Study of optical techniques for the Ames unitary wind tunnel: Digital image processing, part 6

A survey of digital image processing techniques and processing systems for aerodynamic images has been conducted. These images covered many types of flows and were generated by many types of flow diagnostics. These include laser vapor screens, infrared cameras, laser holographic interferometry, Schlieren, and luminescent paints. Some general digital image processing systems, imaging networks, optical sensors, and image computing chips were briefly reviewed. Possible digital imaging network systems for the Ames Unitary Wind Tunnel were explored

Gegenees: Fragmented Alignment of Multiple Genomes for Determining Phylogenomic Distances and Genetic Signatures Unique for Specified Target Groups

The rapid development of Next Generation Sequencing technologies leads to the accumulation of huge amounts of sequencing data. The scientific community faces an enormous challenge in how to deal with this explosion. Here we present a software tool, ‘Gegenees’, that uses a fragmented alignment approach to facilitate the comparative analysis of hundreds of microbial genomes. The genomes are fragmented and compared, all against all, by a multithreaded BLAST control engine. Ready-made alignments can be complemented with new genomes without recalculating the existing data points. Gegenees gives a phylogenomic overview of the genomes and the alignment can then be mined for genomic regions with conservation patterns matching a defined target group and absent from a background group. The genomic regions are given biomarker scores forming a uniqueness signature that can be viewed and explored, graphically and in tabular form. A primer/probe alignment tool is also included for specificity verification of currently used or new primers. We exemplify the use of Gegenees on the Bacillus cereus group, on Foot and Mouth Disease Viruses, and on strains from the 2011 Escherichia coli O104:H4 outbreak. Gegenees contributes towards an increased capacity of fast and efficient data mining as more and more genomes become sequenced

Versatile and open software for comparing large genomes

The newest version of MUMmer easily handles comparisons of large eukaryotic genomes at varying evolutionary distances, as demonstrated by applications to multiple genomes. Two new graphical viewing tools provide alternative ways to analyze genome alignments. The new system is the first version of MUMmer to be released as open-source software. This allows other developers to contribute to the code base and freely redistribute the code. The MUMmer sources are available at

SEWAL: an open-source platform for next-generation sequence analysis and visualization

Next-generation DNA sequencing platforms provide exciting new possibilities for in vitro genetic analysis of functional nucleic acids. However, the size of the resulting data sets presents computational and analytical challenges. We present an open-source software package that employs a locality-sensitive hashing algorithm to enumerate all unique sequences in an entire Illumina sequencing run (∼108 sequences). The algorithm results in quasilinear time processing of entire Illumina lanes (∼107 sequences) on a desktop computer in minutes. To facilitate visual analysis of sequencing data, the software produces three-dimensional scatter plots similar in concept to Sewall Wright and John Maynard Smith’s adaptive or fitness landscape. The software also contains functions that are particularly useful for doped selections such as mutation frequency analysis, information content calculation, multivariate statistical functions (including principal component analysis), sequence distance metrics, sequence searches and sequence comparisons across multiple Illumina data sets. Source code, executable files and links to sample data sets are available at http://www.sourceforge.net/projects/sewal

G-InforBIO: integrated system for microbial genomics

BACKGROUND: Genome databases contain diverse kinds of information, including gene annotations and nucleotide and amino acid sequences. It is not easy to integrate such information for genomic study. There are few tools for integrated analyses of genomic data, therefore, we developed software that enables users to handle, manipulate, and analyze genome data with a variety of sequence analysis programs. RESULTS: The G-InforBIO system is a novel tool for genome data management and sequence analysis. The system can import genome data encoded as eXtensible Markup Language documents as formatted text documents, including annotations and sequences, from DNA Data Bank of Japan and GenBank encoded as flat files. The genome database is constructed automatically after importing, and the database can be exported as documents formatted with eXtensible Markup Language or tab-deliminated text. Users can retrieve data from the database by keyword searches, edit annotation data of genes, and process data with G-InforBIO. In addition, information in the G-InforBIO database can be analyzed seamlessly with nine different software programs, including programs for clustering and homology analyses. CONCLUSION: The G-InforBIO system simplifies genome analyses by integrating several available software programs to allow efficient handling and manipulation of genome data. G-InforBIO is freely available from the download site

Non-linear analysis of cello pitch and timbre

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1992.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 62-65).by Andrew Choon-ki Hong.M.S

SEAPAK user's guide, version 2.0. Volume 1: System description

The SEAPAK is a user interactive satellite data analysis package that was developed for the processing and interpretation of Nimbus-7/Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) and the NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data. Significant revisions were made to version 1.0 of the guide, and the ancillary environmental data analysis module was expanded. The package continues to emphasize user friendliness and user interactive data analyses. Additionally, because the scientific goals of the ocean color research being conducted have shifted to large space and time scales, batch processing capabilities for both satellite and ancillary environmental data analyses were enhanced, thus allowing large quantities of data to be ingested and analyzed in background

Direct interaction with large displays through monocular computer vision

Large displays are everywhere, and have been shown to provide higher productivity gain and user satisfaction compared to traditional desktop monitors. The computer mouse remains the most common input tool for users to interact with these larger displays. Much effort has been made on making this interaction more natural and more intuitive for the user. The use of computer vision for this purpose has been well researched as it provides freedom and mobility to the user and allows them to interact at a distance. Interaction that relies on monocular computer vision, however, has not been well researched, particularly when used for depth information recovery. This thesis aims to investigate the feasibility of using monocular computer vision to allow bare-hand interaction with large display systems from a distance. By taking into account the location of the user and the interaction area available, a dynamic virtual touchscreen can be estimated between the display and the user. In the process, theories and techniques that make interaction with computer display as easy as pointing to real world objects is explored. Studies were conducted to investigate the way human point at objects naturally with their hand and to examine the inadequacy in existing pointing systems. Models that underpin the pointing strategy used in many of the previous interactive systems were formalized. A proof-of-concept prototype is built and evaluated from various user studies. Results from this thesis suggested that it is possible to allow natural user interaction with large displays using low-cost monocular computer vision. Furthermore, models developed and lessons learnt in this research can assist designers to develop more accurate and natural interactive systems that make use of human’s natural pointing behaviours

The Case of Steve Jobs

Since the 1970s, management scholars have been captivated by the emotional and symbolic aspects of leadership, particularly charismatic leadership — a form of influence independent of tradition and formal authority. More recently, dramaturgical scholars have sought to augment orthodox understandings of charisma by examining leadership as a ‘performing art’: a ‘front stage’ social interaction between ‘actor’ (leader) and ‘audience’ (followers). Whereas existing research has examined the nature of charismatic leadership through, for example, impression management and social constructionism, this thesis suggests that dramaturgical scholars have largely neglected to demonstrate the value of the theatrical metaphor by testing, evaluating and building on extant theory through a case study leader. The thesis seeks to augment extant theory by revealing the importance of i) ‘narrative and storytelling’, and ii) the ‘stage management’ of leader performance to the audience’s attribution and maintenance of what constitutes a ‘charismatic’ leader. Accordingly, this thesis develops a narratologically informed dramaturgical framework of analysis to examine six public performance texts by a case study ‘charismatic leader’ — Steve Jobs of Apple Inc. The framework is tendered as a useful device through which narrative and storytelling, impression management, organisational outcomes, and the social construction of charismatic leadership may be further examined