Using individual tracking data to validate the predictions of species distribution models

The authors would like to thank the College of Life Sciences of Aberdeen University and Marine Scotland Science which funded CP's PhD project. Skate tagging experiments were undertaken as part of Scottish Government project SP004. We thank Ian Burrett for help in catching the fish and the other fishermen and anglers who returned tags. We thank José Manuel Gonzalez-Irusta for extracting and making available the environmental layers used as environmental covariates in the environmental suitability modelling procedure. We also thank Jason Matthiopoulos for insightful suggestions on habitat utilization metrics as well as Stephen C.F. Palmer, and three anonymous reviewers for useful suggestions to improve the clarity and quality of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPostprintPostprintPostprintPostprintPostprin

不確実性と時間変化を考慮した一般化ソフトウェア信頼性モデル : 理論的基礎と実証的応用

早大学位記番号:新7471早稲田大

Study of fault tolerant software technology for dynamic systems

The major aim of this study is to investigate the feasibility of using systems-based failure detection isolation and compensation (FDIC) techniques in building fault-tolerant software and extending them, whenever possible, to the domain of software fault tolerance. First, it is shown that systems-based FDIC methods can be extended to develop software error detection techniques by using system models for software modules. In particular, it is demonstrated that systems-based FDIC techniques can yield consistency checks that are easier to implement than acceptance tests based on software specifications. Next, it is shown that systems-based failure compensation techniques can be generalized to the domain of software fault tolerance in developing software error recovery procedures. Finally, the feasibility of using fault-tolerant software in flight software is investigated. In particular, possible system and version instabilities, and functional performance degradation that may occur in N-Version programming applications to flight software are illustrated. Finally, a comparative analysis of N-Version and recovery block techniques in the context of generic blocks in flight software is presented

Contextualized property market models vs. Generalized mass appraisals: An innovative approach

The present research takes into account the current and widespread need for rational valuation methodologies, able to correctly interpret the available market data. An innovative automated valuation model has been simultaneously implemented to three Italian study samples, each one constituted by two-hundred residential units sold in the years 2016-2017. The ability to generate a "unique" functional form for the three different territorial contexts considered, in which the relationships between the influencing factors and the selling prices are specified by different multiplicative coefficients that appropriately represent the market phenomena of each case study analyzed, is the main contribution of the proposed methodology. The method can provide support for private operators in the assessment of the territorial investment conveniences and for the public entities in the decisional phases regarding future tax and urban planning policies

a variational approach to niche construction

In evolutionary biology, niche construction is sometimes described as a genuine evolutionary process whereby organisms, through their activities and regulatory mechanisms, modify their environment such as to steer their own evolutionary trajectory, and that of other species. There is ongoing debate, however, on the extent to which niche construction ought to be considered a bona fide evolutionary force, on a par with natural selection. Recent formulations of the variational free-energy principle as applied to the life sciences describe the properties of living systems, and their selection in evolution, in terms of variational inference. We argue that niche construction can be described using a variational approach. We propose new arguments to support the niche construction perspective, and to extend the variational approach to niche construction to current perspectives in various scientific fields

Crossing the death valley to transfer environmental decision support systems to the water market

Environmental decision support systems (EDSSs) are attractive tools to cope with the complexity of environmental global challenges. Several thoughtful reviews have analyzed EDSSs to identify the key challenges and best practices for their development. One of the major criticisms is that a wide and generalized use of deployed EDSSs has not been observed. The paper briefly describes and compares four case studies of EDSSs applied to the water domain, where the key aspects involved in the initial conception and the use and transfer evolution that determine the final success or failure of these tools (i.e., market uptake) are identified. Those aspects that contribute to bridging the gap between the EDSS science and the EDSS market are highlighted in the manuscript. Experience suggests that the construction of a successful EDSS should focus significant efforts on crossing the death-valley toward a general use implementation by society (the market) rather than on development.The authors would like to thank the Catalan Water Agency (Agència Catalana de l’Aigua), Besòs River Basin Regional Administration (Consorci per la Defensa de la Conca del Riu Besòs), SISLtech, and Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation for providing funding (CTM2012-38314-C02-01 and CTM2015-66892-R). LEQUIA, KEMLG, and ICRA were recognized as consolidated research groups by the Catalan Government under the codes 2014-SGR-1168, 2013-SGR-1304 and 2014-SGR-291.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

An Updating Method for Finite Element Models of Flexible-Link Mechanisms Based on an Equivalent Rigid-Link System

This paper proposes a comprehensive methodology to update dynamic models of flexible-link mechanisms (FLMs) modeled through ordinary differential equations. The aim is to correct mass, stiffness, and damping matrices of dynamic models, usually based on nominal and uncertain parameters, to accurately represent the main vibrational modes within the bandwidth of interest. Indeed, the availability of accurate models is a fundamental step for the synthesis of effective controllers, state observers, and optimized motion profiles, as those employed in modern control schemes. The method takes advantage of the system dynamic model formulated through finite elements and through the representation of the total motion as the sum of a large rigid-body motion and the elastic deformation. Model updating is not straightforward since the resulting model is nonlinear and its coordinates cannot be directly measured. Hence, the nonlinear model is linearized about an equilibrium point to compute the eigenstructure and to compare it with the results of experimental modal analysis. Once consistency between the model coordinates and the experimental data is obtained through a suitable transformation, model updating has been performed solving a constrained convex optimization problem. Constraints also include results from static tests. Some tools to improve the problem conditioning are also proposed in the formulation adopted, to handle large dimensional models and achieve reliable results. The method has been experimentally applied to a challenging system: a planar six-bar linkage manipulator. The results prove their capability to improve the model accuracy in terms of eigenfrequencies and mode shapes