Evaluation of Machine Learning Algorithm on Drinking Water Quality for Better Sustainability

Water has become intricately linked to the United Nations\u27 sixteen sustainable development goals. Access to clean drinking water is crucial for health, a fundamental human right, and a component of successful health protection policies. Clean water is a significant health and development issue on a national, regional, and local level. Investments in water supply and sanitation have been shown to produce a net economic advantage in some areas because they reduce adverse health effects and medical expenses more than they cost to implement. However, numerous pollutants are affecting the quality of drinking water. This study evaluates the efficiency of using machine learning (ML) techniques in order to predict the quality of water. Thus, in this paper, a machine learning classifier model is built to predict the quality of water using a real dataset. First, significant features are selected. In the case of the used dataset, all measured characteristics are chosen. Data are split into training and testing subsets. A set of existing ML algorithms is applied, and the results are compared in terms of precision, recall, F1 score, and ROC curve. The results show that support vector machine and k-nearest neighbor are better according to F1-score and ROC AUC values. However, The LASSO LARS and stochastic gradient descent are better based on recall values

Developing a Community of Practice for Applied Uses of Future PACE Data to Address Marine Food Security Challenges

External interaction:The Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission will include a hyperspectral imaging radiometer to advance ecosystem monitoring beyond heritage retrievals of the concentration of surface chlorophyll and other traditional ocean color variables, offering potential for novel science and applications. PACE is the first NASA ocean color mission to occur under the agency's new and evolving effort to directly engage practical end users prior to satellite launch to increase adoption of this freely available data toward societal challenges. Here we describe early efforts to engage a community of practice around marine food-related resource management, business decisions, and policy analysis. Obviously one satellite cannot meet diverse end user needs at all scales and locations, but understanding downstream needs helps in the assessment of information gaps and planning how to optimize the unique strengths of PACE data in combination with the strengths of other satellite retrievals, in situ measurements, and models. Higher spectral resolution data from PACE can be fused with information from satellites with higher spatial or temporal resolution, plus other information, to enable identification and tracking of new marine biological indicators to guide sustainable management. Accounting for the needs of applied researchers as well as non-traditional users of satellite data early in the PACE mission process will ultimately serve to broaden the base of informed users and facilitate faster adoption of the most advanced science and technology toward the challenge of mitigating food insecurity

Security in Cloud Computing: Evaluation and Integration

Au cours de la dernière décennie, le paradigme du Cloud Computing a révolutionné la manière dont nous percevons les services de la Technologie de l’Information (TI). Celui-ci nous a donné l’opportunité de répondre à la demande constamment croissante liée aux besoins informatiques des usagers en introduisant la notion d’externalisation des services et des données. Les consommateurs du Cloud ont généralement accès, sur demande, à un large éventail bien réparti d’infrastructures de TI offrant une pléthore de services. Ils sont à même de configurer dynamiquement les ressources du Cloud en fonction des exigences de leurs applications, sans toutefois devenir partie intégrante de l’infrastructure du Cloud. Cela leur permet d’atteindre un degré optimal d’utilisation des ressources tout en réduisant leurs coûts d’investissement en TI. Toutefois, la migration des services au Cloud intensifie malgré elle les menaces existantes à la sécurité des TI et en crée de nouvelles qui sont intrinsèques à l’architecture du Cloud Computing. C’est pourquoi il existe un réel besoin d’évaluation des risques liés à la sécurité du Cloud durant le procédé de la sélection et du déploiement des services. Au cours des dernières années, l’impact d’une efficace gestion de la satisfaction des besoins en sécurité des services a été pris avec un sérieux croissant de la part des fournisseurs et des consommateurs. Toutefois, l’intégration réussie de l’élément de sécurité dans les opérations de la gestion des ressources du Cloud ne requiert pas seulement une recherche méthodique, mais aussi une modélisation méticuleuse des exigences du Cloud en termes de sécurité. C’est en considérant ces facteurs que nous adressons dans cette thèse les défis liés à l’évaluation de la sécurité et à son intégration dans les environnements indépendants et interconnectés du Cloud Computing. D’une part, nous sommes motivés à offrir aux consommateurs du Cloud un ensemble de méthodes qui leur permettront d’optimiser la sécurité de leurs services et, d’autre part, nous offrons aux fournisseurs un éventail de stratégies qui leur permettront de mieux sécuriser leurs services d’hébergements du Cloud. L’originalité de cette thèse porte sur deux aspects : 1) la description innovatrice des exigences des applications du Cloud relativement à la sécurité ; et 2) la conception de modèles mathématiques rigoureux qui intègrent le facteur de sécurité dans les problèmes traditionnels du déploiement des applications, d’approvisionnement des ressources et de la gestion de la charge de travail au coeur des infrastructures actuelles du Cloud Computing. Le travail au sein de cette thèse est réalisé en trois phases.----------ABSTRACT: Over the past decade, the Cloud Computing paradigm has revolutionized the way we envision IT services. It has provided an opportunity to respond to the ever increasing computing needs of the users by introducing the notion of service and data outsourcing. Cloud consumers usually have online and on-demand access to a large and distributed IT infrastructure providing a plethora of services. They can dynamically configure and scale the Cloud resources according to the requirements of their applications without becoming part of the Cloud infrastructure, which allows them to reduce their IT investment cost and achieve optimal resource utilization. However, the migration of services to the Cloud increases the vulnerability to existing IT security threats and creates new ones that are intrinsic to the Cloud Computing architecture, thus the need for a thorough assessment of Cloud security risks during the process of service selection and deployment. Recently, the impact of effective management of service security satisfaction has been taken with greater seriousness by the Cloud Service Providers (CSP) and stakeholders. Nevertheless, the successful integration of the security element into the Cloud resource management operations does not only require methodical research, but also necessitates the meticulous modeling of the Cloud security requirements. To this end, we address throughout this thesis the challenges to security evaluation and integration in independent and interconnected Cloud Computing environments. We are interested in providing the Cloud consumers with a set of methods that allow them to optimize the security of their services and the CSPs with a set of strategies that enable them to provide security-aware Cloud-based service hosting. The originality of this thesis lies within two aspects: 1) the innovative description of the Cloud applications’ security requirements, which paved the way for an effective quantification and evaluation of the security of Cloud infrastructures; and 2) the design of rigorous mathematical models that integrate the security factor into the traditional problems of application deployment, resource provisioning, and workload management within current Cloud Computing infrastructures. The work in this thesis is carried out in three phases

Earth orbital experiment program and requirements study, volume 1, sections 1 - 6

A reference manual for planners of manned earth-orbital research activity is presented. The manual serves as a systems approach to experiment and mission planning based on an integrated consideration of candidate research programs and the appropriate vehicle, mission, and technology development requirements. Long range goals and objectives for NASA activities during the 1970 to 1980 time period are analyzed. The useful and proper roles of manned and automated spacecraft for implementing NASA experiments are described. An integrated consideration of NASA long range goals and objectives, the system and mission requirements, and the alternative implementation plans are developed. Specific areas of investigation are: (1) manned space flight requirements, (2) space biology, (3) spaceborne astronomy, (4) space communications and navigation, (5) earth observation, (6) supporting technology development requirements, (7) data management system matrices, (8) instrumentation matrices, and (9) biotechnology laboratory experiments

A comparative study of behavioural and thermoregulatory responses of blue wildebeest and gemsbok to aridity

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Johannesburg, 2018.Future climate change scenarios predict that many arid and semi-arid ecosystems within southern Africa, will get warmer and drier with increased frequency of droughts. Although the effects of climate change may only be apparent over a few decades, understanding the physiological and behavioural flexibility of individuals currently inhabiting hot and dry climates provides an analogue for conditions likely to become prevalent in the future. To enhance our understanding of how a species may respond to future hotter and drier environments, I set out to investigate seasonal variation in behaviour and thermoregulation of two ungulate species with differing water dependency in a semi-arid savanna. I focused on thermoregulatory (body temperature) and behavioural responses (activity and microclimate selection) of the water-dependent blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus), and the arid-adapted gemsbok (Oryx gazella gazella) free-living in the Kalahari. Both species prioritised behavioural thermoregulation in the form of cool microclimate selection during the heat of the day and reduced both diurnal and 24 h activity, particularly when conditions were hot and dry. Both species experienced high maximum 24 h body temperature when conditions were hot and low minimum 24 h body temperatures when conditions were dry, resulting in a large amplitude of 24 h body temperature rhythm during the hot dry period. Yet, wildebeest appeared to be more sensitive to changes in aridity with a larger amplitude of 24 h body temperature rhythm compared to gemsbok (3.1 ± 0.2 °C vs. 2.1 ± 0.5 °C), during the drought. These seasonal analyses imply that the species behavioural and thermoregulatory responses were influenced by seasonal changes in water and forage availability. Low minimum 24 h body temperatures may result from an energy deficit during the dry season, but no study to date has explicitly linked changes in body temperature of free-living ungulates, to forage quality within the environment. I therefore investigated the influence of vegetation greenness on body temperature and activity of blue wildebeest and gemsbok inhabiting the same environment. I then investigated if the responses of gemsbok were heightened in a more arid environment. I used Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) as a standardized index of vegetation greenness, which can be considered a proxy for vegetation productivity and quality. Both species reduced total 24 h activity and became hypothermic when exposed to brown vegetation but when exposed to brown vegetation minimum 24 h body temperatures were lower for blue wildebeest compared to gemsbok. When exposed to more extreme aridity, gemsbok showed an exaggerated lowering of minimum 24 h body temperatures. Under conditions of low food availability, the cost of thermoregulation may become too demanding. Therefore, when food resources are limited in quality, wildebeest and gemsbok in arid regions appear to prioritize the conservation of energy over the maintenance of a high body temperature. Within seasonal environments, access to water is often the limiting factor for plants and animals. I therefore investigated how distance to water (i.e., how frequently animals were likely to have accessed drinking water) during the hot season influenced microclimate selection, activity and body temperature of blue wildebeest and gemsbok. Both species selected similarly cool microclimates during the heat of the day, with slight enhancement in the quality of microclimates selected when they were further from water. Both species decreased activity during the heat of the day when they were further from water. Gemsbok were able to compensate for their reduced activity during the heat of the day and showed little change in total 24 h activity, but wildebeest showed a more exaggerated decline in activity during the heat of the day for which they were unable to compensate, i.e. total 24h activity of wildebeest declines when they were further away from water sources. Both species displayed higher maximum 24 h body temperatures when they were further away from water, with the hyperthermia being exaggerated for the wildebeest compared to gemsbok. Hyperthermia in both species resolved following the first rains and likely access to drinking water. Access to water appears to be the primary driver towards hyperthermia in the wildebeest, potentially resulting from dehydration during thermal stress. In summary, I have investigated behavioural and thermoregulatory flexibility that large African ungulates currently inhabiting hot and dry climates currently employ. I have shown that ungulates in the Kalahari may differ in their use of microclimate selection and activity patterns to buffer thermal, energetic and water stressors. My study is unique in that I have looked at where the animal was in space and time and linked it to their physiological and behavioural responses. I have, therefore, quantified microclimate selection, activity and body temperature responses in relation to NDVI and distance to water and have shown that the driving mechanisms behind the seasonal changes of body temperature and activity patterns is access to energy and water. I have further enhanced our existing knowledge and created the link between body temperature, vegetation quality and distance to surface water for antelope of the Kalahari and effectively assessed a functional trait. With climate change predicted to increase ambient temperatures and have less predictable rainfall in the semi-arid Kalahari, wildebeest will be forced to remain within the Kalahari, because historical migratory paths have been blocked by fences, and they may not have the behavioural and physiological flexibility to survive a hotter and drier future.LG201

A Stable Isotope Approach to Investigative Ecohydrological Processes in Namibia

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)Drylands cover 40% of the earth’s terrestrial surface supporting over 2 billion people, the majority of whom reside in developing nations characterised by high population growth rates. This imposes pressure on the already limited water resources and in some dryland regions such as southern Africa, the origins and dynamics of rainfall are not well understood. Research has also tended to focus on factors limiting (e.g., rainfall) than sustaining productivity in drylands. However, non-rainfall water (NRW) e.g., fog and dew can supplement and/or exceed rainfall in these environments and could potentially be exploited as potable water resources. Much remains unknown in terms of NRW formation mechanisms, origins, evolution, potability and potential impact of global climate change on these NRW dependent ecosystems. Using Namibia as a proxy for drylands and developing nations, this dissertation applies stable isotopes of water (δ2H, δ18O, δ17O and d-excess), cokriging and trajectory analysis methods to understand ecohydrological processes. Results suggest that locally generated NRW may be a regular occurrence even in coastal areas such as the Namib Desert, and that what may appear as a single fog event may consist of different fog types co-occurring. These results are important because NRW responses to global climate change is dependent on the source, groundwater vs. ocean, and being able to distinguish the two will allow for more accurate modelling. I also demonstrate, that fog and dew formation are controlled by different fractionation processes, paving the way for plant water use strategy studies and modelling responses to global climate change. The study also suggests that current NRW harvesting technologies could be improved and that the potability of this water could raise some public health concerns related to trace metal and biological contamination. At the same time, the dissertation concludes that global precipitation isoscapes do not capture local isotope variations in Namibia, suggesting caution when applied to drylands and developing nations. Finally, the dissertation also reports for the first time, δ17O precipitation results for Namibia, novel isotope methods to differentiate synoptic from local droughts and suggests non-negligible moisture contributions from the Atlantic Ocean due to a possible sub-tropical Atlantic Ocean dipole

NASA Capability Roadmaps Executive Summary

This document is the result of eight months of hard work and dedication from NASA, industry, other government agencies, and academic experts from across the nation. It provides a summary of the capabilities necessary to execute the Vision for Space Exploration and the key architecture decisions that drive the direction for those capabilities. This report is being provided to the Exploration Systems Architecture Study (ESAS) team for consideration in development of an architecture approach and investment strategy to support NASA future mission, programs and budget requests. In addition, it will be an excellent reference for NASA's strategic planning. A more detailed set of roadmaps at the technology and sub-capability levels are available on CD. These detailed products include key driving assumptions, capability maturation assessments, and technology and capability development roadmaps

Small Business Innovation Research. Program solicitation. Closing date: July 21, 1992

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) invites small businesses to submit Phase 1 proposals in response to its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program Solicitation 92-1. Firms with research or research and development capabilities (R/R&D) in science or engineering in any of the areas listed are encouraged to participate. This, the tenth annual SBIR solicitation by NASA, describes the program, identifies eligibility requirements, describes the proposal evaluation and award selection process, and provides other information to assist those interested in participating in NASA's SBIR program. It also identifies, in Section 8.0, the technical topics and subtopics in which SBIR Phase 1 proposals are solicited in 1992. These topics and subtopics cover a broad range of current NASA interests but do not necessarily include all areas in which NASA plans or currently conducts research. The NASA SBIR program seeks innovative approaches that respond to the needs, technical requirements, and new opportunities described in the subtopics. The focus is on innovation through the use of emerging technologies, novel applications of existing technologies, exploitation of scientific breakthroughs, or new capabilities or major improvements to existing technologies. NASA plans to select about 320 high-quality research or research and development proposals for Phase 1 contract awards on the basis of this Solicitation. Phase 1 contracts are normally six months in duration and funded up to $50,000, including profit. Selections will be based on the competitive merits of the offers and on NASA needs and priorities