Publications by authors named "James Baciak"

Pulse shape discrimination (PSD) capable detectors, such as He-4, that respond to neutron and gamma-ray interactions have a threshold deposited energy value below which n/γ discrimination vanishes when using conventional PSD algorithms. Recent attempts in applying supervised learning based artificial neural networks for PSD use the pulses in the separated regions to train the networks so they can be used to classify another set of separated pulses. In doing so, pulses previously indistinguishable are not recovered for classification, which would have increased the number of neutron and gamma-ray pulses that could be used for further analysis.

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Premise: High-resolution cameras are very helpful for plant phenotyping as their images enable tasks such as target vs. background discrimination and the measurement and analysis of fine above-ground plant attributes. However, the acquisition of high-resolution images of plant roots is more challenging than above-ground data collection.

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A radioactive particulate release experiment to produce a near-field ground deposition representative of small-scale venting from an underground nuclear test was conducted to gather data in support of treaty capability development activities. For this experiment, a CO2-driven "air cannon" was used to inject (140)La, a radioisotope of lanthanum with 1.7-d half-life and strong gamma-ray emissions, into the lowest levels of the atmosphere at ambient temperatures.

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Atmospheric dispersion theory can be used to predict ground deposition of particulates downwind of a radionuclide release. This paper uses standard formulations found in Gaussian plume models to inform the design of an experimental release of short-lived radioactive particles into the atmosphere. Specifically, a source depletion algorithm is used to determine the optimum particle size and release height that maximizes the near-field deposition while minimizing both the required source activity and the fraction of activity lost to long-distance transport.

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