Intelligent multi-sensor integrations

Growth in the intelligence of space systems requires the use and integration of data from multiple sensors. Generic tools are being developed for extracting and integrating information obtained from multiple sources. The full spectrum is addressed for issues ranging from data acquisition, to characterization of sensor data, to adaptive systems for utilizing the data. In particular, there are three major aspects to the project, multisensor processing, an adaptive approach to object recognition, and distributed sensor system integration

A phantom force induced by the tunneling current, characterized on Si(111)

Simultaneous measurements of tunneling currents and atomic forces on surfaces and adsorbates provide new insights into the electronic and structural properties of matter on the atomic scale. We report on experimental observations and calculations of a strong impact the tunneling current can have on the measured force, which arises when the resistivity of the sample cannot be neglected. We present a study on Si(111)-7\times7 with various doping levels, but this effect is expected to occur on other low-conductance samples like adsorbed molecules, and is likely to strongly affect Kelvin probe measurements on the atomic scale.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitte

Bulletin No. 22: Our Dynamic Tidal Marshes: Vegetation Changes as Revealed by Peat Analysis

12 pp. 1976. Description of a method for sampling peat and identifying plant remains in order to dcoument vegetation change on tidal marshes

Serum PCB levels and congener profiles among US construction workers

Abstract Background The presence of PCB in caulking (sealant) material found in masonry buildings has been well-documented in several countries. A recent investigation of 24 buildings in the greater Boston area found that 8 buildings had high PCB levels in caulking materials used around window frames and in joints between masonry blocks. Workers removing caulking material have been shown to have elevated serum PCB levels. Methods This project compared serum PCB levels among male workers who installed and/or removed PCB-containing caulking material from buildings in the greater Boston area with reference serum PCB levels from 358 men from the same area. Serum PCB levels were measured in the same laboratory by liquid-liquid extraction, column chromatography clean-up and dual capillary column GC/microECD analysis. Results When the congener profiles were compared between the reference population and the construction workers, the serum levels of the more volatile, lighter PCBs (di-, tri-and tetrachloro, sum of IUPAC# 6–74) were substantially higher among the construction workers. One of the youngest workers had the lowest total serum PCB levels (sum of 57 congeners) of all 6 workers, but the contribution of more volatile (less chlorinated) PCB congeners (#16, 26,28,33,74,66, and 60) was markedly higher than in other 5 workers and reference men. Only this worker was working on a job that involved removing PCB caulking at the time of the blood sampling. Conclusion While the results of this pilot study are based upon small numbers (6 construction workers who handled PCB caulking), the serum PCB levels among the construction workers exceed the referents. Comparison of the congener profiles suggests that there are substantial differences between the construction workers and the general population samples. These differences, and the similarities of profiles among the construction workers strongly suggest that occupational contact with caulking material can be a major source of PCB exposure for construction workers.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/117256/1/12940_2007_Article_124.pd

Pharmacological characterization of the excitatory ‘Cys‐loop’ GABA receptor family in Caenorhabditis elegans

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136449/1/bph13736.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136449/2/bph13736_am.pd

Soil Contamination from PCB-Containing Buildings

BACKGROUND: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in construction materials, such as caulking used around windows and expansion joints, may constitute a source of PCB contamination in the building interiors and in surrounding soil. Several studies of soil contamination have been conducted around buildings where the caulking has been removed by grinding or scraping. The PCBs in soil may have been generated in the process of removing the caulking, but natural weathering and deterioration of the caulking may have also been a source. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to measure PCB levels in soil surrounding buildings where PCB-containing caulk was still in place, and to evaluate the mobility of the PCBs from caulking using the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Method 1311). DISCUSSION: We found soil PCB contamination ranging from 3.3 to 34 mg/kg around buildings with undisturbed caulking that contained 10,000–36,200 mg/kg PCBs. The results of the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (leachate concentrations of 76–288 mg PCB/L) suggest that PCBs in caulking can be mobilized, apparently as complexes with dissolved organic matter that also leach off the caulking material. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: Although these new findings are based on a small sample size, they demonstrate the need for a national survey of PCBs in building materials and in soil surrounding these buildings. Because the buildings constructed during the time the PCB caulking was in use (1960s and 1970s) include schools, hospitals, and apartment buildings, the potential for exposure of children is a particular concern. It is necessary to reconsider the practice of disposing of old PCB caulking removed during building renovations in conventional landfills, given the apparent mobility of PCBs from the caulking material. Disposal of some caulking material in nonhazardous landfills might lead to high PCB levels in landfill leachate

Computational Naval Ship Hydrodynamics

The primary purpose of our research efforts is to improve naval design and detection capabilities. Our current research efforts leverage high performance computing (HPC) resources to perform high-resolution numerical simulations with hundreds-of-millions to billions of unknowns to study wave breaking behind a transom stern, wave-impact loading, the generation of spray by high-speed planing craft, air entrainment by plunging breaking waves, forced-motion, and storm seas. This paper focuses on the air entrainment and free-surface turbulence in the flow behind a transom-stern and wave-impact loading on marine platforms. Two codes, Numerical Flow Analysis (NFA) and Boundary Data Immersion Method (BDIM), are used in this study. Both codes are Cartesian-based Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) formulations, and use either Volume-of-Fluid (VOF) (NFA) or conservative Volume-of-Fluid (cVOF) BDIM treatments to track the free-surface interface. The first project area discussed is the flow behind the transom stern. BDIM simulations are used to study the volume of entrained air behind the stern. The application of a Lagrangian bubble-extraction algorithm elucidates the location of air cavities in the wake and the bubble-size distribution for a flow that has over 10 percent void fraction. NFA simulations of the transom-stern flow are validated by comparing the numerical simulations to experiments performed at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division (NSWCCD), where good agreement between simulations and experiments is obtained for mean elevations and regions of white water in the wake. The second project area discussed is wave impact loading, a topic driven by recent structural failures of high-speed planing vessels and other advanced vehicles, as well as the devastation caused by Tsunamis impacting low-lying coastal areas. NFA simulations of wave breaking events are compared to the NSWCCD cube impact experiments and the Oregon State University, O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratories Tsunami experiments, and it is shown that NFA is able to accurately simulate the propagation of waves over long distances after which it also accurately predicts highly-energetic impact events. © 2011 IEEE.United States. Office of Naval Research (N00014-07-C-0184)United States. Office of Naval Research (N00014-01-1-0124

A parallel algorithm for determining two-dimensional object positions using incomplete information about their boundaries

Extraction of two-dimensional object locations using current techniques is a computationally intensive process. In this paper a parallel algorithm is presented that can specify the location of objects from edge streaks produced by an edge operator. Best-first searches are carried out in a number of non-interacting and localized edge streak spaces. The outcome of each search is a hypothesis. Each edge streak votes for a single hypothesis; it may also take part in the formation of other hypotheses. A poll of the votes determined the stronger hypotheses. The algorithm can be used as a front end to a visual pattern recognition system where features are extracted from the hypothesized object boundary or from the area localized by the hypothesized boundary.Experimental results from a biomedical domain are presented.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/28103/1/0000551.pd

Altered transmission of HOX and apoptotic SNPs identify a potential common pathway for clubfoot.

Clubfoot is a common birth defect that affects 135,000 newborns each year worldwide. It is characterized by equinus deformity of one or both feet and hypoplastic calf muscles. Despite numerous study approaches, the cause(s) remains poorly understood although a multifactorial etiology is generally accepted. We considered the HOXA and HOXD gene clusters and insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3 (IGFBP3) as candidate genes because of their important roles in limb and muscle morphogenesis. Twenty SNPs from the HOXA and HOXD gene clusters and 12 SNPs in IGFBP3 were genotyped in a sample composed of non-Hispanic white and Hispanic multiplex and simplex families (discovery samples) and a second sample of non-Hispanic white simplex trios (validation sample). Four SNPs (rs6668, rs2428431, rs3801776, and rs3779456) in the HOXA cluster demonstrated altered transmission in the discovery sample, but only rs3801776, located in the HOXA basal promoter region, showed altered transmission in both the discovery and validation samples (P = 0.004 and 0.028). Interestingly, HOXA9 is expressed in muscle during development. An SNP in IGFBP3, rs13223993, also showed altered transmission (P = 0.003) in the discovery sample. Gene-gene interactions were identified between variants in HOXA, HOXD, and IGFBP3 and with previously associated SNPs in mitochondrial-mediated apoptotic genes. The most significant interactions were found between CASP3 SNPS and variants in HOXA, HOXD, and IGFBP3. These results suggest a biologic model for clubfoot in which perturbation of HOX and apoptotic genes together affect muscle and limb development, which may cause the downstream failure of limb rotation into a plantar grade position