Comparing the utility of microwave and thermal remote-sensing constraints in two-source energy balance modeling over an agricultural landscape

A two-source (soil + vegetation) energy balance model using microwave-derived near-surface soil moisture as a key boundary condition (TSM_SM) and another scheme using thermal-infrared (radiometric) surface temperature (TSM_TH) were applied to remote sensing data collected over a corn and soybean production region in central Iowa during the Soil Moisture Atmosphere Coupling Experiment (SMACEX)/Soil Moisture Experiment of 2002 (SMEX02). The TSM_SM was run using fields of near-surface soil moisture from microwave imagery collected by aircraft on six days during the experiment, yielding a root mean square difference (RMSD) between model estimates and tower measurements of net radiation (Rn) and soil heat flux (G) of approximately 20 W m^− 2, and 45 W m^− 2 for sensible (H) and latent heating (LE). Similar results for H and LE were obtained at landscape/regional scales when comparing model output with transect-average aircraft flux measurements. Flux predictions from the TSM_SM and TSM_TH models were compared for two days when both airborne microwave-derived soil moisture and radiometric surface temperature (T_R) data from Landsat were available. These two days represented contrasting conditions of moderate crop cover/dry soil surface and dense crop cover/moist soil surface. Surface temperature diagnosed by the TSM_SM was also compared directly to the remotely sensed T_R fields as an additional means of model validation. The TSM_SM performed well under moderate crop cover/dry soil surface conditions, but yielded larger discrepancies with observed heat fluxes and T_R under the high crop cover/moist soil surface conditions. Flux predictions from the thermal-based two-source model typically showed biases of opposite sign, suggesting that an average of the flux output from both modeling schemes may improve overall accuracy in flux predictions, in effect incorporating multiple remote-sensing constraints on canopy and soil fluxes.     

狼烟遮天，京城列阵-WCG2007“三星电子杯”中国区总决赛

2007年7月27日,为期三天的WCG2007＂三星电子杯＂中国区总决赛在中国人民大学世纪馆拉开了序幕。作为中国历史最长、水准最高的赛事,WCG一直受到广大游戏爱好者的观注。WCG2007在中国设立了北京、上海、广州、沈阳、哈尔滨、郑州、南京、杭州、长沙、武汉、重庆、成都、深圳、广州、济南共15个分赛区：表演项目《街头篮球》以海选方式在全国50多个城市的300家网吧举办,     

The offset codebook (OCB) block cipher mode of operation for authenticated encryption

This article presents an overview of the concepts of and motivation for the OCB block cipher mode of operation. OCB is well suited for IoT, wireless, and other constrained devices where processing time and energy consumption are design issues. The article describes two versions of the OCB algorithm (OCB1 and OCB3) that have been widely accepted.     

Fast algorithms for bit-serial routing on a hypercube

In this paper we describe anO(logN)-bit-step randomized algorithm for bit-serial message routing on a hypercube. The result is asymptotically optimal, and improves upon the best previously known algorithms by a logarithmic factor. The result also solves the problem of on-line circuit switching in anO(1)-dilated hypercube (i.e., the problem of establishing edge-disjoint paths between the nodes of the dilated hypercube for any one-to-one mapping).Our algorithm is adaptive and we show that this is necessary to achieve the logarithmic speedup. We generalize the Borodin-Hopcroft lower bound on oblivious routing by proving that any randomized oblivious algorithm on a polylogarithmic degree network requires at least (log² N/log logN) bit steps with high probability for almost all permutations.This research was supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency under Contracts N00014-87-K-825 and N00014-89-J-1988, the Air Force under Contract AFOSR-89-0271, and the Army under Contract DAAL-03-86-K-0171. This work was completed while the third and fourth authors were at the Laboratory for Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.     

Redox proteomics identification of 4‐hydroxynonenal‐modified brain proteins in Alzheimer's disease: Role of lipid peroxidation in Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis

Numerous studies have shown that neuronal lipids are highly susceptible to oxidative stress including in those brain areas directly involved in the neurodegenerative process of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Lipid peroxidation directly damages membranes and also generates a number of secondary biologically active products (toxic aldehydes)that are capable of easily attacking lipids, proteins, and DNA. Accumulating evidence has demonstrated regionally increased brain lipid peroxidation in patients with AD; however, extensive studies on specific targets of lipid peroxidation‐induced damage are still missing. The present study represents a further step in understanding the relationship between oxidative modification of protein and neuronal death associated with AD. We used a proteomics approach to determine specific targets of lipid peroxidation in AD brain, both in hippocampus and inferior parietal lobule, by coupling immunochemical detection of 4‐hydroxynonenal‐bound proteins with 2‐D polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and MS analysis. We identified 4‐hydroxynonenal‐bound proteins in the hippocampus and inferior parietal lobule brain regions of subjects with AD. The identified proteins play different biological functions including energy metabolism, antioxidant system, and structural proteins, thus impairing multiple molecular pathways. Our results provide further evidence for the role of lipid peroxidation in the pathogenesis of AD.     

Virtual rheoscopic fluids for flow visualization

Physics-based flow visualization techniques seek to mimic laboratory flow visualization methods with virtual analogues. In this work we describe the rendering of a virtual rheoscopic fluid to produce images with results strikingly similar to laboratory experiments with real-world rheoscopic fluids using products such as Kalliroscope. These fluid additives consist of microscopic, anisotropic particles which, when suspended in the flow, align with both the flow velocity and the local shear to produce high-quality depictions of complex flow structures. Our virtual rheoscopic fluid is produced by defining a closed-form formula for the orientation of shear layers in the flow and using this orientation to volume render the flow as a material with anisotropic reflectance and transparency. Examples are presented for natural convection, thermocapillary convection, and Taylor-Couette flow simulations. The latter agree well with photographs of experimental results of Taylor-Couette flows from the literature.     

Rule-based data mining for yield improvement in semiconductor manufacturing

We describe an automated system for improving yield, power consumption and speed characteristics in the manufacture of semiconductors. Data are continually collected in the form of a history of tool usage, electrical and other real-valued measurements—a dimension of tens of thousands of features. Unique to this approach is the inference of patterns in the form of binary regression rules that demonstrate a significantly higher or lower performance value for tools relative to the overall mean for that manufacturing step. Results are filtered by knowledge-based constraints, increasing the likelihood that empirically validated rules will prove interesting and worth further investigation. This system is currently installed in the IBM 300 mm fab, manufacturing game chips and microprocessors. It has detected numerous opportunities for yield and performance improvement, saving many millions of dollars.     

Analysis of applied forces and electromyography of back and shoulders muscles when performing a simulated hand scaling task

Hand scaling is a physically demanding task responsible for numerous overexertion injuries in underground mining. Scaling requires the miner to use a long pry bar to remove loose rock, reducing the likelihood of rock fall injuries. The experiments described in this article simulated “rib” scaling (scaling a mine wall) from an elevated bucket to examine force generation and electromyographic responses using two types of scaling bars (steel and fiberglass-reinforced aluminum) at five target heights ranging from floor level to 176 cm. Ten male and six female subjects were tested in separate experiments. Peak and average force applied at the scaling bar tip and normalized electromyography (EMG) of the left and right pairs of the deltoid and erectores spinae muscles were obtained. Work height significantly affected peak prying force during scaling activities with highest force capacity at the lower levels. Bar type did not affect force generation. However, use of the lighter fiberglass bar required significantly more muscle activity to achieve the same force. Results of these studies suggest that miners scale points on the rock face that are below their knees, and reposition the bucket as often as necessary to do so.     

A computational framework for automating generation of sizing function in assembly meshing via disconnected skeletons

This paper proposes a framework for generating mesh sizing functions for assembly models. Size control is crucial in obtaining a high-quality mesh with a reduced number of elements. The reduction in the number of elements will decrease computation time and memory use during mesh generation and analysis. The framework consists of a background octree lattice for storing the sizing function, a set of source entities for providing sizing information based on geometric information, and an interpolation module for calculating the sizing on the background octree lattice using the source entities. Source entities are generated by performing a detailed systematic study to identify all the geometric factors of an assembly. Disconnected skeletons are extracted and used as tools to measure 3D proximity and 2D proximity, which are two of the geometric factors. The framework facilitates the generation of a variety of meshes with a low computational cost, to meet industry needs. The framework has been tested on many industrial parts, and sizing control on a few typical assemblies has been presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework.     

Multi-core CPUs,Clusters, and Grid Computing: A Tutorial

The nature of computing is changing and it poses both challenges and opportunities for economists. Instead of increasing clock speed, future microprocessors will have “multi-cores” with separate execution units. “Threads” or other multi-processing techniques that are rarely used today are required to take full advantage of them. Beyond one machine, it has become easy to harness multiple computers to work in clusters. Besides dedicated clusters, they can be made up of unused lab computers or even your colleagues’ machines. Finally, grids of computers spanning the Internet are now becoming a reality.