Fast Downward Stone Soup is a sequential portfolio planner that uses various heuristics and search algorithms that have been implemented in the Fast Downward planning system. We present a simple general method for concocting “planner soups”, sequential portfolios of planning algorithms, and describe the actual recipes used for Fast Downward Stone Soup in the sequential optimization and sequenti...

Composition and diversity of aeroterrestrial phototrophic microbial communities are up to now poorly understood. Here, we present a comparative study addressing the composition of algal communities on sandstone substrata based upon the analysis of rRNA gene clone libraries from environmental samples and crude cultures. From a west-facing, shaded wall area of the mediaeval castle ruin Gleichen (...

A Jlud:v oJ the presence Qf cyanohacten'a and algae in dlfferent building maten'als Jrom Spain (Salamanca. Seville and Toledo Calhedrals) and Sweden (Lund Calhedral) and their possib/e re/ation ro rhe Slone deca.v was accomp/ished Colonizarion o/stone wich lhe cyanobacten'um Microcoleus vaginatus and the chtoroph:vte Klebsormidium flaccidum \vas a/so induced in lhe lahoratory. In hoth fie/d and...

Thin stone wall cladding systems used on exterior building envelopes typically consist of stone panels made of granite. There is a risk of detachment if the cement used to stack the panels is defective. There is awide range of destructive techniques to evaluate the state of the facades, but they are scarcely practical. Infrared thermography (IRT) offers a cost-effective alternative to tradition...

This study intends to understand and analyse the visual pollution caused by particle deposition on the stone fac ades that ultimately cause blackening of buildings and affect the aesthetic value of the fac ade. The aesthetics is complex and is subjected to differences in opinion between individuals. For the purpose of this study different types of buildings in Amman (residential, commercial, hi...