floodplains, old system histories, prolonged periods of flooding, and a clay-dominated sediment flux. However, the underlying bed & floodplain strata are poorly understood. Available data commonly stem from skin-deep approaches such as GIS analysis of imagery, shallow sampling & topographic profiling during lower river stages. Given the large temporal & spatial scales, new approaches are needed to see below lag deposits on mobile sandy beds & deep into expansive floodbasins. Furthermore, such data are needed to test whether we can interpret large tropical river morphology using analogies to small temperate systems. Systems in a dynamic state of response to sea level rise or an increase/contrast in sediment load would provide especially valuable insight. Last August we conducted a field campaign along the Fly and Strickland Rivers in Papua New Guinea (discharge ~5,350 CMS) and this September we investigated the Beni River in Northern Bolivia (discharge ~3,500 CMS). Results were obtained using a novel measurement method: a high-power (>4kW) dual-frequency SyQwest sub-bottom profiler customized to best image 10-20m below the river/lake bed in shallow water. We were able to distinguish sandy deposits from harder clay and silt lenses and also collected bed grab samples to verify our sonar results. Deep borehole samples (5-15m), bank samples, and push cores confirmed observations from the sonar profiling. We simultaneously collected side-scan sonar imagery plus DGPS records of water/bed elevations that could be used to parameterize numerical models. We have now analyzed these results in some detail. Findings for the Fly River include: 1) The prevalence of hard clay beneath the bed of the Lower Fly River and many locations along the Strickland River, retarding migration; 2) Unusual bed morphology along the lower Middle Fly River, where the

  15. Robot path Planning Using  SIFT and Sonar Sensor Fusion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Plascencia, Alfredo; Raposo, Hector

    2007-01-01

    and evidential grid maps, respectively. The approach is illustrated using actual measurements from a laboratory robot. The sensory information is obtained from a sonar array and the Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) algorithm. Finally, the resulting two evidential maps based on Bayes and Dempster theories...

  16. Children's (Pediatric) Abdominal Ultrasound Imaging

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... video display screen and a transducer that is used to do the scanning. The transducer is a ... the body. The principles are similar to sonar used by boats and submarines. The ultrasound image is ...

  17. Sonar: a multibase and parametric interface software for SDI

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fonseca Passos, M.C.J. da

    1986-01-01

    Sonar - an automated service for selective dissemination of information (SDI) - developed by the Centro de Informacoes Nucleares (CIN) of the Comissao Nacional de Energia Nuclear (CNEN) is described. Emphasis is given to the multibase feature of the system based on the parametric interface between the system and an external data base reading subroutine. (Author) [pt

  18. Prospects for using sonar for underwater archeology on the Yenisei: surveying a 19th century shipwreck

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goncharov, A. E.; Mednikov, D. M.; Karelin, N. M.; Nasyrov, I. R.

    2016-11-01

    Current progress in underwater archeology is based on a rich arsenal of high-tech appliances, among which sonar technology plays a key role; it enables scientists not only to detect submerged archeological objects, but to examine them in high definition without having to conduct diving operations or use expensive underwater unmanned vehicles. While the majority of sensational scientific discoveries using sonar have been made in saltwater environments, freshwater ones, rivers in particular, have seen limited activity. The river Yenisei in central Siberia contains an unrecorded number of shipwrecks that await being discovered and studied. In this article we focus on the peculiarities of using sonar for detecting archeological sites on the Yenisei. This article is based on the results of the 2016 expedition, which has determined the location of Thames, a 19th century British steam schooner which was wrecked on the Yenisei.

  19. OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission Image Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chevres Fernandez, Lee Roger; Bos, Brent

    2018-01-01

    NASA’s Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission constitutes the “first-of-its-kind” project to thoroughly characterize a near-Earth asteroid. The selected asteroid is (101955) 1999 RQ36 (a.k.a. Bennu). The mission launched in September 2016, and the spacecraft will reach its asteroid target in 2018 and return a sample to Earth in 2023. The spacecraft that will travel to, and collect a sample from, Bennu has five integrated instruments from national and international partners. NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission spacecraft includes the Touch-And-Go Camera System (TAGCAMS) three camera-head instrument. The purpose of TAGCAMS is to provide imagery during the mission to facilitate navigation to the target asteroid, confirm acquisition of the asteroid sample and document asteroid sample stowage. Two of the TAGCAMS cameras, NavCam 1 and NavCam 2, serve as fully redundant navigation cameras to support optical navigation and natural feature tracking. The third TAGCAMS camera, StowCam, provides imagery to assist with and confirm proper stowage of the asteroid sample. Analysis of spacecraft imagery acquired by the TAGCAMS during cruise to the target asteroid Bennu was performed using custom codes developed in MATLAB. Assessment of the TAGCAMS in-flight performance using flight imagery was done to characterize camera performance. One specific area of investigation that was targeted was bad pixel mapping. A recent phase of the mission, known as the Earth Gravity Assist (EGA) maneuver, provided images that were used for the detection and confirmation of “questionable” pixels, possibly under responsive, using image segmentation analysis. Ongoing work on point spread function morphology and camera linearity and responsivity will also be used for calibration purposes and further analysis in preparation for proximity operations around Bennu. Said analyses will provide a broader understanding

  20. Monitoring the US ATLAS Network Infrastructure with perfSONAR-PS

    CERN Document Server

    McKee, S; The ATLAS collaboration; Laurens, P; Severini, H; Wlodek, T; Wolff, S; Zurawski, J

    2012-01-01

    We will present our motivations for deploying and using the perfSONAR-PS Performance Toolkit at ATLAS sites in the United States and describe our experience in using it. This software creates a dedicated monitoring server, capable of collecting and performing a wide range of passive and active network measurements. Each independent instance is managed locally, but able to federate on a global scale; enabling a full view of the network infrastructure that spans domain boundaries. This information, available through web service interfaces, can easily be retrieved to create customized applications. USATLAS has developed a centralized “dashboard” offering network administrators, users, and decision makers the ability to see the performance of the network at a glance. The dashboard framework includes the ability to notify users (alarm) when problems are found, thus allowing rapid response to potential problems and making perfSONAR-PS crucial to the operation of our distributed computing infrastructure.

  1. Reduced Inhibition of Return to Food Images in Obese Individuals.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Megan A Carters

    Full Text Available Previous research has shown that obese individuals may be biased towards attending to food over non-food information, and this bias may contribute to the development and/or maintenance of obesity. The present study sought to extend our understanding of maladaptive attentional processing in this population by investigating whether obese individuals have difficulty in disengaging attention from food compared with non-food images, relative to normal-weight controls. To address this question, we measured inhibition of return (IOR in an attentional cueing task. The participants were 29 obese and 35 normal-weight satiated females without eating disorders. The obese group displayed less IOR to food images than the normal-weight group, while there was no difference in IOR between the groups for non-food images. This suggests that obese females have greater difficulty disengaging attention from food than normal-weight females. Our findings provide a new focus for studies investigating maintenance factors in obesity and are discussed in relation to a theory of incentive-sensitisation.

  2. 'Merge' - A Filter for the Fusion of Dual-Frequency Sidescan Sonar Data

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Neill, Roger

    1997-01-01

    A filtering and data fusion technique is described which uses the correlation between the two data streams of a dual-frequency sidescan sonar in order to discriminate against noise and preferentially...

  3. Sperm whales reduce foraging effort during exposure to 1-2 kHz sonar and killer whale sounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Isojunno, Saana; Cure, Charlotte; Kvadsheim, Petter Helgevold; Lam, Frans-Peter Alexander; Tyack, Peter Lloyd; Wensveen, Paul Jacobus; Miller, Patrick James O'Malley

    2016-01-01

    The time and energetic costs of behavioral responses to incidental and experimental sonar exposures, as well as control stimuli, were quantified using hidden state analysis of time series of acoustic and movement data recorded by tags (DTAG) attached to 12 sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) using suction cups. Behavioral state transition modeling showed that tagged whales switched to a non-foraging, non-resting state during both experimental transmissions of low-frequency active sonar from an approaching vessel (LFAS; 1-2 kHz, source level 214 dB re 1 µPa m, four tag records) and playbacks of potential predator (killer whale, Orcinus orca) sounds broadcast at naturally occurring sound levels as a positive control from a drifting boat (five tag records). Time spent in foraging states and the probability of prey capture attempts were reduced during these two types of exposures with little change in overall locomotion activity, suggesting an effect on energy intake with no immediate compensation. Whales switched to the active non-foraging state over received sound pressure levels of 131-165 dB re 1 µPa during LFAS exposure. In contrast, no changes in foraging behavior were detected in response to experimental negative controls (no-sonar ship approach or noise control playback) or to experimental medium-frequency active sonar exposures (MFAS; 6-7 kHz, source level 199 re 1 µPa m, received sound pressure level [SPL] = 73-158 dB re 1 µPa). Similarly, there was no reduction in foraging effort for three whales exposed to incidental, unidentified 4.7-5.1 kHz sonar signals received at lower levels (SPL = 89-133 dB re 1 µPa). These results demonstrate that similar to predation risk, exposure to sonar can affect functional behaviors, and indicate that increased perception of risk with higher source level or lower frequency may modulate how sperm whales respond to anthropogenic sound.

  4. New sonar waveforms for active torpedo warning using an LFAS system

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    IJsselmuide, S.P. van; Beerens, S.P.; Doisy, Y.; Deruaz, L.

    2003-01-01

    Low Frequency Active Sonar (LFAS) systems are originally designed for ASW purposes. Although their main purpose is detection of submarines, they can, if adjusted waveforms are transmitted, also be used for detection of small fast moving targets (torpedoes). In this study the Detection,

  5. Mega Scale Constructions and Art on Deep Gulf of Mexico Sonar Images Reveal Extensive Very Ancient Civilizations. Radical Holocene Climate Changes May Relate to Large Shifts in Gulf Surface Areas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, R. L.

    2017-12-01

    Enhanced images from subsea sonar scanning of the Western Gulf of Mexico have revealed quite large temples (4 km. in length), ruins of cities (14 km. by 11 km.), pyramids, amphitheaters, and many other structures. Some human faces have beards implying much earlier migrations of Europeans or North Africans. Several temples have paleo astronomy alignments and similarities to Stone Henge. Southern and Southwestern USA satellite land images display characteristics in common with several subsea designs. Water depths indicate that many structures go back about as far as the late Ice Age and are likely to be over ten thousand years old. Chronologies of civilizations, especially in North America will need to be seriously reconsidered. Greatly rising sea levels and radical climate changes must have helped to destroy relatively advanced cultures. Suprisingly deep water depths of many architectures provide evidence for closures within the Gulf of Mexico to open seas. Closures and openings may have influenced ancient radical climate swings between warmth and cooling as Gulf contributions to water temperatures contracted or expanded. These creations of very old and surprisingly advanced civilizations need protection.

  6. Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Acute Hamstring Injury: Can We Provide a Return to Play Prognosis?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Reurink, Gustaaf; Brilman, Elisabeth G.; de Vos, Robert-Jan; Maas, Mario; Moen, Maarten H.; Weir, Adam; Goudswaard, Gert Jan; Tol, Johannes L.

    2015-01-01

    Background Sports physicians are increasingly requested to perform magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of acute hamstring muscle injuries and to provide a prognosis of the time to return to play (RTP) on the basis of their findings. Objectives To systematically review the literature on the prognostic

  7. Highly dynamic biological seabed alterations revealed by side scan sonar tracking of Lanice conchilega beds offshore the island of Sylt (German Bight)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heinrich, C.; Feldens, P.; Schwarzer, K.

    2017-06-01

    Hydroacoustic surveys are common tools for habitat investigation and monitoring that aid in the realisation of the aims of the EU Marine Directives. However, the creation of habitat maps is difficult, especially when benthic organisms densely populate the seafloor. This study assesses the sensitivity of entropy and homogeneity image texture parameters derived from backscatter strength data to benthic habitats dominated by the tubeworm Lanice conchilega. Side scan sonar backscatter surveys were carried out in 2010 and 2011 in the German Bight (southern North Sea) at two sites approx. 20 km offshore of the island of Sylt. Abiotic and biotic seabed facies, such as sorted bedforms, areas of fine to medium sand and L. conchilega beds with different tube densities, were identified and characterised based on manual expert analysis and image texture analysis. Ground truthing was performed by grab sampling and underwater video observations. Compared to the manual expert analysis, the k- means classification of image textures proves to be a semi-automated method to investigate small-scale differences in a biologically altered seabed from backscatter data. The texture parameters entropy and homogeneity appear linearly interrelated with tube density, the former positively and the latter negatively. Reinvestigation of one site after 1 year showed an extensive change in the distribution of the L. conchilega-altered seabed. Such marked annual fluctuations in L. conchilega tube cover demonstrate the need for dense time series and high spatial coverage to meaningfully monitor ecological patterns on the seafloor with acoustic backscatter methods in the study region and similar settings worldwide, particularly because the sand mason plays a pivotal role in promoting biodiversity. In this context, image texture analysis provides a cost-effective and reproducible method to track biologically altered seabeds from side scan sonar backscatter signatures.

  8. U.S. and Australian Mine Warfare Sonar Performance Assessment Using SWAT and Hodgson Models

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Dubsky, Barbra

    2000-01-01

    The purpose of this thesis was to investigate a shallow coastal region to compile a detailed environmental picture of its sediment composition and water characteristics and from this model MCM sonar...

  9. Neural network modeling of a dolphin's sonar discrimination capabilities

    OpenAIRE

    Andersen, Lars Nonboe; René Rasmussen, A; Au, WWL; Nachtigall, PE; Roitblat, H.

    1994-01-01

    The capability of an echo-locating dolphin to discriminate differences in the wall thickness of cylinders was previously modeled by a counterpropagation neural network using only spectral information of the echoes [W. W. L. Au, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 95, 2728–2735 (1994)]. In this study, both time and frequency information were used to model the dolphin discrimination capabilities. Echoes from the same cylinders were digitized using a broadband simulated dolphin sonar signal with the transducer ...

  10. Application of passive sonar technology to mineral processing and oil sands applications : if you can measure it, you can manage it

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    O' Keefe, C.; Viega, J.; Fernald, M. [CiDRA Corp., Wallingford, CT (United States)

    2007-07-01

    SONAR-based flow and entrained air measurement instruments were described. This new class of industrial flow and compositional analyzers was developed by CiDRA to provide new measurement insight and quantifiable value to industrial process operators. Passive sonar array-based processing units have been installed worldwide in several industrial applications and are particularly suited for a wide range of mineral processing applications, including slurry flow rate measurement and fluid characterization. This paper also described the SONAR-based, clamp-on SONARtrac technology, a scalable platform that provides several other value added measurements and information such as speed of sound, entrained air/gas, gas hold-up, and velocity profile. Oil sands, tailings and bitumen slurries present considerable measurement challenges for in-line flow measurement devices in terms of measurement accuracy, reliability and maintenance. The sonar-based technology platform has been used in a variety of oil sands processes, hydrotransport, and minerals beneficiation applications. This paper described these applications with particular reference to difficult slurry flow measurement and control in the areas of comminution and flotation such as mill discharge, hydrocyclone feed/overflow, final concentrate, thickener discharge, and tailings. 5 refs., 4 tabs., 23 figs.

  11. The Blackboard Model of Computer Programming Applied to the Interpretation of Passive Sonar Data

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Liebing, David

    1997-01-01

    ... (location, course, speed, classification, etc.). At present the potential volume of data produced by modern sonar systems is so large that unless some form of computer assistance is provided with the interpretation of this data, information...

  12. High frequency sonar variability in littoral environments: Irregular particles and bubbles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richards, Simon D.; Leighton, Timothy G.; White, Paul R.

    2002-11-01

    Littoral environments may be characterized by high concentrations of suspended particles. Such suspensions contribute to attenuation through visco-inertial absorption and scattering and may therefore be partially responsible for the observed variability in high frequency sonar performance in littoral environments. Microbubbles which are prevalent in littoral waters also contribute to volume attenuation through radiation, viscous and thermal damping and cause dispersion. The attenuation due to a polydisperse suspension of particles with depth-dependent concentration has been included in a sonar model. The effects of a depth-dependent, polydisperse population of microbubbles on attenuation, sound speed and volume reverberation are also included. Marine suspensions are characterized by nonspherical particles, often plate-like clay particles. Measurements of absorption in dilute suspensions of nonspherical particles have shown disagreement with predictions of spherical particle models. These measurements have been reanalyzed using three techniques for particle sizing: laser diffraction, gravitational sedimentation, and centrifugal sedimentation, highlighting the difficulty of characterizing polydisperse suspensions of irregular particles. The measurements have been compared with predictions of a model for suspensions of oblate spheroids. Excellent agreement is obtained between this model and the measurements for kaolin particles, without requiring any a priori knowledge of the measurements.

  13. Elemental Composition of Mars Return Samples Using X-Ray Fluorescence Imaging at the National Synchrotron Light Source II

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thieme, J.; Hurowitz, J. A.; Schoonen, M. A.; Fogelqvist, E.; Gregerson, J.; Farley, K. A.; Sherman, S.; Hill, J.

    2018-04-01

    NSLS-II at BNL provides a unique and critical capability to perform assessments of the elemental composition and the chemical state of Mars returned samples using synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence imaging and X-ray absorption spectroscopy.

  14. Recommendations for improved and coherent acquisition and processing of backscatter data from seafloor-mapping sonars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lamarche, Geoffroy; Lurton, Xavier

    2018-06-01

    Multibeam echosounders are becoming widespread for the purposes of seafloor bathymetry mapping, but the acquisition and the use of seafloor backscatter measurements, acquired simultaneously with the bathymetric data, are still insufficiently understood, controlled and standardized. This presents an obstacle to well-accepted, standardized analysis and application by end users. The Marine Geological and Biological Habitat Mapping group (Geohab.org) has long recognized the need for better coherence and common agreement on acquisition, processing and interpretation of seafloor backscatter data, and established the Backscatter Working Group (BSWG) in May 2013. This paper presents an overview of this initiative, the mandate, structure and program of the working group, and a synopsis of the BSWG Guidelines and Recommendations to date. The paper includes (1) an overview of the current status in sensors and techniques available in seafloor backscatter data from multibeam sonars; (2) the presentation of the BSWG structure and results; (3) recommendations to operators, end-users, sonar manufacturers, and software developers using sonar backscatter for seafloor-mapping applications, for best practice methods and approaches for data acquisition and processing; and (4) a discussion on the development needs for future systems and data processing. We propose for the first time a nomenclature of backscatter processing levels that affords a means to accurately and efficiently describe the data processing status, and to facilitate comparisons of final products from various origins.

  15. Slope angle studies from multibeam sonar data on three seamounts in Central Indian Basin

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Kodagali, V.N.

    Slope angles are powerful morphometric tools. Slope angle studies in manganese nodule areas using the Multi Beam Sonar (MBS) data is useful to the mining geologist. A technique to convert depth grid generated from MBS data to slope angle values data...

  16. Fourier beamformation of multistatic synthetic aperture ultrasound imaging

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Moghimirad, Elahe; Villagómez Hoyos, Carlos Armando; Mahloojifar, Ali

    2015-01-01

    A new Fourier beamformation (FB) algorithm is presented for multistatic synthetic aperture ultrasound imaging. It can reduce the number of computations by a factor of 20 compared to conventional Delay-and-Sum (DAS) beamformers. The concept is based on the wavenumber algorithm from radar and sonar...

  17. Cost-Effective Mapping of Benthic Habitats in Inland Reservoirs through Split-Beam Sonar, Indicator Kriging, and Historical Geologic Data

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Venteris, Erik R.; May, Cassandra

    2014-04-23

    Because bottom substrate composition is an important control on the temporal and spatial location of the aquatic community, accurate maps of benthic habitats of inland lakes and reservoirs provide valuable information to managers, recreational users, and scientists. Therefore, we collected vertical, split-beam sonar data (roughness [E1], hardness [E2], and bathymetry) and sediment samples to make such maps. Statistical calibration between sonar parameters and sediment classes was problematic because the E1:E2 ratios for soft (muck and clay) sediments overlapped a lower and narrower range for hard (gravel) substrates. Thus, we used indicator kriging (IK) to map the probability that unsampled locations did not contain coarse sediments. To overcome the calibration issue we tested proxies for the natural processes and anthropogenic history of the reservoir as potential predictive variables. Of these, a geologic map proved to be the most useful. The central alluvial valley and mudflats contained mainly muck and organic-rich clays. The surrounding glacial till and shale bedrock uplands contained mainly poorly sorted gravels. Anomalies in the sonar data suggested that the organic-rich sediments also contained trapped gases, presenting additional interpretive issues for the mapping. We extended the capability of inexpensive split-beam sonar units through the incorporation of historic geologic maps and other records as well as validation with dredge samples. Through the integration of information from multiple data sets, were able to objectively identify bottom substrate and provide reservoir users with an accurate map of available benthic habitat.

  18. Combining split-beam and dual-frequency identification sonars to estimate abundance of anadromous fishes in the Roanoke River, North Carolina

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hughes, Jacob B.; Hightower, Joseph E.

    2015-01-01

    Riverine hydroacoustic techniques are an effective method for evaluating abundance of upstream migrating anadromous fishes. To use these methods in the Roanoke River, North Carolina, at a wide site with uneven bottom topography, we used a combination of split-beam sonar and dual-frequency identification sonar (DIDSON) deployments. We aimed a split-beam sonar horizontally to monitor midchannel and near-bottom zones continuously over the 3-month spring monitoring periods in 2010 and 2011. The DIDSON was rotated between seven cross-channel locations (using a vertical aim) and nearshore regions (using horizontal aims). Vertical deployment addressed blind spots in split-beam coverage along the bottom and provided reliable information about the cross-channel and vertical distributions of upstream migrants. Using a Bayesian framework, we modeled sonar counts within four cross-channel strata and apportioned counts by species using species proportions from boat electrofishing and gill netting. Modeled estimates (95% credible intervals [CIs]) of total upstream migrants in 2010 and 2011 were 2.5 million (95% CI, 2.4–2.6 million) and 3.6 million (95% CI, 3.4–3.9 million), respectively. Results indicated that upstream migrants are extremely shore- and bottom-oriented, suggesting nearshore DIDSON monitoring improved the accuracy and precision of our estimates. This monitoring protocol and model may be widely applicable to river systems regardless of their cross-sectional width or profile.

  19. Experiences from using Autonomous Underwater Vehicles and Synthetic Aperture Sonar for Sediment and Habitat Mapping

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thorsnes, T.; Bjarnadóttir, L. R.

    2017-12-01

    Emerging platforms and tools like autonomous underwater vehicles and synthetic aperture sonars provide interesting opportunities for making seabed mapping more efficient and precise. Sediment grain-size maps are an important product in their own right and a key input for habitat and biotope maps. National and regional mapping programmes are tasked with mapping large areas, and survey efficiency, data quality, and resulting map confidence are important considerations when selecting the mapping strategy. Since 2005, c. 175,000 square kilometres of the Norwegian continental shelf and continental slope has been mapped with respect to sediments, habitats and biodiversity, and pollution under the MAREANO programme (www.mareano.no). At present the sediment mapping is based on a combination of ship-borne multibeam bathymetry and backscatter, visual documentation using a towed video platform, and grab sampling. We have now tested a new approach, using an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) as the survey platform for the collection of acoustic data (Synthetic Aperture Sonar (SAS), EM2040 bathymetry and backscatter) and visual data (still images using a TFish colour photo system). This pilot project was conducted together the Norwegian Hydrographic Service, the Institute of Marine Research (biology observations) and the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (operation of ship and AUV). The test site reported here is the Vesterdjupet area, offshore Lofoten, northern Norway. The water depth is between 170 and 300 metres, with sediments ranging from gravel, cobbles and boulders to sandy mud. A cold-water coral reef, associated with bioclastic sediments was also present in the study area. The presentation will give an overview of the main findings and experiences gained from this pilot project with a focus on geological mapping and will also discuss the relevance of AUV-based mapping to large-area mapping programmes like MAREANO.

  20. Partial anomalous pulmonary venous return in Turner syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van den Hoven, Allard T; Chelu, Raluca G; Duijnhouwer, Anthonie L; Demulier, Laurent; Devos, Daniel; Nieman, Koen; Witsenburg, Maarten; van den Bosch, Annemien E; Loeys, Bart L; van Hagen, Iris M; Roos-Hesselink, Jolien W

    2017-10-01

    The aim of this study is to describe the prevalence, anatomy, associations and clinical impact of partial anomalous pulmonary venous return in patients with Turner syndrome. All Turner patients who presented at our Turner clinic, between January 2007 and October 2015 were included in this study and underwent ECG, echocardiography and advanced imaging such as cardiac magnetic resonance or computed tomography as part of their regular clinical workup. All imaging was re-evaluated and detailed anatomy was described. Partial anomalous pulmonary venous return was diagnosed in 24 (25%) out of 96 Turner patients included and 14 (58%) of these 24 partial anomalous pulmonary venous return had not been reported previously. Right atrial or ventricular dilatation was present in 11 (46%) of 24 partial anomalous pulmonary venous return patients. When studied with advanced imaging modalities and looked for with specific attention, PAPVR is found in 1 out of 4 Turner patients. Half of these patients had right atrial and/or ventricular dilatation. Evaluation of pulmonary venous return should be included in the standard protocol in all Turner patients. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  1. Data fusion from multiple passive sonar nodes for target localisation and false alarm reduction

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hunter, A.J.; Fillinger, L.; Zampolli, M.; Clarijs, M.C.

    2012-01-01

    A PHD particle filter implementation has been detailed for the fusion of measurements from multiple passive sonar nodes. It has been demonstrated on simulated metadata and on experimental passive acoustic data of divers and small boats collected in an operational port environment. Fusion at the

  2. Sonar sound groups and increased terminal buzz duration reflect task complexity in hunting bats

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hulgard, K.; Ratcliffe, J. M.

    2016-01-01

    to prey under presumably more difficult conditions. Specifically, we found Daubenton's bats, Myotis daubentonii, produced longer buzzes when aerial-hawking versus water-trawling prey, but that bats taking revolving air- and water-borne prey produced more sonar sound groups than did the bats when taking...

  3. Far-field super-resolution imaging of resonant multiples

    KAUST Repository

    Guo, Bowen

    2016-05-20

    We demonstrate for the first time that seismic resonant multiples, usually considered as noise, can be used for super-resolution imaging in the far-field region of sources and receivers. Tests with both synthetic data and field data show that resonant multiples can image reflector boundaries with resolutions more than twice the classical resolution limit. Resolution increases with the order of the resonant multiples. This procedure has important applications in earthquake and exploration seismology, radar, sonar, LIDAR (light detection and ranging), and ultrasound imaging, where the multiples can be used to make high-resolution images.

  4. Cost-effective mapping of benthic habitats in inland reservoirs through split-beam sonar, indicator kriging, and historical geologic data.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erik R Venteris

    Full Text Available Because bottom substrate composition is an important control on the temporal and spatial location of the aquatic community, accurate maps of benthic habitats of inland lakes and reservoirs provide valuable information to managers, recreational users, and scientists. Therefore, we collected vertical, split-beam sonar data (roughness [E1], hardness [E2], and bathymetry and sediment samples to make such maps. Statistical calibration between sonar parameters and sediment classes was problematic because the E1:E2 ratios for soft (muck and clay sediments overlapped a lower and narrower range for hard (gravel substrates. Thus, we used indicator kriging (IK to map the probability that unsampled locations did not contain coarse sediments. To overcome the calibration issue we tested proxies for the natural processes and anthropogenic history of the reservoir as potential predictive variables. Of these, a geologic map proved to be the most useful. The central alluvial valley and mudflats contained mainly muck and organic-rich clays. The surrounding glacial till and shale bedrock uplands contained mainly poorly sorted gravels. Anomalies in the sonar data suggested that the organic-rich sediments also contained trapped gases, presenting additional interpretive issues for the mapping. We extended the capability of inexpensive split-beam sonar units through the incorporation of historic geologic maps and other records as well as validation with dredge samples. Through the integration of information from multiple data sets, were able to objectively identify bottom substrate and provide reservoir users with an accurate map of available benthic habitat.

  5. Advanced signal processing theory and implementation for sonar, radar, and non-invasive medical diagnostic systems

    CERN Document Server

    Stergiopoulos, Stergios

    2009-01-01

    Integrates topics of signal processing from sonar, radar, and medical system technologies by identifying their concept similarities. This book covers non-invasive medical diagnostic system applications, including intracranial ultrasound, a technology that attempts to address non-invasive detection on brain injuries and stroke.

  6. SIMONA: A multi-purpose acoustic data simulator for development and testing of sonar signal processing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Robert, M.K.; Groen, J.; Konijnendijk, N.J.

    2005-01-01

    The development of undersea defence technologies such as sonar relies heavily on the availability of high quality acoustic data. However, data acquisition is particularly expensive as sea trials involve experienced manpower and costly high-tech equipment. Also, at sea, the environment remains

  7. Killer whale presence in relation to naval sonar activity and prey abundance in northern Norway

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kuningas, S.; Kvadsheim, P.H.; Lam, F.P.A.; Miller, P.J.O.

    2013-01-01

    In this study, retrospective data on naval sonar activity and prey abundance were correlated with killer whale sightings within a fjord basin in northern Norway. In addition, passive acoustic and visual marine mammal surveys were conducted before, during, and after a specific navy exercise in 2006.

  8. Final report of DOE project "Detection, Localization and Diagnosis of Performance Problems Using PerfSONAR"

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dovrolis, Konstantinos [Georgia Tech

    2014-04-15

    We present the development of a middleware service, called Pythia, that is able to detect, localize, and diagnose performance problems in the network paths that interconnect research sites that are of interest to DOE. The proposed service can analyze perfSONAR data collected from all participating sites.

  9. Wall-corner classification using sonar: a new approach based on geometric features.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez, Milagros; Benet, Ginés

    2010-01-01

    Ultrasonic signals coming from rotary sonar sensors in a robot gives us several features about the environment. This enables us to locate and classify the objects in the scenario of the robot. Each object and reflector produces a series of peaks in the amplitude of the signal. The radial and angular position of the sonar sensor gives information about location and their amplitudes offer information about the nature of the surface. Early works showed that the amplitude can be modeled and used to classify objects with very good results at short distances-80% average success in classifying both walls and corners at distances less than 1.5 m. In this paper, a new set of geometric features derived from the amplitude analysis of the echo is presented. These features constitute a set of characteristics that can be used to improve the results of classification at distances from 1.5 m to 4 m. Also, a comparative study on classification algorithms widely used in pattern recognition techniques has been carried out for sensor distances ranging between 0.5 to 4 m, and with incidence angles ranging between 20° to 70°. Experimental results show an enhancement on the success in classification rates when these geometric features are considered.

  10. The correlation between the imaging characteristics of hamstring injury and time required before returning to sports: a literature review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Svensson, Kjell; Alricsson, Marie; Eckerman, Mattias; Magounakis, Theofilos; Werner, Suzanne

    2016-06-01

    Injuries to the hamstring muscles are common in athletes. Track and field, Australian football, American football and soccer are examples of sports where hamstring injuries are the most common. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there is a correlation between a hamstring injury prognosis and its characteristics of imaging parameters. The literature search was performed in the databases PubMed and CINAHL, and eleven articles were included. Seven out of the 11 articles showed a correlation between the size of the hamstring injury and length of time required before returning to sports. Different authors have reported contrasting results about length of time required before returning to sports due to location of injury within specific muscle. Majority of the articles found hamstring strain correlated to an extended amount of time required before returning to sports.

  11. High-resolution imaging of the spine in young infants with a loop-gap resonator remote current return coil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ball, W.S.; Prenger, E.C.; Auringer, S.T.

    1989-01-01

    MR imaging of the young child's spin requires proper selection of surface coils and pulse sequences that optimize resolution. The authors report the use in the infant spine of a new coil design in combination with specialized pulse sequences, such as fat suppression. Thirty children underwent spine MR imaging with a loop-gap resonator remote current return (RCR) coil. Spin-echo T1-weighted, T2-weighted, and T1-weighted fat-suppression pulse sequences were performed on a 1.5-T imager. Twelve patients had normal studies, 14 had spinal dysraphism, two had drop metastases, and two had paravertebral masses. Twelve initial patients had comparison images obtained with a 5-inch general-purpose surface coil. Similar pulse sequences were used for each coil. Image were compared diagnostically and for resolution based on the ability to discriminate small intrathecal structures

  12. 3S2: Behavioral Response Studies of Cetaceans to Navy Sonar Signals in Norwegian Waters

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-09-30

    Sonar Signals in Norwegian Waters Peter L. Tyack University of St Andrews School of Biology Scottish Oceans Institute East Sands St Andrews...with a tagged minke whale. Data in the top 4 panels were derived from observations from the trackboat (‘ MOB ’). Note the strong change in diving

  13. 75 FR 81284 - Nationwide Use of High Frequency and Ultra High Frequency Active SONAR Technology; Draft...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-27

    ... Frequency and Ultra High Frequency Active SONAR Technology; Draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment and... Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) for the Nationwide Use of High Frequency (HF) and Ultra High... potential impacts of each alternative on the human and natural environments. DATES: Comments and related...

  14. 78 FR 70567 - Nationwide Use of High Frequency and Ultra High Frequency Active SONAR Technology; Final...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-11-26

    ... Frequency and Ultra High Frequency Active SONAR Technology; Final Programmatic Environmental Assessment and... each alternative on the human and natural environments. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have... Programmatic Environmental Assessment The scope of the PEA focuses on potential impacts associated with the...

  15. Seafloor Characterisation of the Gakkel Ridge using Multibeam Sonar, Backscatter and Sidescan Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hatzky, J.; Schenke, H. W.

    2003-04-01

    The Gakkel Ridge in the Arctic Ocean was the object of the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge Expedition (AMORE) which was carried out by the research icebreakers R/V "Polarstern" (Germany) and USCGC "Healy" (USA) in the boreal summer 2001. This largely unexplored mid-ocean ridge (MOR) is of particular scientific interest due to its volcanic activity and tectonic structure. With spreading rates of 13mm/a in the western and 6 mm/a in the eastern part Gakkel Ridge is the slowest spreading MOR on earth (Michael et al., 2001). The surveyed area which is situated between 82°N / 8°W and 87°N / 75°E has a length of 8890 km and a varying width from 18 to 46 km. The range of measured depths reaches from 566 m on the top of a huge seamount to 5673 m in the central rift valley. Prominent underwater features of remarkable morphologic diversity (e.g. small volcanoes embedded in massive ridge flanks) were discovered in this region. One of the most important goals of the expedition was the compilation of a high resolution grid which serves as basis for a three dimensional digital terrain model (DTM), the derivation of contour lines and the production of bathymetric maps. Accordingly, two hull-mounted multibeam sonars were used for the depth data acquisition: the "Hydrosweep DS-2" system onboard "Polarstern" and the "Seabeam 2112" system onboard "Healy". In order to calculate a combined grid out of two independent data sets different technical specifications of both sonar systems (e.g. frequency, opening angle, number of beams, accuracy) had to be taken into account. Dense sea ice cover made the sonar measurements difficult. Thick floes caused hydroacoustic disturbances that heavily debased the data quality. Outliers and blunders of depths and navigation data had to be corrected in a drawn-out post-processing by appropriate software tools. Both echo sounding systems recorded backscatter information and sidescan data during the entire cruise. Onboard "Polarstern" the sub-bottom profiling

  16. Archive of side scan sonar and swath bathymetry data collected during USGS cruise 10CCT01 offshore of Cat Island, Gulf Islands National Seashore, Mississippi, March 2010

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeWitt, Nancy T.; Flocks, James G.; Pfeiffer, William R.; Wiese, Dana S.

    2010-01-01

    In March of 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted geophysical surveys east of Cat Island, Mississippi (fig. 1). The efforts were part of the USGS Gulf of Mexico Science Coordination partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to assist the Mississippi Coastal Improvements Program (MsCIP) and the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) Ecosystem Change and Hazards Susceptibility Project by mapping the shallow geological stratigraphic framework of the Mississippi Barrier Island Complex. These geophysical surveys will provide the data necessary for scientists to define, interpret, and provide baseline bathymetry and seafloor habitat for this area and to aid scientists in predicting future geomorpholocial changes of the islands with respect to climate change, storm impact, and sea-level rise. Furthermore, these data will provide information for barrier island restoration, particularly in Camille Cut, and provide protection for the historical Fort Massachusetts. For more information refer to http://ngom.usgs.gov/gomsc/mscip/index.html. This report serves as an archive of the processed swath bathymetry and side scan sonar data (SSS). Data products herein include gridded and interpolated surfaces, surface images, and x,y,z data products for both swath bathymetry and side scan sonar imagery. Additional files include trackline maps, navigation files, GIS files, Field Activity Collection System (FACS) logs, and formal FGDC metadata. Scanned images of the handwritten FACS logs and digital FACS logs are also provided as PDF files. Refer to the Acronyms page for expansion of acronyms and abbreviations used in this report or hold the cursor over an acronym for a pop-up explanation. The USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center assigns a unique identifier to each cruise or field activity. For example, 10CCT01 tells us the data were collected in 2010 for the Coastal Change and Transport (CCT) study and the data were collected during the first field

  17. Dose-response relationships for the onset of avoidance of sonar by free-ranging killer whales

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Miller, P.J.O.; Antunes, R.N.; Wensveen, P.J.; Samarra, F.I.P.; Alves, A.C.; Tyack, P.L.; Kvadsheim, P.H.; Kleivane, L.; Lam, F.P.A.; Ainslie, M.A.; Thomas, L.

    2014-01-01

    Eight experimentally controlled exposures to 1−2 kHz or 6−7 kHz sonar signals were conducted with four killer whale groups. The source level and proximity of the source were increased during each exposure in order to reveal response thresholds. Detailed inspection of movements during each exposure

  18. High-resolution imaging methods in array signal processing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Xenaki, Angeliki

    in active sonar signal processing for detection and imaging of submerged oil contamination in sea water from a deep-water oil leak. The submerged oil _eld is modeled as a uid medium exhibiting spatial perturbations in the acoustic parameters from their mean ambient values which cause weak scattering...... of the incident acoustic energy. A highfrequency active sonar is selected to insonify the medium and receive the backscattered waves. High-frequency acoustic methods can both overcome the optical opacity of water (unlike methods based on electromagnetic waves) and resolve the small-scale structure...... of the submerged oil field (unlike low-frequency acoustic methods). The study shows that high-frequency acoustic methods are suitable not only for large-scale localization of the oil contamination in the water column but also for statistical characterization of the submerged oil field through inference...

  19. Use of Multibeam and Dual-Beam Sonar Systems to Observe Cavitating Flow Produced by Ferryboats: In a Marine Renewable Energy Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francisco Francisco

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available With the prospect to deploy hydrokinetic energy converters in areas with heavy boat traffic, a study was conducted to observe and assess the depth range of cavitating flow produced by ferryboats in narrow channels. This study was conducted in the vicinity of Finnhamn Island in Stockholm Archipelago. The objectives of the survey were to assess whether the sonar systems were able to observe and measure the depth of what can be cavitating flow (in a form of convected cloud cavitation produced by one specific type of ferryboats frequently operating in that route, as well as investigate if the cavitating flow within the wake would propagate deep enough to disturb the water column underneath the surface. A multibeam and a dual-beam sonar systems were used as measurement instruments. The hypothesis was that strong and deep wake can disturb the optimal operation of a hydrokinetic energy converter, therefore causing damages to its rotors and hydrofoils. The results showed that both sonar system could detect cavitating flows including its strength, part of the geometrical shape and propagation depth. Moreover, the boat with a propeller thruster produced cavitating flow with an intense core reaching 4 m of depth while lasting approximately 90 s. The ferry with waterjet thruster produced a less intense cavitating flow; the core reached depths of approximately 6 m, and lasted about 90 s. From this study, it was concluded that multibeam and dual-beam sonar systems with operating frequencies higher than 200 kHz were able to detect cavitating flows in real conditions, as long as they are properly deployed and the data properly analyzed.

  20. Monitoring the US ATLAS Network Infrastructure with perfSONAR-PS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McKee, Shawn; Lake, Andrew; Laurens, Philippe; Severini, Horst; Wlodek, Tomasz; Wolff, Stephen; Zurawski, Jason

    2012-01-01

    Global scientific collaborations, such as ATLAS, continue to push the network requirements envelope. Data movement in this collaboration is routinely including the regular exchange of petabytes of datasets between the collection and analysis facilities in the coming years. These requirements place a high emphasis on networks functioning at peak efficiency and availability; the lack thereof could mean critical delays in the overall scientific progress of distributed data-intensive experiments like ATLAS. Network operations staff routinely must deal with problems deep in the infrastructure; this may be as benign as replacing a failing piece of equipment, or as complex as dealing with a multi-domain path that is experiencing data loss. In either case, it is crucial that effective monitoring and performance analysis tools are available to ease the burden of management. We will report on our experiences deploying and using the perfSONAR-PS Performance Toolkit at ATLAS sites in the United States. This software creates a dedicated monitoring server, capable of collecting and performing a wide range of passive and active network measurements. Each independent instance is managed locally, but able to federate on a global scale; enabling a full view of the network infrastructure that spans domain boundaries. This information, available through web service interfaces, can easily be retrieved to create customized applications. The US ATLAS collaboration has developed a centralized “dashboard” offering network administrators, users, and decision makers the ability to see the performance of the network at a glance. The dashboard framework includes the ability to notify users (alarm) when problems are found, thus allowing rapid response to potential problems and making perfSONAR-PS crucial to the operation of our distributed computing infrastructure.

  1. Regolith X-Ray Imaging Spectrometer (REXIS) Aboard the OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masterson, R. A.; Chodas, M.; Bayley, L.; Allen, B.; Hong, J.; Biswas, P.; McMenamin, C.; Stout, K.; Bokhour, E.; Bralower, H.; Carte, D.; Chen, S.; Jones, M.; Kissel, S.; Schmidt, F.; Smith, M.; Sondecker, G.; Lim, L. F.; Lauretta, D. S.; Grindlay, J. E.; Binzel, R. P.

    2018-02-01

    The Regolith X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (REXIS) is the student collaboration experiment proposed and built by an MIT-Harvard team, launched aboard NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission. REXIS complements the scientific investigations of other OSIRIS-REx instruments by determining the relative abundances of key elements present on the asteroid's surface by measuring the X-ray fluorescence spectrum (stimulated by the natural solar X-ray flux) over the range of energies 0.5 to 7 keV. REXIS consists of two components: a main imaging spectrometer with a coded aperture mask and a separate solar X-ray monitor to account for the Sun's variability. In addition to element abundance ratios (relative to Si) pinpointing the asteroid's most likely meteorite association, REXIS also maps elemental abundance variability across the asteroid's surface using the asteroid's rotation as well as the spacecraft's orbital motion. Image reconstruction at the highest resolution is facilitated by the coded aperture mask. Through this operation, REXIS will be the first application of X-ray coded aperture imaging to planetary surface mapping, making this student-built instrument a pathfinder toward future planetary exploration. To date, 60 students at the undergraduate and graduate levels have been involved with the REXIS project, with the hands-on experience translating to a dozen Master's and Ph.D. theses and other student publications.

  2. Measurement of fish movements at depths to 6000 m using a deep-ocean lander incorporating a short base-line sonar utilizing miniature code-activated transponder technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bagley, P. M.; Bradley, S.; Priede, I. G.; Gray, P.

    1999-12-01

    Most research on animal behaviour in the deep ocean (to depths of 6000 m) is restricted to the capture of dead specimens or viewing activity over small areas of the sea floor by means of cameras or submersibles. This paper describes the use of a miniature acoustic code-activated transponder (CAT) tag and short base-line sonar to track the movements of deep-sea fish in two dimensions over an area 1 km in diameter centred on a lander platform. The CAT tags and sonar are transported to the deep-sea floor by means of a subsea mooring which is ballasted so that it lands and remains on the sea floor for the duration of the tracking experiment (the lander). A description of the CAT, lander and short base-line sonar is given. Results are presented to illustrate the operation of the system.

  3. Modeling Effectiveness of Gradual Increases in Source Level to Mitigate Effects of Sonar on Marine Mammals

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Benda-Beckmann, A.M. von; Wensveen, P.J.; Kvadsheim, P.H.; Lam, F.P.A.; Miller, P.J.O.; Tyack, P.L.; Ainslie, M.A.

    2013-01-01

    Ramp-up or soft-start procedures (i.e., gradual increase in the source level) are used to mitigate the effect of sonar sound on marine mammals, although no one to date has tested whether ramp-up procedures are effective at reducing the effect of sound on marine mammals. We investigated the

  4. Return to play after liver and spleen trauma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juyia, Rushad F; Kerr, Hamish A

    2014-05-01

    Sport-related spleen and liver injuries pose a challenge for the physician. Although rare, these injuries can have serious and even life-threatening outcomes if not accurately diagnosed and managed in a timely fashion. Currently, there are no evidence-based guidelines on duration and intensity of restricted activity and return to play after spleen and liver injury. In addition, there is controversy on follow-up imaging after injury. PubMed was searched using the terms splenic or spleen and trauma and hepatic or liver and trauma from 1980 to 2013. The citations from sentinel papers were also reviewed. Clinical review. Level 3. Ultrasound is ideal in the unstable athlete. Nonoperative management of blunt splenic and hepatic injuries is recommended for hemodynamically stable patients regardless of injury grade, patient age, or presence of associated injuries. Follow-up imaging is not routinely recommended unless clinically indicated. Athletes may engage in light activity for the first 3 months after injury and then gradual return to unrestricted activity as tolerated. High-level athletes may choose splenectomy or serial imaging for faster return to play. Intravenous contrast-enhanced computed tomography is the diagnostic imaging modality of choice in stable athletes with blunt abdominal trauma. C.

  5. Body imaging: Diagnosis

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Pfannenstiel incision for caesarean section was noted. No synchronous lesions were identified. Based on the location of the lesion, sonar features and MRI enhancement pattern, the principal radiological diagnosis was that of a desmoid tumour of the left rectus muscle. In fact, the initial sonar-guided core biopsy specimen ...

  6. Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary - mos120_0602b - Side scan sonar mosaic from survey effort 120_0602

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This side scan sonar imagery of the sea floor (70-90 m water depths) was mosaiced from acoustic data collected in 2006 aboard the R/V Tatoosh. A Klein System 3000...

  7. Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary - mos120_0602a - Side scan sonar mosaic from survey effort 120_0602

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This side scan sonar imagery of the sea floor (35-55 m water depths) was mosaiced from acoustic data collected in 2006 aboard the R/V Tatoosh. A Klein System 3000...

  8. Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary - mos122_0702.tif - Side scan sonar mosaic from survey effort 122_0702.

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This side scan sonar imagery of the sea floor (15-35 m water depths) was mosaiced from acoustic data collected in 2007 aboard the R/V Tatoosh. A Klein System 3000...

  9. Analysis of a new unidimensional model and lateral vibrations of 1-3 piezocomposite side scan sonar array

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Shatalov, MY

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available . Lamb modes of the 1-3 piezocomposites are investigated in term of the Certon-Patat membrane model by means of direct variational method application. A new design of a 1-3 piezocomposite side scan SONAR array is considered. An implementation of the array...

  10. Severity of Expert-Identified Behavioural Responses of Humpback Whale, Minke Whale, and Northern Bottlenose Whale to Naval Sonar

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sivle, L.D.; Kvadsheim, P.H.; Cure, C.; Isojunno, S.; Wensveen, P.J.; Lam, F.P.A.; Visser, F.; Kleivane, L.; Tyack, P.L.; Harris, C.M.; Miller, P.J.O.

    2015-01-01

    Controlled exposure experiments using 1 to2 kHz sonar signals were conducted with 11 humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), one minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), and one northern bottlenose whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus) during three field trials from 2011 to 2013. Ship approaches without

  11. Bubble Clouds and their Transport within the Surf Zone as Measured with a Distributed Array of Upward-Looking Sonars

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Dahl, Peter

    2000-01-01

    ... in the surf zone and the effects of these bubbles on acoustic propagation. This paper discusses data gathered by the Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, using a set of four upward-looking sonars (frequency 240 kHz...

  12. Performance Indexing: Assessing the Nonmonetized Returns on Investment in Military Equipment

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-05-17

    Image designed by Diane Fleischer PERFORMANCE INDEXING: Assessing the NONMONETIZED RETURNS ON INVESTMENT in Military Equipment Ian D...MacLeod and Capt Robert A. Dinwoodie, USMC A prime managerial concern is how to decide which investment alternatives provide the greatest return with...agencies, these methods often fall short because typical governmental investments do not have a monetary return. The processes underpinning governmental

  13. Passive synthetic aperture sonar techniques in combination with tow ship noise canceling: application to a triplet towed array

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Colin, M.E.G.D.; Groen, J.

    2002-01-01

    An important issue in research on passive ASW operations is improvement in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and bearing resolution for targets emitting low frequency signals. One of the techniques believed to improve these characteristics is Synthetic Aperture Sonar (SAS). The method is based on the

  14. Algorithms and data structures for automated change detection and classification of sidescan sonar imagery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gendron, Marlin Lee

    During Mine Warfare (MIW) operations, MIW analysts perform change detection by visually comparing historical sidescan sonar imagery (SSI) collected by a sidescan sonar with recently collected SSI in an attempt to identify objects (which might be explosive mines) placed at sea since the last time the area was surveyed. This dissertation presents a data structure and three algorithms, developed by the author, that are part of an automated change detection and classification (ACDC) system. MIW analysts at the Naval Oceanographic Office, to reduce the amount of time to perform change detection, are currently using ACDC. The dissertation introductory chapter gives background information on change detection, ACDC, and describes how SSI is produced from raw sonar data. Chapter 2 presents the author's Geospatial Bitmap (GB) data structure, which is capable of storing information geographically and is utilized by the three algorithms. This chapter shows that a GB data structure used in a polygon-smoothing algorithm ran between 1.3--48.4x faster than a sparse matrix data structure. Chapter 3 describes the GB clustering algorithm, which is the author's repeatable, order-independent method for clustering. Results from tests performed in this chapter show that the time to cluster a set of points is not affected by the distribution or the order of the points. In Chapter 4, the author presents his real-time computer-aided detection (CAD) algorithm that automatically detects mine-like objects on the seafloor in SSI. The author ran his GB-based CAD algorithm on real SSI data, and results of these tests indicate that his real-time CAD algorithm performs comparably to or better than other non-real-time CAD algorithms. The author presents his computer-aided search (CAS) algorithm in Chapter 5. CAS helps MIW analysts locate mine-like features that are geospatially close to previously detected features. A comparison between the CAS and a great circle distance algorithm shows that the

  15. On Estimation Of The Orientation Of Mobile Robots Using Turning Functions And SONAR Information

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dorel AIORDACHIOAIE

    2003-12-01

    Full Text Available SONAR systems are widely used by some artificial objects, e.g. robots, and by animals, e.g. bats, for navigation and pattern recognition. The objective of this paper is to present a solution on the estimation of the orientation in the environment of mobile robots, in the context of navigation, using the turning function approach. The results are shown to be accurate and can be used further in the design of navigation strategies of mobile robots.

  16. Effectiveness of Securities with Fuzzy Probabilistic Return

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krzysztof Piasecki

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The generalized fuzzy present value of a security is defined here as fuzzy valued utility of cash flow. The generalized fuzzy present value cannot depend on the value of future cash flow. There exists such a generalized fuzzy present value which is not a fuzzy present value in the sense given by some authors. If the present value is a fuzzy number and the future value is a random one, then the return rate is given as a probabilistic fuzzy subset on a real line. This kind of return rate is called a fuzzy probabilistic return. The main goal of this paper is to derive the family of effective securities with fuzzy probabilistic return. Achieving this goal requires the study of the basic parameters characterizing fuzzy probabilistic return. Therefore, fuzzy expected value and variance are determined for this case of return. These results are a starting point for constructing a three-dimensional image. The set of effective securities is introduced as the Pareto optimal set determined by the maximization of the expected return rate and minimization of the variance. Finally, the set of effective securities is distinguished as a fuzzy set. These results are obtained without the assumption that the distribution of future values is Gaussian. (original abstract

  17. Discrimination of Cylinders with Different Wall Thicknesses using Neural Networks and Simulated Dolphin Sonar Signals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Lars Nonboe; Au, Whitlow; Larsen, Jan

    1999-01-01

    This paper describes a method integrating neural networks into a system for recognizing underwater objects. The system is based on a combination of simulated dolphin sonar signals, simulated auditory filters and artificial neural networks. The system is tested on a cylinder wall thickness...... difference experiment and demonstrates high accuracy for small wall thickness differences. Results from the experiment are compared with results obtained by a false killer whale (pseudorca crassidens)....

  18. On the design and construction of drifting-mine test targets for sonar, radar and electro-optical detection experiments

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dol, H.S.

    2014-01-01

    The timely detection of small hazardous objects at the sea surface, such as drifting mines, is challenging for ship-mounted sensor systems, both for underwater sensor systems like sonar and above-water sensor systems like radar and electro-optics (lidar, infrared/visual cameras). This is due to the

  19. Underwater object classification using scattering transform of sonar signals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saito, Naoki; Weber, David S.

    2017-08-01

    In this paper, we apply the scattering transform (ST)-a nonlinear map based off of a convolutional neural network (CNN)-to classification of underwater objects using sonar signals. The ST formalizes the observation that the filters learned by a CNN have wavelet-like structure. We achieve effective binary classification both on a real dataset of Unexploded Ordinance (UXOs), as well as synthetically generated examples. We also explore the effects on the waveforms with respect to changes in the object domain (e.g., translation, rotation, and acoustic impedance, etc.), and examine the consequences coming from theoretical results for the scattering transform. We show that the scattering transform is capable of excellent classification on both the synthetic and real problems, thanks to having more quasi-invariance properties that are well-suited to translation and rotation of the object.

  20. Archive of Side Scan Sonar and Swath Bathymetry Data collected during USGS Cruise 10CCT02 Offshore of Petit Bois Island Including Petit Bois Pass, Gulf Islands National Seashore, Mississippi, March 2010

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pfeiffer, William R.; Flocks, James G.; DeWitt, Nancy T.; Forde, Arnell S.; Kelso, Kyle; Thompson, Phillip R.; Wiese, Dana S.

    2011-01-01

    In March of 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted geophysical surveys offshore of Petit Bois Island, Mississippi, and Dauphin Island, Alabama (fig. 1). These efforts were part of the USGS Gulf of Mexico Science Coordination partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to assist the Mississippi Coastal Improvements Program (MsCIP) and the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) Ecosystem Change and Hazards Susceptibility Project by mapping the shallow geologic stratigraphic framework of the Mississippi Barrier Island Complex. These geophysical surveys will provide the data necessary for scientists to define, interpret, and provide baseline bathymetry and seafloor habitat for this area and to aid scientists in predicting future geomorphological changes of the islands with respect to climate change, storm impact, and sea-level rise. Furthermore, these data will provide information for barrier island restoration, particularly in Camille Cut, and protection for the historical Fort Massachusetts on Ship Island, Mississippi. For more information please refer to http://ngom.usgs.gov/gomsc/mscip/index.html. This report serves as an archive of the processed swath bathymetry and side scan sonar data (SSS). Data products herein include gridded and interpolated surfaces, seabed backscatter images, and ASCII x,y,z data products for both swath bathymetry and side scan sonar imagery. Additional files include trackline maps, navigation files, GIS files, Field Activity Collection System (FACS) logs, and formal FGDC metadata. Scanned images of the handwritten and digital FACS logs are also provided as PDF files. Refer to the Acronyms page for expansion of acronyms and abbreviations used in this report.

  1. Burial and exhumation of temperate bedrock reefs as elucidated by repetitive high-resolution sea floor sonar surveys: Spatial patterns and impacts to species' richness and diversity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Storlazzi, Curt D.; Fregoso, Theresa A.; Figurski, Jared D.; Freiwald, Jan; Lonhart, Steve I.; Finlayson, David P.

    2013-01-01

    To understand how chronic sediment burial and scour contribute to variation in the structure of algal and invertebrate communities on temperate bedrock reefs, the dynamics of the substrate and communities were monitored at locations that experience sand inundation and adjacent areas that do not. Co-located benthic scuba-transect surveys and high-resolution swath-sonar surveys were completed on bedrock reefs on the inner shelf of northern Monterey Bay, CA, in early winter 2009, spring 2010, and summer 2010. Analysis of the sonar surveys demonstrates that during the 8 months over which the surveys were conducted, 19.6% of the study area was buried by sand while erosion resulted in the exposure of bedrock over 13.8% of the study area; the remainder underwent no change between the surveys. Substrate classifications from the benthic transect surveys correlated with classifications generated from the sonar surveys, demonstrating the capacity of high-resolution sonar surveys to detect burial of bedrock reefs by sediment. On bedrock habitat that underwent burial and exhumation, species' diversity and richness of rock-associated sessile and mobile organisms were 50–66% lower as compared to adjacent stable bedrock habitat. While intermediate levels of disturbance can increase the diversity and richness of communities, these findings demonstrate that burial and exhumation of bedrock habitat are sources of severe disturbance. We suggest that substrate dynamics must be considered when developing predictions of benthic community distributions based on sea floor imagery. These results highlight the need for predictive models of substrate dynamics and for a better understanding of how burial and exhumation shape benthic communities.

  2. Imaging beneath the skin of large tropical rivers: Clay controls on system morphodynamics revealed by novel CHIRP sub-surface sonar and deep coring along the Fly and Strickland Rivers, Papua New Guinea (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aalto, R. E.; Grenfell, M.; Lauer, J. W.

    2010-12-01

    Tropical rivers dominate Earth’s fluvial fluxes for water, carbon, and mineral sediment. They are characterized by large channels and floodplains, old system histories (in comparison to many temperate rivers), frequent and prolonged periods of flooding, and a clay-dominated sediment flux transported above a sandy bed. However, limited insight is available regarding the underlying bed & floodplain strata -- material that underpins system mobility and morphodynamics. Available data commonly stems from “skin-deep” approaches such as GIS analysis of imagery, shallow sampling of a surface veneer, & topographic profiling during lower river stages. Given the large temporal & spatial scales of such systems, new approaches are needed to see below lag deposits on mobile sandy beds & deep into expansive floodbasins. Furthermore, such data are needed to test whether we can usefully interpret large tropical river morphology using direct analogies to observations from small temperate sytems. Systems responding to sea level rise, pending avulsions, or an increase/contrast in sediment load would provide especially valuable insight. We conducted a field campaign along the Fly and Strickland Rivers in Papua New Guinea (discharge ~ 5,400 CMS). Immediate results were obtained using a dual-frequency CHIRP sub-bottom profiler optimized for fluvial environments, with which we were able to image 10-20m below the river/lake bed. We were able to distinguish sandy deposits from harder clay and silt lenses and also collected bed grab samples to verify our sonar results. Deep borehole samples (5-15m), push cores, and cutbank profiles of material strength confirmed observations from the sonar profiling. We simultaneously collected side-scan sonar imagery plus DGPS water/bed elevations. Findings include: 1) The prevalence of hard clay beneath the bed at many locations along the Lower Fly and Strickland Rivers, retarding migration; 2) Unusual bed morphology along the lower Middle Fly River

  3. Introduction to sensors for ranging and imaging

    CERN Document Server

    Brooker, Graham

    2009-01-01

    ""This comprehensive text-reference provides a solid background in active sensing technology. It is concerned with active sensing, starting with the basics of time-of-flight sensors (operational principles, components), and going through the derivation of the radar range equation and the detection of echo signals, both fundamental to the understanding of radar, sonar and lidar imaging. Several chapters cover signal propagation of both electromagnetic and acoustic energy, target characteristics, stealth, and clutter. The remainder of the book introduces the range measurement process, active ima

  4. A Study to Interpret the Biological Significance of Behavior Associated with 3S Experimental Sonar Exposures

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-09-30

    species; 2.) quantitative comparison of behavior, and behavioral changes, during sonar presentation and playback of killer whale sounds across the 3S... foraging dives were pre-classified from the remaining dives first by determining a break-point depth in the depth versus duration relationship, and then...AIC point to divide dive depth versus duration relationships (Fig. 2). 50.8% of dives greater than 15m in depth were classified as foraging dives

  5. Significance of T2 Hyperintensity on Magnetic Resonance Imaging After Cervical Cord Injury and Return to Play in Professional Athletes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tempel, Zachary J; Bost, Jeffrey W; Norwig, John A; Maroon, Joseph C

    2015-07-01

    Cervical cord magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) T2 hyperintensity is used as evidence of cord trauma in the evaluation and management of athletes in contact sports. The long-term pathophysiologic and prognostic value of this finding is poorly understood, especially in return to play (RTP). To examine the significance of T2 hyperintensity in the cervical spinal cord of professional athletes. Retrospective review of MRI T2 hyperintensity findings between 2007 and 2014 in 5 professional athletes. Pertinent examination and demographics, including mechanism of injury, surgical intervention, radiographs, MRI studies, long-term outcomes, and RTP recommendations were collected. Four National Football League players and 1 professional wrestler had prior traumatic neurapraxia that at the time of initial consultation had resolved. MRIs showed congenitally small cervical canal (1) and multilevel spondylosis/stenosis/disc herniation (4) along with focal cord T2 hyperintensity (5). The signal abnormalities were at C3/C4 (3), C4 mid-vertebral body (1), and C5/C6 (1). Four athletes had single-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion, and 1 was nonoperative. Serial MRI imaging at 3 months after surgery showed hyperintensity partially resolved (4) and unchanged (1), and at 9-months 3 of the 5 completely resolved. Based on the author's RTP criteria, 4 of 5 were released to return to their sport. Clearance for RTP preceded complete resolution of MRI T2 hyperintensity in 3 of 4 athletes. The 2 athletes that have returned to profession sport have not had any additional episodes of neurapraxia or any cervical spine-related complications. MRI T2 hyperintensity in contact sport athletes who are symptom-free with normal examination and no evidence of spinal instability may not be a contraindication to RTP. Additional observations are needed to confirm this observation.

  6. Pseudo sidescan images from backscatter amplitude data of the Hydrosweep multibean sonar system

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Kodagali, V.N.; Hagen, R.; Schenke, H.W.

    in the southeast Pacific Ocean is presented. The two sidescan images are perfectly comparable. This result will enhance the utility of the Hydrosweep multibeam system so that, even in the absence of sidescan option, the offline pseudo sidescan images can...

  7. Directionality of sperm whale sonar clicks and its relation to piston radiation theory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Beedholm, K.; Møhl, Bertel

    2006-01-01

    This paper investigates the applicability to sperm whales of the theory of sound radiating from a piston. The theory is applied to a physical model and to a series of sperm whale clicks. Results show that wave forms of off-axis signals can be reproduced by convolving an on-axis signal...... with the spatial impulse response of a piston. The angle of a recorded click can be estimated as the angle producing the spatial impulse response that gives the best match with the observation when convolved with the on-axis wave form. It is concluded that piston theory applies to sperm whale sonar click emission....

  8. Return to play after infectious mononucleosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Becker, Jonathan A; Smith, Julie Anne

    2014-05-01

    Infectious mononucleosis is a disease primarily of adolescence and early adulthood. The risk of splenic injury and chronic fatigue make return-to-play decisions a challenge for the clinician caring for athletes with infectious mononucleosis. Data were obtained from the PubMed and MEDLINE databases through December 2012 by searching for epidemiology, diagnosis, clinical manifestations, management, and the role of the spleen in infectious mononucleosis. Clinical review. Level 4. Infectious mononucleosis is commonly encountered in young athletes. Its disease pattern is variable and can affect multiple organ systems. Supportive care is the cornerstone, with little role for medications such as corticosteroids. Physical examination is unreliable for the spleen, and ultrasound imaging has limitations in its ability to guide return-to-play decisions. Exercise does not appear to place the young athlete at risk for chronic fatigue, but determining who is at risk for persistent symptoms is a challenge. Return-to-play decisions for the athlete with infectious mononucleosis need to be individualized because of the variable disease course and lack of evidence-based guidelines.

  9. Monitoring the US ATLAS Network Infrastructure with perfSONAR-PS

    CERN Document Server

    McKee, S; The ATLAS collaboration; Laurens, P; Severini, H; Wlodek, T; Wolff, S; Zurawski, J

    2012-01-01

    Global scientific collaborations, such as ATLAS, continue to push the network requirements envelope. Data movement in this collaboration is routinely including the regular exchange of petabytes of datasets between the collection and analysis facilities in the coming years. These requirements place a high emphasis on networks functioning at peak efficiency and availability; the lack thereof could mean critical delays in the overall scientific progress of distributed data-intensive experiments like ATLAS. Network operations staff routinely must deal with problems deep in the infrastructure; this may be as benign as replacing a failing piece of equipment, or as complex as dealing with a multidomain path that is experiencing data loss. In either case, it is crucial that effective monitoring and performance analysis tools are available to ease the burden of management. We will report on our experiences deploying and using the perfSONAR-PS Performance Toolkit[8] at ATLAS sites in the United States. This software cr...

  10. Buried object detection in GPR images

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paglieroni, David W; Chambers, David H; Bond, Steven W; Beer, W. Reginald

    2014-04-29

    A method and system for detecting the presence of subsurface objects within a medium is provided. In some embodiments, the imaging and detection system operates in a multistatic mode to collect radar return signals generated by an array of transceiver antenna pairs that is positioned across the surface and that travels down the surface. The imaging and detection system pre-processes the return signal to suppress certain undesirable effects. The imaging and detection system then generates synthetic aperture radar images from real aperture radar images generated from the pre-processed return signal. The imaging and detection system then post-processes the synthetic aperture radar images to improve detection of subsurface objects. The imaging and detection system identifies peaks in the energy levels of the post-processed image frame, which indicates the presence of a subsurface object.

  11. On doing two things at once: dolphin brain and nose coordinate sonar clicks, buzzes and emotional squeals with social sounds during fish capture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ridgway, Sam; Samuelson Dibble, Dianna; Van Alstyne, Kaitlin; Price, DruAnn

    2015-12-01

    Dolphins fishing alone in open waters may whistle without interrupting their sonar clicks as they find and eat or reject fish. Our study is the first to match sound and video from the dolphin with sound and video from near the fish. During search and capture of fish, free-swimming dolphins carried cameras to record video and sound. A hydrophone in the far field near the fish also recorded sound. From these two perspectives, we studied the time course of dolphin sound production during fish capture. Our observations identify the instant of fish capture. There are three consistent acoustic phases: sonar clicks locate the fish; about 0.4 s before capture, the dolphin clicks become more rapid to form a second phase, the terminal buzz; at or just before capture, the buzz turns to an emotional squeal (the victory squeal), which may last 0.2 to 20 s after capture. The squeals are pulse bursts that vary in duration, peak frequency and amplitude. The victory squeal may be a reflection of emotion triggered by brain dopamine release. It may also affect prey to ease capture and/or it may be a way to communicate the presence of food to other dolphins. Dolphins also use whistles as communication or social sounds. Whistling during sonar clicking suggests that dolphins may be adept at doing two things at once. We know that dolphin brain hemispheres may sleep independently. Our results suggest that the two dolphin brain hemispheres may also act independently in communication. © 2015. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

  12. Echolocation call intensity and directionality in flying short-tailed fruit bats, Carollia perspicillata (Phyllostomidae)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brinkløv, Signe; Jakobsen, Lasse; Ratcliffe, John M

    2011-01-01

    The directionality of bat echolocation calls defines the width of bats' sonar "view," while call intensity directly influences detection range since adequate sound energy must impinge upon objects to return audible echoes. Both are thus crucial parameters for understanding biosonar signal design....... a longer and narrower sonar range than previously thought. C. perspicillata orient and forage in the forest interior and the narrow beam might be adaptive in clutter, by reducing the number and intensity of off-axis echoes....

  13. The relation between Arctic sea ice surface elevation and draft: A case study using coincident AUV sonar and airborne scanning laser

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Doble, Martin J.; Skourup, Henriette; Wadhams, Peter

    2011-01-01

    Data are presented from a survey by airborne scanning laser profilometer and an AUV-mounted, upward looking swath sonar in the spring Beaufort Sea. The air-snow (surface elevation) and water-ice (draft) surfaces were mapped at 1 x 1 m resolution over a 300 x 300 m area. Data were separated into l...

  14. Acoustical characteristic predictions of a multi-layer system of a submerged vehicle hull mounted sonar simplified to an infinite planar model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sung-Hee Kim

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Hull Mounted Sonar (HMS is a long range submerged vehicle's hull-mounted passive sonar system which detects low-frequency noise caused by machineries of enemy ships or submerged vehicles. The HMS needs a sound absorption /insulation multi-layer structure to shut out the self-noise from own machineries and to amplify signals from outside. Therefore, acoustic analysis of the multi-layer system should be performed when the HMS is designed. This paper simplified the HMS multi-layer system to be an infinite planar multi-layer model. Also, main excitations that influence the HMS were classified into mechanical, plane wave and turbulent flow excitation, and the investigations for each excitation were performed for various models. Stiffened multi-layer analysis for mechanical excitation and general multi-layer analysis for turbulent flow excitation were developed. The infinite planar multi-layer analysis was expected to be more useful for preliminary design stage of HMS system than the infinite cylindrical model because of short analysis time and easiness of parameter study.

  15. The experience of returning to work.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jansson, Inger; Björklund, Anita

    2007-01-01

    The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore from an environmental perspective the experiences of returning to work of former unemployed sickness absentees. Five separate focus-group interviews were carried out with themes concerning different environmental areas. The findings showed that the participants in their process of being off work and then attempting returning to work experienced a personal transition manifesting itself as a negative self-image, change of life-rhythm and restrictions in their roles and activities. In their progression, the participants experienced a need for reorientation and expressed feelings of alienation, and for that reason felt need of support from a network, especially a professional one. Regarding attitudes in society, the participants reported experiences of social stigmatization, both in mass media and in their immediate social environment, and an increasing egocentricity among their fellow-workers. They perceived their progression back to work as a 'time quarantine' and as a long and destructive wait for support. The findings indicate that the phenomenon of 'returning to work' after unemployment and sick leave could not be reduced to a single issue. It should rather be seen as a dynamic problem with individual and structural, environmental aspects.

  16. Using ground-penetrating radar and sidescan sonar to compare lake bottom geology in New England

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nesbitt, I. M.; Campbell, S. W.; Arcone, S. A.; Smith, S. M.

    2017-12-01

    Post-Laurentide Ice Sheet erosion and re-deposition has had a significant influence on the geomorphology of New England. Anthropogenic activities such as forestry, farming, and construction of infrastructure such as dams and associated lake reservoirs, has further contributed to near surface changes. Unfortunately, these surface dynamics are difficult to constrain, both in space and time. One analog that can be used to estimate erosion and deposition, lake basin sedimentation, is typically derived from lake bottom sediment core samples. Reliance on core records assumes that derived sedimentation rates are representative of the broader watershed, despite being only a single point measurement. Geophysical surveys suggest that this assumption can be highly erroneous and unrepresentative of an entire lake basin. Herein, we conducted ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and side-scan sonar (SSS) surveys of multiple lakes in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont which are representative of different basin types to estimate sedimentation rates since Laurentide retreat. Subsequent age constraints from cores on multiple GPR-imaged horizons could be used to refine estimates of sedimentation rate change caused by evolving physical, biological, and chemical processes that control erosion, transport, and re-deposition. This presentation will provide a summary of GPR and SSS data collection methods, assumptions and limitations, structural and surficial interpretations, and key findings from multiple lake basins in New England. Results show that GPR and SSS are efficient, cost effective, and relatively accurate tools for helping to constrain lake erosion and deposition processes.

  17. Spot restoration for GPR image post-processing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paglieroni, David W; Beer, N. Reginald

    2014-05-20

    A method and system for detecting the presence of subsurface objects within a medium is provided. In some embodiments, the imaging and detection system operates in a multistatic mode to collect radar return signals generated by an array of transceiver antenna pairs that is positioned across the surface and that travels down the surface. The imaging and detection system pre-processes the return signal to suppress certain undesirable effects. The imaging and detection system then generates synthetic aperture radar images from real aperture radar images generated from the pre-processed return signal. The imaging and detection system then post-processes the synthetic aperture radar images to improve detection of subsurface objects. The imaging and detection system identifies peaks in the energy levels of the post-processed image frame, which indicates the presence of a subsurface object.

  18. Innovative method for optimizing Side-Scan Sonar mapping: The blind band unveiled

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pergent, Gérard; Monnier, Briac; Clabaut, Philippe; Gascon, Gilles; Pergent-Martini, Christine; Valette-Sansevin, Audrey

    2017-07-01

    Over the past few years, the mapping of Mediterranean marine habitats has become a priority for scientists, environment managers and stakeholders, in particular in order to comply with European directives (Water Framework Directive and Marine Strategy Framework Directive) and to implement legislation to ensure their conservation. Side-scan sonar (SSS) is recognised as one of the most effective tool for underwater mapping. However, interpretation of acoustic data (sonograms) requires extensive field calibration and the ground-truthing process remains essential. Several techniques are commonly used, with sampling methods involving grabs, scuba diving observations or Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) underwater video recordings. All these techniques are time consuming, expensive and only provide sporadic informations. In the present study, the possibility of coupling a camera with a SSS and acquiring underwater videos in a continuous way has been tested. During the 'PosidCorse' oceanographic survey carried out along the eastern coast of Corsica, optical and acoustic data were respectively obtained using a GoPro™ camera and a Klein 3000™ SSS. Thereby, five profiles were performed between 10 and 50 m depth, corresponding to more than 20 km of data acquisition. The vertical images recorded with the camera fixed under the SSS and positioned facing downwards provided photo mosaics of very good quality corresponding to the entire sonograms's blind band. From the photo mosaics, 94% of the different bottom types and main habitats have been identified; specific structures linked to hydrodynamics conditions, anthropic and biological activities have also been observed as well as the substrate on which the Posidonia oceanica meadow grows. The association between acoustic data and underwater videos has proved to be a non-destructive and cost-effective method for ground-truthing in marine habitats mapping. Nevertheless, in order to optimize the results over the next surveys

  19. Biomimetic Sonar for Electrical Activation of the Auditory Pathway

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. Menniti

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Relying on the mechanism of bat’s echolocation system, a bioinspired electronic device has been developed to investigate the cortical activity of mammals in response to auditory sensorial stimuli. By means of implanted electrodes, acoustical information about the external environment generated by a biomimetic system and converted in electrical signals was delivered to anatomically selected structures of the auditory pathway. Electrocorticographic recordings showed that cerebral activity response is highly dependent on the information carried out by ultrasounds and is frequency-locked with the signal repetition rate. Frequency analysis reveals that delta and beta rhythm content increases, suggesting that sensorial information is successfully transferred and integrated. In addition, principal component analysis highlights how all the stimuli generate patterns of neural activity which can be clearly classified. The results show that brain response is modulated by echo signal features suggesting that spatial information sent by biomimetic sonar is efficiently interpreted and encoded by the auditory system. Consequently, these results give new perspective in artificial environmental perception, which could be used for developing new techniques useful in treating pathological conditions or influencing our perception of the surroundings.

  20. Side-scan sonar techniques for the characterization of physical properties of artificial benthic habitats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wen-Miin Tian

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Side-scan sonar observations conducted at Mito artificial habitat site in the southwest coast off Taiwan, documented the locations of both concrete cubic blocks (more than 10,000 units and scrapped steel boats (39 units deployed previously. Based on their geographic locations, the concrete cubic artificial reefs could be grouped into 14 reef sets. About 30% of the reefs were deployed out of the promulgated site area. For the purpose of artificial habitat site identification and fishery resources management, a database structure was designed to accommodate types and positions of reefs, information of reef sets, bathymetric contours, textures of bottom sediments and geomorphological characteristics. The effectiveness of Mito artificial habitat site was evaluated to be positive after the deployment of both concrete block reefs and steel boat reefs.Observações com sonar de varredura lateral ao largo de Mito na costa sudoeste de Taiwan, revelou a localização de mais de 10.000 blocos de concreto e 39 embarcações de ferro assentados previamente como recifes artificiais. Com base nas imagens obtidas, os cubos de concreto formam 14 grupos separados. Cerca de 30% das unidades de concreto foram assentadas fora das áreas previstas. Para a identificacão correta dos recifes artificiais e manejo adequado dos recursos pesqueiros, foi organizada uma base de dados com informações sobre forma, materiais e posição, e arranjo espacial das unidades recifais, bem como dados de batimetria, natureza do sedimento do fundo e geomorfologia. A eficiência dos recifes artificiais de Mito foi avaliada positivamente após o assentamento tanto das unidades de concreto quanto das embarcações de ferro.

  1. Modeling of SAR returns from a red pine stand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lang, R. H.; Kilic, O.; Chauhan, N. S.; Ranson, J.

    1992-01-01

    Bright P-band radar returns from red pine forests have been observed on synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images in Bangor, Maine. A plot of red pine trees was selected for the characterization and modeling to understand the cause of the high P-band returns. The red pine stand under study consisted of mature trees. Diameter at breast height (DBH) measurements were made to determine stand density as a function of tree diameter. Soil moisture and bulk density measurements were taken along with ground rough surface profiles. Detailed biomass measurements of the needles, shoots, branches, and trunks were also taken. These site statistics have been used in a distorted Born approximation model of the forest. Computations indicate that the direct-reflected or the double-bounce contributions from the ground are responsible for the high observed P-band returns for HH polarization.

  2. Echolocating bats emit a highly directional sonar sound beam in the field

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Surlykke, Annemarie; Boel Pedersen, Simon; Jakobsen, Lasse

    2009-01-01

    Bats use echolocation or biosonar to navigate and find prey at night. They emit short ultrasonic calls and listen for reflected echoes. The beam width of the calls is central to the function of the sonar, but directionality of echolocation calls has never been measured from bats flying in the wild....... We used a microphone array to record sounds and determine horizontal directionality for echolocation calls of the trawling Daubenton's bat, Myotis daubentonii, flying over a pond in its natural habitat. Myotis daubentonii emitted highly directional calls in the field. Directionality increased...... and directionality can be explained by the simple piston model. The model also suggests that the increase in the emitted intensity in the field is caused by the increased directionality, focusing sound energy in the forward direction. The bat may increase directionality by opening the mouth wider to emit a louder...

  3. Computing return times or return periods with rare event algorithms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lestang, Thibault; Ragone, Francesco; Bréhier, Charles-Edouard; Herbert, Corentin; Bouchet, Freddy

    2018-04-01

    The average time between two occurrences of the same event, referred to as its return time (or return period), is a useful statistical concept for practical applications. For instance insurances or public agencies may be interested by the return time of a 10 m flood of the Seine river in Paris. However, due to their scarcity, reliably estimating return times for rare events is very difficult using either observational data or direct numerical simulations. For rare events, an estimator for return times can be built from the extrema of the observable on trajectory blocks. Here, we show that this estimator can be improved to remain accurate for return times of the order of the block size. More importantly, we show that this approach can be generalised to estimate return times from numerical algorithms specifically designed to sample rare events. So far those algorithms often compute probabilities, rather than return times. The approach we propose provides a computationally extremely efficient way to estimate numerically the return times of rare events for a dynamical system, gaining several orders of magnitude of computational costs. We illustrate the method on two kinds of observables, instantaneous and time-averaged, using two different rare event algorithms, for a simple stochastic process, the Ornstein–Uhlenbeck process. As an example of realistic applications to complex systems, we finally discuss extreme values of the drag on an object in a turbulent flow.

  4. Does a Syrinx Matter for Return to Play in Contact Sports? A Case Report and Evidence-Based Review of Return-to-Play Criteria After Transient Quadriplegia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milles, Jeffrey L; Gallizzi, Michael A; Sherman, Seth L; Smith, Patrick A; Choma, Theodore J

    2014-09-01

    Transient quadriplegia is a rare injury that can change the course of an athlete's career if misdiagnosed or managed inappropriately. The clinician should be well versed in the return-to-play criteria for this type of injury. Unfortunately, when an unknown preexisting syrinx is present in the athlete, there is less guidance on their ability to return to play. This case report and review of the current literature illustrates a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I football player who suffered a transient quadriplegic event during a kickoff return that subsequently was found to have an incidental cervical syrinx on magnetic resonance imaging. The player was able to have a full neurologic recovery, but ultimately he was withheld from football.

  5. Synthetic aperture integration (SAI) algorithm for SAR imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chambers, David H; Mast, Jeffrey E; Paglieroni, David W; Beer, N. Reginald

    2013-07-09

    A method and system for detecting the presence of subsurface objects within a medium is provided. In some embodiments, the imaging and detection system operates in a multistatic mode to collect radar return signals generated by an array of transceiver antenna pairs that is positioned across the surface and that travels down the surface. The imaging and detection system pre-processes the return signal to suppress certain undesirable effects. The imaging and detection system then generates synthetic aperture radar images from real aperture radar images generated from the pre-processed return signal. The imaging and detection system then post-processes the synthetic aperture radar images to improve detection of subsurface objects. The imaging and detection system identifies peaks in the energy levels of the post-processed image frame, which indicates the presence of a subsurface object.

  6. Ultrasound -- Pelvis

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... The principles are similar to sonar used by boats and submarines. The ultrasound image is immediately visible ... principles involved in the sonar used by bats, ships and fishermen. When a sound wave strikes an ...

  7. Foreign Body Retrieval

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... The principles are similar to sonar used by boats and submarines. The ultrasound image is immediately visible ... principles involved in the sonar used by bats, ships and fishermen. When a sound wave strikes an ...

  8. Foreign Body Retrieval

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... echoes from the tissues in the body. The principles are similar to sonar used by boats and ... rays. Ultrasound imaging is based on the same principles involved in the sonar used by bats, ships ...

  9. Prostate Ultrasound

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... echoes from the tissues in the body. The principles are similar to sonar used by boats and ... work? Ultrasound imaging is based on the same principles involved in the sonar used by bats, ships ...

  10. Ultrasound -- Pelvis

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... echoes from the tissues in the body. The principles are similar to sonar used by boats and ... work? Ultrasound imaging is based on the same principles involved in the sonar used by bats, ships ...

  11. Sonohysterography

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... echoes from the tissues in the body. The principles are similar to sonar used by boats and ... work? Ultrasound imaging is based on the same principles involved in the sonar used by bats, ships ...

  12. 26 CFR 301.6103(h)(2)-1 - Disclosure of returns and return information (including taxpayer return information) to and by...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... administration. 301.6103(h)(2)-1 Section 301.6103(h)(2)-1 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT... Returns Returns and Records § 301.6103(h)(2)-1 Disclosure of returns and return information (including..., shall, to the extent provided by section 6103(h)(2) (A), (B), and (C) and subject to the requirements of...

  13. Understanding Measurements Returned by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen, Daniel Parke; Criscuoli, Serena

    2014-06-01

    The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) aboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) observes the Sun at the FeI 6173 Å line and returns full disk maps of line-of-sight observables including the magnetic field flux, FeI line width, line depth, and continuum intensity. To properly interpret such data it is important to understand any issues with the HMI and the pipeline that produces these observables. At this aim, HMI data were analyzed at both daily intervals for a span of 3 years at disk center in the quiet Sun and hourly intervals for a span of 200 hours around an active region. Systematic effects attributed to issues with instrument adjustments and re-calibrations, variations in the transmission filters and the orbital velocities of the SDO were found while the actual physical evolutions of such observables were difficult to determine. Velocities and magnetic flux measurements are less affected, as the aforementioned effects are partially compensated for by the HMI algorithm; the other observables are instead affected by larger uncertainties. In order to model these uncertainties, the HMI pipeline was tested with synthetic spectra generated through various 1D atmosphere models with radiative transfer code (the RH code). It was found that HMI estimates of line width, line depth, and continuum intensity are highly dependent on the shape of the line, and therefore highly dependent on the line-of-sight angle and the magnetic field associated to the model. The best estimates are found for Quiet regions at disk center, for which the relative differences between theoretical and HMI algorithm values are 6-8% for line width, 10-15% for line depth, and 0.1-0.2% for continuum intensity. In general, the relative difference between theoretical values and HMI estimates increases toward the limb and with the increase of the field; the HMI algorithm seems to fail in regions with fields larger than ~2000 G. This work is carried out through the National Solar Observatory

  14. Turbine imaging technology assessment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moursund, R. A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Carlson, T. J. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

    2004-12-01

    The goal of this project was to identify and evaluate imaging technologies for observing juvenile fish within a Kaplan turbine, and specifically that would enable scientists to determine mechanisms of fish injury within an operating turbine unit. This report documents the opportunities and constraints for observing juvenile fish at specific locations during turbine passage. These observations were used to make modifications to dam structures and operations to improve conditions for fish passage while maintaining or improving hydropower production. The physical and hydraulic environment that fish experience as they pass through the hydroelectric plants were studied and the regions with the greatest potential for injury were defined. Biological response data were also studied to determine the probable types of injuries sustained in the turbine intake and what types of injuries are detectable with imaging technologies. The study grouped injury-causing mechanisms into two categories: fluid (pressure/cavitation, shear, turbulence) and mechanical (strike/collision, grinding/pinching, scraping). The physical constraints of the environment, together with the likely types of injuries to fish, provided the parameters needed for a rigorous imaging technology evaluation. Types of technology evaluated included both tracking and imaging systems using acoustic technologies (such as sonar and acoustic tags) and optic technologies (such as pulsed-laser videography, which is high-speed videography using a laser as the flash). Criteria for determining image data quality such as frame rate, target detectability, and resolution were used to quantify the minimum requirements of an imaging sensor.

  15. Electromagnetic brain imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sekihara, Kensuke

    2008-01-01

    Present imaging methods of cerebral neuro-activity like brain functional MRI and positron emission tomography (PET) secondarily measure only average activities within a time of the second-order (low time-resolution). In contrast, the electromagnetic brain imaging (EMBI) directly measures the faint magnetic field (10 -12 -10 -13 T) yielded by the cerebral activity with use of multiple arrayed sensors equipped on the head surface within a time of sub-millisecond order (high time-resolution). The sensor array technology to find the signal source from the measured data is common in wide areas like signal procession for radar, sonar, and epicenter detection by seismic wave. For estimating and reconstructing the active region in the brain in EMBI, the efficient method must be developed and this paper describes the direct and inverse problems concerned in signal and image processions of EMBI. The direct problem involves the cerebral magnetic field/lead field matrix and inverse problem for reconstruction of signal source, the MUSIC (multiple signal classification) algorithm, GLRT (generalized likelihood ratio test) scan, and adaptive beamformer. As an example, given are results of magnetic intensity changes (unit, fT) in the somatosensory cortex vs time (msec) measured by 160 sensors and of images reconstructed from EMBI and MRI during electric muscle afferent input from the hand. The real-time imaging is thus possible with EMBI and extremely, the EMBI image, the real-time cerebral signals, can inversely operate a machine, of which application directs toward the brain/machine interface development. (R.T.)

  16. Predictable return distributions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Thomas Quistgaard

    trace out the entire distribution. A univariate quantile regression model is used to examine stock and bond return distributions individually, while a multivariate model is used to capture their joint distribution. An empirical analysis on US data shows that certain parts of the return distributions......-of-sample analyses show that the relative accuracy of the state variables in predicting future returns varies across the distribution. A portfolio study shows that an investor with power utility can obtain economic gains by applying the empirical return distribution in portfolio decisions instead of imposing...

  17. Return-to-Work Program for Injured Workers: Factors of Successful Return to Employment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Awang, Halimah; Shahabudin, Sharifah Muhairah; Mansor, Norma

    2016-11-01

    This study examined the factors of successful return to employment among participants in the return to work program (RTW) following work-related injury. Data were obtained from the Social Security Organization database containing 9850 injured workers who underwent RTW in 2010 to 2013. About 65% had successfully returned to employment. Significant factors of successful return include gender, employer interest, motivation, age, intervention duration, and type of injury. Male and motivated employees were more likely to return to employment compared with female and unmotivated employees, respectively. Participants from interested employers were 23.22 times more likely to return to work than those from uninterested employers, whereas participants whose intervention period exceeded 5 months were 41% less likely to return to work compared with those whose intervention period was within 3 months. Appropriate strategy and enhanced collaboration between the stakeholders would improve the proportion of successful return to employment. © 2016 APJPH.

  18. Adaptive beamforming for low frequency SAS imagery and bathymetry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hayes, M.P.; Hunter, A.J.

    2012-01-01

    Synthetic aperture side-scan sonar (SAS) is a mature technology for high-resolution sea floor imaging [1]. Interferometric synthetic aperture sonars (InSAS) use additional hydrophones in a vertical array for bathymetric mapping [2]. This has created high-resolution bathymetry in deep water

  19. 26 CFR 1.6013-2 - Joint return after filing separate return.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... the case of a joint return made under section 6013(b), the period of limitations provided in sections... (c)(1) of this section, relating to the application of sections 6501 and 6651 with respect to a joint... 26 Internal Revenue 13 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Joint return after filing separate return. 1...

  20. The Risk Return Relationship: Evidence from Index Return and Realised Variance Series

    OpenAIRE

    Minxian Yang

    2014-01-01

    The risk return relationship is analysed in bivariate models for return and realised variance(RV) series. Based on daily time series from 21 international market indices for more than 13 years (January 2000 to February 2013), the empirical findings support the arguments of risk return tradeoff, volatility feedback and statistical balance. It is reasoned that the empirical risk return relationship is primarily shaped by two important data features: the negative contemporaneous correlation betw...

  1. Using data crawlers and semantic Web to build financial XBRL data generators: the SONAR extension approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodríguez-García, Miguel Ángel; Rodríguez-González, Alejandro; Colomo-Palacios, Ricardo; Valencia-García, Rafael; Gómez-Berbís, Juan Miguel; García-Sánchez, Francisco

    2014-01-01

    Precise, reliable and real-time financial information is critical for added-value financial services after the economic turmoil from which markets are still struggling to recover. Since the Web has become the most significant data source, intelligent crawlers based on Semantic Technologies have become trailblazers in the search of knowledge combining natural language processing and ontology engineering techniques. In this paper, we present the SONAR extension approach, which will leverage the potential of knowledge representation by extracting, managing, and turning scarce and disperse financial information into well-classified, structured, and widely used XBRL format-oriented knowledge, strongly supported by a proof-of-concept implementation and a thorough evaluation of the benefits of the approach.

  2. Using Data Crawlers and Semantic Web to Build Financial XBRL Data Generators: The SONAR Extension Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miguel Ángel Rodríguez-García

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Precise, reliable and real-time financial information is critical for added-value financial services after the economic turmoil from which markets are still struggling to recover. Since the Web has become the most significant data source, intelligent crawlers based on Semantic Technologies have become trailblazers in the search of knowledge combining natural language processing and ontology engineering techniques. In this paper, we present the SONAR extension approach, which will leverage the potential of knowledge representation by extracting, managing, and turning scarce and disperse financial information into well-classified, structured, and widely used XBRL format-oriented knowledge, strongly supported by a proof-of-concept implementation and a thorough evaluation of the benefits of the approach.

  3. Using Data Crawlers and Semantic Web to Build Financial XBRL Data Generators: The SONAR Extension Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodríguez-García, Miguel Ángel; Rodríguez-González, Alejandro; Valencia-García, Rafael; Gómez-Berbís, Juan Miguel

    2014-01-01

    Precise, reliable and real-time financial information is critical for added-value financial services after the economic turmoil from which markets are still struggling to recover. Since the Web has become the most significant data source, intelligent crawlers based on Semantic Technologies have become trailblazers in the search of knowledge combining natural language processing and ontology engineering techniques. In this paper, we present the SONAR extension approach, which will leverage the potential of knowledge representation by extracting, managing, and turning scarce and disperse financial information into well-classified, structured, and widely used XBRL format-oriented knowledge, strongly supported by a proof-of-concept implementation and a thorough evaluation of the benefits of the approach. PMID:24587726

  4. Underwater image mosaicking and visual odometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sadjadi, Firooz; Tangirala, Sekhar; Sorber, Scott

    2017-05-01

    This paper summarizes the results of studies in underwater odometery using a video camera for estimating the velocity of an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV). Underwater vehicles are usually equipped with sonar and Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) - an integrated sensor package that combines multiple accelerometers and gyros to produce a three dimensional measurement of both specific force and angular rate with respect to an inertial reference frame for navigation. In this study, we investigate the use of odometry information obtainable from a video camera mounted on a UUV to extract vehicle velocity relative to the ocean floor. A key challenge with this process is the seemingly bland (i.e. featureless) nature of video data obtained underwater which could make conventional approaches to image-based motion estimation difficult. To address this problem, we perform image enhancement, followed by frame to frame image transformation, registration and mosaicking/stitching. With this approach the velocity components associated with the moving sensor (vehicle) are readily obtained from (i) the components of the transform matrix at each frame; (ii) information about the height of the vehicle above the seabed; and (iii) the sensor resolution. Preliminary results are presented.

  5. Process for treating signals returning by an eddy current absolute punctual probe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Attaqui, P.; Benoist, B.; Besnard, R.; David, B.

    1994-01-01

    The method of signal treatment involves returning signals to eddy currents moving along an internal surface of a tube. A signal representing the state of the surface is delivered and the surface is swept based on a given order of elementary measurement zones. Values of samples of a signal are registered for each zone giving a three dimensional image of the surface. A background noise surface is constructed and substracted from the image. 7 figs

  6. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) -- Head

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... As the hydrogen atoms return to their usual alignment, they emit different amounts of energy that vary ... story about radiology? Share your patient story here Images × Image Gallery Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) procedure View ...

  7. Spatially assisted down-track median filter for GPR image post-processing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paglieroni, David W; Beer, N Reginald

    2014-10-07

    A method and system for detecting the presence of subsurface objects within a medium is provided. In some embodiments, the imaging and detection system operates in a multistatic mode to collect radar return signals generated by an array of transceiver antenna pairs that is positioned across the surface and that travels down the surface. The imaging and detection system pre-processes the return signal to suppress certain undesirable effects. The imaging and detection system then generates synthetic aperture radar images from real aperture radar images generated from the pre-processed return signal. The imaging and detection system then post-processes the synthetic aperture radar images to improve detection of subsurface objects. The imaging and detection system identifies peaks in the energy levels of the post-processed image frame, which indicates the presence of a subsurface object.

  8. Imaging of Muscle Injuries in Sports Medicine: Sports Imaging Series

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Guermazi, Ali; Roemer, Frank W.; Robinson, Philip; Tol, Johannes L.; Regatte, Ravindar R.; Crema, Michel D.

    2017-01-01

    In sports-related muscle injuries, the main goal of the sports medicine physician is to return the athlete to competition-balanced against the need to prevent the injury from worsening or recurring. Prognosis based on the available clinical and imaging information is crucial. Imaging is crucial to

  9. Adaptive vocal behavior drives perception by echolocation in bats

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Moss, Cynthia F; Chiu, Chen; Surlykke, Annemarie

    2011-01-01

    Echolocation operates through adaptive sensorimotor systems that collectively enable the bat to localize and track sonar objects as it flies. The features of sonar signals used by a bat to probe its surroundings determine the information available to its acoustic imaging system. In turn, the bat......'s perception of a complex scene guides its active adjustments in the features of subsequent sonar vocalizations. Here, we propose that the bat's active vocal-motor behaviors play directly into its representation of a dynamic auditory scene....

  10. Implementation of Signal Processing in Stereo-Scopic Active Sonar Using Heterodyne System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    BOKHARI Syed Umar

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available “SONAR” is an acronym for sound ranging and navigation. It uses sound waves to detect an object in the surroundings and calculate its distance. This device has a very important applications in shipbuilding industry and military systems. Moreover it’s also being extensively used in deep sea research of new species of plants and minerals, where it is practically impossible for humans to go. The most important feature of this system is the usage of ultrasonicfrequency to detect objects that are important for data collection or detection. Transmitting an ultra sonic frequency using an electronic oscillator is not a very difficult task, the real challenge is to design a reciever that could carry out a particular modulation technique to convert an ultra-sonic frequency to an audiblefrequency. In this paper, we propose aseteroscopic active SONAR proto-type. Further, we performed a seriers of expeirments using modulation techniques. The results obtained from the experiments gives us a braod understanding of the different behaviour of asignal.

  11. Wireless recording of the calls of Rousettus aegyptiacus and their reproduction using electrostatic transducers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Whiteley, S M; Hayward, G; Pierce, S G; Waters, D A; Farr, I

    2010-01-01

    Bats are capable of imaging their surroundings in great detail using echolocation. To apply similar methods to human engineering systems requires the capability to measure and recreate the signals used, and to understand the processing applied to returning echoes. In this work, the emitted and reflected echolocation signals of Rousettus aegyptiacus are recorded while the bat is in flight, using a wireless sensor mounted on the bat. The sensor is designed to replicate the acoustic gain control which bats are known to use, applying a gain to returning echoes that is dependent on the incurred time delay. Employing this technique allows emitted and reflected echolocation calls, which have a wide dynamic range, to be recorded. The recorded echoes demonstrate the complexity of environment reconstruction using echolocation. The sensor is also used to make accurate recordings of the emitted calls, and these calls are recreated in the laboratory using custom-built wideband electrostatic transducers, allied with a spectral equalization technique. This technique is further demonstrated by recreating multi-harmonic bioinspired FM chirps. The ability to record and accurately synthesize echolocation calls enables the exploitation of biological signals in human engineering systems for sonar, materials characterization and imaging.

  12. Quantum imaging for underwater arctic navigation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lanzagorta, Marco

    2017-05-01

    The precise navigation of underwater vehicles is a difficult task due to the challenges imposed by the variable oceanic environment. It is particularly difficult if the underwater vehicle is trying to navigate under the Arctic ice shelf. Indeed, in this scenario traditional navigation devices such as GPS, compasses and gyrocompasses are unavailable or unreliable. In addition, the shape and thickness of the ice shelf is variable throughout the year. Current Arctic underwater navigation systems include sonar arrays to detect the proximity to the ice. However, these systems are undesirable in a wartime environment, as the sound gives away the position of the underwater vehicle. In this paper we briefly describe the theoretical design of a quantum imaging system that could allow the safe and stealthy navigation of underwater Arctic vehicles.

  13. [Anomalous pulmonary venous return in a pregnant woman identified by cardiac magnetic resonance].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Souto, Fernanda Maria; Andrade, Stephanie Macedo; Barreto, Ana Terra Fonseca; Souto, Maria Júlia Silveira; Russo, Maria Amélia; de Mendonça, José Teles; Oliveira, Joselina Luzia Menezes; Gonçalves, Luiz Flávio Galvão

    2014-06-01

    Anomalous pulmonary venous return (APVR) is a rare cardiac anomaly defined as one or more pulmonary veins draining into a structure other than the left atrium, with venous return directly or indirectly to the right atrium. The most common form is partial APVR, in which one to three pulmonary veins drain into systemic veins or into the right atrium. We report the case of a woman diagnosed with partial APVR by magnetic resonance imaging during pregnancy. Copyright © 2013 Sociedade Portuguesa de Cardiologia. Published by Elsevier España. All rights reserved.

  14. Surgical reconstruction of spinal cord circuit provides functional return in humans

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas Carlstedt

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This mini review describes the current surgical strategy for restoring function after traumatic spinal nerve root avulsion in brachial or lumbosacral plexus injury in man. As this lesion is a spinal cord or central nervous injury functional return depends on spinal cord nerve cell growth within the central nervous system. Basic science, clinical research and human application has demonstrated good and useful motor function after ventral root avulsion followed by spinal cord reimplantation. Recently, sensory return could be demonstrated following spinal cord surgery bypassing the injured primary sensory neuron. Experimental data showed that most of the recovery depended on new growth reinnervating peripheral receptors. Restored sensory function and the return of spinal reflex was demonstrated by electrophysiology and functional magnetic resonance imaging of human cortex. This spinal cord surgery is a unique treatment of central nervous system injury resulting in useful functional return. Further improvements will not depend on surgical improvements. Adjuvant therapy aiming at ameliorating the activity in retinoic acid elements in dorsal root ganglion neurons could be a new therapeutic avenue in restoring spinal cord circuits after nerve root avulsion injury.

  15. On return rate implied by behavioural present value

    OpenAIRE

    Piasecki, Krzysztof

    2013-01-01

    The future value of a security is described as a random variable. Distribution of this random variable is the formal image of risk uncertainty. On the other side, any present value is defined as a value equivalent to the given future value. This equivalence relationship is a subjective. Thus follows, that present value is described as a fuzzy number, which is depend on the investor's susceptibility to behavioural factors. All above reasons imply, that return rate is given as a fuzzy probabili...

  16. Joseph F. Keithley Award For Advances in Measurement Science Lecture: Thermophotonic and Photoacoustic Radar Imaging Methods for Biomedical and Dental Imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mandelis, Andreas

    2012-02-01

    In the first part of this presentation I will introduce thermophotonic radar imaging principles and techniques using chirped or binary-phase-coded modulation, methods which can break through the maximum detection depth/depth resolution limitations of conventional photothermal waves. Using matched-filter principles, a methodology enabling parabolic diffusion-wave energy fields to exhibit energy localization akin to propagating hyperbolic wave-fields has been developed. It allows for deconvolution of individual responses of superposed axially discrete sources, opening a new field: depth-resolved thermal coherence tomography. Several examples from dental enamel caries diagnostic imaging to metal subsurface defect thermographic imaging will be discussed. The second part will introduce the field of photoacoustic radar (or sonar) biomedical imaging. I will report the development of a novel biomedical imaging system that utilizes a continuous-wave laser source with a custom intensity modulation pattern, ultrasonic phased array for signal detection and processing coupled with a beamforming algorithm for reconstruction of photoacoustic correlation images. Utilization of specific chirped modulation waveforms (``waveform engineering'') achieves dramatic signal-to-noise-ratio increase and improved axial resolution over pulsed laser photoacoustics. The talk will conclude with aspects of instrumental sensitivity of the PA Radar to optical contrast using cancerous breast tissue-mimicking phantoms, super paramagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles as contrast enhancement agents and in-vivo tissue samples.

  17. Predictability of Stock Returns

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmet Sekreter

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Predictability of stock returns has been shown by empirical studies over time. This article collects the most important theories on forecasting stock returns and investigates the factors that affecting behavior of the stocks’ prices and the market as a whole. Estimation of the factors and the way of estimation are the key issues of predictability of stock returns.

  18. Variable reporting of functional outcomes and return to play in superior labrum anterior and posterior tear.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steinhaus, Michael E; Makhni, Eric C; Lieber, Adam C; Kahlenberg, Cynthia A; Gulotta, Lawrence V; Romeo, Anthony A; Verma, Nikhil N

    2016-11-01

    Outcomes assessments after superior labrum anterior and posterior (SLAP) tear/repair are highly varied, making it difficult to draw comparisons across the literature. This study examined the inconsistency in outcomes reporting in the SLAP tear literature. We hypothesize that there is significant variability in outcomes reporting and that although most studies may report return to play, time to return reporting will be highly variable. The PubMed, Medline, Scopus, and Embase databases were systematically reviewed for studies from January 2000 to December 2014 reporting outcomes after SLAP tear/repair. Two reviewers assessed each study, and those meeting inclusion criteria were examined for pertinent data. Outcomes included objective (range of motion, strength, clinical examinations, and imaging) and subjective (patient-reported outcomes, satisfaction, activities of daily living, and return to play) measures. Of the 56 included studies, 43% documented range of motion, 14% reported strength, and 16% noted postoperative imaging. There was significant variation in use of patient-reported outcomes measures, with the 3 most commonly noted measures reported in 20% to 55% of studies. Return to play was noted in 75% of studies, and 23% reported time to return, with greater rates in elite athletes. Eleven studies (20%) did not report follow-up or noted data with <12 months of follow-up. The SLAP literature is characterized by substantial variability in outcomes reporting, with time to return to play noted in few studies. Efforts to standardize outcomes reporting would facilitate comparisons across the literature and improve our understanding of the prognosis of this injury. Copyright © 2016 Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Board of Trustees. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Composite Wavelet Filters for Enhanced Automated Target Recognition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiang, Jeffrey N.; Zhang, Yuhan; Lu, Thomas T.; Chao, Tien-Hsin

    2012-01-01

    Automated Target Recognition (ATR) systems aim to automate target detection, recognition, and tracking. The current project applies a JPL ATR system to low-resolution sonar and camera videos taken from unmanned vehicles. These sonar images are inherently noisy and difficult to interpret, and pictures taken underwater are unreliable due to murkiness and inconsistent lighting. The ATR system breaks target recognition into three stages: 1) Videos of both sonar and camera footage are broken into frames and preprocessed to enhance images and detect Regions of Interest (ROIs). 2) Features are extracted from these ROIs in preparation for classification. 3) ROIs are classified as true or false positives using a standard Neural Network based on the extracted features. Several preprocessing, feature extraction, and training methods are tested and discussed in this paper.

  20. The Return to Foreign Aid

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dalgaard, Carl-Johan Lars; Hansen, Henrik

    2017-01-01

    We estimate the average rate of return on investments financed by aid and by domestic resource mobilisation, using aggregate data. Both returns are expected to vary across countries and time. Consequently we develop a correlated random coefficients model to estimate the average returns. Across...... different estimators and two different data sources for GDP and investment our findings are remarkably robust; the average gross return on ‘aid investments’ is about 20 per cent. This is in accord with micro estimates of the economic rate of return on aid projects and with aggregate estimates of the rate...

  1. Automatic classification techniques for type of sediment map from multibeam sonar data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zakariya, R.; Abdullah, M. A.; Che Hasan, R.; Khalil, I.

    2018-02-01

    Sediment map can be important information for various applications such as oil drilling, environmental and pollution study. A study on sediment mapping was conducted at a natural reef (rock) in Pulau Payar using Sound Navigation and Ranging (SONAR) technology which is Multibeam Echosounder R2-Sonic. This study aims to determine sediment type by obtaining backscatter and bathymetry data from multibeam echosounder. Ground truth data were used to verify the classification produced. The method used to analyze ground truth samples consists of particle size analysis (PSA) and dry sieving methods. Different analysis being carried out due to different sizes of sediment sample obtained. The smaller size was analyzed using PSA with the brand CILAS while bigger size sediment was analyzed using sieve. For multibeam, data acquisition includes backscatter strength and bathymetry data were processed using QINSy, Qimera, and ArcGIS. This study shows the capability of multibeam data to differentiate the four types of sediments which are i) very coarse sand, ii) coarse sand, iii) very coarse silt and coarse silt. The accuracy was reported as 92.31% overall accuracy and 0.88 kappa coefficient.

  2. Sea ice draft in the Weddell Sea, measured by upward looking sonars

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Behrendt

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available The presented database contains time-referenced sea ice draft values from upward looking sonar (ULS measurements in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica. The sea ice draft data can be used to infer the thickness of the ice. They were collected during the period 1990–2008. In total, the database includes measurements from 13 locations in the Weddell Sea and was generated from more than 3.7 million measurements of sea ice draft. The files contain uncorrected raw drafts, corrected drafts and the basic parameters measured by the ULS. The measurement principle, the data processing procedure and the quality control are described in detail. To account for the unknown speed of sound in the water column above the ULS, two correction methods were applied to the draft data. The first method is based on defining a reference level from the identification of open water leads. The second method uses a model of sound speed in the oceanic mixed layer and is applied to ice draft in austral winter. Both methods are discussed and their accuracy is estimated. Finally, selected results of the processing are presented. The data can be downloaded from doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.785565.

  3. 76 FR 22611 - Specified Tax Return Preparers Required To File Individual Income Tax Returns Using Magnetic...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-04-22

    ... Specified Tax Return Preparers Required To File Individual Income Tax Returns Using Magnetic Media... Register on Wednesday, March 30, 2011 (76 FR 17521) providing guidance to specified tax return preparers who prepare and file individual income tax returns using magnetic media pursuant to section 6011(e)(3...

  4. Children's (Pediatric) Magnetic Resonance Imaging

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... As the hydrogen atoms return to their usual alignment, they emit different amounts of energy that vary ... story about radiology? Share your patient story here Images × Image Gallery Radiologist prepping patient for magnetic resonance ...

  5. New sidescan sonar and gravity evidence that the Nova-Canton Trough is a fracture zone

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joseph, Devorah; Taylor, Brian; Shor, Alexander N.

    1992-05-01

    A 1990 sidescan sonar survey in the eastern region of the Nova-Canton Trough mapped 138°-striking abyssal-hill fabric trending into 70°-striking trough structures. The location and angle of intersection of the abyssal hills with the eastern Nova-Canton Trough effectively disprove a spreading-center origin of this feature. Free-air gravity anomalies derived from satellite altimetry data show continuity, across the Line Islands, of the Nova-Canton Trough with the Clipperton Fracture Zone. The Canton-Clipperton trend is copolar, about a pole at 30°S, 152°W, with other coeval Pacific-Farallon fracture-zone segments, from the Pau to Marquesas fracture zones. This copolarity leads us to postulate a Pacific-Farallon spreading pattern for the magnetic quiet zone region north and east of the Manihiki Plateau, with the Nova-Canton Trough originating as a transform fault in this system.

  6. Temporal Oculomotor Inhibition of Return and Spatial Facilitation of Return in a Visual Encoding Task

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Steven G Luke

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Oculomotor inhibition of return (O-IOR is an increase in saccade latency prior to an eye movement to a recently fixated location compared to other locations. It has been proposed that this temporal O-IOR may have spatial consequences, facilitating foraging by inhibiting return to previously attended regions. In order to test this possibility, participants viewed arrays of objects and of words while their eye movements were recorded. Temporal O-IOR was observed, with equivalent effects for object and word arrays, indicating that temporal O-IOR is an oculomotor phenomenon independent of array content. There was no evidence for spatial inhibition of return. Instead, spatial facilitation of return was observed: Participants were significantly more likely than chance to make return saccades and to refixate just-visited locations. Further, the likelihood of making a return saccade to an object or word was contingent on the amount of time spent viewing that object or word before leaving it. This suggests that, unlike temporal O-IOR, return probability is influenced by cognitive processing. Taken together, these results are inconsistent with the hypothesis that inhibition of return functions as a foraging facilitator. The results also provide strong evidence for a different oculomotor bias that could serve as a foraging facilitator: saccadic momentum, a tendency to repeat the most recently executed saccade program. We suggest that models of visual attention could incorporate saccadic momentum in place of inhibition of return.

  7. Mars Sample Return Architecture Overview

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edwards, C. D.; Vijendran, S.

    2018-04-01

    NASA and ESA are exploring potential concepts for a Sample Retrieval Lander and Earth Return Orbiter that could return samples planned to be collected and cached by the Mars 2020 rover mission. We provide an overview of the Mars Sample Return architecture.

  8. 26 CFR 20.6018-2 - Returns; person required to file return.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... executor or administrator shall file the return. If there is more than one executor or administrator, the return must be made jointly by all. If there is no executor or administrator appointed, qualified and... decedent situated in the United States is constituted an executor for purposes of the tax (see § 20.2203-1...

  9. PUC fast track nips returns

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1990-01-01

    In the first of what it says will be annual cost-of-capital proceedings to set returns on equity and rates of return on rate base for electric utilities, the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) lowered from 1989 levels the 1990 returns on common equity (ROE) and rates of return (ROR) for the state's four major investor-owned electric utilities. Under this fast-track procedure, by May 8 of every year, utilities will have to file an application for rate adjustments that reflect their projected costs of capital for the following year

  10. The return to foreign aid

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dalgaard, Carl-Johan Lars; Hansen, Henrik

    We investigate the marginal productivity of investment across countries. The aim is to estimate the return on investments financed by foreign aid and by domestic resource mobilization, using aggregate data. Both returns are expected to vary across countries and time. Consequently we develop...... a correlated random coefficients model, to estimate the average aggregate return on ‘aid investments’ and ‘domestic investments’. Across different estimators and two different sources for GDP and investment data our findings are remarkably robust; the average gross return on ‘aid investments’ is about 20 per...

  11. Tourist destination image and consumer behaviour: The case of the Azores

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Helena Maria Pascoal Melo

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Destinations are currently seeking to become more distinctive in an increasingly competitive market in which image is a decisive element in tourists’ destination selection. This study sought to understand the Azores’ overall image as a tourist destination in major source markets and to ascertain these markets’ level of satisfaction and behavioural intentions concerning the archipelago. The literature review in this paper addresses the definition of tourist destination image and the issue of satisfaction, since these influence intention to return and/or intention to recommend tourist destinations. The results indicate that (1 overall image influences satisfaction and intention to recommend and/or return to tourist destinations and (2 satisfaction influences intention to recommend and/or return to tourist destinations. This study also verified that most tourists are very satisfied with the Azores, as well as having a quite positive overall image of this destination.

  12. An Improved Azimuth Angle Estimation Method with a Single Acoustic Vector Sensor Based on an Active Sonar Detection System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Anbang; Ma, Lin; Ma, Xuefei; Hui, Juan

    2017-02-20

    In this paper, an improved azimuth angle estimation method with a single acoustic vector sensor (AVS) is proposed based on matched filtering theory. The proposed method is mainly applied in an active sonar detection system. According to the conventional passive method based on complex acoustic intensity measurement, the mathematical and physical model of this proposed method is described in detail. The computer simulation and lake experiments results indicate that this method can realize the azimuth angle estimation with high precision by using only a single AVS. Compared with the conventional method, the proposed method achieves better estimation performance. Moreover, the proposed method does not require complex operations in frequencydomain and achieves computational complexity reduction.

  13. An Improved Azimuth Angle Estimation Method with a Single Acoustic Vector Sensor Based on an Active Sonar Detection System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anbang Zhao

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, an improved azimuth angle estimation method with a single acoustic vector sensor (AVS is proposed based on matched filtering theory. The proposed method is mainly applied in an active sonar detection system. According to the conventional passive method based on complex acoustic intensity measurement, the mathematical and physical model of this proposed method is described in detail. The computer simulation and lake experiments results indicate that this method can realize the azimuth angle estimation with high precision by using only a single AVS. Compared with the conventional method, the proposed method achieves better estimation performance. Moreover, the proposed method does not require complex operations in frequencydomain and achieves computational complexity reduction.

  14. Utilization of sonar technology and microcontroller towards reducing aviation hazards during ground handling of aircraft

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khanam, Mosammat Samia; Biswas, Debasish; Rashid, Mohsina; Salam, Md Abdus

    2017-12-01

    Safety is one of the most important factors in the field of aviation. Though, modern aircraft are equipped with many instruments/devices to enhance the flight safety but it is seen that accidents/incidents are never reduced to zero. Analysis of the statistical summary of Commercial Jet Airplane accidents highlights that fatal accidents that occurred worldwide from 2006 through 2015 is 11% during taxing, loading/unloading, parking and towing. Human, handling the aircrafts is one of the most important links in aircraft maintenance and hence play a significant role in aviation safety. Effort has been made in this paper to obviate human error in aviation and outline an affordable system that monitors the uneven surface &obstacles for safe "towing in" and "towing out" of an aircraft by the ground crew. The system revolves around implementation of sonar technology by microcontroller. Ultrasonic sensors can be installed on aircraft wings and tail section to identify the uneven surface &obstacles ahead and provide early warning to the maintenance ground crews.

  15. Fundamental volatility and stock returns : does fundamental volatility explain stock returns?

    OpenAIRE

    Selboe, Guner K.; Virdee, Jaspal Singh

    2017-01-01

    In this thesis, we investigate whether the fundamental uncertainty can explain the crosssection of stock returns. To measure the fundamental uncertainty, we estimate rolling standard deviations and accounting betas of four different fundamentals: revenues, gross profit, earnings and cash flows. The standard deviation and the beta of revenues significantly explain returns in the Fama-Macbeth procedure, but only appears significant among smaller stocks in the portfolio formation ...

  16. Classifying Returns as Extreme

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christiansen, Charlotte

    2014-01-01

    I consider extreme returns for the stock and bond markets of 14 EU countries using two classification schemes: One, the univariate classification scheme from the previous literature that classifies extreme returns for each market separately, and two, a novel multivariate classification scheme tha...

  17. QR-GARCH-M Model for Risk-Return Tradeoff in U.S. Stock Returns and Business Cycles

    OpenAIRE

    Nyberg, Henri

    2010-01-01

    In the empirical finance literature findings on the risk return tradeoff in excess stock market returns are ambiguous. In this study, we develop a new QR-GARCH-M model combining a probit model for a binary business cycle indicator and a regime switching GARCH-in-mean model for excess stock market return with the business cycle indicator defining the regime. Estimation results show that there is statistically significant variation in the U.S. excess stock returns over the business cycle. Howev...

  18. Return Migration as Failure or Success?: The Determinants of Return Migration Intentions Among Moroccan Migrants in Europe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Haas, Hein; Fokkema, Tineke; Fihri, Mohamed Fassi

    Different migration theories generate competing hypotheses with regard to determinants of return migration. While neoclassical migration theory associates migration to the failure to integrate at the destination, the new economics of labour migration sees return migration as the logical stage after migrants have earned sufficient assets and knowledge and to invest in their origin countries. The projected return is then likely to be postponed for sustained or indefinite periods if integration is unsuccessful. So, from an indication or result of integration failure return is rather seen as a measure of success. Drawing on recent survey data ( N  = 2,832), this article tests these hypotheses by examining the main determinants of return intention among Moroccan migrants across Europe. The results indicate that structural integration through labour market participation, education and the maintenance of economic and social ties with receiving countries do not significantly affect return intentions. At the same time, investments and social ties to Morocco are positively related, and socio-cultural integration in receiving countries is negatively related to return migration intentions. The mixed results corroborate the idea that there is no uniform process of (return) migration and that competing theories might therefore be partly complementary.

  19. General Ultrasound Imaging

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... need to be returned to the transducer for analysis. Ultrasound has difficulty penetrating bone and, therefore, can ... ultrasound procedure View full size with caption Pediatric Content Some imaging tests and treatments have special pediatric ...

  20. 75 FR 76940 - Specified Tax Return Preparers Required To File Individual Income Tax Returns Using Magnetic...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-10

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Internal Revenue Service 26 CFR Parts 1 and 301 [REG-100194-10] RIN 1545-BJ52 Specified Tax Return Preparers Required To File Individual Income Tax Returns Using Magnetic... for ``specified tax return prepares,''. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Keith L. Brau at (202) 622...

  1. A Perishable Inventory Model with Return

    Science.gov (United States)

    Setiawan, S. W.; Lesmono, D.; Limansyah, T.

    2018-04-01

    In this paper, we develop a mathematical model for a perishable inventory with return by assuming deterministic demand and inventory dependent demand. By inventory dependent demand, it means that demand at certain time depends on the available inventory at that time with certain rate. In dealing with perishable items, we should consider deteriorating rate factor that corresponds to the decreasing quality of goods. There are also costs involved in this model such as purchasing, ordering, holding, shortage (backordering) and returning costs. These costs compose the total costs in the model that we want to minimize. In the model we seek for the optimal return time and order quantity. We assume that after some period of time, called return time, perishable items can be returned to the supplier at some returning costs. The supplier will then replace them in the next delivery. Some numerical experiments are given to illustrate our model and sensitivity analysis is performed as well. We found that as the deteriorating rate increases, returning time becomes shorter, the optimal order quantity and total cost increases. When considering the inventory-dependent demand factor, we found that as this factor increases, assuming a certain deteriorating rate, returning time becomes shorter, optimal order quantity becomes larger and the total cost increases.

  2. Foreign currency returns and systematic risks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Galsband, V.; Nitschka, T.

    2015-01-01

    We apply an empirical approximation of the intertemporal capital asset pricing model (ICAPM) to show that cross-sectional dispersion in currency returns can be rationalized by differences in currency excess returns' sensitivities to the market return's cash-flow news component. This finding echoes

  3. Synthetic aperture radar imaging simulator for pulse envelope evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balster, Eric J.; Scarpino, Frank A.; Kordik, Andrew M.; Hill, Kerry L.

    2017-10-01

    A simulator for spotlight synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image formation is presented. The simulator produces radar returns from a virtual radar positioned at an arbitrary distance and altitude. The radar returns are produced from a source image, where the return is a weighted summation of linear frequency-modulated (LFM) pulse signals delayed by the distance of each pixel in the image to the radar. The imagery is resampled into polar format to ensure consistent range profiles to the position of the radar. The SAR simulator provides a capability enabling the objective analysis of formed SAR imagery, comparing it to an original source image. This capability allows for analysis of various SAR signal processing techniques previously determined by impulse response function (IPF) analysis. The results suggest that IPF analysis provides results that may not be directly related to formed SAR image quality. Instead, the SAR simulator uses image quality metrics, such as peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and structured similarity index (SSIM), for formed SAR image quality analysis. To showcase the capability of the SAR simulator, it is used to investigate the performance of various envelopes applied to LFM pulses. A power-raised cosine window with a power p=0.35 and roll-off factor of β=0.15 is shown to maximize the quality of the formed SAR images by improving PSNR by 0.84 dB and SSIM by 0.06 from images formed utilizing a rectangular pulse, on average.

  4. Stock return distribution in the BRICS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    George Adu

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Stock returns in emerging market economies exhibit patterns that are distinctively different from developed countries: returns are noted to be highly volatile and autocorrelated, and long horizon returns are predictable. While these stylized facts are well established, the assumption underlying the distribution of returns is less understood. In particular, the empirical literature continues to rely on the normality assumption as a starting point, and most asset pricing models tend to overstretch this point. This paper questions the rationale behind this supposition and proceeds to test more formally for normality using multivariate joint test for skewness and kurtosis. Additionally, the paper extends the literature by examining a number of empirical regularities for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (the BRICS for short. Our main findings are that the distribution of stock returns for the BRICS exhibits peakedness with fatter and longer tails, and this is invariant to both the unit of measurement and the time horizon of returns. Volatility clustering is prevalent in all markets, and this decays exponentially for all but Brazil. The relationship between risk and return is found to be significant and risk premiums are prevalent in our sample.

  5. Risk-return of Belgian SRI funds

    OpenAIRE

    Van Liedekerke, Luc; De Moor, Lieven; Vanwalleghem, Dieter

    2007-01-01

    We analyse the risk-return profile of Belgian SRI funds versus conventional investment funds. We apply a four-factor conditional Carhart model to establish whether there are significant differences in risk-return profile between an SRI portfolio and a conventional portfolio and test for learning effects in SRI funds. We show that there is no difference in risk-return profile between SRI and conventional funds. If return is not the problem, then what is it that limits the development of an SRI...

  6. Remote sensing using hydroacoustics preliminary results

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hunt, G.; Patrick, P.H.; Sim, B.

    1989-01-01

    A laboratory investigation was conducted to determine the capability and accuracy of a dual beam sonar system in classifying various targets. The ability to classify fish and/or distinguish fish from debris is essential if hydroacoustics are ever to be used truly remotely for hydroelectric power plant fish passage facilities. Preliminary results indicated that considerable filtering was occurring in the sonar sounder which limited its use in target classification. A wideband sonar detection module was developed which allowed for a more detailed reflected signal which probably will be necessary for fish identification. Another advantage that this modification appears to have over the existing system is an improved spatial resolution of targets, which can be significant if biomass estimates are based on echo counting techniques rather than echo integration ones. Based on the results, it may be possible to filter out or remove the influence of air bubbles in echo returns. As a result echo counts could more accurately be defined as fish counts. Target strengths of sturgeon were estimated using both the modified and original sounder. 12 refs., 11 figs., 2 tabs

  7. 7 CFR 3560.305 - Return on investment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Return on investment. 3560.305 Section 3560.305... AGRICULTURE DIRECT MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING LOANS AND GRANTS Financial Management § 3560.305 Return on investment. (a) Borrower's return on investment. Borrowers may receive a return on their investment (ROI) in...

  8. Characteristics of donors who do or do not return to give blood and barriers to their return

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wevers, Anne; Wigboldus, Daniël H.J.; de Kort, Wim L.A.M.; van Baaren, Rick; Veldhuizen, Ingrid J.T.

    2014-01-01

    Background In the Netherlands about 50% of whole blood donors return to give blood after an invitation to donate. This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of donor return behaviour and to gain insight into the barriers to blood donation reported by the donors themselves. Materials and methods A total of 4,901 whole blood donors were invited to donate in week 39 of 2009. Barriers mentioned by donors who informed the blood bank for not donating were registered for 1 month. Logistic regression analyses assessed relevant characteristics of return behaviour, such as age and blood type, in men and women separately. Results Of the invited donors, 55% returned to give a donation, whereas 45% did not return. Male donors were more likely to return when they were older, had a higher previous return rate and had no past deferrals. The same pattern was found among women, but was less strong. The main barriers were: time constraints (35%), preference to postpone donation due to general physical problems although being eligible to donate (29%), and being ineligible to donate due to medical deferral criteria (9%). Discussion Specific donor characteristics are associated with return behaviour. Not donating due to time constraints could mean that donors do not feel the urgency of donating blood. Interventions targeted to increase commitment among specific donor groups should be tested further. PMID:23522891

  9. Money growth and aggregate stock returns

    OpenAIRE

    Böing, Tobias; Stadtmann, Georg

    2016-01-01

    We empirically evaluate the predictive power of money growth measured by M2 for stock returns of the S&P 500 index. We use monthly US data and predict multiperiod returns over 1, 3, and 5 years with long-horizon regressions. In-sample regressions show that money growth is useful for predicting returns. Higher recent money growth has a significantly negative effect on subsequent returns of the S&P 500. An out-of-sample analysis shows that a simple model with money growth as a single predictor ...

  10. Poetic Return in Afghanistan Persian Poem

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Esmaeil Shafagh

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Poetic return movement was started by a group of poets like Moshtagh and Shole Esfehani in the second half of 12 century. Their goal was restoring Persian poem and deliverance of Hindi style decline. Esfahan’s poets initiative was considered only in Iran but in other Persian language and literature areas like India, Afghanistan and Transoxiana it was ignored. After the failure of constitutional Movement in Afghanistan, motion similar poetic return was happened that caused poetic themes, which had gone towards modernism, return to Hindi style again.The present paper attempts to analyze the poetic atmosphere in Afghanistan synchronous the poetic return movement in Iran and investigate socio- political backgrounds of return to Hindi style in Afghanistan after constitution failure.

  11. Common Factors in International Bond Returns

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Driessen, J.J.A.G.; Melenberg, B.; Nijman, T.E.

    2000-01-01

    In this paper we estimate and interpret the factors that jointly determine bond returns of different maturities in the US, Germany and Japan.We analyze both currency-hedged and unhedged bond returns.For currency-hedged bond returns, we find that five factors explain 96.5% of the variation of bond

  12. Return-to-work coordination programmes for improving return to work in workers on sick leave.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vogel, Nicole; Schandelmaier, Stefan; Zumbrunn, Thomas; Ebrahim, Shanil; de Boer, Wout El; Busse, Jason W; Kunz, Regina

    2017-03-30

    To limit long-term sick leave and associated consequences, insurers, healthcare providers and employers provide programmes to facilitate disabled people's return to work. These programmes include a variety of coordinated and individualised interventions. Despite the increasing popularity of such programmes, their benefits remain uncertain. We conducted a systematic review to determine the long-term effectiveness of return-to-work coordination programmes compared to usual practice in workers at risk for long-term disability. To assess the effects of return-to-work coordination programmes versus usual practice for workers on sick leave or disability. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL; 2016, Issue 11), MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL and PsycINFO up to 1 November 2016. We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that enrolled workers absent from work for at least four weeks and randomly assigned them to return-to-work coordination programmes or usual practice. Two review authors independently screened titles, abstracts and full-text articles for study eligibility; extracted data; and assessed risk of bias from eligible trials. We contacted authors for additional data where required. We conducted random-effects meta-analyses and used the GRADE approach to rate the quality of the evidence. We identified 14 studies from nine countries that enrolled 12,568 workers. Eleven studies focused on musculoskeletal problems, two on mental health and one on both. Most studies (11 of 14) followed workers 12 months or longer. Risk of bias was low in 10 and high in 4 studies, but findings were not sensitive to their exclusion.We found no benefits for return-to-work coordination programmes on return-to-work outcomes.For short-term follow-up of six months, we found no effect on time to return to work (hazard ratio (HR) 1.32, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.93 to 1.88, low-quality evidence), cumulative sickness absence (mean difference (MD) -16.18 work

  13. Use of side-scan sonar for estimations of Crassostrea brasiliana (Lamarck, 1819 stocks in subtidal banks on the south coast of Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gisela Geraldine Castilho Westphal

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Uncontrolled extractivism has led to a worldwide reduction in oyster stocks. The use of new and more efficient management tools for impacted environments must increase. The application of such tools requires previous biological and environmental knowledge of the resident populations of these bivalve mollusks. Technical difficulties are usually associated with studies of submerged oyster banks, and these difficulties result in a considerable lack of biological data on the oysters that inhabit subtidal zones. This study aimed to survey Crassostrea brasiliana (also known as C. gasar stocks in submerged banks and to evaluate a method with which to measure the extent of the banks and identify and quantify the oysters in the banks with the use of side-scan sonar. This study was conducted on 10 oysters banks located in the subtidal zone of Guaratuba Bay, on the south coast of Brazil. The prospection of all these banks was later validated by diving, and oyster samples (n = 20/bank were collected for species identification with a molecular method. Only one bank contained oysters that were generically classified as Crassostrea sp.; those in the remaining banks being identified as C. brasiliana. The prospected banks contained oysters of various sizes (average 1.5 m, n = 1,107 that were heterogeneously scattered in the riverbeds. The total number of oysters in the 10 sampled banks was estimated to be 21,159.13 oysters or 1 oyster/4.5 m², which represents a low oyster density in the study site. The results validate the use of side-scan sonar as an efficient means with which to prospect for oysters in banks located within subtidal zones.

  14. 26 CFR 301.6103(n)-1 - Disclosure of returns and return information in connection with written contracts or agreements...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... administration purposes. 301.6103(n)-1 Section 301.6103(n)-1 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE... and Returns Returns and Records § 301.6103(n)-1 Disclosure of returns and return information in... administration purposes. (a) General rule. (1) Pursuant to the provisions of section 6103(n) of the Internal...

  15. Deep sea animal density and size estimated using a Dual-frequency IDentification SONar (DIDSON) offshore the island of Hawaii

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giorli, Giacomo; Drazen, Jeffrey C.; Neuheimer, Anna B.; Copeland, Adrienne; Au, Whitlow W. L.

    2018-01-01

    Pelagic animals that form deep sea scattering layers (DSLs) represent an important link in the food web between zooplankton and top predators. While estimating the composition, density and location of the DSL is important to understand mesopelagic ecosystem dynamics and to predict top predators' distribution, DSL composition and density are often estimated from trawls which may be biased in terms of extrusion, avoidance, and gear-associated biases. Instead, location and biomass of DSLs can be estimated from active acoustic techniques, though estimates are often in aggregate without regard to size or taxon specific information. For the first time in the open ocean, we used a DIDSON sonar to characterize the fauna in DSLs. Estimates of the numerical density and length of animals at different depths and locations along the Kona coast of the Island of Hawaii were determined. Data were collected below and inside the DSLs with the sonar mounted on a profiler. A total of 7068 animals were counted and sized. We estimated numerical densities ranging from 1 to 7 animals/m3 and individuals as long as 3 m were detected. These numerical densities were orders of magnitude higher than those estimated from trawls and average sizes of animals were much larger as well. A mixed model was used to characterize numerical density and length of animals as a function of deep sea layer sampled, location, time of day, and day of the year. Numerical density and length of animals varied by month, with numerical density also a function of depth. The DIDSON proved to be a good tool for open-ocean/deep-sea estimation of the numerical density and size of marine animals, especially larger ones. Further work is needed to understand how this methodology relates to estimates of volume backscatters obtained with standard echosounding techniques, density measures obtained with other sampling methodologies, and to precisely evaluate sampling biases.

  16. Survey report of NOAA Ship McArthur II cruises AR-04-04, AR-05-05 and AR-06-03: habitat classification of side scan sonar imagery in support of deep-sea coral/sponge explorations at the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary

    Science.gov (United States)

    Intelmann, Steven S.; Cochrane, Guy R.; Bowlby, C. Edward; Brancato, Mary Sue; Hyland, Jeffrey

    2007-01-01

    Habitat mapping and characterization has been defined as a high-priority management issue for the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary (OCNMS), especially for poorly known deep-sea habitats that may be sensitive to anthropogenic disturbance. As a result, a team of scientists from OCNMS, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), and other partnering institutions initiated a series of surveys to assess the distribution of deep-sea coral/sponge assemblages within the sanctuary and to look for evidence of potential anthropogenic impacts in these critical habitats. Initial results indicated that remotely delineating areas of hard bottom substrate through acoustic sensing could be a useful tool to increase the efficiency and success of subsequent ROV-based surveys of the associated deep-sea fauna. Accordingly, side scan sonar surveys were conducted in May 2004, June 2005, and April 2006 aboard the NOAA Ship McArthur II to: (1) obtain additional imagery of the seafloor for broader habitat-mapping coverage of sanctuary waters, and (2) help delineate suitable deep-sea coral-sponge habitat, in areas of both high and low commercial-fishing activities, to serve as sites for surveying-in more detail using an ROV on subsequent cruises, Several regions of the sea floor throughout the OCNMS were surveyed and mosaicked at 1-meter pixel resolution. Imagery from the side scan sonar mapping efforts was integrated with other complementary data from a towed camera sled, ROVs, sedentary samples, and bathymetry records to describe geological and biological (where possible) aspects of habitat. Using a hierarchical deep-water marine benthic classification scheme (Greene et al. 1999), we created a preliminary map of various habitat polygon features for use in a geographical information system (GIS). This report provides a description of the mapping and groundtruthing efforts as well as results of the image classification procedure for each of the areas surveyed.

  17. Sustainable Mars Sample Return

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alston, Christie; Hancock, Sean; Laub, Joshua; Perry, Christopher; Ash, Robert

    2011-01-01

    The proposed Mars sample return mission will be completed using natural Martian resources for the majority of its operations. The system uses the following technologies: In-Situ Propellant Production (ISPP), a methane-oxygen propelled Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV), a carbon dioxide powered hopper, and a hydrogen fueled balloon system (large balloons and small weather balloons). The ISPP system will produce the hydrogen, methane, and oxygen using a Sabatier reactor. a water electrolysis cell, water extracted from the Martian surface, and carbon dioxide extracted from the Martian atmosphere. Indigenous hydrogen will fuel the balloon systems and locally-derived methane and oxygen will fuel the MAV for the return of a 50 kg sample to Earth. The ISPP system will have a production cycle of 800 days and the estimated overall mission length is 1355 days from Earth departure to return to low Earth orbit. Combining these advanced technologies will enable the proposed sample return mission to be executed with reduced initial launch mass and thus be more cost efficient. The successful completion of this mission will serve as the next step in the advancement of Mars exploration technology.

  18. Understanding Breaks in Flare X-Ray Spectra: Evaluation of a Cospatial Collisional Return-current Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alaoui, Meriem; Holman, Gordon D.

    2017-12-01

    Hard X-ray (HXR) spectral breaks are explained in terms of a one-dimensional model with a cospatial return current. We study 19 flares observed by the Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager with strong spectral breaks at energies around a few deka-keV, which cannot be explained by isotropic albedo or non-uniform ionization alone. We identify these breaks at the HXR peak time, but we obtain 8 s cadence spectra of the entire impulsive phase. Electrons with an initially power-law distribution and a sharp low-energy cutoff lose energy through return-current losses until they reach the thick target, where they lose their remaining energy through collisions. Our main results are as follows. (1) The return-current collisional thick-target model provides acceptable fits for spectra with strong breaks. (2) Limits on the plasma resistivity are derived from the fitted potential drop and deduced electron-beam flux density, assuming the return current is a drift current in the ambient plasma. These resistivities are typically 2–3 orders of magnitude higher than the Spitzer resistivity at the fitted temperature, and provide a test for the adequacy of classical resistivity and the stability of the return current. (3) Using the upper limit of the low-energy cutoff, the return current is always stable to the generation of ion-acoustic and electrostatic ion-cyclotron instabilities when the electron temperature is nine times lower than the ion temperature. (4) In most cases, the return current is most likely primarily carried by runaway electrons from the tail of the thermal distribution rather than by the bulk drifting thermal electrons. For these cases, anomalous resistivity is not required.

  19. Utility allowed returns and market extremes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Murry, D.A.; Nan, G.D.; Harrington, B.M.

    1993-01-01

    In recent years interest rates have fluctuated from exceptionally high levels in the early 1980s to their current levels, the lowest in two decades. Observers and analysts generally have assumed that allowed returns by regulatory commissions follow the movement of interest rates; indeed some analysts use a risk premium method to estimate the cost of common equity, assuming a constant and linear relationship between interest rates and the cost of common equity. That suggests we could expect a relatively stable relationship between interest rates and allowed returns, as well. However, a simple comparison of allowed returns and interest rates shows that this is not the case in recent years. The relationship between market interest rates and the returns allowed by commissions varies and is obviously a great deal more complicated. Empirically, there appears to be only a narrow range where market interest rates significantly affect the allowed returns on common stock set by state commissions, at least for electric and combination utilities. If rates are at historically low levels, allowed returns based largely on market rates will hasten subsequent rate filings, and commissions appear to look beyond the low rate levels. Conversely, it appears that regulators do not let historically high market rates determine allowed returns either. At either high or low interest levels, caution seems to be the policy

  20. Return to sports after shoulder arthroplasty

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Christine C; Johnson, Daniel J; Liu, Joseph N; Dines, Joshua S; Dines, David M; Gulotta, Lawrence V; Garcia, Grant H

    2016-01-01

    Many patients prioritize the ability to return to sports following shoulder replacement surgeries, including total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA), reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA), and hemiarthroplasty (HA). While activity levels after hip and knee replacements have been well-established in the literature, studies on this topic in the field of shoulder arthroplasty are relatively limited. A review of the literature regarding athletic activity after shoulder arthroplasty was performed using the PubMed database. All studies relevant to shoulder arthroplasty and return to sport were included. The majority of patients returned to their prior level of activity within six months following TSA, RTSA, and shoulder HA. Noncontact, low demand activities are permitted by most surgeons postoperatively and generally have higher return rates than contact sports or high-demand activities. In some series, patients reported an improvement in their ability to participate in sports following the arthroplasty procedure. The rates of return to sports following TSA (75%-100%) are slightly higher than those reported for HA (67%-76%) and RTSA (75%-85%). Patients undergoing TSA, RTSA, and shoulder HA should be counseled that there is a high probability that they will be able to return to their preoperative activity level within six months postoperatively. TSA has been associated with higher rates of return to sports than RTSA and HA, although this may reflect differences in patient population or surgical indication. PMID:27672564

  1. Shallow water acoustic backscatter and reverberation measurements using a 68-kHz cylindrical array: a dissertation

    OpenAIRE

    Gallaudet, Timothy C. (Timothy Cole), 1967-

    2001-01-01

    The characterization of high frequency, shallow water acoustic backscatter and reverberation is important because acoustic systems are used in many scientific, commercial, and military applications. The approach taken is to use data collected by the Toroidal Volume Search Sonar (TVSS), a 68 kHz multibeam sonar capable of 360 deg imaging in a vertical plane perpendicular to its direction of travel. With this unique capability, acoustic backscatter imagery of the seafloor, sea surface, and hori...

  2. 26 CFR 301.6019-1 - Gift tax returns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 18 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Gift tax returns. 301.6019-1 Section 301.6019-1... ADMINISTRATION PROCEDURE AND ADMINISTRATION Information and Returns Returns and Records § 301.6019-1 Gift tax returns. For provisions relating to requirement of gift tax returns, see §§ 25.6019-1 to 25.6019-4...

  3. Stock Returns and Risk: Evidence from Quantile

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas C. Chiang

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper employs weighted least squares to examine the risk-return relation by applying high-frequency data from four major stock indexes in the US market and finds some evidence in favor of a positive relation between the mean of the excess returns and expected risk. However, by using quantile regressions, we find that the risk-return relation moves from negative to positive as the returns’ quantile increases. A positive risk-return relation is valid only in the upper quantiles. The evidence also suggests that intraday skewness plays a dominant role in explaining the variations of excess returns.

  4. Return to Golf After Lumbar Fusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shifflett, Grant D; Hellman, Michael D; Louie, Philip K; Mikhail, Christopher; Park, Kevin U; Phillips, Frank M

    Spinal fusion surgery is being increasingly performed, yet few studies have focused on return to recreational sports after lumbar fusion and none have specifically analyzed return to golf. Most golfers successfully return to sport after lumbar fusion surgery. Case series. Level 4. All patients who underwent 1- or 2-level primary lumbar fusion surgery for degenerative pathologies performed by a single surgeon between January 2008 and October 2012 and had at least 1-year follow-up were included. Patients completed a specifically designed golf survey. Surveys were mailed, given during follow-up clinic, or answered during telephone contact. A total of 353 patients met the inclusion and exclusion criteria, with 200 responses (57%) to the questionnaire producing 34 golfers. The average age of golfers was 57 years (range, 32-79 years). In 79% of golfers, preoperative back and/or leg pain significantly affected their ability to play golf. Within 1 year from surgery, 65% of patients returned to practice and 52% returned to course play. Only 29% of patients stated that continued back/leg pain limited their play. Twenty-five patients (77%) were able to play the same amount of golf or more than before fusion surgery. Of those providing handicaps, 12 (80%) reported the same or an improved handicap. More than 50% of golfers return to on-course play within 1 year of lumbar fusion surgery. The majority of golfers can return to preoperative levels in terms of performance (handicap) and frequency of play. This investigation offers insight into when golfers return to sport after lumbar fusion surgery and provides surgeons with information to set realistic expectations postoperatively.

  5. General Ultrasound Imaging

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... to image by ultrasound because greater amounts of tissue attenuate (weaken) the sound waves as they pass deeper into the body and need to be returned to the transducer for analysis. Ultrasound has difficulty penetrating bone and, therefore, can only see the outer surface ...

  6. Characterization of Sea Lamprey stream entry using dual‐frequency identification sonar

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCain, Erin L.; Johnson, Nicholas; Hrodey, Peter J.; Pangle, Kevin L.

    2018-01-01

    Effective methods to control invasive Sea Lampreys Petromyzon marinus in the Laurentian Great Lakes often rely on knowledge of the timing of the Sea Lamprey spawning migration, which has previously been characterized using data gathered from traps. Most assessment traps are located many kilometers upstream from the river mouth, so less is known about when Sea Lampreys enter spawning streams and which environmental cues trigger their transition from lakes to rivers. To decide how to develop barriers and traps that target Sea Lampreys when they enter a stream, the stream entry of Sea Lampreys into a Lake Huron tributary during 2 years was assessed using dual‐frequency identification sonar (DIDSON). Sea Lampreys entered the stream in low densities when temperatures first reached 4°C, which was up to 6 weeks and a mean of 4 weeks earlier than when they were first captured in traps located upstream. The probability of stream entry was significantly affected by stream temperature and discharge, and stream entry timing peaked when stream temperatures rose to 12°C and discharge was high. Examination of the entry at a finer temporal resolution (i.e., minutes) indicated that Sea Lampreys did not exhibit social behavior (e.g., shoaling) during stream entry. Our findings indicate that Sea Lampreys may be vulnerable to alternative trap types near river mouths and hydraulic challenges associated with traditional traps. Also, seasonal migration barriers near stream mouths may need to be installed soon after ice‐out to effectively block the entire adult Sea Lamprey cohort from upstream spawning habitat.

  7. Does Aggregated Returns Disclosure Increase Portfolio Risk Taking?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beshears, John; Choi, James J; Laibson, David; Madrian, Brigitte C

    2017-06-01

    Many experiments have found that participants take more investment risk if they see returns less frequently, see portfolio-level returns (rather than each individual asset's returns), or see long-horizon (rather than one-year) historical return distributions. In contrast, we find that such information aggregation treatments do not affect total equity investment when we make the investment environment more realistic than in prior experiments. Previously documented aggregation effects are not robust to changes in the risky asset's return distribution or the introduction of a multi-day delay between portfolio choice and return realizations.

  8. Does well maintained graft provide consistent return to play after medial ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction of the elbow joint in elite baseball players?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Jin-Young; Oh, Kyung-Soo; Bahng, Seung-Chul; Chung, Seok-Won; Choi, Jin-Ho

    2014-06-01

    Several studies have reported the clinical outcomes of medial ulnar collateral ligament (MUCL) reconstruction of the elbow joint in throwing athletes, including the rate of return to sports. However, little has been known about the imaging outcomes after MUCL reconstruction. The aim of this study is to report the clinical and imaging outcomes after MUCL reconstruction using figure of eight fashion in the elite and professional baseball players. This study included 17 baseball players, who underwent MUCL reconstruction between July 2007 and May 2010. The average follow-up period was 48.6 months. Imaging assessment consisted of preoperative plain and stress radiographs, magnetic resonance imaging, and postoperative serial ultrasonography. The clinical assessments were composed of visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain, range of motion, and the Conway scale. The mean VAS score was 6.4 (range, 3 to 8) preoperatively and 2.2 (range, 0 to 4) postoperatively (p returned to sports at the same or higher level compared to preinjury. Serial ultrasonography revealed well-maintained grafts at 3 and 12 months in all of the players. Five out of 17 players showed decreased echogenecity in the common flexor tendon at 3 months, which was considered as remaining tissue swelling and resolved completely at 12 months. All grafts are well-maintained until 12-months based on the ultrasonographic findings, although only 53% of the players returned to preinjury level.

  9. Does Aggregated Returns Disclosure Increase Portfolio Risk Taking?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beshears, John; Choi, James J.; Laibson, David; Madrian, Brigitte C.

    2016-01-01

    Many experiments have found that participants take more investment risk if they see returns less frequently, see portfolio-level returns (rather than each individual asset’s returns), or see long-horizon (rather than one-year) historical return distributions. In contrast, we find that such information aggregation treatments do not affect total equity investment when we make the investment environment more realistic than in prior experiments. Previously documented aggregation effects are not robust to changes in the risky asset’s return distribution or the introduction of a multi-day delay between portfolio choice and return realizations. PMID:28553012

  10. High-frequency acoustic imaging of L Lake Phase 4 [Savannah River Site, South Carolina

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dunn, D.L.; Sjostrom, Keith J.; Leist, Rodney L.; Harmon, Thomas S. Jr.

    1997-01-01

    The objective of the seismic reflection and side scan sonar survey is to determine the location, aerial extent, and depth of burial pits situated along the reservoir bottom of L Lake, Savannah River Site, SC. The results will be used in the overall characterization of L Lake by providing continuous profile line coverage of the bottom and subbottom sediment structure along the entire length of the project area. The results are also intended to supplement previous scientific information obtained from soil samples, aerial photography, and radiometric studies. Resultant information will be used as input for an Environmental Impact Statement of the site. Overall, the seismic reflection data will provide better descriptions of variations in the actual subbottom conditions and help identify the differing sediment layers. The side scan sonar will help identify the location of the burial pits and any other features on the bottom of the reservoir. A 3.5 kiloHertz (kHz), high resolution subbottom profiling system and an EG and G Model 260 side scan sonar system were used to meet the primary objectives of the investigation

  11. Plans for Selection and In-Situ Investigation of Return Samples by the Supercam Instrument Onboard the Mars 2020 Rover

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiens, R. C.; Maurice, S.; Mangold, N.; Anderson, R.; Beyssac, O.; Bonal, L.; Clegg, S.; Cousin, A.; DeFlores, L.; Dromart, G.; Fisher, W.; Forni, O.; Fouchet, T.; Gasnault, O.; Grotzinger, J.; Johnson, J.; Martinez-Frias, J.; McLennan, S.; Meslin, P.-Y.; Montmessin, F.; Poulet, F.; Rull, F.; Sharma, S.

    2018-04-01

    The SuperCam instrument onboard Rover 2020 still provides a complementary set of analyses with IR reflectance and Raman spectroscopy for mineralogy, LIBS for chemistry, and a color imager in order to investigate in-situ samples to return.

  12. Impact of bathymetric system advances on hydrography

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Ranade, G.

    undergone unprecedented changes with the advancement in the motion sensor technology. By late 1970 gyro stabilized accelerometer based attitude monitoring systems, computing roll, pitch and heave sensing and came in to existence. Doppler sonar principle...). “Multibeam bathymetric sonar: Sea Beam and Hydrochart”, Mar. Geod., vol. 4, pp.77-93. 4. Urick, R. (1975), “Principles of Underwater Acoustics”, McGraw – Hill. 5. Christian de Moustier, C. (1987). “Online Sea Beam acoustic imaging, Proc. Oceans ‘87...

  13. Are there Diminishing Returns to R&D?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Madsen, Jakob B.

    Semi-endogenous models and, to some extent, also Schumpeterian models are based on the assumption of diminishing returns to R&D. This paper shows that the null hypothesis of constant returns to R&D cannot be rejected for the OECD countries......Semi-endogenous models and, to some extent, also Schumpeterian models are based on the assumption of diminishing returns to R&D. This paper shows that the null hypothesis of constant returns to R&D cannot be rejected for the OECD countries...

  14. Modal Analysis of 27 mm Piezo Electric Plate for Small-Scale Underwater Sonar-Based Navigation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. O. Afolayan

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available This work presents progress towards the development of a small-scale, purely sonar-based navigation device for a robotic fish (~394 mm long. Aperture overloading of small (5 mm diameter ultrasonic transmitters does not allow them to be used effectively inside water. A test on a 27 mm diameter buzzer piezo plate shows promising performance under water at frequencies from 4.5 kHz to 80 kHz. ANSYS-based simulation was therefore used to find modal frequencies at higher frequencies so as to optimize this encouraging result. The simulation process also discovered several antiresonant frequencies such as 38.5 kHz, 54 kHz, and 57.5 kHz. All frequencies above the 8th harmonic (10,589.02 Hz are out of phase with the input load except a resonance frequency of 42.5 kHz and an antiresonance frequency of 56.5 kHz. Also, the first harmonic (1,648.73 Hz is the only frequency that gave a nodal deformation.

  15. Complete avulsion of the adductor longus in a semi-professional football player: Rapid return to play with nonoperative treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vince W Lands

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The adductor longus has become recognized as one of the more commonly injured muscles in the medial compartment. Acute complete rupture injuries occurring at the proximal aspect of the muscle are less common. Limited data exist regarding management of the injuries in athletes required for return to play and functioning. The current data favors operative management; however, nonoperative treatment may be a viable option. Nonoperative management of avulsion injuries of the proximal adductor longus tendon may prove equal results to surgical repair in return to play and functioning. A semi-professional football player sustained a left groin injury while participating in the play. Due to continued pain, swelling, and suspicion of injury, a magnetic resonance imaging was performed diagnosing a complete tear of proximal adductor longus tendon. Physical examination, strength, and range of motion were recorded until the patient was able to function normally without strength deficit, the range of motion loss, and the return of speed. The player was treated nonoperatively and was eventually allowed to return to play. The time of return to play was 6 weeks. Strength deficit was not appreciated or loss of motion and player was able to return to baseline function. Nonoperative management of complete avulsion injuries of the proximal adductor longus tendon result in faster return to play than operative management even if significant retraction is present.

  16. Regime switches in the risk-return trade-off

    OpenAIRE

    Marcellino, Massimiliano; Ghysels, Eric; Guerin, Pierre

    2014-01-01

    This paper deals with the estimation of the risk-return trade-off. We use a MIDAS model for the conditional variance and allow for possible switches in the risk-return relation through a Markov-switching specification. We find strong evidence for regime changes in the risk-return relation. This finding is robust to a large range of specifications. In the first regime characterized by low ex-post returns and high volatility, the risk-return relation is reversed, whereas the intuitive positive ...

  17. ANALYSING TURKISH INDIVIDUAL PENSION SYSTEM FEES AND RETURNS

    OpenAIRE

    Peker, Ibrahim

    2018-01-01

    This study aims at categorizing, computing and analyzing fees and costs in Turkish Individual Pension System. To this end, net real returns after all costs were computed and these returns were compared with the disclosed fees and returns. Generally in practice, only fund management fees are taken into consideration for calculating net returns and with this method net annual average (geometric) return of the system is calculated as 2.01% for the 2008-2014 period. However, the results of this s...

  18. Phobos Sample Return: Next Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zelenyi, Lev; Martynov, Maxim; Zakharov, Alexander; Korablev, Oleg; Ivanov, Alexey; Karabadzak, George

    The Martian moons still remain a mystery after numerous studies by Mars orbiting spacecraft. Their study cover three major topics related to (1) Solar system in general (formation and evolution, origin of planetary satellites, origin and evolution of life); (2) small bodies (captured asteroid, or remnants of Mars formation, or reaccreted Mars ejecta); (3) Mars (formation and evolution of Mars; Mars ejecta at the satellites). As reviewed by Galimov [2010] most of the above questions require the sample return from the Martian moon, while some (e.g. the characterization of the organic matter) could be also answered by in situ experiments. There is the possibility to obtain the sample of Mars material by sampling Phobos: following to Chappaz et al. [2012] a 200-g sample could contain 10-7 g of Mars surface material launched during the past 1 mln years, or 5*10-5 g of Mars material launched during the past 10 mln years, or 5*1010 individual particles from Mars, quantities suitable for accurate laboratory analyses. The studies of Phobos have been of high priority in the Russian program on planetary research for many years. Phobos-88 mission consisted of two spacecraft (Phobos-1, Phobos-2) and aimed the approach to Phobos at 50 m and remote studies, and also the release of small landers (long-living stations DAS). This mission implemented the program incompletely. It was returned information about the Martian environment and atmosphere. The next profect Phobos Sample Return (Phobos-Grunt) initially planned in early 2000 has been delayed several times owing to budget difficulties; the spacecraft failed to leave NEO in 2011. The recovery of the science goals of this mission and the delivery of the samples of Phobos to Earth remain of highest priority for Russian scientific community. The next Phobos SR mission named Boomerang was postponed following the ExoMars cooperation, but is considered the next in the line of planetary exploration, suitable for launch around 2022. A

  19. Do expectancies of return to work and Job satisfaction predict actual return to work in workers with long lasting LBP?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Opsahl, Jon; Eriksen, Hege R; Tveito, Torill H

    2016-11-17

    Musculoskeletal disorders including low back pain have major individual and socioeconomic consequences as it often leads to disability and long-term sick leave and exclusion from working life. Predictors of disability and return to work often differ, and the dominant knowledge is on predictors for prolonged sick leave and disability. Therefore it is also important to identify key predictors for return to work. The aim of the study was to assess if overall job satisfaction and expectancies of return to work predicts actual return to work after 12 months, among employees with long lasting low back pain, and to assess if there were gender differences in the predictors. Data from the Cognitive interventions and nutritional supplements trial (CINS Trial) was used. Predictors for return to work were examined in 574 employees that had been on sick leave 2-10 months for low back pain, before entering the trial. Data were analysed with multiple logistic regression models stratified by gender, and adjusted for potential confounders. Regardless of gender high expectancies were a strong and significant predictor of return to work at 12 months, while high levels of job satisfaction were not a significant predictor. There were no differences in the levels of expectancies or overall job satisfaction between men and women. However, men had in general higher odds of returning to work compared with women. Among individuals with long lasting low back pain high expectancies of returning to work were strongly associated with successful return to work. We do not know what factors influence individual expectancies of return to work. Screening expectancies and giving individuals with low expectancies interventions with a goal to change expectancies of return to work, such as CBT or self-management interventions, may contribute to increase actual return to work. http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ , with registration number NCT00463970 . The trial was registered at the 18th of April 2007.

  20. The Psychology of Stroke in Young Adults: The Roles of Service Provision and Return to Work

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reg Morris

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Literature about the psychological consequences of stroke in those under 65 is reviewed focussing on services and work. Despite similarities, young and old survivors have different experiences and needs. These are attributable to the effects of stroke on age-normative roles and activities, self-image, and the young person's stage in the life-cycle, especially family and work. “Hidden” cognitive impairments, a disrupted sense of self, and the incongruity of suffering an “older person's” disease are salient. Young survivors benefit from services, but experience lack of congruence between their needs and service philosophy, methods, and aims, and consequently have unmet needs. Employment is psychologically salient, and the evidence about return rates, factors that affect return, and the adequacy of employment-related service provision is reviewed. Specific and general recommendations are made for increasing congruence between young survivors' needs and service provision and also for facilitating their return to work.

  1. Imaging of Muscle Injuries in Sports Medicine: Sports Imaging Series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guermazi, Ali; Roemer, Frank W; Robinson, Philip; Tol, Johannes L; Regatte, Ravindar R; Crema, Michel D

    2017-03-01

    In sports-related muscle injuries, the main goal of the sports medicine physician is to return the athlete to competition-balanced against the need to prevent the injury from worsening or recurring. Prognosis based on the available clinical and imaging information is crucial. Imaging is crucial to confirm and assess the extent of sports-related muscle injuries and may help to guide management, which directly affects the prognosis. This is especially important when the diagnosis or grade of injury is unclear, when recovery is taking longer than expected, and when interventional or surgical management may be necessary. Several imaging techniques are widely available, with ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging currently the most frequently applied in sports medicine. This state of the art review will discuss the main imaging modalities for the assessment of sports-related muscle injuries, including advanced imaging techniques, with the focus on the clinical relevance of imaging features of muscle injuries. © RSNA, 2017 Online supplemental material is available for this article.

  2. KINERJA KEUANGAN KONVENSIONAL, ECONOMIC VALUE ADDED, DAN RETURN SAHAM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bambang Sudiyatno

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menguji pengaruh kinerja keuangan konvensional; Return on Asset (ROA, Return on Equity (ROE, Residual Income (RI, dan kinerja keuangan yang lebih modern; Economic Value Added (EVA terhadap return saham pada perusahaan-perusahaan dalam industry makanan dan minuman yang terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia. Pengambilan sampel dalam penelitian ini menggunakan metode sensus, karena semua perusahaan dalam industry makanan dan minuman digunakan sebagai sampel. Namun dalam proses samplingnya mengunakan metode purposive sampling, yaitu menggunakan sampel dengan criteria-kriteria tertentu. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa Return on Asset (ROA dan Residual Income (RI berpengaruh positif dan secara statistik signifikan terhadap return saham pada level signifikansi 1%. Sedangkan Return on Equity (ROE berpengaruh negative dan secara statistik signifikan terhadap return saham pada level signifikansi 10%, dan Economic Value Added (ERA berpengaruh positif tetapi tidak signifikan terhadap return saham.This study aims to test the effect of conventional financial performance i.e. Return on Asset (ROA, Return on Equity (ROE, Residual Income (RI, and the more modern financial performance which is Economic Value Added (EVA toward stock returns on companies in the food and beverage industry listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange. Sampling technique in this study uses the census method, all companies in the food and beverage industry are used as a sample. The process of sampling using purposive sampling method. The result shows that Return On Asset (ROA and Residual Income (RI are positive and statistic significant impact on the stock returns at significance level 1%. While the Return on Equity (ROE is negative and statistic significant impact on the stock returns at significance level 10%, Economic Value Added (EVA is positive and statistic not significant impact on the stock returns.

  3. The Determinants of Return Migration: Evidence for Kosovo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ardiana Gashi

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Return migration represents a potentially important contributor to economic development for countries that are large exporters of labor. This paper provides an analysis of the determinants of return migration to Kosovo, a country with an especially high level of recent emigration. The findings of this investigation suggest that there is a non-linear relationship between the age of the migrant and their probability of returning. In addition, the more educated migrants and those that have acquired additional education whilst abroad are more likely to return, whereas recent migrants, those that possess permanent resident status and have their family abroad are less likely to return. As expected, the stronger the family ties of a migrant with their home country, the more likely they are to return. Finally, migrants that are expected to invest in businesses in Kosovo are more inclined to return. Together these findings suggest that return migration may be an important contributor to economic development in Kosovo and policies are outlined that could strengthen this contribution.

  4. Return Migration among Elderly, Chronically Ill Bosnian Refugees

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Handlos, Line Neerup; Olwig, Karen Fog; Bygbjerg, Ib Christian

    2015-01-01

    Elderly migrants constitute a considerable share of global return migration; nevertheless, literature on the health aspects of the return migration among these migrants is still scarce. This study explores the significance of return migration among elderly, chronically ill Bosnian refugees from D...... of illness, health did matter. Viewed as physical, social and mental well-being in line with WHO's definition of health, health was indeed one of the most important factors when the decision to return was made....... that physical health, in the sense of the absence of illness and easy access to necessary health-care services and medicines, was not highly prioritized when the decision was made whether or not to return. However, if health is regarded more broadly as involving more than mere physical health and the absence......Elderly migrants constitute a considerable share of global return migration; nevertheless, literature on the health aspects of the return migration among these migrants is still scarce. This study explores the significance of return migration among elderly, chronically ill Bosnian refugees from...

  5. Children's (Pediatric) Abdominal Ultrasound Imaging

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... need to be returned to the transducer for analysis. top of page This page was reviewed on ... using ultrasound. View full size with caption Pediatric Content Some imaging tests and treatments have special pediatric ...

  6. Corporate Governance and Equity Returns

    OpenAIRE

    Uchida, Shigeru

    2012-01-01

    This paper analyses the relationship between corporate governance and equity returns from the small investors view point. A primary survey has been conducted to gather the data required to examine the link. Preliminary result of the study shows that the four elements of governance: board structure, transparency, fairness and responsibility are positively related with equity returns.

  7. 22 CFR 42.22 - Returning resident aliens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Returning resident aliens. 42.22 Section 42.22... Returning resident aliens. (a) Requirements for returning resident status. An alien shall be classifiable as... presented that: (1) The alien had the status of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence at the...

  8. Whole heart cine MR imaging of pulmonary veins in patients with congenital heart disease. Comparison with Spin Echo MR imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mitsui, Hideaki; Saito, Haruo; Ishibashi, Tadashi; Takahashi, Shoki; Zuguchi, Masayuki; Yamada, Shogo

    2002-01-01

    We evaluated the accuracy of Whole Heart Cine (WHC) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in the depiction of pulmonary veins (PVs) in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) compared to that of spin echo (SE) MR imaging. Among our 35 patients, 4 patients had anomalous PV return. Detectability of four PVs on each MR examination images were evaluated. MR imaging is an effective modality for the clarification of PVs, and WHC MR imaging is more useful in delineating PV anomalies than SE MR imaging. (author)

  9. Volatility return intervals analysis of the Japanese market

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jung, W.-S.; Wang, F. Z.; Havlin, S.; Kaizoji, T.; Moon, H.-T.; Stanley, H. E.

    2008-03-01

    We investigate scaling and memory effects in return intervals between price volatilities above a certain threshold q for the Japanese stock market using daily and intraday data sets. We find that the distribution of return intervals can be approximated by a scaling function that depends only on the ratio between the return interval τ and its mean . We also find memory effects such that a large (or small) return interval follows a large (or small) interval by investigating the conditional distribution and mean return interval. The results are similar to previous studies of other markets and indicate that similar statistical features appear in different financial markets. We also compare our results between the period before and after the big crash at the end of 1989. We find that scaling and memory effects of the return intervals show similar features although the statistical properties of the returns are different.

  10. Return currents in solar flares - Collisionless effects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rowland, H. L.; Vlahos, L.

    1985-01-01

    If the primary, precipitating electrons in a solar flare are unstable to beam plasma interactions, it is shown that strong Langmuir turbulence can seriously modify the way in which a return current is carried by the background plasma. In particular, the return (or reverse) current will not be carried by the bulk of the electrons, but by a small number of high velocity electrons. For beam/plasma densities greater than 0.01, this can reduce the effects of collisions on the return current. For higher density beams where the return current could be unstable to current driven instabilities, the effects of strong turbulence anomalous resistivity is shown to prevent the appearance of such instabilities. Again in this regime, how the return current is carried is determined by the beam generated strong turbulence.

  11. OPTICAL correlation identification technology applied in underwater laser imaging target identification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yao, Guang-tao; Zhang, Xiao-hui; Ge, Wei-long

    2012-01-01

    The underwater laser imaging detection is an effective method of detecting short distance target underwater as an important complement of sonar detection. With the development of underwater laser imaging technology and underwater vehicle technology, the underwater automatic target identification has gotten more and more attention, and is a research difficulty in the area of underwater optical imaging information processing. Today, underwater automatic target identification based on optical imaging is usually realized with the method of digital circuit software programming. The algorithm realization and control of this method is very flexible. However, the optical imaging information is 2D image even 3D image, the amount of imaging processing information is abundant, so the electronic hardware with pure digital algorithm will need long identification time and is hard to meet the demands of real-time identification. If adopt computer parallel processing, the identification speed can be improved, but it will increase complexity, size and power consumption. This paper attempts to apply optical correlation identification technology to realize underwater automatic target identification. The optics correlation identification technology utilizes the Fourier transform characteristic of Fourier lens which can accomplish Fourier transform of image information in the level of nanosecond, and optical space interconnection calculation has the features of parallel, high speed, large capacity and high resolution, combines the flexibility of calculation and control of digital circuit method to realize optoelectronic hybrid identification mode. We reduce theoretical formulation of correlation identification and analyze the principle of optical correlation identification, and write MATLAB simulation program. We adopt single frame image obtained in underwater range gating laser imaging to identify, and through identifying and locating the different positions of target, we can improve

  12. Value at Risk and Hedge Fund Return - Does High Risk Bring High Return?

    OpenAIRE

    Jing, Tao; Zhao, Hongxiang

    2010-01-01

    This paper mainly focuses on the correlation between live hedge fund return and their value at risk (VaR), and is based on the historical data from May 2000 to April 2010. The authors adopt portfolio level analyses and fund level cross-sectional regression, and find that there is significant positive correlation, both statistically and economically, between the hedge fund return and VaRs (parametric, non-parametric and GARCH). Further research is conducted by sub-dividing the overall period i...

  13. Mars Earth Return Vehicle (MERV) Propulsion Options

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oleson, Steven R.; McGuire, Melissa L.; Burke, Laura; Fincannon, James; Warner, Joe; Williams, Glenn; Parkey, Thomas; Colozza, Tony; Fittje, Jim; Martini, Mike; hide

    2010-01-01

    The COMPASS Team was tasked with the design of a Mars Sample Return Vehicle. The current Mars sample return mission is a joint National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and European Space Agency (ESA) mission, with ESA contributing the launch vehicle for the Mars Sample Return Vehicle. The COMPASS Team ran a series of design trades for this Mars sample return vehicle. Four design options were investigated: Chemical Return /solar electric propulsion (SEP) stage outbound, all-SEP, all chemical and chemical with aerobraking. The all-SEP and Chemical with aerobraking were deemed the best choices for comparison. SEP can eliminate both the Earth flyby and the aerobraking maneuver (both considered high risk by the Mars Sample Return Project) required by the chemical propulsion option but also require long low thrust spiral times. However this is offset somewhat by the chemical/aerobrake missions use of an Earth flyby and aerobraking which also take many months. Cost and risk analyses are used to further differentiate the all-SEP and Chemical/Aerobrake options.

  14. Linkage between company scores and stock returns

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saban Celik

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Previous studies on company scores conducted at firm-level, generally concluded that there exists a positive relation between company scores and stock returns. Motivated by these studies, this study examines the relationship between company scores (Corporate Governance Score, Economic Score, Environmental Score, and Social Score and stock returns, both at portfolio-level analysis and firm-level cross-sectional regressions. In portfolio-level analysis, stocks are sorted based on each company scores and quintile portfolio are formed with different levels of company scores. Then, existence and significance of raw returns and risk-adjusted returns difference between portfolios with the extreme company scores (portfolio 10 and portfolio 1 is tested. In addition, firm-level cross-sectional regression is performed to examine the significance of company scores effects with control variables. While portfolio-level analysis results indicate that there is no significant relation between company scores and stock returns; firm-level analysis indicates that economic, environmental, and social scores have effect on stock returns, however, significance and direction of these effects change, depending on the included control variables in the cross-sectional regression.

  15. Inactive nurses in Taiwan: human capital, intention to return to hospital nursing, and incentives for returning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Hsing-Yi; Tang, Fu-In; Chen, I-Ju; Yin, Teresa J C; Chen, Chu-Chieh; Yu, Shu

    2016-04-01

    To investigate inactive nurses' human capital, intention to return to hospital nursing and incentives for returning. Few studies have discussed the loss of human capital with regard to inactive nurses and how to attract them to return to clinical work. Systematic random sampling was used, with 328 subjects completing the mailed questionnaires, resulting in a response rate of 25.4%. Inactive nurses not only had moderate to high human capital (average years of nursing experience was 10.29, with moderate to high levels of nursing professional commitment and nursing competence) and were young. Forty-three percent of subjects reported intending to return to hospital nursing. Sufficient nurse staffing, greater safety in the working environment, and re-entry preparation programmes were incentives for returning. Recruiting inactive nurses back to hospital work is vital and feasible as inactive nurses had a moderate to high degree of human capital. The most feasible way is offering reasonable working conditions, in particular, providing sufficient staffing, a safe working environment and re-entry preparation programmes. The findings confirm the human capital of inactive nurses and provide concrete directions for nursing managers to follow when recruiting inactive nurses to hospital nursing. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. Geometry of sandy deposits at the distal edge of the Mississippi Fan, Gulf of Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Twichell, D.C.; Schwab, W.C.; Kenyon, Neil H.

    1995-01-01

    Sidescan sonar provides a map of the seafloor that has greatly improved the understanding of depositional processes on modern deep-sea fans (e.g. Mutti and Normark 1991). Here, we present a sidescan-sonar mosaic from the eastern Gulf of Mexico that images the distal reaches of a channel on the Mississippi Fan and the deposits associated with it (Fig. 41.1). This area is one of several deep-sea fan systems that had not previously been imaged by high-resolution sidescan systems. The mosaic highlights the complexity of the spatial relationships of channels and deposits at ends of channels on this large, modern, passive-margin deep-sea fan (Figs 41.2 and 41.3).

  17. Exploring Longitudinal Risk-return Relationships

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Torben J.; Bettis, Richard A.

    2015-01-01

    We study a longitudinal fit model of adaptation and its association with the longitudinal risk-return relationship. The model allows the firm to adjust its position in response to partial learning about a changing environment characterized by two path-dependent processes—a random walk and a stoch......We study a longitudinal fit model of adaptation and its association with the longitudinal risk-return relationship. The model allows the firm to adjust its position in response to partial learning about a changing environment characterized by two path-dependent processes—a random walk...... can lead to the inverse longitudinal risk-return relationships observed empirically. We discuss this apparent paradox and the possible resolution between mindless and conscious behavior as plausible causes of the longitudinal Bowman Paradox....

  18. Small scale imaging using ultrasonic tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zakaria, Z.; Abdul Rahim, R.; Megat Ali, M.S.A.; Baharuddin, M.Y.; Jahidin, A.H.

    2009-01-01

    Ultrasound technology progressed through the 1960 from simple A-mode and B-mode scans to today M-mode and Doppler two dimensional (2-D) and even three dimensional (3-D) systems. Modern ultrasound imaging has its roots in sonar technology after it was first described by Lord John Rayleigh over 100 years ago on the interaction of acoustic waves with media. Tomography technique was developed as a diagnostic tool in the medical area since the early of 1970s. This research initially focused on how to retrieve a cross sectional images from living and non-living things. After a decade, the application of tomography systems span into the industrial area. However, the long exposure time of medical radiation-based method cannot tolerate the dynamic changes in industrial process two phase liquid/ gas flow system. An alternative system such as a process tomography systems, can give information on the nature of the flow regime characteristic. The overall aim of this paper is to investigate the use of a small scale ultrasonic tomography method based on ultrasonic transmission mode tomography for online monitoring of liquid/ gas flow in pipe/ vessel system through ultrasonic transceivers application. This non-invasive technique applied sixteen transceivers as the sensing elements to cover the pipe/ vessel cross section. The paper also details the transceivers selection criteria, hardware setup, the electronic measurement circuit and also the image reconstruction algorithm applied. The system was found capable of visualizing the internal characteristics and provides the concentration profile for the corresponding liquid and gas phases. (author)

  19. The Reference Return Ratio

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nicolaisen, Jeppe; Faber Frandsen, Tove

    2008-01-01

    The paper introduces a new journal impact measure called The Reference Return Ratio (3R). Unlike the traditional Journal Impact Factor (JIF), which is based on calculations of publications and citations, the new measure is based on calculations of bibliographic investments (references) and returns...... (citations). A comparative study of the two measures shows a strong relationship between the 3R and the JIF. Yet, the 3R appears to correct for citation habits, citation dynamics, and composition of document types - problems that typically are raised against the JIF. In addition, contrary to traditional...

  20. Return to nucleate boiling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shumway, R.W.

    1985-01-01

    This paper presents a collection of TMIN (temperature of return to nucleate boiling) correlations, evaluates them under several conditions, and compares them with a wide range of data. Purpose is to obtain the best one for use in a water reactor safety computer simulator known as TRAC-B. Return to nucleate boiling can occur in a reactor accident at either high or low pressure and flow rates. Most of the correlations yield unrealistic results under some conditions. A new correlation is proposed which overcomes many of the deficiencies

  1. Different forms, reasons and motivations for return migration of persons who voluntarily decide to return to their countries of origin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Callea, S

    1986-03-01

    Although the 1973 oil crisis did not have the drastic effects on immigration which were originally feared, it did end a period of quasi-liberal immigration policy, establish intense and effective international cooperation on immigration, and arouse great interest in immigration studies and research. This paper analyzes the situations arising as a result of the petroleum shortage and focuses on the conditions relating to the return of emigrants to Southern European countries. This new research draws attention to the following fundamental aspects of the immigration problem: 1) the emigrant's return to his homeland cannot be considered a factor in development; it is a positive element in development only if the right socioeconomic conditions exist in the country of origin. 2) Concern for children's education is one of the most common reasons for return. 3) A large percentage of emigrants are satisfied with their work abroad. 4) An emigrant's return potential is wasted due to the slight use that is made of the resources he offers. 5) Returning workers most often want to set up an independent enterprise. 6) Savings are generally used to buy a house or farm. 7) Vocational level does not increase significantly between emigration and returning, though this increase becomes greater the longer the emigrant stays abroad. 8) The number of returning emigrants is too slight to bring about any change in the country of origin. 9) Incentives and subsidies to encourage return have not had a considerable impact on the decision to return. Callea recommends that officials of the country of origin posted abroad be assigned to counsel returning emigrants on finding employment, attending vocational development courses, obtaining housing, accruing interests and savings, and on the problems and perspectives of sociocultural reintegration.

  2. Multi-sourced, 3D geometric characterization of volcanogenic karst features: Integrating lidar, sonar, and geophysical datasets (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharp, J. M.; Gary, M. O.; Reyes, R.; Halihan, T.; Fairfield, N.; Stone, W. C.

    2009-12-01

    Karstic aquifers can form very complex hydrogeological systems and 3-D mapping has been difficult, but Lidar, phased array sonar, and improved earth resistivity techniques show promise in this and in linking metadata to models. Zacatón, perhaps the Earth’s deepest cenote, has a sub-aquatic void space exceeding 7.5 x 106 cubic m3. It is the focus of this study which has created detailed 3D maps of the system. These maps include data from above and beneath the the water table and within the rock matrix to document the extent of the immense karst features and to interpret the geologic processes that formed them. Phase 1 used high resolution (20 mm) Lidar scanning of surficial features of four large cenotes. Scan locations, selected to achieve full feature coverage once registered, were established atop surface benchmarks with UTM coordinates established using GPS and Total Stations. The combined datasets form a geo-registered mesh of surface features down to water level in the cenotes. Phase 2 conducted subsurface imaging using Earth Resistivity Imaging (ERI) geophysics. ERI identified void spaces isolated from open flow conduits. A unique travertine morphology exists in which some cenotes are dry or contain shallow lakes with flat travertine floors; some water-filled cenotes have flat floors without the cone of collapse material; and some have collapse cones. We hypothesize that the floors may have large water-filled voids beneath them. Three separate flat travertine caps were imaged: 1) La Pilita, which is partially open, exposing cap structure over a deep water-filled shaft; 2) Poza Seca, which is dry and vegetated; and 3) Tule, which contains a shallow (<1 m) lake. A fourth line was run adjacent to cenote Verde. La Pilita ERI, verified by SCUBA, documented the existence of large water-filled void zones ERI at Poza Seca showed a thin cap overlying a conductive zone extending to at least 25 m depth beneath the cap with no lower boundary of this zone evident

  3. MANAJEMEN LABA, RETURN SAHAM, DAN KINERJA OPERASI SEBAGAI PEMODERASI

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Farid Addy Sumantri

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to determine the indications of the practice of earnings management at the time of the IPO, one year after the IPO, and two years after the IPO. This study also examined the effect of earnings management on stock returns and operating performance in moderating the relationship between earnings management and stock returns. The study sample comprised 33 firms that go public in the year 2007 to 2011 using a purposive sampling method. Earnings management is proxied by discretionary accruals using the Modified Jones Model, which used proxy for the stock return is cummulative abnormal returns (CAR, while for the company's operating performance used proxy for the return on assets (ROA. The results showed that there were indications of earnings management at the time of the IPO, one year after the IPO, and two years after the IPO with a lower profit rate. No effect on earnings management is proxied by stock return cummulative abnormal returns (CAR. Operating performance of the company also can not moderate the relationship between earnings management with stock return.   Keywords: Earning Management, Initial Public Offering, Cummulative Abnormal Return, Return On Asset

  4. Athletic pubalgia: Return to play after targeted surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kajetanek, C; Benoît, O; Granger, B; Menegaux, F; Chereau, N; Pascal-Mousselard, H; Khiami, F

    2018-03-13

    Surgery for athletic pubalgia usually consists in abdominal wall repair combined with routine bilateral adductor tenotomy. We currently confine the surgical procedure to the injured structure(s) (abdominal wall only, adductor tendon only, or both) to limit morbidity and expedite recovery. Outcomes of this à la carte approach are unclear. The objectives of this retrospective study were to determine the return to play (RTP) time, evaluate the potential influence of injury location, and assess the frequency of recurrence or contralateral involvement. À la carte surgery for athletic pubalgia is associated with similar RTP times as the conventional procedure and is not followed by recurrence. Consecutive adults younger than 40 years of age who underwent surgery for athletic pubalgia with injury to the abdominal wall and/or adductor attachment sites between 2009 and 2015 were included. Patients with intra-articular hip disorders, isolated pubic symphysis involvement, or herniation were not eligible. The diagnosis was established clinically then confirmed by at least one imaging technique (ultrasonography plus either a radiograph of the pelvis or magnetic resonance imaging of the pelvis). The criterion for performing surgery was failure of appropriate conservative therapy followed for at least 3 months. Of the 27 included patients, eight had abdominal wall involvement only, seven adductor tendon involvement only, and 12 both. Overall, 25 (92.6%) patients returned to play at their previous level, after a mean of 112±38 days (range, 53-223 days), and experienced no recurrence during the 1-year follow-up. Mean RTP time was significantly shorter in the group with abdominal wall injury only (91.1±21.0 days) compared to the groups with adductor tendon injury only (101.7±42.0 days) or combined injuries (132.5±39.0) (p=0.02). In patients with athletic pubalgia, à la carte surgery confined to the injured structure(s) produces excellent RTP outcomes. RTP time is shortest in

  5. Evaluation of the return rate of volunteer blood donors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adriana de Fátima Lourençon

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: To convert first-time blood donors into regular volunteer donors is a challenge to transfusion services. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to estimate the return rate of first time donors of the Ribeirão Preto Blood Center and of other blood centers in its coverage region. METHODS: The histories of 115,553 volunteer donors between 1996 and 2005 were analyzed. Statistical analysis was based on a parametric long-term survival model that allows an estimation of the proportion of donors who never return for further donations. RESULTS: Only 40% of individuals return within one year after the first donation and 53% return within two years. It is estimated that 30% never return to donate. Higher return rates were observed among Black donors. No significant difference was found in non-return rates regarding gender, blood type, Rh blood group and blood collection unit. CONCLUSIONS: The low percentage of first-time donors who return for further blood donation reinforces the need for marketing actions and strategies aimed at increasing the return rates.

  6. Return migration as failure or success? : The determinants of return migration intentions among Moroccan migrants in Europe

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Haas, H.; Fokkema, T.; Fihri, M.F.

    2015-01-01

    Different migration theories generate competing hypotheses with regard to determinants of return migration. While neoclassical migration theory associates migration to the failure to integrate at the destination, the new economics of labour migration sees return migration as the logical stage after

  7. ACL Return to Sport Guidelines and Criteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davies, George J; McCarty, Eric; Provencher, Matthew; Manske, Robert C

    2017-09-01

    Because of the epidemiological incidence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries, the high reinjury rates that occur when returning back to sports, the actual number of patients that return to the same premorbid level of competition, the high incidence of osteoarthritis at 5-10-year follow-ups, and the effects on the long-term health of the knee and the quality of life for the patient, individualizing the return to sports after ACL reconstruction (ACL-R) is critical. However, one of the challenging but unsolved dilemmas is what criteria and clinical decision making should be used to return an athlete back to sports following an ACL-R. This article describes an example of a functional testing algorithm (FTA) as one method for clinical decision making based on quantitative and qualitative testing and assessment utilized to make informed decisions to return an athlete to their sports safely and without compromised performance. The methods were a review of the best current evidence to support a FTA. In order to evaluate all the complicated domains of the clinical decision making for individualizing the return to sports after ACL-R, numerous assessments need to be performed including the biopsychosocial concepts, impairment testing, strength and power testing, functional testing, and patient-reported outcomes (PROs). The optimum criteria to use for individualizing the return to sports after ACL-R remain elusive. However, since this decision needs to be made on a regular basis with the safety and performance factors of the patient involved, this FTA provides one method of quantitatively and qualitatively making the decisions. Admittedly, there is no predictive validity of this system, but it does provide practical guidelines to facilitate the clinical decision making process for return to sports. The clinical decision to return an athlete back into competition has significant implications ranging from the safety of the athlete, to performance factors and actual

  8. Global Variance Risk Premium and Forex Return Predictability

    OpenAIRE

    Aloosh, Arash

    2014-01-01

    In a long-run risk model with stochastic volatility and frictionless markets, I express expected forex returns as a function of consumption growth variances and stock variance risk premiums (VRPs)—the difference between the risk-neutral and statistical expectations of market return variation. This provides a motivation for using the forward-looking information available in stock market volatility indices to predict forex returns. Empirically, I find that stock VRPs predict forex returns at a ...

  9. Better understanding flow-restricted environments from hideout return analyses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ollar, Ph.; Viricel-Honorez, L.

    1998-01-01

    Understanding and controlling the chemical phenomena in flow-restricted areas of the secondary side of steam generators (SG) is a key point in fighting against corrosion (IGA) in these areas. Hence, more than 150 hideout returns from French plants are used to assess the chemical environment in flow-restricted areas. The influence of several parameters such as tube support plates design, SG blowdown flowrate and temperature at the end of hideout returns, on returned weights and on flow-restricted environments predicted by modelling are examined. A correlation between different operating and returned chemistry indexes (molar ratios), and IGA is sought: no link is found between IGA and Na/Cl molar ratio at the beginning of hideout returns. However, as IGA extends, the returned weights of sodium and chloride seem to decrease, suggesting a greater hideout and a lower hideout return efficiency, perhaps due to SG fouling, and/or a smaller hideout/hideout return thanks to an improved operating chemistry. Using the pH computed from hideout return data as an index for the presence of IGA is also studied: no correlation is found between the two. Improving plants chemistry is finally proposed, based on an optimization of hideout returns. (authors)

  10. The Returns to Entrepreneurship

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Van Praag, Mirjam; Raknerud, Arvid

    Empirical studies show low pecuniary returns of switching from wage employment to entrepreneurship. We reconsider the pecuniary gains of this switching by employing a two-stage procedure, where the randomness in the timing of inheritance transfers is used as an exclusion restriction to identify...... causal effects. The model is estimated on data covering the whole Norwegian population of individuals matched to the entire population of firms established in the period 2002-2011. The results indicate that the average returns to entrepreneurship are significantly negative for individuals entering...... entrepreneurship through self-employment and modest, but significantly positive, for incorporated startups....

  11. Analog VLSI Models of Range-Tuned Neurons in the Bat Echolocation System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Horiuchi Timothy

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available Bat echolocation is a fascinating topic of research for both neuroscientists and engineers, due to the complex and extremely time-constrained nature of the problem and its potential for application to engineered systems. In the bat's brainstem and midbrain exist neural circuits that are sensitive to the specific difference in time between the outgoing sonar vocalization and the returning echo. While some of the details of the neural mechanisms are known to be species-specific, a basic model of reafference-triggered, postinhibitory rebound timing is reasonably well supported by available data. We have designed low-power, analog VLSI circuits to mimic this mechanism and have demonstrated range-dependent outputs for use in a real-time sonar system. These circuits are being used to implement range-dependent vocalization amplitude, vocalization rate, and closest target isolation.

  12. Communication and collaboration among return-to-work stakeholders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russell, Elizabeth; Kosny, Agnieszka

    2018-05-17

    Workers who are injured or become ill on the job are best able to return-to-work when stakeholders involved in their case collaborate and communicate. This study examined health care providers' and case managers' engagement in rehabilitation and return-to-work following workplace injury or illness. In-depth interviews were conducted with 97 health care providers and 34 case managers in four Canadian provinces about their experiences facilitating rehabilitation and return-to-work, and interacting with system stakeholders. A qualitative thematic content analysis demonstrated two key findings. Firstly, stakeholders were challenged to collaborate as a result of: barriers to interdisciplinary and cross-professional communication; philosophical differences about the timing and appropriateness of return-to-work; and confusion among health care providers about the workers' compensation system. Secondly, these challenges adversely affected the co-ordination of patient care, and consequentially, injured workers often became information conduits, and effective and timely treatment and return-to-work was sometimes negatively impacted. Communication challenges between health care providers and case managers may negatively impact patient care and alienate treating health care providers. Discussion about role clarification, the appropriateness of early return-to-work, how paperwork shapes health care providers' role expectations, and strengthened inter-professional communication are considered. Implications for Rehabilitation Administrative and conceptual barriers in workers' compensation systems challenge collaboration and communication between health care providers and case managers. Injured workers may become conduits of incorrect information, resulting in adversarial relationships, overturned health care providers' recommendations, and their disengagement from rehabilitation and return-to-work. Stakeholders should clarify the role of health care providers during

  13. 26 CFR 301.6103(j)(1)-1 - Disclosures of return information reflected on returns to officers and employees of the...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... related activities. 301.6103(j)(1)-1 Section 301.6103(j)(1)-1 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE... and Returns Returns and Records § 301.6103(j)(1)-1 Disclosures of return information reflected on... related activities. (a) General rule. Pursuant to the provisions of section 6103(j)(1) of the Internal...

  14. Predictability of Returns and Cash Flows

    OpenAIRE

    Ralph S.J. Koijen; Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh

    2010-01-01

    We review the literature on return and cash-flow growth predictability from the perspective of the present-value identity. We focus predominantly on recent work. Our emphasis is on U.S. aggregate stock return predictability, but we also discuss evidence from other asset classes and countries.

  15. Return on Investment from Biochar Application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Current literature has yet to fully address the cost of biochar application or the return on investment to the grower. The objectives were to identify possible on-farm spreader equipment, spreader capacity, application expenses, and rate of return needed for growers to apply biochar economically. Bi...

  16. Does graded return-to-work improve sick-listed workers' chance of returning to regular working hours?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Høgelund, Jan; Holm, Anders; McIntosh, James

    2010-01-01

    Using Danish register and survey data, we examine the effect of a national graded return-to-work program on the probability of sick-listed workers returning to regular working hours. During program participation, the sick-listed worker works fewer hours and receives the normal hourly wage for the hours worked and sickness benefit for the hours off work. When the worker's health improves, working hours are increased until the sick-listed worker is able to work regular hours. Taking account of unobserved differences between program participants and non-participants, we find that participation in the program significantly increases the probability of returning to regular working hours. Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Imaging the Subsurface with Upgoing Muons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonal, N.; Preston, L. A.; Schwellenbach, D.; Dreesen, W.; Green, A.

    2014-12-01

    We assess the feasibility of imaging the subsurface using upgoing muons. Traditional muon imaging focuses on more-prevalent downgoing muons. Muons are subatomic particles capable of penetrating the earth's crust several kilometers. Downgoing muons have been used to image the Pyramid of Khafre of Giza, various volcanoes, and smaller targets like cargo. Unfortunately, utilizing downgoing muons requires below-target detectors. For aboveground objects like a volcano, the detector is placed at the volcano's base and the top portion of the volcano is imaged. For underground targets like tunnels, the detector would have to be placed below the tunnel in a deeper tunnel or adjacent borehole, which can be costly and impractical for some locations. Additionally, detecting and characterizing subsurface features like voids from tunnels can be difficult. Typical characterization methods like sonar, seismic, and ground penetrating radar have shown mixed success. Voids have a marked density contrast with surrounding materials, so using methods sensitive to density variations would be ideal. High-energy cosmic ray muons are more sensitive to density variation than other phenomena, including gravity. Their absorption rate depends on the density of the materials through which they pass. Measurements of muon flux rate at differing directions provide density variations of the materials between the muon source (cosmic rays and neutrino interactions) and detector, much like a CAT scan. Currently, tomography using downgoing muons can resolve features to the sub-meter scale. We present results of exploratory work, which demonstrates that upgoing muon fluxes appear sufficient to achieve target detection within a few months. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.

  18. Marker Detection in Aerial Images

    KAUST Repository

    Alharbi, Yazeed

    2017-04-09

    The problem that the thesis is trying to solve is the detection of small markers in high-resolution aerial images. Given a high-resolution image, the goal is to return the pixel coordinates corresponding to the center of the marker in the image. The marker has the shape of two triangles sharing a vertex in the middle, and it occupies no more than 0.01% of the image size. An improvement on the Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG) is proposed, eliminating the majority of baseline HOG false positives for marker detection. The improvement is guided by the observation that standard HOG description struggles to separate markers from negatives patches containing an X shape. The proposed method alters intensities with the aim of altering gradients. The intensity-dependent gradient alteration leads to more separation between filled and unfilled shapes. The improvement is used in a two-stage algorithm to achieve high recall and high precision in detection of markers in aerial images. In the first stage, two classifiers are used: one to quickly eliminate most of the uninteresting parts of the image, and one to carefully select the marker among the remaining interesting regions. Interesting regions are selected by scanning the image with a fast classifier trained on the HOG features of markers in all rotations and scales. The next classifier is more precise and uses our method to eliminate the majority of the false positives of standard HOG. In the second stage, detected markers are tracked forward and backward in time. Tracking is needed to detect extremely blurred or distorted markers that are missed by the previous stage. The algorithm achieves 94% recall with minimal user guidance. An average of 30 guesses are given per image; the user verifies for each whether it is a marker or not. The brute force approach would return 100,000 guesses per image.

  19. Motivational goals, group identifications, and psychosocial adjustment of returning migrants: The case of Jews returning to Russia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tartakovsky, Eugene; Patrakov, Eduard; Nikulina, Marina

    2017-12-01

    The present study investigated the motivational goals, group identifications, and psychosocial adjustment of Jews who returned to Russia after emigrating from the republics of the Former Soviet Union to different countries (n = 151). To gain a deeper understanding of these returning migrants, their traits were compared with those of Jews living in Russia who did not emigrate (n = 935). Compared to locals, returnees reported a higher preference for the openness to change and self-enhancement values and a lower preference for the conservation values; there was no difference in the self-transcendence values. Returning migrants had a relatively weak affiliation with the home country: they had a weaker identification with the home country than with the country of emigration, their identification with Russians was weaker than that among Jews who did not emigrate from Russia, and their intention to emigrate (again) from Russia was greater than that among locals. However, the Jewish identification of returning migrants was similar to that of locals. The adjustment of returning migrants varied across different dimensions: their economic adjustment was better than that of locals; however, the interpersonal adjustment of returnees was less successful than among locals. © 2016 International Union of Psychological Science.

  20. Economic and accounting rates of return

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Feenstra, D.W.; Wang, H.

    2000-01-01

    The rate of return on invested capital is a central concept in financial analysis. The purpose of calculating the rate of return on investment in general is to measure the financial performance, to assess the desirability of a project and to make decisions on the valuation of firms. Financial

  1. Parasitic diseases in the returning traveller

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2009-06-11

    Jun 11, 2009 ... exception is infection with schistosomiasis after leisure activities in infested freshwater. (the water sports enthusiast returning from a sojourn on Lake Malawi .... are harbouring a 'blind passenger' from abroad. However, long-term travellers, both private or business, should be screened on return. A thorough ...

  2. Sealed Planetary Return Canister (SPRC), Phase II

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Sample return missions have primary importance in future planetary missions. A basic requirement is that samples be returned in pristine, uncontaminated condition,...

  3. Product return management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shaharudin, Mohd Rizaimy; Govindan, Kannan; Zailani, Suhaiza

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this study is to examine the extent to which product returns motivate manufacturing firms to adopt closed-loop supply chain activities that influence the effectiveness of reverse supply chains. The hypotheses have been tested using data from a sample of 150 environmental management...... system ISO 14001 certified manufacturing firms in Malaysia through the census sampling approach. The results of the empirical test using LISREL Version 8.70 for the structural equation modeling support the fundamental explanation of the influence of the institutional forces towards the adoption of closed...... eventually impacts the firm's effectiveness in the reverse supply chain. The findings also help managers to understand the factors that can improve the outcome of the adoption of closed-loop supply chain activities by intensifying the extent of involvement in product returns, which provides a valuable...

  4. High Rate of Return to Yoga for Athletes After Hip Arthroscopy for Femoroacetabular Impingement Syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frank, Rachel M; Ukwuani, Gift; Allison, Bradley; Clapp, Ian; Nho, Shane J

    2018-02-01

    Femoroacetabular impingement syndrome (FAIS) is most commonly diagnosed in patients who perform activities that require repetitive hip flexion and rotational loading. Yoga is an activity growing in popularity that involves these motions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate patients' ability to return to yoga after hip arthroscopy for FAIS. There would be a high rate of return to yoga after hip arthroscopy. Retrospective analysis. Level 4. Consecutive patients with FAIS who had identified themselves as participating in yoga and had undergone hip arthroscopy for the treatment of FAIS between 2012 and 2015 were reviewed. Demographic data were collected and assessed for all patients, as well as preoperative physical examination, imaging, and patient-reported outcome (PRO) scores, including the modified Harris Hip Score (mHHS), Hip Outcome Score Activities of Daily Living (HOS-ADL) and Sports-Specific (HOS-SS) subscales, and visual analog scale (VAS) for pain. Postoperatively, examination and PRO data were collected at a minimum 1 year after surgery, including a yoga-specific questionnaire. A total of 42 patients (90% female; mean age, 35 ± 9 years; mean body mass index, 23.1 ± 3.2 kg/m 2 ) were included. Thirty patients (71%) had to discontinue their yoga routine preoperatively because of hip-related symptoms at a mean 9.5 ± 8.2 months before surgery. After surgery, 39 patients (93%) were able to return to yoga at a mean 5.3 ± 2.2 months after surgery. Two of the 3 patients who did not return to yoga noted loss of interest as their reason for stopping, while 1 patient was unable to return because of persistent hip pain. Nineteen patients (45%) returned to a higher level of yoga practice, 17 patients (40%) returned to the same level, and 3 patients (7%) returned to a lower level. There was no difference in the number of hours spent practicing yoga per week pre- and postoperatively (2.7 ± 1.9 vs 2.5 ± 1.3 hours; P = 0.44). All patients demonstrated

  5. 76 FR 17521 - Specified Tax Return Preparers Required To File Individual Income Tax Returns Using Magnetic Media

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-30

    ... regulations reflect changes made to the law by the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009... definition of a ``specified tax return preparer'' must electronically file Federal income tax returns that... of the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 (Pub. L. 111-92 (123 Stat. 2984...

  6. Stock returns and foreign investment in Brazil

    OpenAIRE

    Reis, Luciana; Meurer, Roberto; Da Silva, Sergio

    2008-01-01

    We examine the relationship between stock returns and foreign investment in Brazil, and find that the inflows of foreign investment boosted the returns from 1995 to 2005. There was a strong contemporaneous correlation, although not Granger-causality. Foreign investment along with the exchange rate, the influence of the world stock markets, and country risk can explain 73 percent of the changes that occurred in the stock returns over the period. We also find that positive feedback trading play...

  7. INSTITUTIONAL OWNERSHIP LEVEL AND RISK-ADJUSTED RETURN

    OpenAIRE

    Isaiah, Chioma; Li, Meng (Emma)

    2017-01-01

    This paper examines the relationship between the level of institutional ownership andrisk-adjusted return on stocks. We find a significant positive relationship between the level ofinstitutional ownership on a stock and its risk-adjusted return. This result holds both in the longrun and in shorter time periods. Our findings suggest that all things being equal, it is possible toobtain risk-adjusted return by going short on the stocks with low institutional ownership andgoing long on those with...

  8. 76 FR 36996 - Extension of Time for Filing Returns

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-06-24

    ... less time to complete accurate income tax returns and to provide timely information to the trust's... either chapter 7 or chapter 11 of Title 11 of the U.S. Code that is required to file an income tax return... estate or trust income tax return or failure to pay the amount shown as tax on the return. (g) Effective...

  9. 27 CFR 41.112 - Tax return.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Tax return. 41.112 Section 41.112 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF... States Deferred Payment of Tax in Puerto Rico on Tobacco Products § 41.112 Tax return. The internal...

  10. [Organising a successful return home].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mézière, Anthony

    Discharge from hospital is a major component of the quality and efficiency of the healthcare system. The failures of the return home of elderly people testify to the difficulties of applying guidelines in the area of hospital discharge. The action plan decided in the hospital for a successful return home can be jeopardised for personal, relational, functional and structural reasons originating from the different players involved in the hospital discharge. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  11. Capital Structure and Stock Returns

    OpenAIRE

    Ivo Welch

    2002-01-01

    U.S. corporations do not issue and repurchase debt and equity to counteract the mechanistic effects of stock returns on their debt-equity ratios. Thus over one- to five-year horizons, stock returns can explain about 40 percent of debt ratio dynamics. Although corporate net issuing activity is lively and although it can explain 60 percent of debt ratio dynamics (long-term debt issuing activity being most capital structurerelevant), corporate issuing motives remain largely a mystery. When stock...

  12. Return Migration among Elderly, Chronically Ill Bosnian Refugees

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Handlos, Line Neerup; Olwig, Karen Fog; Bygbjerg, Ib Christian

    2015-01-01

    Elderly migrants constitute a considerable share of global return migration; nevertheless, literature on the health aspects of the return migration among these migrants is still scarce. This study explores the significance of return migration among elderly, chronically ill Bosnian refugees from...... Denmark and the role of health issues in their decision to return. It is based on semi-structured interviews with 33 elderly, chronically ill Bosnian refugees who have moved back to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and 10 elderly, chronically ill Bosnian refugees who have remained in Denmark. The interviews show...

  13. Mobility, return for development and sense of Europe: narratives of Moldavian immigrants returning from the European Union

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvia Marcu

    Full Text Available The article links migration, cross-border mobility and return for development embedded in terms of identity and approach to sense of Europe. Taking into account the global changes in Moldova, the paper examines the perceptions of mobility, return and identity of the Moldovans engaged in emigration in the countries of the European Union (EU. Utilising a multi-discipline approach and an in-depth qualitative interview technique, this article seeks to analyze how mobility and return can support social change and development of the country, and argues that people, who cross EU borders, living through the experience of emigration, acquire a pro-European mentality.

  14. RETURNS OF PRIVATE EQUITY COMPARATIVE ANALYSES OF THE RETURNS OF VENTURE CAPITAL AND BUYOUT FUNDS IN EUROPE AND IN THE US

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Becsky-Nagy Patrícia

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper focuses on the returns of two segments of Private Equity (PE market in Europe and in the US; Venture Capital (VC and Buyout (BO. Contrary to the publicly traded stocks where information about the trade of securities is public, the measuring of the returns of these asset classes is not unambiguous. The returns of PE investments are considered as confidential information therefore we only have estimations about the real characteristics of the financial performance of the PE industry. Although it is impossible to observe the whole industry it is important to chart its performance because PE plays an essential role in the financing of firms, especially firms at special stages of their lives and the more information the investors and companies have, the more effective PE market can be therefore it can contribute to economic growth, employment, innovation etc. In the literature PE, VC and BO are not distinguished properly and they are often used as synonyms. Despite their similarities, there are significant differences in the features of these types of investments. In this paper the authors present the return characteristics of the PE industry of Europe and the US with regard to the stage-focus of PE funds. The key findings of this paper are that in average the returns of BO funds exceeded the returns of VC funds in the US as well as in Europe. Not just according to the absolute value of the returns, but also according to its risk-return tradeoff BO seems to be a preferable investment. The same statements can be made in case of the European market. The US returns are higher than European VC returns, because compared to the US VC industry the European is undeveloped. On the other hand the gap between the performances of BO funds is not as significant as the difference of VC funds. While in the 90’s US BO funds outperformed the European ones, after the millennia European BO returns were higher. The analysis of returns reveals the

  15. 14 CFR 49.21 - Return of original conveyance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Return of original conveyance. 49.21... RECORDING OF AIRCRAFT TITLES AND SECURITY DOCUMENTS General § 49.21 Return of original conveyance. If a person submitting a conveyance for recording wants the original returned to him, he must submit a true...

  16. FINANCIAL RETURN ON ASSETS. THE IMPACT OF THE FINANCIAL RETURN ON ASSETS OVER THE COMPANY’S DEVELOPMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Constantin Căruntu

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available The financial rate of return is a significant indicator for assessing the economic and financial performance of an enterprise for the internal diagnosis, as well as for the analysis required by the external partners. The financial return is a basic indicator which characterizes the business performances that is found directly under the trade policy (trade cost, efficiency of capital employed (economic profitability but also under the financial policy of the company. If the economic rate of return expresses a remuneration of the employed capital only in relation to operating activities, the financial rate of return quantifies a remuneration of the private capital trough all three types of activity: operational, financial and extraordinary. Starting from the consideration that the financial rate of return expresses the efficiency of equity or permanent capital use of the company we can state that it is of particular importance to the shareholders of the company, which considers according to it’s level whether their investments are justified and they will continue to support the business development through raising of fresh capital or abandonment for a limited period to one part of the dividends due. Managers, in turn, will be keen on maintaining an appropriate level of this rate, in order to retain their positions and to achieve the performance criteria of the company.

  17. 27 CFR 25.211 - Beer returned to brewery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Beer returned to brewery..., DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS BEER Beer Returned to Brewery § 25.211 Beer returned to brewery. (a) General. Beer, produced in the United States, on which the brewer has paid or determined the tax may be...

  18. Returning to sports after a back injury

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000518.htm Returning to sports after a back injury To use the sharing ... Back pain - returning to sports Which Type of Sport is Best? In deciding when and if to ...

  19. The Extinction and Return of Fear of Public Speaking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laborda, Mario A; Schofield, Casey A; Johnson, Emily M; Schubert, Jessica R; George-Denn, Daniel; Coles, Meredith E; Miller, Ralph R

    2016-11-01

    Prior studies indicate extinguished fear often partially returns when participants are later tested outside the extinction context. Cues carried from the extinction context to the test context sometimes reduce return of fear, but it is unclear whether such extinction cues (ECs) reduce return of fear of public speaking. Here we assessed return of fear of public speaking, and whether either of two types of ECs can attenuate it. Participants gave speeches of increasing difficulty during an exposure practice session and were tested 2 days later in a different context. Testing occurred in the presence of physical ECs, after mentally rehearsing the exposure session, or without either reminder. Practice reduced fear of public speaking, but fear partially returned at test. Neither physical nor mental ECs reduced partial return of fear of public speaking. The return of extinguished fear of public speaking, although small, was reliable, but not appreciably sensitive to presence of ECs. © The Author(s) 2016.

  20. Determinants of Return to Play After the Nonoperative Management of Hamstring Injuries in Athletes: A Systematic Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fournier-Farley, Camille; Lamontagne, Martin; Gendron, Patrick; Gagnon, Dany H

    2016-08-01

    It is important for clinicians to rely on suitable prognosis factors after hamstring injuries because of the high incidence of these injuries and time away from athletic activities. To summarize the current literature on factors that influence return to play after a hamstring injury in athletes. Systematic review. A computer-assisted literature search of CINAHL, MEDLINE, Embase, and EBM Reviews databases (and a manual search of the reference lists of all selected articles) was conducted using keywords related to hamstring injuries and return to play. The literature review criteria included (1) patients with an acute hamstring or posterior thigh injury; (2) a randomized controlled trial, cohort study, case-control study, case series, or prospective or retrospective design; (3) information on rehabilitation, physical therapy, clinical assessment, imaging techniques, and return to play; and (4) studies written in English or French. The search strategy identified 914 potential articles, of which 24 met the inclusion criteria. In terms of the clinical assessment, the following factors were associated with a longer recovery time: stretching-type injuries, recreational-level sports, structural versus functional injuries, greater range of motion deficit with the hip flexed at 90°, time to first consultation >1 week, increased pain on the visual analog scale, and >1 day to be able to walk pain free after the injury. As for magnetic resonance imaging studies, the following factors correlated with a longer recovery time: positive findings; higher grade of injury; muscle involvement >75%; complete transection; retraction; central tendon disruption of the biceps femoris; proximal tendon involvement; shorter distance to the ischial tuberosity; length of the hamstring injury; and depth, volume, and large cross-sectional area. With respect to ultrasound studies, the following factors were associated with a poor prognosis: large cross-sectional area, injury outside the

  1. Return Migration and Working Choices

    OpenAIRE

    TANI, Massimiliano; MAHUTEAU, Stéphane

    2008-01-01

    Collective Action to Support the Reintegration of Return Migrants in their Country of Origin (MIREM) This paper uses the recent survey carried out in the framework of the MIREM project on returnees to Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia and studies the duration of emigration and the labour force status upon returning. The results suggest that age and the year of emigration play a central role in the migration decision, but they do not support the hypothesis that the duration of migration is deter...

  2. Optimal predator risk assessment by the sonar-jamming arctiine moth Bertholdia trigona.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aaron J Corcoran

    Full Text Available Nearly all animals face a tradeoff between seeking food and mates and avoiding predation. Optimal escape theory holds that an animal confronted with a predator should only flee when benefits of flight (increased survival outweigh the costs (energetic costs, lost foraging time, etc.. We propose a model for prey risk assessment based on the predator's stage of attack. Risk level should increase rapidly from when the predator detects the prey to when it commits to the attack. We tested this hypothesis using a predator--the echolocating bat--whose active biosonar reveals its stage of attack. We used a prey defense--clicking used for sonar jamming by the tiger moth Bertholdia trigona--that can be readily studied in the field and laboratory and is enacted simultaneously with evasive flight. We predicted that prey employ defenses soon after being detected and targeted, and that prey defensive thresholds discriminate between legitimate predatory threats and false threats where a nearby prey is attacked. Laboratory and field experiments using playbacks of ultrasound signals and naturally behaving bats, respectively, confirmed our predictions. Moths clicked soon after bats detected and targeted them. Also, B. trigona clicking thresholds closely matched predicted optimal thresholds for discriminating legitimate and false predator threats for bats using search and approach phase echolocation--the period when bats are searching for and assessing prey. To our knowledge, this is the first quantitative study to correlate the sensory stimuli that trigger defensive behaviors with measurements of signals provided by predators during natural attacks in the field. We propose theoretical models for explaining prey risk assessment depending on the availability of cues that reveal a predator's stage of attack.

  3. Optimal Predator Risk Assessment by the Sonar-Jamming Arctiine Moth Bertholdia trigona

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corcoran, Aaron J.; Wagner, Ryan D.; Conner, William E.

    2013-01-01

    Nearly all animals face a tradeoff between seeking food and mates and avoiding predation. Optimal escape theory holds that an animal confronted with a predator should only flee when benefits of flight (increased survival) outweigh the costs (energetic costs, lost foraging time, etc.). We propose a model for prey risk assessment based on the predator's stage of attack. Risk level should increase rapidly from when the predator detects the prey to when it commits to the attack. We tested this hypothesis using a predator – the echolocating bat – whose active biosonar reveals its stage of attack. We used a prey defense – clicking used for sonar jamming by the tiger moth Bertholdia trigona– that can be readily studied in the field and laboratory and is enacted simultaneously with evasive flight. We predicted that prey employ defenses soon after being detected and targeted, and that prey defensive thresholds discriminate between legitimate predatory threats and false threats where a nearby prey is attacked. Laboratory and field experiments using playbacks of ultrasound signals and naturally behaving bats, respectively, confirmed our predictions. Moths clicked soon after bats detected and targeted them. Also, B. trigona clicking thresholds closely matched predicted optimal thresholds for discriminating legitimate and false predator threats for bats using search and approach phase echolocation – the period when bats are searching for and assessing prey. To our knowledge, this is the first quantitative study to correlate the sensory stimuli that trigger defensive behaviors with measurements of signals provided by predators during natural attacks in the field. We propose theoretical models for explaining prey risk assessment depending on the availability of cues that reveal a predator's stage of attack. PMID:23671686

  4. Slow return of displaced Southern Sudanese

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tim Morris

    2007-07-01

    Full Text Available The pace of repatriation of Sudanese refugees and return of IDP s to South Sudan has picked up but expectations at the time of the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA CPA in January 2005 have yet to be realised. With all eyes on Darfur, assistance to sustain returns to South Sudan remains inadequate.

  5. 31 CFR 10.28 - Return of client's records.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Return of client's records. 10.28... § 10.28 Return of client's records. (a) In general, a practitioner must, at the request of a client, promptly return any and all records of the client that are necessary for the client to comply with his or...

  6. DETERMINANTS OF RETURN ON EQUITY OF COOPERATIVE BANKS IN POLAND

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Bieniasz

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the study was to analyse the diversity of return on equity in the cooperative banks in Poland in 2010– 2014. The analysis was conducted using data of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority, on the basis of a modifi ed decomposition rate of return on equity. Assessment of the rate of return on equity was made in a size of banks, as determined by the value of assets. In addition, in order to determine the strength and direction of impact the individual components of the model on the formation of return on equity method was applied functional. The study suggests that cooperative banks eff ectively use the equity, because the rate of return on equity was signifi cantly higher than the rate of return on assets. The average return on assets in 2010–2014 was relatively lower in the largest banks and ranged from 0.7–0.9%, and the smallest banks return on assets was approximately 1%. In turn, the return on equity was higher at banks with major assets (over 200 million PLN. In 2013–2014 the rate of return both on assets and equity expressly declined. The main determinants of changes in return on equity were changing the multiplier reduction of profi t from banking activities by operating costs and costs of banking risk and return on assets, as well as measured result on banking activities.

  7. Abnormal Returns and Contrarian Strategies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivana Dall'Agnol

    2003-12-01

    Full Text Available We test the hypothesis that strategies which are long on portfolios of looser stocks and short on portfolios of winner stocks generate abnormal returns in Brazil. This type of evidence for the US stock market was interpreted by The Bondt and Thaler (1985 as reflecting systematic evaluation mistakes caused by investors overreaction to news related to the firm performance. We found evidence of contrarian strategies profitability for horizons from 3 months to 3 years in a sample of stock returns from BOVESPA and SOMA from 1986 to 2000. The strategies are more profitable for shorter horizons. Therefore, there was no trace of the momentum effect found by Jagadeesh and Titman (1993 for the same horizons with US data. There are remaing unexplained positive returns for contrarian strategies after accounting for risk, size, and liquidity. We also found that the strategy profitability is reduced after the Real Plan, which suggests that the Brazilian stock market became more efficient after inflation stabilization.

  8. Touch And Go Camera System (TAGCAMS) for the OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bos, B. J.; Ravine, M. A.; Caplinger, M.; Schaffner, J. A.; Ladewig, J. V.; Olds, R. D.; Norman, C. D.; Huish, D.; Hughes, M.; Anderson, S. K.; Lorenz, D. A.; May, A.; Jackman, C. D.; Nelson, D.; Moreau, M.; Kubitschek, D.; Getzandanner, K.; Gordon, K. E.; Eberhardt, A.; Lauretta, D. S.

    2018-02-01

    NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission spacecraft includes the Touch And Go Camera System (TAGCAMS) three camera-head instrument. The purpose of TAGCAMS is to provide imagery during the mission to facilitate navigation to the target asteroid, confirm acquisition of the asteroid sample, and document asteroid sample stowage. The cameras were designed and constructed by Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS) based on requirements developed by Lockheed Martin and NASA. All three of the cameras are mounted to the spacecraft nadir deck and provide images in the visible part of the spectrum, 400-700 nm. Two of the TAGCAMS cameras, NavCam 1 and NavCam 2, serve as fully redundant navigation cameras to support optical navigation and natural feature tracking. Their boresights are aligned in the nadir direction with small angular offsets for operational convenience. The third TAGCAMS camera, StowCam, provides imagery to assist with and confirm proper stowage of the asteroid sample. Its boresight is pointed at the OSIRIS-REx sample return capsule located on the spacecraft deck. All three cameras have at their heart a 2592 × 1944 pixel complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) detector array that provides up to 12-bit pixel depth. All cameras also share the same lens design and a camera field of view of roughly 44° × 32° with a pixel scale of 0.28 mrad/pixel. The StowCam lens is focused to image features on the spacecraft deck, while both NavCam lens focus positions are optimized for imaging at infinity. A brief description of the TAGCAMS instrument and how it is used to support critical OSIRIS-REx operations is provided.

  9. Factor Structure in Commodity Futures Return and Volatility

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christoffersen, Peter; Lunde, Asger; Olesen, Kasper Vinther

    Using data on more than 750 million futures trades during 2004-2013, we analyze eight stylized facts of commodity price and volatility dynamics in the post financialization period. We pay particular attention to the factor structure in returns and volatility and to commodity market integration...... with the equity market. We find evidence of a factor structure in daily commodity futures returns. However, the factor structure in daily commodity futures volatility is even stronger than in returns. When computing model-free realized commodity betas with the stock market we find that they were high during 2008......-2010 but have since returned to the pre-crisis level close to zero. The common factor in commodity volatility is nevertheless clearly related to stock market volatility. We conclude that, while commodity markets appear to again be segmented from the equity market when only returns are considered, commodity...

  10. Estimation of return levels against different return periods of extreme annual rainfall over Baluchistan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ali, M.; Jan, B.; Iqbal, J.

    2012-01-01

    Unprecedented heavy monsoon rainfall began in the last week of July 2010 in the Northern part of our country, causes floods in Baluchistan and Sindh. As the high frequency rainfall events are a significant cause of current severe flooding in Pakistan and any fluctuation in the level of such events may cause huge economic losses as well as social problem, urban structures (i.e. dams, urban drainage systems and flood). Statistical distributions are used to identify extremes of annual rainfall of different cities of Baluchistan (Quetta, Sibbi, Khuzdar, Lasbella, Dalbandin and Pasni) with their return periods. Analysis predicts that Gumbel Max. (GM) Distribution is the best fitted distribution for Sibbi and Lasbella while the GEV distribution is the best fitted for Quetta, Khuzdar, Dalbandin and Pasni. The analysis also suggests that different cities of Baluchistan have 30-years return period for getting more than 90 mm average daily rainfall while they have 100-years return period for receiving more than 118 mm daily rainfall. This suggests for suitable flood forecasting and improving the river structure in Baluchistan, Pakistan. (author)

  11. High Frequency Sonar Elastic Image Enhancements: Ray Theory

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Marston, Philip

    2001-01-01

    .... All of the enhancements considered are associated with the target's mechanical response. An enhancement is discovered and analyzed for plastic and rubber cylinders usually considered to have weak backscattering...

  12. Inventory control with product returns : The impact of imperfect information

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    De Brito, M.P.; Laan, E.A.

    2009-01-01

    Product returns are characterized by considerable uncertainty on time and quantity. In the literature on inventory management for product return environments best forecasts of future returns are associated with methods that use the most information regarding product return history. In practice,

  13. 26 CFR 301.6103(j)(1)-1T - Disclosures of return information reflected on returns to officers and employees of the...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... related activities (temporary). 301.6103(j)(1)-1T Section 301.6103(j)(1)-1T Internal Revenue INTERNAL... ADMINISTRATION Information and Returns Returns and Records § 301.6103(j)(1)-1T Disclosures of return information... § 301.6103(j)(1)-1(a) through (b)(3)(xxiv). (xxv) From Form 6765 (when filed with corporation income tax...

  14. Planetary protection considerations for sample-return missions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rummel, J.

    The analysis on Earth of materials returned from other solar system bodies, and beyond, is likely one of the most effective ways for us to learn about the origins, history, and present state of the universe outside of our home planet. In the past, the Apollo missions were able to return large quantities of material from the Moon, while missions currently flying (Genesis and Stardust) intend to return much smaller quantities of material. Planned and conceptualized future missions (cf., MUSES-C) intend to return a wide variety of samples such as those from a near-Earth asteroid, the surface and atmosphere of Mars , and perhaps once more from the Earth's Moon. In some cases, the bodies targeted for sample return missions may have the capability of harboring indigenous life, while in other cases there is scant possibility of that. Considerations in determining the potential for extraterrestrial contamination from sample return missions have been studied, and include such factors as the availability of liquid water in or on the target body, the availability of m tabolicallye useful energy sources, the likelihood that organic matter was available, and the overall temperature and radiation history of the sampled areas. Also of note is the potential that the natural influx to Earth of that materials in question (e.g., meteorites, etc.) might overwhelm the ability of a targeted sample-return mission to contribute something novel to the Earth's environment. Missions thought to pose a risk of extraterrestrial biological contamination are subject to a containment provision that may be very difficult to implement on a single, moderate-cost mission, but such steps are necessary to protect both our own planet and the health of solar-system exploration missions and the science they can do.

  15. One-Step Direct Return Method For Mohr-Coulomb Plasticity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Clausen, Johan; Damkilde, Lars; Andersen, Lars

    2004-01-01

    A new return method for the Mohr-Coulomb yield criteria is presented. The idea is to transform the problem into the principal direction and thereby achieve very simple formulas for calculating the elastic return stresses.......A new return method for the Mohr-Coulomb yield criteria is presented. The idea is to transform the problem into the principal direction and thereby achieve very simple formulas for calculating the elastic return stresses....

  16. HUBUNGAN RETURN SAHAM DAN INFLASI DI INDONESIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nyoman Triaryati

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The effect of inflation to the stock return research had been held since three decades ago based on GeneralizeFisher’s Hypotheses, but ‘how inflation influenced stock return’ had become a debate until today. In Indonesiamost of the related research used inflation as one of the variables that influenced stock return despite of others inshort period of time. This research investigated the effect of inflation to the stock return in Indonesia within fifteenyears, which was divided into 3 (three periods of time reflecting different economic growth for each of it. Thepurpose of this allotment was to see the consistency how inflation influenced the stock market. Using a secondarydata from monthly inflation and IHSG period 1998 until 2012, included three hundred and sixty observation,simple regression model analyses was applied. This research acknowledged that inflation negatively influencedstock return in a long time period, but it did not exist in the short time period, except when the level of inflationreached 10%. In conclusion, inflation influence on the stock return was not ascertained by how long the investigationwas held but if there was any inflation rate reaching 10% within the period of investigation.

  17. Habit formation, surplus consumption and return predictability

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Engsted, Tom; Hyde, Stuart; Vinther Møller, Stig

    2010-01-01

    On an international post World War II dataset, we use an iterated GMM procedure to estimate and test the Campbell and Cochrane (1999, By force of habit: a consumption-based explanation of aggregate stock market behavior. Journal of Political Economy 107, 205–251.) habit formation model with a time......-varying risk-free rate. In addition, we analyze the predictive power of the surplus consumption ratio for future stock and bond returns. We find that, although there are important cross-country differences and economically significant pricing errors, for the majority of countries in our sample the model gets...... significant information about future stock returns, also during the 1990s. In addition, in most countries the surplus consumption ratio is also a powerful predictor of future bond returns. Thus, the surplus consumption ratio captures time-varying expected returns in both stock and bond markets....

  18. Dynamic returns of beta arbitrage

    OpenAIRE

    Nascimento, Mafalda

    2017-01-01

    This thesis studies the patterns of the abnormal returns of the beta strategy. The topic can be helpful for professional investors, who intend to achieve a better performance in their portfolios. Following the methodology of Lou, Polk, & Huang (2016), the COBAR measure is computed in order to determine the levels of beta arbitrage in the market in each point in time. It is argued that beta arbitrage activity can have impact on the returns of the beta strategy. In fact, it is demonstrated that...

  19. Returns on Investment in California County Departments of Public Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Timothy T

    2016-08-01

    To estimate the average return on investment for the overall activities of county departments of public health in California. I gathered the elements necessary to estimate the average return on investment for county departments of public health in California during the period 2001 to 2008-2009. These came from peer-reviewed journal articles published as part of a larger project to develop a method for determining return on investment for public health by using a health economics framework. I combined these elements by using the standard formula for computing return on investment, and performed a sensitivity analysis. Then I compared the return on investment for county departments of public health with the returns on investment generated for various aspects of medical care. The estimated return on investment from $1 invested in county departments of public health in California ranges from $67.07 to $88.21. The very large estimated return on investment for California county departments of public health relative to the return on investment for selected aspects of medical care suggests that public health is a wise investment.

  20. Oil Volatility Risk and Expected Stock Returns

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christoffersen, Peter; Pan, Xuhui (Nick)

    After the financialization of commodity futures markets in 2004-05 oil volatility has become a strong predictor of returns and volatility of the overall stock market. Furthermore, stocks' exposure to oil volatility risk now drives the cross-section of expected returns. The difference in average...... return between the quintile of stocks with low exposure and high exposure to oil volatility is significant at 0.66% per month, and oil volatility risk carries a significant risk premium of -0.60% per month. In the post-financialization period, oil volatility risk is strongly related with various measures...

  1. Arthroscopic Suture Anchor Fixation of Bony Bankart Lesions: Clinical Outcome, Magnetic Resonance Imaging Results, and Return to Sports.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plath, Johannes E; Feucht, Matthias J; Bangoj, Robert; Martetschläger, Frank; Wörtler, Klaus; Seppel, Gernot; Aboalata, Mohamed; Tischer, Thomas; Imhoff, Andreas B; Vogt, Stephan

    2015-08-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcome, return to sporting activity, and postoperative articular cartilage and bony morphology of shoulders that underwent arthroscopic suture anchor repair of bony Bankart lesions. The inclusion criteria for this retrospective study were anterior glenoid rim fractures after traumatic shoulder instability that were treated with arthroscopic suture anchor repair. Patients were surveyed by a questionnaire including sport-specific outcome, Rowe score, Western Ontario Shoulder Instability Index, and Oxford Instability Score. Three-tesla magnetic resonance imaging could be performed in 30 patients to assess osseous integration, glenoid reconstruction, and signs of osteoarthritis. From November 1999 to April 2010, 81 patients underwent an anterior bony Bankart repair in our department (50 arthroscopic suture anchor repairs, 5 arthroscopic screw fixations, and 26 open repairs). The 55 arthroscopic repairs comprised a consecutive cohort of patients treated by a single surgeon. Of the 50 patients in the suture anchor group, 45 (90%) were available for evaluation. At 82 ± 31 months postoperatively, the mean Rowe score was 85.9 ± 20.5 points, the mean Western Ontario Shoulder Instability Index score was 89.4% ± 14.7%, and the mean Oxford Instability Score was 13.6 ± 5.4 points. Compared with the contralateral shoulder, all scores showed a significantly reduced outcome (P sporting activity after surgery. The number of sports disciplines (P < .001), duration (P = .005), level (P = .02), and risk category (P = .013) showed a significant reduction compared with the pretrauma condition. However, only 19% of patients reported that shoulder complaints were the reason for the reduction in activity. Nonunion occurred in 16.6%, with a higher frequency in patients with chronic lesions (P = .031). Anatomic reduction was achieved in 72%, the medial step-off in patients with nonanatomic reduction averaged 1.8 ± 0.9 mm, and the

  2. Imaging characteristics of noncontained migrating disc fragment and cyst

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eerens, I.; Demaerel, P.; Haven, F.; Wilms, G.; Loon, J. van; Calenbergh, F. van

    2001-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to review less common presentations of degenerative disc disease on MR imaging. The images of eight patients were retrospectively analyzed. Six of them had transligamentous (or noncontained) disc herniations, the fragments of which were located in the posterior epidural space in three of them. One patient had a transdural disc fragment and one patient had a disc cyst. The cyst was located in the ventrolateral epidural space. On T2-weighted images, the migrated disc fragment returned a higher signal than the disc of origin in 6 of 7 patients. The disc cyst returned a signal similar to that of cerebrospinal fluid. The MR appearances of disc fragments can be puzzling, particularly if they are located in the posterior epidural space. It is important to recognize the abnormalities in order to differentiate them from less common lesions such as hematoma, abscess and neurinoma. (orig.)

  3. Imaging characteristics of noncontained migrating disc fragment and cyst

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Eerens, I.; Demaerel, P.; Haven, F.; Wilms, G. [Dept. of Radiology, University Hospitals, Leuven (Belgium); Loon, J. van; Calenbergh, F. van [Dept. of Neurosurgery, University Hospitals, Leuven (Belgium)

    2001-05-01

    The purpose of this article is to review less common presentations of degenerative disc disease on MR imaging. The images of eight patients were retrospectively analyzed. Six of them had transligamentous (or noncontained) disc herniations, the fragments of which were located in the posterior epidural space in three of them. One patient had a transdural disc fragment and one patient had a disc cyst. The cyst was located in the ventrolateral epidural space. On T2-weighted images, the migrated disc fragment returned a higher signal than the disc of origin in 6 of 7 patients. The disc cyst returned a signal similar to that of cerebrospinal fluid. The MR appearances of disc fragments can be puzzling, particularly if they are located in the posterior epidural space. It is important to recognize the abnormalities in order to differentiate them from less common lesions such as hematoma, abscess and neurinoma. (orig.)

  4. Barriers to return to work after burn injuries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esselman, Peter C; Askay, Shelley Wiechman; Carrougher, Gretchen J; Lezotte, Dennis C; Holavanahalli, Radha K; Magyar-Russell, Gina; Fauerbach, James A; Engrav, Loren H

    2007-12-01

    To identify barriers to return to work after burn injury as identified by the patient. A cohort study with telephone interview up to 1 year. Hospital-based burn centers at 3 national sites. Hospitalized patients (N=154) meeting the American Burn Association criteria for major burn injury, employed at least 20 hours a week at the time of injury, and with access to a telephone after discharge. Patients were contacted via telephone every 2 weeks up to 4 months, then monthly up to 1 year after discharge. A return to work survey was used to identify barriers that prevented patients from returning to work. A graphic rating scale determined the impact of each barrier. By 1 year, 79.7% of patients returned to work. Physical and wound issues were barriers early after discharge. Although physical abilities continued to be a significant barrier up to 1 year, working conditions (temperature, humidity, safety) and psychosocial factors (nightmares, flashbacks, appearance concerns) became important issues in those with long-term disability. The majority of patients return to work after a burn injury. Although physical and work conditions are important barriers, psychosocial issues need to be evaluated and treated to optimize return to work.

  5. Return to Experience and Initial Wage Level

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Kenneth Lykke; Vejlin, Rune Majlund

    This paper estimates the relationship between initial wage and return to experience. We use a Mincer-like wage model to nonparametrically estimate this relationship allowing for an unobservable individual permanent effect in wages and unobservable individual return to experience. The relationship...

  6. Intergranular attack evaluation from hideout return

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nordmann, F.; Dupin, M.; Menet, O.; Fiquet, J.-M.

    1989-01-01

    Intergranular Attack (IGA) is the secondary side corrosion mechanism on PWR steam generator tubing, which can occur most frequently even with a good waterchemistry. It has moderately developed in a few French units. Consequently, several remedies have been implemented, such as sodium content decrease in makeup water and application of more stringent chemistry specifications. In order to evaluate the local chemistry in restricted areas where IGA may occur, a large hideout return programme has been carried out on many units. It shows that free alkalinity returning during shutdown is usually ranging from 0.5 to 5 g of sodium per steam generator, and that the required time to let it return is about 40 hours. However, high temperature pH calculations indicate that such an amount of alkalinity can correspond to a potentially corrosive solution in restricted areas, where a concentration factor of 10 5 to 10 7 can be reached, inducing a pH of 10 at 300 o C. Studies are still in progress in order to define when a shutdown should be required to allow hideout return and help to prevent IGA. (author)

  7. The Return of the Loving Father: Masculinity, Legitimacy and the French and Dutch Restoration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthijs Lok

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Historians of gender often see the construction of hegemonic images of masculinity as the result of long-term cultural processes. In this article we investigate the influence of short-term political events on the shaping of dominant political masculinities by comparing the representations of the early French and Dutch Restoration monarchies. The events of the political transition of 1813-1815 greatly influenced the competition of different models of masculinity existing in the early nineteenth century. In both countries the newly established monarchs aimed to legitimate their insecure rule by presenting themselves as 'loving fathers' returning to their despairing children after the dark years of exile. The Dutch monarchy differed from the French case with regards to the role of women in the monarchical representation and the duality of the representation of William I as father and hero. Unlike Louis XVIII, William could present his fatherly rule as a return to the national tradition of domesticity (huiselijkheid.

  8. Nurses' views about returning to practice after a career break.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Durand, Mary Alison; Randhawa, Gurch

    Shortages in nursing staff have led to recruitment campaigns targeting nurses who have left the profession. The present study explored reasons why career-break nurses decide for or against a return to practice, as well as perceptions of nursing following return. Semistructured interview were conducted with 24 nurses who had returned recently to the profession and 28 nurses on a "career break". Findings revealed that those who returned did so when their personal circumstances allowed, and half returned as bank nurses in order to work flexible, family-friendly hours. Some non-returners reported that they could not afford to return because of childcare costs. Although still a caring one, the nurse's role is seen by returners as becoming increasingly technologically and administratively demanding. Flexibility with regard to working practices, increased salaries and demonstrating that it values its staff, were highlighted by interviewees generally as priority issues for the NHS if it wishes to recruit career-break nurses.

  9. Mapping coral and sponge habitats on a shelf-depth environment using multibeam sonar and ROV video observations: Learmonth Bank, northern British Columbia, Canada

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neves, Bárbara M.; Du Preez, Cherisse; Edinger, Evan

    2014-01-01

    Efforts to locate and map deep-water coral and sponge habitats are essential for the effective management and conservation of these vulnerable marine ecosystems. Here we test the applicability of a simple multibeam sonar classification method developed for fjord environments to map the distribution of shelf-depth substrates and gorgonian coral- and sponge-dominated biotopes. The studied area is a shelf-depth feature Learmonth Bank, northern British Columbia, Canada and the method was applied aiming to map primarily non-reef forming coral and sponge biotopes. Aside from producing high-resolution maps (5 m2 raster grid), biotope-substrate associations were also investigated. A multibeam sonar survey yielded bathymetry, acoustic backscatter strength and slope. From benthic video transects recorded by remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) six primary substrate types and twelve biotope categories were identified, defined by the primary sediment and dominant biological structure, respectively. Substrate and biotope maps were produced using a supervised classification mostly based on the inter-quartile range of the acoustic variables for each substrate type and biotope. Twenty-five percent of the video observations were randomly reserved for testing the classification accuracy. The dominant biotope-defining corals were red tree coral Primnoa pacifica and small styasterids, of which Stylaster parageus was common. Demosponges and hexactinellid sponges were frequently observed but no sponge reefs were observed. The substrate classification readily distinguished fine sediment, Sand and Bedrock from the other substrate types, but had greater difficulty distinguishing Bedrock from Boulders and Cobble. The biotope classification accurately identified Gardens (dense aggregations of sponges and corals) and Primnoa-dominated biotopes (67% accuracy), but most other biotopes had lower accuracies. There was a significant correspondence between Learmonth's biotopes and substrate types

  10. Mapping the Gulf of Maine with side-scan sonar: A new bottom-type classification for complex seafloors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnhardt, W.A.; Kelley, J.T.; Dickson, S.M.; Belknap, D.F.

    1998-01-01

    The bedrock-framed seafloor in the northwestern Gulf of Maine is characterized by extreme changes in bathymetric relief and covered with a wide variety of surficial materials. Traditional methods of mapping cannot accurately represent the great heterogeneity of such a glaciated region. A new mapping scheme for complex seafloors, based primarily on the interpretation of side-scan sonar imagery, utilizes four easily recognized units: rock, gravel, sand and mud. In many places, however, the seafloor exhibits a complicated mixture or extremely 'patchy' distribution of the four basic units, which are too small to map individually. Twelve composite units, each a two-component mixture of the basic units, were established to represent this patchiness at a small scale (1:100,000). Using a geographic information system, these and all other available data (seismic profiles, grab samples, submersible dives and cores) were referenced to a common geographic base, superimposed on bathymetric contours and then integrated into surficial geologic maps of the regional inner continental shelf. This digital representation of the seafloor comprises a multidimensional, interactive model complete with explicit attributes (depth, bottom type) that allow for detailed analysis of marine environments.

  11. Return to experience and initial wage level

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, K.L.; Vejlin, R.

    2014-01-01

    This paper estimates the relationship between initial wage and return to experience. We use a Mincer-like wage model to non-parametrically estimate this relationship allowing for an unobservable individual permanent effect in wages and unobservable individual return to experience. The relationshi...

  12. Legal institutions, strategic default, and stock returns

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Favara, G.; Schroth, E.; Valta, P.

    2008-01-01

    This paper studies the impact of legal institutions on stock returns. More specifically, we examine how differences in debt enforcement and creditor protection around the world affect stock returns of individual firms. We hypothesize that if legal institutions prevent shareholders from engaging in

  13. Husbands' return migration and wives' occupational choices

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mahe, Clotilde

    2017-01-01

    Exploiting the documented effect of migration on occupational choice upon return to their origin country with data from Egypt, we establish a link between return migration of men and their wives' time use through within-couple occupational interdependence. Seemingly Unrelated Regression model

  14. Risk-return relationship in a complex adaptive system.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kunyu Song

    Full Text Available For survival and development, autonomous agents in complex adaptive systems involving the human society must compete against or collaborate with others for sharing limited resources or wealth, by using different methods. One method is to invest, in order to obtain payoffs with risk. It is a common belief that investments with a positive risk-return relationship (namely, high risk high return and vice versa are dominant over those with a negative risk-return relationship (i.e., high risk low return and vice versa in the human society; the belief has a notable impact on daily investing activities of investors. Here we investigate the risk-return relationship in a model complex adaptive system, in order to study the effect of both market efficiency and closeness that exist in the human society and play an important role in helping to establish traditional finance/economics theories. We conduct a series of computer-aided human experiments, and also perform agent-based simulations and theoretical analysis to confirm the experimental observations and reveal the underlying mechanism. We report that investments with a negative risk-return relationship have dominance over those with a positive risk-return relationship instead in such a complex adaptive systems. We formulate the dynamical process for the system's evolution, which helps to discover the different role of identical and heterogeneous preferences. This work might be valuable not only to complexity science, but also to finance and economics, to management and social science, and to physics.

  15. Risk-return relationship in a complex adaptive system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Kunyu; An, Kenan; Yang, Guang; Huang, Jiping

    2012-01-01

    For survival and development, autonomous agents in complex adaptive systems involving the human society must compete against or collaborate with others for sharing limited resources or wealth, by using different methods. One method is to invest, in order to obtain payoffs with risk. It is a common belief that investments with a positive risk-return relationship (namely, high risk high return and vice versa) are dominant over those with a negative risk-return relationship (i.e., high risk low return and vice versa) in the human society; the belief has a notable impact on daily investing activities of investors. Here we investigate the risk-return relationship in a model complex adaptive system, in order to study the effect of both market efficiency and closeness that exist in the human society and play an important role in helping to establish traditional finance/economics theories. We conduct a series of computer-aided human experiments, and also perform agent-based simulations and theoretical analysis to confirm the experimental observations and reveal the underlying mechanism. We report that investments with a negative risk-return relationship have dominance over those with a positive risk-return relationship instead in such a complex adaptive systems. We formulate the dynamical process for the system's evolution, which helps to discover the different role of identical and heterogeneous preferences. This work might be valuable not only to complexity science, but also to finance and economics, to management and social science, and to physics.

  16. Expected commodity returns and pricing models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cortazar, Gonzalo; Kovacevic, Ivo; Schwartz, Eduardo S.

    2015-01-01

    Stochastic models of commodity prices have evolved considerably in terms of their structure and the number and interpretation of the state variables that model the underlying risk. Using multiple factors, different specifications and modern estimation techniques, these models have gained wide acceptance because of their success in accurately fitting the observed commodity futures' term structures and their dynamics. It is not well emphasized however that these models, in addition to providing the risk neutral distribution of future spot prices, also provide their true distribution. While the parameters of the risk neutral distribution are estimated more precisely and are usually statistically significant, some of the parameters of the true distribution are typically measured with large errors and are statistically insignificant. In this paper we argue that to increase the reliability of commodity pricing models, and therefore their use by practitioners, some of their parameters — in particular the risk premium parameters — should be obtained from other sources and we show that this can be done without losing any precision in the pricing of futures contracts. We show how the risk premium parameters can be obtained from estimations of expected futures returns and provide alternative procedures for estimating these expected futures returns. - Highlights: • Simple methodology to improve the performance of commodity pricing models • New information about commodity futures expected return is added to the estimation. • No significant effect in pricing futures contracts is observed. • More reliable commodity pricing model's expected returns are obtained. • Methodology is open to any expected futures return model preferred by practitioner

  17. Lidar 2009 - All Returns

    Data.gov (United States)

    Kansas Data Access and Support Center — LIDAR-derived binary (.las) files containing classified points of all returns. We have 3 classifications Unclassified, Ground, Low points. The average Ground Sample...

  18. Returns on Investment in California County Departments of Public Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-01-01

    Objectives. To estimate the average return on investment for the overall activities of county departments of public health in California. Methods. I gathered the elements necessary to estimate the average return on investment for county departments of public health in California during the period 2001 to 2008–2009. These came from peer-reviewed journal articles published as part of a larger project to develop a method for determining return on investment for public health by using a health economics framework. I combined these elements by using the standard formula for computing return on investment, and performed a sensitivity analysis. Then I compared the return on investment for county departments of public health with the returns on investment generated for various aspects of medical care. Results. The estimated return on investment from $1 invested in county departments of public health in California ranges from $67.07 to $88.21. Conclusions. The very large estimated return on investment for California county departments of public health relative to the return on investment for selected aspects of medical care suggests that public health is a wise investment. PMID:27310339

  19. Exploring consumer online product returning behavior : Chinese e-consumers’ perspective

    OpenAIRE

    Zhu, Yijun

    2018-01-01

    In the retail world, product returns are a common practice by consumers. Many businesses have been attempting to obtain more sales by providing customers with lenient return policies as well as customer-friendly return processes and procedures. Over the past decade, the issue of product returns by consumers is on the rise and drawing increased attention from practitioners and researchers. The objective of this thesis is to explore Chinese e-consumers’ perception of fraudulent returning beh...

  20. Analyse Risk-Return Paradox: Evidence from Electricity Sector of Pakistan

    OpenAIRE

    Naqi Shah, Sadia; Qayyum, Abdul

    2016-01-01

    This study analyse risk return relationship of the electricity companies of Pakistan by using the log return series of these electricity companies. Financial time series data have the property of autoregressive heteroscedasticity so move towards the GARCH family test. As the study want to analyse the risk return relationship so, GARCH-M Model of Engel et al (1987) is used, who empirically found relationship between risk and return. Results show that risk return in case of Pakistan electricity...

  1. Returns management in the supply chain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Maria Jeszka

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Background:  The aim of this exploratory empirical research was to evaluate the level of cooperation in the area of reverse logistics between selected retail chains and logistics operators and suppliers; to identify and evaluate the influence the procedures of handling returns have on the relationships with customers, cost reduction, value recovery, inventory reduction and increasing profitability; as well as determining to what extent logistics operators are involved in the procedures of handling returns in the analysed chains. Methods: Based on the literature and the experience of researchers from developed countries a questionnaire was constructed which was subsequently used to conduct empirical research in selected retail chains operating in two provinces in Poland. The questionnaire survey involved the sales personnel of selected retail chains in the clothing industry. Overall, 105 questionnaires were collected and analysed. Results: Various aspects of cooperation with suppliers and logistics operators in respect of handling returns were evaluated. Most indicators of cooperation were evaluated favourably, with the exception of joint access to the database, the use of inventory data available online, and access to information from the warehouse, which received low marks from the respondents. In the case of the studied stores, some of the activities in the area of reverse logistics are outsourced; for example, obtaining products from users, logistics, and the transport of returns are typically done by an outside operator. Inspection, sorting, appraisal, repairs, as well as the sales of refurbished products are usually performed within the studied retail corporations. Conclusions: The research has shown that the retail chains developed very good programmes for handling returns in the supply chain, as evidenced by the presented and highly rated indicators of cooperation, with the exception of information exchange where there is still much

  2. Return to the workforce following infective endocarditis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Butt, Jawad H.; Kragholm, Kristian; Dalager-Pedersen, Michael

    2018-01-01

    Background The ability to return to work after infective endocarditis (IE) holds important socioeconomic consequences for both patients and society, yet data on this issue are sparse. We examined return to the workforce and associated factors in IE patients of working age. Methods Using Danish...

  3. Return Predictability, Model Uncertainty, and Robust Investment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lukas, Manuel

    Stock return predictability is subject to great uncertainty. In this paper we use the model confidence set approach to quantify uncertainty about expected utility from investment, accounting for potential return predictability. For monthly US data and six representative return prediction models, we...... find that confidence sets are very wide, change significantly with the predictor variables, and frequently include expected utilities for which the investor prefers not to invest. The latter motivates a robust investment strategy maximizing the minimal element of the confidence set. The robust investor...... allocates a much lower share of wealth to stocks compared to a standard investor....

  4. 26 CFR 1.6031(a)-1 - Return of partnership income.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 13 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Return of partnership income. 1.6031(a)-1...) INCOME TAX (CONTINUED) INCOME TAXES Information Returns § 1.6031(a)-1 Return of partnership income. (a) Domestic partnerships—(1) Return required. Except as provided in paragraphs (a)(3) and (c) of this section...

  5. Okeanos Explorer (EX1402L3): Gulf of Mexico Mapping and ROV Exploration

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Multibeam mapping, single beam, water column sonar, sub-bottom profile, water column profile, ship sensor, ROV sensor, video and image data will all be collected...

  6. Body image in the person with a stoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen, A

    1991-01-01

    Body image is the mental picture one has of one's physical being that develops from birth and continues throughout life and is related to different factors affecting its formation and dynamics. A crisis such as the creation of a stoma leads to an alteration in body image and an awareness of the meaning of the change in appearance and function of an individual. The individual's behavior is examined in several domains: physical, mental, emotional, social, sexual, and economical. When one domain is disturbed the others will be influenced. A person's rehabilitation after ostomy surgery is a continuous process of adaptation and is directed toward returning to a normal way of life. Many factors affect this adaptation to an alteration in body image and are relevant to the patient and family. These factors include, but are not limited to, the disease process, treatment(s), and medical and nursing care in the hospital and community. Knowledge about actual and potential problems associated with an alteration in body image enables the nurse to assess the meaning of the alteration in body image for the individual patient and family, provide counseling before and after the surgery, and intervene so that the individual will be able to adapt to an alteration in body image and return to one's previous activities of daily living and lifestyle.

  7. Tick size and stock returns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Onnela, Jukka-Pekka; Töyli, Juuso; Kaski, Kimmo

    2009-02-01

    Tick size is an important aspect of the micro-structural level organization of financial markets. It is the smallest institutionally allowed price increment, has a direct bearing on the bid-ask spread, influences the strategy of trading order placement in electronic markets, affects the price formation mechanism, and appears to be related to the long-term memory of volatility clustering. In this paper we investigate the impact of tick size on stock returns. We start with a simple simulation to demonstrate how continuous returns become distorted after confining the price to a discrete grid governed by the tick size. We then move on to a novel experimental set-up that combines decimalization pilot programs and cross-listed stocks in New York and Toronto. This allows us to observe a set of stocks traded simultaneously under two different ticks while holding all security-specific characteristics fixed. We then study the normality of the return distributions and carry out fits to the chosen distribution models. Our empirical findings are somewhat mixed and in some cases appear to challenge the simulation results.

  8. DESIGNING THE RETURN MIGRATION OF ROMANIAN STUDENTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Magdalena VELCIU

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Romanian youth migration is an increasing phenomenon, due to subjective and objective factors as economical reasons, professional carrer and increasingly more international competition for talent. In these circumstances, the present article aims to evaluate determinant factors that contribute to the decision of Romanian graduates to return national labour market. We sustain that young Romanians consider carefully and hardly decide their professional future. A particular attention is given to their personal reasons and motivations as well as family and friends network. For designing returning factors we present the results of a questionnaire survey, asking young pupils and students about their future educational way and personal reasons underlying the decision to study in a foreign country and taking into consideration the returning decision. As far international student migration is seen as a first step to migration for work, our work desires to fight for returning home of Romanian well-educated graduates.

  9. Fluctuation behaviors of financial return volatility duration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niu, Hongli; Wang, Jun; Lu, Yunfan

    2016-04-01

    It is of significantly crucial to understand the return volatility of financial markets because it helps to quantify the investment risk, optimize the portfolio, and provide a key input of option pricing models. The characteristics of isolated high volatility events above certain threshold in price fluctuations and the distributions of return intervals between these events arouse great interest in financial research. In the present work, we introduce a new concept of daily return volatility duration, which is defined as the shortest passage time when the future volatility intensity is above or below the current volatility intensity (without predefining a threshold). The statistical properties of the daily return volatility durations for seven representative stock indices from the world financial markets are investigated. Some useful and interesting empirical results of these volatility duration series about the probability distributions, memory effects and multifractal properties are obtained. These results also show that the proposed stock volatility series analysis is a meaningful and beneficial trial.

  10. Return to play in elite rugby union: application of global positioning system technology in return-to-running programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reid, Laura C; Cowman, Jason R; Green, Brian S; Coughlan, Garrett F

    2013-05-01

    Global positioning systems (GPS) are widely used in sport settings to evaluate the physical demands on players in training and competition. The use of these systems in the design and implementation of rehabilitation and return-to-running programs has not yet been elucidated. To demonstrate the application of GPS technology in the management of return to play in elite-club Rugby Union. Case series. Professional Rugby Union club team. 8 elite Rugby Union players (age 27.86 ± 4.78 y, height 1.85 ± 0.08 m, weight 99.14 ± 9.96 kg). Players wore GPS devices for the entire duration of a club game. Variables of locomotion speed and distance were measured. Differences in physical demands between playing positions were observed for all variables. An analysis of the position-specific physical demands measured by GPS provides key information regarding the level and volume of loads sustained by a player in a game environment. Using this information, sports-medicine practitioners can develop rehabilitation and return-to-running protocols specific to the player position to optimize safe return to play.

  11. Risk-Return Trade-Off for European Stock Markets

    OpenAIRE

    Aslanidis, Nektarios; Christiansen, Charlotte; Savva, Christos S.

    2015-01-01

    This paper adopts dynamic factor models with macro-finance predictors to revisit the intertemporal risk-return relation in five large European stock markets. We identify country specific, Euro area, and global factors to determine the conditional moments of returns considering the role of higher-order moments as additional measures of risk. The preferred combination of factors varies across countries. In the linear model, there is a strong but negative relation between conditional returns and...

  12. Understanding the Puzzling Risk-Return Relationship for Housing

    OpenAIRE

    Lu Han

    2013-01-01

    Standard theory predicts a positive relationship between risk and return, yet recent data show that housing returns vary positively with risk in some markets but negatively in others. This paper rationalizes these cross-market differences in the risk-return relationship for housing, and in so doing, explains the puzzling negative relationship. The paper shows that when the current house provides a hedge against the risk associated with the future housing consumption, households are willing to...

  13. 26 CFR 301.6063-1 - Signing of partnership returns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 18 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Signing of partnership returns. 301.6063-1 Section 301.6063-1 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (CONTINUED....6063-1 Signing of partnership returns. For provisions relating to the signing of returns of partnership...

  14. Comet coma sample return instrument

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albee, A. L.; Brownlee, Don E.; Burnett, Donald S.; Tsou, Peter; Uesugi, K. T.

    1994-01-01

    The sample collection technology and instrument concept for the Sample of Comet Coma Earth Return Mission (SOCCER) are described. The scientific goals of this Flyby Sample Return are to return to coma dust and volatile samples from a known comet source, which will permit accurate elemental and isotopic measurements for thousands of individual solid particles and volatiles, detailed analysis of the dust structure, morphology, and mineralogy of the intact samples, and identification of the biogenic elements or compounds in the solid and volatile samples. Having these intact samples, morphologic, petrographic, and phase structural features can be determined. Information on dust particle size, shape, and density can be ascertained by analyzing penetration holes and tracks in the capture medium. Time and spatial data of dust capture will provide understanding of the flux dynamics of the coma and the jets. Additional information will include the identification of cosmic ray tracks in the cometary grains, which can provide a particle's process history and perhaps even the age of the comet. The measurements will be made with the same equipment used for studying micrometeorites for decades past; hence, the results can be directly compared without extrapolation or modification. The data will provide a powerful and direct technique for comparing the cometary samples with all known types of meteorites and interplanetary dust. This sample collection system will provide the first sample return from a specifically identified primitive body and will allow, for the first time, a direct method of matching meteoritic materials captured on Earth with known parent bodies.

  15. Investment Strategy Based on Aviation Accidents: Are there abnormal returns?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcos Rosa Costa

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available This article investigates whether an investment strategy based on aviation accidents can generate abnormal returns. We performed an event study considering all the aviation accidents with more than 10 fatalities in the period from 1998 to 2009 and the stock market performance of the respective airlines and aircraft manufacturers in the days after the event. The tests performed were based on the model of Campbell, Lo & MacKinlay (1997 for definition of abnormal returns, by means of linear regression between the firms’ stock returns and the return of a market portfolio used as a benchmark. This enabled projecting the expected future returns of the airlines and aircraft makers, for comparison with the observed returns after each event. The result obtained suggests that an investment strategy based on aviation accidents is feasible because abnormal returns can be obtained in the period immediately following an aviation disaster.

  16. Aggregate Unemployment Decreases Individual Returns to Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ammermueller, Andreas; Kuckulenz, Anja; Zwick, Thomas

    2009-01-01

    Aggregate unemployment may affect individual returns to education through qualification-specific responses in participation and wage bargaining. This paper shows that an increase in regional unemployment by 1% decreases returns to education by 0.005 percentage points. This implies that higher skilled employees are better sheltered from labour…

  17. Returnable containers: an example of reverse logistics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    L.G. Kroon (Leo); G.M.C. Vrijens

    1996-01-01

    textabstractConsiders the application of returnable containers as an example of reverse logistics. A returnable container is a type of secondary packaging that can be used several times in the same form, in contrast with traditional cardboard boxes. For this equipment to be used, a system for the

  18. Sovereign Risk and Currently Returns

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Della Corte, Pasquale; Sarno, Lucio; Schmeling, Maik

    We empirically investigate the relation between sovereign risk and exchange rates for a broad set of currencies. An increase in the credit default swap (CDS) spread of a country is accompanied by a significant depreciation of the exchange rate. More generally, CDS spread changes have substantial...... explanatory power for currency returns which is largely driven by shocks to global credit risk. Consistent with the notion that sovereign risk is priced, we find that a country's exposure to global credit risk forecasts excess returns to trading exchange rates as well as to trading on the volatility, skewness...

  19. Sovereign Risk and Currency Returns

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Della Corte, Pasquale; Sarno, Lucio; Schmeling, Maik

    We empirically investigate the relation between sovereign risk and exchange rates for a broad set of currencies. An increase in the credit default swap (CDS) spread of a country is accompanied by a significant depreciation of the exchange rate. More generally, CDS spread changes have substantial...... explanatory power for currency returns which is largely driven by shocks to global credit risk. Consistent with the notion that sovereign risk is priced, we find that a country's exposure to global credit risk forecasts excess returns to trading exchange rates as well as to trading on the volatility, skewness...

  20. Return to golf after spine surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abla, Adib A; Maroon, Joseph C; Lochhead, Richard; Sonntag, Volker K H; Maroon, Adara; Field, Melvin

    2011-01-01

    no published evidence indicates when patients can resume golfing after spine surgery. The objective of this study is to provide data from surveys sent to spine surgeons. a survey of North American Spine Society members was undertaken querying the suggested timing of return to golf. Of 1000 spine surgeons surveyed, 523 responded (52.3%). The timing of recommended return to golf and the reasons were questioned for college/professional athletes and avid and recreational golfers of both sexes. Responses were tallied for lumbar laminectomy, lumbar microdiscectomy, lumbar fusion, and anterior cervical discectomy with fusion. the most common recommended time for return to golf was 4-8 weeks after lumbar laminectomy and lumbar microdiscectomy, 2-3 months after anterior cervical fusion, and 6 months after lumbar fusion. The results showed a statistically significant increase in the recommended time to resume golf after lumbar fusion than after cervical fusion in all patients (p golf after spine surgery depends on many variables, including the general well-being of patients in terms of pain control and comfort when golfing. This survey serves as a guide that can assist medical practitioners in telling patients the average times recommended by surgeons across North America regarding return to golf after spine surgery.

  1. Efficient Return Algorithms For Associated Plasticity With Multiple Yield Planes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Clausen, Johan Christian; Damkilde, Lars; Andersen, Lars

    2006-01-01

    of such criteria. The return formulae are in closed form and no iteration is required. The method accounts for three types of stress return: Return to a single yield plane, to a discontinuity line at the intersection of two yield planes and to a discontinuity point at the intersection between three or more yield...... planes. The infinitesimal and the consistent elastoplastic constitutive matrix are calculated for each type of stress return, as are the conditions to ascertain which type of return is required. The method is exemplified with the Mohr-Coulomb yield criterion....

  2. What stock market returns to expect for the future?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diamond, P A

    2000-01-01

    In evaluating proposals for reforming Social Security that involve stock investments, the Office of the Chief Actuary (OCACT) has generally used a 7.0 percent real return for stocks. The 1994-96 Advisory Council specified that OCACT should use that return in making its 75-year projections of investment-based reform proposals. The assumed ultimate real return on Treasury bonds of 3.0 percent implies a long-run equity premium of 4.0 percent. There are two equity-premium concepts: the realized equity premium, which is measured by the actual rates of return; and the required equity premium, which investors expect to receive for being willing to hold available stocks and bonds. Over the past two centuries, the realized premium was 3.5 percent on average, but 5.2 percent for 1926 to 1998. Some critics argue that the 7.0 percent projected stock returns are too high. They base their arguments on recent developments in the capital market, the current high value of the stock market, and the expectation of slower economic growth. Increased use of mutual funds and the decline in their costs suggest a lower required premium, as does the rising fraction of the American public investing in stocks. The size of the decrease is limited, however, because the largest cost savings do not apply to the very wealthy and to large institutional investors, who hold a much larger share of the stock market's total value than do new investors. These trends suggest a lower equity premium for projections than the 5.2 percent of the past 75 years. Also, a declining required premium is likely to imply a temporary increase in the realized premium because a rising willingness to hold stocks tends to increase their price. Therefore, it would be a mistake during a transition period to extrapolate what may be a temporarily high realized return. In the standard (Solow) economic growth model, an assumption of slower long-run growth lowers the marginal product of capital if the savings rate is constant

  3. Stable Versus Unstable Grade II High Ankle Sprains: A Prospective Study Predicting the Need for Surgical Stabilization and Time to Return to Sports.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calder, James D; Bamford, Richard; Petrie, Aviva; McCollum, Graham A

    2016-04-01

    To investigate grade II syndesmosis injuries in athletes and identify factors important in differentiating stable from dynamically unstable ankle sprains and those associated with a longer time to return to sports. Sixty-four athletes with an isolated syndesmosis injury (without fracture) were prospectively assessed, with a mean follow-up period of 37 months (range, 24 to 66 months). Those with an associated deltoid ligament injury or osteochondral lesion were included. Those whose injuries were considered stable (grade IIa) were treated conservatively with a boot and rehabilitation. Those whose injuries were clinically unstable underwent arthroscopy, and if instability was confirmed (grade IIb), the syndesmosis was stabilized. Clinical and magnetic resonance imaging assessments of injury to individual ligaments were recorded, along with time to return to play. A power analysis estimated that each group would need 28 patients. All athletes returned to the same level of professional sport. The 28 patients with grade IIa injuries returned at a mean of 45 days (range, 23 to 63 days) compared with 64 days (range, 27 to 104 days) for those with grade IIb injuries (P < .0001). There was a highly significant relationship between clinical and magnetic resonance imaging assessments of ligament injury (anterior tibiofibular ligament [ATFL], anterior-inferior tibiofibular ligament [AITFL], and deltoid ligament, P < .0001). Instability was 9.5 times as likely with a positive squeeze test and 11 times as likely with a deltoid injury. Combined injury to the anterior-inferior tibiofibular ligament and deltoid ligament was associated with a delay in return to sports. Concomitant injury to the ATFL indicated a different mechanism of injury-the syndesmosis is less likely to be unstable and is associated with an earlier return to sports. A positive squeeze test and injury to the ATFL and deltoid ligament are important factors in differentiating stable from dynamically unstable grade

  4. After a career break: supporting women returning to ICT

    OpenAIRE

    Herman, Clem

    2011-01-01

    This is a case study of an initiative to support women returning to ICT after a career break, which was run in the UK and Ireland between 2005 and 2011.The article starts by outlining how the UK government’s concern about women failing return to SET careers led to the setting up of a national campaign (RETURN) to address this issue. A brief overview of previous research about women’s reasons for leaving ICT employment and the difficulties and barriers they encounter in returning to work, sets...

  5. The risks and returns of stock investment in a financial market

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jiang-Cheng; Mei, Dong-Cheng

    2013-03-01

    The risks and returns of stock investment are discussed via numerically simulating the mean escape time and the probability density function of stock price returns in the modified Heston model with time delay. Through analyzing the effects of delay time and initial position on the risks and returns of stock investment, the results indicate that: (i) There is an optimal delay time matching minimal risks of stock investment, maximal average stock price returns and strongest stability of stock price returns for strong elasticity of demand of stocks (EDS), but the opposite results for weak EDS; (ii) The increment of initial position recedes the risks of stock investment, strengthens the average stock price returns and enhances stability of stock price returns. Finally, the probability density function of stock price returns and the probability density function of volatility and the correlation function of stock price returns are compared with other literatures. In addition, good agreements are found between them.

  6. Leaving from and returning to nursing practice: contributing factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jamieson, Isabel; Taua, Chris

    2009-07-01

    Many nurses leave nursing and never return. Others return after a period of time. Given the global shortage of nurses a better understanding of these movements is needed. The present study focused on nurses who had been out of nursing for more than five years, and explored factors that influenced their leaving and return to practice. All the nurses who had undertaken a Competency Assessment Programme at a given New Zealand tertiary institution during 2005 were invited to participate. Of the 70 questionnaires mailed out 32 (44.5%) were completed and returned. Quantitative data were analysed using Microsoft Excel, and the qualitative data were coded and analysed by means of content analysis. For each, leaving and returning, three key issues emerged. Nurses left for personal reasons, to seek a career change, or because of poor working conditions. They returned when they had the personal freedom to do so, for fiscal reasons, or because they were motivated by some sense of unfinished business. These findings indicate that it is important for educators involved with Competency Assessment Programmes to collaborate with employers in ensuring that there are opportunities for re-entry to positive work environments, with a degree of flexibility that suits the demographic characteristics of those nurses returning to practice.

  7. Industry Returns and the Fisher Effect.

    OpenAIRE

    Boudoukh, Jacob; Richardson, Matthew; Whitelaw, Robert F

    1994-01-01

    The authors investigate the cross-sectional relation between industry-sorted stock returns and expected inflation, and they find that this relation is linked to cyclical movements in industry output. Stock returns of noncyclical industries tend to covary positively with expected inflation, while the reverse holds for cyclical industries. From a theoretical perspective, the authors describe a model that captures both (1) the cross-sectional variation in these relations across industries and (2...

  8. Consumption Risk and the Cross Section of Expected Returns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parker, Jonathan A.; Julliard, Christian

    2005-01-01

    This paper evaluates the central insight of the consumption capital asset pricing model that an asset's expected return is determined by its equilibrium risk to consumption. Rather than measure risk by the contemporaneous covariance of an asset's return and consumption growth, we measure risk by the covariance of an asset's return and consumption…

  9. Return to Play

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mangan, Marianne

    2013-01-01

    Call it physical activity, call it games, or call it play. Whatever its name, it's a place we all need to return to. In the physical education, recreation, and dance professions, we need to redesign programs to address the need for and want of play that is inherent in all of us.

  10. Feature discrimination/identification based upon SAR return variations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rasco, W. A., Sr.; Pietsch, R.

    1978-01-01

    A study of the statistics of The look-to-look variation statistics in the returns recorded in-flight by a digital, realtime SAR system are analyzed. The determination that the variations in the look-to-look returns from different classes do carry information content unique to the classes was illustrated by a model based on four variants derived from four look in-flight SAR data under study. The model was limited to four classes of returns: mowed grass on a athletic field, rough unmowed grass and weeds on a large vacant field, young fruit trees in a large orchard, and metal mobile homes and storage buildings in a large mobile home park. The data population in excess of 1000 returns represented over 250 individual pixels from the four classes. The multivariant discriminant model operated on the set of returns for each pixel and assigned that pixel to one of the four classes, based on the target variants and the probability distribution function of the four variants for each class.

  11. Exiting and Returning to the Parental Home for Boomerang Kids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sandberg-Thoma, Sara E; Snyder, Anastasia R; Jang, Bohyun Joy

    2015-06-01

    Young adults commonly exit from and return to the parental home, yet few studies have examined the motivation behind these exits and returns using a life course framework. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, the authors examined associations between mental health problems and economic characteristics and exits from (n = 8,162), and returns to (n = 6,530), the parental home during the transition to adulthood. The average age of the respondents was 24 years. The authors found evidence that mental health and economic characteristics were related to home leaving and returning. Emotional distress was associated with earlier exits from, and returns to, the parental home; alcohol problems were associated with earlier returns to the parental home. The findings regarding economic resources were unexpectedly mixed. Greater economic resources were linked to delayed exits from, and earlier returns to, the parental home. The implications of these findings for young adults are discussed.

  12. Returns to Schooling in Less Developed Countries: New Evidence from Zambia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Helena Skyt; Westergård-Nielsen, Niels Chr.

    2001-01-01

    In our analysis of returns to schooling in Zambia, we look at the rural and urban population separately, and estimate the returns to schooling in each region based on a selection model in two stages. For urban areas we find that the returns to primary schooling are nil whereas the returns to scho...... to schooling beyond primary school are higher. For rural areas we find that the returns to primary schooling are positive and no different from the returns to education beyond primary school. Udgivelsesdato: JAN...

  13. Maternal perspectives on postpartum return to the workplace.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nichols, Mary R; Roux, Gayle M

    2004-01-01

    To describe maternal perceptions about postpartum return to the workplace. The research framework was McCubbin and McCubbin's Resiliency Model of Family Stress, Adjustment, and Adaptation. Employed, postpartum women, who resided in six different states, were recruited from day care and primary care settings to participate in this descriptive study. Seventy-four employed, married women, who returned to the workplace within one year after childbirth. As part of a larger study, perceptions about combining multiple roles after return to the workplace are the focus for this report. Participants responded to open-ended questions about their return to the workplace during the first months after giving birth. Content analysis of those responses resulted in two major categories, Resiliency Challenges: Negative Aspects (role conflict/overload, family stress, family/child issues, finances, psychosocial issues) and Resiliency Building: Positive Aspects (social support, maternal role satisfaction, positive adaptation, career role satisfaction). The data support the premise that employed women view returning to the workforce as having more challenges than they expected because the experience was viewed as being mostly negative. Preparing for return to the workplace is an important, but neglected, topic that needs to be addressed and defined more clearly in the literature. Therefore, future research is needed to identify resources and interventions that will help women experience fewer challenges associated with postpartum employment.

  14. 26 CFR 1.6017-1 - Self-employment tax returns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 13 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Self-employment tax returns. 1.6017-1 Section 1... (CONTINUED) INCOME TAXES Tax Returns Or Statements § 1.6017-1 Self-employment tax returns. (a) In general. (1) Every individual, other than a nonresident alien, having net earnings from self-employment, as defined...

  15. Investigating different factors influencing on return of private banks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pegah Motamedi

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Return of Investment has always been an interesting area of research among academics as well as investors. Although capital asset pricing model (CAPM is capable of estimating risk of investment, many people argue that CAPM is not able to predict long-term return, properly. This paper presents an empirical investigation to find the effects of different financial figures including systematic risk (Beta, size of firm, ratio of book value to market share, volume of trade and the ratio of price/earnings (P/E on return of private banks in Iran. The study gathers the necessary information over the period 2005-2011 from private banks in Iran. The study uses multiple regression technique to find the effects of mentioned variables on return of private banks. The results indicate that there are some meaningful and positive relationship between return of banks and systematic risk (Beta, size, volume of trade and P/E. The study also finds some meaningful and reverse relationship between bank return and book value on market value.

  16. VOLATILITY AND KURTOSIS OF DAILY STOCK RETURNS AT MSE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zoran Ivanovski

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Prominent financial stock pricing models are built on assumption that asset returns follow a normal (Gaussian distribution. However, many authors argue that in the practice stock returns are often characterized by skewness and kurtosis, so we test the existence of the Gaussian distribution of stock returns and calculate the kurtosis of several stocks at the Macedonian Stock Exchange (MSE. Obtaining information about the shape of distribution is an important step for models of pricing risky assets. The daily stock returns at Macedonian Stock Exchange (MSE are characterized by high volatility and non-Gaussian behaviors as well as they are extremely leptokurtic. The analysis of MSE time series stock returns determine volatility clustering and high kurtosis. The fact that daily stock returns at MSE are not normally distributed put into doubt results that rely heavily on this assumption and have significant implications for portfolio management. We consider this stock market as good representatives of emerging markets. Therefore, we argue that our results are valid for other similar emerging stock markets.

  17. The Returns to Quality in Graduate Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stevenson, Adam

    2016-01-01

    This paper estimates the monetary return to quality in US graduate education, controlling for cognitive ability and self-selection across award level, program quality, and field-of-study. In most program types, I cannot reject the hypothesis of no returns to either degree completion or program quality. Important exceptions include master's…

  18. Managing Returns in a Catalog Distribution Center

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gates, Joyce; Stuart, Julie Ann; Bonawi-tan, Winston; Loehr, Sarah

    2004-01-01

    The research team of the Purdue University in the United States developed an algorithm that considers several different factors, in addition to cost, to help catalog distribution centers process their returns more efficiently. A case study to teach the students important concepts involved in developing a solution to the returns disposition problem…

  19. Conditional Relationship Between Beta and Return in the US Stock Market

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bing XIAO

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available According to the CAPM, risk is measured by the beta, and the relation between required expected return and beta is linear. This paper examines the conditional relationship between beta and return in the US stock market. The conditional covariances and variances used to estimate beta are modeled as an ARCH process. The beta return relationship is tested upon the sign of the excess market return. The implication of the sign of the excess market return follows Morelli (2011. This study shows the importance of recognizing the sign of the excess market return when testing the beta-return relationship. The approach also allows us to distinguish the size effect and the effect of economic cycles.

  20. Analysis of factors influencing return to work after total hip arthroplasty.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Truszczyńska, Aleksandra; Rąpała, Kazimierz; Tarnowski, Adam; Kucharczyk, Wojciech

    2013-10-31

    BACKGROUND. Patients who undergo total hip arthroplasty (THA) find it difficult to return to work. OBJECTIVES. Analysis of factors influencing return to work after THA. Assessment of patients' quality of life and its impact on their attitude to work. MATERIAL AND METHODS. We studied patients operated on for degenerative hip disease at the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery of Medical Centre of Postgraduate Education in Otwock between 2007 and 2012. The total number of the patients was 400; however, we chose only those patients who were younger than 65 and still in employment. The study population consisted of 54 of these patients. The mean patient age was 55.89 (±7.424). There were 29 men (57.3%) and 25 women (46.3%). RESULTS. 32 patients (59.3%) returned to work. There was a statistically significant difference regarding the attitude to work and return to work. An overwhelming majority of the patients who returned to work--31 out of 32 (96.6%)--liked their jobs. The 12 patients (22.22%) who did not return to work declared their intention to apply for a disability pension. The patients who returned to work assessed their physical health as better than the patients who did not return to work. CONCLUSIONS. 1. 40.7% of patients after THA did not return to preoperative employment. The reasons for not returning were not medical, because elimination of pain and an increased range of motion made return to work possible. 2. The perception of the quality of physical and psychological health among patients with THA who returned to work was significantly better than among those who did not return.

  1. Endogenous time-varying risk aversion and asset returns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berardi, Michele

    2016-01-01

    Stylized facts about statistical properties for short horizon returns in financial markets have been identified in the literature, but a satisfactory understanding for their manifestation is yet to be achieved. In this work, we show that a simple asset pricing model with representative agent is able to generate time series of returns that replicate such stylized facts if the risk aversion coefficient is allowed to change endogenously over time in response to unexpected excess returns under evolutionary forces. The same model, under constant risk aversion, would instead generate returns that are essentially Gaussian. We conclude that an endogenous time-varying risk aversion represents a very parsimonious way to make the model match real data on key statistical properties, and therefore deserves careful consideration from economists and practitioners alike.

  2. What Is the Expected Return on a Stock?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Martin, Ian; Wagner, Christian

    We derive a formula that expresses the expected return on a stock in terms of the risk-neutral variance of the market and the stock's excess risk-neutral variance relative to the average stock. These components can be computed from index and stock option prices; the formula has no free parameters....... We test the theory in-sample by running panel regressions of stock returns onto risk-neutral variances. The formula performs well at 6-month and 1-year forecasting horizons, and our predictors drive out beta, size, book-to-market, and momentum. Out-of-sample, we find that the formula outperforms...... a range of competitors in forecasting individual stock returns. Our results suggest that there is considerably more variation in expected returns, both over time and across stocks, than has previously been acknowledged....

  3. What is the Expected Return on a Stock?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Martin, Ian; Wagner, Christian

    We derive a formula that expresses the expected return on a stock in terms of the risk-neutral variance of the market and the stock’s excess risk-neutral variance relative to the average stock. These components can be computed from index and stock option prices; the formula has no free parameters....... We test the theory in-sample by running panel regressions of stock returns onto risk-neutral variances. The formula performs well at 6-month and 1-year forecasting horizons, and our predictors drive out beta, size, book-to-market, and momentum. Out-of-sample, we find that the formula outperforms...... a range of competitors in forecasting individual stock returns. Our results suggest that there is considerably more variation in expected returns, both over time and across stocks, than has previously been acknowledged....

  4. Macro factors in oil futures returns

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Le Pen, Yannick; Sevi, Benoit

    2012-01-01

    We investigate the macro factors that can explain the monthly oil futures return for the NYMEX WTI futures contract for the time period 1993:11 to 2010:03. We build a new database of 187 real and nominal macro-economic variables from developed and emerging countries and resort to the large factor approximate model to extract 9 factors from this dataset. We then regress crude oil return on several combinations of these factors. Our best model explains around 38% of the variability of oil futures return. More interestingly, the factor which has the largest influence on crude oil price is related to real variables from emerging countries. This result confirms the latest finding in the literature that the recent evolution in oil price is attributable to change in supply and demand conditions and not to the large increase in trading activity from speculators. (authors)

  5. 26 CFR 1.857-10 - Information returns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 9 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Information returns. 1.857-10 Section 1.857-10 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (CONTINUED) INCOME TAX (CONTINUED) INCOME TAXES Real Estate Investment Trusts § 1.857-10 Information returns. Nothing in §§ 1.857-8 and 1...

  6. 26 CFR 1.6013-1 - Joint returns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... for the right of an executor to file a late separate return for a deceased spouse and thereby... respect to the decedent may be made only by his executor or administrator, as defined in paragraph (c) of... respect of which the joint return is made; (ii) No executor or administrator has been appointed at or...

  7. 46 CFR 111.05-11 - Hull return.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Hull return. 111.05-11 Section 111.05-11 Shipping COAST... REQUIREMENTS Equipment Ground, Ground Detection, and Grounded Systems § 111.05-11 Hull return. (a) A vessel's hull must not carry current as a conductor except for the following systems: (1) Impressed current...

  8. 27 CFR 28.220 - Notice of return.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS EXPORTATION OF ALCOHOL Exportation of Wine With Benefit of Drawback § 28.220 Notice of return. If an exporter desires to return wine to a bonded wine cellar or wholesale liquor... wine cellar from which withdrawn; (b) Date and serial number of the Form 1582-A (5120.24) on which the...

  9. Return to the workforce following coronary artery bypass grafting

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Butt, Jawad H; Rørth, Rasmus; Kragholm, Kristian

    2018-01-01

    Background Returning to the workforce after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) holds important socioeconomic consequences not only for patients, but the society as well. Yet data on this issue are limited. We examined return to the workforce and associated factors in patients of working age.......0%) patients had returned to the workforce, 614 (10.2%) were on paid sick leave, 267 (4.4%) received disability pension, 250 (4.1%) were on early retirement, 57 (0.9%) had died, and 16 (0.3%) had emigrated. Factors associated with return to the workforce were identified using multivariable logistic regression...

  10. Return Migration to Mexico: Does Health Matter?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arenas, Erika; Goldman, Noreen; Pebley, Anne R; Teruel, Graciela

    2015-12-01

    We use data from three rounds of the Mexican Family Life Survey to examine whether migrants in the United States returning to Mexico in the period 2005-2012 have worse health than those remaining in the United States. Despite extensive interest by demographers in health-related selection, this has been a neglected area of study in the literature on U.S.-Mexico migration, and the few results to date have been contradictory and inconclusive. Using five self-reported health variables collected while migrants resided in the United States and subsequent migration history, we find direct evidence of higher probabilities of return migration for Mexican migrants in poor health as well as lower probabilities of return for migrants with improving health. These findings are robust to the inclusion of potential confounders reflecting the migrants' demographic characteristics, economic situation, family ties, and origin and destination characteristics. We anticipate that in the coming decade, health may become an even more salient issue in migrants' decisions about returning to Mexico, given the recent expansion in access to health insurance in Mexico.

  11. Factors affecting return to driving post-stroke.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Tan, K M

    2012-02-01

    BACKGROUND: Stroke can affect a person\\'s ability to drive, an important means of transportation in the developed world. AIMS: To determine percentage of patients and factors associated with return to driving post-stroke in a service with emphasis on driver assessment. METHODS: Retrospective study of patients discharged from the Stroke Service of our 470-bed teaching hospital from 1998 to 2002. RESULTS: Of 72 drivers pre-stroke, 54% recalled a driving assessment and 68% returned to driving. Younger patients (58.6 +\\/- 12.0 vs. 66.5 +\\/- 10.5, p = 0.008) with lower Modified Rankin Score (median 1 vs. 2, p = 0.0001) and normal cognition (55 vs. 43%, p = 0.45) were more likely to resume driving. More patients who were assessed returned to driving than those who were not (74 vs. 61%, p = 0.31). CONCLUSIONS: A relatively high level of return to driving can be achieved post-stroke with a pro-active approach to driver assessment and rehabilitation. A structured assessment and referral programme should be offered where appropriate.

  12. 26 CFR 25.6075-1 - Returns, time for filing gift tax returns for gifts made after December 31, 1981.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 14 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Returns, time for filing gift tax returns for gifts made after December 31, 1981. 25.6075-1 Section 25.6075-1 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (CONTINUED) ESTATE AND GIFT TAXES GIFT TAX; GIFTS MADE AFTER DECEMBER...

  13. Image-based query-by-example for big databases of galaxy images

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shamir, Lior; Kuminski, Evan

    2017-01-01

    Very large astronomical databases containing millions or even billions of galaxy images have been becoming increasingly important tools in astronomy research. However, in many cases the very large size makes it more difficult to analyze these data manually, reinforcing the need for computer algorithms that can automate the data analysis process. An example of such task is the identification of galaxies of a certain morphology of interest. For instance, if a rare galaxy is identified it is reasonable to expect that more galaxies of similar morphology exist in the database, but it is virtually impossible to manually search these databases to identify such galaxies. Here we describe computer vision and pattern recognition methodology that receives a galaxy image as an input, and searches automatically a large dataset of galaxies to return a list of galaxies that are visually similar to the query galaxy. The returned list is not necessarily complete or clean, but it provides a substantial reduction of the original database into a smaller dataset, in which the frequency of objects visually similar to the query galaxy is much higher. Experimental results show that the algorithm can identify rare galaxies such as ring galaxies among datasets of 10,000 astronomical objects.

  14. Hybrid Image Fusion for Sharpness Enhancement of Multi-Spectral Lunar Images

    Science.gov (United States)

    Awumah, Anna; Mahanti, Prasun; Robinson, Mark

    2016-10-01

    Image fusion enhances the sharpness of a multi-spectral (MS) image by incorporating spatial details from a higher-resolution panchromatic (Pan) image [1,2]. Known applications of image fusion for planetary images are rare, although image fusion is well-known for its applications to Earth-based remote sensing. In a recent work [3], six different image fusion algorithms were implemented and their performances were verified with images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Camera. The image fusion procedure obtained a high-resolution multi-spectral (HRMS) product from the LRO Narrow Angle Camera (used as Pan) and LRO Wide Angle Camera (used as MS) images. The results showed that the Intensity-Hue-Saturation (IHS) algorithm results in a high-spatial quality product while the Wavelet-based image fusion algorithm best preserves spectral quality among all the algorithms. In this work we show the results of a hybrid IHS-Wavelet image fusion algorithm when applied to LROC MS images. The hybrid method provides the best HRMS product - both in terms of spatial resolution and preservation of spectral details. Results from hybrid image fusion can enable new science and increase the science return from existing LROC images.[1] Pohl, Cle, and John L. Van Genderen. "Review article multisensor image fusion in remote sensing: concepts, methods and applications." International journal of remote sensing 19.5 (1998): 823-854.[2] Zhang, Yun. "Understanding image fusion." Photogramm. Eng. Remote Sens 70.6 (2004): 657-661.[3] Mahanti, Prasun et al. "Enhancement of spatial resolution of the LROC Wide Angle Camera images." Archives, XXIII ISPRS Congress Archives (2016).

  15. Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt (TIPS)

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... The principles are similar to sonar used by boats and submarines. The ultrasound image is immediately visible ... the hepatic vein to identify the portal venous system. Access is then gained from the hepatic vein ...

  16. Return Rates for Needle Exchange Programs: A Common Criticism Answered

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ksobiech Kate

    2004-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract This study searched the available needle exchange program (NEP literature for return rate data. A total of 26 articles were found. The overall worldwide return rate was 90%, although this ranged from a low of 15% to a high of 112%. U.S. NEP return rates were gathered from only eight studies, indicating a clear need for more data, although U.S. return rates were comparable to those from NEPs outside of the U.S. One underlying assumption made by opponents of NEPs is that IDUs will not return needles to the distribution site, thereby potentially increasing the risk of health problems to the surrounding community from exposure to contaminated needles. This study's results suggest that NEPs are relatively successful in taking in used needles, although it is generally unclear where the needles were originally acquired, and if IDUs return their own needles, or are returning needles for a social network. Ways for AIDS Service Organizations to capitalize on these brief encounters with IDUs, as well as public policy implications of the findings, are discussed.

  17. 640 Gbit/s return-to-zero to non-return-to-zero format conversion based on optical linear spectral phase filtering

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Maram, Reza; Kong, Deming; Galili, Michael

    2016-01-01

    We propose a novel approach for all-optical return-to-zero (RZ) to non-return-to-zero (NRZ) telecommunication data format conversion based on linear spectral phase manipulation of an RZ data signal. The operation principle is numerically analyzed and experimentally validated through successful fo...

  18. Income, self-selection, and return and onward interprovincial migration in Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newbold, K B

    1996-06-01

    "Estimated returns to migration based on comparison of individual migrants may be biased owing to self-selection in the migration process. Using data derived from the 1986 Canadian census, I will study the effects of expected wage differentials in determining the return or onward migration decision of nonnative adults aged 20 to 64 years. Evidence was found that return migrations were in the 'right' direction, as they are observed to respond to provincial economic variables (that is, average employment growth and income levels) in a rational manner. After accounting for self-selectivity, I found that...return migrants...are negatively selected, and experience lower income levels, following the return migration, than onward migrants would have, had they chosen the return migration option. This drop in expected wages decreases the propensity associated with making a return migration. Despite this drop in income, the large proportion selecting the return migration option suggests the importance of the province of birth in the mental map of nonnative migrants." excerpt

  19. Volatility smile and stochastic arbitrage returns

    OpenAIRE

    Sergei Fedotov; Stephanos Panayides

    2004-01-01

    The purpose of this work is to explore the role that random arbitrage opportunities play in pricing financial derivatives. We use a non-equilibrium model to set up a stochastic portfolio, and for the random arbitrage return, we choose a stationary ergodic random process rapidly varying in time. We exploit the fact that option price and random arbitrage returns change on different time scales which allows us to develop an asymptotic pricing theory involving the central limit theorem for random...

  20. Returning to Work After Electrical Injuries

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stergiou-Kita, M.; Mansfield, E.; Bayley, M.

    2014-01-01

    were conducted with individuals who experienced an electrical injury at the workplace. Participants were recruited from specialized burns rehabilitation programs in Ontario, Canada. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematic analysis used to analyze the qualitative interviews. Data regarding......The objective of this study was to gain an understanding of workers' experiences with returning to work, the challenges they experienced, and the supports they found most beneficial when returning to work after a workplace electrical injury. Thirteen semistructured qualitative telephone interviews...

  1. Gold Returns

    OpenAIRE

    Robert J. Barro; Sanjay P. Misra

    2013-01-01

    From 1836 to 2011, the average real rate of price change for gold in the United States is 1.1% per year and the standard deviation is 13.1%, implying a one-standard-deviation confidence band for the mean of (0.1%, 2.1%). The covariances of gold's real rate of price change with consumption and GDP growth rates are small and statistically insignificantly different from zero. These negligible covariances suggest that gold's expected real rate of return--which includes an unobserved dividend yiel...

  2. Toward privacy-preserving JPEG image retrieval

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Hang; Wang, Jingyue; Wang, Meiqing; Zhong, Shangping

    2017-07-01

    This paper proposes a privacy-preserving retrieval scheme for JPEG images based on local variance. Three parties are involved in the scheme: the content owner, the server, and the authorized user. The content owner encrypts JPEG images for privacy protection by jointly using permutation cipher and stream cipher, and then, the encrypted versions are uploaded to the server. With an encrypted query image provided by an authorized user, the server may extract blockwise local variances in different directions without knowing the plaintext content. After that, it can calculate the similarity between the encrypted query image and each encrypted database image by a local variance-based feature comparison mechanism. The authorized user with the encryption key can decrypt the returned encrypted images with plaintext content similar to the query image. The experimental results show that the proposed scheme not only provides effective privacy-preserving retrieval service but also ensures both format compliance and file size preservation for encrypted JPEG images.

  3. Daily happiness and stock returns: Some international evidence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Wei; Li, Xiao; Shen, Dehua; Teglio, Andrea

    2016-10-01

    In this paper, we examine the relations between the daily happiness sentiment extracted from Twitter and the stock market performance in 11 international stock markets. By partitioning this happiness sentiment into quintiles from the least to the happiest days, we first show that the contemporary correlation coefficients between happiness sentiment and index return in the 4 and most-happiness subgroups are higher than that in least, 2 and 3-happiness subgroups. Secondly, the happiness sentiment can provide additional explanatory power for index return in the most-happiness subgroup. Thirdly, the daily happiness can granger-cause the changes in index return for the majority of stock markets. Fourthly, we find that the index return and the range-based volatility of the most-happiness subgroup are larger than those of other subgroups. These results highlight the important role of social media in stock market.

  4. One hundred years of return period: Strengths and limitations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Volpi, E.; Fiori, A.; Grimaldi, S.; Lombardo, F.; Koutsoyiannis, D.

    2015-10-01

    One hundred years from its original definition by Fuller, the probabilistic concept of return period is widely used in hydrology as well as in other disciplines of geosciences to give an indication on critical event rareness. This concept gains its popularity, especially in engineering practice for design and risk assessment, due to its ease of use and understanding; however, return period relies on some basic assumptions that should be satisfied for a correct application of this statistical tool. Indeed, conventional frequency analysis in hydrology is performed by assuming as necessary conditions that extreme events arise from a stationary distribution and are independent of one another. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the properties of return period when the independence condition is omitted; hence, we explore how the different definitions of return period available in literature affect results of frequency analysis for processes correlated in time. We demonstrate that, for stationary processes, the independence condition is not necessary in order to apply the classical equation of return period (i.e., the inverse of exceedance probability). On the other hand, we show that the time-correlation structure of hydrological processes modifies the shape of the distribution function of which the return period represents the first moment. This implies that, in the context of time-dependent processes, the return period might not represent an exhaustive measure of the probability of failure, and that its blind application could lead to misleading results. To overcome this problem, we introduce the concept of Equivalent Return Period, which controls the probability of failure still preserving the virtue of effectively communicating the event rareness.

  5. Return emigration: analysis of the situation through life stories

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M.R Pino Juste

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available In the context of the importance presently acquired by return immigration in Spain, in this article a descriptive study around the returned emigrants over 65 years old in Galicia is presented.After a brief theoretical introduction on return migration,the research carried out is developed. In the first place, the methodology used in the investigation which allowed an approach to the point of view of the persons concerned is explained: the biographical method through the technique of life stories. In second term, the specific results of the research are presented. After out lining the profile of the returned emigrant, different categories relating to the migratory project in its different phases have been analyzed: fromits beginning —reasons for emigrating—, in their arrival to destiny—labour activity, adaptation, uprooting, etc.—, to the return—reasons for returning, problems of readjustment to the place of origin, etc.—

  6. Consumption growth and time-varying expected stock returns

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vinther Møller, Stig

    2008-01-01

    When the consumption growth rate is measured based upon fourth quarter data, it tracks predictable variation in future excess stock returns. Low fourth quarter consumption growth rates predict high future excess stock returns such that expected returns are high at business cycle troughs and low...... of each calendar year, and at possibly random times in between. The consumption growth rate measured based upon fourth quarter data is a much stronger predictive variable than benchmark predictive variables such as the dividend-price ratio, the term spread, and the default spread....

  7. Fourth-quarter Economic Growth and Time-varying Expected Returns

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Møller, Stig V.; Rangvid, Jesper

    not predict returns. Fourth-quarter economic growth rates contain considerably more information about expected returns than standard variables used in the literature, are robust to the choice of macro variable, and work in-sample, out-of-sample, and in subsamples. To help explain these results, we show...... that economic growth and growth in consumer confidence are correlated during the fourth quarter, but not during the other quarters: When economic growth is low during the fourth quarter, confidence in the economy is also low such that investors require higher future returns. We discuss rational and behavioral...... reasons why fourth-quarter economic growth, growth in consumer confidence, and expected returns are related....

  8. Stakeholder views on returning research results.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haga, Susanne B; Zhao, Jennifer Q

    2013-01-01

    While the disclosure of research findings is relevant to all types of biomedical research, it has garnered particular attention with respect to genetics and genomics research due to some of the unique aspects of the data and the high public profile of the field. In this chapter, we review the attitudes of stakeholders (research participants, policymakers, and researchers) to define areas of consensus regarding the issue of returning research results across and within groups. In addition to stakeholder attitudes about obligations and interest in research results, other major related issues related to returning research results, such as informed consent, communication of research results, and cost, are discussed. Given the consensus between stakeholders to return summary reports of a study's outcomes and individual research results of clinical significance, we conclude that the time has come to encourage, if not require, researchers to consider these issues in the developmental planning stages of a project and to plan and budget accordingly. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Signal Separation of Helicopter Radar Returns Using Wavelet-Based Sparse Signal Optimisation

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-10-01

    helicopter from the composite radar returns. The received signal consists of returns from the rotating main and tail rotor blades, the helicopter body...is used to separate the main and tail rotor blade components of a helicopter from the composite radar returns. The received signal consists of returns...Two algorithms are presented in the report to separately extract main rotor blade returns and tail rotor blade returns from the composite signal

  10. DIDSON ultrasonic video data - Untrawlable Habitat Strategic Initiative

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NWFSC FRAM Marine Habitat Ecology Team is involved in many aspects of the UHSI program but has focused on the application of DIDSON imaging sonars to aid in...

  11. DETERMINAN RETURN SAHAM SYARIAH DENGAN RISIKO SISTEMATIS SEBAGAI VARIABEL MEDIASI

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    irman firmansyah

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Islamic capital market is the investment alternatives in accordance with Islamic law. However, the purpose of investing is to obtain a high return stock. This study aimed to analyze the fundamental factors in predicting stock return of sharia with systematic risk as a mediating variable. Fundamental factors measured by DER, EPS, ROA, PER and NPM and systematic risk measured by beta. Data taken from the Islamic capital market through the Jakarta Islamic Index (JII in a span of research in 2013 and 2014. The analysis used is multiple regression analysis and Sobel test. The results showed that DER and PER positive effect on sharia stock return, beta negative effect on sharia stock return and EPS, ROA and NPM no effect on sharia stock return. Whereas in mediating variable testing, the beta did not mediate the relationship between DER, EPS, ROA, NPM and PER to sharia stock return.

  12. Returning to work after laparoscopic myomectomy: a prospective observational study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huff, Keren O; Aref-Adib, Mehrnoosh; Magama, Zwelihle; Vlachodimitropoulou, Evangelia K; Oliver, Reeba; Odejinmi, Funlayo

    2018-01-01

    Laparoscopic myomectomy offers women many benefits over conventional open surgery, including an expedited recovery and return to employment. Our study evaluates the time taken for women to return to work after laparoscopic myomectomy and identifies factors prolonging recovery to > 8 weeks. We prospectively evaluated 94 women undergoing laparoscopic myomectomy by a single surgeon between January 2012 and March 2015. Women had standardized preoperative counseling and completed a validated return to work questionnaire 3 months postoperatively via telephone, post or in clinic. In all, 71/94 (75.5%) women completed the questionnaire. Results were analyzed comparing women who returned to work in ≤ 8 weeks [43/71 (60.6%)] with those who returned > 8 weeks postoperatively [28/71 (39.4%)]. A higher proportion of Asian and Caucasian women returned to work in ≤ 8 weeks (24/29) compared with black African and Caribbean women (19/42) (p = 0.003). Mean number of fibroids removed (2.59 and 5.75, respectively) was the only significantly differing factor between the two groups (p = 0.004). There was a significant difference in body mass index (BMI) and time to return to normal activity between the ≤ 8-week and > 8-week groups (p = 0.027, p = 0.011, respectively). Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that BMI and time to return to normal activity were the only factors prolonging recovery to > 8 weeks (p = 0.039, p = 0.015, respectively). Time to return to normal activity and BMI significantly influenced the time taken for women to work after laparoscopic myomectomy. Further data would support clinicians in counseling women appropriately and optimizing their postoperative return to employment. © 2017 Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

  13. Occupational health care return-to-work practices for workers with job burnout.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kärkkäinen, Riitta; Saaranen, Terhi; Räsänen, Kimmo

    2018-02-23

    Occupational health care supports return to work in cases of burnout; however, there is little research on return-to-work practices. To describe occupational health care return-to-work practices for workers with burnout and to identify potential for the development of the practices. Open-ended interviews and essays were used to collect data from 25 occupational health care professionals. A qualitative content analysis method was used. Occupational health care was involved in the return-to-work support in the off-work, work re-entry and maintenance phases during the return-to-work process. However, occupational health care had no influence in the advancement phase. The key return-to-work actions were: (i) defining burnout, (ii) supporting disengagement from work, (iii) supporting recovery, (iv) determining the return-to-work goal, (v) supporting re-engagement with work, (vi) monitoring the job-person match, (vii) re-evaluating the return-to-work goal, (viii) supporting the maintenance of the achieved return-to-work goal, and, where appropriate, (ix) supporting an alternative return-to-work goal. There were varied return-to-work practices among the occupational health care centers evaluated. The occupational health care return-to-work practices for workers with burnout are described with recommendations to further develop common practice guidelines.

  14. Bond return predictability in expansions and recessions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Engsted, Tom; Møller, Stig Vinther; Jensen, Magnus David Sander

    We document that over the period 1953-2011 US bond returns are predictable in expansionary periods but unpredictable during recessions. This result holds in both in-sample and out-of-sample analyses and using both univariate regressions and combination forecasting techniques. A simulation study...... but negative in recessions. The results are also consistent with tests showing that the expectations hypothesis of the term structure holds in recessions but not in expansions. However, the results for bonds are in sharp contrast to results for stocks showing that stock returns are predictable in recessions...... but not in expansions. Thus, our results indicate that there is not a common predictive pattern of stock and bond returns associated with the state of the economy....

  15. Pricing Volatility of Stock Returns with Volatile and Persistent Components

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhu, Jie

    In this paper a two-component volatility model based on the component's first moment is introduced to describe the dynamic of speculative return volatility. The two components capture the volatile and persistent part of volatility respectively. Then the model is applied to 10 Asia-Pacific stock m......, a positive or risk-premium effect exists between return and the volatile component, yet the persistent component is not significantly priced for return dynamic process....... markets. Their in-mean effects on return are also tested. The empirical results show that the persistent component accounts much more for volatility dynamic process than the volatile component. However the volatile component is found to be a significant pricing factor of asset returns for most markets...

  16. Consumer returns policies with endogenous deadline and supply chain coordination

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Xu, Lei; Li, Yongjian; Govindan, Kannan

    2015-01-01

    on consumers' behavior and the pricing and inventory policies of the retailer are systematically investigated. Moreover, based on the analysis of consumer return behavior on a traditional buy-back contract, we present a new differentiated buy-back contract, contingent on return deadline, to coordinate a supply......This paper considers returns policies under which consumers' valuation depends on the refund amount they receive and the length of time theymustwait after the item is returned. Consumers face an uncertain valuation before purchase, and the realization of that purchase's value occurs only after...... chain consisting of an upstream manufacturer and a downstream retailer. Finally, extensions on some specific behavioral factors such as moral hazard, inertia return, and external effect are investigated....

  17. Conditional Relationship Between Beta and Return in the US Stock Market

    OpenAIRE

    Bing XIAO

    2016-01-01

    According to the CAPM, risk is measured by the beta, and the relation between required expected return and beta is linear. This paper examines the conditional relationship between beta and return in the US stock market. The conditional covariances and variances used to estimate beta are modeled as an ARCH process. The beta return relationship is tested upon the sign of the excess market return. The implication of the sign of the excess market return follows Morelli (2011). This study shows th...

  18. SECTORAL RISK AND RETURN FOR COMPANIES IN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anis Cecilia

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available probability that cash flows or return will vary from expectations. Standard corporate finance theory supposes that a company chooses a capital structure that maximizes company value. A fundamental idea in finance is the relationship between risk and return. The greater the amount of risk that an investor is willing to take on, the greater the potential return. The reason for this is that investors need to be compensated for taking on additional risk. Why put capital at significant risk for a return that is no higher than the return on government bonds? Or expect higher than averages returns from low-risk activities? It is impossible to separate measuring the performance of a company from the risks that the management takes to achieve it.In most aspects of company operations, risk assessment plays a different but equally important, role. It is an integral part of informed decision taking in achieving performance. Risk assessment is involved from the highest level in strategic choices about what activities to undertake, what assets to buy or what markets to serve all the way to detailed operational decisions about whether to accept payment in foreign currencies and the adequacy of safety measures in the workplace. It plays a part whether or not an organization is aware of managing risk and many managers feel that their instinct and judgment are enough – a behavior risk. The danger is that this leaves company risk unplanned and unmanaged. This paper proposes a framework where we realized a study cases: we test if return on assets and return on equity has influence on the risk, both on long and short term. For this purposes, we conduct an empirical research that covers 59 selected companies traded at the Bucharest Stock Exchange within the time period 1999-2010. For this study our results reveal that dynamic global risk can be associated to a low intensity with total assets performance of the company’s. Investments efficiency and the

  19. NOTE: A method for controlling image acquisition in electronic portal imaging devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glendinning, A. G.; Hunt, S. G.; Bonnett, D. E.

    2001-02-01

    Certain types of camera-based electronic portal imaging devices (EPIDs) which initiate image acquisition based on sensing a change in video level have been observed to trigger unreliably at the beginning of dynamic multileaf collimation sequences. A simple, novel means of controlling image acquisition with an Elekta linear accelerator (Elekta Oncology Systems, Crawley, UK) is proposed which is based on illumination of a photodetector (ORP-12, Silonex Inc., Plattsburgh, NY, USA) by the electron gun of the accelerator. By incorporating a simple trigger circuit it is possible to derive a beam on/off status signal which changes at least 100 ms before any dose is measured by the accelerator. The status signal does not return to the beam-off state until all dose has been delivered and is suitable for accelerator pulse repetition frequencies of 50-400 Hz. The status signal is thus a reliable means of indicating the initiation and termination of radiation exposure, and thus controlling image acquisition of such EPIDs for this application.

  20. Parallel content-based sub-image retrieval using hierarchical searching.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Lin; Qi, Xin; Xing, Fuyong; Kurc, Tahsin; Saltz, Joel; Foran, David J

    2014-04-01

    The capacity to systematically search through large image collections and ensembles and detect regions exhibiting similar morphological characteristics is central to pathology diagnosis. Unfortunately, the primary methods used to search digitized, whole-slide histopathology specimens are slow and prone to inter- and intra-observer variability. The central objective of this research was to design, develop, and evaluate a content-based image retrieval system to assist doctors for quick and reliable content-based comparative search of similar prostate image patches. Given a representative image patch (sub-image), the algorithm will return a ranked ensemble of image patches throughout the entire whole-slide histology section which exhibits the most similar morphologic characteristics. This is accomplished by first performing hierarchical searching based on a newly developed hierarchical annular histogram (HAH). The set of candidates is then further refined in the second stage of processing by computing a color histogram from eight equally divided segments within each square annular bin defined in the original HAH. A demand-driven master-worker parallelization approach is employed to speed up the searching procedure. Using this strategy, the query patch is broadcasted to all worker processes. Each worker process is dynamically assigned an image by the master process to search for and return a ranked list of similar patches in the image. The algorithm was tested using digitized hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stained prostate cancer specimens. We have achieved an excellent image retrieval performance. The recall rate within the first 40 rank retrieved image patches is ∼90%. Both the testing data and source code can be downloaded from http://pleiad.umdnj.edu/CBII/Bioinformatics/.

  1. Returning home

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Agergaard, Jytte; Brøgger, Ditte

    2016-01-01

    flows. By focusing on these educational migrants, this paper explores how they connect to their rural homes. Guided by a critical reading of the migration-development scholarship, the paper examines how migrants and their relatives make sense of educational migrants’ remitting and returning practices......, and by comparing three groups of educational migrants, the migrants’ reasons for staying connected and sending remittances are scrutinized. The paper finds that although educational migrants do not generate extensive economic remittances for local development in Nepal, they stay connected to their rural homes...

  2. Energy-loss return gate via liquid dielectric polarization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Taehun; Yong, Hyungseok; Kim, Banseok; Kim, Dongseob; Choi, Dukhyun; Park, Yong Tae; Lee, Sangmin

    2018-04-12

    There has been much research on renewable energy-harvesting techniques. However, owing to increasing energy demands, significant energy-related issues remain to be solved. Efforts aimed at reducing the amount of energy loss in electric/electronic systems are essential for reducing energy consumption and protecting the environment. Here, we design an energy-loss return gate system that reduces energy loss from electric/electronic systems by utilizing the polarization of liquid dielectrics. The use of a liquid dielectric material in the energy-loss return gate generates electrostatic potential energy while reducing the dielectric loss of the electric/electronic system. Hence, an energy-loss return gate can make breakthrough impacts possible by amplifying energy-harvesting efficiency, lowering the power consumption of electronics, and storing the returned energy. Our study indicates the potential for enhancing energy-harvesting technologies for electric/electronics systems, while increasing the widespread development of these systems.

  3. INDIKATOR MAKROEKONOMI DAN RETURN SAHAM SYARIAH DI INDONESIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Utami Baroroh

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available The objectives of this study are to examine empirical test the long term equilibrium and simulteneous relationship between macroeconomics variables to stock return in Indonesia and to observe stock return response because shock/innovation of inflation, SBI discount rate and exchange rate Rupiah to US dollar. The data sample used in this study are monthly time series data from 2003.1 – 2010.6. Those data are SBI discount rate, inflation (CPI, exchange rate Rupiah to US dollar, money supply and stock return (IHSG. A method of analysis in this study are Granger Causality Test and Cointegration test. The empirical results shows that SBI discount rate, inflation (CPI, and exchange rate Rupiah to US dollar have causality relationship to stock return.. The cointegration test indicates that among research variables there is long term equilibrium and simultaneous relationshipDOI: 10.15408/sjie.v2i2.2421

  4. 20 CFR 216.24 - Relinquishment of rights to return to work.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Relinquishment of rights to return to work... of rights to return to work. (a) What return to work rights must be given up. Before an individual... work for any railroad employer. (b) When right to return to work is ended. An individual's right to...

  5. Reintegration upon return: insights from Ecuadorian returnees from Spain

    OpenAIRE

    Mercier, Marion; David, Anda; Mahia, Ramón; De Arce, Rafael

    2016-01-01

    Using the ECM2 survey data on Ecuadorian migrants returning from Spain, we investigate the determinants of reintegration upon return. We study how the migration experience, but also the before- and after-migration characteristics, correlate with migrants’ outcomes upon return. We adopt a broad conception of reintegration, considering jointly labour market-related outcomes that proxy for structural reintegration and subjective indicators that provide insights on sociocultural reintegration. Th...

  6. A study on relationship between the return of value/growth portfolio and market return: Evidence from Tehran Stock Exchange

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monireh Mashhadi Ramezanali

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available This study examines the relationship between the returns of two value and growth portfolios and the return of market on 15 selected firms on Tehran Stock Exchange over the period 2008-2011. The study divides the firms into two groups in terms of the ratios of price on earning as well as price on book value into two groups of value and growth portfolios. Using some regression analysis, the study has determined a positive and meaningful relationship between value portfolio and market return when the market is on the upside but this relationship is not meaningful during the bear session. The results indicate that during the bull sessions, value portfolios provide better investment opportunities than growth ones do.

  7. 27 CFR 25.212 - Beer returned to brewery from which removed.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Beer returned to brewery... TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS BEER Beer Returned to Brewery § 25.212 Beer returned to brewery from which removed. If beer on which the tax has been determined or paid is returned to...

  8. Risk-Return Trade-Off for European Stock Markets

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Aslanidis, Nektarios; Christiansen, Charlotte; Savva, Christos S.

    This paper adopts dynamic factor models with macro-finance predictors to revisit the intertemporal risk-return relation in five large European stock markets. We identify country specific, Euro area, and global factors to determine the conditional moments of returns considering the role of higher...

  9. Accounting for Heterogeneous Returns in Sequential Schooling Decisions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zamarro, G.

    2006-01-01

    This paper presents a method for estimating returns to schooling that takes into account that returns may be heterogeneous among agents and that educational decisions are made sequentially.A sequential decision model is interesting because it explicitly considers that the level of education of each

  10. Price returns efficiency of the Shanghai A-Shares

    Science.gov (United States)

    Long, Wang Jiang; Jaaman, Saiful Hafizah; Samsudin, Humaida Banu

    2014-06-01

    Beta measured from the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) is the most widely used risk to estimate expected return. In this paper factors that influence Shanghai A-share stock return based on CAPM are explored and investigated. Price data of 312 companies listed on Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) from the year 2000 to 2011 are investigated. This study employed the Fama-MacBeth cross-sectional method to avoid weakness of traditional CAPM. In addition, this study improves the model by adjusting missing data. Findings of this study justifies that systematic risk can explain the portfolios' returns of China SSE stock market.

  11. The Rate of Return to the High/Scope Perry Preschool Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heckman, James J; Moon, Seong Hyeok; Pinto, Rodrigo; Savelyev, Peter A; Yavitz, Adam

    2010-02-01

    This paper estimates the rate of return to the High/Scope Perry Preschool Program, an early intervention program targeted toward disadvantaged African-American youth. Estimates of the rate of return to the Perry program are widely cited to support the claim of substantial economic benefits from preschool education programs. Previous studies of the rate of return to this program ignore the compromises that occurred in the randomization protocol. They do not report standard errors. The rates of return estimated in this paper account for these factors. We conduct an extensive analysis of sensitivity to alternative plausible assumptions. Estimated annual social rates of return generally fall between 7-10 percent, with most estimates substantially lower than those previously reported in the literature. However, returns are generally statistically significantly different from zero for both males and females and are above the historical return on equity. Estimated benefit-to-cost ratios support this conclusion.

  12. THE INFLUENCE OF CORPORATE FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE ON SHARE RETURN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ghulam Nurul Huda

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available This study was conducted to examine the effect of financial performances of Economic Value Added (EVA, Market Value Added (MVA as well as financial ratios (Fixed Asset Turnover, Return on Investment, Debt to Equity Ratio, Price to Book Value, Total Asset Turnover on Stock Return. This study used the data of six representative palm oil companies which were listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange. The analysis models that were used included three multiple regression equations for EVA, MVA and Stock Return. The results indicate that DER significantly influences EVA and PBV, and TATO significantly influences MVA. Return Shares are significantly only affected by EVA. The company's fundamentals, especially EVA, PBV, TATO and DER were used by investors to predict the Stock Return in Indonesia Stock Exchange in 2009–2014 period. This study confirmed the previous studies that these variables are involved on regression model to predict the Stock Return. The results of the analysis of the company's financial performance with EVA and MVA and financial fundamental variables provide a better alternative picture on the achievement of the company so that the benefits in investing in the palm oil business in Indonesia can be maximally managed.Keywords: Indonesia Stock Exchange, investor, market, multiple regression, stock

  13. Weibo sentiments and stock return: A time-frequency view.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Yingying; Liu, Zhixin; Zhao, Jichang; Su, Chiwei

    2017-01-01

    This study provides new insights into the relationships between social media sentiments and the stock market in China. Based on machine learning, we classify microblogs posted on Sina Weibo, a Twitter's variant in China into five detailed sentiments of anger, disgust, fear, joy, and sadness. Using wavelet analysis, we find close positive linkages between sentiments and the stock return, which have both frequency and time-varying features. Five detailed sentiments are positively related to the stock return for certain periods, particularly since October 2014 at medium to high frequencies of less than ten trading days, when the stock return is undergoing significant fluctuations. Sadness appears to have a closer relationship with the stock return than the other four sentiments. As to the lead-lag relationships, the stock return causes Weibo sentiments rather than reverse for most of the periods with significant linkages. Compared with polarity sentiments (negative vs. positive), detailed sentiments provide more information regarding relationships between Weibo sentiments and the stock market. The stock market exerts positive effects on bullishness and agreement of microblogs. Meanwhile, agreement leads the stock return in-phase at the frequency of approximately 40 trading days, indicating that less disagreement improves certainty about the stock market.

  14. Weibo sentiments and stock return: A time-frequency view.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yingying Xu

    Full Text Available This study provides new insights into the relationships between social media sentiments and the stock market in China. Based on machine learning, we classify microblogs posted on Sina Weibo, a Twitter's variant in China into five detailed sentiments of anger, disgust, fear, joy, and sadness. Using wavelet analysis, we find close positive linkages between sentiments and the stock return, which have both frequency and time-varying features. Five detailed sentiments are positively related to the stock return for certain periods, particularly since October 2014 at medium to high frequencies of less than ten trading days, when the stock return is undergoing significant fluctuations. Sadness appears to have a closer relationship with the stock return than the other four sentiments. As to the lead-lag relationships, the stock return causes Weibo sentiments rather than reverse for most of the periods with significant linkages. Compared with polarity sentiments (negative vs. positive, detailed sentiments provide more information regarding relationships between Weibo sentiments and the stock market. The stock market exerts positive effects on bullishness and agreement of microblogs. Meanwhile, agreement leads the stock return in-phase at the frequency of approximately 40 trading days, indicating that less disagreement improves certainty about the stock market.

  15. Weibo sentiments and stock return: A time-frequency view

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Zhixin; Zhao, Jichang; Su, Chiwei

    2017-01-01

    This study provides new insights into the relationships between social media sentiments and the stock market in China. Based on machine learning, we classify microblogs posted on Sina Weibo, a Twitter’s variant in China into five detailed sentiments of anger, disgust, fear, joy, and sadness. Using wavelet analysis, we find close positive linkages between sentiments and the stock return, which have both frequency and time-varying features. Five detailed sentiments are positively related to the stock return for certain periods, particularly since October 2014 at medium to high frequencies of less than ten trading days, when the stock return is undergoing significant fluctuations. Sadness appears to have a closer relationship with the stock return than the other four sentiments. As to the lead-lag relationships, the stock return causes Weibo sentiments rather than reverse for most of the periods with significant linkages. Compared with polarity sentiments (negative vs. positive), detailed sentiments provide more information regarding relationships between Weibo sentiments and the stock market. The stock market exerts positive effects on bullishness and agreement of microblogs. Meanwhile, agreement leads the stock return in-phase at the frequency of approximately 40 trading days, indicating that less disagreement improves certainty about the stock market. PMID:28672026

  16. Multivariate return periods of sea storms for coastal erosion risk assessment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Corbella

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available The erosion of a beach depends on various storm characteristics. Ideally, the risk associated with a storm would be described by a single multivariate return period that is also representative of the erosion risk, i.e. a 100 yr multivariate storm return period would cause a 100 yr erosion return period. Unfortunately, a specific probability level may be associated with numerous combinations of storm characteristics. These combinations, despite having the same multivariate probability, may cause very different erosion outcomes. This paper explores this ambiguity problem in the context of copula based multivariate return periods and using a case study at Durban on the east coast of South Africa. Simulations were used to correlate multivariate return periods of historical events to return periods of estimated storm induced erosion volumes. In addition, the relationship of the most-likely design event (Salvadori et al., 2011 to coastal erosion was investigated. It was found that the multivariate return periods for wave height and duration had the highest correlation to erosion return periods. The most-likely design event was found to be an inadequate design method in its current form. We explore the inclusion of conditions based on the physical realizability of wave events and the use of multivariate linear regression to relate storm parameters to erosion computed from a process based model. Establishing a link between storm statistics and erosion consequences can resolve the ambiguity between multivariate storm return periods and associated erosion return periods.

  17. Pricing Volatility of Stock Returns with Volatile and Persistent Components

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhu, Jie

    2009-01-01

    This paper introduces a two-component volatility model based on first moments of both components to describe the dynamics of speculative return volatility. The two components capture the volatile and the persistent part of volatility, respectively. The model is applied to 10 Asia-Pacific stock ma...... markets. A positive or risk-premium effect exists between the return and the volatile component, yet the persistent component is not significantly priced for the return dynamic process....... markets. Their in-mean effects on returns are tested. The empirical results show that the persistent component is much more important for the volatility dynamic process than is the volatile component. However, the volatile component is found to be a significant pricing factor of asset returns for most...

  18. A SHARIA RETURN AS AN ALTERNATIVE INSTRUMENT FOR MONETARY POLICY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ashief Hamam

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Rapid development in Islamic financial industry has not been supported by sharia monetary policy instruments. This study looks at the possibility of sharia returns as the instrument. Using both error correction model and vector error correction model to estimate the data from 2002(1 to 2010(12, this paper finds that sharia return has the same effect as the interest rate in the demand for money. The shock effect of sharia return on broad money supply, Gross Domestic Product, and Consumer Price Index is greater than that of interest rate. In addition, these three variables are more quickly become stable following the shock of sharia return. Keywords: Sharia return, islamic financial system, vector error correction modelJEL classification numbers: E52, G15

  19. Secure image retrieval with multiple keys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Haihua; Zhang, Xinpeng; Wei, Qiuhan; Cheng, Hang

    2018-03-01

    This article proposes a secure image retrieval scheme under a multiuser scenario. In this scheme, the owner first encrypts and uploads images and their corresponding features to the cloud; then, the user submits the encrypted feature of the query image to the cloud; next, the cloud compares the encrypted features and returns encrypted images with similar content to the user. To find the nearest neighbor in the encrypted features, an encryption with multiple keys is proposed, in which the query feature of each user is encrypted by his/her own key. To improve the key security and space utilization, global optimization and Gaussian distribution are, respectively, employed to generate multiple keys. The experiments show that the proposed encryption can provide effective and secure image retrieval for each user and ensure confidentiality of the query feature of each user.

  20. Past and Future Sources of Commercial Real Estate Returns

    OpenAIRE

    Joseph L. Pagliari, Jr.; James R. Webb

    1992-01-01

    Historical commercial real estate returns are attributed to three fundamental factors: initial current yield, growth in net operating income, and changes in going-in versus going-out capitalization rates (i.e., pricing movements). Separating returns into these three factors appears to provide more insightful information than the traditionally reported income and appreciation returns. Using this three-factor model, a two-dimensional matrix of projected ten-year real yields is estimated for eac...