Passive RFID Rotation Dimension Reduction via Aggregation

Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) has applications in object identification, position, and orientation tracking. RFID technology can be applied in hospitals for patient and equipment tracking, stores and warehouses for product tracking, robots for self-localisation, tracking hazardous materials, or locating any other desired object. Efficient and accurate algorithms that perform localisation are required to extract meaningful data beyond simple identification. A Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) is the strength of a received radio frequency signal used to localise passive and active RFID tags. Many factors affect RSSI such as reflections, tag rotation in 3D space, and obstacles blocking line-of-sight. LANDMARC is a statistical method for estimating tag location based on a target tag’s similarity to surrounding reference tags. LANDMARC does not take into account the rotation of the target tag. By either aggregating multiple reference tag positions at various rotations, or by determining a rotation value for a newly read tag, we can perform an expected value calculation based on a comparison to the k-most similar training samples via an algorithm called K-Nearest Neighbours (KNN) more accurately. By choosing the average as the aggregation function, we improve the relative accuracy of single-rotation LANDMARC localisation by 10%, and any-rotation localisation by 20%

An Abridged History of the Computer as it Pertains to Diagnostic Medical Imaging

The personal computer has been integrated into the fabric of everyday life, medical imaging is no different. In this article the author introduces a brief historical study of the developments that have led to the modern computer. Emphasis is placed on the computer in medical imaging

Knowledge and Beliefs about Cancer in African American Population

Cancer is the second most common cause of death in the United States, taking the lives of one in four Americans each year (American Cancer Society [ACS], 2015). A total of 1,658,370 new cancer cases and 589,430 deaths from cancer were projected to occur in the United States in 2015 (ACS, 2015). In 2013, approximately 176,630 new cancer cases and 64,880 deaths from cancer were projected to occur in African American communities. The majority of diagnoses were cancers of the prostate, lung, colon, rectum, breast, and colorectal region (ACS, 2013). For most cancers, African Americans have the highest death rate, and shortest survival rate, of any racial or ethnic sub-groups (ACS, 2013). Individual perception, knowledge, beliefs, and awareness systems can influence the cancer evaluation process and the ability to fight the disease. The health belief model (HBM) is a conceptual framework used to explain an individual’s behavior based on the individual’s belief or perception. This paper reports on an analysis of a sample of self-identified African American respondents to the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) data HINT4 cycle3, to explore an association of African Americans’ knowledge, beliefs and the processes of cancer information-seeking behavior based on the HBM and demographic information. The results showed that African Americans with a higher level of education were significantly more likely to access common sources of cancer information. Perceived benefits and cues-to-action were significantly associated with the common sources of cancer information sought whereas perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived barrier, and self-efficacy were not. African Americans’ perceptions and beliefs of cancer may be enhanced through health education, mass media campaigns, and a wider availability of health information online

Heat flow in InAs/InP heterostructure nanowires

The transfer of heat between electrons and phonons plays a key role for thermal management in future nanowire-based devices, but only a few experimental measurements of electron-phonon (e-ph) coupling in nanowires are available. Here, we combine experimental temperature measurements on an InAs/InP heterostructure nanowire system with finite element modeling (FEM) to extract information on heat flow mediated by e-ph coupling. We find that the electron and phonon temperatures in our system are highly coupled even at temperatures as low as 2 K. Additionally, we find evidence that the usual power-law temperature dependence of electron-phonon coupling may not correctly describe the coupling in nanowires and show that this result is consistent with previous research on similar one-dimensional electron systems. We also compare the strength of the observed e-ph coupling to a theoretical analysis of e-ph interaction in InAs nanowires, which predicts a significantly weaker coupling strength than observed experimentally.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure

Preliminary definition of a lunar landing and launch facility (Complex 39L)

A preliminary definition of a lunar landing and launch facility has been formulated. A permanently manned lunar base and a baseline lunar module are assumed. The major features of the facility are specified and major design areas are described

A Tale Of Two Countries: What The United States Can Learn From Brazil About Reducing Dependence On Foreign Oil

Dependence on foreign oil by the United States of America creates massive problems from the economic, environmental, and national security perspectives. In recognition of this reality, the USA embarked upon an energy independence plan in the mid-1970s, following the Arab oil embargo that accompanied the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Unfortunately, this effort has failed to the extent that the USA is more dependent upon foreign oil today than it was in 1976. At about the same time that the USA initiated its energy effort, a similar effort was also initiated in the South American nation of Brazil, which like the USA was alarmingly dependent upon foreign oil and had sustained substantial economic hardship as a result of the Arab embargo. Today, Brazil is substantially energy independent, and in fact exports oil to the USA. Obviously, Brazil implemented a more effective energy independence effort than did the USA. Lessons which the author believes may be learned from the Brazilian experience are that solving the problem requires that all possible solutions be pursued simultaneously with maximum vigor, that maximum use should be made of existing usable technology rather than waiting for laboratory-scale technologies to be perfected, and that solutions will be reached much faster if the private sector is actively engaged in a cooperative rather than adversarial manner. With these principles in mind, we review available alternatives and propose a comprehensive energy strategy that reduces the USA’s dependence on foreign oil in the short run, and ultimately eliminates that dependence in the long run. We further enunciate reasons for believing that such an integrated strategy is far superior to any effort to address the problem by focusing solely upon conservation, or alternative fuels, or “drill here, drill now,” to the exclusion or minimization of the other approaches. We conclude with a proposed plan for implementing the “all hands on deck” approach to energy independence