Gardening for Health: Patterns of Gardening and Fruit and Vegetable Consumption on the Navajo Nation

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-08

An Indirect Genetic Algorithm for Set Covering Problems

This paper presents a new type of genetic algorithm for the set covering problem. It differs from previous evolutionary approaches first because it is an indirect algorithm, i.e. the actual solutions are found by an external decoder function. The genetic algorithm itself provides this decoder with permutations of the solution variables and other parameters. Second, it will be shown that results can be further improved by adding another indirect optimisation layer. The decoder will not directly seek out low cost solutions but instead aims for good exploitable solutions. These are then post optimised by another hill-climbing algorithm. Although seemingly more complicated, we will show that this three-stage approach has advantages in terms of solution quality, speed and adaptability to new types of problems over more direct approaches. Extensive computational results are presented and compared to the latest evolutionary and other heuristic approaches to the same data instances.

A New Genetic Algorithm for Set Covering Problems

An indirect genetic algorithm for the non-unicost set covering problem is presented. The algorithm is a two-stage meta-heuristic, which in the past was successfully applied to similar multiple-choice optimisation problems. The two stages of the algorithm are an ‘indirect’ genetic algorithm and a decoder routine. First, the solutions to the problem are encoded as permutations of the rows to be covered, which are subsequently ordered by the genetic algorithm. Fitness assignment is handled by the decoder, which transforms the permutations into actual solutions to the set covering problem. This is done by exploiting both problem structure and problem specific information. However, flexibility is retained by a self-adjusting element within the decoder, which allows adjustments to both the data and to stages within the search process. Computational results are presented.

'An Indirect Genetic Algorithm for Set Covering Problems'

This paper presents a new type of genetic algorithm for the set covering problem. It differs from previous evolutionary approaches first because it is an indirect algorithm, i.e. the actual solutions are found by an external decoder function. The genetic algorithm itself provides this decoder with permutations of the solution variables and other parameters. Second, it will be shown that results can be further improved by adding another indirect optimisation layer. The decoder will not directly seek out low cost solutions but instead aims for good exploitable solutions. These are then post optimised by another hill-climbing algorithm. Although seemingly more complicated, we will show that this three-stage approach has advantages in terms of solution quality, speed and adaptability to new types of problems over more direct approaches. Extensive computational results are presented and compared to the latest evolutionary and other heuristic approaches to the same data instances.

Planting a Melodious Vegetable Garden: Where the History of Food & Drink Meets a Musical Composition

Presentation from the MARAC conference in Philadelphia, PA on November 7-9, 2013. S6 - Art from Archives

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CHILDREN'S FOSTER CARE REVIEW BOARD SYSTEM OF THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA (Covering Period JUly 1, 1980 through June 30, 1981)

The South Carolina Foster Care Review Board at the Office of Executive Policy and Programs annually publishes a report with summary of programs, recommendations, demographic and statistical information, and directory of state board and staff.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CHILDREN'S FOSTER CARE REVIEW BOARD SYSTEM OF THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA (Covering Period JUly 1, 1981 through June 30, 1982)

The South Carolina Foster Care Review Board at the Office of Executive Policy and Programs annually publishes a report with summary of programs, recommendations, demographic and statistical information, and directory of state board and staff.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CHILDREN'S FOSTER CARE REVIEW BOARD SYSTEM OF THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA (Covering Period JUly 1, 1982 through June 30, 1983)

The South Carolina Foster Care Review Board at the Office of Executive Policy and Programs annually publishes a report with summary of programs, recommendations, demographic and statistical information, and directory of state board and staff.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CHILDREN'S FOSTER CARE REVIEW BOARD SYSTEM OF THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA (Covering Period JUly 1, 1983 through June 30, 1984)

The South Carolina Foster Care Review Board at the Office of Executive Policy and Programs annually publishes a report with summary of programs, recommendations, demographic and statistical information, and directory of state board and staff.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CHILDREN'S FOSTER CARE REVIEW BOARD SYSTEM OF THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA (Covering Period JUly 1, 1984 through June 30, 1985)

The South Carolina Foster Care Review Board at the Office of Executive Policy and Programs annually publishes a report with summary of programs, recommendations, demographic and statistical information, and directory of state board and staff.

Panel prefabricado a base de fibras naturales

En este trabajo de investigación, se diseñó y desarrollo un panel prefabricado para aplicaciones arquitectónicas, compuesto por fibras naturales. El panel fue elaborado a partir de una mezcla de fibras vegetales de tamo de arroz y cabuya, con partículas de arena silícea, los cuales, están aglomerados con una resina de silicato de sodio. La mezcla de estos materiales tiene buenas propiedades de trabajabilidad, compactación y con la aplicación de dióxido de carbono CO2, esta mezcla se solidifica rápidamente. Esta técnica, facilita el proceso de producción en serie de los paneles prefabricados de fibras naturales. A través del moldeo con una prensa manual, se obtuvo paneles con buenas propiedades y características de resistencia, módulo de ruptura, densidad y contenido de humedad; además de tener medidas modulares, texturas de agradable aspecto superficial y criterios de reversibilidad. Los paneles también presentan favorables cualidades de aislamiento térmico y acústico. Sus aplicaciones y utilidades son para revestimiento en espacios interiores de: muros, cielo raso y tabiquería liviana o decorativa. Finalmente se generó una propuesta de instalación de los paneles, utilizando de igual forma recursos renovables y sostenibles.

Spinal Cord Atrophy Correlates With Disease Duration And Severity In Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

Our objective was to investigate spinal cord (SC) atrophy in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients, and to determine whether it correlates with clinical parameters. Forty-three patients with ALS (25 males) and 43 age- and gender-matched healthy controls underwent MRI on a 3T scanner. We used T1-weighted 3D images covering the whole brain and the cervical SC to estimate cervical SC area and eccentricity at C2/C3 level using validated software (SpineSeg). Disease severity was quantified with the ALSFRS-R and ALS Severity scores. SC areas of patients and controls were compared with a Mann-Whitney test. We used linear regression to investigate association between SC area and clinical parameters. Results showed that mean age of patients and disease duration were 53.1 ± 12.2 years and 34.0 ± 29.8 months, respectively. The two groups were significantly different regarding SC areas (67.8 ± 6.8 mm² vs. 59.5 ± 8.4 mm², p < 0.001). Eccentricity values were similar in both groups (p = 0.394). SC areas correlated with disease duration (r = - 0.585, p < 0.001), ALSFRS-R score (r = 0.309, p = 0.044) and ALS Severity scale (r = 0.347, p = 0.022). In conclusion, patients with ALS have SC atrophy, but no flattening. In addition, SC areas correlated with disease duration and functional status. These data suggest that quantitative MRI of the SC may be a useful biomarker in the disease.

Ssr-based Genetic Diversity And Structure Of Garlic Accessions From Brazil.

Garlic is a spice and a medicinal plant; hence, there is an increasing interest in 'developing' new varieties with different culinary properties or with high content of nutraceutical compounds. Phenotypic traits and dominant molecular markers are predominantly used to evaluate the genetic diversity of garlic clones. However, 24 SSR markers (codominant) specific for garlic are available in the literature, fostering germplasm researches. In this study, we genotyped 130 garlic accessions from Brazil and abroad using 17 polymorphic SSR markers to assess the genetic diversity and structure. This is the first attempt to evaluate a large set of accessions maintained by Brazilian institutions. A high level of redundancy was detected in the collection (50 % of the accessions represented eight haplotypes). However, non-redundant accessions presented high genetic diversity. We detected on average five alleles per locus, Shannon index of 1.2, HO of 0.5, and HE of 0.6. A core collection was set with 17 accessions, covering 100 % of the alleles with minimum redundancy. Overall FST and D values indicate a strong genetic structure within accessions. Two major groups identified by both model-based (Bayesian approach) and hierarchical clustering (UPGMA dendrogram) techniques were coherent with the classification of accessions according to maturity time (growth cycle): early-late and midseason accessions. Assessing genetic diversity and structure of garlic collections is the first step towards an efficient management and conservation of accessions in genebanks, as well as to advance future genetic studies and improvement of garlic worldwide.

Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Extraction Of Capsaicinoids From Malagueta Pepper (capsicum Frutescens L.) Assisted By Ultrasound.

Extracts from malagueta pepper (Capsicum frutescens L.) were obtained using supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) assisted by ultrasound, with carbon dioxide as solvent at 15MPa and 40°C. The SFE global yield increased up to 77% when ultrasound waves were applied, and the best condition of ultrasound-assisted extraction was ultrasound power of 360W applied during 60min. Four capsaicinoids were identified in the extracts and quantified by high performance liquid chromatography. The use of ultrasonic waves did not influence significantly the capsaicinoid profiles and the phenolic content of the extracts. However, ultrasound has enhanced the SFE rate. A model based on the broken and intact cell concept was adequate to represent the extraction kinetics and estimate the mass transfer coefficients, which were increased with ultrasound. Images obtained by field emission scanning electron microscopy showed that the action of ultrasonic waves did not cause cracks on the cell wall surface. On the other hand, ultrasound promoted disturbances in the vegetable matrix, leading to the release of extractable material on the solid surface. The effects of ultrasound were more significant on SFE from larger solid particles.