Simple identification tools in FishBase

Simple identification tools for fish species were included in the FishBase information system from its inception. Early tools made use of the relational model and characters like fin ray meristics. Soon pictures and drawings were added as a further help, similar to a field guide. Later came the computerization of existing dichotomous keys, again in combination with pictures and other information, and the ability to restrict possible species by country, area, or taxonomic group. Today, www.FishBase.org offers four different ways to identify species. This paper describes these tools with their advantages and disadvantages, and suggests various options for further development. It explores the possibility of a holistic and integrated computeraided strategy

Inverse problems for pp-Laplace type equations under monotonicity assumptions

We consider inverse problems for $p$-Laplace type equations under monotonicity assumptions. In two dimensions, we show that any two conductivities satisfying $\sigma_1 \geq \sigma_2$ and having the same nonlinear Dirichlet-to-Neumann map must be identical. The proof is based on a monotonicity inequality and the unique continuation principle for $p$-Laplace type equations. In higher dimensions, where unique continuation is not known, we obtain a similar result for conductivities close to constant.Comment: 17 page

On the Buchsbaum index of rank two vector bundles on P3

We classify rank two vector bundles on P3 with Buchsbaum index equal to three and also give some results on the H1-module of "negative instanton"bundles.Comment: Submitted to the proceedings of the Pau-Trieste conferences Vector bundles day

Evaluation of the implementation process of urban road pricing schemes in the United Kingdom and Italy

This paper is based upon detailed research that has taken place in the UK and Italy, on the implementation strategies for urban road pricing schemes. In the UK, both in London and Durham, the Road User Charging schemes required new legislation, and were implemented rapidly. The time from announcement to implementation took three years and the schemes were introduced after short periods of intensive planning, consultations and stakeholder networking. In Italy, the situation has been very different. The road pricing schemes in Rome and Genoa were not introduced under specific legislation but rather evolved from access control zones originally implemented in historic urban centres. The incremental introduction of the Italian road pricing experiments has taken approximately ten years. The paper undertakes a comparison of these different strategies to introduce urban road pricing and the lessons they contain for the development of similar measures elsewhere. The comparison of the different implementing experiences is undertaken using Strategic Policy Niche Management, a method designed to explore, among other factors, the dynamics of the stakeholder networks involved in planning, introducing, marketing and managing radical urban Travel Demand Management policies

Supererogation and the Limits of Moral Obligations. Guest Editor’s Preface

Do moral obligations include all the good that can be possibly achieved? Does every instance of the good always entail obligatory performance? Supererogation is a moral concept that tries to address this claim, by pointing out the existence of a category of morally relevant good acts that go beyond the call of duty. Paradigmatic examples of this category of acts are represented by deeds of heroism and sanctity, where the agent is sacrificing herself in order to benefit the others in an exemplary way. However, supererogation is not limited to extreme and utmost cases of generosity, but it has much to do with our everyday life. From a moral point of view, making a small donation to the local children‘s hospital is considered to be morally good, but optional

Hyperbolic-parabolic singular perturbation for Kirchhoff equations with weak dissipation

We consider Kirchhoff equations with a small parameter epsilon in front of the second-order time-derivative, and a dissipative term whose coefficient may tend to 0 as t -> + infinity (weak dissipation). In this note we present some recent results concerning existence of global solutions, and their asymptotic behavior both as t -> + infinity and as epsilon -> 0. Since the limit equation is of parabolic type, this is usually referred to as a hyperbolic-parabolic singular perturbation problem. We show in particular that the equation exhibits hyperbolic or parabolic behavior depending on the values of the parameters.Comment: 20 pages, 2 tables, 1 figure, conference paper (7th ISAAC congress, London 2009

Symmetry and monotonicity results for positive solutions of p-Laplace systems

We extend to the case of a system involving p-Laplacians, the monotonicity and symmetry results of Damascelli and Pacella obtained in the case of a scalar p-Laplace equation with $1<p<2$. For this purpose, we use the moving hyperplanes method and we suppose that the right hand sides are increasing and locally Lipschitz continuous.Comment: 22 page

Composite Likelihood Inference by Nonparametric Saddlepoint Tests

The class of composite likelihood functions provides a flexible and powerful toolkit to carry out approximate inference for complex statistical models when the full likelihood is either impossible to specify or unfeasible to compute. However, the strenght of the composite likelihood approach is dimmed when considering hypothesis testing about a multidimensional parameter because the finite sample behavior of likelihood ratio, Wald, and score-type test statistics is tied to the Godambe information matrix. Consequently inaccurate estimates of the Godambe information translate in inaccurate p-values. In this paper it is shown how accurate inference can be obtained by using a fully nonparametric saddlepoint test statistic derived from the composite score functions. The proposed statistic is asymptotically chi-square distributed up to a relative error of second order and does not depend on the Godambe information. The validity of the method is demonstrated through simulation studies

Manifolds over Cayley-Dickson algebras and their immersions

Holomorphic manifolds over Cayley-Dickson algebras are defined and their embeddings and immersions are studied.Comment: 10 page

Flat solutions of the 1-Laplacian equation

For every $f \in L^N(\Omega)$ defined in an open bounded subset $\Omega$ of $\mathbb{R}^N$, we prove that a solution $u \in W_0^{1, 1}(\Omega)$ of the $1$-Laplacian equation ${-}\mathrm{div}{(\frac{\nabla u}{|\nabla u|})} = f$ in $\Omega$ satisfies $\nabla u = 0$ on a set of positive Lebesgue measure. The same property holds if $f \not\in L^N(\Omega)$ has small norm in the Marcinkiewicz space of weak-$L^{N}$ functions or if $u$ is a BV minimizer of the associated energy functional. The proofs rely on Stampacchia's truncation method.Comment: Dedicated to Jean Mawhin. Revised and extended version of a note written by the authors in 201