Nearly one quarter of New Zealand’s unique vascular plant flora is threatened, and weed invasion is implicated in the decline of more than half of these threatened species. However, there is little experimental evidence showing that invasive weeds have a direct impact on threatened native plants. This study experimentally tested the hypothesis that competition with invasive weeds threatens the ...

Microbial weed control represents an innovative means to manage troublesome weeds and utilize the naturally occurring biological herbicides produced by soil microorganisms. These compounds kill or hinder the growth of weeds so that beneficial plant species can gain a competitive advantage. The vast diversity of microorganisms in our environment is largely untapped, and the potential discovery a...

Graduation of data is of great importance in survival analysis. Smoothness and goodness of fit are two fundamental requirements in graduation. Based on the instinctive defining expression for entropy in terms of a probability distribution, two optimization models based on the Maximum Entropy Principle (MaxEnt) and Minimum Cross Entropy Principle (MinCEnt) to estimate mortality probability distr...

This paper presents a novel technique for the synthesis of unequally spaced linear antenna array. The modified Invasive Weed Optimization (IWO) algorithm is applied to optimize the antenna element positions for suppressing peak side lobe level (PSLL) and for achieving nulls in specified directions. The novelty of the proposed approach is in the application of a constraint-based static penalty f...

Based on Game Theory and Multi-objective optimization problems (MOP), Game Optimization Theory (GOT) is discussed in this paper. Optimization Stability Analysis (OSA), Distance Entropy Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization (DEMPSO) and Fuzzy Multi-weights Decision-making Method (FMW) are proposed as well. Game Optimization Theory, which is a comprehensive system, could not only handle mul...

This paper focuses on the optimal intraday scheduling of a distribution system that includes renewable energy (RE) generation, energy storage systems (ESSs), and thermostatically controlled loads (TCLs). This system also provides time-of-use pricing to customers. Unlike previous studies, this study attempts to examine how to optimize the allocation of electric energy and to improve the equilibr...

Hydrilla [Hydrilla verticillata (Lf) Royle] is one of the most serious invasive aquatic weed problems in the USA. This plant possesses numerous mechanisms of vegetative reproduction that enable it to spread very rapidly. Management of this weed has been achieved by the systemic treatment of water bodies with the herbicide fluridone. At least three dioecious fluridone-resistant biotypes of hydri...

In this paper, a novel hybrid Invasive Weed Optimization (IWO) and Cuckoo Search (CS) algorithm (IWO/CS) is presented for phase-only pattern synthesis of large array antenna. The IWO/CS embeds the Levy flight CS into IWO as global guide, thereby enhancing search ability algorithm. At same time, in order to avoid trapping local optimal solution, mutation operator introduced enhance Finally, comp...