A Multi-Vehicle Cooperative Localization Approach for an Autonomy Framework

Offensive techniques produced by technological advancement present opportunities for adversaries to threaten the operational advantages of our joint and allied forces. Combating these new methodologies requires continuous and rapid development towards our own set of \game-changing technologies. Through focused development of unmanned systems and autonomy, the Air Force can strive to maintain its technological superiority. Furthermore, creating a robust framework capable of testing and evaluating the principles that define autonomy allows for the exploration of future capabilities. This research presents development towards a hybrid reactive/deliberative architecture that will allow for the testing of the principles of task, cognitive, and peer flexibility. Specifically, this work explores peer flexibility in multi-robot systems to solve a localization problem using the Hybrid Architecture for Multiple Robots (HAMR) as a basis for the framework. To achieve this task a combination of vehicle perception and navigation tools formulate inferences on an operating environment. These inferences are then used for the construction of Factor Graphs upon which the core algorithm for localization implements iSAM2, a high performing incremental matrix factorization method. A key component for individual vehicle control within the framework is the Unified Behavior Framework (UBF), a behavior-based control architecture which uses modular arbitration techniques to generate actions that enable actuator control. Additionally, compartmentalization of a World Model is explored through the use of containers to minimize communication overhead and streamline state information. The design for this platform takes on a polymorphic approach for modularity and robustness enabling future development

Acceso a la financiación en pymes colombianas: una mirada desde sus indicadores financieros

Se presenta un análisis de las fuentes de financiación utilizadas por las Pymes colombianasy su relación con indicadores de gestión financiera, con la finalidad de identificar algunasde las causas que pueden estar originando situaciones problemáticas en su desempeño. Se realizóuna investigación cuantitativa, de tipo explicativo, no experimental, longitudinal, exploratorio y correlacional;la población estuvo conformada por 4.168 Pymes colombianas que reportan sus estadosfinancieros a la Superintendencia de Sociedades en el período 2004-2009. Los resultados muestranque las Pymes se financian principalmente con recursos propios, en menor grado con pasivos decorto plazo y en baja proporción con pasivos de largo plazo, siguiendo un patrón similar al explicadopor la teoría de selección jerárquica (pecking order theory); igualmente, los estadísticos sugierenlimitaciones importantes para generar ingresos y atraer fuentes de financiación que fortalezcan sudesempeño. Los indicadores de liquidez, eficiencia y rentabilidad evidencian una situación desfavorablepara el sector, obstaculizando la obtención de nuevos recursos. Finalmente, del análisiscorrelacional se infiere que los indicadores de eficiencia en la gestión empresarial son los que másse asocian significativamente con el acceso a fuentes de financiación externas a las organizaciones

Planificación estratégica y niveles de competitividad de las Mipymes del sector comercio en Bogotá

El presente artículo persigue el objetivo de analizar la relación entre la dimensión planificación estratégica y la competitividad en las Mipymes del sector comercio en la ciudad de Bogotá, considerando el impacto que puede tener esta dimensión en el desempeño empresarial. Para ello, se realiza una contextualización del estado del sector y se evalúa su nivel de competitividad a partir del Mapa de Competitividad del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID). El análisis estadístico, basado en pruebas de correlación directa y parcial (utilizando software SPSS), permite inferir que la planificación estratégica tiene un impacto significativo en el funcionamiento de otras dimensiones de gestión organizacional de las Mipymes y en su competitividad

Integrating gender analysis in understanding dual-purpose cattle breeding practices in Nicaragua

Dual purpose cattle production in mixed farming systems of Nicaragua is predominantly based on permanent grazing of naturalized grasslands, introduced pastures and crop residues. Milk production and animal offtake rates are low. Information to guide gender responsive interventions to improve livestock production is being generated through a collaborative project by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), the National Agrarian University of Nicaragua (UNA), and the University of Natural Resources and life Sciences in Austria (BOKU). Gender disaggregated data on milk production of 447 animals on 59 farms from Camoapa in central Nicaragua have been collected over 8 months. The data shows that more than 40% of the households keep Brown Swiss crosses, however, male headed households keep significantly more Brahman and Holstein crosses than female headed households. The average daily milk production per animal is also significantly lower in female headed households (3.54±1.55kg) than in male headed households (4.14 ±1.87kg). Farmers are conversant with Artificial Insemination (AI), however the technology is not widely adopted. Reasons mentioned for low adoption include: high costs of service, need for repeat services, and unavailability of semen from desired breed-types (e.g. Brahman × Brown Swiss). Gender analysis revealed that the need for repeated services, which increased the costs of AI, is caused by a time mismatch between the animals' heat and the AI provision. These delays are in turn determined by the gender division of labour in livestock management: women are in charge of identifying when animals come into heat but have to wait for the men to call the AI service providers. Women head of households have difficulty accessing AI services and information altogether as they are less involved in cooperative groups and training on technologies related to cattle production. This reduces the effectiveness of AI in both male and female headed households. Practical training programs are required on reproductive management and the use of AI designed with gender responsive approaches

Maerl grounds : habitats of high biodiversity in European seas

The BIOMAERL programme is a 3-year collaborative programme between laboratories in UK, Spain, France and Malta which began in February 1996. Its main plans are described in the workplan. A full inventory of the biological composition (biodiversity) of maerl bed assemblages in these regions therefore has yet to be completed, but progress is outlined below.peer-reviewe

Linking soil microbial community structure to potential carbon mineralization: A continental scale assessment of reduced tillage

Potential carbon mineralization (Cmin) is a commonly used indicator of soil health, with greater Cmin values interpreted as healthier soil. While Cmin values are typically greater in agricultural soils managed with minimal physical disturbance, the mechanisms driving the increases remain poorly understood. This study assessed bacterial and archaeal community structure and potential microbial drivers of Cmin in soils maintained under various degrees of physical disturbance. Potential carbon mineralization, 16S rRNA sequences, and soil characterization data were collected as part of the North American Project to Evaluate Soil Health Measurements (NAPESHM). Results showed that type of cropping system, intensity of physical disturbance, and soil pH influenced microbial sensitivity to physical disturbance. Furthermore, 28% of amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), which were important in modeling Cmin, were enriched under soils managed with minimal physical disturbance. Sequences identified as enriched under minimal disturbance and important for modeling Cmin, were linked to organisms which could produce extracellular polymeric substances and contained metabolic strategies suited for tolerating environmental stressors. Understanding how physical disturbance shapes microbial communities across climates and inherent soil properties and drives changes in Cmin provides the context necessary to evaluate management impacts on standardized measures of soil microbial activity

Carbon-sensitive pedotransfer functions for plant available water

Currently accepted pedotransfer functions show negligible effect of management-induced changes to soil organic carbon (SOC) on plant available water holding capacity (θAWHC), while some studies show the ability to substantially increase θAWHC through management. The Soil Health Institute\u27s North America Project to Evaluate Soil Health Measurements measured water content at field capacity using intact soil cores across 124 long-term research sites that contained increases in SOC as a result of management treatments such as reduced tillage and cover cropping. Pedotransfer functions were created for volumetric water content at field capacity (θFC) and permanent wilting point (θPWP). New pedotransfer functions had predictions of θAWHC that were similarly accurate compared with Saxton and Rawls when tested on samples from the National Soil Characterization database. Further, the new pedotransfer functions showed substantial effects of soil calcareousness and SOC on θAWHC. For an increase in SOC of 10 g kg–1 (1%) in noncalcareous soils, an average increase in θAWHC of 3.0 mm 100 mm–1 soil (0.03 m3 m–3) on average across all soil texture classes was found. This SOC related increase in θAWHC is about double previous estimates. Calcareous soils had an increase in θAWHC of 1.2 mm 100 mm–1 soil associated with a 10 g kg–1 increase in SOC, across all soil texture classes. New equations can aid in quantifying benefits of soil management practices that increase SOC and can be used to model the effect of changes in management on drought resilience

Global Retinoblastoma Presentation and Analysis by National Income Level.

Importance: Early diagnosis of retinoblastoma, the most common intraocular cancer, can save both a child's life and vision. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that many children across the world are diagnosed late. To our knowledge, the clinical presentation of retinoblastoma has never been assessed on a global scale. Objectives: To report the retinoblastoma stage at diagnosis in patients across the world during a single year, to investigate associations between clinical variables and national income level, and to investigate risk factors for advanced disease at diagnosis. Design, Setting, and Participants: A total of 278 retinoblastoma treatment centers were recruited from June 2017 through December 2018 to participate in a cross-sectional analysis of treatment-naive patients with retinoblastoma who were diagnosed in 2017. Main Outcomes and Measures: Age at presentation, proportion of familial history of retinoblastoma, and tumor stage and metastasis. Results: The cohort included 4351 new patients from 153 countries; the median age at diagnosis was 30.5 (interquartile range, 18.3-45.9) months, and 1976 patients (45.4%) were female. Most patients (n = 3685 [84.7%]) were from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Globally, the most common indication for referral was leukocoria (n = 2638 [62.8%]), followed by strabismus (n = 429 [10.2%]) and proptosis (n = 309 [7.4%]). Patients from high-income countries (HICs) were diagnosed at a median age of 14.1 months, with 656 of 666 (98.5%) patients having intraocular retinoblastoma and 2 (0.3%) having metastasis. Patients from low-income countries were diagnosed at a median age of 30.5 months, with 256 of 521 (49.1%) having extraocular retinoblastoma and 94 of 498 (18.9%) having metastasis. Lower national income level was associated with older presentation age, higher proportion of locally advanced disease and distant metastasis, and smaller proportion of familial history of retinoblastoma. Advanced disease at diagnosis was more common in LMICs even after adjusting for age (odds ratio for low-income countries vs upper-middle-income countries and HICs, 17.92 [95% CI, 12.94-24.80], and for lower-middle-income countries vs upper-middle-income countries and HICs, 5.74 [95% CI, 4.30-7.68]). Conclusions and Relevance: This study is estimated to have included more than half of all new retinoblastoma cases worldwide in 2017. Children from LMICs, where the main global retinoblastoma burden lies, presented at an older age with more advanced disease and demonstrated a smaller proportion of familial history of retinoblastoma, likely because many do not reach a childbearing age. Given that retinoblastoma is curable, these data are concerning and mandate intervention at national and international levels. Further studies are needed to investigate factors, other than age at presentation, that may be associated with advanced disease in LMICs

Genomic Relationships, Novel Loci, and Pleiotropic Mechanisms across Eight Psychiatric Disorders

Genetic influences on psychiatric disorders transcend diagnostic boundaries, suggesting substantial pleiotropy of contributing loci. However, the nature and mechanisms of these pleiotropic effects remain unclear. We performed analyses of 232,964 cases and 494,162 controls from genome-wide studies of anorexia nervosa, attention-deficit/hyper-activity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, and Tourette syndrome. Genetic correlation analyses revealed a meaningful structure within the eight disorders, identifying three groups of inter-related disorders. Meta-analysis across these eight disorders detected 109 loci associated with at least two psychiatric disorders, including 23 loci with pleiotropic effects on four or more disorders and 11 loci with antagonistic effects on multiple disorders. The pleiotropic loci are located within genes that show heightened expression in the brain throughout the lifespan, beginning prenatally in the second trimester, and play prominent roles in neurodevelopmental processes. These findings have important implications for psychiatric nosology, drug development, and risk prediction.Peer reviewe