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At least 919 records · Page 51

LabVIEW-based control software for para-hydrogen induced polarization instrumentation

The elucidation of cell metabolic mechanisms is the modern underpinning of the diagnosis, treatment, and in some cases the prevention of disease. Para-Hydrogen induced polarization (PHIP) enhances magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) signals over 10 000 fold, allowing for the MRI of cell metabolic mechanisms. This signal enhancement is the result of hyperpolarizing endogenous substances used as contrast agents during imaging. PHIP instrumentation hyperpolarizes Carbon-13 ({sup 13}C) based substances using a process requiring control of a number of factors: chemical reaction timing, gas flow, monitoring of a static magnetic field (B{sub o}), radio frequency (RF) irradiation timing, reaction temperature, and gas pressures. Current PHIP instruments manually control the hyperpolarization process resulting in the lack of the precise control of factors listed above, resulting in non-reproducible results. We discuss the design and implementation of a LabVIEW based computer program that automatically and precisely controls the delivery and manipulation of gases and samples, monitoring gas pressures, environmental temperature, and RF sample irradiation. We show that the automated control over the hyperpolarization process results in the hyperpolarization of hydroxyethylpropionate. The implementation of this software provides the fast prototyping of PHIP instrumentation for the evaluation of a myriad of {sup 13}C based endogenous contrast agents used in molecular imaging.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

The art and power of data imaging

Data imaging and visual data assessment are veritable gold mines in the scientist's quest to understand and accurately interpret numerical data. Graphical displays of various aspects of a dataset offer the analyst insight to the data that no mathematical computation or statistic can provide. It is difficult, at best, for even a skilled and observant statistician to understand the underlying structure of a dataset. Often, there is either too little data to get a good 'picture' of the structure that might be present or there is so much data that one cannot readily assimilate it. Of course, the latter problem (too much data) is, in reality, no problem at all given the abilities of modern computers and software systems to manage large amounts of data. Advances in computer technology and the advent of the global positioning satellite system have enabled scientists from many fields of endeavor to collect and view data in its spatial context. Visual images constructed from spatially referenced data reveal the inherent richness and structure in the data and lead to more informed conclusions. So powerful is data collected with spatial context that a relatively new branch of mathematical statistics, geo-spatial statistics, has emerged. Geo-spatial statistics seek to exploit this context rich data form to better understand the spatial and co-relationships that might exist, but would be otherwise hidden in tabular data or obscured with classic statistical approaches. This paper (and accompanying presentation) will show the power that visual data assessment possesses to understand radiological scanning data and to make confident and accurate decisions based on the data images. It will challenge the traditional mathematical concept of detection limits for scanning. It will demonstrate that more data, even if the individual datum comprising the dataset is of 'poorer quality' (i.e., has a larger uncertainty and, thus, a larger calculated minimum detection value), is significantly more powerful than a smaller dataset comprised of higher quality measurements. This presentation will cause the open-minded health physicist to rethink how they prescribe, collect, evaluate, and make decisions based upon radiological scan data. (authors)

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Control and Information Systems for the National Ignition Facility

Orchestration of every National Ignition Facility (NIF) shot cycle is managed by the Integrated Computer Control System (ICCS), which uses a scalable software architecture running code on more than 1950 front-end processors, embedded controllers, and supervisory servers. The ICCS operates laser and industrial control hardware containing 66 000 control and monitor points to ensure that all of NIF’s laser beams arrive at the target within 30 ps of each other and are aligned to a pointing accuracy of less than 50 μm root-mean-square, while ensuring that a host of diagnostic instruments record data in a few billionths of a second. NIF’s automated control subsystems are built from a common object-oriented software framework that distributes the software across the computer network and achieves interoperation between different software languages and target architectures. A large suite of business and scientific software tools supports experimental planning, experimental setup, facility configuration, and post-shot analysis. Standard business services using open-source software, commercial workflow tools, and database and messaging technologies have been developed. An information technology infrastructure consisting of servers, network devices, and storage provides the foundation for these systems. Thus, this work is an overview of the control and information systems used to support a wide variety of experiments during the National Ignition Campaign.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Global centroid moment tensor solutions in a heterogeneous earth: the CMT3D catalogue

SUMMARY For over 40 yr, the global centroid-moment tensor (GCMT) project has determined location and source parameters for globally recorded earthquakes larger than magnitude 5.0. The GCMT database remains a trusted staple for the geophysical community. Its point-source moment-tensor solutions are the result of inversions that model long-period observed seismic waveforms via normal-mode summation for a 1-D reference earth model, augmented by path corrections to capture 3-D variations in surface wave phase speeds, and to account for crustal structure. While this methodology remains essentially unchanged for the ongoing GCMT catalogue, source inversions based on waveform modelling in low-resolution 3-D earth models have revealed small but persistent biases in the standard modelling approach. Keeping pace with the increased capacity and demands of global tomography requires a revised catalogue of centroid-moment tensors (CMT), automatically and reproducibly computed using Green's functions from a state-of-the-art 3-D earth model. In this paper, we modify the current procedure for the full-waveform inversion of seismic traces for the six moment-tensor parameters, centroid latitude, longitude, depth and centroid time of global earthquakes. We take the GCMT solutions as a point of departure but update them to account for the effects of a heterogeneous earth, using the global 3-D wave speed model GLAD-M25. We generate synthetic seismograms from Green's functions computed by the spectral-element method in the 3-D model, select observed seismic data and remove their instrument response, process synthetic and observed data, select segments of observed and synthetic data based on similarity, and invert for new model parameters of the earthquake’s centroid location, time and moment tensor. The events in our new, preliminary database containing 9382 global event solutions, called CMT3D for ‘3-D centroid-moment tensors’, are on average 4 km shallower, about 1 s earlier, about 5 per cent larger in scalar moment, and more double-couple in nature than in the GCMT catalogue. We discuss in detail the geographical and statistical distributions of the updated solutions, and place them in the context of earlier work. We plan to disseminate our CMT3D solutions via the online ShakeMovie platform.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Nuclear characterization of a general-purpose instrumentation and materials testing location in TREAT

The Transient Reactor Test facility (TREAT) was constructed in the late 1950s, provided thousands of transient irradiations before being placed in standby in 1994, and resumed operations in 2017 in order to reclaim its crucial role in nuclear-heated safety research. The latter half of TREAT’s historic operation was best known for integral-scale testing of fuel specimens under postulated reactor plant accident conditions, while TREAT’s earlier history included extensive simpler phenomena identification tests that elucidated fundamental behaviors and paved the way for these integral-scale tests. Advances in modern computational capabilities and a resurgence of interest in novel reactor technology have created an opportunity for emphasizing modernized science-based and separate effects test capabilities once again at TREAT. An innovative approach to this type of testing has been developed to leverage minor radioactivity built-in during brief TREAT irradiations in low activation hardware to facilitate handling for materials and instrumentation testing. This capability, termed the Minimal Activation Retrievable Capsule Holder (MARCH) irradiation vehicle system, will be used for inaugural fueled experiments in TREAT’s modern era as well as novel approaches to study materials undergoing neutron irradiation and instrumentation development and qualifications. This paper describes a comprehensive nuclear characterization, obtained via computational modeling, of the test position in the MARCH system. Though directly applicable to the MARCH system, the results also provide general quantification of the nuclear performance of the reactor and potential test materials, crucial for evaluating potential experiment design and response in TREAT. The neutron and photon flux environment was calculated via MCNP with ENDF/B-VII.1 nuclear data. Wire heating rate and DPA calculations were also performed and evaluated using historic TREAT test data. Furthermore, these calculations were performed to provide steady-state baseline reference values typical in both half- and full-slotted TREAT core configurations, enabling design scoping analysis prior to development of more specific design testing needs and transient testing experimentation.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Heterogeneous Reconstruction of Tracks and Primary Vertices With the CMS Pixel Tracker

The High-Luminosity upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will see the accelerator reach an instantaneous luminosity of 7 × 10 34 cm −2 s −1 with an average pileup of 200 proton-proton collisions. These conditions will pose an unprecedented challenge to the online and offline reconstruction software developed by the experiments. The computational complexity will exceed by far the expected increase in processing power for conventional CPUs, demanding an alternative approach. Industry and High-Performance Computing (HPC) centers are successfully using heterogeneous computing platforms to achieve higher throughput and better energy efficiency by matching each job to the most appropriate architecture. In this paper we will describe the results of a heterogeneous implementation of pixel tracks and vertices reconstruction chain on Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). The framework has been designed and developed to be integrated in the CMS reconstruction software, CMSSW. The speed up achieved by leveraging GPUs allows for more complex algorithms to be executed, obtaining better physics output and a higher throughput.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

CIRCLEZ : Reliable photometric redshifts for active galactic nuclei computed solely using photometry from Legacy Survey Imaging for DESI

Photometric redshifts for galaxies hosting an accreting supermassive black hole in their center, known as active galactic nuclei (AGNs), are notoriously challenging. At present, they are most optimally computed via spectral energy distribution (SED) fittings, assuming that deep photometry for many wavelengths is available. However, for AGNs detected from all-sky surveys, the photometry is limited and provided by a range of instruments and studies. This makes the task of homogenizing the data challenging, presenting a dramatic drawback for the millions of AGNs that wide surveys such as SRG/eROSITA are poised to detect. This work aims to compute reliable photometric redshifts for X-ray-detected AGNs using only one dataset that covers a large area: the tenth data release of the Imaging Legacy Survey (LS10) for DESI. LS10 provides deep grizW1-W4 forced photometry within various apertures over the footprint of the eROSITA-DE survey, which avoids issues related to the cross-calibration of surveys. We present the results from CIRCLEZ, a machine-learning algorithm based on a fully connected neural network. CIRCLEZ is built on a training sample of 14 000 X-ray-detected AGNs and utilizes multi-aperture photometry, mapping the light distribution of the sources. The accuracy (σNMAD) and the fraction of outliers (η) reached in a test sample of 2913 AGNs are equal to 0.067 and 11.6%, respectively. The results are comparable to (or even better than) what was previously obtained for the same field, but with much less effort in this instance. We further tested the stability of the results by computing the photometric redshifts for the sources detected in CSC2 and Chandra-COSMOS Legacy, reaching a comparable accuracy as in eFEDS when limiting the magnitude of the counterparts to the depth of LS10. The method can be applied to fainter samples of AGNs using deeper optical data from future surveys (for example, LSST, Euclid), granting LS10-like information on the light distribution beyond the morphological type. Along with this paper, we have released an updated version of the photometric redshifts (including errors and probability distribution functions) for eROSITA/eFEDS.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The Secret Life of Quarks, Final Report for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

This final report summarizes activities and results at the University of North Carolina as part of the the SciDAC-2 Project The Secret Life of Quarks: National Computational Infrastructure for Lattice Quantum Chromodynamics. The overall objective of the project is to construct the software needed to study quantum chromo- dynamics (QCD), the theory of the strong interactions of subatomic physics, and similar strongly coupled gauge theories anticipated to be of importance in the LHC era. It built upon the successful efforts of the SciDAC-1 project National Computational Infrastructure for Lattice Gauge Theory, in which a QCD Applications Programming Interface (QCD API) was developed that enables lat- tice gauge theorists to make effective use of a wide variety of massively parallel computers. In the SciDAC-2 project, optimized versions of the QCD API were being created for the IBM Blue- Gene/L (BG/L) and BlueGene/P (BG/P), the Cray XT3/XT4 and its successors, and clusters based on multi-core processors and Infiniband communications networks. The QCD API is being used to enhance the performance of the major QCD community codes and to create new applications. Software libraries of physics tools have been expanded to contain sharable building blocks for inclusion in application codes, performance analysis and visualization tools, and software for au- tomation of physics work flow. New software tools were designed for managing the large data sets generated in lattice QCD simulations, and for sharing them through the International Lattice Data Grid consortium. As part of the overall project, researchers at UNC were funded through ASCR to work in three general areas. The main thrust has been performance instrumentation and analysis in support of the SciDAC QCD code base as it evolved and as it moved to new computation platforms. In support of the performance activities, performance data was to be collected in a database for the purpose of broader analysis. Third, the UNC work was done at RENCI (Renaissance Computing Institute), which has extensive expertise and facilities for scientific data visualization, so we acted in an ongoing consulting and support role in that area.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

A posteriori error estimation and adaptivity in hp virtual elements

An explicit and computable error estimator for the hp version of the virtual element method (VEM), together with lower and upper bounds with respect to the exact energy error, is presented. Such error estimator is employed to provide, following the approach of Melenk and Wohlmuth (Adv Comput Math 15(1–4):311–331, 2001), hp adaptive mesh refinements for very general polygonal meshes. In addition, a novel VEM hp Clément quasi-interpolant, instrumental for the a posteriori error analysis, is introduced. The performances of the adaptive method are validated by a number of numerical experiments.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Reconstructing misaligned x-ray CT data

Misalignment errors for x-ray computed tomography (CT) systems can manifest as artifacts and a loss of spatial and contrast resolution. To mitigate artifacts, significant effort is taken to determine the system geometry and minimizing any residual error in the system alignment. This project improved our ability to post-correct data which was acquired on a misaligned CT system.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Machine Learning assisted optimization and parameter space exploration dataset of spin ice Hamiltonian

This repository contains both simulated and experimental structure factor data for the data challenge involving the inverse scattering problem. The simulated data were generated during a machine-learning-assisted optimization routine described in ref[1]. The experimental structure factor was measured on a rare-earth oxide, Dy2Ti2O7 using diffuse neutron scattering from time-of-flight techniques on the CORELLI instrument at the Spallation Neutron Source, Oak Ridge National Laboratory. A Metropolis Monte Carlo code implemented to run in a High-performance computing setting was used to calculated simulated structure factors for the spin-ice Hamiltonian at 680 mK, which is the same temperature as for the experimental data. The total size of all the files in this repository is 5.12 GB. A detailed description of the files is given below. ExperimentalData_630mK.dat – A linearized version of 3-dimensional experimental data of size 61×81×21. This data was processed to remove an estimation of non-magnetic background, including nuclear scattering signal and instrumentation background. Parameters.dat – 6700 samples were evaluated over the 4-dimensional parameter space (J_1, J_2, J_3 and J_(3^' )). There is an additional parameter, D in the spin Hamiltonian to mimic the dipolar interaction between magnetic ions. However, this parameter, D was fixed to a value determined by prior work. This file contains five columns for the parameters J_1, J_2, J_3, J_(3^' ) and D respectively. 3D_Simulation_Data.dat – The simulated structure factor, S(Q) data are included in this file. Each raw contains a linearized array of 3D volumes of S(Q) calculated for the parameter set given in the corresponding row of the file Parameters.dat. The size of the volume data was matched to the experimental data. Qx(h,-h,0).dat, Qy(k,k,-2k).dat, Qz(l,l,l).dat – These files contain the h, k, and l values along with the reciprocal vectors [h,-h,0], [k,k,-2k] and [l,l,l] respectively.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

A new clinical unit for digital radiography based on a thick amorphous Selenium plate: Physical and psychophysical characterization

Purpose: Here, we present a physical and psychophysical characterization of a new clinical unit (named AcSelerate) for digital radiography based on a thick a-Se layer. We also compared images acquired with and without a software filter (named CRF) developed for reducing sharpness and noise of the images and making them similar to images coming from traditional computed radiography systems. Methods: The characterization was achieved in terms of physical figures of merit [modulation transfer function (MTF), noise power spectra (NPS), detective quantum efficiency (DQE)], and psychophysical parameters (contrast-detail analysis with an automatic reading of CDRAD images). We accomplished measurements with four standard beam conditions: RAQ3, RQA5, RQA7, and RQA9. Results: The system shows an excellent MTF (about 50% at the Nyquist frequency). The DQE is about 55% at 0.5 lp/mm and above 20% at the Nyquist frequency and is almost independent from exposure. The contrast-detail curves are comparable to some of the best published data for other systems devoted to imaging in general radiography. The CRF filter influences both the MTF and NPS, but it does lead to very small changes on DQE. Also the visibility of CDRAD details is basically unaltered, when the filter is activated. Conclusions: As normally happens with detector based on direct conversion, the system presents an excellent MTF. The improved efficiency caused by the thick layer allows getting good noise characteristics and DQE results better (about 10% on average) than many of the computed radiography (CR) systems and comparable to those obtained by the best systems for digital radiography available on the market.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

User Guide for Sample Reduction at GP-SANS

This manual is intended as a quick guide for data reduction of GP-SANS data. It includes all necessary steps to do the data reduction based on absolute calibration using the open beam method and how to transfer the reduced data to the personal computer system. If any errors are coming up so that the reduction script is not functioning as intended, please contact the instrument scientist.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Factoring numbers with a single interferogram

We construct an analog computer based on light interference to encode the hyperbolic function f({zeta}){identical_to}1/{zeta} into a sequence of skewed curlicue functions. The resulting interferogram when scaled appropriately allows us to find the prime number decompositions of integers. We implement this idea exploiting polychromatic optical interference in a multipath interferometer and factor seven-digit numbers. We give an estimate for the largest number that can be factored by this scheme.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Experimental and Computational Analysis of the Solvent‐Dependent O 2 /Li + ‐O 2 − Redox Couple: Standard Potentials, Coupling Strength, and Implications for Lithium–Oxygen Batteries

Abstract Understanding and controlling the kinetics of O 2 reduction in the presence of Li + ‐containing aprotic solvents, to either Li + ‐O 2 − by one‐electron reduction or Li 2 O 2 by two‐electron reduction, is instrumental to enhance the discharge voltage and capacity of aprotic Li‐O 2 batteries. Standard potentials of O 2 /Li + ‐O 2 − and O 2 /O 2 − were experimentally measured and computed using a mixed cluster‐continuum model of ion solvation. Increasing combined solvation of Li + and O 2 − was found to lower the coupling of Li + ‐O 2 − and the difference between O 2 /Li + ‐O 2 − and O 2 /O 2 − potentials. The solvation energy of Li + trended with donor number (DN), and varied greater than that of O 2 − ions, which correlated with acceptor number (AN), explaining a previously reported correlation between Li + ‐O 2 − solubility and DN. These results highlight the importance of the interplay between ion–solvent and ion–ion interactions for manipulating the energetics of intermediate species produced in aprotic metal–oxygen batteries.

Kwabi, David G.↗

Experimental and Computational Analysis of the Solvent‐Dependent O 2 /Li + ‐O 2 − Redox Couple: Standard Potentials, Coupling Strength, and Implications for Lithium–Oxygen Batteries

Abstract Understanding and controlling the kinetics of O 2 reduction in the presence of Li + ‐containing aprotic solvents, to either Li + ‐O 2 − by one‐electron reduction or Li 2 O 2 by two‐electron reduction, is instrumental to enhance the discharge voltage and capacity of aprotic Li‐O 2 batteries. Standard potentials of O 2 /Li + ‐O 2 − and O 2 /O 2 − were experimentally measured and computed using a mixed cluster‐continuum model of ion solvation. Increasing combined solvation of Li + and O 2 − was found to lower the coupling of Li + ‐O 2 − and the difference between O 2 /Li + ‐O 2 − and O 2 /O 2 − potentials. The solvation energy of Li + trended with donor number (DN), and varied greater than that of O 2 − ions, which correlated with acceptor number (AN), explaining a previously reported correlation between Li + ‐O 2 − solubility and DN. These results highlight the importance of the interplay between ion–solvent and ion–ion interactions for manipulating the energetics of intermediate species produced in aprotic metal–oxygen batteries.

Kwabi, David G.↗

Behavior-based approach to misuse detection of a simulated SCADA system - 339

This paper presents the initial findings in applying a behavior-based approach for detection of unauthorized activities in a simulated Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system. Misuse detection of this type utilizes fault-free system telemetry to develop empirical models that learn normal system behavior. Future monitored telemetry sources that show statistically significant deviations from this learned behavior may indicate an attack or other unwanted actions. The experimental test bed consists of a set of Linux based enterprise servers that were isolated from a larger university research cluster. All servers are connected to a private network and simulate several components and tasks seen in a typical SCADA system. Telemetry sources included kernel statistics, resource usages and internal system hardware measurements. For this study, the Auto Associative Kernel Regression (AAKR) and Auto Associative Multivariate State Estimation Technique (AAMSET) are employed to develop empirical models. Prognostic efficacy of these methods for computer security used several groups of signals taken from available telemetry classes. The Sequential Probability Ratio Test (SPRT) is used along with these models for intrusion detection purposes. The different intrusion types shown include host/network discovery, DoS, brute force login, privilege escalation and malicious exfiltration actions. For this study, all intrusion types tested displayed alterations in the residuals of much of the monitored telemetry and were able to be detected in all signal groups used by both model types. The methods presented can be extended and implemented to industries besides nuclear that use SCADA or business-critical networks. (authors)

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Software Dependability

The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief introduction of Software Dependability and a summary of lessons learned. The components of Software Dependability vary among standards, however there is agreement among the standards that reliability, availability and maintainability are some the main components of dependability. Safety is also a main component is safety systems. Although reliability and safety are similar there is an additional difference, safety can withstand some level of fault tolerance. For the purposes of this discussion Software Dependability includes reliability, availability, maintainability and safety. Software Dependability: Trustworthiness of a computer system such that reliance can be justifiably placed on the service it delivers. Reliability, availability, and maintainability are aspects of dependability. Reliability: The ability of a system or component to perform its required functions under stated conditions for a specified period of time. Availability: The degree to which a system or component is operational and accessible when required for use. Often expressed as a probability. Maintainability: Speed and ease with which a program can be corrected or changed. Safety: a measure of the length of time the software system can be expected to run before failing in such a way as to cause a system hazard. (author)

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗