bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
SAT Feature Analysis for Machine Learning Classification Tasks
Authors: Dalla Marco , Provan-Bessell Benjamin , Visentin Andrea , O'Sullivan Barry
Published: July 2023

The extraction of meaningful features from CNF instances is crucial to applying machine learning to SAT solving, enabling algorithm selection and configuration for solver portfolios and satisfiability classification. While many approaches have been proposed for feature extraction, their relevance to these tasks is unclear. Their applicability and comparison of the information extracted and the computational effort needed are complicated by the lack of working or updated implementations, negatively affecting reproducibility.
In this paper, we analyse the performance of five sets of features presented in the literature on SAT/UNSAT and problem category classification over a dataset of 3000 instances across ten problem classes distributed equally between SAT and UNSAT. To increase reproducibility and encourage research in this area, we released a Python library containing an updated and clear implementation of structural, graph-based, statistical and probing features presented in the literature for SAT CNF instances; and we define a clear pipeline to compare feature sets in a given learning task robustly.
We analysed which of the computed features are relevant for the specific task and the tradeoff they provide between accuracy and computational effort. The results of the analysis provide insights into which features mostly affect an instance's satisfiability and which can be used to identify the problem's type. These insights can be used to develop more effective solver portfolios and satisfiability classification algorithms.
K∗ and Partial Order Reduction for Top-Quality Planning
Authors: Katz Michael , Lee Junkyu
Published: July 2023

Partial order reduction techniques are successfully used for various settings in planning, such as classical planning with A* search or with decoupled search, fully-observable non-deterministic planning with LAO*, planning with resources, or even goal recognition design. Here, we continue this trend and show that partial order reduction can be used for top-quality planning with K* search. We discuss the possible pitfalls of using stubborn sets for top-quality planning and the guarantees provided. We perform an empirical evaluation that shows the proposed approach to significantly improve over the current state of the art in unordered top-quality planning. The code is available at https://github.com/IBM/kstar.
Comparing Front-to-Front and Front-to-End Heuristics in Bidirectional Search
Authors: Siag Lior , Shperberg Shahaf , Felner Ariel , Sturtevant Nathan R.
Published: July 2023

Most recent theoretical and algorithmic work in bidirectional heuristic search (BiHS) used front-to-end (F2E) heuristics that estimate the distance to the start and goal states. In this paper, we start exploring front-to-front (F2F) heuristics, which estimate the distance between any pair of states. Devising efficient algorithms that use F2F heuristics is a challenging task. Thus, it is important to first understand the benefits of using F2F heuristics compared to F2E heuristics. To this end, we theoretically and experimentally demonstrate that there is a great potential in using F2F heuristics implying that F2F BiHS is a promising area of future research.
Using Machine Learning Classifiers in SAT Branching [Extended Abstract]
Authors: Bergin Ruth Helen , Dalla Marco , Visentin Andrea , O'Sullivan Barry , Provan Gregory
Published: July 2023

The Boolean Satisfiability Problem (SAT) can be framed as a binary classification task. Recently, numerous machine and deep learning techniques have been successfully deployed to predict whether a CNF has a solution. However, these approaches do not provide a variables assignment when the instance is satisfiable and have not been used as part of SAT solvers.
In this work, we investigate the possibility of using a machine-learning SAT/UNSAT classifier to assign a truth value to a variable. A heuristic solver can be created by iteratively assigning one variable to the value that leads to higher predicted satisfiability.
We test our approach with and without probing features and compare it to a heuristic assignment based on the variable's purity. We consider as objective the maximisation of the number of literals fixed before making the CNF unsatisfiable. The preliminary results show that this iterative procedure can consistently fix variables without compromising the formula's satisfiability, finding a complete assignment in almost all test instances.
Towards an Effective Framework Combining Planning and Scheduling [Extended Abstract]
Authors: Nyporko Andrii , Chrpa Lukáš
Published: July 2023

In a nutshell, Automated Planning deals with finding sequences of actions that achieve a required goal while scheduling deals with allocating activities on (limited) resources meeting specified constraints. Activities, however, might resemble actions in planning as we might capture what they can produce and under what conditions. That said, the "planning'' part represents selecting proper activities as well as their ordering which the "scheduling'' part represents allocating the activities to the resources.
This extended abstract formalises the concept of "combined" planning and scheduling tasks and proposes the idea how these tasks can be compiled to classical planning tasks. Our idea is evaluated on tasks involving scheduling activities on reconfigurable machines.
On the Notion of Fixability of PDDL+ Plans [Extended Abstract]
Authors: Percassi Francesco , Scala Enrico , Vallati Mauro
Published: July 2023

PDDL+ is an expressive formalism that allows for the use of planning in hybrid discrete-continuous domains. To cope with unexpected situations, it is crucial for deployed planning-based systems to efficiently repair existing plans. In this paper, we revisit a recently proposed FIXABILITY framework for expressing and solving problems from validation to rescheduling of actions in PDDL+ plans.
Heuristic Search for Physics-Based Problems: Angry Birds in PDDL+ [Extended Abstract]
Authors: Piotrowski Wiktor , Sher Yoni , Grover Sachin , Stern Roni , Mohan Shiwali
Published: July 2023

Angry Birds is a very popular game that requires reasoning about sequential actions in a continuous world with discrete exogenous events.
Different versions of the game are hard computationally, and the reigning world champion is still a human despite a long-running yearly competition
in IJCAI conferences. In this work, we present the Hydra, the first successful game-playing agent for Angry Birds that uses a domain-independent planner and combinatorial search techniques. Hydra models the game using PDDL+, a rich planning language designed for mixed discrete/continuous domains.
To reason about continuous aspects of the domain, Hydra employs time discretization techniques that raise a combinatorial search challenge.
To meet this challenge, we propose domain-specific heuristics and a novel "preferred states" mechanism similar to the preferred operators mechanism from classical planning. We compared Hydra with state-of-the-art Angry Birds agents. The results show Hydra can solve a greater diversity of Angry Birds levels compared to other agents and highlight its current limitations.
Search Algorithms for Multi-Agent Teamwise Cooperative Path Finding [Extended Abstract]
Authors: Ren Zhongqiang , Rathinam Sivakumar , Choset Howie
Published: July 2023

Multi-Agent Path Finding (MA-PF) finds collision-free paths for multiple agents from their respective start to goal locations. This paper investigates a generalization of MA-PF called Multi-Agent Teamwise Cooperative Path Finding (MA-TC-PF), where agents are grouped as multiple teams and each team has its own objective to minimize. In general, there is more than one team, and MA-TC-PF is thus a multi-objective planning problem with the goal of finding the entire Pareto-optimal front that represents all possible trade-offs among the objectives of the teams. We show that the existing CBS and M* for MA-PF can be modified to solve MA-TC-PF, which is verified with tests. We discuss the conditions under which the proposed algorithms are complete and are guaranteed to find the Pareto-optimal front for MA-TC-PF.
Must-Expand Nodes in Multi-Objective Search [Extended Abstract]
Authors: Skyler Shawn , Shperberg Shahaf , Atzmon Dor , Felner Ariel , Salzman Oren , Chan Shao-Hung , Zhang Han , Koenig Sven , Yeoh William , Hernández Ulloa Carlos
Published: July 2023

This extended abstract presents a theoretical analysis of node expansions in Multi-Objective Search. We define three categories of nodes, Must-Expand Nodes, Maybe-Expand Nodes, and Never-Expand Nodes. Our analysis establishes that regardless of the Ordering Function or Multi-Objective Search algorithm used, any Multi-Objective Search algorithm must expand all Must-Expand Nodes, some or none of Maybe-Expand Nodes, and none of Never-Expand Nodes. In addition, we conduct experimental evaluations of various Ordering Functions, revealing that they all expand the same number of nodes and compare their efficiency at finding solutions at various stages of the search.
Multi-Agent Pathfinding with Predefined Paths: To Wait, or Not to Wait, That Is the Question [Extended Abstract]
Authors: Švancara Jiří , Tignon Etienne , Barták Roman , Schaub Torsten , Wanko Philipp , Kaminski Roland
Published: July 2023

Multi-agent pathfinding is the task of navigating a set of agents in a shared environment without collisions. Finding an optimal plan is a computationally hard problem, therefore, one may want to sacrifice optimality for faster computation time. In this paper, we present our preliminary work on finding a valid solution using only a predefined path for each agent with the possibility of adding wait actions. This restriction makes some instances unsolvable, however, we show instances where this approach is guaranteed to find a solution.
Complete Search of Sliding Tile Puzzles on a Personal Computer [Extended Abstract]
Authors: Tarakanov Oleg
Published: July 2023

The 4x4 and 8x2 Sliding Tile Puzzles have more than ten trillion solvable states, making complete brute force search very challenging: best existing solutions take weeks to run or require expensive hardware. We propose and implement a set of optimizations of the frontier search algorithm, that are efficient on a modern personal computer. We run a number of complete searches, each taking about 3 days on our hardware, for both puzzles in single-tile and multi-tile metrics, verifying previously known results about the radiuses of the puzzles. We also discover that the diameter of the 4x4 Puzzle is 80 single-tile moves, and the radius of the 8x2 Puzzle is 57 multi-tile moves.
Multi-Agent Path-Finding and Algorithmic Graph Theory (Student Abstract)
Authors: Fairbairn David
Published: July 2023

I specialise in conducting research in Multi-Agent Path-
Finding (MAPF) and Algorithmic Graph Theory. Specifically,
I investigate the impact of geometric constraints on
a given instance of MAPF, as well as the expansion of
MAPF to include resource constraints, target assignment
path-finding (TAPF), and academic problems that are relevant
to industry. In Algorithmic Graph Theory, I extend the
capabilities of standard and novel MAPF solvers to temporal
graphs, and explore clustering techniques and ideas that
utilise Graph Classifications on MAPF domains to reduce
the computational complexity of MAPF. Furthermore, I research
the implementation and application of massively parallelized
computing techniques on MAPF, especially in relation
to distance matrix computation and parallelized centralized
MAPF.
Aside from my PhD research, I have the pleasure to collaborate
with researchers at Tharsus Limited, to directly apply
my research to novel industrial problems and develop
benchmarks that are relevant to both the industry and the research
community for Multi-Agent Systems.
Domain-Independent Dynamic Programming (Student Abstract)
Authors: Kuroiwa Ryo
Published: July 2023

In my dissertation, I will propose Domain-Independent Dynamic Programming (DIDP), a novel model-based paradigm for combinatorial optimization (CO) based on dynamic programming (DP). In DIDP, a problem is first formulated as a declarative DP model and then solved by a general-purpose solver. The goal of my dissertation is to develop an algorithm-independent modeling formalism to define a DP model and general-purpose solvers for it and demonstrate that DIDP is promising for CO in practice. In particular, I will propose a modeling formalism based on a state transition system and heuristic search solvers for it.
Pipe-Routing and Pathfinding in 3D (Student Abstract)
Authors: Nobes Thomas K.
Published: July 2023

Pipe-routing in 3D is a common problem in the design of industrial plant layouts. Here, we aim to minimise the structural cost of the plant (which can have multi-billion dollar budgets), while maintaining safety and engineering constraints. We tackle this problem by developing efficient methods for optimal 3D search. We contribute an adaption of Jump Point Search, a well-known symmetry-breaking technique for 2D grids, into 3D: in contrast to related work, our algorithm preserves path feasibility. In combination with a novel method for limiting over-scanning, we report search time speedups of up to an order of magnitude on benchmarks in the literature. We further develop three new and varied voxel benchmark data sets sourced from 3D applications in the literature in order to provide better opportunities for differentiating competing techniques. Towards pipe-routing, this work also identifies several remaining issues for translating the size of industrial domains and their associated constraints into 3D search.
Structural Bias in Heuristic Search (Student Abstract)
Authors: Paredes Alison
Published: July 2023

In this line of work, we consider the possibility that some fast heuristic search methods introduce structural bias, which can cause problems similar to sampling-bias for downstream statistical learning methods. We seek to understand the source of this kind of bias and to develop efficient alternatives. Here we present some preliminary results in developing a variation of canonical A* that can overcome the structural bias introduced by first-in-first-out duplicate detection, which we observed under the condition of variable heuristic error. These results inspire a model of greedy-best-first-search for this problem in the satisficing setting. We hope to apply our approach in a novel planning application--activity selection for agent-based modeling for epidemiology--where planning technology should avoid introducing structural bias if possible.
Multi-Agent Open Framework: Developing a Holistic System to Solve MAPF (Student Abstract)
Authors: Saccon Enrico
Published: July 2023

Automation in industries is becoming an ever-increasing necessity, especially in the sector of logistics. In many cases, this means having many different automated guided vehicles (AGVs) moving at the same time, hence needing coordination to avoid conflicts between different agents. The problem of organizing a fleet of autonomous robots is known as the Multi-Agent Path Finding (MAPF) problem in the literature for which several optimal and sub-optimal algorithms have been proposed. When faced with real-life scenarios, these algorithms must provide the best feasible solution in the shortest time possible, therefore they must scale for large scenarios and be efficient. In this work, we briefly describe our open-source framework we are working on and we lay down the research paths we are going to focus on. The goal is to develop a holistic system that allows to control different aspects of the MAPF problem, from graph topology to goal scheduling.
Tracking Progress in Multi-Agent Path Finding (Student Abstract)
Authors: Shen Bojie
Published: July 2023

In this work, we introduce a set of methodological and visualisation tools to track progress and state-of-the-art performance in the area of Multi-Agent Path Finding (MAPF). Our objectives are to lower the barriers of entry for new researchers and to further promote the study of MAPF.
Uncertainty and Dynamicity in Real-World Vehicle Routing (Student Abstract)
Authors: Sobotka Václav
Published: July 2023

Interest in vehicle routing problems (VRP) with stochastic and dynamic elements has grown in the past decade. Despite numerous contributions in this area, the handling of uncertainties and dynamic changes in complex VRPs received little attention. Based on our experience from industrial practice, we discuss why accounting for uncertainties and dynamic changes is crucial for the applicability of the produced routing plans. Then, we first identify and justify the best-suited direction to address dynamicity and uncertainties in real-world VRPs. Second, we outline the key concepts and ideas of our approach to finally demonstrate that it is realistic to implement them efficiently.
A Generalization of the Shortest Path Problem to Graphs with Multiple Edge-Cost Estimates (Student Abstract)
Authors: Weiss Eyal
Published: July 2023

The shortest path problem in graphs is a cornerstone of AI theory and applications. Existing algorithms generally ignore edge weight computation time. In this paper we present a generalized framework for weighted directed graphs, where edge weight can be computed (estimated) multiple times, at increasing accuracy and run-time expense. This raises a generalized shortest path problem that optimizes different aspects of path cost and its uncertainty. We describe in high-level a complete anytime algorithm for the generalized problem and discuss possible future extensions.
Searching with Distributional Heuristics (Student Abstract)
Authors: Wissow Stephen
Published: July 2023

Distributional heuristic search uses distributions rather than point values for its heuristic estimates of the cost to goal from any given state. Distributional heuristics are desirable as they provide search algorithms not only with a way to evaluate nodes, but also with a basis for rational decision making tailored to specific search settings. Bounded suboptimal, anytime, and contract searches have differing but related objectives that each lend themselves to probabilistic reasoning supported by distributional heuristics. In many applications, speed of planning can be more important than solution quality. Whether due to certain domains' inherent difficulty, where anything but a satisficing approach is infeasible due to time or memory constraints, or due to the limited planning time available in real-time robotics and other time-sensitive planning settings, important open questions are how best to find solutions as quickly as possible and how to find the best solution possible while subject to an explicit limit on planning time. Successful algorithms must reason not only about solution cost, possibly in relation to a suboptimality bound, but also about the relative likelihood of finding a solution under one node vs. under another, of finding a solution of a particular cost (such as in relation to that of an incumbent solution), or about the expected amount of search effort to find a goal under a given node. This dissertation takes up these issues in four parts. I (1) examine different methods for generating distributional heuristics in bounded cost heuristic search and classical planning; (2) study the contract search setting, which involves online estimation of several unknown values; (3) consider the bounded suboptimal setting; and (4) address the anytime setting.
Frontmatter
Authors: Barták Roman , Ruml Wheeler , Salzman Oren
Published: July 2023

The Sixteenth International Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS) was held at the Aquapalace Hotel Prague, Czech Republic, at July 14–16, 2023, just after the International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS). The symposium co-chairs were Roman Barták, Wheeler Ruml, and Oren Salzman.
First-Order Context-Specific Likelihood Weighting in Hybrid Probabilistic Logic Programs
Authors: Kumar Nitesh , Kuželka Ondřej , De Raedt Luc
Published: July 2023

Statistical relational AI and probabilistic logic programming have so far mostly focused on discrete probabilistic models. The reasons for this is that one needs to provide constructs to succinctly model the independencies in such models, and also provide efficient inference.

Three types of independencies are important to represent and exploit for scalable inference in hybrid models: conditional independencies elegantly modeled in Bayesian networks, context-specific independencies naturally represented by logical rules, and independencies amongst attributes of related objects in relational models succinctly expressed by combining rules.

This paper introduces a hybrid probabilistic logic programming language, DC#, which integrates distributional clauses' syntax and semantics principles of Bayesian logic programs. It represents the three types of independencies qualitatively. More importantly, we also introduce the scalable inference algorithm FO-CS-LW for DC#. FO-CS-LW is a first-order extension of the context-specific likelihood weighting algorithm (CS-LW), a novel sampling method that exploits conditional independencies and context-specific independencies in ground models. The FO-CS-LW algorithm upgrades CS-LW with unification and combining rules to the first-order case.
FlexiBO: A Decoupled Cost-Aware Multi-Objective Optimization Approach for Deep Neural Networks
Authors: Iqbal Md Shahriar , Su Jianhai , Kotthoff Lars , Jamshidi Pooyan
Published: July 2023

The design of machine learning systems often requires trading off different objectives, for example, prediction error and energy consumption for deep neural networks (DNNs). Typically, no single design performs well in all objectives; therefore, finding Pareto-optimal designs is of interest. The search for Pareto-optimal designs involves evaluating designs in an iterative process, and the measurements are used to evaluate an acquisition function that guides the search process. However, measuring different objectives incurs different costs. For example, the cost of measuring the prediction error of DNNs is orders of magnitude higher than that of measuring the energy consumption of a pre-trained DNN as it requires re-training the DNN. Current state-of-the-art methods do not consider this difference in objective evaluation cost, potentially incurring expensive evaluations of objective functions in the optimization process. In this paper, we develop a novel decoupled and cost-aware multi-objective optimization algorithm, which we call Flexible Multi-Objective Bayesian Optimization (FlexiBO) to address this issue. For evaluating each design, FlexiBO selects the objective with higher relative gain by weighting the improvement of the hypervolume of the Pareto region with the measurement cost of each objective. This strategy, therefore, balances the expense of collecting new information with the knowledge gained through objective evaluations, preventing FlexiBO from performing expensive measurements for little to no gain. We evaluate FlexiBO on seven state-of-the-art DNNs for image recognition, natural language processing (NLP), and speech-to-text translation. Our results indicate that, given the same total experimental budget, FlexiBO discovers designs with 4.8% to 12.4% lower hypervolume error than the best method in state-of-the-art multi-objective optimization.
The Nationalisation of Historical Monuments
Authors: Balzan Silvia Carlotta , Minea Cosmin Tudor
Published: July 2023

A review of Dragan Damjanović and Aleksander Łupienko (eds.), Forging Architectural Tradition: National Narratives, Monument Preservation, and Architectural Work in the Nineteenth Century, New York, Oxford: Berghahn Books, 2022, 366 pages. ISBN  978-1-80073-337-4.
İlkokul Öğrencilerinin Matematik Dersindeki Başarısızlık Nedenlerinin Sınıf Öğretmenlerinin Görüşlerine Göre Değerlendirilmesi
Authors: AFACAN Pınar , BİRCAN Mehmet Akif
Published: July 2023

Bu çalışmada ilkokul öğrencilerinin matematik dersindeki başarısızlıklarının nedenleri sınıf öğretmenlerinin görüşlerine göre incelenmiştir. Çalışmada nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden durum deseni kullanılmıştır. Çalışma grubunu amaçlı örneklem yöntemlerinden ölçüt örnekleme ile belirlenen 12 sınıf öğretmeni oluşmaktadır. Veri toplama aracı olarak araştırmacı tarafından geliştirilen yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme formu kullanılmıştır. Araştırma verileri nitel veri analizi tekniklerinden içerik analizi kullanılarak MAXQDA Analytics Pro 2022 (18.2.5) programı aracılığıyla analiz edilmiştir. Çalışma sonucunda; ilkokul öğrencilerinin matematik dersindeki başarısızlıklarında bireysel faktörlerin, ailevi faktörlerin, öğretmenden ve öğretim programından kaynaklı faktörlerin ve okulun fiziki imkânlarından kaynaklı faktörlerin etkili olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Bunlara ek olarak ilkokul öğrencilerinin matematik dersindeki başarısızlıklarının altında yatan bireysel faktörlerin öğrencinin matematiğe karşı tutumu; ailevi faktörlerin ailenin sosyo-ekonomik durumu ve matematiğe bakış açısı; öğretmenden kaynaklı faktörlerin öğretmenin tecrübesi ve matematiğe karşı bakış açısı; okulun fiziki imkânlarından kaynaklı faktörlerin fiziki yetersizliklerin olması ve matematik sınıflarının olmaması olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır.
Kemal Bilbaşar'ın “Yonca Kız” Kitabının Değerler Eğitimi Açısından İncelenmesi
Authors: YİĞİT Fadime
Published: July 2023

Türkçe öğretimi, bireylere değerleri aşılamada kullanılabilecek önemli araçlardan biri olan edebi metinler aracılığıyla gerçekleştirilmektedir. Değerler eğitiminin olumlu sonuçlar vermesi için okuma kitapları vasıtasıyla değerler eğitiminin devamlılığı sağlanmalıdır. Bu araştırmada Kemal Bilbaşar’ın “Yonca Kız” adlı kitabı Türkçe Dersi Öğretim Programı’nda (Millî Eğitim Bakanlığı, 2019) yer alan değerler açısından incelenmiştir. Araştırmada nitel araştırma tekniklerinden doküman incelemesi tekniği, verilerin analizinde betimsel analiz kullanılmıştır. Çalışmanın sonucunda kitapta sırasıyla en fazla sevgi (20), saygı (9) ve yardımseverlik (9) değerlerinin işlendiği görülmüştür. Adalet, sabır, dostluk ve dürüstlük değerlerinin de verildiği kitapta; sorumluluk, vatanseverlik ve öz denetim değerlerine rastlanamamıştır.
Türkiye’de Özel Gereksinimli Bireylerin Aileleri İçin Yapılmış Aile Eğitim Programlarının Alanyazın İncelenmesi
Authors: ALPAY ÇELİK Elif , ERDEM Raziye
Published: July 2023

Bu çalışmada, 1986-2022 yılları arasında özel gereksinimli bireylerin aileleri için yapılmış aile eğitim programlarının incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Bu çalışma 2022 yılında gerçekleştirilmiştir. Tarama sırasında “aile”, “aile eğitimi”, “aile eğitim programı”, “anne”, “baba”, “kardeş”, “ebeveyn” anahtar kelimeleri ile “Google Akademik” “TR Dizin” “Dergipark” “YÖK Tez Merkezi”, “Ebscohost”, “Proquest” veri tabanları taranmıştır. Çalışma kapsamında ölçütleri karşılayan 60 çalışma incelenmiştir. Araştırmada derleme çalışması yapılmış ve çalışmaların özetlenmesi için betimsel analiz tekniği kullanılmıştır. Çalışmanın güvenirliğini sağlamak için başka bir özel eğitim öğretmeninden tarama yapması istenmiş ve kodlayıcı güvenirliği % 100 çıkmıştır. İncelenen çalışmalar; çalışmanın yayın yılı, çalışmanın yayın türü, yazarın bağlı olduğu üniversite, çalışmanın alanı, çalışmanın katılımcıları, araştırma yöntemi, konusu, çalışmanın veri toplama araçları ve çalışmanın bulguları olmak üzere dokuz başlık olarak incelenmiştir. Yapılan analiz sonucunda çalışmaların en fazla 2015 yılında yapıldığı ve çalışma yazarlarının çoğunlukla Anadolu ve Gazi Üniversitesi’ne bağlı oldukları bulunmuştur. Araştırma kapsamında getirilen bazı öneriler ise özel eğitim alanındaki derleme çalışmalarının ve özel eğitimdeki aile eğitim programlarının arttırılması şeklindedir.
La competencia según los economistas ilustrados
Authors: Perrotta Cosimo
Published: July 2023

Para los ilustrados, la competencia es el logro más importante de la nueva economía. Permite superar definitivamente la estática sociedad feudal, basada en el privilegio y la arbitrariedad; y reemplazarla por una sociedad dinámica y un mecanismo impersonal de intercambio y distribución que premie a los mejores. Los méritos de la competencia identificados por los ilustrados son: eliminar las desigualdades creadas por los vínculos de la propiedad de la tierra y los monopolios; abaratar los precios y beneficiar a los consumidores; estimular la laboriosidad y la eficiencia; aumentar el bienestar general. Para los ilustrados, la competencia significa libertad económica, contra el Estado y los privilegios que defiende. Sin embargo, estos autores creían —con la excepción de Turgot— que la competencia permitía aumentar los salarios. No tuvieron tiempo de constatar que el progreso técnico, generado por la competencia, acarrea desempleo a corto plazo y rebaja los salarios si no es apoyado con políticas para fomentar el empleo y abrir nuevos campos de producción.
Precisiones a la cronología del poema de Benito Jerónimo Feijoo compuesto a la muerte del primogénito de la Casa de Nava. Una carta inédita del IV Conde de Toreno
Authors: Pantiga González Bárbara
Published: July 2023

El objeto de esta contribución es precisar la fecha de redacción del poema que el benedictino Benito Jerónimo Feijoo compone a la temprana muerte del primogénito de la Casa de Nava, composición n.º 48 según el reciente catálogo de Rodrigo Olay Valdés, quien fecha el poema como posterior a 1752. La tarea ha sido posible a partir del examen de la documentación epistolar cruzada entre María Josefa de Omaña Queipo de Llano y su tío materno, el cuarto conde de Toreno, Fernando Ignacio Queipo de Llano y Valdés, lo que nos permite datar con total certeza el poema en la primavera-verano de 1755.
Differences in the Ripening of Two Clover Species and the Effect of Pre-harvest Desiccation
Authors: Kubíková Zuzana , Hutyrová Helena , Smejkalová Hana
Published: July 2023

Experiments were focused on differences in the ripening of crimson clover (Trifoliumincarnatum L.) and red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) and on the influence of the pre-harvest treatment with desiccants. The drying of leaves, stems and heads during ripening, regrowing, breakdown of heads and yield parameters including seed were compared. The crimson clover exhibited the natural drying of leaves, stems and heads faster than the red clover. In crimson clover, the drying of leaves, stems and heads before the harvest was 80 - 100%, 50– 95%, and 100 %, respectively. In red clover, the drying of leaves, stems and heads was 25 - 84 %, 20–72% and 45–99%, respectively. There were also differences in the regrowing and in the breakdown of heads. In the pre-harvest treatments of crimson clover and red clover, the effect of diquat was compared with the efficiency of other herbicide substances (pyraflufen-ethyl, carfentrazone-ethyl and pelargonic acid) and with the efficiency of a high dose of DAM fertilizer (liquid fertilizer, urea-ammonium nitrate). Compared with diquat, the drying was slower with the other active substances. Significant effects of tested active substances on yield, WTS (weight of thousand seeds) and germination were not recorded.
The Influence of Pesticides and Biopesticides on Morphological Changes in Raspberry (Rubus ideaus L. „POLKA“) Infected with the Bacterium Agrobaterium tumefaciens
Authors: Pilić Selma , Bešta-Gajević Renata , Dahija Sabina , Grahić Jasmin
Published: July 2023

The production of raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) as one of the most promising branches of fruit growing in Bosnia and Herzegovina could be permanently endangered due to the increasing incidence of crown gall disease caused by Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The aim of this paper was to examine the morphological changes on raspberry seedlings caused by the bacterium A. tumefaciens, as well as the size and number of tumors depending on the applied biological or chemical treatment. The strain Agrobacterium tumefaciens MTCC 431 (ATCC 15955) was used. Morphometric parameters on raspberry seedlings were measured using the ImageJ 1.48v program. A binocular magnifier at 20x magnification was used to measure the the gook diameter. The computer program R c. 3.4.0 was used for a statistical analysis of results and an analysis of main components. It was observed that the raspberries inoculated with A. tumefaciens had a lower growth potential when compared to the control line. Rhizobium rhizogenes strain K1026, as an active substance of biopesticide, had a positive effect on the growth of infected raspberry plants, reducing bacterial infection. The applied chemical agent based on copper (I) oxide demonstrated lesser impact on the intensity of A. tumefaciens infection when compared to the biological agent. In this paper, a lower intensity of changes in raspberry plants was observed when the biopesticides and fungicides were applied simultaneously, in comparison with the individual treatments.
The Changes in Susceptibility Status of the Old and of the Newly Registered Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Cultivars with Respect to the Blight Disease Caused by the Pathotypes of Ascochyta rabiei
(Pass.) Labr.
Authors: Keçeli Alaettin
Published: July 2023

Blight disease, caused by Ascochyta rabiei (Pass.) Labrousse (teleomorph=Didymella rabiei), is one of the most important biotic stress factors affecting chickpea produc tion worldwide. The high variation in disease severity among different chickpea cul tivars and the decrease in the resistance of the cultivars over time make it necessary to test the cultivars regularly. The aim in this research was to determine and evalu ate the changes in the susceptibility of chickpea cultivars, which were developed in different years and widely cultivated, against A. rabiei pathotypes in Turkey. A three replication pot experiment was conducted in a randomized plot design in the climate chamber in 2021. Fifteen registered chickpea cultivars (including one susceptible and one susceptible control cultivar) and four pathotypes of chickpea blight disease agent A. rabiei were used in the study. While Pathotype-IV was determined as the most aggressive, it was followed by the Pathotype-III, Pathotype-II, and Pathotype-I, respectively. The Azkan cultivar, included as a Tolerant (T) control in the experiment, had the Mid-Susceptible/Susceptible (MS/S) values, which can be explained by the decrease in resistance over time. However, it is opined that the main reason for the better resistance values of Akçin-91, registered in 1991, and Gökçe, registered in 1997, was provoked by the genetic basis of these cultivars, when compared to the recently registered cultivars.
The Status of Root-Knot Nematodes of the Meloidogyne Genus in Croatia, with a Special Reference to the Quarantine Species
Authors:   Croatian Agency for Agriculture and Food, Centre for Plant Protection, Gorice 68B, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia, Rehak Biondić Tamara , Puškarić Josipa , Gerič Stare Barbara , Brmež Mirjana
Published: July 2023

Root-knot nematodes of the genus Meloidogyne belong to the most economically important group of plant-parasitic nematodes and also to the most important plant pests that can cause significant economic losses in crop production. They are poly phagous, highly adapted, obligate endoparasites of nearly all higher plant species, including the important agricultural crops. Within the genus Meloidogyne, about one hundred species have been described, of which the four species-that is, the Meloidogyne incognita, M. arenaria, M. javanica, and M. hapla-are the important plant pests and the most widespread species worldwide. As of 2010, twenty-three species have been confirmed in Europe, of which three non-quarantine species have been detected in Croatia. Many nematode species of the genus Meloidogyne can be considered dangerous invasive pests in agriculture, as they can spread rapidly due to the global trade, changing production technologies leading to a reduced use of pesticides, and climatic changes. To prevent or to limit the introduction and spread of the three species of root-knot nematodes, Meloidogyne chitwoodi, M. fallax, and M. enterolobii, respectively, were entered in the European list of quarantine nematodes. The species M. mali is incorporated in the EPPO A2 quarantine list, in addition to the three aforementioned species, while the M. ethiopica, M. luci, and M. graminicola are on the EPPO Alert List. It is expected that the tropical Meloidogyne species, for instance the M. enterolobii, M. ethiopica, and M. luci, as well as the M. incognita, M. arenaria, and M. javanica, will become the important pests in the temperate zones due to the new,) climatic conditions, more favorable for their development, which can pose a huge risk to the agricultural production. In Croatia, a wide distribution of nematode populations of the genus Meloidogyne spp. was con firmed, but a scientific knowledge about the species identification is very modest. Due to the variety of soil and climatic conditions present in Croatia, it is expected that more Meloidogyne species than those that are known so far will be detected in the future. This is one of the reasons for starting a more intensive monitoring of the Meloidogyne species in Croatia too.
Dinamika nakupljanja olova u listu i dijelovima ploda bajama
Authors: Vrsaljko Anđelko
Published: July 2023

Plodovi bajama (jezgra) smatraju se diljem svijeta zdravom hranom jer osim svoje visoke nutritivne vrijednosti u povećanim koncentracijama sadrže i esencijalne bio-molekule, koje pozitivno djeluju na ljudski metabolizam i istodobno preveniraju najvažnije imunološke bolesti. Slijedom toga su u ekološkim uvjetima Ravnih kota ra provedena dvogodišnja istraživanja nakupljanja olova (Pb) u listu i pojedinim dijelovima ploda te istraživanja njihove korelacije. Od trenutka zametanja ploda prema zriobi razina Pb blago opada u svim dijelovima ploda, dok je kod lista to dvostruka sigmoidna krivulja. Razina Pb u listu je gotovo dvostruko veća negoli u dijelovima ploda, posebice u odnosu na jezgru i prema kraju vegetacije, što ukazuje na vrlo slabo premještanje Pb iz lista u sjemenku i/ili imobilizaciju Pb u endodermu lista. Razina Pb u jezgri bajama u fenofazi zrelosti kretala se od 0,27±0,031 do 0,40±0,021 mg/kg suhe tvari. To je izuzetno niska razina u odnosu na drugo voće, koje u svježem stanju sadrži veće razine Pb, a na razini suhe tvari nerijetko i tri do četiri puta više. Utvrđene su pozitivne korelacije između jezgre i koštice, odnosno lupine. Može se sa sigurnošću reći da se jezgra bajama proizvedena u ekološkim uvjetima Ravnih kotara može koristiti kao funkcionalna hrana, ali i kao sastavni dio hrane za dojenčad.
Seasonal Changes in the Condition Factor and Gonado-Somatic Index of Carassius gibelio From the Kopački rit Nature Park, Croatia
Authors: Jelkić Dinko , Opačak Anđelko
Published: July 2023

This study’s objective was to explore some of the annual Prussian carp’s (Carassius gibelio) biological characteristics (sex ratio, length–weight ratio, and gonado somatic index - GSI) in the Kopački Rit Nature Park in Croatia. The Prussian carp is an invasive fish species originated from Asia, which became widely distributed throughout Europe and is believed to be responsible for a decline in the number of indigenous fish, invertebrate, and macrophyte populations in different areas. The fish sampling was conducted from September to November 2017 and from February to July 2018, respectively, using electrofishing. A total of 475 fish individuals were caught and measured for the total length, standard length, body height, and body weight. Males made up 34.31% of the population of Prussian carp. The mean value of Fulton condition factor (FC) of Prussian carp in Kopački Rit was 1.77 ± 0.28. Overall, the FC value had a relatively small amplitude, but it exhibited a clear seasonal vari ability. The average GSI values of females (9.91 ± 5.34) were higher than those of males (3.58 ± 1.37) during the observed period. The average GSI values indicate that the majority of females are spawning in the late April and May, which are also the same periods when other cyprinid species are spawning, allowing the Prussian carp to exploit its gynogenesis strategy.
The Influence of Growth Rate on the Carcass Traits, Meat Quality Traits, and Fatty Acid Profile in Broilers
Authors: Kralik Gordana , Kralik Zlata , Košević Manuela , Gvozdanović Kristina , Kralik Igor
Published: July 2023

U radu se istražuje utjecaj intenziteta prirasta Ross 308 brojlera (< 50g prirasta, skupina A; > 50g prirasta skupina B) u tovu do 42 dana na karakteristike trupova, tehnološku kvalitetu prsnoga mesa s obzirom na spol i profil masnih kiselina u mišićima prsa i zabataka. Karakteristike trupova određene su na osnovi udjela (%) prsa, bataka sa zabatcima, leđa, krila i randmana (%). Za vrjednovanje tehnološke kvalitete korišteni su sljedeći pokazatelji: pH1, pH2, ΔpH, gubitak mesnoga soka i boje (CIE L*, a*, b*) prsnoga mesa. Utvrđen je statistički značajan utjecaj spola i intenziteta prirasta za živu težinu brojlera, masu trupova (p˂0.001) te udjele prsa (p=0.006) i bataka sa zabatcima (p=0.004). Intenzitet prirasta statistički je značajno utjecao na udjele bataka sa zabacima i krila (p˂0.001). Spol pilića utjecao je na razlike gubitka mesnoga soka, % (p=0.003) i razlike stupnja žutila (p=0.029) prsnoga mesa. Ustanovljena je pozitivna korelacija između pH1 i pH2 (p0.05). Utvrđene su statistički visoko značajne razlike (p˂0.05) u sadržaju pojedinih masnih kiselina između mišića prsa i zabataka.
Outsourced Academy On the Academic Campus and the Study Spaces Outside it in the Post COVID-19 era - Where Do Students Study?
Authors: Davidovich Nitza , Basel Dekel , Shoval Shraga
Published: July 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic affected almost all aspects of life around the world, including academic studies. Although some medical experts claim that the pick of the pandemic is over, its effects will probably remain for a long time. In this pioneering study, we examine the effect of the COVID-19 on off-campus learning experience of university students that is an addition to the on-campus learning experience. Off-campus learning outside the academic campus is defined as a learning experience that complements the frontal learning and includes learning from digital courses of other academic institutions, from recorded courses on YouTube, from lessons given by private/ commercial entities, from classes outside the university given by external practitioners and from reinforcement “study marathons” held off campus in preparation for exams. Many academic institutes were forces to close their campuses during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to develop alternative teaching programs. This research examines the effect of the closure of campuses on the learning experience of students in the post COVID-19 era. The study described in this paper involved 118 students from the Faculty of Engineering at a university in Israel who responded to a questionnaire. The study was conducted shortly after the return of students to the campus, following long periods of off-campus studies. The results of the study show a clear and unambiguous picture: The COVID-19 pandemic revolutionized the learning habits of the students. This revolution is very quiet, but very significant and is characterized by a significant involvement of private/commercial entities in the academic programs. Information about the trends of off-campus courses shed light not only on the learning habits of students today, but also draw lines on possible future learning trends.
Pharmacology of Anti-Obesity Medications: Current Status and Future Needs
Authors: Clements Jennifer
Published: July 2023

None, as it is an editorial
Immunohistochemical staining for nerve fibers in normal tissues with frozen sections: Structure and Function Relationship
Authors: Tomita Tatsuo
Published: July 2023

Small nerve fibers are difficult to immunostain with routinely formalin-fixed and paraffin- embedded sections. Normal tissues except central nervous system are not densely innervated compared to densely distributed lymphatic and blood vessels and nerve fibers are not properly preserved in the routinely formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissues. Nerve density technique with skin punch biopsy is an established method using 50 µm tissue sections, which are initially preserved in fixative. The fixed tissues are frozen sectioned and floating tissue sections are immunostained for nerve fiber markers. We had developed an alternative method using unfixed frozen sections mounted on glass slides. We had previously used this frozen section method for lymphatic and blood vessel immunohistochemistry and extended to nerve fiber immunostaining using neurofilament and CD56 as nerve fiber markers. Immunostained tissues with frozen sections were compared to formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded colon and kidney sections. The normal tissues from rhesus monkey included heart, intestines, diaphragm, pancreas, spleen, kidney, thyroid, urinary bladder and others. Frozen section immunostained sections clearly depicted much more fine nerve fibers especially using CD56 as a nerve marker than with paraffin-embedded tissues. This technique is more labor-intensive but provides more precise distribution of fine nerve fibers than with routinely paraffin-embedded tissues. This immunostaining with frozen sections validated usefulness to depict more detailed nerve distribution and will shed light on normal histology and histopathology.
Downregulation of Mucin1 in Cancer Cells is Associated with Modulation of Calcium Signalling Pathways and Alteration in Procoagulant Related Activity
Authors: chen yunliang , Scully Michael
Published: July 2023

Background Intracellular calcium ions play an essential role in regulating numerous physiological functions by acting as a second messenger in signal transduction pathways. Alterations in calcium signaling are also implicated in several pathological conditions including cancer. Aim The purpose of this study is to investigate whether MUC1, a well-established tumor marker, plays a role in modulating calcium signalling in cancer cells. Methods MUC1 knockdown breast cancer MCF-7 cells were used to investigate whether the overexpression of MUC1 by cancer cells has an influence on calcium signalling pathways, by determining the level of a range of calcium signalling proteins and the dynamics of intracellular calcium mobilization as well as the cellular effects induced by calcium treatment. The investigation was also extended to normal human mammary epithelial, human breast and pancreatic cancer cell lines, which express different levels of MUC1. Result MUC1 downregulation altered the aberrant expression of several calcium transporter proteins in MCF-7 cancer cells. The level of each of these calcium signaling pathways proteins was correlated to MUC1 level in normal human mammary epithelial, human breast and pancreatic cancer cell lines. Consequently, a number of proteins whose activities are calcium dependent such as p-CaMKII, and pro-coagulant proteins Va, Xa and thrombin were found to be reduced in MUC1 downregulated MCF-7 cells. In addition, the effect of thrombin on calcium mobilization and the cleavage of the thrombin receptors was also reduced in MUC1 downregulated MCF-7 cells. Conclusion The downregulation of MUC1 is capable of modulating calcium cellular effects via alteration in the expression of calcium signalling proteins and by impacting calcium induced initiation of procoagulant activity, which is capable of influencing the effect of thrombin on cancer cells. Such properties contribute to another crucial role for MUC1 within the signalling network associated with tumorigenesis.