Multipurpose portable system for environmental, industrial, and medical applications

This dissertation is about the research carried on developing an MPS (Multipurpose Portable System) which consists of an instrument and many accessories. The instrument is portable, hand-held, and rechargeable battery operated, and it measures temperature, absorbance, and concentration of samples by using optical principles. The system also performs auxiliary functions like incubation and mixing. This system can be used in environmental, industrial, and medical applications. ^ Research emphasis is on system modularity, easy configuration, accuracy of measurements, power management schemes, reliability, low cost, computer interface, and networking. The instrument can send the data to a computer for data analysis and presentation, or to a printer. ^ This dissertation includes the presentation of a full working system. This involved integration of hardware and firmware for the micro-controller in assembly language, software in C and other application modules. ^ The instrument contains the Optics, Transimpedance Amplifiers, Voltage-to-Frequency Converters, LCD display, Lamp Driver, Battery Charger, Battery Manager, Timer, Interface Port, and Micro-controller. ^ The accessories are a Printer, Data Acquisition Adapter (to transfer the measurements to a computer via the Printer Port and expand the Analog/Digital conversion capability), Car Plug Adapter, and AC Transformer. This system has been fully evaluated for fault tolerance and the schemes will also be presented. ^

Hydrologic Dynamics of the Ground-Water-Dependent Sian Ka’an Wetlands, Mexico, Derived from InSAR and SAR Data

The 5,280 km2 Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve includes pristine wetlands fed by ground water from the karst aquifer of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. The inflow through underground karst structures is hard to observe making it difficult to understand, quantify, and predict the wetland dynamics. Remotely sensed Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) amplitude and phase observations offer new opportunities to obtain information on hydrologic dynamics useful for wetland management. Backscatter amplitude of SAR data can be used to map flooding extent. Interferometric processing of the backscattered SAR phase data (InSAR) produces temporal phase-changes that can be related to relative water level changes in vegetated wetlands. We used 56 RADARSAT-1 SAR acquisitions to calculate 38 interferograms and 13 flooding maps with 24 day and 48 day time intervals covering July 2006 to March 2008. Flooding extent varied between 1,067 km2 and 2,588 km2 during the study period, and main water input was seen to take place in sloughs during October–December. We propose that main water input areas are associated with water-filled faults that transport ground water from the catchment to the wetlands. InSAR and Landsat data revealed local-scale water divides and surface water flow directions within the wetlands.

Branch and price solution approach for order acceptance and capacity planning in make -to -order operations

The increasing emphasis on mass customization, shortened product lifecycles, synchronized supply chains, when coupled with advances in information system, is driving most firms towards make-to-order (MTO) operations. Increasing global competition, lower profit margins, and higher customer expectations force the MTO firms to plan its capacity by managing the effective demand. The goal of this research was to maximize the operational profits of a make-to-order operation by selectively accepting incoming customer orders and simultaneously allocating capacity for them at the sales stage. ^ For integrating the two decisions, a Mixed-Integer Linear Program (MILP) was formulated which can aid an operations manager in an MTO environment to select a set of potential customer orders such that all the selected orders are fulfilled by their deadline. The proposed model combines order acceptance/rejection decision with detailed scheduling. Experiments with the formulation indicate that for larger problem sizes, the computational time required to determine an optimal solution is prohibitive. This formulation inherits a block diagonal structure, and can be decomposed into one or more sub-problems (i.e. one sub-problem for each customer order) and a master problem by applying Dantzig-Wolfe’s decomposition principles. To efficiently solve the original MILP, an exact Branch-and-Price algorithm was successfully developed. Various approximation algorithms were developed to further improve the runtime. Experiments conducted unequivocally show the efficiency of these algorithms compared to a commercial optimization solver.^ The existing literature addresses the static order acceptance problem for a single machine environment having regular capacity with an objective to maximize profits and a penalty for tardiness. This dissertation has solved the order acceptance and capacity planning problem for a job shop environment with multiple resources. Both regular and overtime resources is considered. ^ The Branch-and-Price algorithms developed in this dissertation are faster and can be incorporated in a decision support system which can be used on a daily basis to help make intelligent decisions in a MTO operation.^

Branch and Price Solution Approach for Order Acceptance and Capacity Planning in Make-to-Order Operations

The increasing emphasis on mass customization, shortened product lifecycles, synchronized supply chains, when coupled with advances in information system, is driving most firms towards make-to-order (MTO) operations. Increasing global competition, lower profit margins, and higher customer expectations force the MTO firms to plan its capacity by managing the effective demand. The goal of this research was to maximize the operational profits of a make-to-order operation by selectively accepting incoming customer orders and simultaneously allocating capacity for them at the sales stage. For integrating the two decisions, a Mixed-Integer Linear Program (MILP) was formulated which can aid an operations manager in an MTO environment to select a set of potential customer orders such that all the selected orders are fulfilled by their deadline. The proposed model combines order acceptance/rejection decision with detailed scheduling. Experiments with the formulation indicate that for larger problem sizes, the computational time required to determine an optimal solution is prohibitive. This formulation inherits a block diagonal structure, and can be decomposed into one or more sub-problems (i.e. one sub-problem for each customer order) and a master problem by applying Dantzig-Wolfe’s decomposition principles. To efficiently solve the original MILP, an exact Branch-and-Price algorithm was successfully developed. Various approximation algorithms were developed to further improve the runtime. Experiments conducted unequivocally show the efficiency of these algorithms compared to a commercial optimization solver. The existing literature addresses the static order acceptance problem for a single machine environment having regular capacity with an objective to maximize profits and a penalty for tardiness. This dissertation has solved the order acceptance and capacity planning problem for a job shop environment with multiple resources. Both regular and overtime resources is considered. The Branch-and-Price algorithms developed in this dissertation are faster and can be incorporated in a decision support system which can be used on a daily basis to help make intelligent decisions in a MTO operation.

Hydrogen(electron-deuteron) studies of the deuteron at high squared momentum transfer

A high resolution study of the quasielastic 2 H(e, e'p)n reaction was performed in Hall A at the Thomas Jefferson Accelerator Facility in Newport News, Virginia. The measurements were performed at a central momentum transfer of : q: ∼ 2400 MeV/c, and at a central energy transfer of ω ∼ 1500 MeV, a four momentum transfer Q2 = 3.5 (GeV/c)2, covering missing momenta from 0 to 0.5 GeV/c. The majority of the measurements were performed at Φ = 180° and a small set of measurements were done at Φ = 0°. The Hall A High Resolution Spectrometers (HRS) were used to detect coincident electrons and protons, respectively. Absolute 2H(e, e'p) n cross sections were obtained as a function of the recoiling neutron scattering angle with respect to [special characters omitted]. The experimental results were compared to a Plane Wave Impulse Approximation (PWIA) model and to a calculation that includes Final State Interaction (FSI) effects. Experimental 2H(e, e'p)n cross sections were determined with an estimated systematic uncertainty of 7%. The general features of the measured cross sections are reproduced by Glauber based calculations that take the motion of the bound nucleons into account (GEA). Final State Interactions (FSI) contributions were found to depend strongly on the angle of the recoiling neutron with respect to the momentum transfer and on the missing momentum. We found a systematic deviation of the theoretical prediction of about 30%. At small &thetas; nq (&thetas;nq < 60°) the theory overpredicts the cross section while at large &thetas; nq (&thetas;nq > 80°) the theory underestimates the cross sections. We observed an enhancement of the cross section, due to FSI, of about 240%, as compared to PWIA, for a missing momentum of 0.4 GeV/c at an angle of 75°. For missing momentum of 0.5 GeV/c the enhancement of the cross section due to the same FSI effects, was about 270%. This is in agreement with GEA. Standard Glauber calculations predict this large contribution to occur at an angle of 90°. Our results show that GEA better describes the 2H(e, e'p)n reaction.

Lecture by Keith F. Davis, given at Florida International University, January 8, 1999

Keith F. Davis discusses his book "An American Century of Photography: From Dry-Plate to Digital". Introduction by Dahlia Morgan. Dr. Mark Rosenberg speaks.