A general framework for inference in dynamical systems is described, based on the language of Bayesian probability theory and making use of the maximum entropy principle. Taking as fundamental the concept of a path, the continuity equation and Cauchy's equation for fluid dynamics arise naturally, while the specific information about the system can be included using the Maximum Caliber (or maximum path entropy) principle.

Maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) is a popular method for parameter estimation in both applied probability and statistics but MLE cannot solve the problem of incomplete data or hidden data because it is impossible to maximize likelihood function from hidden data. Expectation maximum (EM) algorithm is a powerful mathematical tool for solving this problem if there is a relationship between hidden data and observed data. Such hinting relationship is specified by a mapping from hidden data to observed data or by a joint probability between hidden data and observed data. In other words, the relationship helps us know hidden data by surveying observed data. The essential ideology of EM is to maximize the expectation of likelihood function over observed data based on the hinting relationship instead of maximizing directly the likelihood function of hidden data. Pioneers in EM algorithm proved its convergence. As a result, EM algorithm produces parameter estimators as well as MLE does. This tutorial aims to provide explanations of EM algorithm in order to help researchers comprehend it. Moreover some improvements of EM algorithm are also proposed in the tutorial such as combination of EM and third-order convergence Newton-Raphson process, combination of EM and gradient descent method, and combination of EM and particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm.

In order to overcome the limitation of the traditional adaptive Unscented Kalman Filtering (UKF) algorithm in noise covariance estimation for statement and measurement, we propose a hybrid adaptive UKF algorithm based on combining Maximum a posteriori (MAP) criterion and Maximum likelihood (ML) criterion, in this paper. First, to prevent the actual noise covariance deviating from the true value which can lead to the state estimation error and arouse the filtering divergence, a real-time covariance matrices estimation algorithm based on hybrid MAP and ML is proposed for obtaining the statement and measurement noises covariance, respectively; and then, a balance equation the two kinds of covariance matrix is structured in this proposed to minimize the statement estimation error. Compared with the UFK based MAP and based ML, the proposed algorithm provides better convergence and stability.

The current study compared the goodness of fit and estimation precision of Bayes and maximum likelihood (ML) structural equation modeling across sample sizes. Data consisted of Markov Chain Monte Carlo generated samples of 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 200, 250, 500, 750, 1000, and 1500 observations. The Bayes and ML methods were used to estimate a structural equation model with 40 parameters, including 12 continuous observed indicators, four latent variables, and three structural paths. Analyses were conducted with the Mplus 8.0 statistical software and were replicated 500 times with each of the 22 conditions (11 sample sizes x 2 estimation methods). Indices of model fit were the Bayes information criterion, the Tucker-Lewis index, the comparative fit index, the root mean square error of approximation, the posterior predictive p-value (for Bayes models), and the ꭓ2 test (for ML models). Results showed that as the sample size increased, both estimation methods exhibited improved model fit and enhanced estimation precision, and both methods performed well with samples of 200 or larger; however, ML demonstrated a marginally superior fit with smaller samples. These findings were not consistent with previous research and suggest that ML remains a better choice with continuous data and small samples.

Background - Technological developments induced lifestyle changes and increase population physical inactivity. This change in lifestyle can affect the male-female morphological and physical fitness differences. The aim of this study is to determine and to compare the effect of sex differences in percentage of body fat on speed and endurance running performance. Methods - 72 male and 64 female students aged 20 to 23 years participated in this study. After assessing their morphological characteristics, running performances during 30 m and 400 m, and maximum aerobic velocity (MAV) and maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) during a 20 m shuttle running test have been estimated for each subject. Male students were re-tested after being overweighed down with a weight equivalent to the mean differences in body fat recorded between the two sexes in the form of a loaded worn vest. Results – Male presented a percentage of fat mass (17.2 ±2%) significantly (p <0.001) lower than that of women subject (25.0 ±2.5%). Running performances during 30 m and 400 m, MAV and VO2max were significantly (p<0.001) better in males. During the weighted condition, male performances during 30 m and 400 m, MAV and VO2max were attenuated by 6.89%, 14.16%, 6.48% and 10.07%, respectively but remain significantly better than those of female students. Conclusion - The persistence of sex differences after overweighting male students indicates that body fat could be responsible for ≈ 50 to 70% of the observed differences between sexes performances during short and long sprints, and 20 m shuttle running test.

Impact force and maximum velocity are important indicators of kick efficiency in fighting activities. Therefore, this systematic review compared the front kick (FK) and roundhouse kick (RK), including maximal and impact force, maximum velocity, maximum angular velocity, and execution time, at different target types and experience levels. The Web of Science, SportDiscus, and PubMed were systematically searched from January 1982 to May 2022, according to PRISMA guidelines. The normalized kicking values were compared using one-way ANOVA. Eighteen articles, including FK with a pooled sample of 113 elite men, 109 sub-elite men, and 46 novices, and 25 articles, including RK with a sample of 238 elite men, 143 sub-elite men, and 27 novice men, fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The primary findings were that the impact forces of FK were higher than RK for the novice, sub-elite, and elite groups by 47% (p<0.01), 92% (p<0.01), and 120% (p<0.01), respectively. Moreover, the maximum foot velocity of RK was faster than FK for the sub-elite and elite groups by 44% (p<0.01) and 48% (p<0.01), respectively. The Elite group had 65% (p<0.01) higher knee extension angular velocity within RK than FK, and 138% (p<0.01) higher hip extension angular velocity within FK than RK.

Abstract: The paper defines the characteristics of two proto-quark stars (M_b=1.22M_? and M_b=1.62M_(?"\ " )) that were formed after the explosion of the supernova. It is assumed that the changes in the energy and lepton charge of the central regions of the pre-supernova star can be neglected during the implosion. The equation of state for hot quark matter is determined based on the MIT bag theory taking into account the presence of neutrinos. The possible maximum values of the central temperatures of these stars are determined. The energy of neutrinos in the studied proto-quark stars is of the order of 250-300 MeV. The decrease in the mass of these stars during cooling is about 0.16 for M_b=1.22M_? and 0.25 for M_b=1.62M_(?"\ " ).

RAxML-NG is a new phylogentic inference tool that replaces the widely-used RAxML and ExaMLtree inference codes. Compared to its predecessors, RAxML-NG offers improvements in accur-acy, flexibility, speed, scalability, and user-friendliness. In this chapter, we provide practicalrecommendations for the most common use cases of RAxML-NG: tree inference, branch supportestimation via non-parametric bootstrapping, and parameter optimization on a fixed tree topo-logy. We also describe best practices for achieving optimal performance with RAxML-NG, inparticular, with respect to parallel tree inferences on computer clusters and supercomputers. AsRAxML-NG is continuously updated, the most up-to-date version of the tutorial described inthis chapter is available online at: https://cme.h-its.org/exelixis/raxml-ng/tutorial .

The concentrations of pesticide residues were determined in 2,164 samples of 46 fruits species, collected over a 4-year period. Fruits originated from 59 countries, including Serbia (N = 199). Pesticide residues were determined by the liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) after extraction by a modified QuEChERS protocol. A total of 173 pesticide residues were detected. 62.57% of fruit samples had pesticide residues at or above 0.01 mg/kg, and 4.67% of samples exceeded the maximum residue limits (MRLs) set by the Serbian regulation. MRL values were most often exceeded in pomegranate and citrus fruits (grapefruit and mandarin). Most frequently found pesticide was imazalil (detected in 624 samples, 28.84%) with the highest concentration (93.870 mg/kg) in a grapefruit sample. Multiple pesticides were detected in 50.92% of the fruit samples, and two grapefruit samples contained up to 44 pesticide residues.

Cultivation is advocated as a solution for sustainable exploitation of medicinal plants. Understanding environmental factors influencing plant species distribution will eliminate the introduction of medicinal plants indiscriminately to inappropriate cultivation regions. The study investigated environmental conditions for the distribution of Artemisia afra and mapped out potential areas for its cultivation in South Africa. Soil samples were collected in the Free State Province in South Africa for analysis. To identify suitable environmental conditions for the natural distribution of A. afra, the South African National Botanical Institute database and physically collected Global Positioning System points were used in maximum entropy model. Monthly long-term average interpolated weather surfaces were used to estimate the effect of climate change on future climate suitability for A. afra distribution. Sixty-one percent of soil samples from different A. afra populations were clay loam soils with slightly acidic to neutral pH. The carbon source utilization, Shannon Weaver Index, and species richness were positively correlated to one group of fourteen soil samples, and species evenness was positively correlated to the second group, consisting of four samples. Climate change will only affect the distribution of A. afra in the very long term. The current study provides critical information for identifying suitable cultivation areas for A. afra, while supporting conservation efforts from an ecological point.

We evaluated the dentofacial characteristics and temporomandibular disorder (TMD) symptomatology of patients with orthopedic instability before and after deprogramming with a stabilization splint. Sixty patients with the signs and symptoms of TMD were assessed using the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (RDC/TMD) and underwent stabilization splint therapy to place the condyles in a more stable musculoskeletal position. The amount of condylar displacement was evaluated using the condylar position indicator (CPI). Six-teen angular and linear hard tissue landmarks were traced and compared from lateral cephalo-grams taken in the maximum intercuspation (MI) position before and in the centric relation (CR) position after the splint therapy. Following the splint therapy, the signs and symptoms of TMD were significantly reduced or completely eliminated in more than 90% of the patients. Compared with the values registered before the splint therapy, a significant reduction in the mean values of condylar displacement was observed on both sides of the vertical, horizontal, and transverse planes of space after the splint therapy. A comparison of pre- and post-splint lateral cephalograms revealed that, following the splint therapy, the mandible moved more posteriorly and rotated more in a clockwise direction. In patients with orthopedic instability and signs and symptoms of TMD, deprogramming of the neuromuscular system with a stabilization splint is highly recommended to provide a correct orthodontic diagnosis and improve the health of temporomandibular joint structures.

The effectiveness of combining strength-specific training with endurance training to enhance the performance of endurance runners remains uncertain. This study aimed to analyze effect of practising maximum-strength (MAX), explosive strength (EXP) or both combined (COMB) on seven runners’ performance-indicators: vertical jump (VJ), one-repetition-maximum-squat (1RM), peak-velocity/peak-running-speed (PV), lactate-threshold (over incremental-test-protocols, LT), middle-distance-time-trial (TT), maximum-oxygen-consumption (VO2max), running-economy (RE). Systematic-review (Scopus, Wed of Science, Sports Discuss, PubMed) with meta-analysis was conducted following PRISMA standards. Inclusion-criteria (PICOS) were: recreational or well-trained athletes aged 18-45 performing concurrent-training ≥five-week. Used search-terms were related to different types of strength/endurance, participants’ age, sport-modality. 20 manuscripts were selected, quality-assessed with PEDro. MAX training is more effective than EXP, COMB in improving VJ, 1RM, PV, while COMB is more effective than MAX, EXP to enhance TT. MAX is more effective than EXP in improving LT. Concurrent-workouts do not provide additional benefits to VO2max. It is unknown which strength-modality (MAX, EXP or COMB) is more effective in improving RE. Concurrent-training is more effective than single-mode-endurance-training for enhancing specific performance-variables in adult-endurance-runners. Middle-, long-distance-runners may consider incorporating MAX-training to target specific goals, e.g., improving VJ, 1RM, LT, PV while utilizing COMB-training to enhance TT. Certain variables may benefit from EXP. New randomized-controlled-trials are required to confirm these findings.

In recent years, ozone (O3) pollution has been rapidly spreading, restricting further improvement of air quality in China. Investigating the interaction of O3 concentration and identifying their driven cities are important for the prevention and control of O3 pollution in China. However, the complex interaction between O3 pollution between the cities and their driven cities has not yet been revealed. In this study, we address this gap based on complex network methods. Specifically, an ozone relational network is constructed using an association calculation method. The driven nodes and spatial clusters were analyzed based on the maximum matching algorithm and the Louvain algorithm. The findings of the study reveal an aggregation phenomenon in the ozone network concerning distance. Furthermore, as the threshold Tc varies, the proportion of driven nodes exhibits a positive correlation. Moreover, a closer threshold value corresponds to a higher coincidence ratio of the driven nodes. The results provide scientific guidance for national O3 pollution prevention and regional synergy formatting. Furthermore, the introduced network-based approaches offer a mythological framework for the study of air pollution in key cities and clusters.

In this article we introduce an extension of the Akash distribution. We use the slash 1 methodology to make the kurtosis of the Akash distribution more flexible. We study the general 2 density of this new distribution, some properties, moments, coefficients of asymmetry and kurtosis. 3 Statistical inference is performed using the methods of moments and maximum likelihood via the 4 EM algorithm. A simulation study is carried out to observe the behavior of the maximum likelihood 5 estimator. An application to a real data set with high kurtosis is considered, where it is shown that 6 the new distribution fits better than other extensions of the Akash distribution.

Hypersonic aircraft focuses more on the integration of aircraft and engine than ordinary aircraft owing to high performance requirements, and the nozzle design is reflected in the required large area ratio of nozzle inlet and outlet and the compactness of the overall size of the aircraft. In this study, the height constraint is directly introduced into the maximum thrust nozzle design method. A new method for designing nozzles under the height constraints that consults the maximum thrust theory is proposed. Initially, the condition that the nozzle reaches the maximum thrust under the height constraint is deduced mathematically. Then, a nozzle design method satisfying the height constraint is computed using the method of characteristics (MOC). Subsequently, the influence of the design parameters on the design method is studied parametrically. Results show that Mach number scale and asymmetrical factors can affect ramp length and flap length of the nozzle, respectively. These factors great influence the axial thrust performance and lift under a specific height constraint. Compared with the traditional truncation design method, the thrust coefficient and lift increased by 11.93% and 138.45% respectively.

In estimating logistic regression models, convergence of the maximization algorithm is critical, however, this may fail. Numerous bias correction methods for maximum likelihood estimates of the parameters have been conducted for cases of complete data sets and also longitudinal models. For binary response fixed effects panel data model, the conditional logit estimator is consistent for balanced data. When faced with missing covariates problem, researchers opt for various imputation techniques to make the data complete and without loss of generality consistent estimates still suffice asymptotically. For maximum likelihood estimates of the parameters for logistic regression in cases of imputed covariates, the optimal choice of an imputation technique which yields the best estimates with minimum variance is still elusive. The main aim of this paper is to examine the behaviour of the Hessian matrix with optimal values of the imputed covariates vector which will make the Newton-Raphson algorithm to converge faster through a reduced absolute value of the product of the score function and the inverse fisher information component. We focus on a method used to modify the conditional likelihood function through partitioning of the covariate matrix. We also confirm from the moduli of the Hessian matrices that the log likelihood of a panel data logistic model has a global maximum as the parameter estimates. Simulation results reveal that model based simulation perform better than classical imputation techniques yielding estimates with smaller bias and higher precision for the conditional maximum likelihood estimation of nonlinear panel models with single fixed effects.

Models with age as a variable but actual dynamics invariant under age structure allow use of MaxEnt to predict uniform age structure. Interpretations include a major role for accepting randomness as a causal principle in ecology (in the face of ignorance, in a further interpretative stance).

Bayesian Maximum Entropy (BME) is increasingly used in predicting and mapping spatio-temporal data. However, studies that have fully evaluated its robustness empirically are rare. Therefore, this research examined empirically the effect of skewness, sample size and spatial dependency level using simulated data. We considered symmetric data, data positively skewed by 1, 3, 6 and 9, data with weak, moderate, and strong spatial dependency levels, and sample sizes from 100 to 500 at the interval length of 50. The results showed that the variation of sample sizes and spatial dependency levels do not affect the Mean Square Error (MSE) and bias of BME prediction. However, skewness affects the MSE of prediction but does not affect the bias. This result indicates that BME is robust to sample size and is unbiased. Despite the significant difference due to skewness, a graphical plot showed values of MSE close to zero, suggesting that BME can be considered robust to skewness.

This paper extends the Stochastic Method of Cuts (SMoC) to approximate of the Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram (MFD) of urban networks and uses Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) method to estimate the model parameters based on empirical data from a corridor and 30 cities around the world. For the corridor case, the estimated values are in good agreement with the measured values of the parameters. For the network datasets, the results indicate that the method yields satisfactory parameter estimates and graphical fits for roughly 50\% of the studied networks, where estimations fall within the expected range of the parameter values. The satisfactory estimates are mostly for the datasets which (i) cover a relatively wider range of densities and (ii) the average flow values at different densities are approximately normally distributed similar to the probability density function of the SMoC. The estimated parameter values are compared to the real or expected values and any discrepancies and their potential causes are discussed in depth to identify the challenges in the MFD estimation both analytically and empirically. In particular, we find that the most important issues needing further investigation are: (i) the distribution of loop detectors within the links, (ii) the distribution of loop detectors across the network, and (iii) the treatment of unsignalized intersections and their impact on the block length.

Microfluidic devices have been extensively investigated in recent years in fields including ligand-binding analysis, chromatographic separation, molecular dynamics, and DNA sequencing. To prolong the observation of a single molecule in aqueous buffer, the solution in a sub-micron scale channel is driven by the electric field and reversed after a fixed delay following each passage, so that the molecule passes back and forth through the laser focus and the time before irreversible photobleaching is extended. However, this practice requires complex chemical treatment to the inner surface of the channel to prevent unexpected sticking to the surface and the confined space renders features, such as a higher viscosity and lower dielectric constant, which slow the Brownian motion of the molecule compared to the bulk liquid. In this paper, we have fixed a capillary microchannel with an inner diameter of 2 microns on top of a piezo stage to recycle the molecule and collected the fluorescence by a confocal microscope. The passing times of the molecule through the laser focus are calculated by a real-time control system based on an FPGA and the commands of translation are given to the piezo stage through a feedback algorithm. We have achieved a maximum number of recycles of more than 200 and developed a maximum-likelihood estimation of the diffusivity of the molecule, which attains results of the same magnitude as previous reports. This technique simplifies the overall procedure of the single-molecule recycling and could be useful for the ligand-binding studies of biomolecules.

In the past years, various intelligent machine learning and deep learning algorithms have been developed and widely applied for gearbox fault detection and diagnosis. However, the real-time application of these intelligent algorithms has been limited, mainly due to the fact that the model developed using data from one machine or one operating condition has serious diagnosis performance degradation when applied to another machine or the same machine with a different operating condition. The reason for poor model generalization is the distribution discrepancy between the training and testing data. This paper proposes to address this issue using a deep learning based cross domain adaptation approach for gearbox fault diagnosis. Labelled data from training dataset and unlabeled data from testing dataset is used to achieve the cross-domain adaptation task. A deep convolutional neural network (CNN) is used as the main architecture. Maximum mean discrepancy is used as a measure to minimize the distribution distance between the labelled training data and unlabeled testing data. The study proposes to reduce the discrepancy between the two domains in multiple layers of the designed CNN to adapt the learned representations from the training data to be applied in the testing data. The proposed approach is evaluated using experimental data from a gearbox under significant speed variation and multiple health conditions. An appropriate benchmarking with both traditional machine learning methods and other domain adaptation methods demonstrates the superiority of the proposed method.

Eddy-driven jets are of importance in the ocean and atmosphere, and to a first approximation are governed by Rossby wave dynamics. This study addresses the time-dependent flux of fluid and potential vorticity between such a jet and an adjacent eddy, with specific regard to determining zonal and meridional wavenumber dependence. The flux amplitude in wavenumber space is obtained, which is easily computable for a given jet geometry, speed and latitude, and which provides instant information on the wavenumbers of the Rossby waves which maximize the flux. This new tool enables the quick determination of which modes are most influential in imparting fluid exchange, which in the long term will homogenize the potential vorticity between the eddy and the jet. The results are validated by computing backward- and forward-time finite-time Lyapunov exponent fields, and also stable and unstable manifolds; the intermingling of these entities defines the region of chaotic transport between the eddy and the jet. The relationship of all of these to the time-varying transport flux between the eddy and the jet is carefully elucidated. The flux quantification presented here works for general time-dependence, whether or not lobes (intersection regions between stable and unstable manifolds) are present in the mixing region, and is therefore also easily computable for wave packets consisting of infinitely many wavenumbers.

Today, the facility location planning issue mainly belongs to the long-term operational and strategic level of large public and private organizations, and the significant costs associated with facility location, construction, and operation have turned location research into long-term decision-making. Presenting a hub location model for the green supply chain can address the current status of facilities and significantly improve demand coverage at an acceptable cost. Therefore, in this study, a network of facilities for hub location in the service site domain, considering existing and potential facilities under probable scenarios, has been proposed. After presenting the mathematical model, validation was performed on a small scale, followed by sensitivity analysis of the main parameters of the model. Furthermore, a metaheuristic algorithm was employed to analyze the NP-Hardness of the model. Additionally, to demonstrate the efficiency of the model, two metaheuristic algorithms, NSGAII and MOPSO, were developed. Based on the conducted analysis, it can be observed that the computational time increases exponentially with the size of sample problems, indicating the NP-Hardness of the problem. However, the NSGAII algorithm performs better in terms of computational time for medium-sized problems compared to the MOPSO algorithm.

This paper shows that the empirical distribution of cross-sectional analyst coverage in China's stock markets follows an exponential law in a given month from 2011 to 2020. The findings hold in both the emerging (Shanghai) and the developed market (Hong Kong). Moreover, the unique distribution parameter (i.e., mean) is directly related to the amount of market-wide information. Average analyst coverage exhibits a significant negative predictive power for stock-market uncertainty, highlighting the role of security analysts in diminishing the total uncertainty. The exponential law can be derived from the maximum entropy principle (MEP). When analysts, who are constrained by average ability in generating information (i.e., the first-order moment), strive to maximize the amount of market-wide information, this objective yields the exponential distribution. Contrary to the conventional wisdom that security analysts specialize in the generation of firm-specific information, empirical findings suggest that analysts primarily produce market-wide information for 25 countries. Nevertheless, it remains unclear why cross-sectional analyst coverage reflects market-wide information, this paper provides an entropy-based explanation.

In many research fields, statistical probability models are often used to analyze real-world data. However, data from many fields, such as the environment, economics, and health care, do not necessarily fit traditional models. New empirical models need to be developed to improve their fit. In this paper, we explore a further extension of the quasi-Lindley model. Maximum likelihood, least square error, Anderson-Darling algorithm, and expectation-maximization algorithm are four techniques for estimating the parameters under study. All techniques provide accurate and reliable estimates of the parameters. However, the mean square error of the expectation maximization approach was lower. The usefulness of the proposed model was demonstrated by analyzing a dynamical systems data set, and the analysis shows that it outperforms the other models in all statistical models considered.

This paper deals with the analysis of the temperatures in a group of 36 African countries. By looking at the maximum, minimum and the range (the difference between the maximum and the minimum) and using a long memory model based on fractional integration and cointegration, we first show that all series display a long memory pattern, with a significant positive time trend in 29 countries for the maximum temperatures and in 33 for the minimum ones. Looking at the range, the estimated value for the order of integration is smaller than the one based on maximum or minimum temperatures in 17 countries. Performing fractional cointegration tests between the maximum and minimum temperatures, our results indicate that the two series cointegrate in the classical sense (i.e., with a short memory equilibrium relationship) in a group of 11 countries, and there is another group of eight countries displaying cointegration in a fractional sense. The remaining 17 countries with no evidence of cointegration are therefore at the very high risk of climate change due to the absence of long-term comovement in their maximum and minimum temperatures. Findings in this paper are of tremendous interpretations and relevance for the analysis and climate projections in Africa.

The negative binomial regression model (NBRM) is a generalized linear model which relaxes the restrictive assumption by the Poisson regression model when the variance is equal to the mean. The estimation of the parameters of the NBRM is obtained using the maximum likelihood (ML) method. Maximum likelihood estimator becomes unstable when the explanatory variables are linearly dependent, a situation known as multicollinearity. Based on this, we developed a new estimator called modified jackknifed Negative Binomial Kibria-Lukman (MJNBKL) estimator for the radiation of multicollinearity in NBRM using four different biasing (shrinkage) parameters. We establish superiority condition for MJNBKL estimator over the ones. The performance MJNBKL estimator was ascertained by comparing it with the existing ones through a Monte Carlo simulation study and two real life application datasets. The results of the simulation and real life application show that MJNBKL estimator outperformed the other estimators compared with by having the smallest MSE across all sample sizes and for different levels of correlation for the four biasing parameters used and the third biasing parameter is the optimal shrinkage parameter with the lowest MSE.

We propose a deep reinforcement learning based manipulator path tracking method to solve the computationally difficult and non-unique problem of manipulator path tracking methods based on inverse kinematics. By transforming the path tracking task into a sequence decision problem, our method adopts an end-to-end learning method for closed-loop control and avoids the process of finding the inverse solution. We first explored the feasibility of the deep reinforcement learning method in the path tracking of the manipulator. After verifying the feasibility, the path tracking of the multi-degree-of-freedom(multi-DOF) manipulator was realized by combining the maximum entropy deep reinforcement learning algorithm. The experimental results show that our method has a good effect on the path tracking of the manipulator, which not only avoids the process of finding the inverse kinematics solution, but also requires no dynamic model. Therefore, we believe that our method has great significance in the study of manipulator path tracking.

Local anaesthetic agents suppress action potentials in excitable tissues by blocking voltage-gated sodium channels. In doing so they inhibit the depolarisation of nociceptive nerve fibres and so prevent the transmission of pain impulses. UK legislation allows HCPC-registered Podiatrists with POM-A annotation access to six local anaesthetic drugs and two of these with the addition of adrenaline. The use of local anaesthetia has transformed the treatment of nail pathology by Podiatrists. In the UK, the drug of choice in podiatric practice is 3% mepivacaine hydrochloride: it is a good choice of drug for digital anaesthesia. This paper will review the chemistry, pharmacology and dose calculation of mepivacaine, and challenge some of the orthodoxy over the rigid calculation of maximum safe dosages.

Notion of median in one dimension is a foundational element in nonparametric statistics. It has been extended to multi-dimensional cases both in location and in regression via notions of data depth. Regression depth (RD) and projection regression depth (PRD) represent the two most promising notions in regression. Carrizosa depth DC is another depth notion in regression. Depth induced regression medians (maximum depth estimators) serve as robust alternatives to the classical least squares estimator. The uniqueness of regression medians is indispensable in the discussion of their properties and the asymptotics (consistency and limiting distribution) of sample regression medians. Are the regression medians induced from RD, PRD, and DC unique? Answering this question is the main goal of this article. It is found that only the regression median induced from PRD possesses the desired uniqueness property. The conventional remedy measure for non-uniqueness, taking average of all medians, might yield an estimator that no longer possesses the maximum depth in both RD and DC cases. These and other findings indicate that the PRD and its induced median are highly favorable among their leading competitors.

We report the application of a recently proposed approach for modeling biological systems using a maximum entropy production rate principle in lieu of having in vivo rate constants. The method is applied in four steps: (1) a new ODE-based optimization approach based on Marcelin’s 1910 mass action equation is used to obtain the maximum entropy distribution, (2) the predicted metabolite concentrations are compared to those generally expected from experiment using a loss function from which post-translational regulation of enzymes is inferred, (3) the system is re-optimized with the inferred regulation from which rate constants are determined from the metabolite concentrations and reaction fluxes, and finally (4) a full ODE-based, mass action simulation with rate parameters and allosteric regulation is obtained. From the last step, the power characteristics and resistance of each reaction can be determined. The method is applied to the central metabolism of Neurospora crassa and the flow of material through the three competing pathways of upper glycolysis, the non-oxidative pentose phosphate pathway, and the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway are evaluated as a function of the NADP/NADPH ratio. It is predicted that regulation of phosphofructokinase (PFK) and flow through the pentose phosphate pathway are essential for preventing an extreme level of fructose 1, 6-bisphophate accumulation. Such an extreme level of fructose 1,6-bisphophate would otherwise result in a glassy cytoplasm with limited diffusion, dramatically decreasing the entropy and energy production rate and, consequently, biological competitiveness.

This research delves into the water hammer occurrences, in the transmission pipeline of the SMD (Manda Daba) Multi Village Water Supply Schemes in Afar, Ethiopia. It utilizes simulation software, Bentley HAMMER version 8i to assess transient flow issues and the effectiveness of protective measures. The study pinpoints high risk areas in Scenario 1 marked by pressure spikes, negative pressures and frequent cavitation highlighting the importance of efforts. Prior to safeguards significant pressures reaching 288.27 m H₂O and minimum pressures dropping as low as 9.98 m H₂O are observed. In Scenario 2 where protective measures are implemented notable enhancements are seen with pressures ranging from 121.38 m H₂O to 150.49 m H₂O improved safety levels and substantial reductions in minimum pressures at pump stations. Moreover the study delves into Scenario 3 which explores pipe materials and diameters to provide insights, for pipeline design standards. It emphasizes how protective measures effectively mitigate water hammer effects while also highlighting cost saving potential by incorporating 2000 liter hydro tanks at pump stations. This integration leads to decreased pipeline collapses and maintenance expenses underscoring the significance of addressing challenges pinpointing failure causes and offering solutions to enhance system performance and strengthen reliability within the SMD water supply system

Optimal control is a critical tool for mechanical robotic systems, facilitating precise manipulation of dynamic processes. These processes are described through differential equations governed by a control function, addressing a time-optimal problem with bilinear characteristics. Our study utilizes the classical approach complemented by Pontryagin's Maximum Principle (PMP) to explore this inverse optimal problem. The objective is to develop an exact piecewise control function that effectively manages trajectory control while considering the effects of viscous friction. Our simulations demonstrate that the proposed control law markedly diminishes oscillations induced by boundary conditions. This research not only aims to delineate the reachability set but also strives to determine the minimal time required for the process. The findings include an exact analytical solution for the stated control problem.

The algorithm now known as Kadane’s algorithm for the maximum subarray problem uses many of the ideas that Kadane proposed, but it is not the algorithm that Kadane intended. This paper compares the two algorithms in question. They are both linear in time, employ just a few words of memory, and use a dynamic programming structure. The upshot is two light-weight algorithms for the maximum subarray problem.

Efficient energy extraction in photovoltaic (PV) systems relies on the effective implementation of Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) methods. Conventional MPPT techniques often suffer from slow convergence speeds and suboptimal tracking performance, particularly under dynamic variation of environmental conditions. Smart optimization algorithms (SOA) using metaheuristic optimization algorithms can avoid this limitation inherent in the conventional MPPT methods. The problem of slow convergence of the SOA is avoided in this paper using a novel strategy called Swarm Size Reduction (SSR) utilized with Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm, specifically designed to achieve short convergence time (CT) while maintaining exceptional tracking accuracy. The novelty of the proposed MPPT method introduced in this paper is the dynamic reduction of the swarm size of the PSO for improved performance of the MPPT of the PV systems. This adaptive reduction approach allows the algorithm to efficiently explore the solution space of PV systems and rapidly exploit to identify the global maximum power point (GMPP) even under fast fluctuation of uneven solar irradiance and temperature. This pioneering ultra-fast MPPT method represents a significant advancement in PV system efficiency and promotes the wider adoption of solar energy as a reliable and sustainable power source. The novel adaptive PSO algorithm also opens new possibilities for further innovations in optimization-driven applications, extending its potential impact on a diverse range of real-world challenges. The results obtained from this proposed strategy are compared with several optimization algorithms to validate its superiority.

The effect of coal hydrophilic particles in water-glycerol drops on the maximum diameter of spreading along a hydrophobic solid surface is experimentally studied by analyzing the velocity of internal flows by Particle Image Velocimetry. The grinding fineness of coal particles was 45-80 μm and 120-140 μm, their concentration was 0.06 wt.% and 1 wt.%. The impact of particle-laden drops on a solid surface occurred at Weber numbers (We) from 30 to 120. It is revealed the interrelated influence of We and the concentration of coal particles on changes in the maximum absolute velocity of internal flows in a drop within the kinetic and spreading phases of the drop-wall impact. A physical model is formulated for internal convective flows in the longitudinal section of a drop parallel to the plane of the solid wall. The kinetic energy of translational motion of coal particles in a spreading drop compensates for the energy expended by the drop on sliding friction along the wall. At We=120, the inertia-driven spreading of the particle-laden drop is mainly determined by the dynamics of the deformable Taylor rim. An increase in We contributes to more noticeable differences in the convection velocities in spreading drops. When the drop spreading diameter rises at the maximum velocity of internal flows, a growth of the maximum spreading diameter occurs. The presence of coal particles causes a general tendency to reduce the drop spreading.

The objective of the present work is to investigate the performance of flat-plate solar panels in Greece that continuously follow the daily motion of the Sun. To that end, the annual energy sums are estimated on such surfaces from hourly solar horizontal radiation values at 43 locations covering all of Greece. The solar horizontal radiation values are embedded in the typical meteorological years of the sites obtained from the PV-GIS tool. All calculations use a near-real surface albedo; an isotropic and an anisotropic model are used to estimate the diffuse-inclined radiation. The analysis provides regression equations for the energy sums as a function of time (month, season). The annual energy sums are found to vary between 2247 kWhm−2 and 2878 kWhm−2 under all-sky conditions with the anisotropic transposition model. Finally, maps of Greece showing the distribution of the annual and seasonal solar energy sums under all- and clear-sky conditions are derived for the first time.

The historic western edge of bison (Bison bison) range and the ecological processes that caused its formation are frequently debated with important implications for bison restoration across North America. We test the hypothesis that a combination of bottom-up habitat suitability and top-down harvest pressure from humans were important processes in forming the western edge of bison distribution. Using 9,384 historical journal observations from 1691 – 1928, we employ MaxEnt ecological niche modelling to identify suitable bison habitat across the Western Cordillera from bottom-up climatic, land cover, and topographic factors. We then use mixed-effect logistic regression to test if bison occurrence in journal records can be in part explained by the abundance of Indigenous humans, wolves, or grizzly bears, in addition to MaxEnt-derived habitat suitability. We find support for our hypothesis because of the limited suitable habitat in the Rocky Mountains that likely prevented westward bison dispersal from core habitat, and there was a negative relationship between bison occurrence and human harvest pressure. On this basis, we propose that intensive human harvest from large populations in the Western Cordillera, subsidized by other wildlife, salmon, and vegetation resources, is an underappreciated socioecological process that needs to be restored alongside bison populations. Co-managing bison with Indigenous people will also mitigate the adverse effects of overabundant bison and maximize the ecological and cultural benefits of bison restoration.

Two extensions of the generalized double Lomax distribution are introduced - the spliced-scale generalized double Lomax distribution and the exponentiated generalized double Lomax distribution. Their properties are studied. Usefulness of the new distributions is shown by fitting them to stock returns datasets.

Following the concept of strong interaction, theoretically, fusion of proton seems to increase the binding energy of final atom by 8.8 MeV. Due to Coulombic repulsion, asymmetry effect, pairing effect and other nuclear effects, final atom is forced to choose a little bit of binding energy less than 8.8 MeV and thus it is able to release left over binding energy in the form of internal kinetic energy or external thermal energy. Thus, in cold fusion, heat release to occur, binding energy difference of final atom and base atom seems to be less than 8.8 MeV. Qualitatively, energy released during cold fusion seems to be approximately equal to 8.8 MeV minus the difference of binding energy of final and base atoms. Based on this idea, under normal conditions, for the case of ₂He⁴, fusion of four protons can liberate (35.2-28.3)=6.9 MeV and it is 3.5 times less than the current estimates. Point to be understood is that, lesser the binding energy of final atom, higher the liberated thermal energy and vice versa. With a suitable catalyst and sufficient hydrogen under suitable pressure, if reactor’s temperature is maintained at (1000 to 1500) ⁰C, there seems a lot of scope for a chain reaction of cold fusion in which light isotopes transform to their next stage with increased proton number or mass number and liberate safe and clean heat energy continuously. By arranging 4 to 6 reactors and charging them periodically in tandem, required thermal energy can be produced continuously. In this new direction, by carefully selecting the base isotope and its corresponding catalyst, experiments can be conducted and ground reality of cold fusion can be understood at various temperature and pressure conditions.

The Evolutionary history and domestication of Camels are largely unexplored because of the lack of well dated early archaeological records. However, limited records suggest that domestication of Camels likely happened in the late second millennium BCE. Over the time, camels have helped human for their basic needs like meat, milk, wool, dung to long routes transportation. This multifaceted animal has helped the mankind to connect through continents and in trade majorly through the Silk route. In India, both dromedary and Bactrian camels are found and their habitat is entirely different from each other, dromedaries inhabit in hot deserts and Bactrians are found mostly in cold places (Nubra Valley, Ladakh). Fewer studies on Indian dromedaries have been conducted but no such studies are done on Bactrian camels. It is needed to study the genetics of Bactrian camels to find out their genetic affinity and evolutionary history with other Bactrians found in different parts of the world. Furthermore, parallel studies on humans and Bactrian camel are required to understand the co-evolution and migration pattern of humans during their dispersal in different time periods.

The parameters of logistic regression models are usually obtained by the method of maximum likelihood (ML). However, in analyses of small data sets or data sets with unbalanced outcomes or exposures, ML parameter estimates may not exist. This situation has been termed “separation” as the two outcome groups are separated by the values of a covariate or a linear combination of covariates. To overcome the problem of non-existing ML parameter estimates, applying Firth’s correction (FC) was proposed. In practice, however, a principal investigator might be advised to “bring more data” in order to solve a separation issue. We illustrate the problem by means of an examples from colorectal cancer screening and ornithology. It is unclear if such an increasing sample size (ISS) strategy that keeps sampling new observations until separation is removed improves estimation compared to applying FC to the original data set. We performed an extensive simulation study where the main focus was to estimate the cost-adjusted relative efficiency of ML combined with ISS compared to FC. FC yielded reasonably small root mean squared errors and proved to be the more efficient estimator. Given our findings, we propose not to adapt the sample size when separation is encountered but to use FC as the default method of analysis whenever the number of observations or outcome events is critically low.

Temperature-index modeling is used to determine the magnitude of temperature depression in the northern Sawatch Range required to maintain steady-state mass balances of six reconstructed glaciers at their extent during the local Last Glacial Maximum (LLGM), dated at ~21 ka. Assuming no significant differences in precipitation compared to modern values, mean annual temperatures in the region were on average 8.8 +0.5/–0.8 °C cooler than they are today. Allowing for modest increases or decreases in precipitation, required temperature depressions only differ by ± 0.2 °C. Temperature depression in the northern Sawatch Range are consistent, although slightly greater, with those determined in other ranges in Colorado using similar approaches. The estimates presented here are, however, substantially less than those suggested by several downscaled simulations of global LGM climate, that might be due to the need for improved calibration of such downscalings, or the models from which they are derived. Our estimates of LGM temperature depression are considerably greater than that previously determined in the study area and those in two other ranges in Colorado derived using different methodologies, the latter being most likely responsible for the discrepancies.

In the paper, a fully discrete compact difference scheme with $O(\tau^{2}+h^{4})$ precision is established by considering the numerical approximation of the one-dimensional Allen-Cahn equation. The numerical solutions satisfy discrete maximum principle under reasonable step ratio and time step constraint is proved. And the energy stability for the fully discrete scheme is investigated. An example is finally presented to show the effectiveness of scheme.

This paper is intended at highlighting the main mechanical parameters controlling the behavior of the so-called "acceleration-sensitive" Non-Structural Components (NSCs). In the first part a short review of the current state of knowledge and the critical issues related to the prediction of the seismic response of NSCs is reported. Then, the paper presents the results of a numerical parametric analysis intended to capture the key features of the dynamic response of a two-degree-of-freedom (2DOF) system which is supposed to be representative of both the main structure and the "non-structural" component (NSC). Particularly, it allows to simulate the coupled behaviour of both main structure and NSC and evaluating their response. The main parameters controlling the dynamic response of NSCs emerge from this study, which could pave the way towards formulating more mechanically consistent relationships for evaluating the maximum accelerations induced by seismic shakings on NSCs.

The aim of this paper is to at first evaluate the influence of three key parameters including weld current, weld time and electrode force on nugget diameter and tensile strength in resistance projection welding. Then, a 2-D axis-symmetric finite element model is developed to simulate the projection welding and predict the nugget diameter. Finally, the FEM results are compared to experimental data to verify the simulation model and simulated results. In the finite element model, the temperature-dependent material properties were taken into account.

Regression models form the core of the discipline of econometrics. One of the basic assumptions of classical linear regression model is that the values of the explanatory variables are fixed in repeated sampling. However, in most of the real life cases, particularly in economics the assumption of fixed regressors is not always tenable. Under a non-experimental or uncontrolled environment, the dependent variable is often under the influence of explanatory variables that are stochastic in nature. There is a huge literature related to stochastic regressors in various aspects. In this paper, a historical perspective on some of the works related to stochastic regressor is being tried to pen down based on literature search.

The severity of forest fires derived from remote sensing data for research and management has become increasingly widespread in the last decade, where these data typically quantify the pre- and post-fire spectral change between satellite images on multi-spectral sensors. However, there is an active discussion about which of the main indices (dNBR, RdNBR or RBR) is the most adequate to estimate the severity of the fire, as well about the adjustment model used in the classification of severity levels. This study proposes and evaluates a new technique for mapping severity as an alternative to regression models, based on the use of the maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) automatic learning algorithm, from GeoCBI field data and spectral indices dNBR, RdNBR and RBR applied to Landsat TM, ETM+ Images, for two fires in central Spain. We compare the severity discrimination capability on dNBR, RdNBR and RBR, through a spectral separability index (M) and then evaluated the concordance of these metrics with field data based on GeoCBI measurements. Specifically, we evaluated the correspondence (R²) between each metric and the continuous measurement of fire severity (GeoCBI) and the general precision of the regression and MLE models, for the four categorized levels of severity (Unburned, Low, Moderate, and High). The results show that the RBR has more spectral separability (average between two fires M = 2.00) that the dNBR (M = 1.82) and the RdNBR (M=1.80), additionally the GeoCBI has a better adjustment with the RBR of (R² = 0.73), than the RdNBR (R² = 0.72), and dNBR (R² = 0.71). Finally, the overall classification accuracy achieved with the MLE (Kappa = 0.65) has a better result than regression models (Kappa = 0.58) and higher accuracy of individual classes.

Daily maximum surface air temperature (Tamax) is a crucial factor for understanding complex land surface processes under rapid climate change. Remote detection of Tamax has widely relied on the empirical relationship between air temperature and land surface temperature (LST), a product derived from remote sensing. However, little is known about how such a relationship is affected by the high heterogeneity in landscapes and dynamics in seasonality. This study aims to advance our understanding of the roles of land cover and seasonal variation in the estimation of Tamax using the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) LST product. We developed statistical models to link Tamax and LST in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in China for five major land-cover types (i.e., forest, shrub, water, impervious surface, cropland, and grassland) and two seasons (i.e., growing season and non-growing season). Results show that the performance of modeling the Tamax-LST relationship was highly dependent on land cover and seasonal variation. Estimating Tamax over grasslands and water bodies achieved superior performance; while uncertainties were high over forested lands that contained extensive heterogeneity in species types, plant structure, and topography. We further found that all the land-cover specific models developed for the plant non-growing season outperformed the corresponding models developed for the growing season. Discrepancies in model performance mainly occurred in the vegetated areas (forest, cropland, and shrub), suggesting an important role of plant phenology in defining the statistical relationship between Tamax and LST. For impervious surfaces, the challenge of capturing the high spatial heterogeneity in urban settings using the low-resolution MODIS data made Tamax estimation a difficult task, which was especially true in the growing season.

Predicting the outcome of a future game between two National Basketball Association (NBA) teams poses a challenging problem of interest to statistical scientists as well as the general public. In this article, we formalize the problem of predicting the game results as a classification problem and apply the principle of maximum entropy to construct NBA maximum entropy (NBAME) model that fits to discrete statistics for NBA games, and then predict the outcomes of NBA playoffs by the NBAME model. The best NBAME model is able to correctly predict the winning team 74.4 percent of the time as compared to some other machine learning algorithms which is correct 69.3 percent of the time.

This study proposes a new maximum power point tracking (MPPT) method based on machine learning with improved power production efficiency for application to photovoltaic (PV) systems. Power loss occurs in the incremental conductance (InC) method, depending on the size of the voltage step used to track the maximum power point. Additionally, the size of the voltage step must be specified by the initial user; however, an appropriate size cannot be determined in a rapidly changing environment. To solve this problem, this study presents a gradient descent InC (GD InC) method that optimizes the size of the voltage step by applying an optimization method based on machine learning. The effectiveness of the GD InC method was verified and the optimized size of the voltage step was confirmed to produce the largest amount of power. When the size of the voltage step was optimized, a maximum difference of 4.53% was observed compared to case when the smallest amount of power was produced. The effectiveness of the GD InC method, which improved the efficiency of power production by optimizing the size of the voltage step, was verified. Power can be produced efficiently by applying the GD InC method to PV systems.

Factor analysis, a staple of correlational psychology, faces challenges with ordinal variables like Likert scales. The validity of traditional methods, particularly maximum likelihood (ML), is debated. Newer approaches, like using polychoric correlation matrices with weighted least squares estimators (WLS), offer solutions. This paper compares ML with WLS for ordinal variables. While WLS generally outperforms ML, especially with non-bell-shaped distributions, it may yield artefactual estimates with severely skewed data. ML tends to underestimate true loadings, while WLS may overestimate them. Simulations and case studies highlight the importance of item psychometric distributions. Despite advancements, ML remains robust, underscoring the complexity of analyzing ordinal data in factor analysis. There's no one-size-fits-all approach, emphasizing the need for sensitivity analyses and careful consideration of data characteristics.

During the last 100 years the planet has increased its temperature rapidly, this climate change could bring catastrophic effects for organisms and natural systems. One of the most affected groups is the ectotherms, due to their direct dependence on the environmental temperature. In recent years several studies analyse the effects of temperature and the thermal tolerance on several species of ectotherms. However, there are species whose thermal tolerances are still unknown. Such is the case of critically endangered species the Montseny Brook Newt (Calotriton arnoldi), endemic from the Montseny massif in Spain and whose thermal biology is unknown. Its critical situation makes essential to know its tolerance to cooling, warming and thermopreferendum in water environment where the newt lives. Three experimental procedures were conducted from the western and eastern subpopulations of C. arnoldi considering four classes separately (males, females, juveniles and larvae). The results obtained showed that the CTmax of the species exceeded 31°C, with a significant difference between the two populations. We found that the species tolerates well low temperatures (&lt;1°C), because of the genera Calotriton is adapted to lives in cold waters with temperatures below 15º. Although the thermopreference of the species was expected to trend to cold temperatures, some individuals chose relatively high temperatures, obtaining a range of 11.7°C to 21.6°C. The results presented in this study are an advance in the knowledge of the thermal physiology of this species and support the importance of the temperature of the torrent on its survival. Knowing their thermal limits and their preferred temperature range will help to propose management measures that promote the conservation of streams and its riparian forest cover to mitigate the temperature increase due to climate change.

Precise monitoring of individual crop growth and health status is crucial for precision agriculture practices. However, traditional manual inspection methods are time-consuming, labor-intensive, and often lack the spatial resolution required for detailed analysis. This research addresses the need for efficient and high-resolution crop monitoring by leveraging Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) imagery and advanced computational techniques. The primary objective was to develop a methodology for precise identification, extraction, and monitoring of individual corn crops throughout their growth cycle. This was achieved by integrating UAV-derived data with image processing, computational geometry, and machine learning techniques. UAV imagery was ac-quired bi-weekly at altitudes of 40m and 70m, capturing the entire growth cycle of a corn crop from planting to harvest. A time-series Canopy Height Model (CHM) was generated by analyzing the differences between the Digital Terrain Model (DTM) and the Digital Surface Model (DSM) derived from the UAV data. Local spatial analysis and image processing techniques were em-ployed to determine the local maximum height of each crop. Subsequently, a Voronoi data model was developed to delineate individual crop canopies, successfully identifying 13,000 out of 13,050 corn crops in the study area. For enhanced accuracy in canopy size delineation, vegetation indices were incorporated into the Voronoi model segmentation, refining the initial canopy area esti-mates by eliminating interference from soil and shadows. The proposed methodology enables precise estimation and monitoring of crop canopy size, height, biomass reduction, lodging, and stunted growth over time, providing valuable insights for precision agriculture practices. This work contributes to the scientific community by demonstrating the potential of integrating UAV technology, computational geometry, and machine learning for accurate and efficient crop mon-itoring at the individual plant level.

In this paper a more flexible extension of the Fréchet distribution is introduced. The new distribution is defined by means of the stochastic representation as the quotient of two independent random variables, a Fréchet distribution and the power of a random variable with uniform distribution in the interval (0,1). We will call this new extension the Slash Fréchet distribution and one of its main characteristics is that its tails are heavier than the Fréchet distribution. The general density of this distribution and some basic properties are determined. Its moments, skewness coefficients and kurtosis are calculated. In addition, the estimation of the model parameters is obtained by the method of moments and maximum likelihood. Finally, two applications with real data are performed by fitting the new model and comparing it with the Fréchet distribution.

The Rasch model is one of the most prominent item response models. In this article, different item parameter estimation methods for the Rasch model are compared through a simulation study. The type of ability distribution, the number of items, and sample sizes were varied. It is shown that variants of joint maximum likelihood estimation and conditional likelihood estimation are competitive to marginal maximum likelihood estimation. However, efficiency losses of limited-information estimation methods are only modest. It can be concluded that in empirical studies using the Rasch model, the impact of the choice of an estimation method with respect to item parameters is almost negligible for most estimation methods. Interestingly, this sheds a somewhat more positive light on old-fashioned joint maximum likelihood and limited information estimation methods.

The paper explores the Kullback-Leibler divergence formalism (KLDF) applied to the stable MG1 queue manifold. More potentially, both service time probability and cumulative functions which make KLDF exact are obtained. The credibility of KLDF is justified through consistency axioms. Some potential applications of Kullback-Leibler divergence to Biometry are presented. The paper concludes with closing remarks combined with some challenging open problems and the next phase of research.

A new compounded distribution called the Topp-Leone-Lomax Poisson is developed. The statistical properties of this model are derived. The model parameters are estimated via the maximum likelihood technique. The performance of the estimation techniques was assessed by means of simulation studies. The new model was exposed to three data sets and compared to other models within the same class and the evidence supports the importance of the new model in data modelling.

Process parameters influencing mechanical properties have always been a critical area of research for quite some time. We investigated the effect of laser power and laser scan velocity on the impact strength and maximum stress of 3D-printed metallic specimens of steel 1.2709 and 1.4542. Laser power significantly affected the impact strength and maximum stress of both the steels. With the increase in laser power, the impact strength increased for 1.2709 steel. However, there was a little increase in the impact strength with increasing laser power in the case of 1.4542 steel. Laser power had a decreasing impact on the maximum stress for 1.2709 steel. For 1.4542, maximum stress increased with increasing laser power, but then gradually declined. We observed that using laser power beyond 350W led to printing defect in the specimens, as maximum stress for some specimens reached close to zero in the case of 1.4542 steel. Laser scan velocity had a strong declining effect on the impact strength of 1.2709 steel.

The study of supermassive black holes has significantly advanced our understanding of galaxy structures, yet fundamental questions remain, particularly concerning the structure and dynamics of massive black holes. This article addresses the core structure of massive black holes, defined as those originating from supernova events. Integrating the concept of "Dachus density," a state of maximum matter density, I propose that the core of all massive black holes exists at this density. The research investigates the size of these cores and their event horizons, using Cygnus X-1 and Sagittarius A* as examples. Calculations reveal that the core size is exceedingly small compared to the overall black hole, with the core's volume being up to ~155 orders of magnitude smaller than the event horizon volume in the case of Sagittarius A*. The article briefly explores the implications of a rotating Dachus core on the black hole's structure, including the "mantle" region between the core and the event horizon. The discussion extends to absolute zero temperature, asserting that for a non-spinning, static Massive black hole, the temperature of its core reaches 0[K] as in this state, particles do not move in relation to each other and do not have any kinetic and in particular rotational Energy.

We consider a constrained optimal control problem and an extension of it, in which the set of strict-sense trajectories is enlarged. Extension is a common procedure in optimal control, used to derive necessary and sufficient optimality conditions for the original problem from the extended one, which usually admits a minimizer and has a more regular structure. However, this procedure fails if the two problems have different infima. It is therefore relevant to identify such situations. Following on from earlier work by Warga but adopting perturbation techniques developed in non-smooth analysis, we investigate the relation between the occurrence of an infimum gap and abnormality of necessary conditions. For a notion of local minimizer based on control distance and an extension including the impulsive one, we prove that (i) a local extended minimizer which is not a local minimizer of the original problem and (ii) a local strict-sense minimizer which is not a local minimizer of the extended problem, both satisfy the extended maximum principle in abnormal form. The main novelty is result (ii), as until now it had only been shown that a strict-sense minimizer which is not an extended minimizer is abnormal for an `averaged version’ of the maximum principle.

Purpose- Betel nut (Areca catechu) is one of the major plantation crops grown in Assam. However, due to inefficiency in production, the productivity of betel nuts in the state is very low. Therefore, this study attempted to measure the level of technical efficiency and the factors affecting the technical inefficiency of betel nut growers in the Nagaon district of Assam.Design/methodology/approach – Primary data were collected from 240 households in the Nagaon district of Assam. Based on the Cobb-Douglas Production function for betel nut growers, the present study uses stochastic frontier analysis to estimate the production frontier and examine the effects of exogenous variables on farm-level technical inefficiency. Findings - The findings of the study reveal that, on average, 85 per cent of betel nut growers are technically efficient in the study area. Moreover, experience in betel nut plantations and gender have a significantly negative effect on technical inefficiency. In contrast, the age of the grower had a positive and significant effect on the technical inefficiency of betel nut cultivation. The findings suggest the availability of space for an increase in the productivity of betel nut plantations in the study area and scope for increasing the level of output through technical efficiency without raising inputs.Originality/Value: This study contribute to the estimation of the technical efficiency of betel nut growers and examines the factors responsible for technical inefficiency.The dataset is original and was especially collected for the present study.

In order to conduct an accurate classification of the heterogeneous landscape in Jiului Valley, Romania mining basing, four machine learning algorithms (SVMs) and two common algorithms (MLC and MD) have been compared, using a temporal series of Landsat satellite images from the period 1988-2017. By using independent validation, an accuracy assessment was established together with the analysis of the differences between the classification algorithms used. Although all six algorithms used have shown a high overall accuracy (ranging from 80.29% to 93.14%) and Kappa values (from 0.77 to 0.92), SVM-RBF appears to have a higher overall applicability in describing the spatial distribution and the cover density of each land cover category. Results have indicated a large difference in classification accuracy between the SVM-RBF algorithm and commonly used algorithms, the SVM-RBF algorithms have slightly outperformed the MLC with an overall accuracy of 7.14–8.86% and by 0.0833–0.1033 kappa coefficient. On the other hand, the same algorithm have outperformed the MD by and overall accuracy of 9.71–10.86% and by 0.1133–0.1267 kappa coefficient. By using SVM-RBF, certain classified maps have been developed and used for assessing changes by post classification comparison. The results have shown an average growth of 6.5% in mined areas over the studied period.

(1) Background: Within the scope of prevention studies, many researchers have indicated the need to enhance knee proprioception. Kinesiology tape is one product that claims to enhance proprioception, however, its use has not been well researched in the healthy population before. The aim of the study was to investigate if kinesiology tape application on the quadriceps muscle enhances proprioception. (2) Methods: Twelve healthy and physically active volunteers (M=7, F=5, mean age= 20.75 ± 2.14, mean BMI=22.25 ±2.34) participated in the study. With computerized, custom-built isokinetic dynamometer, we recorded perceived joint position angles (small and large angles). For force sense, we recorded maximum voluntary isometric contractions (MVIC) and differences in torques (Nm) via force matching tasks both with vision and without vision on left leg. The absolute errors for joint position sense measurements and for force matching tasks and differences in MVIC both in untaped and taped conditions for left legs of all subjects were recorded. (3) Results: Two-way repeated measures ANOVA revealed that no significant interaction existed among small and large angle groups in both the conditions nor any main condition effect was observed in both the groups. (p&gt;0.05). Similarly, no differences were accounted in force matching tasks between the taped and un-taped with vision and without vision (p=0.52 and 0.38 respectively.) Statistically insignificant increments were observed in mean torque post application. (p=0.67) (4) Conclusions: Present study suggests that immediate kinesiology tape application on quadriceps muscle offers no benefits on proprioception in terms of joint position sense and force sense hence other preventive measures to strengthen the proprioceptive system should be relied upon.

With the increased availability of sequence data and even of fully sequenced and assembled genomes, phylogeny estimation of very large trees (even of hundreds of thousands of sequences) is now a goal for some biologists. Yet, the construction of these phylogenies is a complex pipeline presenting analytical and computational challenges, especially when the number of sequences is very large. In the last few years, new methods have been developed that aim to enable highly accurate phylogeny estimations on these large datasets, including divide-and-conquer techniques for multiple sequence alignment and/or tree estimation, methods that can estimate species trees from multi-locus datasets while addressing heterogeneity due to biological processes (e.g., incomplete lineage sorting and gene duplication and loss), and methods to add sequences into large gene trees or species trees. Here we present some of these recent advances and discuss opportunities for future improvements.

The paper is concerned with a class of stochastic differential equations in infinite dimensional Hilbert space with random coefficients driven by Teugel's martingales which are more general processes. and its optimal control problem. Here Teugels martingales are a family of pairwise strongly orthonormal martingales associated with L\'{e}vy processes (see Nualart and Schoutens). There are three major ingredients. The first is to prove the existence and uniqueness of the solutions by continuous dependence theorem of solutions combining with the parameter extension method. The second is to establish the stochastic maximum principle and verification theorem for our optimal control problem by the classicconvex variation method and dual technique.The third is to represent an example of a Cauchy problem for a controlled stochastic partial differential equation driven by Teugels martingales which our theoretical results can solve.

Double-spiral galaxies are common in the Universe. It is known that the logarithmic double spiral is a Maximum Entropy geometry and represents spiral galaxies well. It is also known that the virial mass of such a galaxy can be approximately determined from the entropy of its central supermassive black hole. But over time the black hole must accrete mass, and therefore the overall galactic entropy must increase. From the associated entropic Euler-Lagrange equation (forming the basis of the Principle of Least Exertion, and also enabling the application of Nöther’s theorem) we show that the galactic entropy production is a conserved quantity, and we derive an appropriate expression for the relativistic entropic Hamiltonian of an idealised spiral galaxy. We generalise Onsager’s celebrated expression for entropy production and demonstrate that galactic entropy production has two parts, one many orders of magnitude larger than the other, and where the smaller is comparable to the Hawking radiation of the central supermassive black hole. We conclude that galaxies cannot be isolated, since even idealised spiral galaxies have non-zero entropy production.

Although most biological processes are characterized by a strong temporal asymmetry, several popular mathematical models neglect this issue. Maximum entropy methods provide a principled way of addressing time irreversibility, which leverages powerful results and ideas from the3literature of non-equilibrium statistical mechanics. This article provides a comprehensive overview of these issues, with a focus in the case of spike train statistics. We provide a detailed account of the5mathematical foundations and work out examples to illustrate the key concepts and results from non-equilibrium statistical mechanics

This is a short note on a new way to describe Haug's newly introduced maximum velocity for matter in relation to the Schwarzschild radius. This leads to a probabilistic Schwarzschild radius for elementary particles with mass smaller than the Planck mass. In addition, our maximum velocity, when linked to the Schwarzschild radius, seems to predict that particles just at that radius cannot move. This implies that radiation from the Schwarzschild radius not can undergo velocity time dilation. Our maximum velocity of matter, therefore, seems to predict no time dilation, even in high Z quasars, as has surprisingly been observed recently.

This paper considers a non-mixture cure model for right censored data. It utilizes the maximum likelihood method to estimate model parameters in the non-mixture cure model. The simulation study is based on Fréchet susceptible distribution to evaluate the performance of the method. Comparing with Weibull and exponentiated exponential distributions, the non-mixture Fréchet distribution is shown to be the best in modeling a real data on allogeneic marrow HLA-matched donors and ECOG phase III clinical trial e1684 data.

This paper aims to provide an adaptation of the TL-moments method to censored data. The present study concentrates on Type-I censored data. The idea of using TL-moments with censored data may seem conflicting. But our perspective in that, we may use data censored from one side and trimmed from the other side. This study is applied to estimate the two unknown parameters of the Weibull distribution. The suggested point is compared with Direct L-moments and ML methods. A Monte Carlo simulation study is carried out to compare these method in terms of estimate average, root of mean square error (RMSE) and relative absolute biases (RAB).

In this paper, an extensive study on the operation, control and performance of a hybrid photovoltaic and wind turbine (PV-WT) system is presented. The study includes the operation of the hybrid systems under different weather conditions which are reflected on a change in the wind speed and irradiance. Various loading conditions are investigated such a change in active and reactive power demands for static and dynamic loads. The performance of the hybrid system is examined via MATLAB/SIMULINK simulations.

Foam rolling is widespread and deeply rooted in exercise practice. Optimal duration and role of this treatment still lack scientific consensus. Relatively novel foam rolling treatment that combines vibration during application targets different muscle characteristics that are not well understood. Studies exploring this combined treatment are scarce therefore the aim of this study was to investigate the acute effects of different duration vibration (15-s, 30-s and 60-s) foam rolling treatment on muscle skin temperature and surface muscle electromyography during Maximal Voluntary Isometric Contraction. Eighteen male subjects attended the research laboratory for three experimental sessions and performed four sets of three trials of maximal isometric heel rises. Repeated measures ANOVA determined that muscle skin temperature significant difference was only found for the 30-s treatment (p = 0.013 - 0.000). For surface muscle electromyography a 30-s treatment out of all three yielded the most significant results, between pretreatment set and post treatment set1 (p=0.01) small effect size (Cohen’s d= -0.33) and pretreatment set to post treatment set3 (p=0.01) small effect size (Cohen’s d= -0.30). All treatments did not produce significant difference during Maximal Voluntary Isometric Contraction heel rises. Future studies should investigate accute effects of longer duration treatment on changes in surface muscle temperature. Muscle activity could suggest that efficiency was improved taken into account of unchanged muscle strength, also downward trend of muscle activity caused by other two treatment durations could be of significance during rehabilitation process or during activites where this is a desired and indicated goal.

To obtain carbon dots (CDs) with narrow full width at half maximum (FWHM) and long-wavelength emission, carbon sources with high conjugate sizes and abundant functional groups can be employed to synthesis CDs. In this study, orange-emissive carbon dots (OCDs) were synthesized with phloroglucinol and rhodamine B as precursors. When the molar ratio of them was 30:1 and ethanol was served as solvent, OCDs with optimized emission wavelength at approximately 580 nm, an FWHM of 30 nm and a quantum yield (QY) of 27.31% were obtained. Subsequently, the OCDs were incorporated into polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to fabricate solid-state OCDs/PVA fluorescent films, which exhibited an FWHM of 47 nm. The PVA matrix facilitated the dispersion of OCDs, thereby suppressing non-radiative energy transfer among the OCDs and enhancing luminescence efficiency. Consequently, compared with OCDs, the OCDs/PVA film exhibited significant luminescent enhancement, and the QY of the composite film was increased to 84.74%. Moreover, OCDs/PVA film show good transmittance and thermal stability. This research offers a solid theoretical and experimental foundation for the potential applications of CDs in the fields of solid-state lighting.

We consider the problem of finding the largest clique of a graph. This is an NP-hard problem and no exact algorithm to solve it exactly in polynomial time is known to exist. Several heuristic approaches have been proposed to find approximate solutions, Markov Chain Monte Carlo being one of those. In the context of Markov Chain Monte Carlo, we present a class of ``parallel dynamics'', known as Probabilistic Cellular Automata, which can be used in place of the more standard choice of sequential ``single spin flip'' to sample from a probability distribution concentrated on the largest cliques of the graph. We perform a numerical comparison between the two classes of chains both in terms of the quality of the solution and in terms of computational time. We show that the parallel dynamics are considerably faster than the sequential one while providing solutions of comparable quality.

Molecular-scale density fluctuations at equilibrium produce cavities in a liquid and can be analyzed to shed light on the statistics of the number of molecules occupying observation volumes of increasing radius. An information theory approach led to the conclusion that these probabilities should follow a Gaussian distribution function. This prediction has been confirmed by computer simulations in different liquid models if the size of the observation volume is not large. The reversible work of cavity creation is exactly linked to the probability of finding zero molecules in a given observation volume. The Gaussian formula for the latter probability is scrutinized to arrive at the enthalpy and entropy changes associated with cavity creation. The reversible work of cavity creation has a purely entropic origin due to the solvent-excluded volume effect produced by the inaccessibility of a given region of the configurational space. The consequent structural reorganization of liquid molecules leads to exactly compensating enthalpy and entropy changes. These results are in line with those obtained in a direct statistical mechanical study by Lee.

A novel prediction model for crack development of reinforced concrete (RC) piles with localized chloride corrosion in marine environment is proposed. A discrete method is used to solve the corrosion pit radius model and a crack extension model is developed to investigate the initiation and extension of cracks. The maximum corrosion degree of reinforced concrete pile is predicted according to the limit crack criterion, and finally a sensitivity analysis is carried out on the important parameters of crack extension. The results show that the radius of corrosion pit, the depth corrosion pit and cross-sectional area loss of reinforcement gradually increase as the corrosion level increases. The loss of local reinforcement section at crack initiation decreases with the increase of the ratio of concrete cover to initial diameter, and increases with the increase of pitting factor. The required pit depth for reinforcement cracking increases with the increase of the ratio of concrete cover thickness to diameter. The loss of cross-sectional area of reinforcement and the radius of corrosion pit increase with the increase of initial diameter of reinforcement. Increasing the pitting factor will reduce the pit depth and make the crack width develop faster before reaching the limit crack width. Increasing the concrete cover thickness can provide an improvement in the propagation of cracks. A comparative analysis shows that the localized corrosion pattern is more in conformity with marine engineering practice.

The wind observations for multiple levels (40–200 m) have been conducted for a long time (2016–2020) on Jeju Island of South Korea. This study aims at understanding the vertical and temporal characteristics of lower atmosphere. Jeju Island is a region located at mid-latitude and is affected by seasonal monsoon wind. The maximum wind speed appears in the lower layer during day time and is delayed in the upper layer during latter time in diurnal cycle. In summer season, the surface layer increases up to 160 m during day time via dominant solar radiation effect, which is higher than those for other seasons. However, the maximum wind speed in winter season appears irregularly among altitudes, and the surface layer is ~100 m, which is lower than that in summer season. It can be attributed to the increase in the mean wind speed in diurnal cycle caused by the strong northwestern wind for winter season. These results imply that the relationship between near-surface and higher altitudes is primarily affected by solar radiation and seasonal monsoon winds. These results are expected to contribute to site selection criteria for wind farms and to the assessment concerning planetary boundary layer modeling.

While entropy was introduced in the second half of the 19th century in the international vocabulary as a scientific term, in the 20th century it became common in colloquial use. Popular imagination has loaded “entropy” with almost every negative quality in the universe, in life and in society, with a dominant meaning of disorder and disorganization. Exploring the history of the term and many different approaches on it, we show that entropy has a universal stochastic definition which is not disorder. The accompanying principle of maximum entropy, which lies behind the Second Law, gives explanatory and inferential power to the concept and promotes entropy as the mother of creativity and evolution. As social sciences are often contaminated by subjectivity and ideological influences, we try to explore whether the maximum entropy, applied to the distribution of wealth quantified by annual income, can give an objective description. Using publicly available income data, we show that the income distribution is consistent with the principle of the maximum entropy. The increase of entropy is associated to increase of society’s wealth yet a standardized form of entropy can be used to quantify inequality. Historically, technology has played a major role in development and increase of the entropy of income. Such findings are contrary to the theories of ecological economics and other theories which use the term entropy in a Malthusian perspective.

The power function distribution is a flexible waiting time model that may provide better fit for some failure data. This paper presents the comparison of the maximum likelihood estimates and the Bayes estimates of two-parameter power function distribution. The Bayes estimates are obtained, using conjugate priors, under five loss functions consist of square error, precautionary, weighted, LINEX and DeGroot loss function. The Gibbs sampling algorithm is proposed to generate samples from posterior distributions and in result the Bayes estimates are computed. The comparison of the maximum likelihood estimates and the Bayes estimates are done through the root mean squared errors. One real-life data set is analyzed to illustrate the evaluation of proposed methods of estimation. Finally, results from the simulation are discussed to assess the performance behavior of the maximum likelihood estimates and the Bayes estimates.

Despite their obvious differences, biological systems at different scales tend to exhibit common organizational patterns. Unfortunately, these commonalities are usually obscured by the parcelled terminology employed by various scientific sub-disciplines. To explore these commonalities, this papers a comparative study of diverse applications of the maximum entropy principle, ranging from amino acids up to societies. By presenting these studies under a common language, this paper establishes a unified view over seemingly highly heterogeneous biological scenarios.

A basic limitation of the periodogram as frequency estimator is that any of its significant peaks may be produced by a diffuse (or spread) frequency component instead of a pure one. Diffuse components are common in applications such as channel estimation in which a given periodogram peak reveals the presence of a complex multipath distribution (unresolvable propagation paths or diffuse scattering, for example). We present a method to detect the presence of a diffuse component in a given peak based on analyzing the projection of the data vector onto the span of the signature’s derivatives up to a given order. Fundamentally, a diffuse component is detected if the energy in the derivatives’ subspace is too high at the peak’s frequency, and its spread is estimated as the ratio between this last energy and the peak’s energy. The method is based on exploiting the signature’s Vandermonde structure through the properties of discrete Chebyshev polynomials. We also present an efficient numerical procedure for computing the data component in the derivatives’ span based on barycentric interpolation. The paper contains a numerical assessment of the proposed estimator and detector.

It aims to utilize more solar energy, which is both environmentally friendly and easily accessible, to satisfy the energy needs of developing countries. Therefore, maximum power generation should be provided from photovoltaic panels. Several maximum power point tracking(MPPT) methods are utilized for the maximum power generation in photovoltaic panels systems under different weather conditions. In this paper, a novel hybrid and clever maximum power point monitoring fuzzy logic controller maximum power point tracking algorithm established on the perturb and observe (PO) algorithm is presented. The proposed fuzzy logic controller algorithm and the incremental conductivity maximum power point tracking algorithm were simulated in MATLAB/SIMULINK environment and evaluated by comparing the results. Four Sharp ND-F4Q295 solar panels, two in series and two in parallel were used for the simulation. The hybrid method proposed here was found to reduce the voltage and current ripple compared to the classical incremental conductivity method. The proposed intelligent method has been shown to stabilise the system more quickly in the event of sudden weather changes.

Small wind turbines placed at City locations are affected by variable speed winds that frequently also change the direction. Architectural constructions, buildings of different height and abrupt orography of Cities make the winds that occur at City locations, more variable than in flat lands or at sea. However, performance of Small-wind turbines under this type of variable winds is not deeply studied in specialized literature. Therefore, this article analyses this important issue, also considering three types of power conversion configurations utilized in small-wind turbines; the generally used Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) configuration, the simple only-rectifier configuration and an intermediate configuration in terms of complexity called Pseudo-MPPT. This general-purpose analysis is applied to a specific type of wind turbine, i.e. the Ayanz wind turbine with screw blades, which presents very adequate characteristics for city locations such as; safety, reduced visual and acoustic impacts and birds’ casualties avoidance. Thus, a wide simulation and experimental tests-based analysis is carried out, identifying which are the main factors affecting to the maximization of energy production of small-wind turbines in general and the Ayanz turbine in particular. It is concluded that depending how the wind turbine is designed in terms of these identified main factors, the simple Pseudo-MPPT power conversion configuration could even extract more energy than more complex MPPT configurations, especially in quickly varying wind situations.

Generalized distributions have been studied a lot recently because of their flexibility and relia-bility in modeling lifetime data. The two-parameter exponentially-modified logistic distribution is a new flexible modified distribution that was introduced recently. It is regarded as a strong competitor for widely used classical symmetrical and non-symmetrical distributions such as normal, logistic, lognormal, and log-logistic. In this study, the unknown parameters of the dis-tribution are estimated using the maximum likelihood method. The Grey Wolf Optimization al-gorithm, which is a new meta-heuristic algorithm, is applied in order to solve the nonlinear like-lihood equations of the study model. The performance of the Grey Wolf Optimization method is compared to that of the other meta-heuristic algorithms used in this study, which include the Whale Optimization Algorithm, the Sine Cosine Algorithm, and the Particle Swarm Optimiza-tion Algorithm. The efficiencies of maximum likelihood estimates for all algorithms are com-pared via an extensive Monte-Carlo simulation study. The likelihood estimates for the location α and scale β parameters of the exponentially-modified logistic distribution developed with the Grey Wolf Optimization algorithm are the most efficient among others, according to simulation findings. Four real datasets are analyzed to show the flexibility of this distribution.

A formulation of the Density Functional Theory (DFT) is constructed as an application of the method of maximum entropy for an inhomogeneous fluid in thermal equilibrium. The use of entropy as a systematic method to generate optimal approximations is extended from the classical to the quantum domain. This process introduces a family of trial density operators that are parametrized by the particle density. The optimal density operator is that which maximizes the quantum entropy relative to the exact canonical density operator. This approach reproduces the variational principle of DFT and allows a simple proof of the Hohenberg-Kohn theorem at finite temperature. Finally, as an illustration, we discuss the Kohn-Sham approximation scheme at finite temperature

Taiwan is highly susceptible to global warming, experiencing a 1.4°C increase in air temperatures from 1911-2005, which is twice the average for the Northern Hemisphere. This has led to higher rates of respiratory and cardiovascular mortality. Accurately predicting maximum temperatures during the summer season is crucial, but numerical weather models become less accurate and more uncertain beyond five days. To improve forecast reliability, statistical post-processing is needed to address systematic errors. In September 2020, NOAA NCEP implemented the Global Ensemble Forecast System version 12 (GEFSv12) to help manage climate risks. This study developed a Hybrid statistical post-processing method that combines Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Quantile mapping (QQ) approaches to predict daily maximum temperatures and extremes in Taiwan during the summer season. The Hybrid technique, utilizing deep learning techniques, was applied to the GEFSv12 reforecast data and evaluated against ERA5 reanalysis. The Hybrid technique was the most effective among the three techniques tested. It had the lowest bias, RMSE, and highest correlation coefficient. It successfully reduced the warm bias and overestimation of Tmax extreme days. This led to improved prediction skills for all forecast lead times. Compared to ANN and QQ, the Hybrid method was more effective in predicting summer daily Tmax and its extremes on an extended-range time scale deterministic and ensemble probabilistic forecasts over Taiwan.

Efficient train driving plays a vital role in reducing the overall energy consumption in the railway sector. An energy minimising control strategy can be computed using the framework given by optimal control theory, in particular the Pontryagin maximum principle. Our optimisation approach is based on an algorithm presented by Khmelnitsky that considers electric trains equipped with regenerative braking. A derivation of Khmelnitsky’s theory from a more general formulation of the maximum principle is given in this article, and a complete list of switching cases between different driving regimes has been included that is essential for practical application. A number of numerical examples are added to visualise the various switching cases. Energy consumption data from real-life operation of passenger trains are compared to the calculated energy minimum. In the presented study, the optimised strategy was able to save 37 percent of the average energy demand of the train in operation.

Conservation of tropical endemic amphibians largely suffers from Wallacean shortfall, a gap to which predictive species distribution models have contributed significantly to bridge by delineating probable distribution and the underlying suitable habitat within their distributional range. However, rarely is a prediction model ground-truthed to evaluate their predictive performance. Here we present a species distribution modeling approach using maximum entropy algorithm corrected for smaller sample size, in guiding explorative surveys aimed at optimizing survey effort and discovering unrecorded populations of Zhangixalus suffry, a rhacophorid tree-frog endemic to the northeastern part of the Indian subcontinent along with the factors limiting their distribution. With only 16 established historical locality data to model for (after spatial thinning to reduce autocorrelation) and a set of environmental predictors (climatic, topographic, and landscape composition), our model prediction enabled the successful discovery of seven new population records from unreported landscapes, extending its southernmost distributional limit over a considerable distance. The final composite distribution model combining all the locality records (n=23) predicted similar core areas of suitable habitat consistent with the known geographic distribution of the species but showed poor representation under existing coverage of Protected Area (PA) network in the Region with only 7% representation of suitable habitat under protection. Habitat suitability of a site was significantly governed by factors related to precipitation (precipitation seasonality and precipitation of the warmest quarter) and topographic factors that can influence it (elevation and aspect). This corroborates with the known ecology of Rhacophorid frogs, especially concerning their seasonal explosive reproductive strategy and foam nest-building behavior.Through this study, we propose explorative surveys guided by species distribution models to expedite unknown population discovery of rare, tropical endemic amphibians and using such taxa as surrogates in identifying conservation priority zones that can be directly applied to reserve design and conservation and management planning.

Temperature-index modeling is used to determine the magnitude of temperature depression on the Blanca Massif, Colorado, required to maintain steady-state mass balances of nine reconstructed glaciers at their extent during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The mean temperature depression thus determined is ~8.6 +0.7/–0.9 °C where the uncertainties account for those inherent in the glacier reconstructions, in model parameters (e.g. melt factors), and possible modest changes in LGM precipitation. Associated equilibrium-line altitudes (ELAs) exhibit a statistically significant directional dependency being lower toward the north and east. Under the assumption that regional temperature change was uniform, required changes in precipitation vary systematically – also exhibiting a directional dependency coinciding with that in ELAs – and indicate increases (over modern) occurred on the eastern side of the massif while decreases occurred on the western side. This disparity represents a strengthening of a precipitation asymmetry, particularly winter precipitation, that exists today. The modern precipitation asymmetry may be a consequence of snow being blown over to the eastern side of the massif (advective transport) by southwesterly flow. Intensification of this flow during the LGM would have enhanced advection, and augmented snow accumulation on glaciers, thus explaining the lower ELAs and increased precipitation on that side of the massif.

The design flood concept (DF) provides for an essential tool in designing the hydraulic works, in defining the reservoir operation programs and for a reliable flood hazard identification. Under a simplified approach, the maximum discharge and the floods volume are statistically processed to reasonably define the DF. Yet, the integral hydrograph provides additional key temporal and quantitative details of important significance for flood management and particularly for the res-ervoirs operation and associated risks of failures. The procedure presented in this paper (as applied on a set of compatibly shaped hydrographs) involves the following key stages: (i) normalize the floods, (ii) define similar flood shape classes and (iii) evaluate the average dimensionless flood (ADF) for each class. The ADFs are finally transformed into a set of (DF)s. Many statistical distributions approximate acceptably the frequent values of the maximum discharges or the flood volumes, yet displaying a significant spread for medium or rare probabilities of exceedance (PE). This scattering, which can be explained by the epistemic uncertainty, defines an area of uncertainty both for measured and extrapolated values. In considering upper and lower values of the uncertainty in-tervals as limits for maximum discharges and flood volumes, then by combining them compatibly, a set of DFs - as completely defined hydrographs, with different shapes - results for each PE. The herein proposed procedure defines both one peak DF and multi-peaks DF. Subsequently, such DFs do assist water managers in examining and establishing tailored approaches for a variety of input hydrographs. Among the DFs that would correspond to a same PE, the most compact floods arise a special interest, for they are basic in defining the set of safe operation rules for hydraulic structures.

Large intelligent surfaces (LIS) promises not only to improve the signal to noise ratio, and spectral efficiency but also to reduce the energy consumption during the transmission. We consider a base station equipped with an antenna array using the maximum ratio transmission (MRT), and a large reflector array sending signals to a single user. Each subchannel is affected by the Rayleigh flat fading, and the reflecting elements perform non-perfect phase correction which introduces a Von Mises distributed phase error. Based on the central limit theorem (CLT), we conclude that the overall channel has an equivalent Gamma fading whose parameters are derived from the moments of the channel fading between the antenna array and LIS, and also from the LIS to the single user. Assuming that the equivalent channel can be modeled as a Gamma distribution, we propose very accurate closed-form expressions for the bit error probability and a very tight upper bound. For the case where the LIS is not able to perform perfect phase cancellation, that is, under phase errors, it is possible to analyze the system performance considering the analytical approximations and the simulated results obtained using the well known Monte Carlo method. The analytical expressions for the parameters of the Gamma distribution are very difficult to be obtained due to the complexity of the nonlinear transformations of random variables with non-zero mean and correlated terms. Even with perfect phase cancellation, all the fading coefficients are complex due to the link between the user and the base station that is not neglected in this paper.

In order to solve the problem of the poor oil displacement effect of high molecular weight alkali/surfactant/polymer (ASP) solution in low permeability reservoirs, Daqing Oilfield uses a partial quality tool to improve the oil displacement effect in low permeability reservoirs. Without changing the oil displacement capability of high molecular weight ASP solution in high permeability oil layers, the ASP solution is actively sheared in low permeability oil layers by using a partial quality tool to increase the injection capability of the solution and improve the overall oil recovery. In order to study the ability of the partial quality tool to improve the oil displacement effect, firstly, the matching degree of high molecular weight ASP solution to low permeability cores is studied, and the ability of quality control tools to change the molecular weight is studied. Then, experimental research on the pressure and oil displacement effect of high molecular weight ASP solution before and after the actions of the partial quality tool is carried out. The results show that ASP solutions with molecular weights of 1900 × 104 and 2500 × 104 have a poor oil displacement effect in low permeability reservoirs. After the action of the partial quality tool, the injection pressure is reduced by 5.22 MPa, and the oil recovery is increased by 7.79%. The injection pressure of the ASP solution after shearing by the partial quality tool is lower than that of the ASP solution with the same molecular weight and concentration without shearing, but the oil recovery is lower. On the whole, the use of the partial quality tool can obviously improve the oil displacement effect in low permeability reservoirs.

Bello's stochastic linear time-varying system theory has been widely used in the wireless communications literature to characterize multipath fading channel statistics. In the context of radar backscatter, this formulation allows for statistical characterization of distributed radar targets in range and Doppler using wide-sense stationary uncorrelated scattering (WSSUS) models. WSSUS models separate the channel from the effect of the waveform and receive filter, making it an ideal formulation for waveform design problems. Of particular interest in the radar waveform design community is the ability to suppress unwanted backscatter from the earth's surface, known as clutter. Various methods for estimating WSSUS system functions have been studied in the literature, but to date, no analytic expressions for radar surface clutter range-Doppler scattering functions exist. In this work we derive a wideband generalization of the Jakes Doppler spectrum model, which is widely used in the wireless communications literature, adapt it for use in radar problems, and show how the maximum entropy method can be used to extend this model to account for internal clutter motion. Validation of the spectral and stationarity properties of the proposed model against a subset of the Australian Ingara sea clutter database is performed, and good agreement is shown.

Confidence interval of is an interval corresponding to a specified confidence and including the true value. It can be used to describe the precision of a statistical quantity and quantify its uncertainty. Although the principle of maximum entropy (POME) has been used for a variety of applications in hydrology, the confidence intervals of the POME quantile estimators have not been available. In this study, the calculation formulas of asymptotic variances and confidence intervals of quantiles based on POME for Gamma, Pearson type 3 (P3) and Extreme value type 1 (EV1) distributions were derived. Monte Carlo Simulation experiments were performed to evaluate the performance of derived formulas for finite samples. Using four data sets for annual precipitation at the Weihe River basin in China, the derived formulas were applied for calculating the variances and confidence intervals of precipitation quantiles for different return periods and the results were compared with those of the methods of moments (MOM) and of maximum likelihood (ML) method. It is shown that POME yields the smallest standard errors and the narrowest confidence intervals of quantile estimators among the three methods, and can reduce the uncertainty of quantile estimators

Experimental recordings of the collective activity of interacting spiking neurons exhibit random behavior and memory effects, thus the stochastic process modeling the spiking activity is expected to show some degree of time irreversibility. We use the thermodynamic formalism to build a framework, in the context of spike train statistics, to quantify the degree of irreversibility of any parametric maximum entropy measure under arbitrary constraints, and provide an explicit formula for the information entropy production of the inferred Markov maximum entropy process. We provide examples to illustrate our results and discuss the importance of time irreversibility for modeling the spike train statistics.

Precipitation during a specific return period plays an important role in the design of hydraulic infrastructure. The traditional approach involves collecting annual maximum precipitation data from a station, then subjecting it to statistical probability distributions (PDFs), and finally selecting the one with the lowest value in a goodness-of-fit test (e.g., Kolmogorov-Smirnov). Nevertheless, this methodology assumes current data, leaving uncertainty regarding its suitability for outdated data. The aim of this study is to compare the probability density functions (e.g., Normal, Log Normal, Pearson III) with the machine learning algorithm known as Random Forest (RF) for calculating precipitation at different return periods, using the province of Arequipa in Peru as the study area, through 5 stations located in different parts of the province. This comparison was conducted using the RMSE metric in both methods to evaluate their performance, resulting in RF having a lower RMSE than PDFs in most cases in calculating precipitation for return periods of 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 years for the studied stations.

The importance of continuously emerging new distribution is a mandate to understand the world and environment surrounding us. In this paper, the author will discuss a new distribution defined on the interval (0,1) as regards the methodology of deducing its PDF, some of its properties and related functions. A simulation and real data analysis will be highlighted.

Newton's classical dynamics accurately describes the motion of objects moving at speeds much less than the speed of light and has been extensively validated under these conditions. Any new dynamics formula must reduce to Newton's equations at low velocities. Einstein's theory of special relativity, which utilizes the Lorentz factor, provides a revised view of space-time and also conforms to Newton's equations for low speeds. However, the Lorentz factor assumes that the maximum anisotropy of the speed of light is zero, a condition not fully supported by experimental evidence. The Michelson-Morley Experiment, conducted at a speed far less than that of light, suggests that while the measured anisotropy is very small, it is not zero. This small value could imply the existence of undiscovered physical laws. To address this, we propose the Yuyunrui factor, which includes two hyperparameters, \(\alpha\) and \(\beta\), encompassing various possible models. In this framework, the Lorentz factor represents a special case with \((\alpha=0, \beta=1)\) and zero anisotropy. We categorize the \((\alpha, \beta)\) combinations into four broad types based on their scaling effects and describe these in detail. Future experiments at higher speeds will be essential to accurately determine the true value of the maximum anisotropy of the speed of light and to refine the proposed factor.

Here, we consider a closed composite system consisting of a primary system where the chemical reaction occurs and is located in a p, T reservoir. In the ideal isentropic case (thermodynamic process), the change in the internal energy of the composite system (due to a chemical reaction) is wholly converted into useful work - maximum useful work. Irreversibility - a measure for the degradation of useful work - in a closed system generates entropy, i.e., the thermodynamic process is no longer isentropic. Applying the principle of maximum entropy and minimum internal energy to a part of the system's total volume and applying the elements of the system's volume for which the law of local equilibrium applies useful work and irreversibility can be defined. Suppose the primary system is viewed as a set of black box volume elements in which a chemical reaction occurs. In that case, the criterion of an isentropic process or a process with entropy generation becomes the Gibbs-Duham equation. It has been proven that De Donder's equation of entropy production of a chemical reaction is a particular form of Calen's equation –TdST = dUT where dST is the differential change of total entropy and dUT is the differential change of total internal energy of the composite system.