A multilevel multiscale finite volume method

The Multiscale Finite Volume (MsFV) method has been developed to efficiently solve reservoir-scale problems while conserving fine-scale details. The method employs two grid levels: a fine grid and a coarse grid. The latter is used to calculate a coarse solution to the original problem, which is interpolated to the fine mesh. The coarse system is constructed from the fine-scale problem using restriction and prolongation operators that are obtained by introducing appropriate localization assumptions. Through a successive reconstruction step, the MsFV method is able to provide an approximate, but fully conservative fine-scale velocity field. For very large problems (e.g. one billion cell model), a two-level algorithm can remain computational expensive. Depending on the upscaling factor, the computational expense comes either from the costs associated with the solution of the coarse problem or from the construction of the local interpolators (basis functions). To ensure numerical efficiency in the former case, the MsFV concept can be reapplied to the coarse problem, leading to a new, coarser level of discretization. One challenge in the use of a multilevel MsFV technique is to find an efficient reconstruction step to obtain a conservative fine-scale velocity field. In this work, we introduce a three-level Multiscale Finite Volume method (MlMsFV) and give a detailed description of the reconstruction step. Complexity analyses of the original MsFV method and the new MlMsFV method are discussed, and their performances in terms of accuracy and efficiency are compared.

MEPDG Work Plan Task No. 5: Characterization of Unbound Materials (Soils/Aggregates) for Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide, 2009

The resilient modulus (MR) input parameters in the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) program have a significant effect on the projected pavement performance. The MEPDG program uses three different levels of inputs depending on the desired level of accuracy. The primary objective of this research was to develop a laboratory testing program utilizing the Iowa DOT servo-hydraulic machine system for evaluating typical Iowa unbound materials and to establish a database of input values for MEPDG analysis. This was achieved by carrying out a detailed laboratory testing program designed in accordance with the AASHTO T307 resilient modulus test protocol using common Iowa unbound materials. The program included laboratory tests to characterize basic physical properties of the unbound materials, specimen preparation and repeated load triaxial tests to determine the resilient modulus. The MEPDG resilient modulus input parameter library for Iowa typical unbound pavement materials was established from the repeated load triaxial MR test results. This library includes the non-linear, stress-dependent resilient modulus model coefficients values for level 1 analysis, the unbound material properties values correlated to resilient modulus for level 2 analysis, and the typical resilient modulus values for level 3 analysis. The resilient modulus input parameters library can be utilized when designing low volume roads in the absence of any basic soil testing. Based on the results of this study, the use of level 2 analysis for MEPDG resilient modulus input is recommended since the repeated load triaxial test for level 1 analysis is complicated, time consuming, expensive, and requires sophisticated equipment and skilled operators.

Integrated Risk Management for Improving Internal Traffic Control, Work-Zone Safety, and Mobility during Major Construction, TPF-5(081), 2012

Highway construction is among the most dangerous industries in the US. Internal traffic control design, along with how construction equipment and vehicles interact with the traveling public, have a significant effect on how safe a highway construction work zone can be. An integrated approach was taken to research work-zone safety issues and mobility, including input from many personnel, ranging from roadway designers to construction laborers and equipment operators. The research team analyzed crash data from Iowa work-zone incident reports and Occupational Safety and Health Administration data for the industry in conjunction with the results of personal interviews, a targeted work-zone ingress and egress survey, and a work-zone pilot project.

A regional Industrial Symbiosis methodology and its implementation in Geneva, Switzerland

The Agenda 21 for the Geneva region is the results from a broad consultation process including all local actors. The article 12 stipulates that « the State facilitates possible synergies between economic activities in order to minimize their environmental impacts » thus opening the way for Industrial Ecology (IE) and Industrial Symbiosis (IS). An Advisory Board for Industrial Ecology and Industrial Symbiosis implementation was established in 2002 involving relevant government agencies. Regulatory and technical conditions for IS are studied in the Swiss context. Results reveal that the Swiss law on waste does not hinder by-product exchanges. Methodology and technical factors including geographic, qualitative, quantitative and economical aspects are detailed. The competition with waste operators in a highly developed recycling system is also tackled.The IS project develops an empirical and systematic method for detecting and implementing by-products synergies between industrial actors disseminated throughout the Geneva region. Database management tool for the treatment of input-output analysis data and GIS tools for detecting potentials industrial partners are constantly improved. Potential symbioses for 17 flows (including energy, water and material flows) are currently studied for implementation.

Inexperienced sonographers can successfully visualize and assess a three-dimensional image of the fetal face using a standardized ultrasound protocol.

Introduction: A standardized three-dimensional ultrasonographic (3DUS) protocol is described that allows fetal face reconstruction. Ability to identify cleft lip with 3DUS using this protocol was assessed by operators with minimal 3DUS experience. Material and Methods: 260 stored volumes of fetal face were analyzed using a standardized protocol by operators with different levels of competence in 3DUS. The outcomes studied were: (1) the performance of post-processing 3D face volumes for the detection of facial clefts; (2) the ability of a resident with minimal 3DUS experience to reconstruct the acquired facial volumes, and (3) the time needed to reconstruct each plane to allow proper diagnosis of a cleft. Results: The three orthogonal planes of the fetal face (axial, sagittal and coronal) were adequately reconstructed with similar performance when acquired by a maternal-fetal medicine specialist or by residents with minimal experience (72 vs. 76%, p = 0.629). The learning curve for manipulation of 3DUS volumes of the fetal face corresponds to 30 cases and is independent of the operator's level of experience. Discussion: The learning curve for the standardized protocol we describe is short, even for inexperienced sonographers. This technique might decrease the length of anatomy ultrasounds and improve the ability to visualize fetal face anomalies.

Lagrangian-Hamiltonian unified formalism for field theory

The RuskSkinner formalism was developed in order to give a geometrical unified formalism for describing mechanical systems. It incorporates all the characteristics of Lagrangian and Hamiltonian descriptions of these systems (including dynamical equations and solutions, constraints, Legendre map, evolution operators, equivalence, etc.). In this work we extend this unified framework to first-order classical field theories, and show how this description comprises the main features of the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formalisms, both for the regular and singular cases. This formulation is a first step toward further applications in optimal control theory for partial differential equations. 2004 American Institute of Physics.

A new aggregation method for strategic decision making and its application in assignment theory

A new aggregation method for decision making is presented by using induced aggregation operators and the index of maximum and minimum level. Its main advantage is that it can assess complex reordering processes in the aggregation that represent complex attitudinal characters of the decision maker such as psychological or personal factors. A wide range of properties and particular cases of this new approach are studied. A further generalization by using hybrid averages and immediate weights is also presented. The key issue in this approach against the previous model is that we can use the weighted average and the ordered weighted average in the same formulation. Thus, we are able to consider the subjective attitude and the degree of optimism of the decision maker in the decision process. The paper ends with an application in a decision making problem based on the use of the assignment theory.

Iowa School Safety Guide, April 6, 2012

This document was developed for the schools of Iowa to use as a template to enhance current school safety programs; the creation of this document was a partnered effort at the state level between the aforementioned agencies. The purpose of this document is to give school districts and individual schools a planning resource to use when creating their school safety plans. Ultimately, schools can decide how much of this document they would like to incorporate into their current plan. The original document was created by the Minnesota Department of Homeland Security, and its use was granted to Iowa Homeland Security in 2011. Iowa pulled together a panel of experts to make this document specific to Iowa’s schools, and laws. It’s important to note the partnership created by this document is intended to continue through information sharing in relation to critical assets, infrastructure protection, and school safety. Iowa Homeland Security is a representative in the Iowa Department of Public Safety, Division of Intelligence Fusion Center. This partnership allows for streamlined information sharing to the critical infrastructure owner/operators across the state. The current plan for information sharing is through the Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Threat information and Infrastructure Protection Program (TIIPP) to the Iowa Department of Education for processing and dissemination statewide. Depending on the type of information being released it could be specific to a school, district or the education sector statewide.

Sensitivity to Change of the Ultrasound synovitis SONAR Score in RA Patients: Results of the Scqm Cohort

Background/Purpose: Since the end of 2009, an ultrasound scoring call SONAR has been implemented for RA patients as a routine tool in the SCQM registry (Swiss Clinical Quality Management registry for rheumatic diseases). A cross-sectional evaluation of patients with active disease and clinical remission according to the DAS28ESR and the novel ACR/EULAR remission criteria from 2010 clearly indicated a good correlational external validity of synovial pathologies with clinical disease activity in RA (2012 EULAR meeting. Objective: of this study was to evaluate the sensitivity to change of B-mode and Power-Doppler scores in a longitudinal perspective along with the changes in DAS28ESR in two consecutive visits among the patients included in the SCQM registry Methods: All patients who had at least two SONAR scores and simultaneous DAS28ESR evaluations between December 2009 and June 2012 were included in this study. The data came from 20 different operators working mostly in hospitals but also in private practices, who had received a previous teaching over 3 days in a reference center. The SONAR score includes a semi-quantitative B mode and Power-Doppler evaluation of 22 joints from 0 to 3, maximum 66 points for each score. The selection of these 22 joints was done in analogy to a 28 joint count and further restricted to joint regions with published standard ultrasound images. Both elbows and wrist joints were dynamically scanned from the dorsal and the knee joints from a longitudinal suprapatellar view in flexion and in joint extension. The bilateral evaluation of the second to fifth metacarpophalangeal and proximal interphalangeal joints was done from a palmar view in full extension, and the Power-Doppler scoring from a dorsal view with hand and finger position in best relaxation. Results: From the 657 RA patients with at least one score performed, 128 RA patients with 2 or more consultations of DAS28ESR, and a complete SONAR data set could be included. The mean (SD) time between the two evaluations was 9.6 months (54). The mean (SD) DAS28ESR was: 3.5 (1.3) at the first visit and was significantly lower (mean 3.0, SD.2.0, p:_0.0001) at the second visit. The mean (SD) of the total B mode was 12 (9.5) at baseline and 9.6 (7.6) at follow-up (p_0.0004). The Power-Doppler score at entry was 2.9 (5.7) and 1.9 (3.6), at the second visit, p _0.0001. The Pearson r correlation between change in DAS28ESR and the B mode was 0.44 (95% CI: 0.29, 0.57, p_ 0.0001),and 0.35 (95% CI: 0.16, 0.50, p _ 0.0002) for the Power-Doppler score,. Clinical relevant change in DAS (_1.1) was associated with a change of total B mode score _3 in 23/32 patients and a change a Doppler score _0.5 in 19/26. Conclusion: This study confirms that the SONAR score is sensitive to change and provides a complementary method of assessing RA disease activity to the DAS that could be very useful in daily practice.

Safety and Mobility Impacts of Winter Weather --Phase 3, SPR RB01-012, 2014

Highway agencies spend millions of dollars to ensure safe and efficient winter travel. However, the effectiveness of winter-weather maintenance practices on safety and mobility are somewhat difficult to quantify. Safety and Mobility Impacts of Winter Weather - Phase 1 investigated opportunities for improving traffic safety on state-maintained roads in Iowa during winter-weather conditions. In Phase 2, three Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) high-priority sites were evaluated and realistic maintenance and operations mitigation strategies were also identified. In this project, site prioritization techniques for identifying roadway segments with the potential for safety improvements related to winter-weather crashes, were developed through traditional naïve statistical methods by using raw crash data for seven winter seasons and previously developed metrics. Additionally, crash frequency models were developed using integrated crash data for four winter seasons, with the objective of identifying factors that affect crash frequency during winter seasons and screening roadway segments using the empirical Bayes technique. Based on these prioritization techniques, 11 sites were identified and analyzed in conjunction with input from Iowa DOT district maintenance managers and snowplow operators and the Iowa DOT Road Weather Information System (RWIS) coordinator.

Enhanced compressed sensing recovery with level set normals.

We propose a compressive sensing algorithm that exploits geometric properties of images to recover images of high quality from few measurements. The image reconstruction is done by iterating the two following steps: 1) estimation of normal vectors of the image level curves, and 2) reconstruction of an image fitting the normal vectors, the compressed sensing measurements, and the sparsity constraint. The proposed technique can naturally extend to nonlocal operators and graphs to exploit the repetitive nature of textured images to recover fine detail structures. In both cases, the problem is reduced to a series of convex minimization problems that can be efficiently solved with a combination of variable splitting and augmented Lagrangian methods, leading to fast and easy-to-code algorithms. Extended experiments show a clear improvement over related state-of-the-art algorithms in the quality of the reconstructed images and the robustness of the proposed method to noise, different kind of images, and reduced measurements.

A method for decision making with the OWA operator

A new method for decision making that uses the ordered weighted averaging (OWA) operator in the aggregation of the information is presented. It is used a concept that it is known in the literature as the index of maximum and minimum level (IMAM). This index is based on distance measures and other techniques that are useful for decision making. By using the OWA operator in the IMAM, we form a new aggregation operator that we call the ordered weighted averaging index of maximum and minimum level (OWAIMAM) operator. The main advantage is that it provides a parameterized family of aggregation operators between the minimum and the maximum and a wide range of special cases. Then, the decision maker may take decisions according to his degree of optimism and considering ideals in the decision process. A further extension of this approach is presented by using hybrid averages and Choquet integrals. We also develop an application of the new approach in a multi-person decision-making problem regarding the selection of strategies.

Strategy selection: An introduction to the modeling challenge

Modeling the mechanisms that determine how humans and other agents choose among different behavioral and cognitive processes-be they strategies, routines, actions, or operators-represents a paramount theoretical stumbling block across disciplines, ranging from the cognitive and decision sciences to economics, biology, and machine learning. By using the cognitive and decision sciences as a case study, we provide an introduction to what is also known as the strategy selection problem. First, we explain why many researchers assume humans and other animals to come equipped with a repertoire of behavioral and cognitive processes. Second, we expose three descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive challenges that are common to all disciplines which aim to model the choice among these processes. Third, we give an overview of different approaches to strategy selection. These include cost‐benefit, ecological, learning, memory, unified, connectionist, sequential sampling, and maximization approaches. We conclude by pointing to opportunities for future research and by stressing that the selection problem is far from being resolved.

Classification of very high spatial resolution imagery using mathematical morphology and support vector machines

We investigate the relevance of morphological operators for the classification of land use in urban scenes using submetric panchromatic imagery. A support vector machine is used for the classification. Six types of filters have been employed: opening and closing, opening and closing by reconstruction, and opening and closing top hat. The type and scale of the filters are discussed, and a feature selection algorithm called recursive feature elimination is applied to decrease the dimensionality of the input data. The analysis performed on two QuickBird panchromatic images showed that simple opening and closing operators are the most relevant for classification at such a high spatial resolution. Moreover, mixed sets combining simple and reconstruction filters provided the best performance. Tests performed on both images, having areas characterized by different architectural styles, yielded similar results for both feature selection and classification accuracy, suggesting the generalization of the feature sets highlighted.

09006-003 Bear Creek Watershed Final Report

Bear Creek is an impaired warm water fishery designated as class B(LR) by the Iowa DNR and is on 303 impaired waters list for fish kills and ammonia. Bear Creek is located in eastern Delaware County. This project is designed to improve the water quality of Bear Creek by educating the landowners, operators and watershed community about the importance of this water resource. The goal of the Bear Creek Watershed Project is to improve the water quality of Bear Creek by reducing the amounts of ammoniated manure discharge, fecal coliform bacteria, sediment, nitrogen, and phosphorous. The Bear Creek Watershed Project has been a watershed project since July 2004, first as a Demo project FY 2004-2005 and then full time WSPF/319 project FY06-09. Fish kills have not occurred in 2008-2009. Sediment delivery has decreased in the Bear Creek Watershed by 5,328 tons per year. The objectives of this watershed project will be to improve Livestock Waste Storage, to improve Livestock Waste Usage, to decrease Sediment Losses, and to improve Education & Area Outreach. This project will install 2 manure storage structures (EQIP/project funded), 19 ac of CRP waterways, 12 ac of project waterways, 17 ac of CRP filter strips along stream, 12 water and sediment control basins, 18,000 ft of terraces, 350 ac of new notill planting, and 3,700 ft of streambank protection.