The structure of atomic and molecular clusters, optimised using classical potentials

The problem of the determination of the minimum energy configuration of an arrangement of N point particles under the interaction of their interatomic forces is discussed. The interatomic forces are described by classical many body potentials. Different optimisation methods are considered, multi level single link, topographical differential evolution and a genetic algorithm but it is shown that genetic algorithms combined with an efficient local optimisation method is especially quick and reliable for this task. In addition to comparing some different optimisation methods, the structures of clusters of atoms described by interatomic potential functions containing up to a few hundred atoms are calculated including some with some special symmetries. A number of applications are given including covalent carbon and silicon clusters, close-packed structures such as argon and silver and the two-component carbon-hydrogen system

Hybridization of evolutionary algorithms and local search by means of a clustering method

This paper presents a hybrid evolutionary algorithm (EA) to solve nonlinear-regression problems. Although EAs have proven their ability to explore large search spaces, they are comparatively inefficient in fine tuning the solution. This drawback is usually avoided by means of local optimization algorithms that are applied to the individuals of the population. The algorithms that use local optimization procedures are usually called hybrid algorithms. On the other hand, it is well known that the clustering process enables the creation of groups (clusters) with mutually close points that hopefully correspond to relevant regions of attraction. Local-search procedures can then be started once in every such region. This paper proposes the combination of an EA, a clustering process, and a local-search procedure to the evolutionary design of product-units neural networks. In the methodology presented, only a few individuals are subject to local optimization. Moreover, the local optimization algorithm is only applied at specific stages of the evolutionary process. Our results show a favorable performance when the regression method proposed is compared to other standard methods

Symbolic dimensions of serial sources: hermeneutical problems of reconstructing political biographies based on computerized record linkage

Der vorliegende Artikel präsentiert ein Forschungsprojekt, das die politische Kultur einer deutschen Kleinstadt (Esslingen) für den Zeitraum von 1830 bis zur Revolution von 1848 zu rekonstruieren versucht. EDVmäßig erfaßt werden soziale und familiäre prozeßproduzierte Daten im Zusammenhang mit qualitativen Informationen über politische Einstellungen und Verhaltensweisen. Den Kern bilden individuelle und kollektive Biographien, die den Stellenwert politischen Verhaltens im Lebenszyklus und Lebensstil der verschiedenen sozialen Klassen verdeutlichen. Weiterhin zeigen diese Biographien das soziale und verwandtschaftliche Netzwerk, das den politischen Aktivitäten zugrunde liegt. (pmb)'This article presents a project, which seeks to reconstruct the political culture in a German town (Esslingen) from 1830 to the Revolution of 1848. It is based on computerized record linkage and connects social and familial data from serial sources with qualitative information about political attitudes and behavior. The core of this prosopographical approach is produced by individual and collective biographies that show the meaning of political behavior within the lifecycle and lifestyle of people of different social classes. In addition, linking these biographies reveals social and kinship networks that underlie political activities. The article deals especially with methodological problems of identification and individual self-representation in serial sources that complicate nominal record linkage procedures. In petitions for example people present themselves in different roles and with different interests. Therefore a simple list of names can give unexpected insights into social relations and the self-interpretation of people, groups and organizations.' (author's abstract

THE DRIFT OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC FUNCTIONALISM.

Abstract: In the wider scenario of the internationalization of legal concepts, marked by phenomena of legal transplants, migration of constitutional ideas, constitutional dialogues, …, the constitutional foundations and their related historical semantics are manipulated by the international process. The “legal flows” have emerged as useful tools to move concepts, cultures and histories through the formal channels of the legislative and judicial processes. Geopolitical relationships of power and especially of economic interest are hidden behind the “dialogues”, covered by words that “do not cost” and in the dialogue between courts, fundamental rights are de-socialized, eradicated from their related social context. In this framework, the continuous migration flows have cultural elements suitable to require new forms of local interaction, a new governance for the future sustainability that takes into account changes on the territory, possible socio-environmental conflicts, a new balance between nature and human structures, a new relationship between the local environment, people's movements and human rights. The European constitutionalism of the global era discusses the “culture of rights” by linking the constitutional development of the irreversible conquest of “new” rights, within a “neutral” framework of economic development and apart from the role of the state within the development itself.  RESUMO: No cenário mais amplo da internacionalização dos conceitos jurídicos, marcado por fenômenos de legal transplants, migração de ideias constitucionais, diálogos constitucionais, ..., as bases constitucionais e sua semântica históricos são manipulados pelo processo internacional. Os "legal flows" surgiram como úteis para mover conceitos, culturas e histórias através dos canais formais dos processos legislativos e judiciais. Relações geopolíticas do poder e, especialmente, de interesse económico estão escondidos por "diálogos" e por palavras que "não custam"; no diálogo entre os tribunais, os direitos fundamentais são deslocalizados, arrancados de seu contexto social. Neste quadro, os fluxos migratórios contínuos têm elementos culturais apropriados para exigir novas formas de interação local, uma nova governança para a sustentabilidade futura que leva em conta as mudanças no território, os possíveis conflitos sócio-ambientais, um novo equilíbrio entre a natureza e estruturas humanas , uma nova relação entre o meio ambiente local, os movimentos das pessoas e os direitos humanos. O constitucionalismo europeu da era global discute a "cultura de direitos", relacionando o desenvolvimento constitucional da conquista irreversível de "novos" direitos, dentro de um quadro "neutro" do desenvolvimento económico e para além do papel do estado dentro do próprio desenvolvimento

THE DRIFT OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC FUNCTIONALISM.

Abstract: In the wider scenario of the internationalization of legal concepts, marked by phenomena of legal transplants, migration of constitutional ideas, constitutional dialogues, …, the constitutional foundations and their related historical semantics are manipulated by the international process. The “legal flows” have emerged as useful tools to move concepts, cultures and histories through the formal channels of the legislative and judicial processes. Geopolitical relationships of power and especially of economic interest are hidden behind the “dialogues”, covered by words that “do not cost” and in the dialogue between courts, fundamental rights are de-socialized, eradicated from their related social context. In this framework, the continuous migration flows have cultural elements suitable to require new forms of local interaction, a new governance for the future sustainability that takes into account changes on the territory, possible socio-environmental conflicts, a new balance between nature and human structures, a new relationship between the local environment, people's movements and human rights. The European constitutionalism of the global era discusses the “culture of rights” by linking the constitutional development of the irreversible conquest of “new” rights, within a “neutral” framework of economic development and apart from the role of the state within the development itself.  RESUMO: No cenário mais amplo da internacionalização dos conceitos jurídicos, marcado por fenômenos de legal transplants, migração de ideias constitucionais, diálogos constitucionais, ..., as bases constitucionais e sua semântica históricos são manipulados pelo processo internacional. Os "legal flows" surgiram como úteis para mover conceitos, culturas e histórias através dos canais formais dos processos legislativos e judiciais. Relações geopolíticas do poder e, especialmente, de interesse económico estão escondidos por "diálogos" e por palavras que "não custam"; no diálogo entre os tribunais, os direitos fundamentais são deslocalizados, arrancados de seu contexto social. Neste quadro, os fluxos migratórios contínuos têm elementos culturais apropriados para exigir novas formas de interação local, uma nova governança para a sustentabilidade futura que leva em conta as mudanças no território, os possíveis conflitos sócio-ambientais, um novo equilíbrio entre a natureza e estruturas humanas , uma nova relação entre o meio ambiente local, os movimentos das pessoas e os direitos humanos. O constitucionalismo europeu da era global discute a "cultura de direitos", relacionando o desenvolvimento constitucional da conquista irreversível de "novos" direitos, dentro de um quadro "neutro" do desenvolvimento económico e para além do papel do estado dentro do próprio desenvolvimento

Route Planning in Transportation Networks

We survey recent advances in algorithms for route planning in transportation networks. For road networks, we show that one can compute driving directions in milliseconds or less even at continental scale. A variety of techniques provide different trade-offs between preprocessing effort, space requirements, and query time. Some algorithms can answer queries in a fraction of a microsecond, while others can deal efficiently with real-time traffic. Journey planning on public transportation systems, although conceptually similar, is a significantly harder problem due to its inherent time-dependent and multicriteria nature. Although exact algorithms are fast enough for interactive queries on metropolitan transit systems, dealing with continent-sized instances requires simplifications or heavy preprocessing. The multimodal route planning problem, which seeks journeys combining schedule-based transportation (buses, trains) with unrestricted modes (walking, driving), is even harder, relying on approximate solutions even for metropolitan inputs.Comment: This is an updated version of the technical report MSR-TR-2014-4, previously published by Microsoft Research. This work was mostly done while the authors Daniel Delling, Andrew Goldberg, and Renato F. Werneck were at Microsoft Research Silicon Valle

Spatial Heterogeneity of Climate Change Effects on Dominant Height of Larch Plantations in Northern and Northeastern China

Determining the response of dominant height growth to climate change is important for understanding adaption strategies. Based on 550 permanent plots from a national forest inventory and climate data across seven provinces and three climate zones, we developed a climate-sensitive dominant height growth model under a mixed-effects model framework. The mean temperature of the wettest quarter and precipitation of the wettest month were found to be statistically significant explanatory variables that markedly improved model performance. Generally, future climate change had a positive effect on stand dominant height in northern and northeastern China, but the effect showed high spatial variability linked to local climatic conditions. The range in dominant height difference between the current climate and three future BC-RCP scenarios would change from ´0.61 m to 1.75 m (´6.9% to 13.5%) during the period 2041–2060 and from ´1.17 m to 3.28 m (´9.1% to 41.0%) during the period 2061–2080 across provinces. The impacts of climate change on stand dominant height decreased as stand age increased. Forests in cold and warm temperate zones had a smaller decrease in dominant height, owing to climate change, compared with those in the mid temperate zone. Overall, future climate change could impact dominant height growth in northern and northeastern China. As spatial heterogeneity of climate change affects dominant height growth, locally specific mitigation measures should be considered in forest management