Guest Editors' Introduction: Machine Ethics

Machine ethics is concerned with how machines behave toward human users and other machines. It aims to create a machine that's guided by an acceptable ethical principle or set of principles in the decisions it makes about possible courses of action it could take. As ethics experts continue to progress toward consensus concerning the right way to behave in ethical dilemmas, the task for those working in machine ethics is to codify these insights. Eight articles in this special issue address the issues.This article is part of a special issue on Machine Ethics.     

混合信号SoC设计的现状与未来

从消费电子市场最容易得到的经验是集成为王。移动型战胜便携型,掌上型战胜移动型,而衬衫口袋型又超过掌上型。即使像游戏机这类桌面设备,时髦的外形和低制造成本目标也要靠更高集成度才能实现。这一趋势并不限于低成本的消费电子产品。军用、汽     

Application of mortar elements to diffuse-interface methods

An adaptive 2D mesh refinement technique based on mortar spectral elements applied to diffuse-interface methods is presented. The refinement algorithm tracks the movement of the 2D diffuse-interface and subsequently refines the mesh locally at that interface, while coarsening the mesh in the rest of the computational domain, based on error estimators. Convergence of the method is validated using a Gaussian distribution problem and results are presented for a Cahn–Hilliard diffuse-interface model applied to capture the transient dynamics of polymer blends.     

A space- and time-efficient local-spin spin lock

A simple code transformation is presented that reduces the space complexity of Yang and Anderson's local-spin mutual exclusion algorithm. In both the original and the transformed algorithm, only atomic read and write instructions are used; each process generates Θ(logN) remote memory references per lock request, where N is the number of processes. The transformed algorithm uses Θ(N) distinct variables, which is clearly optimal.     

Associations among milk yield, yield persistency, conception, and culling of Israeli Holstein dairy cattle

Genetic correlations among Predicted Differences for milk yield corrected for economic value of fat content, annualized yield, yield persistency, conception rate, and culling rate were estimated. Correlations were .43 between yield persistency and annualized yield, .42 between yield persistency and conception rate, and .1 between annualized yield and conception rate. For Predicted Differences for these traits computed separately for each of first three parities, correlations between pairs were highest for annualized yield and lowest for culling rate. Regression coefficients for conception rate from cow insemination records on daily yield preceding insemination and on absolute change of yield during month of insemination were significantly negative for the first three parities. A positive pleiotropic effect for yield, yield persistency, and conception rate was suggested; therefore, progeny testing for yield persistency may improve yield and conception rate. High yields and large changes of yield during month of insemination adversely affected conception rate of cows within herds.     

Bilateral control of teleoperators with time delay

A control law for teleoperators is presented which overcomes the instability caused by time delay. By using passivity and scattering theory, a criterion is developed which shows why existing bilateral control systems are unstable for certain environments, and why the proposed bilateral control law is stable for any environment and any time delay. The control law has been implemented on a single-axis force-reflecting hand controller, and preliminary results are shown. To keep the presentation clear, a single-degree-of-freedom (DOF) linear time-invariant (LTI) teleoperator system is discussed. Nevertheless, results can be extended, without loss of generality, to an n-DOF nonlinear teleoperation system     

The aggression paradox: Understanding links among aggression, sensation seeking, and the consideration of future consequences.

Four studies involving 573 female and 272 male college students demonstrated that multiple forms and measures of aggression were associated with high levels of sensation seeking, impulsivity, and a focus on the immediate consequences of behavior. Multiple regression analyses and structural equation models supported a theoretical model based on the general aggression model (C. A. Anderson & B. J. Bushman, 2002), positing that hostile cognition and negative affect mediate the relationships between the aforementioned individual differences and aggression. Sensation seeking also predicted a desire to engage in physical and verbal aggression. The final study demonstrated that relative to those scoring low, individuals scoring high on the consideration of future consequences are only less aggressive when aggression is likely to carry future costs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The integrated academic information management system at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center.

Over the past seven years, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center has been planning and implementing an integrated academic information management system. Accomplishments to date include establishing an institutional information architecture, installing a campus-wide network of workstations, recruiting the staff needed to develop and implement the system, and developing various applications. This paper presents the rationale and steps involved in these accomplishments, as well as data on use of the system so far.     

Interaction of a free-living soil nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, with surrogates of foodborne pathogenic bacteria

Free-living nematodes may harbor, protect, and disperse bacteria, including those ingested and passed in viable form in feces. These nematodes are potential vectors for human pathogens and may play a role in foodborne diseases associated with fruits and vegetables eaten raw. In this study, we evaluated the associations between a free-living soil nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, and Escherichia coli, an avirulent strain of Salmonella Typhimurium, Listeria welshimeri, and Bacillus cereus. On an agar medium, young adult worms quickly moved toward colonies of all four bacteria; over 90% of 3-day-old adult worms entered colonies within 16 min after inoculation. After 48 h, worms moved in and out of colonies of L. welshimeri and B. cereus but remained associated with E. coli and Salmonella Typhimurium colonies for at least 96 h. Young adult worms fed on cells of the four bacteria suspended in K medium. Worms survived and reproduced with the use of nutrients derived from all test bacteria, as determined for eggs laid by second-generation worms after culturing for 96 h. Development was slightly slower for worms fed gram-positive bacteria than for worms fed gram-negative bacteria. Worms that fed for 24 h on bacterial lawns formed on tryptic soy agar dispersed bacteria over a 3-h period when they were transferred to a bacteria-free agar surface. The results of this study suggest that C. elegans and perhaps other free-living nematodes are potential vectors for both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, including foodborne pathogens in soil.