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Towards Human-Like Social Multi-Agents With Memetic Automaton, Liang Feng, Yew-Soon Ong, Ah-Hwee Tan, Xian-Shun Chen

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Memetics is a new science that has attracted increasing attentions in the recent decades. Beyond the formalism of simple hybrids, adaptive hybrids and memetic algorithms, the notion of memetic automaton as an adaptive entity that is self-contained and uses memes as building blocks of information is recently conceptualized in the context of computational intelligence as potential tools for effective problem-solving [1]. Taking this cue, this paper embarks a study on Memetic Multiagent system (MeM) towards human-like social agents with memetic automaton. Particularly, we introduce a potentially rich meme-inspired design and operational model, with Darwin’s theory of natural selections and Dawkins’ …

Cross Talk Between O-Glcnacylation And Phosphorylation: Roles In Signaling, Transcription, And Chronic Disease, Gerald W. Hart, Chad Slawson, Genaro A. Ramirez-Correa, Olof Lagerlof

School of Medicine Publications

O-GlcNAcylation is the addition of β-D-N-acetylglucosamine to serine or threonine residues of nuclear and cytoplasmic proteins. O-linked N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) was not discovered until the early 1980s and still remains difficult to detect and quantify. Nonetheless, O-GlcNAc is highly abundant and cycles on proteins with a timescale similar to protein phosphorylation. O-GlcNAc occurs in organisms ranging from some bacteria to protozoans and metazoans, including plants and nematodes up the evolutionary tree to man. O-GlcNAcylation is mostly on nuclear proteins, but it occurs in all intracellular compartments, including mitochondria. Recent glycomic analyses have shown that O-GlcNAcylation has surprisingly extensive …

Chaos As Ecological And Autochthonous Expression: An Ecocritical Study Of La Vorágine, Danion L. Doman

The Coastal Review

This article utilizes principles of ecological criticism to provide new readings of both the role and presentation of nature in José Eustasio Rivera’s novel La vorágine. Whereas critics have heretofore focused on Rivera’s memorable subjective descriptions of the Amazon jungle, the present study foregrounds the rich diversity of the real organisms represented in these depictions. In addition, this essay explores the connections between the text’s core trope, chaos, and the current ecological and social scientific understanding of the ecology and the human history of the Amazon Basin.

Ozzie And Harriet Never Were: A Century Review Of Family And Consumer Sciences And The Changing American Family, Kimberly I. Allen, Carolyn Dunn, Sandra Zaslow

Journal of Extension

As North Carolina FCS celebrates its 100-year centennial, it is time to reflect. For a century, FCS professionals have helped families apply research-based knowledge and principles. This article describes how American families have changed and how we have met those changes in our Extension roles. We also challenge FCS professionals to view the changing trends without bias. Ozzie and Harriet never were a fair representation of family norms, and we must accept the variety of family forms and functions so that our services can be of use to all families, especially those that may not fit the ideal American family.

Pasture-Based Dairying In Michigan: Farmer Practices And Needs, Mat Haan, David Conner, Phil Taylor

Journal of Extension

We report results of a survey designed to assess the information needs of Michigan dairy farmers currently using pasture as part of their management system. Differences were found among farmers in the extent to which they use conserved feed to supplement pasture. Similarities existed among farmers in challenges, information needs, and information sources. Findings suggest several initiatives, including website development, pasture walks, and workshops, that can be used by educators to reach this target audience.

Bovine Viral Diarrhea Beef-Herd Risk Assessment, Kerry A. Rood, C Kim Chapman

All Current Publications

This publication gives insite into understanding where the greatest risk to a herd is, relative to the introduction of bovine viral diarrhea (BVD).

Population Structure Of The Christmas Island Blue Crab, Discoplax Hirtipes (Decapoda: Brachyura: Gecarcinidae) On Christmas Island, Indian Ocean., Lm Turner, Jp Hallas, S Morris

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

Deep-Water Corals Along The Norwegian Contintental Margin: Multidisciplinary Studies On Sula Ridge, Traena Reef, Røst Reef, Floholmen And Sotbakken, Jm Hall-Spencer, Mk Söffker, L Thomsen, V Unnithan

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

Maternal And Infant Nutritional Supplementation Practices In Ireland: Implications For Clinicians And Policymakers, Roslyn Tarrant, Margaret Sheridan-Pereira, Roberta Mccarthy, Katherine Younger, John Kearney

Articles

This prospective Irish observational study examined maternal and infant nutritional supplement use. From an initial sample of 539 mothers recruited from the Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital in Dublin (during 2004-2006), 450 eligible mothers werefollowed up at 6 weeks and 6 months postpartum. Only 200 women (44.4%) complied with peri-conceptional folic acid at therecommended time with strong social patterning associated with its uptake. Almost 10% of the sample (n=44) consumed acombined multivitamin and mineral supplement during pregnancy. A vitamin D-containing supplement was provided to only 5 (1.1%)and 15 (3.3%) infants at 6 weeks and 6 months, respectively. A national …

Tension Directly Stabilizes Reconstituted Kinetochore-Microtubule Attachments, Bungo Akiyoshi, Krishna K. Sarangapani, Andrew F. Powers, Christian R. Nelson, Steve Reichow, Hugo Arellano-Santoyo, Tamir Gonen, Jeffrey A. Ranish, Charles L. Asbury, Sue Biggins

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Kinetochores are macromolecular machines that couple chromosomes to dynamic microtubule tips during cell division, thereby generating force to segregate the chromosomes. Accurate segregation depends on selective stabilization of correct ‘bi-oriented’ kinetochore-microtubule attachments, which come under tension due to opposing forces exerted by microtubules. Tension is thought to stabilize these bi-oriented attachments indirectly, by suppressing the destabilizing activity of a kinase, Aurora B. However, a complete mechanistic understanding of the role of tension requires reconstitution of kinetochore-microtubule attachments for biochemical and biophysical analyses in vitro. Here we show that native kinetochore particles retaining the majority of kinetochore proteins can be …

Compressibility Effects Of Extended Formation Flight, Andrew Ning, Ilan Kroo

Faculty Publications

Aircraft flown in formations may realize significant reductions in induced drag by flying in regions of wake upwash. However, most transports fly at transonic speeds and compressibility effects in formation flight are not well understood. This study uses an Euler solver to analyze the inviscid aerodynamic forces and moments of transonic wing/body configurations flying in a 2-aircraft formation. We consider formations with large streamwise separation distances (10-50 wingspans) in an arrangement we term extended formation flight. Compressibility-related drag penalties in formation flight may be eliminated by slowing 2-3% below the nominal out-of-formation drag divergence Mach number, at fixed lift coefficient …

Water And Human Security, Aaron T. Wolf

Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education

No abstract provided.

International Water Law For The 21st Century: The Contribution Of The U.N. Convention, Stephen Mccaffrey

Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education

In May, 1997, the United Nations General Assembly
adopted the Convention on the Law of the Non-
Navigational Uses of International Watercourses, a treaty
that largely codifies the general principles of
international water law. While not entirely free from
controversy, the Convention has already been influential
and will doubtless continue to be well into the 21st
century. This paper provides an overview of the
Convention, comments on some of its salient provisions,
and considers its future influence.

Revisiting The Intricacies And Theories Of The Island Rule: Understanding The Trends Of Insular Body Size Evolution, Lam (Peter) Bao

Macalester Reviews in Biogeography

The Island Rule is the observed tendency for island isolated animals to either grow or shrink in size compared to their mainland counterparts. Though the phenomenon was initially observed to only occur in a handful of taxa (carnivores, artiodactyls, rodents, and lagomorphs), it was expanded to include 2 major trends: 1) Large animals from the mainland tend to shrink on islands, and 2) Small animals from the mainland tend to grow. The mechanisms attributed to those two trends generally involved factors that include resource availability, ecological release, niche expansion, predation, competition, and life history traits. Other theories were also proposed, …

Biophysical Studies Of The Binding Of Erα Nuclear Receptor To Dna, Brian J. Deegan

Open Access Dissertations

Estrogen receptor α (ERα) is a member of a family of ligand-modulated transcription factors that have come to be known as nuclear receptors. ERα mediates the action of estrogens and plays an integral role in a wide range of physiological processes ranging from embryonic development and morphogenesis to reproduction to cardiovascular health. Not surprisingly, malfunction of the estrogen system is associated with a host of pathological conditions such as osteoporosis, heart disease and most notably breast cancer. Essential to its functioning as a transcription factor are specific protein-DNA interactions which are mediated by the binding of the DNA-binding (DB) domain …

Identification Of Novel Phospholipid Related Functions Of Mitofusin 2 In Cell Models Of Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease 2a, Donald S. Mccorquodale Iii

Open Access Dissertations

The mitofusin 1 and 2 (MFN and MFN2) proteins reside in the outer mitochondrial membrane and have been shown to regulate mitochondrial network architecture by mediating tethering and fusion of mitochondria. Mitochondria normally form a tubular and branched reticular network dynamically regulated by a balance of fusion and fission events. Absence of either Mfn1 or Mfn2 results in a fragmented mitochondrial network. Züchner et al. previously described mutations in the gene mitofusin 2 (MFN2) as the cause of the major autosomal-dominant, axonal form of Charcot-Marie-Tooth neuropathy (CMT2A). CMT type 2 (CMT2) is characterized by chronic axonal degeneration of peripheral nerves …

Bioindicator-Based Stated Preference Valuation For Aquatic Habitat And Ecosystem Service Restoration, Robert J. Johnston, Eric T. Schultz, Kathleen Segerson, Elena Y. Besedin

EEB Articles

No abstract provided.

So2426 Is A Positive Regulator Of Siderophore Expression, K. L. Henne, X. -F. Wan, W. Wei, D. K. Thompson

Pharmaceutical Sciences

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Dry Particle Coating On The Properties Of Cohesive Pharmaceutical Powders, Lauren Elizabeth Beach

Dissertations

Engineered particles, which have undergone surface modification via dry coating, have been previously shown to have improved flow and handling properties. The improvements in these properties can be applied and are very useful for a number of industrial applications, in this case the pharmaceutical industry. This work investigates the effect of dry particle coating to improve the flowability of cohesive active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) powders and their blends. Improving the flow properties of cohesive API powders can significantly improve their handling and subsequent use for pharmaceutical processes such as formulation and manufacturing processing operations. Although it has been shown that …

A 3-Dimensional Vascularized Cardiac Tri-Culture Model Using Chitosan Nanofiber Scaffolds, Ali Hussain

Dissertations

The development of an in vitro tissue model that can mimic the 3-dimenisonal (3-D) cellular architecture and mosaic of myocardial tissue holds great value for cardiac tissue engineering, modeling, and cardiovascular drug screening applications. The main objective of this project was to develop a 3-D vascularized cardiac tissue model in vitro for improved survival and function.

The cellular mosaic of the myocardial tissue demands the intricate integration of an extracellular matrix-like scaffold, cellular constituents, and biological factors. The first aim of the research was to fabricate and characterize a biodegradable chitosan nanofiber scaffold that would resemble the extracellular matrix (ECM) …

Using Feed-Forward Networks To Infer The Activity Of Feedback Neuronal Networks, Xinxian Huang

Dissertations

The nervous system is one of the most important organ systems in a multicellular body. Animals, including human beings perceive, learn, think and deliver motion instructions through their nervous system. The basic structural units of the nervous system are individual neurons which constitute different neuronal networks with distinct functions. In each network, constituent neurons are coupled with different connection patterns, for example, some neurons send feed-forward information to the coupling neurons while others are mutually coupled. Because it is often difficult to analyze large interconnected feedback neuronal networks, it is important to derive techniques to reduce the complexity of the …

Enhanced Membrane Distillation : Analytical And Deionization Applications, Ken Gethard

Dissertations

Membrane distillation (MD) is a newer technology that is being investigated for applications such as seawater desalination and concentration of fruit and sucrose solutions. The major advantage of MD over traditional thermal distillation is that it requires a substantially lower thermal energy requirement to power the process. This allows low grade energy sources such as waste heat or solar energy to be used with MD. Compared to concentration processes such as reversed osmosis or ion-exchange, MD does not require specialized equipment, high electrical consumption, the use of strong acids and bases nor does it generate hazardous waste as a by-product. …

Anti-Solvent Precipitation And Subsequent Film Formation Of Hydrophobic Drugs For Drug Delivery, Xiangxin Meng

Dissertations

It is estimated that about forty percent of the drug molecules being developed by the pharmaceutical industry are hydrophobic in nature, leading to poor water solubility and bioavailability in the gastrointestinal tract. Dissolution is a limiting factor in their in vivo performance, and increasing their dissolution rate is a major challenge. It has been proven that the dissolution rate is directly proportional to the specific surface area, which can be effectively increased by reducing the particle size. Therefore, considerable efforts have gone into developing reliable and efficient methods for the manufacture of fine particles. Particle size reduction technologies such as …

Electrodeless Electro Hydrodynamic Printing Of Personalized Drug Dosages, Ezinwa Okeoma Elele

Dissertations

There is compelling evidence that variability in drug efficacy in individuals depends on their genetic fingerprints. These observations have given rise to the concept of personalized therapy whose ultimate goal is to develop medicinal agents designed for each niche of the population and individual patients according to their genetic background. The drawback in current pharmaceutical technologies is that most processes are designed to target large population and are unable to meet the demand of small-scale manufacturing of tailored therapeutics with diverse range of physical properties. One of the major challenges lie in developing efficient and cost effective methods of manufacturing …

Magnetic Seeding Aggregation To Enhance The Removal Efficiency Of Tio2 Nanoparticles From Water, Ashish Dhananjay Borgaonkar

Dissertations

Engineered nanoparticles, such as titanium dioxide (TiO₂), are important building blocks for the evolution of nanotechnology in industries and commercial products. Ever so increasing use of the engineered nanoparticles is bound to result in a substantial fraction of these nanoparticles ending up in wastewater; or surface water and groundwater, which are sources of intake for drinking water treatment. Removal of these engineered nanoparticles in wastewater and drinking water treatment processes is a very important step towards the protection of environmental and public health as well as protecting water treatment units from fouling and other issues.

Experimental studies showed …

Deagglomeration And Mixing Via The Rapid Expansion Of High Pressure And Supercritical Suspensions, Daniel To

Dissertations

Nano-materials are the focus of many research activities due to the desirable properties imparted from their small grain size and high interfacial surface area. However, these materials are highly cohesive powders in the dry state and typically form large agglomerates, leading to a diminished surface area or even grain growth, which minimizes the effectiveness of these nanomaterials. This dissertation addresses the issue of mixing nanopowders constituents by deagglomerating them and achieving simultaneous mixing so that even after inevitable reagglomeration, the effectiveness of large interfacial surface area may be preserved.

Nano-particle mixtures were prepared using the environmentally benign dry mixing methods …

Study Of The Heating And Ignition Of Metal Powder By Electrostatic Discharge, Ervin Beloni

Dissertations

The objective of this work was to understand the processes that lead to ESD stimulated ignition events in metal powders. Several metals were studied: Mg, Al, and Ti. A commercially available ESD test device was adapted for the present experiments. The ESD current and voltage were measured using inductance coils; the data were used to determine the electric circuit impedance, and energy transferred to the powder. A mode of the powder ignition (individual particles vs. dust cloud), ignition delays, burn times, and velocities of ignited and ejected particles were determined from optical measurements.

It was determined that the ESD energy …

A Study Of The New York / New Jersey Coastal Water : Bio-Optical Characteristics Of The Harbor Estuary And The Effects Of Heavy Metals On Brown Tide Alga Of The Bight, Bin Wang

Dissertations

The New York / New Jersey (NY/NJ) coastal area is one of the most productive regions around the world and a major natural and scenic resource for New York and New Jersey. As a result of excessive nutrient loading in the water, algal blooms have been observed since 1950’s. The NY/NJ coastal area includes the NY/NJ Bight and the NY/NJ Harbor Estuary, and in the former, brown tides (Aureococcus anophagefferens) were first observed in 1985 becoming a more serious water quality problem over the last 25 years. The influence of micronutrients, namely trace metals, on A. anophagefferens that are widespread …

High-Order Adaptive Methods For Computing Invariant Manifolds Of Maps, Jacek K. Wrobel

Dissertations

The author presents efficient and accurate numerical methods for computing invariant manifolds of maps which arise in the study of dynamical systems. In order to decrease the number of points needed to compute a given curve/surface, he proposes using higher-order interpolation/approximation techniques from geometric modeling. He uses B´ezier curves/triangles, fundamental objects in curve/surface design, to create adaptive methods. The methods are based on tolerance conditions derived from properties of B´ezier curves/triangles. The author develops and tests the methods for an ordinary parametric curve; then he adapts these methods to invariant manifolds of planar maps. Next, he develops and tests the …

Markovian And Stochastic Differential Equation Based Approaches To Computer Virus Propagation Dynamics And Some Models For Survival Distributions, Lianzhe Xu

Dissertations

This dissertation is divided in two Parts. The first Part explores probabilistic modeling of propagation of computer 'malware' (generally referred to as 'virus') across a network of computers, and investigates modeling improvements achieved by introducing a random latency period during which an infected computer in the network is unable to infect others. In the second Part, two approaches for modeling life distributions in univariate and bivariate setups are developed.

In Part I, homogeneous and non-homogeneous stochastic susceptible-exposed-infectious- recovered (SEIR) models are specifically explored for the propagation of computer virus over the Internet by borrowing ideas from mathematical epidemiology. Large computer …