An Object-Oriented Architecture for Field Data Acquisition, Processing and Information Extraction

Software architecture was developed to automate site specific field data acquisition, processing, and geo-referenced crop plant parameters extraction. The architecture supported acquisition and processing of different data streams such as digital video for machine vision and digital serial communications of NMEA strings. The number of channels for data import could be easily expanded for multiple video, GPS, and other signal sources. The architecture was objectoriented and each component in the architecture was developed as a separate class. A key component of this architecture was a supervisor class, which communicated and coordinated the operations on all other classes. Based on this framework, early stage corn population estimation (ESCOPE) software was developed which grabs pre-recorded digital video from a vehicle-mounted camera, that was passed over corn rows, and acquires GPS strings which were modulated and recorded on the audio channel. A digital video (DV) capture class was written to acquire video using Microsoft’s DirectShow® technology which enables camera control and video acquisition using higher level hardware functions. After completion of software development, reusability and extensibility characteristics were demonstrated by adding a class to acquire images from the hard drive and also by deriving a new image analyzer class to extract an additional feature. The architecture forms a general framework for developing reusable and extensible software for field data sensing systems

Untangling the chemical evolution of Titan's atmosphere and surface–from homogeneous to heterogeneous chemistry

The arrival of the Cassini-Huygens probe at Saturn's moon Titan - the only Solar System body besides Earth and Venus with a solid surface and a thick atmosphere with a pressure of 1.4 atm at surface level - in 2004 opened up a new chapter in the history of Solar System exploration. The mission revealed Titan as a world with striking Earth-like landscapes involving hydrocarbon lakes and seas as well as sand dunes and lava-like features interspersed with craters and icy mountains of hitherto unknown chemical composition. The discovery of a dynamic atmosphere and active weather system illustrates further the similarities between Titan and Earth. The aerosol-based haze layers, which give Titan its orange-brownish color, are not only Titan's most prominent optically visible features, but also play a crucial role in determining Titan's thermal structure and chemistry. These smog-like haze layers are thought to be very similar to those that were present in Earth's atmosphere before life developed more than 3.8 billion years ago, absorbing the destructive ultraviolet radiation from the Sun, thus acting as 'prebiotic ozone' to preserve astrobiologically important molecules on Titan. Compared to Earth, Titan's low surface temperature of 94 K and the absence of liquid water preclude the evolution of biological chemistry as we know it. Exactly because of these low temperatures, Titan provides us with a unique prebiotic 'atmospheric laboratory' yielding vital clues - at the frozen stage - on the likely chemical composition of the atmosphere of the primitive Earth. However, the underlying chemical processes, which initiate the haze formation from simple molecules, have been not understood well to date

Non-statistical behavior of reactive scattering in the 18O+32O2 isotope exchange raction

[[sponsorship]]原子與分子科學研究所[[note]]已出版;[SCI];有審查制度;具代表性[[note]]http://gateway.isiknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Drexel&SrcApp=hagerty_opac&KeyRecord=0002-7863&DestApp=JCR&RQ=IF_CAT_BOXPLO

Evaluation of a Simulation-Based Nurse Residency Program

Upon completion of nursing school, new graduate nurses sit for licensure examination to demonstrate the minimal knowledge necessary to practice safely as an entry level nurse. Despite satisfactory completion of this examination, many new graduate nurses lack the competency and confidence to safely practice (Jung, Lee, Kang, & Kim, 2016 & Liaw, Palham, Chan, Wong & Lim, 2014). Traditional models of preceptorship with orientation are not adequately preparing new graduate nurses for practice. Nurse residency programs narrow the gap between demonstrated knowledge and competent practice. Varying types of nurse residency programs have successfully replaced traditional nursing orientation methods across the nation (Letourneau & Fater, 2015). The purpose of this project was to evaluate the pilot simulation-based nurse residency program compared to the traditional nursing orientation model using evidenced based methodology to determine how well the simulation-based nurse residency program is working and identify areas for improvement and sustainability. Evaluation was based on collection of data and evidence through Likert-style surveys and review of documents related to planning and implementation of this program. This newly implemented program has not been evaluated. It is expected that although initial data will show no difference in competence, confidence, job satisfaction or retention between new graduate nurses participating in the simulation-based nurse residency program and those in the traditional nursing orientation, over time, statistically significant differences will emerge, and the simulation-based nurse residency program will become the standard of practice

New participation, new perspectives? Young adults' political engagement using Facebook

2012 Spring.Includes bibliographical references.This thesis was designed to explore how young adults understand and experience political engagement on Facebook. Some scholars suggest that traditional, active forms of political participation may be declining, creating an uncertain future for democracy. However, other findings suggest that young adults may be choosing to engage in politics through non-traditional avenues, including social networking websites. To explore this possibility, this thesis used 20 in-depth interviews to investigate the nature of youth's political participation on Facebook. The data suggest that Facebook is a meaningful space for political engagement among youth, but that engagement on Facebook is not necessarily comparable to traditional definitions of participation. Rather, it is helpful to think about Facebook as a place for political expression and talk. In addition, the data suggest that scholars should not assume study participants share the same definition of politics with each other or with researchers. As a result, this study argues that scholars should adjust their measures of political engagement on Facebook to account for its features that make political participation unique, rather than assuming that non-traditional participation via social networking websites has limited value or meaning

An Object-Oriented Architecture for Field Data Acquisition, Processing and Information Extraction

Software architecture was developed to automate site specific field data acquisition, processing, and geo-referenced crop plant parameters extraction. The architecture supported acquisition and processing of different data streams such as digital video for machine vision and digital serial communications of NMEA strings. The number of channels for data import could be easily expanded for multiple video, GPS, and other signal sources. The architecture was objectoriented and each component in the architecture was developed as a separate class. A key component of this architecture was a supervisor class, which communicated and coordinated the operations on all other classes. Based on this framework, early stage corn population estimation (ESCOPE) software was developed which grabs pre-recorded digital video from a vehicle-mounted camera, that was passed over corn rows, and acquires GPS strings which were modulated and recorded on the audio channel. A digital video (DV) capture class was written to acquire video using Microsoft’s DirectShow® technology which enables camera control and video acquisition using higher level hardware functions. After completion of software development, reusability and extensibility characteristics were demonstrated by adding a class to acquire images from the hard drive and also by deriving a new image analyzer class to extract an additional feature. The architecture forms a general framework for developing reusable and extensible software for field data sensing systems.ASAE Paper No. 033089</p

The Local Uranium Environment in Cesium Uranates: A Combined XPS, XAS, XRD, and Neutron Diffraction Analysis

International audienc