Thesis (MS)--Montana State University--Bozeman, 2009. / Typescript. Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Joseph A. Shaw. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 57-59).

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

The cellular and molecular environment of the uterus during the pre - and peri - implantation period of early pregnancy is critical for implantation success and optimal fetal and placental development. Perturbations to this environment not only have consequences for the success of pregnancy and neonatal health and viability, but can also drive adverse health outcomes in the offspring after birth, particularly the development of metabolic disorders such as obesity, hypertension and insulin resistance. The influence of seminal plasma on the cytokine and immune uterine environment has been previously well characterised in mice, however the effects of disruption in uterine seminal plasma exposure for pregnancy outcome have not been investigated. The studies described in this thesis employed the use of surgical seminal vesicle ablation in males and embryo transfer experiments to investigate the physiological significance of uterine seminal plasma exposure on programming fetal and neonatal outcomes, and growth and metabolic status in adult offspring. We demonstrate that in the absence of seminal plasma, oocyte fertilisation and embryo implantation are reduced, showing that seminal plasma acts primarily to facilitate fertilisation, possibly by promoting sperm transport and survival in the reproductive tract. In addition we show that pregnancies initiated in the absence of seminal plasma give rise to offspring which display accelerated growth after birth and increased adiposity in adulthood, compared to those developed in a tract exposed to seminal plasma at the time of conception. Offspring conceived in the absence of seminal plasma also displayed alterations in serum leptin and adiponectin content, similar to those known to be associated with obesity in the mouse. Using embryo transfer experiments, we showed that some, but not all aspects of the perturbed postnatal development are recapitulated when embryos fertilised in the presence of what semen are transferred to a recipient tract which has not been exposed to seminal plasma. More severe perturbations were seen in 2 - cell transfer than in blastocyst transfer experiment. Additionally, there was a significant effect of the embryo transfer procedure, irrespective of seminal plasma exposure, on fetal and postnatal development that confounded interpretation of these experiments. In addition, we investigated the potential mechanisms by which the influence of seminal plasma is exerted. Mediators of pre - implantation embryo development, implantation and the modulation of the maternal immune response to pregnancy were all assessed for regulation by seminal plasma using QRT - PCR. It was demonstrated that seminal plasma exposure induces the up - regulation of key embryotrophic factors, LIF, GM - CSF and IL - 6, in the oviduct following insemination. Factors important in tissue remodelling required for implantation and angiogenesis, MMP - 2, MMP - 3 and VEGF - C, were also shown to be increased at the time of implantation after seminal plasma exposure. Additionally the generation of T - regulatory cells in uterine tissues, demonstrated by the up - regulation of the transcription factor FOXp3 was shown to be dependent on semen exposure. The influence of seminal plasma on embryonic development, implantation and modulation of the maternal immune response to pregnancy may therefore be mechanisms which contribute to the adverse outcomes seen in pregnancies initiated in the absence of seminal plasma. Together these experiments show a role for seminal plasma signalling at the time of insemination in influencing the pre - implantation embryo to program later fetal and neonatal development, thereby impacting on the metabolic health of offspring. We conclude that seminal plasma is not simply a transport medium for sperm, but acts also as a key regulator of a female tract environment providing optimal support for the developing embryo. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Paediatrics and Reproductive Health, 2006.

Not available / text

This thesis investigates the use of an Artificial Immune System as a method for dynamically creating computer game strategies in a non deterministic environment

Abstract: Model-based control and optimization is the predominant paradigm in process systems engineering. The performance of model-based methods, however, rely heavily on the accuracy of the process model, which declines over the operation cycle due to various causes, such as catalyst deactivation, equipment aging, feedstock variability, and others. This work aims to tackle this challenge by considering two alternative approaches. The first approach replaces existing control and optimization methods with model-free reinforcement learning (RL). We apply a state-of-the-art reinforcement learning algorithm to a network of reactions, evaluate the performance of the RL controller in terms of setpoint tracking, disturbance rejection, and robustness to parameter uncertainties, and optimize the reward function to achieve the desired control and optimization performance. The second approach presents a novel framework for integrating Economic Model Predictive Control (EMPC) and RL for online model parameters estimation. In this framework, EMPC optimally operates the closed-loop system while maintaining closed-loop stability and recursive feasibility. At the same time, the RL agent continuously compares the measured state of the process with the model’s predictions, and modifies the model parameters accordingly to optimize the process. The performance of the proposed framework is illustrated on a network of reactions with challenging dynamics and practical significance.

No description available.

The model of this thesis simulates a simple artificial eco-system in which evolving and learning agents try to survive by consuming balls of energy and surviving attacks by other agents. The study finds that the model indeed manages to evolve surviving, and in some cases very aggressive, agents. The thesis presents similar conclusions to that of the study of Polyworld by Yaeger [16]; that an evolving population only facilitates a need for complexity set by the world it evolves in and stagnates when the population has reached this level of complexity. If the populations are to evolve further, the world it lives in must first demand a higher level of complexity. Various problems with simulating artificial life are also discussed along with the more specific obstacles of simulating artificial life in Breve and NEST integrated. The physical world of the model is built in the Breve simulation environment and the neural networks are simulated in NEST through integrate-and-fire neurons and spike-timing dependent plasticity synapses.