Coseismic DInSAR Analysis of the 2020 Petrinja Earthquake Sequence

Interferometric SAR analysis provides an excellent opportunity to perform large-scale and rapid coseismic deformation mapping. Between December 28-30, 2020, three earthquakes with magnitudes greater than 4.3 occurred during the 2020 Petrinja Earthquake Sequence near Petrinja in Croatia, resulting in significant coseismic deformation. Considering both the available ascending and descending Sentinel-1A/B images preceding and following the Petrinja Earthquake Sequence, 2.5D differential interferometric analysis was performed to determine the resulting deformation field, which have significant importance in civil engineering related countermeasures and hazard assessment. With the applied methodology, the derived horizontal and vertical deformation fields can be characterized by a maximum of ±0.43 m local East-West, a maximum of 0.15 m local subsidence and a maximum of 0.19 m local vertical uplift near Petrinja

From “actually existing socialism” to actually existing post-socialism: János Kornai and the importance of language reform in political economy

This paper discusses the contributions of János Kornai to the “language reform” of socialism and post-socialism, meaning the creation of new conceptual frameworks to replace the mainstream interpretation of the system with a more realistic, critical description. We show that, in the three waves of language reform under the Kádár regime – economics, sociology, and law – Kornai was a trailblazer by introducing concepts like “soft budget constraint,” “plan bargaining,” and “shortage,” which became key concepts for reform economists and dissident intellectuals in Eastern Europe. We discuss Kornai's work on post-socialism as well, particularly his paper “The System Paradigm Revisited,” and point out its merits and shortcomings in the description of the regimes of the region. Presenting our offer for a new language reform, based on Kornai, we underline the importance of proper words for understanding “actually existing post-socialism,” and the task of political economists to revise the current mainstream and analyse the phenomena of post-communist “relational economies.

Modeling and Calculation of the Global Solar Irradiance on Slopes

The first step with regard to a simple model of a Photovoltaic Power Plant is developed in this paper based on astronomical and engineering principles. A solar irradiance model is presented in this paper that can be used to forecast the solar energy a surface on Earth is exposed to. The obtained model is verified against engineering expectations. The developed model can serve as a basis for forecasting the power of solar energy

Cost-optimal model predictive scheduling of home appliances

A novel heuristic model-based optimal scheduling algorithm is proposed in this paper to operate heating and cooling type home appliances connected to smart grids where the price of the electrical energy is known in advance and temperature constraints are present. The properties and the use of the proposed algorithm are shown using a simple refrigerator model. The accuracy and the computational properties of the proposed method are compared to the schedule generated by the MPT toolbox. The algorithm works well with a relatively short prediction horizon using a fraction of the computing time needed for the MPT-based method. The robustness of the algorithm is also investigated with respect to the load of the refrigerator. It is shown that the designed schedule with an empty refrigerator is always suitable, yet not optimal, for any loaded case

Dynamic time warping analysis in post-stroke rehabilitation

AbstractThis paper presents the application of the Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) algorithm in the analysis of human functional movements in activities of daily living (ADLs). Dynamic Time Warping was originally developed for automatic speech recognition, though the method has been adopted by several fi elds of biomechanics. As a part of the post-stroke rehabilitation project COSMOSYS, the aim is to quantify the ADL performances of hemiparetic subjects, hence to be able to track their progress during physiotherapy.DOI: 10.17489/biohun/2014/2/0

Cost-Optimal Model Predictive Scheduling of Freezers

A cost-optimal model predictive scheduling algorithm is presented that operates in a day-ahead market. The underlying optimizer is a heuristic branch and bound algorithm that finds the constrained optimal scheduling of a freezer with respect to hourly changing energy price. The method is also able to iteratively re-estimate the heat capacity of the freezer. Simulation experiments were performed on a freezer model identified from measurement data. Results show that the proposed algorithm successfully de- creased the cost of operation, however the computational complexity increases when the price is growing. The proposed method can be generalized for home appliances of different kind