ON GENERALIZATIONS OF STIRLING NUMBERS AND SOME WELL-KNOWN MATRICES

We introduce a generalization of the Stirling numbers of the first kind and the second kind. By arranging these numbers into matrices, we generalize the Stirling matrices of the first kind and the second kind investigated by Cheon and Kim [Stirling matrix via Pascal matrix, Linear Algebra Appl. 329 (2001) 49–59]. Furthermore, we introduce generalizations of the Pascal matrix and the symmetric Pascal matrix with two real arguments, and generalize earlier results related to the Pascal matrices, Stirling matrices and matrices involving Bell numbers

AUTHOMATED METHOD FOR DESIGNING FUZZY SYSTEMS

The paper presents a method for building fuzzy systems using the input-output data that can be obtained from examples. Using this method, a rule-based system is created, where fuzzy logic depends on the opinions and preferences of decision-makers involved in the process. Some advantages of the proposed method are high-lighted. We have provided a practical example to illustrate the application of the process

Approximate State Reduction of Fuzzy Finite Automata

In this paper we introduce a new type of approximate state reductions where the behaviors of the reduced and the original automaton do not have to be identical, but they must match on all words of length less than or equal to some given natural number. We provide four methods for performing such reductions.Comment: In Proceedings AFL 2023, arXiv:2309.0112

Kako postupati u kriznim situacijama : preporuke za školsku zajednicu

Поштовани и драги наставници, стручни сарадници и директори школа, Поводом трагичног догађаја у основној школи „Владислав Рибникар“ у Београду, обраћамо вам се да бисмо вам показали да нисте сами. Ми, сарадници Института за педагошка истраживања, смо уз вас као што сте и ви увек уз нас, спремни да сарађујете и помогнете нам у нашим истраживачким активностима. Осим што утиче на појединце који су директно њиме погођени, овај трагични догађај може пореметити образовни процес у целини и утицати на све учеснике школског живота и ширу заједницу. Школе треба да буду позитивна средина за учење и поучавање која ученицима и запосленима пружа осећај континуитета, сигурности и припадности. У овом кризном периоду пред вас се постављају веома висока очекивања – да наставите одговорно да испуњавате своје свакодневне школске обавезе и да будете подршка и ослонац својим ученицима у превазилажењу трауматских искустава. Притом, лако се може изгубити из вида да сте и ви сведоци трагичног догађаја и да и вама треба додатна снага и подршка да бисте одговорили на овај изазов. Питате се какво понашање можете да очекујете од ученика и како да комуницирате са њима у околностима које су стресне и неуобичајене. Свесни смо да је ваше богато педагошко искуство ваш најснажнији ресурс, али нико не може бити потпуно спреман за изазове овог типа. Овај приручник вам пружа основне препоруке на које можете да се ослоните у кризним ситуацијама у раду са ученицима. Мај, 2023. годинеPoštovani i dragi nastavnici, stručni saradnici i direktori škola, Povodom tragičnog događaja u osnovnoj školi „Vladislav Ribnikar“ u Beogradu, obraćamo vam se da bismo vam pokazali da niste sami. Mi, saradnici Instituta za pedagoška istraživanja, smo uz vas kao što ste i vi uvek uz nas, spremni da sarađujete i pomognete nam u našim istraživačkim aktivnostima. Osim što utiče na pojedince koji su direktno njime pogođeni, ovaj tragični događaj može poremetiti obrazovni proces u celini i uticati na sve učesnike školskog života i širu zajednicu. Škole treba da budu pozitivna sredina za učenje i poučavanje koja učenicima i zaposlenima pruža osećaj kontinuiteta, sigurnosti i pripadnosti. U ovom kriznom periodu pred vas se postavljaju veoma visoka očekivanja – da nastavite odgovorno da ispunjavate svoje svakodnevne školske obaveze i da budete podrška i oslonac svojim učenicima u prevazilaženju traumatskih iskustava. Pritom, lako se može izgubiti iz vida da ste i vi svedoci tragičnog događaja i da i vama treba dodatna snaga i podrška da biste odgovorili na ovaj izazov. Pitate se kakvo ponašanje možete da očekujete od učenika i kako da komunicirate sa njima u okolnostima koje su stresne i neuobičajene. Svesni smo da je vaše bogato pedagoško iskustvo vaš najsnažniji resurs, ali niko ne može biti potpuno spreman za izazove ovog tipa. Ovaj priručnik vam pruža osnovne preporuke na koje možete da se oslonite u kriznim situacijama u radu sa učenicima. Maj, 2023. godin

Depth-Bounded Fuzzy Simulations and Bisimulations between Fuzzy Automata

Simulations and bisimulations are well-established notions in crisp/fuzzy automata theory and are widely used to compare the behaviors of automata. Their main drawback is that they compare the behaviors of fuzzy automata in a crisp manner. Recently, fuzzy simulations and fuzzy bisimulations have been defined for fuzzy automata as a kind of approximate simulations and approximate bisimulations that compare the behaviors of fuzzy automata in a fuzzy manner. However, they still suffer from serious shortcomings. First, they still cannot correlate all fuzzy automata that are intuitively "more or less" (bi)similar. Second, the currently known algorithms for computing the greatest fuzzy simulation or bisimulation between two finite fuzzy automata have an exponential time complexity when the {\L}ukasiewicz or product structure of fuzzy values is used. This work deals with these problems, providing approximations of fuzzy simulations and fuzzy bisimulations. We define such approximations via a novel notion of decreasing sequences of fuzzy relations whose infima are, under some conditions, fuzzy simulations (respectively, bisimulations). We call such a sequence a depth-bounded fuzzy simulation (respectively, bisimulation), as the $n$th element from the sequence compares the behaviors of fuzzy automata, but only for words with a length bounded by $n$. We further provide a logical characterization of the greatest depth-bounded fuzzy simulation or bisimulation between two fuzzy automata by proving that it satisfies the corresponding Hennessy-Milner property. Finally, we provide polynomial-time algorithms for computing the $n$th component of the greatest depth-bounded fuzzy simulation (respectively, bisimulation) between two finite fuzzy automata

Emerging contaminants in sediment core from the Iron Gate I Reservoir on the Danube River

The Iron Gate I Reservoir is the largest impoundment on the Danube River. It retains gt 50% of the incoming total suspended solids load and the associated organic contaminants. In the sediment core of the Iron Gate I Reservoir we report the presence and fate of four classes of emerging contaminants (pharmaceuticals, pesticides, steroids and perfluorinated compounds), predominantly not covered by the EU monitoring programs, but considered as future candidates. Based on contaminant's partitioning behavior in the water/sediment system and the suspected ecotoxicological potential asserted from the literature data, the risk of recorded concentrations for sediment-dwelling organisms was discussed. The high anticipated risk was associated with antibiotics sulfamethoxazole and erythromycin, and pesticides linuron and carbendazim (banned in the EU, but still approved for use in the investigated area) and malathion. This indicated the need for better control of release of these compounds into the river, and implied their inclusion in future regular monitoring. Higher concentrations of pharmaceuticals and most pesticides and sterols were recorded in the fragment of allochthonous coarser sediment, assumed to have entered the reservoir during a high discharge event. Only one perfluorinated compound was recorded in the upper part of the sediment core. The vertical concentration profiles of pesticides propazine and malathion indicated their uniform source, most likely atmospheric transport and deposition of particles deriving from agricultural land

Physical-chemical behavior of novel copolymers composed of methacrylic acid and 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid

This article described the synthesis and characterization of new copolymer hydrogels containing two hydrophilic units-methacrylic acid (MAA) and 2-Acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid (AMPS). The resulting hydrogels were characterized by various techniques: FTIR, Elemental analysis, SEM, Dynamic Molecular simulation, Dynamic-Mechanical analysis and DSC in order to confirm the structure of hydrogels and to predict the best ratio composition with enhanced physical chemical properties. The swelling behavior in water was studied as a function of ratio of monomers and their concentration in medium. An increase in AMPS content led to expansion of network and increase in swelling degree capacity in water. An increase in AMPS content did not significantly influence the glass transition temperature of copolymers, indicated that the physical properties of initial components were preserved. The equal amount of monomers contributed to the highest strength of hydrogels. Meanwhile, the introduction of AMPS to the system was an effective method for improving the performances of the poly(methacrylic acid)- based hydrogels

Obesity and cardiology

Introduction: Morbid obesity is associated with a number of ventilatory and cardiovascular disorders and increased risk for cardiovascular diseases, which can be improved by weight loss. Cardiopulmonary testing (CPET) is proposed for the objective evaluation of the effects of bariatric surgery in morbid obese patients. Aim: To evaluate the change of CPET and hemodynamic parameters in patients treated with bariatric surgery. Methods: We performed CPET in 250 morbid obese patients during for the preoperative assessment. We analyzed 50 patients (37 women, mean age 38±10 years) before and 6 months after bariatric surgery. All patients underwent CPET (treadmill, Bruce protocol) with expiratory gas analyses. Results: The mean weight before treatment was 126.69 ±19.21kg, and BMI was 43.8 ± 5.4 kg/m2. Averaged body weight reduction was -29, 6 kg, and BMI -10 kg/m2 after 6 months follow-up, with significant difference in comparison to baseline values (43.8±5, 4 vs 33.9±14, 3; p<0.0001). CPET parameters showed increase in VO2 at ventilatory anaerobic threshold (17.86±3.44 vs 20.86±4.70; p<0.0001), Peak VO2 (20.79±3.63 vs 24.97±4.37; p<0.0001) and improvement of ventilatory efficacy VE/VCO2 slope (34.64±4.34 vs 24.74±3.39; p<0.0001), and PetCO confirming the improvement of cardiopulmonary function. Hemodynamic parameters were also improved with decrease in resting heart rate (p<0.0001), resting and peak systolic (p<0.0001) and diastolic blood pressure (p<0.0001 and p=0.002). Conclusion: These results show significant relationship between weight loss and improvement of anaerobic capacity after bariatric treatment. CPET is shown to be a valuable and reliable tool for the objective assessment of functional improvement

Comparative analyses of cellular physiological responses of non-target species to cypermethrin and its formulated product: Contribution to mode of action research

Physiological responses of bacterial, fish, rat and human hepatoma cells to the technical cypermethrin (AS), cypermethrin-based plant protection product (PPP), and the major co-formulant (solvent) were compared. The endpoints included: bioluminescence, total protein content, activity of mitochondrial dehydrogenase and cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes CYP1A and CYP1B, and expression of several genes encoding different CYP enzyme isoforms. Toxicity of PPP was compared with the toxicity predicted using concentration addition model. Cypermethrin disturbs the activity of mitochondrial dehydrogenase. Induction of CYP1A1-, CYP1A2- and CYP1B1-associated activity was more pronounced in PPP than in cypermethrin treatment. The predominant biotransformation pathway of cypermethrin is related to Cyp3a1 induction. Deviations between observed and predicted toxicity of PPP indicate synergistic effects of cypermethrin and a solvent. In vitro cellular assays may serve as rapid pre-screening tool and provide for a good indication of mixture effects and prompt further in vivo testing of PPPs when really needed