Investigation into Cloud Computing for More Robust Automated Bulk Image Geoprocessing

Geospatial resource assessments frequently require timely geospatial data processing that involves large multivariate remote sensing data sets. In particular, for disasters, response requires rapid access to large data volumes, substantial storage space and high performance processing capability. The processing and distribution of this data into usable information products requires a processing pipeline that can efficiently manage the required storage, computing utilities, and data handling requirements. In recent years, with the availability of cloud computing technology, cloud processing platforms have made available a powerful new computing infrastructure resource that can meet this need. To assess the utility of this resource, this project investigates cloud computing platforms for bulk, automated geoprocessing capabilities with respect to data handling and application development requirements. This presentation is of work being conducted by Applied Sciences Program Office at NASA-Stennis Space Center. A prototypical set of image manipulation and transformation processes that incorporate sample Unmanned Airborne System data were developed to create value-added products and tested for implementation on the "cloud". This project outlines the steps involved in creating and testing of open source software developed process code on a local prototype platform, and then transitioning this code with associated environment requirements into an analogous, but memory and processor enhanced cloud platform. A data processing cloud was used to store both standard digital camera panchromatic and multi-band image data, which were subsequently subjected to standard image processing functions such as NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), NDMI (Normalized Difference Moisture Index), band stacking, reprojection, and other similar type data processes. Cloud infrastructure service providers were evaluated by taking these locally tested processing functions, and then applying them to a given cloud-enabled infrastructure to assesses and compare environment setup options and enabled technologies. This project reviews findings that were observed when cloud platforms were evaluated for bulk geoprocessing capabilities based on data handling and application development requirements

Neutrino-Lepton Masses, Zee Scalars and Muon g-2

Evidence for neutrino oscillations is pointing to the existence of tiny but finite neutrino masses. Such masses may be naturally generated via radiative corrections in models such as the Zee model where a singlet Zee-scalar plays a key role. We minimally extend the Zee model by including a right-handed singlet neutrino \nu_R. The radiative Zee-mechanism can be protected by a simple U(1)_X symmetry involving only the \nu_R and a Zee-scalar. We further construct a class of models with a single horizontal U(1)_FN (a la Frogatt-Nielsen) such that the mass patterns of the neutrinos and leptons are naturally explained. We then analyze the muon anomalous magnetic moment (g-2) and the flavor changing \mu --> e\gamma decay. The \nu_R interaction in our minimal extension is found to induce the BNL g-2 anomaly, with a light charged Zee-scalar of mass 100-300 GeV.Comment: Version for Phys. Rev. Lett. (typos corrected, minor refinements

Effects of spatial size, lattice doubling and source operator on the hadron spectrum with dynamical staggered quarks

We have extended our previous study of the lattice QCD spectrum with 2 flavors of staggered dynamical quarks at $6/g^2=5.6$ and $am_q=0.025$ and 0.01 to larger lattices, with better statistics and with additional sources for the propagators. The additional sources allowed us to estimate the $\Delta$ mass and to measure the masses of all mesons whose operators are local in time. These mesons show good evidence for flavor symmetry restoration, except for the masses of the Goldstone and non-Goldstone pions. PCAC is observed in that $m_\pi^2 \propto m_q$, and $f_\pi$ is estimated. Use of undoubled lattices removes problems with the pion propagator found in our earlier work. Previously we found a large change in the nucleon mass at a quark mass of $am_q=0.01$ when we increased the spatial size from 12 to 16. No such effect is observed at the larger quark mass, $am_q=0.025$. Two kinds of wall source were used, and we have found difficulties in getting consistent results for the nucleon mass between the two sources.Comment: 30 pages PostScript fil

Finite Temperature Transitions in Lattice QCD with Wilson Quarks --- Chiral Transitions and the Influence of the Strange Quark ---

The nature of finite temperature transitions in lattice QCD with Wilson quarks is studied near the chiral limit for the cases of 2, 3, and 6 flavors of degenerate quarks ($N_F=2$, 3, and 6) and also for the case of massless up and down quarks and a light strange quark ($N_F=2+1$). Our simulations mainly performed on lattices with the temporal direction extension $N_t=4$ indicate that the finite temperature transition in the chiral limit (chiral transition) is continuous for $N_F=2$, while it is of first order for $N_F=3$ and 6. We find that the transition is of first order for the case of massless up and down quarks and the physical strange quark where we obtain a value of $m_\phi/m_\rho$ consistent with the physical value. We also discuss the phase structure at zero temperature as well as that at finite temperatures.Comment: uuencoded compressed tar file, 70 pages, 32 figure

Cluster Hybrid Monte Carlo Simulation Algorithms

We show that addition of Metropolis single spin-flips to the Wolff cluster flipping Monte Carlo procedure leads to a dramatic {\bf increase} in performance for the spin-1/2 Ising model. We also show that adding Wolff cluster flipping to the Metropolis or heat bath algorithms in systems where just cluster flipping is not immediately obvious (such as the spin-3/2 Ising model) can substantially {\bf reduce} the statistical errors of the simulations. A further advantage of these methods is that systematic errors introduced by the use of imperfect random number generation may be largely healed by hybridizing single spin-flips with cluster flipping.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figure

Dynamical Fermions with Fat Links

We present and test a new method for simulating dynamical fermions with fat links. Our construction is based on the introduction of auxiliary but dynamical gauge fields and works with any fermionic action and can be combined with any fermionic updating. In our simulation we use an over-relaxation step which makes it effective. For four flavors of staggered fermions first results indicate that flavor symmetry at a lattice spacing a~0.2 fm is restored to a few percent. With the standard action this amount of flavor symmetry restoration is achieved at a~0.07 fm. We estimate that the overall computational cost is reduced by at least a factor 10.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, detailed description of over-relaxation and references added, figures with more statistic

Long-Term Results from an Epiretinal Prosthesis to Restore Sight to the Blind

PurposeRetinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a group of inherited retinal degenerations leading to blindness due to photoreceptor loss. Retinitis pigmentosa is a rare disease, affecting only approximately 100 000 people in the United States. There is no cure and no approved medical therapy to slow or reverse RP. The purpose of this clinical trial was to evaluate the safety, reliability, and benefit of the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System (Second Sight Medical Products, Inc, Sylmar, CA) in restoring some visual function to subjects completely blind from RP. We report clinical trial results at 1 and 3 years after implantation.DesignThe study is a multicenter, single-arm, prospective clinical trial.ParticipantsThere were 30 subjects in 10 centers in the United States and Europe. Subjects served as their own controls, that is, implanted eye versus fellow eye, and system on versus system off (native residual vision).MethodsThe Argus II System was implanted on and in a single eye (typically the worse-seeing eye) of blind subjects. Subjects wore glasses mounted with a small camera and a video processor that converted images into stimulation patterns sent to the electrode array on the retina.Main Outcome MeasuresThe primary outcome measures were safety (the number, seriousness, and relatedness of adverse events) and visual function, as measured by 3 computer-based, objective tests.ResultsA total of 29 of 30 subjects had functioning Argus II Systems implants 3 years after implantation. Eleven subjects experienced a total of 23 serious device- or surgery-related adverse events. All were treated with standard ophthalmic care. As a group, subjects performed significantly better with the system on than off on all visual function tests and functional vision assessments.ConclusionsThe 3-year results of the Argus II trial support the long-term safety profile and benefit of the Argus II System for patients blind from RP. Earlier results from this trial were used to gain approval of the Argus II by the Food and Drug Administration and a CE mark in Europe. The Argus II System is the first and only retinal implant to have both approvals

Ancestral absence of electron transport chains in Patescibacteria and DPANN

© The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Beam, J. P., Becraft, E. D., Brown, J. M., Schulz, F., Jarett, J. K., Bezuidt, O., Poulton, N. J., Clark, K., Dunfield, P. F., Ravin, N. V., Spear, J. R., Hedlund, B. P., Kormas, K. A., Sievert, S. M., Elshahed, M. S., Barton, H. A., Stott, M. B., Eisen, J. A., Moser, D. P., Onstott, T. C., Woyke, T., & Stepanauskas, R. Ancestral absence of electron transport chains in Patescibacteria and DPANN. Frontiers in Microbiology, 11, (2020): 1848, doi:10.3389/fmicb.2020.01848.Recent discoveries suggest that the candidate superphyla Patescibacteria and DPANN constitute a large fraction of the phylogenetic diversity of Bacteria and Archaea. Their small genomes and limited coding potential have been hypothesized to be ancestral adaptations to obligate symbiotic lifestyles. To test this hypothesis, we performed cell–cell association, genomic, and phylogenetic analyses on 4,829 individual cells of Bacteria and Archaea from 46 globally distributed surface and subsurface field samples. This confirmed the ubiquity and abundance of Patescibacteria and DPANN in subsurface environments, the small size of their genomes and cells, and the divergence of their gene content from other Bacteria and Archaea. Our analyses suggest that most Patescibacteria and DPANN in the studied subsurface environments do not form specific physical associations with other microorganisms. These data also suggest that their unusual genomic features and prevalent auxotrophies may be a result of ancestral, minimal cellular energy transduction mechanisms that lack respiration, thus relying solely on fermentation for energy conservation.This work was funded by the USA National Science Foundation grants 1441717, 1826734, and 1335810 (to RS); and 1460861 (REU site at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences). RS was also supported by the Simons Foundation grant 510023. TW, FS, and JJ were funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, a DOE Office of Science User Facility supported under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231. NR group was funded by the Russian Science Foundation (grant 19-14-00245). SS was funded by USA National Science Foundation grants OCE-0452333 and OCE-1136727. BH was funded by NASA Exobiology grant 80NSSC17K0548

Characterization of Vadose Zone Sediments Below the C Tank Farm: Borehole C4297 and RCRA Borehole 299-E27-22

This report was revised in September 2008 to remove acid-extractable sodium data from Tables 4.7 and 4.25. The sodium data was removed due to potential contamination introduced during the acid extraction process. The rest of the text remains unchanged from the original report issued in September 2006. The overall goal of the Tank Farm Vadose Zone Project, led by CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc., is to define risks from past and future single-shell tank farm activities at the Hanford Site. To meet this goal, CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc. tasked scientists from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to perform detailed analyses on vadose zone sediments from within Waste Management Area (WMA) C. This report is the first of two reports written to present the results of these analyses. Specifically, this report contains all the geologic, geochemical, and selected physiochemical characterization data collected on vadose zone sediment recovered from borehole C4297, installed adjacent to tank C-105, and from borehole 299-E27-22, installed directly north of the C Tank Farm. This report also presents the interpretation of data in the context of sediment types, the vertical extent of contamination, the migration potential of the contaminants, and the likely source of the contamination in the vadose zone below the C Tank Farm. The information presented in this report supports the WMA A-AX, C, and U field investigation report in preparation by CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc

Characterization of Vadose Zone Sediments Below the C Tank Farm: Borehole C4297 and RCRA Borehole 299-E27-22

The overall goal of the Tank Farm Vadose Zone Project, led by CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc., is to define risks from past and future single-shell tank farm activities at Hanford. To meet this goal, CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc. tasked scientists from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to perform detailed analyses on vadose zone sediments from within Waste Management Area (WMA) C. This report is the first of two reports written to present the results of these analyses. Specifically, this report contains all the geologic, geochemical, and selected physical characterization data collected on vadose zone sediment recovered from borehole C4297, installed adjacent to Tank C-105, and from borehole 299-E27-22, installed directly north of the C Tank Farm. Sediments from borehole 299-E27-22 were considered to be background uncontaminated sediments against which to compare contaminated sediments for the C Tank Farm characterization effort. This report also presents our interpretation of the data in the context of sediment types, the vertical extent of contamination, the migration potential of the contaminants, and the likely source of the contamination in the vadose zone and groundwater below the C Tank Farm. The information presented in this report supports the A-AX, C and U Waste Management Area field investigation report(a) in preparation by CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc. A core log was generated for both boreholes and a geologic evaluation of all core samples was performed at the time of opening. Aliquots of sediment from the borehole core samples were analyzed and characterized in the laboratory for the following parameters: moisture content, gamma-emitting radionuclides, one-to-one water extracts (which provide soil pH, electrical conductivity, cation, trace metal, and anion data), total carbon and inorganic carbon content, and 8 M nitric acid extracts (which provide a measure of the total leachable sediment content of contaminants). Two key radiocontaminants, technetium-99 and uranium-238, along with other trace metals were determined in acid and water extracts by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry