Modelling regional maize market and transport distances for biogas production in Germany

Our location model aims to simulate location decisions for biogas plants based on profit maximisation to generate regional demand functions for maize and corresponding plant size structure and transport distances. By linking it with an agricultural sector model we derived regional maize markets. Comparing results for the REA with a scenario applying uniform per unit subsidy and producing the same energy, we see higher subsidy costs with the REA but lower transportation distances.Biogas, environmental effects, transport costs, choice of location, Agricultural Finance, Environmental Economics and Policy,

Entropy sensitivity of languages defined by infinite automata, via Markov chains with forbidden transitions

A language L over a finite alphabet is growth-sensitive (or entropy sensitive) if forbidding any set of subwords F yields a sub-language L^F whose exponential growth rate (entropy) is smaller than that of L. Let (X, E, l) be an infinite, oriented, labelled graph. Considering the graph as an (infinite) automaton, we associate with any pair of vertices x,y in X the language consisting of all words that can be read as the labels along some path from x to y. Under suitable, general assumptions we prove that these languages are growth-sensitive. This is based on using Markov chains with forbidden transitions.Comment: to appear in Theoretical Computer Science, 201

Context-free pairs of groups I: Context-free pairs and graphs

Let $G$ be a finitely generated group, $A$ a finite set of generators and $K$ a subgroup of $G$. We call the pair $(G,K)$ context-free if the set of all words over $A$ that reduce in $G$ to an element of $K$ is a context-free language. When $K$ is trivial, $G$ itself is called context-free; context-free groups have been classified more than 20 years ago in celebrated work of Muller and Schupp as the virtually free groups. Here, we derive some basic properties of such group pairs. Context-freeness is independent of the choice of the generating set. It is preserved under finite index modifications of $G$ and finite index enlargements of $K$. If $G$ is virtually free and $K$ is finitely generated then $(G,K)$ is context-free. A basic tool is the following: $(G,K)$ is context-free if and only if the Schreier graph of $(G,K)$ with respect to $A$ is a context-free graph

Pedagogy of Equality and Respect in School and in Adult Education

Svi odgojni akteri koji sudjeluju u pedagoškoj interakciji, bez obzira radi li se o učiteljima ili učenicima, trebaju (i očekuju) uvažavanje koncepcije interkulturalnosti. Koliko i na koji način trebaju biti uvažavani i do koje mjere mogu postići jednakost i uvažavanje u pedagoškoj interakciji, temeljno je pitanje ovog rada. Tematika rada ima za cilj dokazati da su jednakost i uvažavanje više od same metode. Oni predstavljaju temeljno stajalište koje je mnogo više od nastavne aktivnosti učenja i koje je višestruko djelotvorno.Beteiligte an pädagogischen Interaktionen benötigen Anerkennung – gleichgültig, ob es sich um Lehrende oder Lernende handelt. Wie sie erteilt werden sollte, wie sie eingeholt werden kann, darum geht es in diesem Aufsatz. Dabei wird herausgearbeitet, dass Anerkennung mehr ist als eine Methode, vielmehr als Basis-Haltung zu verstehen ist , die weit über das Lehr-Lerngeschehen hinaus Wirkung zeigt.All educational stakeholders, teachers and students alike, who participate in pedagogical interactions require (or expect) the concept of interculturalism to be respected. How much and in what way it should be respected and to what extent equality and recognition in the pedagogical interaction can be achieved, is a fundamental question posed in this paper. It further aims to confirm that equality and recognition are more than just a method. They represent a fundamental standpoint which is much more than the mere activity of learning and as such efficient on multiple levels

Molecular ID Numbers

A search for counterexamples of Randić\u27s prime molecular ID-numbers for alkane-trees with up to 20 carbon atoms produced only one pair of non-isomorphic trees with the same prime ID- number. Thus, it is shown that the prime ID-number, although a highly discriminating molecular descriptor, is not unique

On the Complexity of Square-CeH Configurations

The procedure is proposed for obtaining the complexity numbers of square-cell configurations. It is based on the concept of the canonical square-cell configuration. The complexity number of a square-cell configuration is then simply the minimal of edge-cuts by which this structure can be reduced to constituting canonical configurations

Experimental and non-experimental evidence on limited attention and present bias at the gym

We show that limited attention and present bias contribute to low levels of exercise. First, in a large randomized experiment, we find that email reminders increase gym visits by 13 % and that they benefit nearly all types of individuals. Limited attention can explain these effects. Second, using a novel dataset, we find that many bookings for gym classes are canceled, and that bookings are made even for classes that never have a waiting list. Comparing these findings to the predictions of a dynamic discrete choice model, we conclude that many gym members use bookings to commit themselves to future attendance

On Counting Polyhex Hydrocarbons

The counting of the number of Pi> geometrically planar, without annulene-like holes, polyhex hydrocarbons with h hexagons, is reported with up to h = 13. The exact value of P13 is 3198256. This value is lower than the value (3201000)recently predicted

Forebrain CRF₁ modulates early-life stress-programmed cognitive deficits

Childhood traumatic events hamper the development of the hippocampus and impair declarative memory in susceptible individuals. Persistent elevations of hippocampal corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), acting through CRF receptor 1 (CRF1), in experimental models of early-life stress have suggested a role for this endogenous stress hormone in the resulting structural modifications and cognitive dysfunction. However, direct testing of this possibility has been difficult. In the current study, we subjected conditional forebrain CRF1 knock-out (CRF1-CKO) mice to an impoverished postnatal environment and examined the role of forebrain CRF1 in the long-lasting effects of early-life stress on learning and memory. Early-life stress impaired spatial learning and memory in wild-type mice, and postnatal forebrain CRF overexpression reproduced these deleterious effects. Cognitive deficits in stressed wild-type mice were associated with disrupted long-term potentiation (LTP) and a reduced number of dendritic spines in area CA3 but not in CA1. Forebrain CRF1 deficiency restored cognitive function, LTP and spine density in area CA3, and augmented CA1 LTP and spine density in stressed mice. In addition, early-life stress differentially regulated the amount of hippocampal excitatory and inhibitory synapses in wild-type and CRF1-CKO mice, accompanied by alterations in the neurexin-neuroligin complex. These data suggest that the functional, structural and molecular changes evoked by early-life stress are at least partly dependent on persistent forebrain CRF1 signaling, providing a molecular target for the prevention of cognitive deficits in adults with a history of early-life adversity