Motion planning is a cornerstone of autonomous robots, enabling robots to safely and efficiently perform tasks such as package delivery, infrastructure inspection, and manipulation. However, as the field of robotics matures, robotic systems are being developed that (1) are challenging to analytically model, (2) require computationally expensive model-based controllers, and...
Beginning in 2020, the International Maritime Organization International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) required vessels to comply with new sulfur air emission standards in Sulphur Emission Control Areas (Baltic Sea, North Sea, and off the coasts of the US and Canada) by: 1) using 0.1% sulfur...
Oomycete and fungal pathogens threaten food, fiber, and forests around the world. With climate change, these pathogens are expected to emerge more frequently. Evolution can facilitate their emergence through mechanisms such as mutations that change or expand host range. Characterizing evolutionary mechanisms in plant pathogens will contribute to our ability...
Secure Computation is a powerful tool that enables a set of parties to jointly compute any function over their private inputs, without a trusted third party. Private Set Intersection is a specific case of two-party Secure Computation, where Alice (with private set X) and Bob (with private set Y) specifically...
Molecular phylogenetic and chemical analyses, and morphological characterization of collections of North American Paraisaria specimens support the description of two new species and two new combinations for known species. P. cascadensis sp. nov. is a pathogen of Cyphoderris (Orthoptera) from the Pacific Northwest USA and P. pseudoheteropoda sp. nov. is...
Headwater streams represent the majority of the drainage area of a river network and provide many critical functions supporting aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem health. The riparian zones that surround these streams are transitional areas between terrestrial and stream ecosystems, which provide key habitat for aquatic and terrestrial organisms, especially during...
Third-party caregivers – that is, non-parent caregivers who care for children in some capacity – are very valuable in supporting the healthy development and wellbeing of children and families (Bronfenbrenner, 1990). Two populations of third-party caregivers – home-based childcare educators (HBCCs) and foster caregivers (FCs) – both currently face challenges...
Douglas-fir needle midge (Contarinia pseudotsugae, Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) is a native invasive species in Pacific Northwest Christmas tree farms, seed orchards, and nurseries where Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii [Mirb.] Franco) is present. Douglas-fir needle midge (DFNM) causes discoloration and galls on the needles, thereby it affects the market value of the Christmas...
Since the discovery of penicillin in 1928, the fungal kingdom has remained a fertile source for the discovery of new, biologically active, natural products. Further, as natural products continue to be discovered from fungi, a deeper understanding of the critical role of specialized metabolism in fungal ecology is afforded. The...
There are currently three main models used to describe the pattern of hemispheric specialization (i.e., lateralization) for emotion perception: the right hemisphere hypothesis, the valence model, and the motivational model. Although evidence exists in support of all three, the variation between each pattern of results may be due to differences...