7,501 research outputs found
Improving water productivity in agriculture in developing economies: in search of new avenues
Water ProductivityCrop productionWheatCottonEvapotranspirationEcnomic aspects
Dual concepts of almost distance-regularity and the spectral excess theorem
Generally speaking, `almost distance-regular' graphs share some, but not
necessarily all, of the regularity properties that characterize
distance-regular graphs. In this paper we propose two new dual concepts of
almost distance-regularity, thus giving a better understanding of the
properties of distance-regular graphs. More precisely, we characterize
-partially distance-regular graphs and -punctually eigenspace
distance-regular graphs by using their spectra. Our results can also be seen as
a generalization of the so-called spectral excess theorem for distance-regular
graphs, and they lead to a dual version of it
Uncertainty in the determination of soil hydraulic parameters and its influence on the performance of two hydrological models of different complexity
Data of soil hydraulic properties forms often a limiting factor in unsaturated zone modelling, especially at the larger scales. Investigations for the hydraulic characterization of soils are time-consuming and costly, and the accuracy of the results obtained by the different methodologies is still debated. However, we may wonder how the uncertainty in soil hydraulic parameters relates to the uncertainty of the selected modelling approach. We performed an intensive monitoring study during the cropping season of a 10 ha maize field in Northern Italy. The data were used to: i) compare different methods for determining soil hydraulic parameters and ii) evaluate the effect of the uncertainty in these parameters on different variables (i.e. evapotranspiration, average water content in the root zone, flux at the bottom boundary of the root zone) simulated by two hydrological models of different complexity: SWAP, a widely used model of soil moisture dynamics in unsaturated soils based on Richards equation, and ALHyMUS, a conceptual model of the same dynamics based on a reservoir cascade scheme. We employed five direct and indirect methods to determine soil hydraulic parameters for each horizon of the experimental profile. Two methods were based on a parameter optimization of: a) laboratory measured retention and hydraulic conductivity data and b) field measured retention and hydraulic conductivity data. The remaining three methods were based on the application of widely used Pedo-Transfer Functions: c) Rawls and Brakensiek, d) HYPRES, and e) ROSETTA. Simulations were performed using meteorological, irrigation and crop data measured at the experimental site during the period June – October 2006. Results showed a wide range of soil hydraulic parameter values generated with the different methods, especially for the saturated hydraulic conductivity Ksat and the shape parameter a of the van Genuchten curve. This is reflected in a variability of the modeling results which is, as expected, different for each model and each variable analysed. The variability of the simulated water content in the root zone and of the bottom flux for different soil hydraulic parameter sets is found to be often larger than the difference between modeling results of the two models using the same soil hydraulic parameter set. Also we found that a good agreement in simulated soil moisture patterns may occur even if evapotranspiration and percolation fluxes are significantly different. Therefore multiple output variables should be considered to test the performances of methods and model
On almost distance-regular graphs
Distance-regular graphs are a key concept in Algebraic Combinatorics and have
given rise to several generalizations, such as association schemes. Motivated
by spectral and other algebraic characterizations of distance-regular graphs,
we study `almost distance-regular graphs'. We use this name informally for
graphs that share some regularity properties that are related to distance in
the graph. For example, a known characterization of a distance-regular graph is
the invariance of the number of walks of given length between vertices at a
given distance, while a graph is called walk-regular if the number of closed
walks of given length rooted at any given vertex is a constant. One of the
concepts studied here is a generalization of both distance-regularity and
walk-regularity called -walk-regularity. Another studied concept is that of
-partial distance-regularity or, informally, distance-regularity up to
distance . Using eigenvalues of graphs and the predistance polynomials, we
discuss and relate these and other concepts of almost distance-regularity, such
as their common generalization of -walk-regularity. We introduce the
concepts of punctual distance-regularity and punctual walk-regularity as a
fundament upon which almost distance-regular graphs are built. We provide
examples that are mostly taken from the Foster census, a collection of
symmetric cubic graphs. Two problems are posed that are related to the question
of when almost distance-regular becomes whole distance-regular. We also give
several characterizations of punctually distance-regular graphs that are
generalizations of the spectral excess theorem
Quantum algorithm for the Boolean hidden shift problem
The hidden shift problem is a natural place to look for new separations
between classical and quantum models of computation. One advantage of this
problem is its flexibility, since it can be defined for a whole range of
functions and a whole range of underlying groups. In a way, this distinguishes
it from the hidden subgroup problem where more stringent requirements about the
existence of a periodic subgroup have to be made. And yet, the hidden shift
problem proves to be rich enough to capture interesting features of problems of
algebraic, geometric, and combinatorial flavor. We present a quantum algorithm
to identify the hidden shift for any Boolean function. Using Fourier analysis
for Boolean functions we relate the time and query complexity of the algorithm
to an intrinsic property of the function, namely its minimum influence. We show
that for randomly chosen functions the time complexity of the algorithm is
polynomial. Based on this we show an average case exponential separation
between classical and quantum time complexity. A perhaps interesting aspect of
this work is that, while the extremal case of the Boolean hidden shift problem
over so-called bent functions can be reduced to a hidden subgroup problem over
an abelian group, the more general case studied here does not seem to allow
such a reduction.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figur
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