WorldWideScience

Sample records for trajectory field models

  1. Wind field and trajectory models for tornado-propelled objects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon

    1978-01-01

    This report contains the results of the second phase of a research program which has as its objective the development of a mathematical model to predict the trajectory of tornado-borne objects postulated to be in the vicinity of nuclear power plants. An improved tornado wind field model satisfies the no-slip ground boundary condition of fluid mechanics and includes the functional dependence of eddy viscosity with altitude. Sub-scale wind tunnel data are obtained for all of the missiles currently specified for nuclear plant design. Confirmatory full-scale data are obtained for a 12-inch pipe and automobile. The original six-degree-of-freedom trajectory model is modified to include the improved wind field and increased capability as to body shapes and inertial characteristics that can be handled. The improved trajectory model is used to calculate maximum credible speeds, which for all of the heavy missiles are considerably less than those currently specified for design. Equivalent coefficients for use in three-degree-of-freedom models are developed and the sensitivity of range and speed to various trajectory parameters for the 12-inch diameter pipe is examined

  2. Classical trajectory perspective of atomic ionization in strong laser fields. Semiclassical modeling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Jie

    2014-01-01

    Dealing with timely and interesting issues in strong laser physics. Illustrates complex strong field atomic ionization with the simple semiclassical model of classical trajectory perspective for the first time. Provides a theoretical model that can be used to account for recent experiments. The ionization of atoms and molecules in strong laser fields is an active field in modern physics and has versatile applications in such as attosecond physics, X-ray generation, inertial confined fusion (ICF), medical science and so on. Classical Trajectory Perspective of Atomic Ionization in Strong Laser Fields covers the basic concepts in this field and discusses many interesting topics using the semiclassical model of classical trajectory ensemble simulation, which is one of the most successful ionization models and has the advantages of a clear picture, feasible computing and accounting for many exquisite experiments quantitatively. The book also presents many applications of the model in such topics as the single ionization, double ionization, neutral atom acceleration and other timely issues in strong field physics, and delivers useful messages to readers with presenting the classical trajectory perspective on the strong field atomic ionization. The book is intended for graduate students and researchers in the field of laser physics, atom molecule physics and theoretical physics. Dr. Jie Liu is a professor of Institute of Applied Physics and Computational Mathematics, China and Peking University.

  3. Technical description of the RIVM trajectory model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    De Waal, E.S.; Van Pul, W.A.J.

    1995-12-01

    The RIVM trajectory model, described in this report, enables calculation of a backward or forward trajectory. These trajectories are used to `follow` previous released air pollution in a backward mode or to `find` the origin of air pollution in a forward mode. The trajectories are used in the smog forecasting and in the TREND model for the distribution of materials in Europe. Presently 6-hourly ECMWF wind fields at 1000 and 850 hPa, with 3 deg x 3 deg latitude-longitude resolution are used. Wind fields with a different resolution in latitude-longitude can also be used after simple adjustments. An iterative method, described elsewhere, is applied to calculate the trajectories. Within limits, the user is free to choose the time step (1, 2 or 6-hour), transport height, length, starting or arrival date and starting or arrival position of the trajectory. The differences between the trajectories calculated with time steps of 1, 2 and 6 h were small. For the 96-hour trajectories at 1000 and 850 hPa the deviations were generally within 1 deg latitude and longitude, i.e. 100-200 km. The trajectory calculated with the 6-hour time step could be used without a great loss in accuracy compared to the calculations with the 1-hour time step. A typical error in the trajectory path at 1000 and 850 hPa was 500 km, which is about 30% of a typical travel distance. However, close to quickly changing weather systems, such as cyclones, the error can be as large as the travel distance and makes the calculations unreliable. The error in the forecasted trajectory was found to be larger than the above error estimation due to larger uncertainties in the forecasted compared to the analyzed wind fields. A manual on how to run the model is also given. 5 figs., 3 tabs., 5 refs., 6 appendices

  4. Estimating Jupiter’s Gravity Field Using Juno Measurements, Trajectory Estimation Analysis, and a Flow Model Optimization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Galanti, Eli; Kaspi, Yohai; Durante, Daniele; Finocchiaro, Stefano; Iess, Luciano

    2017-01-01

    The upcoming Juno spacecraft measurements have the potential of improving our knowledge of Jupiter’s gravity field. The analysis of the Juno Doppler data will provide a very accurate reconstruction of spatial gravity variations, but these measurements will be very accurate only over a limited latitudinal range. In order to deduce the full gravity field of Jupiter, additional information needs to be incorporated into the analysis, especially regarding the Jovian flow structure and its depth, which can influence the measured gravity field. In this study we propose a new iterative method for the estimation of the Jupiter gravity field, using a simulated Juno trajectory, a trajectory estimation model, and an adjoint-based inverse model for the flow dynamics. We test this method both for zonal harmonics only and with a full gravity field including tesseral harmonics. The results show that this method can fit some of the gravitational harmonics better to the “measured” harmonics, mainly because of the added information from the dynamical model, which includes the flow structure. Thus, it is suggested that the method presented here has the potential of improving the accuracy of the expected gravity harmonics estimated from the Juno and Cassini radio science experiments.

  5. Estimating Jupiter’s Gravity Field Using Juno Measurements, Trajectory Estimation Analysis, and a Flow Model Optimization

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Galanti, Eli; Kaspi, Yohai [Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot (Israel); Durante, Daniele; Finocchiaro, Stefano; Iess, Luciano, E-mail: eli.galanti@weizmann.ac.il [Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica e Aerospaziale, Sapienza Universita di Roma, Rome (Italy)

    2017-07-01

    The upcoming Juno spacecraft measurements have the potential of improving our knowledge of Jupiter’s gravity field. The analysis of the Juno Doppler data will provide a very accurate reconstruction of spatial gravity variations, but these measurements will be very accurate only over a limited latitudinal range. In order to deduce the full gravity field of Jupiter, additional information needs to be incorporated into the analysis, especially regarding the Jovian flow structure and its depth, which can influence the measured gravity field. In this study we propose a new iterative method for the estimation of the Jupiter gravity field, using a simulated Juno trajectory, a trajectory estimation model, and an adjoint-based inverse model for the flow dynamics. We test this method both for zonal harmonics only and with a full gravity field including tesseral harmonics. The results show that this method can fit some of the gravitational harmonics better to the “measured” harmonics, mainly because of the added information from the dynamical model, which includes the flow structure. Thus, it is suggested that the method presented here has the potential of improving the accuracy of the expected gravity harmonics estimated from the Juno and Cassini radio science experiments.

  6. Effective electric fields along realistic DTI-based neural trajectories for modelling the stimulation mechanisms of TMS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    De Geeter, N; Crevecoeur, G; Dupré, L; Leemans, A

    2015-01-01

    In transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), an applied alternating magnetic field induces an electric field in the brain that can interact with the neural system. It is generally assumed that this induced electric field is the crucial effect exciting a certain region of the brain. More specifically, it is the component of this field parallel to the neuron’s local orientation, the so-called effective electric field, that can initiate neuronal stimulation. Deeper insights on the stimulation mechanisms can be acquired through extensive TMS modelling. Most models study simple representations of neurons with assumed geometries, whereas we embed realistic neural trajectories computed using tractography based on diffusion tensor images. This way of modelling ensures a more accurate spatial distribution of the effective electric field that is in addition patient and case specific. The case study of this paper focuses on the single pulse stimulation of the left primary motor cortex with a standard figure-of-eight coil. Including realistic neural geometry in the model demonstrates the strong and localized variations of the effective electric field between the tracts themselves and along them due to the interplay of factors such as the tract’s position and orientation in relation to the TMS coil, the neural trajectory and its course along the white and grey matter interface. Furthermore, the influence of changes in the coil orientation is studied. Investigating the impact of tissue anisotropy confirms that its contribution is not negligible. Moreover, assuming isotropic tissues lead to errors of the same size as rotating or tilting the coil with 10 degrees. In contrast, the model proves to be less sensitive towards the not well-known tissue conductivity values. (paper)

  7. Accuracy of topographic index models at identifying ephemeral gully trajectories on agricultural fields

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheshukov, Aleksey Y.; Sekaluvu, Lawrence; Hutchinson, Stacy L.

    2018-04-01

    Topographic index (TI) models have been widely used to predict trajectories and initiation points of ephemeral gullies (EGs) in agricultural landscapes. Prediction of EGs strongly relies on the selected value of critical TI threshold, and the accuracy depends on topographic features, agricultural management, and datasets of observed EGs. This study statistically evaluated the predictions by TI models in two paired watersheds in Central Kansas that had different levels of structural disturbances due to implemented conservation practices. Four TI models with sole dependency on topographic factors of slope, contributing area, and planform curvature were used in this study. The observed EGs were obtained by field reconnaissance and through the process of hydrological reconditioning of digital elevation models (DEMs). The Kernel Density Estimation analysis was used to evaluate TI distribution within a 10-m buffer of the observed EG trajectories. The EG occurrence within catchments was analyzed using kappa statistics of the error matrix approach, while the lengths of predicted EGs were compared with the observed dataset using the Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) statistics. The TI frequency analysis produced bi-modal distribution of topographic indexes with the pixels within the EG trajectory having a higher peak. The graphs of kappa and NSE versus critical TI threshold showed similar profile for all four TI models and both watersheds with the maximum value representing the best comparison with the observed data. The Compound Topographic Index (CTI) model presented the overall best accuracy with NSE of 0.55 and kappa of 0.32. The statistics for the disturbed watershed showed higher best critical TI threshold values than for the undisturbed watershed. Structural conservation practices implemented in the disturbed watershed reduced ephemeral channels in headwater catchments, thus producing less variability in catchments with EGs. The variation in critical thresholds for all

  8. Computer modeling of oil spill trajectories with a high accuracy method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garcia-Martinez, Reinaldo; Flores-Tovar, Henry

    1999-01-01

    This paper proposes a high accuracy numerical method to model oil spill trajectories using a particle-tracking algorithm. The Euler method, used to calculate oil trajectories, can give adequate solutions in most open ocean applications. However, this method may not predict accurate particle trajectories in certain highly non-uniform velocity fields near coastal zones or in river problems. Simple numerical experiments show that the Euler method may also introduce artificial numerical dispersion that could lead to overestimation of spill areas. This article proposes a fourth-order Runge-Kutta method with fourth-order velocity interpolation to calculate oil trajectories that minimise these problems. The algorithm is implemented in the OilTrack model to predict oil trajectories following the 'Nissos Amorgos' oil spill accident that occurred in the Gulf of Venezuela in 1997. Despite lack of adequate field information, model results compare well with observations in the impacted area. (Author)

  9. Puff-trajectory modelling for long-duration releases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Underwood, B.Y.

    1988-01-01

    This investigation considers some aspects of the interpretation and application of the puff-trajectory technique which is increasingly being considered for use in accident consequence assessment. It firsthigh lights the problems of applying the straight-line Gaussian model to releases of many hours duration and the drawbacks of using the ad hoc technique of multiple straight-line plumes, thereby pointing to the advantages of allowing curved trajectories. A number of fundamental questions are asked about the conventional puff-trajectory approach such as: what is the justification for using ensemble-average spread parameters (σ values) in constructing particular realizations of the concentration field and to what sampling time should these σ values correspond. These questions are answered in the present work by returning to basics: an interpretation of the puff-trajectory method is developed which establishes a correspondence between the omission of wind-field fluctuations with period below a given value in the generation of trajectories and the achievable spatial resolution of the estimates of time-integrated concentration. In application to accident consequence assessment, this focusses attention on what spatial resolution is necessary for particular consequence types or is implicit in the computational discretization employed

  10. Mathematical modelling for trajectories of magnetic nanoparticles in a blood vessel under magnetic field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sharma, Shashi; Katiyar, V.K.; Singh, Uaday

    2015-01-01

    A mathematical model is developed to describe the trajectories of a cluster of magnetic nanoparticles in a blood vessel for the application of magnetic drug targeting (MDT). The magnetic nanoparticles are injected into a blood vessel upstream from a malignant tissue and are captured at the tumour site with help of an applied magnetic field. The applied field is produced by a rare earth cylindrical magnet positioned outside the body. All forces expected to significantly affect the transport of nanoparticles were incorporated, including magnetization force, drag force and buoyancy force. The results show that particles are slow down and captured under the influence of magnetic force, which is responsible to attract the magnetic particles towards the magnet. It is optimized that all particles are captured either before or at the centre of the magnet (z≤0) when blood vessel is very close proximity to the magnet (d=2.5 cm). However, as the distance between blood vessel and magnet (d) increases (above 4.5 cm), the magnetic nanoparticles particles become free and they flow away down the blood vessel. Further, the present model results are validated by the simulations performed using the finite element based COMSOL software. - Highlights: • A mathematical model is developed to describe the trajectories of magnetic nanoparticles. • The dominant magnetic, drag and buoyancy forces are considered. • All particles are captured when distance between blood vessel and magnet (d) is up to 4.5 cm. • Further increase in d value (above 4.5 cm) results the free movement of magnetic particles

  11. Statistical characteristics of trajectories of diamagnetic unicellular organisms in a magnetic field.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gorobets, Yu I; Gorobets, O Yu

    2015-01-01

    The statistical model is proposed in this paper for description of orientation of trajectories of unicellular diamagnetic organisms in a magnetic field. The statistical parameter such as the effective energy is calculated on basis of this model. The resulting effective energy is the statistical characteristics of trajectories of diamagnetic microorganisms in a magnetic field connected with their metabolism. The statistical model is applicable for the case when the energy of the thermal motion of bacteria is negligible in comparison with their energy in a magnetic field and the bacteria manifest the significant "active random movement", i.e. there is the randomizing motion of the bacteria of non thermal nature, for example, movement of bacteria by means of flagellum. The energy of the randomizing active self-motion of bacteria is characterized by the new statistical parameter for biological objects. The parameter replaces the energy of the randomizing thermal motion in calculation of the statistical distribution. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Attitude and Trajectory Estimation Using Earth Magnetic Field Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deutschmann, Julie; Bar-Itzhack, Itzhack Y.

    1996-01-01

    The magnetometer has long been a reliable, inexpensive sensor used in spacecraft momentum management and attitude estimation. Recent studies show an increased accuracy potential for magnetometer-only attitude estimation systems. Since the Earth's magnetic field is a function of time and position, and since time is known quite precisely, the differences between the computer and measured magnetic field components, as measured by the magnetometers throughout the entire spacecraft orbit, are a function of both the spacecraft trajectory and attitude errors. Therefore, these errors can be used to estimate both trajectory and attitude. Traditionally, satellite attitude and trajectory have been estimated with completely separate system, using different measurement data. Recently, trajectory estimation for low earth orbit satellites was successfully demonstrated in ground software using only magnetometer data. This work proposes a single augmented extended Kalman Filter to simultaneously and autonomously estimate both spacecraft trajectory and attitude with data from a magnetometer and either dynamically determined rates or gyro-measured body rates.

  13. Numerical simulation of flow fields and particle trajectories

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mayer, Stefan

    2000-01-01

    . The time-dependent flow is approximated with a continuous sequence of steady state creeping flow fields, where metachronously beating ciliary bands are modelled by linear combinations of singularity solutions to the Stokes equations. Generally, the computed flow fields can be divided into an unsteady......A model describing the ciliary driven flow and motion of suspended particles in downstream suspension feeders is developed. The quasi-steady Stokes equations for creeping flow are solved numerically in an unbounded fluid domain around cylindrical bodies using a boundary integral formulation...... in the simulated unsteady ciliary driven flow. A fraction of particles appear to follow trajectories, that resemble experimentally observed particle capture events in the downstream feeding system of the polycheate Sabella penicillus, indicating that particles can be captured by ciliary systems without mechanical...

  14. Classical trajectories and quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vitiello, Giuseppe; Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Salerno

    2005-01-01

    The density matrix and the Wigner function formalism requires the doubling of the degrees of freedom in quantum mechanics (QM) and quantum field theory (QFT). The doubled degrees of freedom play the role of the thermal bath or environment degrees of freedom and are entangled with the system degrees of freedom. They also account for quantum noise in the fluctuating random forces in the system-environment coupling. The algebraic structure of QFT turns out to be the one of the deformed Hopf algebra. In such a frame, the trajectories in the space of the unitarily inequivalent representations of the canonical commutation relations turn out to be classical trajectories and, under convenient conditions, they may exhibit properties typical of classical chaotic trajectories in nonlinear dynamics. The quantum Brownian motion and the two-slit experiment in QM are discussed in connection with the doubling of the degrees of freedom. (author)

  15. UAV Trajectory Modeling Using Neural Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, Min

    2017-01-01

    Massive small unmanned aerial vehicles are envisioned to operate in the near future. While there are lots of research problems need to be addressed before dense operations can happen, trajectory modeling remains as one of the keys to understand and develop policies, regulations, and requirements for safe and efficient unmanned aerial vehicle operations. The fidelity requirement of a small unmanned vehicle trajectory model is high because these vehicles are sensitive to winds due to their small size and low operational altitude. Both vehicle control systems and dynamic models are needed for trajectory modeling, which makes the modeling a great challenge, especially considering the fact that manufactures are not willing to share their control systems. This work proposed to use a neural network approach for modelling small unmanned vehicle's trajectory without knowing its control system and bypassing exhaustive efforts for aerodynamic parameter identification. As a proof of concept, instead of collecting data from flight tests, this work used the trajectory data generated by a mathematical vehicle model for training and testing the neural network. The results showed great promise because the trained neural network can predict 4D trajectories accurately, and prediction errors were less than 2:0 meters in both temporal and spatial dimensions.

  16. HOTSPOTS DETECTION FROM TRAJECTORY DATA BASED ON SPATIOTEMPORAL DATA FIELD CLUSTERING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Qin

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available City hotspots refer to the areas where residents visit frequently, and large traffic flow exist, which reflect the people travel patterns and distribution of urban function area. Taxi trajectory data contain abundant information about urban functions and citizen activities, and extracting interesting city hotspots from them can be of importance in urban planning, traffic command, public travel services etc. To detect city hotspots and discover a variety of changing patterns among them, we introduce a data field-based cluster analysis technique to the pick-up and drop-off points of taxi trajectory data and improve the method by introducing the time weight, which has been normalized to estimate the potential value in data field. Thus, in the light of the new potential function in data field, short distance and short time difference play a powerful role. So the region full of trajectory points, which is regarded as hotspots area, has a higher potential value, while the region with thin trajectory points has a lower potential value. The taxi trajectory data of Wuhan city in China on May 1, 6 and 9, 2015, are taken as the experimental data. From the result, we find the sustaining hotspots area and inconstant hotspots area in Wuhan city based on the spatiotemporal data field method. Further study will focus on optimizing parameter and the interaction among hotspots area.

  17. UAV-based mapping, back analysis and trajectory modeling of a coseismic rockfall in Lefkada island, Greece

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saroglou, Charalampos; Asteriou, Pavlos; Zekkos, Dimitrios; Tsiambaos, George; Clark, Marin; Manousakis, John

    2018-01-01

    We present field evidence and a kinematic study of a rock block mobilized in the Ponti area by a Mw = 6.5 earthquake near the island of Lefkada on 17 November 2015. A detailed survey was conducted using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with an ultrahigh definition (UHD) camera, which produced a high-resolution orthophoto and a digital terrain model (DTM). The sequence of impact marks from the rock trajectory on the ground surface was identified from the orthophoto and field verified. Earthquake characteristics were used to estimate the acceleration of the rock slope and the initial condition of the detached block. Using the impact points from the measured rockfall trajectory, an analytical reconstruction of the trajectory was undertaken, which led to insights on the coefficients of restitution (CORs). The measured trajectory was compared with modeled rockfall trajectories using recommended parameters. However, the actual trajectory could not be accurately predicted, revealing limitations of existing rockfall analysis software used in engineering practice.

  18. Analysis of retarding field energy analyzer transmission by simulation of ion trajectories

    Science.gov (United States)

    van de Ven, T. H. M.; de Meijere, C. A.; van der Horst, R. M.; van Kampen, M.; Banine, V. Y.; Beckers, J.

    2018-04-01

    Retarding field energy analyzers (RFEAs) are used routinely for the measurement of ion energy distribution functions. By contrast, their ability to measure ion flux densities has been considered unreliable because of lack of knowledge about the effective transmission of the RFEA grids. In this work, we simulate the ion trajectories through a three-gridded RFEA using the simulation software SIMION. Using idealized test cases, it is shown that at high ion energy (i.e., >100 eV) the transmission is equal to the optical transmission rather than the product of the individual grid transparencies. Below 20 eV, ion trajectories are strongly influenced by the electric fields in between the grids. In this region, grid alignment and ion focusing effects contribute to fluctuations in transmission with ion energy. Subsequently the model has been used to simulate the transmission and energy resolution of an experimental RFEA probe. Grid misalignments reduce the transmission fluctuations at low energy. The model predicts the minimum energy resolution, which has been confirmed experimentally by irradiating the probe with a beam of ions with a small energy bandwidth.

  19. UAV Trajectory Modeling Using Neural Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, Min

    2017-01-01

    Large amount of small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (sUAVs) are projected to operate in the near future. Potential sUAV applications include, but not limited to, search and rescue, inspection and surveillance, aerial photography and video, precision agriculture, and parcel delivery. sUAVs are expected to operate in the uncontrolled Class G airspace, which is at or below 500 feet above ground level (AGL), where many static and dynamic constraints exist, such as ground properties and terrains, restricted areas, various winds, manned helicopters, and conflict avoidance among sUAVs. How to enable safe, efficient, and massive sUAV operations at the low altitude airspace remains a great challenge. NASA's Unmanned aircraft system Traffic Management (UTM) research initiative works on establishing infrastructure and developing policies, requirement, and rules to enable safe and efficient sUAVs' operations. To achieve this goal, it is important to gain insights of future UTM traffic operations through simulations, where the accurate trajectory model plays an extremely important role. On the other hand, like what happens in current aviation development, trajectory modeling should also serve as the foundation for any advanced concepts and tools in UTM. Accurate models of sUAV dynamics and control systems are very important considering the requirement of the meter level precision in UTM operations. The vehicle dynamics are relatively easy to derive and model, however, vehicle control systems remain unknown as they are usually kept by manufactures as a part of intellectual properties. That brings challenges to trajectory modeling for sUAVs. How to model the vehicle's trajectories with unknown control system? This work proposes to use a neural network to model a vehicle's trajectory. The neural network is first trained to learn the vehicle's responses at numerous conditions. Once being fully trained, given current vehicle states, winds, and desired future trajectory, the neural

  20. Berry phase dependent quantum trajectories of electron-hole pairs in semiconductors under intense terahertz fields

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Fan; Liu, Ren-Bao

    2013-03-01

    Quantum evolution of particles under strong fields can be approximated by the quantum trajectories that satisfy the stationary phase condition in the Dirac-Feynmann path integrals. The quantum trajectories are the key concept to understand strong-field optics phenomena, such as high-order harmonic generation (HHG), above-threshold ionization (ATI), and high-order terahertz siedeband generation (HSG). The HSG in semiconductors may have a wealth of physics due to the possible nontrivial ``vacuum'' states of band materials. We find that in a spin-orbit-coupled semiconductor, the cyclic quantum trajectories of an electron-hole pair under a strong terahertz field accumulates nontrivial Berry phases. We study the monolayer MoS2 as a model system and find that the Berry phases are given by the Faraday rotation angles of the pulse emission from the material under short-pulse excitation. This result demonstrates an interesting Berry phase dependent effect in the extremely nonlinear optics of semiconductors. This work is supported by Hong Kong RGC/GRF 401512 and the CUHK Focused Investments Scheme.

  1. An oilspill trajectory analysis model with a variable wind deflection angle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samuels, W.B.; Huang, N.E.; Amstutz, D.E.

    1982-01-01

    The oilspill trajectory movement algorithm consists of a vector sum of the surface drift component due to wind and the surface current component. In the U.S. Geological Survey oilspill trajectory analysis model, the surface drift component is assumed to be 3.5% of the wind speed and is rotated 20 degrees clockwise to account for Coriolis effects in the Northern Hemisphere. Field and laboratory data suggest, however, that the deflection angle of the surface drift current can be highly variable. An empirical formula, based on field observations and theoretical arguments relating wind speed to deflection angle, was used to calculate a new deflection angle at each time step in the model. Comparisons of oilspill contact probabilities to coastal areas calculated for constant and variable deflection angles showed that the model is insensitive to this changing angle at low wind speeds. At high wind speeds, some statistically significant differences in contact probabilities did appear. ?? 1982.

  2. Single shot trajectory design for region-specific imaging using linear and nonlinear magnetic encoding fields.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Layton, Kelvin J; Gallichan, Daniel; Testud, Frederik; Cocosco, Chris A; Welz, Anna M; Barmet, Christoph; Pruessmann, Klaas P; Hennig, Jürgen; Zaitsev, Maxim

    2013-09-01

    It has recently been demonstrated that nonlinear encoding fields result in a spatially varying resolution. This work develops an automated procedure to design single-shot trajectories that create a local resolution improvement in a region of interest. The technique is based on the design of optimized local k-space trajectories and can be applied to arbitrary hardware configurations that employ any number of linear and nonlinear encoding fields. The trajectories designed in this work are tested with the currently available hardware setup consisting of three standard linear gradients and two quadrupolar encoding fields generated from a custom-built gradient insert. A field camera is used to measure the actual encoding trajectories up to third-order terms, enabling accurate reconstructions of these demanding single-shot trajectories, although the eddy current and concomitant field terms of the gradient insert have not been completely characterized. The local resolution improvement is demonstrated in phantom and in vivo experiments. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  3. Field emitted electron trajectories for the CEBAF cavity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yunn, B.C.; Sundelin, R.M.

    1993-06-01

    Electromagnetic fields of the superconducting 5-cell CEBAF cavity with its fundamental power coupler are solved numerically with URMEL and MAFIA codes. Trajectories of field emitted electrons following the Fowler-Nordheim relation are studied with a numerical program which accepts the URMEL/MAFIA fields. Emission sites and gradients are determined for those electrons which can reach the cold ceramic window either directly or by an energetic backscattering. The peak and average impact energy and current are found. The generation of dark current by field emitted electrons has also been studied, and its relevance to CEBAF operation is briefly discussed

  4. Influence of initial velocity on trajectories of a charged particle in uniform crossed electric and magnetic fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khotimah, Siti Nurul; Viridi, Sparisoma; Widayani

    2017-01-01

    Magnetic and electric fields can cause a charged particle to form interesting trajectories. In general, each trajectory is discussed separately in university physics textbooks for undergraduate students. In this work, a solution of a charged particle moving in a uniform electric field at right angles to a uniform magnetic field (uniform crossed electric and magnetic fields) is reported; it is limited to particle motion in a plane. Specific solutions and their trajectories are obtained only by varying the initial particle velocity. The result shows five basic trajectory patterns, i.e., straight line, sinusoid-like, cycloid, cycloid-like with oscillation, and circle-like. The region of each trajectory is also mapped in the initial velocity space of the particle. This paper is intended for undergraduate students and describes further the trajectories of a charged particle through the regions of electric and magnetic fields influenced by initial condition of the particle, where electromagnetic radiation of an accelerated particle is not considered. (paper)

  5. Singular trajectories: space-time domain topology of developing speckle fields

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vasil'ev, Vasiliy; Soskin, Marat S.

    2010-02-01

    It is shown the space-time dynamics of optical singularities is fully described by singularities trajectories in space-time domain, or evolution of transverse coordinates(x, y) in some fixed plane z0. The dynamics of generic developing speckle fields was realized experimentally by laser induced scattering in LiNbO3:Fe photorefractive crystal. The space-time trajectories of singularities can be divided topologically on two classes with essentially different scenario and duration. Some of them (direct topological reactions) consist from nucleation of singularities pair at some (x, y, z0, t) point, their movement and annihilation. They possess form of closed loops with relatively short time of existence. Another much more probable class of trajectories are chain topological reactions. Each of them consists from sequence of links, i.e. of singularities nucleation in various points (xi yi, ti) and following annihilation of both singularities in other space-time points with alien singularities of opposite topological indices. Their topology and properties are established. Chain topological reactions can stop on the borders of a developing speckle field or go to infinity. Examples of measured both types of topological reactions for optical vortices (polarization C points) in scalar (elliptically polarized) natural developing speckle fields are presented.

  6. Foot trajectory approximation using the pendulum model of walking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fang, Juan; Vuckovic, Aleksandra; Galen, Sujay; Conway, Bernard A; Hunt, Kenneth J

    2014-01-01

    Generating a natural foot trajectory is an important objective in robotic systems for rehabilitation of walking. Human walking has pendular properties, so the pendulum model of walking has been used in bipedal robots which produce rhythmic gait patterns. Whether natural foot trajectories can be produced by the pendulum model needs to be addressed as a first step towards applying the pendulum concept in gait orthosis design. This study investigated circle approximation of the foot trajectories, with focus on the geometry of the pendulum model of walking. Three able-bodied subjects walked overground at various speeds, and foot trajectories relative to the hip were analysed. Four circle approximation approaches were developed, and best-fit circle algorithms were derived to fit the trajectories of the ankle, heel and toe. The study confirmed that the ankle and heel trajectories during stance and the toe trajectory in both the stance and the swing phases during walking at various speeds could be well modelled by a rigid pendulum. All the pendulum models were centred around the hip with pendular lengths approximately equal to the segment distances from the hip. This observation provides a new approach for using the pendulum model of walking in gait orthosis design.

  7. Open string Regge trajectory and its field theory limit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rojas, Francisco; Thorn, Charles B.

    2011-01-01

    We study the properties of the leading Regge trajectory in open string theory including the open string planar one-loop corrections. With SU(N) Chan-Paton factors, the sum over planar open string multiloop diagrams describes the 't Hooft limit N→∞ with Ng s 2 fixed. Our motivation is to improve the understanding of open string theory at finite α ' as a model of gauge field theories. SU(N) gauge theories in D space-time dimensions are described by requiring open strings to end on a stack of N Dp-branes of space-time dimension D=p+1. The large N leading trajectory α(t)=1+α ' t+Σ(t) can be extracted, through order g 2 , from the s→-∞ limit, at fixed t, of the four open string tree and planar loop diagrams. We analyze the t→0 behavior with the result that Σ(t)∼-Cg 2 (-α ' t) (D-4)/2 /(D-4). This result precisely tracks the 1-loop Reggeized gluon of gauge theory in D>4 space-time dimensions. In particular, for D→4 it reproduces the known infrared divergences of gauge theory in 4 dimensions with a Regge trajectory behaving as -ln(-α ' t). We also study Σ(t) in the limit t→-∞ and show that, when D ' t/(ln(-α ' t)) γ , where γ>0 depends on D and the number of massless scalars. Thus, as long as 4 ' t arbitrarily large. Finally we present the results of numerical calculations of Σ(t) for all negative t.

  8. The trajectory control in the SLC linac

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hsu, I.C.; Adolphsen, C.E.; Himel, T.M.; Seeman, J.T.

    1991-05-01

    Due to wake field effects, the trajectories of accelerated beams in the Linac should be well maintained to avoid severe beam breakup. In order to maintain a small emittance at the end of the Linac, the tolerance on the trajectory deviations become tighter when the beam intensities increase. The existing two beam trajectory correction method works well when the theoretical model agrees with the real machine lattice. Unknown energy deviations along the linac as well as wake field effects can cause the real lattice to deviate from the model. This makes the trajectory correction difficult. Several automated procedures have been developed to solve these problems. They are: an automated procedure to frequently steer the whole Linac by dividing the Linac into several small regions; an automated procedure to empirically correct the model to fit the real lattice and eight trajectory correcting feedback loops along the linac and steering through the collimator region with restricted corrector strengths and a restricted number of correctors. 6 refs., 2 figs

  9. Particle trajectories in full 3D flow field of turbomachinery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ling, Z.G.; Huang, S.L.

    1986-01-01

    Particle trajectory prediction is important for particulate laden flow turbomachinery as it helps to understand the cause of erosion phenomena and to improve the design of blade passages. In this paper, on the basis of previous works, particle trajectories in turbine stages are predicted in connection with full 3D gas flow field solved by time marching method. The secondary flow effect is also partially considered by assuming a total pressure distribution at the inlet of the moving blade row. The results show that passage vortex due to secondary flow will cause upward and downward divergence of particle trajectories at the rear part of near blade pressure surface which is evidenced by the real appearance of eroded trace on turbine blade after long period of operation

  10. Windfield and trajectory models for tornado-propelled objects. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Redmann, G.H.; Radbill, J.R.; Marte, J.E.; Dergarabedian, P.; Fendell, F.E.

    1983-03-01

    This is the final report of a three-phased research project to develop a six-degree-of-freedom mathematical model to predict the trajectories of tornado-propelled objects. The model is based on the meteorological, aerodynamic, and dynamic processes that govern the trajectories of missiles in a tornadic windfield. The aerodynamic coefficients for the postulated missiles were obtained from full-scale wind tunnel tests on a 12-inch pipe and car and from drop tests. Rocket sled tests were run whereby the 12-inch pipe and car were injected into a worst-case tornado windfield in order to verify the trajectory model. To simplify and facilitate the use of the trajectory model for design applications without having to run the computer program, this report gives the trajectory data for NRC-postulated missiles in tables based on given variables of initial conditions of injection and tornado windfield. Complete descriptions of the tornado windfield and trajectory models are presented. The trajectory model computer program is also included for those desiring to perform trajectory or sensitivity analyses beyond those included in the report or for those wishing to examine other missiles and use other variables

  11. Dual-well potential field function for articulated manipulator trajectory planning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmed Badawy

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available A new attractive potential field function is proposed in this paper for manipulator trajectory planning. Existing attractive potential field constructs a global minimum through which maneuvering objects move down the gradient of the potential field toward this global minimum. The proposed method constructs a potential field with two minima. The purpose of these two minima is to create a dual attraction between links rather than affecting each link by the preceding one through kinematic constraints.

  12. Characterization of bead trajectories through the draft tube of a turbine physical model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Weiland, M. A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Mueller, R. P. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Carlson, T. J. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Deng, Z. D. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); McKinstry, C. A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

    2005-02-01

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) makes extensive use of 1:25 scale Plexiglass models of hydroelectric turbines along the Columbia River to study turbine hydraulic performance and to identify potential hazards for fish passing through the turbines. Plastic beads are sent through the models and imaging has been done with laser Doppler velocimetry and high-speed videography to measure flow field variables and to study the probable paths of fish through the turbine units. Understanding has been limited by the lack of data showing actual bead trajectories in three dimensions (3-D) and the lack of quantified velocity, acceleration, and other kinematics describing the trajectories of beads as they pass through the physical models.

  13. An incremental DPMM-based method for trajectory clustering, modeling, and retrieval.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Weiming; Li, Xi; Tian, Guodong; Maybank, Stephen; Zhang, Zhongfei

    2013-05-01

    Trajectory analysis is the basis for many applications, such as indexing of motion events in videos, activity recognition, and surveillance. In this paper, the Dirichlet process mixture model (DPMM) is applied to trajectory clustering, modeling, and retrieval. We propose an incremental version of a DPMM-based clustering algorithm and apply it to cluster trajectories. An appropriate number of trajectory clusters is determined automatically. When trajectories belonging to new clusters arrive, the new clusters can be identified online and added to the model without any retraining using the previous data. A time-sensitive Dirichlet process mixture model (tDPMM) is applied to each trajectory cluster for learning the trajectory pattern which represents the time-series characteristics of the trajectories in the cluster. Then, a parameterized index is constructed for each cluster. A novel likelihood estimation algorithm for the tDPMM is proposed, and a trajectory-based video retrieval model is developed. The tDPMM-based probabilistic matching method and the DPMM-based model growing method are combined to make the retrieval model scalable and adaptable. Experimental comparisons with state-of-the-art algorithms demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithm.

  14. Droplet rotation model apply in steam uniform flow and gravitational field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Jinyi; Bo Hanliang; Sun Yuliang; Wang Dazhong

    2012-01-01

    The mechanism droplet movement behavior and the qualitative description of droplet trajectory in the steam uniform flow field in the gravitational field were researched with droplet rotation model. According to the mechanism of gravitational field and uniform flow fields, the effects on droplets movement were analyzed and the importance of lift forces was also discussed. Finally, a general trajectory and mechanism of the droplets movement was derived which lays the groundwork for the qualitative analysis of the single-drop model and could be general enough to be used in many applications. (authors)

  15. The importance of trajectory modelling in accident consequence assessments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jones, J.A.; Williams, J.A.; Hill, M.D.

    1988-01-01

    Most atmospheric dispersion models used at present or probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) are linear: they take account of the wind speed but not the direction after the first hour. Therefore, the trajectory model is a more realistic description of the cloud's behaviour. However, the extra complexity means that the computing costs increase. This is an important factor for the MARIA code which is intended to be run on computers of varying power. The numbers of early effects predicted by a linear model and a trajectory model in a probabilistic risk assessment were compared to see which model should be preferred. The trajectory model predicted about 25% fewer expected early deaths and 30% more people evacuated than the linear model. However, the trajectory model took about ten times longer to calculate its results. The choice between the two models may depend on the speed of the computer available

  16. Quantifying atmospheric transport, chemistry, and mixing using a new trajectory-box model and a global atmospheric-chemistry GCM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. Riede

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available We present a novel method for the quantification of transport, chemistry, and mixing along atmospheric trajectories based on a consistent model hierarchy. The hierarchy consists of the new atmospheric-chemistry trajectory-box model CAABA/MJT and the three-dimensional (3-D global ECHAM/MESSy atmospheric-chemistry (EMAC general circulation model. CAABA/MJT employs the atmospheric box model CAABA in a configuration using the atmospheric-chemistry submodel MECCA (M, the photochemistry submodel JVAL (J, and the new trajectory submodel TRAJECT (T, to simulate chemistry along atmospheric trajectories, which are provided offline. With the same chemistry submodels coupled to the 3-D EMAC model and consistent initial conditions and physical parameters, a unique consistency between the two models is achieved. Since only mixing processes within the 3-D model are excluded from the model consistency, comparisons of results from the two models allow to separate and quantify contributions of transport, chemistry, and mixing along the trajectory pathways. Consistency of transport between the trajectory-box model CAABA/MJT and the 3-D EMAC model is achieved via calculation of kinematic trajectories based on 3-D wind fields from EMAC using the trajectory model LAGRANTO. The combination of the trajectory-box model CAABA/MJT and the trajectory model LAGRANTO can be considered as a Lagrangian chemistry-transport model (CTM moving isolated air parcels. The procedure for obtaining the necessary statistical basis for the quantification method is described as well as the comprehensive diagnostics with respect to chemistry.

    The quantification method presented here allows to investigate the characteristics of transport, chemistry, and mixing in a grid-based 3-D model. The analysis of chemical processes within the trajectory-box model CAABA/MJT is easily extendable to include, for example, the impact of different transport pathways or of mixing processes onto

  17. BALCO 6/7-DoF trajectory model

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wey, P.; Corriveau, D.; Saitz, T.A.; Ruijter, W. de; Strömbäck, P.

    2016-01-01

    BALCO is a six- and seven-degree-of-freedom trajectory simulation program based on the mathematical model defined by the NATO Standardization Recommendation 4618. The primary goal of BALCO is to compute high-fidelity trajectories for both conventional and precision-guided projectiles. The 6-DoF

  18. Probabilistic Modeling of Aircraft Trajectories for Dynamic Separation Volumes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewis, Timothy A.

    2016-01-01

    With a proliferation of new and unconventional vehicles and operations expected in the future, the ab initio airspace design will require new approaches to trajectory prediction for separation assurance and other air traffic management functions. This paper presents an approach to probabilistic modeling of the trajectory of an aircraft when its intent is unknown. The approach uses a set of feature functions to constrain a maximum entropy probability distribution based on a set of observed aircraft trajectories. This model can be used to sample new aircraft trajectories to form an ensemble reflecting the variability in an aircraft's intent. The model learning process ensures that the variability in this ensemble reflects the behavior observed in the original data set. Computational examples are presented.

  19. TRAJ - a FORTRAN 77 computer program for the calculation of trajectories on the basis of space and time varying velocity fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zimmer, J.

    1986-09-01

    The computation of three dimensional trajectories is described in this report. Since measurements of the position and velocity of individual fluid parcels are difficult to be carried out and analytic solutions applicable to the trajectory problem are not available, trajectories have to be calculated by successive observations of the corresponding velocity fields using a method of successive approximation. The application is restricted to cartesian grid coordinate system with equidistant grid points. This model was developed for meteorological purposes (transport of pollutants) but can also be used for other fluids and scales. (orig./PW) [de

  20. Vector field statistical analysis of kinematic and force trajectories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pataky, Todd C; Robinson, Mark A; Vanrenterghem, Jos

    2013-09-27

    When investigating the dynamics of three-dimensional multi-body biomechanical systems it is often difficult to derive spatiotemporally directed predictions regarding experimentally induced effects. A paradigm of 'non-directed' hypothesis testing has emerged in the literature as a result. Non-directed analyses typically consist of ad hoc scalar extraction, an approach which substantially simplifies the original, highly multivariate datasets (many time points, many vector components). This paper describes a commensurately multivariate method as an alternative to scalar extraction. The method, called 'statistical parametric mapping' (SPM), uses random field theory to objectively identify field regions which co-vary significantly with the experimental design. We compared SPM to scalar extraction by re-analyzing three publicly available datasets: 3D knee kinematics, a ten-muscle force system, and 3D ground reaction forces. Scalar extraction was found to bias the analyses of all three datasets by failing to consider sufficient portions of the dataset, and/or by failing to consider covariance amongst vector components. SPM overcame both problems by conducting hypothesis testing at the (massively multivariate) vector trajectory level, with random field corrections simultaneously accounting for temporal correlation and vector covariance. While SPM has been widely demonstrated to be effective for analyzing 3D scalar fields, the current results are the first to demonstrate its effectiveness for 1D vector field analysis. It was concluded that SPM offers a generalized, statistically comprehensive solution to scalar extraction's over-simplification of vector trajectories, thereby making it useful for objectively guiding analyses of complex biomechanical systems. © 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Sensitivity of trajectory calculations to the temporal frequency of wind data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doty, Kevin G.; Perkey, Donald J.

    1993-01-01

    A mesoscale primitive equation model is used to create a 36-h simulation of the three-dimensional wind field of an intense maritime extratropical cyclone. The control experiment uses the simulated wind field every 15 min in a trajectory model to calculate back trajectories from various horizontal and vertical positions of interest relative to synoptic features of the storm. The latter trajectories are compared to trajectories that were calculated with the simulated wind data degraded in time to 30 min, 1 h, 3 h, 6h, and 12 h. Various error statistics reveal significant deterioration in trajectory accuracy between trajectories calculated with 1- and 3-h data frequencies. Trajectories calculated with 15-min, 30-min, and 1-h data frequencies yielded similar results, while trajectories calculated with data time frequencies 3 h and greater yielded results with unacceptably large errors.

  2. Model-based segmentation and classification of trajectories (Extended abstract)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Alewijnse, S.P.A.; Buchin, K.; Buchin, M.; Sijben, S.; Westenberg, M.A.

    2014-01-01

    We present efficient algorithms for segmenting and classifying a trajectory based on a parameterized movement model like the Brownian bridge movement model. Segmentation is the problem of subdividing a trajectory into parts such that each art is homogeneous in its movement characteristics. We

  3. Trajectory phases of a quantum dot model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Genway, Sam; Hickey, James M; Garrahan, Juan P; Armour, Andrew D

    2014-01-01

    We present a thermodynamic formalism to study the trajectories of charge transport through a quantum dot coupled to two leads in the resonant-level model. We show that a close analogue of equilibrium phase transitions exists for the statistics of transferred charge; by tuning an appropriate ‘counting field’, crossovers to different trajectory phases are possible. Our description reveals a mapping between the statistics of a given device and current measurements over a range of devices with different dot–lead coupling strengths. Furthermore insight into features of the trajectory phases are found by studying the occupation of the dot conditioned on the transported charge between the leads; this is calculated from first principles using a trajectory biased two-point projective measurement scheme. (paper)

  4. Development of three-dimensional trajectory model for detecting source region of the radioactive materials released into the atmosphere

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Suh, Kyung Suk; Park, Ki Hyun; Min, Byung Il; Kim, Sora; Yang, Byung Mo [Nuclear Environmental Safety Research Division, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-05-15

    It is necessary to consider the overall countermeasure for analysis of nuclear activities according to the increase of the nuclear facilities like nuclear power and reprocessing plants in the neighboring countries including China, Taiwan, North Korea, Japan and South Korea. South Korea and comprehensive nuclear-test-ban treaty organization (CTBTO) are now operating the monitoring instruments to detect radionuclides released into the air. It is important to estimate the origin of radionuclides measured using the detection technology as well as the monitoring analysis in aspects of investigation and security of the nuclear activities in neighboring countries. A three-dimensional forward/backward trajectory model has been developed to estimate the origin of radionuclides for a covert nuclear activity. The developed trajectory model was composed of forward and backward modules to track the particle positions using finite difference method. A three-dimensional trajectory model was validated using the measured data at Chernobyl accident. The calculated results showed a good agreement by using the high concentration measurements and the locations where was near a release point. The three-dimensional trajectory model had some uncertainty according to the release time, release height and time interval of the trajectory at each release points. An atmospheric dispersion model called long-range accident dose assessment system (LADAS), based on the fields of regards (FOR) technique, was applied to reduce the uncertainties of the trajectory model and to improve the detective technology for estimating the radioisotopes emission area. The detective technology developed in this study can evaluate in release area and origin for covert nuclear activities based on measured radioisotopes at monitoring stations, and it might play critical tool to improve the ability of the nuclear safety field.

  5. Visualization of particle trajectories in time-varying electromagnetic fields by CAVE-type virtual reality system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohno, Nobuaki; Ohtani, Hiroaki; Horiuchi, Ritoku; Matsuoka, Daisuke

    2012-01-01

    The particle kinetic effects play an important role in breaking the frozen-in condition and exciting collisionless magnetic reconnection in high temperature plasmas. Because this effect is originating from a complex thermal motion near reconnection point, it is very important to examine particle trajectories using scientific visualization technique, especially in the presence of plasma instability. We developed interactive visualization environment for the particle trajectories in time-varying electromagnetic fields in the CAVE-type virtual reality system based on VFIVE, which is interactive visualization software for the CAVE system. From the analysis of ion trajectories using the particle simulation data, it was found that time-varying electromagnetic fields around the reconnection region accelerate ions toward the downstream region. (author)

  6. Unconventional Constraints on Nitrogen Chemistry using DC3 Observations and Trajectory-based Chemical Modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shu, Q.; Henderson, B. H.

    2017-12-01

    Chemical transport models underestimate nitrogen dioxide observations in the upper troposphere (UT). Previous research in the UT succeeded in combining model predictions with field campaign measurements to demonstrate that the nitric acid formation rate (HO + NO2 → HNO3 (R1)) is overestimated by 22% (Henderson et al., 2012). A subsequent publication (Seltzer et al., 2015) demonstrated that single chemical constraint alters ozone and aerosol formation/composition. This work attempts to replicate previous chemical constraints with newer observations and a different modeling framework. We apply the previously successful constraint framework to Deep Convection Clouds and Chemistry (DC3). DC3 is a more recent field campaign where simulated nitrogen imbalances still exist. Freshly convected air parcels, identified in the DC3 dataset, as initial coordinates to initiate Lagrangian trajectories. Along each trajectory, we simulate the air parcel chemical state. Samples along the trajectories will form ensembles that represent possible realizations of UT air parcels. We then apply Bayesian inference to constrain nitrogen chemistry and compare results to the existing literature. Our anticipated results will confirm overestimation of HNO3 formation rate in previous work and provide further constraints on other nitrogen reaction rate coefficients that affect terminal products from NOx. We will particularly focus on organic nitrate chemistry that laboratory literature has yet to fully address. The results will provide useful insights into nitrogen chemistry that affects climate and human health.

  7. Distinguished trajectories in time dependent vector fields

    OpenAIRE

    Madrid, J. A. Jimenez; Mancho, Ana M.

    2008-01-01

    We introduce a new definition of distinguished trajectory that generalizes the concepts of fixed point and periodic orbit to aperiodic dynamical systems. This new definition is valid for identifying distinguished trajectories with hyperbolic and nonhyperbolic types of stability. The definition is implemented numerically and the procedure consists of determining a path of limit coordinates. It has been successfully applied to known examples of distinguished trajectories. In the context of high...

  8. Modeling of Coastal Effluent Transport: an Approach to Linking of Far-field and Near-field Models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Zhaoqing; Khangaonkar, Tarang P.

    2008-01-01

    One of the challenges in effluent transport modeling in coastal tidal environments is the proper calculation of initial dilution in connection with the far-field transport model. In this study, an approach of external linkage of far-field and near-field effluent transport models is presented, and applied to simulate the effluent transport in the Port Angeles Harbor, Washington in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. A near-field plume model was used to calculate the effluent initial dilution and a three-dimensional (3-D) hydrodynamic model was developed to simulate the tidal circulation and far-field effluent transport in the Port Angeles Harbor. In the present study, the hydrodynamic model was driven by tides and surface winds. Observed water surface elevation and velocity data were used to calibrate the model over a period covering the neap-spring tidal cycle. The model was also validated with observed surface drogue trajectory data. The model successfully reproduced the tidal dynamics in the study area and good agreements between model results and observed data were obtained. This study demonstrated that the linkage between the near-field and far-field models in effluent transport modeling can be achieved through iteratively adjusting the model grid sizes such that the far-field modeled dilution ratio and effluent concentration in the effluent discharge model grid cell match the concentration calculated by the near-field plume model

  9. Refining Markov state models for conformational dynamics using ensemble-averaged data and time-series trajectories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsunaga, Y.; Sugita, Y.

    2018-06-01

    A data-driven modeling scheme is proposed for conformational dynamics of biomolecules based on molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and experimental measurements. In this scheme, an initial Markov State Model (MSM) is constructed from MD simulation trajectories, and then, the MSM parameters are refined using experimental measurements through machine learning techniques. The second step can reduce the bias of MD simulation results due to inaccurate force-field parameters. Either time-series trajectories or ensemble-averaged data are available as a training data set in the scheme. Using a coarse-grained model of a dye-labeled polyproline-20, we compare the performance of machine learning estimations from the two types of training data sets. Machine learning from time-series data could provide the equilibrium populations of conformational states as well as their transition probabilities. It estimates hidden conformational states in more robust ways compared to that from ensemble-averaged data although there are limitations in estimating the transition probabilities between minor states. We discuss how to use the machine learning scheme for various experimental measurements including single-molecule time-series trajectories.

  10. Spatial and Temporal Extrapolation of Disdrometer Size Distributions Based on a Lagrangian Trajectory Model of Falling Rain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lane, John E.; Kasparis, Takis; Jones, W. Linwood; Metzger, Philip T.

    2009-01-01

    Methodologies to improve disdrometer processing, loosely based on mathematical techniques common to the field of particle flow and fluid mechanics, are examined and tested. The inclusion of advection and vertical wind field estimates appear to produce significantly improved results in a Lagrangian hydrometeor trajectory model, in spite of very strict assumptions of noninteracting hydrometeors, constant vertical air velocity, and time independent advection during the scan time interval. Wind field data can be extracted from each radar elevation scan by plotting and analyzing reflectivity contours over the disdrometer site and by collecting the radar radial velocity data to obtain estimates of advection. Specific regions of disdrometer spectra (drop size versus time) often exhibit strong gravitational sorting signatures, from which estimates of vertical velocity can be extracted. These independent wind field estimates become inputs and initial conditions to the Lagrangian trajectory simulation of falling hydrometeors.

  11. Analysis of Green's functions and stability problem in models of quantum field theory with solitons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raczka, R.; Roszkowski, L.

    1983-10-01

    A class of models of quantum field theory for a multiplet phi-vector=(phi 1 ,...,phisub(N)) of real scalar fields, possessing a particle-like classical solution phi-vector 0 , is considered. A new formula for generating functional for time-ordered Green's functions in terms of effective propagators is derived. The problem of classical and quantum stability is analyzed in detail. It is shown by partly non-perturbative analysis that in the considered models the excited states of mesons do exist and form the trajectories in the plane mass 2 -spin. These trajectories are linear or approximately linear like experimental trajectories. (author)

  12. THE DYNAMIC MODEL FOR CONTROL OF STUDENT’S LEARNING INDIVIDUAL TRAJECTORY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. A. Mitsel

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available In connection with the transition of the educational system to a competence-oriented approach, the problem of learning outcomes assessment and creating an individual learning trajectory of a student has become relevant. Its solution requires the application of modern information technologies. The third generation of Federal state educational standards of higher professional education (FSES HPE defines the requirements for the results of Mastering the basic educational programs (BEP. According to FSES HPE up to 50% of subjects have a variable character, i.e. depend on the choice of a student. It significantly influences on the results of developing various competencies. The problem of forming student’s learning trajectory is analyzed in general and the choice of an individual direction was studied in details. Various methods, models and algorithms of the student’s individual learning trajectory formation were described. The analysis of the model of educational process organization in terms of individual approach makes it possible to develop a decision support system (DSS. DSS is a set of interrelated programs and data used for analysis of situation, development of alternative solutions and selection of the most acceptable alternative. DSSs are often used when building individual learning path, because this task can be considered as a discrete multi-criteria problem, creating a significant burden on the decision maker. A new method of controlling the learning trajectory has been developed. The article discusses problem statement and solution of determining student’s optimal individual educational trajectory as a dynamic model of learning trajectory control, which uses score assessment to construct a sequence of studied subjects. A new model of management learning trajectory is based on dynamic models for tracking the reference trajectory. The task can be converted to an equivalent model of linear programming, for which a reliable solution

  13. Classical models for Regge trajectories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Biedenharn, L.C.; Van Dam, H.; Marmo, G.; Morandi, G.; Mukunda, N.; Samuel, J.; Sudarshan, E.C.G.

    1987-01-01

    Two classical models for particles with internal structure and which describe Regge trajectories are developed. The remarkable geometric and other properties of the two internal spaces are highlighted. It is shown that the conditions of positive time-like four-velocity and energy momentum for the classical system imply strong and physically reasonable conditions on the Regge mass-spin relationship

  14. Free field theories of spin-mass trajectories and quantum electrodynamics in the null plane

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bart, G.R.; Fenster, S.

    1976-06-01

    The ten generators of the Poincare algebra for quantum electrodynamics and other gauge theories are given in the null plane. The explicit correspondence of their field-theoretic form to the Bacry-Chang group-theoretic form in the free case is pointed out. It is then noticed that the forms are independent of the spin and allow inclusion of charge quantum numbers at will, which indicates that they represent an advantageous free-particle starting point for a hadron theory with positive spin-mass trajectories (SMT) and with interaction. The internal oscillator content is extracted for both gauge theories and dual resonance models. Interactions are cubic and quartic in the fields. In the dual model they encompass the SMT, whereas no straightforward extension to SMT is possible for the manifestly covariant theories. The requirements of a field-theoretic SMT interaction are spelled out in an algebraic form which guarantees Poincare invariance; however no such interaction is yet known. The approach indicates how a realistic spectrum might be achieved without composite hadrons and incorporating full Poincare invariance.

  15. Free field theories of spin-mass trajectories and quantum electrodynamics in the null plane

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bart, G.R.; Fenster, S.

    1976-06-01

    The ten generators of the Poincare algebra for quantum electrodynamics and other gauge theories are given in the null plane. The explicit correspondence of their field-theoretic form to the Bacry-Chang group-theoretic form in the free case is pointed out. It is then noticed that the forms are independent of the spin and allow inclusion of charge quantum numbers at will, which indicates that they represent an advantageous free-particle starting point for a hadron theory with positive spin-mass trajectories (SMT) and with interaction. The internal oscillator content is extracted for both gauge theories and dual resonance models. Interactions are cubic and quartic in the fields. In the dual model they encompass the SMT, whereas no straightforward extension to SMT is possible for the manifestly covariant theories. The requirements of a field-theoretic SMT interaction are spelled out in an algebraic form which guarantees Poincare invariance; however no such interaction is yet known. The approach indicates how a realistic spectrum might be achieved without composite hadrons and incorporating full Poincare invariance

  16. Dual unitarization scheme with several trajectories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chaichiam, M.; Hayashi, M.

    1977-12-01

    Consequences of bootstrap with several input Regge trajectories are investigated. We find that in a formal treatment of bootstrap the consistency requires the intercept of output Pomeron pole in the one-dimensional case to be larger than one: αsub(B)(0) > 1, a situation reminiscent of the one in the Reggeon field theory. Symmetry breakings of the Pomeron couplings are derived. These couplings coincide with those of the f-dominated Pomeron model of Carlitz-Green-Zee in the approximation, when in the unitarity loops only highest Regge trajectories are included. The case when all possible trajectories are exchanged is also discussed. Predictions of dual unitary model for the slopes of differential cross section for diffractive scattering are made which differ from the ones of the CGZ model. Comparison with the experimentally available data is done. (author)

  17. Improved transition models for cepstral trajectories

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Badenhorst, J

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available We improve on a piece-wise linear model of the trajectories of Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients, which are commonly used as features in Automatic Speech Recognition. For this purpose, we have created a very clean single-speaker corpus, which...

  18. Trajectory of an oil spill off Goa, eastern Arabian Sea: Field observations and simulations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vethamony, P. [National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa 403 004 (India)]. E-mail: mony@nio.org; Sudheesh, K. [National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa 403 004 (India); Babu, M.T. [National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa 403 004 (India); Jayakumar, S. [National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa 403 004 (India); Manimurali, R. [National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa 403 004 (India); Saran, A.K. [National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa 403 004 (India); Sharma, L.H. [Indian Coast Guard, District HQ-11, MPT Old Admin Building, Mormugao Harbour, Goa 403 803 (India); Rajan, B. [Indian Coast Guard, District HQ-11, MPT Old Admin Building, Mormugao Harbour, Goa 403 803 (India); Srivastava, M. [Indian Coast Guard, District HQ-11, MPT Old Admin Building, Mormugao Harbour, Goa 403 803 (India)

    2007-07-15

    An oil spill occurred off Goa, west coast of India, on 23 March 2005 due to collision of two vessels. In general, fair weather with weak winds prevails along the west coast of India during March. In that case, the spill would have moved slowly and reached the coast. However, in 2005 when this event occurred, relatively stronger winds prevailed, and these winds forced the spill to move away from the coast. The spill trajectory was dominated by winds rather than currents. The MIKE21 Spill Analysis model was used to simulate the spill trajectory. The observed spill trajectory and the slick area were in agreement with the model simulations. The present study illustrates the importance of having pre-validated trajectories of spill scenarios for selecting eco-sensitive regions for preparedness and planning suitable response strategies whenever spill episodes occur. - This is the first time model results have been compared with real oil spill observations along an Indian Coast.

  19. Artistic Visualization of Trajectory Data Using Cloud Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, T.; Zhou, Y.; Zhang, L.

    2017-09-01

    Rapid advance of location acquisition technologies boosts the generation of trajectory data, which track the traces of moving objects. A trajectory is typically represented by a sequence of timestamped geographical locations. Data visualization is an efficient means to represent distributions and structures of datasets and reveal hidden patterns in the data. In this paper, we explore a cloud model-based method for the generation of stylized renderings of trajectory data. The artistic visualizations of the proposed method do not have the goal to allow for data mining tasks or others but instead show the aesthetic effect of the traces of moving objects in a distorted manner. The techniques used to create the images of traces of moving objects include the uncertain line using extended cloud model, stroke-based rendering of geolocation in varying styles, and stylistic shading with aesthetic effects for print or electronic displays, as well as various parameters to be further personalized. The influence of different parameters on the aesthetic qualities of various painted images is investigated, including step size, types of strokes, colour modes, and quantitative comparisons using four aesthetic measures are also involved into the experiment. The experimental results suggest that the proposed method is with advantages of uncertainty, simplicity and effectiveness, and it would inspire professional graphic designers and amateur users who may be interested in playful and creative exploration of artistic visualization of trajectory data.

  20. Comparison of Trajectories Generated by the NOAA Oil Spill Model to Trajectories Produced Using HF Radar-Derived Curents in Monterey Bay

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Smith, Margaret

    1997-01-01

    .... Trajectories produced by the NOAA/HAZMAT On-Scene Spill Model, using different combinations of surface currents and winds, were compared to trajectories generated using HF radar-derived surface currents...

  1. Zipf exponent of trajectory distribution in the hidden Markov model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bochkarev, V. V.; Lerner, E. Yu

    2014-03-01

    This paper is the first step of generalization of the previously obtained full classification of the asymptotic behavior of the probability for Markov chain trajectories for the case of hidden Markov models. The main goal is to study the power (Zipf) and nonpower asymptotics of the frequency list of trajectories of hidden Markov frequencys and to obtain explicit formulae for the exponent of the power asymptotics. We consider several simple classes of hidden Markov models. We prove that the asymptotics for a hidden Markov model and for the corresponding Markov chain can be essentially different.

  2. Zipf exponent of trajectory distribution in the hidden Markov model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bochkarev, V V; Lerner, E Yu

    2014-01-01

    This paper is the first step of generalization of the previously obtained full classification of the asymptotic behavior of the probability for Markov chain trajectories for the case of hidden Markov models. The main goal is to study the power (Zipf) and nonpower asymptotics of the frequency list of trajectories of hidden Markov frequencys and to obtain explicit formulae for the exponent of the power asymptotics. We consider several simple classes of hidden Markov models. We prove that the asymptotics for a hidden Markov model and for the corresponding Markov chain can be essentially different

  3. An hydrodynamic model for the calculation of oil spills trajectories

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Paladino, Emilio Ernesto; Maliska, Clovis Raimundo [Santa Catarina Univ., Florianopolis, SC (Brazil). Dept. de Engenharia Mecanica. Lab. de Dinamica dos Fluidos Computacionais]. E-mails: emilio@sinmec.ufsc.br; maliska@sinmec.ufsc.br

    2000-07-01

    The aim of this paper is to present a mathematical model and its numerical treatment to forecast oil spills trajectories in the sea. The knowledge of the trajectory followed by an oil slick spilled on the sea is of fundamental importance in the estimation of potential risks for pipeline and tankers route selection, and in combating the pollution using floating barriers, detergents, etc. In order to estimate these slicks trajectories a new model, based on the mass and momentum conservation equations is presented. The model considers the spreading in the regimes when the inertial and viscous forces counterbalance gravity and takes into account the effects of winds and water currents. The inertial forces are considered for the spreading and the displacement of the oil slick, i.e., is considered its effects on the movement of the mass center of the slick. The mass loss caused by oil evaporation is also taken into account. The numerical model is developed in generalized coordinates, making the model easily applicable to complex coastal geographies. (author)

  4. Renormalized trajectory for non-linear sigma model and improved scaling behaviour

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guha, A.; Okawa, M.; Zuber, J.B.

    1984-01-01

    We apply the block-spin renormalization group method to the O(N) Heisenberg spin model. Extending a previous work of Hirsch and Shenker, we find the renormalized trajectory for O(infinite) in two dimensions. Four finite N models, we choose a four-parameter action near the large-N renormalized trajectory and demonstrate a remarkable improvement in the approach to continuum limit by performing Monte Carlo simulation of O(3) and O(4) models. (orig.)

  5. ARTISTIC VISUALIZATION OF TRAJECTORY DATA USING CLOUD MODEL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Wu

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Rapid advance of location acquisition technologies boosts the generation of trajectory data, which track the traces of moving objects. A trajectory is typically represented by a sequence of timestamped geographical locations. Data visualization is an efficient means to represent distributions and structures of datasets and reveal hidden patterns in the data. In this paper, we explore a cloud model-based method for the generation of stylized renderings of trajectory data. The artistic visualizations of the proposed method do not have the goal to allow for data mining tasks or others but instead show the aesthetic effect of the traces of moving objects in a distorted manner. The techniques used to create the images of traces of moving objects include the uncertain line using extended cloud model, stroke-based rendering of geolocation in varying styles, and stylistic shading with aesthetic effects for print or electronic displays, as well as various parameters to be further personalized. The influence of different parameters on the aesthetic qualities of various painted images is investigated, including step size, types of strokes, colour modes, and quantitative comparisons using four aesthetic measures are also involved into the experiment. The experimental results suggest that the proposed method is with advantages of uncertainty, simplicity and effectiveness, and it would inspire professional graphic designers and amateur users who may be interested in playful and creative exploration of artistic visualization of trajectory data.

  6. A Lagrangian model of air-mass photochemistry and mixing using a trajectory ensemble: the Cambridge Tropospheric Trajectory model of Chemistry And Transport (CiTTyCAT version 4.2

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. A. M. Pugh

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available A Lagrangian model of photochemistry and mixing is described (CiTTyCAT, stemming from the Cambridge Tropospheric Trajectory model of Chemistry And Transport, which is suitable for transport and chemistry studies throughout the troposphere. Over the last five years, the model has been developed in parallel at several different institutions and here those developments have been incorporated into one "community" model and documented for the first time. The key photochemical developments include a new scheme for biogenic volatile organic compounds and updated emissions schemes. The key physical development is to evolve composition following an ensemble of trajectories within neighbouring air-masses, including a simple scheme for mixing between them via an evolving "background profile", both within the boundary layer and free troposphere. The model runs along trajectories pre-calculated using winds and temperature from meteorological analyses. In addition, boundary layer height and precipitation rates, output from the analysis model, are interpolated to trajectory points and used as inputs to the mixing and wet deposition schemes. The model is most suitable in regimes when the effects of small-scale turbulent mixing are slow relative to advection by the resolved winds so that coherent air-masses form with distinct composition and strong gradients between them. Such air-masses can persist for many days while stretching, folding and thinning. Lagrangian models offer a useful framework for picking apart the processes of air-mass evolution over inter-continental distances, without being hindered by the numerical diffusion inherent to global Eulerian models. The model, including different box and trajectory modes, is described and some output for each of the modes is presented for evaluation. The model is available for download from a Subversion-controlled repository by contacting the corresponding authors.

  7. Application of Real Time Models Updating in ABO Central Field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heikal, S.; Adewale, D.; Doghmi, A.; Augustine, U.

    2003-01-01

    ABO central field is the first deep offshore oil production in Nigeria located in OML 125 (ex-OPL316). The field was developed in a water depth of between 500 and 800 meters. Deep-water development requires much faster data handling and model updates in order to make the best possible technical decision. This required an easy way to incorporate the latest information and dynamic update of the reservoir model enabling real time reservoir management. The paper aims at discussing the benefits of real time static and dynamic model update and illustrates with a horizontal well example how this update was beneficial prior and during the drilling operation minimizing the project CAPEX Prior to drilling, a 3D geological model was built based on seismic and offset wells' data. The geological model was updated twice, once after the pilot hole drilling and then after reaching the landing point and prior drilling the horizontal section .Forward modeling ws made was well using the along the planned trajectory. During the drilling process both geo- steering and LWD data were loaded in real time to the 3D modeling software. The data was analyzed and compared with the predicted model. The location of markers was changed as drilling progressed and the entire 3D Geological model was rapidly updated. The target zones were revaluated in the light of the new model updates. Recommendations were communicated to the field, and the well trajectory was modified to take into account the new information. The combination of speed, flexibility and update-ability of the 3D modeling software enabled continues geological model update on which the asset team based their trajectory modification decisions throughout the drilling phase. The well was geo-steered through 7 meters thickness of sand. After the drilling, the testing showed excellent results with a productivity and fluid properties data were used to update the dynamic model reviewing the well production plateau providing optimum reservoir

  8. Coupled forward-backward trajectory approach for nonequilibrium electron-ion dynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sato, Shunsuke A.; Kelly, Aaron; Rubio, Angel

    2018-04-01

    We introduce a simple ansatz for the wave function of a many-body system based on coupled forward and backward propagating semiclassical trajectories. This method is primarily aimed at, but not limited to, treating nonequilibrium dynamics in electron-phonon systems. The time evolution of the system is obtained from the Euler-Lagrange variational principle, and we show that this ansatz yields Ehrenfest mean-field theory in the limit that the forward and backward trajectories are orthogonal, and in the limit that they coalesce. We investigate accuracy and performance of this method by simulating electronic relaxation in the spin-boson model and the Holstein model. Although this method involves only pairs of semiclassical trajectories, it shows a substantial improvement over mean-field theory, capturing quantum coherence of nuclear dynamics as well as electron-nuclear correlations. This improvement is particularly evident in nonadiabatic systems, where the accuracy of this coupled trajectory method extends well beyond the perturbative electron-phonon coupling regime. This approach thus provides an attractive route forward to the ab initio description of relaxation processes, such as thermalization, in condensed phase systems.

  9. Uncertainty in predictions of oil spill trajectories in a coastal zone

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sebastião, P.; Guedes Soares, C.

    2006-12-01

    A method is introduced to determine the uncertainties in the predictions of oil spill trajectories using a classic oil spill model. The method considers the output of the oil spill model as a function of random variables, which are the input parameters, and calculates the standard deviation of the output results which provides a measure of the uncertainty of the model as a result of the uncertainties of the input parameters. In addition to a single trajectory that is calculated by the oil spill model using the mean values of the parameters, a band of trajectories can be defined when various simulations are done taking into account the uncertainties of the input parameters. This band of trajectories defines envelopes of the trajectories that are likely to be followed by the spill given the uncertainties of the input. The method was applied to an oil spill that occurred in 1989 near Sines in the southwestern coast of Portugal. This model represented well the distinction between a wind driven part that remained offshore, and a tide driven part that went ashore. For both parts, the method defined two trajectory envelopes, one calculated exclusively with the wind fields, and the other using wind and tidal currents. In both cases reasonable approximation to the observed results was obtained. The envelope of likely trajectories that is obtained with the uncertainty modelling proved to give a better interpretation of the trajectories that were simulated by the oil spill model.

  10. Semi-Automated Processing of Trajectory Simulator Output Files for Model Evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    2018-01-01

    ARL-TR-8284 ● JAN 2018 US Army Research Laboratory Semi-Automated Processing of Trajectory Simulator Output Files for Model...Semi-Automated Processing of Trajectory Simulator Output Files for Model Evaluation 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT...although some minor changes may be needed. The program processes a GTRAJ output text file that contains results from 2 or more simulations , where each

  11. Estimating trajectories of energy intake through childhood and adolescence using linear-spline multilevel models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Emma L; Tilling, Kate; Fraser, Abigail; Macdonald-Wallis, Corrie; Emmett, Pauline; Cribb, Victoria; Northstone, Kate; Lawlor, Debbie A; Howe, Laura D

    2013-07-01

    Methods for the assessment of changes in dietary intake across the life course are underdeveloped. We demonstrate the use of linear-spline multilevel models to summarize energy-intake trajectories through childhood and adolescence and their application as exposures, outcomes, or mediators. The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children assessed children's dietary intake several times between ages 3 and 13 years, using both food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) and 3-day food diaries. We estimated energy-intake trajectories for 12,032 children using linear-spline multilevel models. We then assessed the associations of these trajectories with maternal body mass index (BMI), and later offspring BMI, and also their role in mediating the relation between maternal and offspring BMIs. Models estimated average and individual energy intake at 3 years, and linear changes in energy intake from age 3 to 7 years and from age 7 to 13 years. By including the exposure (in this example, maternal BMI) in the multilevel model, we were able to estimate the average energy-intake trajectories across levels of the exposure. When energy-intake trajectories are the exposure for a later outcome (in this case offspring BMI) or a mediator (between maternal and offspring BMI), results were similar, whether using a two-step process (exporting individual-level intercepts and slopes from multilevel models and using these in linear regression/path analysis), or a single-step process (multivariate multilevel models). Trajectories were similar when FFQs and food diaries were assessed either separately, or when combined into one model. Linear-spline multilevel models provide useful summaries of trajectories of dietary intake that can be used as an exposure, outcome, or mediator.

  12. Augmenting Parametric Optimal Ascent Trajectory Modeling with Graph Theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dees, Patrick D.; Zwack, Matthew R.; Edwards, Stephen; Steffens, Michael

    2016-01-01

    into Conceptual and Pre-Conceptual design, knowledge of the effects originating from changes to the vehicle must be calculated. In order to do this, a model capable of quantitatively describing any vehicle within the entire design space under consideration must be constructed. This model must be based upon analysis of acceptable fidelity, which in this work comes from POST. Design space interrogation can be achieved with surrogate modeling, a parametric, polynomial equation representing a tool. A surrogate model must be informed by data from the tool with enough points to represent the solution space for the chosen number of variables with an acceptable level of error. Therefore, Design Of Experiments (DOE) is used to select points within the design space to maximize information gained on the design space while minimizing number of data points required. To represent a design space with a non-trivial number of variable parameters the number of points required still represent an amount of work which would take an inordinate amount of time via the current paradigm of manual analysis, and so an automated method was developed. The best practices of expert trajectory analysts working within NASA Marshall's Advanced Concepts Office (ACO) were implemented within a tool called multiPOST. These practices include how to use the output data from a previous run of POST to inform the next, determining whether a trajectory solution is feasible from a real-world perspective, and how to handle program execution errors. The tool was then augmented with multiprocessing capability to enable analysis on multiple trajectories simultaneously, allowing throughput to scale with available computational resources. In this update to the previous work the authors discuss issues with the method and solutions.

  13. Developmental trajectories of adolescent popularity: a growth curve modelling analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cillessen, Antonius H N; Borch, Casey

    2006-12-01

    Growth curve modelling was used to examine developmental trajectories of sociometric and perceived popularity across eight years in adolescence, and the effects of gender, overt aggression, and relational aggression on these trajectories. Participants were 303 initially popular students (167 girls, 136 boys) for whom sociometric data were available in Grades 5-12. The popularity and aggression constructs were stable but non-overlapping developmental dimensions. Growth curve models were run with SAS MIXED in the framework of the multilevel model for change [Singer, J. D., & Willett, J. B. (2003). Applied longitudinal data analysis. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press]. Sociometric popularity showed a linear change trajectory; perceived popularity showed nonlinear change. Overt aggression predicted low sociometric popularity but an increase in perceived popularity in the second half of the study. Relational aggression predicted a decrease in sociometric popularity, especially for girls, and continued high-perceived popularity for both genders. The effect of relational aggression on perceived popularity was the strongest around the transition from middle to high school. The importance of growth curve models for understanding adolescent social development was discussed, as well as specific issues and challenges of growth curve analyses with sociometric data.

  14. A Model of Organizational Trajectories to Innovation Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alvair Silveira Torres Jr.

    2007-03-01

    Full Text Available The multiple-case study research in three industrial companies - located in Brazil- about organizational changing, comparing cases of lean production system implementation, revealed a suggested interpretation of the determinants and directions of organizational innovation. The model tries to account for both continuous changes and discontinuities in organizational innovation. Continuous changes are related to secondary innovation, which doesn’t break an organizational paradigm, while discontinuities are associated with a new trajectory, since a primary innovation adopted by the whole organization. Then, the innovative lean process associated with secondary innovation was inadequate to change the organizational trajectory and it explains the cyclical decisions. On the other hand, the lean production system related to primary innovation, assumes the role as a new trajectory, influencing changes in total organization. The greatest difference found in the companies for innovative diffusion process, was the aspect of spread the organizational principles or a simple set of management’s tools.

  15. Visual Trajectory-Tracking Model-Based Control for Mobile Robots

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrej Zdešar

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available In this paper we present a visual-control algorithm for driving a mobile robot along the reference trajectory. The configuration of the system consists of a two-wheeled differentially driven mobile robot that is observed by an overhead camera, which can be placed at arbitrary, but reasonable, inclination with respect to the ground plane. The controller must be capable of generating appropriate tangential and angular control velocities for the trajectory-tracking problem, based on the information received about the robot position obtained in the image. To be able to track the position of the robot through a sequence of images in real-time, the robot is marked with an artificial marker that can be distinguishably recognized by the image recognition subsystem. Using the property of differential flatness, a dynamic feedback compensator can be designed for the system, thereby extending the system into a linear form. The presented control algorithm for reference tracking combines a feedforward and a feedback loop, the structure also known as a two DOF control scheme. The feedforward part should drive the system to the vicinity of the reference trajectory and the feedback part should eliminate any errors that occur due to noise and other disturbances etc. The feedforward control can never achieve accurate reference following, but this deficiency can be eliminated with the introduction of the feedback loop. The design of the model predictive control is based on the linear error model. The model predictive control is given in analytical form, so the computational burden is kept at a reasonable level for real-time implementation. The control algorithm requires that a reference trajectory is at least twice differentiable function. A suitable approach to design such a trajectory is by exploiting some useful properties of the Bernstein-Bézier parametric curves. The simulation experiments as well as real system experiments on a robot normally used in the

  16. Symplectic approach to calculation of magnetic field line trajectories in physical space with realistic magnetic geometry in divertor tokamaks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Punjabi, Alkesh; Ali, Halima

    2008-12-01

    A new approach to integration of magnetic field lines in divertor tokamaks is proposed. In this approach, an analytic equilibrium generating function (EGF) is constructed in natural canonical coordinates (ψ,θ) from experimental data from a Grad-Shafranov equilibrium solver for a tokamak. ψ is the toroidal magnetic flux and θ is the poloidal angle. Natural canonical coordinates (ψ,θ,φ) can be transformed to physical position (R,Z,φ) using a canonical transformation. (R,Z,φ) are cylindrical coordinates. Another canonical transformation is used to construct a symplectic map for integration of magnetic field lines. Trajectories of field lines calculated from this symplectic map in natural canonical coordinates can be transformed to trajectories in real physical space. Unlike in magnetic coordinates [O. Kerwin, A. Punjabi, and H. Ali, Phys. Plasmas 15, 072504 (2008)], the symplectic map in natural canonical coordinates can integrate trajectories across the separatrix surface, and at the same time, give trajectories in physical space. Unlike symplectic maps in physical coordinates (x,y) or (R,Z), the continuous analog of a symplectic map in natural canonical coordinates does not distort trajectories in toroidal planes intervening the discrete map. This approach is applied to the DIII-D tokamak [J. L. Luxon and L. E. Davis, Fusion Technol. 8, 441 (1985)]. The EGF for the DIII-D gives quite an accurate representation of equilibrium magnetic surfaces close to the separatrix surface. This new approach is applied to demonstrate the sensitivity of stochastic broadening using a set of perturbations that generically approximate the size of the field errors and statistical topological noise expected in a poloidally diverted tokamak. Plans for future application of this approach are discussed.

  17. Symplectic approach to calculation of magnetic field line trajectories in physical space with realistic magnetic geometry in divertor tokamaks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Punjabi, Alkesh; Ali, Halima

    2008-01-01

    A new approach to integration of magnetic field lines in divertor tokamaks is proposed. In this approach, an analytic equilibrium generating function (EGF) is constructed in natural canonical coordinates (ψ,θ) from experimental data from a Grad-Shafranov equilibrium solver for a tokamak. ψ is the toroidal magnetic flux and θ is the poloidal angle. Natural canonical coordinates (ψ,θ,φ) can be transformed to physical position (R,Z,φ) using a canonical transformation. (R,Z,φ) are cylindrical coordinates. Another canonical transformation is used to construct a symplectic map for integration of magnetic field lines. Trajectories of field lines calculated from this symplectic map in natural canonical coordinates can be transformed to trajectories in real physical space. Unlike in magnetic coordinates [O. Kerwin, A. Punjabi, and H. Ali, Phys. Plasmas 15, 072504 (2008)], the symplectic map in natural canonical coordinates can integrate trajectories across the separatrix surface, and at the same time, give trajectories in physical space. Unlike symplectic maps in physical coordinates (x,y) or (R,Z), the continuous analog of a symplectic map in natural canonical coordinates does not distort trajectories in toroidal planes intervening the discrete map. This approach is applied to the DIII-D tokamak [J. L. Luxon and L. E. Davis, Fusion Technol. 8, 441 (1985)]. The EGF for the DIII-D gives quite an accurate representation of equilibrium magnetic surfaces close to the separatrix surface. This new approach is applied to demonstrate the sensitivity of stochastic broadening using a set of perturbations that generically approximate the size of the field errors and statistical topological noise expected in a poloidally diverted tokamak. Plans for future application of this approach are discussed.

  18. Repetitive Rockfall Trajectory Testing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Axel Volkwein

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Numerical simulations of rockfall trajectories are a standard procedure for evaluating rockfall hazards. For these simulations, corresponding software codes must be calibrated and evaluated based on field data. This study addresses methods of repeatable rockfall tests, and investigates whether it is possible to produce traceable and statistically analysable data. A testing series is described extensively covering how to conduct rockfall experiments and how certain elements of rockfall trajectories can be measured. The tests use acceleration and rotation sensors inside test blocks, a system to determine block positions over time, surveying measurements, and video recordings. All systems are evaluated regarding their usability in the field and for analyses. The highly detailed description of testing methods is the basis for sound understanding and reproducibility of the tests. This article serves as a reference for future publications and other rockfall field tests, both as a guide and as a basis for comparisons. First analyses deliver information on runout with a shadow angle ranging between 21 and 45 degrees for a slope consisting of homogeneous soft soil. A digital elevation model of the test site as well as point clouds of the used test blocks are part of this publication.

  19. Quantum dynamics modeled by interacting trajectories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cruz-Rodríguez, L.; Uranga-Piña, L.; Martínez-Mesa, A.; Meier, C.

    2018-03-01

    We present quantum dynamical simulations based on the propagation of interacting trajectories where the effect of the quantum potential is mimicked by effective pseudo-particle interactions. The method is applied to several quantum systems, both for bound and scattering problems. For the bound systems, the quantum ground state density and zero point energy are shown to be perfectly obtained by the interacting trajectories. In the case of time-dependent quantum scattering, the Eckart barrier and uphill ramp are considered, with transmission coefficients in very good agreement with standard quantum calculations. Finally, we show that via wave function synthesis along the trajectories, correlation functions and energy spectra can be obtained based on the dynamics of interacting trajectories.

  20. A model of chemical etching of olivine in the vicinity of the trajectory of a swift heavy ion

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gorbunov, S.A., E-mail: s.a.gorbunov@mail.ru [Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninskij pr. 53, 119991 Moscow (Russian Federation); Rymzhanov, R.A. [Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Joliot-Curie 6, 141980 Dubna, Moscow Region (Russian Federation); Starkov, N.I. [Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninskij pr. 53, 119991 Moscow (Russian Federation); Volkov, A.E. [Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninskij pr. 53, 119991 Moscow (Russian Federation); Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Joliot-Curie 6, 141980 Dubna, Moscow Region (Russian Federation); National Research Centre ‘Kurchatov Institute’, Kurchatov Sq. 1, 123182 Moscow (Russian Federation); Malakhov, A.I. [Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Joliot-Curie 6, 141980 Dubna, Moscow Region (Russian Federation)

    2015-12-15

    Searching of superheavy elements, the charge spectra of heavy nuclei in Galactic Cosmic Rays was investigated within the OLYMPIA experiment using the database of etched ion tracks in meteorite olivine. Etching results in the formation of hollow syringe-like channels with diameters of 1–10 μm along the trajectories of these swift heavy ions (SHI). According to the activated complex theory, the local chemical activity is determined by an increase of the specific Gibbs energy of the lattice stimulated by structure transformations, long-range elastic fields, and interatomic bonds breaking generated in the vicinity of the ion trajectory. To determine the dependencies of the Gibbs free energy increase in SHI tracks in olivine on the mass, energy and charge of a projectile, we apply a multiscale model of excitation and relaxation of materials in the vicinity of the SHI trajectory (SHI tracks). Effect of spreading of fast electrons from the ion trajectory causing neutralization of metallic atoms resulting in an increase of the chemical activity of olivine at long distances from the ion trajectory (up to 5 μm) is estimated and discussed.

  1. Pomeron models and exchange degeneracy of the Regge trajectories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kontros, J.; Kontros, K.; Lengyel, A.

    2000-01-01

    Two models for the Pomeron, supplemented by exchange-degenerate sub-leading Regge trajectories, are fitted to the forward scattering data for a number of reactions. By considering new Pomeron models, we extend the recent results of the COMPAS group, being consistent with our predecessors

  2. An aircraft noise pollution model for trajectory optimization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barkana, A.; Cook, G.

    1976-01-01

    A mathematical model describing the generation of aircraft noise is developed with the ultimate purpose of reducing noise (noise-optimizing landing trajectories) in terminal areas. While the model is for a specific aircraft (Boeing 737), the methodology would be applicable to a wide variety of aircraft. The model is used to obtain a footprint on the ground inside of which the noise level is at or above 70 dB.

  3. Lagrangian Trajectory Modeling of Lunar Dust Particles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lane, John E.; Metzger, Philip T.; Immer, Christopher D.

    2008-01-01

    Apollo landing videos shot from inside the right LEM window, provide a quantitative measure of the characteristics and dynamics of the ejecta spray of lunar regolith particles beneath the Lander during the final 10 [m] or so of descent. Photogrammetry analysis gives an estimate of the thickness of the dust layer and angle of trajectory. In addition, Apollo landing video analysis divulges valuable information on the regolith ejecta interactions with lunar surface topography. For example, dense dust streaks are seen to originate at the outer rims of craters within a critical radius of the Lander during descent. The primary intent of this work was to develop a mathematical model and software implementation for the trajectory simulation of lunar dust particles acted on by gas jets originating from the nozzle of a lunar Lander, where the particle sizes typically range from 10 micron to 500 micron. The high temperature, supersonic jet of gas that is exhausted from a rocket engine can propel dust, soil, gravel, as well as small rocks to high velocities. The lunar vacuum allows ejected particles to travel great distances unimpeded, and in the case of smaller particles, escape velocities may be reached. The particle size distributions and kinetic energies of ejected particles can lead to damage to the landing spacecraft or to other hardware that has previously been deployed in the vicinity. Thus the primary motivation behind this work is to seek a better understanding for the purpose of modeling and predicting the behavior of regolith dust particle trajectories during powered rocket descent and ascent.

  4. Two-field axion-monodromy hybrid inflation model: Dante's Waterfall

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carone, Christopher D.; Erlich, Joshua; Sensharma, Anuraag; Wang, Zhen

    2015-02-01

    We describe a hybrid axion-monodromy inflation model motivated by the Dante's Inferno scenario. In Dante's Inferno, a two-field potential features a stable trench along which a linear combination of the two fields slowly rolls, rendering the dynamics essentially identical to that of single-field chaotic inflation. A shift symmetry allows for the Lyth bound to be effectively evaded as in other axion-monodromy models. In our proposal, the potential is concave downward near the origin and the inflaton trajectory is a gradual downward spiral, ending at a point where the trench becomes unstable. There, the fields begin falling rapidly towards the minimum of the potential and inflation terminates as in a hybrid model. We find parameter choices that reproduce observed features of the cosmic microwave background, and discuss our model in light of recent results from the BICEP2 and Planck experiments.

  5. A model for helicopter guidance on spiral trajectories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mendenhall, S.; Slater, G. L.

    1980-01-01

    A point mass model is developed for helicopter guidance on spiral trajectories. A fully coupled set of state equations is developed and perturbation equations suitable for 3-D and 4-D guidance are derived and shown to be amenable to conventional state variable feedback methods. Control variables are chosen to be the magnitude and orientation of the net rotor thrust. Using these variables reference controls for nonlevel accelerating trajectories are easily determined. The effects of constant wind are shown to require significant feedforward correction to some of the reference controls and to the time. Although not easily measured themselves, the controls variables chosen are shown to be easily related to the physical variables available in the cockpit.

  6. Regularities in hadron systematics, Regge trajectories and a string quark model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chekanov, S.V.; Levchenko, B.B.

    2006-08-01

    An empirical principle for the construction of a linear relationship between the total angular momentum and squared-mass of baryons is proposed. In order to examine linearity of the trajectories, a rigorous least-squares regression analysis was performed. Unlike the standard Regge-Chew-Frautschi approach, the constructed trajectories do not have non-linear behaviour. A similar regularity may exist for lowest-mass mesons. The linear baryonic trajectories are well described by a semi-classical picture based on a spinning relativistic string with tension. The obtained numerical solution of this model was used to extract the (di)quark masses. (orig.)

  7. Distinguished hyperbolic trajectories in time-dependent fluid flows: analytical and computational approach for velocity fields defined as data sets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Ide

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper we develop analytical and numerical methods for finding special hyperbolic trajectories that govern geometry of Lagrangian structures in time-dependent vector fields. The vector fields (or velocity fields may have arbitrary time dependence and be realized only as data sets over finite time intervals, where space and time are discretized. While the notion of a hyperbolic trajectory is central to dynamical systems theory, much of the theoretical developments for Lagrangian transport proceed under the assumption that such a special hyperbolic trajectory exists. This brings in new mathematical issues that must be addressed in order for Lagrangian transport theory to be applicable in practice, i.e. how to determine whether or not such a trajectory exists and, if it does exist, how to identify it in a sequence of instantaneous velocity fields. We address these issues by developing the notion of a distinguished hyperbolic trajectory (DHT. We develop an existence criteria for certain classes of DHTs in general time-dependent velocity fields, based on the time evolution of Eulerian structures that are observed in individual instantaneous fields over the entire time interval of the data set. We demonstrate the concept of DHTs in inhomogeneous (or "forced" time-dependent linear systems and develop a theory and analytical formula for computing DHTs. Throughout this work the notion of linearization is very important. This is not surprising since hyperbolicity is a "linearized" notion. To extend the analytical formula to more general nonlinear time-dependent velocity fields, we develop a series of coordinate transforms including a type of linearization that is not typically used in dynamical systems theory. We refer to it as Eulerian linearization, which is related to the frame independence of DHTs, as opposed to the Lagrangian linearization, which is typical in dynamical systems theory, which is used in the computation of Lyapunov exponents. We

  8. Trajectory Browser Website

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foster, Cyrus; Jaroux, Belgacem A.

    2012-01-01

    The Trajectory Browser is a web-based tool developed at the NASA Ames Research Center to be used for the preliminary assessment of trajectories to small-bodies and planets and for providing relevant launch date, time-of-flight and V requirements. The site hosts a database of transfer trajectories from Earth to asteroids and planets for various types of missions such as rendezvous, sample return or flybys. A search engine allows the user to find trajectories meeting desired constraints on the launch window, mission duration and delta V capability, while a trajectory viewer tool allows the visualization of the heliocentric trajectory and the detailed mission itinerary. The anticipated user base of this tool consists primarily of scientists and engineers designing interplanetary missions in the context of pre-phase A studies, particularly for performing accessibility surveys to large populations of small-bodies. The educational potential of the website is also recognized for academia and the public with regards to trajectory design, a field that has generally been poorly understood by the public. The website is currently hosted on NASA-internal URL http://trajbrowser.arc.nasa.gov/ with plans for a public release as soon as development is complete.

  9. Crack trajectory near a weld: Modeling and simulation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rashid, M.M.; Tvergaard, Viggo

    2008-01-01

    A 2D computational model of ductile fracture, in which arbitrary crack extension through the mesh is accommodated without mesh bias, is used to study ductile fracture near the weld line in welded aluminum plates. Comparisons of the calculated toughness behavior and crack trajectory are made...

  10. Electron trajectory program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Herrmannsfeldt, W.B.

    1979-11-01

    The SLAC Electron Trajectory Program is described and instructions and examples for users are given. The program is specifically written to compute trajectories of charged particles in electrostatic and magnetostatic focusing systems including the effects of space charge and self-magnetic fields. Starting options include Child's Law conditions on cathodes of various shapes. Either rectangular or cylindrically symmetric geometry may be used. Magntic fields may be specified using arbitrary configurations of coils, or the output of a magnet program such as Poisson or by an externally calculated array of the axial fields. The program is available in IBM FORTRAN but can be easily converted for use on other brands of hardware. The program is intended to be used with a plotter whose interface the user must provide

  11. Work-Team Implementation and Trajectories of Manufacturing Quality: A Longitudinal Field Study

    OpenAIRE

    Rajiv D. Banker; Joy M. Field; Kingshuk K. Sinha

    2001-01-01

    The study examines the sustainability of manufacturing quality improvements following the implementation of work teams on production lines. We posit that the impact on manufacturing quality, measured as the defect rate trajectory, is monotonically nonincreasing over time and may, more specifically, assume the shape of an inverted S-curve. Employing a longitudinal research design, we investigate four work teams over a 28-month period in a field setting. Each team corresponds to one of the four...

  12. Statistical trajectory of an approximate EM algorithm for probabilistic image processing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tanaka, Kazuyuki; Titterington, D M

    2007-01-01

    We calculate analytically a statistical average of trajectories of an approximate expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm with generalized belief propagation (GBP) and a Gaussian graphical model for the estimation of hyperparameters from observable data in probabilistic image processing. A statistical average with respect to observed data corresponds to a configuration average for the random-field Ising model in spin glass theory. In the present paper, hyperparameters which correspond to interactions and external fields of spin systems are estimated by an approximate EM algorithm. A practical algorithm is described for gray-level image restoration based on a Gaussian graphical model and GBP. The GBP approach corresponds to the cluster variation method in statistical mechanics. Our main result in the present paper is to obtain the statistical average of the trajectory in the approximate EM algorithm by using loopy belief propagation and GBP with respect to degraded images generated from a probability density function with true values of hyperparameters. The statistical average of the trajectory can be expressed in terms of recursion formulas derived from some analytical calculations

  13. TRAJECTORIES AND DISTRIBUTION OF INTERSTELLAR DUST GRAINS IN THE HELIOSPHERE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Slavin, Jonathan D.; Frisch, Priscilla C.; Müller, Hans-Reinhard; Heerikhuisen, Jacob; Pogorelov, Nikolai V.; Reach, William T.; Zank, Gary

    2012-01-01

    The solar wind carves a bubble in the surrounding interstellar medium (ISM) known as the heliosphere. Charged interstellar dust grains (ISDG) encountering the heliosphere may be diverted around the heliopause or penetrate it depending on their charge-to-mass ratio. We present new calculations of trajectories of ISDG in the heliosphere, and the dust density distributions that result. We include up-to-date grain charging calculations using a realistic UV radiation field and full three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic fluid + kinetic models for the heliosphere. Models with two different (constant) polarities for the solar wind magnetic field (SWMF) are used, with the grain trajectory calculations done separately for each polarity. Small grains a gr ∼ gr ∼> 1.0 μm, pass into the inner solar system and are concentrated near the Sun by its gravity. Trajectories of intermediate size grains depend strongly on the SWMF polarity. When the field has magnetic north pointing to ecliptic north, the field de-focuses the grains resulting in low densities in the inner heliosphere, while for the opposite polarity the dust is focused near the Sun. The ISDG density outside the heliosphere inferred from applying the model results to in situ dust measurements is inconsistent with local ISM depletion data for both SWMF polarities but is bracketed by them. This result points to the need to include the time variation in the SWMF polarity during grain propagation. Our results provide valuable insights for interpretation of the in situ dust observations from Ulysses.

  14. Stochastic field-line wandering in magnetic turbulence with shear. II. Decorrelation trajectory method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Negrea, M.; Petrisor, I.; Shalchi, A.

    2017-11-01

    We study the diffusion of magnetic field lines in turbulence with magnetic shear. In the first part of the series, we developed a quasi-linear theory for this type of scenario. In this article, we employ the so-called DeCorrelation Trajectory method in order to compute the diffusion coefficients of stochastic magnetic field lines. The magnetic field configuration used here contains fluctuating terms which are described by the dimensionless functions bi(X, Y, Z), i = (x, y) and they are assumed to be Gaussian processes and are perpendicular with respect to the main magnetic field B0. Furthermore, there is also a z-component of the magnetic field depending on radial coordinate x (representing the gradient of the magnetic field) and a poloidal average component. We calculate the diffusion coefficients for magnetic field lines for different values of the magnetic Kubo number K, the dimensionless inhomogeneous magnetic parallel and perpendicular Kubo numbers KB∥, KB⊥ , as well as Ka v=bya vKB∥/KB⊥ .

  15. Microscopic Model of Automobile Lane-changing Virtual Desire Trajectory by Spline Curves

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yulong Pei

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available With the development of microscopic traffic simulation models, they have increasingly become an important tool for transport system analysis and management, which assist the traffic engineer to investigate and evaluate the performance of transport network systems. Lane-changing model is a vital component in any traffic simulation model, which could improve road capacity and reduce vehicles delay so as to reduce the likelihood of congestion occurrence. Therefore, this paper addresses the virtual desire trajectory, a vital part to investigate the behaviour divided into four phases. Based on the boundary conditions, β-spline curves and the corresponding reverse algorithm are introduced firstly. Thus, the relation between the velocity and length of lane-changing is constructed, restricted by the curvature, steering velocity and driving behaviour. Then the virtual desire trajectory curves are presented by Matlab and the error analysis results prove that this proposed description model has higher precision in automobile lane-changing process reconstruction, compared with the surveyed result. KEY WORDS: traffic simulation, lane-changing model, virtual desire trajectory, β-spline curves, driving behaviour

  16. Optimizing Likelihood Models for Particle Trajectory Segmentation in Multi-State Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Young, Dylan Christopher; Scrimgeour, Jan

    2018-06-19

    Particle tracking offers significant insight into the molecular mechanics that govern the behav- ior of living cells. The analysis of molecular trajectories that transition between different motive states, such as diffusive, driven and tethered modes, is of considerable importance, with even single trajectories containing significant amounts of information about a molecule's environment and its interactions with cellular structures. Hidden Markov models (HMM) have been widely adopted to perform the segmentation of such complex tracks. In this paper, we show that extensive analysis of hidden Markov model outputs using data derived from multi-state Brownian dynamics simulations can be used both for the optimization of the likelihood models used to describe the states of the system and for characterization of the technique's failure mechanisms. This analysis was made pos- sible by the implementation of parallelized adaptive direct search algorithm on a Nvidia graphics processing unit. This approach provides critical information for the visualization of HMM failure and successful design of particle tracking experiments where trajectories contain multiple mobile states. © 2018 IOP Publishing Ltd.

  17. Characterizing long-term patterns of weight change in China using latent class trajectory modeling.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lauren Paynter

    Full Text Available Over the past three decades, obesity-related diseases have increased tremendously in China, and are now the leading causes of morbidity and mortality. Patterns of weight change can be used to predict risk of obesity-related diseases, increase understanding of etiology of disease risk, identify groups at particularly high risk, and shape prevention strategies.Latent class trajectory modeling was used to compute weight change trajectories for adults aged 18 to 66 using the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS data (n = 12,611. Weight change trajectories were computed separately for males and females by age group at baseline due to differential age-related patterns of weight gain in China with urbanization. Generalized linear mixed effects models examined the association between weight change trajectories and baseline characteristics including urbanicity, BMI category, age, and year of study entry.Trajectory classes were identified for each of six age-sex subgroups corresponding to various degrees of weight loss, maintenance and weight gain. Baseline BMI status was a significant predictor of trajectory membership for all age-sex subgroups. Baseline overweight/obesity increased odds of following 'initial loss with maintenance' trajectories. We found no significant association between baseline urbanization and trajectory membership after controlling for other covariates.Trajectory analysis identified patterns of weight change for age by gender groups. Lack of association between baseline urbanization status and trajectory membership suggests that living in a rural environment at baseline was not protective. Analyses identified age-specific nuances in weight change patterns, pointing to the importance of subgroup analyses in future research.

  18. Computation of Trajectories and Displacement Fields in a Three-Dimensional Ternary Diffusion Couple: Parabolic Transform Method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marek Danielewski

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The problem of Kirkendall’s trajectories in finite, three- and one-dimensional ternary diffusion couples is studied. By means of the parabolic transformation method, we calculate the solute field, the Kirkendall marker velocity, and displacement fields. The velocity field is generally continuous and can be integrated to obtain a displacement field that is continuous everywhere. Special features observed experimentally and reported in the literature are also studied: (i multiple Kirkendall’s planes where markers placed on an initial compositional discontinuity of the diffusion couple evolve into two locations as a result of the initial distribution, (ii multiple Kirkendall’s planes where markers placed on an initial compositional discontinuity of the diffusion couple move into two locations due to composition dependent mobilities, and (iii a Kirkendall plane that coincides with the interphase interface. The details of the deformation (material trajectories in these special situations are given using both methods and are discussed in terms of the stress-free strain rate associated with the Kirkendall effect. Our nonlinear transform generalizes the diagonalization method by Krishtal, Mokrov, Akimov, and Zakharov, whose transform of diffusivities was linear.

  19. LINEAR LATTICE AND TRAJECTORY RECONSTRUCTION AND CORRECTION AT FAST LINEAR ACCELERATOR

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Romanov, A. [Fermilab; Edstrom, D. [Fermilab; Halavanau, A. [Northern Illinois U.

    2017-07-16

    The low energy part of the FAST linear accelerator based on 1.3 GHz superconducting RF cavities was successfully commissioned [1]. During commissioning, beam based model dependent methods were used to correct linear lattice and trajectory. Lattice correction algorithm is based on analysis of beam shape from profile monitors and trajectory responses to dipole correctors. Trajectory responses to field gradient variations in quadrupoles and phase variations in superconducting RF cavities were used to correct bunch offsets in quadrupoles and accelerating cavities relative to their magnetic axes. Details of used methods and experimental results are presented.

  20. Electron trajectory program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Herrmannsfeldt, W.B.

    1979-11-01

    The SLAC Electron Trajectory Program is described and instructions and examples for users are given. The program is specifically written to compute trajectories of charged particles in electrostatic and magnetostatic focusing systems including the effects of space charge and self-magnetic fields. Starting options include Child's Law conditions on cathodes of various shapes. Either rectangular or cylindrically symmetric geometry may be used. Magntic fields may be specified using arbitrary configurations of coils, or the output of a magnet program such as Poisson or by an externally calculated array of the axial fields. The program is available in IBM FORTRAN but can be easily converted for use on other brands of hardware. The program is intended to be used with a plotter whose interface the user must provide.

  1. Knee medial and lateral contact forces in a musculoskeletal model with subject-specific contact point trajectories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeighami, A; Aissaoui, R; Dumas, R

    2018-03-01

    Contact point (CP) trajectory is a crucial parameter in estimating medial/lateral tibio-femoral contact forces from the musculoskeletal (MSK) models. The objective of the present study was to develop a method to incorporate the subject-specific CP trajectories into the MSK model. Ten healthy subjects performed 45 s treadmill gait trials. The subject-specific CP trajectories were constructed on the tibia and femur as a function of extension-flexion using low-dose bi-plane X-ray images during a quasi-static squat. At each extension-flexion position, the tibia and femur CPs were superimposed in the three directions on the medial side, and in the anterior-posterior and proximal-distal directions on the lateral side to form the five kinematic constraints of the knee joint. The Lagrange multipliers associated to these constraints directly yielded the medial/lateral contact forces. The results from the personalized CP trajectory model were compared against the linear CP trajectory and sphere-on-plane CP trajectory models which were adapted from the commonly used MSK models. Changing the CP trajectory had a remarkable impact on the knee kinematics and changed the medial and lateral contact forces by 1.03 BW and 0.65 BW respectively, in certain subjects. The direction and magnitude of the medial/lateral contact force were highly variable among the subjects and the medial-lateral shift of the CPs alone could not determine the increase/decrease pattern of the contact forces. The suggested kinematic constraints are adaptable to the CP trajectories derived from a variety of joint models and those experimentally measured from the 3D imaging techniques. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Estimating Attitude, Trajectory, and Gyro Biases in an Extended Kalman Filter using Earth Magnetic Field Data from the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deutschmann, Julie; Bar-Itzhack, Itzhack

    1997-01-01

    Traditionally satellite attitude and trajectory have been estimated with completely separate systems, using different measurement data. The estimation of both trajectory and attitude for low earth orbit satellites has been successfully demonstrated in ground software using magnetometer and gyroscope data. Since the earth's magnetic field is a function of time and position, and since time is known quite precisely, the differences between the computed and measured magnetic field components, as measured by the magnetometers throughout the entire spacecraft orbit, are a function of both the spacecraft trajectory and attitude errors. Therefore, these errors can be used to estimate both trajectory and attitude. This work further tests the single augmented Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) which simultaneously and autonomously estimates spacecraft trajectory and attitude with data from the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) magnetometer and gyro-measured body rates. In addition, gyro biases are added to the state and the filter's ability to estimate them is presented.

  3. Surface modeling of workpiece and tool trajectory planning for spray painting robot.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yang Tang

    Full Text Available Automated tool trajectory planning for spray-painting robots is still a challenging problem, especially for a large free-form surface. A grid approximation of a free-form surface is adopted in CAD modeling in this paper. A free-form surface model is approximated by a set of flat patches. We describe here an efficient and flexible tool trajectory optimization scheme using T-Bézier curves calculated in a new way from trigonometrical bases. The distance between the spray gun and the free-form surface along the normal vector is varied. Automotive body parts, which are large free-form surfaces, are used to test the scheme. The experimental results show that the trajectory planning algorithm achieves satisfactory performance. This algorithm can also be extended to other applications.

  4. Reconstruction of implanted marker trajectories from cone-beam CT projection images using interdimensional correlation modeling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chung, Hyekyun; Poulsen, Per Rugaard; Keall, Paul J.; Cho, Seungryong; Cho, Byungchul

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: Cone-beam CT (CBCT) is a widely used imaging modality for image-guided radiotherapy. Most vendors provide CBCT systems that are mounted on a linac gantry. Thus, CBCT can be used to estimate the actual 3-dimensional (3D) position of moving respiratory targets in the thoracic/abdominal region using 2D projection images. The authors have developed a method for estimating the 3D trajectory of respiratory-induced target motion from CBCT projection images using interdimensional correlation modeling. Methods: Because the superior–inferior (SI) motion of a target can be easily analyzed on projection images of a gantry-mounted CBCT system, the authors investigated the interdimensional correlation of the SI motion with left–right and anterior–posterior (AP) movements while the gantry is rotating. A simple linear model and a state-augmented model were implemented and applied to the interdimensional correlation analysis, and their performance was compared. The parameters of the interdimensional correlation models were determined by least-square estimation of the 2D error between the actual and estimated projected target position. The method was validated using 160 3D tumor trajectories from 46 thoracic/abdominal cancer patients obtained during CyberKnife treatment. The authors’ simulations assumed two application scenarios: (1) retrospective estimation for the purpose of moving tumor setup used just after volumetric matching with CBCT; and (2) on-the-fly estimation for the purpose of real-time target position estimation during gating or tracking delivery, either for full-rotation volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) in 60 s or a stationary six-field intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) with a beam delivery time of 20 s. Results: For the retrospective CBCT simulations, the mean 3D root-mean-square error (RMSE) for all 4893 trajectory segments was 0.41 mm (simple linear model) and 0.35 mm (state-augmented model). In the on-the-fly simulations, prior

  5. Reconstruction of implanted marker trajectories from cone-beam CT projection images using interdimensional correlation modeling

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chung, Hyekyun [Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, South Korea and Department of Radiation Oncology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul 138-736 (Korea, Republic of); Poulsen, Per Rugaard [Department of Oncology, Aarhus University Hospital, Nørrebrogade 44, 8000 Aarhus C (Denmark); Keall, Paul J. [Radiation Physics Laboratory, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, NSW 2006 (Australia); Cho, Seungryong [Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141 (Korea, Republic of); Cho, Byungchul, E-mail: cho.byungchul@gmail.com, E-mail: bcho@amc.seoul.kr [Department of Radiation Oncology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul 05505 (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-08-15

    Purpose: Cone-beam CT (CBCT) is a widely used imaging modality for image-guided radiotherapy. Most vendors provide CBCT systems that are mounted on a linac gantry. Thus, CBCT can be used to estimate the actual 3-dimensional (3D) position of moving respiratory targets in the thoracic/abdominal region using 2D projection images. The authors have developed a method for estimating the 3D trajectory of respiratory-induced target motion from CBCT projection images using interdimensional correlation modeling. Methods: Because the superior–inferior (SI) motion of a target can be easily analyzed on projection images of a gantry-mounted CBCT system, the authors investigated the interdimensional correlation of the SI motion with left–right and anterior–posterior (AP) movements while the gantry is rotating. A simple linear model and a state-augmented model were implemented and applied to the interdimensional correlation analysis, and their performance was compared. The parameters of the interdimensional correlation models were determined by least-square estimation of the 2D error between the actual and estimated projected target position. The method was validated using 160 3D tumor trajectories from 46 thoracic/abdominal cancer patients obtained during CyberKnife treatment. The authors’ simulations assumed two application scenarios: (1) retrospective estimation for the purpose of moving tumor setup used just after volumetric matching with CBCT; and (2) on-the-fly estimation for the purpose of real-time target position estimation during gating or tracking delivery, either for full-rotation volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) in 60 s or a stationary six-field intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) with a beam delivery time of 20 s. Results: For the retrospective CBCT simulations, the mean 3D root-mean-square error (RMSE) for all 4893 trajectory segments was 0.41 mm (simple linear model) and 0.35 mm (state-augmented model). In the on-the-fly simulations, prior

  6. A Numerical Study of Low-Thrust Limited Power Trajectories between Coplanar Circular Orbits in an Inverse-Square Force Field

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandro da Silva Fernandes

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available A numerical study of optimal low-thrust limited power trajectories for simple transfer (no rendezvous between circular coplanar orbits in an inverse-square force field is performed by two different classes of algorithms in optimization of trajectories. This study is carried out by means of a direct method based on gradient techniques and by an indirect method based on the second variation theory. The direct approach of the trajectory optimization problem combines the main positive characteristics of two well-known direct methods in optimization of trajectories: the steepest-descent (first-order gradient method and a direct second variation (second-order gradient method. On the other hand, the indirect approach of the trajectory optimization problem involves two different algorithms of the well-known neighboring extremals method. Several radius ratios and transfer durations are considered, and the fuel consumption is taken as the performance criterion. For small-amplitude transfers, the results are compared to the ones provided by a linear analytical theory.

  7. TRAJECTORIES AND DISTRIBUTION OF INTERSTELLAR DUST GRAINS IN THE HELIOSPHERE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Slavin, Jonathan D. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, MS 83, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Frisch, Priscilla C. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, 5460 S. Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States); Mueller, Hans-Reinhard [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755 (United States); Heerikhuisen, Jacob; Pogorelov, Nikolai V. [Department of Physics and Center for Space Physics and Aeronomic Research, University of Alabama, Huntsville, AL 35899 (United States); Reach, William T. [Universities Space Research Association, MS 211-3, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States); Zank, Gary [Department of Physics and Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research, University of Alabama, Huntsville, AL 35805 (United States)

    2012-11-20

    The solar wind carves a bubble in the surrounding interstellar medium (ISM) known as the heliosphere. Charged interstellar dust grains (ISDG) encountering the heliosphere may be diverted around the heliopause or penetrate it depending on their charge-to-mass ratio. We present new calculations of trajectories of ISDG in the heliosphere, and the dust density distributions that result. We include up-to-date grain charging calculations using a realistic UV radiation field and full three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic fluid + kinetic models for the heliosphere. Models with two different (constant) polarities for the solar wind magnetic field (SWMF) are used, with the grain trajectory calculations done separately for each polarity. Small grains a {sub gr} {approx}< 0.01 {mu}m are completely excluded from the inner heliosphere. Large grains, a {sub gr} {approx}> 1.0 {mu}m, pass into the inner solar system and are concentrated near the Sun by its gravity. Trajectories of intermediate size grains depend strongly on the SWMF polarity. When the field has magnetic north pointing to ecliptic north, the field de-focuses the grains resulting in low densities in the inner heliosphere, while for the opposite polarity the dust is focused near the Sun. The ISDG density outside the heliosphere inferred from applying the model results to in situ dust measurements is inconsistent with local ISM depletion data for both SWMF polarities but is bracketed by them. This result points to the need to include the time variation in the SWMF polarity during grain propagation. Our results provide valuable insights for interpretation of the in situ dust observations from Ulysses.

  8. A new method to calibrate Lagrangian model with ASAR images for oil slick trajectory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tian, Siyu; Huang, Xiaoxia; Li, Hongga

    2017-03-15

    Since Lagrangian model coefficients vary with different conditions, it is necessary to calibrate the model to obtain optimal coefficient combination for special oil spill accident. This paper focuses on proposing a new method to calibrate Lagrangian model with time series of Envisat ASAR images. Oil slicks extracted from time series images form a detected trajectory of special oil slick. Lagrangian model is calibrated by minimizing the difference between simulated trajectory and detected trajectory. mean center position distance difference (MCPD) and rotation difference (RD) of Oil slicks' or particles' standard deviational ellipses (SDEs) are calculated as two evaluations. The two parameters are taken to evaluate the performance of Lagrangian transport model with different coefficient combinations. This method is applied to Penglai 19-3 oil spill accident. The simulation result with calibrated model agrees well with related satellite observations. It is suggested the new method is effective to calibrate Lagrangian model. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. A mathematical model for describing the retinal nerve fiber bundle trajectories in the human eye: average course, variability, and influence of refraction, optic disc size and optic disc position.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jansonius, Nomdo M; Schiefer, Julia; Nevalainen, Jukka; Paetzold, Jens; Schiefer, Ulrich

    2012-12-01

    Previously we developed a mathematical model for describing the retinal nerve fiber bundle trajectories in the superior-temporal and inferior-temporal regions of the human retina, based on traced trajectories extracted from fundus photographs. Aims of the current study were to (i) validate the existing model, (ii) expand the model to the entire retina and (iii) determine the influence of refraction, optic disc size and optic disc position on the trajectories. A new set of fundus photographs was collected comprising 28 eyes of 28 subjects. From these 28 photographs, 625 trajectories were extracted. Trajectories in the temporal region of the retina were compared to the existing model. In this region, 347 of 399 trajectories (87%) were within the 95% central range of the existing model. The model was extended to the nasal region. With this extension, the model can now be applied to the entire retina that corresponds to the visual field as tested with standard automated perimetry (up to approximately 30° eccentricity). There was an asymmetry between the superior and inferior hemifields and a considerable location-specific inter-subject variability. In the nasal region, we found two "singularities", located roughly at the one and five o'clock positions for the right optic disc. Here, trajectories from relatively widespread areas of the retina converge. Associations between individual deviations from the model and refraction, optic disc size and optic disc position were studied with multiple linear regression. Refraction (P = 0.021) and possibly optic disc inclination (P = 0.09) influenced the trajectories in the superior-temporal region. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Optimizing Cruising Routes for Taxi Drivers Using a Spatio-Temporal Trajectory Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liang Wu

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Much of the taxi route-planning literature has focused on driver strategies for finding passengers and determining the hot spot pick-up locations using historical global positioning system (GPS trajectories of taxis based on driver experience, distance from the passenger drop-off location to the next passenger pick-up location and the waiting times at recommended locations for the next passenger. The present work, however, considers the average taxi travel speed mined from historical taxi GPS trajectory data and the allocation of cruising routes to more than one taxi driver in a small-scale region to neighboring pick-up locations. A spatio-temporal trajectory model with load balancing allocations is presented to not only explore pick-up/drop-off information but also provide taxi drivers with cruising routes to the recommended pick-up locations. In simulation experiments, our study shows that taxi drivers using cruising routes recommended by our spatio-temporal trajectory model can significantly reduce the average waiting time and travel less distance to quickly find their next passengers, and the load balancing strategy significantly alleviates road loads. These objective measures can help us better understand spatio-temporal traffic patterns and guide taxi navigation.

  11. The impact of covariance misspecification in group-based trajectory models for longitudinal data with non-stationary covariance structure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davies, Christopher E; Glonek, Gary Fv; Giles, Lynne C

    2017-08-01

    One purpose of a longitudinal study is to gain a better understanding of how an outcome of interest changes among a given population over time. In what follows, a trajectory will be taken to mean the series of measurements of the outcome variable for an individual. Group-based trajectory modelling methods seek to identify subgroups of trajectories within a population, such that trajectories that are grouped together are more similar to each other than to trajectories in distinct groups. Group-based trajectory models generally assume a certain structure in the covariances between measurements, for example conditional independence, homogeneous variance between groups or stationary variance over time. Violations of these assumptions could be expected to result in poor model performance. We used simulation to investigate the effect of covariance misspecification on misclassification of trajectories in commonly used models under a range of scenarios. To do this we defined a measure of performance relative to the ideal Bayesian correct classification rate. We found that the more complex models generally performed better over a range of scenarios. In particular, incorrectly specified covariance matrices could significantly bias the results but using models with a correct but more complicated than necessary covariance matrix incurred little cost.

  12. An artificial neural network model for periodic trajectory generation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shankar, S.; Gander, R. E.; Wood, H. C.

    A neural network model based on biological systems was developed for potential robotic application. The model consists of three interconnected layers of artificial neurons or units: an input layer subdivided into state and plan units, an output layer, and a hidden layer between the two outer layers which serves to implement nonlinear mappings between the input and output activation vectors. Weighted connections are created between the three layers, and learning is effected by modifying these weights. Feedback connections between the output and the input state serve to make the network operate as a finite state machine. The activation vector of the plan units of the input layer emulates the supraspinal commands in biological central pattern generators in that different plan activation vectors correspond to different sequences or trajectories being recalled, even with different frequencies. Three trajectories were chosen for implementation, and learning was accomplished in 10,000 trials. The fault tolerant behavior, adaptiveness, and phase maintenance of the implemented network are discussed.

  13. Comparison Between the Trajectories of Electric Field Resonances and those of Rational Surfaces in TJ-II

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guasp, J.; Liniers, M.

    2000-01-01

    Both the radial electric field resonance case and the corresponding to rational magnetic surfaces, show a number of similar behaviours: a) Strong sensitivity of the passing particle loss fraction, and mainly of their los times, to lower order rational values of the ratio between the poloidal and toroidal rotation angular velocities. b) In both cases there exist similar simple analytical models that allow qualitative predictions for the phase space regions where resonant effects can be expected. c) Strong similitude of trajectories, as well in the Poincare diagrams as in the angular maps. Near the resonant regions a extreme minimization of the radial excursion appears, and both diagrams present a minimum filling. At both sides of these regions there are wide excursions, directed alternatively towards the inner and the outer parts of the plasma. Far from these resonant zones the diagrams filling comes back to be continuous. d) All these behaviours are more marked, and the topology change more sudden, the lower is the periodicity order of the resonance, and are extremely clear for the 1/3 and 1/2 cases. This wealth of similar behaviour suggests a single origin for all these phenomena, linked with the trajectory topology, that will be the subject of a specific study. (Author) 13 refs

  14. A Time-Regularized, Multiple Gravity-Assist Low-Thrust, Bounded-Impulse Model for Trajectory Optimization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellison, Donald H.; Englander, Jacob A.; Conway, Bruce A.

    2017-01-01

    The multiple gravity assist low-thrust (MGALT) trajectory model combines the medium-fidelity Sims-Flanagan bounded-impulse transcription with a patched-conics flyby model and is an important tool for preliminary trajectory design. While this model features fast state propagation via Keplers equation and provides a pleasingly accurate estimation of the total mass budget for the eventual flight suitable integrated trajectory it does suffer from one major drawback, namely its temporal spacing of the control nodes. We introduce a variant of the MGALT transcription that utilizes the generalized anomaly from the universal formulation of Keplers equation as a decision variable in addition to the trajectory phase propagation time. This results in two improvements over the traditional model. The first is that the maneuver locations are equally spaced in generalized anomaly about the orbit rather than time. The second is that the Kepler propagator now has the generalized anomaly as its independent variable instead of time and thus becomes an iteration-free propagation method. The new algorithm is outlined, including the impact that this has on the computation of Jacobian entries for numerical optimization, and a motivating application problem is presented that illustrates the improvements that this model has over the traditional MGALT transcription.

  15. Quadrotor Trajectory Tracking Based on Quasi-LPV System and Internal Model Control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ZeFang He

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Internal model control (IMC design method based on quasi-LPV (Linear Parameter Varying system is proposed. In this method, the nonlinear model is firstly transformed to the linear model based on quasi-LPV method; then, the quadrotor nonlinear motion function is transformed to transfer function matrix based on the transformation model from the state space to the transfer function; further, IMC is designed to control the controlled object represented by transfer function matrix and realize quadrotor trajectory tracking. The performance of the controller proposed in this paper is tested by tracking for three reference trajectories with drastic changes. The simulation results indicate that the control method proposed in this paper has stronger robustness to parameters uncertainty and disturbance rejection performance.

  16. The trajectory prediction of spacecraft by grey method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Qiyue; Wang, Zhongyu; Zhang, Zili; Wang, Yanqing; Zhou, Weihu

    2016-01-01

    The real-time and high-precision trajectory prediction of a moving object is a core technology in the field of aerospace engineering. The real-time monitoring and tracking technology are also significant guarantees of aerospace equipment. A dynamic trajectory prediction method called grey dynamic filter (GDF) which combines the dynamic measurement theory and grey system theory is proposed. GDF can use coordinates of the current period to extrapolate coordinates of the following period. At meantime, GDF can also keep the instantaneity of measured coordinates by the metabolism model. In this paper the optimal model length of GDF is firstly selected to improve the prediction accuracy. Then the simulation for uniformly accelerated motion and variably accelerated motion is conducted. The simulation results indicate that the mean composite position error of GDF prediction is one-fifth to that of Kalman filter (KF). By using a spacecraft landing experiment, the prediction accuracy of GDF is compared with the KF method and the primitive grey method (GM). The results show that the motion trajectory of spacecraft predicted by GDF is much closer to actual trajectory than the other two methods. The mean composite position error calculated by GDF is one-eighth to KF and one-fifth to GM respectively. (paper)

  17. An Energy-Aware Trajectory Optimization Layer for sUAS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva, William A.

    The focus of this work is the implementation of an energy-aware trajectory optimization algorithm that enables small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) to operate in unknown, dynamic severe weather environments. The software is designed as a component of an Energy-Aware Dynamic Data Driven Application System (EA-DDDAS) for sUAS. This work addresses the challenges of integrating and executing an online trajectory optimization algorithm during mission operations in the field. Using simplified aircraft kinematics, the energy-aware algorithm enables extraction of kinetic energy from measured winds to optimize thrust use and endurance during flight. The optimization layer, based upon a nonlinear program formulation, extracts energy by exploiting strong wind velocity gradients in the wind field, a process known as dynamic soaring. The trajectory optimization layer extends the energy-aware path planner developed by Wenceslao Shaw-Cortez te{Shaw-cortez2013} to include additional mission configurations, simulations with a 6-DOF model, and validation of the system with flight testing in June 2015 in Lubbock, Texas. The trajectory optimization layer interfaces with several components within the EA-DDDAS to provide an sUAS with optimal flight trajectories in real-time during severe weather. As a result, execution timing, data transfer, and scalability are considered in the design of the software. Severe weather also poses a measure of unpredictability to the system with respect to communication between systems and available data resources during mission operations. A heuristic mission tree with different cost functions and constraints is implemented to provide a level of adaptability to the optimization layer. Simulations and flight experiments are performed to assess the efficacy of the trajectory optimization layer. The results are used to assess the feasibility of flying dynamic soaring trajectories with existing controllers as well as to verify the interconnections between

  18. Enabling Parametric Optimal Ascent Trajectory Modeling During Early Phases of Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holt, James B.; Dees, Patrick D.; Diaz, Manuel J.

    2015-01-01

    -modal due to the interaction of various constraints. Additionally, when these obstacles are coupled with The Program to Optimize Simulated Trajectories [1] (POST), an industry standard program to optimize ascent trajectories that is difficult to use, it requires expert trajectory analysts to effectively optimize a vehicle's ascent trajectory. As it has been pointed out, the paradigm of trajectory optimization is still a very manual one because using modern computational resources on POST is still a challenging problem. The nuances and difficulties involved in correctly utilizing, and therefore automating, the program presents a large problem. In order to address these issues, the authors will discuss a methodology that has been developed. The methodology is two-fold: first, a set of heuristics will be introduced and discussed that were captured while working with expert analysts to replicate the current state-of-the-art; secondly, leveraging the power of modern computing to evaluate multiple trajectories simultaneously, and therefore, enable the exploration of the trajectory's design space early during the pre-conceptual and conceptual phases of design. When this methodology is coupled with design of experiments in order to train surrogate models, the authors were able to visualize the trajectory design space, enabling parametric optimal ascent trajectory information to be introduced with other pre-conceptual and conceptual design tools. The potential impact of this methodology's success would be a fully automated POST evaluation suite for the purpose of conceptual and preliminary design trade studies. This will enable engineers to characterize the ascent trajectory's sensitivity to design changes in an arbitrary number of dimensions and for finding settings for trajectory specific variables, which result in optimal performance for a "dialed-in" launch vehicle design. The effort described in this paper was developed for the Advanced Concepts Office [2] at NASA Marshall

  19. Understanding Random Effects in Group-Based Trajectory Modeling: An Application of Moffitt’s Developmental Taxonomy

    OpenAIRE

    Saunders, Jessica M.

    2010-01-01

    The group-based trajectory modeling approach is a systematic way of categorizing subjects into different groups based on their developmental trajectories using formal and objective statistical criteria. With the recent advancement in methods and statistical software, modeling possibilities are almost limitless; however, parallel advances in theory development have not kept pace. This paper examines some of the modeling options that are becoming more widespread and how they impact both empiric...

  20. Model-Free Trajectory Optimisation for Unmanned Aircraft Serving as Data Ferries for Widespread Sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ben Pearre

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Given multiple widespread stationary data sources such as ground-based sensors, an unmanned aircraft can fly over the sensors and gather the data via a wireless link. Performance criteria for such a network may incorporate costs such as trajectory length for the aircraft or the energy required by the sensors for radio transmission. Planning is hampered by the complex vehicle and communication dynamics and by uncertainty in the locations of sensors, so we develop a technique based on model-free learning. We present a stochastic optimisation method that allows the data-ferrying aircraft to optimise data collection trajectories through an unknown environment in situ, obviating the need for system identification. We compare two trajectory representations, one that learns near-optimal trajectories at low data requirements but that fails at high requirements, and one that gives up some performance in exchange for a data collection guarantee. With either encoding the ferry is able to learn significantly improved trajectories compared with alternative heuristics. To demonstrate the versatility of the model-free learning approach, we also learn a policy to minimise the radio transmission energy required by the sensor nodes, allowing prolonged network lifetime.

  1. Wilson loop, Regge trajectory and hadron masses in a Yang-Mills theory from semiclassical strings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bigazzi, F.; Cotrone, A.L.; Martucci, L.; Pando Zayas, L.A.

    2004-07-01

    We compute the one-loop string corrections to the Wilson loop, glueball Regge trajectory and stringy hadron masses in the Witten model of non supersymmetric, large-N Yang-Mills theory. The classical string configurations corresponding to the above field theory objects are respectively: open straight strings, folded closed spinning strings, and strings orbiting in the internal part of the supergravity background. For the rectangular Wilson loop we show that besides the standard Luscher term, string corrections provide a rescaling of the field theory string tension. The one-loop corrections to the linear glueball Regge trajectories render them nonlinear with a positive intercept, as in the experimental soft Pomeron trajectory. Strings orbiting in the internal space predict a spectrum of hadronic-like states charged under global flavor symmetries which falls in the same universality class of other confining models. (author)

  2. A model of curved saccade trajectories: spike rate adaptation in the brainstem as the cause of deviation away.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kruijne, Wouter; Van der Stigchel, Stefan; Meeter, Martijn

    2014-03-01

    The trajectory of saccades to a target is often affected whenever there is a distractor in the visual field. Distractors can cause a saccade to deviate towards their location or away from it. The oculomotor mechanisms that produce deviation towards distractors have been thoroughly explored in behavioral, neurophysiological and computational studies. The mechanisms underlying deviation away, on the other hand, remain unclear. Behavioral findings suggest a mechanism of spatially focused, top-down inhibition in a saccade map, and deviation away has become a tool to investigate such inhibition. However, this inhibition hypothesis has little neuroanatomical or neurophysiological support, and recent findings go against it. Here, we propose that deviation away results from an unbalanced saccade drive from the brainstem, caused by spike rate adaptation in brainstem long-lead burst neurons. Adaptation to stimulation in the direction of the distractor results in an unbalanced drive away from it. An existing model of the saccade system was extended with this theory. The resulting model simulates a wide range of findings on saccade trajectories, including findings that have classically been interpreted to support inhibition views. Furthermore, the model replicated the effect of saccade latency on deviation away, but predicted this effect would be absent with large (400 ms) distractor-target onset asynchrony. This prediction was confirmed in an experiment, which demonstrates that the theory both explains classical findings on saccade trajectories and predicts new findings. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Detection of Diffusion Heterogeneity in Single Particle Tracking Trajectories Using a Hidden Markov Model with Measurement Noise Propagation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slator, Paddy J.; Cairo, Christopher W.; Burroughs, Nigel J.

    2015-01-01

    We develop a Bayesian analysis framework to detect heterogeneity in the diffusive behaviour of single particle trajectories on cells, implementing model selection to classify trajectories as either consistent with Brownian motion or with a two-state (diffusion coefficient) switching model. The incorporation of localisation accuracy is essential, as otherwise false detection of switching within a trajectory was observed and diffusion coefficient estimates were inflated. Since our analysis is on a single trajectory basis, we are able to examine heterogeneity between trajectories in a quantitative manner. Applying our method to the lymphocyte function-associated antigen 1 (LFA-1) receptor tagged with latex beads (4 s trajectories at 1000 frames s−1), both intra- and inter-trajectory heterogeneity were detected; 12–26% of trajectories display clear switching between diffusive states dependent on condition, whilst the inter-trajectory variability is highly structured with the diffusion coefficients being related by D 1 = 0.68D 0 − 1.5 × 104 nm2 s−1, suggestive that on these time scales we are detecting switching due to a single process. Further, the inter-trajectory variability of the diffusion coefficient estimates (1.6 × 102 − 2.6 × 105 nm2 s−1) is very much larger than the measurement uncertainty within trajectories, suggesting that LFA-1 aggregation and cytoskeletal interactions are significantly affecting mobility, whilst the timescales of these processes are distinctly different giving rise to inter- and intra-trajectory variability. There is also an ‘immobile’ state (defined as D models within membranes incorporating aggregation, binding to the cytoskeleton, or traversing membrane microdomains. PMID:26473352

  4. Differences in context and feedback result in different trajectories and adaptation strategies in reaching.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fritzie Arce

    Full Text Available Computational models of motor control have often explained the straightness of horizontal planar reaching movements as a consequence of optimal control. Departure from rectilinearity is thus regarded as sub-optimal. Here we examine if subjects may instead select to make curved trajectories following adaptation to force fields and visuomotor rotations. Separate subjects adapted to force fields with or without visual feedback of their hand trajectory and were retested after 24 hours. Following adaptation, comparable accuracies were achieved in two ways: with visual feedback, adapted trajectories in force fields were straight whereas without it, they remained curved. The results suggest that trajectory shape is not always straight, but is also influenced by the calibration of available feedback signals for the state estimation required by the task. In a follow-up experiment, where additional subjects learned a visuomotor rotation immediately after force field, the trajectories learned in force fields (straight or curved were transferred when directions of the perturbations were similar but not when directions were opposing. This demonstrates a strong bias by prior experience to keep using a recently acquired control policy that continues to produce successful performance inspite of differences in tasks and feedback conditions. On relearning of force fields on the second day, facilitation by intervening visuomotor rotations occurred only when required motor adjustments and calibration of feedback signals were similar in both tasks. These results suggest that both the available feedback signals and prior history of learning influence the choice and maintenance of control policy during adaptations.

  5. Trajectory-based morphological operators: a model for efficient image processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jimeno-Morenilla, Antonio; Pujol, Francisco A; Molina-Carmona, Rafael; Sánchez-Romero, José L; Pujol, Mar

    2014-01-01

    Mathematical morphology has been an area of intensive research over the last few years. Although many remarkable advances have been achieved throughout these years, there is still a great interest in accelerating morphological operations in order for them to be implemented in real-time systems. In this work, we present a new model for computing mathematical morphology operations, the so-called morphological trajectory model (MTM), in which a morphological filter will be divided into a sequence of basic operations. Then, a trajectory-based morphological operation (such as dilation, and erosion) is defined as the set of points resulting from the ordered application of the instant basic operations. The MTM approach allows working with different structuring elements, such as disks, and from the experiments, it can be extracted that our method is independent of the structuring element size and can be easily applied to industrial systems and high-resolution images.

  6. Trajectory structures and transport

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vlad, Madalina; Spineanu, Florin

    2004-01-01

    The special problem of transport in two-dimensional divergence-free stochastic velocity fields is studied by developing a statistical approach, the nested subensemble method. The nonlinear process of trapping determined by such fields generates trajectory structures whose statistical characteristics are determined. These structures strongly influence the transport

  7. Evaluation and Quantification of Randomness in Free-Fall Trajectory of Instrumented Cylinders

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Abelev, A. V; Valent, P. J; Plant, N. G; Holland, K. T

    2003-01-01

    As a part of a field experiment designed to contribute to the Navy's effort to improve its capability to model and predict depth of burial of antiship mines in mud seafloors, the trajectory, velocity...

  8. Upscaling of dilution and mixing using a trajectory based Spatial Markov random walk model in a periodic flow domain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sund, Nicole L.; Porta, Giovanni M.; Bolster, Diogo

    2017-05-01

    The Spatial Markov Model (SMM) is an upscaled model that has been used successfully to predict effective mean transport across a broad range of hydrologic settings. Here we propose a novel variant of the SMM, applicable to spatially periodic systems. This SMM is built using particle trajectories, rather than travel times. By applying the proposed SMM to a simple benchmark problem we demonstrate that it can predict mean effective transport, when compared to data from fully resolved direct numerical simulations. Next we propose a methodology for using this SMM framework to predict measures of mixing and dilution, that do not just depend on mean concentrations, but are strongly impacted by pore-scale concentration fluctuations. We use information from trajectories of particles to downscale and reconstruct pore-scale approximate concentration fields from which mixing and dilution measures are then calculated. The comparison between measurements from fully resolved simulations and predictions with the SMM agree very favorably.

  9. The influence of work-family conflict trajectories on self-rated health trajectories in Switzerland: a life course approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cullati, Stéphane

    2014-07-01

    Self-rated health (SRH) trajectories tend to decline over a lifetime. Moreover, the Cumulative Advantage and Disadvantage (CAD) model indicates that SRH trajectories are known to consistently diverge along socioeconomic positions (SEP) over the life course. However, studies of working adults to consider the influence of work and family conflict (WFC) on SRH trajectories are scarce. We test the CAD model and hypothesise that SRH trajectories diverge over time according to socioeconomic positions and WFC trajectories accentuate this divergence. Using longitudinal data from the Swiss Household Panel (N = 2327 working respondents surveyed from 2004 to 2010), we first examine trajectories of SRH and potential divergence over time across age, gender, SEP and family status using latent growth curve analysis. Second, we assess changes in SRH trajectories in relation to changes in WFC trajectories and divergence in SRH trajectories according to gender, SEP and family status using parallel latent growth curve analysis. Three measures of WFC are used: exhaustion after work, difficulty disconnecting from work, and work interference in private family obligations. The results show that SRH trajectories slowly decline over time and that the rate of change is not influenced by age, gender or SEP, a result which does not support the CAD model. SRH trajectories are significantly correlated with exhaustion after work trajectories but not the other two WFC measures. When exhaustion after work trajectories are taken into account, SRH trajectories of higher educated people decline slower compared to less educated people, supporting the CAD hypothesis. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Introducing the fit-criteria assessment plot - A visualisation tool to assist class enumeration in group-based trajectory modelling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klijn, Sven L; Weijenberg, Matty P; Lemmens, Paul; van den Brandt, Piet A; Lima Passos, Valéria

    2017-10-01

    Background and objective Group-based trajectory modelling is a model-based clustering technique applied for the identification of latent patterns of temporal changes. Despite its manifold applications in clinical and health sciences, potential problems of the model selection procedure are often overlooked. The choice of the number of latent trajectories (class-enumeration), for instance, is to a large degree based on statistical criteria that are not fail-safe. Moreover, the process as a whole is not transparent. To facilitate class enumeration, we introduce a graphical summary display of several fit and model adequacy criteria, the fit-criteria assessment plot. Methods An R-code that accepts universal data input is presented. The programme condenses relevant group-based trajectory modelling output information of model fit indices in automated graphical displays. Examples based on real and simulated data are provided to illustrate, assess and validate fit-criteria assessment plot's utility. Results Fit-criteria assessment plot provides an overview of fit criteria on a single page, placing users in an informed position to make a decision. Fit-criteria assessment plot does not automatically select the most appropriate model but eases the model assessment procedure. Conclusions Fit-criteria assessment plot is an exploratory, visualisation tool that can be employed to assist decisions in the initial and decisive phase of group-based trajectory modelling analysis. Considering group-based trajectory modelling's widespread resonance in medical and epidemiological sciences, a more comprehensive, easily interpretable and transparent display of the iterative process of class enumeration may foster group-based trajectory modelling's adequate use.

  11. Application of Back Trajectory Model to Predict Long Range Transport of Pollutant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shamsiah Abdul Rahman; Mohd Suhaimi Hamzah; Mohd Suhaimi Elias

    2011-01-01

    Trans-boundary haze pollution in Malaysia has become an issue that created a public attention over the past several years. The presence of haze not only caused by internal and external sources but it sometime coincided with the El Nino phenomenon which prolonged the dry season during the southwest monsoon in May to September. In this study fine particulate data (PM 2.5) of Klang Valley region covering the period from 1997 to 2008 were used to investigate the source location that responsible for the long range transport of pollutant. Back trajectory model the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) was used to calculate the air mass backward trajectories up to 120 hours (5 days) for the days when fine particle were sampled. (author)

  12. On convergence of trajectory attractors of the 3D Navier-Stokes-α model as α approaches 0

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vishik, M I; Chepyzhov, V V; Titi, E S

    2007-01-01

    We study the relations between the long-time dynamics of the Navier-Stokes-α model and the exact 3D Navier-Stokes system. We prove that bounded sets of solutions of the Navier-Stokes-α model converge to the trajectory attractor A 0 of the 3D Navier-Stokes system as the time approaches infinity and α approaches zero. In particular, we show that the trajectory attractor A α of the Navier-Stokes-α model converges to the trajectory attractor A 0 of the 3D Navier-Stokes system as α→0+. We also construct the minimal limit A min (subset or equal A 0 ) of the trajectory attractor A α as α→0+ and prove that the set A min is connected and strictly invariant. Bibliography: 35 titles.

  13. Rock shape, restitution coefficients and rockfall trajectory modelling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glover, James; Christen, Marc; Bühler, Yves; Bartelt, Perry

    2014-05-01

    Restitution coefficients are used in rockfall trajectory modelling to describe the ratio between incident and rebound velocities during ground impact. They are central to the problem of rockfall hazard analysis as they link rock mass characteristics to terrain properties. Using laboratory experiments as a guide, we first show that restitution coefficients exhibit a wide range of scatter, although the material properties of the rock and ground are constant. This leads us to the conclusion that restitution coefficients are poor descriptors of rock-ground interaction. The primary problem is that "apparent" restitution coefficients are applied at the rock's centre-of-mass and do not account for rock shape. An accurate description of the rock-ground interaction requires the contact forces to be applied at the rock surface with consideration of the momentary rock position and spin. This leads to a variety of rock motions including bouncing, sliding, skipping and rolling. Depending on the impact configuration a wide range of motions is possible. This explains the large scatter of apparent restitution coefficients. We present a rockfall model based on newly developed hard-contact algorithms which includes the effects of rock shape and therefore is able to reproduce the results of different impact configurations. We simulate the laboratory experiments to show that it is possible to reproduce run-out and dispersion of different rock shapes using parameters obtained from independent tests. Although this is a step forward in rockfall trajectory modelling, the problem of parametersing real terrain remains.

  14. Learning and Inferring "Dark Matter" and Predicting Human Intents and Trajectories in Videos.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Dan; Shu, Tianmin; Todorovic, Sinisa; Zhu, Song-Chun

    2018-07-01

    This paper presents a method for localizing functional objects and predicting human intents and trajectories in surveillance videos of public spaces, under no supervision in training. People in public spaces are expected to intentionally take shortest paths (subject to obstacles) toward certain objects (e.g., vending machine, picnic table, dumpster etc.) where they can satisfy certain needs (e.g., quench thirst). Since these objects are typically very small or heavily occluded, they cannot be inferred by their visual appearance but indirectly by their influence on people's trajectories. Therefore, we call them "dark matter", by analogy to cosmology, since their presence can only be observed as attractive or repulsive "fields" in the public space. A person in the scene is modeled as an intelligent agent engaged in one of the "fields" selected depending his/her intent. An agent's trajectory is derived from an Agent-based Lagrangian Mechanics. The agents can change their intents in the middle of motion and thus alter the trajectory. For evaluation, we compiled and annotated a new dataset. The results demonstrate our effectiveness in predicting human intent behaviors and trajectories, and localizing and discovering distinct types of "dark matter" in wide public spaces.

  15. Analysis of the trajectory of Drosophila melanogaster in a circular open field arena.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valente, Dan; Golani, Ilan; Mitra, Partha P

    2007-10-24

    Obtaining a complete phenotypic characterization of a freely moving organism is a difficult task, yet such a description is desired in many neuroethological studies. Many metrics currently used in the literature to describe locomotor and exploratory behavior are typically based on average quantities or subjectively chosen spatial and temporal thresholds. All of these measures are relatively coarse-grained in the time domain. It is advantageous, however, to employ metrics based on the entire trajectory that an organism takes while exploring its environment. To characterize the locomotor behavior of Drosophila melanogaster, we used a video tracking system to record the trajectory of a single fly walking in a circular open field arena. The fly was tracked for two hours. Here, we present techniques with which to analyze the motion of the fly in this paradigm, and we discuss the methods of calculation. The measures we introduce are based on spatial and temporal probability distributions and utilize the entire time-series trajectory of the fly, thus emphasizing the dynamic nature of locomotor behavior. Marginal and joint probability distributions of speed, position, segment duration, path curvature, and reorientation angle are examined and related to the observed behavior. The measures discussed in this paper provide a detailed profile of the behavior of a single fly and highlight the interaction of the fly with the environment. Such measures may serve as useful tools in any behavioral study in which the movement of a fly is an important variable and can be incorporated easily into many setups, facilitating high-throughput phenotypic characterization.

  16. Methods for control over learning individual trajectory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitsel, A. A.; Cherniaeva, N. V.

    2015-09-01

    The article discusses models, methods and algorithms of determining student's optimal individual educational trajectory. A new method of controlling the learning trajectory has been developed as a dynamic model of learning trajectory control, which uses score assessment to construct a sequence of studied subjects.

  17. Flight test trajectory control analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, R.; Gupta, N.

    1983-01-01

    Recent extensions to optimal control theory applied to meaningful linear models with sufficiently flexible software tools provide powerful techniques for designing flight test trajectory controllers (FTTCs). This report describes the principal steps for systematic development of flight trajectory controllers, which can be summarized as planning, modeling, designing, and validating a trajectory controller. The techniques have been kept as general as possible and should apply to a wide range of problems where quantities must be computed and displayed to a pilot to improve pilot effectiveness and to reduce workload and fatigue. To illustrate the approach, a detailed trajectory guidance law is developed and demonstrated for the F-15 aircraft flying the zoom-and-pushover maneuver.

  18. Comparison of Echo 7 field line length measurements to magnetospheric model predictions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nemzek, R.J.; Winckler, J.R.; Malcolm, P.R.

    1992-01-01

    The Echo 7 sounding rocket experiment injected electron beams on central tail field lines near L = 6.5. Numerous injections returned to the payload as conjugate echoes after mirroring in the southern hemisphere. The authors compare field line lengths calculated from measured conjugate echo bounce times and energies to predictions made by integrating electron trajectories through various magnetospheric models: the Olson-Pfitzer Quiet and Dynamic models and the Tsyganenko-Usmanov model. Although Kp at launch was 3-, quiet time magnetic models est fit the echo measurements. Geosynchronous satellite magnetometer measurements near the Echo 7 field lies during the flight were best modeled by the Olson-Pfitzer Dynamic Model and the Tsyganenko-Usmanov model for Kp = 3. The discrepancy between the models that best fit the Echo 7 data and those that fit the satellite data was most likely due to uncertainties in the small-scale configuration of the magnetospheric models. The field line length measured by the conjugate echoes showed some temporal variation in the magnetic field, also indicated by the satellite magnetometers. This demonstrates the utility an Echo-style experiment could have in substorm studies

  19. Lefschetz thimbles in fermionic effective models with repulsive vector-field

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mori, Yuto; Kashiwa, Kouji; Ohnishi, Akira

    2018-06-01

    We discuss two problems in complexified auxiliary fields in fermionic effective models, the auxiliary sign problem associated with the repulsive vector-field and the choice of the cut for the scalar field appearing from the logarithmic function. In the fermionic effective models with attractive scalar and repulsive vector-type interaction, the auxiliary scalar and vector fields appear in the path integral after the bosonization of fermion bilinears. When we make the path integral well-defined by the Wick rotation of the vector field, the oscillating Boltzmann weight appears in the partition function. This "auxiliary" sign problem can be solved by using the Lefschetz-thimble path-integral method, where the integration path is constructed in the complex plane. Another serious obstacle in the numerical construction of Lefschetz thimbles is caused by singular points and cuts induced by multivalued functions of the complexified scalar field in the momentum integration. We propose a new prescription which fixes gradient flow trajectories on the same Riemann sheet in the flow evolution by performing the momentum integration in the complex domain.

  20. A Comprehensive Model of Electric-Field-Enhanced Jumping-Droplet Condensation on Superhydrophobic Surfaces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Birbarah, Patrick; Li, Zhaoer; Pauls, Alexander; Miljkovic, Nenad

    2015-07-21

    Superhydrophobic micro/nanostructured surfaces for dropwise condensation have recently received significant attention due to their potential to enhance heat transfer performance by shedding positively charged water droplets via coalescence-induced droplet jumping at length scales below the capillary length and allowing the use of external electric fields to enhance droplet removal and heat transfer, in what has been termed electric-field-enhanced (EFE) jumping-droplet condensation. However, achieving optimal EFE conditions for enhanced heat transfer requires capturing the details of transport processes that is currently lacking. While a comprehensive model has been developed for condensation on micro/nanostructured surfaces, it cannot be applied for EFE condensation due to the dynamic droplet-vapor-electric field interactions. In this work, we developed a comprehensive physical model for EFE condensation on superhydrophobic surfaces by incorporating individual droplet motion, electrode geometry, jumping frequency, field strength, and condensate vapor-flow dynamics. As a first step toward our model, we simulated jumping droplet motion with no external electric field and validated our theoretical droplet trajectories to experimentally obtained trajectories, showing excellent temporal and spatial agreement. We then incorporated the external electric field into our model and considered the effects of jumping droplet size, electrode size and geometry, condensation heat flux, and droplet jumping direction. Our model suggests that smaller jumping droplet sizes and condensation heat fluxes require less work input to be removed by the external fields. Furthermore, the results suggest that EFE electrodes can be optimized such that the work input is minimized depending on the condensation heat flux. To analyze overall efficiency, we defined an incremental coefficient of performance and showed that it is very high (∼10(6)) for EFE condensation. We finally proposed mechanisms

  1. Trajectories of Intimate Partner Violence Victimization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kevin M. Swartout

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: The purposes of this study were to assess the extent to which latent trajectories of female intimate partner violence (IPV victimization exist; and, if so, use negative childhood experiences to predict trajectory membership.Methods: We collected data from 1,575 women at 5 time-points regarding experiences during adolescence and their 4 years of college. We used latent class growth analysis to fit a series of personcentered, longitudinal models ranging from 1 to 5 trajectories. Once the best-fitting model was selected, we used negative childhood experience variables—sexual abuse, physical abuse, and witnessing domestic violence—to predict most-likely trajectory membership via multinomial logistic regression.Results: A 5-trajectory model best fit the data both statistically and in terms of interpretability. The trajectories across time were interpreted as low or no IPV, low to moderate IPV, moderate to low IPV, high to moderate IPV, and high and increasing IPV, respectively. Negative childhood experiences differentiated trajectory membership, somewhat, with childhood sexual abuse as a consistent predictor of membership in elevated IPV trajectories.Conclusion: Our analyses show how IPV risk changes over time and in different ways. These differential patterns of IPV suggest the need for prevention strategies tailored for women that consider victimization experiences in childhood and early adulthood. [West J Emerg Med. 2012;13(3:272–277.

  2. The control of electron quantum trajectories on the high-order harmonic generation of CO and N2 molecules in the presence of a low frequency field.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koushki, A M; Sadighi-Bonabi, R; Mohsen-Nia, M; Irani, E

    2018-04-14

    In the present work, an efficient method is theoretically investigated for extending high-order harmonics and ultrashort attosecond pulse generation in N 2 and CO molecules by using the time-dependent density functional theory approach. Our results show that by utilizing chirped laser field in the presence of a low frequency field, not only is the harmonic cutoff extended remarkably but also the single short quantum trajectory is selected to contribute to the harmonic spectra. When a low frequency field is added to the two-color chirped laser field, the long quantum trajectories are suppressed and only the short quantum trajectories contribute to the higher harmonic emission mechanism. As a result, the spectral modulation is significantly decreased and an intense ultrashort pulse can be generated from the supercontinuum region of high harmonics. With such a scheme, the isolated ultrashort attosecond pulses can be generated in length, velocity, and acceleration gauges. Furthermore, these results are explained by using the classical and quantum time-frequency analyses.

  3. Modeling Math Growth Trajectory--An Application of Conventional Growth Curve Model and Growth Mixture Model to ECLS K-5 Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Yi

    2016-01-01

    To model students' math growth trajectory, three conventional growth curve models and three growth mixture models are applied to the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten-Fifth grade (ECLS K-5) dataset in this study. The results of conventional growth curve model show gender differences on math IRT scores. When holding socio-economic…

  4. Analysis of the trajectory of Drosophila melanogaster in a circular open field arena.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dan Valente

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Obtaining a complete phenotypic characterization of a freely moving organism is a difficult task, yet such a description is desired in many neuroethological studies. Many metrics currently used in the literature to describe locomotor and exploratory behavior are typically based on average quantities or subjectively chosen spatial and temporal thresholds. All of these measures are relatively coarse-grained in the time domain. It is advantageous, however, to employ metrics based on the entire trajectory that an organism takes while exploring its environment. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To characterize the locomotor behavior of Drosophila melanogaster, we used a video tracking system to record the trajectory of a single fly walking in a circular open field arena. The fly was tracked for two hours. Here, we present techniques with which to analyze the motion of the fly in this paradigm, and we discuss the methods of calculation. The measures we introduce are based on spatial and temporal probability distributions and utilize the entire time-series trajectory of the fly, thus emphasizing the dynamic nature of locomotor behavior. Marginal and joint probability distributions of speed, position, segment duration, path curvature, and reorientation angle are examined and related to the observed behavior. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The measures discussed in this paper provide a detailed profile of the behavior of a single fly and highlight the interaction of the fly with the environment. Such measures may serve as useful tools in any behavioral study in which the movement of a fly is an important variable and can be incorporated easily into many setups, facilitating high-throughput phenotypic characterization.

  5. Trajectory phase transitions and dynamical Lee-Yang zeros of the Glauber-Ising chain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hickey, James M; Flindt, Christian; Garrahan, Juan P

    2013-07-01

    We examine the generating function of the time-integrated energy for the one-dimensional Glauber-Ising model. At long times, the generating function takes on a large-deviation form and the associated cumulant generating function has singularities corresponding to continuous trajectory (or "space-time") phase transitions between paramagnetic trajectories and ferromagnetically or antiferromagnetically ordered trajectories. In the thermodynamic limit, the singularities make up a whole curve of critical points in the complex plane of the counting field. We evaluate analytically the generating function by mapping the generator of the biased dynamics to a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian of an associated quantum spin chain. We relate the trajectory phase transitions to the high-order cumulants of the time-integrated energy which we use to extract the dynamical Lee-Yang zeros of the generating function. This approach offers the possibility to detect continuous trajectory phase transitions from the finite-time behavior of measurable quantities.

  6. Direct Detection of the Helical Magnetic Field Geometry from 3D Reconstruction of Prominence Knot Trajectories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zapiór, Maciej; Martínez-Gómez, David

    2016-02-01

    Based on the data collected by the Vacuum Tower Telescope located in the Teide Observatory in the Canary Islands, we analyzed the three-dimensional (3D) motion of so-called knots in a solar prominence of 2014 June 9. Trajectories of seven knots were reconstructed, giving information of the 3D geometry of the magnetic field. Helical motion was detected. From the equipartition principle, we estimated the lower limit of the magnetic field in the prominence to ≈1-3 G and from the Ampère’s law the lower limit of the electric current to ≈1.2 × 109 A.

  7. Mobility Modelling through Trajectory Decomposition and Prediction

    OpenAIRE

    Faghihi, Farbod

    2017-01-01

    The ubiquity of mobile devices with positioning sensors make it possible to derive user's location at any time. However, constantly sensing the position in order to track the user's movement is not feasible, either due to the unavailability of sensors, or computational and storage burdens. In this thesis, we present and evaluate a novel approach for efficiently tracking user's movement trajectories using decomposition and prediction of trajectories. We facilitate tracking by taking advantage ...

  8. Synthetic triphones from trajectory-based feature distributions

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Badenhorst, J

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available we reconstruct models for unseen transitions. In the current study, we restrict ourselves to triphone modelling, and aim to generate synthetic triphones from seen diphones. If this is possible, the same approach should be applicable to larger contexts... are applied in a similar fashion. Using trajectory models for the same goal, builds on prior work analysing co-articulation trajectories [7], [8], [9] as well as various studies on trajectory modelling for ASR purposes [10], [11], [12], [13]. Particularly...

  9. Trajectory Generation Method with Convolution Operation on Velocity Profile

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Geon [Hanyang Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Doik [Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-03-15

    The use of robots is no longer limited to the field of industrial robots and is now expanding into the fields of service and medical robots. In this light, a trajectory generation method that can respond instantaneously to the external environment is strongly required. Toward this end, this study proposes a method that enables a robot to change its trajectory in real-time using a convolution operation. The proposed method generates a trajectory in real time and satisfies the physical limits of the robot system such as acceleration and velocity limit. Moreover, a new way to improve the previous method, which generates inefficient trajectories in some cases owing to the characteristics of the trapezoidal shape of trajectories, is proposed by introducing a triangle shape. The validity and effectiveness of the proposed method is shown through a numerical simulation and a comparison with the previous convolution method.

  10. NOAA-MMS joint Langmuir circulation and oil spill trajectory models workshop

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Simecek-Beatty, D.; Lehr, W.

    2000-01-01

    An NOAA/HAZMAT workshop was held in October 1999 which provided an opportunity for 14 spill response officials to discuss the scientific theory of Langmuir Circulation (LC) and to determine ways that it affects oil spreading, dispersion and transport. The workshop helped identify potential modifications to existing oil spill trajectory models. LC is a result of the interaction between wind-driven surface currents and waves. This interaction causes vortices in the surface mixed layer of the water body. The vortices are aligned in the general direction of the wind. The surface water between the vortices either diverges or converges. For cleanup purposes and remote sensing it is necessary to incorporate LC into most oil and spill trajectory and behavior models. It was determined it should be possible to build simple models to predict the intensity of LC since current knowledge suggests that LC is forced by wind and waves. A prediction equation would be of tremendous use to oil spill response personnel. 39 refs., 1 tab., 1 fig

  11. Trajectory grouping structure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maike Buchin

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available The collective motion of a set of moving entities like people, birds, or other animals, is characterized by groups arising, merging, splitting, and ending. Given the trajectories of these entities, we define and model a structure that captures all of such changes using the Reeb graph, a concept from topology. The trajectory grouping structure has three natural parameters that allow more global views of the data in group size, group duration, and entity inter-distance. We prove complexity bounds on the maximum number of maximal groups that can be present, and give algorithms to compute the grouping structure efficiently. We also study how the trajectory grouping structure can be made robust, that is, how brief interruptions of groups can be disregarded in the global structure, adding a notion of persistence to the structure. Furthermore, we showcase the results of experiments using data generated by the NetLogo flocking model and from the Starkey project. The Starkey data describe the movement of elk, deer, and cattle. Although there is no ground truth for the grouping structure in this data, the experiments show that the trajectory grouping structure is plausible and has the desired effects when changing the essential parameters. Our research provides the first complete study of trajectory group evolvement, including combinatorial,algorithmic, and experimental results.

  12. Path integrals and geometry of trajectories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blau, M.; Keski-Vakkuri, E.; Niemi, A.J.

    1990-01-01

    A geometrical interpretation of path integrals is developed in the space of trajectories. This yields a supersymmetric formulation of a generic path integral, with the supersymmetry resembling the BRST supersymmetry of a first class constrained system. If the classical equation of motion is a Killing vector field in the space of trajectories, the supersymmetry localizes the path integral to classical trajectories and the WKB approximation becomes exact. This can be viewed as a path integral generalization of the Duistermaat-Heckman theorem, which states the conditions for the exactness of the WKB approximation for integrals in a compact phase space. (orig.)

  13. Effects of self-fields on electron trajectory and gain in two-stream electromagnetically pumped free-electron laser with ion channel guiding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saviz, S.; Ghorannevis, M.; Aghamir, Farzin M.; Mehdian, H.

    2011-01-01

    A theory for the two-stream free-electron laser with an electromagnetic wiggler (EMW) and an ion channel guiding is developed. In the analysis, the effects of self-fields have been taken into account. The electron trajectories and the small signal gain are derived. The stability of the trajectories, the characteristics of the linear gain and the normalized maximum gain are studied numerically. The dependence of the normalized frequency ω-circumflex corresponding to the maximum gain on the ion-channel frequency is presented. The results show that there are seven groups of orbits in the presence of the self-fields, which are similar to those reported in the absence of the self-fields. It is also shown that the normalized gains of 2 groups decrease while the rest increase with the increasing normalized ion-channel frequency. Furthermore, it is found that the two-stream instability and the self-field lead to a decrease in the maximum gain except for group 4. (electromagnetism, optics, acoustics, heat transfer, classical mechanics, and fluid dynamics)

  14. Theory of the paraxial ion trajectory in the spiral inflector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Toprek, Dragan

    2000-01-01

    This paper presents the analytical and numerical theory of the paraxial ion trajectory through the spiral inflector. Analytical expressions for the equations which describe the paraxial ion trajectory are derived. The analytical derivations of the electric field expansion around the central ion trajectory has also been studied

  15. A model predictive control approach combined unscented Kalman filter vehicle state estimation in intelligent vehicle trajectory tracking

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hongxiao Yu

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Trajectory tracking and state estimation are significant in the motion planning and intelligent vehicle control. This article focuses on the model predictive control approach for the trajectory tracking of the intelligent vehicles and state estimation of the nonlinear vehicle system. The constraints of the system states are considered when applying the model predictive control method to the practical problem, while 4-degree-of-freedom vehicle model and unscented Kalman filter are proposed to estimate the vehicle states. The estimated states of the vehicle are used to provide model predictive control with real-time control and judge vehicle stability. Furthermore, in order to decrease the cost of solving the nonlinear optimization, the linear time-varying model predictive control is used at each time step. The effectiveness of the proposed vehicle state estimation and model predictive control method is tested by driving simulator. The results of simulations and experiments show that great and robust performance is achieved for trajectory tracking and state estimation in different scenarios.

  16. DIRECT DETECTION OF THE HELICAL MAGNETIC FIELD GEOMETRY FROM 3D RECONSTRUCTION OF PROMINENCE KNOT TRAJECTORIES

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zapiór, Maciej; Martinez-Gómez, David, E-mail: zapior.maciek@gmail.com [Physics Department, University of the Balearic Islands, Cra. de Valldemossa, km 7.5. Palma (Illes Balears), E-07122 (Spain)

    2016-02-01

    Based on the data collected by the Vacuum Tower Telescope located in the Teide Observatory in the Canary Islands, we analyzed the three-dimensional (3D) motion of so-called knots in a solar prominence of 2014 June 9. Trajectories of seven knots were reconstructed, giving information of the 3D geometry of the magnetic field. Helical motion was detected. From the equipartition principle, we estimated the lower limit of the magnetic field in the prominence to ≈1–3 G and from the Ampère’s law the lower limit of the electric current to ≈1.2 × 10{sup 9} A.

  17. Exploring the complexity of quantum control optimization trajectories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nanduri, Arun; Shir, Ofer M; Donovan, Ashley; Ho, Tak-San; Rabitz, Herschel

    2015-01-07

    The control of quantum system dynamics is generally performed by seeking a suitable applied field. The physical objective as a functional of the field forms the quantum control landscape, whose topology, under certain conditions, has been shown to contain no critical point suboptimal traps, thereby enabling effective searches for fields that give the global maximum of the objective. This paper addresses the structure of the landscape as a complement to topological critical point features. Recent work showed that landscape structure is highly favorable for optimization of state-to-state transition probabilities, in that gradient-based control trajectories to the global maximum value are nearly straight paths. The landscape structure is codified in the metric R ≥ 1.0, defined as the ratio of the length of the control trajectory to the Euclidean distance between the initial and optimal controls. A value of R = 1 would indicate an exactly straight trajectory to the optimal observable value. This paper extends the state-to-state transition probability results to the quantum ensemble and unitary transformation control landscapes. Again, nearly straight trajectories predominate, and we demonstrate that R can take values approaching 1.0 with high precision. However, the interplay of optimization trajectories with critical saddle submanifolds is found to influence landscape structure. A fundamental relationship necessary for perfectly straight gradient-based control trajectories is derived, wherein the gradient on the quantum control landscape must be an eigenfunction of the Hessian. This relation is an indicator of landscape structure and may provide a means to identify physical conditions when control trajectories can achieve perfect linearity. The collective favorable landscape topology and structure provide a foundation to understand why optimal quantum control can be readily achieved.

  18. A Robot Trajectory Optimization Approach for Thermal Barrier Coatings Used for Free-Form Components

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Zhenhua; Qi, Beichun; Tao, Chongyuan; Luo, Jie; Chen, Yuepeng; Xie, Changjun

    2017-10-01

    This paper is concerned with a robot trajectory optimization approach for thermal barrier coatings. As the requirements of high reproducibility of complex workpieces increase, an optimal thermal spraying trajectory should not only guarantee an accurate control of spray parameters defined by users (e.g., scanning speed, spray distance, scanning step, etc.) to achieve coating thickness homogeneity but also help to homogenize the heat transfer distribution on the coating surface. A mesh-based trajectory generation approach is introduced in this work to generate path curves on a free-form component. Then, two types of meander trajectories are generated by performing a different connection method. Additionally, this paper presents a research approach for introducing the heat transfer analysis into the trajectory planning process. Combining heat transfer analysis with trajectory planning overcomes the defects of traditional trajectory planning methods (e.g., local over-heating), which helps form the uniform temperature field by optimizing the time sequence of path curves. The influence of two different robot trajectories on the process of heat transfer is estimated by coupled FEM models which demonstrates the effectiveness of the presented optimization approach.

  19. Encoding Time in Feedforward Trajectories of a Recurrent Neural Network Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hardy, N F; Buonomano, Dean V

    2018-02-01

    Brain activity evolves through time, creating trajectories of activity that underlie sensorimotor processing, behavior, and learning and memory. Therefore, understanding the temporal nature of neural dynamics is essential to understanding brain function and behavior. In vivo studies have demonstrated that sequential transient activation of neurons can encode time. However, it remains unclear whether these patterns emerge from feedforward network architectures or from recurrent networks and, furthermore, what role network structure plays in timing. We address these issues using a recurrent neural network (RNN) model with distinct populations of excitatory and inhibitory units. Consistent with experimental data, a single RNN could autonomously produce multiple functionally feedforward trajectories, thus potentially encoding multiple timed motor patterns lasting up to several seconds. Importantly, the model accounted for Weber's law, a hallmark of timing behavior. Analysis of network connectivity revealed that efficiency-a measure of network interconnectedness-decreased as the number of stored trajectories increased. Additionally, the balance of excitation (E) and inhibition (I) shifted toward excitation during each unit's activation time, generating the prediction that observed sequential activity relies on dynamic control of the E/I balance. Our results establish for the first time that the same RNN can generate multiple functionally feedforward patterns of activity as a result of dynamic shifts in the E/I balance imposed by the connectome of the RNN. We conclude that recurrent network architectures account for sequential neural activity, as well as for a fundamental signature of timing behavior: Weber's law.

  20. Field simulations for large dipole magnets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lazzaro, A.; Cappuzzello, F.; Cunsolo, A.; Cavallaro, M.; Foti, A.; Khouaja, A.; Orrigo, S.E.A.; Winfield, J.S.

    2007-01-01

    The problem of the description of magnetic field for large bending magnets is addressed in relation to the requirements of modern techniques of trajectory reconstruction. The crucial question of the interpolation and extrapolation of fields known at a discrete number of points is analysed. For this purpose a realistic field model of the large dipole of the MAGNEX spectrometer, obtained with finite elements three dimensional simulations, is used. The influence of the uncertainties in the measured field to the quality of the trajectory reconstruction is treated in detail. General constraints for field measurements in terms of required resolutions, step sizes and precisions are thus extracted

  1. Trajectories of cortical surface area and cortical volume maturation in normal brain development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simon Ducharme

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available This is a report of developmental trajectories of cortical surface area and cortical volume in the NIH MRI Study of Normal Brain Development. The quality-controlled sample included 384 individual typically-developing subjects with repeated scanning (1–3 per subject, total scans n=753 from 4.9 to 22.3 years of age. The best-fit model (cubic, quadratic, or first-order linear was identified at each vertex using mixed-effects models, with statistical correction for multiple comparisons using random field theory. Analyses were performed with and without controlling for total brain volume. These data are provided for reference and comparison with other databases. Further discussion and interpretation on cortical developmental trajectories can be found in the associated Ducharme et al.׳s article “Trajectories of cortical thickness maturation in normal brain development – the importance of quality control procedures” (Ducharme et al., 2015 [1].

  2. Satellite Images-Based Obstacle Recognition and Trajectory Generation for Agricultural Vehicles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mehmet Bodur

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available In this study, a method for the generation of tracking trajectory points, detection and positioning of obstacles in agricultural fields have been presented. Our principal contribution is to produce traceable GPS trajectories for agricultural vehicles to be utilized by path planning algorithms, rather than a new path planning algorithm. The proposed system works with minimal initialization requirements, specifically, a single geographical coordinate entry of an agricultural field. The automation of agricultural plantation requires many aspects to be addressed, many of which have been covered in previous studies. Depending on the type of crop, different agricultural vehicles may be used in the field. However, regardless of their application, they all follow a specified trajectory in the field. This study takes advantage of satellite images for the detection and positioning of obstacles, and the generation of GPS trajectories in the agricultural realm. A set of image processing techniques is applied in Matlab for detection and positioning.

  3. Tracers vs. trajectories in a coastal region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engqvist, A.; Döös, K.

    2008-12-01

    Two different methods of estimating the water exchange through a Baltic coastal region have been used, consisting of particle trajectories and passive tracers. Water is traced from and to a small discharge region near the coast. The discharge material in this region is treated as zero dimensional particles or tracers with neutral buoyancy. The real discharge material could be a leakage of radio-nuclides through the sea floor from an underground repository of nuclear waste. Water exchange rates between the discharge region and the model domain are estimated using both forward and backward trajectories as well as passive tracers. The Lagrangian trajectories can account for the time evolution of the water exchange while the tracers give one average age per model grid box. Water exchange times such as residence time, age and transient times have been calculated with trajectories but only the average age (AvA) for tracers. The trajectory calculations provide a more detailed time evolution than the tracers. On the other hand the tracers are integrated "on-line" simultaneously in the sea circulation model with the same time step while the Lagrangian trajectories are integrated "off-line" from the stored model velocities with its inherent temporal resolution, presently one hour. The sub-grid turbulence is parameterised as a Laplacian diffusion for the passive tracers and with an extra stochastic velocity for trajectories. The importance of the parameterised sub-grid turbulence for the trajectories is estimated to give an extra diffusion of the same order as the Laplacian diffusion by comparing the Lagrangian dispersions with and without parameterisation. The results of the different methods are similar but depend on the chosen diffusivity coefficient with a slightly higher correlation between trajectories and tracers when integrated with a lower diffusivity coefficient.

  4. Trajectories and models of individual growth

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arseniy Karkach

    2006-11-01

    Full Text Available It has long been recognized that the patterns of growth play an important role in the evolution of age trajectories of fertility and mortality (Williams, 1957. Life history studies would benefit from a better understanding of strategies and mechanisms of growth, but still no comparative research on individual growth strategies has been conducted. Growth patterns and methods have been shaped by evolution and a great variety of them are observed. Two distinct patterns - determinate and indeterminate growth - are of a special interest for these studies since they present qualitatively different outcomes of evolution. We attempt to draw together studies covering growth in plant and animal species across a wide range of phyla focusing primarily on the noted qualitative features. We also review mathematical descriptions of growth, namely empirical growth curves and growth models, and discuss the directions of future research.

  5. A Formally Verified Conflict Detection Algorithm for Polynomial Trajectories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Narkawicz, Anthony; Munoz, Cesar

    2015-01-01

    In air traffic management, conflict detection algorithms are used to determine whether or not aircraft are predicted to lose horizontal and vertical separation minima within a time interval assuming a trajectory model. In the case of linear trajectories, conflict detection algorithms have been proposed that are both sound, i.e., they detect all conflicts, and complete, i.e., they do not present false alarms. In general, for arbitrary nonlinear trajectory models, it is possible to define detection algorithms that are either sound or complete, but not both. This paper considers the case of nonlinear aircraft trajectory models based on polynomial functions. In particular, it proposes a conflict detection algorithm that precisely determines whether, given a lookahead time, two aircraft flying polynomial trajectories are in conflict. That is, it has been formally verified that, assuming that the aircraft trajectories are modeled as polynomial functions, the proposed algorithm is both sound and complete.

  6. Different faces of chaos in FRW models with scalar fields-geometrical point of view

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hrycyna, Orest; Szydlowski, Marek

    2006-01-01

    FRW cosmologies with conformally coupled scalar fields are investigated in a geometrical way by the means of geodesics of the Jacobi metric. In this model of dynamics, trajectories in the configuration space are represented by geodesics. Because of the singular nature of the Jacobi metric on the boundary set -bar D of the domain of admissible motion, the geodesics change the cone sectors several times (or an infinite number of times) in the neighborhood of the singular set -bar D. We show that this singular set contains interesting information about the dynamical complexity of the model. Firstly, this set can be used as a Poincare surface for construction of Poincare sections, and the trajectories then have the recurrence property. We also investigate the distribution of the intersection points. Secondly, the full classification of periodic orbits in the configuration space is performed and existence of UPO is demonstrated. Our general conclusion is that, although the presented model leads to several complications, like divergence of curvature invariants as a measure of sensitive dependence on initial conditions, some global results can be obtained and some additional physical insight is gained from using the conformal Jacobi metric. We also study the complex behavior of trajectories in terms of symbolic dynamics

  7. Modelling Behaviour Patterns of Pedestrians for Mobile Robot Trajectory Generation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yusuke Tamura

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Robots are expected to be operated in environments where they coexist with humans, such as shopping malls and offices. Both the safety and efficiency of a robot are necessary in such environments. To achieve this, pedestrian behaviour should be accurately predicted. However, the behaviour is uncertain and cannot be easily predicted. This paper proposes a probabilistic method of determining pedestrian trajectory based on an estimation of pedestrian behaviour patterns. The proposed method focuses on the specific behaviour of pedestrians around the robot. The proposed model classifies the behaviours of pedestrians into definite patterns. The behaviour patterns, distribution of the positions of the pedestrians, and the direction of each behaviour pattern are determined by learning through observation. The behaviour pattern of a pedestrian can be estimated correctly by a likelihood calculation. A robot decides to move with an emphasis on either safety or efficiency depending on the result of the pattern estimation. If the pedestrian trajectory follows a known behaviour pattern, the robot would move with an emphasis on efficiency because the pedestrian trajectory can be predicted. Otherwise, the robot would move with an emphasis on safety because the behaviour of the pedestrian cannot be predicted. Experimental results show that robots can move efficiently and safely when passing by a pedestrian by applying the proposed method.

  8. On the stability conditions of flexible current conductor tightened in a magnetic field for charged particle trajectory tracing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kozodaev, M.S.

    1974-01-01

    Conditions of equilibrium stability in three-dimensional space for a stretched flexible current conductor, while tracing the trajectories of charged particles moving in a magnetic field, have been determined using variational principles. Formulas suitable for engineering calculations have been obtained that allow to determine the stability regions and to estimate errors in tracing due to the conductor weight and elasticity

  9. Electron trajectory evaluation in laser-plasma interaction for effective output beam

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zobdeh, P.; Sadighi-Bonabi, R.; Afarideh, H.

    2010-06-01

    Using the ellipsoidal cavity model, the quasi-monoenergetic electron output beam in laser-plasma interaction is described. By the cavity regime the quality of electron beam is improved in comparison with those generated from other methods such as periodic plasma wave field, spheroidal cavity regime and plasma channel guided acceleration. Trajectory of electron motion is described as hyperbolic, parabolic or elliptic paths. We find that the self-generated electron bunch has a smaller energy width and more effective gain in energy spectrum. Initial condition for the ellipsoidal cavity is determined by laser-plasma parameters. The electron trajectory is influenced by its position, energy and cavity electrostatic potential.

  10. Robust Trajectory Option Set planning in CTOP based on Bayesian game model

    KAUST Repository

    Li, Lichun; Clarke, John-Paul; Feron, Eric; Shamma, Jeff S.

    2017-01-01

    The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rations capacity to reduce en route delay, especially those caused by bad weather. This is accomplished via Collaborative Trajectory Options Program (CTOP) which has been recently developed to provide a mechanism for flight operators to communicate their route preferences for each flight via a Trajectory Option Set (TOS), as well as a mechanism for the FAA to assign the best possible route within the set of trajectories in the TOS for a given flight, i.e. the route with the lowest adjusted cost after consideration of system constraints and the requirements of all flights. The routes assigned to an airline depend not only on the TOS's for its own flights but also on the TOS's of all other flights in the CTOP, which are unknown. This paper aims to provide a detailed algorithm for the airline to design its TOS plan which is robust to the uncertainties of its competitors' TOS's. To this purpose, we model the CTOP problem as a Bayesian game, and use Linear Program (LP) to compute the security strategy in the Bayesian game model. This security strategy guarantees the airline an upper bound on the sum of the assigned times. The numerical results demonstrate the robustness of the strategy, which is not achieved by any other tested strategy.

  11. Robust Trajectory Option Set planning in CTOP based on Bayesian game model

    KAUST Repository

    Li, Lichun

    2017-07-10

    The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rations capacity to reduce en route delay, especially those caused by bad weather. This is accomplished via Collaborative Trajectory Options Program (CTOP) which has been recently developed to provide a mechanism for flight operators to communicate their route preferences for each flight via a Trajectory Option Set (TOS), as well as a mechanism for the FAA to assign the best possible route within the set of trajectories in the TOS for a given flight, i.e. the route with the lowest adjusted cost after consideration of system constraints and the requirements of all flights. The routes assigned to an airline depend not only on the TOS\\'s for its own flights but also on the TOS\\'s of all other flights in the CTOP, which are unknown. This paper aims to provide a detailed algorithm for the airline to design its TOS plan which is robust to the uncertainties of its competitors\\' TOS\\'s. To this purpose, we model the CTOP problem as a Bayesian game, and use Linear Program (LP) to compute the security strategy in the Bayesian game model. This security strategy guarantees the airline an upper bound on the sum of the assigned times. The numerical results demonstrate the robustness of the strategy, which is not achieved by any other tested strategy.

  12. Variable trajectory model for regional assessments of air pollution from sulfur compounds.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Powell, D.C.; McNaughton, D.J.; Wendell, L.L.; Drake, R.L.

    1979-02-01

    This report describes a sulfur oxides atmospheric pollution model that calculates trajectories using single-layer historical wind data as well as chemical transformation and deposition following discrete contaminant air masses. Vertical diffusion under constraints is calculated, but all horizontal dispersion is a funcion of trajectory variation. The ground-level air concentrations and deposition are calculated in a rectangular area comprising the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. Calculations for a 29-day assessment period in April 1974 are presented along with a limited verification. Results for the studies were calculated using a source inventory comprising 61% of the anthropogenic SO/sub 2/ emissions. Using current model parameterization levels, predicted concentration values are most sensitive to variations in dry deposition of SO/sub 2/, wet deposition of sulfate, and transformation of SO/sub 2/ to sulfate. Replacing the variable mixed-layer depth and variable stability features of the model with constant definitions of each results in increased ground-level concentration predicions for SO/sub 2/ and particularly for sulfate.

  13. Trajectory modeling of gestational weight: A functional principal component analysis approach.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Menglu Che

    Full Text Available Suboptimal gestational weight gain (GWG, which is linked to increased risk of adverse outcomes for a pregnant woman and her infant, is prevalent. In the study of a large cohort of Canadian pregnant women, our goals are to estimate the individual weight growth trajectory using sparsely collected bodyweight data, and to identify the factors affecting the weight change during pregnancy, such as prepregnancy body mass index (BMI, dietary intakes and physical activity. The first goal was achieved through functional principal component analysis (FPCA by conditional expectation. For the second goal, we used linear regression with the total weight gain as the response variable. The trajectory modeling through FPCA had a significantly smaller root mean square error (RMSE and improved adaptability than the classic nonlinear mixed-effect models, demonstrating a novel tool that can be used to facilitate real time monitoring and interventions of GWG. Our regression analysis showed that prepregnancy BMI had a high predictive value for the weight changes during pregnancy, which agrees with the published weight gain guideline.

  14. Optimal Hankel Norm Model Reduction by Truncation of Trajectories

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Roorda, B.; Weiland, S.

    2000-01-01

    We show how optimal Hankel-norm approximations of dynamical systems allow for a straightforward interpretation in terms of system trajectories. It is shown that for discrete time single-input systems optimal reductions are obtained by cutting 'balanced trajectories', i.e., by disconnecting the past

  15. Non-Born-Oppenheimer trajectories with self-consistent decay of mixing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu Chaoyuan; Jasper, Ahren W.; Truhlar, Donald G.

    2004-01-01

    A semiclassical trajectory method, called the self-consistent decay of mixing (SCDM) method, is presented for the treatment of electronically nonadiabatic dynamics. The SCDM method is a modification of the semiclassical Ehrenfest (SE) method (also called the semiclassical time-dependent self-consistent-field method) that solves the problem of unphysical mixed final states by including decay-of-mixing terms in the equations for the evolution of the electronic state populations. These terms generate a force, called the decoherent force (or dephasing force), that drives the electronic component of each trajectory toward a pure state. Results for several mixed quantum-classical methods, in particular the SCDM, SE, and natural-decay-of-mixing methods and several trajectory surface hopping methods, are compared to the results of accurate quantum mechanical calculations for 12 cases involving five different fully dimensional triatomic model systems. The SCDM method is found to be the most accurate of the methods tested. The method should be useful for the simulation of photochemical reactions

  16. Primordial spectra from sudden turning trajectory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noumi, Toshifumi; Yamaguchi, Masahide

    2013-12-01

    Effects of heavy fields on primordial spectra of curvature perturbations are discussed in inflationary models with a sudden turning trajectory. When heavy fields are excited after the sudden turn and oscillate around the bottom of the potential, the following two effects are generically induced: deformation of the inflationary background spacetime and conversion interactions between adiabatic and isocurvature perturbations, both of which can affect the primordial density perturbations. In this paper, we calculate primordial spectra in inflationary models with sudden turning potentials taking into account both of the two effects appropriately. We find that there are some non-trivial correlations between the two effects in the power spectrum and, as a consequence, the primordial scalar power spectrum has a peak around the scale exiting the horizon at the turn. Though both effects can induce parametric resonance amplifications, they are shown to be canceled out for the case with the canonical kinetic terms. The peak feature and the scale dependence of bispectra are also discussed.

  17. Electronic structure and trajectory control of Dirac fermions in graphene ribbons under the competition between electric and magnetic fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Mou; Cui, Yan; Wang, Rui-Qiang; Zhao, Hong-Bo

    2012-01-01

    We investigate the electronic structure of graphene ribbons under the competition between lateral electric and normal magnetic fields. The squeezing of quantum level spacings caused by either field is studied. Based on the knowledge of the dispersion under both fields, we analyze the electronic trajectories near the junctions of different electric and magnetic fields configurations. The junctions can split and join electron beams, and the conductance is quite robust against disorder near the junction interfaces. These junction devices can be used as bricks for building more complicated interference devices. -- Highlights: ► Unified physical picture of graphene ribbon under electric and magnetic fields is provided. ► Squeezing of level spacings caused by electric and magnetic fields is investigated. ► Graphene devices for electron beam split and joint are proposed.

  18. System of automized determination of charged particle trajectories in extended magnetic fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Toumanian, A.R.

    1981-01-01

    An automized system for the determination of particle trajectories by the floating current-carrying wire method is described. The system is able to determine the charged particle trajectories with the energy above 100 MeV in magnetic systems of any configuration and with track extent up to several tens metres with momentum resolution up to 3.10 -4 . The system efficiency makes 1500 tracks/hour on the average [ru

  19. Searching Trajectories by Regions of Interest

    KAUST Repository

    Shang, Shuo

    2017-03-22

    With the increasing availability of moving-object tracking data, trajectory search is increasingly important. We propose and investigate a novel query type named trajectory search by regions of interest (TSR query). Given an argument set of trajectories, a TSR query takes a set of regions of interest as a parameter and returns the trajectory in the argument set with the highest spatial-density correlation to the query regions. This type of query is useful in many popular applications such as trip planning and recommendation, and location based services in general. TSR query processing faces three challenges: how to model the spatial-density correlation between query regions and data trajectories, how to effectively prune the search space, and how to effectively schedule multiple so-called query sources. To tackle these challenges, a series of new metrics are defined to model spatial-density correlations. An efficient trajectory search algorithm is developed that exploits upper and lower bounds to prune the search space and that adopts a query-source selection strategy, as well as integrates a heuristic search strategy based on priority ranking to schedule multiple query sources. The performance of TSR query processing is studied in extensive experiments based on real and synthetic spatial data.

  20. Searching Trajectories by Regions of Interest

    KAUST Repository

    Shang, Shuo; chen, Lisi; Jensen, Christian S.; Wen, Ji-Rong; Kalnis, Panos

    2017-01-01

    With the increasing availability of moving-object tracking data, trajectory search is increasingly important. We propose and investigate a novel query type named trajectory search by regions of interest (TSR query). Given an argument set of trajectories, a TSR query takes a set of regions of interest as a parameter and returns the trajectory in the argument set with the highest spatial-density correlation to the query regions. This type of query is useful in many popular applications such as trip planning and recommendation, and location based services in general. TSR query processing faces three challenges: how to model the spatial-density correlation between query regions and data trajectories, how to effectively prune the search space, and how to effectively schedule multiple so-called query sources. To tackle these challenges, a series of new metrics are defined to model spatial-density correlations. An efficient trajectory search algorithm is developed that exploits upper and lower bounds to prune the search space and that adopts a query-source selection strategy, as well as integrates a heuristic search strategy based on priority ranking to schedule multiple query sources. The performance of TSR query processing is studied in extensive experiments based on real and synthetic spatial data.

  1. Trajectory parameterization-A new approach to the study of the cosmic ray penumbra

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cooke, D.J.

    1982-01-01

    A new approach to the examination of the structure of the cosmic ray penumbra has been developed, which, while utilizing the speed, efficiency and ''real'' geomagnetic field modeling capabilities of the digital computer, yields an analytical insight equivalent to that of the earlier and elegant approaches of Stormer, and of Lemaitre and Vallarta. The method involves an assigning of parameters to trajectory features in order to allow the structure and properties of the penumbra to be systematically related to trajectory configuration by means of an automated set of computer procedures. Initial use of this ''trajectory parameterization'' technique to explore the form and stability of the penumbra has yielded new and important knowledge of the penumbra and its phenomenology. Among the new findings is the discovery of isolated forbidden penumbral ''islands.''

  2. Monte Carlo electron-trajectory simulations in bright-field and dark-field STEM: Implications for tomography of thick biological sections

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sousa, A.A.; Hohmann-Marriott, M.F.; Zhang, G. [Laboratory of Bioengineering and Physical Science, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, Bldg. 13, Rm. 3N17, 13 South Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892-5766 (United States); Leapman, R.D. [Laboratory of Bioengineering and Physical Science, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, Bldg. 13, Rm. 3N17, 13 South Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892-5766 (United States)], E-mail: leapmanr@mail.nih.gov

    2009-02-15

    A Monte Carlo electron-trajectory calculation has been implemented to assess the optimal detector configuration for scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) tomography of thick biological sections. By modeling specimens containing 2 and 3 at% osmium in a carbon matrix, it was found that for 1-{mu}m-thick samples the bright-field (BF) and annular dark-field (ADF) signals give similar contrast and signal-to-noise ratio provided the ADF inner angle and BF outer angle are chosen optimally. Spatial resolution in STEM imaging of thick sections is compromised by multiple elastic scattering which results in a spread of scattering angles and thus a spread in lateral distances of the electrons leaving the bottom surface. However, the simulations reveal that a large fraction of these multiply scattered electrons are excluded from the BF detector, which results in higher spatial resolution in BF than in high-angle ADF images for objects situated towards the bottom of the sample. The calculations imply that STEM electron tomography of thick sections should be performed using a BF rather than an ADF detector. This advantage was verified by recording simultaneous BF and high-angle ADF STEM tomographic tilt series from a stained 600-nm-thick section of C. elegans. It was found that loss of spatial resolution occurred markedly at the bottom surface of the specimen in the ADF STEM but significantly less in the BF STEM tomographic reconstruction. Our results indicate that it might be feasible to use BF STEM tomography to determine the 3D structure of whole eukaryotic microorganisms prepared by freeze-substitution, embedding, and sectioning.

  3. ALOFT-PC a smoke plume trajectory model for personal computers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Walton, W.D.; McGrattan, K.B.; Mullin, J.V.

    1996-01-01

    A computer model, named ALOFT-PC, was developed for use during in-situ burning of oil spills to predict smoke plume trajectory. The downwind distribution of smoke particulate is a complex function of fire parameters, meteorological conditions, and topographic features. Experimental burns have shown that the downwind distribution of smoke is not Gaussian and simple smoke plume models do not capture the observed plume features. ALOFT-PC consists of the Navier-Stokes equations using an eddy viscosity over a uniform grid that spans the smoke plume and its surroundings. The model inputs are wind speed and variability, atmospheric temperature profile, and fire parameters and the output is the average of the plume. 7 refs., 3 tabs

  4. Modeling and Robust Trajectory Tracking Control for a Novel Six-Rotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chengshun Yang

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Modeling and trajectory tracking control of a novel six-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV is concerned to solve problems such as smaller payload capacity and lack of both hardware redundancy and anticrosswind capability for quad-rotor. The mathematical modeling for the six-rotor UAV is developed on the basis of the Newton-Euler formalism, and a second-order sliding-mode disturbance observer (SOSMDO is proposed to reconstruct the disturbances of the rotational dynamics. In consideration of the under-actuated and strong coupling properties of the six-rotor UAV, a nested double loops trajectory tracking control strategy is adopted. In the outer loop, a position error PID controller is designed, of which the task is to compare the desired trajectory with real position of the six-rotor UAV and export the desired attitude angles to the inner loop. In the inner loop, a rapid-convergent nonlinear differentiator (RCND is proposed to calculate the derivatives of the virtual control signal, instead of using the analytical differentiation, to avoid “differential expansion” in the procedure of the attitude controller design. Finally, the validity and effectiveness of the proposed technique are demonstrated by the simulation results.

  5. Action Recognition Using Discriminative Structured Trajectory Groups

    KAUST Repository

    Atmosukarto, Indriyati

    2015-01-06

    In this paper, we develop a novel framework for action recognition in videos. The framework is based on automatically learning the discriminative trajectory groups that are relevant to an action. Different from previous approaches, our method does not require complex computation for graph matching or complex latent models to localize the parts. We model a video as a structured bag of trajectory groups with latent class variables. We model action recognition problem in a weakly supervised setting and learn discriminative trajectory groups by employing multiple instance learning (MIL) based Support Vector Machine (SVM) using pre-computed kernels. The kernels depend on the spatio-temporal relationship between the extracted trajectory groups and their associated features. We demonstrate both quantitatively and qualitatively that the classification performance of our proposed method is superior to baselines and several state-of-the-art approaches on three challenging standard benchmark datasets.

  6. Relevance of near-Earth magnetic field modeling in deriving SEP properties using ground-based data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanellakopoulos, Anastasios; Plainaki, Christina; Mavromichalaki, Helen; Laurenza, Monica; Gerontidou, Maria; Storini, Marisa; Andriopoulou, Maria

    2014-05-01

    Ground Level Enhancements (GLEs) are short-term increases observed in cosmic ray intensity records of ground-based particle detectors such as neutron monitors (NMs) or muon detectors; they are related to the arrival of solar relativistic particles in the terrestrial environment. Hence, GLE events are related to the most energetic class of solar energetic particle (SEP) events. In this work we investigate how the use of different magnetospheric field models can influence the derivation of the relativistic SEP properties when modeling GLE events. As a case study, we examine the event of 2012 May 17 (also known as GLE71), registered by ground-based NMs. We apply the Tsyganenko 89 and the Tsyganenko 96 models in order to calculate the trajectories of the arriving SEPs in the near-Earth environment. We show that the intersection of the SEP trajectories with the atmospheric layer at ~20 km from the Earth's surface (i.e., where the flux of the generated secondary particles is maximum), forms for each ground-based neutron monitor a specified viewing region that is dependent on the magnetospheric field configuration. Then, we apply the Neutron Monitor Based Anisotropic GLE Pure Power Law (NMBANGLE PPOLA) model (Plainaki et al. 2010, Solar Phys, 264, 239), in order to derive the spectral properties of the related SEP event and the spatial distributions of the SEP fluxes impacting the Earth's atmosphere. We examine the dependence of the results on the used magnetic field models and evaluate their range of validity. Finally we discuss information derived by modeling the SEP spectrum in the frame of particle acceleration scenarios.

  7. Optimizing interplanetary trajectories with deep space maneuvers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Navagh, John

    1993-09-01

    Analysis of interplanetary trajectories is a crucial area for both manned and unmanned missions of the Space Exploration Initiative. A deep space maneuver (DSM) can improve a trajectory in much the same way as a planetary swingby. However, instead of using a gravitational field to alter the trajectory, the on-board propulsion system of the spacecraft is used when the vehicle is not near a planet. The purpose is to develop an algorithm to determine where and when to use deep space maneuvers to reduce the cost of a trajectory. The approach taken to solve this problem uses primer vector theory in combination with a non-linear optimizing program to minimize Delta(V). A set of necessary conditions on the primer vector is shown to indicate whether a deep space maneuver will be beneficial. Deep space maneuvers are applied to a round trip mission to Mars to determine their effect on the launch opportunities. Other studies which were performed include cycler trajectories and Mars mission abort scenarios. It was found that the software developed was able to locate quickly DSM's which lower the total Delta(V) on these trajectories.

  8. A Measure of Similarity Between Trajectories of Vessels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Le QI

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The measurement of similarity between trajectories of vessels is one of the kernel problems that must be addressed to promote the development of maritime intelligent traffic system (ITS. In this study, a new model of trajectory similarity measurement was established to improve the data processing efficiency in dynamic application and to reflect actual sailing behaviors of vessels. In this model, a feature point detection algorithm was proposed to extract feature points, reduce data storage space and save computational resources. A new synthesized distance algorithm was also created to measure the similarity between trajectories by using the extracted feature points. An experiment was conducted to measure the similarity between the real trajectories of vessels. The growth of these trajectories required measurements to be conducted under different voyages. The results show that the similarity measurement between the vessel trajectories is efficient and correct. Comparison of the synthesized distance with the sailing behaviors of vessels proves that results are consistent with actual situations. The experiment results demonstrate the promising application of the proposed model in studying vessel traffic and in supplying reliable data for the development of maritime ITS.

  9. Calculation of the Initial Magnetic Field for Mercury's Magnetosphere Hybrid Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alexeev, Igor; Parunakian, David; Dyadechkin, Sergey; Belenkaya, Elena; Khodachenko, Maxim; Kallio, Esa; Alho, Markku

    2018-03-01

    Several types of numerical models are used to analyze the interactions of the solar wind flow with Mercury's magnetosphere, including kinetic models that determine magnetic and electric fields based on the spatial distribution of charges and currents, magnetohydrodynamic models that describe plasma as a conductive liquid, and hybrid models that describe ions kinetically in collisionless mode and represent electrons as a massless neutralizing liquid. The structure of resulting solutions is determined not only by the chosen set of equations that govern the behavior of plasma, but also by the initial and boundary conditions; i.e., their effects are not limited to the amount of computational work required to achieve a quasi-stationary solution. In this work, we have proposed using the magnetic field computed by the paraboloid model of Mercury's magnetosphere as the initial condition for subsequent hybrid modeling. The results of the model have been compared to measurements performed by the Messenger spacecraft during a single crossing of the magnetosheath and the magnetosphere. The selected orbit lies in the terminator plane, which allows us to observe two crossings of the bow shock and the magnetopause. In our calculations, we have defined the initial parameters of the global magnetospheric current systems in a way that allows us to minimize paraboloid magnetic field deviation along the trajectory of the Messenger from the experimental data. We have shown that the optimal initial field parameters include setting the penetration of a partial interplanetary magnetic field into the magnetosphere with a penetration coefficient of 0.2.

  10. Quantifying kinematics of purposeful movements to real, imagined, or absent functional objects: implications for modelling trajectories for robot-assisted ADL tasks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wisneski, Kimberly J; Johnson, Michelle J

    2007-03-23

    Robotic therapy is at the forefront of stroke rehabilitation. The Activities of Daily Living Exercise Robot (ADLER) was developed to improve carryover of gains after training by combining the benefits of Activities of Daily Living (ADL) training (motivation and functional task practice with real objects), with the benefits of robot mediated therapy (repeatability and reliability). In combining these two therapy techniques, we seek to develop a new model for trajectory generation that will support functional movements to real objects during robot training. We studied natural movements to real objects and report on how initial reaching movements are affected by real objects and how these movements deviate from the straight line paths predicted by the minimum jerk model, typically used to generate trajectories in robot training environments. We highlight key issues that to be considered in modelling natural trajectories. Movement data was collected as eight normal subjects completed ADLs such as drinking and eating. Three conditions were considered: object absent, imagined, and present. This data was compared to predicted trajectories generated from implementing the minimum jerk model. The deviations in both the plane of the table (XY) and the sagittal plane of torso (XZ) were examined for both reaches to a cup and to a spoon. Velocity profiles and curvature were also quantified for all trajectories. We hypothesized that movements performed with functional task constraints and objects would deviate from the minimum jerk trajectory model more than those performed under imaginary or object absent conditions. Trajectory deviations from the predicted minimum jerk model for these reaches were shown to depend on three variables: object presence, object orientation, and plane of movement. When subjects completed the cup reach their movements were more curved than for the spoon reach. The object present condition for the cup reach showed more curvature than in the object

  11. Quantifying kinematics of purposeful movements to real, imagined, or absent functional objects: Implications for modelling trajectories for robot-assisted ADL tasks**

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wisneski Kimberly J

    2007-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Robotic therapy is at the forefront of stroke rehabilitation. The Activities of Daily Living Exercise Robot (ADLER was developed to improve carryover of gains after training by combining the benefits of Activities of Daily Living (ADL training (motivation and functional task practice with real objects, with the benefits of robot mediated therapy (repeatability and reliability. In combining these two therapy techniques, we seek to develop a new model for trajectory generation that will support functional movements to real objects during robot training. We studied natural movements to real objects and report on how initial reaching movements are affected by real objects and how these movements deviate from the straight line paths predicted by the minimum jerk model, typically used to generate trajectories in robot training environments. We highlight key issues that to be considered in modelling natural trajectories. Methods Movement data was collected as eight normal subjects completed ADLs such as drinking and eating. Three conditions were considered: object absent, imagined, and present. This data was compared to predicted trajectories generated from implementing the minimum jerk model. The deviations in both the plane of the table (XY and the saggital plane of torso (XZ were examined for both reaches to a cup and to a spoon. Velocity profiles and curvature were also quantified for all trajectories. Results We hypothesized that movements performed with functional task constraints and objects would deviate from the minimum jerk trajectory model more than those performed under imaginary or object absent conditions. Trajectory deviations from the predicted minimum jerk model for these reaches were shown to depend on three variables: object presence, object orientation, and plane of movement. When subjects completed the cup reach their movements were more curved than for the spoon reach. The object present condition for the cup

  12. Account of magnetic field effects of polarized proton target on charged particle trajectories in experiments with magnetic spectrometers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Telegin, Yu.N.; Ranyuk, Yu.N.; Karnaukhov, I.M.; Lukhanin, A.A.; Sporov, E.A.

    1980-01-01

    Some effects of the influence of magnetic field of a polarized proton target (PPT) on trajectories of secondary particles in experiments using magnetic spectrometers are considered. It is shown that these effects can be eliminated by the target shift relatively to the spectrometer rotation axis and variation of the spectrometer installation angle. Numerical calculations of the correction values were performed for emitted particle momenta of 100-800 MeB/s and working intensity of the H 0 magnetic field H 0 =27 kG. The influence of the PPT magnetic field on the functions of angular and energy resolution in the γp→π + n experiment is investigated. The results obtained can be used in experiments with a polarized proton target

  13. A population-feedback control based algorithm for well trajectory optimization using proxy model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Javad Kasravi

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Wellbore instability is one of the concerns in the field of drilling engineering. This phenomenon is affected by several factors such as azimuth, inclination angle, in-situ stress, mud weight, and rock strength parameters. Among these factors, azimuth, inclination angle, and mud weight are controllable. The objective of this paper is to introduce a new procedure based on elastoplastic theory in wellbore stability solution to determine the optimum well trajectory and global minimum mud pressure required (GMMPR. Genetic algorithm (GA was applied as a main optimization engine that employs proportional feedback controller to obtain the minimum mud pressure required (MMPR. The feedback function repeatedly calculated and updated the error between the simulated and set point of normalized yielded zone area (NYZA. To reduce computation expenses, an artificial neural network (ANN was used as a proxy (surrogate model to approximate the behavior of the actual wellbore model. The methodology was applied to a directional well in southwestern Iranian oilfield. The results demonstrated that the error between the predicted GMMPR and practical safe mud pressure was 4% for elastoplastic method, and 22% for conventional elastic solution.

  14. A Dirac sea pilot-wave model for quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Colin, S; Struyve, W

    2007-01-01

    We present a pilot-wave model for quantum field theory in which the Dirac sea is taken seriously. The model ascribes particle trajectories to all the fermions, including the fermions filling the Dirac sea. The model is deterministic and applies to the regime in which fermion number is superselected. This work is a further elaboration of work by Colin, in which a Dirac sea pilot-wave model is presented for quantum electrodynamics. We extend his work to non-electromagnetic interactions, we discuss a cut-off regularization of the pilot-wave model and study how it reproduces the standard quantum predictions. The Dirac sea pilot-wave model can be seen as a possible continuum generalization of a lattice model by Bell. It can also be seen as a development and generalization of the ideas by Bohm, Hiley and Kaloyerou, who also suggested the use of the Dirac sea for the development of a pilot-wave model for quantum electrodynamics

  15. High Altitude Venus Operations Concept Trajectory Design, Modeling and Simulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lugo, Rafael A.; Ozoroski, Thomas A.; Van Norman, John W.; Arney, Dale C.; Dec, John A.; Jones, Christopher A.; Zumwalt, Carlie H.

    2015-01-01

    A trajectory design and analysis that describes aerocapture, entry, descent, and inflation of manned and unmanned High Altitude Venus Operation Concept (HAVOC) lighter-than-air missions is presented. Mission motivation, concept of operations, and notional entry vehicle designs are presented. The initial trajectory design space is analyzed and discussed before investigating specific trajectories that are deemed representative of a feasible Venus mission. Under the project assumptions, while the high-mass crewed mission will require further research into aerodynamic decelerator technology, it was determined that the unmanned robotic mission is feasible using current technology.

  16. Control the length of beam trajectory with a quadruple triplet for heavy ion accelerator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Zhan; Wei, Shaoqing; Lee, Sang Jin; Kim, Do Gyun; Kim, Jang Youl

    2016-01-01

    Beam trajectory is needed to be controlled in heavy ion accelerator system. Quadruple magnets are widely used in heavy ion accelerator for focusing the transporting particles. A quadruple triplet system which consists of three consecutive quadrupoles, Q1, Q2 and Q3, is used to control beam trajectory at a focused position. Q1 and Q3 have symmetry with respect to Q2. The beam trajectory in magnet system is affected by higher order fields existed in real fields. For quadrupoles, the representation simulation of beam trajectory was carried out to study the beam trajectory and to estimate an effect of higher order field in triplet system. SCALA program was used to simulate the beam trajectory in OperaTM. SCALA can analyze a large number of beam trajectories at the same time by adjusting the size of finite element of the emitter. With OperaTM and MatlabTM programs, the position of focused beam spot in quadruple triplet system can be increased or decreased using evolution strategy (ES) method, therefore the length of triplet system can be controlled. Finally, the quadruple triplet system with the appropriate length and expected beam spot range was suggested in this paper

  17. Control the length of beam trajectory with a quadruple triplet for heavy ion accelerator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Zhan; Wei, Shaoqing; Lee, Sang Jin [Uiduk University, Gyeongju (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Do Gyun; Kim, Jang Youl [Rare Isotope Science Project, Institute for Basic Science, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-12-15

    Beam trajectory is needed to be controlled in heavy ion accelerator system. Quadruple magnets are widely used in heavy ion accelerator for focusing the transporting particles. A quadruple triplet system which consists of three consecutive quadrupoles, Q1, Q2 and Q3, is used to control beam trajectory at a focused position. Q1 and Q3 have symmetry with respect to Q2. The beam trajectory in magnet system is affected by higher order fields existed in real fields. For quadrupoles, the representation simulation of beam trajectory was carried out to study the beam trajectory and to estimate an effect of higher order field in triplet system. SCALA program was used to simulate the beam trajectory in OperaTM. SCALA can analyze a large number of beam trajectories at the same time by adjusting the size of finite element of the emitter. With OperaTM and MatlabTM programs, the position of focused beam spot in quadruple triplet system can be increased or decreased using evolution strategy (ES) method, therefore the length of triplet system can be controlled. Finally, the quadruple triplet system with the appropriate length and expected beam spot range was suggested in this paper.

  18. Branching trajectory continual integral

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maslov, V.P.; Chebotarev, A.M.

    1980-01-01

    Heuristic definition of the Feynman continual integral over branching trajectories is suggested which makes it possible to obtain in the closed form the solution of the Cauchy problem for the model Hartree equation. A number of properties of the solution is derived from an integral representation. In particular, the quasiclassical asymptotics, exact solution in the gaussian case and perturbation theory series are described. The existence theorem for the simpliest continual integral over branching trajectories is proved [ru

  19. EGUN, Charged Particle Trajectories in Electromagnetic Focusing System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Herrmannsfeldt, W.B.

    2002-01-01

    1 - Description of problem or function: EGUN computes trajectories of charged particles in electrostatic and magnetostatic focusing systems including the effects of space charge and self-magnetic fields. Starting options include Child's Law conditions on cathodes of various shapes, user-specified conditions input for each ray, and a combination of Child's Law conditions and user specifications. Either rectangular or cylindrically symmetric geometry may be used. Magnetic fields may be specified using an arbitrary configuration of coils, or the output of a magnet program, such as Poisson, or by an externally calculated array of the axial fields. 2 - Method of solution: The program first solves Laplace's equation. Next, the first iteration of electron trajectories is started using one of the four starting options. On the first iteration cycle, space charge forces are calculated from the assumption of paraxial flow. As the rays are traced, space charge is computed and stored. After all the electron trajectories have been calculated, the program begins the second cycle by solving the Poisson equation with the space charge from the first iteration. Subsequent iteration cycles follow this pattern. The Poisson equation is solved by an alternate column relaxation technique known as the semi-iterative Chebyshev method. A fourth-order Runge-Kutta method is used to solve the relativistic differential equations of the trajectory calculations. 3 - Restrictions on the complexity of the problem - Maxima of: 9001 mesh points in a square mesh, 300 mesh points in the axial direction, 100 mesh points in the radial direction, 101 potentials, 51 rays. In the cylindrical coordinates, the magnetic fields are axially symmetric. In rectangular coordinates, the external field is assumed to be normal to the plane of the problem, which is assumed to be the median plane

  20. Signatures of unstable semiclassical trajectories in tunneling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Levkov, D G; Panin, A G; Sibiryakov, S M

    2009-01-01

    It was found recently that processes of multidimensional tunneling are generally described at high energies by unstable semiclassical trajectories. We study two observational signatures related to the instability of trajectories. First, we find an additional power-law dependence of the tunneling probability on the semiclassical parameter as compared to the standard case of potential tunneling. The second signature is a substantial widening of the probability distribution over final-state quantum numbers. These effects are studied using a modified semiclassical technique which incorporates stabilization of the tunneling trajectories. The technique is derived from first principles. We obtain expressions for the inclusive and exclusive tunneling probabilities in the case of unstable semiclassical trajectories. We also investigate the 'phase transition' between the cases of stable and unstable trajectories across certain 'critical' values of energy. Finally, we derive the relation between the semiclassical probabilities of tunneling from the low-lying and highly excited initial states. This puts on firm ground a conjecture made previously in the semiclassical description of collision-induced tunneling in field theory

  1. Adaptive robust motion trajectory tracking control of pneumatic cylinders with LuGre model-based friction compensation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Deyuan; Tao, Guoliang; Liu, Hao; Zhu, Xiaocong

    2014-07-01

    Friction compensation is particularly important for motion trajectory tracking control of pneumatic cylinders at low speed movement. However, most of the existing model-based friction compensation schemes use simple classical models, which are not enough to address applications with high-accuracy position requirements. Furthermore, the friction force in the cylinder is time-varying, and there exist rather severe unmodelled dynamics and unknown disturbances in the pneumatic system. To deal with these problems effectively, an adaptive robust controller with LuGre model-based dynamic friction compensation is constructed. The proposed controller employs on-line recursive least squares estimation (RLSE) to reduce the extent of parametric uncertainties, and utilizes the sliding mode control method to attenuate the effects of parameter estimation errors, unmodelled dynamics and disturbances. In addition, in order to realize LuGre model-based friction compensation, the modified dual-observer structure for estimating immeasurable friction internal state is developed. Therefore, a prescribed motion tracking transient performance and final tracking accuracy can be guaranteed. Since the system model uncertainties are unmatched, the recursive backstepping design technology is applied. In order to solve the conflicts between the sliding mode control design and the adaptive control design, the projection mapping is used to condition the RLSE algorithm so that the parameter estimates are kept within a known bounded convex set. Finally, the proposed controller is tested for tracking sinusoidal trajectories and smooth square trajectory under different loads and sudden disturbance. The testing results demonstrate that the achievable performance of the proposed controller is excellent and is much better than most other studies in literature. Especially when a 0.5 Hz sinusoidal trajectory is tracked, the maximum tracking error is 0.96 mm and the average tracking error is 0.45 mm. This

  2. Bohmian trajectories for an evaporating blackhole

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Acacio de Barros, J. [Departamento de Fisica, Instituto de Ciencias Exatas, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, CEP 36036-330, Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais (Brazil)]. E-mail: acacio@fisica.ufjf.br; Oliveira-Neto, G. [Departamento de Fisica, Instituto de Ciencias Exatas, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, CEP 36036-330, Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais (Brazil)]. E-mail: gilneto@fisica.ufjf.br; Vale, T.B. [Departamento de Fisica, Instituto de Ciencias Exatas, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, CEP 36036-330, Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais (Brazil)]. E-mail: tiberio@fisica.ufjf.br

    2005-03-14

    In this work we apply Bohm's interpretation to the quantized spherically-symmetric blackhole coupled to a massless scalar field. We show that the quantum trajectories for linear combinations of eigenstates of the Wheeler-DeWitt equation form a large set of different curves that cannot be predicted by the standard interpretation of quantum mechanics. Some of them are consistent with the expected value of the time derivative of the mass, whereas other trajectories are not, because they represent blackholes that switch from absorbing to emitting regimes.

  3. The phase diagrams and compensation behaviors of mixed spin Blume-Capel model in a trimodal magnetic field

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Y.F. [Department of Physics, Suzhou University, Suzhou 215006 (China); Yan, S.L. [Department of Physics, Suzhou University, Suzhou 215006 (China); Jiangsu Key Loboratory of Film Materials, Suzhou University, Suzhou 215006 (China); CCAST (World Laboratory), PO Box 8730, Beijing 100080 (China)], E-mail: slyan@suda.edu.cn

    2008-04-07

    The phase diagrams and compensation behaviors of mixed spin-1/2 and spin-1 Blume-Capel model in a trimodal magnetic field are investigated in the framework of the effective field theory on simple cubic lattice. The change of negative crystal field and trimodal concentration can affect the TCP, the second-order phase and the magnetic field degeneration at ground state in T-H space. In T-D space, the trajectory of the TCP takes on the acre curve and there exist the two TCPs under certain condition. In addition to giving one or two compensation temperature points in M-T space, the mixed spin Blume-Capel model also provides one or two novel compensation magnetic field points in M-H space. Some results are not revealed in previous works.

  4. Prediction of human gait trajectories during the SSP using a neuromusculoskeletal modeling: A challenge for parametric optimization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seyed, Mohammadali Rahmati; Mostafa, Rostami; Borhan, Beigzadeh

    2018-04-27

    The parametric optimization techniques have been widely employed to predict human gait trajectories; however, their applications to reveal the other aspects of gait are questionable. The aim of this study is to investigate whether or not the gait prediction model is able to justify the movement trajectories for the higher average velocities. A planar, seven-segment model with sixteen muscle groups was used to represent human neuro-musculoskeletal dynamics. At first, the joint angles, ground reaction forces (GRFs) and muscle activations were predicted and validated for normal average velocity (1.55 m/s) in the single support phase (SSP) by minimizing energy expenditure, which is subject to the non-linear constraints of the gait. The unconstrained system dynamics of extended inverse dynamics (USDEID) approach was used to estimate muscle activations. Then by scaling time and applying the same procedure, the movement trajectories were predicted for higher average velocities (from 2.07 m/s to 4.07 m/s) and compared to the pattern of movement with fast walking speed. The comparison indicated a high level of compatibility between the experimental and predicted results, except for the vertical position of the center of gravity (COG). It was concluded that the gait prediction model can be effectively used to predict gait trajectories for higher average velocities.

  5. Trajectories of Attentional Development: An Exploration with the Master Activation Map Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michael, George A.; Lete, Bernard; Ducrot, Stephanie

    2013-01-01

    The developmental trajectories of several attention components, such as orienting, inhibition, and the guidance of selection by relevance (i.e., advance knowledge relevant to the task) were investigated in 498 participants (ages 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 20). The paradigm was based on Michael et al.'s (2006) master activation map model and consisted of…

  6. Lane-Level Vehicle Trajectory Reckoning for Cooperative Vehicle-Infrastructure System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yinsong Wang

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a lane-level positioning method by trajectory reckoning without Global Positioning System (GPS equipment in the environment of Cooperative Vehicle-Infrastructure System (CVIS. Firstly, the accuracy requirements of vehicle position in CVIS applications and the applicability of GPS positioning methods were analyzed. Then, a trajectory reckoning method based on speed and steering data from vehicle’s Control Area Network (CAN and roadside calibration facilities was proposed, which consists of three critical models, including real-time estimation of steering angle and vehicle direction, vehicle movement reckoning, and wireless calibration. Finally, the proposed method was validated through simulation and field tests under a variety of traffic conditions. Results show that the accuracy of the reckoned vehicle position can reach the lane level and match the requirements of common CVIS applications.

  7. Computational Method for Ice Crystal Trajectories in a Turbofan Compressor

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Grift, E.J.; Norde, Ellen; van der Weide, Edwin Theodorus Antonius; Hoeijmakers, Hendrik Willem Marie

    2015-01-01

    In this study the characteristics of ice crystals on their trajectory in a single stage of a turbofan engine compressor are determined. The particle trajectories are calculated with a Lagrangian method employing a classical fourth-order Runge-Kutta time integration scheme. The air flow field is

  8. Forward and Inverse Predictive Model for the Trajectory Tracking Control of a Lower Limb Exoskeleton for Gait Rehabilitation: Simulation modelling analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zakaria, M. A.; Majeed, A. P. P. A.; Taha, Z.; Alim, M. M.; Baarath, K.

    2018-03-01

    The movement of a lower limb exoskeleton requires a reasonably accurate control method to allow for an effective gait therapy session to transpire. Trajectory tracking is a nontrivial means of passive rehabilitation technique to correct the motion of the patients’ impaired limb. This paper proposes an inverse predictive model that is coupled together with the forward kinematics of the exoskeleton to estimate the behaviour of the system. A conventional PID control system is used to converge the required joint angles based on the desired input from the inverse predictive model. It was demonstrated through the present study, that the inverse predictive model is capable of meeting the trajectory demand with acceptable error tolerance. The findings further suggest the ability of the predictive model of the exoskeleton to predict a correct joint angle command to the system.

  9. Imaginary geometric phases of quantum trajectories in high-order terahertz sideband generation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Fan; Liu, Ren-Bao

    2014-03-01

    Quantum evolution of particles under strong fields can be described by a small number of quantum trajectories that satisfy the stationary phase condition in the Dirac-Feynmann path integral. The quantum trajectories are the key concept to understand the high-order terahertz siedeband generation (HSG) in semiconductors. Due to the nontrivial ``vacuum'' states of band materials, the quantum trajectories of optically excited electron-hole pairs in semiconductors can accumulate geometric phases under the driving of an elliptically polarized THz field. We find that the geometric phase of the stationary trajectory is generally complex with both real and imaginary parts. In monolayer MoS2, the imaginary parts of the geometric phase leads to a changing of the polarization ellipticity of the sideband. We further show that the imaginary part originates from the quantum interference of many trajectories with different phases. Thus the observation of the polarization ellipticity of the sideband shall be a good indication of the quantum nature of the stationary trajectory. This work is supported by Hong Kong RGC/GRF 401512 and the CUHK Focused Investments Scheme.

  10. Optimization of Low-Thrust Spiral Trajectories by Collocation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Falck, Robert D.; Dankanich, John W.

    2012-01-01

    As NASA examines potential missions in the post space shuttle era, there has been a renewed interest in low-thrust electric propulsion for both crewed and uncrewed missions. While much progress has been made in the field of software for the optimization of low-thrust trajectories, many of the tools utilize higher-fidelity methods which, while excellent, result in extremely high run-times and poor convergence when dealing with planetocentric spiraling trajectories deep within a gravity well. Conversely, faster tools like SEPSPOT provide a reasonable solution but typically fail to account for other forces such as third-body gravitation, aerodynamic drag, solar radiation pressure. SEPSPOT is further constrained by its solution method, which may require a very good guess to yield a converged optimal solution. Here the authors have developed an approach using collocation intended to provide solution times comparable to those given by SEPSPOT while allowing for greater robustness and extensible force models.

  11. Fluctuation theorems and atypical trajectories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sahoo, M; Lahiri, S; Jayannavar, A M

    2011-01-01

    In this work, we have studied simple models that can be solved analytically to illustrate various fluctuation theorems. These fluctuation theorems provide symmetries individually to the distributions of physical quantities such as the classical work (W c ), thermodynamic work (W), total entropy (Δs tot ) and dissipated heat (Q), when the system is driven arbitrarily out of equilibrium. All these quantities can be defined for individual trajectories. We have studied the number of trajectories which exhibit behaviour unexpected at the macroscopic level. As the time of observation increases, the fraction of such atypical trajectories decreases, as expected at the macroscale. The distributions for the thermodynamic work and entropy production in nonlinear models may exhibit a peak (most probable value) in the atypical regime without violating the expected average behaviour. However, dissipated heat and classical work exhibit a peak in the regime of typical behaviour only.

  12. Drug use trajectory patterns among older drug users

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tyndall B

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Miriam Boeri, Thor Whalen, Benjamin Tyndall, Ellen BallardKennesaw State University, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, Kennesaw GA, USAAbstract: To better understand patterns of drug use trajectories over time, it is essential to have standard measures of change. Our goal here is to introduce measures we developed to quantify change in drug use behaviors. A secondary goal is to provide effective visualizations of these trajectories for applied use. We analyzed data from a sample of 92 older drug users (ages 45 to 65 to identify transition patterns in drug use trajectories across the life course. Data were collected for every year since birth using a mixed methods design. The community-drawn sample of active and former users were 40% female, 50% African American, and 60% reporting some college or greater. Their life histories provided retrospective longitudinal data on the diversity of paths taken throughout the life course and changes in drug use patterns that occurred over time. Bayesian analysis was used to model drug trajectories displayed by innovative computer graphics. The mathematical techniques and visualizations presented here provide the foundation for future models using Bayesian analysis. In this paper we introduce the concepts of transition counts, transition rates and relapse/remission rates, and we describe how these measures can help us better understand drug use trajectories. Depicted through these visual tools, measurements of discontinuous patterns provide a succinct view of individual drug use trajectories. The measures we use on drug use data will be further developed to incorporate contextual influences on the drug trajectory and build predictive models that inform rehabilitation efforts for drug users. Although the measures developed here were conceived to better examine drug use trajectories, the applications of these measures can be used with other longitudinal datasets.Keywords: drug use, trajectory patterns

  13. Trajectories of adolescent substance use development and the influence of healthy leisure: A growth mixture modeling approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weybright, Elizabeth H; Caldwell, Linda L; Ram, Nilam; Smith, Edward A; Wegner, Lisa

    2016-06-01

    Considerable heterogeneity exists in adolescent substance use development. To most effectively prevent use, distinct trajectories of use must be identified as well as differential associations with predictors of use, such as leisure experience. The current study used a person-centered approach to identify distinct substance use trajectories and how leisure is associated with trajectory classes. Data came from a larger efficacy trial of 2.249 South African high school students who reported substance use at any time across 8 waves. Growth mixture modeling was used to identify developmental trajectories of substance use and the influence of healthy leisure. Results identified three increasing and one stable substance use trajectory and subjective healthy leisure served to protect against use. This study is the first of its kind to focus on a sample of South African adolescents and serves to develop a richer understanding of substance use development and the role of healthy leisure. Copyright © 2016 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Leveraging Chaos in Continuous Thrust Trajectory Design

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — A trajectory design tool is sought to leverage chaos and nonlinear dynamics present in multi-body gravitational fields to design ultra-low energy transfer...

  15. Long Range Aircraft Trajectory Prediction

    OpenAIRE

    Magister, Tone

    2009-01-01

    The subject of the paper is the improvement of the aircraft future trajectory prediction accuracy for long-range airborne separation assurance. The strategic planning of safe aircraft flights and effective conflict avoidance tactics demand timely and accurate conflict detection based upon future four–dimensional airborne traffic situation prediction which is as accurate as each aircraft flight trajectory prediction. The improved kinematics model of aircraft relative flight considering flight ...

  16. Quantum trajectory phase transitions in the micromaser.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garrahan, Juan P; Armour, Andrew D; Lesanovsky, Igor

    2011-08-01

    We study the dynamics of the single-atom maser, or micromaser, by means of the recently introduced method of thermodynamics of quantum jump trajectories. We find that the dynamics of the micromaser displays multiple space-time phase transitions, i.e., phase transitions in ensembles of quantum jump trajectories. This rich dynamical phase structure becomes apparent when trajectories are classified by dynamical observables that quantify dynamical activity, such as the number of atoms that have changed state while traversing the cavity. The space-time transitions can be either first order or continuous, and are controlled not just by standard parameters of the micromaser but also by nonequilibrium "counting" fields. We discuss how the dynamical phase behavior relates to the better known stationary-state properties of the micromaser.

  17. Calculation of three-dimensional MHD equilibria with magnetic islands and chaotic field line trajectories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reiman, A.; Monticello, D.; Pomphrey, N.

    1993-01-01

    The three-dimensional MHD equilibrium equation is a mixed elliptic-hyperbolic partial differential equation. Unlike more familiar equations of this sort, the source term in the elliptic part of the equation is dependent on the time-asymptotic solution of the hyperbolic part, because the pressure and the force-free part of the current are constant along magnetic field lines. The equations for the field line trajectories can be put in the form of Hamilton's equations for a one-dimensional time-dependent system. The authors require an accurate solution for the KAM surfaces of this nonintegrable Hamiltonian. They describe a new algorithm they have developed for this purpose, and discuss its relationship to previously developed algorithms for computing KAM surfaces. They also discuss the numerical issues that arise in self-consistently coupling the output of this algorithm to the elliptic piece of the equation to calculate the magnetic field driven by the current. For nominally axisymmetric devices, they describe how the code is used to directly calculate the saturated state of nonaxisymmetric instabilities by following the equilibrium solution through a bifurcation. They argue that this should be the method of choice for evaluating stability to tearing modes in toroidal magnetic confinement devices

  18. Observation of particle trajectories near a magnetized fiber

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Treat, R.P.; Lawson, W.F.; Johnson, J.L.

    1979-01-01

    The motions of 20--30-μm paramagnetic particles have been observed in the neighborhood of a 250-μm ferromagnetic fiber. The particles are entrained in nitrogen flowing down over a horizontal fiber. The particles and fiber are magnetized by a vertical magnetic field of strength up to 0.73 T. The free-stream velocities range from nearly zero to 1 m/sec. A Fastax movie camera is used to record the positions of the particles as they pass by or collide with the fiber. The particle trajectories thus observed determine the collision cross section as a function of field strength and free-stream velocity. Cross sections of over five diameters are observed. The cross sections and trajectories are compared and agree with the Newtonian theory of the particle motion. The theory assumes potential flow over the fiber and accounts for the magnetic, viscous, and gravitational forces and particle inertia, all of these being significant in the range of conditions considered. The observed trajectories show details of the motion which are clear manifestations of particle inertia. The sharp particle shadows cast by the isolated fiber are a striking feature of the trajectory patterns. Such shadows should be the source of an intereference effect in multiple-fiber filters

  19. Phenomenology of the minimal inflation scenario: inflationary trajectories and particle production

    CERN Document Server

    Alvarez-Gaume, Luis; Jimenez, Raul

    2012-01-01

    We discuss the phenomenology of the minimal inflation scenario. We concentrate on two aspects: inflationary trajectories and particle production. Our findings can be summarized in two main results: first, that inflationary trayectories that are very flat and provide enough number of e-foldings are very natural in the scenario without fine tunning. We present a general formalism to identify attractors in multi-field inflation regardless of trajectories fulfilling the slow-roll conditions. We then explore particle production in the model and show how the inflaton naturally transmutes into the current dark matter particle, thus providing a mechanism to identify the inflaton today: it is the dark matter. One interesting feature of our model is that it provides a novel mechanism to generate particles and entropy in the universe: the filling of the Fermi sphere up to a given momentum pF due to the sea of goldstinos that are an important part of the matter generated after inflation. With this mechanism in hand we pr...

  20. The potential of agent-based modelling for verification of people trajectories based on smartphone sensor data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hillen, F; Ehlers, M; Höfle, B; Reinartz, P

    2014-01-01

    In this paper the potential of smartphone sensor data for verification of people trajectories derived from airborne remote sensing data are investigated and discussed based on simulated test recordings in the city of Osnabrueck, Germany. For this purpose, the airborne imagery is simulated by images taken from a high building with a typical single lens reflex camera. The smartphone data required for the analysis of the potential is simultaneously recorded by test persons on the ground. In a second step, the quality of the smartphone sensor data is evaluated regarding the integration into simulation and modelling approaches. In this context we studied the potential of the agent-based modelling technique concerning the verification of people trajectories

  1. Modeling the Nature of Grammar and Vocabulary Trajectories From Prekindergarten to Third Grade.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Hui; Logan, Jessica A; Jia, Rongfang

    2018-04-17

    This study investigated the longitudinal development of 2 important contributors to reading comprehension, grammar, and vocabulary skills. The primary interest was to examine the trajectories of the 2 skill areas from preschool to 3rd grade. The study involved a longitudinal sample of 420 children from 4 sites. Language skills, including grammar and vocabulary, were assessed annually with multiple measures. Multivariate latent growth curve modeling was used to examine the developmental trajectories of grammar and vocabulary, to test the correlation between the 2 domains, and to investigate the effects of demographic predictors on language growth. Results showed that both grammar and vocabulary exhibited decelerating growth from preschool to Grade 2. In Grade 3, grammar growth further flattened, whereas vocabulary continued to grow stably. Growth of vocabulary and grammar were positively correlated. Demographic characteristics, such as child gender and family socioeconomic status, were found to predict the intercept but not the slope of the growth trajectories. Children's growth in grammar skills is differentiated in a number of important ways from their growth in vocabulary skills. Results of this study suggest the need to differentiate these dimensions of language when seeking to closely examine growth from preschool to primary grades.

  2. Relative camera localisation in non-overlapping camera networks using multiple trajectories

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    John, V.; Englebienne, G.; Kröse, B.J.A.

    2012-01-01

    In this article we present an automatic camera calibration algorithm using multiple trajectories in a multiple camera network with non-overlapping field-of-views (FOV). Visible trajectories within a camera FOV are assumed to be measured with respect to the camera local co-ordinate system.

  3. Master-slave control with trajectory planning and Bouc-Wen model for tracking control of piezo-driven stage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Xiaojun; Liu, Changli; Chen, Lei

    2018-04-01

    In this paper, a redundant Piezo-driven stage having 3RRR compliant mechanism is introduced, we propose the master-slave control with trajectory planning (MSCTP) strategy and Bouc-Wen model to improve its micro-motion tracking performance. The advantage of the proposed controller lies in that its implementation only requires a simple control strategy without the complexity of modeling to avoid the master PEA's tracking error. The dynamic model of slave PEA system with Bouc-Wen hysteresis is established and identified via particle swarm optimization (PSO) approach. The Piezo-driven stage with operating period T=1s and 2s is implemented to track a prescribed circle. The simulation results show that MSCTP with Bouc-Wen model reduces the trajectory tracking errors to the range of the accuracy of our available measurement.

  4. Estimates of Surface Drifter Trajectories in the Equatorial Atlantic: A Multi-model Ensemble Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    Physique des Oceans UMR6523 (CNRS. I B(). IFREMER. IRD). Brest , France C. N. Barron E. Joseph Metzger Naval Research Laboratory, Stennis Space...AF447 flight from Rio to Paris . The airplane disappeared on June 1st 2009 near 3° N and 31° W, and a large international effort was organized to...to Runge-Kutta trajectory integration. The low- pass filter was accomplished by convolving the original (XiCM velocity fields at each time step and

  5. 3D trajectories re-construction of droplets ejected in controlled tungsten melting studies in ASDEX Upgrade

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Zhongshi; Krieger, K.; Lunt, T.; Brochard, F.; Briancon, J.-L.; Neu, R.; Dux, R.; Janzer, A.; Potzel, S.; Pütterich, T.

    2013-01-01

    Two fast visible range camera systems with vertically and tangentially oriented crossed viewing fields in the divertor region of ASDEX Upgrade were used to observe tungsten (W) droplets ejected from a melting W-pin into the divertor plasma. To obtain the spatial (3D) trajectories of the tungsten droplets, the trajectory of a given droplet in the (2D) camera image coordinate system was derived for each view separately. From these data, the 3D droplet position was derived by computing the shortest line segment connecting crossed viewing chords to a given droplet taking the centre coordinate of the line segment as actual coordinate. The experimental error of the derived position was estimated from the length of the connecting line segment. In the toroidal direction, the computed trajectories can be described by an analytical transport model for the droplets assuming an initial droplet diameter in the range of 60–100 μm. In the vertical direction the vertical distance droplets travelled when reaching the edge of the viewing field also agrees with the model predictions. However, discrepancies are found with respect to the time point whence a droplet reverts its initial downwards motion due to centrifugal forces exceeding gravity and plasma generated force components

  6. A model of curved saccade trajectories: Spike rate adaptation in the brainstem as the cause of deviation away

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kruijne, Wouter; Van der Stigchel, Stefan; Meeter, Martijn

    2014-01-01

    The trajectory of saccades to a target is often affected whenever there is a distractor in the visual field. Distractors can cause a saccade to deviate towards their location or away from it. The oculomotor mechanisms that produce deviation towards distractors have been thoroughly explored in

  7. A model of curved saccade trajectories: Spike rate adaptation in the brainstem as the cause of deviation away.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kruijne, W.; van der Stigchel, S.; Meeter, M.

    2014-01-01

    The trajectory of saccades to a target is often affected whenever there is a distractor in the visual field. Distractors can cause a saccade to deviate towards their location or away from it. The oculomotor mechanisms that produce deviation towards distractors have been thoroughly explored in

  8. OPTIMAL AIRCRAFT TRAJECTORIES FOR SPECIFIED RANGE

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, H.

    1994-01-01

    For an aircraft operating over a fixed range, the operating costs are basically a sum of fuel cost and time cost. While minimum fuel and minimum time trajectories are relatively easy to calculate, the determination of a minimum cost trajectory can be a complex undertaking. This computer program was developed to optimize trajectories with respect to a cost function based on a weighted sum of fuel cost and time cost. As a research tool, the program could be used to study various characteristics of optimum trajectories and their comparison to standard trajectories. It might also be used to generate a model for the development of an airborne trajectory optimization system. The program could be incorporated into an airline flight planning system, with optimum flight plans determined at takeoff time for the prevailing flight conditions. The use of trajectory optimization could significantly reduce the cost for a given aircraft mission. The algorithm incorporated in the program assumes that a trajectory consists of climb, cruise, and descent segments. The optimization of each segment is not done independently, as in classical procedures, but is performed in a manner which accounts for interaction between the segments. This is accomplished by the application of optimal control theory. The climb and descent profiles are generated by integrating a set of kinematic and dynamic equations, where the total energy of the aircraft is the independent variable. At each energy level of the climb and descent profiles, the air speed and power setting necessary for an optimal trajectory are determined. The variational Hamiltonian of the problem consists of the rate of change of cost with respect to total energy and a term dependent on the adjoint variable, which is identical to the optimum cruise cost at a specified altitude. This variable uniquely specifies the optimal cruise energy, cruise altitude, cruise Mach number, and, indirectly, the climb and descent profiles. If the optimum

  9. Galileo's Trajectory with Mild Resistance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Groetsch, C. W.

    2012-01-01

    An aspect of Galileo's classical trajectory that persists in a simple resistance model is noted. The resistive model provides a case study for the classroom analysis of limiting behaviour of an implicitly defined function. (Contains 1 note.)

  10. MESOILT2, a Lagrangian trajectory climatological dispersion model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramsdell, J.V. Jr.; Burk, K.W.

    1991-03-01

    The objective of the Hanford Environmental Dose Reconstruction (HEDR) Project is to estimate the radiation dose that individuals could have received as a result of emissions from nuclear operations at the Hanford Site. An independent Technical Steering Panel (TSP) directs the project, which is conducted by the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL). The TSP directed PNL to demonstrate that its recommended approach for dose reconstruction is technically feasible and practical. This demonstration was Phase 1 of the project. This report is specifically concerned with the approach that PNL recommends for dealing with the atmospheric pathway. The TSP established a model domain for the atmospheric pathway for Phase 1 that includes 10 counties in Washington and Oregon and covers several thousand square miles. It is unrealistic to assume that atmospheric models which estimate transport and diffusion based on the meteorological conditions near the point of release of material at the time of release are adequate for a region this large. As a result, PNL recommended use of a Lagrangian trajectory, puff dispersion model for the Phase I study. This report describes the MESOILT2 computer code and the atmospheric transport, diffusion, deposition, and depletion models used in Phase I. The contents of the report include a technical description of the models, a user's guide for the codes, and descriptions of the individual code elements. 53 refs., 17 figs., 5 tabs

  11. Analytical Ballistic Trajectories with Approximately Linear Drag

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giliam J. P. de Carpentier

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper introduces a practical analytical approximation of projectile trajectories in 2D and 3D roughly based on a linear drag model and explores a variety of different planning algorithms for these trajectories. Although the trajectories are only approximate, they still capture many of the characteristics of a real projectile in free fall under the influence of an invariant wind, gravitational pull, and terminal velocity, while the required math for these trajectories and planners is still simple enough to efficiently run on almost all modern hardware devices. Together, these properties make the proposed approach particularly useful for real-time applications where accuracy and performance need to be carefully balanced, such as in computer games.

  12. Learning probabilistic models of hydrogen bond stability from molecular dynamics simulation trajectories

    KAUST Repository

    Chikalov, Igor

    2011-02-15

    Background: Hydrogen bonds (H-bonds) play a key role in both the formation and stabilization of protein structures. They form and break while a protein deforms, for instance during the transition from a non-functional to a functional state. The intrinsic strength of an individual H-bond has been studied from an energetic viewpoint, but energy alone may not be a very good predictor.Methods: This paper describes inductive learning methods to train protein-independent probabilistic models of H-bond stability from molecular dynamics (MD) simulation trajectories of various proteins. The training data contains 32 input attributes (predictors) that describe an H-bond and its local environment in a conformation c and the output attribute is the probability that the H-bond will be present in an arbitrary conformation of this protein achievable from c within a time duration ?. We model dependence of the output variable on the predictors by a regression tree.Results: Several models are built using 6 MD simulation trajectories containing over 4000 distinct H-bonds (millions of occurrences). Experimental results demonstrate that such models can predict H-bond stability quite well. They perform roughly 20% better than models based on H-bond energy alone. In addition, they can accurately identify a large fraction of the least stable H-bonds in a conformation. In most tests, about 80% of the 10% H-bonds predicted as the least stable are actually among the 10% truly least stable. The important attributes identified during the tree construction are consistent with previous findings.Conclusions: We use inductive learning methods to build protein-independent probabilistic models to study H-bond stability, and demonstrate that the models perform better than H-bond energy alone. 2011 Chikalov et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

  13. Automated trajectory planning for multiple-flyby interplanetary missions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Englander, Jacob

    Many space mission planning problems may be formulated as hybrid optimal control problems (HOCP), i.e. problems that include both real-valued variables and categorical variables. In interplanetary trajectory design problems the categorical variables will typically specify the sequence of planets at which to perform flybys, and the real-valued variables will represent the launch date, ight times between planets, magnitudes and directions of thrust, flyby altitudes, etc. The contribution of this work is a framework for the autonomous optimization of multiple-flyby interplanetary trajectories. The trajectory design problem is converted into a HOCP with two nested loops: an "outer-loop" that finds the sequence of flybys and an "inner-loop" that optimizes the trajectory for each candidate yby sequence. The problem of choosing a sequence of flybys is posed as an integer programming problem and solved using a genetic algorithm (GA). This is an especially difficult problem to solve because GAs normally operate on a fixed-length set of decision variables. Since in interplanetary trajectory design the number of flyby maneuvers is not known a priori, it was necessary to devise a method of parameterizing the problem such that the GA can evolve a variable-length sequence of flybys. A novel "null gene" transcription was developed to meet this need. Then, for each candidate sequence of flybys, a trajectory must be found that visits each of the flyby targets and arrives at the final destination while optimizing some cost metric, such as minimizing ▵v or maximizing the final mass of the spacecraft. Three different classes of trajectory are described in this work, each of which requireda different physical model and optimization method. The choice of a trajectory model and optimization method is especially challenging because of the nature of the hybrid optimal control problem. Because the trajectory optimization problem is generated in real time by the outer-loop, the inner

  14. Trajectories of suicidal ideation in patients with first-episode psychosis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Madsen, Trine; Karstoft, Karen-Inge; Secher, Rikke Gry

    2016-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Heterogeneity in suicidal ideation over time in patients with first-episode psychosis is expected, but prototypical trajectories of this have not yet been established. We aimed to identify trajectories of suicidal ideation over a 3-year period and to examine how these trajectories...... assessments in a latent growth mixture modelling analysis to empirically identify trajectories of suicidal ideation. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were applied to estimate associations between trajectories and subsequent suicidality. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT...

  15. An alternative approach to modelling HbA1c trajectories in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McEwan, Phil; Bennett, Hayley; Qin, Lei; Bergenheim, Klas; Gordon, Jason; Evans, Marc

    2017-05-01

    Time-dependent HbA1c trajectories in health economic models of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are typically informed by the UK Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS). However, this approach may not accurately predict HbA1c progression in patients who do not conform to the demographic profile of the original UKPDS cohort. This study aimed to develop an alternative mathematical model (MM) to simulate HbA1c progression in T2DM. A systematic literature review identified studies, published between 2005 and 2015, that reported HbA1c in adult T2DM patients over a minimum duration of 18 months. Pooled data from eligible studies were used to develop an alternative MM equation for HbA1c progression, which was then contrasted with the UKPDS 68 progression equation in illustrative scenarios. A total of 68 studies were eligible for data extraction (mean follow-up time 4.1 years). HbA1c progression was highly heterogeneous across studies, varying with baseline HbA1c, treatment group and patient age. The MM equation was fitted with parameters for mean baseline HbA1c (8.3%), initial change in HbA1c (-0.62%) and upper quartile of maximum observed HbA1c (9.3%). Differences in HbA1c trajectories between the MM and UKPDS approaches altered the timing of therapy escalation in illustrative scenarios. The MM represents an alternative approach to simulate HbA1c trajectories in T2DM models, as UKPDS data may not adequately reflect the heterogeneity of HbA1c profiles observed in clinical studies. However, the choice of approach should ultimately be determined by the characteristics of individual patients under consideration and the clinical face validity of the modelled trajectories. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. Direct Observation of Long-Range Transport Using Continuously Sounding Balloons and Near-Real-Time Trajectory Modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voss, P. B.; Zaveri, R. A.; Berkowitz, C. M.

    2009-12-01

    Controlled Meteorological (CMET) balloons have been used in several recent studies to measure long-range transport over periods as long as 30 hours and distances up to 1000 kilometers. By repeatedly performing shallow soundings as they drift, CMET balloons can quantify evolving atmospheric structure, mixing events, shear advection, and dispersion during transport. In addition, the quasi-Lagrangian wind profiles can be used to drive a multi-layer trajectory model in which the advected air parcels follow the underlying terrain, or are constrained by altitude, potential temperature, or tracer concentration. Data from a coordinated balloon-aircraft study of long range transport over Texas (SETTS 2005) show that the reconstructed trajectories accurately track residual-layer urban outflow (and at times even its fine-scale structure) over distances of many hundreds of kilometers. The reconstructed trajectories and evolving profile visualizations are increasingly being made available in near-real time during balloon flights, supporting data-driven flight planning and sophisticated process studies relevant to atmospheric chemistry and climate. Multilayer trajectories (black grids) derived from CMET balloon flight paths (grey lines) for a transport event across Texas in 2005.

  17. Numerical study and ex vivo assessment of HIFU treatment time reduction through optimization of focal point trajectory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grisey, A.; Yon, S.; Pechoux, T.; Letort, V.; Lafitte, P.

    2017-03-01

    Treatment time reduction is a key issue to expand the use of high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) surgery, especially for benign pathologies. This study aims at quantitatively assessing the potential reduction of the treatment time arising from moving the focal point during long pulses. In this context, the optimization of the focal point trajectory is crucial to achieve a uniform thermal dose repartition and avoid boiling. At first, a numerical optimization algorithm was used to generate efficient trajectories. Thermal conduction was simulated in 3D with a finite difference code and damages to the tissue were modeled using the thermal dose formula. Given an initial trajectory, the thermal dose field was first computed, then, making use of Pontryagin's maximum principle, the trajectory was iteratively refined. Several initial trajectories were tested. Then, an ex vivo study was conducted in order to validate the efficicency of the resulting optimized strategies. Single pulses were performed at 3MHz on fresh veal liver samples with an Echopulse and the size of each unitary lesion was assessed by cutting each sample along three orthogonal planes and measuring the dimension of the whitened area based on photographs. We propose a promising approach to significantly shorten HIFU treatment time: the numerical optimization algorithm was shown to provide a reliable insight on trajectories that can improve treatment strategies. The model must now be improved in order to take in vivo conditions into account and extensively validated.

  18. Kinematic evaluation of virtual walking trajectories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cirio, Gabriel; Olivier, Anne-Hélène; Marchal, Maud; Pettré, Julien

    2013-04-01

    Virtual walking, a fundamental task in Virtual Reality (VR), is greatly influenced by the locomotion interface being used, by the specificities of input and output devices, and by the way the virtual environment is represented. No matter how virtual walking is controlled, the generation of realistic virtual trajectories is absolutely required for some applications, especially those dedicated to the study of walking behaviors in VR, navigation through virtual places for architecture, rehabilitation and training. Previous studies focused on evaluating the realism of locomotion trajectories have mostly considered the result of the locomotion task (efficiency, accuracy) and its subjective perception (presence, cybersickness). Few focused on the locomotion trajectory itself, but in situation of geometrically constrained task. In this paper, we study the realism of unconstrained trajectories produced during virtual walking by addressing the following question: did the user reach his destination by virtually walking along a trajectory he would have followed in similar real conditions? To this end, we propose a comprehensive evaluation framework consisting on a set of trajectographical criteria and a locomotion model to generate reference trajectories. We consider a simple locomotion task where users walk between two oriented points in space. The travel path is analyzed both geometrically and temporally in comparison to simulated reference trajectories. In addition, we demonstrate the framework over a user study which considered an initial set of common and frequent virtual walking conditions, namely different input devices, output display devices, control laws, and visualization modalities. The study provides insight into the relative contributions of each condition to the overall realism of the resulting virtual trajectories.

  19. Fluid-driven fracture propagation in heterogeneous media: Probability distributions of fracture trajectories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santillán, David; Mosquera, Juan-Carlos; Cueto-Felgueroso, Luis

    2017-11-01

    Hydraulic fracture trajectories in rocks and other materials are highly affected by spatial heterogeneity in their mechanical properties. Understanding the complexity and structure of fluid-driven fractures and their deviation from the predictions of homogenized theories is a practical problem in engineering and geoscience. We conduct a Monte Carlo simulation study to characterize the influence of heterogeneous mechanical properties on the trajectories of hydraulic fractures propagating in elastic media. We generate a large number of random fields of mechanical properties and simulate pressure-driven fracture propagation using a phase-field model. We model the mechanical response of the material as that of an elastic isotropic material with heterogeneous Young modulus and Griffith energy release rate, assuming that fractures propagate in the toughness-dominated regime. Our study shows that the variance and the spatial covariance of the mechanical properties are controlling factors in the tortuousness of the fracture paths. We characterize the deviation of fracture paths from the homogenous case statistically, and conclude that the maximum deviation grows linearly with the distance from the injection point. Additionally, fracture path deviations seem to be normally distributed, suggesting that fracture propagation in the toughness-dominated regime may be described as a random walk.

  20. A hybrid spatio-temporal data indexing method for trajectory databases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ke, Shengnan; Gong, Jun; Li, Songnian; Zhu, Qing; Liu, Xintao; Zhang, Yeting

    2014-07-21

    In recent years, there has been tremendous growth in the field of indoor and outdoor positioning sensors continuously producing huge volumes of trajectory data that has been used in many fields such as location-based services or location intelligence. Trajectory data is massively increased and semantically complicated, which poses a great challenge on spatio-temporal data indexing. This paper proposes a spatio-temporal data indexing method, named HBSTR-tree, which is a hybrid index structure comprising spatio-temporal R-tree, B*-tree and Hash table. To improve the index generation efficiency, rather than directly inserting trajectory points, we group consecutive trajectory points as nodes according to their spatio-temporal semantics and then insert them into spatio-temporal R-tree as leaf nodes. Hash table is used to manage the latest leaf nodes to reduce the frequency of insertion. A new spatio-temporal interval criterion and a new node-choosing sub-algorithm are also proposed to optimize spatio-temporal R-tree structures. In addition, a B*-tree sub-index of leaf nodes is built to query the trajectories of targeted objects efficiently. Furthermore, a database storage scheme based on a NoSQL-type DBMS is also proposed for the purpose of cloud storage. Experimental results prove that HBSTR-tree outperforms TB*-tree in some aspects such as generation efficiency, query performance and query type.

  1. A Hybrid Spatio-Temporal Data Indexing Method for Trajectory Databases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shengnan Ke

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, there has been tremendous growth in the field of indoor and outdoor positioning sensors continuously producing huge volumes of trajectory data that has been used in many fields such as location-based services or location intelligence. Trajectory data is massively increased and semantically complicated, which poses a great challenge on spatio-temporal data indexing. This paper proposes a spatio-temporal data indexing method, named HBSTR-tree, which is a hybrid index structure comprising spatio-temporal R-tree, B*-tree and Hash table. To improve the index generation efficiency, rather than directly inserting trajectory points, we group consecutive trajectory points as nodes according to their spatio-temporal semantics and then insert them into spatio-temporal R-tree as leaf nodes. Hash table is used to manage the latest leaf nodes to reduce the frequency of insertion. A new spatio-temporal interval criterion and a new node-choosing sub-algorithm are also proposed to optimize spatio-temporal R-tree structures. In addition, a B*-tree sub-index of leaf nodes is built to query the trajectories of targeted objects efficiently. Furthermore, a database storage scheme based on a NoSQL-type DBMS is also proposed for the purpose of cloud storage. Experimental results prove that HBSTR-tree outperforms TB*-tree in some aspects such as generation efficiency, query performance and query type.

  2. A Hybrid Spatio-Temporal Data Indexing Method for Trajectory Databases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ke, Shengnan; Gong, Jun; Li, Songnian; Zhu, Qing; Liu, Xintao; Zhang, Yeting

    2014-01-01

    In recent years, there has been tremendous growth in the field of indoor and outdoor positioning sensors continuously producing huge volumes of trajectory data that has been used in many fields such as location-based services or location intelligence. Trajectory data is massively increased and semantically complicated, which poses a great challenge on spatio-temporal data indexing. This paper proposes a spatio-temporal data indexing method, named HBSTR-tree, which is a hybrid index structure comprising spatio-temporal R-tree, B*-tree and Hash table. To improve the index generation efficiency, rather than directly inserting trajectory points, we group consecutive trajectory points as nodes according to their spatio-temporal semantics and then insert them into spatio-temporal R-tree as leaf nodes. Hash table is used to manage the latest leaf nodes to reduce the frequency of insertion. A new spatio-temporal interval criterion and a new node-choosing sub-algorithm are also proposed to optimize spatio-temporal R-tree structures. In addition, a B*-tree sub-index of leaf nodes is built to query the trajectories of targeted objects efficiently. Furthermore, a database storage scheme based on a NoSQL-type DBMS is also proposed for the purpose of cloud storage. Experimental results prove that HBSTR-tree outperforms TB*-tree in some aspects such as generation efficiency, query performance and query type. PMID:25051028

  3. Visiting Vehicle Ground Trajectory Tool

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamm, Dustin

    2013-01-01

    The International Space Station (ISS) Visiting Vehicle Group needed a targeting tool for vehicles that rendezvous with the ISS. The Visiting Vehicle Ground Trajectory targeting tool provides the ability to perform both realtime and planning operations for the Visiting Vehicle Group. This tool provides a highly reconfigurable base, which allows the Visiting Vehicle Group to perform their work. The application is composed of a telemetry processing function, a relative motion function, a targeting function, a vector view, and 2D/3D world map type graphics. The software tool provides the ability to plan a rendezvous trajectory for vehicles that visit the ISS. It models these relative trajectories using planned and realtime data from the vehicle. The tool monitors ongoing rendezvous trajectory relative motion, and ensures visiting vehicles stay within agreed corridors. The software provides the ability to update or re-plan a rendezvous to support contingency operations. Adding new parameters and incorporating them into the system was previously not available on-the-fly. If an unanticipated capability wasn't discovered until the vehicle was flying, there was no way to update things.

  4. Computation of quantum electron transport with local current conservation using quantum trajectories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alarcón, A; Oriols, X

    2009-01-01

    A recent proposal for modeling time-dependent quantum electron transport with Coulomb and exchange correlations using quantum (Bohm) trajectories (Oriols 2007 Phys. Rev. Lett. 98 066803) is extended towards the computation of the total (particle plus displacement) current in mesoscopic devices. In particular, two different methods for the practical computation of the total current are compared. The first method computes the particle and the displacement currents from the rate of Bohm particles crossing a particular surface and the time-dependent variations of the electric field there. The second method uses the Ramo–Shockley theorem to compute the total current on that surface from the knowledge of the Bohm particle dynamics in a 3D volume and the time-dependent variations of the electric field on the boundaries of that volume. From a computational point of view, it is shown that both methods achieve local current conservation, but the second is preferred because it is free from 'spurious' peaks. A numerical example, a Bohm trajectory crossing a double-barrier tunneling structure, is presented, supporting the conclusions

  5. Developmental Trajectories of Childhood Obesity and Risk Behaviors in Adolescence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, David Y. C.; Lanza, H. Isabella; Wright-Volel, Kynna; Anglin, M. Douglas

    2013-01-01

    Using group-based trajectory modeling, this study examined 5156 adolescents from the child sample of the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to identify developmental trajectories of obesity from ages 6-18 and evaluate associations of such trajectories with risk behaviors and psychosocial health in adolescence. Four distinctive obesity…

  6. Advancing nursing science through health trajectory research: an introduction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wyman, Jean F; Henly, Susan J

    2011-01-01

    The Minnesota Center for Health Trajectory Research has focused on developing ways to better understand how interventions influence health trajectories during transitional, acute, or chronic health challenges across the life span. The health trajectory perspective advances nursing science by providing a person-centered point of view that emphasizes change in health over time within individuals, families, groups, or communities. Theoretical considerations and statistical modeling approaches used in studying health trajectories, along with exemplars from nursing research studies from this special issue of Nursing Research, are highlighted.

  7. Kalman filter application to mitigate the errors in the trajectory simulations due to the lunar gravitational model uncertainty

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gonçalves, L D; Rocco, E M; De Moraes, R V; Kuga, H K

    2015-01-01

    This paper aims to simulate part of the orbital trajectory of Lunar Prospector mission to analyze the relevance of using a Kalman filter to estimate the trajectory. For this study it is considered the disturbance due to the lunar gravitational potential using one of the most recent models, the LP100K model, which is based on spherical harmonics, and considers the maximum degree and order up to the value 100. In order to simplify the expression of the gravitational potential and, consequently, to reduce the computational effort required in the simulation, in some cases, lower values for degree and order are used. Following this aim, it is made an analysis of the inserted error in the simulations when using such values of degree and order to propagate the spacecraft trajectory and control. This analysis was done using the standard deviation that characterizes the uncertainty for each one of the values of the degree and order used in LP100K model for the satellite orbit. With knowledge of the uncertainty of the gravity model adopted, lunar orbital trajectory simulations may be accomplished considering these values of uncertainty. Furthermore, it was also used a Kalman filter, where is considered the sensor's uncertainty that defines the satellite position at each step of the simulation and the uncertainty of the model, by means of the characteristic variance of the truncated gravity model. Thus, this procedure represents an effort to approximate the results obtained using lower values for the degree and order of the spherical harmonics, to the results that would be attained if the maximum accuracy of the model LP100K were adopted. Also a comparison is made between the error in the satellite position in the situation in which the Kalman filter is used and the situation in which the filter is not used. The data for the comparison were obtained from the standard deviation in the velocity increment of the space vehicle. (paper)

  8. Trajectory Reconstruction and Uncertainty Analysis Using Mars Science Laboratory Pre-Flight Scale Model Aeroballistic Testing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lugo, Rafael A.; Tolson, Robert H.; Schoenenberger, Mark

    2013-01-01

    As part of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) trajectory reconstruction effort at NASA Langley Research Center, free-flight aeroballistic experiments of instrumented MSL scale models was conducted at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. The models carried an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and a flush air data system (FADS) similar to the MSL Entry Atmospheric Data System (MEADS) that provided data types similar to those from the MSL entry. Multiple sources of redundant data were available, including tracking radar and on-board magnetometers. These experimental data enabled the testing and validation of the various tools and methodologies that will be used for MSL trajectory reconstruction. The aerodynamic parameters Mach number, angle of attack, and sideslip angle were estimated using minimum variance with a priori to combine the pressure data and pre-flight computational fluid dynamics (CFD) data. Both linear and non-linear pressure model terms were also estimated for each pressure transducer as a measure of the errors introduced by CFD and transducer calibration. Parameter uncertainties were estimated using a "consider parameters" approach.

  9. Trajectory Evaluation of Rotor-Flying Robots Using Accurate Inverse Computation Based on Algorithm Differentiation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuqing He

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Autonomous maneuvering flight control of rotor-flying robots (RFR is a challenging problem due to the highly complicated structure of its model and significant uncertainties regarding many aspects of the field. As a consequence, it is difficult in many cases to decide whether or not a flight maneuver trajectory is feasible. It is necessary to conduct an analysis of the flight maneuvering ability of an RFR prior to test flight. Our aim in this paper is to use a numerical method called algorithm differentiation (AD to solve this problem. The basic idea is to compute the internal state (i.e., attitude angles and angular rates and input profiles based on predetermined maneuvering trajectory information denoted by the outputs (i.e., positions and yaw angle and their higher-order derivatives. For this purpose, we first present a model of the RFR system and show that it is flat. We then cast the procedure for obtaining the required state/input based on the desired outputs as a static optimization problem, which is solved using AD and a derivative based optimization algorithm. Finally, we test our proposed method using a flight maneuver trajectory to verify its performance.

  10. How to connect time-lapse recorded trajectories of motile microorganisms with dynamical models in continuous time

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Jonas Nyvold; Li, Liang; Gradinaru, Cristian

    2016-01-01

    We provide a tool for data-driven modeling of motility, data being time-lapse recorded trajectories. Several mathematical properties of a model to be found can be gleaned from appropriate model-independent experimental statistics, if one understands how such statistics are distorted by the finite...... of these effects that are valid for any reasonable model for persistent random motion. Our findings are illustrated with experimental data and Monte Carlo simulations....

  11. Complexity Science Applications to Dynamic Trajectory Management: Research Strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sawhill, Bruce; Herriot, James; Holmes, Bruce J.; Alexandrov, Natalia

    2009-01-01

    The promise of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) is strongly tied to the concept of trajectory-based operations in the national airspace system. Existing efforts to develop trajectory management concepts are largely focused on individual trajectories, optimized independently, then de-conflicted among each other, and individually re-optimized, as possible. The benefits in capacity, fuel, and time are valuable, though perhaps could be greater through alternative strategies. The concept of agent-based trajectories offers a strategy for automation of simultaneous multiple trajectory management. The anticipated result of the strategy would be dynamic management of multiple trajectories with interacting and interdependent outcomes that satisfy multiple, conflicting constraints. These constraints would include the business case for operators, the capacity case for the Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP), and the environmental case for noise and emissions. The benefits in capacity, fuel, and time might be improved over those possible under individual trajectory management approaches. The proposed approach relies on computational agent-based modeling (ABM), combinatorial mathematics, as well as application of "traffic physics" concepts to the challenge, and modeling and simulation capabilities. The proposed strategy could support transforming air traffic control from managing individual aircraft behaviors to managing systemic behavior of air traffic in the NAS. A system built on the approach could provide the ability to know when regions of airspace approach being "full," that is, having non-viable local solution space for optimizing trajectories in advance.

  12. Large deviations of the finite-time magnetization of the Curie-Weiss random-field Ising model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paga, Pierre; Kühn, Reimer

    2017-08-01

    We study the large deviations of the magnetization at some finite time in the Curie-Weiss random field Ising model with parallel updating. While relaxation dynamics in an infinite-time horizon gives rise to unique dynamical trajectories [specified by initial conditions and governed by first-order dynamics of the form mt +1=f (mt) ] , we observe that the introduction of a finite-time horizon and the specification of terminal conditions can generate a host of metastable solutions obeying second-order dynamics. We show that these solutions are governed by a Newtonian-like dynamics in discrete time which permits solutions in terms of both the first-order relaxation ("forward") dynamics and the backward dynamics mt +1=f-1(mt) . Our approach allows us to classify trajectories for a given final magnetization as stable or metastable according to the value of the rate function associated with them. We find that in analogy to the Freidlin-Wentzell description of the stochastic dynamics of escape from metastable states, the dominant trajectories may switch between the two types (forward and backward) of first-order dynamics. Additionally, we show how to compute rate functions when uncertainty in the quenched disorder is introduced.

  13. Functional Trajectories, Cognition, and Subclinical Cerebrovascular Disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhamoon, Mandip S; Cheung, Ying-Kuen; Gutierrez, Jose; Moon, Yeseon P; Sacco, Ralph L; Elkind, Mitchell S V; Wright, Clinton B

    2018-03-01

    Cognition and education influence functional trajectories, but whether associations differ with subclinical brain infarcts (SBI) or white matter hyperintensity volume (WMHV) is unknown. We hypothesized that SBI and WMHV moderated relationships between cognitive performance and education and functional trajectories. A total of 1290 stroke-free individuals underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging and were followed for 7.3 years (mean) with annual functional assessments with the Barthel index (range, 0-100). Magnetic resonance imaging measurements included pathology-informed SBI (PI-SBI) and WMHV (% total cranial volume). Generalized estimating equation models tested associations between magnetic resonance imaging variables and baseline Barthel index and change in Barthel index, adjusting for demographic, vascular, cognitive, and social risk factors, and stroke and myocardial infarction during follow-up. We tested interactions among education level, baseline cognitive performance (Mini-Mental State score), and functional trajectories and ran models stratified by levels of magnetic resonance imaging variables. Mean age was 70.6 (SD, 9.0) years; 19% had PI-SBI, and mean WMHV was 0.68%. Education did not modify associations between cognition and functional trajectories. PI-SBI modified associations between cognition and functional trajectories ( P =0.04) with a significant protective effect of better cognition on functional decline seen only in those without PI-SBI. There was no significant interaction for WMHV ( P =0.8). PI-SBI, and greater WMHV, were associated with 2- to 3-fold steeper functional decline, holding cognition constant. PI-SBI moderated the association between cognition and functional trajectories, with 3-fold greater decline among those with PI-SBI (compared with no PI-SBI) and normal baseline cognition. This highlights the strong and independent association between subclinical markers and patient-centered trajectories over time. © 2018 American Heart

  14. A Mixed Integer Linear Programming Model for the North Atlantic Aircraft Trajectory Planning

    OpenAIRE

    Sbihi , Mohammed; Rodionova , Olga; Delahaye , Daniel; Mongeau , Marcel

    2015-01-01

    International audience; This paper discusses the trajectory planning problem for ights in the North Atlantic oceanic airspace (NAT). We develop a mathematical optimization framework in view of better utilizing available capacity by re-routing aircraft. The model is constructed by discretizing the problem parameters. A Mixed integer linear program (MILP) is proposed. Based on the MILP a heuristic to solve real-size instances is also introduced

  15. VISUAL UAV TRAJECTORY PLAN SYSTEM BASED ON NETWORK MAP

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    X. L. Li

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available The base map of the current software UP-30 using in trajectory plan for Unmanned Aircraft Vehicle is vector diagram. UP-30 draws navigation points manually. But in the field of operation process, the efficiency and the quality of work is influenced because of insufficient information, screen reflection, calculate inconveniently and other factors. If we do this work in indoor, the effect of external factors on the results would be eliminated, the network earth users can browse the free world high definition satellite images through downloading a client software, and can export the high resolution image by standard file format. This brings unprecedented convenient of trajectory plan. But the images must be disposed by coordinate transformation, geometric correction. In addition, according to the requirement of mapping scale ,camera parameters and overlap degree we can calculate exposure hole interval and trajectory distance between the adjacent trajectory automatically . This will improve the degree of automation of data collection. Software will judge the position of next point according to the intersection of the trajectory and the survey area and ensure the position of point according to trajectory distance. We can undertake the points artificially. So the trajectory plan is automatic and flexible. Considering safety, the date can be used in flying after simulating flight. Finally we can export all of the date using a key

  16. Visual Uav Trajectory Plan System Based on Network Map

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, X. L.; Lin, Z. J.; Su, G. Z.; Wu, B. Y.

    2012-07-01

    The base map of the current software UP-30 using in trajectory plan for Unmanned Aircraft Vehicle is vector diagram. UP-30 draws navigation points manually. But in the field of operation process, the efficiency and the quality of work is influenced because of insufficient information, screen reflection, calculate inconveniently and other factors. If we do this work in indoor, the effect of external factors on the results would be eliminated, the network earth users can browse the free world high definition satellite images through downloading a client software, and can export the high resolution image by standard file format. This brings unprecedented convenient of trajectory plan. But the images must be disposed by coordinate transformation, geometric correction. In addition, according to the requirement of mapping scale ,camera parameters and overlap degree we can calculate exposure hole interval and trajectory distance between the adjacent trajectory automatically . This will improve the degree of automation of data collection. Software will judge the position of next point according to the intersection of the trajectory and the survey area and ensure the position of point according to trajectory distance. We can undertake the points artificially. So the trajectory plan is automatic and flexible. Considering safety, the date can be used in flying after simulating flight. Finally we can export all of the date using a key

  17. Measuring and Modeling the Effects of Alternate Post-Fire Successional Trajectories on Boreal Forest Carbon Dynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loranty, M. M.; Goetz, S. J.; Mack, M. C.; Alexander, H. D.; Beck, P. S.

    2011-12-01

    High latitude ecosystems are experiencing amplified climate warming, and recent evidence suggests concurrent intensification of fire disturbance regimes. In central Alaskan boreal forests, severe burns consume more of the soil organic layer, resulting in increased establishment of deciduous seedlings and altered post-fire stand composition with increased deciduous dominance. Quantifying differences in ecosystem carbon (C) dynamics between forest successional trajectories in response to burn severity is essential for understanding potential changes in regional or global feedbacks between boreal forests and climate. We used the Biome BioGeochemical Cycling model (Biome-BGC) to quantify differences in C stocks and fluxes associated with alternate post-fire successional trajectories related to fire severity. A version of Biome-BGC that allows alternate competing vegetation types was calibrated against a series of aboveground biomass observations from chronosequences of stands with differing post-fire successional trajectories characterized by the proportion of deciduous biomass. The model was able to reproduce observed patterns of biomass accumulation after fire, with stands dominated by deciduous species sequestering more C at a faster rate than stands dominated by conifers. Modeled C fluxes suggest that stands dominated by deciduous species are a stronger sink of atmospheric C soon after disturbance than coniferous stands. These results agree with the few available C flux observations. We use a historic database in conjunction with a map of deciduous canopy cover to explore the consequences of ongoing and potential future changes in the fire regime on central Alaskan C balance.

  18. Beam Optics Analysis - An Advanced 3D Trajectory Code

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ives, R. Lawrence; Bui, Thuc; Vogler, William; Neilson, Jeff; Read, Mike; Shephard, Mark; Bauer, Andrew; Datta, Dibyendu; Beal, Mark

    2006-01-01

    Calabazas Creek Research, Inc. has completed initial development of an advanced, 3D program for modeling electron trajectories in electromagnetic fields. The code is being used to design complex guns and collectors. Beam Optics Analysis (BOA) is a fully relativistic, charged particle code using adaptive, finite element meshing. Geometrical input is imported from CAD programs generating ACIS-formatted files. Parametric data is inputted using an intuitive, graphical user interface (GUI), which also provides control of convergence, accuracy, and post processing. The program includes a magnetic field solver, and magnetic information can be imported from Maxwell 2D/3D and other programs. The program supports thermionic emission and injected beams. Secondary electron emission is also supported, including multiple generations. Work on field emission is in progress as well as implementation of computer optimization of both the geometry and operating parameters. The principle features of the program and its capabilities are presented

  19. Trajectory Planning for Robots in Dynamic Human Environments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Svenstrup, Mikael; Bak, Thomas; Andersen, Hans Jørgen

    2010-01-01

    This paper present a trajectory planning algorithm for a robot operating in dynamic human environments. Environments such as pedestrian streets, hospital corridors and train stations. We formulate the problem as planning a minimal cost trajectory through a potential field, defined from...... is enhanced to direct the search and account for the kinodynamic robot constraints. Compared to standard RRT, the algorithm proposed here find the robot control input that will drive the robot towards a new sampled point in the configuration space. The effect of the input is simulated, to add a reachable...

  20. Estimation of Foot Plantar Center of Pressure Trajectories with Low-Cost Instrumented Insoles Using an Individual-Specific Nonlinear Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xinyao Hu

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Postural control is a complex skill based on the interaction of dynamic sensorimotor processes, and can be challenging for people with deficits in sensory functions. The foot plantar center of pressure (COP has often been used for quantitative assessment of postural control. Previously, the foot plantar COP was mainly measured by force plates or complicated and expensive insole-based measurement systems. Although some low-cost instrumented insoles have been developed, their ability to accurately estimate the foot plantar COP trajectory was not robust. In this study, a novel individual-specific nonlinear model was proposed to estimate the foot plantar COP trajectories with an instrumented insole based on low-cost force sensitive resistors (FSRs. The model coefficients were determined by a least square error approximation algorithm. Model validation was carried out by comparing the estimated COP data with the reference data in a variety of postural control assessment tasks. We also compared our data with the COP trajectories estimated by the previously well accepted weighted mean approach. Comparing with the reference measurements, the average root mean square errors of the COP trajectories of both feet were 2.23 mm (±0.64 (left foot and 2.72 mm (±0.83 (right foot along the medial–lateral direction, and 9.17 mm (±1.98 (left foot and 11.19 mm (±2.98 (right foot along the anterior–posterior direction. The results are superior to those reported in previous relevant studies, and demonstrate that our proposed approach can be used for accurate foot plantar COP trajectory estimation. This study could provide an inexpensive solution to fall risk assessment in home settings or community healthcare center for the elderly. It has the potential to help prevent future falls in the elderly.

  1. Estimation of Foot Plantar Center of Pressure Trajectories with Low-Cost Instrumented Insoles Using an Individual-Specific Nonlinear Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Xinyao; Zhao, Jun; Peng, Dongsheng; Sun, Zhenglong; Qu, Xingda

    2018-02-01

    Postural control is a complex skill based on the interaction of dynamic sensorimotor processes, and can be challenging for people with deficits in sensory functions. The foot plantar center of pressure (COP) has often been used for quantitative assessment of postural control. Previously, the foot plantar COP was mainly measured by force plates or complicated and expensive insole-based measurement systems. Although some low-cost instrumented insoles have been developed, their ability to accurately estimate the foot plantar COP trajectory was not robust. In this study, a novel individual-specific nonlinear model was proposed to estimate the foot plantar COP trajectories with an instrumented insole based on low-cost force sensitive resistors (FSRs). The model coefficients were determined by a least square error approximation algorithm. Model validation was carried out by comparing the estimated COP data with the reference data in a variety of postural control assessment tasks. We also compared our data with the COP trajectories estimated by the previously well accepted weighted mean approach. Comparing with the reference measurements, the average root mean square errors of the COP trajectories of both feet were 2.23 mm (±0.64) (left foot) and 2.72 mm (±0.83) (right foot) along the medial-lateral direction, and 9.17 mm (±1.98) (left foot) and 11.19 mm (±2.98) (right foot) along the anterior-posterior direction. The results are superior to those reported in previous relevant studies, and demonstrate that our proposed approach can be used for accurate foot plantar COP trajectory estimation. This study could provide an inexpensive solution to fall risk assessment in home settings or community healthcare center for the elderly. It has the potential to help prevent future falls in the elderly.

  2. Controlling particle trajectories using oscillating microbubbles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jalikop, Shreyas; Wang, Cheng; Hilgenfeldt, Sascha

    2010-11-01

    In many applications of microfluidics and biotechnology, such as cytometry and drug delivery, it is vital to manipulate the trajectories of microparticles such as vesicles or cells. On this small scale, inertial or gravitational effects are often too weak to exploit. We propose a mechanism to selectively trap and direct particles based on their size in creeping transport flows (Re1). We employ Rayleigh-Nyborg-Westervelt (RNW) streaming generated by an oscillating microbubble, which in turn generates a streaming flow component around the mobile particles. The result is an attractive interaction that draws the particle closer to the bubble. The impenetrability of the bubble interface destroys time-reversal symmetry and forces the particles onto either narrow trajectory bundles or well-defined closed trajectories, where they are trapped. The effect is dependent on particle size and thus allows for the passive focusing and sorting of selected sizes, on scales much smaller than the geometry of the microfluidic device. The device could eliminate the need for complicated microchannel designs with external magnetic or electric fields in applications such as particle focusing and size-based sorting.

  3. Applying deep bidirectional LSTM and mixture density network for basketball trajectory prediction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Yu; Yang, Rennong; Chevalier, Guillaume; Shah, Rajiv C.; Romijnders, Rob

    2018-04-01

    Data analytics helps basketball teams to create tactics. However, manual data collection and analytics are costly and ineffective. Therefore, we applied a deep bidirectional long short-term memory (BLSTM) and mixture density network (MDN) approach. This model is not only capable of predicting a basketball trajectory based on real data, but it also can generate new trajectory samples. It is an excellent application to help coaches and players decide when and where to shoot. Its structure is particularly suitable for dealing with time series problems. BLSTM receives forward and backward information at the same time, while stacking multiple BLSTMs further increases the learning ability of the model. Combined with BLSTMs, MDN is used to generate a multi-modal distribution of outputs. Thus, the proposed model can, in principle, represent arbitrary conditional probability distributions of output variables. We tested our model with two experiments on three-pointer datasets from NBA SportVu data. In the hit-or-miss classification experiment, the proposed model outperformed other models in terms of the convergence speed and accuracy. In the trajectory generation experiment, eight model-generated trajectories at a given time closely matched real trajectories.

  4. Computer program 'TRIO' for third order calculation of ion trajectory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsuo, Takekiyo; Matsuda, Hisashi; Fujita, Yoshitaka; Wollnik, H.

    1976-01-01

    A computer program for the calculation of ion trajectory is described. This program ''TRIO'' (Third Order Ion Optics) is applicable to any ion optical system consisting of drift spaces, cylindrical or toroidal electric sector fields, homogeneous or inhomogeneous magnetic sector fields, magnetic and electrostatic Q-lenses. The influence of the fringing field is taken into consideration. A special device is introduced to the method of matrix multiplication to shorten the calculation time and the required time proves to be about 40 times shorter than the ordinary method as a result. The trajectory calculation is possible to execute with accuracy up to third order. Any one of three dispersion bases, momentum, energy, mass and energy, is possible to be selected. Full LIST of the computer program and an example are given. (auth.)

  5. Long range trajectories

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Allen, P. W.; Jessup, E. A.; White, R. E. [Air Resources Field Research Office, Las Vegas, Nevada (United States)

    1967-07-01

    A single air molecule can have a trajectory that can be described with a line, but most meteorologists use single lines to represent the trajectories of air parcels. A single line trajectory has the disadvantage that it is a categorical description of position. Like categorized forecasts it provides no qualification, and no provision for dispersion in case the parcel contains two or more molecules which may take vastly different paths. Diffusion technology has amply demonstrated that an initial aerosol cloud or volume of gas in the atmosphere not only grows larger, but sometimes divides into puffs, each having a different path or swath. Yet, the average meteorologist, faced with the problem of predicting the future motion of a cloud, usually falls back on the line trajectory approach with the explanation that he had no better tool for long range application. In his more rational moments, he may use some arbitrary device to spread his cloud with distance. One such technique has been to separate the trajectory into two or more trajectories, spaced about the endpoint of the original trajectory after a short period of travel, repeating this every so often like a chain reaction. This has the obvious disadvantage of involving a large amount of labor without much assurance of improved accuracy. Another approach is to draw a circle about the trajectory endpoint, to represent either diffusion or error. The problem then is to know what radius to give the circle and also whether to call it diffusion or error. Meteorologists at the Nevada Test Site (NTS) are asked frequently to provide advice which involves trajectory technology, such as prediction of an aerosol cloud path, reconstruction of the motion of a volume of air, indication of the dilution, and the possible trajectory prediction error over great distances. Therefore, we set out, nearly three years ago, to provide some statistical knowledge about the status of our trajectory technology. This report contains some of the

  6. Reimagining the past - use of counterfactual trajectories in socio-hydrological modelling: the case of Chennai, India

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srinivasan, V.

    2015-02-01

    The developing world is rapidly urbanizing. One of the challenges associated with this growth will be to supply water to growing cities of the developing world. Traditional planning tools fare poorly over 30-50 year time horizons because these systems are changing so rapidly. Models that hold land use, economic patterns, governance systems or technology static over a long planning horizon could result in inaccurate predictions leading to sub-optimal or paradoxical outcomes. Most models fail to account for adaptive responses by humans that in turn influence water resource availability, resulting in coevolution of the human-water system. Is a particular trajectory inevitable given a city's natural resource endowment, is the trajectory purely driven by policy or are there tipping points in the evolution of a city's growth that shift it from one trajectory onto another? Socio-hydrology has been defined as a new science of water and people that will explicitly account for such bi-directional feedbacks. However, a particular challenge in incorporating such feedbacks is imagining technological, social and political futures that could fundamentally alter future water demand, allocation and use. This paper offers an alternative approach - the use of counterfactual trajectories - that allows policy insights to be gleaned without having to predict social futures. The approach allows us to "reimagine the past"; to observe how outcomes would differ if different decisions had been made. The paper presents a "socio-hydrological" model that simulates the feedbacks between the human, engineered and hydrological systems in Chennai, India over a 40-year period. The model offers several interesting insights. First, the study demonstrates that urban household water security goes beyond piped water supply. When piped supply fails, users turn to their own wells. If the wells dry up, consumers purchase expensive tanker water or curtail water use and thus become water insecure. Second

  7. Identifying mechanisms for superdiffusive dynamics in cell trajectories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Passucci, Giuseppe; Brasch, Megan; Henderson, James; Manning, M. Lisa

    Self-propelled particle (SPP) models have been used to explore features of active matter such as motility-induced phase separation, jamming, and flocking, and are often used to model biological cells. However, many cells exhibit super-diffusive trajectories, where displacements scale faster than t 1 / 2 in all directions, and these are not captured by traditional SPP models. We extract cell trajectories from image stacks of mouse fibroblast cells moving on 2D substrates and find super-diffusive mean-squared displacements in all directions across varying densities. Two SPP model modifications have been proposed to capture super-diffusive dynamics: Levy walks and heterogeneous motility parameters. In mouse fibroblast cells displacement probability distributions collapse when time is rescaled by a power greater than 1/2, which is consistent with Levy walks. We show that a simple SPP model with heterogeneous rotational noise can also generate a similar collapse. Furthermore, a close examination of statistics extracted directly from cell trajectories is consistent with a heterogeneous mobility SPP model and inconsistent with a Levy walk model. Our work demonstrates that a simple set of analyses can distinguish between mechanisms for anomalous diffusion in active matter.

  8. (Re)evaluating the Implications of the Autoregressive Latent Trajectory Model Through Likelihood Ratio Tests of Its Initial Conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ou, Lu; Chow, Sy-Miin; Ji, Linying; Molenaar, Peter C M

    2017-01-01

    The autoregressive latent trajectory (ALT) model synthesizes the autoregressive model and the latent growth curve model. The ALT model is flexible enough to produce a variety of discrepant model-implied change trajectories. While some researchers consider this a virtue, others have cautioned that this may confound interpretations of the model's parameters. In this article, we show that some-but not all-of these interpretational difficulties may be clarified mathematically and tested explicitly via likelihood ratio tests (LRTs) imposed on the initial conditions of the model. We show analytically the nested relations among three variants of the ALT model and the constraints needed to establish equivalences. A Monte Carlo simulation study indicated that LRTs, particularly when used in combination with information criterion measures, can allow researchers to test targeted hypotheses about the functional forms of the change process under study. We further demonstrate when and how such tests may justifiably be used to facilitate our understanding of the underlying process of change using a subsample (N = 3,995) of longitudinal family income data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth.

  9. Controlling three-dimensional vortices using multiple and moving external fields

    Science.gov (United States)

    Das, Nirmali Prabha; Dutta, Sumana

    2017-08-01

    Spirals or scroll wave activities in cardiac tissues are the cause of lethal arrhythmias. The external control of these waves is thus of prime interest to scientists and physicians. In this article, we demonstrate the spatial control of scroll waves by using external electric fields and thermal gradients in experiments with the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction. We show that a scroll ring can be made to trace cyclic trajectories under a rotating electric field. Application of a thermal gradient in addition to the electric field deflects the motion and changes the nature of the trajectory. Our experimental results are analyzed and corroborated by numerical simulations based on an excitable reaction diffusion model.

  10. The probability of false positives in zero-dimensional analyses of one-dimensional kinematic, force and EMG trajectories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pataky, Todd C; Vanrenterghem, Jos; Robinson, Mark A

    2016-06-14

    A false positive is the mistake of inferring an effect when none exists, and although α controls the false positive (Type I error) rate in classical hypothesis testing, a given α value is accurate only if the underlying model of randomness appropriately reflects experimentally observed variance. Hypotheses pertaining to one-dimensional (1D) (e.g. time-varying) biomechanical trajectories are most often tested using a traditional zero-dimensional (0D) Gaussian model of randomness, but variance in these datasets is clearly 1D. The purpose of this study was to determine the likelihood that analyzing smooth 1D data with a 0D model of variance will produce false positives. We first used random field theory (RFT) to predict the probability of false positives in 0D analyses. We then validated RFT predictions via numerical simulations of smooth Gaussian 1D trajectories. Results showed that, across a range of public kinematic, force/moment and EMG datasets, the median false positive rate was 0.382 and not the assumed α=0.05, even for a simple two-sample t test involving N=10 trajectories per group. The median false positive rate for experiments involving three-component vector trajectories was p=0.764. This rate increased to p=0.945 for two three-component vector trajectories, and to p=0.999 for six three-component vectors. This implies that experiments involving vector trajectories have a high probability of yielding 0D statistical significance when there is, in fact, no 1D effect. Either (a) explicit a priori identification of 0D variables or (b) adoption of 1D methods can more tightly control α. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Back-tracking of primary particle trajectories for muons detected at the Earth surface

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shutenko, V. V.

    2017-01-01

    Investigations of cosmic rays on the surface of the Earth allow to derive information of applied character on the conditions of the interplanetary magnetic field and of the geomagnetic field. For this purpose, it is necessary to collate trajectories of particles detected in the ground-based detector to trajectories of primary cosmic rays in the heliosphere. This problem is solved by means of various back-tracking methods. In this work, one of such methods is presented.

  12. Back-tracking of primary particle trajectories for muons detected at the Earth surface

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shutenko, V V

    2017-01-01

    Investigations of cosmic rays on the surface of the Earth allow to derive information of applied character on the conditions of the interplanetary magnetic field and of the geomagnetic field. For this purpose, it is necessary to collate trajectories of particles detected in the ground-based detector to trajectories of primary cosmic rays in the heliosphere. This problem is solved by means of various back-tracking methods. In this work, one of such methods is presented. (paper)

  13. Educational trajectories of graduate students in physics education research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Dusen, Ben; Barthelemy, Ramón S.; Henderson, Charles

    2014-12-01

    Physics education research (PER) is a rapidly growing area of PhD specialization. In this article we examine the trajectories that led respondents into a PER graduate program as well as their expected future trajectories. Data were collected in the form of an online survey sent to graduate students in PER. Our findings show a lack of visibility of PER as a field of study, a dominance of work at the undergraduate level, and a mismatch of future desires and expectations. We suggest that greater exposure is needed so PER is known as a field of inquiry for graduates, that more emphasis should be placed on research beyond the undergraduate level, and that there needs to be stronger communication to graduate students about potential careers.

  14. Swimming trajectories of a three-sphere microswimmer near a wall

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daddi-Moussa-Ider, Abdallah; Lisicki, Maciej; Hoell, Christian; Löwen, Hartmut

    2018-04-01

    The hydrodynamic flow field generated by self-propelled active particles and swimming microorganisms is strongly altered by the presence of nearby boundaries in a viscous flow. Using a simple model three-linked sphere swimmer, we show that the swimming trajectories near a no-slip wall reveal various scenarios of motion depending on the initial orientation and the distance separating the swimmer from the wall. We find that the swimmer can either be trapped by the wall, completely escape, or perform an oscillatory gliding motion at a constant mean height above the wall. Using a far-field approximation, we find that, at leading order, the wall-induced correction has a source-dipolar or quadrupolar flow structure where the translational and angular velocities of the swimmer decay as inverse third and fourth powers with distance from the wall, respectively. The resulting equations of motion for the trajectories and the relevant order parameters fully characterize the transition between the states and allow for an accurate description of the swimming behavior near a wall. We demonstrate that the transition between the trapping and oscillatory gliding states is first order discontinuous, whereas the transition between the trapping and escaping states is continuous, characterized by non-trivial scaling exponents of the order parameters. In order to model the circular motion of flagellated bacteria near solid interfaces, we further assume that the spheres can undergo rotational motion around the swimming axis. We show that the general three-dimensional motion can be mapped onto a quasi-two-dimensional representational model by an appropriate redefinition of the order parameters governing the transition between the swimming states.

  15. Noisy mean field game model for malware propagation in opportunistic networks

    KAUST Repository

    Tembine, Hamidou

    2012-01-01

    In this paper we present analytical mean field techniques that can be used to better understand the behavior of malware propagation in opportunistic large networks. We develop a modeling methodology based on stochastic mean field optimal control that is able to capture many aspects of the problem, especially the impact of the control and heterogeneity of the system on the spreading characteristics of malware. The stochastic large process characterizing the evolution of the total number of infected nodes is examined with a noisy mean field limit and compared to a deterministic one. The stochastic nature of the wireless environment make stochastic approaches more realistic for such types of networks. By introducing control strategies, we show that the fraction of infected nodes can be maintained below some threshold. In contrast to most of the existing results on mean field propagation models which focus on deterministic equations, we show that the mean field limit is stochastic if the second moment of the number of object transitions per time slot is unbounded with the size of the system. This allows us to compare one path of the fraction of infected nodes with the stochastic trajectory of its mean field limit. In order to take into account the heterogeneity of opportunistic networks, the analysis is extended to multiple types of nodes. Our numerical results show that the heterogeneity can help to stabilize the system. We verify the results through simulation showing how to obtain useful approximations in the case of very large systems. © 2012 ICST Institute for Computer Science, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering.

  16. Trajectory Shape Analysis and Anomaly Detection Utilizing Information Theory Tools

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuejun Guo

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we propose to improve trajectory shape analysis by explicitly considering the speed attribute of trajectory data, and to successfully achieve anomaly detection. The shape of object motion trajectory is modeled using Kernel Density Estimation (KDE, making use of both the angle attribute of the trajectory and the speed of the moving object. An unsupervised clustering algorithm, based on the Information Bottleneck (IB method, is employed for trajectory learning to obtain an adaptive number of trajectory clusters through maximizing the Mutual Information (MI between the clustering result and a feature set of the trajectory data. Furthermore, we propose to effectively enhance the performance of IB by taking into account the clustering quality in each iteration of the clustering procedure. The trajectories are determined as either abnormal (infrequently observed or normal by a measure based on Shannon entropy. Extensive tests on real-world and synthetic data show that the proposed technique behaves very well and outperforms the state-of-the-art methods.

  17. Trajectory Optimization Based on Multi-Interval Mesh Refinement Method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ningbo Li

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In order to improve the optimization accuracy and convergence rate for trajectory optimization of the air-to-air missile, a multi-interval mesh refinement Radau pseudospectral method was introduced. This method made the mesh endpoints converge to the practical nonsmooth points and decreased the overall collocation points to improve convergence rate and computational efficiency. The trajectory was divided into four phases according to the working time of engine and handover of midcourse and terminal guidance, and then the optimization model was built. The multi-interval mesh refinement Radau pseudospectral method with different collocation points in each mesh interval was used to solve the trajectory optimization model. Moreover, this method was compared with traditional h method. Simulation results show that this method can decrease the dimensionality of nonlinear programming (NLP problem and therefore improve the efficiency of pseudospectral methods for solving trajectory optimization problems.

  18. Management by Trajectory: Trajectory Management Study Report

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leiden, Kenneth; Atkins, Stephen; Fernandes, Alicia D.; Kaler, Curt; Bell, Alan; Kilbourne, Todd; Evans, Mark

    2017-01-01

    In order to realize the full potential of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen), improved management along planned trajectories between air navigation service providers (ANSPs) and system users (e.g., pilots and airline dispatchers) is needed. Future automation improvements and increased data communications between aircraft and ground automation would make the concept of Management by Trajectory (MBT) possible.

  19. Automated Design of Noise-Minimal, Safe Rotorcraft Trajectories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morris, Robert A.; Venable, K. Brent; Lindsay, James

    2012-01-01

    NASA and the international community are investing in the development of a commercial transportation infrastructure that includes the increased use of rotorcraft, specifically helicopters and aircraft such as a 40-passenger civil tilt rotors. Rotorcraft have a number of advantages over fixed wing aircraft, primarily in not requiring direct access to the primary fixed wing runways. As such they can operate at an airport without directly interfering with major air carrier and commuter aircraft operations. However, there is significant concern over the impact of noise on the communities surrounding the transportation facilities. In this paper we propose to address the rotorcraft noise problem by exploiting powerful search techniques coming from artificial intelligence, coupled with simulation and field tests, to design trajectories that are expected to improve on the amount of ground noise generated. This paper investigates the use of simulation based on predictive physical models to facilitate the search for low-noise trajectories using a class of automated search algorithms called local search. A novel feature of this approach is the ability to incorporate constraints into the problem formulation that addresses passenger safety and comfort.

  20. Trajectory behaviour at different phonemic context sizes

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Badenhorst, J

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available The authors propose a piecewise-linear model for the temporal trajectories of Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients during phone transitions. As with conventional Hidden Markov Models, the parameters of the model can be estimated for different...

  1. Identification of digitized particle trajectories

    CERN Document Server

    Grote, H; Lassalle, J C; Zanella, P

    1973-01-01

    High-energy Physics Laboratories make increasing use of particle detectors which directly produce digital measurements of trajectories at very high rates. Data collected in vast amounts during experiments are then analysed by computer programs whose first task is the recognition of tracks and reconstruction of the interesting events. This paper discusses the applicability of various Pattern Recognition approaches. Examples are given of the problems and the practical achievements in this field.

  2. Learning Probabilistic Models of Hydrogen Bond Stability from Molecular Dynamics Simulation Trajectories

    KAUST Repository

    Chikalov, Igor

    2011-04-02

    Hydrogen bonds (H-bonds) play a key role in both the formation and stabilization of protein structures. H-bonds involving atoms from residues that are close to each other in the main-chain sequence stabilize secondary structure elements. H-bonds between atoms from distant residues stabilize a protein’s tertiary structure. However, H-bonds greatly vary in stability. They form and break while a protein deforms. For instance, the transition of a protein from a nonfunctional to a functional state may require some H-bonds to break and others to form. The intrinsic strength of an individual H-bond has been studied from an energetic viewpoint, but energy alone may not be a very good predictor. Other local interactions may reinforce (or weaken) an H-bond. This paper describes inductive learning methods to train a protein-independent probabilistic model of H-bond stability from molecular dynamics (MD) simulation trajectories. The training data describes H-bond occurrences at successive times along these trajectories by the values of attributes called predictors. A trained model is constructed in the form of a regression tree in which each non-leaf node is a Boolean test (split) on a predictor. Each occurrence of an H-bond maps to a path in this tree from the root to a leaf node. Its predicted stability is associated with the leaf node. Experimental results demonstrate that such models can predict H-bond stability quite well. In particular, their performance is roughly 20% better than that of models based on H-bond energy alone. In addition, they can accurately identify a large fraction of the least stable H-bonds in a given conformation. The paper discusses several extensions that may yield further improvements.

  3. Modeling intensive longitudinal data with mixtures of nonparametric trajectories and time-varying effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dziak, John J; Li, Runze; Tan, Xianming; Shiffman, Saul; Shiyko, Mariya P

    2015-12-01

    Behavioral scientists increasingly collect intensive longitudinal data (ILD), in which phenomena are measured at high frequency and in real time. In many such studies, it is of interest to describe the pattern of change over time in important variables as well as the changing nature of the relationship between variables. Individuals' trajectories on variables of interest may be far from linear, and the predictive relationship between variables of interest and related covariates may also change over time in a nonlinear way. Time-varying effect models (TVEMs; see Tan, Shiyko, Li, Li, & Dierker, 2012) address these needs by allowing regression coefficients to be smooth, nonlinear functions of time rather than constants. However, it is possible that not only observed covariates but also unknown, latent variables may be related to the outcome. That is, regression coefficients may change over time and also vary for different kinds of individuals. Therefore, we describe a finite mixture version of TVEM for situations in which the population is heterogeneous and in which a single trajectory would conceal important, interindividual differences. This extended approach, MixTVEM, combines finite mixture modeling with non- or semiparametric regression modeling, to describe a complex pattern of change over time for distinct latent classes of individuals. The usefulness of the method is demonstrated in an empirical example from a smoking cessation study. We provide a versatile SAS macro and R function for fitting MixTVEMs. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  4. An investigation into possible quantum chaos in the H2 molecule under intense laser fields via Ehrenfest phase space (EPS) trajectories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sadhukhan, Mainak; Deb, B M

    2018-06-21

    By employing the Ehrenfest "phase space" trajectory method for studying quantum chaos, developed in our laboratory, the present study reveals that the H 2 molecule under intense laser fields of three different intensities, I = 1 × 10 14  W/cm 2 , 5 × 10 14  W/cm 2 , and 1 × 10 15  W/cm 2 , does not show quantum chaos. A similar conclusion is also reached through the Loschmidt echo (also called quantum fidelity) calculations reported here for the first time for a real molecule under intense laser fields. Thus, a long-standing conjecture about the possible existence of quantum chaos in atoms and molecules under intense laser fields has finally been tested and not found to be valid in the present case.

  5. Imaging ballistic carrier trajectories in graphene using scanning gate microscopy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Morikawa, Sei; Masubuchi, Satoru [Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro, Tokyo 153-8505 (Japan); Dou, Ziwei; Wang, Shu-Wei; Smith, Charles G.; Connolly, Malcolm R., E-mail: mrc61@cam.ac.uk [Cavendish Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0HE (United Kingdom); Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi [National Institute for Materials Science, 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba 305-0044 (Japan); Machida, Tomoki, E-mail: tmachida@iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp [Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro, Tokyo 153-8505 (Japan); Institute for Nano Quantum Information Electronics, University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro, Tokyo 153-8505 (Japan)

    2015-12-14

    We use scanning gate microscopy to map out the trajectories of ballistic carriers in high-mobility graphene encapsulated by hexagonal boron nitride and subject to a weak magnetic field. We employ a magnetic focusing geometry to image carriers that emerge ballistically from an injector, follow a cyclotron path due to the Lorentz force from an applied magnetic field, and land on an adjacent collector probe. The local electric field generated by the scanning tip in the vicinity of the carriers deflects their trajectories, modifying the proportion of carriers focused into the collector. By measuring the voltage at the collector while scanning the tip, we are able to obtain images with arcs that are consistent with the expected cyclotron motion. We also demonstrate that the tip can be used to redirect misaligned carriers back to the collector.

  6. CIM-EARTH: Community integrated model of economic and resource trajectories for humankind.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Elliott, J.; Foster, I.; Judd, K.; Moyer, E.; Munson, T.; Univ. of Chicago; Hoover Inst.

    2010-01-01

    Climate change is a global problem with local climatic and economic impacts. Mitigation policies can be applied on large geographic scales, such as a carbon cap-and-trade program for the entire U.S., on medium geographic scales, such as the NOx program for the northeastern U.S., or on smaller scales, such as statewide renewable portfolio standards and local gasoline taxes. To enable study of the environmental benefits, transition costs, capitalization effects, and other consequences of mitigation policies, we are developing dynamic general equilibrium models capable of incorporating important climate impacts. This report describes the economic framework we have developed and the current Community Integrated Model of Economic and Resource Trajectories for Humankind (CIM-EARTH) instance.

  7. Trajectory optimization using indirect methods and parametric scramjet cycle analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Williams, Joseph

    2016-01-01

    This study investigates the solution of time sensitive regional strike trajectories for hypersonic missiles. This minimum time trajectory is suspected to be best performed by scramjet powered hypersonic missiles which creates strong coupled interaction between the flight dynamics and the performance of the engine. Comprehensive engine models are necessary to gain better insight into scramjet propulsion. Separately, robust and comprehensive trajectory analysis provides references for vehicles ...

  8. Trajectory tracking control for underactuated stratospheric airship

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Zewei; Huo, Wei; Wu, Zhe

    2012-10-01

    Stratospheric airship is a new kind of aerospace system which has attracted worldwide developing interests for its broad application prospects. Based on the trajectory linearization control (TLC) theory, a novel trajectory tracking control method for an underactuated stratospheric airship is presented in this paper. Firstly, the TLC theory is described sketchily, and the dynamic model of the stratospheric airship is introduced with kinematics and dynamics equations. Then, the trajectory tracking control strategy is deduced in detail. The designed control system possesses a cascaded structure which consists of desired attitude calculation, position control loop and attitude control loop. Two sub-loops are designed for the position and attitude control loops, respectively, including the kinematics control loop and dynamics control loop. Stability analysis shows that the controlled closed-loop system is exponentially stable. Finally, simulation results for the stratospheric airship to track typical trajectories are illustrated to verify effectiveness of the proposed approach.

  9. The impact of a family-centered intervention on the ecology of adolescent antisocial behavior: modeling developmental sequelae and trajectories during adolescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Ryzin, Mark J; Dishion, Thomas J

    2012-08-01

    This study used an experimental, longitudinal field trial involving random assignment to the Family Check-Up (FCU) to explore the social ecology of adolescent antisocial behavior. A sample of 998 youths and their families was followed from early to late adolescence (age 12 to 18-19). In the intervention condition, 115 families (23%) elected to receive the FCU. In general, random assignment to the FCU in middle school was associated with reductions in late adolescence antisocial behavior (age 18-19). Variable-centered analyses revealed that the effects were mediated by reductions in family conflict from early to middle adolescence (age 12-15). The link between family conflict and antisocial behavior in turn was mediated by association with deviant peers at age 17; parental monitoring at age 17 was also influential but did not attain the status of a mediator. Person-oriented analyses suggested that the FCU was associated with declining trajectories of family conflict and rising trajectories of parental monitoring but was not associated with trajectories of deviant peer association. A dual-trajectory analysis indicated that the pathways to adolescent antisocial behavior were myriad and varied, suggesting new directions for developmental and intervention research.

  10. Application of Modern Fortran to Spacecraft Trajectory Design and Optimization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Jacob; Falck, Robert D.; Beekman, Izaak B.

    2018-01-01

    In this paper, applications of the modern Fortran programming language to the field of spacecraft trajectory optimization and design are examined. Modern object-oriented Fortran has many advantages for scientific programming, although many legacy Fortran aerospace codes have not been upgraded to use the newer standards (or have been rewritten in other languages perceived to be more modern). NASA's Copernicus spacecraft trajectory optimization program, originally a combination of Fortran 77 and Fortran 95, has attempted to keep up with modern standards and makes significant use of the new language features. Various algorithms and methods are presented from trajectory tools such as Copernicus, as well as modern Fortran open source libraries and other projects.

  11. Trajectories of martian habitability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cockell, Charles S

    2014-02-01

    Beginning from two plausible starting points-an uninhabited or inhabited Mars-this paper discusses the possible trajectories of martian habitability over time. On an uninhabited Mars, the trajectories follow paths determined by the abundance of uninhabitable environments and uninhabited habitats. On an inhabited Mars, the addition of a third environment type, inhabited habitats, results in other trajectories, including ones where the planet remains inhabited today or others where planetary-scale life extinction occurs. By identifying different trajectories of habitability, corresponding hypotheses can be described that allow for the various trajectories to be disentangled and ultimately a determination of which trajectory Mars has taken and the changing relative abundance of its constituent environments.

  12. Job satisfaction developmental trajectories and health: A life course perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dirlam, Jonathan; Zheng, Hui

    2017-04-01

    Understanding the health consequence of job dissatisfaction becomes increasingly important because job insecurity, stress and dissatisfaction have significantly increased in the United States in the last decade. Despite the extensive work in this area, prior studies nonetheless may underestimate the harmful effect of job dissatisfaction due to the cross-sectional nature of their data and sample selection bias. This study applies a life-course approach to more comprehensively examine the relationship between job satisfaction and health. Using data from the NLSY 1979 cohort, we estimate group based job satisfaction trajectories of respondents starting at age 25 and ending at age 39. Four job satisfaction trajectory groups are identified, a consistently high satisfaction group, a downward group, an upward group, and a lowest satisfaction group. We examine the effects of these trajectories on several physical and mental health outcomes of respondents in their early forties. We find membership in the lowest job satisfaction trajectory group to be negatively associated with all five mental health outcomes, supporting the accumulation of risks life course model. Those in the upward job satisfaction trajectory group have similar health outcomes to those in the high job satisfaction trajectory group, supporting the social mobility life course model. Overall, we find the relationship between job satisfaction trajectories and health to be stronger for mental health compared to physical health. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Simulation to Support Local Search in Trajectory Optimization Planning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morris, Robert A.; Venable, K. Brent; Lindsey, James

    2012-01-01

    NASA and the international community are investing in the development of a commercial transportation infrastructure that includes the increased use of rotorcraft, specifically helicopters and civil tilt rotors. However, there is significant concern over the impact of noise on the communities surrounding the transportation facilities. One way to address the rotorcraft noise problem is by exploiting powerful search techniques coming from artificial intelligence coupled with simulation and field tests to design low-noise flight profiles which can be tested in simulation or through field tests. This paper investigates the use of simulation based on predictive physical models to facilitate the search for low-noise trajectories using a class of automated search algorithms called local search. A novel feature of this approach is the ability to incorporate constraints directly into the problem formulation that addresses passenger safety and comfort.

  14. Attraction of posture and motion-trajectory elements of conspecific biological motion in medaka fish.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shibai, Atsushi; Arimoto, Tsunehiro; Yoshinaga, Tsukasa; Tsuchizawa, Yuta; Khureltulga, Dashdavaa; Brown, Zuben P; Kakizuka, Taishi; Hosoda, Kazufumi

    2018-06-05

    Visual recognition of conspecifics is necessary for a wide range of social behaviours in many animals. Medaka (Japanese rice fish), a commonly used model organism, are known to be attracted by the biological motion of conspecifics. However, biological motion is a composite of both body-shape motion and entire-field motion trajectory (i.e., posture or motion-trajectory elements, respectively), and it has not been revealed which element mediates the attractiveness. Here, we show that either posture or motion-trajectory elements alone can attract medaka. We decomposed biological motion of the medaka into the two elements and synthesized visual stimuli that contain both, either, or none of the two elements. We found that medaka were attracted by visual stimuli that contain at least one of the two elements. In the context of other known static visual information regarding the medaka, the potential multiplicity of information regarding conspecific recognition has further accumulated. Our strategy of decomposing biological motion into these partial elements is applicable to other animals, and further studies using this technique will enhance the basic understanding of visual recognition of conspecifics.

  15. Investigation of the velocity field in a full-scale model of a cerebral aneurysm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roloff, Christoph; Bordás, Róbert; Nickl, Rosa; Mátrai, Zsolt; Szaszák, Norbert; Szilárd, Szabó; Thévenin, Dominique

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • We investigate flow fields inside a phantom model of a full-scale cerebral aneurysm. • An artificial blood fluid is used matching viscosity and density of real blood. • We present Particle Tracking results of fluorescent tracer particles. • Instantaneous model inlet velocity profiles and volume flow rates are derived. • Trajectory fields at three of six measurement planes are presented. -- Abstract: Due to improved and now widely used imaging methods in clinical surgery practise, detection of unruptured cerebral aneurysms becomes more and more frequent. For the selection and development of a low-risk and highly effective treatment option, the understanding of the involved hemodynamic mechanisms is of great importance. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), in vivo angiographic imaging and in situ experimental investigations of flow behaviour are powerful tools which could deliver the needed information. Hence, the aim of this contribution is to experimentally characterise the flow in a full-scale phantom model of a realistic cerebral aneurysm. The acquired experimental data will then be used for a quantitative validation of companion numerical simulations. The experimental methodology relies on the large-field velocimetry technique PTV (Particle Tracking Velocimetry), processing high speed images of fluorescent tracer particles added to the flow of a blood-mimicking fluid. First, time-resolved planar PTV images were recorded at 4500 fps and processed by a complex, in-house algorithm. The resulting trajectories are used to identify Lagrangian flow structures, vortices and recirculation zones in two-dimensional measurement slices within the aneurysm sac. The instantaneous inlet velocity distribution, needed as boundary condition for the numerical simulations, has been measured with the same technique but using a higher frame rate of 20,000 fps in order to avoid ambiguous particle assignment. From this velocity distribution, the time

  16. Predictors of Psychological Distress Trajectories in the First Year After a Breast Cancer Diagnosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jin-Hee Park, RN, Ph.D.

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: Psychological distress is a significant and ongoing problem for breast cancer. These mental health problems are often neglected as they are not always properly understood. This study was performed to explore the trajectory of psychological distress over 1 year since breast cancer surgery and to identify the associated factors for the trajectory. Methods: One hundred seventeen women who underwent surgery for breast cancer completed the psychological distress thermometer and problem lists from after surgery to 12 months after surgery. Information on their sociodemographic and clinical characteristics was also obtained. Group-based trajectory modeling was performed to identify the distinct trajectories of psychological distress. Chi-square test and logistic regression analysis were performed to determine predictors of psychological distress trajectories. Results: A two-group linear trajectory model was optimal for modeling psychological distress (Bayesian information criterion = −777.41. Group-based trajectory modeling identified consistently high-distress (19.4% and low-decreasing distress (80.6% trajectories. Old age, depression, nervousness, and pain were significant predictors of consistently high-distress trajectory. Conclusion: Our results indicate that distinct trajectory groups can be used as a screening tool to identify patients who may be at an increased risk of psychological distress over time. Screening for psychological distress during disease diagnosis is important and necessary to identify patients who are at an increased risk of elevated distress or at risk of experiencing psychological distress over time. Keywords: anxiety, breast neoplasms, depression, pain, psychological stress

  17. Scale-invariant transition probabilities in free word association trajectories

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martin Elias Costa

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Free-word association has been used as a vehicle to understand the organization of human thoughts. The original studies relied mainly on qualitative assertions, yielding the widely intuitive notion that trajectories of word associations are structured, yet considerably more random than organized linguistic text. Here we set to determine a precise characterization of this space, generating a large number of word association trajectories in a web implemented game. We embedded the trajectories in the graph of word co-occurrences from a linguistic corpus. To constrain possible transport models we measured the memory loss and the cycling probability. These two measures could not be reconciled by a bounded diffusive model since the cycling probability was very high (16 % of order-2 cycles implying a majority of short-range associations whereas the memory loss was very rapid (converging to the asymptotic value in ∼ 7 steps which, in turn, forced a high fraction of long-range associations. We show that memory loss and cycling probabilities of free word association trajectories can be simultaneously accounted by a model in which transitions are determined by a scale invariant probability distribution.

  18. Chaotic trajectories in the standard map. The concept of anti-integrability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aubry, Serge; Abramovici, Gilles

    1990-07-01

    A rigorous proof is given in the standard map (associated with a Frenkel-Kontorowa model) for the existence of chaotic trajectories with unbounded momenta for large enough coupling constant k > k0. These chaotic trajectories (with finite entropy per site) are coded by integer sequences { mi} such that the sequence bi = |m i+1 + m i-1-2m i| be bounded by some integer b. The bound k0 in k depends on b and can be lowered for coding sequences { mi} fulfilling more restrictive conditions. The obtained chaotic trajectories correspond to stationary configurations of the Frenkel-Kontorowa model with a finite (non-zero) photon gap (called gap parameter in dimensionless units). This property implies that the trajectory (or the configuration { ui}) can be uniquely continued as a uniformly continuous function of the model parameter k in some neighborhood of the initial configuration. A non-zero gap parameter implies that the Lyapunov coefficient is strictly positive (when it is defined). In addition, the existence of dilating and contracting manifolds is proven for these chaotic trajectories. “Exotic” trajectories such as ballistic trajectories are also proven to exist as a consequence of these theorems. The concept of anti-integrability emerges from these theorems. In the anti-integrable limit which can be only defined for a discrete time dynamical system, the coordinates of the trajectory at time i do not depend on the coordinates at time i - 1. Thus, at this singular limit, the existence of chaotic trajectories is trivial and the dynamical system reduces to a Bernoulli shift. It is well known that the KAM tori of symplectic dynamical originates by continuity from the invariant tori which exists in the integrible limit (under certain conditions). In a similar way, it appears that the chaotic trajectories of dynamical systems originate by continuity from those which exists at the anti-integrable limits (also under certain conditions).

  19. Creating drag and lift curves from soccer trajectories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goff, John Eric; Kelley, John; Hobson, Chad M.; Seo, Kazuya; Asai, Takeshi; Choppin, S. B.

    2017-07-01

    Trajectory analysis is an alternative to using wind tunnels to measure a soccer ball’s aerodynamic properties. It has advantages over wind tunnel testing such as being more representative of game play. However, previous work has not presented a method that produces complete, speed-dependent drag and lift coefficients. Four high-speed cameras in stereo-calibrated pairs were used to measure the spatial co-ordinates for 29 separate soccer trajectories. Those trajectories span a range of launch speeds from 9.3 to 29.9 m s-1. That range encompasses low-speed laminar flow of air over a soccer ball, through the drag crises where air flow is both laminar and turbulent, and up to high-speed turbulent air flow. Results from trajectory analysis were combined to give speed-dependent drag and lift coefficient curves for the entire range of speeds found in the 29 trajectories. The average root mean square error between the measured and modelled trajectory was 0.028 m horizontally and 0.034 m vertically. The drag and lift crises can be observed in the plots of drag and lift coefficients respectively.

  20. Smoke plume trajectory from in-situ burning of crude oil: complex terrain modeling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McGrattan, K.

    1997-01-01

    Numerical models have been used to predict the concentration of particulate matter or other combustion products downwind from a proposed in- situ burning of an oil spill. One of the models used was the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) model, ALOFT (A Large Outdoor Fire plume Trajectory), which is based on the conservation equations that govern the introduction of hot gases and particulate matter into the atmosphere. By using a model based on fundamental equations, it becomes a relatively simple matter to simulate smoke dispersal flow patterns, and to compute the solution to the equations of motion that govern the transport of pollutants in the lower atmosphere at a resolution that is comparable to that of the underlying terrain data. 9 refs., 2 tabs., 5 figs

  1. Three Dimensional Dynamic Model Based Wind Field Reconstruction from Lidar Data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raach, Steffen; Schlipf, David; Haizmann, Florian; Cheng, Po Wen

    2014-01-01

    Using the inflowing horizontal and vertical wind shears for individual pitch controller is a promising method if blade bending measurements are not available. Due to the limited information provided by a lidar system the reconstruction of shears in real-time is a challenging task especially for the horizontal shear in the presence of changing wind direction. The internal model principle has shown to be a promising approach to estimate the shears and directions in 10 minutes averages with real measurement data. The static model based wind vector field reconstruction is extended in this work taking into account a dynamic reconstruction model based on Taylor's Frozen Turbulence Hypothesis. The presented method provides time series over several seconds of the wind speed, shears and direction, which can be directly used in advanced optimal preview control. Therefore, this work is an important step towards the application of preview individual blade pitch control under realistic wind conditions. The method is tested using a turbulent wind field and a detailed lidar simulator. For the simulation, the turbulent wind field structure is flowing towards the lidar system and is continuously misaligned with respect to the horizontal axis of the wind turbine. Taylor's Frozen Turbulence Hypothesis is taken into account to model the wind evolution. For the reconstruction, the structure is discretized into several stages where each stage is reduced to an effective wind speed, superposed with a linear horizontal and vertical wind shear. Previous lidar measurements are shifted using again Taylor's Hypothesis. The wind field reconstruction problem is then formulated as a nonlinear optimization problem, which minimizes the residual between the assumed wind model and the lidar measurements to obtain the misalignment angle and the effective wind speed and the wind shears for each stage. This method shows good results in reconstructing the wind characteristics of a three

  2. Design and Analysis of Optimal Ascent Trajectories for Stratospheric Airships

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mueller, Joseph Bernard

    Stratospheric airships are lighter-than-air vehicles that have the potential to provide a long-duration airborne presence at altitudes of 18-22 km. Designed to operate on solar power in the calm portion of the lower stratosphere and above all regulated air traffic and cloud cover, these vehicles represent an emerging platform that resides between conventional aircraft and satellites. A particular challenge for airship operation is the planning of ascent trajectories, as the slow moving vehicle must traverse the high wind region of the jet stream. Due to large changes in wind speed and direction across altitude and the susceptibility of airship motion to wind, the trajectory must be carefully planned, preferably optimized, in order to ensure that the desired station be reached within acceptable performance bounds of flight time and energy consumption. This thesis develops optimal ascent trajectories for stratospheric airships, examines the structure and sensitivity of these solutions, and presents a strategy for onboard guidance. Optimal ascent trajectories are developed that utilize wind energy to achieve minimum-time and minimum-energy flights. The airship is represented by a three-dimensional point mass model, and the equations of motion include aerodynamic lift and drag, vectored thrust, added mass effects, and accelerations due to mass flow rate, wind rates, and Earth rotation. A representative wind profile is developed based on historical meteorological data and measurements. Trajectory optimization is performed by first defining an optimal control problem with both terminal and path constraints, then using direct transcription to develop an approximate nonlinear parameter optimization problem of finite dimension. Optimal ascent trajectories are determined using SNOPT for a variety of upwind, downwind, and crosswind launch locations. Results of extensive optimization solutions illustrate definitive patterns in the ascent path for minimum time flights across

  3. Trajectories of BMI change impact glucose and insulin metabolism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walsh, E I; Shaw, J; Cherbuin, N

    2018-03-01

    The aim of this study was to examine, in a community setting, whether trajectory of weight change over twelve years is associated with glucose and insulin metabolism at twelve years. Participants were 532 community-living middle-aged and elderly adults from the Personality and Total Health (PATH) Through Life study. They spanned the full weight range (underweight/normal/overweight/obese). Latent class analysis and multivariate generalised linear models were used to investigate the association of Body Mass Index (BMI, kg/m 2 ) trajectory over twelve years with plasma insulin (μlU/ml), plasma glucose (mmol/L), and HOMA2 insulin resistance and beta cell function at follow-up. All models were adjusted for age, gender, hypertension, pre-clinical diabetes status (normal fasting glucose or impaired fasting glucose) and physical activity. Four weight trajectories were extracted; constant normal (mean baseline BMI = 25; follow-up BMI = 25), constant high (mean baseline BMI = 36; follow-up BMI = 37), increase (mean baseline BMI = 26; follow-up BMI = 32) and decrease (mean baseline BMI = 34; follow-up BMI = 28). At any given current BMI, individuals in the constant high and increase trajectories had significantly higher plasma insulin, greater insulin resistance, and higher beta cell function than those in the constant normal trajectory. Individuals in the decrease trajectory did not differ from the constant normal trajectory. Current BMI significantly interacted with preceding BMI trajectory in its association with plasma insulin, insulin resistance, and beta cell function. The trajectory of preceding weight has an independent effect on blood glucose metabolism beyond body weight measured at any given point in time. Copyright © 2017 The Italian Society of Diabetology, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University. Published by Elsevier

  4. Trajectory Planning and Optimized Adaptive Control for a Class of Wheeled Inverted Pendulum Vehicle Models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Chenguang; Li, Zhijun; Li, Jing

    2013-02-01

    In this paper, we investigate optimized adaptive control and trajectory generation for a class of wheeled inverted pendulum (WIP) models of vehicle systems. Aiming at shaping the controlled vehicle dynamics to be of minimized motion tracking errors as well as angular accelerations, we employ the linear quadratic regulation optimization technique to obtain an optimal reference model. Adaptive control has then been developed using variable structure method to ensure the reference model to be exactly matched in a finite-time horizon, even in the presence of various internal and external uncertainties. The minimized yaw and tilt angular accelerations help to enhance the vehicle rider's comfort. In addition, due to the underactuated mechanism of WIP, the vehicle forward velocity dynamics cannot be controlled separately from the pendulum tilt angle dynamics. Inspired by the control strategy of human drivers, who usually manipulate the tilt angle to control the forward velocity, we design a neural-network-based adaptive generator of implicit control trajectory (AGICT) of the tilt angle which indirectly "controls" the forward velocity such that it tracks the desired velocity asymptotically. The stability and optimal tracking performance have been rigorously established by theoretic analysis. In addition, simulation studies have been carried out to demonstrate the efficiency of the developed AGICT and optimized adaptive controller.

  5. Supervised Learning Applied to Air Traffic Trajectory Classification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bosson, Christabelle; Nikoleris, Tasos

    2018-01-01

    Given the recent increase of interest in introducing new vehicle types and missions into the National Airspace System, a transition towards a more autonomous air traffic control system is required in order to enable and handle increased density and complexity. This paper presents an exploratory effort of the needed autonomous capabilities by exploring supervised learning techniques in the context of aircraft trajectories. In particular, it focuses on the application of machine learning algorithms and neural network models to a runway recognition trajectory-classification study. It investigates the applicability and effectiveness of various classifiers using datasets containing trajectory records for a month of air traffic. A feature importance and sensitivity analysis are conducted to challenge the chosen time-based datasets and the ten selected features. The study demonstrates that classification accuracy levels of 90% and above can be reached in less than 40 seconds of training for most machine learning classifiers when one track data point, described by the ten selected features at a particular time step, per trajectory is used as input. It also shows that neural network models can achieve similar accuracy levels but at higher training time costs.

  6. Trajectory Calculation as Forecasting Support Tool for Dust Storms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sultan Al-Yahyai

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available In arid and semiarid regions, dust storms are common during windy seasons. Strong wind can blow loose sand from the dry surface. The rising sand and dust is then transported to other places depending on the wind conditions (speed and direction at different levels of the atmosphere. Considering dust as a moving object in space and time, trajectory calculation then can be used to determine the path it will follow. Trajectory calculation is used as a forecast supporting tool for both operational and research activities. Predefined dust sources can be identified and the trajectories can be precalculated from the Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP forecast. In case of long distance transported dust, the tool should allow the operational forecaster to perform online trajectory calculation. This paper presents a case study for using trajectory calculation based on NWP models as a forecast supporting tool in Oman Meteorological Service during some dust storm events. Case study validation results showed a good agreement between the calculated trajectories and the real transport path of the dust storms and hence trajectory calculation can be used at operational centers for warning purposes.

  7. Analysis of the Forward-Backward Trajectory Solution for the Mixed Quantum-Classical Liouville Equation

    OpenAIRE

    Hsieh, Chang-Yu; Kapral, Raymond

    2013-01-01

    Mixed quantum-classical methods provide powerful algorithms for the simulation of quantum processes in large and complex systems. The forward-backward trajectory solution of the mixed quantum-classical Liouville equation in the mapping basis [J. Chem. Phys. 137, 22A507 (2012)] is one such scheme. It simulates the dynamics via the propagation of forward and backward trajectories of quantum coherent state variables, and the propagation of bath trajectories on a mean-field potential determined j...

  8. BMI trajectory groups in veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenberger, Patricia H; Ning, Yuming; Brandt, Cynthia; Allore, Heather; Haskell, Sally

    2011-09-01

    The study sought to determine BMI trajectories in Iraq/Afghanistan veterans over 6 years and to examine sociodemographic factors associated with BMI trajectory membership. Our study sample included 16,656 veterans post-deployment and entering the Veteran Healthcare Administration (VHA) healthcare system. We used national VHA administrative sociodemographic data, tracked veteran BMI for 6 years, and used trajectory modeling to identify BMI trajectories and sociodemographic characteristics associated with trajectory membership. Five trajectory groups determined in the full sample were primarily differentiated by their post-deployment initial BMI: "healthy" (14.1%), "overweight" (36.3%), "borderline obese" (27.9%), "obese" (15.7%), and "severely obese" (6.0). Being female, younger, and white were associated with lower initial BMI trajectory group membership (p'seducation and white female Veterans were associated with the lowest initial BMI group (p'sEducation level and racial status are differentially related to BMI trajectory by gender. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  9. Fuzzy Vector Field Orientation Feedback Control-Based Slip Compensation for Trajectory Tracking Control of a Four Track Wheel Skid-steered Mobile Robot

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xuan Vinh Ha

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Skid-steered mobile robots have been widely used in exploring unknown environments and in military applications. In this paper, the tuning fuzzy Vector Field Orientation (FVFO feedback control method is proposed for a four track wheel skid-steered mobile robot (4-TW SSMR using flexible fuzzy logic control (FLC. The extended Kalman filter is utilized to estimate the positions, velocities and orientation angles, which are used for feedback control signals in the FVFO method, based on the AHRS kinematic motion model and velocity constraints. In addition, in light of the wheel slip and the braking ability of the robot, we propose a new method for estimating online wheel slip parameters based on a discrete Kalman filter to compensate for the velocity constraints. As demonstrated by our experimental results, the advantages of the combination of the proposed FVFO and wheel slip estimation methods overcome the limitations of the others in the trajectory tracking control problem for a 4-TW SSMR.

  10. PANTHER. Trajectory Analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rintoul, Mark Daniel [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Wilson, Andrew T. [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Valicka, Christopher G. [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Kegelmeyer, W. Philip [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Shead, Timothy M. [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Newton, Benjamin D. [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Czuchlewski, Kristina Rodriguez [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    2015-09-01

    We want to organize a body of trajectories in order to identify, search for, classify and predict behavior among objects such as aircraft and ships. Existing compari- son functions such as the Fr'echet distance are computationally expensive and yield counterintuitive results in some cases. We propose an approach using feature vectors whose components represent succinctly the salient information in trajectories. These features incorporate basic information such as total distance traveled and distance be- tween start/stop points as well as geometric features related to the properties of the convex hull, trajectory curvature and general distance geometry. Additionally, these features can generally be mapped easily to behaviors of interest to humans that are searching large databases. Most of these geometric features are invariant under rigid transformation. We demonstrate the use of different subsets of these features to iden- tify trajectories similar to an exemplar, cluster a database of several hundred thousand trajectories, predict destination and apply unsupervised machine learning algorithms.

  11. From here to criticality: Renormalization group flow between two conformal field theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leaf-Herrmann, W.A.

    1993-01-01

    Using non-perturbative techniques, we study the renormalization group trajectory between two conformal field theories. Specifically, we investigate a perturbation of the A 3 superconformal minimal model such that in the infrared limit the theory flows to the A 2 model. The correlation functions in the topological sector of the theory are computed numerically along the trajectory, and these results are compared to the expected asymptotic behavior. Excellent agreement is found, and the characteristic features of the infrared theory, including the central charge and the normalized operator product expansion coefficients, are obtained. We also review and discuss some aspects of the geometrical description of N=2 supersymmetric quantum field theories recently uncovered by Cecotti and Vafa. (orig.)

  12. Optimization of Vehicular Trajectories under Gaussian Noise Disturbances

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joan Garcia-Haro

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays, research on Vehicular Technology aims at automating every single mechanical element of vehicles, in order to increase passengers’ safety, reduce human driving intervention and provide entertainment services on board. Automatic trajectory tracing for vehicles under especially risky circumstances is a field of research that is currently gaining enormous attention. In this paper, we show some results on how to develop useful policies to execute maneuvers by a vehicle at high speeds with the mathematical optimization of some already established mobility conditions of the car. We also study how the presence of Gaussian noise on measurement sensors while maneuvering can disturb motion and affect the final trajectories. Different performance criteria for the optimization of such maneuvers are presented, and an analysis is shown on how path deviations can be minimized by using trajectory smoothing techniques like the Kalman Filter. We finalize the paper with a discussion on how communications can be used to implement these schemes.

  13. Ion trajectories quadrupole mass filters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ursu, D.; Lupsa, N.; Muntean, F.

    1994-01-01

    The present paper aims at bringing some contributions to the understanding of ion motion in quadrupole mass filters. The theoretical treatment of quadrupole mass filter is intended to be a concise derivation of the important physical relationships using Mathieu functions. A simple iterative method of numerical computation has been used to simulate ion trajectories in an ideal quadrupole field. Finally, some examples of calculation are presented with the aid of computer graphics. (Author) 14 Figs., 1 Tab., 20 Refs

  14. Maximum likelihood-based analysis of single-molecule photon arrival trajectories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hajdziona, Marta; Molski, Andrzej

    2011-02-01

    In this work we explore the statistical properties of the maximum likelihood-based analysis of one-color photon arrival trajectories. This approach does not involve binning and, therefore, all of the information contained in an observed photon strajectory is used. We study the accuracy and precision of parameter estimates and the efficiency of the Akaike information criterion and the Bayesian information criterion (BIC) in selecting the true kinetic model. We focus on the low excitation regime where photon trajectories can be modeled as realizations of Markov modulated Poisson processes. The number of observed photons is the key parameter in determining model selection and parameter estimation. For example, the BIC can select the true three-state model from competing two-, three-, and four-state kinetic models even for relatively short trajectories made up of 2 × 103 photons. When the intensity levels are well-separated and 104 photons are observed, the two-state model parameters can be estimated with about 10% precision and those for a three-state model with about 20% precision.

  15. Maximum likelihood-based analysis of single-molecule photon arrival trajectories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hajdziona, Marta; Molski, Andrzej

    2011-02-07

    In this work we explore the statistical properties of the maximum likelihood-based analysis of one-color photon arrival trajectories. This approach does not involve binning and, therefore, all of the information contained in an observed photon strajectory is used. We study the accuracy and precision of parameter estimates and the efficiency of the Akaike information criterion and the Bayesian information criterion (BIC) in selecting the true kinetic model. We focus on the low excitation regime where photon trajectories can be modeled as realizations of Markov modulated Poisson processes. The number of observed photons is the key parameter in determining model selection and parameter estimation. For example, the BIC can select the true three-state model from competing two-, three-, and four-state kinetic models even for relatively short trajectories made up of 2 × 10(3) photons. When the intensity levels are well-separated and 10(4) photons are observed, the two-state model parameters can be estimated with about 10% precision and those for a three-state model with about 20% precision.

  16. Development and Calibration of a Model for the Determination of Hurricane Wind Speed Field at the Peninsula of Yucatan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L.E. Fernández–Baqueiro

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available In this work a model to calculate the wind speed field produced by hurricanes that hit the Yucatan Peninsula is developed. The model variables are calculated using equations recently developed, that include new advances in meteorology. The steps in the model are described and implemented in a computer program to systematize and facilitate the use of this model. The model and the program are calibrated using two data bases; the first one includes trajectories and maximum wind velocities of hurricanes; the second one includes records of wind velocities obtained from the Automatic Meteorology Stations of the National Meteorology Service. The hurricane wind velocity field is calculated using the model and information of the first data base. The model results are compared with field data from the second data base. The model is calibrated adjusting the Holland's pressure radial profile parameter B; this is carried out for three hurricane records: Isidore, Emily and Wilma. It is concluded that a value of B of 1.3 adjusts globally the three hurricane records and that the developed model is capable of reproducing satisfactorily the wind velocity records.

  17. A Novel Approach to Identifying Trajectories of Mobility Change in Older Adults.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rachel E Ward

    Full Text Available To validate trajectories of late-life mobility change using a novel approach designed to overcome the constraints of modest sample size and few follow-up time points.Using clinical reasoning and distribution-based methodology, we identified trajectories of mobility change (Late Life Function and Disability Instrument across 2 years in 391 participants age ≥65 years from a prospective cohort study designed to identify modifiable impairments predictive of mobility in late-life. We validated our approach using model fit indices and comparing baseline mobility-related factors between trajectories.Model fit indices confirmed that the optimal number of trajectories were between 4 and 6. Mobility-related factors varied across trajectories with the most unfavorable values in poor mobility trajectories and the most favorable in high mobility trajectories. These factors included leg strength, trunk extension endurance, knee flexion range of motion, limb velocity, physical performance measures, and the number and prevalence of medical conditions including osteoarthritis and back pain.Our findings support the validity of this approach and may facilitate the investigation of a broader scope of research questions within aging populations of varied sizes and traits.

  18. Indoor Trajectory Tracking Scheme Based on Delaunay Triangulation and Heuristic Information in Wireless Sensor Networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qin, Junping; Sun, Shiwen; Deng, Qingxu; Liu, Limin; Tian, Yonghong

    2017-06-02

    Object tracking and detection is one of the most significant research areas for wireless sensor networks. Existing indoor trajectory tracking schemes in wireless sensor networks are based on continuous localization and moving object data mining. Indoor trajectory tracking based on the received signal strength indicator ( RSSI ) has received increased attention because it has low cost and requires no special infrastructure. However, RSSI tracking introduces uncertainty because of the inaccuracies of measurement instruments and the irregularities (unstable, multipath, diffraction) of wireless signal transmissions in indoor environments. Heuristic information includes some key factors for trajectory tracking procedures. This paper proposes a novel trajectory tracking scheme based on Delaunay triangulation and heuristic information (TTDH). In this scheme, the entire field is divided into a series of triangular regions. The common side of adjacent triangular regions is regarded as a regional boundary. Our scheme detects heuristic information related to a moving object's trajectory, including boundaries and triangular regions. Then, the trajectory is formed by means of a dynamic time-warping position-fingerprint-matching algorithm with heuristic information constraints. Field experiments show that the average error distance of our scheme is less than 1.5 m, and that error does not accumulate among the regions.

  19. Human action recognition using trajectory-based representation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haiam A. Abdul-Azim

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Recognizing human actions in video sequences has been a challenging problem in the last few years due to its real-world applications. A lot of action representation approaches have been proposed to improve the action recognition performance. Despite the popularity of local features-based approaches together with “Bag-of-Words” model for action representation, it fails to capture adequate spatial or temporal relationships. In an attempt to overcome this problem, a trajectory-based local representation approaches have been proposed to capture the temporal information. This paper introduces an improvement of trajectory-based human action recognition approaches to capture discriminative temporal relationships. In our approach, we extract trajectories by tracking the detected spatio-temporal interest points named “cuboid features” with matching its SIFT descriptors over the consecutive frames. We, also, propose a linking and exploring method to obtain efficient trajectories for motion representation in realistic conditions. Then the volumes around the trajectories’ points are described to represent human actions based on the Bag-of-Words (BOW model. Finally, a support vector machine is used to classify human actions. The effectiveness of the proposed approach was evaluated on three popular datasets (KTH, Weizmann and UCF sports. Experimental results showed that the proposed approach yields considerable performance improvement over the state-of-the-art approaches.

  20. TRADOS - an air trajectory dose model for long range transport of radioactive release to the atmosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rossi, J.; Valkama, I.

    1985-01-01

    A model for estimating radiation doses resulting from long range atmospheric transport of released radionuclides in accidents is precented. The model (TRADOS) is able to treat changing diffusion conditions. For example the plume can be exposed to temporary rain, changes in turbulence and mixing depth. This can result in considerable changes in individual doses. The method is applied to an example trajectory and the doses caused by a serious reactor accident are calculated

  1. The trajectory model tranco as applied to the Chernobyl accident using E.C.M.W.F. meteorological data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zarimpas, N.

    1989-01-01

    This report presents the TRANCO (trajectory analysis) code and discusses its application to model atmospheric transport during and after the Chernobyl accident. The archived-processed meteorological information from the ECMWF, which is used for the purposes of this study, is also described. Finally, results are discussed and compared with those produced by similar models

  2. Highly Accurate Measurement of Projectile Trajectories

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Leathem, J

    1997-01-01

    .... The method has been extensively used for free flight testing of weapon models. This report describes the on board instrumentation, the range instrumentation and the experimental procedure used to carry out the trajectory measurements...

  3. Field-enhanced REB deposition and Bremsstrahlung production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Halbleib, J.A. Sr.; Widner, M.M.

    1977-07-01

    Recently developed models are employed to describe the interaction of a high-current REB (relativistic electron beam) with planar gold foils in the presence of macroscopic electromagnetic fields. It is shown that, under certain conditions, azimuthal magnetic fields which either penetrate into the foil and/or exist on the transmission side of the foil can significantly enhance the specific power deposited in the foil over that which would be deposited for diode fields alone. Similar field effects suggest methods for improving the external conversion efficiencies, softening the spectra and focussing the source intensities of flash x-ray facilities. Finally, preliminary results are shown from a new trajectory-field model for self-consistent REB transport

  4. Multiple-Sensor Discrimination of Closely-Spaced Objects on a Ballistic Trajectory

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-05-18

    Modeling Two-body orbit dynamics was utilized to generate ballistic trajectories between the desired burnout and reentry points. The dispersion of object...trajectories within the target complex was achieved by varying the velocity of each object at the burnout points. The generated trajectories served...utilized as it removes several limitations associated with using the Euclidean distance mainly that it accounts for the scaling of the coordinate

  5. Analysis of the three-dimensional trajectories of dusts observed with a stereoscopic fast framing camera in the Large Helical Device

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shoji, M., E-mail: shoji@LHD.nifs.ac.jp [National Institute for Fusion Science, 322-6 Oroshi-cho, Toki 509-5292, Gifu (Japan); Masuzaki, S. [National Institute for Fusion Science, 322-6 Oroshi-cho, Toki 509-5292, Gifu (Japan); Tanaka, Y. [Kanazawa University, Kakuma, Kanazawa 920-1192 (Japan); Pigarov, A.Yu.; Smirnov, R.D. [University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093 (United States); Kawamura, G.; Uesugi, Y.; Yamada, H. [National Institute for Fusion Science, 322-6 Oroshi-cho, Toki 509-5292, Gifu (Japan)

    2015-08-15

    The three-dimensional trajectories of dusts have been observed with two stereoscopic fast framing cameras installed in upper and outer viewports in the Large Helical Device (LHD). It shows that the dust trajectories locate in divertor legs and an ergodic layer around the main plasma confinement region. While it is found that most of the dusts approximately move along the magnetic field lines with acceleration, there are some dusts which have sharply curved trajectories crossing over the magnetic field lines. A dust transport simulation code was modified to investigate the dust trajectories in fully three dimensional geometries such as LHD plasmas. It can explain the general trend of most of observed dust trajectories by the effect of the plasma flow in the peripheral plasma. However, the behavior of the some dusts with sharply curved trajectories is not consistent with the simulations.

  6. Lane changing trajectory planning and tracking control for intelligent vehicle on curved road.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Lukun; Zhao, Xiaoying; Su, Hao; Tang, Gongyou

    2016-01-01

    This paper explores lane changing trajectory planning and tracking control for intelligent vehicle on curved road. A novel arcs trajectory is planned for the desired lane changing trajectory. A kinematic controller and a dynamics controller are designed to implement the trajectory tracking control. Firstly, the kinematic model and dynamics model of intelligent vehicle with non-holonomic constraint are established. Secondly, two constraints of lane changing on curved road in practice (LCCP) are proposed. Thirdly, two arcs with same curvature are constructed for the desired lane changing trajectory. According to the geometrical characteristics of arcs trajectory, equations of desired state can be calculated. Finally, the backstepping method is employed to design a kinematic trajectory tracking controller. Then the sliding-mode dynamics controller is designed to ensure that the motion of the intelligent vehicle can follow the desired velocity generated by kinematic controller. The stability of control system is proved by Lyapunov theory. Computer simulation demonstrates that the desired arcs trajectory and state curves with B-spline optimization can meet the requirements of LCCP constraints and the proposed control schemes can make tracking errors to converge uniformly.

  7. Estimation of a planetary magnetic field using a reduced magnetohydrodynamic model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Nabert

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Knowledge of planetary magnetic fields provides deep insights into the structure and dynamics of planets. Due to the interaction of a planet with the solar wind plasma, a rather complex magnetic environment is generated. The situation at planet Mercury is an example of the complexities occurring as this planet's field is rather weak and the magnetosphere rather small. New methods are presented to separate interior and exterior magnetic field contributions which are based on a dynamic inversion approach using a reduced magnetohydrodynamic (MHD model and time-varying spacecraft observations. The methods select different data such as bow shock location information or magnetosheath magnetic field data. Our investigations are carried out in preparation for the upcoming dual-spacecraft BepiColombo mission set out to precisely estimate Mercury's intrinsic magnetic field. To validate our new approaches, we use THEMIS magnetosheath observations to estimate the known terrestrial dipole moment. The terrestrial magnetosheath provides observations from a strongly disturbed magnetic environment, comparable to the situation at Mercury. Statistical and systematic errors are considered and their dependence on the selected data sets are examined. Including time-dependent upstream solar wind variations rather than averaged conditions significantly reduces the statistical error of the estimation. Taking the entire magnetosheath data along the spacecraft's trajectory instead of only the bow shock location into account further improves accuracy of the estimated dipole moment.

  8. Optimization on Trajectory of Stanford Manipulator based on Genetic Algorithm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Han Xi

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The optimization of robot manipulator’s trajectory has become a hot topic in academic and industrial fields. In this paper, a method for minimizing the moving distance of robot manipulators is presented. The Stanford Manipulator is used as the research object and the inverse kinematics model is established with Denavit-Hartenberg method. Base on the initial posture matrix, the inverse kinematics model is used to find the initial state of each joint. In accordance with the given beginning moment, cubic polynomial interpolation is applied to each joint variable and the positive kinematic model is used to calculate the moving distance of end effector. Genetic algorithm is used to optimize the sequential order of each joint and the time difference between different starting time of joints. Numerical applications involving a Stanford manipulator are presented.

  9. Renormalization of the new trajectory in the unitarized conventional dual model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Quiros, M.

    1978-08-01

    The contribution of one-loop planar diagrams to the two-reggeon two-particle amplitude is derived. Its regge limit splits into two separate contributions which must be interpreted as renormalization effects, to order g 2 , of the α and β trajectories. It is shown that the Neveu-Scherk renormalization prescription is able to render finite both contributions. The intercept of the β trajectory is shifted from its bare value by the renormalization procedure, whereas that of the α trajectrory is not renormalized as it was required by the gauge invariance of dual theories

  10. Field Model: An Object-Oriented Data Model for Fields

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moran, Patrick J.

    2001-01-01

    We present an extensible, object-oriented data model designed for field data entitled Field Model (FM). FM objects can represent a wide variety of fields, including fields of arbitrary dimension and node type. FM can also handle time-series data. FM achieves generality through carefully selected topological primitives and through an implementation that leverages the potential of templated C++. FM supports fields where the nodes values are paired with any cell type. Thus FM can represent data where the field nodes are paired with the vertices ("vertex-centered" data), fields where the nodes are paired with the D-dimensional cells in R(sup D) (often called "cell-centered" data), as well as fields where nodes are paired with edges or other cell types. FM is designed to effectively handle very large data sets; in particular FM employs a demand-driven evaluation strategy that works especially well with large field data. Finally, the interfaces developed for FM have the potential to effectively abstract field data based on adaptive meshes. We present initial results with a triangular adaptive grid in R(sup 2) and discuss how the same design abstractions would work equally well with other adaptive-grid variations, including meshes in R(sup 3).

  11. A simple model for correcting the zero point energy problem in classical trajectory simulations of polyatomic molecules

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miller, W.H.; Hase, W.L.; Darling, C.L.

    1989-01-01

    A simple model is proposed for correcting problems with zero point energy in classical trajectory simulations of dynamical processes in polyatomic molecules. The ''problems'' referred to are that classical mechanics allows the vibrational energy in a mode to decrease below its quantum zero point value, and since the total energy is conserved classically this can allow too much energy to pool in other modes. The proposed model introduces hard sphere-like terms in action--angle variables that prevent the vibrational energy in any mode from falling below its zero point value. The algorithm which results is quite simple in terms of the cartesian normal modes of the system: if the energy in a mode k, say, decreases below its zero point value at time t, then at this time the momentum P k for that mode has its sign changed, and the trajectory continues. This is essentially a time reversal for mode k (only exclamation point), and it conserves the total energy of the system. One can think of the model as supplying impulsive ''quantum kicks'' to a mode whose energy attempts to fall below its zero point value, a kind of ''Planck demon'' analogous to a Brownian-like random force. The model is illustrated by application to a model of CH overtone relaxation

  12. Adaptive Trajectory Design

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Adaptive Trajectory Design (ATD) is an original concept for quick and efficient end-to-end trajectory designs using proven piece-wise dynamical methods. With ongoing...

  13. Designing train-speed trajectory with energy efficiency and service quality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jia, Jiannan; Yang, Kai; Yang, Lixing; Gao, Yuan; Li, Shukai

    2018-05-01

    With the development of automatic train operations, optimal trajectory design is significant to the performance of train operations in railway transportation systems. Considering energy efficiency and service quality, this article formulates a bi-objective train-speed trajectory optimization model to minimize simultaneously the energy consumption and travel time in an inter-station section. This article is distinct from previous studies in that more sophisticated train driving strategies characterized by the acceleration/deceleration gear, the cruising speed, and the speed-shift site are specifically considered. For obtaining an optimal train-speed trajectory which has equal satisfactory degree on both objectives, a fuzzy linear programming approach is applied to reformulate the objectives. In addition, a genetic algorithm is developed to solve the proposed train-speed trajectory optimization problem. Finally, a series of numerical experiments based on a real-world instance of Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Railway are implemented to illustrate the practicability of the proposed model as well as the effectiveness of the solution methodology.

  14. Trajectory data analyses for pedestrian space-time activity study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qi, Feng; Du, Fei

    2013-02-25

    It is well recognized that human movement in the spatial and temporal dimensions has direct influence on disease transmission(1-3). An infectious disease typically spreads via contact between infected and susceptible individuals in their overlapped activity spaces. Therefore, daily mobility-activity information can be used as an indicator to measure exposures to risk factors of infection. However, a major difficulty and thus the reason for paucity of studies of infectious disease transmission at the micro scale arise from the lack of detailed individual mobility data. Previously in transportation and tourism research detailed space-time activity data often relied on the time-space diary technique, which requires subjects to actively record their activities in time and space. This is highly demanding for the participants and collaboration from the participants greatly affects the quality of data(4). Modern technologies such as GPS and mobile communications have made possible the automatic collection of trajectory data. The data collected, however, is not ideal for modeling human space-time activities, limited by the accuracies of existing devices. There is also no readily available tool for efficient processing of the data for human behavior study. We present here a suite of methods and an integrated ArcGIS desktop-based visual interface for the pre-processing and spatiotemporal analyses of trajectory data. We provide examples of how such processing may be used to model human space-time activities, especially with error-rich pedestrian trajectory data, that could be useful in public health studies such as infectious disease transmission modeling. The procedure presented includes pre-processing, trajectory segmentation, activity space characterization, density estimation and visualization, and a few other exploratory analysis methods. Pre-processing is the cleaning of noisy raw trajectory data. We introduce an interactive visual pre-processing interface as well as an

  15. Mental health trajectories and their embeddedness in work and family circumstances: a latent state-trait approach to life-course trajectories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cullati, Stéphane; Courvoisier, Delphine S; Burton-Jeangros, Claudine

    2014-09-01

    Mental health trajectories are known to be influenced by work and family circumstances. However, few studies have examined both of these influences simultaneously in a longitudinal manner. The life-course perspective stresses the importance of examining trajectories in terms of both stable and dynamic components. In this article we use structural equation models (latent state-trait, LST) to distinguish the stable and situational components of mental health trajectories and hypothesise that situational mental health is influenced by satisfaction with work and family, and this effect differs by gender. An analysis of data from a nationally representative sample of 1616 working Swiss residents (2000-2006) shows that mental health trajectories are mostly stable and only slightly sensitive to situational influences. However, situational influences in a given wave do predict situational influences in the next wave. Satisfaction with work and family influences situational mental health in both genders, but the impact is greater for men. In conclusion, the LST approach allows for the examination of mental health trajectories from a life-course perspective by distinguishing stable and situational components. Mental health trajectories are more stable and constant than they are dependent on work and family circumstances, and men are more sensitive to family circumstances than women. © 2014 The Authors. Sociology of Health & Illness © 2014 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/John Wiley & Sons.

  16. Reconstruction of pre-instrumental storm track trajectories across the U.S. Pacific Northwest using circulation-based field sampling of Pinus Ponderosa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wise, E.; Dannenberg, M. P.

    2015-12-01

    The trajectory of incoming storms from the Pacific Ocean is a key influence on drought and flood regimes in western North America. Flow is typically from the west in a zonal pattern, but decadal shifts between zonal and meridional flow have been identified as key features in hydroclimatic variability over the instrumental period. In Washington and most of the Pacific Northwest, there tend to be lower-latitude storm systems that result in decreased precipitation in El Niño years. However, the Columbia Basin in central Washington behaves in opposition to the surrounding region and typically has average to above-average precipitation in El Niño years due to changing storm-track trajectories and a decreasing rain shadow effect on the leeward side of the Cascades. This direct connection between storm-track position and precipitation patterns in Washington provided an exceptional opportunity for circulation-based field sampling and chronology development. New Pinus ponderosa (Ponderosa pine) tree-ring chronologies were developed from eight sites around the Columbia Basin in Washington and used to examine year-to-year changes in moisture regimes. Results show that these sites are representative of the two distinct climate response areas. The divergence points between these two site responses allowed us to reconstruct changing precipitation patterns since the late-17th century, and to link these patterns to previously reconstructed atmospheric pressure and El Niño indices. This study highlights the potential for using synoptic climatology to inform field-based proxy collection.

  17. The life trajectories modality of oral history

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rita de Cássia Gonçalves

    2007-05-01

    Full Text Available This article seeks to explore the potential of qualitative research. It presents the life trajectory modality of the oral history method, to discuss the possibility of its utilization in scientific research in the Social Work profession. The epistemological foundations of oral history are discussed to establish its scientific character. The life trajectories modality is presented as a historic and social construction that utilizes different interview techniques to give voice to previously invisible subjects, indicating the principal phases of the methodological procedures used in this approach. The conclusions highlight the importance of the construction of this model and its projection as a research proposal that implies a process of understanding and analyzing the social universes that are contextualized and interconnected, considering the realities of the life trajectories of the subjects studied.

  18. Academic and Social Functioning Associated with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Latent Class Analyses of Trajectories from Kindergarten to Fifth Grade.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DuPaul, George J; Morgan, Paul L; Farkas, George; Hillemeier, Marianne M; Maczuga, Steve

    2016-10-01

    Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are known to exhibit significantly lower academic and social functioning than other children. Yet the field currently lacks knowledge about specific impairment trajectories experienced by children with ADHD, which may constrain early screening and intervention effectiveness. Data were analyzed from a nationally representative U.S. cohort in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 (ECLS-K) for 590 children (72.7 % male) whose parents reported a formal diagnosis of ADHD. Children's math, reading, and interpersonal skills were assessed at 5 time points between kindergarten and fifth grade. Growth mixture model analyses indicated 4 latent trajectory classes for reading, 8 classes for math, and 4 classes for interpersonal skills. Membership in reading and math trajectory classes was strongly related; overlaps with interpersonal skills classes were weaker. Trajectory class membership was correlated with demographic characteristics and behavioral functioning. Children with ADHD display substantial heterogeneity in their reading, math, and interpersonal growth trajectories, with some groups of children especially likely to display relatively severe levels of academic and social impairment over time. Early screening and intervention to address impairment, particularly reading difficulties, among kindergarten students with ADHD is warranted.

  19. Development of a Quadrotor Test Bed — Modelling, Parameter Identification, Controller Design and Trajectory Generation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei Dong

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, a quadrotor test bed is developed. The technical approach for this test bed is firstly proposed by utilizing a commercial quadrotor, a Vicon motion capture system and a ground station. Then, the mathematical model of the quadrotor is formulated considering aerodynamic effects, and the parameter identification approaches for this model are provided accordingly. Based on the developed model and identified parameters, a simulation environment that is consistent with the real system is developed. Subsequently, a flight control strategy and a trajectory generation method, both of which are conceptually and computationally lightweight, are developed and tested in the simulation environment. The developed algorithms are then directly transplanted to the real system, and the experimental results show that their responses in the real-time flights match well with those from the simulations. This indicates that the control algorithms developed for the quadrotor can be preliminarily verified and refined though simulations, and then directly implemented to the real system, which could significantly reduce the experimental risks and costs. Meanwhile, real-time experiments show that the developed flight controller can efficiently stabilize the quadrotor when external disturbances exist, and the trajectory generation approach can provide safe guidance for the quadrotor to fly smoothly through cluttered environments with obstacle rings. All of these features are valuable for real applications, thus demonstrating the feasibility of further development.

  20. Trajectories of Heroin Addiction: Growth Mixture Modeling Results Based on a 33-Year Follow-Up Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hser, Yih-Ing; Huang, David; Chou, Chih-Ping; Anglin, M. Douglas

    2007-01-01

    This study investigates trajectories of heroin use and subsequent consequences in a sample of 471 male heroin addicts who were admitted to the California Civil Addict Program in 1964-1965 and followed over 33 years. Applying a two-part growth mixture modeling strategy to heroin use level during the first 16 years of the addiction careers since…

  1. Tracing developmental trajectories of oppositional defiant behaviors in preschool children.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lourdes Ezpeleta

    Full Text Available Previous studies on developmental trajectories have used ad hoc definitions of oppositional defiant behaviors (ODB, which makes it difficult to compare results. This article defines developmental trajectories of ODB from ages 3-5 based on five different standard measurements derived from three separate instruments.A sample of 622 three-year-old preschoolers, followed up at ages 4, 5, and 6, was assessed with the five measures of oppositionality answered by parents and teachers. Growth-Mixture-Modeling (GMM estimated separate developmental trajectories for each ODB measure for ages 3 to 5.The number of classes-trajectories obtained in each GMM depended on the ODB measure, but two clear patterns emerged: four trajectories (persistent low, decreasers, increasers/high increasers, persistent moderate/persistent high or three trajectories (persistent low, decreasers, increasers/high increasers. Persistent high trajectories accounted for 4.4%-9.5% of the children. The trajectories emerging from the different ODB measures at ages 3 to 5 discriminated disruptive disorders, comorbidity, use of services, and impairment at age 6, and globally showed a similar pattern, summarizing longitudinal information on oppositionality in preschool children in a similar way.Trajectories resulting from standard scales of the questionnaires have predictive validity for identifying relevant clinical outcomes, but are measure-specific. The results contribute to knowledge about the development of ODB in preschool children.

  2. Coral population trajectories, increased disturbance and management intervention: A sensitivity analysis

    KAUST Repository

    Riegl, Bernhard; Berumen, Michael L.; Bruckner, Andrew

    2013-01-01

    Coral reefs distant from human population were sampled in the Red Sea and one-third showed degradation by predator outbreaks (crown-of-thorns-starfish=COTS observed in all regions in all years) or bleaching (1998, 2010). Models were built to assess future trajectories. They assumed variable coral types (slow/fast growing), disturbance frequencies (5,10,20years), mortality (equal or not), and connectivity (un/connected to un/disturbed community). Known disturbances were used to parameterize models. Present and future disturbances were estimated from remote-sensing chlorophyll and temperature data. Simulations and sensitivity analysis suggest community resilience at >20-year disturbance frequency, but degradation at higher frequency. Trajectories move from fast-grower to slow-grower dominance at intermediate disturbance frequency, then again to fast-grower dominance. A similar succession was observed in the field: Acropora to Porites to Stylophora/Pocillopora dominance on shallow reefs, and a transition from large poritids to small faviids on deep reefs. Synthesis and application: Even distant reefs are impacted by global changes. COTS impacts and bleaching were key driver of coral degradation, coral population decline could be reduced if these outbreaks and bleaching susceptibility were managed by maintaining water quality and by other interventions. Just leaving reefs alone, seems no longer a satisfactory option. 2013 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution.

  3. Coral population trajectories, increased disturbance and management intervention: A sensitivity analysis

    KAUST Repository

    Riegl, Bernhard

    2013-03-07

    Coral reefs distant from human population were sampled in the Red Sea and one-third showed degradation by predator outbreaks (crown-of-thorns-starfish=COTS observed in all regions in all years) or bleaching (1998, 2010). Models were built to assess future trajectories. They assumed variable coral types (slow/fast growing), disturbance frequencies (5,10,20years), mortality (equal or not), and connectivity (un/connected to un/disturbed community). Known disturbances were used to parameterize models. Present and future disturbances were estimated from remote-sensing chlorophyll and temperature data. Simulations and sensitivity analysis suggest community resilience at >20-year disturbance frequency, but degradation at higher frequency. Trajectories move from fast-grower to slow-grower dominance at intermediate disturbance frequency, then again to fast-grower dominance. A similar succession was observed in the field: Acropora to Porites to Stylophora/Pocillopora dominance on shallow reefs, and a transition from large poritids to small faviids on deep reefs. Synthesis and application: Even distant reefs are impacted by global changes. COTS impacts and bleaching were key driver of coral degradation, coral population decline could be reduced if these outbreaks and bleaching susceptibility were managed by maintaining water quality and by other interventions. Just leaving reefs alone, seems no longer a satisfactory option. 2013 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution.

  4. Sustaining trajectory flexibility for air traffic complexity alleviation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hasan, Saam N.; Rossiter, J. A.

    2012-11-01

    Despite the fact that several Air Traffic Management (ATM) complexity metrics have been proposed in the past few years, very few of these studies incorporate a control independent intrinsic approach to the problem with the aim of sustaining trajectory flexibility. This paper proposes the introduction of novel decision making metrics for sustaining user trajectory flexibility. The hypothesis is, if all aircraft apply a flexibility preservation function, complexity may reduce automatically. The functions proposed combine concepts of adaptability, robustness and intrinsic traffic complexity metrics based on Lyapunov exponents. Adaptability is defined as a measure of the ability of the aircraft to change its planned trajectory in response to the occurrence of a disturbance that renders the current planned trajectory infeasible. The Robustness metric is defined as the ability of the aircraft to keep its planned trajectory unchanged in response to the occurrence of disturbances. An Intrinsic complexity measure is used to evaluate the level of disorder with regards to the aircraft trajectory; disorder is defined in this context as the level of consistency in the flow patterns of aircraft and their proximity. A point mass model for multiple aircraft(s) is used to extract the trajectories and computing a form of characterisation of sensitivity and interdependencies of a set of aircraft trajectories. Lyapunov exponents are used to compute this measure. The main contribution of this paper will be to test the hypothesis by combining the complexity metrics described above. Different operational scenarios are simulated using a airspace environment developed in MATLAB which shows how well the traffic is structured by varying the metrics defined. The simulation shows the efficacy of the metrics to alleviate complexity in a heavily congested airspace.

  5. Exact solution of gyration radius of individual's trajectory for a simplified human mobility model

    OpenAIRE

    Yan, Xiao-Yong; Han, Xiao-Pu; Zhou, Tao; Wang, Bing-Hong

    2010-01-01

    Gyration radius of individual's trajectory plays a key role in quantifying human mobility patterns. Of particular interests, empirical analyses suggest that the growth of gyration radius is slow versus time except the very early stage and may eventually arrive to a steady value. However, up to now, the underlying mechanism leading to such a possibly steady value has not been well understood. In this Letter, we propose a simplified human mobility model to simulate individual's daily travel wit...

  6. Properties of the ellipse-line-ellipse trajectory with asymmetrical variations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Zijia; Noo, Frédéric; Maier, Andreas; Lauritsch, Guenter

    2016-03-01

    Three-dimensional cone-beam (CB) imaging using a multi-axis floor-mounted (or ceiling-mounted) C-arm system has become an important tool in interventional radiology. This success motivates new developments to improve image quality. One direction in which advancement is sought is the data acquisition geometry and related CB artifacts. Currently, data acquisition is performed using the circular short-scan trajectory, which yields limited axial coverage and also provides incomplete data for accurate reconstruction. To improve the image quality, as well as to increase the coverage in the longitudinal direction of the patient, we recently introduced the ellipse- line-ellipse trajectory and showed that this trajectory provides full R-line coverage within the field-of-view, which is a key property for accurate reconstruction from truncated data. An R-line is any segment of line that connects two source positions. Here, we examine how the application of asymmetrical variations to the definition of the ELE trajectory impacts the R-line coverage. This question is significant to understand how much flexibility can be used in the implementation of the ELE trajectory, particularly to adapt the scan to patient anatomy and imaging task of interest. Two types of asymmetrical variations, called axial and angular variations, are investigated.

  7. Calculation of Coherent Synchrotron Radiation Impedance for a Beam Moving in a Curved Trajectory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Demin; Ohmi, Kazuhito; Oide, Katsunobu; Zang, Lei; Stupakov, Gennady

    2012-01-01

    Coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR) fields are generated when a bunched beam moves along a curved trajectory. A new code, named CSRZ, was developed using finite difference method to calculate the longitudinal CSR impedance for a beam moving along a curved chamber. The method adopted in the code was originated by Agoh and Yokoya [Phys. Rev. ST Accel. Beams 7 (2004) 054403]. It solves the parabolic equation in the frequency domain in a curvilinear coordinate system. The chamber considered has uniform rectangular cross-section along the beam trajectory. The code was used to investigate the properties of CSR impedance of a single or a series of bending magnets. The calculation results indicate that the shielding effect due to outer chamber wall can be well explained by a simple optical approximation model at high frequencies. The CSR fields reflected by the outer wall may interfere with each other along a series of bending magnets and lead to sharp narrow peaks in the CSR impedance. In a small storage ring, such interference effect can be significant and may cause microwave instability, according to a simple estimate of instability threshold.

  8. Transformation optics beyond the manipulation of light trajectories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ginis, Vincent; Tassin, Philippe

    2015-08-28

    Since its inception in 2006, transformation optics has become an established tool to understand and design electromagnetic systems. It provides a geometrical perspective into the properties of light waves without the need for a ray approximation. Most studies have focused on modifying the trajectories of light rays, e.g. beam benders, lenses, invisibility cloaks, etc. In this contribution, we explore transformation optics beyond the manipulation of light trajectories. With a few well-chosen examples, we demonstrate that transformation optics can be used to manipulate electromagnetic fields up to an unprecedented level. In the first example, we introduce an electromagnetic cavity that allows for deep subwavelength confinement of light. The cavity is designed with transformation optics even though the concept of trajectory ceases to have any meaning in a structure as small as this cavity. In the second example, we show that the properties of Cherenkov light emitted in a transformation-optical material can be understood and modified from simple geometric considerations. Finally, we show that optical forces--a quadratic function of the fields--follow the rules of transformation optics too. By applying a folded coordinate transformation to a pair of waveguides, optical forces can be enhanced just as if the waveguides were closer together. With these examples, we open up an entirely new spectrum of devices that can be conceived using transformation optics. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

  9. Data-based control trajectory planning for nonlinear systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rhodes, C.; Morari, M.; Tsimring, L.S.; Rulkov, N.F.

    1997-01-01

    An open-loop trajectory planning algorithm is presented for computing an input sequence that drives an input-output system such that a reference trajectory is tracked. The algorithm utilizes only input-output data from the system to determine the proper control sequence, and does not require a mathematical or identified description of the system dynamics. From the input-output data, the controlled input trajectory is calculated in a open-quotes one-step-aheadclose quotes fashion using local modeling. Since the algorithm is calculated in this fashion, the output trajectories to be tracked can be nonperiodic. The algorithm is applied to a driven Lorenz system, and an experimental electrical circuit and the results are analyzed. Issues of stability associated with the implementation of this open-loop scheme are also examined using an analytic example of a driven Hacute enon map, problems associated with inverse controllers are illustrated, and solutions to these problems are proposed. copyright 1997 The American Physical Society

  10. Depressive symptom trajectories in women affected by breast cancer and their male partners

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rottmann, Nina; Hansen, Dorte Gilså; Hagedoorn, Mariët

    2016-01-01

    whether patients and partners had similar trajectories. METHODS: A nationwide, population-based cohort of couples dealing with breast cancer was established in Denmark. Participants completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale at baseline and 5 and 12 months later. Sociodemographic......PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify subgroups of breast cancer patients and their partners based on distinct trajectories of depressive symptoms, to examine how relationship quality and medical and sociodemographic factors were associated with these trajectories, and to explore...... and medical characteristics were retrieved from registers. A trajectory finite mixture model was used to identify trajectories. RESULTS: The trajectories of depressive symptoms over time were analyzed in 546 patients and 508 partners. Among patients, 13 % had a high stable trajectory, 38 % an intermediate...

  11. Multi-Body Ski Jumper Model with Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion Muscle Control for Trajectory Optimization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patrick Piprek

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents an approach to model a ski jumper as a multi-body system for an optimal control application. The modeling is based on the constrained Newton-Euler-Equations. Within this paper the complete multi-body modeling methodology as well as the musculoskeletal modeling is considered. For the musculoskeletal modeling and its incorporation in the optimization model, we choose a nonlinear dynamic inversion control approach. This approach uses the muscle models as nonlinear reference models and links them to the ski jumper movement by a control law. This strategy yields a linearized input-output behavior, which makes the optimal control problem easier to solve. The resulting model of the ski jumper can then be used for trajectory optimization whose results are compared to literature jumps. Ultimately, this enables the jumper to get a very detailed feedback of the flight. To achieve the maximal jump length, exact positioning of his body with respect to the air can be displayed.

  12. Parameter trajectory analysis to identify treatment effects of pharmacological interventions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christian A Tiemann

    Full Text Available The field of medical systems biology aims to advance understanding of molecular mechanisms that drive disease progression and to translate this knowledge into therapies to effectively treat diseases. A challenging task is the investigation of long-term effects of a (pharmacological treatment, to establish its applicability and to identify potential side effects. We present a new modeling approach, called Analysis of Dynamic Adaptations in Parameter Trajectories (ADAPT, to analyze the long-term effects of a pharmacological intervention. A concept of time-dependent evolution of model parameters is introduced to study the dynamics of molecular adaptations. The progression of these adaptations is predicted by identifying necessary dynamic changes in the model parameters to describe the transition between experimental data obtained during different stages of the treatment. The trajectories provide insight in the affected underlying biological systems and identify the molecular events that should be studied in more detail to unravel the mechanistic basis of treatment outcome. Modulating effects caused by interactions with the proteome and transcriptome levels, which are often less well understood, can be captured by the time-dependent descriptions of the parameters. ADAPT was employed to identify metabolic adaptations induced upon pharmacological activation of the liver X receptor (LXR, a potential drug target to treat or prevent atherosclerosis. The trajectories were investigated to study the cascade of adaptations. This provided a counter-intuitive insight concerning the function of scavenger receptor class B1 (SR-B1, a receptor that facilitates the hepatic uptake of cholesterol. Although activation of LXR promotes cholesterol efflux and -excretion, our computational analysis showed that the hepatic capacity to clear cholesterol was reduced upon prolonged treatment. This prediction was confirmed experimentally by immunoblotting measurements of SR-B1

  13. Research on Trajectory Planning and Autodig of Hydraulic Excavator

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bin Zhang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available As the advances in computer control technology keep emerging, robotic hydraulic excavator becomes imperative. It can improve excavation accuracy and greatly reduce the operator’s labor intensity. The 12-ton backhoe bucket excavator has been utilized in this research work where this type of excavator is commonly used in engineering work. The kinematics model of operation device (boom, arm, bucket, and swing in excavator is established in both Denavit-Hartenberg coordinates for easy programming and geometric space for avoiding blind spot. The control approach is based on trajectory tracing method with displacements and velocities feedbacks. The trajectory planning and autodig program is written by Visual C++. By setting the bucket teeth’s trajectory, the program can automatically plan the velocity and acceleration of each hydraulic cylinder and motor. The results are displayed through a 3D entity simulation environment which can present real-time movements of excavator kinematics. Object-Oriented Graphics Rendering Engine and skeletal animation are used to give accurate parametric control and feedback. The simulation result shows that a stable linear autodig can be achieved. The errors between trajectory planning command and simulation model are analyzed.

  14. OpenDrift - an open source framework for ocean trajectory modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dagestad, Knut-Frode; Breivik, Øyvind; Ådlandsvik, Bjørn

    2016-04-01

    We will present a new, open source tool for modeling the trajectories and fate of particles or substances (Lagrangian Elements) drifting in the ocean, or even in the atmosphere. The software is named OpenDrift, and has been developed at Norwegian Meteorological Institute in cooperation with Institute of Marine Research. OpenDrift is a generic framework written in Python, and is openly available at https://github.com/knutfrode/opendrift/. The framework is modular with respect to three aspects: (1) obtaining input data, (2) the transport/morphological processes, and (3) exporting of results to file. Modularity is achieved through well defined interfaces between components, and use of a consistent vocabulary (CF conventions) for naming of variables. Modular input implies that it is not necessary to preprocess input data (e.g. currents, wind and waves from Eulerian models) to a particular file format. Instead "reader modules" can be written/used to obtain data directly from any original source, including files or through web based protocols (e.g. OPeNDAP/Thredds). Modularity of processes implies that a model developer may focus on the geophysical processes relevant for the application of interest, without needing to consider technical tasks such as reading, reprojecting, and colocating input data, rotation and scaling of vectors and model output. We will show a few example applications of using OpenDrift for predicting drifters, oil spills, and search and rescue objects.

  15. Developmental Trajectories of Girls' and Boys' Delinquency and Associated Problems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pepler, Debra J.; Jiang, Depeng; Craig, Wendy M.; Connolly, Jennifer

    2010-01-01

    Developmental trajectories in delinquency through adolescence were studied along with family and peer relationship problems. Drawing from eight waves of data over seven years, we conducted trajectory analyses with a sample of 746 students (402 girls; 344 boys). Analyzing girls and boys together, a five-class model emerged: 60% of the adolescents…

  16. Predictors of Latent Trajectory Classes of Physical Dating Violence Victimization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brooks-Russell, Ashley; Foshee, Vangie A.; Ennett, Susan T.

    2013-01-01

    This study identified classes of developmental trajectories of physical dating violence victimization from grades 8 to 12 and examined theoretically-based risk factors that distinguished among trajectory classes. Data were from a multi-wave longitudinal study spanning 8th through 12th grade (n = 2,566; 51.9 % female). Growth mixture models were…

  17. Generalising the staircase models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dorey, P.; Ravanini, F.

    1993-01-01

    Systems of integral equations are proposed which generalise those previously encountered in connection with the so-called staircase models. Under the assumption that these equations describe the finite-size effects of relativistic field theories via the thermodynamic Bethe ansatz, analytical and numerical evidence is given for the existence of a variety of new roaming renormalisation group trajectories. For each positive integer k and s=0, .., k-1, these is a one-parameter family of trajectories, passing close by the coset conformal field theories G (k) xG (nk+s) /G ((n+1)k+s) before finally flowing to a massive theory for s=0, or to another coset model for s.=|0. (orig.)

  18. Computing with spatial trajectories

    CERN Document Server

    2011-01-01

    Covers the fundamentals and the state-of-the-art research inspired by the spatial trajectory data Readers are provided with tutorial-style chapters, case studies and references to other relevant research work This is the first book that presents the foundation dealing with spatial trajectories and state-of-the-art research and practices enabled by trajectories

  19. Wave trajectory and electron cyclotron heating in tokamak plasmas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tanaka, S.; Maekawa, T.; Terumichi, Y.; Hamada, Y.

    1980-01-01

    Wave trajectories in high density tokamak plasmas are studied numerically. Results show that the ordinary wave injected at an appropriate incident angle can propagate into the dense plasmas and is mode-converted to the extraordinary wave at the plasma cutoff, is further converted to the electron Bernstein wave during passing a loop or a folded curve near the upper hybrid resonance layer, and is cyclotron damped away, resulting in local electron heating before arriving at the cyclotron resonance layer. Similar trajectory and damping are obtained when a microwave in a form of extraordinary wave is injected quasi-perpendicularly in the direction of decreasing toroidal field

  20. Different developmental trajectories across feature types support a dynamic field model of visual working memory development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simmering, Vanessa R; Miller, Hilary E; Bohache, Kevin

    2015-05-01

    Research on visual working memory has focused on characterizing the nature of capacity limits as "slots" or "resources" based almost exclusively on adults' performance with little consideration for developmental change. Here we argue that understanding how visual working memory develops can shed new light onto the nature of representations. We present an alternative model, the Dynamic Field Theory (DFT), which can capture effects that have been previously attributed either to "slot" or "resource" explanations. The DFT includes a specific developmental mechanism to account for improvements in both resolution and capacity of visual working memory throughout childhood. Here we show how development in the DFT can account for different capacity estimates across feature types (i.e., color and shape). The current paper tests this account by comparing children's (3, 5, and 7 years of age) performance across different feature types. Results showed that capacity for colors increased faster over development than capacity for shapes. A second experiment confirmed this difference across feature types within subjects, but also showed that the difference can be attenuated by testing memory for less familiar colors. Model simulations demonstrate how developmental changes in connectivity within the model-purportedly arising through experience-can capture differences across feature types.

  1. Synthesis of asymmetric movement trajectories in timed rhythmic behaviour by means of frequency modulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waadeland, Carl Haakon

    2017-01-01

    Results from different empirical investigations on gestural aspects of timed rhythmic movements indicate that the production of asymmetric movement trajectories is a feature that seems to be a common characteristic of various performances of repetitive rhythmic patterns. The behavioural or neural origin of these asymmetrical trajectories is, however, not identified. In the present study we outline a theoretical model that is capable of producing syntheses of asymmetric movement trajectories documented in empirical investigations by Balasubramaniam et al. (2004). Characteristic qualities of the extension/flexion profiles in the observed asymmetric trajectories are reproduced, and we conduct an experiment similar to Balasubramaniam et al. (2004) to show that the empirically documented movement trajectories and our modelled approximations share the same spectral components. The model is based on an application of frequency modulated movements, and a theoretical interpretation offered by the model is to view paced rhythmic movements as a result of an unpaced movement being "stretched" and "compressed", caused by the presence of a metronome. We discuss our model construction within the framework of event-based and emergent timing, and argue that a change between these timing modes might be reflected by the strength of the modulation in our model. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. A mathematical description of nerve fiber bundle trajectories and their variability in the human retina

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jansonius, N. M.; Nevalainen, J.; Selig, B.; Zangwill, L. M.; Sample, P. A.; Budde, W. M.; Jonas, J. B.; Lagreze, W. A.; Airaksinen, P. J.; Vonthein, R.; Levin, L. A.; Paetzold, J.; Schiefer, U.

    2009-01-01

    We developed a mathematical model wherein retinal nerve fiber trajectories can be described and the corresponding inter-subject variability analyzed. The model was based on traced nerve fiber bundle trajectories extracted from 55 fundus photographs of 55 human subjects. The model resembled the

  3. DEVELOPMENT OF TRAJECTORY CONTROL SYSTEM FOR THE OMNIDIRECTIONAL MOBILE ROBOT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Y. A. Kapitanyuk

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with a trajectory control system development for the omnidirectional mobile robot. This kind of robots gives the possibility to control separately each degree of freedom due to special design of the wheels, which greatly facilitates the solution of the spatial control tasks and makes it possible to focus directly on the development of algorithms. Control law synthesis is based on kinematic model of a solid body on a plane. Desired trajectory is defined as a smooth implicit function in a fixed coordinate system. Procedure of control design is represented by using a differential-geometric method of nonlinear transformation of the original model to the task-oriented form, which describes the longitudinal motion along a trajectory and orthogonal deviation. Proportional controllers with direct compensation of nonlinear terms are synthesized for the transformed model. Main results are represented by nonlinear control algorithms and experimental data. Practical implementation of considered control laws for the Robotino mobile robot by Festo Didactics Company is done for illustration of this approach workability. The cases of straight line motion and movement along a circle are represented as desirable trajectories, and the majority of practical tasks for mobile robots control can be implemented by their combination.

  4. 3D hand motion trajectory prediction from EEG mu and beta bandpower.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korik, A; Sosnik, R; Siddique, N; Coyle, D

    2016-01-01

    A motion trajectory prediction (MTP) - based brain-computer interface (BCI) aims to reconstruct the three-dimensional (3D) trajectory of upper limb movement using electroencephalography (EEG). The most common MTP BCI employs a time series of bandpass-filtered EEG potentials (referred to here as the potential time-series, PTS, model) for reconstructing the trajectory of a 3D limb movement using multiple linear regression. These studies report the best accuracy when a 0.5-2Hz bandpass filter is applied to the EEG. In the present study, we show that spatiotemporal power distribution of theta (4-8Hz), mu (8-12Hz), and beta (12-28Hz) bands are more robust for movement trajectory decoding when the standard PTS approach is replaced with time-varying bandpower values of a specified EEG band, ie, with a bandpower time-series (BTS) model. A comprehensive analysis comprising of three subjects performing pointing movements with the dominant right arm toward six targets is presented. Our results show that the BTS model produces significantly higher MTP accuracy (R~0.45) compared to the standard PTS model (R~0.2). In the case of the BTS model, the highest accuracy was achieved across the three subjects typically in the mu (8-12Hz) and low-beta (12-18Hz) bands. Additionally, we highlight a limitation of the commonly used PTS model and illustrate how this model may be suboptimal for decoding motion trajectory relevant information. Although our results, showing that the mu and beta bands are prominent for MTP, are not in line with other MTP studies, they are consistent with the extensive literature on classical multiclass sensorimotor rhythm-based BCI studies (classification of limbs as opposed to motion trajectory prediction), which report the best accuracy of imagined limb movement classification using power values of mu and beta frequency bands. The methods proposed here provide a positive step toward noninvasive decoding of imagined 3D hand movements for movement-free BCIs.

  5. Generic trajectory representation and trajectory following for wheeled robots

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kjærgaard, Morten; Andersen, Nils Axel; Ravn, Ole

    2014-01-01

    will drive. Safe: Avoid fatal collisions. Based on a survey of existing methods and algorithms the article presents a generic way to represent constraints for different types of robots, a generic way to represent trajectories using Bëzier curves, a method to convert the trajectory so it can be driven...... in a smooth motion, a method to create a safe velocity profile for the robot, and a path following controller....

  6. A trajectory description of quantum processes. I. Fundamentals. A Bohmian perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sanz, Angel S.; Miret-Artes, Salvador

    2012-01-01

    Offers a thorough introduction to, and treatment of, trajectory-based quantum-mechanical calculations. Presents the fundamentals of Bohmian mechanics. Useful for a wide range of scattering problems, as described in Vol. 2. Trajectory-based formalisms are an intuitively appealing way of describing quantum processes because they allow the use of ''classical'' concepts. Beginning at an introductory level suitable for students, this two-volume monograph presents (1) the fundamentals and (2) the applications of the trajectory description of basic quantum processes. This first volume is focussed on the classical and quantum background necessary to understand the fundamentals of Bohmian mechanics, which can be considered the main topic of this work. Extensions of the formalism to the fields of open quantum systems and to optics are also proposed and discussed.

  7. A trajectory description of quantum processes. I. Fundamentals. A Bohmian perspective

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sanz, Angel S.; Miret-Artes, Salvador [Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Madrid (Spain). Inst. de Fisica Fundamental

    2012-11-01

    Offers a thorough introduction to, and treatment of, trajectory-based quantum-mechanical calculations. Presents the fundamentals of Bohmian mechanics. Useful for a wide range of scattering problems, as described in Vol. 2. Trajectory-based formalisms are an intuitively appealing way of describing quantum processes because they allow the use of ''classical'' concepts. Beginning at an introductory level suitable for students, this two-volume monograph presents (1) the fundamentals and (2) the applications of the trajectory description of basic quantum processes. This first volume is focussed on the classical and quantum background necessary to understand the fundamentals of Bohmian mechanics, which can be considered the main topic of this work. Extensions of the formalism to the fields of open quantum systems and to optics are also proposed and discussed.

  8. Functional limitation trajectories and their determinants among women in the Philippines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zachary Zimmer

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: Limited evidence exists regarding how functional limitation patterns of women in developing countries unfold through midlife and into old age, a critical period during which the tendency to develop severe problems is fomented. Objective: Functional limitation prevalence and patterns through midlife into early old age, and their determinants, are examined among women in the Philippines. Methods: Data from the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Study are monitored from 1994 to 2015. Patterns are categorized using group-based trajectory modeling. Predictors of group membership are modeled. Results: About half responding to all survey waves report functional limitation at least once over the study period. Movements in and out of functional limitation states are common. Between age 30 and 70, trajectories are categorized into four groups: 1 robust, 2 late onset, 3 early onset, and 4 recovery. Being married, living in a nuclear household, higher successful birth ratio, and higher education associate with favorable trajectories. More births, higher age at first birth, wealth, and urbanicity associate with less favorable trajectories. Conclusions: Many possible routes into and out of functional limitation exist. The manifold patterns can be grouped into common trajectories. A number of earlier life characteristics associate with these trajectories. Contribution: This is the first analysis to ascertain common functional limitation trajectories and earlier life predictors among women as they age in a high fertility developing country setting. Recognizing these is an important step toward understanding global health given aging of the population and the likelihood of functional problems developing in women as they move into old age.

  9. Personality and trajectories of posttraumatic psychopathology: A latent change modelling approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fletcher, Susan; O'Donnell, Meaghan; Forbes, David

    2016-08-01

    Survivors of traumatic events may develop a range of psychopathology, across the internalizing and externalizing dimensions of disorder and associated personality traits. However, research into personality-based internalizing and externalizing trauma responses has been limited to cross-sectional investigations of PTSD comorbidity. Personality typologies may present an opportunity to identify and selectively intervene with survivors at risk of posttraumatic disorder. Therefore this study examined whether personality prospectively influences the trajectory of disorder in a broader trauma-exposed sample. During hospitalization for a physical injury, 323 Australian adults completed the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire-Brief Form and Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, with the latter readministered 3 and 12 months later. Latent profile analysis conducted on baseline personality scores identified subgroups of participants, while latent change modelling examined differences in disorder trajectories. Three classes (internalizing, externalizing, and normal personality) were identified. The internalizing class showed a high risk of developing all disorders. Unexpectedly, however, the normal personality class was not always at lowest risk of disorder. Rather, the externalizing class, while more likely than the normal personality class to develop substance use disorders, were less likely to develop PTSD and depression. Results suggest that personality is an important mechanism in influencing the development and form of psychopathology after trauma, with internalizing and externalizing subtypes identifiable in the early aftermath of injury. These findings suggest that early intervention using a personality-based transdiagnostic approach may be an effective method of predicting and ultimately preventing much of the burden of posttraumatic disorder. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Predictors of Latent Trajectory Classes of Dating Violence Victimization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brooks-Russell, Ashley; Foshee, Vangie; Ennett, Susan

    2014-01-01

    This study identified classes of developmental trajectories of physical dating violence victimization from grades 8 to 12 and examined theoretically-based risk factors that distinguished among trajectory classes. Data were from a multi-wave longitudinal study spanning 8th through 12th grade (n = 2,566; 51.9% female). Growth mixture models were used to identify trajectory classes of physical dating violence victimization separately for girls and boys. Logistic and multinomial logistic regressions were used to identify situational and target vulnerability factors associated with the trajectory classes. For girls, three trajectory classes were identified: a low/non-involved class; a moderate class where victimization increased slightly until the 10th grade and then decreased through the 12th grade; and a high class where victimization started at a higher level in the 8th grade, increased substantially until the 10th grade, and then decreased until the 12th grade. For males, two classes were identified: a low/non-involved class, and a victimized class where victimization increased slightly until the 9th grade, decreased until the 11th grade, and then increased again through the 12th grade. In bivariate analyses, almost all of the situational and target vulnerability risk factors distinguished the victimization classes from the non-involved classes. However, when all risk factors and control variables were in the model, alcohol use (a situational vulnerability) was the only factor that distinguished membership in the moderate trajectory class from the non-involved class for girls; anxiety and being victimized by peers (target vulnerability factors) were the factors that distinguished the high from the non-involved classes for the girls; and victimization by peers was the only factor distinguishing the victimized from the non-involved class for boys. These findings contribute to our understanding of the heterogeneity in physical dating violence victimization during

  11. Trajectories of electrons with large longitudinal momenta in the phase plane during surfatron acceleration by an electromagnetic wave

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mkrtichyan, G. S., E-mail: hay-13@mail.ru [Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (Russian Federation)

    2015-07-15

    The trajectories of electrons with large longitudinal momenta in the phase plane in the course of their surfatron acceleration by an electromagnetic wave propagating in space plasma across the external magnetic field are analyzed. Electrons with large longitudinal momenta are trapped immediately if the initial wave phase Ψ(0) on the particle trajectory is positive. For negative values of Ψ(0), no electrons trapping by the wave is observed over the available computational times. According to numerical calculations, the trajectories of trapped particles in the phase plane have a singular point of the stable focus type and the behavior of the trajectory corresponds to the motion in a complex nonstationary effective potential well. For some initial phases, electrons are confined in the region of the accelerating electric field for relatively short time, the energy gain being about 50–130% and more.

  12. Longitudinal Trajectories of Ethnic Identity among Urban Black and Latino Adolescents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pahl, Kerstin; Way, Niobe

    2006-01-01

    The current study modeled developmental trajectories of ethnic identity exploration and affirmation and belonging from middle to late adolescence (ages 15-18) and examined how these trajectories varied according to ethnicity, gender, immigrant status, and perceived level of discrimination. The sample consisted of 135 urban low-income Black and…

  13. Parachute-Payload System Flight Dynamics and Trajectory Simulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giorgio Guglieri

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The work traces a general procedure for the design of a flight simulation tool still representative of the major flight physics of a parachute-payload system along decelerated trajectories. An example of limited complexity simulation models for a payload decelerated by one or more parachutes is given, including details and implementation features usually omitted as the focus of the research in this field is typically on the investigation of mission design issues, rather than addressing general implementation guidelines for the development of a reconfigurable simulation tool. The dynamics of the system are modeled through a simple multibody model that represents the expected behavior of an entry vehicle during the terminal deceleration phase. The simulators are designed according to a comprehensive vision that enforces the simplification of the coupling mechanism between the payload and the parachute, with an adequate level of physical insight still available. The results presented for a realistic case study define the sensitivity of the simulation outputs to the functional complexity of the mathematical model. Far from being an absolute address for the software designer, this paper tries to contribute to the area of interest with some technical considerations and clarifications.

  14. Mean motion and trajectories of heavy particles falling through a boundary layer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stout, J.E.; Arya, S.P. [North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States)

    1994-12-31

    As particles fall through a turbulent boundary layer they experience a rather complex and unique time series of aerodynamic forces and, thus, each individual particle follows a rather complex and unique trajectory to the surface. For sufficiently large and heavy particles, the turbulence induced particle motion can be thought of as a small perturbation superimposed on the mean trajectory. By ignoring the turbulent contribution to particle motion it is possible to calculate the trajectory of a particle due to the mean flow alone. The mean trajectory provides an estimate of the ensemble-averaged path of a set of particles released from a given point in the atmosphere. The effect of turbulence on individual particle trajectories, the distribution of particle displacements from the mean trajectory, and their deposition patterns on the surface will be investigated in a separate study, using a random walk model.

  15. Young adults' trajectories of Ecstasy use: a population based study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smirnov, Andrew; Najman, Jake M; Hayatbakhsh, Reza; Plotnikova, Maria; Wells, Helene; Legosz, Margot; Kemp, Robert

    2013-11-01

    Young adults' Ecstasy use trajectories have important implications for individual and population-level consequences of Ecstasy use, but little relevant research has been conducted. This study prospectively examines Ecstasy trajectories in a population-based sample. Data are from the Natural History Study of Drug Use, a retrospective/prospective cohort study conducted in Australia. Population screening identified a probability sample of Ecstasy users aged 19-23 years. Complete data for 30 months of follow-up, comprising 4 time intervals, were available for 297 participants (88.4% of sample). Trajectories were derived using cluster analysis based on recent Ecstasy use at each interval. Trajectory predictors were examined using a generalized ordered logit model and included Ecstasy dependence (World Mental Health Composite International Diagnostic Instrument), psychological distress (Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale), aggression (Young Adult Self Report) and contextual factors (e.g. attendance at electronic/dance music events). Three Ecstasy trajectories were identified (low, intermediate and high use). At its peak, the high-use trajectory involved 1-2 days Ecstasy use per week. Decreasing frequency of use was observed for intermediate and high-use trajectories from 12 months, independently of market factors. Intermediate and high-use trajectory membership was predicted by past Ecstasy consumption (>70 pills) and attendance at electronic/dance music events. High-use trajectory members were unlikely to have used Ecstasy for more than 3 years and tended to report consistently positive subjective effects at baseline. Given the social context and temporal course of Ecstasy use, Ecstasy trajectories might be better understood in terms of instrumental rather than addictive drug use patterns. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Organized Sport Trajectories from Childhood to Adolescence and Health Associations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howie, Erin K; McVeigh, Joanne A; Smith, Anne J; Straker, Leon M

    2016-07-01

    The purpose of this study was to identify unique organized sport trajectories from early childhood to late adolescence in an Australian pregnancy cohort, the Raine Study. Participation in organized sport was assessed at ages 5, 8, 10, 14, and 17 yr. Physical activity, body composition, and self-rated physical and mental health were assessed at the age of 20 yr. Latent class analysis was used to identify patterns of sport participation. To assess the internal validity of the trajectory classes, differences in health characteristics between trajectories were analyzed using generalized linear models. For girls, three trajectory classes were identified: consistent sport participators (47.5%), sport dropouts (34.3%), and sport nonparticipators (18.1%). For boys, three trajectory classes were identified: consistent sport participators (55.2%), sport dropouts (36.9%), and sport joiners (8.1%). For girls, there were overall differences across trajectory classes in lean body mass (P = 0.003), lean mass index (P = 0.06), and physical health (P = 0.004). For boys, there were differences across classes in physical activity (P = 0.018), percent body fat (P = 0.002), lean body mass (P sport participation. The differences in health outcomes between trajectory classes, such as participants with consistent sport participation having more preferable health outcomes at the age of 20 yr, support the internal validity of the trajectories. Strategies are needed to identify and encourage those in the dropout trajectory to maintain their participation and those in the nonparticipator or joiner trajectories to join sport earlier. Specifically, interventions to encourage early sport participation in girls and help nonparticipating boys to join sport during adolescence may help more children receive the benefits of sport participation.

  17. Trajectories of Marital Conflict across the Life Course: Predictors and Interactions with Marital Happiness Trajectories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamp Dush, Claire M.; Taylor, Miles G.

    2012-01-01

    Using typologies outlined by Gottman and Fitzpatrick as well as institutional and companionate models of marriage, the authors conducted a latent class analysis of marital conflict trajectories using 20 years of data from the Marital Instability Over the Life Course study. Respondents were in one of three groups: high, medium (around the mean), or…

  18. An operational search and rescue model for the Norwegian Sea and the North Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Breivik, Øyvind; Allen, Arthur A.

    A new operational, ensemble-based search and rescue model for the Norwegian Sea and the North Sea is presented. The stochastic trajectory model computes the net motion of a range of search and rescue objects. A new, robust formulation for the relation between the wind and the motion of the drifting object (termed the leeway of the object) is employed. Empirically derived coefficients for 63 categories of search objects compiled by the US Coast Guard are ingested to estimate the leeway of the drifting objects. A Monte Carlo technique is employed to generate an ensemble that accounts for the uncertainties in forcing fields (wind and current), leeway drift properties, and the initial position of the search object. The ensemble yields an estimate of the time-evolving probability density function of the location of the search object, and its envelope defines the search area. Forcing fields from the operational oceanic and atmospheric forecast system of The Norwegian Meteorological Institute are used as input to the trajectory model. This allows for the first time high-resolution wind and current fields to be used to forecast search areas up to 60 h into the future. A limited set of field exercises show good agreement between model trajectories, search areas, and observed trajectories for life rafts and other search objects. Comparison with older methods shows that search areas expand much more slowly using the new ensemble method with high resolution forcing fields and the new leeway formulation. It is found that going to higher-order stochastic trajectory models will not significantly improve the forecast skill and the rate of expansion of search areas.

  19. Simulations of High Speed Fragment Trajectories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeh, Peter; Attaway, Stephen; Arunajatesan, Srinivasan; Fisher, Travis

    2017-11-01

    Flying shrapnel from an explosion are capable of traveling at supersonic speeds and distances much farther than expected due to aerodynamic interactions. Predicting the trajectories and stable tumbling modes of arbitrary shaped fragments is a fundamental problem applicable to range safety calculations, damage assessment, and military technology. Traditional approaches rely on characterizing fragment flight using a single drag coefficient, which may be inaccurate for fragments with large aspect ratios. In our work we develop a procedure to simulate trajectories of arbitrary shaped fragments with higher fidelity using high performance computing. We employ a two-step approach in which the force and moment coefficients are first computed as a function of orientation using compressible computational fluid dynamics. The force and moment data are then input into a six-degree-of-freedom rigid body dynamics solver to integrate trajectories in time. Results of these high fidelity simulations allow us to further understand the flight dynamics and tumbling modes of a single fragment. Furthermore, we use these results to determine the validity and uncertainty of inexpensive methods such as the single drag coefficient model.

  20. Classical Trajectories and Quantum Spectra

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mielnik, Bogdan; Reyes, Marco A.

    1996-01-01

    A classical model of the Schrodinger's wave packet is considered. The problem of finding the energy levels corresponds to a classical manipulation game. It leads to an approximate but non-perturbative method of finding the eigenvalues, exploring the bifurcations of classical trajectories. The role of squeezing turns out decisive in the generation of the discrete spectra.

  1. Diagnosis trajectories of prior multi-morbidity predict sepsis mortality

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Beck, Mette Kristina; Jensen, Anders Boeck; Nielsen, Annelaura Bach

    2016-01-01

    Sepsis affects millions of people every year, many of whom will die. In contrast to current survival prediction models for sepsis patients that primarily are based on data from within-admission clinical measurements (e.g. vital parameters and blood values), we aim for using the full disease histo...... of disease history to scoring based on within-admission clinical measurements emphasizing the value of long term data in novel patient scores that combine the two types of data.......Sepsis affects millions of people every year, many of whom will die. In contrast to current survival prediction models for sepsis patients that primarily are based on data from within-admission clinical measurements (e.g. vital parameters and blood values), we aim for using the full disease history...... recurrent trajectories of time-ordered co-morbidities had significantly increased sepsis mortality compared to those who did not follow a trajectory. We identified trajectories which significantly altered sepsis mortality, and found three major starting points in a combined temporal sepsis network: Alcohol...

  2. Trajectory attractors of equations of mathematical physics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vishik, Marko I; Chepyzhov, Vladimir V

    2011-01-01

    In this survey the method of trajectory dynamical systems and trajectory attractors is described, and is applied in the study of the limiting asymptotic behaviour of solutions of non-linear evolution equations. This method is especially useful in the study of dissipative equations of mathematical physics for which the corresponding Cauchy initial-value problem has a global (weak) solution with respect to the time but the uniqueness of this solution either has not been established or does not hold. An important example of such an equation is the 3D Navier-Stokes system in a bounded domain. In such a situation one cannot use directly the classical scheme of construction of a dynamical system in the phase space of initial conditions of the Cauchy problem of a given equation and find a global attractor of this dynamical system. Nevertheless, for such equations it is possible to construct a trajectory dynamical system and investigate a trajectory attractor of the corresponding translation semigroup. This universal method is applied for various types of equations arising in mathematical physics: for general dissipative reaction-diffusion systems, for the 3D Navier-Stokes system, for dissipative wave equations, for non-linear elliptic equations in cylindrical domains, and for other equations and systems. Special attention is given to using the method of trajectory attractors in approximation and perturbation problems arising in complicated models of mathematical physics. Bibliography: 96 titles.

  3. Informal work and formal plans: articulating the active role of patients in cancer trajectories

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rikke Juul Dalsted

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Formal pathways models outline that patients should receive information in order to experience a coherent journey but do not describe an active role for patients or their relatives. The aim of this is paper is to articulate and discuss the active role of patients during their cancer trajectories.  Methods and theory: An in-depth case study of patient trajectories at a Danish hospital and surrounding municipality using individual interviews with patients. Theory about trajectory and work by Strauss was included.  Results: Patients continuously took initiatives to organize their treatment and care. They initiated processes in the trajectories, and acquired information, which they used to form their trajectories.  Patients presented problems to the healthcare professionals in order to get proper help when needed.  Discussion: Work done by patients was invisible and not perceived as work. The patients' requests were not sufficiently supported in the professional organisation of work or formal planning. Patients' insertion and use of information in their trajectories challenged professional views and working processes. And the design of the formal pathway models limits the patients´ active participation. When looking at integrated care from the perspective of patients, the development of a more holistic and personalized approach is needed. Introduction: Formal pathway models outline that patients should receive information in order to experience a coherent journey but do not describe an active role for patients or their relatives. The aim of this is paper is to articulate and discuss the active role of patients during their cancer trajectories. Methods and theory: An in-depth case study of patient trajectories at a Danish hospital and surrounding municipality using individual interviews with patients. Theory about trajectory and work by Strauss was included. Results: Patients continuously took initiatives to organize their

  4. Robot trajectory tracking with self-tuning predicted control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Xianzhong; Shin, Kang G.

    1988-01-01

    A controller that combines self-tuning prediction and control is proposed for robot trajectory tracking. The controller has two feedback loops: one is used to minimize the prediction error, and the other is designed to make the system output track the set point input. Because the velocity and position along the desired trajectory are given and the future output of the system is predictable, a feedforward loop can be designed for robot trajectory tracking with self-tuning predicted control (STPC). Parameters are estimated online to account for the model uncertainty and the time-varying property of the system. The authors describe the principle of STPC, analyze the system performance, and discuss the simplification of the robot dynamic equations. To demonstrate its utility and power, the controller is simulated for a Stanford arm.

  5. Imprints of the Molecular Electronic Structure in the Photoelectron Spectra of Strong-Field Ionized Asymmetric Triatomic Model Molecules

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paul, Matthias; Yue, Lun; Gräfe, Stefanie

    2018-06-01

    We examine the circular dichroism in the angular distribution of photoelectrons of triatomic model systems ionized by strong-field ionization. Following our recent work on this effect [Paul, Yue, and Gräfe, J. Mod. Opt. 64, 1104 (2017), 10.1080/09500340.2017.1299883], we demonstrate how the symmetry and electronic structure of the system is imprinted into the photoelectron momentum distribution. We use classical trajectories to reveal the origin of the threefolded pattern in the photoelectron momentum distribution, and show how an asymmetric nuclear configuration of the triatomic system effects the photoelectron spectra.

  6. On the aerodynamics of variable-geometry oval-trajectory Darrieus wind turbines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ponta, F.L.; Seminara, J.J.; Otero, A.D. [College of Engineering, University of Buenos Aires, Paseo Colon 850, Buenos Aires C1063ACV (Argentina)

    2007-01-15

    A new computational model for the aerodynamics of vertical-axis wind turbines is introduced. It is based on the double-multiple streamtube concept and it incorporates the capacity of dealing with rotors whose blades follow oval-trajectories at variable setting-angles. We applied this model to the study of the aerodynamics of an innovative concept in extra-large wind-power plants: the VGOT (variable-geometry oval-trajectory) Darrieus wind turbine. Due to the especial geometric characteristics of the VGOT Darrieus, it was necessary to propose three new non-dimensional parameters to quantify its performance under different wind-conditions: the equivalent power coefficient, the equivalent solidity coefficient and the trajectory efficiency. We show some numerical results testing several rotor configurations working under different wind scenarios. (author)

  7. Trajectory control sensor engineering model detailed test objective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dekome, Kent; Barr, Joseph Martin

    1991-01-01

    The concept employed in an existing Trajectory Control Sensor (TCS) breadboard is being developed into an engineering model to be considered for flight on the Shuttle as a Detailed Test Objective (DTO). The sensor design addresses the needs of Shuttle/SSF docking/berthing by providing relative range and range rate to 1500 meters as well as the perceived needs of AR&C by relative attitude measurement over the last 100 meters. Range measurement is determined using a four-tone ranging technique. The Doppler shift on the highest frequency tone will be used to provide direct measurement of range rate. Bearing rate and attitude rates will be determined through back differencing of bearing and attitude, respectively. The target consists of an isosceles triangle configuration of three optical retroreflectors, roughly one meter and one-half meter in size. After target acquisition, the sensor continually updates the positions of the three retros at a rate of about one hertz. The engineering model is expected to weigh about 25 pounds, consume 25-30 watts, and have an envelope of about 1.25 cubic feet. The following concerns were addressed during the presentation: are there any concerns with differentiating attitude and bearing to get attitude and bearing rates? Since the docking scenario has low data bandwidth, back differencing is a sufficient approximation of a perfect differentiator for this application. Could range data be obtained if there were no retroreflectors on the target vehicle? Possibly, but only at close range. It would be dependent on target characteristics.

  8. Phase-space quantization of field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Curtright, T.; Zachos, C.

    1999-01-01

    In this lecture, a limited introduction of gauge invariance in phase-space is provided, predicated on canonical transformations in quantum phase-space. Exact characteristic trajectories are also specified for the time-propagating Wigner phase-space distribution function: they are especially simple--indeed, classical--for the quantized simple harmonic oscillator. This serves as the underpinning of the field theoretic Wigner functional formulation introduced. Scalar field theory is thus reformulated in terms of distributions in field phase-space. This is a pedagogical selection from work published and reported at the Yukawa Institute Workshop ''Gauge Theory and Integrable Models'', 26-29 January, 1999

  9. Stochastic-field cavitation model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dumond, J.; Magagnato, F.; Class, A.

    2013-01-01

    Nonlinear phenomena can often be well described using probability density functions (pdf) and pdf transport models. Traditionally, the simulation of pdf transport requires Monte-Carlo codes based on Lagrangian “particles” or prescribed pdf assumptions including binning techniques. Recently, in the field of combustion, a novel formulation called the stochastic-field method solving pdf transport based on Eulerian fields has been proposed which eliminates the necessity to mix Eulerian and Lagrangian techniques or prescribed pdf assumptions. In the present work, for the first time the stochastic-field method is applied to multi-phase flow and, in particular, to cavitating flow. To validate the proposed stochastic-field cavitation model, two applications are considered. First, sheet cavitation is simulated in a Venturi-type nozzle. The second application is an innovative fluidic diode which exhibits coolant flashing. Agreement with experimental results is obtained for both applications with a fixed set of model constants. The stochastic-field cavitation model captures the wide range of pdf shapes present at different locations

  10. Stochastic-field cavitation model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dumond, J.; Magagnato, F.; Class, A.

    2013-07-01

    Nonlinear phenomena can often be well described using probability density functions (pdf) and pdf transport models. Traditionally, the simulation of pdf transport requires Monte-Carlo codes based on Lagrangian "particles" or prescribed pdf assumptions including binning techniques. Recently, in the field of combustion, a novel formulation called the stochastic-field method solving pdf transport based on Eulerian fields has been proposed which eliminates the necessity to mix Eulerian and Lagrangian techniques or prescribed pdf assumptions. In the present work, for the first time the stochastic-field method is applied to multi-phase flow and, in particular, to cavitating flow. To validate the proposed stochastic-field cavitation model, two applications are considered. First, sheet cavitation is simulated in a Venturi-type nozzle. The second application is an innovative fluidic diode which exhibits coolant flashing. Agreement with experimental results is obtained for both applications with a fixed set of model constants. The stochastic-field cavitation model captures the wide range of pdf shapes present at different locations.

  11. Task driven optimal leg trajectories in insect-scale legged microrobots

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doshi, Neel; Goldberg, Benjamin; Jayaram, Kaushik; Wood, Robert

    Origami inspired layered manufacturing techniques and 3D-printing have enabled the development of highly articulated legged robots at the insect-scale, including the 1.43g Harvard Ambulatory MicroRobot (HAMR). Research on these platforms has expanded its focus from manufacturing aspects to include design optimization and control for application-driven tasks. Consequently, the choice of gait selection, body morphology, leg trajectory, foot design, etc. have become areas of active research. HAMR has two controlled degrees-of-freedom per leg, making it an ideal candidate for exploring leg trajectory. We will discuss our work towards optimizing HAMR's leg trajectories for two different tasks: climbing using electroadhesives and level ground running (5-10 BL/s). These tasks demonstrate the ability of single platform to adapt to vastly different locomotive scenarios: quasi-static climbing with controlled ground contact, and dynamic running with un-controlled ground contact. We will utilize trajectory optimization methods informed by existing models and experimental studies to determine leg trajectories for each task. We also plan to discuss how task specifications and choice of objective function have contributed to the shape of these optimal leg trajectories.

  12. Lunar and interplanetary trajectories

    CERN Document Server

    Biesbroek, Robin

    2016-01-01

    This book provides readers with a clear description of the types of lunar and interplanetary trajectories, and how they influence satellite-system design. The description follows an engineering rather than a mathematical approach and includes many examples of lunar trajectories, based on real missions. It helps readers gain an understanding of the driving subsystems of interplanetary and lunar satellites. The tables and graphs showing features of trajectories make the book easy to understand. .

  13. Optimal trajectories of aircraft and spacecraft

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miele, A.

    1990-01-01

    Work done on algorithms for the numerical solutions of optimal control problems and their application to the computation of optimal flight trajectories of aircraft and spacecraft is summarized. General considerations on calculus of variations, optimal control, numerical algorithms, and applications of these algorithms to real-world problems are presented. The sequential gradient-restoration algorithm (SGRA) is examined for the numerical solution of optimal control problems of the Bolza type. Both the primal formulation and the dual formulation are discussed. Aircraft trajectories, in particular, the application of the dual sequential gradient-restoration algorithm (DSGRA) to the determination of optimal flight trajectories in the presence of windshear are described. Both take-off trajectories and abort landing trajectories are discussed. Take-off trajectories are optimized by minimizing the peak deviation of the absolute path inclination from a reference value. Abort landing trajectories are optimized by minimizing the peak drop of altitude from a reference value. Abort landing trajectories are optimized by minimizing the peak drop of altitude from a reference value. The survival capability of an aircraft in a severe windshear is discussed, and the optimal trajectories are found to be superior to both constant pitch trajectories and maximum angle of attack trajectories. Spacecraft trajectories, in particular, the application of the primal sequential gradient-restoration algorithm (PSGRA) to the determination of optimal flight trajectories for aeroassisted orbital transfer are examined. Both the coplanar case and the noncoplanar case are discussed within the frame of three problems: minimization of the total characteristic velocity; minimization of the time integral of the square of the path inclination; and minimization of the peak heating rate. The solution of the second problem is called nearly-grazing solution, and its merits are pointed out as a useful

  14. Semantic Enrichment of GPS Trajectories

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Graaff, V.; van Keulen, Maurice; de By, R.A.

    2012-01-01

    Semantic annotation of GPS trajectories helps us to recognize the interests of the creator of the GPS trajectories. Automating this trajectory annotation circumvents the requirement of additional user input. To annotate the GPS traces automatically, two types of automated input are required: 1) a

  15. Below-threshold harmonic generation from strong non-uniform fields

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yavuz, I.

    2017-10-01

    Strong-field photoemission below the ionization threshold is a rich/complex region where atomic emission and harmonic generation may coexist. We studied the mechanism of below-threshold harmonics (BTH) from spatially non-uniform local fields near the metallic nanostructures. Discrete harmonics are generated due to the broken inversion symmetry, suggesting enriched coherent emission in the vuv frequency range. Through the numerical solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation, we investigate wavelength and intensity dependence of BTH. Wavelength dependence identifies counter-regular resonances; individual contributions from the multi-photon emission and channel-closing effects due to quantum path interferences. In order to understand the underlying mechanism of BTH, we devised a generalized semi-classical model, including the influence of Coulomb and non-uniform field interactions. As in uniform fields, Coulomb potential in non-uniform fields is the determinant of BTH; we observed that the generation of BTH are due to returning trajectories with negative energies. Due to large distance effectiveness of the non-uniformity, only long trajectories are noticeably affected.

  16. Orbital Disturbance Analysis due to the Lunar Gravitational Potential and Deviation Minimization through the Trajectory Control in Closed Loop

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gonçalves, L D; Rocco, E M; De Moraes, R V

    2013-01-01

    A study evaluating the influence due to the lunar gravitational potential, modeled by spherical harmonics, on the gravity acceleration is accomplished according to the model presented in Konopliv (2001). This model provides the components x, y and z for the gravity acceleration at each moment of time along the artificial satellite orbit and it enables to consider the spherical harmonic degree and order up to100. Through a comparison between the gravity acceleration from a central field and the gravity acceleration provided by Konopliv's model, it is obtained the disturbing velocity increment applied to the vehicle. Then, through the inverse problem, the Keplerian elements of perturbed orbit of the satellite are calculated allowing the orbital motion analysis. Transfer maneuvers and orbital correction of lunar satellites are simulated considering the disturbance due to non-uniform gravitational potential of the Moon, utilizing continuous thrust and trajectory control in closed loop. The simulations are performed using the Spacecraft Trajectory Simulator-STRS, Rocco (2008), which evaluate the behavior of the orbital elements, fuel consumption and thrust applied to the satellite over the time

  17. Monte Carlo particle-trajectory models for neutral cometary gases. I. Models and equations. II. The spatial morphology of the Lyman-alpha coma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Combi, M.R.; Smyth, W.H.

    1988-01-01

    The mathematical derivations of various methods employed in the Monte Carlo particle-trajectory model (MCPTM) are presented, and the application of the MCPTM to the calculation of the photochemical heating of the inner coma through the partial thermalization of cometary hydrogen atoms produced by the photodissociation of water is discussed. This model is then used to explain the observed morphology of the spatially extended Ly-alpha comas of comets. The rocket and Skylab images of the Ly-alpha coma of Comet Kohoutek are examined. 90 references

  18. Lagrangian Investigation of Auto-ignition in a Hydrogen Jet Flame in a Vitiated Co-flow: Animations of Particle Trajectories in Composition Space from PDF Model Calculations

    OpenAIRE

    Wang, Haifeng; Pope, Stephen B.

    2007-01-01

    PDF model calculations have been performed of the Cabra lifted hydrogen flame in a vitiated co-flow. Particle trajectories are extracted from the Lagrangian particle method used to solve the modeled PDF equation. The particle trajectories in the mixture fraction-temperature plane reveal (at successive downstream locations): essentially inert mixing between the cold fuel jet and the hot co-flow; the auto-ignition of very lean particles; and, subsequent mixing and reaction, leading to near-equi...

  19. 4D Trajectory Estimation for Air Traffic Control Automation System Based on Hybrid System Theory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xin-Min Tang

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available To resolve the problem of future airspace management under great traffic flow and high density condition, 4D trajectory estimation has become one of the core technologies of the next new generation air traffic control automation system. According to the flight profile and the dynamics models of different aircraft types under different flight conditions, a hybrid system model that switches the aircraft from one flight stage to another with aircraft state changing continuously in one state is constructed. Additionally, air temperature and wind speed are used to modify aircraft true airspeed as well as ground speed, and the hybrid system evolution simulation is used to estimate aircraft 4D trajectory. The case study proves that 4D trajectory estimated through hybrid system model can image the flight dynamic states of aircraft and satisfy the needs of the planned flight altitude profile.KEY WORDSair traffic management, 4D trajectory estimation, hybrid system model, aircraft dynamic model

  20. Sampling Based Trajectory Planning for Robots in Dynamic Human Environments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Svenstrup, Mikael

    2010-01-01

    Open-ended human environments, such as pedestrian streets, hospital corridors, train stations etc., are places where robots start to emerge. Hence, being able to plan safe and natural trajectories in these dynamic environments is an important skill for future generations of robots. In this work...... the problem is formulated as planning a minimal cost trajectory through a potential field, defined from the perceived position and motion of persons in the environment. A modified Rapidlyexploring Random Tree (RRT) algorithm is proposed as a solution to the planning problem. The algorithm implements a new...... for the uncertainty in the dynamic environment. The planning algorithm is demonstrated in a simulated pedestrian street environment....

  1. FORECASTING A CORONAL MASS EJECTION'S ALTERED TRAJECTORY: ForeCAT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kay, C.; Opher, M.; Evans, R. M.

    2013-01-01

    To predict whether a coronal mass ejection (CME) will impact Earth, the effects of the background on the CME's trajectory must be taken into account. We develop a model, ForeCAT (Forecasting a CME's Altered Trajectory), of CME deflection due to magnetic forces. ForeCAT includes CME expansion, a three-part propagation model, and the effects of drag on the CME's deflection. Given the background solar wind conditions, the launch site of the CME, and the properties of the CME (mass, final propagation speed, initial radius, and initial magnetic strength), ForeCAT predicts the deflection of the CME. Two different magnetic backgrounds are considered: a scaled background based on type II radio burst profiles and a potential field source surface (PFSS) background. For a scaled background where the CME is launched from an active region located between a coronal hole and streamer region, the strong magnetic gradients cause a deflection of 8.°1 in latitude and 26.°4 in longitude for a 10 15 g CME propagating out to 1 AU. Using the PFSS background, which captures the variation of the streamer belt (SB) position with height, leads to a deflection of 1.°6 in latitude and 4.°1 in longitude for the control case. Varying the CME's input parameters within observed ranges leads to the majority of CMEs reaching the SB within the first few solar radii. For these specific backgrounds, the SB acts like a potential well that forces the CME into an equilibrium angular position

  2. Dimensional reduction and BRST approach to the description of a Regge trajectory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pashnev, A.I.; Tsulaya, M.M.

    1997-01-01

    The local free field theory for Regge trajectory is described in the framework of the BRST-quantization method. The corresponding BRST-charge is constructed with the help of the method of dimensional reduction

  3. Equilibrium sampling by reweighting nonequilibrium simulation trajectories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Cheng; Wan, Biao; Xu, Shun; Wang, Yanting; Zhou, Xin

    2016-03-01

    Based on equilibrium molecular simulations, it is usually difficult to efficiently visit the whole conformational space of complex systems, which are separated into some metastable regions by high free energy barriers. Nonequilibrium simulations could enhance transitions among these metastable regions and then be applied to sample equilibrium distributions in complex systems, since the associated nonequilibrium effects can be removed by employing the Jarzynski equality (JE). Here we present such a systematical method, named reweighted nonequilibrium ensemble dynamics (RNED), to efficiently sample equilibrium conformations. The RNED is a combination of the JE and our previous reweighted ensemble dynamics (RED) method. The original JE reproduces equilibrium from lots of nonequilibrium trajectories but requires that the initial distribution of these trajectories is equilibrium. The RED reweights many equilibrium trajectories from an arbitrary initial distribution to get the equilibrium distribution, whereas the RNED has both advantages of the two methods, reproducing equilibrium from lots of nonequilibrium simulation trajectories with an arbitrary initial conformational distribution. We illustrated the application of the RNED in a toy model and in a Lennard-Jones fluid to detect its liquid-solid phase coexistence. The results indicate that the RNED sufficiently extends the application of both the original JE and the RED in equilibrium sampling of complex systems.

  4. Robotic excavator trajectory control using an improved GA based PID controller

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Hao; Yin, Chen-Bo; Weng, Wen-wen; Ma, Wei; Zhou, Jun-jing; Jia, Wen-hua; Zhang, Zi-li

    2018-05-01

    In order to achieve excellent trajectory tracking performances, an improved genetic algorithm (IGA) is presented to search for the optimal proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller parameters for the robotic excavator. Firstly, the mathematical model of kinematic and electro-hydraulic proportional control system of the excavator are analyzed based on the mechanism modeling method. On this basis, the actual model of the electro-hydraulic proportional system are established by the identification experiment. Furthermore, the population, the fitness function, the crossover probability and mutation probability of the SGA are improved: the initial PID parameters are calculated by the Ziegler-Nichols (Z-N) tuning method and the initial population is generated near it; the fitness function is transformed to maintain the diversity of the population; the probability of crossover and mutation are adjusted automatically to avoid premature convergence. Moreover, a simulation study is carried out to evaluate the time response performance of the proposed controller, i.e., IGA based PID against the SGA and Z-N based PID controllers with a step signal. It was shown from the simulation study that the proposed controller provides the least rise time and settling time of 1.23 s and 1.81 s, respectively against the other tested controllers. Finally, two types of trajectories are designed to validate the performances of the control algorithms, and experiments are performed on the excavator trajectory control experimental platform. It was demonstrated from the experimental work that the proposed IGA based PID controller improves the trajectory accuracy of the horizontal line and slope line trajectories by 23.98% and 23.64%, respectively in comparison to the SGA tuned PID controller. The results further indicate that the proposed IGA tuning based PID controller is effective for improving the tracking accuracy, which may be employed in the trajectory control of an actual excavator.

  5. Identifying developmental trajectories of body mass index in childhood using latent class growth (mixture modelling: associations with dietary, sedentary and physical activity behaviors: a longitudinal study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maaike Koning

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background To date, many epidemiologic studies examining associations between obesity and dietary and sedentary/physical activity behaviors have focused on assessing Body Mass Index (BMI at one point in time. Recent developments in statistical techniques make it possible to study the potential heterogeneity in the development of BMI during childhood by identifying distinct subpopulations characterized by distinct developmental trajectories. Using Latent Class Growth (Mixture Modelling (LCGMM techniques we aimed to identify BMI trajectories in childhood and to examine associations between these distinct trajectories and dietary, sedentary and physical activity behaviors. Methods This longitudinal study explored BMI standard deviation score (SDS trajectories in a sample of 613 children from 4 to 12 years of age. In 2006, 2009 and 2012 information on children’s health related behaviors was obtained by parental questionnaires, and children’s height and weight were measured. Associations with behaviors were investigated with logistic regression models. Results We identified two BMI SDS trajectories; a decreasing BMI SDS trajectory (n = 416; 68 % and an increasing BMI SDS trajectory (n = 197; 32 %. The increasing BMI SDS trajectory consisted of more participants of lower socio-economic status (SES and of non-western ethnicity. Maternal overweight status was associated with being in the increasing BMI SDS trajectory at both baseline and follow-up six years later (2006: Odds Ratio (OR, 2.9; 95 % confidence interval (CI 1.9 to 4.3; 2012 OR, 1.8; 95 % CI 1.2 to 2.6. The increasing BMI SDS trajectory was associated with the following behaviors; drinking sugared drinks > 3 glasses per day, participation in organized sports  2 h per day, though participation in organized sports at follow-up was the only significant result. Conclusions Our results indicate the importance of healthy lifestyle behaviors at a young age, and

  6. Kinematic Optimization of Robot Trajectories for Thermal Spray Coating Application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Sihao; Liang, Hong; Cai, Zhenhua; Liao, Hanlin; Montavon, Ghislain

    2014-12-01

    Industrial robots are widely used in the field of thermal spray nowadays. Due to their characteristics of high-accuracy and programmable flexibility, spraying on complex geometrical workpieces can be realized in the equipped spray room. However, in some cases, the robots cannot guarantee the process parameters defined by the robot movement, such as the scanning trajectory, spray angle, relative speed between the torch and the substrate, etc., which have distinct influences on heat and mass transfer during the generation of any thermally sprayed coatings. In this study, an investigation on the robot kinematics was proposed to find the rules of motion in a common case. The results showed that the motion behavior of each axis of robot permits to identify the motion problems in the trajectory. This approach allows to optimize the robot trajectory generation in a limited working envelop. It also minimizes the influence of robot performance to achieve a more constant relative scanning speed which is represented as a key parameter in thermal spraying.

  7. Vectorization of a classical trajectory code on a floating point systems, Inc. Model 164 attached processor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kraus, Wayne A; Wagner, Albert F

    1986-04-01

    A triatomic classical trajectory code has been modified by extensive vectorization of the algorithms to achieve much improved performance on an FPS 164 attached processor. Extensive timings on both the FPS 164 and a VAX 11/780 with floating point accelerator are presented as a function of the number of trajectories simultaneously run. The timing tests involve a potential energy surface of the LEPS variety and trajectories with 1000 time steps. The results indicate that vectorization results in timing improvements on both the VAX and the FPS. For larger numbers of trajectories run simultaneously, up to a factor of 25 improvement in speed occurs between VAX and FPS vectorized code. Copyright © 1986 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

  8. Interaction between laser-produced plasma and guiding magnetic field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hasegawa, Jun; Takahashi, Kazumasa; Ikeda, Shunsuke; Nakajima, Mitsuo; Horioka, Kazuhiko

    2013-01-01

    Transportation properties of laser-produced plasma through a guiding magnetic field were examined. A drifting dense plasma produced by a KrF laser was injected into an axisymmetric magnetic field induced by permanent ring magnets. The plasma ion flux in the guiding magnetic field was measured by a Faraday cup at various distances from the laser target. Numerical analyses based on a collective focusing model were performed to simulate plasma particle trajectories and then compared with the experimental results. (author)

  9. Vehicle Trajectory Estimation Using Spatio-Temporal MCMC

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francois Bardet

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents an algorithm for modeling and tracking vehicles in video sequences within one integrated framework. Most of the solutions are based on sequential methods that make inference according to current information. In contrast, we propose a deferred logical inference method that makes a decision according to a sequence of observations, thus processing a spatio-temporal search on the whole trajectory. One of the drawbacks of deferred logical inference methods is that the solution space of hypotheses grows exponentially related to the depth of observation. Our approach takes into account both the kinematic model of the vehicle and a driver behavior model in order to reduce the space of the solutions. The resulting proposed state model explains the trajectory with only 11 parameters. The solution space is then sampled with a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC that uses a model-driven proposal distribution in order to control random walk behavior. We demonstrate our method on real video sequences from which we have ground truth provided by a RTK GPS (Real-Time Kinematic GPS. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms a sequential inference solution (particle filter.

  10. Fourier descriptor classification of differential eddy current probe impedance plane trajectories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lord, W.; Satish, S.R.

    1984-01-01

    This chapter describes the use of a parametric model for representing the two-dimensional eddy current impedance plane trajectory. The main advantage of this approach is the ability to reconstruct the trajectory from the model coefficients. Fourier descriptors are used to facilitate defect classification. The Fourier descriptors are obtained by expanding the complex contour function in a Fourier series. Functions of Fourier coefficients which are invariant under transformation of the trajectory are derived and incorporated into a feature vector. Defect classification is obtained by using the K-Means algorithm to cluster the feature vectors. It is demonstrated that the Fourier descriptor approach represents a powerful tool which have several advantages over nonparametric approaches including its insensitivity to drift in the eddy current instrument as well as variations in the probe speed

  11. Neighborhood Walkability and Body Mass Index Trajectories: Longitudinal Study of Canadians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wasfi, Rania A; Dasgupta, Kaberi; Orpana, Heather; Ross, Nancy A

    2016-05-01

    To assess the impact of neighborhood walkability on body mass index (BMI) trajectories of urban Canadians. Data are from Canada's National Population Health Survey (n = 2935; biannual assessments 1994-2006). We measured walkability with the Walk Score. We modeled body mass index (BMI, defined as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters [kg/m(2)]) trajectories as a function of Walk Score and sociodemographic and behavioral covariates with growth curve models and fixed-effects regression models. In men, BMI increased annually by an average of 0.13 kg/m(2) (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.11, 0.14) over the 12 years of follow-up. Moving to a high-walkable neighborhood (2 or more Walk Score quartiles higher) decreased BMI trajectories for men by approximately 1 kg/m(2) (95% CI = -1.16, -0.17). Moving to a low-walkable neighborhood increased BMI for men by approximately 0.45 kg/m(2) (95% CI = 0.01, 0.89). There was no detectable influence of neighborhood walkability on body weight for women. Our study of a large sample of urban Canadians followed for 12 years confirms that neighborhood walkability influences BMI trajectories for men, and may be influential in curtailing male age-related weight gain.

  12. Ion trajectories of the MFTF unshielded 80-keV neutral-beam sources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ling, R.C.; Bulmer, R.H.; Cutler, T.A.; Foote, J.H.; Horvath, J.A.

    1978-01-01

    The trajectories of ions from the Magnetic Fusion Test Facility (MFTF) 80-keV neutral-beam sources are calculated to obtain a preliminary understanding of the ion-beam paths and the magnitude of the power densities. This information will be needed for locating and designing thermal (kinetic-energy) absorbers for the ions. The calculations are made by employing a number of previously written computer codes. The TIBRO code is used to calculate the trajectories of the ions in the fringe magnetic field of the MFTF machine, which can operate with a center-field intensity of up to 2 T. The SAMPP code gives three-dimensional views of the ion beams for better visualization of the ion-beam paths. Also used are the codes MIG, XPICK, and MERGE, which were all previously written for manipulating data

  13. Three-dimensional trajectory tracking for underactuated AUVs with bio-inspired velocity regulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiajia Zhou

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper attempts to address the motion parameter skip problem associated with three-dimensional trajectory tracking of an underactuated Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV using backstepping-based control, due to the unsmoothness of tracking trajectory. Through kinematics concepts, a three-dimensional dynamic velocity regulation controller is derived. This controller makes use of the surge and angular velocity errors with bio-inspired models and backstepping techniques. It overcomes the frequently occurring problem of parameter skip at inflection point existing in backstepping tracking control method and increases system robustness. Moreover, the proposed method can effectively avoid the singularity problem in backstepping control of virtual velocity error. The control system is proved to be uniformly ultimately bounded using Lyapunov stability theory. Simulation results illustrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the developed controller, which can realize accurate three-dimensional trajectory tracking for an underactuated AUV with constant external disturbances. Keywords: Dynamic velocity regulation, Bio-inspired model, Backstepping, Underactuated AUV, Three-dimensional trajectory tracking

  14. Leaf trajectory verification during dynamic intensity modulated radiotherapy using an amorphous silicon flat panel imager

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sonke, Jan-Jakob; Ploeger, Lennert S.; Brand, Bob; Smitsmans, Monique H.P.; Herk, Marcel van

    2004-01-01

    An independent verification of the leaf trajectories during each treatment fraction improves the safety of IMRT delivery. In order to verify dynamic IMRT with an electronic portal imaging device (EPID), the EPID response should be accurate and fast such that the effect of motion blurring on the detected moving field edge position is limited. In the past, it was shown that the errors in the detected position of a moving field edge determined by a scanning liquid-filled ionization chamber (SLIC) EPID are negligible in clinical practice. Furthermore, a method for leaf trajectory verification during dynamic IMRT was successfully applied using such an EPID. EPIDs based on amorphous silicon (a-Si) arrays are now widely available. Such a-Si flat panel imagers (FPIs) produce portal images with superior image quality compared to other portal imaging systems, but they have not yet been used for leaf trajectory verification during dynamic IMRT. The aim of this study is to quantify the effect of motion distortion and motion blurring on the detection accuracy of a moving field edge for an Elekta iViewGT a-Si FPI and to investigate its applicability for the leaf trajectory verification during dynamic IMRT. We found that the detection error for a moving field edge to be smaller than 0.025 cm at a speed of 0.8 cm/s. Hence, the effect of motion blurring on the detection accuracy of a moving field edge is negligible in clinical practice. Furthermore, the a-Si FPI was successfully applied for the verification of dynamic IMRT. The verification method revealed a delay in the control system of the experimental DMLC that was also found using a SLIC EPID, resulting in leaf positional errors of 0.7 cm at a leaf speed of 0.8 cm/s

  15. Calibration of atomic trajectories in a large-area dual-atom-interferometer gyroscope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yao, Zhan-Wei; Lu, Si-Bin; Li, Run-Bing; Luo, Jun; Wang, Jin; Zhan, Ming-Sheng

    2018-01-01

    We propose and demonstrate a method for calibrating atomic trajectories in a large-area dual-atom-interferometer gyroscope. The atom trajectories are monitored by modulating and delaying the Raman transition, and they are precisely calibrated by controlling the laser orientation and the bias magnetic field. To improve the immunity to the gravity effect and the common phase noise, the symmetry and the overlap of two large-area atomic interference loops are optimized by calibrating the atomic trajectories and by aligning the Raman-laser orientations. The dual-atom-interferometer gyroscope is applied in the measurement of the Earth's rotation. The sensitivity is 1.2 ×10-6 rad s -1 Hz-1/2, and the long-term stability is 6.2 ×10-8 rad/s at 2000 s.

  16. Trajectories of Work Disability and Economic Insecurity Approaching Retirement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shuey, Kim M; Willson, Andrea E

    2017-07-08

    In this article, we examine the connection between trajectories of work disability and economic precarity in late midlife. We conceptualize work disability as a possible mechanism linking early and later life economic disadvantage. We model trajectories of work disability characterized by timing and stability for a cohort of Baby Boomers (22-32 in 1981) using 32 years of data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and latent class analysis. Measures of childhood disadvantage are included as predictors of work disability trajectories, which are subsequently included in logistic regression models predicting four economic outcomes (poverty, asset poverty, home ownership, and pension ownership) at ages 54-64. Childhood disadvantage selected individuals into five distinct classes of work disability that differed in timing and stability. All of the disability trajectories were associated with an increased risk of economic insecurity in late midlife compared to the never work disabled. This study contributes to the aging literature through its incorporation of the early life origins of pathways of disability and their links to economic outcomes approaching retirement. Findings suggest work disability is anchored in early life disadvantage and is associated with economic insecurity later in life. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  17. Electromagnetic field modeling and ion optics calculations for a continuous-flow AMS system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han, B.X.; Reden, K.F. von; Roberts, M.L.; Schneider, R.J.; Hayes, J.M.; Jenkins, W.J.

    2007-01-01

    A continuous-flow 14 C AMS (CFAMS) system is under construction at the NOSAMS facility. This system is based on a NEC Model 1.5SDH-1 0.5 MV Pelletron accelerator and will utilize a combination of a microwave ion source (MIS) and a charge exchange canal (CXC) to produce negative carbon ions from a continuously flowing stream of CO 2 gas. For high-efficiency transmission of the large emittance, large energy-spread beam from the ion source unit, a large-acceptance and energy-achromatic injector consisting of a 45 o electrostatic spherical analyzer (ESA) and a 90 o double-focusing magnet has been designed. The 45 o ESA is rotatable to accommodate a 134-sample MC-SNICS as a second ion source. The high-energy achromat (90 o double focusing magnet and 90 o ESA) has also been customized for large acceptance. Electromagnetic field modeling and ion optics calculations of the beamline were done with Infolytica MagNet, ElecNet, and Trajectory Evaluator. PBGUNS and SIMION were used for the modeling of ion source unit

  18. Maximum likelihood-based analysis of photon arrival trajectories in single-molecule FRET

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Waligorska, Marta [Adam Mickiewicz University, Faculty of Chemistry, Grunwaldzka 6, 60-780 Poznan (Poland); Molski, Andrzej, E-mail: amolski@amu.edu.pl [Adam Mickiewicz University, Faculty of Chemistry, Grunwaldzka 6, 60-780 Poznan (Poland)

    2012-07-25

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We study model selection and parameter recovery from single-molecule FRET experiments. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We examine the maximum likelihood-based analysis of two-color photon trajectories. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The number of observed photons determines the performance of the method. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer For long trajectories, one can extract mean dwell times that are comparable to inter-photon times. -- Abstract: When two fluorophores (donor and acceptor) are attached to an immobilized biomolecule, anti-correlated fluctuations of the donor and acceptor fluorescence caused by Foerster resonance energy transfer (FRET) report on the conformational kinetics of the molecule. Here we assess the maximum likelihood-based analysis of donor and acceptor photon arrival trajectories as a method for extracting the conformational kinetics. Using computer generated data we quantify the accuracy and precision of parameter estimates and the efficiency of the Akaike information criterion (AIC) and the Bayesian information criterion (BIC) in selecting the true kinetic model. We find that the number of observed photons is the key parameter determining parameter estimation and model selection. For long trajectories, one can extract mean dwell times that are comparable to inter-photon times.

  19. Clustering Molecular Dynamics Trajectories for Optimizing Docking Experiments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Renata De Paris

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Molecular dynamics simulations of protein receptors have become an attractive tool for rational drug discovery. However, the high computational cost of employing molecular dynamics trajectories in virtual screening of large repositories threats the feasibility of this task. Computational intelligence techniques have been applied in this context, with the ultimate goal of reducing the overall computational cost so the task can become feasible. Particularly, clustering algorithms have been widely used as a means to reduce the dimensionality of molecular dynamics trajectories. In this paper, we develop a novel methodology for clustering entire trajectories using structural features from the substrate-binding cavity of the receptor in order to optimize docking experiments on a cloud-based environment. The resulting partition was selected based on three clustering validity criteria, and it was further validated by analyzing the interactions between 20 ligands and a fully flexible receptor (FFR model containing a 20 ns molecular dynamics simulation trajectory. Our proposed methodology shows that taking into account features of the substrate-binding cavity as input for the k-means algorithm is a promising technique for accurately selecting ensembles of representative structures tailored to a specific ligand.

  20. Trajectories of quality of life among Chinese patients diagnosed with nasopharynegeal cancer.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wendy W T Lam

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: This secondary longitudinal analysis describes distinct quality of life trajectories during eight months of radiation therapy (RT among patients with nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC and examines factors differentiating these trajectories. METHODS: 253 Chinese patients with NPC scheduled for RT were assessed at pre-treatment, and 4 months and 8 months later on QoL (Chinese version of the FACT-G, optimism, pain, eating function, and patient satisfaction. Latent growth mixture modelling identified different trajectories within each of four QoL domains: Physical, Emotional, Social/family, and Functional well-being. Multinomial logistic regression compared optimism, pain, eating function, and patient satisfaction by trajectories adjusted for demographic and medical characteristics. RESULTS: We identified three distinct trajectories for physical and emotional QoL domains, four trajectories for social/family, and two trajectories for functional domains. Within each domain most patients (physical (77%, emotional (85%, social/family (55% and functional (63% experienced relatively stable high levels of well-being over the 8-month period. Different Physical trajectory patterns were predicted by pain and optimism, whereas for Emotion-domain trajectories pain, optimism, eating enjoyment, patient satisfaction with information, and gender were predictive. Age, appetite, optimism, martial status, and household income predicted Social/family trajectories; household income, eating enjoyment, optimism, and patient satisfaction with information predicted Functional trajectories. CONCLUSION: Most patients with NPC showed high stable QoL during radiotherapy. Optimism predicted good QoL. Symptom impacts varied by QoL domain. Information satisfaction was protective in emotional and functional well-being, reflecting the importance in helping patients to establish a realistic expectation of treatment impacts.

  1. Validation of Multibody Program to Optimize Simulated Trajectories II Parachute Simulation with Interacting Forces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raiszadeh, Behzad; Queen, Eric M.; Hotchko, Nathaniel J.

    2009-01-01

    A capability to simulate trajectories of multiple interacting rigid bodies has been developed, tested and validated. This capability uses the Program to Optimize Simulated Trajectories II (POST 2). The standard version of POST 2 allows trajectory simulation of multiple bodies without force interaction. In the current implementation, the force interaction between the parachute and the suspended bodies has been modeled using flexible lines, allowing accurate trajectory simulation of the individual bodies in flight. The POST 2 multibody capability is intended to be general purpose and applicable to any parachute entry trajectory simulation. This research paper explains the motivation for multibody parachute simulation, discusses implementation methods, and presents validation of this capability.

  2. Distinct trajectories of positive and negative affect after colorectal cancer diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciere, Yvette; Janse, Moniek; Almansa, Josué; Visser, Annemieke; Sanderman, Robbert; Sprangers, Mirjam A G; Ranchor, Adelita V; Fleer, Joke

    2017-06-01

    Insight into trajectories of positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) across the cancer continuum may improve understanding of the nature of adjustment problems. The primary aim of this study was to identify subgroups of patients with distinct trajectories of PA and NA following diagnosis of colorectal cancer (CRC). Secondary to this aim, the co-occurrence between trajectories and their association with goal-related processes was explored. CRC patients (n = 186) completed questionnaires within 1 month, 7 months, and 18 months after diagnosis. Multilevel models were used to study the trajectory of PA and NA, as measured with the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). Four classes with distinct PA trajectories were identified: low (18.8%), increasing (6.7%), moderate (68.2%), and high (6.3%); 2 trajectories of NA emerged: low (36.3%) and moderate (63.7%). There was no significant association between PA and NA trajectory class probabilities. The average trajectory of PA covaried with levels of goal disturbance and goal reengagement over time, while the average NA trajectory covaried with goal disturbance and goal disengagement. Compared with the general population, our sample of cancer patients suffered from a lack of positive emotions, but not a high presence of negative emotions. About one fifth of patients reported low PA up to 18 months after diagnosis and may benefit from supportive care. Furthermore, the trajectory of PA was independent of that of NA and related with a distinct goal adjustment process (i.e., goal disengagement vs. goal reengagement). This finding indicates the need to tailor psychological care to the nature of the adjustment problem. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  3. Reference trajectory tracking for a multi-DOF robot arm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krasňanský Róbert

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the problem of tracking the generated reference trajectory by the simulation model of a multi-DOF robot arm. The kinematic transformation between task space and joint configuration coordinates is nonlinear and configuration dependent. To obtain the solution of the forward kinematics problem, the homogeneous transformation matrix is used. A solution to the inverse kinematics is a vector of joint configuration coordinates calculated using of pseudoinverse Jacobian technique. These coordinates correspond to a set of task space coordinates. The algorithm is presented which uses iterative solution and is simplified by considering stepper motors in robot arm joints. The reference trajectory in Cartesian coordinate system is generated on-line by the signal generator previously developed in MS Excel. Dynamic Data Exchange communication protocol allows sharing data with Matlab-Simulink. These data represent the reference tracking trajectory of the end effector. Matlab-Simulink software is used to calculate the representative joint rotations. The proposed algorithm is demonstrated experimentally on the model of 7-DOF robot arm system.

  4. Trajectory similarity join in spatial networks

    KAUST Repository

    Shang, Shuo

    2017-09-07

    The matching of similar pairs of objects, called similarity join, is fundamental functionality in data management. We consider the case of trajectory similarity join (TS-Join), where the objects are trajectories of vehicles moving in road networks. Thus, given two sets of trajectories and a threshold θ, the TS-Join returns all pairs of trajectories from the two sets with similarity above θ. This join targets applications such as trajectory near-duplicate detection, data cleaning, ridesharing recommendation, and traffic congestion prediction. With these applications in mind, we provide a purposeful definition of similarity. To enable efficient TS-Join processing on large sets of trajectories, we develop search space pruning techniques and take into account the parallel processing capabilities of modern processors. Specifically, we present a two-phase divide-and-conquer algorithm. For each trajectory, the algorithm first finds similar trajectories. Then it merges the results to achieve a final result. The algorithm exploits an upper bound on the spatiotemporal similarity and a heuristic scheduling strategy for search space pruning. The algorithm\\'s per-trajectory searches are independent of each other and can be performed in parallel, and the merging has constant cost. An empirical study with real data offers insight in the performance of the algorithm and demonstrates that is capable of outperforming a well-designed baseline algorithm by an order of magnitude.

  5. Personalized trajectory matching in spatial networks

    KAUST Repository

    Shang, Shuo

    2013-07-31

    With the increasing availability of moving-object tracking data, trajectory search and matching is increasingly important. We propose and investigate a novel problem called personalized trajectory matching (PTM). In contrast to conventional trajectory similarity search by spatial distance only, PTM takes into account the significance of each sample point in a query trajectory. A PTM query takes a trajectory with user-specified weights for each sample point in the trajectory as its argument. It returns the trajectory in an argument data set with the highest similarity to the query trajectory. We believe that this type of query may bring significant benefits to users in many popular applications such as route planning, carpooling, friend recommendation, traffic analysis, urban computing, and location-based services in general. PTM query processing faces two challenges: how to prune the search space during the query processing and how to schedule multiple so-called expansion centers effectively. To address these challenges, a novel two-phase search algorithm is proposed that carefully selects a set of expansion centers from the query trajectory and exploits upper and lower bounds to prune the search space in the spatial and temporal domains. An efficiency study reveals that the algorithm explores the minimum search space in both domains. Second, a heuristic search strategy based on priority ranking is developed to schedule the multiple expansion centers, which can further prune the search space and enhance the query efficiency. The performance of the PTM query is studied in extensive experiments based on real and synthetic trajectory data sets. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

  6. Classical descriptions of the electron trajectories in the He atom

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miko, A.; Toekesi, K.

    2006-01-01

    Complete text of publication follows. The classical-trajectory Monte Carlo method (CTMC) treats the atomic systems as small solar-systems, where the electrons are moving around the nucleus in properly chosen Kepler-orbits. It is also well known that the multi-electron classical atomic systems are instable due to the autoionization through electron-electron interactions. Therefore most of the classical descriptions use the so called independent particle approach, i.e. they neclect the electron-electron interactions. In the quasiclassical trajectory Monte Carlo method (QCTMC) appears a qualitative improvement of the classical description of the multi-electron atoms namely the electron-electron interaction is entirely taken into account by the help of the extra potentials providing the validations of the Pauli exclusion principle and the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. The extra potentials ensure that the multi electron atoms are stable even if all electron-electron interactions are taken into account. The extra potentials - representing the constrains - can be written in the following form [1] V τ -2 f(τp; ξ); where f is the monotonic decreasing function of the relative distance τ and momentum p and ξ is the constant characterized the given atomic state. Figure 1. shows the typical electron trajectories in the helium atom. The calculations were carried out using CTMC model when the electron-electron interaction is neglected (Fig. 1a). In this case the He atom is stable and the electron orbits are closed. However, when the electron-electron interaction is taken into account in the CTMC model the electron trajectories in the He atom show chaotic behavior and after a few cycles autoionization occurs (Fig. 1b). In the QCTMC model the electron trajectories are also closed and stable (Fig. 1c). (author)

  7. Effective electric fields along realistic DTI-based neural trajectories for modelling the stimulation mechanisms of TMS

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    De Geeter, N.; Crevecoeur, G.; Leemans, A.; Dupré, L.

    2015-01-01

    In transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), an applied alternating magnetic field induces an electric field in the brain that can interact with the neural system. It is generally assumed that this induced electric field is the crucial effect exciting a certain region of the brain. More specifically,

  8. Modeling parenting stress trajectories among low-income young mothers across the child's second and third years: Factors accounting for stability and change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Yiting; Fine, Mark A

    2007-12-01

    This study investigated parenting stress trajectories among low-income young mothers and the factors that are associated with change and stability of parenting stress as children aged from 14 to 36 months old. With a sample of 580 young mothers who applied to the Early Head Start Program, growth mixture modeling identified 3 trajectory classes of parenting stress: a chronically high group (7% of the sample), an increasing group (10% of the sample), and a decreasing group (83% of the sample). Maternal personal resources distinguished between the increasing and decreasing classes, whereas maternal personal resources, child characteristics, and contextual influences explained differences between the chronically high and decreasing trajectory classes. Findings suggest that for interventions to be effective, programs need to assess maternal, child, and contextual factors to better address the particular unique needs of young mothers.

  9. Factors that Influence Trajectories of Delinquency Throughout Adolescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, Sara Z; Simons, Leslie Gordon; Simons, Ronald L

    2016-01-01

    Given that one of the most powerful predictors of adult crime is the presence of behavior problems in childhood and adolescence, there is a need to further understand factors that determine behavior patterns during this developmental stage. This study focuses on stressful life experiences such as exposure to delinquent peers, racial discrimination, as well as family characteristics such as parenting style and family transitions. Data come from four waves of the Family and Community Health Survey, an African-American sample. The present study investigates 354 males from this dataset. We utilize a group-based trajectory model to estimate the number and type of trajectories of delinquency. We then estimate multinomial regression models to predict trajectory group membership. The results indicated that there were four distinct groups of offenders (negligible delinquents; early starter/declining; late starter; and early starter/chronic offenders). We predicted group membership using both early predictors and measures of change in these predictors across the study period. The results indicated that individuals who experience greater racial discrimination (both early in childhood and throughout adolescence) are more likely to be in trajectory groups that begin offending early and persist through adolescence. Additionally, those respondents who reported having friends with greater delinquent behavior were more likely to be in groups that began their offending early in life and persisted when compared to groups who started later or desisted as they entered adulthood. The results contribute to developmental research and provide information that may be helpful in preventing adolescents from persisting in antisocial behavior as they enter adulthood.

  10. Trajectory generation for an on-road autonomous vehicle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horst, John; Barbera, Anthony

    2006-05-01

    We describe an algorithm that generates a smooth trajectory (position, velocity, and acceleration at uniformly sampled instants of time) for a car-like vehicle autonomously navigating within the constraints of lanes in a road. The technique models both vehicle paths and lane segments as straight line segments and circular arcs for mathematical simplicity and elegance, which we contrast with cubic spline approaches. We develop the path in an idealized space, warp the path into real space and compute path length, generate a one-dimensional trajectory along the path length that achieves target speeds and positions, and finally, warp, translate, and rotate the one-dimensional trajectory points onto the path in real space. The algorithm moves a vehicle in lane safely and efficiently within speed and acceleration maximums. The algorithm functions in the context of other autonomous driving functions within a carefully designed vehicle control hierarchy.

  11. Advective mixing in a nondivergent barotropic hurricane model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. Rutherford

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper studies Lagrangian mixing in a two-dimensional barotropic model for hurricane-like vortices. Since such flows show high shearing in the radial direction, particle separation across shear-lines is diagnosed through a Lagrangian field, referred to as R-field, that measures trajectory separation orthogonal to the Lagrangian velocity. The shear-lines are identified with the level-contours of another Lagrangian field, referred to as S-field, that measures the average shear-strength along a trajectory. Other fields used for model diagnostics are the Lagrangian field of finite-time Lyapunov exponents (FTLE-field, the Eulerian Q-field, and the angular velocity field. Because of the high shearing, the FTLE-field is not a suitable indicator for advective mixing, and in particular does not exhibit ridges marking the location of finite-time stable and unstable manifolds. The FTLE-field is similar in structure to the radial derivative of the angular velocity. In contrast, persisting ridges and valleys can be clearly recognized in the R-field, and their propagation speed indicates that transport across shear-lines is caused by Rossby waves. A radial mixing rate derived from the R-field gives a time-dependent measure of flux across the shear-lines. On the other hand, a measured mixing rate across the shear-lines, which counts trajectory crossings, confirms the results from the R-field mixing rate, and shows high mixing in the eyewall region after the formation of a polygonal eyewall, which continues until the vortex breaks down. The location of the R-field ridges elucidates the role of radial mixing for the interaction and breakdown of the mesovortices shown by the model.

  12. New Search Space Reduction Algorithm for Vertical Reference Trajectory Optimization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alejandro MURRIETA-MENDOZA

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Burning the fuel required to sustain a given flight releases pollution such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides, and the amount of fuel consumed is also a significant expense for airlines. It is desirable to reduce fuel consumption to reduce both pollution and flight costs. To increase fuel savings in a given flight, one option is to compute the most economical vertical reference trajectory (or flight plan. A deterministic algorithm was developed using a numerical aircraft performance model to determine the most economical vertical flight profile considering take-off weight, flight distance, step climb and weather conditions. This algorithm is based on linear interpolations of the performance model using the Lagrange interpolation method. The algorithm downloads the latest available forecast from Environment Canada according to the departure date and flight coordinates, and calculates the optimal trajectory taking into account the effects of wind and temperature. Techniques to avoid unnecessary calculations are implemented to reduce the computation time. The costs of the reference trajectories proposed by the algorithm are compared with the costs of the reference trajectories proposed by a commercial flight management system using the fuel consumption estimated by the FlightSim® simulator made by Presagis®.

  13. Trajectory planning and trajectory tracking for a small-scale helicopter in autorotation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Taamallah, Skander; Bombois, Xavier; Van den Hof, Paul M.J.

    2017-01-01

    The design of a high-performance guidance and control system for a small-scale helicopterUnmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), with an engine OFF flight condition (i.e. autorotation), is known to be a challenging task. It is the purpose of this paper to present a Trajectory Planning (TP) and Trajectory

  14. Nonadiabatic theory of strong-field atomic effects under elliptical polarization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Xu; Eberly, J. H.

    2012-01-01

    Elliptically polarized laser fields provide a new channel for access to strong-field processes that are either suppressed or not present under linear polarization. Quantum theory is mostly unavailable for their analysis, and we report here results of a systematic study based on a classical ensemble theory with solution of the relevant ab inito time-dependent Newton equations for selected model atoms. The study's approach is necessarily nonadiabatic, as it follows individual electron trajectories leading to single, double, and triple ionizations. Of particular interest are new results bearing on open questions concerning experimental reports of unexplained species dependences as well as double-electron release times that are badly matched by a conventional adiabatic quantum tunneling theory. We also report the first analysis of electron trajectories for sequential and non-sequential triple ionization.

  15. Estimation of energetic efficiency of heat supply in front of the aircraft at supersonic accelerated flight. Part II. Mathematical model of the trajectory boost part and computational results

    Science.gov (United States)

    Latypov, A. F.

    2009-03-01

    The fuel economy was estimated at boost trajectory of aerospace plane during energy supply to the free stream. Initial and final velocities of the flight were given. A model of planning flight above cold air in infinite isobaric thermal wake was used. The comparison of fuel consumption was done at optimal trajectories. The calculations were done using a combined power plant consisting of ramjet and liquid-propellant engine. An exergy model was constructed in the first part of the paper for estimating the ramjet thrust and specific impulse. To estimate the aerodynamic drag of aircraft a quadratic dependence on aerodynamic lift is used. The energy for flow heating is obtained at the sacrifice of an equivalent decrease of exergy of combustion products. The dependencies are obtained for increasing the range coefficient of cruise flight at different Mach numbers. In the second part of the paper, a mathematical model is presented for the boost part of the flight trajectory of the flying vehicle and computational results for reducing the fuel expenses at the boost trajectory at a given value of the energy supplied in front of the aircraft.

  16. A simple model based magnet sorting algorithm for planar hybrid undulators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rakowsky, G.

    2010-01-01

    Various magnet sorting strategies have been used to optimize undulator performance, ranging from intuitive pairing of high- and low-strength magnets, to full 3D FEM simulation with 3-axis Helmholtz coil magnet data. In the extreme, swapping magnets in a full field model to minimize trajectory wander and rms phase error can be time consuming. This paper presents a simpler approach, extending the field error signature concept to obtain trajectory displacement, kick angle and phase error signatures for each component of magnetization error from a Radia model of a short hybrid-PM undulator. We demonstrate that steering errors and phase errors are essentially decoupled and scalable from measured X, Y and Z components of magnetization. Then, for any given sequence of magnets, rms trajectory and phase errors are obtained from simple cumulative sums of the scaled displacements and phase errors. The cost function (a weighted sum of these errors) is then minimized by swapping magnets, using one's favorite optimization algorithm. This approach was applied recently at NSLS to a short in-vacuum undulator, which required no subsequent trajectory or phase shimming. Trajectory and phase signatures are also obtained for some mechanical errors, to guide 'virtual shimming' and specifying mechanical tolerances. Some simple inhomogeneities are modeled to assess their error contributions.

  17. Trajectories of Identity Formation Modes and Their Personality Context in Adolescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Topolewska-Siedzik, Ewa; Cieciuch, Jan

    2018-04-01

    Identity formation is a dynamic process during adolescence. Trajectories of identity formation were assessed longitudinally in early and middle adolescents, taking into account the personality underpinnings of this process. Identity formation was conceptualized according to the circumplex of identity formation modes. The model distinguishes basic modes rooted in Marcia's categories of exploration and commitment. Plasticity and stability, the two higher order Big Five meta-traits, were used to assess personality underpinnings. This study includes five measurement waves over 1.5 years and involves 1,839 Polish participants; 914 early adolescents (53.9% girls) and 925 middle adolescents (63.8% girls). The results suggest that (1) the four identity formation modes change dynamically, showing linear and curvilinear growth and that (2) identity formation mode trajectories are more dynamic in middle adolescence than in early adolescence. The results also showed that, in the conditional model, (3) the higher-order personality factors and gender affect the growth factors of identity formation modes. Overall, trajectories of identity formation modes are more linear during early adolescence and more curvilinear during middle adolescence. The initial levels in identity trajectories are influenced by the personality metatraits but only plasticity is related to change among early adolescents.

  18. Zero-Point Energy Constraint for Unimolecular Dissociation Reactions. Giving Trajectories Multiple Chances To Dissociate Correctly.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paul, Amit K; Hase, William L

    2016-01-28

    A zero-point energy (ZPE) constraint model is proposed for classical trajectory simulations of unimolecular decomposition and applied to CH4* → H + CH3 decomposition. With this model trajectories are not allowed to dissociate unless they have ZPE in the CH3 product. If not, they are returned to the CH4* region of phase space and, if necessary, given additional opportunities to dissociate with ZPE. The lifetime for dissociation of an individual trajectory is the time it takes to dissociate with ZPE in CH3, including multiple possible returns to CH4*. With this ZPE constraint the dissociation of CH4* is exponential in time as expected for intrinsic RRKM dynamics and the resulting rate constant is in good agreement with the harmonic quantum value of RRKM theory. In contrast, a model that discards trajectories without ZPE in the reaction products gives a CH4* → H + CH3 rate constant that agrees with the classical and not quantum RRKM value. The rate constant for the purely classical simulation indicates that anharmonicity may be important and the rate constant from the ZPE constrained classical trajectory simulation may not represent the complete anharmonicity of the RRKM quantum dynamics. The ZPE constraint model proposed here is compared with previous models for restricting ZPE flow in intramolecular dynamics, and connecting product and reactant/product quantum energy levels in chemical dynamics simulations.

  19. Quantum optics including noise reduction, trapped ions, quantum trajectories, and decoherence

    CERN Document Server

    Orszag, Miguel

    2016-01-01

    This new edition gives a unique and broad coverage of basic laser-related phenomena that allow graduate students, scientists and engineers to carry out research in quantum optics and laser physics. It covers quantization of the electromagnetic field, quantum theory of coherence, atom-field interaction models, resonance fluorescence, quantum theory of damping, laser theory using both the master equation and the Langevin theory, the correlated emission laser, input-output theory with applications to non-linear optics, quantum trajectories, quantum non-demolition measurements and generation of non-classical vibrational states of ions in a Paul trap. In this third edition, there is an enlarged chapter on trapped ions, as well as new sections on quantum computing and quantum bits with applications. There is also additional material included for quantum processing and entanglement. These topics are presented in a unified and didactic manner, each chapter is accompanied by specific problems and hints to solutions to...

  20. SIGMA/B, Doses in Space Vehicle for Multiple Trajectories, Various Radiation Source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jordan, T.M.

    2003-01-01

    1 - Description of problem or function: SIGMA/B calculates radiation dose at arbitrary points inside a space vehicle, taking into account vehicle geometry, heterogeneous placement of equipment and stores, vehicle materials, time-weighted astronaut positions and many radiation sources from mission trajectories, e.g. geomagnetically trapped protons and electrons, solar flare particles, galactic cosmic rays and their secondary radiations. The vehicle geometry, equipment and supplies, and man models are described by quadric surfaces. The irradiating flux field may be anisotropic. The code can be used to perform simultaneous dose calculations for multiple vehicle trajectories, each involving several radiation sources. Results are presented either as dose as a function of shield thickness, or the dose received through designated outer sections of the vehicle. 2 - Method of solution: Automatic sectoring of the vehicle is performed by a Simpson's rule integration over angle; the dose is computed by a numerical angular integration of the dose attenuation kernels about the dose points. The kernels are curve-fit functions constructed from input data tables. 3 - Restrictions on the complexity of the problem: The code uses variable dimensioning techniques to store data. The only restriction on problem size is the available core storage

  1. A mathematical model for describing the retinal nerve fiber bundle trajectories in the human eye : Average course, variability, and influence of refraction, optic disc size and optic disc position

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jansonius, Nomdo M.; Schiefer, Julia; Nevalainen, Jukka; Paetzold, Jens; Schiefer, Ulrich

    2012-01-01

    Previously we developed a mathematical model for describing the retinal nerve fiber bundle trajectories in the superior-temporal and inferior-temporal regions of the human retina, based on traced trajectories extracted from fundus photographs. Aims of the current study were to (i) validate the

  2. Magnetic fields and proper motions of sunspots. 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kalman, B.

    1976-01-01

    Determining relation between magnetic fields and intrinsic motions of the Sun spots is considered. Based on daily maps of the longitudinal H 1 and transverse H 2 constituents of the magnetic field and a series of photographs of the Sun a comparison was made of motion of shadow nuclei and semishadow fibres with the structure of the magnetic field in the Sun spot group from 7 till 14 of June, 1969. It was found that the spots moved both along and across the direction of the transverse magnetic field. During the movement of spots changes in the structure of H 2 occurred which in the most cases corresponded to reorientation of lines of force along the trajectory behind the moving spot. However, in some cases the structure of the transverse field behind the moving spot became close to the perpendicular one to the trajectory of the past spot, although it could be almost parallel to the trajectory in front of the spot. The best coincidence of orientations of the spot trajectories with the H 2 structure was obtained near the zero line of the longitudinal field. The orientation of fibres of semishadows along H 2 was observed when the group was near the central meridian

  3. Effective theories of single field inflation when heavy fields matter

    CERN Document Server

    Achucarro, Ana; Hardeman, Sjoerd; Palma, Gonzalo A; Patil, Subodh P

    2012-01-01

    We compute the low energy effective field theory (EFT) expansion for single-field inflationary models that descend from a parent theory containing multiple other scalar fields. By assuming that all other degrees of freedom in the parent theory are sufficiently massive relative to the inflaton, it is possible to derive an EFT valid to arbitrary order in perturbations, provided certain generalized adiabaticity conditions are respected. These conditions permit a consistent low energy EFT description even when the inflaton deviates off its adiabatic minimum along its slowly rolling trajectory. By generalizing the formalism that identifies the adiabatic mode with the Goldstone boson of this spontaneously broken time translational symmetry prior to the integration of the heavy fields, we show that this invariance of the parent theory dictates the entire non-perturbative structure of the descendent EFT. The couplings of this theory can be written entirely in terms of the reduced speed of sound of adiabatic perturbat...

  4. Asymptotic propagators and trajectories in plasma turbulence theory. The importance of irreversibility, asymptoticity and non-Markovian terms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Misguich, J.H.

    1978-09-01

    The physical meaning of perturbed trajectories in turbulent fields is analysed. Special care is devoted to the asymptotic description of average trajectories for long time intervals, as occuring in many recent plasma turbulence theories. Equivalence is proved between asymptotic average trajectories described as well (i) by the propagators V(t,t-tau) for retrodiction and Wsub(J)(t,t+tau) for prediction, and (ii) by the long time secular behavior of the solution of the equations of motion. This confirms the equivalence between perturbed orbit theories and renormalized theories, including non-Markovian contributions

  5. Lunar Cube Transfer Trajectory Options

    Science.gov (United States)

    Folta, David; Dichmann, Donald James; Clark, Pamela E.; Haapala, Amanda; Howell, Kathleen

    2015-01-01

    Numerous Earth-Moon trajectory and lunar orbit options are available for Cubesat missions. Given the limited Cubesat injection infrastructure, transfer trajectories are contingent upon the modification of an initial condition of the injected or deployed orbit. Additionally, these transfers can be restricted by the selection or designs of Cubesat subsystems such as propulsion or communication. Nonetheless, many trajectory options can b e considered which have a wide range of transfer duration, fuel requirements, and final destinations. Our investigation of potential trajectories highlights several options including deployment from low Earth orbit (LEO) geostationary transfer orbits (GTO) and higher energy direct lunar transfer and the use of longer duration Earth-Moon dynamical systems. For missions with an intended lunar orbit, much of the design process is spent optimizing a ballistic capture while other science locations such as Sun-Earth libration or heliocentric orbits may simply require a reduced Delta-V imparted at a convenient location along the trajectory.

  6. Trajectories of life satisfaction five years after medical discharge for traumatically acquired disability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernandez, Caitlin L; Elliott, Timothy R; Berry, Jack W; Underhill, Andrea T; Fine, Philip R; Lai, Mark H C

    2014-05-01

    We studied the predictive impact of family satisfaction, marital status, and functional impairment on the trajectories of life satisfaction over the first 5 years following medical treatment for traumatic spinal cord injury, burns, or interarticular fractures (total N = 662). It was anticipated that fewer functional impairments, being married, and greater family satisfaction would predict higher life satisfaction trajectories. The Functional Independence Measure, the Family Satisfaction Scale, and the Life Satisfaction Index were administered 12, 24, 48, and 60 months postdischarge. Trajectory modeling revealed that greater functional impairment significantly predicted lower life satisfaction, regardless of injury type. However, this association diminished when marital status and family satisfaction were entered into the models. Greater family satisfaction and being married predicted greater life satisfaction across time. Moreover, there was no evidence for increases in life satisfaction trajectories over time: Trajectories were stable across time for all injury groups. Results suggest that being married and greater family satisfaction promote life satisfaction among those who traumatically acquire disability, and these beneficial effects may be more salient than the degree of functional impairment imposed by the condition. (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

  7. Computational Approaches to Simulation and Optimization of Global Aircraft Trajectories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ng, Hok Kwan; Sridhar, Banavar

    2016-01-01

    This study examines three possible approaches to improving the speed in generating wind-optimal routes for air traffic at the national or global level. They are: (a) using the resources of a supercomputer, (b) running the computations on multiple commercially available computers and (c) implementing those same algorithms into NASAs Future ATM Concepts Evaluation Tool (FACET) and compares those to a standard implementation run on a single CPU. Wind-optimal aircraft trajectories are computed using global air traffic schedules. The run time and wait time on the supercomputer for trajectory optimization using various numbers of CPUs ranging from 80 to 10,240 units are compared with the total computational time for running the same computation on a single desktop computer and on multiple commercially available computers for potential computational enhancement through parallel processing on the computer clusters. This study also re-implements the trajectory optimization algorithm for further reduction of computational time through algorithm modifications and integrates that with FACET to facilitate the use of the new features which calculate time-optimal routes between worldwide airport pairs in a wind field for use with existing FACET applications. The implementations of trajectory optimization algorithms use MATLAB, Python, and Java programming languages. The performance evaluations are done by comparing their computational efficiencies and based on the potential application of optimized trajectories. The paper shows that in the absence of special privileges on a supercomputer, a cluster of commercially available computers provides a feasible approach for national and global air traffic system studies.

  8. Towards Efficient Search for Activity Trajectories

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zheng, Kai; Shang, Shuo; Yuan, Jing

    2013-01-01

    , recent proliferation in location-based web applications (e.g., Foursquare, Facebook) has given rise to large amounts of trajectories associated with activity information, called activity trajectory. In this paper, we study the problem of efficient similarity search on activity trajectory database. Given...

  9. MGA trajectory planning with an ACO-inspired algorithm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ceriotti, Matteo; Vasile, Massimiliano

    2010-11-01

    Given a set of celestial bodies, the problem of finding an optimal sequence of swing-bys, deep space manoeuvres (DSM) and transfer arcs connecting the elements of the set is combinatorial in nature. The number of possible paths grows exponentially with the number of celestial bodies. Therefore, the design of an optimal multiple gravity assist (MGA) trajectory is a NP-hard mixed combinatorial-continuous problem. Its automated solution would greatly improve the design of future space missions, allowing the assessment of a large number of alternative mission options in a short time. This work proposes to formulate the complete automated design of a multiple gravity assist trajectory as an autonomous planning and scheduling problem. The resulting scheduled plan will provide the optimal planetary sequence and a good estimation of the set of associated optimal trajectories. The trajectory model consists of a sequence of celestial bodies connected by two-dimensional transfer arcs containing one DSM. For each transfer arc, the position of the planet and the spacecraft, at the time of arrival, are matched by varying the pericentre of the preceding swing-by, or the magnitude of the launch excess velocity, for the first arc. For each departure date, this model generates a full tree of possible transfers from the departure to the destination planet. Each leaf of the tree represents a planetary encounter and a possible way to reach that planet. An algorithm inspired by ant colony optimization (ACO) is devised to explore the space of possible plans. The ants explore the tree from departure to destination adding one node at the time: every time an ant is at a node, a probability function is used to select a feasible direction. This approach to automatic trajectory planning is applied to the design of optimal transfers to Saturn and among the Galilean moons of Jupiter. Solutions are compared to those found through more traditional genetic-algorithm techniques.

  10. Identifying Latent Trajectories of Personality Disorder Symptom Change: Growth Mixture Modeling in the Longitudinal Study of Personality Disorders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hallquist, Michael N.; Lenzenweger, Mark F.

    2013-01-01

    Although previous reports have documented mean-level declines in personality disorder (PD) symptoms over time, little is known about whether personality pathology sometimes emerges among nonsymptomatic adults, or whether rates of change differ qualitatively among symptomatic persons. Our study sought to characterize heterogeneity in the longitudinal course of PD symptoms with the goal of testing for and describing latent trajectories. Participants were 250 young adults selected into two groups using a PD screening measure: those who met diagnostic criteria for a DSM-III-R PD (PPD, n = 129), and those with few PD symptoms (NoPD, n = 121). PD symptoms were assessed three times over a four-year study using semistructured interviews. Total PD symptom counts and symptoms of each DSM-III-R PD were analyzed using growth mixture modeling. In the NoPD group, latent trajectories were characterized by stable, minor symptoms; the rapid or gradual remission of subclinical symptoms; or the emergence of symptoms of Avoidant, Obsessive-Compulsive, or Paranoid PD. In the PPD group, three latent trajectories were evident: rapid symptom remission, slow symptom decline, or a relative absence of symptoms. Rapid remission of PD symptoms was associated with fewer comorbid disorders, lower negative emotionality, and greater positive emotionality and constraint, whereas emergent personality dysfunction was associated with comorbid PD symptoms and lower positive emotionality. In most cases, symptom change for one PD was associated with concomitant changes in other PDs, depressive symptoms, and anxiety. These results indicate that the longitudinal course of PD symptoms is heterogeneous, with distinct trajectories evident for both symptomatic and nonsymptomatic individuals. The prognosis of PD symptoms may be informed by an assessment of personality and comorbid psychopathology. PMID:23231459

  11. Efficient Trajectory Options Allocation for the Collaborative Trajectory Options Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodionova, Olga; Arneson, Heather; Sridhar, Banavar; Evans, Antony

    2017-01-01

    The Collaborative Trajectory Options Program (CTOP) is a Traffic Management Initiative (TMI) intended to control the air traffic flow rates at multiple specified Flow Constrained Areas (FCAs), where demand exceeds capacity. CTOP allows flight operators to submit the desired Trajectory Options Set (TOS) for each affected flight with associated Relative Trajectory Cost (RTC) for each option. CTOP then creates a feasible schedule that complies with capacity constraints by assigning affected flights with routes and departure delays in such a way as to minimize the total cost while maintaining equity across flight operators. The current version of CTOP implements a Ration-by-Schedule (RBS) scheme, which assigns the best available options to flights based on a First-Scheduled-First-Served heuristic. In the present study, an alternative flight scheduling approach is developed based on linear optimization. Results suggest that such an approach can significantly reduce flight delays, in the deterministic case, while maintaining equity as defined using a Max-Min fairness scheme.

  12. Trajectories of Leisure Activity and Disability in Older Adults Over 11 Years in Taiwan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Hsiao-Wei; Chiang, Tung-Liang; Chen, Duan-Rung; Tu, Yu-Kang; Chen, Ya-Mei

    2018-06-01

    We aimed to identify leisure activity (LA) trajectories and examined the association among baseline characteristics, LA trajectories, and the later disability among older Taiwanese adults. Data were from the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging Survey for the years 1996-2007 ( N = 3,186). LA trajectories were identified by using latent class growth curve modeling. Regression analyses were applied to predict the relationships among baseline characteristics, LA trajectories, and disability. Four LA trajectories-consistent high, consistent low, increasing, and decreasing-were identified. Lower depressive symptom was related to consistently active in LAs. Younger age and fewer comorbidities were related to develop an increasing LA trajectory. Participants in the consistent-high or increasing LA trajectories were more likely to be functionally independent, but those in the decreasing LA subgroup were more at risk of developing disability. The findings suggested that long-term changes in LA over time have benefits on physical health in older population.

  13. Classical trajectory Monte Carlo simulations of particle confinement using dual levitated coils

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. A. Lane

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The particle confinement properties of plasma confinement systems that employ dual levitated magnetic coils are investigated using classical trajectory Monte Carlo simulations. Two model systems are examined. In one, two identical current-carrying loops are coaxial and separated axially. In the second, two concentric and coplanar loops have different radii and carry equal currents. In both systems, a magnetic null circle is present between the current loops. Simulations are carried out for seven current loop separations for each system and at numerous values of magnetic field strength. Particle confinement is investigated at three locations between the loops at different distances from the magnetic null circle. Each simulated particle that did not escape the system exhibited one of four modes of confinement. Reduced results are given for both systems as the lowest magnetic field strength that exhibits complete confinement of all simulated particles for a particular loop separation.

  14. Evaluation of altimetry-derived surface current products using Lagrangian drifter trajectories in the eastern Gulf of Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yonggang; Weisberg, Robert H.; Vignudelli, Stefano; Mitchum, Gary T.

    2014-05-01

    Lagrangian particle trajectory models based on several altimetry-derived surface current products are used to hindcast the drifter trajectories observed in the eastern Gulf of Mexico during May to August 2010 (the Deepwater Horizon oil spill incident). The performances of the trajectory models are gauged in terms of Lagrangian separation distances (d) and a nondimensional skill score (s), respectively. A series of numerical experiments show that these altimetry-based trajectory models have about the same performance, with a certain improvement by adding surface wind Ekman components, especially over the shelf region. However, their hindcast skills are slightly better than those of the data assimilative numerical model output. After 3 days' simulation the altimetry-based trajectory models have mean d values of 75-83 and 34-42 km (s values of 0.49-0.51 and 0.35-0.43) in the Gulf of Mexico deep water area and on the West Florida Continental Shelf, respectively. These satellite altimetry data products are useful for providing essential information on ocean surface currents of use in water property transports, offshore oil and gas operations, hazardous spill mitigation, search and rescue, etc.

  15. Evaluation of Small Unmanned Aircraft Flight Trajectory Accuracy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ramūnas Kikutis

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Today small unmanned aircraft are being more widely adapted for practical tasks. These tasks require high reliability and flight path accuracy. For such aircraft we have to deal with the chalenge how to compensate external factors and how to ensure the accuracy of the flight trajectory according to new regulations and standards. In this paper, new regulations for the flights of small unmanned aircraft in Lithuanian air space are discussed. Main factors, which affect errors of the autonomous flight path tracking, are discussed too. The emphasis is on the wind factor and the flight path of Dubbin’s trajectories. Research was performed with mathematical-dynamic model of UAV and it was compared with theoretical calculations. All calculations and experiments were accomplished for the circular part of Dubbin’s paths when the airplane was trimmed for circular trajectory flight in calm conditions. Further, for such flight the wind influence was analysed.

  16. Accurately tracking single-cell movement trajectories in microfluidic cell sorting devices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeong, Jenny; Frohberg, Nicholas J; Zhou, Enlu; Sulchek, Todd; Qiu, Peng

    2018-01-01

    Microfluidics are routinely used to study cellular properties, including the efficient quantification of single-cell biomechanics and label-free cell sorting based on the biomechanical properties, such as elasticity, viscosity, stiffness, and adhesion. Both quantification and sorting applications require optimal design of the microfluidic devices and mathematical modeling of the interactions between cells, fluid, and the channel of the device. As a first step toward building such a mathematical model, we collected video recordings of cells moving through a ridged microfluidic channel designed to compress and redirect cells according to cell biomechanics. We developed an efficient algorithm that automatically and accurately tracked the cell trajectories in the recordings. We tested the algorithm on recordings of cells with different stiffness, and showed the correlation between cell stiffness and the tracked trajectories. Moreover, the tracking algorithm successfully picked up subtle differences of cell motion when passing through consecutive ridges. The algorithm for accurately tracking cell trajectories paves the way for future efforts of modeling the flow, forces, and dynamics of cell properties in microfluidics applications.

  17. Accurately tracking single-cell movement trajectories in microfluidic cell sorting devices.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jenny Jeong

    Full Text Available Microfluidics are routinely used to study cellular properties, including the efficient quantification of single-cell biomechanics and label-free cell sorting based on the biomechanical properties, such as elasticity, viscosity, stiffness, and adhesion. Both quantification and sorting applications require optimal design of the microfluidic devices and mathematical modeling of the interactions between cells, fluid, and the channel of the device. As a first step toward building such a mathematical model, we collected video recordings of cells moving through a ridged microfluidic channel designed to compress and redirect cells according to cell biomechanics. We developed an efficient algorithm that automatically and accurately tracked the cell trajectories in the recordings. We tested the algorithm on recordings of cells with different stiffness, and showed the correlation between cell stiffness and the tracked trajectories. Moreover, the tracking algorithm successfully picked up subtle differences of cell motion when passing through consecutive ridges. The algorithm for accurately tracking cell trajectories paves the way for future efforts of modeling the flow, forces, and dynamics of cell properties in microfluidics applications.

  18. Trajectories of Sensation Seeking Among Puerto-Rican Children and Youth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martins, Silvia S.; Wall, Melanie M.; Eisenberg, Ruth; Blanco, Carlos; Santaella, Julian; Ramos-Olazagasti, Maria; Canino, Glorisa; Bird, Hector R.; Brown, Qiana; Duarte, Cristiane S.

    2015-01-01

    Objective To document the natural course of sensation seeking from childhood to adolescence, characterize distinct sensation-seeking trajectories, and examine how these trajectories vary according to selected predictors. Method Data were obtained from the Boricua Youth Study, a longitudinal study of 2,491 children and adolescents of Puerto Rican background (three assessments from 2000 to 2004). First, age-specific sensation-seeking levels were characterized. Then, age-adjusted residuals were analyzed using growth mixture models (GMM). Results On average, sensation seeking was stable in childhood (ages 5–10) and increased during adolescence (ages 11–17). Mean scores of sensation seeking were higher in the South Bronx vs. Puerto Rico and among males vs. females. Four classes of sensation-seeking trajectories were observed: most study participants had age-expected sensation-seeking trajectories following the average for their age (“normative,” 43.8%); others (37.2%) remained consistently lower than the expected average for their age (“low” sensation seeking); some (12.0%) had an “accelerated” sensation-seeking trajectory, increasing at a faster rate than expected, while a minority (7.0%) had a decreasing sensation-seeking trajectory that started high but decreased, reaching scores slightly higher than the age-average sensation-seeking scores (“stabilizers”). Site (South Bronx vs. Puerto Rico) and gender were predictors of membership in a specific class of sensation-seeking trajectory. Conclusion It is important to take a developmental approach when examining sensation seeking and to consider gender and the social environment when trying to understand how sensation seeking evolves during childhood and adolescence. PMID:26598479

  19. Optimal trajectory planning and train scheduling for urban rail transit systems

    CERN Document Server

    Wang, Yihui; van den Boom, Ton; De Schutter, Bart

    2016-01-01

    This book contributes to making urban rail transport fast, punctual and energy-efficient –significant factors in the importance of public transportation systems to economic, environmental and social requirements at both municipal and national levels. It proposes new methods for shortening passenger travel times and for reducing energy consumption, addressing two major topics: (1) train trajectory planning: the authors derive a nonlinear model for the operation of trains and present several approaches for calculating optimal and energy-efficient trajectories within a given schedule; and (2) train scheduling: the authors develop a train scheduling model for urban rail systems and optimization approaches with which to balance total passenger travel time with energy efficiency and other costs to the operator. Mixed-integer linear programming and pseudospectral methods are among the new methods proposed for single- and multi-train systems for the solution of the nonlinear trajectory planning problem which involv...

  20. Uncertainty Quantification in Geomagnetic Field Modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chulliat, A.; Nair, M. C.; Alken, P.; Meyer, B.; Saltus, R.; Woods, A.

    2017-12-01

    Geomagnetic field models are mathematical descriptions of the various sources of the Earth's magnetic field, and are generally obtained by solving an inverse problem. They are widely used in research to separate and characterize field sources, but also in many practical applications such as aircraft and ship navigation, smartphone orientation, satellite attitude control, and directional drilling. In recent years, more sophisticated models have been developed, thanks to the continuous availability of high quality satellite data and to progress in modeling techniques. Uncertainty quantification has become an integral part of model development, both to assess the progress made and to address specific users' needs. Here we report on recent advances made by our group in quantifying the uncertainty of geomagnetic field models. We first focus on NOAA's World Magnetic Model (WMM) and the International Geomagnetic Reference Field (IGRF), two reference models of the main (core) magnetic field produced every five years. We describe the methods used in quantifying the model commission error as well as the omission error attributed to various un-modeled sources such as magnetized rocks in the crust and electric current systems in the atmosphere and near-Earth environment. A simple error model was derived from this analysis, to facilitate usage in practical applications. We next report on improvements brought by combining a main field model with a high resolution crustal field model and a time-varying, real-time external field model, like in NOAA's High Definition Geomagnetic Model (HDGM). The obtained uncertainties are used by the directional drilling industry to mitigate health, safety and environment risks.

  1. Numerical evaluation of the tensor bispectrum in two field inflation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Raveendran, Rathul Nath [The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, HBNI, CIT Campus, Chennai, 600113 India (India); Sriramkumar, L., E-mail: rathulnr@imsc.res.in, E-mail: sriram@physics.iitm.ac.in [Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, 600036 India (India)

    2017-07-01

    We evaluate the dimensionless non-Gaussianity parameter h {sub NL}, that characterizes the amplitude of the tensor bispectrum, numerically for a class of two field inflationary models such as double inflation, hybrid inflation and aligned natural inflation. We compare the numerical results with the slow roll results which can be obtained analytically. In the context of double inflation, we also investigate the effects on h {sub NL} due to curved trajectories in the field space. We explicitly examine the validity of the consistency relation governing the tensor bispectrum in the squeezed limit. Lastly, we discuss the contribution to h {sub NL} due to the epoch of preheating in two field models.

  2. Numerical evaluation of the tensor bispectrum in two field inflation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raveendran, Rathul Nath; Sriramkumar, L.

    2017-01-01

    We evaluate the dimensionless non-Gaussianity parameter h NL , that characterizes the amplitude of the tensor bispectrum, numerically for a class of two field inflationary models such as double inflation, hybrid inflation and aligned natural inflation. We compare the numerical results with the slow roll results which can be obtained analytically. In the context of double inflation, we also investigate the effects on h NL due to curved trajectories in the field space. We explicitly examine the validity of the consistency relation governing the tensor bispectrum in the squeezed limit. Lastly, we discuss the contribution to h NL due to the epoch of preheating in two field models.

  3. Propagation of whistler-mode chorus to low altitudes: divergent ray trajectories and ground accessibility

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Chum

    2005-12-01

    Full Text Available We investigate the ray trajectories of nonductedly propagating lower-band chorus waves with respect to their initial angle θ0, between the wave vector and ambient magnetic field. Although we consider a wide range of initial angles θ0, in order to be consistent with recent satellite observations, we pay special attention to the intervals of initial angles θ0, for which the waves propagate along the field lines in the source region, i.e. we mainly focus on waves generated with &theta0 within an interval close to 0° and on waves generated within an interval close to the Gendrin angle. We demonstrate that the ray trajectories of waves generated within an interval close to the Gendrin angle with a wave vector directed towards the lower L-shells (to the Earth significantly diverge at the frequencies typical for the lower-band chorus. Some of these diverging trajectories reach the topside ionosphere having θ close to 0°; thus, a part of the energy may leak to the ground at higher altitudes where the field lines have a nearly vertical direction. The waves generated with different initial angles are reflected. A small variation of the initial wave normal angle thus very dramatically changes the behaviour of the resulting ray. Although our approach is rather theoretical, based on the ray tracing simulation, we show that the initial angle θ0 of the waves reaching the ionosphere (possibly ground is surprisingly close - differs just by several degrees from the initial angles which fits the observation of magnetospherically reflected chorus revealed by CLUSTER satellites. We also mention observations of diverging trajectories on low altitude satellites.

  4. Calculation of the electron trajectory for 200 kV self-shielded electron accelerator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Shuiqing

    2000-01-01

    In order to calculate the electron trajectory of 200 kV self-shielded electron accelerator, the electric field is calculated with a TRAJ program. In this program, following electron track mash points one by one, the electron beam trajectories are calculated. Knowing the effect of grid voltage on electron optics and gaining grid voltage focusing effect in the various energy grades, the authors have gained scientific basis for adjusting grid voltage, and also accumulated a wealth of experience for designing self-shielded electron accelerator or electron curtain in future

  5. Longitudinal Modeling of Depressive Trajectories Among HIV-Infected Men Using Cocaine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mukerji, Shibani; Haghighat, Roxanna; Misra, Vikas; Lorenz, David R; Holman, Alex; Dutta, Anupriya; Gabuzda, Dana

    2017-07-01

    Cocaine use is prevalent among HIV-infected individuals. While cross-sectional studies suggest that cocaine users may be at increased risk for depression, long-term effects of cocaine on depressive symptoms remain unclear. This is a longitudinal study of 341 HIV-infected and uninfected men (135 cocaine users and 206 controls) ages 30-60 enrolled in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study during 1996-2009. The median baseline age was 41; 73% were African-American. In mixed-effects models over a median of 4.8 years of observation, cocaine use was associated with higher depressive symptoms independent of age, education level, and smoking (n = 288; p = 0.02); HIV infection modified this association (p = 0.03). Latent class mixed models were used to empirically identify distinct depressive trajectories (n = 160). In adjusted models, cocaine use was associated with threefold increased odds of membership in the class with persistent high depressive symptoms (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.38-6.69) and eightfold increased odds (95% CI (2.73-25.83) when tested among HIV-infected subjects only. Cocaine use is a risk factor for chronic depressive symptoms, particularly among HIV-infected men, highlighting the importance of integrating mental health and substance use treatments to address barriers to well-being and successful HIV-care.

  6. On Choosing a Rational Flight Trajectory to the Moon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gordienko, E. S.; Khudorozhkov, P. A.

    2017-12-01

    The algorithm for choosing a trajectory of spacecraft flight to the Moon is discussed. The characteristic velocity values needed for correcting the flight trajectory and a braking maneuver are estimated using the Monte Carlo method. The profile of insertion and flight to a near-circular polar orbit with an altitude of 100 km of an artificial lunar satellite (ALS) is given. The case of two corrections applied during the flight and braking phases is considered. The flight to an ALS orbit is modeled in the geocentric geoequatorial nonrotating coordinate system with the influence of perturbations from the Earth, the Sun, and the Moon factored in. The characteristic correction costs corresponding to corrections performed at different time points are examined. Insertion phase errors, the errors of performing the needed corrections, and the errors of determining the flight trajectory parameters are taken into account.

  7. Predicting Comorbid Conditions and Trajectories using Social Health Records.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ji, Xiang; Ae Chun, Soon; Geller, James

    2016-05-05

    Many patients suffer from comorbidity conditions, for example, obese patients often develop type-2 diabetes and hypertension. In the US, 80% of Medicare spending is for managing patients with these multiple coexisting conditions. Predicting potential comorbidity conditions for an individual patient can promote preventive care and reduce costs. Predicting possible comorbidity progression paths can provide important insights into population heath and aid with decisions in public health policies. Discovering the comorbidity relationships is complex and difficult, due to limited access to Electronic Health Records by privacy laws. In this paper, we present a collaborative comorbidity prediction method to predict likely comorbid conditions for individual patients, and a trajectory prediction graph model to reveal progression paths of comorbid conditions. Our prediction approaches utilize patient generated health reports on online social media, called Social Health Records (SHR). The experimental results based on one SHR source show that our method is able to predict future comorbid conditions for a patient with coverage values of 48% and 75% for a top-20 and a top-100 ranked list, respectively. For risk trajectory prediction, our approach is able to reveal each potential progression trajectory between any two conditions and infer the confidence of the future trajectory, given any observed condition. The predicted trajectories are validated with existing comorbidity relations from the medical literature.

  8. Gender differences in trajectories of relational aggression perpetration and victimization from middle to high school.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orpinas, Pamela; McNicholas, Caroline; Nahapetyan, Lusine

    2015-01-01

    Relational aggression refers to harming others through damaging or manipulating peer relationships. In a cohort of students surveyed annually from middle to high school, this study identified groups of adolescents who followed distinct trajectories of perpetration and of victimization of relational aggression, compared the proportion of boys and girls in each trajectory, and examined the overlap between perpetration and victimization trajectories. The sample consisted of 620 randomly selected sixth graders. Students completed yearly surveys from Grade 6-12. We used group-based trajectory modeling to identify the trajectories. Adolescents followed three developmental trajectories of perpetration and three similar trajectories of victimization: Low (lowest aggression), Moderate, and High Declining (high in middle school, with a steep decline in high school). All trajectories declined from Grade 6-12. The largest groups were the Low perpetration (55%) and Low victimization (48%). Relational aggression trajectories differed by gender: more boys reported perpetration, and more girls reported victimization. For perpetration, slightly more boys than girls were classified in the two trajectories of higher aggression. For victimization, significantly fewer girls than boys were classified in the Low trajectory, and significantly more girls than boys were classified in the Moderate trajectory. There was substantial overlap of the perpetration and victimization trajectories. These findings highlight the importance of implementing programs to reduce relational aggression for boys and for girls. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  9. IRVE-II Post-Flight Trajectory Reconstruction

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Keefe, Stephen A.; Bose, David M.

    2010-01-01

    NASA s Inflatable Re-entry Vehicle Experiment (IRVE) II successfully demonstrated an inflatable aerodynamic decelerator after being launched aboard a sounding rocket from Wallops Flight Facility (WFF). Preliminary day of flight data compared well with pre-flight Monte Carlo analysis, and a more complete trajectory reconstruction performed with an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) approach followed. The reconstructed trajectory and comparisons to an attitude solution provided by NASA Sounding Rocket Operations Contract (NSROC) personnel at WFF are presented. Additional comparisons are made between the reconstructed trajectory and pre and post-flight Monte Carlo trajectory predictions. Alternative observations of the trajectory are summarized which leverage flight accelerometer measurements, the pre-flight aerodynamic database, and on-board flight video. Finally, analysis of the payload separation and aeroshell deployment events are presented. The flight trajectory is reconstructed to fidelity sufficient to assess overall project objectives related to flight dynamics and overall, IRVE-II flight dynamics are in line with expectations

  10. Automated Cooperative Trajectories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanson, Curt; Pahle, Joseph; Brown, Nelson

    2015-01-01

    This presentation is an overview of the Automated Cooperative Trajectories project. An introduction to the phenomena of wake vortices is given, along with a summary of past research into the possibility of extracting energy from the wake by flying close parallel trajectories. Challenges and barriers to adoption of civilian automatic wake surfing technology are identified. A hardware-in-the-loop simulation is described that will support future research. Finally, a roadmap for future research and technology transition is proposed.

  11. Trajectory and velocity measurement of a particle in spray by digital holography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lue Qieni; Chen Yiliang; Yuan Rui; Ge Baozhen; Gao Yan; Zhang Yimo

    2009-12-20

    We present a method for the trajectory and the velocity measurement of a particle in spray by digital holography. Based on multiple exposure digital in-line holography, a sequence of digital holograms of a dynamic spray particle field at different times are recorded with a CW laser and a high-speed CCD. The time evolution of the serial positions of particles, i.e., the motion trajectories of the particles, is obtained by numerically reconstructing the synthetic hologram of a sequence of digital holograms. The center coordinate (x,y) of each particle image can be extracted using a Hough transform and subpixel precision computing, and the velocity of an individual particle can also be obtained, which is then applied to measuring the velocity of diesel spray and alcohol spray. The research shows that the method presented in this paper for measuring spray field is feasible.

  12. Canonical transformations of Kepler trajectories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mostowski, Jan

    2010-01-01

    In this paper, canonical transformations generated by constants of motion in the case of the Kepler problem are discussed. It is shown that canonical transformations generated by angular momentum are rotations of the trajectory. Particular attention is paid to canonical transformations generated by the Runge-Lenz vector. It is shown that these transformations change the eccentricity of the orbit. A method of obtaining elliptic trajectories from the circular ones with the help of canonical trajectories is discussed.

  13. From the trajectory to the density memory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cakir, Rasit; Krokhin, Arkadii; Grigolini, Paolo

    2007-01-01

    In this paper we discuss the connection between trajectory and density memory. The first form of memory is a property of a stochastic trajectory, whose stationary correlation function shows that the fluctuation at a given time depends on the earlier fluctuations. The density memory is a property of a collection of trajectories, whose density time evolution is described by a time convoluted equation showing that the density time evolution depends on its past history. We show that the trajectory memory does not necessarily yields density memory, and that density memory might be compatible with the existence of abrupt jumps resetting to zero the system's memory. We focus our attention on a time-convoluted diffusion equation, when the memory kernel is an inverse power law with (i) negative and (ii) positive tail. In case (i) there exist both renewal trajectories and trajectories with memory, compatible with this equation. Case (ii), which has eluded so far a convincing interpretation in terms of trajectories, is shown to be compatible only with trajectory memory

  14. Integrative Convergence in Neuroscience: Trajectories, Problems, and the Need for a Progressive Neurobioethics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giordano, J.

    The advanced integrative scientific convergence (AISC) model represents a viable approach to neuroscience. Beyond simple multi-disciplinarity, the AISC model unifies constituent scientific and technological fields to foster innovation, invention and new ways of addressing seemingly intractable questions. In this way, AISC can yield novel methods and foster new trajectories of knowledge and discovery, and yield new epistemologies. As stand-alone disciplines, each and all of the constituent fields generate practical and ethical issues, and their convergence may establish a unique set of both potential benefits and problems. To effectively attend to these contingencies requires pragmatic assessment of the actual capabilities and limits of neurofocal AISC, and an openness to what new knowledge and scientific/technological achievements may be produced, and how such outcomes can affect humanity, the human condition, society and the global environment. It is proposed that a progressive neurobioethics may be needed to establish both a meta-ethical framework upon which to structure ethical decisions, and a system and method of ethics that is inclusive, convergent and innovative, and in thus aligned with and meaningful to use of an AISC model in neuroscience.

  15. Trajectories of suicidal ideation over 6 months among 482 outpatients with bipolar disorder

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Köhler-Forsberg, Ole; Madsen, Trine; Behrendt-Møller, Ida

    2017-01-01

    INTRODUCTION: Suicidal ideation occurs frequently among individuals with bipolar disorder; however, its course and persistence over time remains unclear. We aimed to investigate 6-months trajectories of suicidal ideation among adults with bipolar disorder. METHODS: The Bipolar CHOICE study...... randomized 482 outpatients with bipolar disorder to 6 months of lithium- or quetiapine-based treatment including other psychotropic medications as clinically indicated. Participants were asked at 9 visits about suicidal ideation using the Concise Health Risk Tracking scale. We performed latent Growth Mixture...... Modelling analysis to empirically identify trajectories of suicidal ideation. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were applied to estimate associations between trajectories and potential predictors. RESULTS: We identified four distinct trajectories. The Moderate-Stable group represented 11...

  16. A hybrid scheme for real-time prediction of bus trajectories

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fadaei, Masoud; Cats, O.; Bhaskar, Ashish

    2016-01-01

    The uncertainty associated with public transport services can be partially counteracted by developing real-time models to predict downstream service conditions. In this study, a hybrid approach for predicting bus trajectories by integrating multiple predictors is proposed. The prediction model

  17. Trajectories of Return to Work Among People on Sick Leave with Mood or Anxiety Disorders

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hellström, Lone; Madsen, Trine; Nordentoft, Merete

    2017-01-01

    Purpose The return to work (RTW) of people with mood and anxiety disorders is a heterogeneous process. We aimed to identify prototypical trajectories of RTW over a two-year period in people on sick leave with mood and anxiety disorders, and investigate if socio-demographic or clinical factors...... years, using data from a nationwide Danish register (DREAM). Latent growth mixture modelling analysis was carried out to identify trajectories of RTW and logistic regression analyses were used to estimate predictors for trajectory membership. Results Four trajectory classes of RTW were identified; non...

  18. Trajectory Planning with Pose Feedback for a Dual-Arm Space Robot

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yicheng Liu

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available In order to obtain high precision path tracking for a dual-arm space robot, a trajectory planning method with pose feedback is proposed to be introduced into the design process in this paper. Firstly, pose error kinematic models are derived from the related kinematics and desired pose command for the end-effector and the base, respectively. On this basis, trajectory planning with pose feedback is proposed from a control perspective. Theoretical analyses show that the proposed trajectory planning algorithm can guarantee that pose error converges to zero exponentially for both the end-effector and the base when the robot is out of singular configuration. Compared with the existing algorithms, the proposed algorithm can lead to higher precision path tracking for the end-effector. Furthermore, the algorithm renders the system good anti-interference property for the base. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed trajectory planning algorithm.

  19. Optimal Trajectory Tracking Control for a Wheeled Mobile Robot Using Fractional Order PID Controller

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ameer L. Saleh

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper present an optimal Fractional Order PID (FOPID controller based on Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO for controlling the trajectory tracking of Wheeled Mobile Robot(WMR.The issue of trajectory tracking with given a desired reference velocity is minimized to get the distance and deviation angle equal to zero, to realize the objective of trajectory tracking a two FOPID controllers are used for velocity control and azimuth control to implement the trajectory tracking control. A path planning and path tracking methodologies are used to give different desired tracking trajectories.  PSO algorithm is using to find the optimal parameters of FOPID controllers. The kinematic and dynamic models of wheeled mobile robot for desired trajectory tracking with PSO algorithm are simulated in Simulink-Matlab. Simulation results show that the optimal FOPID controllers are more effective and has better dynamic performance than the conventional methods.

  20. Quantification of errors induced by temporal resolution on Lagrangian particles in an eddy-resolving model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qin, Xuerong; van Sebille, Erik; Sen Gupta, Alexander

    2014-04-01

    Lagrangian particle tracking within ocean models is an important tool for the examination of ocean circulation, ventilation timescales and connectivity and is increasingly being used to understand ocean biogeochemistry. Lagrangian trajectories are obtained by advecting particles within velocity fields derived from hydrodynamic ocean models. For studies of ocean flows on scales ranging from mesoscale up to basin scales, the temporal resolution of the velocity fields should ideally not be more than a few days to capture the high frequency variability that is inherent in mesoscale features. However, in reality, the model output is often archived at much lower temporal resolutions. Here, we quantify the differences in the Lagrangian particle trajectories embedded in velocity fields of varying temporal resolution. Particles are advected from 3-day to 30-day averaged fields in a high-resolution global ocean circulation model. We also investigate whether adding lateral diffusion to the particle movement can compensate for the reduced temporal resolution. Trajectory errors reveal the expected degradation of accuracy in the trajectory positions when decreasing the temporal resolution of the velocity field. Divergence timescales associated with averaging velocity fields up to 30 days are faster than the intrinsic dispersion of the velocity fields but slower than the dispersion caused by the interannual variability of the velocity fields. In experiments focusing on the connectivity along major currents, including western boundary currents, the volume transport carried between two strategically placed sections tends to increase with increased temporal averaging. Simultaneously, the average travel times tend to decrease. Based on these two bulk measured diagnostics, Lagrangian experiments that use temporal averaging of up to nine days show no significant degradation in the flow characteristics for a set of six currents investigated in more detail. The addition of random

  1. CFD Analysis of Swing of Cricket Ball and Trajectory Prediction

    Science.gov (United States)

    G, Jithin; Tom, Josin; Ruishikesh, Kamat; Jose, Jyothish; Kumar, Sanjay

    2013-11-01

    This work aims to understand the aerodynamics associated with the flight and swing of a cricket ball and predict its flight trajectory over the course of the game: at start (smooth ball) and as the game progresses (rough ball). Asymmetric airflow over the ball due to seam orientation and surface roughness can cause flight deviation (swing). The values of Drag, Lift and Side forces which are crucial for determining the trajectory of the ball were found with the help of FLUENT using the standard K- ɛ model. Analysis was done to study how the ball velocity, spin imparted to be ball and the tilt of the seam affects the movement of the ball through air. The governing force balance equations in 3 dimensions in combination a MATLAB code which used Heun's method was used for obtaining the trajectory of the ball. The conditions for the conventional swing and reverse swing to occur were deduced from the analysis and found to be in alignment with the real life situation. Critical seam angle for maximum swing and transition speed for normal to reverse swing were found out. The obtained trajectories were compared to real life hawk eye trajectories for validation. The analysis results were in good agreement with the real life situation.

  2. Trajectories of Sensation Seeking Among Puerto Rican Children and Youth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martins, Silvia S; Wall, Melanie M; Eisenberg, Ruth; Blanco, Carlos; Santaella, Julian; Ramos-Olazagasti, Maria; Canino, Glorisa; Bird, Hector R; Brown, Qiana; Duarte, Cristiane S

    2015-12-01

    To document the natural course of sensation seeking from childhood to adolescence, characterize distinct sensation seeking trajectories, and examine how these trajectories vary according to selected predictors. Data were obtained from the Boricua Youth Study, a longitudinal study of 2,491 children and adolescents of Puerto Rican background (3 assessments from 2000 to 2004). First, age-specific sensation seeking levels were characterized, and then age-adjusted residuals were analyzed using growth mixture models. On average, sensation seeking was stable in childhood (ages 5-10 years) and increased during adolescence (ages 11-17 years). Mean scores of sensation seeking were higher in the South Bronx versus Puerto Rico and among males versus females. Four classes of sensation seeking trajectories were observed: most study participants had age-expected sensation seeking trajectories following the average for their age ("normative," 43.8%); others (37.2%) remained consistently lower than the expected average for their age ("low" sensation seeking); some (12.0%) had an "accelerated" sensation seeking trajectory, increasing at a faster rate than expected; and a minority (7.0%) had a decreasing sensation seeking trajectory that started high but decreased, reaching scores slightly higher than the age-average sensation seeking scores ("stabilizers"). Site (South Bronx versus Puerto Rico) and gender were predictors of membership in a specific class of sensation seeking trajectory. It is important to take a developmental approach when examining sensation seeking and to consider gender and the social environment when trying to understand how sensation seeking evolves during childhood and adolescence. Copyright © 2015 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Impulse exchange at the surface of the ocean and the fractal dimension of drifter trajectories

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. M. Summers

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available An impulse-based model is developed to represent a coupling between turbulent flow in the atmosphere and turbulent flow in the ocean. In particular, it is argued that the atmosphere flowing horizontally over the ocean surface generates a velocity fluctuation field in the latter's near-surface flow. The mechanism for this can be understood kinematically in terms of an exchange of tangentially-oriented fluid impulse at the air-sea interface. We represent this exchange numerically through the creation of Lagrangian elements of impulse density. An indication of the efficacy of such a model would lie in its ability to predict the observed fractal dimension of lateral trajectories of submerged floats set adrift in the ocean. To this end, we examine the geometry of lateral tracer-paths determined from the present model.

  4. Control system design for UAV trajectory tracking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Haitao; Gao, Jinyuan

    2006-11-01

    In recent years, because of the emerging requirements for increasing autonomy, the controller of uninhabited air vehicles must be augmented with a very sophisticated autopilot design which is capable of tracking complex and agile maneuvering trajectory. This paper provides a simplified control system framework to solve UAV maneuvering trajectory tracking problem. The flight control system is divided into three subsystems including command generation, transformation and allocation. According to the kinematics equations of the aircraft, flight path angle commands can be generated by desired 3D position from path planning. These commands are transformed to body angular rates through direct nonlinear mapping, which is simpler than common multi-loop method based on time scale separation assumption. Then, by using weighted pseudo-inverse method, the control surface deflections are allocated to follow body angular rates from the previous step. In order to improve the robustness, a nonlinear disturbance observer-based approach is used to compensate the uncertainty of system. A 6DOF nonlinear UAV model is controlled to demonstrate the performance of the trajectory tracking control system. Simulation results show that the control strategy is easy to be realized and the precision of tracking is satisfying.

  5. "Mental retirement?" Trajectories of work engagement preceding retirement among older workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Wind, Astrid; Leijten, Fenna Rm; Hoekstra, Trynke; Geuskens, Goedele A; Burdorf, Alex; van der Beek, Allard J

    2017-01-01

    Objectives Before actual retirement, employees may already distance themselves from work, which could be referred to as "mental retirement". However, trajectories of work motivation, ie, work engagement, have not been studied yet. The present study aimed to (i) identify different trajectories of work engagement among older workers approaching the retirement age, and (ii) examine their associations with actual retirement. Methods In total 3171 employees aged 55-62 years, who participated in the Dutch Study on Transitions in Employment, Ability and Motivation were included in this study. Participants completed questionnaires in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. Latent class growth mixture modeling was performed to identify groups of employees with similar three-year trajectories in work engagement. Logistic regression analyses were performed to study whether trajectory membership was associated with retirement. Results Of the 3171 employees, 16.2% made a transition from work to (early) retirement (N=513). Four trajectories of work engagement were identified: steady high (76.3%), steady low (12.7%), decreasing (6.2%), and increasing (4.8%). A steady low work engagement trajectory was associated with retirement [odds ratio (OR) 1.46], compared to a steady high work engagement trajectory. Although not statistically significant, an increasing work engagement trajectory seemed to be associated with retirement as well (OR 1.60). Conclusions This study did not support the concept of mental retirement before actual retirement, ie, a decrease in work engagement among those facing retirement. However, as one in eight employees did experience steady low work engagement in the years before retirement, interventions promoting work motivation are recommended to support the employability of these employees.

  6. Complex trajectories in a classical periodic potential

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anderson, Alexander G; Bender, Carl M

    2012-01-01

    This paper examines the complex trajectories of a classical particle in the potential V(x) = −cos (x). Almost all the trajectories describe a particle that hops from one well to another in an erratic fashion. However, it is shown analytically that there are two special classes of trajectories x(t) determined only by the energy of the particle and not by the initial position of the particle. The first class consists of periodic trajectories; that is, trajectories that return to their initial position x(0) after some real time T. The second class consists of trajectories for which there exists a real time T such that x(t + T) = x(t) ± 2π. These two classes of classical trajectories are analogous to valence and conduction bands in quantum mechanics, where the quantum particle either remains localized or else tunnels resonantly (conducts) through a crystal lattice. These two special types of trajectories are associated with sets of energies of measure 0. For other energies, it is shown that for long times the average velocity of the particle becomes a fractal-like function of energy. (paper)

  7. Complex trajectories in a classical periodic potential

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Alexander G.; Bender, Carl M.

    2012-11-01

    This paper examines the complex trajectories of a classical particle in the potential V(x) = -cos (x). Almost all the trajectories describe a particle that hops from one well to another in an erratic fashion. However, it is shown analytically that there are two special classes of trajectories x(t) determined only by the energy of the particle and not by the initial position of the particle. The first class consists of periodic trajectories; that is, trajectories that return to their initial position x(0) after some real time T. The second class consists of trajectories for which there exists a real time T such that x(t + T) = x(t) ± 2π. These two classes of classical trajectories are analogous to valence and conduction bands in quantum mechanics, where the quantum particle either remains localized or else tunnels resonantly (conducts) through a crystal lattice. These two special types of trajectories are associated with sets of energies of measure 0. For other energies, it is shown that for long times the average velocity of the particle becomes a fractal-like function of energy.

  8. Trading Robustness Requirements in Mars Entry Trajectory Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lafleur, Jarret M.

    2009-01-01

    One of the most important metrics characterizing an atmospheric entry trajectory in preliminary design is the size of its predicted landing ellipse. Often, requirements for this ellipse are set early in design and significantly influence both the expected scientific return from a particular mission and the cost of development. Requirements typically specify a certain probability level (6-level) for the prescribed ellipse, and frequently this latter requirement is taken at 36. However, searches for the justification of 36 as a robustness requirement suggest it is an empirical rule of thumb borrowed from non-aerospace fields. This paper presents an investigation into the sensitivity of trajectory performance to varying robustness (6-level) requirements. The treatment of robustness as a distinct objective is discussed, and an analysis framework is presented involving the manipulation of design variables to effect trades between performance and robustness objectives. The scenario for which this method is illustrated is the ballistic entry of an MSL-class Mars entry vehicle. Here, the design variable is entry flight path angle, and objectives are parachute deploy altitude performance and error ellipse robustness. Resulting plots show the sensitivities between these objectives and trends in the entry flight path angles required to design to these objectives. Relevance to the trajectory designer is discussed, as are potential steps for further development and use of this type of analysis.

  9. Developing a simulation framework for safe and optimal trajectories considering drivers’ driving style

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gruber, Thierry; Larue, Grégoire S.; Rakotonirainy, Andry

    2017-01-01

    drivers with the optimal trajectory considering the motorist's driving style in real time. Travel duration and safety are the main parameters used to find the optimal trajectory. A simulation framework to determine the optimal trajectory was developed in which the ego car travels in a highway environment......Advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS) have huge potential for improving road safety and travel times. However, their take-up in the market is very slow; and these systems should consider driver's preferences to increase adoption rates. The aim of this study is to develop a model providing...

  10. Trajectories of depressive symptoms over two years postpartum among overweight or obese women

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Chien-Ti; Stroo, Marissa; Fuemmeler, Bernard; Malhotra, Rahul; Østbye, Truls

    2014-01-01

    Background Although depressive symptoms are common postpartum, few studies have followed women beyond 12 months postpartum to investigate changes in the number and severity of these symptoms over time, especially in overweight and obese women. Using two complementary analytical methods, this study aims to identify trajectories of depressive symptoms over two years postpartum among overweight or obese mothers, and assess the demographic, socio-economic , and health covariates for these trajectories. Methods Using longitudinal data from two behavioral intervention studies (KAN-DO and AMP; N = 844), we used latent growth modeling to identify the overall trajectory of depressive symptoms and how it was related to key covariates. Next, we used latent class growth analysis to assess the heterogeneity in the depressive symptom trajectories over time, and thereby, identify subgroups of women with distinct trajectories. Findings The overall trajectory of depressive symptoms over two years postpartum was relatively stable in our sample. However, the presence of three distinct latent class trajectories [stable-low (82.5%), decreasing symptoms (7.3%) and increasing symptoms (10.2%)], identified based on trajectory shape and mean depressive symptom score, supported heterogeneity in depressive symptom trajectories over time. Lower maternal education was related to a higher symptom score, and poorer subjective health status at baseline predicted inclusion in the increasing symptoms trajectory. Conclusions In some overweight or obese mothers postpartum depressive symptoms do not resolve quickly. Practitioners should be aware of this phenomenon and continue to screen for depression for longer periods of time postpartum. PMID:25213748

  11. Magnetic field correlations in random flow with strong steady shear

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kolokolov, I. V.; Lebedev, V. V.; Sizov, G. A.

    2011-01-01

    We analyze the magnetic kinematic dynamo in a conducting fluid where a stationary shear flow is accompanied by relatively weak random velocity fluctuations. The diffusionless and diffusion regimes are described. The growth rates of the magnetic field moments are related to the statistical characteristics of the flow describing divergence of the Lagrangian trajectories. The magnetic field correlation functions are examined, and their growth rates and scaling behavior are established. General assertions are illustrated by the explicit solution of a model where the velocity field is short-correlated in time.

  12. A Trajectory Generation Method Based on Edge Detection for Auto-Sealant Cartesian Robot

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eka Samsul Maarif

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents algorithm ingenerating trajectory for sealant process using captured image. Cartesian robot as auto-sealant in manufacturing process has increased productivity, reduces human error and saves time. But, different sealant path in many engine models means not only different trajectory but also different program. Therefore robot with detection ability to generate its own trajectory is needed. This paper describes best lighting technique in capturing image and applies edge detection in trajectory generation as the solution. The algorithm comprises image capturing, Canny edge detection, integral projection in localizing outer most edge, scanning coordinates, and generating vector direction codes. The experiment results show that the best technique is diffuse lighting at 10 Cd. The developed method gives connected point to point trajectory which forms sealant path with a point to next point distance is equal to 90° motor rotation. Directional movement for point to point trajectory is controlled by generated codes which are ready to be sent by serial communication to robot controller as instruction for motors which actuate axes X and Y directions.

  13. Direct and interactive effects of parent, friend and schoolmate drinking on alcohol use trajectories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lynch, Alicia Doyle; Coley, Rebekah Levine; Sims, Jacqueline; Lombardi, Caitlin McPherran; Mahalik, James R

    2015-01-01

    This study considered the unique and interactive roles of social norms from parents, friends and schools in predicting developmental trajectories of adolescent drinking and intoxication. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, which followed adolescents (N = 18,921) for 13 years, we used discrete mixture modelling to identify unique developmental trajectories of drinking and of intoxication. Next, multilevel multinomial regression models examined the role of alcohol-related social norms from parents, friends and schoolmates in the prediction of youths' trajectory group membership. Results demonstrated that social norms from parents, friends and schoolmates that were favourable towards alcohol use uniquely predicted drinking and intoxication trajectory group membership. Interactions between social norms revealed that schoolmate drinking played an important moderating role, frequently augmenting social norms from parents and friends. The current findings suggest that social norms from multiple sources (parents, friends and schools) work both independently and interactively to predict longitudinal trajectories of adolescent alcohol use. Results highlight the need to identify and understand social messages from multiple developmental contexts in efforts to reduce adolescent alcohol consumption and alcohol-related risk-taking.

  14. Task Decomposition Module For Telerobot Trajectory Generation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wavering, Albert J.; Lumia, Ron

    1988-10-01

    A major consideration in the design of trajectory generation software for a Flight Telerobotic Servicer (FTS) is that the FTS will be called upon to perform tasks which require a diverse range of manipulator behaviors and capabilities. In a hierarchical control system where tasks are decomposed into simpler and simpler subtasks, the task decomposition module which performs trajectory planning and execution should therefore be able to accommodate a wide range of algorithms. In some cases, it will be desirable to plan a trajectory for an entire motion before manipulator motion commences, as when optimizing over the entire trajectory. Many FTS motions, however, will be highly sensory-interactive, such as moving to attain a desired position relative to a non-stationary object whose position is periodically updated by a vision system. In this case, the time-varying nature of the trajectory may be handled either by frequent replanning using updated sensor information, or by using an algorithm which creates a less specific state-dependent plan that determines the manipulator path as the trajectory is executed (rather than a priori). This paper discusses a number of trajectory generation techniques from these categories and how they may be implemented in a task decompo-sition module of a hierarchical control system. The structure, function, and interfaces of the proposed trajectory gener-ation module are briefly described, followed by several examples of how different algorithms may be performed by the module. The proposed task decomposition module provides a logical structure for trajectory planning and execution, and supports a large number of published trajectory generation techniques.

  15. Trajectories of Life Satisfaction Over the First 10 Years After Traumatic Brain Injury: Race, Gender, and Functional Ability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williamson, Meredith L C; Elliott, Timothy R; Bogner, Jennifer; Dreer, Laura E; Arango-Lasprilla, Juan Carlos; Kolakowsky-Hayner, Stephanie A; Pretz, Christopher R; Lequerica, Anthony; Perrin, Paul B

    2016-01-01

    This study investigated the influence of race, gender, functional ability, and an array of preinjury, injury-related, and sociodemographic variables on life satisfaction trajectories over 10 years following moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). A sample of 3157 individuals with TBI from the TBI Model Systems database was included in this study. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analyses were conducted to examine the trajectories of life satisfaction. The Functional Independence Measure, Glasgow Coma Scale, and the Satisfaction With Life Scale were utilized. Initial models suggested that life satisfaction trajectories increased over the 10-year period and Asian/Pacific Islander participants experienced an increase in life satisfaction over time. In a comprehensive model, time was no longer a significant predictor of increased life satisfaction. Black race, however, was associated with lower life satisfaction, and significant interactions revealed that black participants' life satisfaction trajectory decreased over time while white participants' trajectory increased over the same time period. Life satisfaction trajectories did not significantly differ by gender, and greater motor and cognitive functioning were associated with increasingly positive life satisfaction trajectories over the 10 years. Individuals with more functional impairments are at risk for decreases in life satisfaction over time. Further research is needed to identify the mechanisms and factors that contribute to the lower levels of life satisfaction observed among black individuals post-TBI. This work is needed to determine strategic ways to promote optimal adjustment for these individuals.

  16. Parallel trajectory similarity joins in spatial networks

    KAUST Repository

    Shang, Shuo

    2018-04-04

    The matching of similar pairs of objects, called similarity join, is fundamental functionality in data management. We consider two cases of trajectory similarity joins (TS-Joins), including a threshold-based join (Tb-TS-Join) and a top-k TS-Join (k-TS-Join), where the objects are trajectories of vehicles moving in road networks. Given two sets of trajectories and a threshold θ, the Tb-TS-Join returns all pairs of trajectories from the two sets with similarity above θ. In contrast, the k-TS-Join does not take a threshold as a parameter, and it returns the top-k most similar trajectory pairs from the two sets. The TS-Joins target diverse applications such as trajectory near-duplicate detection, data cleaning, ridesharing recommendation, and traffic congestion prediction. With these applications in mind, we provide purposeful definitions of similarity. To enable efficient processing of the TS-Joins on large sets of trajectories, we develop search space pruning techniques and enable use of the parallel processing capabilities of modern processors. Specifically, we present a two-phase divide-and-conquer search framework that lays the foundation for the algorithms for the Tb-TS-Join and the k-TS-Join that rely on different pruning techniques to achieve efficiency. For each trajectory, the algorithms first find similar trajectories. Then they merge the results to obtain the final result. The algorithms for the two joins exploit different upper and lower bounds on the spatiotemporal trajectory similarity and different heuristic scheduling strategies for search space pruning. Their per-trajectory searches are independent of each other and can be performed in parallel, and the mergings have constant cost. An empirical study with real data offers insight in the performance of the algorithms and demonstrates that they are capable of outperforming well-designed baseline algorithms by an order of magnitude.

  17. Parallel trajectory similarity joins in spatial networks

    KAUST Repository

    Shang, Shuo; Chen, Lisi; Wei, Zhewei; Jensen, Christian S.; Zheng, Kai; Kalnis, Panos

    2018-01-01

    The matching of similar pairs of objects, called similarity join, is fundamental functionality in data management. We consider two cases of trajectory similarity joins (TS-Joins), including a threshold-based join (Tb-TS-Join) and a top-k TS-Join (k-TS-Join), where the objects are trajectories of vehicles moving in road networks. Given two sets of trajectories and a threshold θ, the Tb-TS-Join returns all pairs of trajectories from the two sets with similarity above θ. In contrast, the k-TS-Join does not take a threshold as a parameter, and it returns the top-k most similar trajectory pairs from the two sets. The TS-Joins target diverse applications such as trajectory near-duplicate detection, data cleaning, ridesharing recommendation, and traffic congestion prediction. With these applications in mind, we provide purposeful definitions of similarity. To enable efficient processing of the TS-Joins on large sets of trajectories, we develop search space pruning techniques and enable use of the parallel processing capabilities of modern processors. Specifically, we present a two-phase divide-and-conquer search framework that lays the foundation for the algorithms for the Tb-TS-Join and the k-TS-Join that rely on different pruning techniques to achieve efficiency. For each trajectory, the algorithms first find similar trajectories. Then they merge the results to obtain the final result. The algorithms for the two joins exploit different upper and lower bounds on the spatiotemporal trajectory similarity and different heuristic scheduling strategies for search space pruning. Their per-trajectory searches are independent of each other and can be performed in parallel, and the mergings have constant cost. An empirical study with real data offers insight in the performance of the algorithms and demonstrates that they are capable of outperforming well-designed baseline algorithms by an order of magnitude.

  18. The power of a single trajectory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schnellbächer, Nikolas D.; Schwarz, Ulrich S.

    2018-03-01

    Random walks are often evaluated in terms of their mean squared displacements, either for a large number of trajectories or for one very long trajectory. An alternative evaluation is based on the power spectral density, but here it is less clear which information can be extracted from a single trajectory. For continuous-time Brownian motion, Krapf et al now have mathematically proven that the one property that can be reliably extracted from a single trajectory is the frequency dependence of the ensemble-averaged power spectral density (Krapf et al 2018 New J. Phys. 20 023029). Their mathematical analysis also identifies the appropriate frequency window for this procedure and shows that the diffusion coefficient can be extracted by averaging over a small number of trajectories. The authors have verified their analytical results both by computer simulations and experiments.

  19. Carbon monoxide climatology derived from the trajectory mapping of global MOZAIC-IAGOS data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. K. Osman

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available A three-dimensional gridded climatology of carbon monoxide (CO has been developed by trajectory mapping of global MOZAIC-IAGOS in situ measurements from commercial aircraft data. CO measurements made during aircraft ascent and descent, comprising nearly 41 200 profiles at 148 airports worldwide from December 2001 to December 2012, are used. Forward and backward trajectories are calculated from meteorological reanalysis data in order to map the CO measurements to other locations and so to fill in the spatial domain. This domain-filling technique employs 15 800 000 calculated trajectories to map otherwise sparse MOZAIC-IAGOS data into a quasi-global field. The resulting trajectory-mapped CO data set is archived monthly from 2001 to 2012 on a grid of 5° longitude  ×  5° latitude  ×  1 km altitude, from the surface to 14 km altitude.The mapping product has been carefully evaluated, firstly by comparing maps constructed using only forward trajectories and using only backward trajectories. The two methods show similar global CO distribution patterns. The magnitude of their differences is most commonly 10 % or less and found to be less than 30 % for almost all cases. Secondly, the method has been validated by comparing profiles for individual airports with those produced by the mapping method when data from that site are excluded. While there are larger differences below 2 km, the two methods agree very well between 2 and 10 km with the magnitude of biases within 20 %. Finally, the mapping product is compared with global MOZAIC-IAGOS cruise-level data, which were not included in the trajectory-mapped data set, and with independent data from the NOAA aircraft flask sampling program. The trajectory-mapped MOZAIC-IAGOS CO values show generally good agreement with both independent data sets.Maps are also compared with version 6 data from the Measurements Of Pollution In The Troposphere (MOPITT satellite instrument

  20. Altered vegetative assemblage trajectories within an urban brownfield

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gallagher, Frank J., E-mail: Gallagher@sebs.rutgers.edu [Urban Forestry Program, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources, Rutgers, State University, 14 College Farm Road, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8551 (United States); Pechmann, Ildiko; Holzapfel, Claus [Department of Biological Sciences, Rutgers, State University, 195 University Avenue, Newark, NJ 07102 (United States); Grabosky, Jason [Urban Forestry Program, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources, Rutgers, State University, 14 College Farm Road, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8551 (United States)

    2011-05-15

    Recognizing the growing importance of both structure (maintenance of biodiversity) and function (fostering natural cycles) of urban ecologies, we examine coarse scale (herbaceous, shrub and forest) beta guild trajectory in an urban brownfield. The distribution of the pioneer forest assemblage dominated by Betula populifolia Marsh. and Populus spp. could be correlated positively with total soil metal load (arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, zinc, lead and vanadium),whereas herbaceous and shrub guilds were negatively correlated. Distinct assemblage development trajectories above and below a critical soil metal threshold are demonstrated. In addition, we postulate that the translocation of metals into the plant tissue of several dominant species may provide a positive feedback loop, maintaining relatively high concentrations of metals in the litter and soil. Therefore assembly theory, which allows for the development of alternate stable states, may provide a better model for the establishment of restoration objectives on degraded urban sites. - Highlights: > Forest distribution and total soil metal load yield strong positive correlations. > Shrub and herbaceous guild distribution and TML are negative and weaker. > Below a critical TML threshold transition between guilds exhibit a standard trajectory. > Above the critical TML threshold the shrub guild is virtually absent. > Metal cycling has the potential to lead to an alternative steady state. - High concentrationsof soil metals, impact the trajectory of vegetative assemblages in an urban brownfield leading to the speculation of an alternate stable state.