Assessing U.S. energy policy

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Image Registration Using Redundant Wavelet Transforms

Imagery is collected much faster and in significantly greater quantities today compared to a few years ago. Accurate registration of this imagery is vital for comparing the similarities and differences between multiple images. Since human analysis is tedious and error prone for large data sets, we require an automatic, efficient, robust, and accurate method to register images. Wavelet transforms have proven useful for a variety of signal and image processing tasks, including image registration. In our research, we present a fundamentally new wavelet-based registration algorithm utilizing redundant transforms and a masking process to suppress the adverse effects of noise and improve processing efficiency. The shift-invariant wavelet transform is applied in translation estimation and a new rotation-invariant polar wavelet transform is effectively utilized in rotation estimation. We demonstrate the robustness of these redundant wavelet transforms for the registration of two images (i.e., translating or rotating an input image to a reference image), but extensions to larger data sets are certainly feasible. We compare the registration accuracy of our redundant wavelet transforms to the \u27critically sampled\u27 discrete wavelet transform using the Daubechies (7,9) wavelet to illustrate the power of our algorithm in the presence of significant additive white Gaussian noise and strongly translated or rotated images

REIMR: A Process for Utilizing Propulsion-Oriented 'Lessons-Learned' to Mitigate Development Risk

This paper is a summary overview of a study conducted a t the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) during the initial phases of the Space Launch Initiative (SLI) program to evaluate a large number of technical problems associated with the design, development, test, evaluation and operation of several major liquid propellant rocket engine systems (i.e., SSME, Fastrac, J-2, F-1). The results of this study was the identification of the "Fundamental Root Causes" that enabled the technical problems to manifest, and practices that can be implemented to prevent them from recurring in future engine development efforts. This paper will discus the Fundamental Root Causes, cite some examples of how the technical problems arose from them, and provide a discussion of how they can be mitigated or avoided

The Gradient Nature of S-Lenition in Caleño Spanish

Previous studies of s-weakening in Spanish have relied almost exclusively on the impressionistic coding of /s/. Not only is auditory transcription invariably influenced by the transcriber’s background, but temporal and gradient acoustic details about the sound are concealed when tokens are represented symbolically. The present study examines the production of /s/ by eight females from Cali, Colombia during informal sociolinguistic interviews. We propose a metric for quantifying s-realization by employing three scalar dependent variables: s-duration, centroid, and voicelessness. The results of linear regressions indicate that the dependent variables are significantly conditioned by local speaking rate, lexical frequency, stress, word position, and the preceding and following phonological contexts. This study sheds light on how each independent variable impacts s-realization acoustically. For example, as local speaking rate increases, duration, centroid, and voicelessness decrease, indicative of lenition. We discuss the advantages of opting for instrumental measurements over symbolic representation

Temporal and geochemical signatures in granitoids of northwestern Nevada: Evidence for the continuity of the Mesozoic magmatic arc through the western Great Basin

Granitoid magmatism in the Basin and Range Province of northwestern Nevada remains an important gap in our understanding of the along-strike variability of Mesozoic Cordilleran arc systems. We present a comprehensive investigation on a suite of intrusions within the Santa Rosa Range (SRR) and Bloody Run Hills (BRH) of northwestern Nevada. Petrography, whole-rock geochemistry, and zircon U-Pb geochronology indicate two distinct magmatic systems in the SRR: an older, mafic, and metaluminous pulse (Santa Rosa/Andorno [SRA] group—ca. 102–100 Ma) and a younger, felsic, and peraluminous pulse (Granite Peak/Sawtooth [GPS] group—ca. 94–92 Ma). Within the BRH to the south, the Flynn (ca. 105 Ma) and Bloody Run stocks (ca. 96 Ma) are compositionally similar to the SRA group. New Al-in-hornblende thermobarometry reveals emplacement paleodepths of ~5–10 km for the SRA group. Slightly deeper emplacement levels (~10.5–12 km) are inferred for the GPS group from structural relationships and metamorphic contact aureole assemblages. Elemental characteristics are correlated with whole-rock Sr and Nd isotope ratios, revealing higher εNd(t) (+0.8 to +2.5) and lower initial 87Sr/86Sr (0.7040–0.7054) in the older SRA group than the younger GPS group (εNd(t) = −3.2 to −1.5; 87Sr/86Sr(i) 0.7056–0.7061). New zircon εHf isotope analyses reveal that with the exception of the Bloody Run stock (−0.4 ± 2.1), the SRA group has more primitive zircon εHf(t) values (+2.9 to +5.3) than the GPS group (+0.4 to −3.7). The systematic shift in whole-rock Sr and Nd isotope and zircon εHf(t) values with time suggests fundamental changes in the relative contributions of mantle and crustal sources. A comparison of published geochronology and geochemistry from regional intrusive suites confirms that SRR-BRH magmatism was coeval and geochemically similar to the larger Cordilleran batholiths, providing evidence for the continuity of the Mesozoic magmatic arc through northwestern Nevada

Deposit Accounts Under the New World Order

The new world is upon us. Repent. Revised Article 9 is the law in every state. Commercial deposit accounts are now available as original collateral. Bringing commercial deposit accounts into the Article 9 fold significantly complicates the planning of an Article 9 secured transaction. Attorneys for banks, non-bank creditors and debtors need to understand the new world order and the risks it poses to their clients. They need to develop strategies to minimize those risks so as to protect their clients\u27 positions. Part II of this article describes the new legal framework and some of the risks it creates. Part III explores ways to manage those risks. Appendix A contains an annotated deposit account control agreement form that tries to balance the needs of a secured party holding a security interest in a deposit account with the rights of the bank maintaining the deposit account

The variable effect of form and lemma frequencies on phonetic variation: evidence from /s/ realization in two varieties of Colombian Spanish

Research has shown that frequency conditions the variable realization of sounds. However, the literature has not addressed whether the frequency of the individual word forms, or form frequency, has a larger conditioning effect than the combined frequencies of the members of the paradigm to which the forms belong, or lemma frequency. Monofactorial correlation tests and monofactorial and multifactorial linear regression analyses are performed on 2,734 tokens of Spanish /s/ in sociolinguistic interviews conducted in Cali and Barranquilla, Colombia. Two findings are highlighted: (1) frequency is only significant in the variety of Spanish that has low overall rates of /s/ reduction, Cali, and (2) form frequency is more influential than lemma frequency