Detection and analysis of single event upsets in noisy digital imagers with small to medium pixels

Camera sensors are shrinking, resulting in more defects seen through image analysis. Due to cosmic radiation, camera experience both permanent defects known as hot pixels and temporal defective spikes which are Single Event Upsets (SEUs). SEUs manifest themselves as temporal random bright areas in sequential dark-frame images that are taken with long exposure times. In the past, it was difficult to separate SEUs from noise in dark-frame images taken with DSLRs at high sensitivity levels (ISO) and cell phone cameras at modest sensitivity levels. However, recent software improvements in this research have enabled the analysis of defect rates in noisy digital imagers – by leveraging local area and pixel address distribution techniques. In addition, multiple experiments were performed to understand the relationship of SEUs and elevation. This study reports data from imagers with pixels ranging from 7 μm (DSLR cameras) down to 1.2 μm (cell phone cameras)

Prediction Of Aircraft Fuselage Vibration

Modern unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are made of lightweight structures, owing to the demand for longer ranges and heavier payloads. These lightweight aircraft are more susceptible to vibrations caused by atmospheric turbulence transmitted to the fuselage from the wings. These vibrations, which can cause damage to the payload or on board avionics present a serious problem, since air turbulence is expected to increase over the next few decades, due to climate change. The objective of this thesis is to predict the vibration of an aircraft fuselage by establishing a relationship between wing and fuselage vibration. A combination of ANSYS® and MATLAB® modeling are used to simulate aircraft vibrations. First, the displacement of a lumped mass aircraft model to step and sinusoidal forces acting on the wings are compared to displacements calculated using modal superposition equations. Next, a state space representation of this system is found using system identification techniques, which uses wing displacement as input, and provides fuselage displacement as output. This state space model is compared to a derived state space model for validation. Finally, a three dimensional aircraft with distributed displacement sensors on its wings is modeled. A state space representation is established using the wing displacement output from the sensors as its input and the motion and rotation of the fuselage along the X, Y and Z axes as the output. It is seen that the displacement results of the lumped mass system match with those calculated using modal superposition equations. The state space model can also accurately predict the fuselage vibration of the lumped mass system, when provided with wing displacement as input. More importantly, results have shown that the distributed vibration sensors on the three dimensional plane model are able to measure the wing displacements. Using the output from these distributed sensors, the motion and rotation of the fuselage about all three axes can be effectively predicted

My Clinic web application

The purpose of this web application is to provide doctors and patients with one location where their data is stored and they can access through a secured environment. It will allow doctors to send perscriptions electronically to the pharmacy and allow their patients to view and edit medical appointments and their medical information online as well

Functional analysis of PaxP and PaxQ, two cytochrome P450 monooxygenases required for paxilline biosynthesis in Penicillium paxilli : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Genetics at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

The indole-diterpene paxilline is a potent mammalian tremorgenic mycotoxin and a known inhibitor of maxi-K ion channels. The gene cluster encoding the enzymes for the synthesis of this compound was recently cloned from Penicillium paxilli (Young et al. 2001). The cluster comprises a set of core genes required for indole-diterpene biosynthesis, including two cytochrome P450 monooxygenases, paxP and paxQ. Targeted deletion of paxP and paxQ resulted in mutant strains that accumulate paspaline and 13-desoxypaxilline, respectively, confirming that both genes are involved in paxilline biosynthesis. The aim of the current work is to establish in vitro that PaxP and PaxQ catalyse the monooxygenation of paspaline and 13-desoxypaxilline, respectively. To achieve this, cDNA copies of both genes were cloned into pGEX-6P-3, to generate pRL2 and pRL4, and the corresponding glutathione-S-transferase (GST) fusion proteins over-expressed in E. coli. However, both GST-fusion proteins accumulated as insoluble inclusion bodies when cultures were incubated at 18°C, 25°C and 37°C. Attempts to express a soluble form of the GST-PaxP by co-expressing this fusion with the chaperones, GroES and GroEL. or by expressing in E. coli, Origami B, a strain (trxB, gor, lacY) designed to facilitate expression of active and soluble proteins, were unsuccessful. GST-PaxP was able to be solubilised by the addition of 0.25% N-laurylsarcosine, and retained some glutathione binding activity, however, the yield was too low to carry out further experiments. GST and thioredoxin fusion expression constructs were designed in which the putative N-terminal trans-membrane region of PaxP and PaxQ was removed to aid solubility in E. coli. These N-terminal modified fusion proteins were still expressed as insoluble protein

Inhaled particle counts on bicycle commute routes of low and high proximity to motorised traffic

Frequent exposure to ultrafine particles (UFP) is associated with detrimental effects on cardiopulmonary function and health. UFP dose and therefore the associated health risk are a factor of exposure frequency, duration, and magnitude of (therefore also proximity to) a UFP emission source. Bicycle commuters using on-road routes during peak traffic times are sharing a microenvironment with high levels of motorised traffic, a major UFP emission source. Inhaled particle counts were measured along popular pre-identified bicycle commute route alterations of low (LOW) and high (HIGH) motorised traffic to the same inner-city destination at peak commute traffic times. During commute, real-time particle number concentration (PNC; mostly in the UFP range) and particle diameter (PD), heart and respiratory rate, geographical location, and meteorological variables were measured. To determine inhaled particle counts, ventilation rate was calculated from heart-rate-ventilation associations, produced from periodic exercise testing. Total mean PNC of LOW (compared to HIGH) was reduced (1.56 x e4 ± 0.38 x e4 versus 3.06 x e4 ± 0.53 x e4 ppcc; p = 0.012). Total estimated ventilation rate did not vary significantly between LOW and HIGH (43 ± 5 versus 46 ± 9 L•min; p = 0.136); however, due to total mean PNC, accumulated inhaled particle counts were 48% lower in LOW, compared to HIGH (7.6 x e8 ± 1.5 x e8 versus 14.6 x e8 ± 1.8 x e8; p = 0.003). For bicycle commuting at peak morning commute times, inhaled particle counts and therefore cardiopulmonary health risk may be substantially reduced by decreasing exposure to motorised traffic, which should be considered by both bicycle commuters and urban planners

Trace elements and cancer risk: a review of the epidemiologic evidence

Worldwide, there are more than 10 million new cancer cases each year, and cancer is the cause of approximately 12% of all deaths. Given this, a large number of epidemiologic studies have been undertaken to identify potential risk factors for cancer, amongst which the association with trace elements has received considerable attention. Trace elements, such as selenium, zinc, arsenic, cadmium, and nickel, are found naturally in the environment, and human exposure derives from a variety of sources, including air, drinking water, and food. Trace elements are of particular interest given that the levels of exposure to them are potentially modifiable. In this review, we focus largely on the association between each of the trace elements noted above and risk of cancers of the lung, breast, colorectum, prostate, urinary bladder, and stomach. Overall, the evidence currently available appears to support an inverse association between selenium exposure and prostate cancer risk, and possibly also a reduction in risk with respect to lung cancer, although additional prospective studies are needed. There is also limited evidence for an inverse association between zinc and breast cancer, and again, prospective studies are needed to confirm this. Most studies have reported no association between selenium and risk of breast, colorectal, and stomach cancer, and between zinc and prostate cancer risk. There is compelling evidence in support of positive associations between arsenic and risk of both lung and bladder cancers, and between cadmium and lung cancer risk