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At least 181 records · Page 10

Pick and Eat Crop Testing: Dwarf Tomato and Pepper as Candidate Space Crops

Several dwarf tomato and pepper varieties were evaluated under International Space Station (ISS)-simulated growth conditions (22 degrees Centigrade, 50 percent relative humidity, 1500 parts per million CO2, and 300 micromoles per square meter per second of light for 16 hours per day) with the goal of selecting those with the best growth, nutrition, and organoleptic potential for use in a pick and eat salad crop system on ISS and future exploration flights. Testing included six cultivars of tomato (Red Robin, Scarlet Sweet 'N' Neat, Tiny Tim, Mohamed, Patio Princess, and Tumbler) and six cultivars of pepper (Red Skin, Fruit Basket, Cajun Belle, Chablis, Sweet Pickle, and Pompeii). Plants were grown to an age sufficient to produce fruit (up to 106 days for tomato and 109 days for pepper) using Turface (arcillite) potting media with 18-6-8 control-release fertilizer and supplemental nutrient solution beginning around 60-days-age. Tomato fruits were harvested when they showed full red color, beginning around 70-days age and then at weekly intervals thereafter, while peppers were grown until fruits showed color and were harvested twice (first test) and just once at the end of the second test, with the final harvests including colored and green fruit. Plant sizes, yields, and nutritional attributes were measured and used to down-select to three cultivars for each species. In particular, we were interested in cultivars that were short (dwarf) but still produced high yields. Nutritional data included elemental (Ca, Mg, Fe, and K) content, vitamin K, phenolics, lycopene (for tomato), anthocyanin, lutein, and zeaxanthin. The three down-selected cultivars for each species were grown again and the harvested fruit sent to NASA's Johnson Space Center for sensory evaluation, which included overall acceptability, appearance, color intensity, aroma, flavor and texture. The combined data were compared and given weighting factors to rank the cultivars as candidates for testing in space. Weightings gave maximum importance to plant size (smaller being good) and fruit yield (greater yields being good). For tomato, the ranking was 1) cultivar Mohamed and cultivar Red Robin (tied), and 3) cultivar Sweet N' Neat. For pepper, the ranking was 1) cultivar Pompeii, 2) cultivar Red Skin, and 3) cultivar Fruit Basket. These rankings are somewhat subjective but provide a starting point for conducting higher fidelity testing with these crops (e.g., testing with light emitting diode lighting similar to the Veggie plant unit on ISS), and ultimately conducting a flight experiment.

Food↗

Sensitivity Analysis of the Integrated Medical Model for ISS Programs

Sensitivity analysis estimates the relative contribution of the uncertainty in input values to the uncertainty of model outputs. Partial Rank Correlation Coefficient (PRCC) and Standardized Rank Regression Coefficient (SRRC) are methods of conducting sensitivity analysis on nonlinear simulation models like the Integrated Medical Model (IMM). The PRCC method estimates the sensitivity using partial correlation of the ranks of the generated input values to each generated output value. The partial part is so named because adjustments are made for the linear effects of all the other input values in the calculation of correlation between a particular input and each output. In SRRC, standardized regression-based coefficients measure the sensitivity of each input, adjusted for all the other inputs, on each output. Because the relative ranking of each of the inputs and outputs is used, as opposed to the values themselves, both methods accommodate the nonlinear relationship of the underlying model. As part of the IMM v4.0 validation study, simulations are available that predict 33 person-missions on ISS and 111 person-missions on STS. These simulated data predictions feed the sensitivity analysis procedures. The inputs to the sensitivity procedures include the number occurrences of each of the one hundred IMM medical conditions generated over the simulations and the associated IMM outputs: total quality time lost (QTL), number of evacuations (EVAC), and number of loss of crew lives (LOCL). The IMM team will report the results of using PRCC and SRRC on IMM v4.0 predictions of the ISS and STS missions created as part of the external validation study. Tornado plots will assist in the visualization of the condition-related input sensitivities to each of the main outcomes. The outcomes of this sensitivity analysis will drive review focus by identifying conditions where changes in uncertainty could drive changes in overall model output uncertainty. These efforts are an integral part of the overall verification, validation, and credibility review of IMM v4.0.

medical equipment↗

Dwarf Tomato and Pepper Cultivars for Space Crops

Several dwarf tomato and pepper varieties were evaluated under ISS-simulated growth conditions (22ºC, 50% RH, 1500 ppm CO2, and 300 μmol m(exp -2) s(exp -1) of light for 16 h per day) with the goal of selecting those with the best growth, nutrition, and organoleptic potential for use in a pick and eat salad crop system on ISS and future exploration flights. Testing included six cultivars of tomato (Red Robin, Scarlet Sweet ’N’ Neat, Tiny Tim, Mohamed, Patio Princess, and Tumbler) and six cultivars of pepper (Red Skin, Fruit Basket, Cajun Belle, Chablis, Sweet Pickle, and Pompeii). Plants were grown to an age sufficient to produce fruit (70 to 106 days for tomato and 109 days for pepper). Tomato fruits were harvested when they showed full red color, beginning ca. 70-days age and then at weekly intervals thereafter, while peppers were grown until numerous fruits showed color and all fruits (green and colored) were harvested once at the end of the test. Plant sizes, yields, and nutritional attributes were measured and used to down-select to three cultivars for each species. In particular, we were interested in cultivars that were short (dwarf) but still produced high yields. Nutritional data included elemental (Ca, Mg, Fe, and K) composition, vitamin K, phenolics, lycopene, anthocyanin, lutein, and zeaxanthin. The three down-selected cultivars for each species were evaluated for sensory attributes, including overall acceptability, appearance, color intensity aroma, flavor and texture. The combined data were compared and given weighting factors to rank the cultivars as potential candidates for testing in space. For tomato, the ranking was 1) cv. Mohamed, 2) cv. Red Robin, and 3) cv. Sweet N’ Neat. For pepper, the ranking was 1) cv. Pompeii, 2) cv. Red Skin, and 3) cv. Fruit Basket. These rankings are somewhat subjective but provide a good starting point for conducting higher fidelity testing with these crops (e.g., testing with LED lighting similar to the Veggie plant unit), and ultimately conducting flight experiments.

Spencer, LaShelle E.↗

Evaluation of 18 Satellite- and Model-Based Soil Moisture Products Using in Situ Measurements From 826 Sensors

Information about the spatiotemporal variability of soil moisture is critical for many purposes, including monitoring of hydrologic extremes, irrigation scheduling, and prediction of agricultural yields. We evaluated the temporal dynamics of 18 state-of-the-art (quasi-)global near-surface soil moisture products, including six based on satellite retrievals, six based on models without satellite data assimilation (referred to hereafter as “open-loop” models), and six based on models that assimilate satellite soil moisture or brightness temperature data. Seven of the products are introduced for the first time in this study: one multi-sensor merged satellite product called MeMo (Merged soil Moisture) and six estimates from the HBV (Hydrologiska Byråns Vattenbalansavdelning) model with three precipitation inputs (ERA5, IMERG, and MSWEP) with and without assimilation of SMAPL3E satellite retrievals, respectively. As reference, we used in situ soil moisture measurements between 2015 and 2019 at 5 cm depth from 826 sensors, located primarily in the USA and Europe. The 3-hourly Pearson correlation (R) was chosen as the primary performance metric. We found that application of the Soil Wetness Index (SWI) smoothing filter resulted in improved performance for all satellite products. The best-to-worst performance ranking of the four single-sensor satellite products was SMAPL3E SWI , SMOS SWI , AMSR2 SWI , and ASCAT SWI , with the L-band-based SMAPL3E SWI (median R of 0.72) outperforming the others at 50 % of the sites. Among the two multi-sensor satellite products (MeMo and ESA-CCI SWI ), MeMo performed better on average (median R of 0.72 versus 0.67), probably due to the inclusion of SMAPL3E SWI . The best-to-worst performance ranking of the six open-loop models was HBV-MSWEP, HBV-ERA5, ERA5-Land, HBV-IMERG, VIC-PGF, and GLDAS-Noah. This ranking largely reflects the quality of the precipitation forcing. HBV-MSWEP (median R of 0.78) performed best not just among the open-loop models but among all products. The calibration of HBV improved the median R by +0.12 on average compared to random parameters, highlighting the importance of model calibration. The best-to-worst performance ranking of the six models with satellite data assimilation was HBV-MSWEP+SMAPL3E, HBV-ERA5+SMAPL3E, GLEAM, SMAPL4, HBV-IMERG+SMAPL3E, and ERA5. The assimilation of SMAPL3E retrievals into HBV-IMERG improved the median R by +0.06, suggesting that data assimilation yields significant benefits at the global scale.

Hylke E. Beck↗

Intercomparison of flood inundation models across land use types and hydrological flood stages

Flood Inundation Mapping (FIM) model selection is a key operational decision because accurate, rapid mapping underpins early warning and resource allocation. FIM performance is context-dependent and can vary with hydrograph phase, land-use/land-cover (LULC), and the evaluation benchmark. Intercomparison studies typically assess a single near-peak snapshot against one reference dataset. Here, we provide a context-stratified intercomparison across (i) multiple hydrograph phases, (ii) LULC classes, and (iii) benchmark types, for five FIM approaches spanning a wide range of physical complexity and operational cost (TRITON, LISFLOOD-FP, HEC-RAS 2D, ARC-Curve2Flood, and OWP HAND-FIM). We use the Hurricane Matthew flood (2016) in the Neuse River Basin, North Carolina, USA, as a case study. Using high-resolution remote sensing-derived flood inundation maps, hand-labeled points, and building footprints, we assess model skill across two rising and two falling hydrograph limbs and across major LULC types. Results show that model rankings shift systematically across contexts: LISFLOOD-FP ranks highest in three of four flood phases, while TRITON leads during one rising limb phase; LISFLOOD-FP performs best in vegetated areas, whereas HEC-RAS improves relative performance in agricultural and urban areas; and benchmark choice influences conclusions, with LISFLOOD-FP performing best for flooded-building detection in the late falling limb, while TRITON ranks highest against hand-labeled points. We also report representative wall-clock runtimes for each workflow to provide use-case context for operational feasibility. Together, these results offer transferable guidance for model selection and for designing large-scale, benchmark-aware FIM intercomparison studies.

Nikrou, Parvaneh [University of Alabama]↗

What Technical Choices Matter to Characterize Heat Wave and Cold Snap Events in Support of Bulk Power Grid Reliability Studies?

Extreme weather events, such as Heat Waves (HW) and Cold Snaps (CS), pose significant risks to the power grid. The United States (U.S.) Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Order No. 896 mandates regional coordination standards that account for extreme thermal events. However, the lack of a universal definition for extreme thermal events may lead to inconsistent compliance efforts among neighboring entities, undermining the reliability of the transmission system. This study directly addresses this challenge by systematically evaluating how varying technical choices in defining HW and CS fundamentally impact the characterization and ranking of extreme events for power grid reliability studies. We used 12 event definitions and multiple temperature spatial aggregation approaches to construct historical (1980–2024) regional extreme thermal event libraries across North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) subregions in the conterminous U.S. We examined the sensitivity of event characteristics (e.g., duration, frequency, intensity, and spatial coverage) to different definitions. While some definitions produced similar libraries and top event rankings, definitions based on moving-window-averaged temperatures yielded markedly different characteristics. Spatial aggregation methods had minimal impact on heat wave or cold snap intensity, frequency and duration but significantly influenced spatial coverage. The top events identified across different aggregation methods were consistent, but their ranking order varied. These findings offer critical insights for characterizing and selecting extreme thermal events and for supporting local and cross-regional coordination as required by reliability standards.

Wan, Heng [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (↗

Tree tensor network hierarchical equations of motion based on time-dependent variational principle for efficient open quantum dynamics in structured thermal environments

In this work, we introduce an efficient method, TTN-HEOM, for exactly calculating the open quantum dynamics for driven quantum systems interacting with highly structured bosonic baths by combining the tree tensor network (TTN) decomposition scheme with the bexcitonic generalization of the numerically exact hierarchical equations of motion (HEOM). The method yields a series of quantum master equations for all core tensors in the TTN that efficiently and accurately capture the open quantum dynamics for non-Markovian environments to all orders in the system–bath interaction. These master equations are constructed based on the time-dependent Dirac–Frenkel variational principle, which isolates the optimal dynamics for the core tensors given the TTN ansatz. The dynamics converges to the HEOM when increasing the rank of the core tensors, a limit in which the TTN ansatz becomes exact. We introduce TENSO, tensor equations for non-Markovian structured open systems, as a general-purpose Python code to propagate the TTN-HEOM dynamics. We implement three general propagators for the coupled master equations: two fixed-rank methods that require a constant memory footprint during the dynamics and one adaptive-rank method with a variable memory footprint controlled by the target level of computational error. We exemplify the utility of these methods by simulating a two-level system coupled to a structured bath containing one Drude–Lorentz component and eight Brownian oscillators, which is beyond what can presently be computed using the standard HEOM. Our results show that the TTN-HEOM is capable of simulating both dephasing and relaxation dynamics of driven quantum systems interacting with structured baths, even those of chemical complexity, with an affordable computational cost.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Tensor decompositions for count data that leverage stochastic and deterministic optimization

There is growing interest to extend low-rank matrix decompositions to multi-way arrays, or tensors. One fundamental low-rank tensor decomposition is the canonical polyadic decomposition (CPD). The challenge of fitting a low-rank, nonnegative CPD model to Poisson-distributed count data is of particular interest. Several popular algorithms use local search methods to approximate the maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) of the Poisson CPD model. Here, this work presents two new algorithms that extend state-of-the-art local methods for Poisson CPD. Hybrid GCP-CPAPR combines Generalized Canonical Decomposition (GCP) with stochastic optimization and CP Alternating Poisson Regression (CPAPR), a deterministic algorithm, to increase the probability of converging to the MLE over either method used alone. Restarted CPAPR with SVDrop uses a heuristic based on the singular values of the CPD model unfoldings to identify convergence toward optimizers that are not the MLE and restarts within the feasible domain of the optimization problem, thus reducing overall computational cost when using a multi-start strategy. We provide empirical evidence that indicates our approaches outperform existing methods with respect to converging to the Poisson CPD MLE.

CPAPR↗

Environment-imposed selection rules for nuclear-spin conversion of H 2 in molecular crystals

Nuclear-spin conversion in molecular hydrogen is governed by strict symmetry rules that typically require magnetic fields or catalytic surfaces to break. Here we demonstrate that the intrinsic tensor composition of a non-magnetic molecular crystal field can impose and relax these rules without external fields. High-resolution infrared spectra of H 2 in crystalline CO 2 reveal large rank-2 (quadrupolar) crystal-field splittings of the 𝑚 sublevels, while nuclear-spin conversion occurs only through 𝛥𝑚 = 0 channels. Replacing CO 2 with polar N 2 O introduces rank-1 (dipole) components that partially open 𝛥⁢𝑚 ≠ 0 pathways, while incorporation of paramagnetic NO 2 fully lifts the restriction. Furthermore, these results establish a direct correspondence between crystal-field tensor rank and nuclear-spin dynamics, introducing a general symmetry-based framework for designing and controlling spin-isomer populations and quantum-state connectivity in molecular solids.

McLane, Nathan [University of Maryland, College Pa↗

Artificial Replication of Field Soiling Losses on PV Modules

In this paper, we experimentally demonstrate an improved replication of field soiling losses using an indoor artificial soiling chamber and tests on anti-soiling coated PV modules and coupons. The primary focus is to use site-specific soil collected from module surface and replicate the natural soiling processes including dust concentration in the air, slow and gradual dust accumulation and sedimentation on the module surface during the dominant soiling season of the site of interest. The experiments were conducted on two sample sets having different anti-soiling properties. The first set contains commercial modules with two different surface properties retrieved after three years of exposure from a single PV plant in a mid-Atlantic location; the other set contain glass coupons with three different coating materials that were installed and exposed over 4 months, at Lemoore, California. Major field-representative factors considered here for the close replication in the chamber include: the use of dust collected from modules surfaces at the outdoor sites to give the same dust chemistry; dust particle size distribution and concentration; the charge size of dust (< 0.15 g per injection); field humidity, and module temperature. The effectiveness of antisoiling coatings (or surface properties) for both sample sets were ranked in the artificial testing and were found to be closely matching with the field rank orders of the respective sites and sample sets. This paper provides the rank ordering results to objectively demonstrate the replication of field soiling losses in the artificial soiling chamber.

artificial soiling↗

Comprehensive framework for assessing and optimizing existing research networks

Conservation, monitoring, and research networks, or collections of ecological research sites unified under a common mission of data collection or a research mission, are essential infrastructure for understanding large landscapes. However, most networks developed opportunistically over decades rather than through systematic design, creating potential limitations in the ability to address conservation challenges across entire regions. We developed a framework to evaluate how well an existing research network represents the environmental conditions its members study and devised an approach to rank sites of priority for strategic expansion. Our approach measures performance through environmental representativeness, geographic coverage, and adequacy for scientific inference and thus optimizes limited monitoring resources to maximize scientific impact. We demonstrated this approach with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service Experimental Forests and Ranges Network (EFRN), a 79‐site network across the United States that grew opportunistically over a century. At the national scale, the network effectively captured high‐biomass forests important for carbon cycle research; 82% of forest biomass was in well‐represented areas. Some areas in Texas, Florida, the Rocky Mountains, and the West Coast had no relevant EFRN sites, which limits the ability to make regional inferences. A fundamental challenge for the EFRN was that sites improving regional extent coverage sometimes provided minimal national benefits, which can create conflicts between local and global priorities. Adding the highest‐ranked candidate site provided a relevant site for 17% of currently poorly represented 1‐km pixel cells nationally, but regional and national site rankings varied considerably due to nested spatial inference. This framework provides quantitative tools for strategic infrastructure decision‐making, ensures that limited monitoring resources maximize conservation impact, and can be applied broadly to address the widespread challenge of optimizing conservation and monitoring networks worldwide.

additional site↗

Randomized Algorithms for Symmetric Nonnegative Matrix Factorization

Symmetric Nonnegative Matrix Factorization (SymNMF) is a technique in data analysis and machine learning that approximates a matrix with a product of a nonnegative, low-rank matrix and it transpose. To design faster and more scalable algorithms for SymNMF we develop two randomized algorithms for its computation. The first method uses randomized matrix sketching to compute an initial low-rank approximation to the input matrix and proceeds to uses this as a low-rank input to rapidly compute a SymNMF. The second methods uses randomized leverage score sampling to approximately solve constrained least squares problems. Many successful methods for SymNMF rely on (approximately) solving sequences of constrained least squares problems. Here, we prove theoretically that leverage score sampling can approximately solve constrained least squares problems to e-accuracy. Finally we demonstrate both methods work in practice by applying them to graph clustering tasks on large real world data sets. These experiments show that our methods approximately maintain solution quality and achieve significant speed ups for both large dense and large sparse problems.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

A Latent-Variable Formulation of the Poisson Canonical Polyadic Tensor Model: Maximum Likelihood Estimation and Fisher Information

We establish parameter inference for the Poisson canonical polyadic (PCP) tensor model through a latent-variable formulation. Our approach exploits the observation that any random PCP tensor can be derived by marginalizing an unobservable random tensor of one dimension larger. The loglikelihood of this larger dimensional tensor, referred to as the “complete” loglikelihood, is comprised of multiple rank one PCP loglikelihoods. Using this methodology, we first derive maximum likelihood estimators for the PCP model and demonstrate that several existing algorithms for fitting non-negative matrix and tensor factorizations are Expectation-Maximization algorithms. Next, we derive the observed and expected Fisher information matrices for the PCP model. The Fisher information provides us crucial insights into the well-posedness of the tensor model, such as the role that tensor rank plays in identifiability and indeterminacy. For the special case of rank one PCP models, we demonstrate that these results are greatly simplified.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Remote Sensing of Environmental Pollution

Environmental pollution is a problem of international scope and concern. It can be subdivided into problems relating to water, air, or land pollution. Many of the problems in these three categories lend themselves to study and possible solution by remote sensing. Through the use of remote sensing systems and techniques, it is possible to detect and monitor, and in some cases, identify, measure, and study the effects of various environmental pollutants. As a guide for making decisions regarding the use of remote sensors for pollution studies, a special five-dimensional sensor/applications matrix has been designed. The matrix defines an environmental goal, ranks the various remote sensing objectives in terms of their ability to assist in solving environmental problems, lists the environmental problems, ranks the sensors that can be used for collecting data on each problem, and finally ranks the sensor platform options that are currently available.

North, G. W.↗

A study of geothermal prospects in the western United States

The commercial development potential of 13 underdeveloped geothermal prospects in the Western United States was examined, and the prospects were ranked in order of relative potential for development on the basis of investment considerations. The following were considered in the ranking: geotechnical and engineering data, energy market accessibility, administrative constraints, and environmental and socio-economic factors. The primary ranking criterion is the unit cost of energy production expected from each prospect. Secondary criteria are administrative constraints, environmental factors and the quality of the geotechnical data.

Source record↗

Experimental fatigue life investigation of cylindrical thrust chambers

Twenty-two cylindrical test sections of a cylindrical rocket thrust chamber were fabricated and 21 of them were cycled to failure to explore the failure mechanisms, determine the effects of wall temperature on cyclic life, and to rank the material life characteristics for comparison with results from isothermal tests of 12 alloys at 538 C. Cylinder liners were fabricated from OFHC copper, Amzirc, and NAR1loy-Z. Tests were conducted at a chamber pressure of 4.14 MW/sq m using hydrogen-oxygen propellants at an oxidant-fuel ratio of 6.0, which resulted in an average throat heat flux of 54 MW/sq m. The cylinders were cooled with liquid hydrogen at an average rate of 0.91 Kg/sec. All failures were characterized by a thinning of the cooling channel wall at the centerline and eventual failure by tensile rupture. Cyclic life rankings of the materials based on temperature do not agree with published rankings based on uniaxial, isothermal strain tests.

Quentmeyer, R. J.↗

Relative toxicity of products of pyrolysis and combustion of polymeric materials using various test conditions

Relative toxicity data for a large number of natural and synthetic polymeric materials are presented which were obtained by 11 pyrolysis and three flaming-combustion test methods. The materials tested include flexible and rigid polyurethane foams, different kinds of fabrics and woods, and a variety of commodity polymers such as polyethylene. Animal exposure chambers of different volumes containing mice, rats, or rabbits were used in the tests, which were performed over the temperature range from ambient to 800 C with and without air flow or recirculation. The test results are found to be sensitive to such variables as exposure mode, temperature, air flow and dilution, material concentration, and animal species, but relative toxicity rankings appear to be similar for many methods and materials. It is concluded that times to incapacitance and to death provide a more suitable basis for relative toxicity rankings than percent mortality alone, that temperature is the most important variable in the tests reported, and that variables such as chamber volume and animal species may not significantly affect the rankings.

Hilado, C. J.↗

Sakata-Taketani spin-0 theory with external field interactions - Lagrangian formalism and causal properties

To illustrate that a relativistic field theory need not be manifestly covariant, Lorentz-invariant Lagrangian densities are constructed that yield the equation satisfied by an interacting (two-component) Sakata-Taketani spin-0 field. Six types of external field couplings are considered, two scalars, two vectors, an antisymmetric second-rank tensor, and a symmetric second-rank tensor, with the results specialized to electromagnetic interactions. For either of the two second-rank couplings, the equation is found to describe noncausal wave propagation, a property that is apparent from the dependence of the coefficients of the space derivatives on the external field; in contrast, the noncausality of the corresponding manifestly covariant Duffin-Kemmer-Petiau spin-0 equation is not so obvious. The possibilities for generalizing the results to higher spin theories involving only the essential 2(2J + 1) components for a particle with a definite spin J and mass m are discussed in considerable detail.

Guertin, R. F.↗