Search results for "branch"
showing 10 items of 1278 documents
Fishery-dependent and -independent data lead to consistent estimations of essential habitats
2016
AbstractSpecies mapping is an essential tool for conservation programmes as it provides clear pictures of the distribution of marine resources. However, in fishery ecology, the amount of objective scientific information is limited and data may not always be directly comparable. Information about the distribution of marine species can be derived from two main sources: fishery-independent data (scientific surveys at sea) and fishery-dependent data (collection and sampling by observers in commercial vessels). The aim of this paper is to compare whether these two different sources produce similar, complementary, or different results. We compare them in the specific context of identifying the Es…
Modelling sensitive elasmobranchs habitat
2013
Basic information on the distribution and habitat preferences of ecologically important species is essential for their management and protection. In the Mediterranean Sea there is increasing concern over elasmobranch species because their biological (ecological) characteristics make them highly vulnerable to fishing pressure. Their removal could affect the structure and function of marine ecosystems, inducing changes in trophic interactions at the community level due to the selective elimination of predators or prey species, competitors and species replacement. In this study Bayesian hierarchical spatial models are used to map the sensitive habitats of the three most caught elasmobranch spe…
Efficient Parallel Sort on AVX-512-Based Multi-Core and Many-Core Architectures
2019
Sorting kernels are a fundamental part of numerous applications. The performance of sorting implementations is usually limited by a variety of factors such as computing power, memory bandwidth, and branch mispredictions. In this paper we propose an efficient hybrid sorting method which takes advantage of wide vector registers and the high bandwidth memory of modern AVX-512-based multi-core and many-core processors. Our approach employs a combination of vectorized bitonic sorting and load-balanced multi-threaded merging. Thread-level and data-level parallelism are used to exploit both compute power and memory bandwidth. Our single-threaded implementation is ~30x faster than qsort in the C st…
A decomposition approach to dual shuttle automated storage and retrieval systems
2016
[EN] Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (AS/RS) have become vital in today¿s distribution and production environments, however it remains necessary to equip them with more efficient operational control policies. Motivated by real situations encountered by companies employing AS/RS, the present paper studies a miniload AS/RS system, with a dual shuttle crane in which a set of storage and retrieval requests must be scheduled such that the prioritized waiting time is minimized. Dual shuttle cranes have received minimal academic attention and thus continue to pose new problems that must be solved. The miniload AS/RS problem is addressed by decomposing it into a location assignment and sequ…
Decomposition and Mean-Field Approach to Mixed Integer Optimal Compensation Problems
2016
Mixed integer optimal compensation deals with optimization problems with integer- and real-valued control variables to compensate disturbances in dynamic systems. The mixed integer nature of controls could lead to intractability in problems of large dimensions. To address this challenge, we introduce a decomposition method which turns the original n-dimensional optimization problem into n independent scalar problems of lot sizing form. Each of these problems can be viewed as a two-player zero-sum game, which introduces some element of conservatism. Each scalar problem is then reformulated as a shortest path one and solved through linear programming over a receding horizon, a step that mirro…
Stabilized branch-and-price algorithms for vector packing problems
2018
Abstract This paper considers packing and cutting problems in which a packing/cutting pattern is constrained independently in two or more dimensions. Examples are restrictions with respect to weight, length, and value. We present branch-and-price algorithms to solve these vector packing problems (VPPs) exactly. The underlying column-generation procedure uses an extended master program that is stabilized by (deep) dual-optimal inequalities. While some inequalities are added to the master program right from the beginning (static version), other violated dual-optimal inequalities are added dynamically. The column-generation subproblem is a multidimensional knapsack problem, either binary, boun…
Decreased consumption of branched-chain amino acids improves metabolic health
2016
Protein-restricted (PR), high-carbohydrate diets improve metabolic health in rodents, yet the precise dietary components that are responsible for these effects have not been identified. Furthermore, the applicability of these studies to humans is unclear. Here, we demonstrate in a randomized controlled trial that a moderate PR diet also improves markers of metabolic health in humans. Intriguingly, we find that feeding mice a diet specifically reduced in branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) is sufficient to improve glucose tolerance and body composition equivalently to a PR diet via metabolically distinct pathways. Our results highlight a critical role for dietary quality at the level of amino…
Circadian Rhythm in Adipose Tissue: Novel Antioxidant Target for Metabolic and Cardiovascular Diseases
2020
Obesity is a major risk factor for most metabolic and cardiovascular disorders. Adipose tissue is an important endocrine organ that modulates metabolic and cardiovascular health by secreting signaling molecules. Oxidative stress is a common mechanism associated with metabolic and cardiovascular complications including obesity, type 2 diabetes, and hypertension. Oxidative stress can cause adipose tissue dysfunction. Accumulating data from both humans and experimental animal models suggest that adipose tissue function and oxidative stress have an innate connection with the intrinsic biological clock. Circadian clock orchestrates biological processes in adjusting to daily environmental changes…
Intestinal helminth fauna of the shortfin mako Isurus oxyrinchus (Elasmobranchii: Lamnidae) in the northeast Atlantic Ocean.
2017
Large oceanic sharks represent a suitable model to investigate the influence of a host's oceanic conditions on the structure of its helminth communities. In this study, we describe the intestinal helminth fauna, and investigate determinants of infracommunity structure, in 39 specimens of shortfin mako Isurus oxyrinchus collected in the NE Atlantic. Six cestode species were found in the spiral valve of makos: 3 are typical from lamnid sharks, namely, gravid specimens of Clistobothrium montaukensis, Gymnorhynchus isuri and Ceratobothrium xanthocephalum, and 3 are immature specimens of cestode species common to several elasmobranchs, namely, Dinobothrium septaria, Nybelinia lingualis, and Phyl…
Plasma branched-chain amino acids and incident cardiovascular disease in the PREDIMED Trial
2016
Abstract BACKGROUND The role of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) in cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains poorly understood. We hypothesized that baseline BCAA concentrations predict future risk of CVD and that a Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) intervention may counteract this effect. METHODS We developed a case-cohort study within the Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea (PREDIMED), with 226 incident CVD cases and 744 noncases. We used LC-MS/MS to measure plasma BCAAs (leucine, isoleucine, and valine), both at baseline and after 1 year of follow-up. The primary outcome was a composite of incident stroke, myocardial infarction, or cardiovascular death. RESULTS After adjustment for potential conf…