Unstable Slope Management Program

INE/AUTC 11.1

Fault-Tolerant Consensus with an Abstract MAC Layer

In this paper, we study fault-tolerant distributed consensus in wireless systems. In more detail, we produce two new randomized algorithms that solve this problem in the abstract MAC layer model, which captures the basic interface and communication guarantees provided by most wireless MAC layers. Our algorithms work for any number of failures, require no advance knowledge of the network participants or network size, and guarantee termination with high probability after a number of broadcasts that are polynomial in the network size. Our first algorithm satisfies the standard agreement property, while our second trades a faster termination guarantee in exchange for a looser agreement property in which most nodes agree on the same value. These are the first known fault-tolerant consensus algorithms for this model. In addition to our main upper bound results, we explore the gap between the abstract MAC layer and the standard asynchronous message passing model by proving fault-tolerant consensus is impossible in the latter in the absence of information regarding the network participants, even if we assume no faults, allow randomized solutions, and provide the algorithm a constant-factor approximation of the network size

Breeding Bird Populations of a Floodplain Tallgrass Prairie in Kansas

Breeding birds were censused yearly from 1974-1988 on a 10.1 ha floodplain tallgrass prairie, a portion of the Baker Wetlands Research Area on the south edge of Lawrence, Kansas. Dickcissels (Spiza americana) were the most abundant species, with densities about six times greater than in the Flint Hills tallgrass prairie (149 territorial males/km2 VS. 25/ km2). This may be due to availability of moisture and associated density of grass stems and insect production. The bird community in the floodplain prairie however, is less diverse (5 species VS. 10 species). Grasshopper sparrows (Ammodramus savannarum) were the second most abundant species in Flint Hills upland prairie, but were absent from floodplain prairie. Red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) which are rarely censused in upland prairie were the second most abundant species in floodplain prairie. Population densities were relatively stable over 15 years with exceptions due to different land use patterns in the vicinity of the study plot and burning or mowing of the prairie prior to the nesting season

The Imperative of High-Quality Education in Juvenile Corrections : An Introduction to the Special Section

Non peer reviewe

Electronic Actuation of a Motorcycle Clutch

ME450 Capstone Design and Manufacturing Experience: Fall 2015The problem that the Michigan Formula SAE Racing Team would like to solve is how to reduce tire slip in straight-line acceleration situations. Solving this will result in faster acceleration times and more points in the competition. As per the sponsor’s request, the solution will be approached through the implementation of clutch-control, a form of launch control using a closed-loop system. The main user requirements of the project include generating at least 10 ft-lbs of torque, avoiding bending moment damage with a safety factor of 1.2, disassembling the system from the vehicle within 20 minutes, and creating a high speed system that can adjust the clutch within .02 seconds. These specifications were used to choose the AmpFlow A28-150 High Performance motor along with the MAE3 Absolute Magnetic Encoder Kit for the final design. A proof-of-concept electrical circuit that is connected to a small DC motor has been built that allows the system to drive current from the power source and protect the motor from backwards flowing current by implementing an opto-isolator. The controls model in Simulink has also been created where mock signals were run through the code to determine the program’s validity. When the motor was connected to the power source, the clutch lever could be actuated through its full range of motion proving that it could generate enough torque. Welding the truss onto the mounting frame resulted in minimal deflection which validated stiffness. In addition, the disassembling/assembling the system took two minutes, well under the limit. The next steps for this project would be to create a more robust circuit involving thicker wiring for the AmpFlow motor, determining coefficient for the PID controller, and testing vehicle lap times with the system integrated into the car to validate that the system results in faster acceleration times.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/117348/1/ME450-F15-Project30-FinalReport.pd

Essential requirement for caspase-8/FLICE in the initiation of the Fas-induced apoptotic cascade

AbstractBackground: Fas (APO-1/CD95) is a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNF-R) family and induces apoptosis when crosslinked with either Fas ligand or agonistic antibody (Fas antibody). The Fas–Fas ligand system has an important role in the immune system where it is involved in the downregulation of immune responses and the deletion of peripheral autoreactive T lymphocytes. The intracellular domain of Fas interacts with several proteins including FADD (MORT-1), DAXX, RIP, FAF-1, FAP-1 and Sentrin. The adaptor protein FADD can, in turn, interact with the cysteine protease caspase-8 (FLICE/MACH/Mch5).Results: In a genetic screen for essential components of the Fas-mediated apoptotic cascade, we isolated a Jurkat T lymphocyte cell line deficient in caspase-8 that was completely resistant to Fas-induced apoptosis. Complementation of this cell line with wild-type caspase-8 restored Fas-mediated apoptosis. Fas activation of multiple caspases and of the stress kinases p38 and c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) was completely blocked in the caspase-8-deficient cell line. Furthermore, the cell line was severely deficient in cell death induced by TNF-α and was partially deficient in cell death induced by ultraviolet irradiation, adriamycin and etoposide.Conclusions: This study provides the first genetic evidence that caspase-8 occupies an essential and apical position in the Fas signaling pathway and suggests that caspase-8 may participate broadly in multiple apoptotic pathways

Research in Artificial Intelligent Tutoring

ASSISTments is a web-based tutoring program covering 4th to 10th grade mathematics, where students are given a problem and may request hints to guide them through the problem. Previous studies have shown the effectiveness of ASSISTments in improving student learning. In this study, we analyze whether the hints improve student learning significantly over immediate correctness feedback. We found that while both methods of feedback improved student learning, neither one improved learning significantly better than the other. Especially when given easier problems, students were able to complete the problem sets in less time with answer-only feedback. Since hints took longer to complete and did not significantly improve student test scores, answer-only feedback may be more useful than hints

Characterization of subsurface hydraulic conductivity along the proposed Alaska Gas Line Corridor using geophysical signatures

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2010"The objective of this research was to explore a cost-effective and non-invasive methodology to characterize spatial variability of hydraulic conductivity using airborne electromagnetic (AEM) signatures as an alternative to traditional techniques such as borehole sampling. The relationship of AEM measured apparent resistivity and magnetic field strength was explored using a small dataset that included 180 natural moisture (NM) content data and a total dataset of 546 grain size distributions that excluded the NM. The grain size distributions were used to develop soil indicator parameter and to estimate the hydraulic conductivity (K*) using pedo-transfer functions. Predictive models were developed using three techniques; artificial neural network regression (ANNR), support vector regression (SVR), and artificial neural network classification (ANNC). The sole use of non-invasive parameters to characterize K* proved insufficient. The inclusion of supplemental invasively collected parameters showed ANNR to best characterize the relationship (R² = 0.64) with the smaller dataset; while the SVR model performed best with the total dataset (R² = 0.57). ANNC was shown to be a viable alternative (overall accuracy = 88%) when broad characterization of K* was sufficient. This study lays out a methodology that could be used for future K* characterization using improved data set"--Leaf iii.Clarence Berry Fellowship, University of Alaska Fairbanks Graduate School graduate school fellowshi