A Computational Comparison of Evolutionary Algorithms for Water Resource Planning for Agricultural and Environmental Purposes

The use of water resources for agricultural purposes, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions, is a matter of increasing concern across the world. Optimisation techniques can play an important role in improving the allocation of land to different crops, based on a utility function (such as net revenue) and the water resources needed to support these. Recent work proposed a model formulation for an agricultural region in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area of the Murray-Darling River basin in Australia, and found that the well-known NSGA-II technique could produce sensible crop mixes while preserving ground and surface water for environmental purposes. In the present study we apply Differential Evolution using two different solution representations, one of which explores the restricted space in which no land is left fallow. The results improve on those of the prior NSGA-II and demonstrate that a combination of solution representations allows Differential Evolution to more thoroughly explore the multiobjective space of profit versus environment

Design and analysis of an FPGA-based, multi-processor HW-SW system for SCC applications

The last 30 years have seen an increase in the complexity of embedded systems from a collection of simple circuits to systems consisting of multiple processors managing a wide variety of devices. This ever increasing complexity frequently requires that high assurance, fail-safe and secure design techniques be applied to protect against possible failures and breaches. To facilitate the implementation of these embedded systems in an efficient way, the FPGA industry recently created new families of devices. New features added to these devices include anti-tamper monitoring, bit stream encryption, and optimized routing architectures for physical and functional logic partition isolation. These devices have high capacities and are capable of implementing processors using their reprogrammable logic structures. This allows for an unprecedented level of hardware and software interaction within a single FPGA chip. High assurance and fail-safe systems can now be implemented within the reconfigurable hardware fabric of an FPGA, enabling these systems to maintain flexibility and achieve high performance while providing a high level of data security. The objective of this thesis was to design and analyze an FPGA-based system containing two isolated, softcore Nios processors that share data through two crypto-engines. FPGA-based single-chip cryptographic (SCC) techniques were employed to ensure proper component isolation when the design is placed on a device supporting the appropriate security primitives. Each crypto-engine is an implementation of the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), operating in Galois/Counter Mode (GCM) for both encryption and authentication. The features of the microprocessors and architectures of the AES crypto-engines were varied with the goal of determining combinations which best target high performance, minimal hardware usage, or a combination of the two

Reality therapy for marital and family systems counseling

Reality therapy and choice theory have been applied to many counseling settings. The following work will review available literature and theory as to how choice theory is applied to marital and family systems counseling, including a review of the foundational concepts of reality therapy, characteristics of a counselor that practices reality therapy, needs profiles, needs genograms, and the reality therapy solving circle

Limiting the risk of injury through safety guidelines in a physical education setting

Physical activity involves risk and thus the physical education classroom requires safety standards to be established and maintained to ensure safety. The number of physical education related injuries in elementary, middle school, and high school increased 150% from 1997 to 2007 and they have continued to rise in the last decade as well. The classroom teacher must employ the highest level of organization and management in order to limit their risk. Working together with administration to establish policy and review safety standards ensures that multiple entities are involved in ensuring safety. Having safety guidelines within a physical education setting could potentially help protect the students from unnecessary injuries and may prevent the school district from legal action in the case of an injury.

Portable, Powerless Automation of Valve Actuation for Microfluidic Large Scale Integration Technology

Microfluidic large-scale integration (mLSI) is an emerging field that has the potential to fully automate the biological experimentation and technology development. mLSI offers high-throughput, while maintaining reduced costs and sample size in biochemical tests and experiments. The pneumatic control systems, and the use of solenoid valves that are needed for mLSI make this technology bulky and limits its use to specialized labs. Moreover, since the field is relatively new, few scientists are trained in microfluidic chip design and microfabrication. Eliminating the peripheral equipment from standard testing protocol will allow mLSI to be used in point-of-care settings and more widespread usage of this powerful technology. Our device is a portable, powerless alternative that operates without the use of costly solenoid valves and microcontrollers. In this report, we present a proof of concept demonstrating our device has potential in scalability, high throughout experimentation, and ease of use

Body Mass Index, Smoking, and Alcohol and Risks of Barrett’s Esophagus and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma: A UK Prospective Cohort Study

BACKGROUND: The timing of the risk factors cigarette smoking, alcohol and obesity in the development of Barrett’s esophagus (BE) and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) is unclear. AIMS: To investigate these exposures in the aetiology of BE and EAC in the same population. METHODS: The cohort included 24,068 men and women, aged 39–79 years, recruited between 1993 and 1997 into the prospective EPIC-Norfolk Study who provided information on anthropometry, smoking and alcohol intake. The cohort was monitored until December 2008 and incident cases identified. RESULTS: One hundred and four participants were diagnosed with BE and 66 with EAC. A body mass index (BMI) above 23 kg/m(2) was associated with a greater risk of BE [BMI ≥23 vs. 18.5 to <23, hazard ratio (HR) 3.73, 95 % CI 1.37–10.16], and within a normal BMI, the risk was greater in the higher category (HR 3.76, 95 % CI 1.30–10.85, BMI 23–25 vs. 18.5 to >23 kg/m(2)). Neither smoking nor alcohol intake were associated with risk for BE. For EAC, all BMI categories were associated with risk, although statistically significant for only the highest (BMI >35 vs. BMI 18.5 to <23, HR 4.95, 95 % CI 1.11–22.17). The risk was greater in the higher category of a normal BMI (HR 2.73, 95 % CI 0.93–8.00, p = 0.07, BMI 23–25 vs. 18.5 to >23 kg/m(2)). There was an inverse association with ≥7 units alcohol/week (HR 0.51, 95 % CI 0.29–0.88) and with wine (HR 0.49, 95 % CI 0.23–1.04, p = 0.06, drinkers vs. non-drinkers). CONCLUSIONS: Obesity may be involved early in carcinogenesis and the association with EAC and wine should be explored. The data have implications for aetiological investigations and prevention strategies

Introduction to INDOT Bridge Asset Management Procedures

This session introduces INDOT bridge asset management procedures and asset management tools and provides a general overview of the responsibilities of the INDOT Bridge Asset Management Team, which manages more than 5,700 bridges and nearly 9,000 culverts. This team is responsible for ensuring that a 5-year bridge management budget is developed and implemented

Shale Gas Royalties in New Brunswick: An Evaluation

In 2014, the government of New Brunswick implemented a new royalty regime for natural gas in the context of their regulatory review of shale gas. Advocates of shale gas stressed the additional government revenues that would result. However, the government provided no background documentation to explain their methodology or substantiate their claims. This study provides such estimates, utilizing a methodology that incorporates the intricacies of the New Brunswick system and assumptions drawn from economic and productivity analysis of the North American shale gas industry. Our study challenges previous revenue estimates and provides a transparent methodology to inform public policy.En 2014, le gouvernement du Nouveau Brunswick a mis en oeuvre un nouveau régime de redevances pour le gaz naturel dans le cadre de son examen réglementaire du gaz de schiste. Des défenseurs du gaz de schiste ont souligné les recettes publiques supplémentaires qui en résulteraient. Toutefois, le gouvernement n’a pas fourni de documentation de référence pour expliquer sa méthodologie ou étayer ses affirmations. La présente étude fournit de telles estimations, grâce à une méthodologie qui tient compte des complexités du système du Nouveau Brunswick et des hypothèses établies à partir de l’analyse de l’économie et de la productivité de l’industrie nord-américaine du gaz de schiste. Notre étude remet en question les dernières estimations des recettes et présente une méthodologie transparente permettant d’orienter les politiques publiques