Visualization Techniques in Space and Atmospheric Sciences

Unprecedented volumes of data will be generated by research programs that investigate the Earth as a system and the origin of the universe, which will in turn require analysis and interpretation that will lead to meaningful scientific insight. Providing a widely distributed research community with the ability to access, manipulate, analyze, and visualize these complex, multidimensional data sets depends on a wide range of computer science and technology topics. Data storage and compression, data base management, computational methods and algorithms, artificial intelligence, telecommunications, and high-resolution display are just a few of the topics addressed. A unifying theme throughout the papers with regards to advanced data handling and visualization is the need for interactivity, speed, user-friendliness, and extensibility

SIQXC: Schema Independent Queryable XML Compression for Smartphones

The explosive growth of XML use over the last decade has led to a lot of research on how to best store and access it. This growth has resulted in XML being described as a de facto standard for storage and exchange of data over the web. However, XML has high redundancy because of its self-­‐ describing nature making it verbose. The verbose nature of XML poses a storage problem. This has led to much research devoted to XML compression. It has become of more interest since the use of resource constrained devices is also on the rise. These devices are limited in storage space, processing power and also have finite energy. Therefore, these devices cannot cope with storing and processing large XML documents. XML queryable compression methods could be a solution but none of them has a query processor that runs on such devices. Currently, wireless connections are used to alleviate the problem but they have adverse effects on the battery life. They are therefore not a sustainable solution. This thesis describes an attempt to address this problem by proposing a queryable compressor (SIQXC) with a query processor that runs in a resource constrained environment thereby lowering wireless connection dependency yet alleviating the storage problem. It applies a novel simple 2 tuple integer encoding system, clustering and gzip. SIQXC achieves an average compression ratio of 70% which is higher than most queryable XML compressors and also supports a wide range of XPATH operators making it competitive approach. It was tested through a practical implementation evaluated against the real data that is usually used for XML benchmarking. The evaluation covered the compression ratio, compression time and query evaluation accuracy and response time. SIQXC allows users to some extent locally store and manipulate the otherwise verbose XML on their Smartphones

An Integrated, Secured, Open-Source Medical Prototype for Collaborative Patient Management on the Internet

Conventional approaches to building critical and secured systems are based on the use of commercial tools for development and maintenance. Changes in the marketplace and the acceptance of the open-source model have brought this assumption into question. The combination of open-source\u27s rapid rise and the introduction of pervasive computing has made the computing industry more receptive to open-source tools and products. The open-source model allows systems to be controlled by a single individual or a small developer group that reduces dependence on individual experts. The availability of free system source codes, an expanding commercial support market, and increasing global collaborative projects makes open-source an important development in the computing environment and an exciting innovation in software engineering. Open-source projects require a level of modeling to successfully implement a solution. This study implemented a Web application prototype that models medical business logic and state that is secured. The researcher adopted the object-oriented design methodology and prototyping that improved security and lowered overall development cost. The open-source community had played an increasingly significant role in the business plans of established computing companies, in university research labs, and in the development of new companies focused on open-source support and integration issues. The openness of the Internet presents both system development and privacy issues. The availability of free tools and instructions on how to compromise systems is alarming within the online community. Thus, open-source security tools are helping protect people\u27s privacy by enforcing authentication, confidentiality, and information integrity to prevent unauthorized access. Open-source growth motivated this research to develop a medical prototype for online collaboration. Open-source tools including PHP, MySQL, Apache Web Server, and the Linux operating system were used to develop the secured application through prototyping. The main contribution of this study is that it demonstrated the exclusive use of open-source software and tools for an online application. The researcher hypothesized that open-source tools like PHP, MySQL, XML, and LINUX are the answer to building dynamic multi-tiers and cost effective systems faster. The research also explored major tools available for open-source software development

Research and Technology Report. Goddard Space Flight Center

This issue of Goddard Space Flight Center's annual report highlights the importance of mission operations and data systems covering mission planning and operations; TDRSS, positioning systems, and orbit determination; ground system and networks, hardware and software; data processing and analysis; and World Wide Web use. The report also includes flight projects, space sciences, Earth system science, and engineering and materials

Research & Technology Report Goddard Space Flight Center

The main theme of this edition of the annual Research and Technology Report is Mission Operations and Data Systems. Shifting from centralized to distributed mission operations, and from human interactive operations to highly automated operations is reported. The following aspects are addressed: Mission planning and operations; TDRSS, Positioning Systems, and orbit determination; hardware and software associated with Ground System and Networks; data processing and analysis; and World Wide Web. Flight projects are described along with the achievements in space sciences and earth sciences. Spacecraft subsystems, cryogenic developments, and new tools and capabilities are also discussed

Combining SOA and BPM Technologies for Cross-System Process Automation

This paper summarizes the results of an industry case study that introduced a cross-system business process automation solution based on a combination of SOA and BPM standard technologies (i.e., BPMN, BPEL, WSDL). Besides discussing major weaknesses of the existing, custom-built, solution and comparing them against experiences with the developed prototype, the paper presents a course of action for transforming the current solution into the proposed solution. This includes a general approach, consisting of four distinct steps, as well as specific action items that are to be performed for every step. The discussion also covers language and tool support and challenges arising from the transformation

COBE's search for structure in the Big Bang

The launch of Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) and the definition of Earth Observing System (EOS) are two of the major events at NASA-Goddard. The three experiments contained in COBE (Differential Microwave Radiometer (DMR), Far Infrared Absolute Spectrophotometer (FIRAS), and Diffuse Infrared Background Experiment (DIRBE)) are very important in measuring the big bang. DMR measures the isotropy of the cosmic background (direction of the radiation). FIRAS looks at the spectrum over the whole sky, searching for deviations, and DIRBE operates in the infrared part of the spectrum gathering evidence of the earliest galaxy formation. By special techniques, the radiation coming from the solar system will be distinguished from that of extragalactic origin. Unique graphics will be used to represent the temperature of the emitting material. A cosmic event will be modeled of such importance that it will affect cosmological theory for generations to come. EOS will monitor changes in the Earth's geophysics during a whole solar color cycle