The Evolution of Compositionality in Signaling Games

Compositionality is a key design feature of human language: the meaning of complex expressions is, for the most part, systematically constructed from the meanings of its parts and their manner of composition. This paper demonstrates that rudimentary forms of compositional communicative behavior can emerge from a variant of reinforcement learning applied to signaling games. This helps explain how compositionality could have emerged gradually: if unsophisticated agents can evolve prevalent dispositions to communicate compositional-like, there is a direct evolutionary benefit for adaptations that exploit the systematicity in form-meaning mappings more rigorously.     

Free-living inferential modeling of blood glucose level using only noninvasive inputs

The goal of this work is to present a causation modeling methodology with the ability to accurately infer blood glucose levels using a large set of highly correlated noninvasive input variables over an extended period of time. These models can provide insight to improve glucose monitoring, and glucose regulation through advanced model-based control technologies. The efficacy of this approach is demonstrated using real data from a type 2 diabetic (T2D) subject collected under free-living conditions over a period of 25 consecutive days. The model was identified and tested using eleven variables that included three food variables as well as several activity and stress variables. The model was trained using 20 days of data and validated using 5 days of data. This gave a fitted correlation coefficient of 0.70 and an average absolute error (AAE) (i.e., the average of the absolute values for the measured glucose concentration minus modeled glucose concentration) of 13.3 mg/dL for the validation data. This AAE result was significantly better than the subject’s personal glucose meter AAE of 15.3 mg/dL for replicated measurements.     

The computer — a new tool for visual art

The article points out some new possibilities for using computers as an instrument for visual art, especially stressing the mathematical method of picture synthesis. It is illustrated with results of recent computer art by Herbert W. Franke and Horst Helbig.     

Cleaning for Improved Indoor Air Quality: an Initial Assessment of Effectiveness

Abstract A study was conducted to characterize the indoor environment of a multifloor, multiuse, nonproblem, noncompliant building through long-term monitoring for biological, chemical, and particulate pollutants. The study also assessed the effects of cleaning on indoor air quality by providing a program to monitor baseline levels, providing a rigorous (deep) cleaning of the building, and then continuing to monitor after implementation of a standardized, improved, cleaning program. To assess the effectiveness of the cleaning program, air, surface, and dust data from monitoring prior to the cleaning program were compared with those obtained while the improved housekeeping program was in place. Correlations between pollutants and other environmental factors were studied. The data suggest that the improved cleaning program contributed to indoor air quality through the reduction of airborne dust mass, total volatile organic compounds, and culturable bacteria and fungi.     

Holzbrücken – Erkenntnisse zum Feuchteverhalten in den Tragquerschnitten aus Langzeitmessungen

Timber bridges – Long term monitoring results of moisture diffusion in the load carrying cross‐sections Timber road bridges have been built worldwide for centuries. The high performance of wood is approved through many constructions. However, there are still doubts about using wood by the planning engineer, which reduce the number of realized projects. The moisture induced stresses in cross‐sections according to the varied ambient climate are mainly investigated under laboratory conditions. The results show that the moisture content changes differently over the cross‐section and leads to moisture induced stresses. The discussion about methods for the assessment of the moisture induced stresses in timber bridge cross‐ections is continuing. Results observed in the long term monitoring of seven timber bridges provide first guidelines for practitioners. For all constructions, the moisture content was measured regarding the ambient micro climate. As result, the influences according to the ambient micro climate are not insignificant. Positive is that the directly measured moisture content is less compared to the equilibrium moisture content calculated from the data of a close by meteorological station. The analysis of the moisture gradient over the cross‐section allows the definition of an active or passive zone.     

Effects of feeding whole cottonseed on composition of milk

Complete mixed diets containing 0, 10, 15, or 20% whole cottonseed were fed to 12 cows in a 4 X 4 Latin square design. Cows were assigned to the Latin square by production status resulting in one square each for cows in early first lactation and older cows either in early or late lactation. Diets were fed for ad libitum intake, and periods were 21 days. Percentages of milk fat and total solids increased, and protein percentage decreased with cottonseed feeding. Milk casein nitrogen decreased from .387 to .375% with cottonseed feeding. Nitrogen in whey remained unchanged, and nonprotein nitrogen increased. Proportion of total nitrogen in casein and whey fractions was not altered, but proportion of nonprotein nitrogen increased. Cottonseed decreased proportions of short-chain fatty acids (carbon-6 to carbon-16) in milk and increased stearic and oleic acids. Actual yield of milk was not affected by cottonseed feeding, but yields of fat-corrected milk and milk fat were increased. Production status affected milk composition with older cows in early lactation producing milk of lower fat, total solids, and protein content compared with cows in other groups. Casein nitrogen was highest for first-lactation and lowest for older, high-producing cows. Whey nitrogen was highest for older, low-producing cows. First-lactation cows had the highest proportion of nitrogen in the casein fraction, and older, low-producing cows had the lowest. Milk fatty acid composition changed little with status.