The integration of machine learning methods into meta-heuristic search techniques is currently an important topic in the field of combinatorial optimisation. It is often referred to as intelligent optimisation [1]. Learning has the potential of helping the search process in several ways. Searching for instance, can become more generic when online learning and automation mechanisms tune the crit...

Abstract A container partially filled with loose plastic granules was attached to the shovel of snowboard suppress large-amplitude lateral vibrations by dissipating energy through non-conservative multi-granule interactions. custom laboratory stand allowed evaluate performance using a full-scale deck. The response system prototype granular dissipator measured for free initially deflected board ...

Two new species of large shovel-jaw carps in the genus Onychostoma are described from the upper Krong No and middle Dong Nai drainages of the Langbiang Plateau in southern Vietnam. These new species are known from streams in montane mixed pine and evergreen forests between 140 and 1112 m. Their populations are isolated in the headwaters of the upper Sre Pok River of the Mekong basin and in the ...

Poaching is a widespread and well-appreciated problem for the conservation of many threatened species. Because poaching is illegal, there is strong incentive for poachers to conceal their activities, and consequently, little data on the effects of poaching on population dynamics are available. Quantifying poaching mortality should be a required knowledge when developing conservation plans for e...

Experimental microbiology in the postgenomic era has survived the first wave of uncertainty: a perspective of being replaced by in silico microbiology. Although it is clear now that experimental science is irreplaceable, we are facing yet another wave: the frustration of having a half million microbial genes in databases but lacking simple ways of getting biologically relevant information. Ther...

The deployment of large machinery for low cost, bulk surface mine production operations has resulted in High-Impact Shovel Loading Operations (HISLO). In extreme cases, shovels load large dump trucks with 100ton (or more) passes generating high-impact forces under gravity. HISLO generates high-frequency shockwaves that cause severe truck vibrations exposing operators to Whole Body Vibrations (W...