A novel octopamine receptor with preferential expression in <i>Drosophila</i> mushroom bodies

Octopamine is a neuromodulator that mediates diverse physiological processes in invertebrates. In some insects, such as honeybees and fruit flies, octopamine has been shown to be a major stimulator of adenylyl cyclase and to function in associative learning. To identify an octopamine receptor mediating this function in Drosophila, putative biogenic amine receptors were cloned by a novel procedure using PCR and single-strand conformation polymorphism. One new receptor, octopamine receptor in mushroom bodies (OAMB), was identified as an octopamine receptor because human and Drosophila cell lines expressing OAMB showed increased cAMP and intracellular Ca2+ levels after octopamine application. Immunohistochemical analysis using an antibody made to the receptor revealed highly enriched expression in the mushroom body neuropil and the ellipsoid body of central complex, brain areas known to be crucial for olfactory learning and motor control, respectively. The preferential expression of OAMB in mushroom bodies and its capacity to produce cAMP accumulation suggest an important role in synaptic modulation underlying behavioral plasticity

Using Monte Carlo Search With Data Aggregation to Improve Robot Soccer Policies

RoboCup soccer competitions are considered among the most challenging multi-robot adversarial environments, due to their high dynamism and the partial observability of the environment. In this paper we introduce a method based on a combination of Monte Carlo search and data aggregation (MCSDA) to adapt discrete-action soccer policies for a defender robot to the strategy of the opponent team. By exploiting a simple representation of the domain, a supervised learning algorithm is trained over an initial collection of data consisting of several simulations of human expert policies. Monte Carlo policy rollouts are then generated and aggregated to previous data to improve the learned policy over multiple epochs and games. The proposed approach has been extensively tested both on a soccer-dedicated simulator and on real robots. Using this method, our learning robot soccer team achieves an improvement in ball interceptions, as well as a reduction in the number of opponents' goals. Together with a better performance, an overall more efficient positioning of the whole team within the field is achieved

A variational approach for continuous supply chain networks

We consider a continuous supply chain network consisting of buffering queues and processors first proposed by [D. Armbruster, P. Degond, and C. Ringhofer, SIAM J. Appl. Math., 66 (2006), pp. 896–920] and subsequently analyzed by [D. Armbruster, P. Degond, and C. Ringhofer, Bull. Inst. Math. Acad. Sin. (N.S.), 2 (2007), pp. 433–460] and [D. Armbruster, C. De Beer, M. Fre- itag, T. Jagalski, and C. Ringhofer, Phys. A, 363 (2006), pp. 104–114]. A model was proposed for such a network by [S. G ̈ottlich, M. Herty, and A. Klar, Commun. Math. Sci., 3 (2005), pp. 545–559] using a system of coupling ordinary differential equations and partial differential equations. In this article, we propose an alternative approach based on a variational method to formulate the network dynamics. We also derive, based on the variational method, a computational algorithm that guarantees numerical stability, allows for rigorous error estimates, and facilitates efficient computations. A class of network flow optimization problems are formulated as mixed integer programs (MIPs). The proposed numerical algorithm and the corresponding MIP are compared theoretically and numerically with existing ones [A. Fu ̈genschuh, S. Go ̈ttlich, M. Herty, A. Klar, and A. Martin, SIAM J. Sci. Comput., 30 (2008), pp. 1490–1507; S. Go ̈ttlich, M. Herty, and A. Klar, Commun. Math. Sci., 3 (2005), pp. 545–559], which demonstrates the modeling and computational advantages of the variational approach

Single-Electron Traps: A Quantitative Comparison of Theory and Experiment

We have carried out a coordinated experimental and theoretical study of single-electron traps based on submicron aluminum islands and aluminum oxide tunnel junctions. The results of geometrical modeling using a modified version of MIT's FastCap were used as input data for the general-purpose single-electron circuit simulator MOSES. The analysis indicates reasonable quantitative agreement between theory and experiment for those trap characteristics which are not affected by random offset charges. The observed differences between theory and experiment (ranging from a few to fifty percent) can be readily explained by the uncertainty in the exact geometry of the experimental nanostructures.Comment: 17 pages, 21 figures, RevTex, eps

Reworking the Tucson-Melbourne Three-Nucleon Potential

We introduce new values of the strength constants (i.e., $a$, $b$, $c$, and $d$ coefficients) of the Tucson-Melbourne (TM) 2$\pi$ exchange three nucleon potential. The new values come from contemporary dispersion relation analyses of meson factory $\pi$N scattering data. We make variational Monte Carlo calculations of the triton with the original and updated three-body forces to study the effects of this update. We remove a short-range -- $\pi$-range part of the potential due to the $c$ coefficient and discuss the effect on the triton binding energy.Comment: 12 pages, to appear in Few-Body System

Formulation, existence, and computation of boundedly rational dynamic user equilibrium with fixed or endogenous user tolerance

This paper analyzes dynamic user equilibrium (DUE) that incorporates the notion of boundedly rational (BR) user behavior in the selection of departure times and routes. Intrinsically, the boundedly rational dynamic user equilibrium (BR-DUE) model we present assumes that travelers do not always seek the least costly route-and-departure-time choice. Rather, their perception of travel cost is affected by an indifference band describing travelers’ tolerance of the difference between their experienced travel costs and the minimum travel cost. An extension of the BR-DUE problem is the so-called variable tolerance dynamic user equilibrium (VT-BR-DUE) wherein endogenously determined tolerances may depend not only on paths, but also on the established path departure rates. This paper presents a unified approach for modeling both BR-DUE and VT-BR-DUE, which makes significant contributions to the model formulation, analysis of existence, solution characterization, and numerical computation of such problems. The VT-BR-DUE problem, together with the BR-DUE problem as a special case, is formulated as a variational inequality. We provide a very general existence result for VT-BR-DUE and BR-DUE that relies on assumptions weaker than those required for normal DUE models. Moreover, a characterization of the solution set is provided based on rigorous topological analysis. Finally, three computational algorithms with convergence results are proposed based on the VI and DVI formulations. Numerical studies are conducted to assess the proposed algorithms in terms of solution quality, convergence, and computational efficiency

Induced Magnetic Ordering by Proton Irradiation in Graphite

We provide evidence that proton irradiation of energy 2.25 MeV on highly-oriented pyrolytic graphite samples triggers ferro- or ferrimagnetism. Measurements performed with a superconducting quantum interferometer device (SQUID) and magnetic force microscopy (MFM) reveal that the magnetic ordering is stable at room temperature.Comment: 3 Figure