Evolving scout agents for military simulations

textSimulations play an increasingly significant role in training and preparing the military, particularly in environments with constrained budgets. Unfortunately, in most cases a small number of people must control a large number of simulated vehicles and soldiers. This often leads to micromanagement of computer-controlled forces in order to get them to exhibit the human-like characteristics of an enemy force. This thesis uses Neuroevolution of Augmenting Topologies (NEAT) to train neural networks to perform the role of scouts which analyze the terrain and decide where to place themselves to best observe the enemy forces. The main attribute that the scout agents consider is a vapor flow rate from the enemy starting location to their intended objective, which according to previous studies indicates likely chokepoints along the enemy route. This thesis experiments with different configurations of sensors and fitness functions in order to maximize how much of the enemy team is spotted over the course of the scenario. The results show that these agents perform better than randomly placed scouts and better than scouts deployed using heuristics in many situations, although not consistently so. Evolutionary optimization of scout agents using vapor flow is thus a promising approach for developing autonomous scout agents in military simulations.Computer Science

A Study of the Teacher Placement Bureau of the University of New Mexico from 1929 to 1938

In meeting the problem of securing qualified teachers in the past ten years New Mexico school administrators have shown a trend toward greater use of the institutional teacher placement bureaus. It is a purpose of this report to show to what extent the University is accepting the responbility of knowing the state\u27s occupational needs, of selecting youth according to their abilities for fulfilling the varying needs, of aiding leaders in the field in making replacements and additions, of supplying adequate and proper preparation, of placing their graduates in positions, and of providing opportunities for their continued study and preparation

Pilgrimage Project

The University of North Florida Pilgrimage Project combines interdisciplinary approaches with digital and STEM technologies and applies them to the study of pilgrimage with a special focus on the Camino de Santiago

A manual physical therapy approach versus subacromial corticosteroid injection for treatment of shoulder impingement syndrome: a protocol for a randomised clinical trial

Introduction: Corticosteroid injections (CSI) are a recommended and often-used first-line intervention for shoulder impingement syndrome (SIS) in primary care and orthopaedic settings. Manual physical therapy (MPT) offers a non-invasive approach with negligible risk for managing SIS. There is limited evidence to suggest significant long-term improvements in pain, strength and disability with the use of MPT, and there are conflicting reports from systematic reviews that question the long-term efficacy of CSI. Specifically, the primary objective is to compare the effect of CSI and MPT on pain and disability in subjects with SIS at 12 months. Design: This pragmatic randomised clinical trial will be a mixed-model 235 factorial design. The independent variables are treatment (MPT and CSI) and time with five levels from baseline to 1 year. The primary dependent variable is the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index, and the secondary outcome measures are the Global Rating of Change and the Numeric Pain Rating Scale. For each ANOVA, the hypothesis of interest will be the two-way group-by-time interaction. Methods and analysis: The authors plan to recruit 104 participants meeting established impingement criteria. Following examination and enrolment, eligible participants will be randomly allocated to receive a pragmatic approach of either CSI or MPT. The MPT intervention will consist of six sessions, and the CSI intervention will consist of one to three sessions. All subjects will continue to receive usual care. Subjects will be followed for 12 months. Dissemination and ethics: The protocol was approved by the Madigan Army Medical Center Institutional Review Board. The results may have an impact on clinical practice guidelines. This study was funded in part by the Orthopaedic Physical Therapy Products Grant through the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists. Trial Registration: http://clinicaltrials.gov/NCT01190891

Temperature-Dependent Growth of <i>Geomyces destructans</i>, the Fungus That Causes Bat White-Nose Syndrome

White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an emergent disease estimated to have killed over five million North American bats. Caused by the psychrophilic fungus Geomyces destructans, WNS specifically affects bats during hibernation. We describe temperature-dependent growth performance and morphology for six independent isolates of G. destructans from North America and Europe. Thermal performance curves for all isolates displayed an intermediate peak with rapid decline in performance above the peak. Optimal temperatures for growth were between 12.5 and 15.8°C, and the upper critical temperature for growth was between 19.0 and 19.8°C. Growth rates varied across isolates, irrespective of geographic origin, and above 12°C all isolates displayed atypical morphology that may have implications for proliferation of the fungus. This study demonstrates that small variations in temperature, consistent with those inherent of bat hibernacula, affect growth performance and physiology of G. destructans, which may influence temperature-dependent progression and severity of WNS in wild bats

Separation of trait and state in stuttering

Stuttering is a disorder in which the smooth flow of speech is interrupted. People who stutter show structural and functional abnormalities in the speech and motor system. It is unclear whether functional differences reflect general traits of the disorder or are specifically related to the dysfluent speech state. We used a hierarchical approach to separate state and trait effects within stuttering. We collected sparse‐sampled functional MRI during two overt speech tasks (sentence reading and picture description) in 17 people who stutter and 16 fluent controls. Separate analyses identified indicators of: (1) general traits of people who stutter; (2) frequency of dysfluent speech states in subgroups of people who stutter; and (3) the differences between fluent and dysfluent states in people who stutter. We found that reduced activation of left auditory cortex, inferior frontal cortex bilaterally, and medial cerebellum were general traits that distinguished fluent speech in people who stutter from that of controls. The stuttering subgroup with higher frequency of dysfluent states during scanning (n = 9) had reduced activation in the right subcortical grey matter, left temporo‐occipital cortex, the cingulate cortex, and medial parieto‐occipital cortex relative to the subgroup who were more fluent (n = 8). Finally, during dysfluent states relative to fluent ones, there was greater activation of inferior frontal and premotor cortex extending into the frontal operculum, bilaterally. The above differences were seen across both tasks. Subcortical state effects differed according to the task. Overall, our data emphasise the independence of trait and state effects in stuttering

The estimated burden of fungal disease in South Africa

Publication fees were paid via funding from a grant from Fonds.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Spectroscopy of the inner companion of the pulsar PSR J0337+1715

The hierarchical triple system PSR J0337+1715 offers an unprecedented laboratory to study secular evolution of interacting systems and to explore the complicated mass-transfer history that forms millisecond pulsars and helium-core white dwarfs. The latter in particular, however, requires knowledge of the properties of the individual components of the system. Here we present precise optical spectroscopy of the inner companion in the PSR J0337+1715 system. We confirm it as a hot, low-gravity DA white dwarf with Teff=15,800+/-100 K and log(g)=5.82+/-0.05. We also measure an inner mass ratio of 0.1364+/-0.0015, entirely consistent with that inferred from pulsar timing, and a systemic radial velocity of 29.7+/-0.3 km/s. Combined with the mass (0.19751 Msun) determined from pulsar timing, our measurement of the surface gravity implies a radius of 0.091+/-0.005 Rsun; combined further with the effective temperature and extinction, the photometry implies a distance of 1300+/-80 pc. The high temperature of the companion is somewhat puzzling: with current models, it likely requires a recent period of unstable hydrogen burning, and suggests a surprisingly short lifetime for objects at this phase in their evolution. We discuss the implications of these measurements in the context of understanding the PSR J0337+1715 system, as well as of low-mass white dwarfs in general.Comment: ApJ Letters, in press. 6 pages, two figures. v2 fixes typ

A Radio Pulsar/X-ray Binary Link

Radio pulsars with millisecond spin periods are thought to have been spun up by transfer of matter and angular momentum from a low-mass companion star during an X-ray-emitting phase. The spin periods of the neutron stars in several such low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) systems have been shown to be in the millisecond regime, but no radio pulsations have been detected. Here we report on detection and follow-up observations of a nearby radio millisecond pulsar (MSP) in a circular binary orbit with an optically identified companion star. Optical observations indicate that an accretion disk was present in this system within the last decade. Our optical data show no evidence that one exists today, suggesting that the radio MSP has turned on after a recent LMXB phase.Comment: published in Scienc

Indiana University's Advanced Cyberinfrastructure

This is an archived document. The most current version may be found at http://pti.iu.edu/ciThe purpose of this document is to introduce researchers to Indiana University’s cyberinfrastructure – to clarify what these facilities make possible, to discuss how to use them and the professional staff available to work with you. The resources described here are complex and varied, among the most advanced in the world. The intended audience is anyone unfamiliar with IU’s cyberinfrastructure