Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'GRASI'

The Gulf Regional Airspace Strategic Initiative (GRASI) is an effort to involve stakeholders affected by future changes in the airspace and military installations in the Northwest Florida Panhandle in creating a compromise that equally protects each stakeholder's airspace and airfield resources now and into the future. As part of this effort, the Gulf Regional Airspace Strategic Initiative ExtendSim discrete event model was developed, aiming to expand on the capabilities of existing modeling tools used for GRASI by creating higher fidelity estimates on transit times along airspace paths, and by introducing airport models. Creating additional modeling capabilities makes the model a more effective tool for evaluating alternatives put forth by military and civilian stakeholders. The GRASI ExtendSim model was used to evaluate two scenarios, and found a slight, but significant change in flying time by military aircraft. This model creates a framework from which future models can be developed for the GRASI effort.
Master of Science

La tesi discute il risultato sulla convergenza di grafi aleatori con una sequenza di gradi data a un grafo limite, ponendo un vincolo sul grado massimo e grado minimo. Per generare reti dense utilizzeremo il beta-model i cui parametri verranno stimati con il metodo di massima verosimiglianza. Sarà presentato un algoritmo iterativo per il calcolo degli stimatori di massima verosimiglianza che risulteranno essere unici e consistenti. I risultati ottenuti saranno utilizzati per la costruzione della funzione che rispetta le ipotesi del teorema della convergenza.

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Bachelors
Engineering and Computer Science
Computer Science

Select (clethodim) and BAS-620 (BASF Corporation) at 0.1, 0.125, and 0.188 lb AI/A gave near complete control (99%) of watergrass at 8 days after treatment of the early application in watermelons and cantaloupes. Poast (sethoxydim) and Fusilade DX (fluazifop-p-butyl) offered nearly similar effective control of the watergrass with control ranging from 93 to 98%. Poast demonstrated a rate response with decreasing efficacy with decreasing rates of application. Fusilade and Poast at the high rate were comparable to Select and BAS-620 at the high rate. In lettuce, Select and BAS-620 performed similarly on large volunteer wheat with 97% control at about 3 weeks after treatment. Fusilade provided an acceptable level of control at 86% control. Poast did not provide any visible control of the volunteer wheat. Differences existed in the performance of the grass herbicides and optimal performance could be obtained with proper timing of application at effective rates and using effective adjuvants.

Grasping objects with our hands allows us to skillfully move and manipulate them. Hand-held tools further extend our capabilities by adapting precision, power, and shape of our hands to the task at hand. Some of these tools, such as mobile phones or computer mice, already incorporate information processing capabilities. Many other tools may be augmented with small, energy-efficient digital sensors and processors. This allows for graspable objects to learn about the user grasping them - and supporting the user's goals. For example, the way we grasp a mobile phone might indicate whether we want to take a photo or call a friend with it - and thus serve as a shortcut to that action. A power drill might sense whether the user is grasping it firmly enough and refuse to turn on if this is not the case. And a computer mouse could distinguish between intentional and unintentional movement and ignore the latter. This dissertation gives an overview of grasp sensing for human-computer interaction, focusing on technologies for building grasp-sensitive surfaces and challenges in designing grasp-sensitive user interfaces. It comprises three major contributions: a comprehensive review of existing research on human grasping and grasp sensing, a detailed description of three novel prototyping tools for grasp-sensitive surfaces, and a framework for analyzing and designing grasp interaction: For nearly a century, scientists have analyzed human grasping. My literature review gives an overview of definitions, classifications, and models of human grasping. A small number of studies have investigated grasping in everyday situations. They found a much greater diversity of grasps than described by existing taxonomies. This diversity makes it difficult to directly associate certain grasps with users' goals. In order to structure related work and own research, I formalize a generic workflow for grasp sensing. It comprises *capturing* of sensor values, *identifying* the associated grasp, and *interpreting* the meaning of the grasp. A comprehensive overview of related work shows that implementation of grasp-sensitive surfaces is still hard, researchers often are not aware of related work from other disciplines, and intuitive grasp interaction has not yet received much attention. In order to address the first issue, I developed three novel sensor technologies designed for grasp-sensitive surfaces. These mitigate one or more limitations of traditional sensing techniques: **HandSense** uses four strategically positioned capacitive sensors for detecting and classifying grasp patterns on mobile phones. The use of custom-built high-resolution sensors allows detecting proximity and avoids the need to cover the whole device surface with sensors. User tests showed a recognition rate of 81%, comparable to that of a system with 72 binary sensors. **FlyEye** uses optical fiber bundles connected to a camera for detecting touch and proximity on arbitrarily shaped surfaces. It allows rapid prototyping of touch- and grasp-sensitive objects and requires only very limited electronics knowledge. For FlyEye I developed a *relative calibration* algorithm that allows determining the locations of groups of sensors whose arrangement is not known. **TDRtouch** extends Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR), a technique traditionally used for inspecting cable faults, for touch and grasp sensing. TDRtouch is able to locate touches along a wire, allowing designers to rapidly prototype and implement modular, extremely thin, and flexible grasp-sensitive surfaces. I summarize how these technologies cater to different requirements and significantly expand the design space for grasp-sensitive objects. Furthermore, I discuss challenges for making sense of raw grasp information and categorize interactions. Traditional application scenarios for grasp sensing use only the grasp sensor's data, and only for mode-switching. I argue that data from grasp sensors is part of the general usage context and should be only used in combination with other context information. For analyzing and discussing the possible meanings of grasp types, I created the GRASP model. It describes five categories of influencing factors that determine how we grasp an object: *Goal* -- what we want to do with the object, *Relationship* -- what we know and feel about the object we want to grasp, *Anatomy* -- hand shape and learned movement patterns, *Setting* -- surrounding and environmental conditions, and *Properties* -- texture, shape, weight, and other intrinsics of the object I conclude the dissertation with a discussion of upcoming challenges in grasp sensing and grasp interaction, and provide suggestions for implementing robust and usable grasp interaction.
Die Fähigkeit, Gegenstände mit unseren Händen zu greifen, erlaubt uns, diese vielfältig zu manipulieren. Werkzeuge erweitern unsere Fähigkeiten noch, indem sie Genauigkeit, Kraft und Form unserer Hände an die Aufgabe anpassen. Digitale Werkzeuge, beispielsweise Mobiltelefone oder Computermäuse, erlauben uns auch, die Fähigkeiten unseres Gehirns und unserer Sinnesorgane zu erweitern. Diese Geräte verfügen bereits über Sensoren und Recheneinheiten. Aber auch viele andere Werkzeuge und Objekte lassen sich mit winzigen, effizienten Sensoren und Recheneinheiten erweitern. Dies erlaubt greifbaren Objekten, mehr über den Benutzer zu erfahren, der sie greift - und ermöglicht es, ihn bei der Erreichung seines Ziels zu unterstützen. Zum Beispiel könnte die Art und Weise, in der wir ein Mobiltelefon halten, verraten, ob wir ein Foto aufnehmen oder einen Freund anrufen wollen - und damit als Shortcut für diese Aktionen dienen. Eine Bohrmaschine könnte erkennen, ob der Benutzer sie auch wirklich sicher hält und den Dienst verweigern, falls dem nicht so ist. Und eine Computermaus könnte zwischen absichtlichen und unabsichtlichen Mausbewegungen unterscheiden und letztere ignorieren. Diese Dissertation gibt einen Überblick über Grifferkennung (*grasp sensing*) für die Mensch-Maschine-Interaktion, mit einem Fokus auf Technologien zur Implementierung griffempfindlicher Oberflächen und auf Herausforderungen beim Design griffempfindlicher Benutzerschnittstellen. Sie umfasst drei primäre Beiträge zum wissenschaftlichen Forschungsstand: einen umfassenden Überblick über die bisherige Forschung zu menschlichem Greifen und Grifferkennung, eine detaillierte Beschreibung dreier neuer Prototyping-Werkzeuge für griffempfindliche Oberflächen und ein Framework für Analyse und Design von griff-basierter Interaktion (*grasp interaction*). Seit nahezu einem Jahrhundert erforschen Wissenschaftler menschliches Greifen. Mein Überblick über den Forschungsstand beschreibt Definitionen, Klassifikationen und Modelle menschlichen Greifens. In einigen wenigen Studien wurde bisher Greifen in alltäglichen Situationen untersucht. Diese fanden eine deutlich größere Diversität in den Griffmuster als in existierenden Taxonomien beschreibbar. Diese Diversität erschwert es, bestimmten Griffmustern eine Absicht des Benutzers zuzuordnen. Um verwandte Arbeiten und eigene Forschungsergebnisse zu strukturieren, formalisiere ich einen allgemeinen Ablauf der Grifferkennung. Dieser besteht aus dem *Erfassen* von Sensorwerten, der *Identifizierung* der damit verknüpften Griffe und der *Interpretation* der Bedeutung des Griffes. In einem umfassenden Überblick über verwandte Arbeiten zeige ich, dass die Implementierung von griffempfindlichen Oberflächen immer noch ein herausforderndes Problem ist, dass Forscher regelmäßig keine Ahnung von verwandten Arbeiten in benachbarten Forschungsfeldern haben, und dass intuitive Griffinteraktion bislang wenig Aufmerksamkeit erhalten hat. Um das erstgenannte Problem zu lösen, habe ich drei neuartige Sensortechniken für griffempfindliche Oberflächen entwickelt. Diese mindern jeweils eine oder mehrere Schwächen traditioneller Sensortechniken: **HandSense** verwendet vier strategisch positionierte kapazitive Sensoren um Griffmuster zu erkennen. Durch die Verwendung von selbst entwickelten, hochauflösenden Sensoren ist es möglich, schon die Annäherung an das Objekt zu erkennen. Außerdem muss nicht die komplette Oberfläche des Objekts mit Sensoren bedeckt werden. Benutzertests ergaben eine Erkennungsrate, die vergleichbar mit einem System mit 72 binären Sensoren ist. **FlyEye** verwendet Lichtwellenleiterbündel, die an eine Kamera angeschlossen werden, um Annäherung und Berührung auf beliebig geformten Oberflächen zu erkennen. Es ermöglicht auch Designern mit begrenzter Elektronikerfahrung das Rapid Prototyping von berührungs- und griffempfindlichen Objekten. Für FlyEye entwickelte ich einen *relative-calibration*-Algorithmus, der verwendet werden kann um Gruppen von Sensoren, deren Anordnung unbekannt ist, semi-automatisch anzuordnen. **TDRtouch** erweitert Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR), eine Technik die üblicherweise zur Analyse von Kabelbeschädigungen eingesetzt wird. TDRtouch erlaubt es, Berührungen entlang eines Drahtes zu lokalisieren. Dies ermöglicht es, schnell modulare, extrem dünne und flexible griffempfindliche Oberflächen zu entwickeln. Ich beschreibe, wie diese Techniken verschiedene Anforderungen erfüllen und den *design space* für griffempfindliche Objekte deutlich erweitern. Desweiteren bespreche ich die Herausforderungen beim Verstehen von Griffinformationen und stelle eine Einteilung von Interaktionsmöglichkeiten vor. Bisherige Anwendungsbeispiele für die Grifferkennung nutzen nur Daten der Griffsensoren und beschränken sich auf Moduswechsel. Ich argumentiere, dass diese Sensordaten Teil des allgemeinen Benutzungskontexts sind und nur in Kombination mit anderer Kontextinformation verwendet werden sollten. Um die möglichen Bedeutungen von Griffarten analysieren und diskutieren zu können, entwickelte ich das GRASP-Modell. Dieses beschreibt fünf Kategorien von Einflussfaktoren, die bestimmen wie wir ein Objekt greifen: *Goal* -- das Ziel, das wir mit dem Griff erreichen wollen, *Relationship* -- das Verhältnis zum Objekt, *Anatomy* -- Handform und Bewegungsmuster, *Setting* -- Umgebungsfaktoren und *Properties* -- Eigenschaften des Objekts, wie Oberflächenbeschaffenheit, Form oder Gewicht. Ich schließe mit einer Besprechung neuer Herausforderungen bei der Grifferkennung und Griffinteraktion und mache Vorschläge zur Entwicklung von zuverlässiger und benutzbarer Griffinteraktion.

This essay was written largely after the completion of my thesis exhibition which shares its title. An integral aspect of the work was the after-­hours maintenance it required. Below I describe the unforeseen personal significance that labor came to hold and the way in which it functioned as a healing ritual. Through this work, and those leading up to it, I have a reinvigorated awareness of the importance of therapy as an aspect of my art­making, of which this thesis is a testament.

Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2007.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 60-63).
Finding a way to provide intelligent humanoid robots with the ability to grasp objects has been a question of great interest. Most approaches, however, assume that objects are composed of primitive shapes such as box, sphere, and cylinder. In the thesis, we explore an efficient and robust method to decide grasps given new objects that are irregularly-shaped (3D polygon meshes). To solve the problem, we use an example-based approach. We first find grasps for objects geometrically similar to those the system has seen before. For example, if the system has been shown a cup being grasped by the handle, it should now be able to grasp any new cup. There are two problems to be solved in order to adapt example grasps to the new object. First, the system should be able to retrieve objects that are geometrically similar to the given object from the database storing previously seen objects. After collecting objects the system knows how to grasp, it needs to adapt example grasps to new object.Already, there are some working algorithms for the first problem (shape retrieval). Therefore, our main contribution is to present an algorithm that performs grasp adaptation. Before we adapt a grasp, we first find the geometric correspondence between a demo object and new object using probabilistic graphical model. Based on correlation information together with the demo grasp, we generate a grasp for the new object. To ensure that a robot can effectively grasp the object, we adjust the position of grasp contacts until the quality of the grasp is reasonably high. In test cases, the system successfully uses this method to find the correspondence between objects and adapt demo grasps.
by Jiwon Kim.
M.Eng.

This paper thoroughly examines the thesis film, Blood in the Grass. Each area of the film's production is carefully analyzed, including writing, directing, production design, cinematography, editing, sound, and technology and workflow. In addition to these areas, the background and ideology of the filmmaker provides a context for the choices made in production. This overall analysis discusses the effectiveness of the goals set by the filmmaker for the film to be an emotionally effective commentary on capital punishment, and to be conducive to the short film medium.

The geographical information system GRASS has become a standard on the field of geographical phenomenon modeling during its 26 years old lifetime. However, its internal structure follows practices from the date of its creation. This thesis aims to design a possible shape of internal parts modernization using a component architecture and object-oriented design patterns with distributed computing and dynamic languages support in mind. The designed system should stay identical from the user's point-of-view. Design results are proven on a prototype library implementation called the GAL Framework.

Doctor of Philosophy
Department of Biology
David C. Hartnett
Perennial grass populations propagate vegetatively via the belowground bud bank. Climate, photosynthetic pathway, and growth form impact bud production, longevity, and dormancy; leading to alterations in bud bank and tiller dynamics. Previous research in mesic C₄-dominated tallgrass prairie revealed that a C₄ grass had greater bud longevity and differing bud bank dynamics than a C₃ species. This study examined the bud bank dynamics of rhizomatous and caespitose grasses in a more arid C₃ dominated prairie to gain insights into how bud banks differ among grass species, growth forms, and environments, and the relationship between bud bank characteristics and grass architecture and growth patterns. The bud bank and tiller dynamics of four perennial grasses in the C₃-dominated northern mixed grass prairie were examined over 15 months. The C₃ caespitose and rhizomatous grasses produced similar numbers of buds per tiller and their bud longevity was [greater than or equal to] 2 years. Tiller longevity drove the turnover within the bud bank of the dominant C₃ caespitose grasses Hesperostipa comata and Nassella viridula. Their polycyclic tillers (tillers that lived for more than one year) created multi-aged bud banks. The rhizomatous C₃ grass Pascopyrum smithii also had a multi-aged bud bank because buds were able to live longer than its annual tillers. Differences between caespitose and rhizomatous C₃ grass bud banks were driven by differences in tiller and rhizome production and spatial distribution. Responses to water availability fluctuations are likely buffered by the maintenance of polycyclic tillers in the caespitose grasses and flexible timing of annual tiller recruitment in the rhizomatous grass. The C₄ rhizomatous grass Andropogon gerardii had similar phenology to populations in its tallgrass prairie range center. Despite declines in bud production per tiller and lowered flowering probability in mixed-grass prairie, A. gerardii maintained a multi-aged bud bank and a positive population growth rate via vegetative reproduction at both the center and edge of its range. Bud bank dynamics of different growth forms and photosynthetic pathways, as they offer insight into the control of grass population dynamics and production, will enhance understanding of the mechanisms by which management practices and environmental change can alter perennial grasslands.

This master thesis looks to find dynamics in hand movements to further be used in stroke rehabilitation research. To be able to provide feedback during rehabilitation could help with movement recovery for a stroke patient for whom these movements have been damaged. Data was recorded from both right and left hands of the participants. The data was evaluated, both between different participants and different hands on the same participant. Different movements were separated to be examined individually. Both classification and prediction was performed and Radial Basis Function Neural Networks were used for classification as well as for prediction. The data used in the prediction training was the data recorded while the hand was closing and the data used in the classification training was the data recorded while the hand was closing into a grip and relaxing again. The classification was able to find classes in the data successfully. The prediction proved more problematic. However, the results show that there are definite improvements that could be done to improve the networks performances while predicting the movement and that the radial basis function neural network still is interesting to consider in future research on the subject.

Due to increased environmental stewardship and fertilizer prices, there is increased interest in using legume mixes in perennial croplands. The objective of this study was to compare quantitative genetic parameters and quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with intermediate wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium) when grown in 1) a non-competitive spaced environment, 2) a polyculture with alfalfa (Medicago sativa), and 3) a monoculture with crested wheatgrass (Agropyron desertorum). Traits evaluated include plant growth characteristics (Zadok’s maturity, height, and tiller count), biomass, and forage nutritive value (CP, NDF, ADF, ADL, IVTD, NDFD, NFC, ME, RFQ). A linkage map comprised of 3568 single nucleotide polymorphisms in 21 linkage groups corresponding to 21 homologous chromosome pairs of both parents was used to identify QTLs and QTL x environment interactions (QxE) based on trait averages for each genotype in each environment. Significant genotype x environment interactions were detected for biomass, NDF etc. A total of 26 QTLs were identified, including 6 MASS, 2 TILE, 2 TICR, 1 ZAMA, 1 CP, 3 NDF, 2 ADF, 3 IVTD, and 5 NDFD. A subset of 7 QTLs showed significant QxE interaction. These results indicate that breeders need to evaluate plants in polyculture or swards if these are the intended crop management systems.

Pasture-based dairies have become more prevalent in recent years due to a higher proportion of organic milk demand and production. Organic certification requires that animals must graze at least 120 days in each growing season. However, dry matter intake is often limited when dairy animals receive most of their herbage from pasture, resulting in lower animal performance and milk production. The purpose of this study was to analyze the complimentary effect of high energy grasses with birdsfoot trefoil (BFT) tannins to improve intake of dairy heifers. Jersey heifers were rotationally grazed for 105 days in 2017 and 2018 on eight different pasture treatments, which included monocultures of perennial ryegrass (PR), orchardgrass (OG), meadow bromegrass (MB), and tall fescue (TF), with each respective grass also planted in mixture with BFT. Intake was measured by sampling herbage before and after each seven-day grazing period and was from greatest to least as follows: MB+BFT, OG+BFT, OG, MB, PR+BFT, TF+BFT, PR, TF. Physical characteristics such as pasture bulk density, herbage height, herbage allowance, leaf pubescence, leaf softness, and birdsfoot trefoil content as well as nutritional properties such as fat, non-fibrous carbohydrates, fiber, and energy were all associated with intake. Crude protein and ash were also associated with intake. While PR+BFT did not have the greatest overall intake, it was the only treatment that consistently had greater intake than its respective grass monoculture (PR). Since it had more energy and tannins than all other grasses, a complimentary effect between energy and tannins to increase intake was likely. The fact that both physical and chemical herbage characteristics were associated with intake shows the importance of planting the right species in pasture as well as making proper management decisions to maximize nutritive value and herbage intake.

In questa tesi verranno definiti Laplaciano e Laplaciano normalizzato di un grafo, e, tramite essi, si risolveranno il problema di Dirichlet e l'equazione di diffusione. Inoltre, alla fine del capitolo due, saranno definiti trasformata di Fourier e convoluzione in termini di autovettori e autovalori del Laplaciano.

Efficacy of the grass herbicides showed that Select (clethodim) and BAS-620 (BASF Corporation) at rates as low as 0.1 lb AI/A were nearly comparable in controlling 2 leaf stage of growth watergrass or when applied a week later on 3-4 inch tall watergrass. Fusilade DX (fluazifop-p-butyl) was intermediate in controlling grasses and 0.188 lb AI/A was necessary to give equivalent control of larger grasses as compared to the 0.1 lb AI/A rate that gave acceptable control of smaller grasses. Poast (sethoxydim) at 0.188 lb AI/A gave acceptable control of small grasses but lower rates or later timed applications were not as efficacious.

In questa tesi verrà trattato il problema di introdurre una teoria omologica sui grafi. Si vedranno i grafi come un 1-complessi simpliciali, e dunque l'idea sarà di applicare le conoscenze che si hanno di una teoria omologica generale ad un oggetto specifico, che è appunto il grafo.

Grasp should be selected intelligently to fulfill different stability properties and manipulative requirements. Currently, most grasping approaches consider only pick-and-place tasks without any physical interaction with other objects or the environment, which are common in an industry setting with limited uncertainty. When robots move to our daily-living environment and perform a broad range of tasks in an unstructured environment, all sorts of physical interactions will occur, which will result in random physical interactive wrenches: forces and torques on the tool. In addition, for a tool to perform a required task, certain motions need to occur. We call it "functional tool motion," which represents the innate function of the tool and the nature of the task. Grasping with a robotic hand gives flexibility in "mounting" the tool onto the robotic arm - a different grasp will connect the tool to the robotic arm with a different hand posture, then the inverse kinematics approach will result in a different joint motion of the arm in order to achieve the same functional tool motion. Thus, the grasp and the functional tool motion decide the manipulator's motion, as well as the effort to achieve the motion. Therefore, we propose to establish two objectives to serve the purpose of a grasp: the grasp should maintain a firm grip and withstand interactive wrenches on the tool during the task; and the grasp should enable the manipulator to carry out the task most efficiently with little motion effort, and then search for a grasp to optimize both objectives. For this purpose, two grasp criteria are presented to evaluate the grasp: the task wrench coverage criterion and the task motion effort criterion. The two grasp criteria are used as objective functions to search for the optimal grasp for grasp planning. To reduce the computational complexity of the search in high-dimensional robotic hand configuration space, we propose a novel grasp synthesis approach that integrates two human grasp strategies - grasp type, and thumb placement (position and direction) - into grasp planning. The grasping strategies abstracted from humans should meet two important criteria: they should reflect the demonstrator's intention, and they should be general enough to be used by various robotic hand models. Different abstractions of human grasp constrain the grasp synthesis and narrow down the solutions of grasp generation to different levels. If a strict constraint is imposed, such as defining all contact points of the fingers on the object, the strategy loses flexibility and becomes rarely achievable for a robotic hand with a different kinematic model. Thus, the choice of grasp strategies should balance the learned constraints and required flexibility to accommodate the difference between a human hand and a robotic hand. The human strategies of grasp type and thumb placement have such a balance while conveying important human intents to the robotic grasping. The proposed approach has been thoroughly evaluated both in simulation and on a real robotic system for multiple objects that would be encountered in daily living.

Three cycles of recurrent restricted phenotypic selection (RRPS) were carried out on two cultivars each of timothy (Phleum pratense L.) and orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.). The selections were conducted at the E. A. Lods Agronomy Research Center of Macdonald Campus of McGill University from 1984 to 1988. Individual plant selections were based on dry matter yields of 25 plants. Within each of 16 grids, the five highest yielding genotypes were selected (i.e. 80 genotypes overall) and allowed to interpollinate. Equal weights of seeds from each of the 80 selected plants were mixed in each cycle. Evaluation trials were carried out in both sward and spaced stand from 1989 to 1993 to assess the effectiveness of selection in improving dry matter yield. Several other morphological and physiological characteristics of cycles were recorded to find possible associated changes.
Three cycles of RRPS were not effective in increasing forage dry matter yields. The lack of response may be due to a narrow genetic base in the source populations and/or the population size under selection may have been too small, resulting in inbreeding depression. Another explanation for the ineffective selection may be non-random pollination among selected plants. The selection for forage yield produced some minor changes in other characteristics. There was a tendency towards increased plant height and circumference in orchardgrass; however, for timothy, height and circumference were reduced by selection. Cycle 3 of Avon orchardgrass was one day later in maturity and there was also a tendency for later maturity for timothy.

Field and laboratory experiments were carried out between 1992 and 1994 to study the release and fate of nitrogen (N) following the incorporation of grass and grass-clover swards. The effects of sward type, quality of sward residue and previous grazing management on the N cycle were studied. Techniques for the measurement of mineralisation and nitrate (NO₃^-) leaching on medium textured soils were also assessed. Initial work on the measurement of mineralisation using ¹⁵N pool dilution techniques revealed major problems with practical application in the field. Mineral N release was therefore estimated by combining soil mineral N, NO₃^- leaching, plant uptake and gaseous N loss data. Evaluation of estimated leaching loads and specific tests comparing porous cups with three other estimates of soil water NO₃ ^--N concentrations cast serious doubts on the quantitative accuracy of porous cups on medium textured soils. Results suggest that cups were sampling relatively immobile water and, depending on the source of the solute, this led to over- and under-estimates of leaching loads. The ploughing out of previously grazed swards released a substantial amount of N in the first eighteen months following incorporation (ca. 370 kg N ha^-1), particularly during the first two months. Swards subject to an unfertilised cutting regime released much less N following ploughing. This was attributed to a reduction of soil organic matter "degradability" and, to a lesser extent, plant residue N supply. Clover residues were found to have a notable effect on mineral N release only when sward clover contents were over 20% of total dry matter and grass residues were of much lower N content. The ploughing out of grassland produces a considerable short term increase in nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions thought to be initiated by the intimate mixing of readily available carbon sources into the soil during rotavation. The influence of clover residues on N₂O emissions was greater than their influence on mineral N release patterns. Manipulation of the post-ploughing N cycle may be possible by altering sward management prior to ploughing. The cessation of grazing for a short period before sward incorporation could reduce mineral N release and N₂O emissions. However, the capacity to reduce N₂O emissions is constrained by weather conditions at critical times following incorporation.

Die Broschüre zeigt Anreize und Motivationen auf, die die Anteile von Grünlandfutter im Grobfutter der Milchrindrationen langfristig erhöhen helfen. Wesentliche Hemmnisse und Restriktionen wurden identifiziert und hinterfragt. Die Konflikte in Bezug auf Flächennutzung und Agrarpolitik, Tierernährung und Futterkonservierung sowie Wirtschaftlichkeit und Marktentwicklung wurden kritisch reflektiert. In Einzelfragestellungen wurden erfolgsversprechende Lösungsansätze erarbeitet und hinsichtlich ihrer Umsetzbarkeit bewertet.

Research on the nutritive quality of Matua grass (Bromus willdenowii) is limited in south central Kentucky-Due to the hot summers, mild winters and a 200-day long growing season in Kentucky, herbage quality as well as management practices may differ from those reported in research from other climates. The objective of this study was to evaluate the nutritive quality of five forages (Matua, Gala, Smooth bromegrass, Tall fescue and Orchardgrass). The experiment was conducted on a Pembroke silt loam (fine-silty, mixed, mesic mollic Paleudalfs) in south central Kentucky as well as in the greenhouse. Four harvests each were obtained from the field and greenhouse studies. The nutritive content as crude protein(CP), acid detergent fiber(ADF), neutral detergent fiber(NDF) and relative feed value(RFV) were determined by analysis with the Near-Infrared Reflectance Spectrophotometer(NIRS). Matua and the other Bromus species were very comparable to the tall fescue and orchardgrass for theses analyses. Matua produced a higher quality forage during the fall of the year.

This thesis examines the ability of four signal parameterisation techniques to provide discriminatory information between six different classes of signal. This was done with a view to assessing the suitability of the four techniques for inclusion in the real-time control scheme of a next generation robotic prosthesis. Each class of signal correlates to a particular type of grasp that the robotic prosthesis is able to form. Discrimination between the six classes of signal was done on the basis of parameters extracted from four channels of electromyographie (EMG) data that was recorded from muscles in the forearm. Human skeletal muscle tissue produces EMG signals whenever it contracts. Therefore, providing that the EMG signals of the muscles controlling the movements of the hand vary sufficiently when forming the different grasp types, discrimination between the grasps is possible. While it is envisioned that the chosen command discrimination system will be used by mid-forearm amputees to control a robotic prosthesis, the viability of the different parameterisation techniques was tested on data gathered from able-bodied volunteers in order to establish an upper limit of performance. The muscles from which signals were recorded are: the extensor pollicis brevis and extensor pollicis longus pair (responsible for moving the thumb); the extensor communis digitorum (responsible for moving the middle and index fingers); and the extensor carpi ulnaris (responsible for moving the little finger). The four signal parameterisation techniques that were evaluated are: 1. Envelope Maxima. This method parameterises each EMG signal by the maximum value of a smoothed fitted signal envelope. A tenth order polynomial is fitted to the rectified EMG signal peaks, and the maximum value of the polynomial is used to parameterise the signal. 2. Orthogonal Decomposition. This method uses a set of orthogonal functions to decompose the EMG signal into a finite set of orthogonal components. Each burst is then parameterised by the coefficients of the set of orthogonal functions. Two sets of orthogonal functions were tested: the Legendre polynomials, and the wavelet packets associated with the scaling functions of the Haar wavelet (referred to as the Haar wavelet for brevity). 3. Global Dynamical Model. This method uses a discretised set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations to model the dynamical processes that produced the recorded EMG signals. The coefficients of this model are then used to parameterise the EMG signal 4. EMG Histogram. This method formulates a histogram detailing the frequency with which the EMG signal enters particular voltage bins) and uses these frequency measurements to parameterise the signal. Ten sets of EMG data were gathered and processed to extract the desired parameters. Each data set consisted of 600 grasps- lOO grasp records of four channels of EMG data for each of the six grasp classes. From this data a hit rate statistic was formed for each feature extraction technique. The mean hit rates obtained from the four signal parameterisation techniques that were tested are summarised in Table 1. The EMG histogram provided Parameterisation Technique Hit Rate (%) Envelope Maxima 75 Legendre Polynomials 77 Haar Wavelets 79 Global Dynamical Model 75 EMG Histogram 81 Table 1: Hit Rate Summary. the best mean hit rate of all the signal parameterisation techniques of 81%. However, like all of the signal parameterisations that were tested, there was considerable variance in hit rates between the ten sets of data. This has been attributed to the manner in which the electrodes used to record the EMG signals were positioned. By locating the muscles of interest more accurately, consistent hit rates of 95% are well within reach. The fact that the EMG histogram produces the best mean hit rates is surprising given its relative simplicity. However, this simplicity makes the EMG histogram feature ideal for inclusion in a real-time control scheme.

The human hands are one of the most complex organs of the human body. As they enable us to grasp various objects in many different ways, they have played a crucial role in the rise of the human race. Being able to control hands as a human do is a key step towards friendly human-robots interaction and realistic virtual human simulations. Grasp generation has been mostly studied for the purpose of generating physically stable grasps. This paper addresses a different aspect: how to generate realistic, natural looking grasps that are similar to human grasps. To simplify the problem, the wrist position is assumed to be known and only the finger pose is generated. As the realism of a grasp is not easy to put into equations, data-driven machine learning techniques are used. This paper investigated the application of the deep neural networks to the grasp generation problems. Two different object shape representations (point cloud and multi-view depth images), and multiple network architectures are experimented, using a collected human grasping dataset in a virtual reality environment. The resulting generated grasps are highly realistic and human-like. Though there are sometimes some finger penetrations on the object surface, the general poses of the fingers around the grasped objects are similar to the collected human data. The good performance extends to the objects of categories previously unseen by the network. This work has validated the efficiency of a data-driven deep learning approach for human-like grasp synthesis. I believe the realistic-looking objective of the grasp synthesis investigated in this thesis can be combined with the existing mechanical, stable grasp criteria to achieve both natural-looking and reliable grasp generations.
Den mänskliga handen är en av de mest komplexa organen i människokroppen. Eftersom våra händer gör det möjligt för oss att hantera olika föremål på många olika sätt, har de spelat en avgörande roll i människans utveckling. Att kunna styra händer är ett viktigt steg mot interaktion mellan människor och robotar, samt skapa realistiska simuleringar av virtuella människor. Virtualla handgrepp har tidigare mest studerats för att generera fysiskt stabila grepp. I detta papper behandlas en annan aspekt: hur man genererar realistiska grepp som liknar en människas grepp. För att förenkla problemet antas att handledspositionen är känd och endast fingerkonfigurationen genereras. Eftersom hur realistiskt ett grepp är inte är lätt att beskriva i ekvationer, används istället data-driven maskininlärningsteknik. Detta papper undersöker tillämpningen av djupa neurala nätverken (Deep Neural Networks) för att generera grepp. Två olika representationer av former i 3D (punktmoln och bilder med djupinformation) och flera alternativa nätverksarkitekturer utvärderas med hjälp av en databas av mänskliga grepp samlad i en virtuell verklighetsmiljö. De resulterande genererade greppen är mycket realistiska och mänskliga. Även om det ibland förekommer något finger som penetrerar objektet, liknar den allmänna positioneringen av fingrarna den insamlade mänskliga datan. Denna goda prestanda gäller även för föremål i kategorier som aldrig tidigare setts av nätverket. I arbetet valideras också effektiviteten av ett data-drivet tillvägagångssätt baserat på djupa neurala nätverk för människoliknande syntes av grepp