Agent-Based Algorithms for the Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows

Vehicle routing problem s casovymi okny (VRPTW) je jednim z nejdulezitSjSich a nejvice zkou- manych problemu v oblasti dopravy. Matematicky model tohoto problemu vystihuje klicove vlastnosti spolecne cele fadS dalslch dopravmch problemu feSenych v praxi. Jadrem problemu je hledani mnoziny tras zacmajicicli a koncicich v jedinem depu, ktere obsahuji zastavky u mnoziny zakazniku. Pro kazdSho zakazm'ka je pak definovano konkretm' mnozstvf zbozf, jez je tfeba dorucit a casove okno, ve kterem je pozadovano dodani tohoto zbozi. Realne aplikace tohoto problemu jsou zpravidla vyrazne bohatsi, napojene na nadfazene logisticke systemy. KliSoA'ym faktorem pro uspSSne nasazeni odpovldajicich algoritmu je proto jejich fiexibilita vzhledem k dodatecnym rozSuemm zhkladmho matematickeho modelu spojenym s nasazenim v realnem sv§t§. Dalglm podstatnym faktorem je schopnost systemu reagovat na nepfedvidane udalosti jako jsou dopravm zaepy, poruchy, zmgny preferenci zakazniku atd. Multi-agentni systemy reprezentuji architekturu a navrhovy vzor vhodny pro modelovani heterogennlch a dynamickych systemu. Entity v systemu jsou v ramci multi-agentmho mo- delu reprezentovany mnozinou agentil s odpovidajlci'mi vzorci autonommho jako i spolecenskeho chovani. Chovani systemu jako celku pak vyplyva z autonomnich akci...The vehicle routing problem with time windows (VRPTW) is one of the most important and widely studied transportation optimization problems. It abstracts the salient features of numer- ous distribution related real-world problems. It is a problem of finding a set of routes starting and ending at a single depot serving a set of geographically scattered customers, each within a specific time-window and with a specific demand of goods to be delivered. The real world applications of the VRPTW can be very complex being part of higher level sj'^stems i.e. complex supply chain management solutions. For a successful deployment it is impor- tant for these systems to be flexible in terms of incorporating the problem specific side-constraints and problem extensions in an elegant way. Also, employing efficient means of addressing the dy- namism inherent to the execution phase of the relevant operations is vital. The multi-agent systems are an emerging architectm-e with respect to modeling multi-actor heterogenous and dynamic environments. The entities within the system are represented by a set of agents endowed with autonomic as well as social behavioral patterns. The behavior of the system then emerges from their actions and interactions. The autonomic nature of such a model makes it very robust in highly...Katedra softwarového inženýrstvíDepartment of Software EngineeringFaculty of Mathematics and PhysicsMatematicko-fyzikální fakult

Nestor Nyžankivskyj, ukrajinský žák Vítězslava Nováka

The study provides the basic biographical data and evaluation of the work of a West Ukrainian composer and pianist Nestor Nyzhankivsky (1893–1940), who was educated in music in Lviv and Vienna. Afterwards, he studied in the composition master class of the Czech composer and music teacher Vítězslav Novák at the Prague Conservatoire from 1923 to 1928. He also worked in Prague as a teacher of music theory subjects at the Mykhailo Drahomanov Ukrainian Higher Pedagogical Institute until 1929. After returning to Lviv, he became an important part of the local music scene. He composed, performed as a pianist and taught piano and music theory subjects at the Higher Musical Institute of Mykola Lysenko. Furthermore, he reflected the local music scene as a music critic. From 1934, he was a head of the Union of Ukrainian Professional Musicians. After the annexation of the Eastern Galicia to the Soviet Union, he left his homeland and died in an emigration camp in Lodz, Poland. His compositional work is characterized as a synthesis of the romantic tradition with the tendencies of the modernism and contains the piano and vocal compositions primarily

Hudebně-pedagogické oddělení Ukrajinského vysokého pedagogického ústavu Mychajla Drahomanova v Praze (1923–1933)

During 1923–1933, the Mykhailo Drahomanov Ukrainian Higher Pedagogical Institute operated in Prague, providing advanced education to Ukrainian émigrés who settled in Czechoslovakia during the interwar period. Beyond the primary function of the institute's music education faculty – to train teachers for Ukrainian secondary schools – it became the organising focal point of Ukrainian musical life in Prague, as well as an important centre of Ukrainian musicological research in Czechoslovakia. The Prague Drahomanov Institute was the first, and so far the only, place in Ukrainian education where music was taught as in a university – i.e. in close contact with the humanities and social sciences, as is the norm in Western Europe – and not, as it were, in a conservatoire, where musicology and music education are solely the preserve of academies of art, the arrangement more common in the post-Soviet region

Hudební aktivity Ukrajinců v meziválečném Brně

The study focuses on the historical evaluation of the role of the Ukrainians in interwar Brno's overall cultural environment. The Moravian metropolis played an important part in the lives of the Ukrainian diaspora in Czechoslovakia. Themes in the study are dealt with in two chronologically linked areas – both the production of the Ukrainian artists who visited Brno as guests (Ukrainian republic band in 1919) and the later musical activity connected with federal activities of the Ukrainians settled in Brno are introduced. Ukrainian music production in interwar Brno was, with some exceptions, for a broad audience, it was also for a number of times broadcasted on the Brno radio. Although these musical performances did not quantitatively exceed those in Prague, many of them were of a high artistic level. The study is another piece in mapping of the musical lives of the Ukrainians in interwar Czechoslovakia and it also brings new findings about musical course of events in Brno in the first republic era

Leoš Janáček's interpretation and misinterpretation of Dostoyevsky's The House of the Dead

This article analyses the approach Leoš Janáček undertook in translating the original Russian text of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky's The House of the Dead to the Czech language. Confusing to some, Janáček's work uses a surprising amount of either words directly transliterated from Russian or peculiar expressions with a meaning often unclear to Czech audiences. Thus, from a linguistic perspective, certain passages of the libretto lack internal logic. Since the composer's death, there have been numerous adjustments made in the sung text, however, the article focuses primarily on the original version which, even though less graspable by meaning, tends to maintain authenticity intended by Dostoyevsky

Interdependent Scheduling Games

We propose a model of interdependent scheduling games in which each player controls a set of services that they schedule independently. A player is free to schedule his own services at any time; however, each of these services only begins to accrue reward for the player when all predecessor services, which may or may not be controlled by the same player, have been activated. This model, where players have interdependent services, is motivated by the problems faced in planning and coordinating large-scale infrastructures, e.g., restoring electricity and gas to residents after a natural disaster or providing medical care in a crisis when different agencies are responsible for the delivery of staff, equipment, and medicine. We undertake a game-theoretic analysis of this setting and in particular consider the issues of welfare maximization, computing best responses, Nash dynamics, and existence and computation of Nash equilibria.Comment: Accepted to IJCAI 201

Temporal Trends of Persistent Organic Pollutants across Africa after a Decade of MONET Passive Air Sampling

The Global Monitoring Plan of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) was established to generate long-term data necessary for evaluating the effectiveness of regulatory measures at a global scale. After a decade of passive air monitoring (2008-2019), MONET is the first network to produce sufficient data for the analysis of long-term temporal trends of POPs in the African atmosphere. This study reports concentrations of 20 POPs (aldrin, chlordane, chlordecone, DDT, dieldrin, endrin, endosulfan, HBCDD, HCB, HCHs, heptachlor, hexabromobiphenyl, mirex, PBDEs, PCBs, PCDDs, PCDFs, PeCB, PFOA, and PFOS) monitored in 9 countries (Congo, Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria, and Sudan). As of January 1, 2019, concentrations were in the following ranges (pg/m(3)): 0.5-37.7 (Sigma 6PCB), 0.006-0.724 (Sigma 17PCDD/F), 0.05-5.5 (Sigma 9PBDE), 0.6-11.3 (BDE 209), 0.1-1.8 (Sigma 3HBCDD), 1.8-138 (Sigma 6DDT), 0.1-24.3 (Sigma(3)endosulfan), 0.6-14.6 (Sigma 4HCH), 9.1-26.4 (HCB), 13.8-18.2 (PeCB). Temporal trends indicate that concentrations of many POPs (PCBs, DDT, HCHs, endosulfan) have declined significantly over the past 10 years, though the rate was slow at some sites. Concentrations of other POPs such as PCDD/Fs and PBDEs have not changed significantly over the past decade and are in fact increasing at some sites, attributed to the prevalence of open burning of waste (particularly e-waste) across Africa. Modeled airflow back-trajectories suggest that the elevated concentrations at some sites are primarily due to sustained local emissions, while the low concentrations measured at Mt. Kenya represent the continental background level and are primarily influenced by long-range transport

A comprehensive assessment of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in an Indian food basket: Levels, dietary intakes, and comparison with

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in diet are a health concern and their monitoring in food has been introduced in the European Union. In developing countries, EDC dietary exposure data are scarce, especially from areas perceived as pollution hotspots, including industrialized countries like India. Several persistent organic pollutants (POPs) act as EDCs and pose a pressure to human health mainly through dietary exposure. In the present study, a range of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), dioxins and furans were measured in several food items collected from Indian urban (Delhi) and peri-urban (Dehradun) areas. Food basket contamination data were used to estimate EDC dietary exposure and compare it with that of the average European population estimated from available monitoring data. All the target contaminants were found in most food items, especially in dairies and meat products. OCPs were the main contributers to the measured EDC contamination. Food supplied to Delhi's markets had higher EDC contamination than that supplied to the peri-urban market in Dehradun. Despite lax compliance and control measures, Indian dietary exposure of OCPs and PBDEs were comparable with that of Europe and were lower for PCBs and dioxins. Higher meat consumption in Europe only partly explained this pattern which was driven also by the higher EDC residues in some European food items. A substantial part of endocrine disrupting potential in the diet derives from food and animal feeds internationally traded between developed and developing countries. With increasingly globalized food systems, internationally harmonized policies on EDC content in food can lead to better protection of health in both these contexts