Application of block Cayley-Hamilton theorem to generalized inversion

In this paper we propose two algorithms for computation of the outer inverse with prescribed range and null space and the Drazin inverse of block matrix. The proposed algorithms are based on the extension of the Leverrier-Faddeev algorithm and the block Cayley-Hamilton theorem. These algorithms are implemented using symbolic and functional possibilities of the packages {\it Mathematica} and using numerical possibilities of {\it Matlab}

AN APPROACH FOR COMMUNICATION RELAIBILITY USING SELF-ADAPTIVE AUTONOMIC COMPUTING TECHNIQUES

Interdependency of electric power grids and information and communication technology is a rapidly growing topic. With the introduction of Smart Grid, handling dynamic load tracking, dynamic tariffs, clients that can consume but also produce electricity that can be delivered to the grid has become a part of everyday operational cycles within power supply companies. Hence, electricity distribution and power supply companies are in need for introduction of efficient mechanisms for the optimal tracking and use of available electric energy. In this paper, we describe the low voltage (LV) distribution network monitoring system developed for the Electric Power Industry of Serbia (EPS) electricity distribution company. The system we present is implemented in a way so that it provides abilities to measures, communicates and stores real-time data, translating it into actionable information needed by EPS to meet the described challenges regarding LV distribution networks. The implemented system is using self-adaptive autonomic computing techniques to provide a reliable data transfer from measurement devices deployed in different parts of the LV distribution network

Oxidative Stress, Endoparasite Prevalence and Social Immunity in Bee Colonies Kept Traditionally vs. Those Kept for Commercial Purposes

Commercially and traditionally managed bees were compared for oxidative stress (superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione S-transferase (GST) and malondialdehyde (MDA)), the prevalence of parasites (Lotmaria passim, Crithidia mellificae and Nosema ceranae/apis) and social immunity (glucose oxidase gene expression). The research was conducted on Pester plateau (Serbia—the Balkan Peninsula), on seemingly healthy colonies. Significant differences in CAT, GST and SOD activities (p p L. passim and N. ceranae was significantly (p p L. passim was detected in honey bee brood. In commercial colonies, the prevalence of L. passim was significantly (p p < 0.01) higher, which probably results from their increased need to strengthen their social immunity. Commercially kept colonies were under higher oxidative stress, had higher parasite burdens and higher GOX gene transcript levels. It may be assumed that anthropogenic influence contributed to these differences, but further investigations are necessary to confirm that

Genetic characterization of the yugoslavian shepherd dog-sharplanina, a livestock guard dog from the western balkans

Yugoslavian Shepherd Dog-Sharplanina (YSD) is a livestock guard dog from the Western Balkans present in this region over a long time, but recognized by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale as a distinct breed as late as 1957. However, the information regarding the origin and the size of the breed's foundation stock is still lacking. In order to contribute towards better understanding of the genetic make-up of the YSD and its foundation stock, we re-analyzed previously generated genetic profiles of 94 registered YSD dogs assessed with nine nuclear microsatellites. Studied individuals comprised 90 unrelated dogs and two pairs of full-sibs, sampled at four sampling sites: Three dog shows and at a military training centre for dogs in Serbia. We supported earlier findings on high levels of genetic diversity in YSD (HE=0.728±0.027) and lack of inbreeding, and revealed substructure of the breed because we found two distinct gene pools in the Bayesian clustering analysis, indicated also by the excess of homozygotes (i.e., Wahlund effect) and outcomes of other analyses: Linkage disequilibrium tests, Neighbour-Joining tree, principal coordinates and two-dimensional scaling analyses. The two gene pools were almost equally represented at each sampling site. One gene pool was composed of individuals with high genetic integrity, while the other gene pool was characterized with admixed ancestry, developed possibly via hybridization with native breeding stock outside the registry system, other breeds, such as the Caucasian Shepherd, and/or individuals admixed with wolves. Thus, we demonstrate rather complex and diverse ancestry implying a genetically heterogeneous foundation stock of the YSD.Jugoslovenski ovčarski pas – šarplaninac (JOP) je pastirski pas sa prostora Zapadnog Balkana na kojem je prisutan od davnina, iako je kao zasebna rasa prepoznat od strane Međunarodne kinološke federacije (FCI) tek 1957. godine. Međutim, podaci o veličini i poreklu osnivačke populacije JOP još uvek su nepoznati. U cilju doprinosa boljem razumevanju genetičke strukture i osnivačke populacije ove rase, izvršili smo dodatnu analizu prethodno objavljenih genetičkih profila 94 jedinke pasa rase JOP (90 pasa koji nisu u srodstvu i dva para punih srodnika uzorkovanih na tri izložbe pasa i u vojnom centru za obuku pasa) utvrđenih na osnovu varijabilnosti devet jedarnih mikrosatelita. Rezultati našeg istraživanja su potvrdili prethodne navode koji se odnose na visok stepen genetičkog diverziteta u ispitivanoj populaciji JOP (HE=0.728±0.027) i nizak stepen ukrštanja u srodstvu, ali i pokazali moguću genetičku strukturu ove rase. Naime, primenom Bajesove metode grupisanja, kao i na osnovu grupisanja po metodi najbližih suseda, nalaza o suvišku homozigota (tzv. Valundov efekat), testova neravnoteže vezanosti gena, analize glavnih komponenti i dvodimenzionalnog skaliranja, ustanovili smo postojanje dve različite genetičke grupe. Jedinke iz obe genetičke grupe bile su približno jednako zastupljene na svim mestima uzorkovanja. Jedna grupa obuhvatala je jedinke sa visokim genetičkim integritetom, dok su drugu grupu činile jedinke hibridnih genetičkih profila, koji su mogli nastali ukrštanjem sa neregistovanim psima koji su u tipu JOP ili sa drugim rasama, kao što je kavkaski ovčar, i/ili sa hibridima nastalih ukrštanjem sa vukovima. Sumirano, ovim istraživanjem ustanovljeno je veoma složeno i raznoliko poreklo JOP, što ukazuje na genetički heterogen karakter osnivačke populacije ove rase

In vitro Radioprotective Activity of the Bryozoan Hyalinella punctata

The objective of the present study was in vitro evaluation of radioprotective activity of the freshwater bryozoan Hyalinella punctata on cultured human peripheral blood lymphocytes after irradiation with 2 gy of Co-60 gamma-rays. Since its water extract at concentration 0.001 mg/mL reduced the incidence of radiation-induced micronuclei for almost 30 %, it could be considered as a promising source of new natural products with the aforementined activity. Both the content of sulphur (1.17%) determined by gravimetric method and infrared absorption frequences (76 % similarity with those of bacitracin) of the investigated extract indicate the presence of organic sulphur compound(s) such as cyclic peptides and polypeptides which might be responsible for the observed radioprotectio

Komparacija metoda za detekciju mikrosporidia iz roda Nosema kod medonosne pčele (Apis mellifera)

Two microsporidia species of the Nosema genus cause nosemosis in the adult honeybee: N. apis and N. ceranae. For diagnostic purposes and the determination of infection level various microscopic and molecular biological methods are used. The aim of this research was to compare the reliability of the traditional microscopic assessment and two PCR techniques: simplex- and duplex-PCR. Honey bee samples were taken from 150 colonies. Microscopic examination, performed according to the recommendations of the OIE, revealed Nosema spores in 68.67% samples analysed, whilst with the simplex-PCR method all samples (100.0%) proved positive. On the other hand, duplex-PCR method used for the identification of Nosema species resulted in 84.0% positive samples, all of which were N. ceranae. Our recommendation of the simplex-PCR method for the monitoring of honey bees in field conditions is based on its higher reliability than the microscopic assessment in the detection of low-level infections, as well as its potential for the detection of vegetative Nosema sp. stages; thus the early detection and timely prevention of Nosema infection would be possible. Nosema species identification is simplest and most cost-effective if performed with the duplex-PCR analysis. However, the simplex-PCR is more reliable, thus, it is suggested that samples that were negative when assessed with microscopy and duplex-PCR analysis undergo simplex-PCR.Dve vrste mikrosporidija roda Nosema uzročnici su nozemoze kod odrasle medonosne pčele: N. apis i N. ceranae. Za postavljanje dijagnoze i utvrđivanje stepena infekcije koristi se nekoliko mikroskopskih i molekularno-bioloških metoda. Cilj našeg rada bilo je poređenje pouzdanosti tradicionalne mikroskopske metode i dve PCR metode: simplex- i duplex-PCR. Pregledano je ukupno 150 uzoraka pčela. Mikroskopskim pregledom, obavljenim prema preporukama OIE, prisustvo spora Nosema utvrđeno je u 68,7% uzoraka. Međutim, simplex-PCR metodom dobijeni su pozitivni rezultati u svih 150 uzorka (100,0%). Sa druge strane, primenom duplex-PCR metode infekcija je ustanovljena kod 84,0 %; u svim slučajevima determinisana je vrsta N. ceranae. Veća pouzdanost simplex-PCR metode u odnosu na mikroskopski pregled, kako u otkrivanju infekcije malog intenziteta, kao i mogućnost detekcije vegetativnih oblika nozeme, navodi nas da preporučimo uvođenje simplex-PCR metode kao obavezne za praćenje stanja pčelinjih društava na terenu; time bi se postigla rano utvrđivanje prisustva infekcije i blagovremena prevencija njenog širenja. Specijska identifikacija mikrosporidija roda Nosema najjednostavnija je i najisplativija metodom duplex-PCR. Međutim, simplex-PCR ima veću pouzdanost, te preporučujemo da se uzorci koji su negativni na osnovu mikroskopskog pregleda i duplex-PCR analize ispitaju i simplex-PCR metodom

Metaheuristic approaches to solving large-scale Bilevel Uncapacitated Facility Location Problem with clients' preferences

In this study, we consider a variant of the Bilevel Uncapacitated Facility Location Problem (BLUFLP), in which the clients choose suppliers based on their own preferences. We propose and compare three metaheuristic approaches for solving this problem: Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Simulated Annealing (SA), and a combination of Reduced and Basic Variable Neighborhood Search Method (VNS). We used the representation of solutions and objective function calculation that are adequate for all three proposed methods. Additional strategy is implemented in order to provide significant time savings when evaluating small changes of solution's code in improvement parts. Constructive elements of each of the proposed algorithms are adapted to the problem under consideration. The results of broad computational tests on modified problem instances from the literature show good performance of all three proposed methods, even on large problem dimensions. However, the obtained results indicate that the proposed VNS-based has significantly better performance compared to SA and PSO approaches, especially when solving large-scale problem instances. Computational experiments on large scale benchmarks demonstrate that the VNS-based method is fast, competitive, and able to find high-quality solutions, even for large-scale problem instances with up to 2000 clients and 2000 potential facilities within reasonable CPU times

SARIMA Modelling Approach for Forecasting of Traffic Accidents

To achieve greater sustainability of the traffic system, the trend of traffic accidents in road traffic was analysed. Injuries from traffic accidents are among the leading factors in the suffering of people around the world. Injuries from road traffic accidents are predicted to be the third leading factor contributing to human deaths. Road traffic accidents have decreased in most countries during the last decade because of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011–2020. The main reasons behind the reduction of traffic accidents are improvements in the construction of vehicles and roads, the training and education of drivers, and advances in medical technology and medical care. The primary objective of this paper is to investigate the pattern in the time series of traffic accidents in the city of Belgrade. Time series have been analysed using exploratory data analysis to describe and understand the data, the method of regression and the Box–Jenkins seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average model (SARIMA). The study found that the time series has a pronounced seasonal character. The model presented in the paper has a mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of 5.22% and can be seen as an indicator that the prognosis is acceptably accurate. The forecasting, in the context of number of a traffic accidents, may be a strategy to achieve different goals such as traffic safety campaigns, traffic safety strategies and action plans to achieve the objectives defined in traffic safety strategies

Development of flow injection method for indirect copper determination with amperometric detection in drinking water samples

A gas-diffusion flow injection method with amperometric detection for indirect copper determination on a silver electrode is developed. The flow through system is equipped with two injection valves and a gas-diffusion unit. In the first step, a signal of cyanide solution was recorded. In the following step a signal of cyanide in the presence of copper was measured. Interferences (Cd(II), Co(II), Ag(I), Ni(II), Fe(III), Hg(II) and Zn(II)) were investigated and successfully removed. The calibration graph is linear in the range 1-90 μmol dm-3 of copper, correlation coefficient is 0.993, the regression equation is I = (0.0455±0.0015)c + (0.4611±0.0671), I is relative signal decrease in μA and c is concentration in μmol dm-3. Relative standard deviation for six consecutive injections of 30 μmol dm-3 copper(II) was 1.47 % and for 1 μmol dm-3 copper(II) was 3.40 %. The detection limit, calculated as 3 s/m (where s is a standard deviation of nine measurement of a reagent blank and m is the slope of the calibration curve), was 0.32 μmol dm-3, which corresponds to 2.44 ng of copper(II) (loop volume was 0.12 cm3). The method enables 60 analyses per hour and it was successfully applied on determination of copper in drinking water samples. [Acknowledgements. The authors acknowledge the grant from the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Serbia, Project number 172051