1,425 research outputs found
The minimum energy expenditure shortest path method
This article discusses the addition of an energy parameter to the shortest path execution process; namely, the energy expenditure by a character during execution of the path. Given a simple environment in which a character has the ability to perform actions related to locomotion, such as walking and stair stepping, current techniques execute the shortest path based on the length of the extracted root trajectory. However, actual humans acting in constrained environments do not plan only according to shortest path criterion, they conceptually measure the path that minimizes the amount of energy expenditure. On this basis, it seems that virtual characters should also execute their paths according to the minimization of actual energy expenditure as well. In this article, a simple method that uses a formula for computing vanadium dioxide () levels, which is a proxy for the energy expenditure by humans during various activities, is presented. The presented solution could be beneficial in any situation requiring a sophisticated perspective of the path-execution process. Moreover, it can be implemented in almost every path-planning method that has the ability to measure stepping actions or other actions of a virtual character
Recurrence Plot Based Measures of Complexity and its Application to Heart Rate Variability Data
The knowledge of transitions between regular, laminar or chaotic behavior is
essential to understand the underlying mechanisms behind complex systems. While
several linear approaches are often insufficient to describe such processes,
there are several nonlinear methods which however require rather long time
observations. To overcome these difficulties, we propose measures of complexity
based on vertical structures in recurrence plots and apply them to the logistic
map as well as to heart rate variability data. For the logistic map these
measures enable us not only to detect transitions between chaotic and periodic
states, but also to identify laminar states, i.e. chaos-chaos transitions. The
traditional recurrence quantification analysis fails to detect the latter
transitions. Applying our new measures to the heart rate variability data, we
are able to detect and quantify the laminar phases before a life-threatening
cardiac arrhythmia occurs thereby facilitating a prediction of such an event.
Our findings could be of importance for the therapy of malignant cardiac
arrhythmias
Local structure study of In_xGa_(1-x)As semiconductor alloys using High Energy Synchrotron X-ray Diffraction
Nearest and higher neighbor distances as well as bond length distributions
(static and thermal) of the In_xGa_(1-x)As (0<x<1) semiconductor alloys have
been obtained from high real-space resolution atomic pair distribution
functions (PDFs). Using this structural information, we modeled the local
atomic displacements in In_xGa_(1-x)As alloys. From a supercell model based on
the Kirkwood potential, we obtained 3-D As and (In,Ga) ensemble averaged
probability distributions. This clearly shows that As atom displacements are
highly directional and can be represented as a combination of and
displacements. Examination of the Kirkwood model indicates that the standard
deviation (sigma) of the static disorder on the (In,Ga) sublattice is around
60% of the value on the As sublattice and the (In,Ga) atomic displacements are
much more isotropic than those on the As sublattice. The single crystal diffuse
scattering calculated from the Kirkwood model shows that atomic displacements
are most strongly correlated along directions.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figure
The personal aircraft: Status and issues
Paper summarizes the status of personal air transportation with emphasis upon VTOL and converticar capability. The former obviates the need for airport operations for personal aircraft whereas the latter provides both ground and air capability in the same vehicle. Fully automatic operation, ATC and navigation is stressed along with consideration of acoustic, environmental and cost issues
Neurospora from natural populations: Population genomics insights into the Life history of a model microbial Eukaryote
The ascomycete filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa played a historic role in experimental biology and became a model system for genetic research. Stimulated by a systematic effort to collect wild strains initiated by Stanford geneticist David Perkins, the genus Neurospora has also become a basic model for the study of evolutionary processes, speciation, and population biology. In this chapter, we will first trace the history that brought Neurospora into the era of population genomics. We will then cover the major contributions of population genomic investigations using Neurospora to our understanding of microbial biogeography and speciation, and review recent work using population genomics and genome-wide association mapping that illustrates the unique potential of Neurospora as a model for identifying the genetic basis of (potentially adaptive) phenotypes in filamentous fungi. The advent of population genomics has contributed to firmly establish Neurospora as a complete model system and we hope our review will entice biologists to include Neurospora in their research
Development of X-43A Mach 10 Leading Edges
The nose leading edge of the Hyper-X Mach 10 vehicle was orginally anticipated to reach temperatures near 4000 F at the leading-edge stagnation line. A SiC coated carbon/carbon (C/C) leading-edge material will not survive that extreme temperature for even a short duration single flight. To identify a suitable leading edge for the Mach 10 vehicle, arc-jet testing was performed on thirteen leading-edge segments fabricated from different material systems to evaluate their performance in a simulated flight environment. Hf, Zr, Si, and Ir based materials, in most cases as a coating on C/C, were included in the evaluation. Afterwards, MER, Tucson, AZ was selected as the supplier of the flight vehicle leading edges. The nose and the vertical and horizontal tail leading edges were fabricated out of a 3:1 biased high thermal conductivity C/C. The leading edges were coated with a three layer coating comprised of a SiC conversion of the top surface of the C/C, followed by a chemical vapor deposited layer of SiC, followed by a thin chemical vapor deposited layer of HfC. This paper will describe the fabrication of the Mach 10 C/C leading edges and the testing performed to validate performance
Synthetic organisms and living machines: Positioning the products of synthetic biology at the borderline between living and non-living matter
The difference between a non-living machine such as a vacuum cleaner and a living organism as a lion seems to be obvious. The two types of entities differ in their material consistence, their origin, their development and their purpose. This apparently clear-cut borderline has previously been challenged by fictitious ideas of “artificial organism” and “living machines” as well as by progress in technology and breeding. The emergence of novel technologies such as artificial life, nanobiotechnology and synthetic biology are definitely blurring the boundary between our understanding of living and non-living matter. This essay discusses where, at the borderline between living and non-living matter, we can position the future products of synthetic biology that belong to the two hybrid entities “synthetic organisms” and “living machines” and how the approaching realization of such hybrid entities affects our understanding of organisms and machines. For this purpose we focus on the description of three different types of synthetic biology products and the aims assigned to their realization: (1) synthetic minimal cells aimed at by protocell synthetic biology, (2) chassis organisms strived for by synthetic genomics and (3) genetically engineered machines produced by bioengineering. We argue that in the case of synthetic biology the purpose is more decisive for the categorization of a product as an organism or a machine than its origin and development. This has certain ethical implications because the definition of an entity as machine seems to allow bypassing the discussion about the assignment and evaluation of instrumental and intrinsic values, which can be raised in the case of organisms
A Near-Infrared Multiplicity Survey of Class I/Flat-Spectrum Systems in Six Nearby Molecular Clouds
We present new near-IR observations of 76 Class I/flat-spectrum objects in
the nearby (d < 320 pc) Perseus, Taurus, Chamaeleon I and II, rho Ophiuchi, and
Serpens dark clouds. These observations are part of a larger systematic
infrared multiplicity survey of self-embedded objects in the nearest dark
clouds. When combined with the results of our previously published
near-infrared multiplicity survey, we find a restricted companion star fraction
of 14/79 (18% +/- 4%) of the sources surveyed to be binary or higher order
multiple systems over a separation range of ~300 - 2000 AU with a magnitude
difference K <= 4, and with no correction for background contamination
or completeness. This is consistent with the fraction of binary/multiple
systems found among older pre-main-sequence T Tauri stars in each of the
Taurus, rho Ophiuchi, and Chamaeleon star-forming regions over a similar
separation range, as well as the combined companion star fraction for these
regions. However, the companion star fraction for solar-type, and lower mass M
dwarf, main-sequence stars in the solar neighborhood in this separation range
(11% +/- 3%) is approximately one-half that of our sample. Together with
multiplicity statistics derived for previously published samples of Class 0 and
Class I sources, our study suggests that a significant number of
binary/multiple objects may remain to be discovered at smaller separations
among our Class I/flat-spectrum sample and/or most of the evolution of
binary/multiple systems occurs during the Class 0 phase of early stellar
evolution.Comment: 23 pages, 8 figures, to appear in the March 2004 A
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