DEM-based GIS algorithms for automatic creation of hydrological models data

In this paper the authors discuss the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) based GIS algorithms, applicable for automatic creation of input data needed by hydrological models. The expected source of DEM data are standard digital data sets that a modeler can purchase from the official data sources. The DEM has to be cleared from errors and prepared for standard hydrology usage as the depression less version, or a version of DEM where only small depressions are filled-in, while larger depressions are extracted as separate objects. The slopes and aspects are calculated from such DEM. The flow accumulation image is created using slopes and aspects and using information about large ponds. From flow accumulation image the surface drainage network is extracted with user-specified density. Based on slopes and aspects, the catchment is delineated into subcatchments, the areas drained by each river segment. Finally, the model-specific parameters like length of flow segment along the terrain and along the river to the subcatchment outlet, slope of those segments, subcatchment shape factor, or subcatchments mean or weighted slope are calculated. Paper explains the used algorithms and emphasizes the problems one can encounter during the usage of DEM data using examples from River Drina catchment. Finally, the authors comment on overall usability of presented GIS algorithms, especially if purchased data are of low quality.

Pomološke osobine novointrodukovanih sorti jagode gajenih u visokom tunelu

In this work are presented results of studing for newly introduced strawberry cultivars (Thuchampion, Thurubin , Thuriga, Miss and Clery) grown as substrate culture in high tunnel during the period of 2005-2006. Investigations included: the ripening time, fruitfulness, as well as important physical, chemical and organoleptic fruit properties. Based on studied parameters for commercial growing as substrate culture in two year production system, strawberry cultivars Thuchampion, Clery and Thurubin can be recommended.Rad prikazuje rezultate proučavanja pet novointrodukovanih sorti jagode gajenih u visokom tunelu u vrećama sa supstratom na postoljima visine 1,1 m. Ispitivanja vršena u periodu 2005-2006 godina obuhvatila su vreme zrenja, rodnost, kao i važnije pokazatelje kvaliteta ploda novointrodukovanih sorti jagode. Na osnovu dobijenih rezultata većine ispitivanih parametara, za komercijalno gajenje jagode kao kontejnerske kulture u visokom tunelu mogu se preporučiti sledeće sorte: Thuchampion, Clery i Thurubin, sa napomenom da se sorta Thurubin preporučuje isključivo zbog visoke produktivnosti i vrlo krupnog ploda dok je sam kvalitet mesa ploda poražavajući

Multifingered under-actuated hands in robotic assembly

New production paradigm of mass customization imposes the development of flexible gripping systems with exceptional dexterity, capable of mimicking grasping behavior of human hands. In this context, the most demanding technical challenges are: motoric capabilities and related design aspects, overall weight and size, and tactile and other perceptual capabilities. Also, to make the gripper industry acceptable, it should be in affordable price range. Having all that in mind, concept of the multifingered under-actuated hand appears as good candidate to be an optimal, general purpose solution. This paper presents the general conceptual framework for development of multifingered hands which are based on under-actuation principle

Forecasting River Water Levels Influenced by Hydropower Plant Daily Operations using Artificial Neural Networks

Multipurpose water systems are used to deal with multiple objectives related to the usage of water for daily human activities. These activities are often conflicted which creates a challenging water management task. To provide reliable water resources management decision support tools for successful forecasting of hydraulic data (river flows and water levels) are essential. This research presents an approach for forecasting river water levels influenced by hydropower plant operations using artificial neural networks. This approach estimates hourly water level fluctuations at the control location using the water levels and hydropower plant discharge data as input. This tool can be used for fast assessment of different hydropower plant operation plans and help in choosing the optimal one. This water level forecasting procedure is applied and tested on the Iron Gate water system, placed on the Danube River, to deal with multiple objectives in water system management (hydropower production, flood protection, and inland navigation) and shows promising results

Uticaj različitih supstratnih smeša na rodni potencijal sorte jagode Clery gajene u visokom tunelu

Effects of different substrate mixtures on more important parameters of generative potential in Clery strawberry cultivar were investigated. Researches were conducted in a high tunnel at the Experimental property of "Zeleni Hit" enterprise in Belgrade, during the period from 2005 to 2006. Planting was done in bags filled with 20 l substrate mixtures. Four plants were planted per a bag. Investigations included: the flowering and ripening time, number of fruitful stalk per tiller, total number of flowers and fruits per tiller, fruit weight and, accordingly, yield per tiller and square meter. Based on the most studied parameters, C, D, B and F substrate mixtures expressed a positive influence on earliness and plant productivity of the Clery strawberry cultivar. Therefore, they can be recommended for commercial strawberry growing as substrate culture in a two year production system.U ovom radu je ispitivan uticaj sedam različitih supstratnih smeša na fenološke osobine i rodni potencijal sorte jagode Clery. Istraživanja su vršena u visokom tunelu na Demonstraciono-oglednom polju preduzeća "Zeleni Hit" iz Beograda, u periodu 2005-2006. godine. Sadnja je obavljena početkom avgusta 2005. godine u vreće zapremine 20 l supstratne smeše, sa gustinom sklopa od 8 biljaka/m2. Proučavanjem su obuhvaćene važnije biološke osobine sorte jagode Clery: vreme cvetanja i zrenja, kao i pokazatelji rodnog potencijala u funkciji različitih smeša supstrata. Na osnovu dobijenih rezultata, među ispitivanim supstratnim smešama pozitivan uticaj na ranostasnost, produkciju cvetova i plodova, oplodnju, masu ploda i prinos sorte jagode Clery ispoljile su supstratne smeše C, D, B i F, zbog čega se mogu preporučiti za širu primenu u kontejnerskom uzgoju jagode

Modified rainfall-runoff model for bifurcations caused by channels embedded in catchments

The particularity of 'Vlasina' hydropower plants catchment is a big number of gravitation channels used to collect the water from neighboring natural catchments. The overall catchment size is thus increased, compared to the natural catchment. At the bifurcations where the gravitation channels with mild slope are intersecting the steep natural hydrographic network, the natural surface and subsurface water flows are significantly altered. The channel which intersects the river flow will hold the water at higher elevations, filling the storages or transferring the water to another catchment. Under such conditions, the concept of rainfall to runoff transformation in SWAT-based model had to be modified in a way that the channel does not capture all the water from the natural watercourse, but will allow a certain volume of water to run downstream, both for the surface and subsurface flow. New SWAT-related objects were introduced: HPN (hydro-profile on the natural watercourse), HPC (hydro-profile on the channel), HPI (hydro-profile on the channel, the intake) and HPS (storage hydro-profile). For each object the water balance and transformation equations were derived, adapting SWAT model to simulate the flow in the bifurcating network of natural streams and channels. The new model was calibrated on the catchment area of the 'Vlasina' hydropower plants system. This paper presents the adaptations of the SWAT-based model and results of its application on the northern part of the system (catchments of the channels 'Strvna' and 'Čemernik')

CTDA: Control Theory based Data Assimilation – metoda za brzu asimilaciju podataka u modelima otvorenih tokova

Novo tehničko rešenje (metoda) primenjeno na nacionalnom nivou koje zadovoljava kriterijum otvorenog izvora publikovanog u časopisu kategorije M22. Tehničko rešenje rađeno za investitora: Elektroprivreda Srbij

Anti-biofilm Properties of Bacterial Di-Rhamnolipids and Their Semi-Synthetic Amide Derivatives

A new strain, namely Lysinibacillus sp. BV152.1 was isolated from the rhizosphere of ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea L.) producing metabolites with potent ability to inhibit biofilm formation of an important human pathogens Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1, Staphylococcus aureus, and Serratia marcescens. Structural characterization revealed di-rhamnolipids mixture containing rhamnose (Rha)-Rha-C10-C10, Rha-Rha-C8-C10, and Rha-Rha-C10-C12 in the ratio 7: 2: 1 as the active principle. Purified di-rhamnolipids, as well as commercially available di-rhamnolipids (Rha-Rha-C10-C10, 93%) were used as the substrate for the chemical derivatization for the first time, yielding three semisynthetic amide derivatives, benzyl-, piperidine-, and morpholine. A comparative study of the anti-biofilm, antibacterial and cytotoxic properties revealed that di-Rha from Lysinibacillus sp. BV152.1 were more potent in biofilm inhibition, both cell adhesion and biofilm maturation, than commercial di-rhamnolipids inhibiting 50% of P. aeruginosa PAO1 biofilm formation at 50 mu g mL(-1) and 75 mu g mL(-1), respectively. None of the dirhamnolipids exhibited antimicrobial properties at concentrations of up to 500 mu g mL(-1). Amide derivatization improved inhibition of biofilm formation and dispersion activities of di-rhamnolipids from both sources, with morpholine derivative being the most active causing more than 80% biofilm inhibition at concentrations 100 mu g mL(-1). Semisynthetic amide derivatives showed increased antibacterial activity against S. aureus, and also showed higher cytotoxicity. Therefore, described di-rhamnolipids are potent anti-biofilm agents and the described approach can be seen as viable approach in reaching new rhamnolipid based derivatives with tailored biological properties

DEM-based GIS algorithms for automatic creation of hydrological models data

In this paper the authors discuss the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) based GIS algorithms, applicable for automatic creation of input data needed by hydrological models. The expected source of DEM data are standard digital data sets that a modeler can purchase from the official data sources. The DEM has to be cleared from errors and prepared for standard hydrology usage as the depression less version, or a version of DEM where only small depressions are filled-in, while larger depressions are extracted as separate objects. The slopes and aspects are calculated from such DEM. The flow accumulation image is created using slopes and aspects and using information about large ponds. From flow accumulation image the surface drainage network is extracted with user-specified density. Based on slopes and aspects, the catchment is delineated into subcatchments, the areas drained by each river segment. Finally, the model-specific parameters like length of flow segment along the terrain and along the river to the subcatchment outlet, slope of those segments, subcatchment shape factor, or subcatchments mean or weighted slope are calculated. Paper explains the used algorithms and emphasizes the problems one can encounter during the usage of DEM data using examples from River Drina catchment. Finally, the authors comment on overall usability of presented GIS algorithms, especially if purchased data are of low quality.

Quantifying Multi-Parameter Dynamic Resilience for Complex Reservoir Systems Using Failure Simulations: Case Study of the Pirot Reservoir System

The objective of this research is to introduce a novel framework to quantify the risk of the reservoir system outside the design envelope, taking into account the risks related to flood-protection and hydro-energy generation under unfavourable reservoir element conditions (system element failures) and hazardous situations within the environment (flood event). To analyze water system behavior in adverse conditions, a system analysis approach is used, which is founded upon the system dynamics model with a causal loop. The capability of the system in performing the intended functionality can be quantified using the traditional static measures like reliability, resilience and vulnerability, or dynamic resilience. In this paper, a novel method for the assessment of a multi-parameter dynamic resilience is introduced. The multi-parameter dynamic resilience envelops the hydropower and flood-protection resilience, as two opposing demands in the reservoir operation regime. A case study of a Pirot reservoir, in the Republic of Serbia, is used. To estimate the multi -parameter dynamic resilience of the Pirot reservoir system, a hydrological model, and a system dynamic simulation model with an inner control loop, is developed. The inner control loop provides the relation between the hydropower generation and flood-protection. The hydrological model is calibrated and generated climate inputs are used to simulate the long-term flow sequences. The most severe flood event period is extracted to be used as the input for the system dynamics simulations. The system performance for five different scenarios with various multi failure events (e.g., generator failure, segment gate failure on the spillway, leakage from reservoir and water supply tunnel failure due to earthquake) are presented using the novel concept of the explicit modeling of the component failures through element functionality indicators. Based on the outputs from the system dynamics model, system performance is determined and, later, hydropower and flood protection resilience. Then, multi-parameter dynamic resilience of the Pirot reservoir system is estimated and compared with the traditional static measures (reliability). Discrepancy between the drop between multi-parameter resilience (from 0.851 to 0.935) and reliability (from 0.993 to 1) shows that static measure underestimates the risk to the water system. Thus, the results from this research show that multi-parameter dynamic resilience, as an indicator, can provide additional insight compared to the traditional static measures, leading to identification of the vulnerable elements of a complex reservoir system. Additionally, it is shown that the proposed explicit modeling of system components failure can be used to reflect the drop of the overall system functionality