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Search results for: ADMINISTRATIVE CORRUPTION
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On the Buckling Response of Axially Pressurized Nanotubes Based on a Novel Nonlocal Beam Theory
PublicationIn the present study, the buckling analysis of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) on the basis of a new refined beam theory is analyzed. The SWCNT is modeled as an elastic beam subjected to unidirectional compressive loads. To achieve this aim, the new proposed beam theory has only one unknown variable which leads to one equation similar to Euler beam theory and is also free from any shear correction factors. The equilibrium...
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Equivalent single-layer models in deformation analysis of laminated multilayered plates
PublicationThe performance of selected Equivalent Single-Layer (ESL) models is evaluated within several classical benchmark tests for linear static analysis of multi-layered plates. The authors elaborated their own Finite Element software based on the first-order shear deformation theory (FOSD) with some modifications incorporated including a correction of the transverse shear stiffness and an application of zig-zag type functions. Seven...
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Measurement method for capacitive sensors for microcontrollers based on a phase shifter
PublicationA complete measurement method dedicated to capacitive sensors has been developed. It includes the development of hardware (an analogue interface circuit for microcontrollers with built-in times/counters and analogue comparators) and software (a measurement procedure and a systematic error calibration (correction) algorithm which is based on a calibration dictionary). The interface circuit consists of a low-pass filter and a phase...
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An approach to constructing genuinely entangled subspaces of maximal dimension
PublicationGenuinely entangled subspaces (GESs) are the class of completely entangled subspaces that contain only genuinely multiparty entangled states. They constitute a particularly useful notion in the theory of entanglement but also have found an application, for instance, in quantum error correction and cryptography. In a recent study (Demianowicz and Augusiak in Phys Rev A 98:012313, 2018), we have shown how GESs can be efficiently...
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Nabywanie nieruchomości przeznaczonych pod drogi publiczne
PublicationNabywanie nieruchomości przeznaczonych pod drogi publiczne. Polska na rozwój dróg krajowych w latach 2007 - 2013 otrzymała ponad 10 mld euro unijnego wsparcia. W efekcie powstało prawie 1500 km nowych dróg ekspresowych i autostrad. Należałoby przeanalizować przebieg procesu inwestycyjnego i procedur administracyjnych, aby osiągnąć jeszcze lepsze rezultaty i efektywniej wykorzystywać dotacje przeznaczone na...
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MEASUREMENT AND ANALYSIS OF A FLOOD WAVE PROPAGATION ON THE KACZA RIVER IN GDYNIA IN NORTHERN POLAND
PublicationKacza river is located in northern Poland in the neighborhood of the Gulf of Gdansk and the Baltic Sea. A Kacza having length of 15 km and catchment area of 53 km2 collects the water into the Gulf mostly from inhabited and forested areas within the administrative boundaries of the city of Gdynia. On the 14th and 15th of July 2016 in northern Poland on the large area of Tri-City agglomeration (Gdynia, Gdansk and Sopot) total daily...
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QUANTITATIVE EASING POLICY AND ITS IMPACT ON THE GLOBAL ECONOMY
PublicationBased on the analysis of the impact of quantitative easing policies on the global economy, there was concluded that the world’s largest central banks and widespread debt stimulation have created the model of economic growth. This model was based on the productivity growth. The lack of productivity growth in the developed world, the active integration of developing countries (first of all China and India) in the global economy have...
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Fast Multi-Objective Optimization of Narrow-Band Antennas Using RSA Models and Design Space Reduction
PublicationComputationally efficient technique for multi-objective design optimization of narrow-band antennas is presented. In our approach, the corrected low-fidelity antenna model (obtained through coarse-discretization EM simulations) is enhanced using frequency scaling and response correction, sampled, and utilized to obtain a fast response surface approximation (RSA) antenna surrogate. The RSA model is constructed in the reduced design space....
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Expedited design of microstrip antenna subarrays using surrogate-based optimization
PublicationComputationally efficient simulation-driven design of microstrip antenna subarrays is presented. The proposed design approach aims at simultaneous adjustment of all relevant geometry parameters of the subarray, which allows us to take into account the effect of the feeding network on the subarray radiation pattern (in particular, the side lobe level, SLL). In order to handle a large number of variables involved in the design process,...
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Non-invasive blood glucose monitoring with Raman spectroscopy: prospects for device miniaturization
PublicationThe number of patients with diabetes has reached over 350 million, and still continues to increase. The need for regular blood glucose monitoring sparks the interest in the development of modern detection technologies. One of those methods, which allows for noninvasive measurements, is Raman spectroscopy. The ability of infrared light to penetrate deep into tissues allows for obtaining measurements through the skin without its...
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Aerodynamic shape optimization by variable-fidelity computational fluid dynamics models: a review of recent progress
PublicationA brief review of some recent variable-fidelity aerodynamic shape optimization methods is presented.We discuss three techniques that—by exploiting information embedded in low-fidelity computationalfluid dynamics (CFD) models—are able to yield a satisfactory design at a low computational cost, usu-ally corresponding to a few evaluations of the original, high-fidelity CFD model to be optimized. Thespecific techniques considered here...
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The idea of a robotic single-sided lapping system
PublicationThis paper reviews the idea of a robotic lapping system. Robot’s assistance automates the lap-ping process and supports the development of a flexible lapping system. However, the main aim behind the idea of a robotic lapping system is to provide improved means for controlling the posi-tion of conditioning rings on a lapping plate. Due to the kinematics of lapping process, the profile wear of the tool is not constant along the radius....
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Analytical Buckling of FG Nanobeams on The Basis of A New One Variable First-Order Shear Deformation Beam Theory
PublicationIn this work, buckling analysis of functionally graded (FG) nanobeams based on a new refined beam theory has been analyzed. The beam is modeled as an elastic beam subjected to unidirectional compressive loads. To achieve this aim, the new obtained beam theory has only one variable which leads to one equation similar to the Euler beam theory and also is free of any shear correction factor. The equilibrium equation has been...
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Pareto Ranking Bisection Algorithm for Expedited Multi-Objective Optimization of Antenna Structures
PublicationThe purpose of this letter is introduction of a novel methodology for expedited multi-objective design of antenna structures. The key component of the presented approach is fast identification of the initial representation of the Pareto front (i.e., a set of design representing the best possible trade-offs between conflicting objectives) using a Pareto-ranking bisection algorithm. The algorithm finds a discrete set of Pareto-optimal...
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Cost-efficient simulation-driven design of compact impedance matching transformers
PublicationIn this paper, an algorithmic framework for cost-efficient design optimization of miniaturized impedance matching transformers has been presented. Our approach exploits a bottom-up design that involves translating the overall design specifications for the circuit at hand to its elementary building blocks (here, compact microstrip resonant cells, CMRCs), as well as fast surrogate-assisted optimization of the cells followed by simulation-based...
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Accurate Post-processing of Spatially-Separated Antenna Measurements Realized in Non-Anechoic Environments
PublicationAntenna far-field performance is normally evaluated in expensive laboratories that maintain strict control over the propagation environment. Alternatively, the responses can be measured in non-anechoic conditions and then refined to extract the information on the structure field-related behavior. Here, a framework for correction of antenna measurements performed in non-anechoic test site has been proposed. The method involves automatic...
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Reduced-cost constrained miniaturization of wideband antennas using improved trust-region gradient search with repair step
PublicationIn the letter, an improved algorithm for electromagnetic (EM)-driven size reduction of wideband antennas is proposed. Our methodology utilizes variable-fidelity EM simulation models, auxiliary polynomial regression surrogates, as well as multi-point response correction. The constraint handling is implicit, using penalty functions. The core optimization algorithm is a trust-region gradient search with a repair step added in order...
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Prospects in elongation of railway transition curves
PublicationThe paper presents an analysis of the elongation of transition curves in relation to railway track alignment correction and modernisation. The analysis is based on numerical computations for a wide range of parameters describing a typical railway geometrical layout with transition curves. The differences between the horizontal ordinates of the existing layout and the layout with the elongated transition curves are evaluated and...
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On low-fidelity models for variable-fidelity simulation-driven design optimization of compact wideband antennas
PublicationThe paper addresses simulation-driven design optimization of compact antennas involving variable-fidelity electromagnetic (EM) simulation models. Comprehensive investigations are carried out concerning selection of the coarse model discretization density. The effects of the low-fidelity model setup on the reliability and computational complexity of the optimization process are determined using a benchmark set of three ultra-wideband...
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Three-objective antenna optimization by means of kriging surrogates and domain segmentation
PublicationIn this paper, an optimization framework for multi-objective design of antenna structures is discussed which exploits data-driven surrogates, a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm, response correction techniques for design refinement, as well as generalized domain segmentation. The last mechanism is introduced to constrain the design space region subjected to sampling, which permits reduction of the number of training data samples...
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The applicability of low-cost PM10 sensors for atmospheric air quality monitoring
PublicationDescribed in this work are the results of field tests carried out in the Tricity Agglomeration between 01 April 2018 and 30 June 2018 in order to evaluate the usefulness of low-cost PM10 sensors in atmospheric air quality monitoring. The results were juxtaposed with the results obtained using reference methods. The results were validated based on the measurement uncertainty as described in...
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An evaluation and explanation of (in)efficiency in higher education institutions in Europe and the U.S. with the application of two-stage semi-parametric DEA
PublicationThis study uses data envelopment analysis (DEA) to evaluate the relative efficiency of 500 higher education institutions (HEIs) in ten European countries and the U.S. for the period between 2000 and 2010. Efficiency scores are determined using different input-output sets (inputs: total revenue, academic staff, administration staff, total number of students; outputs: total number of publications, number of scientific articles, graduates)...
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Budesonide treatment of professional athletes and anti-doping testing- case studies
PublicationAccording to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List, glucocorticosteroids are prohibited in competition and only when administered by oral, intravenous, intramuscular or rectal routes. Up to now, in order to differentiate whether glucocorticosteroids were administered by one of the prohibited routes or not, a specific reporting limit for urinary concentrations of parent compounds and their metabolites was established...
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Immunological response of sheep to injections of plasmids encoding Toxoplasma gondii SAG1 and ROP1 genes
PublicationInfection with the intracellular protozoan parasite Toxo¬plasma gondii (T. gondii) causes health problems to both humans and livestock and has a large economic impact worldwide. The immune response in sheep following infection with T. gondii was evaluated using six different combinations of plasmid DNA, recombinant antigen and adjuvant. Sheep were generally vaccinated twice by intramuscular injection with plasmid DNA containing...
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The youth in polish legations and government
PublicationUntil the 2015 elections, youth policy in Poland was treated as a separate domain. There is no uniform legal basis concerned with the matters of young people. Youth rights are dealt with in several articles of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland as well as a number of Acts: on Public Administration Branches, on the Education System, on Higher Education, on Employment Promotion and Labour Market Institutions, on NFZ General...
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Technology and democracy: the who and how in decision-making. The cases of Estonia and Catalonia
PublicationThis paper focuses on the use of technology to improve democracy, comparing the cases of Estonia and Catalonia. Both examples are closely related in their use of technology to further democratize the decision-making processes but have opposite starting points. Estonia’s internet voting system is an offshoot of the comprehensive e-governance system developed by the Estonian government. It is meant to make it more convenient for...
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Fake News: Possibility of Identification in Post-Truth Media Ecology System
PublicationInformation comes as basic good which affects social well-being. A modern society and a modern state – its administration, education, culture, national economy and armed forces – cannot function efficiently without a rationally developed field of information. The quality of the functioning of that system depends on a specific feature of information, that is namely: its reliability which makes it possible for us to evaluate accuracy,...
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Low-cost EM-Simulation-based Multi-objective Design Optimization of Miniaturized Microwave Structures
PublicationIn this work, a simple yet reliable technique for fast multi-objective design optimization of miniaturized microwave structures is discussed. The proposed methodology is based on point-by-point identification of a Pareto-optimal set of designs representing the best possible trade-offs between conflicting objectives such as electrical performance parameters as well as the size of the structure of interest. For the sake of computational...
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A structure and simulation-driven design of compact CPW-fed UWB antenna
PublicationIn this letter, a structure of a miniaturized ultra-wideband CPW-fed antenna and its design proce-dure are presented. The antenna is a modified version of the design previously proposed in the literature, with additional degrees of freedom introduced in order to improve the structure flexibility. The small size is achieved by executing a rigorous optimization procedure that consists of two stages: (i) smart random search carried...
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Fast surrogate-assisted simulation-driven design of compact microwave hybrid couplers
PublicationThis work presents a robust methodology for expedited simulation-driven design optimization of compact microwave hybrid couplers. The technique relies on problem decomposition, and a bot-tom–up design strategy, starting from the level of basic building blocks of the coupler, and finishing with a tuning procedure that exploits a fast surrogate model of the entire structure. The latter is constructed by cascading local response surface...
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Rapid multi-objective design optimisation of compact microwave couplers by means of physics-based surrogates
PublicationThe authors introduce a methodology for fast multi-objective design optimisation of miniaturised microwave couplers. The approach exploits the surrogate-based optimisation paradigm with an underlying low-fidelity model constructed from an equivalent circuit of the structure under consideration, corrected through implicit and frequency space mapping. A fast prediction tool obtained this way is subsequently optimised by a multi-objective...
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Dynamical description of quantum computing: generic nonlocality of quantumnoise
PublicationWe develop a dynamical non-Markovian description of quantum computing in the weak-coupling limit, in the lowest-order approximation. We show that the long-range memory of the quantum reservoir (such as the 1/t4 one exhibited by electromagnetic vacuum) produces a strong interrelation between the structure of noise and the quantum algorithm, implying nonlocal attacks of noise. This shows that the implicit assumption of quantum error...
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Analysis of a caustic formed by a spherical reflector: Impact of a caustic on architectural acoustics
PublicationFocusing sound in rooms intended for listening to music or speech is an acoustic defect. Design recommendations provide remedial steps to effectively prevent this. However, there is a category of objects of high historical or architectural value in which the sound focus correction is limited or even abandoned. This also applies to indoor or outdoor concert shells, installations for teaching and acoustic presentations, etc. The...
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Bending and buckling formulation of graphene sheets based on nonlocal simple first-order shear deformation theory
PublicationThis paper presents a formulation based on simple first-order shear deformation theory (S-FSDT) for large deflection and buckling of orthotropic single-layered graphene sheets (SLGSs). The S-FSDT has many advantages compared to the classical plate theory (CPT) and conventional FSDT such as needless of shear correction factor, containing less number of unknowns than the existing FSDT and strong similarities with the CPT. Governing...
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Expedited Design Closure of Antennas By Means Of Trust-Region-Based Adaptive Response Scaling
PublicationIn the letter, a reliable procedure for expedited design optimization of antenna structures by means of trust-region adaptive response scaling (TR-ARS) is proposed. The presented approach exploits two-level electromagnetic (EM) simulation models. A predicted high-fidelity model response is obtained by applying nonlinear frequency and amplitude correction to the low-fidelity model. The surrogate created this way is iteratively rebuilt...
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Comprehensive dimension scaling of multi-band antennas for operating frequencies and substrate parameters
PublicationIn this paper, low-cost and comprehensive redesign of multi-band antennas with respect to the operating frequencies and material parameters of the substrate is presented. Our approach exploits an inverse surrogate model identified based on a set of reference designs optimized at the level of coarse-discretization EM simulations of the antenna at hand. An iterative correction procedure is also implemented to account for the initial...
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Transparency of publicly available information about fiscal and monetary policy in Poland
PublicationResearch background: The quality of information provided by fiscal and monetary authorities are important in a democratic state. Ensuring fiscal policy transparency reduces fiscal risk and corruption and promotes public acceptance of fiscal reforms. Ensuring transparency in monetary policy allows market participants to anticipate central bank responses and take their effects into account when making investment and consumption decisions. Aim...
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THE RISE OF FISCAL OPACITY IN POLAND IN THE ERA OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
PublicationResearch background: The quality of information provided by the fiscal authorities and the correct flow of this information between them and the society are very important especially in times of crisis, when there is an imbalance in public finances and an increasing public debt. Ensuring fiscal transparency (transparency of public finances) reduces fiscal risk and corruption and supports public acceptance of fiscal reforms. Purpose...
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Natural Deep Eutectic Solvents as Agents for Improving Solubility, Stability and Delivery of Curcumin
PublicationPurpose Study on curcumin dissolved in natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) was aimed at exploiting their beneficial properties as drug carriers. Methods The concentration of dissolved curcumin in NADES was measured. Simulated gastrointestinal fluids were used to determine the concentration of curcumin and quantum chemistry computations were performed for clarifying the origin of curcumin solubility enhancement in NADES. Results NADES...
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Irregularities in university processes concerning the Lean Management typology: The pilot study results
PublicationPurpose: Identify the attitudes regarding key irregularities in university activities of universities referring to muda, mura, and muri from the perspective of two groups of stakeholders - academic teachers and administration/service personnel. Study design/methodology/approach: A pilot quantitative study with the use of a questionnaire containing 48 statements regarding six categories of irregularities assessed according to the...
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Blockchain technologies to address smart city and society challenges
PublicationNew Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) are changing the way in which the world works. These technologies provide new tools to face the issues of contemporary society (poverty, migrations, sustainable development challenges, governance, etc.). Among them, blockchain emerge as a disruptive technology able to make things in a completely different and innovative way. They can provide solutions where before there were...
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IRREGULARITIES IN UNIVERSITY PROCESSES CONCERNING THE LEAN MANAGEMENT TYPOLOGY. THE PILOT STUDY RESULTS
PublicationPurpose: Identify the attitudes regarding key irregularities in university activities of universities referring to muda, mura, and muri from the perspective of two groups of stakeholders - academic teachers and administration/service personnel. Study design/methodology/approach: A pilot quantitative study using a questionnaire containing 48 statements regarding six categories of irregularities assessed according to the 5-point...
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Evaluation of long‑term immunity and protection against T. gondii after immunization with multivalent recombinant chimeric T. gondii proteins
PublicationToxoplasmosis caused by the opportunistic, cosmopolitan protozoan Toxoplasma gondii is one of the most common parasitoses in the world. Although it may prove dangerous or even fatal for immunocompromised individuals, immunoprophylaxis for humans is still nonexistent. Thus, the aim of the current work was to assess the ability of two immunogenic recombinant chimeric T. gondii proteins, SAG2-GRA1-ROP1 (SGR) and SAG1-MIC1-MAG1-GRA2...
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A rapid and sensitive method for the quantitative analysis of ibuprofen and its metabolites in equine urine samples by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry
PublicationIbuprofen is widely used in human and veterinary medicine for the treatment of chronic pain as well as rheumatic and musculoskeletal disorders. However, t he anal- gesic and anti-inflammatory properties of Ibuprofen have contributed to frequent drug abuse in equestr ian s ports. A sensitive and rapid gas chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry based method with a simple liquid-liquid extraction and deriva- tization requiring...
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Exploring the impact of cultural context on eye-tracking studies of architectural monuments in selected European cities: Sustainable heritage management.
PublicationSustainable management of architectural heritage requires conducting an inclusive diagnosis of users’ opinions, considering both residents and tourists as the recipients of urban space. Given the cultural diversity within these groups, proposing the use of eye-trackers (ET) as an alternative to traditional public consultation prompts the need to assess the method’s advantages and disadvantages. It remains uncertain whether individuals...
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Why do Open Government Data initiatives fail in developing countries? A root cause analysis of the most prevalent barriers and problems
PublicationOpen government data (OGD) include the provision of government data, which have so far been reserved for the provision of public utilities and services, wherein different stakeholders may create value out of the same source. Recently, OGD initiatives around the world have dampened or were found to be inadequate for one or other reasons. The present study seeks to underline the root causes behind these inadequate or stalled initiatives...
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Rola inicjatyw społecznych w ochronie dziedzictwa kulturowego na przykładzie mozaiki Anny Fiszer na ścianie kina Neptun w Gdańsku
PublicationStreszczenie: Rola inicjatyw społecznych w ochronie dziedzictwa kulturowego na przykładzie mozaiki Anny Fiszer na ścianie kina Neptun w Gdańsku. Celem artykułu jest wykazanie roli inicjatyw społecznych w budzeniu poczucia odpowiedzialności za dziedzictwo materialne i kulturowe. Przyjęto założenie, że dla lokalnych społeczności miasto jest przestrzenią pamięci. Nastrój, atmosfera i klimat miejsca to słowa, które określają fizyczny...
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Robustness in Compressed Neural Networks for Object Detection
PublicationModel compression techniques allow to significantly reduce the computational cost associated with data processing by deep neural networks with only a minor decrease in average accuracy. Simultaneously, reducing the model size may have a large effect on noisy cases or objects belonging to less frequent classes. It is a crucial problem from the perspective of the models' safety, especially for object detection in the autonomous driving...
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WPŁYW TRANSFORMACJI DANYCH NA JAKOŚĆ OPRACOWANYCH METOD TOŻSAMOŚCIOWYCH W SPEKTROSKOPII BLISKIEJ PODCZERWIENI
PublicationSpektroskopia bliskiej podczerwieni (NIR) wykorzystuje absorpcję promieniowania elektromagnetycznego w zakresie 12000-4000 cm-1, (780¬-2500 nm). Absorpcja NIR pochodzi od nadtonów i drgań kombinacyjnych wiązań C-H, N-H, O-H. Widmo uzyskane techniką NIR jest unikatowym "odciskiem palca" badanej substancji gdyż zależy zarówno od właściwości fizyko-chemicznych próbki jak i od stanu fazowego oraz postaci krystalicznej jej składników.Zaletami...
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Low-Cost EM-Simulation-Driven Multi-Objective Optimization of Antennas
PublicationA surrogate-based method for efficient multi-objective antenna optimization is presented. Our technique exploits response surface approximation (RSA) model constructed from sampled low-fidelity antenna model (here, obtained through coarse-discretization EM simulation). The RSA model enables fast determination of the best available trade-offs between conflicting design goals. A low-cost RSA model construction is possible through...