Adaptive and Fixed Wavelet Features for Narrowband Signal Classification

The application of the multiresolution analysis developed by Mallat to signal classification by Pati and Krishnaprasad and Szu, et al, is further explored in this thesis. Several different wavelet based feature extraction and classification systems are developed and implemented. Methods which rely on the traditional dyadic wavelet decomposition and on the adaptive wavelet representation are presented. Each of the classification systems is implemented for a labeled data set of narrowband signals. Finally, classification results on the full data set and on low frequency Fourier coefficients are provided as baseline comparisons for our work

Actomyosin-based Self-organization of cell internalization during C. elegans gastrulation

Background: Gastrulation is a key transition in embryogenesis; it requires self-organized cellular coordination, which has to be both robust to allow efficient development and plastic to provide adaptability. Despite the conservation of gastrulation as a key event in Metazoan embryogenesis, the morphogenetic mechanisms of self-organization (how global order or coordination can arise from local interactions) are poorly understood. Results: We report a modular structure of cell internalization in Caenorhabditis elegans gastrulation that reveals mechanisms of self-organization. Cells that internalize during gastrulation show apical contractile flows, which are correlated with centripetal extensions from surrounding cells. These extensions converge to seal over the internalizing cells in the form of rosettes. This process represents a distinct mode of monolayer remodeling, with gradual extrusion of the internalizing cells and simultaneous tissue closure without an actin purse-string. We further report that this self-organizing module can adapt to severe topological alterations, providing evidence of scalability and plasticity of actomyosin-based patterning. Finally, we show that globally, the surface cell layer undergoes coplanar division to thin out and spread over the internalizing mass, which resembles epiboly. Conclusions: The combination of coplanar division-based spreading and recurrent local modules for piecemeal internalization constitutes a system-level solution of gradual volume rearrangement under spatial constraint. Our results suggest that the mode of C. elegans gastrulation can be unified with the general notions of monolayer remodeling and with distinct cellular mechanisms of actomyosin-based morphogenesis

IMMACCS: A Multi-Agent Decision-Support System

This report describes work performed by the Collaborative Agent Design Research Center for the US Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory (MCWL), on the IMMACCS experimental decision-support system. IMMACCS (Integrated Marine Multi-Agent Command and Control System) incorporates three fundamental concepts that distinguish it from existing (i.e., legacy) command and control applications. First, it is a collaborative system in which computer-based agents assist human operators by monitoring, analyzing, and reasoning about events in near real-time. Second, IMMACCS includes an ontological model of the battlespace that represents the behavioral characteristics and relationships among real world entities such as friendly and enemy assets, infrastructure objects (e.g., buildings, roads, and rivers), and abstract notions. This object model provides the essential common language that binds all IMMACCS components into an integrated and adaptive decision-support system. Third, IMMACCS provides no ready made solutions that may not be applicable to the problems that will occur in the real world. Instead, the agents represent a powerful set of tools that together with the human operators can adjust themselves to the problem situations that cannot be predicted in advance. In this respect, IMMACCS is an adaptive command and control system that supports planning, execution and training functions concurrently. The report describes the nature and functional requirements of military command and control, the architectural features of IMMACCS that are designed to support these operational requirements, the capabilities of the tools (i.e., agents) that IMMACCS offers its users, and the manner in which these tools can be applied. Finally, the performance of IMMACCS during the Urban Warrior Advanced Warfighting Experiment held in California in March, 1999, is discussed from an operational viewpoint

Detection of Sharp Symmetric Features in the Circumbinary Disk Around AK Sco

The Search for Planets Orbiting Two Stars (SPOTS) survey aims to study the formation and distribution of planets in binary systems by detecting and characterizing circumbinary planets and their formation environments through direct imaging. With the SPHERE Extreme Adaptive Optics instrument, a good contrast can be achieved even at small (<300 mas) separations from bright stars, which enables studies of planets and disks in a separation range that was previously inaccessible. Here, we report the discovery of resolved scattered light emission from the circumbinary disk around the well-studied young double star AK Sco, at projected separations in the ~13--40 AU range. The sharp morphology of the imaged feature is surprising, given the smooth appearance of the disk in its spectral energy distribution. We show that the observed morphology can be represented either as a highly eccentric ring around AK Sco, or as two separate spiral arms in the disk, wound in opposite directions. The relative merits of these interpretations are discussed, as well as whether these features may have been caused by one or several circumbinary planets interacting with the disk.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letters. Minor (proof-level) corrections implemented in this versio

Theory of the 2S-2P Lamb shift and 2S hyperfine splitting in muonic hydrogen

The 7 standard deviations between the proton rms charge radius from muonic hydrogen and the CODATA-10 value from hydrogen spectroscopy and electron-scattering has caused considerable discussions. Here, we review the theory of the 2S-2P Lamb shift and 2S hyperfine splitting in muonic hydrogen combining the published contributions and theoretical approaches. The prediction of these quantities is necessary for the determination of both proton charge and Zemach radii from the two 2S-2P transition frequencies measured in muonic hydrogen.Comment: 20 pages with 3 Tables summarising the contributions to the muonic hydrogen Lamb shift and hyperfine splittin

Evaluation of the Reliability of Electronic Medical Record Data in Identifying Comorbid Conditions among Patients with Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Background. Traditional methods for identifying comorbidity data in EMRs have relied primarily on costly and time-consuming manual chart review. The purpose of this study was to validate a strategy of electronically searching EMR data to identify comorbidities among cancer patients. Methods. Advanced stage NSCLC patients (N = 2,513) who received chemotherapy from 7/1/2006 to 6/30/2008 were identified using iKnowMed, US Oncology's proprietary oncology-specific EMR system. EMR data were searched for documentation of comorbidities common to advanced stage cancer patients. The search was conducted by a series of programmatic queries on standardized information including concomitant illnesses, patient history, review of systems, and diagnoses other than cancer. The validity of the comorbidity information that we derived from the EMR search was compared to the chart review gold standard in a random sample of 450 patients for whom the EMR search yielded no indication of comorbidities. Negative predictive values were calculated. Results. The overall prevalence of comorbidities of 22%. Overall negative predictive value was 0.92 in the 450 patients randomly sampled patients (36 of 450 were found to have evidence of comorbidities on chart review). Conclusion. Results of this study suggest that efficient queries/text searches of EMR data may provide reliable data on comorbid conditions among cancer patients

Investigation of combustion of emulated biogas in a gas turbine test rig

Combustion of biogas in gas turbines is an interesting option for provision of renewable combined heat and power from biomass. Due to an increasing share of fluctuating renewable energies in the power grid (especially from wind and solar power), flexible power generation is of increasing importance. Additionally, with an increasing share of agricultural and municipal waste in biogas production, biogas composition is expected to be within a broader range. In this paper, the combustion of synthetic biogas (carbon dioxide and methane) in a combustion test rig with a swirl burner and a high pressure optical chamber is researched at different conditions. Results are compared to a CHEMKIN-PRO simulation using a detailed reaction mechanism. The results show that within the researched experimental matrix, stable biogas combustion for gas turbines can be achieved even with significantly changing gas composition and nominal power. Carbon dioxide concentration is varied from 0 to 60%. CO concentrations (normalized to 15% O2) in the flue gas do not change significantly with increasing carbon dioxide in the fuel gas and, for the researched conditions, stayed below 10 ppm. NOx concentration is below 10 ppm (normalized to 15% O2) for pure methane, and is further decreasing with increasing carbon dioxide share in the fuel gas, which is mainly due to changing reaction paths as reaction analysis showed. Thermal load of the combustor is varied from 100% to 20% for the reference gas composition. With decreasing thermal load, normalized carbon monoxide flue gas concentration is further reduced, while NOx concentrations are remaining at a similar level around 5 ppm (normalized to 15% O2)

Ultrasonication effects on thermal and rheological properties of carbon nanotube suspensions

The preparation of nanofluids is very important to their thermophysical properties. Nanofluids with the same nanoparticles and base fluids can behave differently due to different nanofluid preparation methods. The agglomerate sizes in nanofluids can significantly impact the thermal conductivity and viscosity of nanofluids and lead to a different heat transfer performance. Ultrasonication is a common way to break up agglomerates and promote dispersion of nanoparticles into base fluids. However, research reports of sonication effects on nanofluid properties are limited in the open literature. In this work, sonication effects on thermal conductivity and viscosity of carbon nanotubes (0.5 wt%) in an ethylene glycol-based nanofluid are investigated. The corresponding effects on the agglomerate sizes and the carbon nanotube lengths are observed. It is found that with an increased sonication time/energy, the thermal conductivity of the nanofluids increases nonlinearly, with the maximum enhancement of 23% at sonication time of 1,355 min. However, the viscosity of nanofluids increases to the maximum at sonication time of 40 min, then decreases, finally approaching the viscosity of the pure base fluid at a sonication time of 1,355 min. It is also observed that the sonication process not only reduces the agglomerate sizes but also decreases the length of carbon nanotubes. Over the current experimental range, the reduction in agglomerate size is more significant than the reduction of the carbon nanotube length. Hence, the maximum thermal conductivity enhancement and minimum viscosity increase are obtained using a lengthy sonication, which may have implications on application