Correlation studies on surface particle detection methods

The accurate determination of dust levels on optical surfaces is necessary to assess sensor system performance. A comparison study was made on several particle measurement methods including those based on direct imaging and light scattering. The effectiveness of removing the particles from the surface prior to determining particle size distributions was also assessed. These studies revealed that some methods, especially those requiring particle removal before analysis, are subject to large systematic errors affecting particle size distributions. Thus, an understanding of the particle measurement methods employed is necessary before any surface cleanliness or obstruction value assignments are accepted as true representations of an optical surface contamination condition

Virtual fences for controlling cows

We describe a moving virtual fence algorithm for herding cows. Each animal in the herd is given a smart collar consisting of a GPS, PDA, wireless networking and a sound amplifier. Using the GPS, the animal's location can be verified relative to the fence boundary. When approaching the perimeter, the animal is presented with a sound stimulus whose effect is to move away. We have developed the virtual fence control algorithm for moving a herd. We present simulation results and data from experiments with 8 cows equipped with smart collars

Prediction of Academic Success in the College of Forestry

The College of Forest, Range and Wildlife Management (hereafter referred to as the College of Forestry) at Utah State University has been concerned for some time with the problem of selecting from the applicants to their school the ones whom they think will be able to complete the requirements for graduation. The large number of freshman students placed on probation at the end of the fall quarter and of succeeding quarters each year fives some idea of the magnitude of the problem. It is not unusual for 40 or 50 percent of the entering freshmen to be in this category. The faculty of the College of Forestry is interested in the students, not only as potential professional foresters, but also as individuals. They recognize the fact that failure is not only emotionally upsetting but also expensive, especially for students who have come, as many of them have, from out of state. The loss of time and money on the part of the students, as well as the effort expended by the professors, is a waste of human resources. Because of their desire to give each student as much opportunity as possible to succeed, the College of Forestry has devised a very elaborate probation program. If the student fails to maintain a 2.0 (C average) for two consecutive quarters, he is asked to sign a statement indicating that if he is unable to get satisfactory grades the next quarter he will withdraw from school and not register again for two quarters. This provides the student with a cooling off period\u27\u27 during which he can re-evaluate his goals in terms of his past performance in school

In defense of defense: a statistical look at roster construction, coaching strategy, and team defense in the National Basketball Association

The three major organized sports featured in the United States – baseball, basketball, and football – cover the spectrum of analytic probability. Baseball, with its basic two parts, pitcher and batter, lies at the easy or low end of the analytic spectrum and so it was the first sport to be studied. From early baseball cards first appearing in the 1890s to The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstracts of the 1980s to the SABRmetrics of today, baseball coaches and fans everywhere are adding a page on analytic probability to their playbooks. Football lies at the high or difficult end of the spectrum. With its 22 different parts or players involved in every play, football remains largely unexplored and largely out of reach from a statistical perspective. Basketball, however, with its 10 parts or players lies in that sweet spot or Goldilocks zone, not too hot and not too cold. Whether one is a casual fan or astute student of the game, advanced analytics have dramatically changed the way the fans perceive these sports. In other words, the shoebox crammed with baseball cards of my dad’s generation has morphed into the computer-based analyzes of my generation. Despite the many reams of statistics that have been added to the encyclopedia of sports knowledge, there are still many unknowns and many chapters that are incomplete or missing entirely. One of these incomplete chapters is team defense in basketball. While there are a few team axioms that exist, such as rim-protecting centers are valuable and slow point guards are not, the relationship between team characteristics and team defense remains vague, at best. Like the dark side of the moon, the unknown aspects of team defense are seldom seen and remain largely unexplored. My goal in writing this paper is to take a closer look at team defense in the National Basketball Association (NBA). By quantitatively looking at several factors, I hope to gain a better understanding of how the measurable quantities of team makeup affect the abstract qualities of team building. While I may not be the first to attempt the trek nor be the one to voyage the farthest towards this final frontier, I hope to boldly go into the great unknown. By researching and analyzing certain NBA team characteristics, in terms of both roster construction and coaching, I hope to be able to ascertain and perhaps even predict the team’s defensive ability

Ethical Evaluation of New Technologies: Genetically Modified Organisms and Plants

As developments in biotechnology continue, new ethical questions arise concerning our ability to manipulate and intervene with what is conceived as natural . Genetic modification (GM) is one clear example of this revolutionary development in biotechnology which inspires debate on its impact to human welfare

Autonomous deployment and repair of a sensor network using an unmanned aerial vehicle

We describe a sensor network deployment method using autonomous flying robots. Such networks are suitable for tasks such as large-scale environmental monitoring or for command and control in emergency situations. We describe in detail the algorithms used for deployment and for measuring network connectivity and provide experimental data we collected from field trials. A particular focus is on determining gaps in connectivity of the deployed network and generating a plan for a second, repair, pass to complete the connectivity. This project is the result of a collaboration between three robotics labs (CSIRO, USC, and Dartmouth.)

Chave para identificação de mamíferos da região amazônica brasileira com exceção dos quirópteros e primatas

Apresenta-se uma chave para identificar os mamíferos encontrados na região amazônica brasileira, excluídos os morcegos e macacos. Esta chave utiliza quantidade mínima de termos técnicos e poderá ser usada tanto por pessoas sem conhecimentos básicos, como também, por conhecedores de mastozoologia. São relacionadas 107 espécies de mamíferos compreendendo: 17 marsupiais, 16 edentatos, 1 lagomorfo, 41 roedores, 2 cetáceos, 20 carnívoros, 2 sirênios, 1 perissodáctilo e 7 artiodáctilos. Esta chave será especialmente útil para identificar mamíferos coletados em levantamentos da fauna e em estudos epidemiológicos.A key to the mammals, other than bats and monkeys, believed to be found in the Brazilian Amazon Region is presented. This key uses a minimum number of technical terms, and is intended to be used by persons untrained in mammalogy as well as by mammalogists. It includes 107 species: 17 marsupials, 16 edentates, 1 lagomorph, 41 rodents, 2 cetaceans, 20 carnivores, 2 sirenians, 1 perissodactyl and 7 artiodactyls. It should be of special use in identifying mammals collected in faunal surveys and in epidemiological studies

Existence, multiplicity, and nonexistence of positive solutions to a differential equation on a measure chain

AbstractWe are concerned with proving existence of one or more than one positive solution of a general two point boundary value problem for the nonlinear equation Lx(t)≔−[p(t)xΔ(t)]Δ+q(t)xσ(t)=λa(t)f(t,xσ(t)). We shall also obtain criteria which leads to nonexistence of positive solutions. Here the independent variable t is in a “measure chain”. We will use fixed point theorems for operators on a Banach space