Is Someone in this Office Available to Help Me?

Robots are increasingly autonomous in our environments, but they still must overcome limited sensing, reasoning, and actuating capabilities while completing services for humans. While some work has focused on robots that proactively request help from humans to reduce their limitations, the work often assumes that humans are supervising the robot and always available to help. In this work, we instead investigate the feasibility of asking for help from humans in the environment who benefit from its services. Unlike other human helpers that constantly monitor a robot’s progress, humans in the environment are not supervisors and a robot must proactively navigate to them to receive help. We contribute a study that shows that several of our environment occupants are willing to help our robot, but, as expected, they have constraints that limit their availability due to their own work schedules. Interestingly, the study further shows that an available human is not always in close proximity to the robot. We present an extended model that includes the availability of humans in the environment, and demonstrate how a navigation planner can incorporate this information to plan paths that increase the likelihood that a robot can find an available helper when it needs one. Finally, we discuss further opportunities for the robot to adapt and learn from the occupants over time.     

Individual and area socioeconomic inequalities in cause-specific unintentional injury mortality: 11-Year follow-up study of 2.7 million Canadians

This study investigated the association between individual and area socioeconomic status (SES) and leading causes of unintentional injury mortality in Canadian adults. Using the 1991–2001 Canadian Census Mortality Follow-up Study cohort (N = 2,735,152), Cox proportional hazard regression was used to calculate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals for all-cause unintentional injury, motor vehicle collision (MVC), fall, poisoning, suffocation, fire/burn, and drowning deaths. Results indicated that associations with SES differed by cause of injury, and were generally more pronounced for males. Low education was associated with an elevated risk of mortality from all-cause unintentional injury and MVC (males only) and poisoning and drowning (both sexes). Low income was strongly associated with most causes of injury mortality, particularly fire/burn and poisoning. Having no occupation or low occupational status was associated with higher risks of all-cause injury, fall, poisoning and suffocation (both sexes) and MVC deaths among men. Associations with area deprivation were weak, and only areas with high deprivation had elevated risk of all-cause injury, MVC (males only), poisoning and drowning (both sexes). This study reveals the importance of examining SES differentials by cause of death from a multilevel perspective. Future research is needed to clarify the mechanisms underlying these differences to implement equity-oriented approaches for reducing differential exposures, vulnerability or consequences of injury mortality.     

A comparison of approaches for finding minimum identifying codes on graphs

In order to formulate mathematical conjectures likely to be true, a number of base cases must be determined. However, many combinatorial problems are NP-hard and the computational complexity makes this research approach difficult using a standard brute force approach on a typical computer. One sample problem explored is that of finding a minimum identifying code. To work around the computational issues, a variety of methods are explored and consist of a parallel computing approach using MATLAB, an adiabatic quantum optimization approach using a D-Wave quantum annealing processor, and lastly using satisfiability modulo theory (SMT) and corresponding SMT solvers. Each of these methods requires the problem to be formulated in a unique manner. In this paper, we address the challenges of computing solutions to this NP-hard problem with respect to each of these methods.     

Changes in the Grain Boundary Character and Energy Distributions Resulting from a Complexion Transition in Ca-Doped Yttria

The grain boundary character distribution and the relative grain boundary energy of 100?ppm Ca-doped yttria were measured before and after a previously identified grain boundary complexion transition. The grain boundary character distribution of samples exhibiting normal grain growth (before the complexion transition) favored {111} planes, whereas those exhibiting abnormal grain growth (after the complexion transition) favored {001} planes. Additionally, the relative grain boundary-to-surface energy ratios in the sample exhibiting abnormal grain growth were 33?pct lower than in the sample exhibiting normal grain growth. The results also indicate that the complexion transition increased the anisotropy of the grain boundary energy, and this may be responsible for the increase in the anisotropy of the grain boundary character distribution.     

Generativity and spiritual disclosure in close relationships.

This exploratory study examines the link between generativity and an interpersonal aspect of religion and spirituality, spiritual disclosure, in close relationships. Three hundred seventy-eight adults aged 18 to 85 years were asked about their use of spiritual disclosure with close friends, views on their own generativity, questions related to personality characteristics, and level of general self-disclosure. This community sample’s reports on higher levels of spiritual disclosure were tied to higher levels of generativity and general self-disclosure. Spiritual disclosure also predicted unique variance in generativity beyond general self-disclosure, personality, and intrapersonal aspects of religion and spirituality. These findings suggest spiritual disclosure in close relationships is an important part of the religious/spiritual landscape, which merits further study in relation to generativity and other prosocial indices. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Confirmation of the Dominant Defect Mechanism in Amorphous In–Zn–O Through the Application of In Situ Brouwer Analysis

The dominant point defect mechanism of amorphous (a‐) indium zinc oxide (IZO) was probed through in situ electrical characterization of sputtered a‐IZO thin films in response to changes in oxygen partial pressure (pO) at 300C. The results yielded a power law dependence of conductivity (σ) versus pO of ～?1/6. This experimental method, known as Brouwer analysis, confirms doubly‐charged oxygen vacancies as the dominant defect species in a‐IZO. The success of this study suggests that Brouwer analysis is a viable method for studying the defect mechanisms of amorphous oxides.     

Flash Lamp Annealing of ITO thin films on ultra‐thin glass

Ultra‐fast thermal annealing of thin films with annealing times of few milliseconds are faster und more energy efficient than conventional furnace annealing methods. By using flash lamp annealing, only the surface is heated while the substrate remains cold. This allows the refinement of indium‐tin‐oxide films on rigid and ultra‐thin flexible glass and improves their conductivity and transmittance.     

Analysis of Castor by ELISAs that Distinguish Ricin and Ricinus communis agglutinin (RCA)

To facilitate the analysis of castor (Ricinus communis L.) seed fractions and germplasm for ricin content, we investigated the use of enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods to differentiate between ricin toxin and the related Ricinus communis agglutinin (RCA). Both proteins are based on a heterodimeric AB structure, with a common A chain. RCA comprises two dimers of A and B chains. Both proteins are found in the meal remaining after castor oil extraction and impede the commercial production of castor seed in the USA. We identified pairs of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that could distinguish between the structurally related proteins that share a common A chain. Antibody specificity was determined by ELISA and checked by immunoblotting. We found that mAb–mAb pairs afforded quantification of each castor protein, and that a mAb paired with a commercial polyclonal antibody provided detection of both with comparable sensitivity.     

Poly(methyl methacrylate)‐grafted cellulose nanocrystals: One‐step synthesis,nanocomposite preparation,and characterization

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are ideal reinforcing agents for polymer nanocomposites because they are lightweight and nano‐sized with a large aspect ratio and high elastic modulus. To overcome the poor compatibility of hydrophilic CNCs in non‐polar composite matrices, we grafted poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) from the surface of CNCs using an aqueous, one‐pot, free radical polymerization method with ceric ammonium nitrate as the initiator. The hybrid nanoparticles were characterized by CP/MAS NMR, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, contact angle, thermogravimetric analysis, X‐ray diffraction, and atomic force microscopy. Spectroscopy demonstrates that 0.11 g/g (11 wt %) PMMA is grafted from the CNC surface, giving PMMA‐g‐CNCs, which are similar in size and crystallinity to unmodified CNCs but have an onset of thermal degradation 45 °C lower. Nanocomposites were prepared by compounding unmodified CNCs and PMMA‐g‐CNCs (0.0025–0.02 g/g (0.25–2 wt %) loading) with PMMA using melt mixing and wet ball milling. CNCs improved the performance of melt‐mixed nanocomposites at 0.02 g/g (2 wt %) loading compared to the PMMA control, while lower loadings of CNCs and all loadings of PMMA‐g‐CNCs did not. The difference in Young's modulus between unmodified CNC and polymer‐grafted CNC composites was generally insignificant. Overall, ball‐milled composites had inferior mechanical and rheological properties compared to melt‐mixed composites. Scanning electron microscopy showed aggregation in the samples with CNCs, but more pronounced aggregation with PMMA‐g‐CNCs. Despite improving interfacial compatibility between the nanoparticles and the matrix, the effect of PMMA‐g‐CNC aggregation and decreased thermal stability dominated the composite performance.