Number Of Potential Functions Research Articles

An Evaluation of the Functions and Effectiveness of Urban Riparian Forest Buffers

This project was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of urban riparian forest buffers for a number of potential functions. States and local jurisdictions are increasingly requiring riparian buffers during the development of land for urban uses. At the same time these same jurisdictions must meet the requirements of Total Maximum Daily Loads for pollutant reduction, NPDES-Municipal Stormwater Discharge Permits, and other environmental programs, such as, the Chesapeake Bay Program that require not only pollutant load reductions, but also habitat improvements. This research provides needed information urban riparian forest buffers through a field research design that incorporated a contrast between three sites with a high degree of forested riparian buffer with three sites that had a low amount of forested buffer. The research included, hydrologic measurements, pollutant concentration and load measurements, temperature recordation, buffer floristic analysis, and stream benthic community analysis. This study demonstrates the value of urban riparian forest buffers as a Best Management Practice and provides a model ordinance for use in the development of local jurisdiction stream buffer requirements. This title belongs to WERF Research Report Series ISBN: 9781843397014 (eBook)

Complete Genome Sequence of the Human Gut Symbiont Roseburia hominis.

We report here the complete genome sequence of the human gut symbiont Roseburia hominis A2-183T (= DSM 16839T = NCIMB 14029T), isolated from human feces. The genome is represented by a 3,592,125-bp chromosome with 3,405 coding sequences. A number of potential functions contributing to host-microbe interaction are identified.

Reward Shaping for Model-Based Bayesian Reinforcement Learning

Bayesian reinforcement learning (BRL) provides a formal framework for optimal exploration-exploitation tradeoff in reinforcement learning. Unfortunately, it is generally intractable to find the Bayes-optimal behavior except for restricted cases. As a consequence, many BRL algorithms, model-based approaches in particular, rely on approximated models or real-time search methods. In this paper, we present potential-based shaping for improving the learning performance in model-based BRL. We propose a number of potential functions that are particularly well suited for BRL, and are domain-independent in the sense that they do not require any prior knowledge about the actual environment. By incorporating the potential function into real-time heuristic search, we show that we can significantly improve the learning performance in standard benchmark domains.

Thermoelastodynamics in Transversely Isotropic Media With Scalar Potential Functions1

A complete set of potential functions consisting of three scalar functions is presented for coupled displacement-temperature equations of motion and heat equation for an arbitrary x3-convex domain containing a linear thermoelastic transversely isotropic material, where the x3-axis is parallel to the axis of symmetry of the material. The proof of the completeness theorem is based on a retarded logarithmic potential function, retarded Newtonian potential function, repeated wave equation, the extended Boggio's theorem for the transversely isotropic axially convex domain, and the existence of a solution for the heat equation. It is shown that the solution degenerates to a set of complete potential functions for elastodynamics and elastostatics under certain conditions. In a special case, the number of potential functions is reduced to one, and the required conditions are discussed. Another special case involves the rotationally symmetric configuration with respect to the axis of symmetry of the material.

Thermoelastodynamics with Scalar Potential Functions

AbstractA linear thermoelastic isotropic material is considered. A complete solution in terms of three scalar potential functions for the coupled displacement-temperature equations of motion and heat equation is presented, where the governing equations for the potential functions are the wave, heat, or a repeated wave-heat equation. The completeness theorem is proven based on a retarded Newtonian potential function, existence of solutions for the repeated wave equation and heat equation, and perturbation theory. A connection is also made between a complete solution already existing in the literature and the solution introduced in this paper, which in itself is another method to prove the completeness. If no heat source exists, the number of potential functions is reduced to two. In some circumstances, the number of potential functions is reduced to only one, and the required conditions for this case are discussed. As a special case, the torsionless and rotationally symmetric configuration with respect to ...

Female accessory reproductive gland activity in the yellow dung fly Scathophaga stercoraria (L.)

The role of the female accessory reproductive glands has been investigated in relatively few insects. Gland secretion has a number of potential functions, including lubrication during copula, involvement in fertilization and protection of eggs. Female yellow dung flies ( Scathophaga stercoraria) have large paired accessory glands whose function(s) prior to this study were unknown. Our study indicated glands were involved in copulation and egg laying. The volume of secretion remaining in glands was negatively associated with copulation duration, and this effect was most pronounced in non-ovipositing females. Gland volume and secretion volume remaining in the glands were significantly smaller in females which were allowed to oviposit. In addition, there was a significant interaction between male size, female size and whether or not females were allowed to oviposit which affected the volume of the secretion remaining in the glands, with changes in secretion volume being greatest when males were large. Sperm were found in the accessory glands of some females and this was apparently not related to age, mating history of either sex, to female nutrition or male size. Our results indicate that either large males stimulate greater secretory responses from females or that females alter their responses based on male size.

On the nitrogen pair potential

A non-product integration algorithm is used to compute the second virial coefficient of a number of potential functions proposed for nitrogen. It is shown that corrections to the orientational variation of the dispersion interaction assumed by a diatomic Lennard-Jones potential have a larger effect upon the second virial coefficient than does the inclusion of the electrostatic quadrupole interaction. We derive a nitrogen pair potential which should be useful for future research. This pair potential takes the form of an atomatom potential but unlike the diatomic Lennard-Jones potential has non-spherical inter-atomic interactions which combine to produce the known asymptotic form of the long-range interaction of two nitrogen molecules.