Fitness Biasing for the Box Pushing Task

Anytime Learning with Fitness Biasing has been shown in previous works to be an effective tool for evolving hexapod gaits. In this paper, we present the use of Anytime Learning with Fitness Biasing to evolve the controller for a robot learning the box pushing task. The robot that was built for this task, was measured to create an accurate model. The model was used in simulation to test the effectiveness of Anytime Learning with Fitness Biasing for the box pushing task. This work is the first step in new research where an automated system to test the viability of Fitness Biasing will be created, as well as the first application of Fitness Biasing to a high level task such as box pushing

Holocene Paleoflood Hydrology of the Lower Deschutes River, Oregon

Flood deposits at four sites along the lower Deschutes River, Oregon, were analyzed to determine magnitude and frequency of late Holocene flooding. Deposit stratigraphy was combined with hydraulic modeling at two sites to determine ranges of likely discharges for individual deposits. Combining these results with gaged flood data provides improved flood frequency estimates at the Axford site. The completeness and age spans of preserved flood chronologies differed among the four sites, but results were consistent for the largest floods of the last 5000 years. Single floods exceeded 2860-3800 mVs -4600 cal yr BP, 1060-1810 mVs -1300 cal yr BP, and 1210-2000 m3/s \u3c290 cal yr BP (corresponding to the historic flood of 1861). No floods have exceeded 2860-3770 mVs since the flood of -4600 cal yr BP. Incorporating these results into a flood frequency analysis based on maximum likelihood estimators gives slightly higher flood quantile estimates and narrower confidence limits compared with analysis of gage data alone. Discharge and 2(5 uncertainty for the 100-yr flood calculated using combined paleoflood and gaged records is 1120 +310/-240 mVs, compared with 930 +650/-250 m3/s from analysis of only gaged floods. This revised estimate for the 100-yr flood is slightly greater than our estimate of 1060 m3/s for the February 1996 flood at Axford, a finding consistent with historical records of two floods comparable to the 1996 flood in the last 140 years and with stratigraphic records of several like floods during the last ~1000 years

Consumption of Single Cigarettes and Quitting Behavior: a Longitudinal Analysis of Mexican Smokers

Background: Previous cross-sectional research has suggested single cigarettes could either promote or inhibit consumption. The present study aimed to assess the effects of single cigarette availability and consumption on downstream quit behavior. Methods: We analyzed population-based, longitudinal data from adult smokers who participated in the 2008 and 2010 administrations of the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Survey in Mexico. Results: At baseline, 30% of smokers saw single cigarettes for sale on a daily basis, 17% bought singles at their last purchase, and 7% bought singles daily. Smokers who most frequently purchased singles, both in general and specifically to control their consumption, were no more likely to attempt to quit over the 14 month follow-up period than those who did not purchase singles. Frequency of buying singles to reduce consumption had a nonmonotonic association with being quit at followup. The odds of being quit was only statistically significant when comparing those who had not bought singles to reduce consumption with those who had done so on a more irregular basis (AOR = 2.30; 95% CI 1.19, 4.45), whereas those who did so more regularly were no more likely to be quit at followup. Frequency of self-reported urges to smoke upon seeing singles for sale was unassociated with either quit attempts or being quit at followup. Conclusions: These results suggest that the relationship between singles consumption and quit behavior is complex, with no clear evidence that singles either promote or inhibit downstream quit behavio

Field-Trip Guide to Mafic Volcanism of the Cascade Range in Central Oregon— A Volcanic, Tectonic, Hydrologic, and Geomorphic Journey

The Cascade Range in central Oregon has been shaped by tectonics, volcanism, and hydrology, as well as geomorphic forces that include glaciations. As a result of the rich interplay between these forces, mafic volcanism here can have surprising manifestations, which include relatively large tephra footprints and extensive lava flows, as well as water shortages, transportation and agricultural disruption, and forest fires. Although the focus of this multidisciplinary field trip will be on mafic volcanism, we will also look at the hydrology, geomorphology, and ecology of the area, and we will examine how these elements both influence and are influenced by mafic volcanism. We will see mafic volcanic rocks at the Sand Mountain volcanic field and in the Santiam Pass area, at McKenzie Pass, and in the southern Bend region. In addition, this field trip will occur during a total solar eclipse, the first one visible in the United States in more than 25 years (and the first seen in the conterminous United States in more than 37 years)

The Impact of Free Trial Acceptance on Demand for Alternative Nicotine Products: Evidence from Experimental Auctions

Objectives: This study explored the relationship between product trials and consumer demand for alternative nicotine products (ANP). Methods: An experimental auction was conducted with 258 adult smokers, wherein participants were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions. The participants received the opportunity to try, but did not have to accept, one of three relatively novel ST products (i.e., snus, dissolvable tobacco, or medicinal nicotine), or they were placed into a control group (i.e., no trial). All the participants then bid on all three of these products, as well as on cigarettes. We assessed interest in using ANP based on both trial of the product and bids placed for the products in the experimental auction. Results: Fewer smokers were willing to try snus (44 %) than dissolvable tobacco (64 %) or medicine nicotine (68 %). For snus, we find modest evidence suggesting that willingness to try is associated with greater demand for the product. For dissolvable tobacco or medicinal nicotine, we find no evidence that those who accept the product trial have higher demand for the product. Conclusions: Free trials of a novel ANP were not strongly associated with product demand, as assessed by willingness to pay. Given the debate over the potential for ANP to reduce the harm from smoking, these results are important in understanding the impact of free trial offers on adoption of ST product as a strategy to reduce harm from tobacco use

Conceptualizing Ecological Responses to Dam Removal: If You Remove It, What’s to Come?

One of the desired outcomes of dam decommissioning and removal is the recovery of aquatic and riparian ecosystems. To investigate this common objective, we synthesized information from empirical studies and ecological theory into conceptual models that depict key physical and biological links driving ecological responses to removing dams. We define models for three distinct spatial domains: upstream of the former reservoir, within the reservoir, and downstream of the removed dam. Emerging from these models are response trajectories that clarify potential pathways of ecological transitions in each domain. We illustrate that the responses are controlled by multiple causal pathways and feedback loops among physical and biological components of the ecosystem, creating recovery trajectories that are dynamic and nonlinear. In most cases, short-term effects are typically followed by longer-term responses that bring ecosystems to new and frequently predictable ecological condition, which may or may not be similar to what existed prior to impoundment

Standards for plant synthetic biology: A common syntax for exchange of DNA parts

© 2015 New Phytologist Trust. Inventors in the field of mechanical and electronic engineering can access multitudes of components and, thanks to standardization, parts from different manufacturers can be used in combination with each other. The introduction of BioBrick standards for the assembly of characterized DNA sequences was a landmark in microbial engineering, shaping the field of synthetic biology. Here, we describe a standard for Type IIS restriction endonuclease-mediated assembly, defining a common syntax of 12 fusion sites to enable the facile assembly of eukaryotic transcriptional units. This standard has been developed and agreed by representatives and leaders of the international plant science and synthetic biology communities, including inventors, developers and adopters of Type IIS cloning methods. Our vision is of an extensive catalogue of standardized, characterized DNA parts that will accelerate plant bioengineering

The Great Missoula Floods of the Last Ice Age

The Missoula Floods of the last Ice Age in the Pacific Northwest were the largest freshwater floods yet known on the surface of the Earth. The flood-formed landscape is a spectacular example of the power of geologic processes. But the Missoula Floods are also a story of controversy: an example of dogma and personality obscuring and facilitating the quest for truth. This is science in action, not always pretty, but continuously motivated by the wonderment of discovery