7,670 research outputs found
POSSIBLE FUTURE SCENARIOS FOR SICILIAN CEREAL CROPPING IN THE LIGHT OF CURRENT TRENDS IN AGRICULTURAL POLICY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
This paper sets out the results of a research project carried out by the University of Palermo and financed by the Sicilian Region, which aims to establish the impact of the Fischler Reform on Sicilian agriculture, and to project future scenarios that take into account some of the changes that the production process may undergo in the Region, following both the application of the Reform itself (now in force) and the eventual application of indications contained in the Health check. The impacts of the Fischler Reform, and especially the application of the Single Payment scheme to companies, were examined in cereal cropping companies, especially considering the significant amount of durum wheat cultivation in vast areas of the Regionâs hilly and its strategic importance for many areas where there is a risk of farming being abandoned, with grave consequences for the territory and its farmland, for employment and for the encouragement of food and processing industries. The chosen means for assessing the effects of the reform was that of direct interviews at a statistically representative sample made up of 400 agricultural companies, determining possible earnings within the current situation, but also in the eventuality of some of the indications in the Health check being applied. The results indicate that Community aid plays a crucial role in the companies looked at, allowing them to remain on the market. Indeed, the elimination of the aid planned within the framework of the Common Agricultural Policy in the hypothetical scenarios showed a negative impact on earnings for the companies and could cause their exclusion from the market.CAP, Future of the CAP, Sicilian agriculture, Agricultural and Food Policy, Q10, Q18.,
Wave and Particle Limit for Multiple Barrier Tunneling
The particle approach to one-dimensional potential scattering is applied to
non relativistic tunnelling between two, three and four identical barriers. We
demonstrate as expected that the infinite sum of particle contributions yield
the plane wave results. In particular, the existence of resonance/transparency
for twin tunnelling in the wave limit is immediately obvious. The known
resonances for three and four barriers are also derived. The transition from
the wave limit to the particle limit is exhibit numerically.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figure
Sacrificing Accuracy for Reduced Computation: Cascaded Inference Based on Softmax Confidence
We study the tradeoff between computational effort and accuracy in a cascade
of deep neural networks. During inference, early termination in the cascade is
controlled by confidence levels derived directly from the softmax outputs of
intermediate classifiers. The advantage of early termination is that
classification is performed using less computation, thus adjusting the
computational effort to the complexity of the input. Moreover, dynamic
modification of confidence thresholds allow one to trade accuracy for
computational effort without requiring retraining. Basing of early termination
on softmax classifier outputs is justified by experimentation that demonstrates
an almost linear relation between confidence levels in intermediate classifiers
and accuracy. Our experimentation with architectures based on ResNet obtained
the following results. (i) A speedup of 1.5 that sacrifices 1.4% accuracy with
respect to the CIFAR-10 test set. (ii) A speedup of 1.19 that sacrifices 0.7%
accuracy with respect to the CIFAR-100 test set. (iii) A speedup of 2.16 that
sacrifices 1.4% accuracy with respect to the SVHN test set
Crack roughness and avalanche precursors in the random fuse model
We analyze the scaling of the crack roughness and of avalanche precursors in
the two dimensional random fuse model by numerical simulations, employing large
system sizes and extensive sample averaging. We find that the crack roughness
exhibits anomalous scaling, as recently observed in experiments. The roughness
exponents (, ) and the global width distributions are found
to be universal with respect to the lattice geometry. Failure is preceded by
avalanche precursors whose distribution follows a power law up to a cutoff
size. While the characteristic avalanche size scales as , with a
universal fractal dimension , the distribution exponent differs
slightly for triangular and diamond lattices and, in both cases, it is larger
than the mean-field (fiber bundle) value
Playing with light in diatoms: microalgae with a natural photonic crystal structure
Complex micro- and nano-structured materials for photonic applications are designed and fabricated using top technologies. A completely different approach to engineering systems at the sub-micron-scale consists in recognizing the nanostructures and morphologies that nature has optimized during lifeâs history on earth. In fact, biological organisms could exhibit ordered geometries and complex photonic structures which often overcome the products of the best available fabrication technologies [1]. An example is given by diatoms, microalgae with a peculiar cell wall consisting of amorphous hydrated silica valves reciprocally interconnected in a structure called the frustule. Valve surfaces exhibit specie-specific patterns of regular arrays of chambers, called areolae, developed into the frustule depth. Areolae range in diameter from few hundreds of nanometers up to few microns, and can be circular, polygonal or elongate [2]. The formation of these patterns can be modeled by self-organised, genetically controlled processes. Despite of the high level of knowledge on the genesis and morphology of diatom frustules, their functions are not completely understood [2]. In this work, we show that the silica valves of marine diatoms, characterized by a photonic crystal-like structure, have surprising optical properties, being capable of filtering and focalizing light, as well as exhibiting optical sensing capabilities
Statistical properties of fracture in a random spring model
Using large scale numerical simulations we analyze the statistical properties
of fracture in the two dimensional random spring model and compare it with its
scalar counterpart: the random fuse model. We first consider the process of
crack localization measuring the evolution of damage as the external load is
raised. We find that, as in the fuse model, damage is initially uniform and
localizes at peak load. Scaling laws for the damage density, fracture strength
and avalanche distributions follow with slight variations the behavior observed
in the random fuse model. We thus conclude that scalar models provide a
faithful representation of the fracture properties of disordered systems.Comment: 12 pages, 17 figures, 1 gif figur
Reversible and Irreversible Spacetime Thermodynamics for General Brans-Dicke Theories
We derive the equations of motion for Palatini F(R) gravity by applying an
entropy balance law T dS= \delta Q+\delta N to the local Rindler wedge that can
be constructed at each point of spacetime. Unlike previous results for metric
F(R), there is no bulk viscosity term in the irreversible flux \delta N. Both
theories are equivalent to particular cases of Brans-Dicke scalar-tensor
gravity. We show that the thermodynamical approach can be used ab initio also
for this class of gravitational theories and it is able to provide both the
metric and scalar equations of motion. In this case, the presence of an
additional scalar degree of freedom and the requirement for it to be dynamical
naturally imply a separate contribution from the scalar field to the heat flux
\delta Q. Therefore, the gravitational flux previously associated to a bulk
viscosity term in metric F(R) turns out to be actually part of the reversible
thermodynamics. Hence we conjecture that only the shear viscosity associated
with Hartle-Hawking dissipation should be associated with irreversible
thermodynamics.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figure; v2: minor editing to clarify Section III, fixed
typos; v3: fixed typo
Chronic bacterial prostatitis: efficacy of short-lasting antibiotic therapy with prulifloxacin (UnidroxÂź) in association with saw palmetto extract, lactobacillus sporogens and arbutin (LactorepensÂź)
Bacterial prostatitis (BP) is a common condition accounting responsible for about 5-10% of all prostatitis cases; chronic bacterial prostatitis (CBP) classified as type II, are less common but is a condition that significantly hampers the quality of life, (QoL) because not only is it a physical condition but also a psychological distress. Commonly patients are treated with antibiotics alone, and in particular fluoroquinolones are suggested by the European Urology guidelines. This approach, although recommended, may not be enough. Thus, a multimodal approach to the prolonged antibiotic therapy may be helpful.210 patients affected by chronic bacterial prostatitis were enrolled in the study. All patients were positive to Meares-Stamey test and symptoms duration wasâ>â3 months. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of a long lasting therapy with a fluoroquinolone in association with a nutraceutical supplement (prulifloxacin 600 mg for 21 days and an association of Serenoa repens 320 mg, Lactobacillus Sporogens 200 mg, Arbutin 100 mg for 30 days). Patients were randomized in two groups (A and B) receiving respectively antibiotic alone and an association of antibiotic plus supplement.Biological recurrence at 2 months in Group A was observed in 21 patients (27.6%) and in Group B in 6 patients (7.8%). Uropathogens found at the first follow-up were for the majority Gram - (E. coli and Enterobacter spp.). A statistically significant difference was found at the time of the follow-up between Group A and B in the NIH-CPSI questionnaire score, symptoms evidence and serum PSA.Broad band, short-lasting antibiotic therapy in association with a nutritional supplement (serenoa repens, lactobacillus sporogens and arbutin) show better control and recurrence rate on patients affected by chronic bacterial prostatitits in comparison with antibiotic treatment alone.NCT02130713Date of trial Registration: 30/04/2014
Effect of Disorder and Notches on Crack Roughness
We analyze the effect of disorder and notches on crack roughness in two
dimensions. Our simulation results based on large system sizes and extensive
statistical sampling indicate that the crack surface exhibits a universal local
roughness of and is independent of the initial notch size
and disorder in breaking thresholds. The global roughness exponent scales as
and is also independent of material disorder. Furthermore, we
note that the statistical distribution of crack profile height fluctuations is
also independent of material disorder and is described by a Gaussian
distribution, albeit deviations are observed in the tails.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure
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