Aircraft scanner data availability via the version 0 Information Management System

As part of the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) development, NASA and other government agencies have developed an operational prototype of the Information Management System (IMS). The IMS provides access to the data archived at the Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAAC's) that allows users to search through metadata describing the (image) data. Criteria based on sensor name or type, date and time, and geographic location are used to search the archive. Graphical representations of coverage and browse images are available to further refine a user's selection. previously, the EROS Data Center (EDC) DAAC had identified the Advanced SOlid-state Array Spectrometer (ASAS), Airborne Visible and infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS), NS-001, and Thermal Infrared Multispectral Scanner (TIMS) as precursor data sets similar to those the DAAC will handle in the Earth Observing System era. Currently, the EDC DAAC staff, in cooperation with NASA, has transcribed TIMS, NS-001, and Thematic Mapper Simulation (TMS) data from Ames Research Center and also TIMS data from Stennis Space Center. During the transcription process, the IMS metadata and browse images were created to populate the inventory at the EDC DAAC. These data sets are now available in the IMS and may be requested from the any of the DAAC's via the IMS

AVIRIS and TIMS data processing and distribution at the land processes distributed active archive center

The U.S. Government has initiated the Global Change Research program, a systematic study of the Earth as a complete system. NASA's contribution of the Global Change Research Program is the Earth Observing System (EOS), a series of orbital sensor platforms and an associated data processing and distribution system. The EOS Data and Information System (EOSDIS) is the archiving, production, and distribution system for data collected by the EOS space segment and uses a multilayer architecture for processing, archiving, and distributing EOS data. The first layer consists of the spacecraft ground stations and processing facilities that receive the raw data from the orbiting platforms and then separate the data by individual sensors. The second layer consists of Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAAC) that process, distribute, and archive the sensor data. The third layer consists of a user science processing network. The EOSDIS is being developed in a phased implementation. The initial phase, Version 0, is a prototype of the operational system. Version 0 activities are based upon existing systems and are designed to provide an EOSDIS-like capability for information management and distribution. An important science support task is the creation of simulated data sets for EOS instruments from precursor aircraft or satellite data. The Land Processes DAAC, at the EROS Data Center (EDC), is responsible for archiving and processing EOS precursor data from airborne instruments such as the Thermal Infrared Multispectral Scanner (TIMS), the Thematic Mapper Simulator (TMS), and Airborne Visible and Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS). AVIRIS, TIMS, and TMS are flown by the NASA-Ames Research Center ARC) on an ER-2. The ER-2 flies at 65000 feet and can carry up to three sensors simultaneously. Most jointly collected data sets are somewhat boresighted and roughly registered. The instrument data are being used to construct data sets that simulate the spectral and spatial characteristics of the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument scheduled to be flown on the first EOS-AM spacecraft. The ASTER is designed to acquire 14 channels of land science data in the visible and near-IR (VNIR), shortwave-IR (SWIR), and thermal-IR (TIR) regions from 0.52 micron to 11.65 micron at high spatial resolutions of 15 m to 90 m. Stereo data will also be acquired in the VNIR region in a single band. The AVIRIS and TMS cover the ASTER VNIR and SWIR bands, and the TIMS covers the TIR bands. Simulated ASTER data sets have been generated over Death Valley, California, Cuprite, Nevada, and the Drum Mountains, Utah using a combination of AVIRIS, TIMS, amd TMS data, and existing digital elevation models (DEM) for the topographic information

The AGRHYMET data communications project

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) are providing technical assistance to the AGRHYMET program in West Africa. AGRHYMET staff use remote sensing technology to produce satellite image maps of the Sahel region of West Africa. These image maps may show vegetation greenness, sea surface temperatures, or processed weather satellite imagery. The image maps must be distributed from the AGRHYMET Regional Center in Niger to national AGRHYMET centers in the member countries of Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Chad, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal. After consideration of a number of land- and space-based solutions for image map distribution, the best solution was determined to be use of International Maritime Satellite Organization (INMARSAT) land-based terminals. In April 1992, a field test and proof-of-concept demonstration using land-mobile terminals produced favorable results. The USGS and USAID are setting up a wide area network using INMARSAT terminals to link the AGRHYMET sites for image data transfer. The system is in the procurement and installation phase and initial opening capability may be operational for the 1993 growing season, starting in May 1993

Polycrystalline Yttrium Aluminum Garnet Fibers from Colloidal Sols

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66320/1/j.1151-2916.1995.tb08626.x.pd

Vehicle-Level Reasoning Systems: Integrating System-Wide Data to Estimate the Instantaneous Health State

At the aircraft level, a Vehicle-Level Reasoning System (VLRS) can be developed to provide aircraft with at least two significant capabilities: improvement of aircraft safety due to enhanced monitoring and reasoning about the aircrafts health state, and also potential cost savings by enabling Condition Based Maintenance (CBM). Along with the benefits of CBM, an important challenge facing aviation safety today is safeguarding against system and component failures and malfunctions. Faults can arise in one or more aircraft subsystem their effects in one system may propagate to other subsystems, and faults may interact

Single donor ionization energies in a nanoscale CMOS channel

One consequence of the continued downwards scaling of transistors is the reliance on only a few discrete atoms to dope the channel, and random fluctuations of the number of these dopants is already a major issue in the microelectonics industry. While single-dopant signatures have been observed at low temperature, studying the impact of only one dopant up to room temperature requires extremely small lengths. Here, we show that a single arsenic dopant dramatically affects the off-state behavior of an advanced microelectronics field effect transistor (FET) at room temperature. Furthermore, the ionization energy of this dopant should be profoundly modified by the close proximity of materials with a different dielectric constant than the host semiconductor. We measure a strong enhancement, from 54meV to 108meV, of the ionization energy of an arsenic atom located near the buried oxide. This enhancement is responsible for the large current below threshold at room temperature and therefore explains the large variability in these ultra-scaled transistors. The results also suggest a path to incorporating quantum functionalities into silicon CMOS devices through manipulation of single donor orbitals

Rubidium extraction using an organic polymer encapsulated potassium copper hexacyanoferrate sorbent

© 2016 Elsevier B.V. Sea water reverse osmosis (SWRO) brine contains significant quantity of Rb. As an economically valuable metal, extracting Rb using a suitable and selective extraction method would be beneficial. An inorganic sorbent, copper based potassium hexacyanoferrate (KCuFC), exhibited high selectivity to extract Rb compared to potassium hexacyanoferrate consisting of other transition metal combinations such as Ni, Co and Fe. An organic polymer (polyacrylonitrile, PAN) encapsulated KCuFC (KCuFC-PAN) achieved a Langmuir maximum Rb sorption capacity of 1.23 mmol/g at pH 7.0 ± 0.5. KCuFC-PAN showed Rb selectivity over a wide concentration range of co-existing ions and salinity of SWRO brine. High salinity (0.5–2.5 M NaCl) resulted in 12–30% sorption capacity reduction. At a molar ratio of Li:Rb (21:1), Cs:Rb (0.001:1) and Ca:Rb (14,700:1) commonly found in SWRO brine, sorption reduction of only 18% occurred. Nevertheless, at a very high K:Rb molar ratio (7700:1), KCuFC-PAN sorption capacity of Rb reduced significantly by 65–70%. KCuFC-PAN was well suited for column operation. In a fixed-bed KCuFC-PAN column (influent concentration 0.06 mmol Rb/L, flow velocity 2 m/h), two sorption/desorption cycles were successfully achieved with a maximum Rb sorption capacity of 1.01 (closely similar to the batch study) and 0.85 mmol/g in the first and second cycles, respectively. Around 95% of Rb was desorbed from the column with 0.2 M KCl. Resorcinol formaldehyde (RF) resin showed promising results of separating Rb from K/Rb mixed solution in effluents from a fixed-bed column, and a subsequent sequential acid desorption, producing 68% purified Rb

Exclusion of Class III malocclusion candidate loci in Brazilian families

The role played by genetic components in the etiology of the Class III phenotype, a class of dental malocclusion, is not yet understood. Regions that may be related to the development of Class III malocclusion have been suggested previously. The aim of this study was to search for genetic linkage with 6 microsatellite markers (D1S234, D4S3038, D6S1689, D7S503, D10S1483, and D19S566), near previously proposed candidate regions for Class III. We performed a two-point parametric linkage analysis for 42 affected individuals from 10 Brazilian families with a positive Class III malocclusion segregation. Analysis of our data indicated that there was no evidence for linkage of any of the 6 microsatellite markers to a Class III locus at = zero, with data supporting exclusion for 5 of the 6 markers evaluated. The present work reinforces that Class III is likely to demonstrate locus heterogeneity, and there is a dependency of the genetic background of the population in linkage studies

Design of an electrochemical micromachining machine

Electrochemical micromachining (μECM) is a non-conventional machining process based on the phenomenon of electrolysis. μECM became an attractive area of research due to the fact that this process does not create any defective layer after machining and that there is a growing demand for better surface integrity on different micro applications including microfluidics systems, stress-free drilled holes in automotive and aerospace manufacturing with complex shapes, etc. This work presents the design of a next generation μECM machine for the automotive, aerospace, medical and metrology sectors. It has three axes of motion (X, Y, Z) and a spindle allowing the tool-electrode to rotate during machining. The linear slides for each axis use air bearings with linear DC brushless motors and 2-nm resolution encoders for ultra precise motion. The control system is based on the Power PMAC motion controller from Delta Tau. The electrolyte tank is located at the rear of the machine and allows the electrolyte to be changed quickly. This machine features two process control algorithms: fuzzy logic control and adaptive feed rate. A self-developed pulse generator has been mounted and interfaced with the machine and a wire ECM grinding device has been added. The pulse generator has the possibility to reverse the pulse polarity for on-line tool fabrication.The research reported in this paper is supported by the European Commission within the project “Minimizing Defects in Micro-Manufacturing Applications (MIDEMMA)” (FP7-2011-NMPICT- FoF-285614)

miR-30 Family Controls Proliferation and Differentiation of Intestinal Epithelial Cell Models by Directing a Broad Gene Expression Program That Includes SOX9 and the Ubiquitin Ligase Pathway

Proliferation and differentiation of intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) occur in part through precise regulation of key transcription factors, such as SOX9. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as prominent fine-tuners of transcription factor expression and activity. We hypothesized that miRNAs, in part through the regulation of SOX9, may mediate IEC homeostasis. Bioinformatic analyses of the SOX9 3′-UTR revealed highly conserved target sites for nine different miRNAs. Of these, only the miR-30 family members were both robustly and variably expressed across functionally distinct cell types of the murine jejunal epithelium. Inhibition of miR-30 using complementary locked nucleic acids (LNA30bcd) in both human IECs and human colorectal adenocarcinoma-derived Caco-2 cells resulted in significant up-regulation of SOX9 mRNA but, interestingly, significant down-regulation of SOX9 protein. To gain mechanistic insight into this non-intuitive finding, we performed RNA sequencing on LNA30bcd-treated human IECs and found 2440 significantly increased genes and 2651 significantly decreased genes across three time points. The up-regulated genes are highly enriched for both predicted miR-30 targets, as well as genes in the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. Chemical suppression of the proteasome rescued the effect of LNA30bcd on SOX9 protein levels, indicating that the regulation of SOX9 protein by miR-30 is largely indirect through the proteasome pathway. Inhibition of the miR-30 family led to significantly reduced IEC proliferation and a dramatic increase in markers of enterocyte differentiation. This in-depth analysis of a complex miRNA regulatory program in intestinal epithelial cell models provides novel evidence that the miR-30 family likely plays an important role in IEC homeostasis