Combinatorial Cosmology

In this chapter, a combinatorial model for cosmology is analyzed. We consider each universe as a path in a graph, and the set of all such paths can be made into a finite probability space. We can then consider the probabilities for different kinds of behavior and under certain circumstances argue that a scenario where the behavior of the entropy is monotonic, either increasing or decreasing, should be much more likely than a scenario where the behavior is symmetric with respect to time. In this way we can attempt to construct a model for a multiverse which is completely time symmetric but where the individual universes tend to be time asymmetric, i.e., have an arrow of time. One of the main points with this approach is that this kind of broken symmetry can be studied in very small models using exact mathematical methods from, e.g., combinatorics. Even if the amount of computations needed increases very rapidly with the size of the model, we can still hope for valuable information about what properties more realistic models should have. Some suggestions for further research are pointed out

Prüfung von Saatgutbehandlungen an Karotten

To grow carrots in organic quality for storage is often difficult due to seed- and soilborne diseases. In a series of experiments, seed treatments were evaluated to improve seed health, field stand establishment and yield of carrots under field conditions on farmer’s fields within their production system. In standard germination tests in the laboratory, positive effects of the treatments were observable. However, in subsequent field experiments, none of the tested seed treatments improved crop establishment or yield. These results indicate that the quality of organic carrot seeds is generally sufficient and improvements with farm-made seed treatments are difficult to obtain. Further improvement in organic production of carrots may be achieved by seed treatments, such as physical methods or biocontrol organisms, applied by specialised companies, prior to marketing of these seeds

Similar neural networks respond to coherence during comprehension and production of discourse

When comprehending discourse, listeners engage default-mode regions associated with integrative semantic processing to construct a situation model of its content. We investigated how similar networks are engaged when we produce, as well as comprehend, discourse. During functional magnetic resonance imaging, participants spoke about a series of specific topics and listened to discourse on other topics. We tested how activation was predicted by natural fluctuations in the global coherence of the discourse, that is, the degree to which utterances conformed to the expected topic. The neural correlates of coherence were similar across speaking and listening, particularly in default-mode regions. This network showed greater activation when less coherent speech was heard or produced, reflecting updating of mental representations when discourse did not conform to the expected topic. In contrast, regions that exert control over semantic activation showed task-specific effects, correlating negatively with coherence during listening but not during production. Participants who showed greater activation in left inferior prefrontal cortex also produced more coherent discourse, suggesting a specific role for this region in goal-directed regulation of speech content. Results suggest strong correspondence of discourse representations during speaking and listening. However, they indicate that the semantic control network plays different roles in comprehension and production

Innovative Management and Implementation of Applied Research Project “Green Cost-Efficient Package Selection”

Cost-effectiveness is one of main criterions of innovation. In the current research, the generic mechanisms of university-enterprise collaborative project realization are included, which can be used to introduce the fresh ideas to industry. Such projects are useful for both partners: enterprise and university. Professors receive applied research projects experience and can publish the results of research, the students, involved in the project, can use received knowledge in their master or bachelor theses, and enterprises can employ new and active engineers. The aim of the project was to develop the green cost-efficient package for electronics industry, which should replace the previously used package. The target of this chapter is to bring the project team experience to the broader audience, who can successfully apply it for similar research project management and practical implementation. Today, the companies frequently use expensive package, which exceeds required quality specifications. That means the quality standards used by the company have too high requirements for the product types that package should protect. Purpose of current research project was to reduce the total cost of the packaging process and to select the environmentally friendly materials. Research team has elaborated the methodology for assessment of possible package variants

Mitochondrial DNA signals of late glacial recolonization of Europe from near Eastern refugia

Human populations, along with those of many other species, are thought to have contracted into a number of refuge areas at the height of the last Ice Age. European populations are believed to be, to a large extent, the descendants of the inhabitants of these refugia, and some extant mtDNA lineages can be traced to refugia in Franco-Cantabria (haplogroups H1, H3, V, and U5b1), the Italian Peninsula (U5b3), and the East European Plain (U4 and U5a). Parts of the Near East, such as the Levant, were also continuously inhabited throughout the Last Glacial Maximum, but unlike western and eastern Europe, no archaeological or genetic evidence for Late Glacial expansions into Europe from the Near East has hitherto been discovered. Here we report, on the basis of an enlarged whole-genome mitochondrial database, that a substantial, perhaps predominant, signal from mitochondrial haplogroups J and T, previously thought to have spread primarily from the Near East into Europe with the Neolithic population, may in fact reflect dispersals during the Late Glacial period, ?19–12 thousand years (ka) ago.<br/

Liste des intrants 2018

La liste des intrants contient tous les produits phytosanitaires, les engrais, les substrats du commerce, les produits de lutte contre les mouches des étables, les agents d'ensilage, les aliments minéraux et complémentaires, les produits pour la désinfection des stabulations et les produits contre les maladies des abeilles autorisés pour l'agriculture biologique. Cette liste est contraignante pour les producteurs de Bio Suisse et Demeter. Sur les fermes Bio Suisse, seuls les produits mentionnés sont autorisés. Les exceptions sont décrites séparément dans les introductions aux différents chapitres