The philosophical tradition defines the subject as a reflective being, in principle aware of its agency which makes it capable of making free decisions and taking responsibility for them. Agency, understood in this way, is clearly attributed only to people. However, the technological development of artificial cognitive enhancements and of increasingly autonomous artificial intelligence, that has been taken place in last few decades, casts doubts whether such an approach is not too anthropocentric. This doubt is indicated by some proponents of extending cognitive processes beyond the human brain; they argue for the need of appropriate extension of the subject as well. Moreover, there is an increasing number of proposals attributing agency to artifacts. In the first part of the article, I refer to the two most commonly used philosophical criteria distinguishing the subject of cognition from all information processing systems: being a reflective system, and being the subject of intentional stance. Next, I assess, from such a perspective, the attempts to attribute agency to both one-person extended cognitive systems and artificial systems, such as relatively autonomous computer programs. I argue that the gap between conceptions of the extended subject and the artificial subject, and the standard approach incline toward the usage of the term “agent” designating this phenomenon. The term is already widely used in cognitive science to designate any relatively autonomous information processing system performing a cognitive task. The need of the clear distinction between “the subject” (“subjectivity”) and “the agent” (“agency”) is especially noticeable in Polish, where the difference in meanings of these concepts is not so evident as in English. The awareness of the applying in cognitive science these two different notions of agency prevents against a conceptual misuse which could lead to erroneous explanations and predictions.

We calculate the dynamics of tax evasion within a multi-agent econophysics model which is adopted from the theory of magnetism and previously has been shown to capture the main characteristics from agent-based based models which build on the standard Allingham and Sandmo approach. In particular, we implement a feedback of public goods provision on the decision-making of selfish agents which aim to pursue their self interest. Our results imply that such a feedback enhances the moral attitude of selfish agents thus reducing the percentage of tax evasion. Two parameters govern the behavior of selfish agents, (i) the rate of adaption to changes in public goods provision and (ii) the threshold of perception of public goods provision. Furtheron we analyze the tax evasion dynamics for different agent compositions and under the feedback of public goods provision. We conclude that policymakers may enhance tax compliance behavior via the threshold of perception by means of targeted public relations.

Nanotechnology is a manipulation of nature that has emerged through the use of basic sciences, material science and engineering at the nano-scale. The interaction between biological environment and nanoparticles-nanoparticles or nanoparticles-organic materials is not yet well-understood. The toxic effects of nanoparticles on plants were investigated and it was proved that they caused morphological and physiological changes in plants. This study aimed to determine the effects of TiO -TiO₂Ag nanoparticles, and co-application of EDDS-TiO₂Ag nanoparticles alone, co-application of ZnO nanoparticles- Ag nanoparticles on seed germination, seedling vigor, radicle and plumule elongation of two different wheat species. In the experimental stage, ten seeds were placed in petri-dishes with a double layer of fi lter paper which was used as an inert material. Then 5 mL of TiO₂Ag, ZnO+TiO₂Ag, and EDDS+TiO₂Ag suspensions were added to every petri dish. Results showed that the maximum SVI was determined at the concentration of 50 mg∙L^-1 TiO₂ Ag+EDDS for bread wheat and the minimum SVI was observed at 100 mg∙L^-1 TiO₂Ag nanoparticles concentration for durum wheat. The effect of both nanoparticles-nanoparticles interaction and the other chemicals-nanoparticles interaction on the ecosystems should be evaluated.

When considering tax reporting, taxpayers have an individual attitude towards the risk of being caught evading taxes by the tax authorities. This attitude is interdependent with how this inherent risk is perceived. We propose to analyse this phenomenon through a risk perspective by adding a risk attitude and corresponding perceived probability of being caught evading. In this paper, we study the dynamics of tax evasion under risk perception and attitude, and the consequent propensity of imitators to evade or to comply. Under this proposal, we conduct our experiments through a multi-agent based simulation. Simulation results suggest first that the risk attitude, in conjunction with perceived risk and its consequences are the main reasons to guarantee a low level of tax evasion. Secondly, results also demonstrate a non-linear impact of tax rate, investment interest rate and fines which is especially interesting and non-intuitive.

Terrain and laboratory research were conducted to determine the potential of Gastroidea viridula Deg. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) to control mossy sorrel (Rumex confertus Willd.). In a field study, the dynamicof plant biomass and number of larvae occurring on that plant were investigated. The Pearson’s linear correlation coefficient of biomass increase in time equalled, to r = 0.96. The regression equation showed, that the plant daily growth reached 29 g; and 210 g per week, consequently. In the laboratory, weight of consumed food by larvae, and larval body weight were measured at 20°C. First generation of G. viridula was taken into consideration. Total weight of consumed leaves by all three instars of a single larva, during 50 days of the development amounted to 1.243 g. Also seasonal abundance of larvae was observed. On May 25th the highest observed number of G. viridula larvae per plant ranged from 435 to 469 individuals. This species may be of usefulness in biological control of mossy sorrel.

Two different complexing agents, namely citric acid and gelatin, were used for gel-combustion synthesis of yttria stabilized zirconia. The influence of synthesis conditions on properties of powders and sintered bodies was studied by X-ray Diffraction Analysis (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and helium pycnometer measurements.

Hydrobionts are considered as highly potential source for bioproduction (including energy carriers and fertilizers) and many biotechnological processes that include hydrobionts, particularly their biomass as a substrate are used in different fields of energy, cosmetology, medicine, pharmaceutics, aquaculture, agriculture, forestry etc. Latest developments prove efficiency in applying anaerobic digestion for purifying wastewaters from organic pollutants with the help of macrophytes and microphytes in conducting biomethanogenesis. Many studies have established that it is possible to reach high level of lipid extraction from algae (to 95%) with the help of organic solvents (methanol, acetone, hexane, diethyl ether etc). Blue – green algae biomass has been scientifically proved to be a good source for methane, methanol, ethanol, propanol, isopropanol, biodiesel and other biofuel types production. Macroalgae and microalgae contain β- carotene, biotin, folic acid, fucoidans, lectins, phenolics, sulphated polysaccharides and other derived biologically active compounds that can be used in producing vitamins, have anti-ulcer, antioxidant, antibiotic, antifouling, immune modulatory and other properties. Cyanidioschyzon merolae, Ostreococcus lucimarinus, O. tauri, Micromonas pusilla have shown high potential for hydrogen production while Rhizoclonium sp. has been experimentally used as a bounding material in briquetting miscanthus granules, resulting in 20 % higher dynamic strength. The article is a literature review and the purpose of this work is to classify and systemize hydrobionts, reveal regularity of their growth, conduct critical analysis on existing biotechnologies on using separate representatives of aquatic biomes as a raw material and also to review ways of intensification for these biotechnologies.

End-of-life oriented product design (design for recycling, disassembly, remanufacturing) is considered an emerging area in modern approach to product lifecycle. Numerous tools aiding the design process have been developed, but many of them work as independent computer applications. The presented solution is strictly integrated with typical design environment: CAD 3D and PLM systems. This paper presents the application of agent technology operating in the PLM environment to support the design process. The architecture of the proposed solution is shown. A method of product assessment, based of three indicators, is described. The example analysis of real household appliance is presented

Convenient human-computer interaction is essential to carry out many exhausting and concentration-demanding activities. One of them is cyber-situational awareness as well as dynamic and static risk analysis. A specific design method for a multimodal human-computer interface (HCI) for cyber-security events visualisation control is presented. The main role of the interface is to support security analysts and network operators in their monitoring activities. The proposed method of designing HCIs is adapted from the methodology of robot control system design. Both kinds of systems act by acquiring information from the environment, and utilise it to drive the devices influencing the environment. In the case of robots the environment is purely physical, while in the case of HCIs it encompasses both the physical ambience and part of the cyber-space. The goal of the designed system is to efficiently support a human operator in the presentation of cyberspace events such as incidents or cyber-attacks. Especially manipulation of graphical information is necessary. As monitoring is a continuous and tiring activity, control of how the data is presented should be exerted in as natural and convenient way as possible. Hence two main visualisation control modalities have been assumed for testing: static and dynamic gesture commands and voice commands, treated as supplementary to the standard interaction. The presented multimodal interface is a component of the Operational Centre, which is a part of the National Cybersecurity Platform. Creation of the interface out of embodied agents proved to be very useful in the specification phase and facilitated the interface implementation.

In this paper cluster consensus is investigated for general fractional-order multi agent systems with nonlinear dynamics via adaptive sliding mode controller. First, cluster consensus for fractional-order nonlinear multi agent systems with general formis investigated. Then, cluster consensus for the fractional-order nonlinear multi agent systems with first-order and general form dynamics is investigated by using adaptive sliding mode controller. Sufficient conditions for achieving cluster consensus for general fractional-order nonlinear multi agent systems are proved based on algebraic graph theory, Lyapunov stability theorem andMittag-Leffler function. Finally, simulation examples are presented for first-order and general form multi agent systems, i.e. a single-link flexible joint manipulator which demonstrates the efficiency of the proposed adaptive controller.

In this paper, an energy coordination control method based on intelligent multi-agent systems (MAS) is proposed for energy management and voltage control of a DC microgrid. The structure of the DC microgrid is designed to realize the mathematical modeling of photovoltaic cells, fuel cells and batteries. A two-layer intelligent MAS is designed for energy coordination control: grid-connection and islanding of a DC microgrid is combined with energy management of PV cells, fuel cells, loads and batteries. In the hidden layer and the output layer of the proposed neural network there are 17 and 8 neurons, respectively, and the “logsig” activation function is used for the neurons in the network. Eight kinds of feature quantities and 13 different actions are taken as the input and output parameters of the neural network from the micro-source and the load, and the as the control center agent’s decision-makers. The feasibility of the proposed intelligent multi-agent energy coordination control strategy is verified by MATLAB/Simulink simulation, and three types of examples are analyzed after increasing the load. The simulation results show that the proposed scheme exhibits better performance than the traditional approaches.

This paper proposes the development of a formation control algorithm of multiple acoustic underwater vehicles by employing the behaviour of autonomous mobile agents under a proposed pursuit. A robust pursuit is developed using the distributed consensus coordinated algorithm ensuring the transfer of information among the AUVs. The development of robust pursuit based on characteristics of multi-agent system is for solving the incomplete information capabilities in each agent such as asynchronous computation, decentralized data and no system global control. In unreliable and narrow banded underwater acoustic medium, the formation of AUVs based distributed coordinated consensus tracking can be accomplished under the constant or varying virtual leader’s velocity. Further, the study to achieve tracking based on virtual leader AUV’s velocity is extended to fixed and switching network topologies. Again for mild connectivity, an adjacency matrix is defined in such a way that an adaptive connectivity is ensured between the AUVs. The constant virtual leader vehicle velocity method based on consensus tracking is more robust to reduce inaccuracy because no accurate position and velocity measurements are required. Results were obtained using MATLAB and acquired outcomes are analysed for efficient formation control in presence of the underwater communication constraints.

Fly-ash is a form of production waste produced as a result of the burning of coal for energy production. Millions of tonnes of this waste are produced worldwide every year; hence it is extremely important to dispose of it in a useful way, including through treating the initial raw material to obtain a material of higher quality. The aim of the present work is to determine the suitability of processed fly-ash from lignite for reinforcing (stabilizing) soils used in the building of road foundations and embankments. The results provide a method of recycling this waste while at the same time obtaining new materials and technologies for use in road building. This is an important issue both environmentally and in terms of the positive effect that processed fly-ash can have on the stability of road structures.

This article presents the results of experiments carried out using fly-ash produced from lignite at the P¹tnów Power Plant. This ash was first modified (activated) using a Wapeco magnetic activator, and then used to produce hydraulic binders (with the addition of cement) and soil-binder mixtures. These mixtures were made using natural soils from seven different deposits in the Lubuskie region (western Poland). They were stabilized using two hydraulic binders (strength ratings 3 MPa and 9 MPa) added in different amounts (6% and 8% relative to the mass of the soil). During the experiment, a determination was made of the increase in the strength of the analysed samples (after 14, 28, and 42 days) and the increase in the bearing ratio (immediately after consolidation and after 7 days).

Interpretation of the results of the experiment made it possible to assess the dynamics of the increase in compression strength and load-bearing capacity of various soils stabilized with hydraulic binders produced from lignite ash, and to indicate possibilities for the use of these materials.

The analysis showed that it is possible to use these binders for the stabilisation of soils, enabling soils formerly considered to have weak load-bearing capacity (clayey sand; clayey, sandy gravel; clays) to be classified as fully usable in road construction.

Acoustical Driving Forces (ADF), induced by propagating waves in a homogeneous and inhomogeneous lossy fluid (suspension), are determined and compared depending on the concentration of suspended particles. Using integral equations of the scattering theory, the single particle (inclusion) ADF was calculated as the integral of the flux of the momentum density tensor components over the heterogeneity surface. The possibility of negative ADF was indicated. Originally derived, the total ADF acting on inclusions only, stochastically distributed in ambient fluid, was determined as a function of its concentration. The formula for the relative increase in ADF, resulting from increased concentration was derived. Numerical ADF calculations are presented. In experiments the streaming velocities in a blood-mimicking starch suspension (2 μm radius) in water and Bracco BR14 contrast agent (SF6 gas capsules, 1 μm radius) were measured as the function of different inclusions concentration. The source of the streaming and ADF was a plane 2 mm diameter 20 MHz ultrasonic transducer. Velocity was estimated from the averaged Doppler spectrum obtained from originally developed pulsed Doppler flowmeter. Numerical calculations of the theoretically derived formula showed very good agreement with the experimental results.