GrassPlot is a collaborative vegetation-plot database organised by the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) and listed in the Global Index of Vegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD ID EU-00-003). GrassPlot collects plot records (relevés) from grasslands and other open habitats of the Palaearctic biogeographic realm. It focuses on precisely delimited plots of eight standard grain sizes (0.0001; 0.001; ...

Multiple fossil discoveries and taphonomic experiments have established the durability of keratin. The utility and specificity of antibodies to identify keratin peptides has also been established, both in extant feathers under varying treatment conditions, and in feathers from extinct organisms. Here, we show localization of feather-keratin antibodies to control and heat-treated feathers, testifyi

In Iran, People Who Inject Drugs (PWID), Female Sex Workers (FSW), and prisoners are the main key populations at risk of HIV infection. This study aimed to evaluate the trend of HIV incidence among PWID, FSW and prisoners as an impact measure of HIV harm reduction and prevention efforts in Iran. Data were obtained from the two rounds of national bio-behavioral surveillance surveys among FSW (2010

The use of this material under current conditions is supported by existing information. 1,1-Diethoxyheptane was evaluated for genotoxicity, repeated dose toxicity, reproductive toxicity, local respiratory toxicity, phototoxicity/photoallergenicity, skin sensitization, and environmental safety. Data from the read-across analog octanal dimethyl acetal (CAS # 10022-28-3) show that 1,1-diethoxyheptane

Nowadays, we live in a society with billions of devices that are interconnected and interact together to improve the quality of our lives. The management and processing of information and knowledge have by now become our main resources, and the fundamental factors of economic and social development, and it is achieved through Big Data Frameworks (BDFs). The amount of such data is becoming larger e

The operator Riccati equation associated with a distributed parameter quadratic cost-linear dynamics control process is considered.Making use of ideas from transport theory, a derivation of a generalized version of the X-Y functions of radiative transfer is given, and it is seen that, under commonly occurring conditions, the new equations may be easier to numerically resolve than the original Ricc

In this paper some of the numerical problems associated with computing the generalized inverse of a matrix are discussed and illustrated by a detailed analysis of an iteration of Ben-Israel and Cohen.

The problem of identifiability of processes using measurements obtained under closed loop operation is treated. Single input-single output systems are considered. It is assumed that the feedback is time invariant, linear and noise free. It is also assumed that no external input signal is injected. Conditions, which are simultaneously necessary and sufficient for identifiability are derived. The re

Tin whiskers are hair-like single crystals that spontaneously grow from tin-coated surfaces. Whiskers are commonly found in electronic components, where tin coatings are used in, e.g., soldering applications, and to protect components from corrosion. Whiskers are known to cause short-circuits leading to failure of electronic components. The exact mechanisms responsible for whisker formation and gr

In this paper five different recursive identification methods will be analyzed and compared, namely recursive versions of the least squares method, the instrumental variable method, the generalized least squares method, the extended least squares method and the maximum likelihood method. They are shown to be similar in structure and need of computer storage and time. Making use of recently develop

A class of identification methods, proposed in [3], are based on the instrumental variable principle. This correspondence contains a continued analysis of convergence of the parameter estimates of these methods. Alternative, sufficient conditions for convergence to correct values are given. It is also shown by construction of counter-examples that the methods do not converge under general conditio

ERP systems became popular with large organizations in the 1990s. In the 21st Century, these products were expanded by addition of supply chain management (SCM) and customer relationship management (CRM), as well as access through the Web, creating the ERP II concept. Efforts to increase the market led vendors to serve not only large organizations, but also focus more on small-to-medium sized ente

Applications of the generalized least squares method proposed by Clarke [1] have been reported by various authors. However, no analysis of the convergence of the method has been published. This correspondence gives examples for which the method converges to false solutions.

Convergence properties of the generalized least squares method are analyzed. The method can be interpreted as optimization of a likelihood function. The number of local maximum points of the likelihood function is examined. It is shown that this number is influenced by the signal to noise ratio. This theoretical result is illustrated by numerical examples using plant measurements. It is also prove