The Reliability and Effectiveness of a Radar-Based Animal Detection System

This document contains data on the reliability and effectiveness of an animal detection system along U.S. Hwy 95 near Bonners Ferry, Idaho. The system uses a Doppler radar to detect large mammals (e.g., deer and elk) when they approach the highway. The system met most of the suggested minimum norms for reliability. The total time the warning signs were activated was at most 90 seconds per hour, and likely substantially less. Animal detection systems are designed to detect an approaching animal. After an animal has been detected, warning signs are activated which allow drivers to respond. Results showed that 58.1–67.9% of deer were detected sufficiently early for northbound drivers, and 70.4–85% of deer were detected sufficiently early for southbound drivers. The effect of the activated warning signs on vehicle speed was greatest when road conditions were challenging (e.g., freezing temperatures and snow- and ice-covered road surface) and when visibility was low (night). In summer, there was no measurable benefit of activated warning signs, at least not as far as vehicle speed is concerned. Depending on the conditions in autumn and winter, the activated warning signs resulted in a speed reduction of 0.69 to 4.43 miles per hour. The report includes practical recommendations for operation and maintenance of the system and suggestions for potential future research

Diversity maintenance using a population of repelling random-mutation hill climbers

A novel evolutionary algorithm, which can be viewed as an extension to the simple, yet effective, approach of the Random-Mutation Hill Climber (RMHC), is presented. The algorithm addresses the shortcomings of RMHC and its multi-individual parallel version through the introduction of a penalty term into the fitness function, which penalizes individuals in the population for being too similar, hence maintaining population diversity. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated on the deceptive trap and a set of SAT problems, comparing them to the Crowding EA. The results show that at a small cost of solution speed on simpler problems, the algorithm gains better capabilities of dealing with the issues of local maxima

Practical Game Design Tool: State Explorer

This paper introduces a computer-game design tool which enables game designers to explore and develop game mechanics for arbitrary game systems. The tool is implemented as a plugin for the Godot game engine. It allows the designer to view an abstraction of a game’s states while in active development and to quickly view and explore which states are navigable from which other states. This information is used to rapidly explore, validate and improve the design of the game. The tool is most practical for game systems which are computer-explorable within roughly 2000 states. The tool is demonstrated by presenting how it was used to create a small, yet complete, commercial game

Effectiveness of Chain Link Turtle Fence and Culverts in Reducing Turtle Mortality and Providing Connectivity along U.S. Hwy 83, Valentine National Wildlife Refuge, Nebraska, USA

We evaluated the effectiveness of existing turtle fences through collecting and analyzing turtle mortality data along U.S. Hwy 83, in and around Valentine National Wildlife Refuge, Nebraska, USA. We also investigated the level of connectivity for turtles provided through the culverts that were originally designed to pass water through a capture-mark-recapture experiment. While fenced valley sections had 33.1% fewer turtle observations than unfenced valley sections, the difference was not significant. However, we think that the effectiveness of the fence can be improved through fence repairs, other modifications of the fences, vegetation maintenance, and extending the length of the fences. Four of the five turtle species present in the study area used the culverts: common snapping turtle, painted turtle, Blanding’s turtle, and yellow mud turtle. However, we did not record ornate box turtle using the culverts. The culverts appear to have only provided marginal connectivity (7%) for the turtles that were interested in crossing the highway between 7 June and 30 September 2016. Assuming all turtles that passed the culverts in this period were originally marked, connectivity was still only 44%. We suggest implementing safe crossing opportunities (i.e. culverts or bridges) specifically designed for turtles, locating the culverts and bridges at intervals based on the home range size of the turtles, and maintaining the vegetation at the culverts and bridges so that they do not block turtle access to the crossings

Perform a gyro test of general relativity in a satellite and develop associated control technology

The progress accomplished in the Stanford Gyro Relativity program during the period November 1974 to October 1975 was described. Gyro developments were continued in the main laboratory dewar, concentrating on the operation of a three axis gyro readout and on improvements to the methods of canceling trapped fields in the rotor; these efforts culminated in the first successful observation of the London moment in the spinning gyro rotor in March 1975. Following a review meeting at that time, a new goal was formulated for the next 12 to 18 months, namely to operate a gyroscope in the new ultra-low field facility with readout resolution approaching 1 arc-second. The following other tasks were also completed: (1) sputtering work, (2) magnetometry, (3) construction and installation of the North Star simulator, (4) analysis of torques on the gyro, especially in inclined orbits, (5) equivalence principle accelerometer, and (6) analysis of a twin-satellite test of relativity

Reduction of Magnetic Noise in Atom Chips by Material Optimization

We discuss the contribution of the material type in metal wires to the electromagnetic fluctuations in magnetic microtraps close to the surface of an atom chip. We show that significant reduction of the magnetic noise can be achieved by replacing the pure noble metal wires with their dilute alloys. The alloy composition provides an additional degree of freedom which enables a controlled reduction of both magnetic noise and resistivity if the atom chip is cooled. In addition, we provide a careful re-analysis of the magnetically induced trap loss observed by Yu-Ju Lin et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 050404 (2004)] and find good agreement with an improved theory.Comment: 25 pages with 9 figures ep

Alcohol Use and Trauma Exposure Among Male and Female Veterans Before, During, and After Military Service

Background: The present study examined lifespan and combat-related trauma exposure as predictors of alcohol use among male and female veterans. Posttraumatic stress and depressive symptoms were examined as mediators of the effects of trauma exposure on alcohol use. Methods: Data were examined from 1825 (1450 male, 375 female) veterans and active duty service members who took part in a multi-site research study conducted through the Department of Veterans Affairs Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (VISN 6 MIRECC). Results: For both men and women, depressive symptoms significantly mediated the effects of non-combat trauma exposure experienced before, during and after the military, as well as combat-exposure, on alcohol use. With posttraumatic stress symptoms, the models for men and women differed. For men, the effects of non-combat trauma exposure during and after military service, and combat exposure, on alcohol use were mediated by PTSD symptoms; however, for women, PTSD symptoms did not mediate these relationships. Conclusion: Findings are discussed in the context of potential gender differences in response to trauma such as use of alcohol to cope with traumatic events

Universal amplitude ratios from numerical studies of the three-dimensional O(2) model

We investigate the three-dimensional O(2) model near the critical point by Monte Carlo simulations and calculate the major universal amplitude ratios of the model. The ratio U_0=A+/A- is determined directly from the specific heat data at zero magnetic field. The data do not, however, allow to extract an accurate estimate for alpha. Instead, we establish a strong correlation of U_0 with the value of alpha used in the fit. This numerical alpha-dependence is given by A+/A- = 1 -4.20(5) alpha + O(alpha^2). For the special alpha-values used in other calculations we find full agreement with the corresponding ratio values, e. g. that of the shuttle experiment with liquid helium. On the critical isochore we obtain the ratio xi+/xi-_T=0.293(9), and on the critical line the ratio xi_T^c/xi_L^c=1.957(10) for the amplitudes of the transverse and longitudinal correlation lengths. These two ratios are independent of the used alpha or nu-values.Comment: 34 pages, 19 Ps-figures, Latex2e, revised version, to be published in J. Phys.