Spectral Polarization Distribution Models (PDMs) for NASA CLARREO Pathfinders Inter-Calibration Applications

Solar radiation scattered by Earth surfaces of various scene types such as oceans, deserts, tree leaves etc and atmospheric molecules and particles is polarized and the amount of polarization depends on the surface composition and particle physical properties. This can be a source of measurement errors in satellite data if a non-polarimetric radiometric sensor is sensitive to the polarization state of light. To obtain highly accurate spectral solar radiation data from the Earth-atmosphere system for the space-borne inter-calibration studies as proposed in NASA's Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory (CLARREO) mission and the CLARREO Pathfinder (CPF) mission, the spectral polarization state of the reflected solar light at the top of atmosphere (TOA) must be known with sufficient accuracy. The degree of polarization (DOP) and the angle of linear polarization (AOLP) of the light at the TOA as functions of incident and viewing geometry and scene type construct the Polarization Distribution Models (PDMs) for correction of polarization-induced error of satellite data. In this work, algorithms for modeling the spectral polarization state of reflected sunlight from various types of Earth, including oceans, deserts, vegetated land surfaces and these scene types with all kinds of clouds, are developed. By comparing the model results with the PARASOL satellite data, our numerical results demonstrate that the model can provide a reliable approach for making the spectral PDMs for wavelengths between 320 and 2300 nm for satellite inter-calibration applications as proposed in the CLARREO and the CLARREO CPF missions

Method for Ground-to-Satellite Laser Calibration System

The present invention comprises an approach for calibrating the sensitivity to polarization, optics degradation, spectral and stray light response functions of instruments on orbit. The concept is based on using an accurate ground-based laser system, Ground-to-Space Laser Calibration (GSLC), transmitting laser light to instrument on orbit during nighttime substantially clear-sky conditions. To minimize atmospheric contribution to the calibration uncertainty the calibration cycles should be performed in short time intervals, and all required measurements are designed to be relative. The calibration cycles involve ground operations with laser beam polarization and wavelength changes

Method for Ground-to-Space Laser Calibration System

The present invention comprises an approach for calibrating the sensitivity to polarization, optics degradation, spectral and stray light response functions of instruments on orbit. The concept is based on using an accurate ground-based laser system, Ground-to-Space Laser Calibration (GSLC), transmitting laser light to instrument on orbit during nighttime substantially clear-sky conditions. To minimize atmospheric contribution to the calibration uncertainty the calibration cycles should be performed in short time intervals, and all required measurements are designed to be relative. The calibration cycles involve ground operations with laser beam polarization and wavelength changes

Drafting of the Union treaty in September-December 1991: from the dismantling of statehood to the USSR's collapse

The article is devoted to the consideration of internal political processes in the Soviet Union at the final stage of its existence, in particular, the political struggle between the President of the USSR M.S. Gorbachev and Republican leaders in the course of the preparation of the draft Union Treaty in the autumn of 1991 («Novo-Ogarevo-2»). The task of the research is to reconstruct the process of preparation of the draft Union Treaty in September-November 1991, its discussions during the meetings of the State Council of the USSR, and to assess the role of this Treaty in the dismantling of the USSR`s political system. The main source of this research was the verbatim records of the State Council`s meetings, numerous comments and additions to the autumn draft of the Union Treaty, which are stored in the archive Gorbachev Foundation. On the basis of these archival documents, as well as press materials, documentary collections, memories of eyewitnesses of those events, the author compares the positions of the Union and the Republican leaders on the structure of the future Union of the USSR: membership in the updated Union, the tax system, state bodies, the legal system. The key problem, to which all discussions of the Union Treaty were reduced, concerned distribution of power between the Union and Republican elites. The analysis of the sources allows us to conclude that during the autumn negotiations a compromise between the Union and the Republican leaders was impossible - the project “Novo-Ogarevo-2” was doomed to failure initially. If M.S. Gorbachev made attempts to legally secure the preservation of the Union in the form of a confederation, the Republican leaders, first of all, the President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin, based on the adopted Declaration of sovereignty, sought independence and separation from the USSR. The Union Treaty, originally designed to create the necessary balance in the relations between the Center and the republics, in practice was an instrument for the implementation of the ambitions of the Republican elites and became one of the factors of the USSR`s collapse

The J- and H-bands of dye aggregate spectra: Analysis of the coherent exciton scattering (CES) approximation

The validity of the CES approximation is investigated by comparison with direct diagonalisation of a model vibronic Hamiltonian of $N$ identical monomers interacting electronically. Even for quite short aggregates (N\gtrsim 6) the CES approximation is shown to give results in agreement with direct diagonalisation, for all coupling strengths, except that of intermediate positive coupling (the H-band region). However, previously excellent agreement of CES calculations and measured spectra in the H-band region was obtained [A. Eisfeld, J. S. Briggs, Chem. Phys. 324, 376]. This is shown to arise from use of the measured monomer spectrum which includes implicitly dissipative effects not present in the model calculation

Opportunities to Intercalibrate Radiometric Sensors From International Space Station

Highly accurate measurements of Earth's thermal infrared and reflected solar radiation are required for detecting and predicting long-term climate change. We consider the concept of using the International Space Station to test instruments and techniques that would eventually be used on a dedicated mission such as the Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory. In particular, a quantitative investigation is performed to determine whether it is possible to use measurements obtained with a highly accurate reflected solar radiation spectrometer to calibrate similar, less accurate instruments in other low Earth orbits. Estimates of numbers of samples useful for intercalibration are made with the aid of year-long simulations of orbital motion. We conclude that the International Space Station orbit is ideally suited for the purpose of intercalibration

Earth Science Data Fusion with Event Building Approach

Objectives of the NASA Information And Data System (NAIADS) project are to develop a prototype of a conceptually new middleware framework to modernize and significantly improve efficiency of the Earth Science data fusion, big data processing and analytics. The key components of the NAIADS include: Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) multi-lingual framework, multi-sensor coincident data Predictor, fast into-memory data Staging, multi-sensor data-Event Builder, complete data-Event streaming (a work flow with minimized IO), on-line data processing control and analytics services. The NAIADS project is leveraging CLARA framework, developed in Jefferson Lab, and integrated with the ZeroMQ messaging library. The science services are prototyped and incorporated into the system. Merging the SCIAMACHY Level-1 observations and MODIS/Terra Level-2 (Clouds and Aerosols) data products, and ECMWF re- analysis will be used for NAIADS demonstration and performance tests in compute Cloud and Cluster environments

CLARREO Approach for Reference Intercalibration of Reflected Solar Sensors: On-Orbit Data Matching and Sampling

The implementation of the Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory (CLARREO) mission was recommended by the National Research Council in 2007 to provide an on-orbit intercalibration standard with accuracy of 0.3% (k = 2) for relevant Earth observing sensors. The goal of reference intercalibration, as established in the Decadal Survey, is to enable rigorous high-accuracy observations of critical climate change parameters, including reflected broadband radiation [Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES)], cloud properties [Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS)], and changes in surface albedo, including snow and ice albedo feedback. In this paper, we describe the CLARREO approach for performing intercalibration on orbit in the reflected solar (RS) wavelength domain. It is based on providing highly accurate spectral reflectance and reflected radiance measurements from the CLARREO Reflected Solar Spectrometer (RSS) to establish an on-orbit reference for existing sensors, namely, CERES and VIIRS on Joint Polar Satellite System satellites, Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer and follow-on imagers on MetOp, Landsat imagers, and imagers on geostationary platforms. One of two fundamental CLARREO mission goals is to provide sufficient sampling of high-accuracy observations that are matched in time, space, and viewing angles with measurements made by existing instruments, to a degree that overcomes the random error sources from imperfect data matching and instrument noise. The data matching is achieved through CLARREO RSS pointing operations on orbit that align its line of sight with the intercalibrated sensor. These operations must be planned in advance; therefore, intercalibration events must be predicted by orbital modeling. If two competing opportunities are identified, one target sensor must be given priority over the other. The intercalibration method is to monitor changes in targeted sensor response function parameters: effective offset, gain, nonlinearity, optics spectral response, and sensitivity to polarization. In this paper, we use existing satellite data and orbital simulationmethods to determinemission requirements for CLARREO, its instrument pointing ability, methodology, and needed intercalibration sampling and data matching for accurate intercalibration of RS radiation sensors on orbit

Application of machine vision technology for focused laser effect accuracy improvement in microelectronic structures research and semiconductor microprocessing

Machine vision is a field of artificial intelligence that deals with processing images and videos using special algorithms. This allows devices to analyze visual information. Machine vision helps with tasks such as pattern recognition, image segmentation, object detection, and tracking. In microscopy, machine vision plays an important role, particularly in laser scanning microscopy (LSM). Laser scanning microscopy, laser scribing, and laser correction of the topology of semiconductor crystals are important technological processes in the production, control and adjustment of semiconductor crystals both on debug samples and as part of a test batch on a wafer. Laser exposure allows not only mechanically separate crystals, but also carry out more delicate and minimally invasive actions, in particular, adjustments to the values of thin-film resistors or burning of bridges necessary to adjust the circuit and disable unused blocks of the crystal. The paper lists the main parameters of the positioning system as part of the laser scanning setup, their impact on the quality of scanning and exposure to focused radiation at control points. The principles of machine vision algorithms when working with the image of the scanned object and the results of testing in the task of automated laser burning of bridges on a semiconductor wafer are described. Since the number of bridges can reach tens of thousands, and positioning systems have significant errors, machine vision allows you to correct the area and accuracy of laser exposure at any stage of scanning, which significantly improves the quality and efficiency of the process

Дыхательная реабилитация у больных вирусной пневмонией на фоне новой коронавирусной инфекции

Pulmonary rehabilitation in COVID-19 patients with pneumonia is associated with better treatment outcomes. However, existing protocols have never been evaluated in randomized control studies. The aim. To evaluate the effectiveness of newly-developed pulmonary rehabilitation protocol compared to basic Russian COVID-19 guidelines for patients with oxygenation index (OI) between 200 and 400 points without IMV. Methods. Based on literature reviews and own clinical experience, standard rehabilitation protocol was designed and tailored for specific needs of low-OI patients. Two clinical centers participated in the study and included total 73 patients in main group. Control group included 73 retrospective patients based in propensity score; this patients received standard protocol of early pneumonia activation from official COVID-19 guidelines. Ten-days clinical outcomes were assessed based on parameter distribution type. Results. Evidence show significant difference in required time of continuous oxygen support in (5.1 ± 3.3 vs 8.0 ± 4.6 days for main and control group respectively. Main group also had mildly better functional. We’ve observed less mortality in main group, but attribute it not to the program, but for growing experience of health professionals and decreased loads on health system. Malignancy as comorbidity was considered a significant cofactor also. Conclusion. New pulmonary rehabilitation protocol improves clinical outcomes in critical COVID-19 patients by decreasing the demand fox oxygen support.При использовании дыхательной реабилитации при пневмонии, ассоциированной с новой коронавирусной инфекцией (НКИ), отмечено улучшение результатов лечения. Однако типовые протоколы дыхательной реабилитации для тяжелых форм коронавирусной пневмонии по данным рандомизированных исследований до настоящего момента не оценивались. Целью рандомизированного клинического исследования, проведенного в 2 клинических центрах, явилось определение эффективности протокола дыхательной реабилитации у больных с индексом оксигенации < 400 и > 200 при самостоятельном дыхании или кислородной поддержке по сравнению с пациентами, у которых реабилитация не проводилась. Материалы и методы. В исследовании приняли участие пациенты (n = 146) с ДН, отобранные методом ретроспективной псевдорандомизации среди больных, проходивших лечение ранее. Разработан протокол из 5 последовательных упражнений дыхательной гимнастики. Пациентам основной группы (n = 73) к лечению в течение 10 дней добавлена исследуемая реабилитационная программа, затем оценивались результаты. Результаты. Получено достоверное различие продолжительности непрерывной кислородной поддержки между группами (5,1 ± 3,3 дня vs 8,0 ± 4,6 дня). При анализе в подгруппах важной самостоятельной ковариатой исхода оказалось наличие онкологического заболевания. Заключение. При использовании комплекса лечебной физической культуры в остром периоде течения НКИ повышается эффективность лечения за счет раннего снижения потребности в кислородной поддержке, ускоренной нормализации индекса оксигенации, повышения толерантности к физической нагрузке