Real-Time Analysis of Large Astronomical Images

Forthcoming instruments designed for high-cadence large-area surveys, such as the Dark Energy Survey and Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, will generate several GB of data products every few minutes during survey operations. Since such surveys are designed to operate with minimal observer interaction, automated real-time analysis of these large images is necessary to ensure uninterrupted production of science-quality data. We describe a software infrastructure suite designed to support such surveys, focusing particularly on ImageHealth, a tool for near-real-time processing of large images. These image manipulation and analysis algorithms were applied to simulated data from the Dark Energy Survey, as well as observed data collected by the Y4KCam on the CTIO 1m telescope and the Mosaic camera on the Blanco telescope. The accuracy and speed of the ImageHealth code in particular were benchmarked against results from SourceExtractor, a standard image analysis tool ubiquitous in the astronomical community. ImageHealth is shown to provide comparable accuracy to SourceExtractor, but with significantly shorter execution time. Based on the importance of real-time analysis in reaching the Dark Energy Survey's science goals, ImageHealth and other aspects of this analysis package were incorporated (in modified form) into the Survey Image System Process Integration, the Dark Energy Camera software control environment. The original ImageHealth code, however, is completely instrument-independent, and is freely available for use within other observational data-taking environments.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, Accepted to Journal of Astronomical Instrumentation. Related software available online at the Astrophysics Source Code Library (http:/ascl.net

QCD Corrections to Hadronic Z and tau Decays

We present a brief (mainly bibliographical) report on recently performed calculations of terms of order O(\alpha_s^4 n_f^2) and O(\alpha_s^4 n_f^2 m_q^2) for hadronic Z and \tau decay rates. A few details about the analytical evaluation of the masters integrals appearing in the course of calculations are presented.Comment: revised version (some references corrected); 3 pages, talk given at International Europhysics Conference on High Energy Physics, Aachen, Germany, 17-23 July 200

Planning a Rural Fire Protection Service

Fire remains one of the major problems of this country and causes more loss of life and property than all natural disasters combined. Small towns and rural areas reported a greater frequency of fires with higher death rates and dollar losses per capita than larger cities and metropolitan areas. As more people move into small towns and rural areas, provision of adequate fire protection services becomes even more important. The following information can assist local decision makers in planning new or additional fire services.Reviewed October 1993

On the use of blow up to study regularizations of singularities of piecewise smooth dynamical systems in R3\mathbb{R}^3

In this paper we use the blow up method of Dumortier and Roussarie \cite{dumortier_1991,dumortier_1993,dumortier_1996}, in the formulation due to Krupa and Szmolyan \cite{krupa_extending_2001}, to study the regularization of singularities of piecewise smooth dynamical systems \cite{filippov1988differential} in $\mathbb R^3$. Using the regularization method of Sotomayor and Teixeira \cite{Sotomayor96}, first we demonstrate the power of our approach by considering the case of a fold line. We quickly recover a main result of Bonet and Seara \cite{reves_regularization_2014} in a simple manner. Then, for the two-fold singularity, we show that the regularized system only fully retains the features of the singular canards in the piecewise smooth system in the cases when the sliding region does not include a full sector of singular canards. In particular, we show that every locally unique primary singular canard persists the regularizing perturbation. For the case of a sector of primary singular canards, we show that the regularized system contains a canard, provided a certain non-resonance condition holds. Finally, we provide numerical evidence for the existence of secondary canards near resonance.Comment: To appear in SIAM Journal of Applied Dynamical System

Development of a technical assistance framework for building organizational capacity of health programs in resource-limited settings

Background Little information exists on the technical assistance needs of local indigenous organizations charged with managing HIV care and treatment programs funded by the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). This paper describes the methods used to adapt the Primary Care Assessment Tool (PCAT) framework, which has successfully strengthened HIV primary care services in the US, into one that could strengthen the capacity of local partners to deliver priority health programs in resource-constrained settings by identifying their specific technical assistance needs. Methods Qualitative methods and inductive reasoning approaches were used to conceptualize and adapt the new Clinical Assessment for Systems Strengthening (ClASS) framework. Stakeholder interviews, comparisons of existing assessment tools, and a pilot test helped determine the overall ClASS framework for use in low-resource settings. The framework was further refined one year post-ClASS implementation. Results Stakeholder interviews, assessment of existing tools, a pilot process and the one-year post- implementation assessment informed the adaptation of the ClASS framework for assessing and strengthening technical and managerial capacities of health programs at three levels: international partner, local indigenous partner, and local partner treatment facility. The PCAT focus on organizational strengths and systems strengthening was retained and implemented in the ClASS framework and approach. A modular format was chosen to allow the use of administrative, fiscal and clinical modules in any combination and to insert new modules as needed by programs. The pilot led to refined pre-visit planning, informed review team composition, increased visit duration, and restructured modules. A web-based toolkit was developed to capture three years of experiential learning; this kit can also be used for independent implementation of the ClASS framework. Conclusions A systematic adaptation process has produced a qualitative framework that can inform implementation strategies in support of country led HIV care and treatment programs. The framework, as a well-received iterative process focused on technical assistance, may have broader utility in other global programs