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Natural Gradient (natural + gradient)
Selected AbstractsNatural gradient algorithm for neural networks applied to non-linear high power amplifiers,INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADAPTIVE CONTROL AND SIGNAL PROCESSING, Issue 8 2002H. Abdulkader Abstract This paper investigates the processing techniques for non-linear high power amplifiers (HPA) using neural networks (NNs). Several applications are presented: Identification and Predistortion of the HPA. Various Neural Network structures are proposed to identify and predistort the HPA. Since a few decades, NNs have shown excellent performance in solving complex problems (like classification, recognition, etc.) but usually they suffer from slow convergence speed. Here, we propose to use the natural gradient instead of the classical ordinary gradient in order to enhance the convergence properties. Results are presented concerning identification and predistortion using classical and natural gradient. Practical implementations issues are given at the end of the paper. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Nutritional constraints in ombrotrophic Sphagnum plants under increasing atmospheric nitrogen deposition in EuropeNEW PHYTOLOGIST, Issue 3 2004Luca Bragazza Summary ,,We studied the effects of increasing levels of atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition on nutrient limitation of ombrotrophic Sphagnum plants. ,,Fifteen mires in 11 European countries were selected across a natural gradient of bulk atmospheric N deposition from 0.1 to 2 g/m2 year,1. Nutritional constraints were assessed based on nutrient ratios of N, phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) in Sphagnum plants collected in hummocks (i.e. relatively drier microhabitats) and in lawns (i.e. relatively wetter microhabitats). ,,Nutrient ratios in Sphagnum plants increased steeply at low atmospheric N input, but above a threshold of N deposition of c. 1 g/m2 year,1 the N : P and N : K ratios tended to saturation. Increasing atmospheric N deposition was also accompanied by a reduced retention of Ca and Mg in Sphagnum plants and a decreased stem volumetric density in hummock Sphagnum plants. ,,We suggest a critical load of N deposition in Europe of 1 g/m2 year,1 above which Sphagnum plants change from being N-limited to be K + P colimited, at N : P > 30 and N : K > 3. [source] Seed removal in two coexisting oak species: ecological consequences of seed size, plant cover and seed-drop timingOIKOS, Issue 9 2008Ignacio M. Pérez-Ramos Seed predation and dispersal can critically influence plant community structure and dynamics. Inter-specific differences arising at these early stages play a crucial role on tree recruitment patterns, which in turn could influence forest dynamics and species segregation in heterogeneous environments such as Mediterranean forests. We investigated removal rates from acorns set onto the ground in two coexisting Mediterranean oak species ,Quercus canariensis and Q. suber, in southern Spain. We developed maximum likelihood estimators to investigate the main factors controlling probabilities of seed removal and to describe species-specific functional responses. To account for inter-specific differences in seed-drop timing, two experiments were established: a simultaneous exposure of acorns of the two species (synchronous experiments) and a seed exposure following their natural seed-drop phenology (diachronic experiments). A total of 1536 acorns were experimentally distributed along a wide and natural gradient of plant cover, and removal was periodically monitored for three months at two consecutive years (with contrasting differences in seed production and thus seed availability on the ground). The probability of seed removal increased with plant cover (leaf area index, LAI) for the two oak species. Inter-specific differences in acorn removal were higher in open areas and disappeared in closed microhabitats, especially during a non-mast year. Despite later seed-drop, Q. suber acorns were removed faster and at a higher proportion than those of Q. canariensis. The higher probability of seed removal for this species could be attributed to its larger seed size compared to Q. canariensis, as inter-specific differences were less pronounced when similar sized acorns were exposed. Inter-specific differences in seed removal, arising from seed size variability and microsite heterogeneity, could be of paramount importance in oak species niche separation, driving stand dynamics and composition along environmental gradients. [source] Thermal characterisation of active layer across a soil moisture gradient in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, AntarcticaPERMAFROST AND PERIGLACIAL PROCESSES, Issue 1 2009Scott J. Ikard Abstract Heat transport into active layer soils is important to understanding potential responses to changes in surface energy balance, particularly in the context of changing climate. Here we present results of a study to characterise soil thermal properties along a soil moisture gradient adjacent to Lake Fryxell in Taylor Valley, Antarctica. Our goals were to characterise the thermal characteristics of these relatively wet soils (compared to the rest of the McMurdo Dry Valleys landscape), and to assess the response of the active layer to possible increases in soil moisture. We measured subsurface temperatures at depths from 3 to 50,cm at four locations along a natural gradient of wet to dry soils adjacent to Lake Fryxell from January 2006 to January 2007. We used a numerical model to estimate apparent thermal diffusivity (ATD) and simulate observed temperature time series. Calculations of ATD at discrete locations yielded values ranging from 1.0,×,10,9 , 2.4,×,10,5,m2,s,1, and the corresponding range of bulk (i.e. depth averaged at a single surface location) ATD was 2.9,×,10,9,1.2,×,10,7,m2,s,1. Thawed soils had a range of bulk ATD during warming of 2.9,×,10,9,3.8,×,10,8,m2,s,1, and during cooling of 2.9,×,10,9,4.8,×,10,8,m2,s,1. When soils were frozen, however, the range of bulk ATD was 7.6,×,10,9,1.2,×,10,7,m2,s,1 during warming, and 7.8,×,10,9,1.1,×,10,7,m2,s,1 during cooling. Estimated bulk ATD values were consistently greater in locations of enhanced soil moisture, so lakeside soils were more likely to conduct energy into the subsurface. Increased soil moisture across the landscape would likely increase ATD, allowing for greater heat exchange between the atmosphere and the subsurface. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||