Olfactory generalization in detector dogs

© 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Generalizing to target odor variations while retaining specificity against non-targets is crucial to the success of detector dogs under working conditions. As such, the importance of generalization should be considered in the formulation of effective training strategies. Research investigating olfactory generalization from pure singular compounds to more complex odor mixtures helps to elucidate animals’ olfactory generalization tendencies and inform ways to alter the generalization gradient by broadening or narrowing the range of stimuli to which dogs will respond. Olfactory generalization depends upon both intrinsic factors of the odors, such as concentration, as well as behavioral and cognitive factors related to training and previous experience. Based on the current research, some training factors may influence generalization. For example, using multiple target exemplars appears to be the most effective way to promote elemental processing and broaden the generalization gradient, whereas increasing the number of training instances with fewer exemplars can narrow the gradient, thereby increasing discrimination. Overall, this research area requires further attention and study to increase our understanding of olfactory generalization in dogs, particularly detector dogs, to improve training and detection outcomes

A Systematic Review of Emergent Learning Outcomes Produced by Foreign language Tact Training

This systematic review evaluated the effects of foreign tact training on emergent learning outcomes in ten published studies. We also conducted a meta-analysis of aggregate data from seven studies comparing outcomes of foreign tact training with other verbal operant procedures. The preliminary findings indicated foreign tact training produced criterion-level responses in 84 of 106 (79.2%) post-test probes across 37 learners and 55 evaluations of foreign tact training. The meta-analysis results revealed significantly higher within-subjects mean levels of emergent responding following foreign tact training than foreign-to-native intraverbal, native to-foreign intraverbal, and foreign listener training. Emergent outcomes for adults were not significantly greater than for children. Finally, foreign tact training was slightly more efficient than the other verbal operant procedures, although most of the differences were not statistically significant

Comparison of Paired- and Multiple-Stimulus Preference Assessments using a Runway Task by Dogs

Preference assessments identify foods that might be valued by an animal but do not capture differences in the magnitude of value. In combination with demand, the more effort required to acquire the commodity, the more valued and likely it is to function as an effective reinforcer for use in dog training. In the current experiment, two preference assessments' applicability was measured using a combination of choice assessment and an effortful runway task. Eight dogs experienced a paired-stimulus preference assessment and multiple stimulus without replacement preference assessments combined with a 3-m runway task. The preference assessments identified different most-preferred foods but the same least-preferred foods. The reinforcer assessment results showed that the dogs moved faster to obtain their most preferred food as identified by the multiple-stimulus-without-replacement-assessment compared to the most preferred foods identified in the paired stimulus assessment. The paired- or multiple-stimulus-without-replacement preference assessments identified highly valued foods; however, the applicability of that commodity as a reinforcer was not independent of the assessment method. To ensure accurate reinforcer identification and consistency, a preference assessment should be conducted under similar conditions to that experienced when the reinforcer is used in training. Overall, the multiple stimulus without replacement preference assessment would be more useful to trainers, owners or scientists wanting to identify high-value foods for their animals to function as effective reinforcers for the elicitation of behaviors in a training context

Collapse of an Instanton

We construct a two parameter family of collapsing solutions to the 4+1 Yang-Mills equations and derive the dynamical law of the collapse. Our arguments indicate that this family of solutions is stable. The latter fact is also supported by numerical simulations.Comment: 17 pages, 1 figur

Model of heat transfer in circulating fluidized beds applied for co2 capture by calcium-looping process

The heat transfer to wall panels in the circulating fluidized beds applied for calcium looping process is investigated by the a mathematical model. The heat transfer between the furnace wall and the bed includes contributions from radiation, particle and gas convection, and gas conduction; these processes are highly coupled and interrelated. The energy and mass balance equations together with the equations that describe the hydrodynamics and heat transfer processes were implemented in MATLAB/Simulink. The model gives satisfactory predictions of the gas/particles to wall heat transfer coefficient for several sets of operating parameters. The simulation’s results show that more than 85% of the carbonation/calcination reaction has occurred in the dense region of the fluidized beds.Papers presented at the 13th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Portoroz, Slovenia on 17-19 July 2017 .International centre for heat and mass transfer.American society of thermal and fluids engineers

Global behavior of solutions to the static spherically symmetric EYM equations

The set of all possible spherically symmetric magnetic static Einstein-Yang-Mills field equations for an arbitrary compact semi-simple gauge group $G$ was classified in two previous papers. Local analytic solutions near the center and a black hole horizon as well as those that are analytic and bounded near infinity were shown to exist. Some globally bounded solutions are also known to exist because they can be obtained by embedding solutions for the $G=SU(2)$ case which is well understood. Here we derive some asymptotic properties of an arbitrary global solution, namely one that exists locally near a radial value $r_{0}$, has positive mass $m(r)$ at $r_{0}$ and develops no horizon for all $r>r_{0}$. The set of asymptotic values of the Yang-Mills potential (in a suitable well defined gauge) is shown to be finite in the so-called regular case, but may form a more complicated real variety for models obtained from irregular rotation group actions.Comment: 43 page

Quantitative analysis of performance on a progressive-ratio schedule: effects of reinforcer type, food deprivation and acute treatment with Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)

Rats’ performance on a progressive-ratio schedule maintained by sucrose (0.6 M, 50 μl) and corn oil (100%, 25 μl) reinforcers was assessed using a model derived from Killeen’s (1994) theory of scheduled-controlled behaviour, ‘Mathematical Principles of Reinforcement’. When the rats were maintained at 80% of their free-feeding body weights, the parameter expressing incentive value, a, was greater for the corn oil than for the sucrose reinforcer; the response-time parameter, δ, did not differ between the reinforcer types, but a parameter derived from the linear waiting principle (Tₒ), indicated that the minimum post-reinforcement pause was longer for corn oil than for sucrose. When the rats were maintained under free-feeding conditions, a was reduced, indicating a reduction of incentive value, but δ was unaltered. Under the food-deprived condition, the CB1 cannabinoid receptor agonist Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC: 0.3, 1 and 3 mg kg-1) increased the value of sucrose; none of the other parameters was affected by THC. The results provide new information about the sensitivity of the model’s parameters to deprivation and reinforcer quality, and suggest that THC selectively enhances the incentive value of sucrose