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Propagation From Deceptive News Sources Who Shares, How Much, How Evenly, and How Quickly?

As people rely on social media as their primary sources of news, the spread of misinformation has become a significant concern. In this large-scale study of news in social media we analyze eleven million posts and investigate propagation behavior of users that directly interact with news accounts identified as spreading trusted versus malicious content. Unlike previous work, which looks at specific rumors, topics, or events, we consider all content propagated by various news sources. Moreover, we analyze and contrast population versus sub-population behaviour (by demographics) when spreading misinformation, and distinguish between two types of propagation, i.e. direct retweets and mentions. Our evaluation examines how evenly, how many, how quickly, and which users propagate content from various types of news sources on Twitter. Our analysis has identified several key differences in propagation behavior from trusted versus suspicious news sources. These include high inequity in the diffusion rate based on the source of disinformation, with a small group of highly active users responsible for the majority of disinformation spread overall and within each demographic. Analysis by demographics showed that users with lower annual income and education share more from disinformation sources compared to their counterparts. News content is shared significantly more quickly from trusted, conspiracy, and disinformation sources compared to clickbait and propaganda. Older users propagate news from trusted sources more quickly than younger users, but they share from suspicious sources after longer delays. Finally, users who interact with clickbait and conspiracy sources are likely to share from propaganda accounts, but not the other way around.

social network analysis, information propagation, ↗

Cooperative research in high energy astrophysics

Details of the activities conducted under the joint effort of the University of Maryland and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics are detailed for the period July 1989 through April 1994. The research covered a variety of topics including: (1) detection of cosmic rays and studies of the solar modulation of galactic cosmic rays; (2) support work for several x-ray satellites; (3) high resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy of celestial sources; (4)theoretical astrophysics; and (5) active galaxies.

Source record↗

Constraints on Ultrahigh-Energy Cosmic-Ray Sources from a Search for Neutrinos above 10 PeV with IceCube

In this study, we report constraints on the sources of ultra-high-energy cosmic ray (UHECR) above 10 9 GeV , based on an analysis of seven years of IceCube data. This analysis efficiently selects very high energy neutrino-induced events which have deposited energies from 5 X 10 5 GeV to above 10 11 GeV . Two neutrino-induced events with an estimated deposited energy of (2.6±0.3)×10 6 GeV , the highest neutrino energies observed so far, and (7.7±2.0)×10 5 GeV were detected. The atmospheric background-only hypothesis of detecting these events is rejected at 3.6σ . The hypothesis that the observed events are of cosmogenic origin is also rejected at > 99% CL because of the limited deposited energy and the non-observation of events at higher energy, while their observation is consistent with an astrophysical origin. Our limits on cosmogenic neutrino fluxes disfavor the UHECR sources having cosmological evolution stronger than the star formation rate, e.g., active galactic nuclei and $γ$-ray bursts, assuming proton-dominated UHECRs. Constraints on UHECR sources including mixed and heavy UHECR compositions are obtained for models of neutrino production within UHECR sources. Our limit disfavors a significant part of parameter space for active galactic nuclei and new-born pulsar models.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

BatAnalysis - A Comprehensive Python Pipeline for Swift BAT Survey Analysis

The Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) is a coded aperture gamma-ray instrument with a large field of view that primarily operates in survey mode when it is not triggering on transient events. The survey data consists of eighty-channel detector plane histograms that accumulate photon counts over time periods of at least 5 minutes. These histograms are processed on the ground and are used to produce the survey dataset between 14 and 195 keV. Survey data comprises >90% of all BAT data by volume and allows for the tracking of long term light curves and spectral properties of cataloged and uncataloged hard X-ray sources. Until now, the survey dataset has not been used to its full potential due to the complexity associated with its analysis and the lack of easily usable pipelines. Here, we introduce the BatAnalysis python package , a wrapper for HEASoftpy, which provides a modern, open-source pipeline to process and analyze BAT survey data. BatAnalysis allows members of the community to use BAT survey data in more advanced analyses of astrophysical sources including pulsars, pulsar wind nebula, active galactic nuclei, and other known/unknown transient events that may be detected in the hard X-ray band. We outline the steps taken by the python code and exemplify its usefulness and accuracy by analyzing survey data from the Crab Pulsar, NGC 2992, and a previously uncataloged MAXI Transient. The BatAnalysis package allows for ∼ 18 years of BAT survey to be used in a systematic way to study a large variety of astrophysical sources.

Tyler Parsotan↗

Development and Application of a Risk Analysis Toolkit for Plant Resources Optimization

This report summarizes the R&D activities of the Risk Informed Asset Management (RIAM) project during fiscal year 2020 (FY20). This project focuses on the development of methods designed to optimize plant operations (e.g., maintenance/replacement schedule, optimal maintenance posture) provided system/component health/cost data. This project development lives in cooperation with the Plant Health Management (PHM) project which focuses on the development of methods that integrate component health data and propagate such information at the system level to evaluate most relevant sources of risk. This year’s activities for the RIAM project focused on the continuation of schedule optimization algorithms developed in FY19. While in FY19 we focused on both deterministic and stochastic capital budgeting methods, in FY20 we moved forward by implementing two versions of schedule optimization methods. The first one reformulates the capital budgeting problem in a distributionally robust form which allows the user to rely on data directly rather than proposing a distribution from the data itself. The second version reformulates the capital budgeting explicitly using risk measures as variables to maximize/minimize. Lastly, we focused on the development of methods designed to identify the optimal maintenance posture based on the Pareto Frontier analysis. Rather than performing a tradeoff analysis (i.e., identify the absolute best posture), the Pareto Frontier analysis performs a trade space exploration approach (i.e., identify value and costs of several postures and have the analyst perform the task of imposing desired value and cost constraints). This is performed by identifying maintenance postures that maximize value (e.g., system availability) and minimize operational costs, i.e., the Pareto frontier in a value-cost trade space.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

BatAnalysis - A Comprehensive Python Pipeline for Swift BAT Survey Analysis

The Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) is a coded-aperture gamma-ray instrument with a large field of view that primarily operates in survey mode when it is not triggering on transient events. The survey data consist of 80- channel detector plane histograms that accumulate photon counts over periods of at least 5 minutes. These histograms are processed on the ground and are used to produce the survey data set between 14 and 195 keV. Survey data comprise >90% of all BAT data by volume and allow for the tracking of long-term light curves and spectral properties of cataloged and uncataloged hard X-ray sources. Until now, the survey data set has not been used to its full potential due to the complexity associated with its analysis and the lack of easily usable pipelines. Here, we introduce the BatAnalysis Python package, a wrapper for HEASoftpy, which provides a modern, opensource pipeline to process and analyze BAT survey data. BatAnalysis allows members of the community to use BAT survey data in more advanced analyses of astrophysical sources, including pulsars, pulsar wind nebula, active galactic nuclei, and other known/unknown transient events that may be detected in the hard X-ray band. We outline the steps taken by the Python code and exemplify its usefulness and accuracy by analyzing survey data of the Crab Nebula, NGC 2992, and a previously uncataloged MAXI transient. The BatAnalysis package allows for ~18 yr of BAT survey data to be used in a systematic way to study a large variety of astrophysical sources.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

BatAnalysis - A Comprehensive Python Pipeline for Swift BAT Survey Analysis

The Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) is a coded-aperture gamma-ray instrument with a large field of view that primarily operates in survey mode when it is not triggering on transient events. The survey data consist of 80-channel detector plane histograms that accumulate photon counts over periods of at least 5 minutes. These histograms are processed on the ground and are used to produce the survey data set between 14 and 195 keV. Survey data comprise >90% of all BAT data by volume and allow for the tracking of long-term light curves and spectral properties of cataloged and uncataloged hard X-ray sources. Until now, the survey data set has not been used to its full potential due to the complexity associated with its analysis and the lack of easily usable pipelines. Here, we introduce the BatAnalysis Python package, a wrapper for HEASoftpy, which provides a modern, open-source pipeline to process and analyze BAT survey data. BatAnalysis allows members of the community to use BAT survey data in more advanced analyses of astrophysical sources, including pulsars, pulsar wind nebula, active galactic nuclei, and other known/unknown transient events that may be detected in the hard X-ray band. We outline the steps taken by the Python code and exemplify its usefulness and accuracy by analyzing survey data of the Crab Nebula, NGC 2992, and a previously uncataloged MAXI transient. The BatAnalysis package allows for ~18 yr of BAT survey data to be used in a systematic way to study a large variety of astrophysical sources.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Nanoporous carbon tunable resistor/transistor and methods of production thereof

In one embodiment, a tunable resistor/transistor includes a porous material that is electrically coupled between a source electrode and a drain electrode, wherein the porous material acts as an active channel, an electrolyte solution saturating the active channel, the electrolyte solution being adapted for altering an electrical resistance of the active channel based on an applied electrochemical potential, wherein the active channel comprises nanoporous carbon arranged in a three-dimensional structure. In another embodiment, a method for forming the tunable resistor/transistor includes forming a source electrode, forming a drain electrode, and forming a monolithic nanoporous carbon material that acts as an active channel and selectively couples the source electrode to the drain electrode electrically. In any embodiment, the electrolyte solution saturating the nanoporous carbon active channel is adapted for altering an electrical resistance of the nanoporous carbon active channel based on an applied electrochemical potential.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Anaerobic sequencing batch reactor in pilot scale for treatment of tofu industry wastewater

The small industry of tofu production process releases the waste water without being processed first, and the wastewater is directly discharged into water. In this study, Anaerobic Sequencing Batch Reactor in Pilot Scale for Treatment of Tofu Industry was developed through an anaerobic process to produce biogas as one kind of environmentally friendly renewable energy which can be developed into the countryside. The purpose of this study was to examine the fundamental characteristics of organic matter elimination of industrial wastewater with small tofu effective method and utilize anaerobic active sludge with Anaerobic Sequencing Bath Reactor (ASBR) to get rural biogas as an energy source. The first factor is the amount of the active sludge concentration which functions as the decomposers of organic matter and controlling selectivity allowance to degrade organic matter. The second factor is that HRT is the average period required substrate to react with the bacteria in the Anaerobic Sequencing Bath Reactor (ASBR).The results of processing the waste of tofu production industry using ASBR reactor with active sludge additions as starter generates cumulative volume of 5814.4 mL at HRT 5 days so that in this study it is obtained the conversion 0.16 L of CH{sub 4}/g COD and produce biogas containing of CH{sub 4}: 81.23% and CO{sub 2}: 16.12%. The wastewater treatment of tofu production using ASBR reactor is able to produce renewable energy that has economic value as well as environmentally friendly by nature.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

LOOKING FOR GRANULATION AND PERIODICITY IMPRINTS IN THE SUNSPOT TIME SERIES

The sunspot activity is the end result of the cyclic destruction and regeneration of magnetic fields by the dynamo action. We propose a new method to analyze the daily sunspot areas data recorded since 1874. By computing the power spectral density of daily data series using the Mexican hat wavelet, we found a power spectrum with a well-defined shape, characterized by three features. The first term is the 22 yr solar magnetic cycle, estimated in our work to be 18.43 yr. The second term is related to the daily volatility of sunspots. This term is most likely produced by the turbulent motions linked to the solar granulation. The last term corresponds to a periodic source associated with the solar magnetic activity, for which the maximum power spectral density occurs at 22.67 days. This value is part of the 22–27 day periodicity region that shows an above-average intensity in the power spectra. The origin of this 22.67 day periodic process is not clearly identified, and there is a possibility that it can be produced by convective flows inside the star. The study clearly shows a north–south asymmetry. The 18.43 yr periodical source is correlated between the two hemispheres, but the 22.67 day one is not correlated. It is shown that toward the large timescales an excess occurs in the northern hemisphere, especially near the previous two periodic sources. To further investigate the 22.67 day periodicity, we made a Lomb–Scargle spectral analysis. The study suggests that this periodicity is distinct from others found nearby.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Data for Sugar Accumulation Enhancement in Sorghum Stem is Associated with Reduced Reproductive Sink Strength and Increased Phloem Unloading Activity

Sweet sorghum has emerged as a promising source of bioenergy mainly due to its high biomass and high soluble sugar yield in stems. Studies have shown that loss-of-function Dry locus alleles have been selected during sweet sorghum domestication, and decapitation can further boost sugar accumulation in sweet sorghum, indicating that the potential for improving sugar yields is yet to be fully realized. To maximize sugar accumulation, it is essential to gain a better understanding of the mechanism underlying the massive accumulation of soluble sugars in sweet sorghum stems in addition to the Dry locus. We performed a transcriptomic analysis upon decapitation of near-isogenic lines for mutant (d, juicy stems, and green leaf midrib) and functional (D, dry stems and white leaf midrib) alleles at the Dry locus. Our analysis revealed that decapitation suppressed photosynthesis in leaves, but accelerated starch metabolic processes in stems. SbbHLH093 negatively correlates with sugar levels supported by genotypes (DD vs. dd), treatments (control vs. decapitation), and developmental stages post anthesis (3d vs.10d). D locus gene SbNAC074A and other programmed cell death-related genes were down regulated by decapitation, while sugar transporter-encoding gene SbSWEET1A was induced. Both SbSWEET1A and Invertase 5 were detected in phloem companion cells by RNA in situ assay. Loss of the SbbHLH093 homolog, AtbHLH093, in Arabidopsis led to a sugar accumulation increase. This study provides new insights into sugar accumulation enhancement in bioenergy crops, which can be potentially achieved by reducing reproductive sink strength and enhancing phloem unloading.

Transcriptomics↗

Passive Acoustic Detection of Wind Turbine In-Flow Conditions for Active Control and Optimization

Wind is a significant source of energy; however, the human capability to produce electrical energy still has many hurdles to overcome. One of these is the unpredictability of the winds in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). The ABL is highly turbulent in both stable and unstable conditions (based on the vertical temperature profile) and the resulting fluctuations can have a dramatic impact on wind turbine operation. Any method by which these fluctuations could be observed, estimated, or predicted could provide a benefit to the wind energy industry as a whole. Based on the fundamental coupling of velocity fluctuations to pressure fluctuations in the nearly incompressible flow in the ABL, This work hypothesizes that a ground-based array of infrasonic pressure transducers could be employed to estimate the vertical wind profile over a height relevant for wind turbines. To analyze this hypothesis, experiments and field deployments were conducted. Wind tunnel experiments were performed for a thick turbulent boundary layer over a neutral or heated surface. Surface pressure and velocity probe measurements were acquired simultaneously. Two field deployments yielded surface pressure data from a 49 element array. The second deployment at the Reese Technology Center in Lubbock, TX, also included data from a smaller aperture, 96-element array and a 200-meter tall meteorological tower. Analysis of the data successfully demonstrated the ability to estimate the vertical velocity profile using coherence data from the pressure array. Also, dynamical systems analysis methods were successful in identifying and tracking a gust type event. In addition to the passive acoustic profiling method, this program also investigated a rapid response Doppler SODAR system, the optimization of wind turbine blades for enhanced power with reduced aeroacoustic noise production, and the implementation of a wireless health monitoring system for the wind turbine blades. Each of these other objectives was met successfully. The use of phase unwrapping applied to SODAR data was found to yield reasonable results for per-pulse measurements. A health monitoring system design analysis was able to demonstrate the ability to use a very small number of sensors to monitor blade health based on the blade's overall structural modes. Most notable was the development of a multi-objective optimization methodology that successfully yielded an aerodynamic blade design that produces greater power output with reduced aerodynamic loading noise. This optimization method could be significant for future design work.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Sugar accumulation enhancement in sorghum stem is associated with reduced reproductive sink strength and increased phloem unloading activity

Sweet sorghum has emerged as a promising source of bioenergy mainly due to its high biomass and high soluble sugar yield in stems. Studies have shown that loss-of-function Dry locus alleles have been selected during sweet sorghum domestication, and decapitation can further boost sugar accumulation in sweet sorghum, indicating that the potential for improving sugar yields is yet to be fully realized. To maximize sugar accumulation, it is essential to gain a better understanding of the mechanism underlying the massive accumulation of soluble sugars in sweet sorghum stems in addition to the Dry locus. We performed a transcriptomic analysis upon decapitation of near-isogenic lines for mutant (d, juicy stems, and green leaf midrib) and functional (D, dry stems and white leaf midrib) alleles at the Dry locus. Our analysis revealed that decapitation suppressed photosynthesis in leaves, but accelerated starch metabolic processes in stems. SbbHLH093 negatively correlates with sugar levels supported by genotypes (DD vs. dd), treatments (control vs. decapitation), and developmental stages post anthesis (3d vs.10d). D locus gene SbNAC074A and other programmed cell death-related genes were downregulated by decapitation, while sugar transporter-encoding gene SbSWEET1A was induced. Both SbSWEET1A and Invertase 5 were detected in phloem companion cells by RNA in situ assay. Loss of the SbbHLH093 homolog, AtbHLH093, in Arabidopsis led to a sugar accumulation increase. This study provides new insights into sugar accumulation enhancement in bioenergy crops, which can be potentially achieved by reducing reproductive sink strength and enhancing phloem unloading.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

eROSITA study of the globular cluster 47 Tucanae

Here, we present the results of the analysis of five observations of the globular clutser 47 Tucanae (47 Tuc) with the extended Roentgen Survey with an Imaging Telescope Array (eROSITA) on board the Spektrum-Roentgen-Gamma (Spektr-RG, SRG). We study the X-ray population in the field of one of the most massive globular clusters in our Milky Way. We focused on the classification of point-like sources in the field of 47 Tuc. The unresolved dense core of 47 Tuc (1.7 radius) and also sources that show extended emission are excluded from this study. We applied different methods of X-ray spectral and timing analysis together with multi-wavelength studies to classify the X-rays sources in the field of 47 Tuc. We detected 888 point-like sources in the energy range of 0.2–5.0 keV. We identified 126 background active galactic nuclei and 25 foreground stars. One of the foreground stars is classified as a variable M dwarf. We also classified 14 X-ray sources as members of 47 Tuc, including one symbiotic star, two quiescent low-mass X-ray binaries, and four cataclysmic variables. There are also five X-ray sources that can either be a cataclysmic variable or a contact binary, and also one X-ray source can be an active binary (type RS CVn). We identified one X-ray binary that belongs to the Small Magellanic Cloud. Moreover, we calculated the X-ray luminosity function of 47 Tuc. No significant population that seems to belong to the globular cluster is observed in the energy range of 0.5–2.0 keV using eROSITA observations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Complex Sources and Impacts on Remediation and Monitoring Approaches

Remedy selection, implementation, and coordination with tank farm activities for adjacent waste sites need to be facilitated by a technically defensible description of sources and their relative strength and temporal contributions to groundwater contamination. Detailed data describing contaminant source releases are typically not available, so source locations are highly uncertain. Furthermore, data on sources and model parameters are not readily available through direct measurements. Instead, source data are often derived by extrapolation from a few direct and/or indirect measurements, while model parameters are commonly estimated using inverse modeling or calibration methods. Because the conceptual model of sources will influence the mass and timing of the flux of contaminants to groundwater, uncertainty in the source terms should be considered. Even though a best-fit model can often be identified, it may not be the best representation of the sources given the sparse, uncertain nature of the data used for estimating source terms. To support future feasibility studies, a systematic approach is needed for identifying remediation and monitoring activities appropriate under conditions of uncertainty. In this study, an integrated assessment of alternative conceptual model elements has been examined using the B-Complex site in the Hanford Central Plateau to demonstrate how multiple sources in a waste management complex can be described to identify their relative contributions to groundwater. The heterogeneous structure of the system is modeled based on available field information on the lithological data for both the vadose zone and aquifer. The approach includes a simulation assessment and linkages to site data, with an uncertainty analysis applied to evaluate the effects of source term uncertainty on contaminant mass flux to groundwater. An integrated assessment of alternative conceptual model elements was evaluated to identify how parameter uncertainty impacts both temporal and spatial uncertainties associated with vadose zone source terms. Modeling scenarios identify important characteristics of remediation target zones to provide context for how surface barriers, in situ remedies, and water-table treatment zones can be designed to account for source dynamics. Ramifications for remediation and monitoring are discussed within the context of the source term uncertainty. The described approach facilitates systematically addressing alternative conceptual model questions in relation to remediation and monitoring and supports the remedial investigation/ feasibility study process and the remediation strategy development for the Hanford Central Plateau.

Rockhold, Mark L.↗

2FHL: The Second Catalog of Hard Fermi-LAT Sources

We present a catalog of sources detected above 50 GeV by the Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT) in 80 months of data. The newly delivered Pass 8 event-level analysis allows the detection and characterization of sources in the 50 GeV–2TeV energy range. In this energy band, Fermi - LAT has detected 360 sources, which constitute the second catalog of hard Fermi -LAT sources (2FHL). The improved angular resolution enables the precise localization of point sources (~1.'7 radius at 68 % C. L.) and the detection and characterization of spatially extended sources. We find that 86% of the sources can be associated with counterparts at other wavelengths, of which the majority (75%) are active galactic nuclei and the rest (11%) are Galactic sources. Only 25% of the 2FHL sources have been previously detected by Cherenkov telescopes, implying that the 2FHL provides a reservoir of candidates to be followed up at very high energies. This work closes the energy gap between the observations performed at GeV energies by Fermi -LAT on orbit and the observations performed at higher energies by Cherenkov telescopes from the ground.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗