University of North Carolina at Charlotte

About: University of North Carolina at Charlotte is a education organization based out in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 8772 authors who have published 22239 publications receiving 562529 citations. The organization is also known as: UNC Charlotte & UNCC.

Adaptive evolutionary planner/navigator for mobile robots

Abstract: Based on evolutionary computation (EC) concepts, we developed an adaptive evolutionary planner/navigator (EP/N) as a novel approach to path planning and navigation. The EP/N is characterized by generality, flexibility, and adaptability. It unifies off-line planning and online planning/navigation processes in the same evolutionary algorithm which 1) accommodates different optimization criteria and changes in these criteria, 2) incorporates various types of problem-specific domain knowledge, and 3) enables good tradeoffs among near-optimality of paths, high planning efficiency, and effective handling of unknown obstacles. More importantly, the EP/N can self-tune its performance for different task environments and changes in such environments, mostly through adapting probabilities of its operators and adjusting paths constantly, even during a robot's motion toward the goal.

Energy-Limited Tolerance to Stress as a Conceptual Framework to Integrate the Effects of Multiple Stressors

Abstract: Integrating the effects of multiple stressors and predicting their consequences for the species' survival and distribution is an important problem in ecological physiology. This review applies the concept of energy-limited tolerance to stress to develop bioenergetic markers that can assist in integrating the effects of multiple stressors and distinguishing between the moderate stress compatible with long-term survival of populations and bioenergetically unsustainable extreme stress. These markers reflect the progressive decline of the aerobic scope of an organism (defined as the fraction of the energy flux and metabolic power supporting this flux available after the basal maintenance costs of an organism are met) with increasing levels of the environmental stress. During the exposure to moderate stress (i.e., in the pejus range of the environmental conditions), the aerobic scope is positive but reduced compared with the optimum conditions. The reduction of the metabolic scope can be due to the (1) elevated costs of basal metabolism, (2) activation of the mechanisms for protection and damage repair, (3) reduced assimilation of food, and/or (4) stress-induced impacts on the aerobic pathways producing ATP. This leads to suboptimal growth and reproductive rates in the pejus range of environmental conditions and is commonly observed in food-limited and energy-limited wild populations. The tolerance windows of the organisms are delimited by the pessimum range(s) of environmental conditions in which the aerobic scope of the organism disappears (so that all available energy and metabolic capacity are used in support of basal metabolism), energy resources are depleted, and partial anaerobiosis and/or metabolic rate depression set in. The habitats where environmental conditions remain in the pessimum zone long enough to prevent consistent growth and reproduction often coincide with the species' distributional limits. Thus, focus on the bioenergetic effects of environmental stressors and their immediate consequences for fitness provides a suitable framework for integrating physiology and functional ecology and can assist in understanding the driving forces and limitations of environmental adaptation and improving assessment of ecological risk as well as environmental management in field populations facing multiple stressors.

Abusive supervision and subordinates' organization deviance.

Abstract: The authors developed an integrated model of the relationships among abusive supervision, affective organizational commitment, norms toward organization deviance, and organization deviance and tested the framework in 2 studies: a 2-wave investigation of 243 supervised employees and a cross-sectional study of 247 employees organized into 68 work groups. Path analytic tests of mediated moderation provide support for the prediction that the mediated effect of abusive supervision on organization deviance (through affective commitment) is stronger when employees perceive that their coworkers are more approving of organization deviance (Study 1) and when coworkers perform more acts of organization deviance (Study 2).

Research on Reading Instruction for Individuals with Significant Cognitive Disabilities

Abstract: This article presents the results of a comprehensive review of 128 studies on teaching reading to individuals with significant cognitive disabilities. The review compared these studies against the National Reading Panel's components of reading; although it revealed an inadequate consideration of the components of reading, it found strong evidence for teaching sight words using systematic prompting and fading. The reviewers considered not only the number of studies, but also indicators proposed for evidence-based practice and effect size. This study identified some high quality studies with strong effect size for comprehension and fluency, but only one phonics study was strong in both quality and effects. Additional research is needed to promote broader skills in literacy for this population.

Spatial memory and animal movement

Abstract: Memory is critical to understanding animal movement but has proven challenging to study. Advances in animal tracking technology, theoretical movement models and cognitive sciences have facilitated research in each of these fields, but also created a need for synthetic examination of the linkages between memory and animal movement. Here, we draw together research from several disciplines to understand the relationship between animal memory and movement processes. First, we frame the problem in terms of the characteristics, costs and benefits of memory as outlined in psychology and neuroscience. Next, we provide an overview of the theories and conceptual frameworks that have emerged from behavioural ecology and animal cognition. Third, we turn to movement ecology and summarise recent, rapid developments in the types and quantities of available movement data, and in the statistical measures applicable to such data. Fourth, we discuss the advantages and interrelationships of diverse modelling approaches that have been used to explore the memory–movement interface. Finally, we outline key research challenges for the memory and movement communities, focusing on data needs and mathematical and computational challenges. We conclude with a roadmap for future work in this area, outlining axes along which focused research should yield rapid progress.