Small Systematic Errors Research Articles

Microarcsecond Astrometry: Science Highlights from Gaia

Access to microarcsecond astrometry is now routine in the radio, infrared (IR), and optical domains. In particular, the publication of the second data release ( Gaia DR2) from the Gaia mission made it possible for every astronomer to work with easily accessible, high-precision astrometry for 1.7 billion sources to twenty-first magnitude over the full sky. ▪ Gaia provides splendid astrometry, but at the limits of the data small systematic errors are present. A good understanding of the Hipparcos– Gaia astrometry concept, and of the data collection and processing, provides insights into the origins of the systematic errors and how to mitigate their effects. ▪ A selected set of results from Gaia highlight the breadth of exciting science and unexpected results, from the Solar System to the distant Universe, to creative uses of the data. ▪ Gaia data release 2 provides, for the first time, a dense sampling of Galactic phase space with high-precision astrometry, photometry, and radial velocities, allowing researchers to uncover subtle features in phase space and the observational Hertzsprung–Russell diagram. ▪ In the coming decade, we can look forward to more accurate and richer Gaia data releases, and new photometric and spectroscopic surveys coming online that will provide essential complementary data. ▪ The longer term promises exciting new opportunities for microarcsecond astrometry and beyond, including the plans for an IR version of Gaia that would offer the dense sampling of phase space deep into the Milky Way's nuclear regions.

Movement drift in optic ataxia reveals deficits in hand state estimation in oculocentric coordinates.

When vision is removed, limb position has been shown to progressively drift during repetitive arm movements. The posterior parietal cortex (PPC) is known to be involved in the processing of multisensory information, the formation of internal hand estimate, and online motor control. Here, we compared hand position drift between healthy controls and 2 patients with PPC damage to gain insight into the mechanisms underlying movement drift and investigate the possible role of the PPC in this process. To do so, we asked participants to perform back-and-forth movements between 2 targets, in the dark and under different gaze fixation conditions. Each individual participant consistently drifted to the same end position for a given hand and gaze condition. We found that the final drift distance was related to small systematic errors made on the very first trial in the dark, with an approximate 3.5 fold increase in magnitude. Furthermore, PPC damage resulted in greater movement drift in patients when the unseen hand was in the contralesional oculocentric space and also when the target was located in the lower visual field. We conclude that the PPC is involved in the proprioceptive representation of hand position in oculocentric coordinates used for reach planning and motor control. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Flooded with Error: Handling Uncertainty in SRTM for the Assessment of Sea Level Rise in the Mississippi River Delta

Digital elevation data are essential to estimate coastal vulnerability to flooding due to sea-level rise. Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) 1 arc-second global is considered the best free global digital elevation data set available. Inundation estimates from SRTM, however, are subject to uncertainty due to inaccuracies in the elevation data. Small systematic errors in low, flat areas can generate large errors in inundation models, and SRTM is subject to positive bias in the presence of vegetation canopy, such as along channels and within marshes. In this study, we conducted an error assessment and developed a statistical error model for SRTM to improve the quality of elevation data in the Mississippi River Delta (MRD) region. Vegetation cover, SRTM elevation, and slope were found to be closely associated with SRTM error for a random sample of 10,000 small sites across the MRD region, with an ordinary least squares regression model using these variables explaining over 80 percent of the variation in error. Residuals from this model were spatially autocorrelated, and a variogram model was readily fit to them. We conclude by speculating on the utility of application of this model, developed for the MRD region, to similar near-coastal riverine regions around the world.

The Inner Accretion Flow in the Resurgent Seyfert-1.2 AGN Mrk 817

Abstract Accretion disks and coronae around massive black holes have been studied extensively, and they are known to be coupled. Over a period of 30 yr, however, the X-ray (coronal) flux of Mrk 817 increased by a factor of 40 while its UV (disk) flux remained relatively steady. Recent high-cadence monitoring finds that the X-ray and UV continua in Mrk 817 are also decoupled on timescales of weeks and months. These findings could require mechanical beaming of the innermost accretion flow, and/or an absorber that shields the disk and/or broad line region (BLR) from the X-ray corona. Herein, we report on a 135 ks observation of Mrk 817 obtained with NuSTAR, complemented by simultaneous X-ray coverage via the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. The X-ray data strongly prefer a standard relativistic disk reflection model over plausible alternatives. Comparable fits with related models constrain the spin to lie in the range of 0.5 ≤ a ≤ 1, and the viewing angle to lie between 10° ≤ θ ≤ 22° (including 1σ statistical errors and small systematic errors related to differences between the models). The spectra also reveal strong evidence of moderately ionized absorption, similar to but likely less extreme than obscuring events in NGC 5548 and NGC 3783. Archival Swift data suggest that the absorption may be variable. Particularly if the column density of this absorber is higher along the plane of the disk, it may intermittently mask or prevent coupling between the central engine, disk, and BLR in Mrk 817.

Technical note: validation of the GreenFeed system for measuring enteric gas emissions from cattle.

There are knowledge gaps in animal agriculture on how to best mitigate greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining animal productivity. One reason for these gaps is the uncertainties associated with methods used to derive emission rates. This study compared emission rates of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) measured by a commercially available GreenFeed (GF) system with those from (1) a mass flow controller (MFC) that released known quantities of gas over time (i.e., emission rate) and (2) a respiration chamber (RC). The GF and MFC differed by only 1% for CH4 (P = 0.726) and 3% for CO2 (P = 0.013). The difference between the GF and RC was 1% (P = 0.019) for CH4 and 2% for CO2 (P = 0.007). Further investigation revealed that the difference in emission rate for CO2 was due to a small systematic offset error indicating a correction factor could be applied. We conclude that the GF system accurately estimated enteric CH4 and CO2 emission rates of cattle over a short measurement period, but additional factors would need to be considered in determining the 24-hr emission rate of an animal.

The Effects of Attentional Focus on Test–Retest Reliability of Jumping Tasks

ABSTRACT This study examined the test–retest reliability of the standing long jump (SLJ) and the countermovement jump (CMJ) following consistent and non-consistent attentional focus cuing instructions in physically active young adults (n = 30). The systematic error (as standardize change in mean), random error (as typical error), the Bland and Altman method (limits of agreement, LOA), intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and two-way ANOVA with repeated measures were used to evaluate the reliability of measurements. Jump distance in the SLJ and jump height in the CMJ demonstrated acceptable reliability within the consistent and non-consistent attentional conditions. However, the consistent attentional condition resulted in smaller systematic errors, lower random errors, stronger ICCs, and narrower LOAs in comparison to the non-consistent condition. The present findings indicate that providing a consistent focus of attention instructions produced more reliable jump distance and jump height compared to providing a non-consistent focus of attention instructions to physically active adults.

Segregation of Forecast Errors in the Planetary Boundary Layer Parameterization Over the State of Odisha and Neighboring Regions in India During Summer Monsoon Season

Planetary boundary layer parametrization (PBL) is a key factor influencing weather forecast skills. This article provides a quantitative illustration of the segregation of forecast errors and their growth arising from different PBLs of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. The systematic (root mean square) components of forecast errors arising from four different PBLs of the WRF over the state of Odisha (India) and its surrounding regions are elucidated. Error characterizations are carried out for the forecast lead time up to 96 h (day-4) for two contrasting monsoon seasons, i.e., 2013 (normal) and 2014 (deficit). A total of 1112 simulations are carried out for each initial condition, i.e., May 15 to September 29 for both monsoon seasons using four PBL schemes, i.e., Yonsei University (YSU), Mellor–Yamada–Nakanishi-Niino (MYNN), Asymmetric Convective Model version 2 (ACM2), and medium-range forecast (MRF). The overall results suggest the errors in thermodynamical variables (i.e., temperature and relative humidity) are large compared to the dynamical variable (i.e., wind). For the normal monsoon year (i.e., 2013), the MRF and MYNN exhibit the lowest root mean square error (RMSE) of temperature compared to ACM2 and YSU, whereas MRF (MYNN) shows the lowest (highest) error growth at 24–48 h (72–96 h). The deficit year (2014) has a higher temperature error compared to that of the normal monsoon year (2013), which might be due to frequent monsoon break periods. The spatial distribution of wind exhibits the lowest systematic error for MRF with lead time up to 48 h. The subsequent decrease (increase) of convergence (divergence) of error flux over northern Odisha and increase (decrease) of the same over southern Odisha suggests that the error propagation occurs from north to south. In general, both the convergence and divergence of error energy are found to be weak in MRF and MYNN, attributable to the lower error growth rate and hence the smaller systematic errors compared to ACM2 and YSU for both these monsoon seasons. It is also found that the systematic component of the linear (nonlinear) error growth rate is contributed by the physics (dynamics) components of the model. These findings will provide guidance for the model community and operational agencies to make an optimal choice of PBL parameterizations, particularly for the monsoon forecast.

Measurements of pressure broadening of N2 in the anisotropic tensor component of spontaneous Raman spectra

Spontaneous Raman scattering from nitrogen is well-suited for temperature measurements in combustion experiments, especially at high pressure which increases the Raman signal because of the higher density in the measurement volume. In this work we investigate high density effects on the anisotropic tensor component of ro-vibrational spontaneous Raman scattering, which must be understood to obtain accurate thermometry in high pressure gases using high-fidelity Raman simulations. We measure the collision broadening for the anisotropic component of spontaneous Raman scattering from room temperature nitrogen over the pressure range 10–70 atm for three gas compositions: pure nitrogen, air, and nitrogen in argon. Line broadening coefficients inferred from these measurements were found to be 14 ± 5% larger than the corresponding broadening coefficients of the isotropic Q branch. Air broadening coefficients were found to be very similar and about 2.5% smaller than nitrogen self-broadening coefficients. Argon broadening coefficients were 25% smaller at rotational quantum number 7 and about 50% smaller at rotational quantum number 21. Additionally, we found that our unmixed line model for the O and S branches gave good fits for all pressures, which indicates that line mixing effects are not significant in the O and S branches over this range of pressures. Using indirect experimental evidence we infer that line mixing effects in the anisotropic component of the Q branch were below the threshold set by our experimental spectral resolution at pressures up to 70 atm at room temperature. Assuming that the anisotropic Q branch lines mix like the isotropic lines results in a small systematic error in the inferred temperature at flame temperatures, with the error increasing slowly with pressure. The bias can be easily removed by modeling the anisotropic spectrum separately from the isotropic spectrum. Line mixing effects should be included in the model of the isotropic part of the Raman spectrum, but can probably be neglected in the anisotropic part of the spontaneous Raman spectrum of N 2 for pressures below 400 atm at flame temperatures.

RadNet 1.0: exploring deep learning architectures for longwave radiative transfer

Abstract. Simulating global and regional climate at high resolution is essential to study the effects of climate change and capture extreme events affecting human populations. To achieve this goal, the scalability of climate models and efficiency of individual model components are both important. Radiative transfer is among the most computationally expensive components in a typical climate model. Here we attempt to model this component using a neural network. We aim to study the feasibility of replacing an explicit, physics-based computation of longwave radiative transfer by a neural network emulator and assessing the resultant performance gains. We compare multiple neural-network architectures, including a convolutional neural network, and our results suggest that the performance loss from the use of conventional convolutional networks is not offset by gains in accuracy. We train the networks with and without noise added to the input profiles and find that adding noise improves the ability of the networks to generalise beyond the training set. Prediction of radiative heating rates using our neural network models achieve up to 370× speedup on a GTX 1080 GPU setup and 11× speedup on a Xeon CPU setup compared to the a state-of-the-art radiative transfer library running on the same Xeon CPU. Furthermore, our neural network models yield less than 0.1 K d−1 mean squared error across all pressure levels. Upon introducing this component into a single-column model, we find that the time evolution of the temperature and humidity profiles is physically reasonable, though the model is conservative in its prediction of heating rates in regions where the optical depth changes quickly. Differences exist in the equilibrium climate simulated when using the neural network, which are attributed to small systematic errors that accumulate over time. Thus, we find that the accuracy of the neural network in the “offline” mode does not reflect its performance when coupled with other components.

Combining eddy covariance measurements with process-based modelling to enhance understanding of carbon exchange rates of dairy pastures

Many temperate grasslands are used for dairying, and ongoing research aims to better understand these systems in order to increase animal production and soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks. However, it is difficult to fully understand management effects on SOC because most changes are slow and difficult to distinguish from natural variability, even if changes are important over years to decades. Eddy covariance (EC) measurements can overcome this problem by continuously measuring net carbon exchange from pastures, but net balances are very sensitive to even small systematic measurement errors. Combining EC measurements with detailed process-based modelling can reduce the risks inherent in total reliance on EC measurements. Modelling can also reveal information about the underlying processes that drive observed fluxes.Here, we describe carbon exchange patterns of five paddocks situated at four different locations in New Zealand and France where EC data and detailed physiological modelling were available. The work showed that respiration by grazing animals was often only incompletely captured in EC measurements. This was most problematic when fluxes were based on gap-filling, which could have estimated incorrect fluxes during grazing periods based on observations from periods without grazing. We then aimed to extract plant physiological insights from these studies. We found appreciable carbon uptake rates even at temperatures below 0 °C. After grazing, carbon uptake was reduced for up to 2 weeks. This reduction was larger than expected from reduced leaf area after grazing, but the factors contributing to that difference have not yet been identified.Detailed physiological models can also extrapolate findings to new management regimes, environmental conditions or plant attributes. This overcomes the limitation of experimental studies, which are necessarily restricted to actual site and weather conditions allowing models to make further progress on predicting management effects on SOC.

Fetal Weight Estimation Using Automated Fractional Limb Volume With 2-Dimensional Size Parameters: A Multicenter Study.

To develop new fetal weight prediction models using automated fractional limb volume (FLV). A prospective multicenter study measured fetal biometry within 4 to 7 days of delivery. Three-dimensional data acquisition included the automated FLV that was based on 50% of the humerus diaphysis (fractional arm volume [AVol]) or 50% of the femur diaphysis (fractional thigh volume [TVol]) length. A regression analysis provided population sample-specific coefficients to develop 4 weight estimation models. Estimated and actual birth weights (BWs) were compared for the mean percent difference ± standard deviation of the percent differences. Systematic errors were analyzed by the Student t test, and random errors were compared by the Pitman test. A total of 328 pregnancies were scanned before delivery (BW range, 825-5470 g). Only 71.3% to 72.6% of weight estimations were within 10% of actual BW using original published models by Hadlock et al (Am J Obstet Gynecol 1985; 151:333-337) and INTERGROWTH-21st (Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol 2017; 49:478-486). All predictions were accurate by using sample-specific model coefficients to minimize bias in making these comparisons (Hadlock, 0.4% ± 8.7%; INTERGROWTH-21st, 0.5% ± 10.0%; AVol, 0.3% ± 7.4%; and TVol, 0.3% ± 8.0%). Both AVol- and TVol-based models improved the percentage of correctly classified BW ±10% in 83.2% and 83.9% of cases, respectively, compared to the INTERGROWTH-21st model (73.8%; P < .01). For BW of less than 2500 g, all models slightly overestimated BW (+2.0% to +3.1%). For BW of greater than 4000 g, AVol (-2.4% ± 6.5%) and TVol (-2.3% ± 6.9%) models) had weight predictions with small systematic errors that were not different from zero (P > .05). For these larger fetuses, both AVol and TVol models correctly classified BW (±10%) in 83.3% and 87.5% of cases compared to the others (Hadlock, 79.2%; INTERGROWTH-21st, 70.8%) although these differences did not reach statistical significance. In this cohort, the inclusion of automated FLV measurements with conventional 2-dimensional biometry was generally associated with improved weight predictions.

Metrological Performance of Hybrid Measurement Technique Applied for the Lamb Waves Phase Velocity Dispersion Evaluation

The work presents the metrological evaluation of the modified hybrid spectrum decomposition and zero-crossing technique. The presented technique enables to reconstruct the phase velocity dispersion curve part of Lamb wave modes using only two signals. This is set to consequently simplify the of complex guided wave signals analysis. Experimentally measured asymmetric A0 mode Lamb wave signals propagating in 4 mm thickness non-homogeneous Glass Fibre Reinforced Plastic (GFRP) plate are used for assessment of the proposed technique. The phase velocity dispersion curve (DC) segments are obtained using three different filter bandwidths as reference using the DC obtained by the semi-analytical finite element method SAFE. The proposed technique quantitative and qualitative characteristics are presented. Using this technique and employing various band-pass filters it is shown that the DC segments are reconstructed in approximately 50% - 88% bandwidth of the incident signal frequency spectrum. The average of the calculated expanded uncertainties for all filter bandwidths is equal to approximately 2%. The narrower filter bandwidth has produced smaller systematic errors equal to 1.8%, yielding to wider reconstructed dispersion curve segments.

Technical Note: Accuracy of MTF measurements with an edge phantom at megavoltage x-ray energies.

Measurement of the modulation transfer function (MTF) is performed by evaluating the response of an imaging system to a predefined input. To obtain accurate results when using an edge phantom, the detector input signal must resemble an ideal step function. The MTF of megavoltage (MV) imagers used in radiotherapy has been measured with highly absorbing edge phantoms fabricated from thick metal blocks. This study investigates the influence of the edge phantom design on the accuracy of the resulting MTF. The MTF of an electronic portal imaging device (EPID) was measured at 6MV beam quality with four edge phantoms made of lead with 1.3, 3.3, 5.0, and 10.0cm thickness. Monte Carlo simulations were carried out for these and a selection of tungsten phantoms to determine the photon fluence at the imaging plane and quantify the systematic error in the MTF introduced by the edge phantom design. The measured MTF depends on the design of the edge phantom. The detector input signal of a thin phantom is affected by secondary radiation from the phantom itself, causing an overestimation of the MTF. The amount of secondary radiation can be reduced by increasing the phantom thickness or introducing an air gap between the phantom and the detector. Both methods introduce geometric unsharpness, which can result in an underestimation of the true MTF. Edge phantoms made from 4.0cm thick tungsten or 5.0cm thick lead induce comparatively small systematic errors of below 3% or 5%, respectively. When MTF measurements are conducted at MV energies, even a highly absorbing edge phantom will introduce a systematic error of several percent. Direct comparison of MTFs obtained with different edge phantoms should therefore be treated with caution.

Can redshift errors bias measurements of the Hubble Constant?

ABSTRACT Redshifts have been so easy to measure for so long that we tend to neglect the fact that they too have uncertainties and are susceptible to systematic error. As we strive to measure cosmological parameters to better than 1 per cent it is worth reviewing the accuracy of our redshift measurements. Surprisingly small systematic redshift errors, as low as 10−4, can have a significant impact on the cosmological parameters we infer, such as H0. Here, we investigate an extensive (but not exhaustive) list of ways in which redshift estimation can go systematically astray. We review common theoretical errors, such as adding redshifts instead of multiplying by (1 + z); using v = cz; and using only cosmological redshift in the estimates of luminosity and angular diameter distances. We consider potential observational errors, such as rest wavelength precision, air to vacuum conversion, and spectrograph wavelength calibration. Finally, we explore physical effects, such as peculiar velocity corrections, galaxy internal velocities, gravitational redshifts, and overcorrecting within a bulk flow. We conclude that it would be quite easy for small systematic redshift errors to have infiltrated our data and be impacting our cosmological results. While it is unlikely that these errors are large enough to resolve the current H0 tension, it remains possible, and redshift accuracy may become a limiting factor in near future experiments. With the enormous efforts going into calibrating the vertical axis of our plots (standard candles, rulers, clocks, and sirens) we argue that it is now worth paying a little more attention to the horizontal axis (redshifts).

The sensitivity of patient-specific IMRT QA methods in detecting systematic errors: field-by-field versus single-gantry-angle composite

This study evaluated the effect of small systematic errors, such as those from a multileaf collimator (MLC), on the quality of intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) treatment plan delivery. Two IMRT quality assurance (QA) verification techniques, field-by-field (FBF) and singe-gantry-angle composite (SGAC), were performed to evaluate both original and modified plans using a 2D ion chamber array detector. The dose distributions measured by the array detector for both FBF and SGAC were compared with the dose distribution calculated by the treatment planning system (TPS). FBF was found to be more sensitive than SGAC at detecting small systematic errors such as the opening and closing of the MLC’s segments, which were evaluated with respect to a gamma-index of 3%/3 mm and 2%/2 mm. The systematic errors involved in closing the segments of the anterior field by 2 mm and 3 mm showed a significant difference compared with the original field (unmodified): 83.1 ± 1.7% and 42.9 ± 1.9% gamma-index passing rates, respectively, for FBF. For SGAC, the magnitude of closing the MLC by 2 mm remained unnoticed and resulted in a 95.1 ± 2.61% gamma-index passing rate. Opening the MLC by 2 mm gave a false negative, but more than 5% of the rectum received 75 Gy, which exceeded the tolerance radiation dose recommended by the Quantitative Analysis of Normal Tissue Effects in the Clinic (QUANTEC).

White blood cell count in birds: evaluation of a commercially available method

BackgroundTo conduct a hematological analysis of avian blood samples, standard automated cell counting is unreliable because all avian blood cells are nucleated. Therefore, quantitative white blood cell counting in birds is still performed manually, whereby the Natt-Herrick method is widely used in veterinary laboratories. The aim of this study was to evaluate a new commercially available single test system for avian white blood cell counting, the Natt-Herricks-Tic®, which would allow easy in-house analysis by clinicians or technicians. A total of 40 avian ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) blood samples from 24 different species were included in the study. To assess method agreement, each blood sample was analyzed for total white blood cell count with the test method and the Natt-Herrick reference method. To determine the imprecision of the reference method and the Natt-Herricks-Tic® method, the noncorrected white blood cell count was determined ten consecutive times from one avian EDTA blood sample for each method.ResultsThe Natt-Herricks-Tic® method performed well concerning staining quality and countability of the granulocytes by the hemocytometer. In the agreement study, the Natt-Herricks-Tic® method showed a small proportional systematic error with a small positive mean bias of 282 white blood cells/μL but had wide 95% limits of agreement (− 4683 cells/μL to 5227 cells/μL), indicating random error. The precision study resulted in a coefficient of variation of 16% for the Natt-Herricks-Tic® method (the mean ± standard deviation: 9.7 × 103/μL ± 1.5 × 103/μL) and 23% (the mean ± standard deviation: 7.9 × 103/μL ± 1.8 × 103/μL) for the reference method.ConclusionsThe Natt-Herricks-Tic® method showed acceptable precision for a manual method and demonstrated good agreement with the reference method. It can be recommended as a reliable and suitable method for determining white blood cell counts in avian EDTA blood if nonstatistical quality control measures are used in the daily routine. The application of individual reference intervals for the interpretation of white blood cell counts in birds may improve the diagnostic performance of this important analyte in a clinical setting.

Insights from GO-SHIP hydrography data into the thermodynamic consistency of CO2 system measurements in seawater

Due to advances in technology, routine seawater pH measurements of excellent repeatability are becoming increasingly common for studying the ocean CO2 system. However, the accuracy of pH measurements has come into question due to a widespread observation, from a large number of carefully calibrated state-of-the-art CO2 measurements on various cruises, of there being a significant pH-dependent discrepancy between pH that was measured spectrophotometrically and pH calculated from concurrent measurements of total dissolved inorganic carbon (CT) and total alkalinity (AT), using a thermodynamic model of seawater acid-base systems. From an analysis of four recent GO-SHIP repeat hydrography datasets, we show that a combination of small systematic errors in the dissociation constants of carbonic acid (K1 and K2), the total boron-salinity ratio, and in CT and AT measurements are likely responsible for some, but not all of the observed pH-dependent discrepancy. The residual discrepancy can only be fully accounted for if there exists a small, but meaningful amount (~4 μmol kg–1) of an unidentified and typically neglected contribution to measured AT, likely from organic bases, that is widespread in the open ocean. A combination of these errors could achieve consistency between measured and calculated pH, without requiring that any of the shipboard measurements be significantly in error. Future research should focus on establishing the existence of organic alkalinity in the open ocean and constraining the uncertainty in both CO2 measurements and in the constants used in CO2 calculations.

Assessment of the accuracy of different systems for measuring football velocity and spin rate in the field

The aim of this study was to measure the level of agreement of four portable football velocity and spin rate measurement systems (Jugs speed radar gun, 2-D high-speed video, TrackMan and adidas miCoach football) against a Vicon motion analysis system. One skilled male university football player performed 70 shots covering a wide range of ball velocities (12–30 m s−1) and spin rates (94–743 r/min). A Bland–Altman analysis was used to assess the level of agreement. For ball velocity, the 2-D high-speed video had the smallest systematic error, followed by the radar gun, TrackMan and miCoach football at 0.2, 0.4, 0.5 and 4.8 m s−1, respectively. A similar ranking was also observed for the random errors (95% confidence intervals: ±0.4, ±1.5, ±1.9 and ±6.0 m s−1). The first three systems all tracked ball velocity in &gt;90% of shots, while the miCoach football tracked slightly fewer shots (79%). For spin rate, the miCoach football had a much smaller systematic error (4 vs 38 r/min) and random error (95% confidence intervals: ±24 vs ±355 r/min) compared to TrackMan. The miCoach also successfully tracked spin rate in more shots than the TrackMan (79% vs 44%). These results indicate that 2-D high-speed video would be the preferred option for the field assessment of ball velocity; however, radar gun and TrackMan may also be appropriate. A minimum of 10 frames of 2-D high-speed video, captured close to the ball starting position, was demonstrated to be sufficient in providing a reliable measure of ball velocity. The miCoach ball is the preferred option for field assessment of ball spin rate.

Quantification of myocardial deformation by deformable registration-based analysis of cine MRI: validation with tagged CMR.

To validate deformable registration algorithms (DRAs) for cine balanced steady-state free precession (bSSFP) assessment of global longitudinal strain (GLS) and global circumferential strain (GCS) using harmonic phase (HARP) cardiovascular magnetic resonance as standard of reference (SoR). Seventeen patients and 17 volunteers underwent short axis stack and 2-/4-chamber cine bSSFP imaging with matching slice long-axis and mid-ventricular spatial modulation of magnetization (SPAMM) myocardial tagging. Inverse DRA was applied on bSSFP data for assessment of GLS and GCS while myocardial tagging was processed using HARP. Intra- and inter-observer variability assessment was based on repeated analysis by a single observer and analysis by a second observer, respectively. Standard semi-automated short axis stack segmentation was performed for analysis of left ventricular (LV) volumes and ejection fraction (EF). DRA demonstrated strong relationships to HARP for myocardial GLS (R2 = 0.75; p < 0.0001) and endocardial GLS (R2 = 0.61; p < 0.0001). GCS result comparison also demonstrated significant relationships between DRA and HARP for myocardial strain (R2 = 0.61; p < 0.0001) and endocardial strain (R2 = 0.51; p < 0.0001). Both methods demonstrated small systematic errors for intra- and inter-observer variability but DRA demonstrated consistently lower CV. Global LVEF was significantly lower (p = 0.0099) in patients (53.7%; IQR 43.9/64.0%) than in healthy volunteers (62.6%; IQR 61.1/66.2%). DRA and HARP strain data demonstrated significant relationships to LVEF. Non-rigid deformation method-based DRA provides a reliable measure of peak systolic GCS and GLS based on cine bSSFP with superior intra- and inter-observer reproducibility compared to HARP. • Myocardial strain can be reliably analyzed using inverse deformable registration algorithms (DRAs) on cine CMR. • Inverse DRA-derived strain shows higher reproducibility than tagged CMR. • DRA and tagged CMR-based myocardial strain demonstrate strong relationships to global left ventricular function.

Correcting HIRES/Keck radial velocities for small systematic errors

ABSTRACT The HIRES spectrograph, mounted on the 10-m Keck-I telescope, belongs to a small group of radial-velocity (RV) instruments that produce stellar RVs with long-term precision down to ∼1 m s−1. In 2017, the HIRES team published 64,480 RVs of 1699 stars, collected between 1996 and 2014. In this bank of RVs, we identify a sample of RV-quiet stars, whose RV scatter is &amp;lt;10 m s−1, and use them to reveal two small but significant nightly zero-point effects: a discontinuous jump, caused by major modifications of the instrument in August 2004, and a long-term drift. The size of the 2004 jump is 1.5 ± 0.1 m s−1, and the slow zero-point variations have a typical magnitude of ≲ 1 m s−1. In addition, we find a small but significant correlation between stellar RVs and the time relative to local midnight, indicative of an average intra-night drift of 0.051 ± 0.004 m s−1 h−1. We correct the 64 480 HIRES RVs for the systematic effects we find, and make the corrected RVs publicly available. Our findings demonstrate the importance of observing RV-quiet stars, even in the era of simultaneously-calibrated RV spectrographs. We hope that the corrected HIRES RVs will facilitate the search for new planet candidates around the observed stars.