CHARACTERIZATION OF BIDIRECTIONAL TRANSMISSIVE AND REFLECTIVE PROPERTIES OF BLACK SILICON

This paper describes the initial work of characterizing the transmissive and reflective properties of black silicon diffusers. The diffusers were fabricated from a 100 mm diameter black silicon sample at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). The directional hemispherical reflectance from 250 nm to 2500 nm and BRDF/BTDF measurements at 632.8 nm, 1064 nm, and 1550 nm were measured using the GSFC Diffuser Calibration Laboratory’s (DCL) spectrophotometer and optical scatterometer. The diffusers exhibit a low level of specular reflection up to ~1100 nm with no evidence of retroscatter. The measurements are traceable to those made at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Facial Expressions and Emotion Labels Are Separate Initiators of Trait Inferences From the Face

Facial inferencing research began with an inadvertent confound. The initial work by Paul Ekman and Wallace Friesen identified the six now-classic facial expressions by the emotion labels chosen by most participants: anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise. These labels have been used by most of the published facial inference research studies over the last 50 years. However, not all participants in these studies labeled the expressions with the same emotions. For example, that some participants labeled scowling faces as disgusted rather than angry was seen in very early research by Silvan Tomkins and Robert McCarty. Given that the same facial expressions can be paired with different emotions, our research focused on the following questions: Do participants make different personality, temperament, and social trait inferences when assigning different emotion labels to the same facial expression? And what is the stronger cause of trait inferences, the facial expressions themselves, or the emotion labels given to the expressions? Using an online survey format participants were presented with older and younger female and male smiling or scowling faces selected from a validated facial database. Participants responded to questions regarding the social traits of attractiveness, facial maturity, honesty, and threat potential, the temperament traits of positiveness, dominance, excitability, and the Saucier Mini-marker Big Five personality trait adjective scale, while viewing each face. Participants made positive inferences to smiling faces and negative inferences to scowling faces on all dependent variables. Data from participants labeling the scowling faces as angry were compared to those who labeled the faces as disgusted. Results indicate that those labeling the scowling faces as angry perceived the faces significantly more negatively on 11 of the 12 dependent variables than those who labeled the same faces as disgusted. The inferences made by the “disgust” labelers were not positive; just less negative. The results indicate that different emotion labels made to scowling faces can either intensify or reduce negativity in inferences, but the facial expressions themselves determine negativity or positivity.

Development of the DREAM System: Digital Reminders for Everyday Activity Memory

Prospective memory, the ability to remember to execute an intention in the future, is crucial for the performance of many everyday tasks important for independent living. Prospective memory abilities decline with age, and older adults living with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), cognitive impairment due to traumatic brain injury (TBI), and cognitive impairment due to stroke are especially susceptible to prospective memory failures. The goal of the Digital Reminders for Everyday Activity Memory (DREAM) project is first to establish proof of concept for an adaptive cognitive aid to support the prospective memory of older adults with various cognitive impairments, and then establish proof of product in studies examining the use of a working prototype within the lab and within participants’ homes. Data will be presented from initial work verifying product requirements through engagement with stakeholders, including subject matter experts, older adults with cognitive impairments, and their care partners.

Increasing the Focus on Children's Complex and Integrated Care Needs: A Position Paper of the European Academy of Pediatrics

There is wide variation in terminology used to refer to children living with complex needs, across clinical, research and policy settings. It is important to seek to reconcile this variation to support the effective development of programmes of care for this group of children and their families. The European Academy of Pediatrics (EAP) established a multidisciplinary Working Group on Complex Care and the initial work of this group examined how complex care is defined in the literature. A scoping review was conducted which yielded 87 papers with multiple terms found that refer to children living with complex needs. We found that elements of integrated care, an essential component of care delivery to these children, were repeatedly referred to, though it was never specifically incorporated into a term to describe complex care needs. This is essential for practice and policy, to continuously assert the need for integrated care where a complex care need exists. We propose the use of the term Complex and Integrated Care Needs as a suitable term to refer to children with varying levels of complexity who require continuity of care across a variety of health and social care settings.

Synthesis of 2-C-Branched Sugars

<p>A range of unnatural carbohydrates (sugars) with an unusual 2-C-bromomethylene branch have been synthesised by reaction of the 1,2-cyclopropanated carbohydrate 52 with different nucleophiles. Initial work to optimise the cyclopropane ring opening in the presence of sodium allyloxide/allyl alcohol provided anomers 140 and 141 in up to 75% yield. Use of sodium thiophenolate/thiophenol provided anomeric thioglycosides 181 and 182 (76% yield, 7:2 ratio), while sodium diethylamide/ diethylamine provided anomeric glycosylamines 183 and 184 (50% yield, 1:1 ratio). Further functionalisation of the 2-C-branch of 141 was performed using various palladium-catalysed cross-coupling reactions, providing a series of products. Reaction of 140 and 141 under acidic conditions caused E-Z isomerisation of the bromoalkene forming a single anomer, 194. Efforts to obtain mechanistic information about the cyclopropane ring opening were made through attempted trapping of a cyclopropene intermediate, deuterium labelling experiments, synthesis of possible stable intermediates and reactions with internal nucleophiles.</p>

Synthesis of 2-C-Branched Sugars

<p>A range of unnatural carbohydrates (sugars) with an unusual 2-C-bromomethylene branch have been synthesised by reaction of the 1,2-cyclopropanated carbohydrate 52 with different nucleophiles. Initial work to optimise the cyclopropane ring opening in the presence of sodium allyloxide/allyl alcohol provided anomers 140 and 141 in up to 75% yield. Use of sodium thiophenolate/thiophenol provided anomeric thioglycosides 181 and 182 (76% yield, 7:2 ratio), while sodium diethylamide/ diethylamine provided anomeric glycosylamines 183 and 184 (50% yield, 1:1 ratio). Further functionalisation of the 2-C-branch of 141 was performed using various palladium-catalysed cross-coupling reactions, providing a series of products. Reaction of 140 and 141 under acidic conditions caused E-Z isomerisation of the bromoalkene forming a single anomer, 194. Efforts to obtain mechanistic information about the cyclopropane ring opening were made through attempted trapping of a cyclopropene intermediate, deuterium labelling experiments, synthesis of possible stable intermediates and reactions with internal nucleophiles.</p>

Detection and Localization of Terrestrial L Band RFI with GNSS Receivers

GNSS signals are critically important for a wide range of commercial, military, and science applications. Recent studies have identified threats to the performance of GNSS from both intended and unintended sources of radio frequency interference (RFI). Understanding the distribution of the sources of RFI and the nature of the signals they are emitting is critical to determine and mitigate their effects on the measurements made by GNSS receivers. Terrestrial RFI can be substantially detrimental to the received GNSS signals, affecting the interpretation of related science measurements. NASA's Blackjack/TriG GNSS receivers are used for precise-orbit determination and radio occultation measurements, providing a data record spanning most of the Earth’s surface for nearly 20 years. We have developed a highly sensitive detection algorithm which uses variations in the measured signal to noise ratio (SNR), on the order of 10-50 seconds, common to all satellites to identify times and locations subject to RFI. Initial work has focused primarily on detection of the presence of RFI and using the receiver’s orbital solution to record the location of detection events. Our inter-mission analysis creates a unique record of global RFI with the potential for a) rigorous detection of the presence of interfering signals during science measurements, b) geolocation of RFI sources, and c) characterization of the nature of the transmitted signal to better identify intent. Preliminary analysis has shown the presence of RFI is well correlated with regional conflicts and other geopolitical activity.

The “Target Sign” in a 46-Year-Old Patient with COVID-19 Pneumonia

COVID-19 has various imaging manifestations, most commonly peripheral ground-glass opacities with a basilar posterior predominance. Less common imaging manifestations include consolidations, findings typical of organizing pneumonia, such as “halo” or a “reverse halo” sign, and vascular enlargement. Our case describes a “target sign” on CT, which is uncommon but is increasingly being recognized. The target sign consists of a central nodular opacity with surrounding ground-glass opacity, then a surrounding relatively lucent ring, and a more peripheral ring of consolidation or ground-glass opacification. This may be the sequela of focal vascular enlargement, endothelial injury, microangiopathy, and perivascular inflammation. The case described involves a 46-year-old male who presented with subjective fevers, nonproductive cough, and hypoxia, subsequently diagnosed with COVID-19. CT imaging performed as part of initial work-up revealed multifocal ground-glass opacities scattered throughout the lung parenchyma, as well as multiple target sign lesions. Although it is a rare finding, the target sign, when present, may suggest the diagnosis of COVID-19.

Georeferencing Oblique Aerial Wildfire Photographs: An Untapped Source of Fire Behaviour Data

In this study, we investigate a novel application of the photogrammetric monoplotting technique for assessing wildfires. We demonstrate the use of the software program WSL Monoplotting Tool (MPT) to georeference operational oblique aerial wildfire photographs taken during airtanker response in the early stages of fire growth. We located the position of the fire front in georeferenced pairs of photos from five fires taken 31–118 min apart, and calculated the head fire spread distance and head fire rate of spread (HROS). Our example photos were taken 0.7 to 4.7 km from fire fronts, with camera angles of incidence from −19 to −50° to image centre. Using high quality images with detailed landscape features, it is possible to identify fire front positions with high precision; in our example data, the mean 3D error was 0.533 m and the maximum 3D error for individual fire runs was less than 3 m. This resulted in a maximum HROS error due to monoplotting of only ~0.5%. We then compared HROS estimates with predictions from the Canadian Fire Behavior Prediction System, with differences mainly attributed to model error or uncertainty in weather and fuel inputs. This method can be used to obtain observations to validate fire spread models or create new empirical relationships where databases of such wildfire photos exist. Our initial work suggests that monophotogrammetry can provide reproducible estimates of fire front position, spread distance and rate of spread with high accuracy, and could potentially be used to characterize other fire features such as flame and smoke plume dimensions and spotting.