Using Unmanned Aerial Systems for Deriving Forest Stand Characteristics in Mixed Hardwoods of West Virginia

Forest inventory information is a principle driver for forest management decisions. Information gathered through these inventories provides a summary of the condition of forested stands. The method by which remote sensing aids land managers is changing rapidly. Imagery produced from unmanned aerial systems (UAS) offer high temporal and spatial resolutions to small-scale forest management. UAS imagery is less expensive and easier to coordinate to meet project needs compared to traditional manned aerial imagery. This study focused on producing an efficient and approachable work flow for producing forest stand board volume estimates from UAS imagery in mixed hardwood stands of West Virginia. A supplementary aim of this project was to evaluate which season was best to collect imagery for forest inventory. True color imagery was collected with a DJI Phantom 3 Professional UAS and was processed in Agisoft Photoscan Professional. Automated tree crown segmentation was performed with Trimble eCognition Developer’s multi-resolution segmentation function with manual optimization of parameters through an iterative process. Individual tree volume metrics were derived from field data relationships and volume estimates were processed in EZ CRUZ forest inventory software. The software, at best, correctly segmented 43% of the individual tree crowns. No correlation between season of imagery acquisition and quality of segmentation was shown. Volume and other stand characteristics were not accurately estimated and were faulted by poor segmentation. However, the imagery was able to capture gaps consistently and provide a visualization of forest health. Difficulties, successes and time required for these procedures were thoroughly noted

Paper Session II-C - Assured Access To and Use of Space: A Military Perspective

On 23 September 1985, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) formed the Unified Space Command (USSPACECOM) with headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The components of the new command are the Air Force Space Command, the Naval Space Command, and the Army Element. General Robert T. Herres was named Commander-in- Chief of the Aerospace Defense Command (ADCOM) which began deactivation after formation of USSPACECOM. The missions of ADCOM were divided between USSPACECOM and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Those ADCOM missions reassigned to USSPACECOM are Attack Warning/Attack Assessment and Space Defense, renamed Space Control. Space Support, a previously unassigned space operation, was also assigned to CINC USSPACECOM or CINCSPACE. Formation of USSPACECOM is an acknowledgement of the extent to which the National Command Authorities (NCA) and worldwide air, land, sea, and other space operational forces depend on the missions which space systems perform. CINCSPACE is responsible through the JCS to the NCA for conducting effective military space operations and integrating them into the military operations of the traditional forces. Space operations, therefore, will become more responsive to NCA direction and to the operational needs of the unified and specified CINCs. The JCS tasked CINCSPACE TO maintain assured access to and use of space for the U.S. and her allies at all times. 3 The purpose of this paper is to examine that task. What are the basic elements of space operations? How important are they? Is there a threat? If so, are U.S. space systems and operations strong enough to survive in the face of a determined effort to defeat them

Identification of a WNT5A-Responsive Degradation Domain in the Kinesin Superfamily Protein KIF26B.

Noncanonical WNT pathways function independently of the β-catenin transcriptional co-activator to regulate diverse morphogenetic and pathogenic processes. Recent studies showed that noncanonical WNTs, such as WNT5A, can signal the degradation of several downstream effectors, thereby modulating these effectors' cellular activities. The protein domain(s) that mediates the WNT5A-dependent degradation response, however, has not been identified. By coupling protein mutagenesis experiments with a flow cytometry-based degradation reporter assay, we have defined a protein domain in the kinesin superfamily protein KIF26B that is essential for WNT5A-dependent degradation. We found that a human disease-causing KIF26B mutation located at a conserved amino acid within this domain compromises the ability of WNT5A to induce KIF26B degradation. Using pharmacological perturbation, we further uncovered a role of glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) in WNT5A regulation of KIF26B degradation. Lastly, based on the identification of the WNT5A-responsive domain, we developed a new reporter system that allows for efficient profiling of WNT5A-KIF26B signaling activity in both somatic and stem cells. In conclusion, our study identifies a new protein domain that mediates WNT5A-dependent degradation of KIF26B and provides a new tool for functional characterization of noncanonical WNT5A signaling in cells

Study of localization in the quantum sawtooth map emulated on a quantum information processor

Quantum computers will be unique tools for understanding complex quantum systems. We report an experimental implementation of a sensitive, quantum coherence-dependent localization phenomenon on a quantum information processor (QIP). The localization effect was studied by emulating the dynamics of the quantum sawtooth map in the perturbative regime on a three-qubit QIP. Our results show that the width of the probability distribution in momentum space remained essentially unchanged with successive iterations of the sawtooth map, a result that is consistent with localization. The height of the peak relative to the baseline of the probability distribution did change, a result that is consistent with our QIP being an ensemble of quantum systems with a distribution of errors over the ensemble. We further show that the previously measured distributions of control errors correctly account for the observed changes in the probability distribution.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figure

Flexible fluoropolymer filled protective coatings

Metal oxide films such as SiO2 are known to provide an effective barrier to the transport of moisture as well as gaseous species through polymeric films. Such thin film coatings have a tendency to crack upon flexure of the polymeric substrate. Sputter co-deposition of SiO2 with 4 to 15 percent fluoropolymers was demonstrated to produce thin films with glass-like barrier properties that have significant increases in strain to failure over pure glass films which improves their tolerance to flexure on polymeric substrates. Deposition techniques capable of producing these films on polymeric substrates are suitable for durable food packaging and oxidation/corrosion protection applications

Fidelity enhancement by logical qubit encoding

We demonstrate coherent control of two logical qubits encoded in a decoherence free subspace (DFS) of four dipolar-coupled protons in an NMR quantum information processor. A pseudo-pure fiducial state is created in the DFS, and a unitary logical qubit entangling operator evolves the system to a logical Bell state. The four-spin molecule is partially aligned by a liquid crystal solvent, which introduces strong dipolar couplings among the spins. Although the system Hamiltonian is never fully specified, we demonstrate high fidelity control over the logical degrees of freedom. In fact, the DFS encoding leads to higher fidelity control than is available in the full four-spin Hilbert space.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Glucose versus Amylase Resistant Starch Hypo-Osmolar Oral Rehydration Solution for Adult Acute Dehydrating Diarrhea

Background: Reduction of gross diarrhea rate in excess of that seen over time with intravenous therapy and appropriate antibiotics is not usually achieved by oral glucose-electrolyte rehydration therapy for cholera and cholera-like diarrheas. Methodology and Principal Findings: This prospective randomized clinical trial at a tertiary referral hospital in southern India was undertaken to determine whether amylase resistant starch, substituting for glucose in hypo-osmolar oral rehydration solution, would reduce diarrhea duration and weight in adults with acute severe dehydrating diarrhea. 50 adult males with severe watery diarrhea of less than three days' duration and moderate to severe dehydration were randomized to receive hypo-osmolar ORS (HO-ORS) or HO-ORS in which amylase resistant high amylose maize starch 50g/L substituted for glucose (HAMS-ORS). All remaining therapy followed standard protocol. Duration of diarrhea (ORS commencement to first formed stool) in hours was significantly shorter with HAMS-ORS (median 19, IQR 10-28) compared to HO-ORS (median 42, IQR 24-50) (Bonferroni adjusted P, P-adj < 0.001). Survival analysis (Kaplan-Meier) showed faster recovery from diarrhea in the HAMS-ORS group (P < 0.001, log rank test). Total diarrhea fecal weight in grams (median, IQR) was not significantly lower in the HAMS-ORS group (2190, 1160-5635) compared to HO-ORS (5210, 2095-12190) (P-adj = 0.08). However, stool weight at 13-24 hours (280, 0-965 vs. 1360, 405-2985) and 25-48 hours (0, 0-360 vs. 1080, 55-3485) were significantly lower in HAMS-ORS compared to HO-ORS group (Padj = 0.048 and P = 0.012, respectively). ORS intake after first 24 hours was lower in the HAMS-ORS group. Subgroup analysis of patients with culture isolates of Vibrio cholerae indicated similar significant differences between the treatment groups. Conclusions: Compared to HO-ORS, HAMS-ORS reduced diarrhea duration by 55% and significantly reduced fecal weight after the first 12 hours of ORS therapy in adults with cholera-like diarrhea