A predictive analysis on the risk of peste des petits ruminants in livestock in the Trans-Himalayan region and validation of its transboundary transmission paths

Although the Trans-Himalayan region (THR) is an important endemic and rendezvous area of peste des petits ruminants (PPR), monitoring and prevention measurements are difficult to execute because of the rough geographical conditions. Besides, a heterogeneous breeding system and the poor veterinary service of susceptible animals compound the existing problems. Here, we propose a forecasting system to define the key points of PPR prevention and aid the countries in saving time, labor, and products to achieve the goal of the global eradication project of PPR. The spatial distribution of PPR was predicted in the THR for the first time using a niche model that was constructed with a combination of eco-geographical, anthropoid, meteorological, and host variables. The transboundary least-cost paths (LCPs) of small ruminants in the THR were also calculated. Our results reveal that the low-elevation area of the THR had a higher PPR risk and was mainly dominated by human variables. The high-elevation area had lower risk and was mainly dominated by natural variables. Eight LCPs representing corridors among India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and China were obtained. This confirmed the potential risk of transboundary communication by relying on PPR contamination on the grasslands for the first time. The predicted potential risk communication between the two livestock systems and landscapes (high and low elevation) might play a role in driving PPR transboundary transmission.

Landscape Ecological Analysis of Green Network in Urban Area Using Circuit Theory and Least-Cost Path

Quantitative securing of green space in already developed cities has many practical limitations due to socio-economic limitations. Currently, South Korea is planning a green network to secure and inject effective green space, but it is difficult to reflect it in the actual space plan due to the abstract plan. This study utilizes circuit theory and least-cost path methods for presenting a green network that is objectified and applicable to spatial planning. First, an analysis of the Least-cost Path revealed 69 least-cost paths between 43 core green areas of the study site. Most least-cost paths have been identified as passing through small green areas and streams in the city. Using the circuit theory, it was also possible to distinguish areas other than least-cost paths from areas with high potential for development, areas where target species are concentrated within corridors. In particular, areas with relatively high green network improvement effects were derived within and around corridors. This study is most significant in establishing and evaluating existing urban green networks, overcoming the limitations discussed at the linear level and expanding to the area level. To increase the utilization of this study in the future, field surveys and monitoring studies on target species need to be supplemented.

Minimum cost lexicographic evacuation flow finding in intuitionistic fuzzy networks

Nowadays, various emergencies that are human-made or natural occur widely and threaten people’ lives and health. One of the most important evacuation tasks is the minimum cost lexicographic flow modelling task, which allows aggrieved to be transported to safe areas along the optimal transportation routes, taking into account the priority of shelters. It is inevitable that when modelling an evacuation scenario, an expert will encounter difficulties in setting network parameters due to the inherent uncertainty of a network, the rapid change in the nature of the movement, etc. Intuitionistic fuzzy sets allow simulating doubts and uncertainty of a decision-maker when choosing a membership function. Due to the increasing complexity of the decision-making problems, experts cannot assess all the network parameters correctly because much specific knowledge is required, and each expert cannot be familiar with all attributes equally. Therefore, different decision-makers should have different values for various attributes. The algorithm proposed incorporates the search for the order of reliable shelters according to the modified TOPSIS method and the minimum cost paths in intuitionistic fuzzy conditions based on the non-standard subtraction operation. A case study is conducted to verify the proposed algorithm.

A graph-based network for predicting chemical reaction pathways in solid-state materials synthesis

Accelerated inorganic synthesis remains a significant challenge in the search for novel, functional materials. Many of the principles which enable “synthesis by design” in synthetic organic chemistry do not exist in solid-state chemistry, despite the availability of extensive computed/experimental thermochemistry data. In this work, we present a chemical reaction network model for solid-state synthesis constructed from available thermochemistry data and devise a computationally tractable approach for suggesting likely reaction pathways via the application of pathfinding algorithms and linear combination of lowest-cost paths in the network. We demonstrate initial success of the network in predicting complex reaction pathways comparable to those reported in the literature for YMnO3, Y2Mn2O7, Fe2SiS4, and YBa2Cu3O6.5. The reaction network presents opportunities for enabling reaction pathway prediction, rapid iteration between experimental/theoretical results, and ultimately, control of the synthesis of solid-state materials.

CONTROL OF LOAD OF THE COMMUNICATION NETWORK WITH VIRTUAL FRAGMENTATION AND TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE CURRENT «COMPOSITION» OF OVERLOADED FRAGMENTS

The problems of network load management for a generalized version of a large packet switching network are investigated. The network is divided into elementary fragments according to the selected rule. Data routing is "flat" (not hierarchical). Abstraction is used - a set of network fragments can be represented as a set of networked elements. For each fragment, a significant indicator of its load (for example, the average load of its nodes or another) is defined. The limit of this indicator is set, which provides the definition of an elementary fragment as a fragment with an increased load. In the entered imaginary "network of fragments" there are connected groups of fragments with the increased loading. For groups of elementary fragments with high load, modifications of the load control method are used due to the choice of the lowest cost paths, in which the routing takes into account the node's belonging to the fragments with high load.