Search results for " Complexity"
showing 10 items of 623 documents
Living and Not-living Matter: Complexity and Self-Organisation in Kauffman
2016
Which is the relation between the living and not-living matter? In this paper I’ll try to give this question an answer and to explore the underlying framework. I think that the theoretical biologist Stuart Kauffman develops an outstanding and interesting approach, which is formulated within the research field of the non-equilibrium chaotic systems dynamics, the theory of complexity and self-organization and the recent debate on the evolution. Therefore, my aim is to show the way in which Kauffman employs the concept of self-organization to build a not reductionist model that may account for the issues concerning the living and not-living matter by integrating physics with biology. In genera…
Complexity Selection of the Self-Organizing Map
2002
This paper describes how the complexity of the Self-Organizing Map can be selected using the Minimum Message Length principle. The use of the method in textual data analysis is also demonstrated.
Explicit Granger causality in kernel Hilbert spaces
2020
Granger causality (GC) is undoubtedly the most widely used method to infer cause-effect relations from observational time series. Several nonlinear alternatives to GC have been proposed based on kernel methods. We generalize kernel Granger causality by considering the variables cross-relations explicitly in Hilbert spaces. The framework is shown to generalize the linear and kernel GC methods, and comes with tighter bounds of performance based on Rademacher complexity. We successfully evaluate its performance in standard dynamical systems, as well as to identify the arrow of time in coupled R\"ossler systems, and is exploited to disclose the El Ni\~no-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon f…
Forbidden Factors and Fragment Assembly
2002
In this paper we approach the fragment assembly problem by using the notion of minimal forbidden factors introduced in previous paper. Denoting by M(w) the set of minimal forbidden factors of a word w, we first focus on the evaluation of the size of elements in M(w) and on designing of an algorithm to recover the word w from M(w). Actually we prove that for a word w randomly generated by a memoryless source with identical symbol probabilities, the maximal length m(w) of words in M(w) is logarithmic and that the reconstruction algorithm runs in linear time. These results have an interesting application to the fragment assembly problem, i.e. reconstruct a word w from a given set I of substrin…
Reducing Local Alphabet Size in Recognizable Picture Languages
2021
A recognizable picture language is defined as the projection of a local picture language defined by a set of two-by-two tiles, i.e. by a strictly-locally-testable (SLT) language of order 2. The family of recognizable picture languages is also defined, using larger k by k tiles, \(k>2\), by the projection of the corresponding SLT language. A basic measure of the descriptive complexity of a picture language is given by the size of the SLT alphabet using two-by-two tiles, more precisely by the so-called alphabetic ratio of sizes: SLT-alphabet/picture-alphabet. We study how the alphabetic ratio changes moving from two to larger tile sizes, and we obtain the following result: any recognizable pi…
An Introduction to Computational Complexity
2016
This chapter is not strictly about algebra. However, this chapter offers a set of mathematical and computational instruments that will allow us to introduce several concepts in the following chapters. Moreover, the contents of this chapter are related to algebra as they are ancillary concepts that help (and in some cases allow) the understanding of algebra.
First assessment of the vermetid reefs along the coasts of Favignana Island (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea)
2015
Intertidal vermetid reefs, particularly vulnerable to environmental changes and human activities, are now experiencing high mortality in several areas of the Mediterranean Sea. Since the increase of knowledge on this habitat is important for conservation purposes, we provide a first baseline assessment of the vermetid reefs along the coasts of the Favignana Island (Marine Protected Area “Egadi Islands”). Preliminary results showed the presence of a true reef, similar to a fringing reef, displaying at least three local patterns, distinguishable for width (from 2.3 to 15.5 m), height of the outer and of the inner margin (from 5.6 to 18 cm and from 8.3 to 26 cm, respectively) and number, width…
RESULTS OF DIFFERENT ANTHROPIC USES ON THE STRUCTURE OF VERMETID REEFS
2014
The biogenic vermetid reef is a key habitat of coastal ecosystems that modifies the shoreline morphology and increases the local biodiversity. Despite its ecological relevance, rarely it is subjected to an accurate management and is often exposed to several human activities. This study aims to distinguish between the effects of different typologies of anthropic uses on the physical structure of the vermetid reef. A comparison between totally protected, partially protected and strongly anthropized reefs has been done and two variables have been analysed: the substratum complexity and the density of reef-building organism. Both the variables show higher values in totally and partially protect…
Effects of structural complexity on epifaunal assemblages associated with two intertidal Mediterranean seaweeds
2023
Brown foundation seaweeds are key elements increasing substrate heterogeneity and shaping the biodiversity in rocky coastal ecosystems. They are, however, vulnerable species that are declining due to multiple anthropogenic and climate change stressors, leading to a shift to less structural complex habitats. We investigate the role of structural attributes of two intertidal macroalgae, Ericaria amentacea and Laurencia obtusa, in shaping the abundance and diversity of their associated epifaunal assemblages. For this aim, we measured seaweeds’ biomass, thallus volume and length (used here as proxy of substrate complexity), and explored which seaweeds’ substrate attribute explained better varia…
Unmanned aerial vehicle technology to assess the state of threatened biogenic formations: The vermetid reefs of mediterranean intertidal rocky coasts
2021
Abstract Vermetid bioconstructions are biogenic formations, built by sessile gastropod molluscs belonging to the family Vermetidae worldwide distributed, occurring in the intertidal and upper subtidal in the rocky shores. In the Mediterranean basin, they occur in complex and tridimensional structures that enhance the local biodiversity, allowing to qualify the structuring species as ecosystem engineers. Due to their ecological relevance and considerable extension along the coasts, we assessed their structural complexity using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology, as tool of littoral cartography analysis of these bioconstructions, and plaster hemispheres dissolution as a descriptor index…