Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2002. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 137-143). Also available on the Internet.

This research experimentally shows the effect of sediment roughness characteristics on the acoustic reflection coefficient. This information is useful when trying to classify various types of sediment over an area. This research was conducted in an indoor laboratory tank at Applied Research Laboratories (ARL) at the University of Texas at Austin. A single beam echo-sounder (SBES) system was developed to project and receive a wideband (3 kHz to 30 kHz) acoustic pulse. A method was developed using the system transfer function to create a custom pulse that would minimize the dynamic range over the wide frequency band. A matched filtering and data processing algorithm was developed to analyze data over the full frequency bandwidth and over smaller frequency bands. Analysis over the smaller frequency bands showed the effect of the roughness on the reflection coefficient with respect to frequency. It was found that the reflection coefficient is significantly lower at the higher frequencies (above 20 kHz) than at the lower frequenices [sic] due to off specular scattering. It was also found that the variability of the reflection coefficient was significantly higher for the rough sediment than for the smooth sediment. / text

Μελετάται η χρήση προσαρμοστικών αλγορίθμων οι οποίοι εφαρμόζονται στο πεδίο των συχνοτήτων και σκοπός τους είναι να ακυρωθεί σε όσον το δυνατόν μεγαλύτερο βαθμό η επίδραση της ηχούς σε ένα περιβάλλον τηλεδιάσκεψης. Όσον αφορά την προσομοίωση του τηλεπικοινωνιακού περιβάλλοντος αυτή θα γίνει με την χρησιμοποίηση κρουστικών αποκρίσεων οι οποίες θα λαμβάνονται χρησιμοποιώντας την μέθοδο των ψηφιακών κυματοδηγών. / Frequency domain adaptive filters are evaluated for use in a teleconferencing environment. The convergence rate, steady state, ability to track changes of the Frequency domain block quasi-Newton algorithm is compared to the Frequency domain block LMS (FD-BLMS)and time domain normalized LMS (TD-NLMS). Finally an algorithm for acoustic simulation of small rooms is derived in order to produce acoustic echo simulation data for use in the evaluation of the algorithms.

This thesis explored the influence of fish behavior and distribution on the accuracy and precision of quantitative estimates of fish biomass and abundance as assessed by hydroacoustic techniques. Rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax), a pelagic fish known to undertake diel vertical migrations and to exhibit changes in aggregation intensity associated with these movements was used as the model species for this study. The diel vertical migrations of smelt resulted in their potential inaccessibility to the acoustic gear. To obviate this problem a model of the diel migration of smelt based on observations of their behavioral responses to ambient light and water temperatures, was developed and used to time acoustic estimates of fish biomass and abundance to periods when they were unbiased by inaccessibility. Acoustic surveys were then conducted to evaluate the direct influence of fish aggregation on estimates of fish abundance, and to examine the effect of changes in fish distributions on the statistical validity of acoustic analyses. Comparative acoustic surveys, conducted when fish were schooled and dispersed, showed abundance was underestimated by up to 50% when schooling prevailed. The influence of changes in the level of fish patchiness, induced by diel schooling, on the statistical precision of acoustic estimates of abundance and biomass was found to be insignificant. Cluster sampling, a robust approach to the inherent problems of transect sampling created by autocorrelated data series was applied to acoustic data for the first time and its effectiveness was assessed. Cluster sampling yielded estimates of biomass and of abundance that were more precise than were estimates based on the traditional approach of analyzing complete transects.

Radiotherapy dose calculations have evolved from simple factor based methods performed with pen and paper, into computationally intensive simulations based on Monte Carlo theory and energy deposition kernel convolution. Similarly, in the field of positron emission tomography (PET), attenuation correction, which was originally omitted entirely, is now a crucial component of any PET reconstruction algorithm. Today, both of these applications – radiotherapy and PET – derive their needed in-tissue radiation attenuation coefficients from images acquired with X-ray computed tomography (CT). Since X-ray images are themselves acquired using ionizing radiation, the intensity at a point in an image will reflect the radiation interaction properties of the tissue located at that point. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), on the other hand, does not use ionizing radiation. Instead MRI make use of the net transverse magnetization resulting from the spin polarization of hydrogen nuclei. MR image contrast can be varied to a greater extent than CT and the soft tissue contrast is, for most MR sequences, superior to that of CT. Therefore, for many cases, MR images provide a considerable advantage over CT when identifying or delineating tumors or other diseased tissues. For this reason, there is an interest to replace CT with MRI for a great number of diagnostic and therapeutic workflows. Also, replacing CT with MRI would reduce the exposure to ionizing radiation experienced by patients and, by extension, reduce the associated risk to induce cancer. In part MRI has already replaced CT, but for radiotherapy dose calculations and PET attenuation correction, CT examinations are still necessary in clinical practice. One of the reasons is that the net transverse magnetization imaged in MRI cannot be converted into attenuation coefficients for ionizing radiation in a straightforward way. More specifically, regions with similar appearance in magnetic resonance (MR) images, such as bone and air pockets, are found at different ends of the spectrum of attenuation coefficients present in the human body. In a CT image, bone will appear bright white and air as black corresponding to high and no attenuation, respectively. In an MR image, bone and air both appear dark due to the lack of net transverse magnetization. The weak net transverse magnetization of bone is a result of low hydrogen density and rapid transverse relaxation. A particular category of MRI sequences with so-called ultrashort echo time (UTE) can sample the MRI signal from bone before it is lost due to transverse relaxation. Thus, UTE sequences permit bone to be imaged with MRI albeit with weak intensity and poor resolution. Imaging with UTE in combination with careful image analysis can permit ionizing-radiation attenuation-maps to be derived from MR images. This dissertation and appended articles present a procedure for this very purpose. However, as attenuation coefficients are radiation-quality dependent the output of the method is a Hounsfield unit map, i.e. a substitute for a CT image. It can be converted into an attenuation map using conventional clinical procedure. Obviating the use of CT would reduce the number of examinations that patients have to endure during preparation for radiotherapy. It would also permit PET attenuation correction to be performed on images from the new imaging modality that combines PET and MRI in one scanner – PET/MR.

Single-beam echosounders are an inexpensive, practical and non-invasive means of remote sensing the seabed. Ideally, the common single-beam echosounder should be able to tell fishers, navigators, engineers and scientists what the seabed consists of in addition to water depth. Low-frequency underwater acoustic systems (<10 kHz) can do this in some circumstances, but are expensive, offer limited resolution and potentially hazardous to marine mammals. High-frequency systems, such as single and multibeam echosounders, are very effective at mapping bathymetry, but do not characterize the seabed directly. Instead, these systems divide the seabed into self-similar segments or classes, and then rely on ground-truth data (usually sediment grab samples) to assign seabed-type labels such as sand, etc., to the classes. However, inadequate and inaccurate ground-truth is a major problem. Single-beam seabed classification methods also suffer from a lack of discriminatory power and from artefacts such as water depth and seabed slope. The cause of these problems is that the methods lack a basis in physics and are mainly statistical. Then, the central objective in this dissertation is to develop physics-based methods to improve classification and to address the problem of ground-truth by inferring seabed characteristics directly from the acoustics. An overview of current methods is presented along with case studies of single-beam surveys to introduce the current seabed classification method called QTC VIEW™ and to identify specific problems. A physical basis is established in scattering and geometrical theories and observations of field and model data. This leads to new classification and characterization methods that overcome the shortcomings of current seabed classification methods. Advancements also include new physical models of echosounding. The new methods are presented, implemented and evaluated. Highlights of experimental results include a new testbed located in Patricia Bay, British Columbia. The testbed consists of exhaustive ground-truth, surveys and novel controlled experiments with various single-beam echosounders, ranging in frequency from 12 to 200 kHz. Simulated echo time series data from the numerical BORIS model and a new analytic model are used to augment the testbed. Evaluation of experimental results shows the new physics-based methodology improves seabed classification significantly and enables seabed characterization by an uncalibrated single-beam echosounder. / Graduate

The technique of ¹H spin echo n.m.r. has been used for the non-invasive study of enzyme catalysed ¹H/²H equilibrium isotope exchange at the C-2 position of lactate in suspensions of human erythroeytes. The intracellular environment of the enzymes involved in this exchange has been investigated by comparing the exchange properties of the enzymes in the intact cell with the properties they display in vitro. A study of the exchange of the lactate C-2 substituent with solvent, which is catalysed by a coupled system of four glycolytic enzymes, has teen used to examine the kinetic properties of the individual enzymes in vitro. Measurements of the exchange in the intact cell have been used to investigate the in situ kinetic properties of one of these enzymes, glyceraldehydephosphate dehydrogenase. Contrary to the conclusions of previous studies with the isolated enzyme in vitro, these measurements have shown that the enzyme is not rate determining for glycolytic flux in the human erythrocyte and that it is unlikely that it is bound to the cell membrane in situ. A study of ¹H/²H exchange between the C-2 positions of methyl labelled lactate molecules, catalysed by lactate dehydrogenase, has been used to investigate the in situ kinetic properties of this enzyme. Comparison of these properties with those it displays in vitro indicate that the free intracellular NAD(H) concentration in the erythrocyte is only approximately 10% of the total extractable concentration. A considerable fraction of the coenzyme must be bound, therefore, in the intact cell. This type of experiment should be widely applicable to a variety of tissues and possibly to different dehydrogenases. Theoretical aspects of bulk isotope exchange kinetics in multi-enzyme systems are examined and the effects of chemical flux, and of isotope effects, on the measurement of isotopic flux are considered. The advantages of the n.m.r. method over conventional radioactive tracer techniques are described. It is concluded that ¹H n.m.r. studies of ¹H/²H isotope exchange may be used to obtain information about the kinetic properties of enzymes in intact cellular systems. The technique should be a useful complement, therefore, to the currently more widely used n.m.r. methods employing the ³¹P and ¹³C nuclei and to other methods used for the non-invasive study of metabolism.

In den vergangenen Jahren wurde ein Anstieg der Anzahl infektiöser Gastroenteritiden beobachtet, welche durch Viren hervorgerufen wurden. In vielen Fällen ließen sich Infektionen auf den Verzehr kontaminierter Lebensmittel zurückführen. In diesem Zusammenhang wurde der Begriff der sogenannten „food borne viruses“ geprägt. Welche Bedeutung Rohwurstprodukten bei der Übertragung humanpathogener Viren zukommt, kann derzeit nur anhand weniger objektiver wissenschaftlicher Fakten eingeschätzt werden. Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigte sich mit Studien zu Tenazität und Inaktivierung von Viren in Rohwurstprodukten. Dabei wurde ECHO-Virus stellvertretend für die Spezies humaner Enteroviren untersucht. Enteroviren zeichnen sich durch eine hohe Tenazität aus. Als ein wichtiger Vertreter kann Polio-Virus angeführt werden, welches bekanntlich durch Lebensmittel übertragbar ist. Im Zuge der aktuellen Problematik mit aviären Influenzaviren wurden stellvertretend zwei niedrigpathogene Isolate aviärer Influenzaviren für die Versuchsreihen gewählt. Die gewonnenen Ergebnisse sollten dazu beitragen, die Rolle des Lebensmittels Rohwurst bei der Übertragung lebensmittelassoziierter Virusinfektionen besser abschätzen zu können (hinsichtlich einer Risikobewertung) und Aussagen hinsichtlich möglicher Maßnahmen zur Risikominimierung zu ermöglichen. vorgenommen werden.

The objective of this research is to introduce a neural network based solution for the problem of measuring the actual amount of harmonic current injected into a power network by an individual nonlinear load. Harmonic currents from nonlinear loads propagate through the system and cause harmonic pollution. As a result, voltage at the point of common coupling (PCC) is rarely sinusoidal. The IEEE 519 harmonic standard provides customer and utility harmonic limits and many utilities are now requiring their customers to comply with IEEE 519. Measurements of the customer’s current at the PCC are expected to determine the customer’s compliance with IEEE 519. However, results in this research show that the current measurements at the PCC are not always reliable in that determination. In such a case, it may be necessary to determine what the customer’s true current harmonic distortions would be if the PCC voltage could be a pure sinusoidal voltage. However, establishing a pure sinusoidal voltage at the PCC may not be feasible since that would mean performing utility switching to reduce the system impedance. An alternative approach is to use a neural network that is able to learn the customer’s load admittance. Then, it is possible to predict the customer’s true current harmonic distortions based on mathematically applying a pure sinusoidal voltage to the learned load admittance. The proposed method is called load modeling. Load modeling predicts the true harmonic current that can be attributed to a customer regardless of whether a resonant condition exists on the utility power system. If a corrective action is taken by the customer, another important parameter of interest is the change in the voltage distortion level at the PCC due to the corrective action of the customer. This issue is also addressed by using the dual of the load modeling method. Topologies of the neural networks used in this research include multilayer perceptron neural networks and recurrent neural networks. The theory and implementation of a new neural network topology known as an Echo State Networks is also introduced. The proposed methods are verified on a number of different power electronic test circuits as well as field data. The main advantages of the proposed methods are that only waveforms of voltages and currents are required for their operation and they are applicable to both single and three phase systems. The proposed methods can be integrated into any existing power quality instrument or can be fabricated into a commercial standalone instrument that could be installed in substations of large customer loads, or used as a hand-held clip on instrument.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1998. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. [147]-158).