906 research outputs found

    Adaptation of an Evolutionary Algorithm in Modeling Electric Circuits

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    This paper describes the influence of setting control parameters of a differential evolutionary algorithm (DE) and the influence of adapting these parameters on the simulation of electric circuits and their components. Various DE algorithm strategies are investigated, and also the influence of adapting the controlling parameters (Cr, F) during simulation and the effect of sample size. Optimizing an equivalent circuit diagram is chosen as a test task. Several strategies and settings of a DE algorithm are evaluated according to their convergence to the right solution.

    The impact of weather conditions on microclimate in storage facilities

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    ArticleThe key to maintaining good qualitative parameters of stored grain on farms is to achieve and maintain suitable storage temperatures relative to the outside temperature. In the framework of this research, the main focus was on typical representatives of grain storage facilities used in the Czech agriculture. In the post - harvest period after the crops were stored in the chosen storage facilities, the temperature of the material was monitored at 15 - minute intervals using an external temperature probe as well as the temperature and dew point of the outdoor air. A simple linear regression model was used for data analysis. The correlated temperature d ependence of the stored grain varies considerably in the monitored storage facilities. The storage halls were characterized by a low dependence (r = 0.2208) of the temperature of the material on the outside air temperature in the first 4 months following t he harvest when the grains were being stabilized by active aeration. In addition to the grain and the air temperature, the second focus was monitoring the dew point, i.e. assessing the risk of water vapour condensation on the surface in the upper layer of the stored grain, which is very undesirable for maintaining the quality of the stored grain. The results show that the monitored storage hall can be characterized by the ability to maintain the required climate due to outdoor climatic conditions. In genera l, this ability mainly depends on the type and design of the storage facility, the aeration system and also the storage capacity. Mainly during spring the dew point and water vapour condensation can often happen within the grain, therefore the need to focu s on appropriate measures such as reduced aeration or increased grain mixing, and thus avoiding the formation of critical spots

    Epuraea imperialis (Reitter, 1877). New invasive species of Nitidulidae (Coleoptera) in Europe, with a checklist of sap beetles introduced to Europe and Mediterranean areas

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    Australian species Epuraea imperialis (Reitter, 1877), previously introduced to New Zealand, is recorded as a new invasive species from the Canary Islands, Continental Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, and Italy. It is redescribed and figured, and its taxonomic position in the genus Epuraea Erichson, 1843 is discussed. A tentative checklist of sap beetles introduced to Europe and the Mediterranean areas is finally included

    Minimax Estimation of Nonregular Parameters and Discontinuity in Minimax Risk

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    When a parameter of interest is nondifferentiable in the probability, the existing theory of semiparametric efficient estimation is not applicable, as it does not have an influence function. Song (2014) recently developed a local asymptotic minimax estimation theory for a parameter that is a nondifferentiable transform of a regular parameter, where the nondifferentiable transform is a composite map of a continuous piecewise linear map with a single kink point and a translation-scale equivariant map. The contribution of this paper is two fold. First, this paper extends the local asymptotic minimax theory to nondifferentiable transforms that are a composite map of a Lipschitz continuous map having a finite set of nondifferentiability points and a translation-scale equivariant map. Second, this paper investigates the discontinuity of the local asymptotic minimax risk in the true probability and shows that the proposed estimator remains to be optimal even when the risk is locally robustified not only over the scores at the true probability, but also over the true probability itself. However, the local robustification does not resolve the issue of discontinuity in the local asymptotic minimax risk

    Comparison of a 1 t and a 55 t container when storing spelt grain in mild climate of the Czech Republic

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    ArticleMaintaining a suitable microclimate inside the storage space is the most significant factor in maintaining good quality of stored grain for small farmers. This article is aimed at evaluating the influence of outdoor climatic conditions on the storage conditions, specifically the temperature of stored grain in two storage containers. One structure was a 4 × 6 m cylindrical container (55 t capacity) with a steel wire mesh wall lined with a textile shell. Spelt grain (Triticum spelta) was also stored simultaneously at the same location in a fabric intermediate bulk container (FIBC) bag with maximum capacity of 1 t. Neither structure was mechanically aerated. Grain moisture and temperature were monitored during the spring and start of the summer period of the year 2017 because of the biggest differences between the night and day temperatures. For monitoring of the grain microbiological changes samples were taken for laboratory tests during the whole experiment. Grain quality parameters measured during storage included the bulk density, crude protein, falling number, germination, gluten content, sedimentation index and contamination by mycotoxins. Monitored outdoor environment parameters were temperature, dew point and relative humidity. Results showed a strong dependence of the stored material temperature on the outside temperature in the case of FIBC bags (coefficient of determination R 2 = 0.927), whereas the dependence was weaker in the larger structure (R 2 = 0.625). Mycotoxins monitored during the period were below the detection limit in both cases

    Interpretations of Presburger Arithmetic in Itself

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    Presburger arithmetic PrA is the true theory of natural numbers with addition. We study interpretations of PrA in itself. We prove that all one-dimensional self-interpretations are definably isomorphic to the identity self-interpretation. In order to prove the results we show that all linear orders that are interpretable in (N,+) are scattered orders with the finite Hausdorff rank and that the ranks are bounded in terms of the dimension of the respective interpretations. From our result about self-interpretations of PrA it follows that PrA isn't one-dimensionally interpretable in any of its finite subtheories. We note that the latter was conjectured by A. Visser.Comment: Published in proceedings of LFCS 201

    Towards a Proof Theory of G\"odel Modal Logics

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    Analytic proof calculi are introduced for box and diamond fragments of basic modal fuzzy logics that combine the Kripke semantics of modal logic K with the many-valued semantics of G\"odel logic. The calculi are used to establish completeness and complexity results for these fragments

    Effect of UV-B radiation on the contents of UV-B absorbing compounds and photosynthetic parameters in Parmotrema austrosinense from two contrasting habitats

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    We studied the resistance of Parmotrema austrosinense to UV-B stress. We focused on the effects of a high dose UV-B radiation on the content of chlorophylls, carotenoids and UV-B screening compounds. Photosynthetic parameters were measured by chlorophyll fluorescence (potential and effective quantum yields, photochemical and non-photochemical quenching) and evaluated in control and UV-B-treated lichens. Lichens from two different locations in Cordoba, Argentina, were selected: (i) high altitude and dry plots at (Los Gigantes) and (ii) lowland high salinity plots (Salinas Grandes). UV-B treatment led to a decrease in the content of photosynthetic pigments and UV-B screens (absorbance decrease in 220–350 nm) in the samples from Salinas Grandes, while in Los Gigantes samples, an increase in UV-B screen content was observed. Chlorophyll fluorescence parameters showed a UV-B-induced decline in FV/FM, ΦPSII and qP indicating limitation of primary photosynthetic processes in photosystem II (PSII) of symbiotic alga, more pronounced in Salinas Grandes samples. Protective mechanism of PSII were activated by the UV-B treatment to a higher extent in samples from Salinas Grandes (NPQ 0.48) than in Los Gigantes samples (NPQ 0.26). We concluded that site-related characteristics, and in particular different UV-B radiation regimen, had a strong effect on resistance of the photosynthetic apparatus of P. austrosinense to UV-B radiation.Fil: Barták, M.. Masaryk University; República ChecaFil: Pláteníková, E.. Masaryk University; República ChecaFil: Carreras, Hebe Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Hájek, J.. Masaryk University. Faculty Of Sciences; República ChecaFil: Morkusová, J.. Masaryk University. Faculty Of Sciences; República ChecaFil: Mateos, Ana Carolina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Marecková, M.. Masaryk University. Faculty Of Sciences; República Chec

    Quantum mechanics and elements of reality inferred from joint measurements

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    The Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen argument on quantum mechanics incompleteness is formulated in terms of elements of reality inferred from joint (as opposed to alternative) measurements, in two examples involving entangled states of three spin-1/2 particles. The same states allow us to obtain proofs of the incompatibility between quantum mechanics and elements of reality.Comment: LaTeX, 12 page

    Migration of Chadic speaking pastoralists within Africa based on population structure of Chad Basin and phylogeography of mitochondrial L3f haplogroup

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    BACKGROUND: Chad Basin, lying within the bidirectional corridor of African Sahel, is one of the most populated places in Sub-Saharan Africa today. The origin of its settlement appears connected with Holocene climatic ameliorations (aquatic resources) that started ~10,000 years before present (YBP). Although both Nilo-Saharan and Niger-Congo language families are encountered here, the most diversified group is the Chadic branch belonging to the Afro-Asiatic language phylum. In this article, we investigate the proposed ancient migration of Chadic pastoralists from Eastern Africa based on linguistic data and test for genetic traces of this migration in extant Chadic speaking populations. RESULTS: We performed whole mitochondrial genome sequencing of 16 L3f haplotypes, focused on clade L3f3 that occurs almost exclusively in Chadic speaking people living in the Chad Basin. These data supported the reconstruction of a L3f phylogenetic tree and calculation of times to the most recent common ancestor for all internal clades. A date ~8,000 YBP was estimated for the L3f3 sub-haplogroup, which is in good agreement with the supposed migration of Chadic speaking pastoralists and their linguistic differentiation from other Afro-Asiatic groups of East Africa. As a whole, the Afro-Asiatic language family presents low population structure, as 92.4% of mtDNA variation is found within populations and only 3.4% of variation can be attributed to diversity among language branches. The Chadic speaking populations form a relatively homogenous cluster, exhibiting lower diversification than the other Afro-Asiatic branches (Berber, Semitic and Cushitic). CONCLUSION: The results of our study support an East African origin of mitochondrial L3f3 clade that is present almost exclusively within Chadic speaking people living in Chad Basin. Whole genome sequence-based dates show that the ancestral haplogroup L3f must have emerged soon after the Out-of-Africa migration (around 57,100 +/- 9,400 YBP), but the "Chadic" L3f3 clade has much less internal variation, suggesting an expansion during the Holocene period about 8,000 +/- 2,500 YBP. This time period in the Chad Basin is known to have been particularly favourable for the expansion of pastoralists coming from northeastern Africa, as suggested by archaeological, linguistic and climatic data
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