Effects of spinosad and spinetoram on larval mortality,adult emergence,progeny production and mating in Cadra cautella (Walk.) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

The bacterial formulations, spinosad and spinetoram, were evaluated for their efficacy in suppressing development and mating success in Cadra cautella (Walk.) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), the almond moth. A dilution series of spinosad and spinetoram was sprayed on rice flour. Rice flour samples sprayed with water served as the control. Late instar C. cautella larvae were introduced onto spinosad-, spinetoram-, or water-treated rice flour. The first experiment tested the effects of spinosad and spinetoram on larval mortality, as well as emergence of adults and progeny at different insecticide concentrations. In the second experiment, the mating success of C. cautella adults that had emerged from larvae exposed to spinosad was tested inside a cubicle. Both spinosad and spinetoram increased larval mortality, whereas both compounds reduced adult emergence and progeny production. Natural mating was reduced in the presence of the synthetic sex pheromone (Z,E)-9,12-tetradecadienyl acetate. However, exposure of C. cautella larvae to spinosad did not alter mating in adult progeny. Spinosad was more effective than spinetoram at suppressing C. cautella development. The study concludes that both spinosad and spinetoram suppress the development of immatures of C. cautella to the adult stage as well as mating. Thus, the both compounds can be used to protect stored grains from infestation by C. cautella.     

Shaping: The Link Between Rats and Robots

The term shaping applies to a family of procedures which were originally developed in animal learning as methods of producing new and sometimes elaborate forms of behavior. The success of operant shaping methods in animal and abnormal psychology has attracted the attention of some roboticists who view these procedures as a means of generating adaptive behavior in both simulated and real robots. This paper outlines the two principal forms of shaping and looks at some of the associative and motivational influences which determine the course and outcome of shaping methods in animals. A number of recent robotic models which incorporate operant shaping concepts are then reviewed in terms of their eff ectiveness; the conclusion from this analysis is that, while some progress has been made, none of these models represent a satisfactory application of animal shaping procedures. It is clear that an effective implementation of shaping methods in behaviorbased robotics requires both a better understanding of the nature and course of shaping in real animals and the development, by roboticists and others, of more sophisticated models which can exploit this improved understanding.     

Design for emergence: experiments with a mixed reality urban playground game

In this paper we present our work in the design of ubiquitous social experiences, aiming to foster group participation and spontaneous playful behaviours in a city environment. We outline our approach of design for emergence: to provide just enough of a game context and challenge for people to be creative, to extend and enrich the experience of play through their interaction in the real world. CitiTag is our mixed reality testbed, a wireless location-based multiplayer game based on the concept of playground ‘tag’. We describe the design and implementation of CitiTag and discuss results from two user studies.     

Emergence of communication in embodied agents evolved for the ability to solve a collective navigation problem

In this paper, we present the results of an experiment in which a collection of simulated robots that have been evolved for the ability to solve a collective navigation problem develop a communication system that allows them to co-operate better. The analysis of the results obtained indicates how evolving robots develop a non-trivial communication system and exploit different communication modalities. The results also indicate how the possibility of co-adapting the robots’ individual and social/communicative behaviour plays a key role in the development of progressively more complex and effective individuals.     

基于生物网络的Web服务突现模型研究与实现

生物神经内分泌和免疫系统通过复杂的调节,构成了一个智能的生物网络.本文借鉴系统突现的自组织、自聚集和自协作特性及复杂的双向调节机制,提出了Web服务突现的研究方法.基于移动Agent设计具有免疫行为的生物实体并代理Web服务,服务请求是由突现形成的生物实体网络提供,生物实体通过自组织协作完成服务的动态合成和自主管理管理等一系列工作.Web服务突现模型由Java开发的功能模块和平台组成,并利用Linear Logic设计了实体的协商.     

Designing emergent cooperation: a pursuit–evasion game case study

This research concerns a comparison of two neuroevolution approaches for the design of cooperative behavior in a group of simulated mobile robots. The first approach, termed single pool (SP), was characterized by robot neural controllers that were derived from a single genotype. The second approach, termed multiple pools (MP), was characterized by robot neural controllers that were derived from many different genotypes. The application domain implemented a pursuit–evasion game in which teams of robots of various sizes, termed predators, collectively worked to capture (immobilize) other robots, termed prey. The MP and SP approaches were tested, with and without lifetime learning, for the design of cooperative prey capture behavior within teams of predators. Results indicated that the MP approach was superior to the SP approach in terms of measures defined for prey-capture performance. Specifically, the MP approach facilitated behavioral specializations in the predator team facilitating emergent cooperative prey capture strategies that proved effective for the various team sizes tested.     

Twenty years of artificial life art

This essay begins with discussion of four relatively recent works which are representative of major themes and preoccupations in Artificial Life Art: ‘Propagaciones’ by Leo Nuñez; ‘Sniff’ by Karolina Sobecka and Jim George; ‘Universal Whistling Machine’ by Marc Boehlen; and ‘Performative Ecologies’ by Ruari Glynn. This essay is an attempt to contextualise these works by providing an overview of the history and forms of Artificial Life Art as it has developed over two decades, along with some background in the ideas of the Artificial Life movement of the late 1980s and 1990s.1 A more extensive study of the theoretical history of Artificial Life can be found in my paper ‘Artificial Life Art—A Primer’, in the Proceedings of DAC09 and also at http://www.ace.uci.edu/Penny. Excerpts from that essay are included here.      

基于延迟特性的改进随机Petri网建模与分析

随机Petri网能够分析过程中的随机特性,但是不能有效地描述延迟和花费问题.为了解决上述问题,提出了一种基于延迟特性的随机Petri网模型.该模型能根据延迟时间和过程的随机性得到总的时间和花费特性.给出了状态类延迟时间和延迟花费的串联及并联化简方法.最后,通过首都机场的实例说明该方法能更好地表示出应急救援的时间和花费特性.     

Can computers carry content ‘inexplicitly’?

I examine whether it is possible for content relevant to a computer's behavior to be carried without an explicit internal representation. I consider three approaches. First, an example of a chess playing computer carrying emergent content is offered from Dennett. Next I examine Cummins response to this example. Cummins says Dennett's computer executes a rule which is inexplicitly represented. Cummins describes a process wherein a computer interprets explicit rules in its program, implements them to form a chess-playing device, then this device executes the rules in a way that exhibits them inexplicitly. Though this approach is intriguing, I argue that the chess-playing device cannot exist as imagined. The processes of interpretation and implementation produce explicit representations of the content claimed to be inexplicit. Finally, the Chinese Room argument is examined and shown not to save the notion of inexplicit information. This means the strategy of attributing inexplicit content to a computer which is executing a rule, fails.I wish to thank Fred Dretske, JOhn Perry, and an anonymous reviewer for helpful comments and suggestions. Earlier versions of this paper were read at the American Philosophical Association Pacific Division Meeting in San Francisco in March, 1993, and at the 7th International Conference on Computing and Philosophy in Orlando in August, 1992.     

Effect of trichodiene synthase encoding gene expression in Trichoderma strains on their effectiveness in the control of Acanthoscelides obtectus

Acanthoscelides obtectus, known as the bean weevil, is an insect pest that feeds on wild and cultivated common beans. Four Trichoderma isolates, two trichodiene (TD) producers (T34–5.27, E20–5.7) and their corresponding parental strains (T34, E20), were evaluated to determine the effect of their metabolites against A. obtectus adults. TD is a non-phytotoxic Volatile Organic Compound (VOC), which is the first commitment intermediate in the biosynthesis of trichothecenes. Accumulated emergence of insects was reduced in beans treated with these fungal isolates, being more reduced with E20 and T34 strains. TD producer strains, which previously showed to produce a higher number of damaged beans than their respective parental strains, gave rise to a higher insects emergence. Beans treated with fungal isolates had a lower weight loss than the control treatment, with T34 exhibiting the lowest weight loss among all fungal isolates analyzed. Furthermore, E20 showed the higher repellent activity against A. obtectus adults and produced a smaller number of holes per bean. Thus, Trichoderma isolates evaluated are good for the biological control of A. obtectus pest on beans, in which the parental strains (E20 and T34) were those exhibiting a better control of this insect than their respective TD-producer derivates strains. These results suggest that production of TD reduces effectiveness of Trichoderma T34 and E20 strains to control this insect pest.