Target Detection Using Fractal Geometry

The concepts and theory of fractal geometry were applied to the problem of segmenting a 256 x 256 pixel image so that manmade objects could be extracted from natural backgrounds. The two most important measurements necessary to extract these manmade objects were fractal dimension and lacunarity. Provision was made to pass the manmade portion to a lookup table for subsequent identification. A computer program was written to construct cloud backgrounds of fractal dimensions which were allowed to vary between 2.2 and 2.8. Images of three model space targets were combined with these backgrounds to provide a data set for testing the validity of the approach. Once the data set was constructed, computer programs were written to extract estimates of the fractal dimension and lacunarity on 4 x 4 pixel subsets of the image. It was shown that for clouds of fractal dimension 2.7 or less, appropriate thresholding on fractal dimension and lacunarity yielded a 64 x 64 edge-detected image with all or most of the cloud background removed. These images were enhanced by an erosion and dilation to provide the final image passed to the lookup table. While the ultimate goal was to pass the final image to a neural network for identification, this work shows the applicability of fractal geometry to the problems of image segmentation, edge detection and separating a target of interest from a natural background

High-frame-rate planar laser-induced fluorescence imaging of diesel sprays using pulse burst diagnostics

A planar laser-induced fluorescence technique for spatially and temporally resolving individual diesel fuel injection events into various gas temperatures and pressures was demonstrated. An optically accessible chamber of constant temperature and pressure was used to create the desired thermodynamic state of gas. The chamber was capable of achieving typical thermodynamic states seen at top dead center of the compression stroke in a four stroke diesel engine. The third harmonic of an Nd:YAG laser supplied excitation near 355 nm, which was provided at high frequencies using a pulse-burst diagnostic scheme. Individual pulses of 35 mJ in energy and 10 ns in duration were provided at rates of 10 kHz and 20 kHz. The UV laser beam was passed through a calibration cell filled with a laser dye, which was used for spatially correcting variations in individual laser pulses. The technique demonstrated that individual species concentrations can be temporally resolved using pulse-burst lasers

The Challenge of Managing a Spacelab Program

The Spacelab concept of providing standard, reusable accommodations for Orbiter-attached payloads has the promise of yielding highly rewarding research. Although NASA experience with aircraft, sounding rockets, Skylab and free flyers can be applied to Spacelab payload management, new and innovative management approaches must be tailored to meet unique Spacelab and STS requirements. This paper will discuss from a Spacelab Payload Manager\u27s perspective the major management challenges which must be successfully overcome if payload programs are to not only exist but thrive. Specific management strategies for meeting these challenges will also be discussed

The Partnership Imperative: Community Colleges, Employers, and Americas Chronic Skills Gap

This report examines the state of collaboration between community colleges and business leaders and calls on employers to more actively partner with educators.Educators and employers are failing to meet the challenge: how to equip enough workers with the skills needed to keep the U.S. economy competitive and fill the millions of vacant positions. Employers complain they cannot find the talent they need—in terms of quantity, quality, and diversity—and critical middle-skills positions go unfilled. At the same time, many students emerge from the community college system unable to find employment in their field of study or at a living wage. Educators struggle to engage employers—in curriculum development; information sharing on fast-changing technical and foundational skills requirements for middle-skills positions; and more.In order to diagnose the problem, the Project on Managing the Future of Work launched a multiyear, multi-method research initiative combining background research and interviews with community college leaders and business executives across the country. The Project then partnered with the American Association of Community Colleges to conduct the first-ever exhaustive survey on the state and trajectory of the partnership between educators and employers, based on a framework of more than 40 concrete actions designed to build a work-ready workforce

Installation of internal electric fields by non-redox active cations in transition metal complexes.

Local electric fields contribute to the high selectivity and catalytic activity in enzyme active sites and confined reaction centers in zeolites by modifying the relative energy of transition states, intermediates and/or products. Proximal charged functionalities can generate equivalent internal electric fields in molecular systems but the magnitude of their effect and impact on electronic structure has been minimally explored. To generate quantitative insight into installing internal fields in synthetic systems, we report an experimental and computational study using transition metal (M1) Schiff base complexes functionalized with a crown ether unit containing a mono- or dicationic alkali or alkaline earth metal ion (M2). The synthesis and characterization of the complexes M1 = Ni(ii) and M2 = Na+ or Ba2+ are reported. The electronic absorption spectra and density functional theory (DFT) calculations establish that the cations generate a robust electric field at the metal, which stabilizes the Ni-based molecular orbitals without significantly changing their relative energies. The stabilization is also reflected in the experimental Ni(ii/i) reduction potentials, which are shifted 0.12 V and 0.34 V positive for M2 = Na+ and Ba2+, respectively, compared to a complex lacking a proximal cation. To compare with the cationic Ni complexes, we also synthesized a series of Ni(salen) complexes modified in the 5' position with electron-donating and -withdrawing functionalities (-CF3, -Cl, -H, -tBu, and -OCH3). Data from this series of compounds provides further evidence that the reduction potential shifts observed in the cationic complexes are not due to inductive ligand effects. DFT studies were also performed on the previously reported monocationic and dicatonic Fe(ii)(CH3CN) and Fe(iii)Cl analogues of this system to analyze the impact of an anionic chloride on the electrostatic potential and electronic structure of the Fe site

An Analysis Of Energy Generating System Concerns

A primary focus of this research project was to collect and analyze data pertaining to operating and maintenance concerns being experienced by owners and operators of energy generating systems and the vendors who supply these systems.  An important purpose in collecting the information from these various groups was to provide some direction to research (both funded and unfunded) relating to specific energy generating system problems currently being experienced or anticipated in the future

Clarinet, Flute and String Ensembles

Kennesaw State University School of Music presents Clarinet, Flute and String Ensembles.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/1727/thumbnail.jp

Refuge or Reservoir? The Potential Impacts of the Biofuel Crop Miscanthus x giganteus on a Major Pest of Maize

BACKGROUND: Interest in the cultivation of biomass crops like the C4 grass Miscanthus x giganteus (Miscanthus) is increasing as global demand for biofuel grows. In the US, Miscanthus is promoted as a crop well-suited to the Corn Belt where it could be cultivated on marginal land interposed with maize and soybean. Interactions (direct and indirect) of Miscanthus, maize, and the major Corn Belt pest of maize, the western corn rootworm, (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, WCR) are unknown. Adding a perennial grass/biomass crop to this system is concerning since WCR is adapted to the continuous availability of its grass host, maize (Zea mays). METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In a greenhouse and field study, we investigated WCR development and oviposition on Miscanthus. The suitability of Miscanthus for WCR development varied across different WCR populations. Data trends indicate that WCR populations that express behavioural resistance to crop rotation performed as well on Miscanthus as on maize. Over the entire study, total adult WCR emergence from Miscanthus (212 WCR) was 29.6% of that from maize (717 WCR). Adult dry weight was 75-80% that of WCR from maize; female emergence patterns on Miscanthus were similar to females developing on maize. There was no difference in the mean no. of WCR eggs laid at the base of Miscanthus and maize in the field. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Field oviposition and significant WCR emergence from Miscanthus raises many questions about the nature of likely interactions between Miscanthus, maize and WCR and the potential for Miscanthus to act as a refuge or reservoir for Corn Belt WCR. Responsible consideration of the benefits and risks associated with Corn Belt Miscanthus are critical to protecting an agroecosystem that we depend on for food, feed, and increasingly, fuel. Implications for European agroecosystems in which Miscanthus is being proposed are also discussed in light of the WCR's recent invasion into Europe