Increase robustness of the method of diagnostics and identification of high-precision positioning systems

Today, high-precision positioning systems are used in various fields of science and technology, providing fast and accurate control of movements. Considering the fact that such systems perform important tasks, diagnostics and timely detection of defects is an urgent task. To effectively diagnose and identify defects of such systems, a method based on the transition to the space of principal components was developed. Such a method will make it possible to represent each characteristic in the form of a point in a new orthogonal space. Despite the possibility of using such a method, a drawback was revealed, which is the low stability of this method to the gross errors in the measurement. In this paper, we propose an approach that provides a significant increase in the stability of the method for diagnosing and identifying high-precision positioning systems

Factors of diversity of domestic behaviour in sheep

Summary- An ethological test situation with stimuli that induce fear-motivated withdrawal reactions, such as isolation from the herd, presence of man, and change of feeding and locomotion routine, was used to measure domestic behaviour. The reactions of withdrawal from man in sheep of various breeds were reduced by increasing food motivation and vice versa. Withdrawal reactions decreased with ageing and the rate of decrease was higher with increasing food motivation. Interbreed comparisons involving 11 breeds have detected a breed specificity of behavioural variation in sheep. Lowly-specialized breeds are characterized by a large number (77.0-94.7%) of animals of the ’wild ’ class, with a high prevalence of man-withdrawal reaction and a low incidence of feeding reactions in the behavioural test. In highly-specialized commercial breeds, the range of behavioural diversity is wider and the number of animals in domesticated classes is larger, reaching, eg, 86.0 % in the East-Friesian breed. It is hypothesized that the polymorphism of domestication-related behaviour in commercial breeds has developed under the influence of natural selection for adaption under stressful conditions of breeding under the control of man and selection for productivity

Interactions between Plutella xylostella, Diadegma semiclausum and some generalist predators of brassica crops.

While much is known about the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) (Plutellidae) (DBM), the most important pest of brassica crops worldwide, there is little understanding about the dynamics of predatory invertebrates in brassica systems. Thus, the main objective of this work was to identify and study some interactions that occur among the parasitoid Diadegma semiclausum Hellen (Ichneumonidae), some commonly found predators and DBM, which may impact on biological control of this pest. Some novel key interactions were identified. First, predation of early DBM instars by Coccinella undecimpunctata Linnaeus, Coccinella transversalis (Fabricius) (Coccinellidae) and Micromus tasmaniae (Walker) (Hemerobiidae) was verified, even in the presence of Myzus persicae Sulzer (Aphididae). However, consumption decreased with the increasing availability of the aphid, suggesting these predators may display a low but consistent consumption of DBM, which may increase in periods of scarcity of alternative prey. Second, this study elucidated the modification in the behaviour and movement of larval DBM caused by D. semiclausum. Despite coincidental intraguild predation on the parasitoid, an increase in predation on DBM was observed when D. semiclausum and either of two hemipteran predators, Oechalia schellenbergii Guérin-Méneville (Pentatomidae) or Nabis kinbergii Reuter (Nabidae), coexisted. This probably resulted from the higher movement rate of DBM in the presence of D. semiclausum, which made it less cryptic. And third, it was observed that DBM larvae parasitised by D. semiclausum became more vulnerable to predation by C. transversalis, probably as a result of the specific hunting and attacking mode of this predator. These results indicate that among the predatory species studied the predatory bugs and parasitoids may have a synergistic interaction that enhances biological control. Only coccinellids might disrupt biological control. However, their low level of predation on DBM and preference for aphids in the field would make this unlikely. Although the short-term experiments reported in this thesis were conducted under laboratory conditions, important mechanisms resulting from the interaction between DBM larvae, alternative prey, a larval parasitoid, and generalist predators have been identified. Understanding the impact of these mechanisms under real crop conditions and in the longterm will help developing sustainable pest management strategies in Australian vegetable crops.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, 201

Sense variability and typology of cultures

The article is concerned with the problem of justification of cultural (civilizational) typological diversity, which is being analyzed in the framework of variant types and meaning-making methods. Authors attempt to prove the leading role of these methods in shaping cultures’ idiosyncrasies, as well as a specific course of their evolution, and sustainability as culture-transforming programs. In the article, the criteria of distinguishing historical culture types set in the XIX-XX centuries by the most influential civilizational concepts are analyzed, and a new criterion is proposed. This is the criterion of the meaning-making method which is considered the most applicable to describe the core of any culture as an integrity of both experimental and textual ways of human existence re-examination. A number of culture (civilization) types were used as examples; the article observes how the key meaning-making model sculpts the civilization as a unique entity and defines it