An Interior Point Method Solving Motion Planning Problems with Narrow Passages

Algorithmic solutions for the motion planning problem have been investigated for five decades. Since the development of A* in 1969 many approaches have been investigated, traditionally classified as either grid decomposition, potential fields or sampling-based. In this work, we focus on using numerical optimization, which is understudied for solving motion planning problems. This lack of interest in the favor of sampling-based methods is largely due to the non-convexity introduced by narrow passages. We address this shortcoming by grounding the solution in differential geometry. We demonstrate through a series of experiments on 3 Dofs and 6 Dofs narrow passage problems, how modeling explicitly the underlying Riemannian manifold leads to an efficient interior-point non-linear programming solution.Comment: IEEE RO-MAN 2020, 6 page

ShaneAO: wide science spectrum adaptive optics system for the Lick Observatory

A new high-order adaptive optics system is now being commissioned at the Lick Observatory Shane 3-meter telescope in California. This system uses a high return efficiency sodium beacon and a combination of low and high-order deformable mirrors to achieve diffraction-limited imaging over a wide spectrum of infrared science wavelengths covering 0.8 to 2.2 microns. We present the design performance goals and the first on-sky test results. We discuss several innovations that make this system a pathfinder for next generation AO systems. These include a unique woofer-tweeter control that provides full dynamic range correction from tip/tilt to 16 cycles, variable pupil sampling wavefront sensor, new enhanced silver coatings developed at UC Observatories that improve science and LGS throughput, and tight mechanical rigidity that enables a multi-hour diffraction- limited exposure in LGS mode for faint object spectroscopy science.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures. Presented at SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation conference, paper 9148-7

Opto-Mechanical Design of ShaneAO: the Adaptive Optics System for the 3-meter Shane Telescope

A Cassegrain mounted adaptive optics instrument presents unique challenges for opto-mechanical design. The flexure and temperature tolerances for stability are tighter than those of seeing limited instruments. This criteria requires particular attention to material properties and mounting techniques. This paper addresses the mechanical designs developed to meet the optical functional requirements. One of the key considerations was to have gravitational deformations, which vary with telescope orientation, stay within the optical error budget, or ensure that we can compensate with a steering mirror by maintaining predictable elastic behavior. Here we look at several cases where deformation is predicted with finite element analysis and Hertzian deformation analysis and also tested. Techniques used to address thermal deformation compensation without the use of low CTE materials will also be discussed.Comment: 14 pages, 14 figures, 4 tables. Presented at SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation conference, paper 9148-11

An evaluation of peptone products and fish meal on nursery pig performance

A total of 360 nursery pigs (PIC C327 × 1050, initially 11.8 lb and 21 d of age) were used in a 35-d study to evaluate the effects of select menhaden fish meal (SMFM), PEP2+ (also known as Ferm O Tide), Peptone 50, and PEP-NS on nursery pig performance. PEP2+, Peptone 50, and PEP-NS are all porcine intestinal mucosa products, but differ based on the carriers with which they are co-dried. PEP2+ is co-dried with enzymatically processed vegetable proteins. Peptone 50 is co-dried with a vegetable protein, while PEP-NS uses by-products from corn wet-milling. Phase 1 diets were fed in pellet form from d 0 to 8. Phase 2 diets were fed in meal form from d 8 to 21. A common corn-soybean meal diet was fed from d 21 to 35. There were 6 dietary treatments: (1) a negative control diet containing 2.5% spray-dried animal plasma (SDAP) in Phase 1 followed by no specialty protein sources in Phase 2; (2) a diet containing 5% SDAP in Phase 1 and 3% SMFM in Phase 2; (3) a blend of 5% SDAP and 3% SMFM during Phase 1 and 6% SMFM during Phase 2; (4) a blend of 5% SDAP and 3% PEP2+ during Phase 1 and 6% PEP2 during Phase 2; (5) a blend of 5% SDAP and 3% PEP 50 during Phase 1 and 6% PEP50 during Phase 2, and (6) a blend of 5% SDAP and 3% PEP-NS during Phase 1 and 6% PEP-NS during Phase 2. During Phase 1, there were no differences in F/G among pigs fed any of the dietary treatments. During Phase 2 (d 8 to 21), pigs fed 6% PEP2+ had greater (P < 0.05) ADG compared to those fed the negative control diet, 3% or 6% fish meal, with pigs fed PEP50 and PEP NS intermediate. Furthermore, pigs fed 6% PEP2+ had the greatest improvement (P < 0.02) in F/G compared to pigs fed all other experimental diets. Overall, pigs fed diets containing PEP2+ had increased (P < 0.03) ADG and ADFI compared to pigs fed the negative control diet. Pigs fed 3% PEP2+ during Phase 1 and 6% PEP2+ during Phase 2 had greater (P < 0.05) ADFI compared to those fed 3% SMFM during Phase 1 and 6% SMFM during Phase 2. In conclusion, PEP2+, Peptone 50, and PEP-NS can be used as specialty protein sources to replace select menhaden fish meal in Phase 2 nursery pig diets. In addition pigs fed PEP2+ had greater ADG than those fed fish meal

2003 Manifesto on the California Electricity Crisis

The authors, an ad-hocgroup of professionals with experience in regulatory and energy economics, share a common concern with the continuing turmoil facing the electricity industry ("the industry") in California. Most ofthe authorsendorsed the first California Electricity Manifesto issued on January 25, 2001. Almost two years have passed since that first Manifesto. While wholesale electric prices have moderated and California no longer faces the risk of blackouts, in many ways the industry is in worse shape now than it was at the start of 2001. As a result, the group of signatories continues to have a deep concern with the conflicting policy directions being pursued for the industry at both the State and Federal levels of government and the impact the uncertainties associated with these conflicting policies will have, long term, on the economy of California. Theauthorshave once again convened under the auspices of the Institute of Management, Innovation and Organization at the University of California, Berkeley, to put forward ourtheir ideas on a basic set of necessary policies to move the industry forward for the benefit of all Californians and the nation. The authors point out that theydo not pretend to be "representative." They do bring, however, a very diverse range of backgrounds and expertise.Technology and Industry, Regulatory Reform

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Johnny Carson vs. the Smothers Brothers : monolog vs. dialog in costly bilateral communications

"March 1991."Suported by the Sloan Foundation

Efficacy of different commercial phytase sources and development of a phosphorus release curve

Two experiments used 184 pigs (PIC, 22.7 and 21.3 lb BW, respectively) to develop an available P (aP) release curve for commercial phytase products. In Exp. 1 and 2, pigs were fed a basal diet (0.06% aP) and 2 levels of added aP from inorganic P (monocalcium P) to develop a standard curve. In Exp. 1, 100, 175, 250, or 500 phytase units (FTU)/kg OptiPhos (Enzyvia LLC, Sheridan, IN) or 200, 350, 500 or 1,000 FTU/kg Phyzyme XP (Danisco Animal Nutrition, Marlborough, UK) was added to the basal diet. In Exp. 2, 250, 500, 750, or 1,000 FTU/kg OptiPhos; 500, 1,000, or 1,500 FTU/kg Phyzyme XP; or 1,850 or 3,700 phytase units (FYT)/kg Ronozyme P (DSM Nutritional Products, Basel, Switzerland), was added to the basal diet. Manufacturer-guaranteed phytase levels were used in diet formulation. Diets were analyzed for phytase using both the Phytex and AOAC methods. Pigs were blocked by sex and weight and allotted to individual pens with 8 pens per treatment. Pigs were euthanized on d 21, and fibulas were analyzed for bone ash. In Exp. 1, pigs fed increasing monocalcium P had improved (linear; P = 0.01) ADG, G/F, and percentage bone ash. Similarly, pigs fed increasing monocalcium P in Exp. 2 tended to have improved (quadratic; P = 0.09) ADG in addition to significantly improved (linear; P ≤ 0.001) G/F and percentage bone ash. In Exp. 1, pigs fed increasing OptiPhos had increased (linear; P ≤ 0.02) ADG, G/F, and percentage bone ash. Likewise, pigs fed increasing OptiPhos in Exp. 2 had improved (linear; P ≤ 0.001) ADG and G/F, as well as increased (quadratic; P ≤ 0.001) percentage bone ash. In Exp. 1, pigs fed increasing Phyzyme XP had increased (linear; P ≤ 0.04) ADG and G/F and tended to have improved (linear; P = 0.06) percentagebone ash. Pigs fed increasing Phyzyme XP in Exp. 2 had increased (quadratic; P ≤ 0.001) G/F and percentage bone ash. In Exp. 2, pigs fed increasing Ronozyme P had improved (linear; P ≤ 0.001) ADG in addition to increased (quadratic; P ≤ 0.03) G/F and percentage bone ash. When AOAC analyzed values and bone ash are used as the response variable, aP release for up to 1,000 FTU/kg of Escherichia coli-derived phytases (OptiPhos and Phyzyme XP) can be predicted by the equation (y = -0.000000125x2 + 0.000236245x + 0.015482000), where x is the phytase level in the diet

Factors affecting storage stability of various commercial phytase sources

A 360-d study was performed to evaluate the effects of environmental conditions on storage stability of exogenous phytases. Coated and uncoated products from 3 phytase sources (Ronozyme P, OptiPhos, and Phyzyme) were stored as pure forms, in a vitamin premix, or in a vitamin and trace mineral (VTM) premix. Pure products were stored at 0, 41, 73, and 99ºF (75% humidity). Premixes were stored at 73 and 99ºF. Sampling was performed on d 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, 180, 270, and 360. Sampling of the pure products stored at 0 and 41ºF was discontinued after d 120 due to mold growth in the 41ºF samples. Stability was measured as the residual phytase activity (% of initial) at each sampling point. For the stability of the pure forms, all interactive and main effects of phytase product, coating, time, and temperature of storage were significant (P < 0.01), except for time × coating interaction. When stored at 73ºF or less, pure phytases retained at least 91, 85, 78, and 71% of initial phytase activity at 30, 60, 90, and 120 d of storage, respectively. However, storing pure products at 99ºF reduced (P < 0.01) phytase stability, with OptiPhos retaining the most (P < 0.01) activity. Coating mitigated (P < 0.01) the negative effects of high storage temperature for Ronozyme and OptiPhos (from d 90 onward) but not for Phyzyme. For the stability of phytase in different forms of storage, all interactive and main effects of phytase product, form, coating, time, and temperature of storage were significant (P < 0.01). When stored at room temperature (73ºF), retained phytase activities for a majority of the phytase sources were more than 85, 73, and 60% of initial activity up to 180 d when stored as pure products, vitamin premixes, or VTM premixes, respectively. When stored at 99ºF, pure phytase products had greater (P < 0.01) retention of initial phytase activity than when phytases were mixed with the vitamin or VTM premixes. Coated phytases stored in any form had greater (P < 0.01) activity retention than the uncoated phytases at all sampling periods. In conclusion, storage stability of commercially available phytases is affected by duration of storage, temperature, product form, coating, and phytase source. Pure products held at 73ºF or less were the most stable. In premixes, longer storage time and higher temperature reduced phytase activity, but coating mitigated some of these negative effects