Knowledge-based flow field zoning

Automation flow field zoning in two dimensions is an important step towards easing the three-dimensional grid generation bottleneck in computational fluid dynamics. A knowledge based approach works well, but certain aspects of flow field zoning make the use of such an approach challenging. A knowledge based flow field zoner, called EZGrid, was implemented and tested on representative two-dimensional aerodynamic configurations. Results are shown which illustrate the way in which EZGrid incorporates the effects of physics, shape description, position, and user bias in a flow field zoning

AI at Ames: Artificial Intelligence research and application at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, February 1985

Charts are given that illustrate function versus domain for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and interests and research area versus project number for AI research. A list is given of project titles with associated project numbers and page numbers. Also, project descriptions, including title, participants, and status are given

Knowledge-based zonal grid generation for computational fluid dynamics

Automation of flow field zoning in two dimensions is an important step towards reducing the difficulty of three-dimensional grid generation in computational fluid dynamics. Using a knowledge-based approach makes sense, but problems arise which are caused by aspects of zoning involving perception, lack of expert consensus, and design processes. These obstacles are overcome by means of a simple shape and configuration language, a tunable zoning archetype, and a method of assembling plans from selected, predefined subplans. A demonstration system for knowledge-based two-dimensional flow field zoning has been successfully implemented and tested on representative aerodynamic configurations. The results show that this approach can produce flow field zonings that are acceptable to experts with differing evaluation criteria

A knowledge-based approach to automated flow-field zoning for computational fluid dynamics

An automated three-dimensional zonal grid generation capability for computational fluid dynamics is shown through the development of a demonstration computer program capable of automatically zoning the flow field of representative two-dimensional (2-D) aerodynamic configurations. The applicability of a knowledge-based programming approach to the domain of flow-field zoning is examined. Several aspects of flow-field zoning make the application of knowledge-based techniques challenging: the need for perceptual information, the role of individual bias in the design and evaluation of zonings, and the fact that the zoning process is modeled as a constructive, design-type task (for which there are relatively few examples of successful knowledge-based systems in any domain). Engineering solutions to the problems arising from these aspects are developed, and a demonstration system is implemented which can design, generate, and output flow-field zonings for representative 2-D aerodynamic configurations

Comparison of the determination of a low-concentration active ingredient in pharmaceutical tablets by backscatter and transmission raman spectrometry

A total of 383 tablets of a pharmaceutical product were analyzed by backscatter and transmission Raman spectrometry to determine the concentration of an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), chlorpheniramine maleate, at the 2% m/m (4 mg) level. As the exact composition of the tablets was unknown, external calibration samples were prepared from chlorpheniramine maleate and microcrystalline cellulose (Avicel) of different particle size. The API peak at 1594 cm(-1) in the second derivative Raman spectra was used to generate linear calibration models. The API concentration predicted using backscatter Raman measurements was relatively insensitive to the particle size of Avicel. With transmission, however, particle size effects were greater and accurate prediction of the API content was only possible when the photon propagation properties of the calibration and sample tablets were matched. Good agreement was obtained with HPLC analysis when matched calibration tablets were used for both modes. When the calibration and sample tablets are not chemically matched, spectral normalization based on calculation of relative intensities cannot be used to reduce the effects of differences in physical properties. The main conclusion is that although better for whole tablet analysis, transmission Raman is more sensitive to differences in the photon propagation properties of the calibration and sample tablets

Development as Leadership-led Change

Development involves change, but many development initiatives produce unimpressive results. The authors ask why and consider how to close the gap between the intended change and what we actually see in the evidence. This paper presents the findings of a study, initiated by the multi-donor Global Leadership Initiative and led by the World Bank Institute (WBI), to examine leadership in the change processes of fourteen capacity development interventions in eight developing countries, through 140 in-depth structured interviews. It explores what it takes to make change happen and in particular, the role leadership plays in effecting change. The authors propose that leadership contributes to change when it builds “change space” by fostering acceptance for change, granting authority for change, introducing or freeing the abilities necessary to achieve change. This “change space” is required to ensure contextual readiness for change and foster progress through the difficult stages of the change process. An analytical framework is introduced to illustrate the dimensions of this “change space” and its limits in organizational and social change. The authors argue that a lack of “change space” in many development contexts may be overlooked, contributing to failure. The paper concludes that leadership manifests in different ways in different contexts, depending on the contextual readiness and factors that shape change and leadership opportunities; but the key characteristics of plurality, functionality, problem orientation and “change space” creation are likely to be common to all successful leadership-led change events

Know your place: An investigation of site-specific performance as an exchange of hospitality between artist and audience

The thesis offers analysis of a practice-research investigation of site-specific performance and its potential for supporting a reciprocal exchange between artist and audience, using hospitality as a theoretical lens and as a principle for artistic practice. Through engaging the laws of hospitality in the creation of four pieces of performance, the practice moves away from making work as an autonomous artistic action that is thereafter offered for consumption by an audience of strangers, and towards collaborating with the audience as people invested in the performance. The thesis engages hospitality to extend the possibilities for exchange between artist and audience. I draw on the discourse on audience experience, participatory processes, and cultural policy on public engagement in the arts to suggest that aspects of performance practice could be enhanced by a consideration of the relationship between host and guest. The thesis then offers worked examples of how hospitality can be placed as a central concern in the design of site-specific performance. I explore how far the audience can act as host to the artist, in an inversion of the usual order whereby the audience (individual member or collective) is invited into a frame for presentation provided by the artist. The research engages hospitality with performance practice towards contributing to the discourse on Cultural Democracy and the critique of participatory projects constructed by institutions that confirm the status quo. The practice-research is informed by post-colonial critique, whereby when viewed through the lens of hospitality, the arrival of the stranger – ‘the other’ - at the threshold is the drama that precipitates a difficulty. I suggest that the difference in the level of cultural capital held by the artist relative to that by the audience, individually or collectively, is at the heart of the difficulty, and that this can be interrogated through site-specific performance. The trajectory of the research moves through the presentation of a set of experimental performances towards exploring how artists might mitigate this difficulty. I propose that a beginning can be made through a consideration of performance form. As an entry to developing such a form, I work towards articulating a dramaturgy of hospitality

Evolution of bright star-forming galaxies in the first billion years

In this thesis, I present the results of a new search for, and study of, luminous galaxies in the first billion years of cosmic time. This work is primarily based on a new selection of bright (L≫L*) Lyman-break galaxies (LBGs) at z ≅6 and z≅7 in the UltraVISTA first and second data releases (DR1, DR2) and the UKIDSS (UKIRT Infrared Deep Survey) UDS DR10 (Ultra Deep Survey). The UltraVISTA survey provides deep Y, J,H andKs near-imaging over 1.5 deg² of the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) field and the UKIDSS UDS provides J,H and K band data overlapping with the Subaru XMM-Newton Deep Survey (SXDS), with both fields also containing deep optical and mid-infrared imaging essential for the clean detection of z > 5 galaxies. The fields combined provide an unprecedented 1.65 deg² of deep multiwavelength data with which to securely select LBGs using a photometric redshift fitting technique, which can additionally remove probable low-redshift galaxy interlopers and galactic dwarf stars that can contaminate ground-based samples. At z ≅7, the DR1 of the UltraVISTA survey was used to select a sample of ten high-redshift galaxy candidates, which extended to a 5σ limiting magnitude of Y + J ~ 25 (AB magnitude, 2-arcsec diameter circular aperture) over 1 deg². A stack of the four most robust objects from the sample indicated that they were massive (M*≅5 × 109M ʘ), had blue rest-frame UV slopes (β ≅−2.0±0.2) and were highly star-forming (SFR ≅25–50Mʘ yr−1) when compared to previous, fainter, samples of galaxies at z = 7. The number counts of z≅7 galaxies selected within the UltraVISTA DR1 survey was higher than that expected from extrapolations of the rest-frame UltraViolet (UV) luminosity function (LF) from fainter data, a result that was strongly confirmed with an improved search for z ≅7 galaxies using the UltraVISTA DR2 imaging and the UDS field. A total of 34 galaxies at 6.5 < z < 7.5 were found in the combined fields, which included the previously identified robust galaxies from the DR1 imaging. This expanded sample allowed the first determination of the rest-frame UV LF in the range −23.0 < MUV < −21.5 at z ≅7, and the results reveal a power-law decline to bright magnitudes in contrast to the commonly assumed exponentially declining Schechter function extrapolated from fainter data. The excess of galaxies observed at bright magnitudes cannot be accounted for by gravitational lensing or by significant contamination of the sample by Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) . The observed LF is well described by a double power law, which at the bright end follows the form of the underlying dark matter halo mass function, suggesting that the physical mechanism that inhibits star formation activity in massive galaxies (e.g. AGN feedback or some other form of ‘mass quenching’) has yet become efficient at z ≅7. The deeper imaging data confirm that the z ≅7 LBGs show blue rest-frame UV slopes (median β = −2.0) and are massive (up to M*≅1010M ʘ). Furthermore, an analysis of the ground-based imaging shows that the majority are resolved consistent with larger sizes (r1/2 ≅1–1.5 kpc) than displayed by less massive galaxies. Finally, a new search for z ≅6 galaxies within the UltraVISTA and UDS datasets was undertaken, resulting in a sample of 266 LBGs (−22.7 < MUV < −20.5) galaxies with which to investigate the rest-frame UV LF. The potential contamination by galactic brown dwarfs was investigated quantitatively using a simple model of the Galaxy, showing that the expected contamination rate of the sample was < 3 per cent, and that the stars can be effectively removed by fitting standard stellar spectra to the observed photometry. The galaxy surface density in the UltraVISTA/COSMOS field exceeds that in the UDS/SXDS by a factor of ≅1.4, indicating strong cosmic variance between the two fields. The number counts of galaxies we find are a factor of 2 lower than predicted by the recent LF determination by Bouwens et al., and the derived rest-frame UV LF at z ≅6 revealed that an under dense UDS field can account for some of the observed differences between previous analyses. An evolution in the characteristic magnitude between z ≅5 and z≅7 of ∆M*~ 0.5 was found in contrast to other smaller area surveys, and a double power law was shown to equally well describe the LF at z = 6 as compared to the commonly assumed Schechter function. The bright-end of the LF at z ≅6 tentatively shows a steeper decline than found at z ≅7, which could indicate the onset of mass quenching of the most massive galaxies or the rise of dust obscuration. Comparison with the predictions of the latest theoretical models and simulations of galaxies reveals that most models require substantial (A1500 ~ 1.5–2) average dust extinction at the bright end to reproduce the shape of the galaxy UV LF at z ≅7

Identifying acne treatment uncertainties via a James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership

Objectives: The Acne Priority Setting Partnership (PSP) was set up to identify and rank treatment uncertainties by bringing together people with acne, and professionals providing care within and beyond the National Health Service (NHS). Setting: The UK with international participation. Participants: Teenagers and adults with acne, parents, partners, nurses, clinicians, pharmacists, private practitioners. Methods: Treatment uncertainties were collected via separate online harvesting surveys, embedded within the PSP website, for patients and professionals. A wide variety of approaches were used to promote the surveys to stakeholder groups with a particular emphasis on teenagers and young adults. Survey submissions were collated using keywords and verified as uncertainties by appraising existing evidence. The 30 most popular themes were ranked via weighted scores from an online vote. At a priority setting workshop, patients and professionals discussed the 18 highest-scoring questions from the vote, and reached consensus on the top 10. Results: In the harvesting survey, 2310 people, including 652 professionals and 1456 patients (58% aged 24 y or younger), made submissions containing at least one research question. After checking for relevance and rephrasing, a total of 6255 questions were collated into themes. Valid votes ranking the 30 most common themes were obtained from 2807 participants. The top 10 uncertainties prioritised at the workshop were largely focused on management strategies, optimum use of common prescription medications and the role of nondrug based interventions. More female than male patients took part in the harvesting surveys and vote. A wider range of uncertainties were provided by patients compared to professionals. Conclusions: Engaging teenagers and young adults in priority setting is achievable using a variety of promotional methods. The top 10 uncertainties reveal an extensive knowledge gap about widely used interventions and the relative merits of drug versus non-drug based treatments in acne management

In situ monitoring of powder blending by non-invasive Raman spectrometry with wide area illumination

A 785 nm diode laser and probe with a 6 mm spot size were used to obtain spectra of stationary powders and powders mixing at 50 rpm in a high shear convective blender. Two methods of assessing the effect of particle characteristics on the Raman sampling depth for microcrystalline cellulose (Avicel), aspirin or sodium nitrate were compared: (i) the information depth, based on the diminishing Raman signal of TiO2 in a reference plate as the depth of powder prior to the plate was increased, and (ii) the depth at which a sample became infinitely thick, based on the depth of powder at which the Raman signal of the compound became constant The particle size, shape, density and/or light absorption capability of the compounds were shown to affect the "information" and "infinitely thick" depths of individual compounds. However, when different sized fractions of aspirin were added to Avicel as the main component, the depth values of aspirin were the same and matched that of the Avicel: 1.7 mm for the "information" depth and 3.5 mm for the "infinitely thick" depth. This latter value was considered to be the minimum Raman sampling depth when monitoring the addition of aspirin to Avicel in the blender. Mixing profiles for aspirin were obtained non-invasively through the glass wall of the vessel and could be used to assess how the aspirin blended into the main component, identify the end point of the mixing process (which varied with the particle size of the aspirin), and determine the concentration of aspirin in real time. The Raman procedure was compared to two other non-invasive monitoring techniques, near infrared (NIR) spectrometry and broadband acoustic emission spectrometry. The features of the mixing profiles generated by the three techniques were similar for addition of aspirin to Avicel. Although Raman was less sensitive than NIR spectrometry, Raman allowed compound specific mixing profiles to be generated by studying the mixing behaviour of an aspirin-aspartame-Avicel mixture