Haiku

A morning dewdrop Tumbling from a waxy leaf And vanishing . . . gone

The relationship of glycolytic/gluconeogenic intermediates in brewing yeast (Saccharomyces uvarum) fermentations to growth

Bibliography: pages 215-264.The objective of this study has been to understand the metabolic interrelationship between yeast growth, regulation of glycolytic/gluconeogenic flux and accumulation of glycosyl donors for polysaccharide synthesis in brewing yeast (Saccharomyces uvarum) fermentations. Loss of fermenting power of a brewing yeast population may be created by a condition that inhibits growth by limiting amino acid formation and protein synthesis. In commercial strains of S. uvarum this loss may be transitory, or, if not corrected, may ultimately lead to yeast degeneration. The potential industrial impact is realised for fermentation systems which may limit yeast growth, eg. continuous systems, use of pressure and, particularly, systems utilizing immobilised cells

Tram-Line filtering for retinal vessel segmentation

The segmentation of the vascular network from retinal fundal images is a fundamental step in the analysis of the retina, and may be used for a number of purposes, including diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy. However, due to the variability of retinal images segmentation is difficult, particularly with images of diseased retina which include significant distractors. This paper introduces a non-linear filter for vascular segmentation, which is particularly robust against such distractors. We demonstrate results on the publicly-available STARE dataset, superior to Stare’s performance, with 57.2% of the vascular network (by length) successfully located, with 97.2% positive predictive value measured by vessel length, compared with 57% and 92.2% for Stare. The filter is also simple and computationally efficient

Engineering Polymer Informatics

The poster describes a strategy of for the development of polymer informatics. In particular, the development of polymer markup language, a polymer ontology and natural language processing tools for polymer literature

The Effect of Tropical Cyclones on Climate Change Engagement

Personal experience can influence our attitudes and actions concerning climate change. This paper examines the experience-perception link in relation to tropical cyclones using a distinctly revealed preference approach, mitigating biases of prior research in this area. Specifically, we study how people alter their internet searches related to climate change in response to tropical cyclones. Using data for the United States 2006–2012, results suggest that searches related to climate change increase with a lag in the months following an event. This finding indicates that the people are connecting tropical cyclones to the broader narrative of climate change in the aftermath of an event and there may be a window of opportunity for building public support for policy action

A Data-driven Approach Towards Human-robot Collaborative Problem Solving in a Shared Space

We are developing a system for human-robot communication that enables people to communicate with robots in a natural way and is focused on solving problems in a shared space. Our strategy for developing this system is fundamentally data-driven: we use data from multiple input sources and train key components with various machine learning techniques. We developed a web application that is collecting data on how two humans communicate to accomplish a task, as well as a mobile laboratory that is instrumented to collect data on how two humans communicate to accomplish a task in a physically shared space. The data from these systems will be used to train and fine-tune the second stage of our system, in which the robot will be simulated through software. A physical robot will be used in the final stage of our project. We describe these instruments, a test-suite and performance metrics designed to evaluate and automate the data gathering process as well as evaluate an initial data set.Comment: 2017 AAAI Fall Symposium on Natural Communication for Human-Robot Collaboratio

Modeling microscopic swimmers at low Reynolds number

We employ three numerical methods to explore the motion of low Reynolds number swimmers, modeling the hydrodynamic interactions by means of the Oseen tensor approximation, lattice Boltzmann simulations and multiparticle collision dynamics. By applying the methods to a three bead linear swimmer, for which exact results are known, we are able to compare and assess the effectiveness of the different approaches. We then propose a new class of low Reynolds number swimmers, generalized three bead swimmers that can change both the length of their arms and the angle between them. Hence we suggest a design for a microstructure capable of moving in three dimensions. We discuss multiple bead, linear microstructures and show that they are highly efficient swimmers. We then turn to consider the swimming motion of elastic filaments. Using multiparticle collision dynamics we show that a driven filament behaves in a qualitatively similar way to the micron-scale swimming device recently demonstrated by Dreyfus et al.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figure

Design and manufacture of micro-optical arrays using 3D diamond machining techniques

We describe our work towards the manufacture of micro-optical arrays using freeform diamond machining techniques. Simulations have been done to show the feasibility of manufacturing micro-lens arrays using the slow-tool servo method. Using this technique, master shapes can be produced for replication of micro-lens arrays of either epoxy-on-glass or monolthic glass types. A machine tool path programme has been developed on the machine software platform DIFFSYS, allowing the production of spherical, aspherical and toric arrays. In addition, in theory spatially varying lenslets, sparse arrays and dithered lenslet arrays (for high contrast applications) are possible to produce. In practice, due to the diamond tool limitations not all formats are feasible. Investigations into solving this problem have been carried out and a solution is presented here.Comment: 8 pages, 11 figures. Copyright 2006 Society of Photo-Optical Engineers. This paper will be published in SPIE Conf. Series 6273 and is made available as an electronic preprint with permission of SPIE. One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic or multiple reproduction, distribution to multiple locations via electronic or other means, duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or commercial purposes, or modification of the content of the paper are prohibite

A Survey of Activity-Based Costing (ABC) Practices within the Department of the Army

Activity-Based Costing (ABC) does not appear to have been as readily accepted within the Department of the Army as within private industry (Kehoe et al., 1995). Barely able to accomplish their missions at current resource levels, military resource managers know historically that identified efficiencies and savings often are translated into self inflicted budget and manpower cuts. Yet, it is almost universally accepted that the benefits of using Activity-Based Costing are real and obtainable, but not yet worth the effort required with the perceived risk being taken. Current conventional wisdom is for Army Resource Managers to wait and see what benefits and fates come to those who pioneer ABC. The US Army Cost and Economic Analysis Center (CEAC) had been charged with the role of establishing policy for ABC within the Army. Wanting to base policy on successful applications, their first task is to define Army ABC, and then to find such initiatives from which to draw from. The purpose of this thesis is to find Activity-Based Costing practices within the US Army, and then to use them to discover the major dimensions of ABC in the Army environment. This research found that the home of Activity-Based Costing is in the Army Major Commands and their subcommands. Within these commands there is much interest in ABC, but efforts are stymied by lack of policy and widespread knowledge of ABC principles. Training is perceived not as individual, but as an organizational need. Base Operations was identified as the area most suitable for ABC, while combat units the least. Overall ABC is generally considered to be a positive tool which can be employed to help leadership better manage their operations and resources