Asimovian Adaptive Agents

The goal of this research is to develop agents that are adaptive and predictable and timely. At first blush, these three requirements seem contradictory. For example, adaptation risks introducing undesirable side effects, thereby making agents' behavior less predictable. Furthermore, although formal verification can assist in ensuring behavioral predictability, it is known to be time-consuming. Our solution to the challenge of satisfying all three requirements is the following. Agents have finite-state automaton plans, which are adapted online via evolutionary learning (perturbation) operators. To ensure that critical behavioral constraints are always satisfied, agents' plans are first formally verified. They are then reverified after every adaptation. If reverification concludes that constraints are violated, the plans are repaired. The main objective of this paper is to improve the efficiency of reverification after learning, so that agents have a sufficiently rapid response time. We present two solutions: positive results that certain learning operators are a priori guaranteed to preserve useful classes of behavioral assurance constraints (which implies that no reverification is needed for these operators), and efficient incremental reverification algorithms for those learning operators that have negative a priori results

Effects of high and low barometric pressures on susceptibility and resistance to infection Quarterly status report, 1 Oct. - 31 Dec. 1968

Effects of high and low barometric pressures on susceptibility and resistance to infection in mic

Effects of high and low barometric pressures on susceptibility and resistance to infection Quarterly status report, 1 Jul. - 30 Sep. 1969

Atmospheric pressure effects on mice resistance to bacterial or virus infection

Descriptions of the male of Heterodiomus marchali Brèthes and a new species of Chilean Heterodiomus Brèthes (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae: Scymninae: Diomini)

Additions to the classification of South American Diomini are provided. Male genitalia of Heterodiomus marchali Brèthes are described and Diomus brethesi is newly described

Additions to the Hyperaspis Chevrolat (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) fauna of South American, descriptions of nine new species, and recognition of Hyperaspis pectoralis Crotch as a valid species

Nine new species of Hyperaspis from various South American localities are described, illustrated, and compared with previously described taxa. New taxa are: Hyperaspis luciae, H. corcovado, H. divaricata, H. humboldti, H. mimica, H. praecipua, H. unimaculosa, H. drechseli, and H. esmeraldas. Hyperaspis pectoralis Crotch is recognized as a valid species of Hyperaspis and integrated into the existing classification

Effects of high and low barometric pressures on susceptibility and resistance to infection Quarterly status report, 1 Apr. - 30 Jun. 1969

Effects of atmospheric pressure on susceptibility and resistance to infectio