Stochastic ranking process with time dependent intensities

We consider the stochastic ranking process with the jump times of the particles determined by Poisson random measures. We prove that the joint empirical distribution of scaled position and intensity measure converges almost surely in the infinite particle limit. We give an explicit formula for the limit distribution and show that the limit distribution function is a unique global classical solution to an initial value problem for a system of a first order non-linear partial differential equations with time dependent coefficients

The Most Beautiful Place on Earth: Wallace Stegner in California, 1945-1993

This dissertation explores the life and work of the writer Wallace Stegner (1909-1993) and his intellectual efforts to create, clarify, and defend the contours of a “geography of hope” in the American West. Chapter 1 begins with Stegner’s move to California in 1945. In the context of his developing regional vision as expressed in early articles and books, it traces Stegner’s attempts to build a range of institutions in California as well as his first writings that either adopted the state as its subject or used it as a setting for fictional work. Chapter 2 explores a research project that Stegner undertook with funding from the Wenner-Gren Foundation and as a member of the Stanford Center for Advanced Studies in Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) in the mid-1950s. This project reflected Stegner’s understanding of western history and his own past in more comprehensive terms and the chapter traces his growing commitment to fiction as a resource for addressing the questions he thought most important to explore in his historical moment. The subsequent three chapters include close readings of three novels: All the Little Live Things (1967), Angle of Repose (1971), and The Spectator Bird (1976). The novels are united by location, themes, and a first-person narrator who opens the book with ruminations and something of a thesis. Two of these three books won major awards, so they also marked the summit of Stegner’s national recognition as a writer of American fiction. Each of the readings reveals ways that Stegner and his readers addressed the cultural changes of the 1960s, adding nuance to the historiography of an era that has more often been marked by an emphasis on polarization. The conclusion is focused on Greensboro, Vermont, the place where Stegner chose to have his ashes spread after his death. Greensboro served as a realistic but still at times utopian foil for Stegner’s exploration of the western “formless non-communities” that are the focus points of the previous chapters. Together, these chapters illuminate the different ways that Stegner attempted to understand the limits of community in the American West while deepening understanding of the era and the theme of place in American history more broadly

Energy harvesting using a magnetostrictive transducer based on switching control

In this work, a switching control energy harvesting method using magnetostrictive materials is proposed. By combining a magnetostrictive material, an electric circuit, and an electronic switch, large-scale kinetic to electrical energy conversion can be achieved. The magnetostrictive material, magnet bias, and coils constitute an energy transducer, called a magnetostrictive transducer. The electronic switch strategically controls the switching of the circuit state according to an input switching signal. Using numerical simulations, we optimised the parameters and validated the harvesting performance with experimental measurements using a 3.75 m vibrated cantilever truss structure. In 20.0 s, the proposed method achieved an electrical energy of approximately 45 μJ, which is seven times more than that of the conventional passive method

Distributed formation for robotic swarms considering their crossing motion

This paper discusses formation problem for robotic swarms when multiple robotic swarms cross one another's path. To realize the crossing motion, collision avoidance between agents is an important issue, with the potential to cause a general mix-up of formation during the crossing motion. To realize an orderly and well-organized crossing motion with the least mix-up, as well as collision avoidance, we propose a distributed controller. This well-organized crossing motion can realize visually appealing and highly entertaining robotic mass games. This paper proposes a distributed controller using the gradient of the cost functions about the formation maintenance, collision avoidance, and tracking to the desired trajectory. We then prove that we can achieve a well-organized crossing motion of multiple robotic swarms under several assumptions. Finally, experimental and numerical simulations are carried out to investigate whether the well-organized crossing motion can be achieved

Research on Differences Between Multiple Workspaces in ABW Offices on Productivity and Communication, Psychological and Physiological Quantities

In this study, we will investigate the effects of different work environments on intellectual productivity and communication in an Activity-Based-Working (ABW) oriented B-site office of Company A, which has multiple workspaces with different settings for the purpose of improving productivity and health. In this paper, we use a subject experiment and report on the effects of different work environments on the intellectual productivity and physiological and psychological quantities of the subjects in the ABW office, based on the outline of the building where the subject experiments were conducted and the results of objective and subjective evaluations of the subject experiments conducted in the middle and summer periods

Percentage of Dehisced Thecae and Length of Dehiscence Control Pollination Stability of Rice Cultivarsat High Temperatures

Global warming may reduce rice yield through poor pollination caused by high temperatures at flowering. The dominant parameter controlling the pollination stability in rice cultivars at high temperatures was studied. We examined the effects of a high daytime temperature (35.0ºC, 37.5ºC, 40.0ºC) and its duration (1, 3, 5 days) on the percentage of dehisced thecae, the length of dehiscence in the basal part of the theca for pollen dispersal, and pollination stability. The percentage of sufficiently pollinated florets (%SPF) decreased with the increase in daytime temperature and the duration of treatment. At a daytime temperature of 37.5ºC, %SPF varied widely among the cultivars and was highly correlated with the length of dehiscence formed at the basal part of the theca (r=0.930, P<0.01, n=6) and the percentage of dehisced thecae (r=0.868, P<0.05, n=6). The factor that better explained the variation in %SPF shifted from the length of the basal dehiscence to the percentage of dehisced thecae with increasing duration of high-temperature treatment. Thus, the process preventing pollination shifted from pollen release to anther dehiscence with the increase of exposure to a high temperature