Cacti spines, snake fangs, snail love darts – oh my! How function drives the evolution of nature’s puncture tools

The act of puncture – stabbing something with a sharp tool – is incredibly widespread in the natural world. Examples of ...
IEEE

On the Feasibility and Continuity of Feedback Controllers Defined by Multiple Control Barrier Functions

Abstract: Control barrier functions (CBFs) are a popular method for encoding safety specifications for dynamical systems. In this article, a notion of CBF is defined that permits vector-valued barrier ...
IEEE

On the continuity and smoothness of the value function in reinforcement learning and optimal control

Abstract: The value function plays a crucial role as a measure for the cumulative future reward an agent receives in both reinforcement learning and optimal control. It is therefore of interest to ...
Security

Why Physical Security Has Become a Business Continuity Imperative

Physical security now extends beyond perimeter defense to safeguarding business continuity and operational resilience. Understanding asset criticality and operational dependencies is essential for ...
verywellhealth

What Does the Appendix Do?

Sameena Zahoor, MD, is board-certified in family medicine and works at the Hope Clinic, which provides free primary medical care to uninsured and under-insured patients, as a physician. The appendix ...