ITC/USA 2010 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Sixth Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 25-28, 2010 / Town and Country Resort & Convention Center, San Diego, California / The deployment of network-based airborne instrumentation systems is leading to cost-efficient replacement of legacy instrumentation systems. One application of airborne data acquisition that has been developed and maintained separately from traditional avionics and orange-wire data acquisition systems is high-speed camera packages. The development of network-based instrumentation systems has led to an opportunity to unify these two previously distinct airborne data acquisition activities. This paper describes the range-video network-based instrumentation system (rNET) being implemented by the 46th Test Wing, 846th Test Support Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base, FL to replace the existing Airborne Separation Video System (ASVS).

Road traffic accidents continue to be a public health problem and are a global issue due to the huge financial burden they place on families and society as a whole. Speed has been identified as a major contributor to the severity of traffic accidents and there is the need for better speed management if road traffic accidents are to be reduced. Over the years various measures have been implemented to manage vehicle speeds. The use of speed cameras and vehicle activated signs in recent times has contributed to the reduction of vehicle speeds to various extents. Speed cameras use punitive measures whereas vehicle activated signs do not so their use depends on various factors. Engineers, planners and decision makers responsible for determining the best place to mount a speed camera or vehicle activated sign along a road have based their decision on experience, site characteristics and available guidelines (Department for Transport, 2007; Department for Transport, 2006; Department for Transport, 2003). These decisions can be subjective and indications are that a more formal and directed approach aimed at bringing these available guidelines together in a model will be beneficial in making the right decision as to where to place a speed camera or vehicle activated sign is to be made. The use of optimisation techniques have been applied in other areas of research but this has been clearly absent in the Transport Safety sector. This research aims to contribute to speed reduction by developing a model to help decision makers determine the optimum location for a speed control device. In order to achieve this, the first study involved the development of an Empirical Bayes Negative Binomial regression accident prediction model to predict the number of fatal and serious accidents combined and the number of slight accidents. The accident prediction model that was used explored the effect of certain geometric and traffic characteristics on the effect of the severity of road traffic accident numbers on selected A-roads within the Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire regions of United Kingdom. On A-roads some model variables (n=10) were found to be statistically significant for slight accidents and (n=6) for fatal and serious accidents. The next study used the accident prediction model developed in two optimisation techniques to help predict the optimal location for speed cameras or vehicle activated signs. Pattern Search and Genetic Algorithms were the two main types of optimisation techniques utilised in this thesis. The results show that the two methods did produce similar results in some instances but different in others. Optimised results were compared to some existing sites with speed cameras some of the results obtained from the optimisation techniques used were within proximity of about 160m. A validation method was applied to the genetic algorithm and pattern search optimisation methods. The pattern search method was found to be more consistent than the genetic algorithm method. Genetic algorithm results produced slightly different results at validation in comparison with the initial results. T-test results show a significant difference in the function values for the validated genetic algorithm (M= 607649.34, SD= 1055520.75) and the validated pattern search function values (M= 2.06, SD= 1.17) under the condition t (79) = 5.15, p=0.000. There is a role that optimisation techniques can play in helping to determine the optimum location for a speed camera or vehicle activated sign based on a set of objectives and specified constraints. The research findings as a whole show that speed cameras and vehicle activated signs are an effective speed management tool. Their deployment however needs to be carefully considered by engineers, planners and decision makers so as to achieve the required level of effectiveness. The use of optimisation techniques which has been generally absent in the Transport Safety sector has been shown in this thesis to have the potential to contribute to improve speed management. There is however no doubt that this research will stimulate interest in this rather new but high potential area of Transport Safety.

"Hearing loss affects approximately 1 in 10 people in the world and this percentage is increasing every year. Some of the most common causes of hearing loss are disorders of the middle-ear. Early detection and diagnosis of hearing loss as well as research to understand the hearing processes depend on medical and research tools for quantification of hearing capabilities and the function of the middle-ear in the complex acousto-mechanical transformation of environmental sounds into vibrations of the middle-ear, particular of the human tympanic membrane (TM or eardrum). Current ear exams assess the state of a patient’s hearing capabilities mainly based on qualitative evaluation of the healthiness of the TM. Existing quantitative clinical methods for description of the motion of the TM are limited to either average acoustic estimates (admittance or reflectance) or single-point displacement measurements. Such methods could leave examiners and researchers blind to the complex spatio-temporal response of the nanometer scale displacements of the entire TM. Current state-of-the-art medical research tools provide full-field nanometer displacement measurements of the surface of the human TM excited by steady state (tonal) stimuli. However, to fully understand the mechanics of hearing, and the complex acousto-mechanical characteristics of TM in particular, new tools are needed for full-field high-speed characterization of the nanometer scale displacements of the human TM subjected to impulse (wideband) acoustic excitation. This Dissertation reports the development of a new high-speed holographic system (HHS) for full-field nanometer transient (i.e., > 10 kHz) displacement measurement of the human middle-ear and the tympanic membrane, in particular. The HHS allows spatial (i.e., >500k data points) and temporal (i.e., > 40 kHz) resolutions that enable the study of the acoustical and mechanical characteristics of the middle-ear at a level of detail that have never been reached before. The realization of the HHS includes the development and implementation of novel phase sampling and acquisition approaches that allow the use of state-of-the-art high-resolution (i.e., >5 MP) and high-speed (> 80,000 fps) cameras through modular and expandable control architectures. The development of novel acquisition approaches allows the use of conventional speed (i.e., <20 fps) cameras to realize high-temporal resolutions (i.e., <15 us) at equivalent sampling rates of > 50,000 fps with minimum hardware cost and modifications. The design and implementation of novel spatio-temporal phase sampling methods utilize the high temporal resolution (i.e., < 5 us exposure) and frame rate (i.e., >80,000 fps) of high-speed cameras without imposing constraints on their spatial resolution (i.e., >20 um pixel size). Additionally, the research and in-vivo applications capabilities of the HHS are extended through the development and implementation of a holographic otoscope head (OH) and a mechatronic otoscope positioner (MOP). The large (i.e., > 1 GB with > 8x10^9 parameters) spatio-temporal data sets of the HHS measurements are automatically processed by custom parallel data mining and interpretation (PDMI) methods, which allow automatic quantification of medically relevant motion parameters (MRMPs), such as modal frequencies, time constants, and acoustic delays. Such capabilities could allow inferring local material properties across the surface of the TM. The HHS is a new medical tool that enables otologists to improve the quality of diagnosis and treatments as well as provides researchers with spatio-temporal information of the hearing process at a level of detail never reached before. "

Orientador: Irenilza de Alencar Nääs / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Agrícola / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-25T10:56:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Neves_DiegoPereira_D.pdf: 2128104 bytes, checksum: aae1334cdaf344654741c087740bd7c6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014 / Resumo: Os frangos podem exibir diferentes padrões de movimentos biomecânicos as partes do corpo em relação às características físicas do alimento (tamanho, formato e dureza) durante a alimentação. As limitações anatômicas relacionadas com a idade, sexo e linhagem também podem afetar o processo mecânico de alimentação. Para determinar a importância desses parâmetros, as medidas relacionadas aos movimentos biomecânicos de partes corporais são necessárias. Em particular, a trajetória, dimensões e efeitos temporais relacionados com o bico do frango e com a movimentação da cabeça devem ser considerados. No entanto, determinar esta informação manualmente do vídeo por um operador humano é tedioso e propenso a erros. A presente tese tem como objetivo avaliar o impacto de três tipos distintos de ração sobre a biomecânica da alimentação de frangos de corte. O total de 19 pintos de corte machos foram filmados durante a alimentação aos 3 e 4 dias de idade através de uma câmera de alta velocidade com taxa de aquisição de 250 fps (quadros por segundo). As rações avaliadas foram: farelada fina (F1), farelada grossa (F2) e quebrada (F3), no qual o diâmetro geométrico médio e o desvio padrão geométrico foram 476?m (2.54), 638?m (2.56), e 1243?m (2.43) , respectivamente. O peso e a morfometria do bico (comprimento e largura) foram medidos após as gravações. O deslocamento da cabeça das aves durante as fases `mouthful¿ e `mandibulação¿ e a abertura máxima do bico foram mensurados por de análise computacional de imagem. A fase `mouthful¿ consistiu no movimento da cabeça de forma ininterrupta direção oblíqua ou vertical em direção à ração até que a partícula de alimento fosse capturada. A fase `mandibulação¿ consistiu em um ciclo de abertura e de fechamento do bico, na qual existe uma abertura máxima do bico. Estas fases foram classificadas manualmente como: `mouthful¿ como 'sucedido' ou 'fracassado' e `mandibulações¿ como `catch-and-throw¿ (CT) ou `slide-and-glue¿ (SG). O `mouthful sucedido¿ consistiu quando a ave capturou o alimento com sucesso, e a `mouthful fracassado¿ quando a ave errou a partícula de alimento. `Catch-and-throw¿ consistiu no reposicionamento da partícula na ponta bico antes de iniciar o transporte para o interior da cavidade oral. `Slide-and-glue¿ consistiu na deslocação da língua até a ponta em bico para aderir as partículas de alimento com o auxílio da saliva pegajosa e transportar para o interior da cavidade oral. Os resultados indicaram correlações significativas de fraca intensidade entre o peso, as características morfométricas do bico e as variáveis biomecânicas, bem como correlação entre a abertura máxima do bico e o deslocamento cabeça. O deslocamento da cabeça foi maior no `mouthful sucedido¿ (0,439 mm ± 0,002) em relação ao `mouthful fracassado¿ (0,371 mm ± 0,005). Além disso, o deslocamento da cabeça foi mais expressivo em F3 (0,526 mm ± 0,005), F2 (0,519 mm ± 0,004) e F1 (0,431 mm ± 0,003), respectivamente. O deslocamento da cabeça também foi significativamente maior para CT (0,245 mm ± 0,001) do que SG (0,114 mm ± 0,000). Considerando os diferentes tipos de ração, o deslocamento da cabeça para CT foi maior em F3, F1 e F2, enquanto que para SG foram maiores em F3, F2 e F1, respectivamente. A abertura máxima do bico também foi maior para CT (0,245 mm ± 0,001) do que SG (0,114 mm ± 0,00). Além do mais, para CT foi maior no F3 e F1 que em F2, enquanto que para SG foi maior para F1, F3 e F2, respectivamente. Assim, os diferentes tamanhos das partículas de ração (granulometria) foi, potencialmente, o fator chave para o movimento dos pintos durante a alimentação. Além disso, esta relação não foi proporcional à granulometria, explicada por valores mais elevados em F3 e F1. A ocorrência de `mouthful fracassado¿ foi 18,0% para F3, 11,2% para F2 e 6,6% para a F1. Para a classificação das mandibulações, observou-se a maior frequência de CT em F3 (26,1%), F1 (24,9%) e F2 (17,9%), respectivamente. Esta situação sugere que os pintos capturaram as partículas na ponta bico de maneira mais adequada para a deglutição com a granulometria 638µm (F2) do que 476?m (F1) e 1243µm (F3), explicada pela menor movimentação e necessidade de reposicionamento das partículas de alimento. De forma geral, a tecnologia de câmeras de alta velocidade combinada com análise computacional de imagem adotada neste experimento foi um método eficaz para análise de movimentação. É desejável uma melhor compreensão das limitações mecânicas do aparelho bucal das aves durante a alimentação, a fim de determinar a relação entre os diferentes tipos de alimentos sobre os padrões biomecânicas exibidos pelas aves / Abstract: Broiler chickens may exhibit different biomechanical motions patterns of the body parts in relation to the physical properties of feed (size, shape and hardness) while feeding. The anatomical limitations related to age, gender and breed may also impact the feeding mechanical process. To determine the significance of these parameters, measurements related to the biomechanical motions of body parts are required. In particular, the trajectory, dimensions and temporal effects related to the chicken¿s beak and head movements should be considered. However, determining this information manually from video by a human operator is tedious and prone to errors. The present thesis aims assess the impact of three different feed types on the biomechanics of feeding behaviour of broiler chicks. A total of 19 male broiler chicks were recorded while feeding at 3 and 4-d-old using a high-speed camera with an acquisition rate of 250 fps (frames per second). The feed types considered were: fine mash (F1), coarse mash (F2) and crumbled (F3), in which the geometric mean diameter and the geometric standard deviation were 476µm (2.54), 638µm (2.56), and 1243µm (2.43), respectively. The birds¿ weight and morphometric traits of the beak (length and width) were measured after the recordings. The birds¿ head displacement during mouthful and mandibulation phases and the maximum beak gape were measured through computational image analysis. Mouthful phase consisted an uninterruptedly head movement towards feed in an oblique or vertical direction until the feed particle is grasped. Mandibulation phase consisted in one cycle of opening and closing of the beak, in which there is a maximum beak gape. These phases were manually classified, as follows: mouthfuls as `normal¿ or `fail¿ and mandibulations as catch-and-throw (CT) or slide-and-glue (SG). Normal mouthful was when the bird successfully grasped the feed, and fail mouthful was when the birds missed the feed. Catch-and-throw is when the feed is repositioned within the beak tip before starting the transport into the oral cavity. Slide-and-glue consists in the displacement of the tongue up to the beak tip in order to glue the feed particles with the aid of the sticky saliva and carry inward oral cavity. The results indicated significant correlations of weak intensity between weight, morphometric traits of the beak, and the biomechanical variables, as well as correlation between maximum beak gape and head displacement. The head displacement was higher in a normal mouthful (0.439 mm ± 0.002) than fail mouthful (0.371 mm ± 0.005). Furthermore, head displacement was more expressive in F3 (0.526 mm ± 0.005), F2 (0.519 mm ± 0.004), and F1 (0.431 mm ± 0.003), respectively. The head displacement was also significantly higher for CT technique (0.245 mm ± 0.001) than SG (0.114 mm ± 0.000). Considering the different feed types, head displacement for CT was higher in F3, F1 and F2, while for SG were higher in F3, F2, and F1, respectively. The maximum beak gape was also higher for CT (0.245 mm ±0.001) than SG (0.114 mm ± 0.00). Moreover, for CT it was higher in F3 and F1 than in F2, while for SG was higher for F1, F3 and F2, respectively. Thus, the different size of the feed particles (granulometry) was potentially the key factor for the chicks¿ motion while feeding. Besides, this relation was not proportional to the granulometry, explained by higher values for F3 and F1. The occurrence of `fail mouthful¿ was 18,0% for F3, 11,2% for F2 and 6,6% for F1, respectively. For mandibulations classification, it was observed a higher frequency of CT in F3 (26,1%), F1 (24,9%), and F2 (17,9%). This situation suggests that the chicks grasped the particles in the beak tip more properly for swallowing with the granulometry 638µm (F2) than 476µm (F1), and 1243µm (F3), explained by the less motion and necessity of repositioning the feed particles. Overall, the high-speed camera technology combined with computational image analysis adopted in this experiment was an effective method for motion analysis. It is desirable a better understanding of the mechanical limitations of the birds¿ jaw apparatus while feeding in order to determine the relationship between different types of feed in biomechanical patterns displayed by the birds / Doutorado / Construções Rurais e Ambiencia / Doutor em Engenharia Agrícola

Las lesiones por tráfico son un importante problema de salud pública en España. En 2004, el gobierno español estableció la seguridad vial como una prioridad política, y creó el Plan Estratégico de Seguridad Vial 2005-2008, que propone una serie de medidas dirigidas a disminuir el impacto de las lesiones por tráfico en España. Los objetivos de la tesis son revisar las intervenciones de seguridad vial que se han demostrado efectivas en reducir las lesiones y mortalidad por tráfico y evaluar el impacto en morbilidad y mortalidad por tráfico del conjunto de medidas implementadas en España a partir del año 2004 y de algunas de las medidas implementadas, concretamente el permiso por puntos, la reforma del Código Penal y los radares. El diseño de todos los estudios de evaluación consistió en estudios de series temporales interrumpidas. Las poblaciones de estudio fueron el número de colisiones, conductores involucrados en colisiones con lesionados y personas lesionadas por tráfico en España entre los años 2000 y 2008. Las fuentes de información fueron bases de datos de policía y hospitalarias. Se ajustaron modelos de regresión Quasi-Poisson, controlando la tendencia temporal y la estacionalidad. Los estudios incluidos en la tesis sugieren que la priorización de la seguridad vial en el año 2004 supuso un cambio en la tendencia de las lesiones por tráfico en España, y fue especialmente efectiva en reducir el número de lesionados graves. Entre las intervenciones incluidas en el Plan Estratégico de Seguridad Vial 2005-2008, se evaluó la efectividad de los radares, el permiso por puntos y la criminalización de una serie de comportamientos de tráfico – mediante la reforma del Código Penal –, medidas que redujeron el impacto de las lesiones por tráfico en España. Sin embargo, la revisión de la literatura incluida en la tesis identificó diversas medidas efectivas de seguridad vial, como el permiso de conducir gradual, que todavía no han sido implementadas y que podrían reducir todavía más el número de personas lesionadas en las carreteras españolas. Será necesario realizar esfuerzos importantes y adjudicar suficientes recursos para mantener el nivel de seguridad vial alcanzado. Además, se deberán implementar más medidas efectivas de seguridad vial para reducir el todavía inaceptablemente elevado número de personas lesionadas o muertas en las carreteras españolas cada día. / Road traffic injuries are an important public health problem in Spain. In 2004, the Spanish government established road safety as a political priority, and created the Road Safety Strategic Programme 2005-2008, which proposes a series of actions aimed to reduce the burden of traffic injuries in Spain. The objectives of the present thesis are to review the road safety interventions which have proven to be effective in reducing road traffic deaths and injuries, and to assess the impact on traffic morbidity and mortality of overall road safety interventions implemented in Spain from the year 2004 on and of specific road safety interventions implemented, specifically the penalty points system, the reform of the Penal Code and speed cameras. The design of all the intervention evaluation studies consisted in interrupted time-series studies. The number of injury crashes, drivers involved in injury collisions, and people injured in traffic collisions in Spain between the years 2000-2008 were the study populations. Police and hospital registries were used as sources of information. Quasi-Poisson regression models were adjusted, controlling for time trend and seasonal patterns. The studies included in the present thesis suggest that the prioritisation of road safety in the year 2004 changed the trend of road traffic injuries in Spain, being especially effective in reducing the number of seriously injured people. Among the interventions included in the Road Safety Strategic Programme 2005-2008, speed cameras, the penalty points system, and the criminalisation of a set of road behaviours - by means of reforming the Penal Code – were assessed for effectiveness and were observed to reduce the burden of traffic injuries in Spain. Nevertheless, the literature review included in the thesis identified several effective road safety interventions, such as the graduated licensing system, that have not been implemented as yet, and which could further reduce the number of people injured on the Spanish roads. Important efforts and enough resources will be needed to maintain the level of road safety achieved. Furthermore, additional effective road safety measures should be implemented to reduce the still unacceptably high number of people injured or killed on the Spanish roads every day.

QC 351 A7 no. 07 / The Meinel Reducing Camera for the U. S. Naval Observatory's 60-inch telescope, Flagstaff, Arizona, comprises an f /10 collimator designed by Meinel and Wilkerson, and a Leica 50-mm f/2 Summicron camera lens. The collimator consists of a thick, 5-inch field lens located close to the focal plane of the telescope, plus four additional elements extending toward the camera. The collimator has an efl of 10 inches, yielding a 1-inch exit pupil that coincides with the camera's entrance pupil, 1.558 inches beyond the final surface of the collimator. There is room between the facing lenses of the collimator and camera to place filters and a grating. The collimated light here is the best possible situation for interference filters. Problems of the collimator design work included astigmatism due to the stop's being so far outside the collimator, and field curvature. Two computer programs were used in development of the collimator design. Initial work, begun in 1964, was with the University of Rochester's ORDEALS program (this was the first time the authors had used such a program) and was continued through July, 1965. Development subsequently was continued and completed on the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory's program, LASL. The final design, completed January 24, 1966, was evaluated with ORDEALS. This project gave a good opportunity to compare ORDEALS, an "aberration" program, with LASL, a "ray deviation" program. It was felt that LASL was the superior program in this case, and some experimental runs beginning with flat slabs of glass indicated that it could have been used for the entire development of the collimator. Calculated optical performance of the design indicated that the reducing camera should be "seeing limited" for most work. Some astigmatism was apparent, but the amount did not turn out to be harmful in actual astronomical use. After the final design was arrived at, minor changes were made to accommodate actual glass indices of the final melt, and later to accommodate slight changes of radii and thicknesses of the elements as fabricated. An additional small change in spacing between two of the elements was made at the observatory after the reducing camera had been in use for a short time. The fabricated camera is working according to expectations. Some photographs are included in the report to illustrate its performance and utility.