A method has been developed for the retrieval of mesospheric temperatures in the 65–90 km altitude range from satellite observations made by the Wind Imaging Interferometer (WINDII) aboard the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS). Retrieved temperatures are derived from Rayleigh scattered sunlight observed in a wavelength band centered at 553 nm. Integrated line-of-sight radiance observations are inverted to tangent height volume scattering profiles, which are proportional to atmospheric density. From these, absolute temperature profiles are calculated using a technique derived from established Rayleigh lidar retrieval methods assuming that the atmosphere is in hydrostatic equilibrium and that it obeys the ideal gas law. Sources of error have been identified and typical temperature uncertainty values for individual profiles are determined to be < 2.5%, 5.5%, and 13% for altitudes of 70 km, 80 km, and 90 km, respectively. A thorough comparison of the derived WINDII temperatures is performed against a number of ground-based and satellite measurements, including ground-based lidar, falling spheres, the High Resolution Doppler Imager observations aboard UARS, and against common atmospheric models. The data consist of spring equinox observations in March and April 1992/1993, summer solstice data in July/August 1992/1993, fall equinox data in September/October 1992, and winter solstice data in December 1992/1993 and January 1993/1994. The results of the comparisons show that WINDII temperatures are in reasonable to excellent agreement with a number of established temperature studies. In particular, July Northern Hemisphere monthly averaged temperatures show that characteristics of the mesopause obtained by WINDII are in very good agreement with other measurements. This good agreement with other established data sets and a determination of the error bounds of our recovered temperatures have shown that WINDII data can be used to confidently derive near-global temperatures of the upper mesosphere between 65 and 90 km. Above 90 km the errors increase, and systematic differences may arise with other measurements.


Monitor your network with ease! Install and setup Cacti to monitor your network and assign permissions to this setup in no time at allCreate, edit, test, and host a graph template to customize your output graph Create new data input methods, SNMP, and Script XML data queryFull of screenshots and step-by-step instructions to monitor your network with Cacti In Detail Cacti is a network monitoring tool that provides graphic solutions to your everyday monitoring issues. It has a wide variety of features and misusing them can mean that you are not monitoring your network as closely as you think. This book takes you through all of the key features of Cacti and shows how to use them for maximum effectiveness.This book will teach you how to use Cacti effectively to monitor your network through its web interface leaving aside all the heavy chunks of code. You will be introduced to all the features of Cacti in an easy-to-understand format. This book introduces Cacti and goes through its complete installation and setup. After a quick look, it will teach you to use Cacti's amazing graph templating and user management features. You will learn to customize graphs and make them better looking and easier to understand. It will teach you to provide the paths to any external script or command using Cacti. Then it will take you through importing and managing new templates and also customizing them. Creating users and assigning permissions to them is the next step in this book. Towards the end, you will learn to take backups and restore the system. What you will learn from this book? Implement SNMP with Cacti using the Net-SNMP application suiteRetrieve raw data from the system using Net-SNMPCreate graphs using the RRDtool for easy understandingAdd devices to Cacti and use graph templates to monitor your networkUse built-in data queries to check the status of your networkImport and export your templates and exchange them with the communityCreate users and assign permissions to them to view or edit graphs Understand how Net-SNMP application suite implements SNMP with Cacti and use Net-SNMP to retrieve raw data from the system, then use the RRDtool to create graphsUnderstand Cacti's folder structure along with methods of backing up and restoringUse advanced command-line scripts for easy access and managing network Approach With loads of screenshots and illustrations and easy step-by-step instructions, this book is ideal for beginners in the network monitoring business. Who this book is written for? This book is for anyone who wants to manage a network using Cacti. You don't have to be a Linux Guru to use this book.


Managing for sustainable development and resource extraction requires an understanding of the feedbacks between ecosystems and humans. These feedbacks are part of complex social-ecological systems (SES), in which resources, actors, and governance systems interact to produce outcomes across these component parts. Qualitative modeling approaches offer ways to assess complex SES dynamics. Loop analysis in particular is useful for examining and identifying potential outcomes from external perturbations and management interventions in data poor systems when very little is known about functional relationships and parameter values. Using a case study of multispecies, multifleet coastal small-scale fisheries, we demonstrate the application of loop analysis to provide predictions regarding SES responses to perturbations and management actions. Specifically, we examine the potential ecological and socioeconomic consequences to coastal fisheries of different governance interventions (e.g., territorial user rights, fisheries closures, market-based incentives, ecotourism subsidies) and environmental changes. Our results indicate that complex feedbacks among biophysical and socioeconomic components can result in counterintuitive and unexpected outcomes. For example, creating new jobs through ecotourism or subsidies might have mixed effects on members of fishing cooperatives vs. nonmembers, highlighting equity issues. Market-based interventions, such as ecolabels, are expected to have overall positive economic effects, assuming a direct effect of ecolabels on marketprices, and a lack of negative biological impacts under most model structures. Our results highlight that integrating ecological and social variables in a unique unit of management can reveal important potential trade-offs between desirable ecological and social outcomes, highlight which user groups might be more vulnerable to external shocks, and identify which interventions should be further tested to identify potential win-win outcomes across the triple-bottom line of the sustainable development paradigm.


We present "Application in a Box" (AnB) product concept aimed at simplifying the deployment and operation of remote 5G applications. AnB comes pre-configured with all necessary hardware and software components, including sensors like cameras, hardware and software components for a local 5G wireless network, and 5G-ready apps. Enterprises can easily download additional apps from an App Store. Setting up a 5G infrastructure and running applications on it is a significant challenge, but AnB is designed to make it fast, convenient, and easy, even for those without extensive knowledge of software, computers, wireless networks, or AI-based analytics. With AnB, customers only need to open the box, set up the sensors, turn on the 5G networking and edge computing devices, and start running their applications. Our system software automatically deploys and optimizes the pipeline of microservices in the application on a tiered computing infrastructure that includes device, edge, and cloud computing. Application scalability, dynamic resource management, placement of critical tasks for low-latency response, and dynamic network bandwidth allocation for efficient 5G network usage are all automatically orchestrated.AnB offers cost savings, simplified setup and management, and increased reliability and security. We've implemented several real-world applications, such as collision prediction at busy traffic light intersections and remote construction site monitoring using video analytics. With AnB, deployment and optimization effort can be reduced from several months to just a few minutes. This is the first-of-its-kind approach to easing deployment effort and automating self-optimization of the application during system operation.


Background Intoxication by drugs requires often quick attention in the emergency department (ED), so an antidote kit to combat drug intoxication would be helpful. Purpose To analyse intoxication by drugs treated in the emergency department as a preliminary step to making up an antidote kit. Materials and methods All patients treated in ED for drug intoxication in a Spanish hospital were included, from January to June 2010. Data collected were: sex, age, cause, measures, days of stay in ED, admission, ward, duration of admission, complications. Results Data from 137 patients were analysed, 79 females (57.7%), median (minimum-maximum) age was 37 (92–0) years. 77 patients (56.2%) were intoxicated by drugs affecting the central nervous system, 19 (13.9%) by analgesic/anti-inflammatory drugs, 11 (8.0%) by cardiovascular system drugs, 5 (3.6%) by systemic endocrine drugs and the drug(s) involved were unknown in 21 (15.3%) of cases. In 20.4% the intoxication was due to several drugs. 65.0% needed drug-specific treatment. Gastric lavage was necessary in 29.9%. In addition, activated charcoal was administered in 32.1%, flumazenil in 25.5%, naloxone in 4.4% and N-acetylcysteine in 4.4%. Other drugs used were norepinephrine, digoxin-specific antibody (Fab) fragments, a potassium chelator, antiemetics, blood coagulation factors and anticholinergics. The median stay in ED was 1 (0–2) day. 27 patients (19.7%) were admitted and 2 (1.5%) requested voluntary discharge. Of the inpatients, 26.9% were to the psychiatry ward, 19.2% to the critical care unit, cardiology and internal medicine wards, and 15.4% to the paediatric ward. The stay in hospital was 6 (17–0) days. Seven patients had complications related to intoxication (three acute kidney injury, two rhabdomyolysis, two aspiration pneumonia) but none of them died. Conclusions The analysis of intoxications treated in ED will guide the contents of the antidote kit. It is important to increase the control of drugs that affect the central nervous system.


Ideal for courses in beginning Sanskrit or self-study, this textbook employs modern, tried-and-tested pedagogical methods and tools, but requires no prior knowledge of ancient languages or linguistics. Devanāgarī script is introduced over several chapters and used in parallel with transliteration for several chapters more, allowing students to progress in learning Sanskrit itself while still mastering the script. Students are exposed to annotated original texts in addition to practise sentences very early on, and structures and systems underlying the wealth of forms are clearly explained to facilitate memorisation. All grammar is covered in detail, with chapters dedicated to compounding and nominal derivation, and sections explaining relevant historical phenomena. The introduction also includes a variety of online resources that students may use to reinforce and expand their knowledge: flash cards; video tutorials for all chapters; and up-to-date links to writing, declension and conjugation exercises and online dictionaries, grammars, and textual databases.


We use a quantum mechanical approach to derive a set of linear and nonlinear quantum conductivity coefficients for metal–insulator–metal structures with nanometer sized gaps. The immediate proximity of metallic objects generates a tunneling AC current density that endows the gap region with additional linear and nonlinear coefficients that in turn trigger linear and nonlinear absorption, and second- and third-harmonic generation. For example, a vacuum gap approximately 0.8 nm thick displays an effective |χ(2)|∼0.1  pm/V for adjacent objects composed of dissimilar metals and an effective |χ(3)|∼10−20  m2/V2 for either similar or dissimilar metals, increasing exponentially for smaller gaps. Field localization inside the gap ensures that harmonic generation arising from the gap region overwhelms intrinsic metal second- and third-order nonlinearities.


Knowledge and Liberation, by Nasir Khusraw. Ed. and trans. by Faquir M. Hunzai. London: LB. Tauris Press, 1998. xii + 125 pages. Index to p. 128. Technical terms to p. 132. $32.50. Reviewed by Mehdi Aminrazavi In Knowledge and Liberation (Goshayesh wa Rahayesh)-one of Nasir Khusraw's lesser known, but nonetheless significant works-the author poses 36 philosophical questions. Somewhat in the style of Plato's Dialogues, in Khusraw's Knowledge and Liberation, a "brother" poses a wide array of traditional metaphysical questions ranging from the nature of time, eternity and the creation of the world, to the notions of the Creator and the nature of reward and punishment. This book is beautifully published, and the translation is generally accurate and thorough. As is always the case with translations, one finds instances where something could be translated differently. The bilingual nature of this book adds to its value. However. the original text (in Persian) and the English translation appear in their entirety in separate parts of the book. Presenting the Persian and English versions on opposite pages would have made it easier for the reader to compare texts. The work begins with an introduction by P. Morewedge, who describes the structure and central motifs of the text. This introduction sets Khusraw and his philosophical thought in an intellectual historical context, and explains the extent of his interaction with the Greeks. The book is divided into five parts, each of which addresses one of the fundamental problems of metaphysics. The first section, which is devoted to cosmogony, explores the existence of the Creator and the nature of time. Khusraw's examination of the latter is particularly interesting; it resembles that of Mir Damad's discussion of time (as azali and sarmadi) in Qabasat. The second sections deals with ontological issues, beginning with different kinds of existences and non-existence. These discussions, which are rudimentary, follow the Avicennian line of possible, necessary and impossible existences. Nasir Khusraw ends this section by analyzing the existence of the soul and relationship between mind and body. The third section, on "Physics," is quite intriguing in that Khusraw applies the Aristotelian classification of the psyche as inanimate, vegetative and animal to the world, which he regards as "a body." The interesting point here is that Khusraw does this in order to prove that the world is generated; moreover, he masterfully applies this discussion to concepts such as the different types of matter, the relationship between form and matter, the spiritual world and spiritual ascent. Khusraw's analysis here relies heavily on the interaction of elements with each other within a neo-Platonic scheme of emanation-a salient feature of Isma'ili thought. The fourth section, on "Theology," begins with a dialogue between Khusraw and the Mutikallimun. One of the most fundamental points of contention in this dialogue is the thorny question regarding whether the Qur'an is created in time or is eternal. Khusraw appears to adopt a middle position on this issue when he states that "speech consists of inanimate and irrational letters, whereas the speaker is rational and animate. …


This essay is a general analysis of how certain ways of understanding the meaningfulness of words (or how certain ways of explaining how words acquire meaning) can affect beliefs regarding what exists in the world. The main focus is the philosophical controversy regarding the meaning of general terms. Accordingly, traditional approaches to this issue disagree on the kinds of entities that ought to exist in order for these terms to be meaningful. The author's analysis of this controversy proceeds as follows. First, it is explained how philosophers classify entities into several kinds and how they generally argue in support of their preference for certain types of entities over others. This discussion also distinguishes the method of linguistic analysis from other philosophical methods in dealing with ontological issues (or issues concerning existence). Then, the claims and arguments of the traditional accounts of the meaning of general terms are presented and explained. Lastly, these accounts are criticized using the perspective of the use theory of meaning of the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. Among others, it is shown that the said accounts all assume the referential theory of meaning, which Wittgenstein strongly criticizes. At the latter part, the author also gives his reflections, in the light of this discourse, on the concept of Filipino as it relates to the issue of national identity.


Understanding the manner in which the First Wall Qualification Mockup (FWQM) responds structurally to simulated ITER conditions is important to the establishment of a reliable first wall. This paper provides a thermal and structural response analysis for the first round of qualification tests performed at Sandia National Laboratories. The results display the stresses and strains created in the FWQM as a result of the thermal expansion that occurred when subjected to cyclic heat flux under simulated ITER normal and MARFE conditions. From this structural response, further insight may be gained into the likelihood of fatigue failure of the Beryllium//CuCrZr interface once the first wall is in operation in ITER. While fully determining the reliability of this joint is beyond the scope of this study, some suggestions are made as to how this topic might be addressed with further research. Also investigated are the thermal patterns seen during testing that indicated slight variation from the intended test parameters. It is shown that these disparities from the ideal test parameters do not significantly affect the qualification of the FWQM.


Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) deficiency is a common disorder with potential irreversible haematological and neurological consequences. Currently used diagnostic tests such as the evaluation of serum vitamin B12 and the Schilling test are insufficient, e.g. the positive predictive value of a low serum vitamin B12 level for actual vitamin B12 deficiency (i.e. tissue deficiency) is low. Insufficient availability of vitamin B12 will lead to the accumulation of methylmalonic acid and homocysteine in the body. Nearly all patients with vitamin B12 deficiency also have substantially increased levels of methylmalonic acid and homocysteine. New tests of serum methylmalonic acid and homocysteine are highly sensitive for vitamin B12 deficiency and may obviate the need for the somewhat cumbersome Schilling test.


The increased participation in elite wheelchair sport has provided the need to
investigate the physiological requirements of wheelchair sporting competition and daily
wheelchair propulsion. However, from a nutritional perspective, guidelines that have been
established from the able-bodied population tend to be used by the practitioners working in
disability sport and it is not known whether this information is directly transferable to the
wheelchair athlete. Wheelchair sport is complex and athletes differ with respect to their
sports classification based on factors relating to disability and functional capacity.
Therefore, if nutritional guidance is required to optimise performance then information
regarding energy expenditure (EE) in the wheelchair sports population becomes important
for specific feedback. The aim of this thesis was to investigate EE in wheelchair athletes.
The results from Chapter 3 found resting energy expenditure (REE) in tetraplegic
athletes to be lower than that calculated using predictive equations derived from an ablebodied
cohort. However, paraplegic athletes showed comparable values to those which
were predicted, suggesting these equations may be of use in paraplegic athletes. Chapter 4
extended this work and found similarities in the REE of the two aforementioned cohorts.
This could have been due to the similarities that were found in their total-body fat free
mass (FFM). The results from Chapter 5 showed EE reduced after both a short 36 minute
exposure of wheelchair propulsion and after 3 weeks of wheelchair propulsion practice in
novice wheelchair users. Temporal parameters improved after the practice period,
suggesting there is an association between EE and propulsion technique. Chapter 6
extended these findings with results confirming that experienced wheelchair users
expended significantly less energy during wheelchair propulsion than novice individuals
who had up to 3 weeks practice. It is clear that EE of daily wheelchair ambulation should
not be a generic value and different levels of experience must be considered so that the
nutritional needs can be tailored accordingly.
Chapters 7 and 8 examined the physiological demands of elite competitive
wheelchair basketball players in relation to the International Wheelchair Basketball
Federation (IWBF) classification categories and identified differences in the physiological
demands and physiological fitness of wheelchair basketball and tennis players. These
results found that IWBF Class 3 – 4.5 (high point) players expended more energy per hour
during competition than those with a lower classification (IWBF Class 1 – 2.5). However,
when actual playing time was considered the low classification group showed a similar EE
to the higher classification group. Furthermore, wheelchair basketball players had a higher
EE per hour than wheelchair tennis players during elite competition. However, the
wheelchair tennis players spent a significantly longer duration on court resulting in similar
EE during a typical competition within each sport. This suggests nutritional advice should
be tailored both to the duration of competitive play (where EE may be similar between
sports (basketball vs. tennis)); and to training (where athletes with a higher functional
capacity may have higher EE). This thesis revealed several important physiological
considerations to appreciate when investigating the EE of wheelchair sportsmen and
women. Findings would suggest that type of disability, wheelchair propulsion experience
and sport classification are all important considerations for the accurate assessment of EE
in this cohort of athletes.


Introduction. Recent developments in the field of scientific information resource provision lead us to the key research question, namely,what is the coverage of freely available information sources when writing doctoral theses, and whether the academic library can assume the leading role as a direct intermediator for information users. Method.Citation analysis of doctoral theses was conducted in the summer of 2015. A total of thirty-nine theses (with 6,998 references) defended at Vilnius University at the end of 2014 was selected (30 per cent of all defended theses). Theses were randomly chosen from different research fields: the humanities, social sciences, biomedical sciences, technological sciences, and physical sciences. Analysis.The research team was tasked with identifying whether certain resources could be found in the eCatalogue of an academic library, its subscribed databases, freely available online (through Google or Google Scholar), or whether the resources from the library`s subscribed databases are identical to those which are freely available. The data gathering process included such resource categories as journal papers, printed and electronic books or book chapters, and other documents (legal reports, conference papers, newspaper articles, Websites, theses, etc.). Conclusions. Library collections and subscribed databases could cover up to 80 per cent of all information resources used in doctoral theses. Among the most significant findings to emerge from this study is the fact that on average more than half (57 per cent) of all utilised information resources were freely available or were accessed without library support. We may presume that the library as a direct intermediator for information users is potentially important and irreplaceable only in four out of ten attempts of PhD students to seek information.


The main goal of this thesis is twofold. First, the thesis aims at bridging the gap between existing Pattern Recognition (PR) methods of automatic signature verification and the requirements for their application in forensic science. This gap, attributed by various factors ranging from system definition to evaluation, prevents automatic methods from being used by Forensic Handwriting Examiners (FHEs). Second, the thesis presents novel signature verification methods developed particularly considering the implications of forensic casework, and outperforming the state-of-the-art PR methods.

The first goal of the thesis is attributed by four important factors, i.e., data, terminology, output reporting, and how evaluation of automatic systems is carried out today. It is argued that traditionally the signature data used in PR are not actual/close representative of the real world data (especially that available in forensic cases). The systems trained on such data are, therefore, not suitable for forensic environments. This situation can be tackled by providing more realistic data to PR researchers. To this end, various signature and handwriting datasets are gathered in collaboration with FHEs and are made publicly available through the course of this thesis. A special attention is given to disguised signatures--where authentic authors purposefully make their signatures look like a forgery. This genre was at large neglected in PR research previously.

The terminology used, in the two communities - PR and FHEs, differ greatly. In fact, even in PR, there is no standard terminology and people often differ in the usage of various terms particularly related to various types of forged signatures/handwriting. The thesis presents a new terminology that is equally useful for both forensic scientists and PR researchers. The proposed terminology is hoped to increase the general acceptability of automatic signature analysis systems in forensic science.

The outputs reported by general signature verification systems are not acceptable for FHEs and courts as they are either binary (yes/no) or score (raw evidence) based on similarity/difference. The thesis describes that automatic systems should rather report the probability of observing the evidence (e.g., a certain similarity/difference score) given the signature belongs to the acclaimed identity, and the probability of observing the same evidence given the signature does not belong to the acclaimed identity. This will take automatic systems from hard decisions to soft decisions, thereby enabling them to report likelihood ratios that actually represent the evidential value of the score rather than the raw score (evidence).
When automatic systems report soft decisions (as in the form of likelihood ratios), the thesis argues that there must be some methods to evaluate such systems. This thesis presents one such adaptation. The thesis argues that the state-of-the-art evaluation methods, like equal error rate and area under curve, do not address the needs of forensic science. These needs require an assessment of the evidential value of signature verification, rather than a hard/pure classification (accept/reject binary decision). The thesis demonstrates and validates a relatively simple adaptation of the current verification methods based on the Bayesian inference dependent calibration of continuous scores rather than hard classifications (binary and/or score based classification).

The second goal of this thesis is to introduce various local features based techniques which are capable of performing signature verification in forensic cases and reporting results as anticipated by FHEs and courts. This is an important contribution of the thesis because of the following two reasons. First, to the best of author's knowledge, local feature descriptors are for the first time used for development of signature verification systems for forensic environments (particularly considering disguised signatures). Previously, such methods have been heavily used for recognition tasks, rather than verification of writing behaviors, such as character and digit recognition. Second, the proposed methods not only report the more traditional decisions (like scores-usually reported in PR) but also the Bayesian inference based likelihood ratios (suitable for courts and forensic cases).

Furthermore, the thesis also provides a detailed man vs. machine comparison for signature verification tasks. The men, in this comparison, are forensic scientists serving as forensic handwriting examiners and having experience of varying number of years. The machines are the local features based methods proposed in this thesis, along with various other state-of-the-art signature verification systems. The proposed methods clearly outperform the state-of-the-art systems, and sometimes the human experts.

Finally, the thesis details various tasks that have been performed in the areas closely related to signature verification and its application in forensic casework. These include, developing novel local feature based methods for extraction of signatures/handwritten text from document images, hyper-spectral image analysis for extraction of signatures from forensic documents, and analysis of on-line signatures acquired through specialized pens equipped with Accelerometer and Gyroscope. These tasks are important as they enable the thesis to take PR systems one step further close to direct application in forensic cases.


Violence against women is disturbing, and yet it remains endemic in all societies. The South African Government passed the Domestic Violence Act into law in 1998 (Act 116 of 1998) as part of the country's local and international commitment to protecting the rights of women. The Domestic Violence Act is, however, but one tool for combating gender-based violence. Although violence against women particularly affects women, it also affects society at large in many negative ways. Now it is up to us as a society to determine each member's role in the campaign to eradicate violence against women. The idea is that pastors, police, shelter workers, lawyers, therapists and counsellors should work together to prevent abuse. What is the role of the Church in preventing the abuse of women? What is the role of Scripture in this scenario? The main issue is: what drives men and women to strive for superior and subordinate roles and to be content with the situation? Could the answers to these questions be found in religion, our family structures or traditions? Culture shapes the roles of men and women in society - religion and traditions also play an important role. The Church has the responsibility to help believers understand their proper roles as men and women in marriage, and in society at large. We may not use Scripture to make women feel guilty for leaving an abusive relationship, nor to keep women in subordinate positions, or to encourage the view that men have power over women. Sermons that condemn abuse, won't prevent it as long as we persist in proclaiming that patriarchy is prescribed by God, and that men are superior to women in relationships.


Local explanation frameworks aim to rationalize particular decisions made by a black-box prediction model. Existing techniques are often restricted to a specific type of predictor or based on input saliency, which may be undesirably sensitive to factors unrelated to the model's decision making process. We instead propose sufficient input subsets that identify minimal subsets of features whose observed values alone suffice for the same decision to be reached, even if all other input feature values are missing. General principles that globally govern a model's decision-making can also be revealed by searching for clusters of such input patterns across many data points. Our approach is conceptually straightforward, entirely model-agnostic, simply implemented using instance-wise backward selection, and able to produce more concise rationales than existing techniques. We demonstrate the utility of our interpretation method on various neural network models trained on text, image, and genomic data.


Long term yield estimates for natural forests require a harvesting model to enable future yields to be estimated reliably. The model should predict the felled stems, the proportion of these which are merchantable, and any damage to the residual stand. Regression analyses was used to develop a model of current logging practice in the rain forests of north Queensland. Logistic functions predict the probability of any tree being marked for logging, the probability of a felled tree being merchantable, and the probability of any tree in the residual stand being damaged by logging. Important predictor variables included tree species and size, merchantable basal area, basal area logged, logging history, and topography. There was no evidence to suggest that soil type or site quality influenced current treemarking practice. The approach is applicable to other mixed forest types managed for selection logging.


Nonresponse is a prominent problem in sample surveys. At face value, it reduces the trust in survey estimates. Nonresponse undermines the probability-based inferential mechanism and introduces the potential for nonresponse bias. In addition, there are other important consequences. The effort to limit increasing nonresponse has led to higher survey costs—allocation of greater resources to measure and reduce nonresponse. Nonresponse has also led to greater survey complexity in terms of design, implementation, and processing of survey data, such as the use of multiphase and responsive designs. The use of mixed-mode and multiframe designs to address nonresponse increases complexity but also introduces other sources of error. Surveys have to rely to a greater extent on statistical adjustments and auxiliary data. This article describes the major consequences of survey nonresponse, with particular attention to recent years.


The inversion of induction tool measurements using the distorted Born iterative method (DBIM) and the conjugate gradient-fast Fourier-Hankel transform (CG-FFHT) is described. The inverse problem is formulated in terms of an integral equation of scattering where the unknown to be sought is the conductivity in the rock formation, when the measurements along a borehole axis are performed. The nonlinear problem is linearized at each stage using the distorted Born approximation. The inhomogeneous medium Green's function in the distorted Born approximation is found by solving a volume integral equation using the CG-FFHT method, which allows a rapid solution to a large problem with reduced computational complexity and memory requirement. In this manner, the inverse problem is solved with a computational complexity proportional to N/sub tl/N log N where N/sub tl/ is the number of transmitter locations used in the data collection and N is the total number of pixels used to model the unknown formation. The memory requirement is of order NN/sub tl/. >


Abstract This paper, using multimodal critical discourse analysis, explores a chain of performance management documents in a university which aim to meet the goal of increasing output and excellence. A system of performance management developed by Kaplan and Norton in the 1990s, which enables both tangible and also "intangible assets" such as "quality" and "excellence" to be monitored and measured, is now used fairly universally to structure the running of public institutions. Looking in detail at one case, we show that the result is an abstraction and de-contextualization of processes and agents, through a series of interlocking texts, lists and tables that follows an administrative, rather than task led, logic of operation. We show how the discourse is legitimized on the one hand by the very impenetrable nature of the resulting interlocking documents and by the Web of Science database on the other. We give reasons why the database itself is highly problematic and also show the abstract ways in which it is communicated and how it leads to research in all subject areas being codified and standardized in a "one-size-fits-all" way. This, we argue, serves the purposes of naturalizing and justifying notions of "quality," "excellence" and "value for money" that have been promoted in service of neoliberal politics.


The utilization of interface effects in epitaxial systems at the nanoscale has emerged as a very powerful approach for engineering functional properties of oxides. Here we present a novel structure fabricated by a state-of-the-art oxide molecular beam epitaxy method and consisting of lanthanum cuprate and strontium (Sr)-doped lanthanum nickelate, in which interfacial high-temperature superconductivity (Tc up to 40 K) occurs at the contact between the two phases. In such a system, we are able to tune the superconducting properties simply by changing the structural parameters. By employing electron spectroscopy and microscopy combined with dedicated conductivity measurements, we show that decoupling occurs between the electronic charge carrier and the cation (Sr) concentration profiles at the interface and that a hole accumulation layer forms, which dictates the resulting superconducting properties. Such effects are rationalized in the light of a generalized space-charge theory for oxide systems that takes account of both ionic and electronic redistribution effects.


This paper describes different systems of small wind power plants with induction generators used in the Czech Republic. Problems of wind power plants running with induction generators are solved within partial target of the research project MSM 6198910007. For small wind power plants is used induction motor as a generator. Parameters of the name plate of motor must be resolved for generator running on measuring base. These generators are running as a separately working generators or generators connected to the power grid. Methods of control these systems as a separately working, directly connecting to power grid, control by frequency converter and wiring by synchronous cascade are confronted on the measuring base too.


Compared to other insect groups, libellulids have a rather high mean number of ovarioles. In addition, the mean ovariole diameter differs greatly between and within species. In general, 2 different types of ovariole arrangement exist: (1) all developing oocytes mature and equal in size; in some species without, and in others with, surrounding connective tissue and (2) oocytes displaying gradual maturation, with only the outermost ovarioles mature. These differences have ecological consequences: the first arrangement occurs in spp. that have stepwise egg production. These spp. will lay one or more clutches, after which an interclutch interval of ovariole regrowth follows. Spp. with the second arrangement have continuous egg production and are able to lay at least some eggs all the time, reducing the length of interclutch intervals. However, no direct connection between mate-guarding strategies and ovariole arrangements can be seen. Nevertheless, it is believed that the process of ovariole maturation differs between these groups. It is concluded that ovary morphology in libellulids may exhibit evolutionary fixed traits, although the whole picture still remains complex. The ovariole arrangement may have a crucial impact on the reproductive ecology of the species.


The present study investigates consumer awareness as it relates to muscadine grapes, a southern US food, and the images that muscadines evoke among southern consumers. The written comments of 189 southern residents were gathered in a southern college town. Respondents' images only partly demonstrate their attachment to this traditional food. For example, while over a third of respondents' comments relate to childhood images (e.g. picking grapes), this finding was much more prevalent among more mature respondents. Overall, a sense of cultural detachment or de-acculturation is suggested regarding the tradition of consuming muscadine by-products (wine, jams), or being involved in harvesting or picking this food in the wild. Surprisingly, the association between muscadine grapes and their health-related components is almost non-existent in respondents' images (5.8%) despite the fact that a large volume of recent information exists referring to beneficial properties found in muscadine grapes. The findings underline the importance for a region to promote consumption and knowledge of its local products, as well as to expand that knowledge outside its boundaries. Such knowledge may assist in the preservation of southern food traditions and potentially market the region as a food and/or culinary tourism destination.


The hydrocarbons seas of Titan, discovered by Cassini/Huygens mission are among the most mysterious and interesting features of this moon. In the future, a possible dedicated planetary probe, will certainly measure the speed of sound in this cryogenic liquid, as it was planned in the case of a Huygens landing into a sea. Previous theoretical studies of such acoustic measurements were based on rather simple models, leading in some cases to unphysical situations. Employed in a vast body of chemical engineering works, the state of the art PC-SAFT model has been recently introduced in studies aimed at Titan. Here, I revisit the issue of the speed of sound in Titan's liquids, in the light of this theory. I describe, in detail, the derivation of the speed of sound from the chosen equation of state and the potential limitations of the approach. To make estimations of the composition of a ternary liquid mixture N2:CH4:C2H6 from speed of sound measurements an original inversion algorithm is proposed. It is shown that 50 measures between 90 K and 100 K are enough to ensure an accuracy of the derived compositions better than 10%. The influence of the possible presence of propane is also investigated.


This chapter looks at how immaterial objects are manipulated into being for pedagogical purposes. Dance teachers employ objects to visualise subtle tactile and kinaesthetic experiences. The objects emerge in a situated manner within activity metaphors where alternative bodily activities are juxtaposed with the dance movement, taking for granted that these alternative activities are tacitly known or more basic. The objects have a temporally limited existence within activity metaphors that involve verbal explanations as well as embodied demonstrations of both the dance and the alternative activity. Furthermore, participants are shown to orient differently to mere object-implying gestures as opposed to fully-fledged whole-body enactments. In the latter, objects may be maintained collectively across time.


Formation, evolution, and dispersal processes of protoplanetary disks are investigated and the disk lifetime is estimated. Gravitational collapse of a pre-stellar core forms both a central star and a protoplanetary disk. The central star grows by accretion from the disk, and irradiation by the central star heats up the disk and generates thermal wind, which results in the disk dispersal. We calculate the evolution of protoplanetary disks from their parent pre-stellar cores to dispersal of the disks. We find that the disk lifetimes of typical pre-stellar cores are around 2--4 million years (Myr). A pre-stellar core with high angular momentum forms a larger disk whose lifetime is long, while a disk around a X-ray luminous star has a short lifetime. Integrating the disk lifetimes under various mass and angular velocity of prestellar cores and X-ray luminosities of young stellar objects, we obtain disk fraction at a given stellar age and mean lifetime of the disks. Our model indicates that the mean lifetime of protoplanetary disks is 3.7 Myr, which is consistent with the observational estimate from young stellar clusters. We also find that the dispersion of X-ray luminosity is needed to reproduce the observed disk fraction.


The inherent discrete phase search nature of the conventional blind phase search (C-BPS) algorithm is found to introduce angular quantization noise in its phase noise estimator. The angular quantization noise found in the C-BPS is shown to limit its achievable performance and its potential low complexity implementation. A novel filtered BPS algorithm (F-BPS) is proposed and demonstrated to mitigate this quantization noise by performing a low pass filter operation on the C-BPS phase noise estimator. The improved performance of the proposed F-BPS algorithm makes it possible to significantly reduce the number of necessary test phases to achieve the C-BPS performance, thereby allowing for a drastic reduction of its practical implementation complexity. The proposed F-BPS scheme performance is evaluated on a 28-Gbaud 16QAM and 64QAM both in simulations and experimentally. Results confirm a substantial improvement of the performance along with a significant reduction of its potential implementation complexity compared to that of the C-BPS.


A hybrid imaging system is described for transmitting images through optical fibers. The technique employs wavelength coding of image information to allow the transmission of many image pixels in parallel through a single fiber. A zirconium arc lamp is used as the input light source and a linear photodiode array as the output detector. A system description, resolution limit calculation, and experimental results are given.


Abstract. The present study deals with detecting seismic anisotropy parameters beneath southeastern Tibet near Namcha Barwa Mountain using the splitting of direct S waves. We employ the reference station technique to remove the effects of source-side anisotropy. Seismic anisotropy parameters, splitting time delays, and fast polarization directions are estimated through analyses of a total of 501 splitting measurements obtained from direct S waves from 25 earthquakes ( ≥  5.5 magnitude) that were recorded at 42 stations of the Namcha Barwa seismic network. We observe a large variation in time delays ranging from 0.64 to 1.68 s, but in most cases, it is more than 1 s, which suggests a highly anisotropic lithospheric mantle in the region. A comparison between direct S- and SKS-derived splitting parameters shows a close similarity, although some discrepancies exist where null or negligible anisotropy has been reported earlier using SKS. The seismic stations with hitherto null or negligible anisotropy are now supplemented with new measurements with clear anisotropic signatures. Our analyses indicate a sharp change in lateral variations of fast polarization directions (FPDs) from consistent SSW–ENE or W–E to NW–SE direction at the southeastern edge of Tibet. Comparison of the FPDs with Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements, absolute plate motion (APM) directions, and surface geological features indicates that the observed anisotropy and hence inferred deformation patterns are not only due to asthenospheric dynamics but are a combination of lithospheric deformation and sub-lithospheric (asthenospheric) mantle dynamics. Direct S-wave-based station-averaged splitting measurements with increased back-azimuths tend to fill the coverage gaps left in SKS measurements.


This paper describes a novel micromechanical optical switch that has simple and easy-to-manufacture components comprising a few flat substrates, including a flat electrode array and S-shaped deformable thin-film mirrors, the number of which is determined by the number of incident light rays. These components can be easily fabricated without using a deep reactive ion-etching process. In the proposed switch, a light ray reflected by the thin-film mirror between the substrates passes through one of the substrates. Thus, the optical switch can be used not only for communication networks but also for display systems and scanners. As a common core unit of an optical switch for these applications, prototype core switches were fabricated using the microelectromechanical system fabrication technique, and their characteristics were evaluated. One of the prototype core switches was driven at an applied voltage of 130 V. The switching time was shorter than 2 ms.


This paper synthesises the lessons learnt and challenges encountered when applying Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowledge and methods in natural and cultural resource management (NCRM) in northern and central Australia. We primarily draw on the papers within this special issue of Ecological Management & Restoration, which originated largely from the Indigenous land management symposium at the 2010 Ecological Society of Australia conference. Many of the papers and therefore this article discuss practical experiences that offer insight for enhanced on-ground cross-cultural NCRM and can inform broader thinking and theoretical critiques. A wider literature is also drawn upon to substantiate the points and broaden the scope of the synthesis. Four key themes for consideration in collaborative cross-cultural NCRM are discussed. They are as follows: 1. The differences in environmental philosophy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultures which profoundly shape perceptions of environmental management; 2. Cross-cultural awareness of Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowledge and methods; 3. The mechanics of two-way approaches to ecological research and managing country (NCRM as perceived by Indigenous people) and 4. Operational challenges for Indigenous NCRM organisations. To conclude, we point out five broad principles for managing country using Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowledge: (i) Recognise the validity of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous environmental philosophies; (ii) Create more opportunities for improved cross-cultural understanding, respect and collaborations; (iii) Involve Indigenous people and their knowledge and interests at all stages of the Indigenous NCRM project or research (including planning, design, implementation, communication and evaluation); (iv) Ensure that time and continuity of effort and resources are available (to undertake participatory processes and for trust-building and innovation) and (v) Establish high-level political support through legal and policy frameworks to maintain continuity of government commitment to Indigenous NCRM.


Machine learning feature space reduction techniques allow for vast feature spaces to be reduced with little loss or even significant improvements in the reliability of predictions of models. Microwave spectroscopy with feature spaces of over 8000 are not uncommon when considering magnitude and phase. Applying Machine learning techniques to this type of feature space allows for a quicker reduction and helps to identify the most suitable predictive features. The control of insect vectors that transmit diseases including malaria, visceral leishmaniasis and zika rely on the use of insecticide. These diseases affect millions, malaria alone accounted for 214 million new cases resulting in 438, 000 deaths in 2015. One method used in controlling the vectors is through indoor residual spraying, applying insecticide to the wall surface inside houses. Alpha-cypermethrin is one of the insecticides that is currently sprayed in several countries for vector control. Quality assurance and monitoring of the control activities is challenging relying on the use of laboratory-reared insects. This was improved with a chemical based Insecticide Quantification Kit, but these assays have been challenging to operationalise. An electromagnetic sensor is being developed to investigate the potential to detect alpha-cypermethrin. Preliminary experiments were carried out to differentiate tiles sprayed with Technical Grade alpha-cypermethrin, wettable powder containing 5% alpha-cypermethrin and wettable powder with over dose of alpha-cypermethrin using a horn antenna at a frequency range between 1 GHz to 6 GHz. The experimental results indicated the potential use of electromagnetic waves to determine alpha-cypermethrin in a non-destructive manner.


Simulation is an important method in the design and validation process of complex hardware/software systems like electronic control units (ECU) for automotive applications. Modelling of such systems is a trade-off between high speed, high accuracy and low effort. It is easy to create a model covering two of these three attributes but it is nearly impossible to build high speed and high accuracy models spending only low effort.

Many complex hardware/software systems are a combination of existing parts like microcontrollers, memory subsystems, interconnect structures, I/O and hardware accelerators. The possibility to embed a real microcontroller (MC) hardware into a system simulation of a larger technical context would be a great benefit. The MC itself can run with high speed and full accuracy. The challenge is to embed the MC into the simulation environment so it is transparent for the system simulation whether it is a simulated or a real MC. In this paper, we present a new solution called CHILS to fulfill this requirement.


This thesis analyses some of the more mathematical aspects of the Probably Approximately Correct (PAC) model of computational learning theory. The main concern is with the sample size required for valid learning in the PAC model. A sufficient sample-size involving the Vapnik-Chervonenkis (VC) dimension of the hypothesis space is derived; this improves the best previously known bound of this nature. Learnability results and sufficient sample-sizes can in many cases be derived from results of Vapnik on the uniform convergence (in probability) of relative frequencies of events to their probabilities, when the collection of events has finite VC dimension. Two simple new combinatorial proofs of each of two of Vapnik's results are proved here and the results are then applied to the theory of learning stochastic concepts, where again improved sample-size bounds are obtained. The PAC model of learning is a distribution-free model; the resulting sample sizes are not permitted to depend on the usually fixed but unknown probability distribution on the input space. Results of Ben-David, Benedek and Mansour are described, presenting a theory for distribution-dependent learnability. The conditions under which a feasible upper bound on sample-size can be obtained are investigated, introducing the concept of polynomial Xo-finite dimension. The theory thus far is then applied to the learnability of formal concepts, defined by Wille. A learning algorithm is also presented for this problem. Extending the theory of learnability to the learnability of functions which have range in some arbitrary set, learnability results and sample-size bounds, depending on a generalization of the VC dimension, are obtained and these results are applied to the theory of artificial neural networks. Specifically, a sufficient sample-size for valid generalization in multiple-output feedforward linear threshold networks is found.


Neural network learning rules can be viewed as statistical estimators. They should be studied in Bayesian framework even if they are not Bayesian estimators. Generalisation should be measured by the divergence between the true distribution and the estimated distribution. Information divergences are invariant measurements of the divergence between two distributions. The posterior average information divergence is used to measure the generalisation ability of a network. The optimal estimators for multinomial distributions with Dirichlet priors are studied in detail. This confirms that the definition is compatible with intuition. The results also show that many commonly used methods can be put under this unified framework, by assume special priors and special divergences.


This paper describes improvements in how information literacy is taught on a design methodology course. The change is presented in the light of four approaches to information literacy education suggested by Bundy (2004). Our guiding principle has been that information literacy should be contextualized and embedded in the curricular activities of design. There are parallels in the design process and the information seeking process, and using these is one way to help students relate to the subject. Statements indicate that the students found the assignments worthwhile and became familiar with resources that they will use in the future. While we have strived for an embedment of information literacy, the course is probably more correctly described as one in which information literacy has been integrated. We describe how the course has developed over years and point to potential future improvements that may lead to a design of the course whereinformation literacy can be seen as truly embedded.


The Upper Albian (mid-Cretaceous) sediments of the Anglo-Paris Basin display a range of condensation phenomena, including glauconitic and phosphoritic sands, glauconitic intraformational pebble beds, and mineralised nodular hardgrounds. These are interpreted as the result of sedimentation rate fluctuations controlled by small-scale relative sea-level changes of at least regional nature. The regional signal was modified by local tectonics, including occasional synsedimentary faulting and the development of thinned successions and complex condensation horizons over broad submarine highs. Candidate sequence boundaries, marine flooding surfaces and systems tracts are proposed. Episodic, high-energy storm events record a spectrum of storm intensities and periodicities in the Upper Greensand Formation. Storm processes interacted with early submarine lithification to produce a suite of pebble-shell beds, simple and amalgamated coquinas, and storm-scoured hardgrounds. Analysis of shell bed fabrics and taphonomy indicates the important role of high-energy storms in generating a distinct event stratigraphy. Stable isotope analysis has detected a positive secular change in carbon-isotopic ratios within carbonates of dispar zone age, resolved as two smaller positive shifts across nodular hardgrounds. This correlates with the development of organic-rich sediments in a range of settings world-wide. Analytical problems, including silica diagenesis, have been addressed by a series of parallel control studies. Geochemical and petrographic analysis has confirmed the widespread development of glauconitic minerals throughout the Upper Greensand, and has been used to investigate grain evolution in a range of lithologies. A review of the global development of the Cretaceous glauconitic facies has been used to compile depositional models for a range of settings. Volumetric calculations of Cretaceous glauconite production rates have shown secular changes, with peak Aptian to Santonian values linked to transgressions across the broad shelf seas which developed globally during this time of rising sea-levels and sea-level highstand.


Literature on the institutional adoption of information technology (IT) can be classified into two approaches, one emphasizing rationalistic goal-oriented behavior and the other focusing on external forces. These approaches, however, are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Organizations adopt IT both to achieve efficiency and in response to a variety of environmental and internal pressures. Consequently, there is a clear need for an integrated model that incorporates both institutional pressures and goal-oriented behavior. We develop, operationalize, and empirically test a model that explains the intention of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) brokerages to adopt electronic trading systems (ETS). This model integrates the rational factors driving goal-oriented behavior with the internal and external pressures to which these brokerages are subjected. The model is parsimonious, yet explains 67% of the variance in the intention to adopt ETS. The theoretical and practical implications of this model are discussed.


Multi-view learning makes use of diverse models arising from multiple sources of input or different feature subsets for the same task. For example, a given natural language processing task can combine evidence from models arising from character, morpheme, lexical, or phrasal views. The most common strategy with multi-view learning, especially popular in the neural network community, is to unify multiple representations into one unified vector through concatenation, averaging, or pooling, and then build a single-view model on top of the unified representation. As an alternative, we examine whether building one model per view and then unifying the different models can lead to improvements, especially in low-resource scenarios. More specifically, taking inspiration from co-training methods, we propose a semi-supervised learning approach based on multi-view models through consensus promotion, and investigate whether this improves overall performance. To test the multi-view hypothesis, we use moderately low-resource scenarios for nine languages and test the performance of the joint model for part-of-speech tagging and dependency parsing. The proposed model shows significant improvements across the test cases, with average gains of -0.9 ∼ +9.3 labeled attachment score (LAS) points. We also investigate the effect of unlabeled data on the proposed model by varying the amount of training data and by using different domains of unlabeled data.


Genomic integrity largely depends on the accurate replication and faithful
transmission of the genetic information to the progeny each time a cell divides.
To ensure the fidelity of these fundamental processes, highly sophisticated
protein networks have evolved. This study investigated how the diverse
mechanisms for maintaining genomic integrity are integrated and coordinated at
the replication fork.
In the first part, the roles of post-translational modifications with ubiquitin
and SUMO in regulating replication through DNA lesions were investigated.
Previous work in S. cerevisiae showed that post-translational modifications of
the replication factor PCNA control DNA repair activities of the replisome. PCNA
is a homotrimeric ring-shaped protein that encircles DNA and confers
processivity to DNA polymerases during DNA synthesis. Moreover, being
devoid of enzymatic activity, PCNA is perfectly suited to act as a platform for
recruitment of factors to the replication fork, including DNA repair enzymes,
chromatin remodelers and replication regulators. PCNA modifications by
ubiquitin govern two distinct modes of lesion bypass, either channeling the
repair processes into error-prone translesion synthesis by recruiting specialized
polymerases, or promoting an error-free mechanism involving a template switch
to the sister chromatid. In addition, PCNA-modification by SUMO inhibits the
third major bypass mechanism, namely recombinational repair, by recruiting the
anti-recombinogenic helicase Srs2. In this study, the importance and
universality of PCNA-modifications could be demonstrated by showing that
PCNA ubiquitylation in human and chicken cells is well conserved. Interestingly,
SUMO modification appeared less preserved, indicating that the pathways
controlled by PCNA modifications are used to different degrees throughout
species. A further finding of this thesis was the identification of DNA polymerase


According to the Concept of Long-Term Social and Economic Development of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2020, in the next few years the imbalance in world trade, as well as capital flows, will continue to increase, which will lead to changes in foreign exchange rates. That is why the final goal is to promote priority national interests in the framework of bilateral and multilateral trade and economic relations with foreign countries. In pursuit of this goal, the following improvement of customs regulation, and export and currency control mechanisms in the Russian Federation will be aimed at reducing barriers to foreign economic activity of innovative enterprises. Achievement of the set goals today is subject to the influence of a constantly changing world and new technologies. New technologies are increasingly penetrating the life of modern society. Meanwhile, the speed of introduction of new technologies is such that point changes in current legislation will gradually nullify the effectiveness of legal regulation as a system. Therefore, the changes today should concern not only the monetary and financial sphere, but also take into account other areas. The article is devoted to the study of crucial problems of implementing modern technologies from the legal point of view. Thus, at the international level, uncertainty still remains over issues of currency and legal responsibility, which is largely due to various legal regulations. Starting in 2018, the new rules for calculating the liquidity of banks and the ratio of borrowed funds to assets will come into full force in the European Union. Several large banks in France, dissatisfied with the policy of the European Central Bank (ECB), even appealed to the European Court of Justice for a change in the rules. According to FxPro analysts ' reports, economic growth in Europe has accelerated slightly, and the ECB is on the verge of abandoning its ultra-easy monetary policy in the direction of neutral and is preparing for further tightening. One of the subjects of the research is the system of monetary relations from the point of view of analyzing the problems of ensuring its stability, including criminal and legal means. The purpose of this analysis is to illustrate how to protect the domestic foreign exchange market and the challenges facing the monetary system today. The article has been prepared on the basis of legal and technical analysis of legal norms, as well as comparative legal and formal logical methods and system analysis methodology. In the authors' view, this could contribute to a uniform approach to the problem, without which it would be extremely difficult to achieve success. It is concluded that in view of new challenges facing the global economy and the emergence of cryptocurrency, it is necessary to rethink the phenomenon of currency crimes, to study the experience of combating monetary crimes in other countries and to evaluate the common mechanisms for combating currency crimes. However, this approach cannot be considered legitimate insofar as different interpretation of the same term in different branches of legislation does not allow full realization of the constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens. After all, branches of legislation do not exist in isolation from one another, but are interrelated. It is concluded that the person conducting proceedings in a case can and is obliged, based on an analysis of the circumstances under consideration, to proceed from a comprehensive assessment of the category used in making the decision as applied to its understanding in aggregate in various branches of legislation. It is also necessary to create a universal state database for judges, prosecutors, investigators, etc., which would allow free cross-sectoral information exchange on the same subject. The new digital economy also requires retraining of civil servants and state employees, including the judiciary branch of government. At the same time, the article deals with the transformation of the legal profession in the future. It is concluded that classical legal education will not sink into oblivion. However, the lawyers of the future will play a slightly different role, namely, they will act as machinists, builders, operators and inventors of a useful model of legal relations for robot judges.


In this work, three synthetic approaches were examined to obtain one dimensional (1D) coordination polymers with the formula [M(deox)2(bpy)]∞ (M = Co, Cu, Mn, Ni, Zn) (deox = diethyl oxaloacetate; bpy = 4,4′-bipyridine). These compounds precipitated as nanosheets arranged in different morphologies as a function of the medium used for the synthesis. Precursor [M(deox)2(H2O)x] (x = 1 for Cu, x = 2 for the other metals) molecular complexes were characterized by powder XRD. Besides, the 1H-NMR spectrum of the diamagnetic Zn(II) complex was measured, and the crystal structure of the Cu complex was elucidated to clarify the coordination mode of the deox ligand. These molecular complexes were used as the building blocks to prepare 1D coordination polymers, using 4,4-bipyridine as the organic linker. The first crystallization strategy involved the reaction between [M(deox)2(H2O)x] and bpy in methanol or ethanol. The second approach involved the use of the same reactants in supercritical CO2 (scCO2) and ethanol as a co-solvent (2% v/v). The third route required the previous preparation of [M(deox)2(tbpy)2]·nH2O adducts (tbpy = 4-tert-butylpyridine; n = 1 for Co, n = 2 for Cu and Zn, n = 1.5 for Mn and x = 0 for Ni) as scCO2 soluble precursors. The high solubility of these derivatives allowed the synthesis of the target coordination polymers in pure scCO2, i.e. avoiding the use of a co-solvent. All of the samples obtained from each strategy had a laminar morphology with nanometric thickness. The samples prepared using scCO2, independently of the use or not of a co-solvent, showed the formation of 15–60 nm thick flakes arranged in a desert rose type conformation. Those obtained using conventional liquid solvents had multiple, closely packed sheets of 40–80 nm thickness, with lateral dimensions in the order of tens of micrometers.


The primary goal of this paper is to empirically analyze the performance of Bank Muamalat Indonesia (BMI) in terms of its ROA. Utilizing regression analysis, the paper estimates the internal determinants; taken from the bank financial structure as well as its external determinant. It is found that profit has been dominantly generated from financing activities. On the other hand, service activities have not contributed significantly to the profitability of BMI. The paper also indicates that, during 1996-2001, BMI's portfolio has been greatly biased towards short-term based financing. The result of the paper also confirms the hypothesis of the positive relationship between inflation and profitability measure.


The tragic failure of the global supply chain in the face of the current coronavirus outbreak has caused acute shortages of essential frontline medical devices and personal protective equipment, crushing fear among frontline health workers and causing fundamental concerns about the sustainability of the health system. Much more coordination, integration, and management of global supply chains will be needed to mitigate the impact of the pandemics. This article describes the pressing need to revisit the governance and resilience of the supply chains that amplified the crisis at pandemic scale. We propose a model that profiles critical stockpiles and improves production efficiency through new technologies such as advanced analytics and blockchain. A new governance system that supports intervention by public-health authorities during critical emergencies is central to our recommendation, both in the face of the current crisis and to be better prepared for potential future crises. These reinforcements offer the potential to minimize the compromise of our healthcare workers and health systems due to infection exposure and build capacity toward preparedness and action for a future outbreak.


OBJECTIVE : Taenia solium neurocysticercosis (NCC) is the most common parasitic infection of the brain and is a leading cause of epilepsy in the developing world, especially Latin America,India,Africa,and China .It is increasingly being reported in patients suffering from epilepsy . However, its true prevalence and association with adult-onset seizures is largely unknown in the Middle East particularly in Qatar. Our study will demonstrate that NCC is also a major cause of first seizures in an increasingly young population in Qatar. BACKGROUND Awareness of NCC and associated seizures in the developing countries and the increased frequencies of hospital admissions of young Asian patients with first seizures and abnormal brain CT/MRI suggestive of NCC were the main reasons behind this study. METHODS : This is a retrospective and prospective study, based on hospital populations(2010 to present ) .All patients with seizure(s) seen at the emergency department at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) ,the largest single governement hospital in the state of Qatar with a capacity of 1600 beds , were reviewed. Among those patients, all individuals suspected of having NCC were admitted for further investigations and treatment. NCC was diagnosed on the basis of the following : CT or MRI (brain) showing cystic lesions with scolex or Lesions suggestive of NCC on CT/MRI and a compatible epidemiological and clinical history. The complementary examinations included an awake EEG, a CT SCAN or MRI of the brain and serum and CSF studies for some. The results of this study were compared to the most recent data reported in the literature. RESULTS: During this period, 120 patients with seizure(s) were seen at the emergency department .Among them , 55 patients (45,8%) were diagnosed as having NCC on the basis of the above criteria. 54 of the NCC patients (98,3%) were males ;Most of them,53 patients(96.5%), expatriate from the Indian Subcontinent.52 patients ( 94,6%) were older than 20years ; 53 patients(96,5%) presented with seizures with 45 patients (81,8%) having their first seizure. 33 patients ,(60%), had partial seizures, the rest secondary generalized or generalized seizures.17 patients presented with headache. Most of the patients(31) showed a viable cyst on CT/MRI .More than half of patients(29) had an abnormal EEG, however relationship between focal EEG changes and cyst location was only found in 13 patients. Most patients were treated with cysticidal therapy and corticosteroids except those patients with calcification lesions on CT/MRI and absence of edema .Non-neurological side effects included abdominal pain ,nausea, and diarrhea in 8 patients. Antiepileptic therapy (AEDs) was used in 50 patients from the onset and avoided in 5 patients with first seizures and tiny lesions on CT/MRI. During the study-period, AEDs were withdrawn in 6 patients.


A practically viable multi-biometric recognition system should not only be stable, robust and accurate but should also adhere to real-time processing speed and memory constraints. This study proposes a cascaded classifier-based framework for use in biometric recognition systems. The proposed framework utilises a set of weak classifiers to reduce the enrolled users?? dataset to a small list of candidate users. This list is then used by a strong classifier set as the final stage of the cascade to formulate the decision. At each stage, the candidate list is generated by a Mahalanobis distance-based match score quality measure. One of the key features of the authors framework is that each classifier in the ensemble can be designed to use a different modality thus providing the advantages of a truly multimodal biometric recognition system. In addition, it is one of the first truly multimodal cascaded classifier-based approaches for biometric recognition. The performance of the proposed system is evaluated both for single and multimodalities to demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach.


In developing countries, diagnostic tests for homozygous (HbSS) or compound heterozygous (HbSC or HbS-Beta thalassemia) sickle cell disease (SCD) are not readily available at the point-of-care (POC). Very few infants are screened in Africa for SCD because of the high cost and level of skill needed to run traditional tests. Current methods are too costly and take too much time to enable equitable and timely diagnosis to save lives. The World Health Organization recognizes a crucial need for early detection of SCD in newborns, since it is estimated that 70% SCD-related deaths in Africa are preventable with early cost-effective interventions. The diagnostic barrier can be broken with affordable, POC tools that facilitate early detection immediately after birth. We have developed a mobile micro-electrophoretic device (HemeChip) through which to quickly, accurately, and affordably screen for SCD (Fig. 1A). The HemeChip uses a microfabricated platform housing cellulose acetate electrophoresis to rapidly separate hemoglobin (Hb) types. Less than 5 microliters of blood, which can be obtained through a finger stick or heel stick, is processed on a piece of cellulose paper in alkaline buffer. The HemeChip reliably identifies and discriminates amongst Hb C/A2, S, F and A0. The micro-electrophoresis results were validated against standard clinical hemoglobin screening methods, including high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), with Pearson Correlation Coefficient (PCC) of ≥0.96 relative to HPLC for all Hb types tested. The receiver Operating-Characteristic (ROC) curves showed more than 0.89 sensitivity and 0.86 specificity for identification of hemoglobin types using the HemeChip, based on the travelling distance from the sample application point (Fig. 1B). We developed a web-based image processing application for automated and objective quantification of HemeChip results at the POC using cloud computing resources (Fig. 1C). This intensity-based mobile phone image quantitation method showed high correlation with HPLC results for tested patient blood samples (PCC=0.95). HemeChip can distinguish between different patient phenotypes, including HbSS (HbS only), transfused HbSS (HbS and HbA), and Hemoglobin SC disease (HbS and HbC). In conclusion, the HemeChip identification and quantification of hemoglobin phenotypes, as a POC technique, were comparable to standard clinical methods. This platform has clinical potential in under-served populations worldwide, in which SCD is endemic. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Exploration of the pathophysiology underlying fibromyalgia (FM) has become an exciting field of inquiry as we strive to improve our understanding of this enigmatic disorder. While evidence of a neuro-dysregulatory state mounts and insights are gained as to potential contribution of specific neurotransmitters, a review of recent literature demonstrates that not all relevant neurotransmitters are being considered equally or with disinterest. Specifically, the potential contribution of serotonin and norepinephrine has been emphasized, ostensibly due in part to the qualified success of trials of serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, while a general awareness of the potential contribution of dopamine-related dysfunction lags.

Indeed, the text of recent reviews, and even peer-reviewed continuing medical education test articles, have contained either scant reference or, in a majority of cases, conspicuous neglect regarding the question of dopamine's role in FM. Despite the recent European League Against Rheumatism consensus recommendation to consider a dopamine agonist for treatment of FM1, most clinicians and even medical authorities in the field routinely fail to acknowledge the mounting evidence for a role for dopamine in the pathogenesis of FM.

The proposition that a disruption of normal dopaminergic neurotransmission may make a substantial contribution to the pathophysiology of FM was initially based on 3 key observations: (1) FM has been characterized as a "stress-related" disorder due to its frequent onset and apparent exacerbation of symptoms in the context of stressful events2; (2) the experience of chronic stress results in disruption of dopaminergic activity in otherwise healthy organisms3; and (3) dopamine plays a dominant role in natural analgesia within multiple brain centers4.

The first hint in the medical literature of a connection between FM and dopamine was provided by Russell, et al , who in 1992 reported lower concentrations of metabolites of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin …

Address reprint requests to Dr. Wood ; E-mail: pwood{at}anglerbiomedical.com


A new generation of applications requires reduced power consumption without sacrificing performance. Instruction pipelining is commonly used to meet application performance requirements, but some implementation aspects of pipelining are inefficient with respect to energy usage. We propose static pipelining as a new instruction set architecture to enable more efficient instruction flow through the pipeline, which is accomplished by exposing the pipeline structure to the compiler. While this approach simplifies hardware pipeline requirements, significant modifications to the compiler are required. This paper describes the code generation and compiler optimizations we implemented to exploit the features of this architecture. We show that we can achieve performance and code size improvements despite a very low-level instruction representation. We also demonstrate that static pipelining of instructions reduces energy usage by simplifying hardware, avoiding many unnecessary operations, and allowing the compiler to perform optimizations that are not possible on traditional architectures.


A slender, moderately hairy species, with the habit of
Cal. Patersonii, R. Br.; leaf hairy, linear-lanceolate, channelled;
flowers 1.2; yellowish with crimson veinings and
darker filamentous-glandular caudre to the segments; caudre
about 4.5 cm. long; ovary covered with dense glandular hairs;
lateral sepals and petals narrow-lanceolate, spreading, pendant;
with three narrow longitudinal, central lines; sepals
and petals about equal in length, petals narrower than the
sepals; dorsal sepal erect, incurved; labellum erect, on a
small movable claw, ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, yellowish
with pale, diffused crimson veinings; tip wholly dark crimson,
lower part of lamina erect, with entire margins, then
deeply fringed; anterior margins serrulated; apex produced
into a long, tapering filamentous-glandular process, fully
twice as long as the broad portion of •lamina (total length
of labellum, 3.5-4 cm.) ; calli fleshy, slender, clavate, golfstick
type, in 6 rows, forward calli short and stout, not
extending beyond the bend; five conspicuous longitudinal
ridges continuing from between the rows of calli towards
the tip; column erect, incurved about 1-3 cm. long, widely
Winged above; 2 yellow sessile glands at the base; anther
With a short point.


Ankara : The Department of Computer Engineering and Information Science and the Institute of Engineering and Science of Bilkent University, 2009.


A major concern surrounding European Monetary Union is that output fluctuations of member countries may become more volatile under a common currency because they will have increased sensitivity to foreign business cycles. This article analyzes the link between exchange rate regimes and the behavior of international business cycles.


The phone refuses to ring. I sit here on 82nd Street; no, on 83rd; no, on 81st; I forget where I am. The phone refuses to ring, to tear me out of this enforced solitude, which I know only too well. This solitude that makes me sick and stirs me to tears, but surely not tears of compassion. A call is bound to come any minute now up from the Village and afford me the company I desperately desire. The phone isn't ringing. The bell doesn't work.Written after the Swiss writer Jurg Laederach's third trip to New York in the late 1980s, 69 Ways was hailed by award-winning author Walter Abish as a text predictive of "a Europe to come, when borders dissolve." Like Alain-Robbe Grillet, Georges Perec, and the great Oulipo writers, Laederach constructs seamless narratives based on sly compositional strategies. The reader is only somewhat aware of the rules of the game. Transposed to America, Laederach's texts, Abish argues, "function as a scanning device. Characters vanish, reappear. There is something relentless...Everything is transitory. No sentimentality. No clinging to the past. Everything is on the verge of being discarded. Everything is on the verge of dissolution. Everything resonates with imminent change."


This study explored the potential for bias correction of global precipitation datasets (GPD) to support streamflow simulation for water resource management in data limited regions. Two catchments, 580 km2 and 2530 km2, in the Kilombero Valley of central Tanzania were considered as case studies to explore three GPD bias correction methods: quantile mapping (QM), daily percentages (DP) and a model based (ModB) bias correction. The GPDs considered included two satellite rainfall products, three reanalysis products and three interpolated observed data products. The rainfall-runoff model HBV was used to simulate streamflow in the two catchments using (1) observed rain gauge data; (2) the original GPDs and (3) the bias-corrected GPDs as input. Results showed that applying QM to bias correction based on limited observed data tends to aggravate streamflow simulations relative to not bias correcting GPDs. This is likely due to a potential lack of representativeness of a single rain gauge observation at the scale of a hydrological catchment for these catchments. The results also indicate that there may be potential benefits in combining streamflow and rain gauge data to bias correct GPDs during the model calibration process within a hydrological modeling framework.


The number of criminal defendants who are charged and convicted in federal and state courts has risen dramatically over the last two decades. In federal courts, over 100,000 defendants were charged in 2011, nearly doubling the same figure from 1995. Moreover, almost 90-percent of those charged in 2011 entered guilty pleas and faced sentencing. The percentage of guilty pleas in most states is comparable to federal totals. In Pennsylvania and Illinois, for example, the percentage of guilty pleas entered by criminal defendants outpaced federal numbers over a similar time period.At the same time, recent United States Supreme Court jurisprudence has resulted in a significant expansion of judicial sentencing discretion. As never before, federal and state judges have wide latitude to sentence criminal defendants within or outside advisory guidelines. As a result of these recent trends, intensive pre-sentencing investigation and innovative sentencing presentations by defense counsel are especially crucial. Despite the unprecedented demand for effective sentencing advocacy, few criminal defense lawyers possess the skills, resources, or time to conduct comprehensive mitigation investigations.To respond to this need, law school criminal defense clinics offer an ideal arena to introduce mitigation-intensive advocacy. In fact, a blueprint for clinical use may be drawn from the structured and exhaustive investigations conducted in death penalty cases. A sentencing advocacy model drawn from capital mitigation investigation advances several goals of clinical teaching and cultivates so-called "narrative modes of reasoning" vital to legal education. Moreover, use of such a model is consistent with a shift in Supreme Court jurisprudence towards a greater acceptance of capital mitigation concepts in non-capital cases. Most critically, use of capital mitigation techniques in criminal defense clinics enables students to advocate zealously and effectively for clients.


Glazed and unglazed solar thermal collectors were compared in TRNSYS simulations for a multi-use application of water heating, space heating, and space cooling. The collectors provided space cooling by radiating heat to the night sky. The overall solar fraction achieved by two (7.6 m2) of the glazed collectors was similar to the solar fraction achieved by six (22.8 m2) of the unglazed collectors in the climates of Raleigh, NC, Jacksonville, FL, and Albuquerque, NM. However, the unglazed collectors produced less energy cost savings at these sizes because a greater proportion of their energy was provided as cooling, which was supplied more efficiently by auxiliary equipment. For each type of collector, the greatest solar fraction of space heating and water heating were achieved in Jacksonville, and the greatest solar fraction of space cooling was achieved in Albuquerque. The climate of Raleigh generally produced heating and cooling performances that were in the middle of the range produced by collectors in the three geographic regions. For glazed and unglazed arrays of equal size in Raleigh (15.2 m2), the ratio of the unglazed solar fraction to the glazed solar fraction was 0.26 for space heating, 0.73 for water heating, and 2.71 for space cooling.


S. 2556 and its companion bill, H.R. 5113, 109th Congress, 2nd Sess. (2006), introduced by Senator Bayh and Representative Conyers, respectively, are entitled the Fairness and Accountability in Reorganizations Act of 2006. The legislation, according to its sponsors, is intended to "ensure that workers are treated more fairly during [bankruptcy] reorganizations by limiting executive compensation deals and requiring corporations to provide a more accurate picture of their holdings before attempting to modify collective bargaining agreements or promised health benefits." This report surveys the bill's provisions.


There is no doubt that Prof. Sir John Dacie was one of the leading figures in haematology of the 20 th century. His detailed approach to the diagnosis of patients with haematological abnormalities through his meticulous attention to detail especially in the laboratory enabled him to define many new diseases such as the haemolytic anaemia's. His contribution has laid the firm foundation for their further elucidation using the techniques of protein chemistry, red cell (RBC) membrane studies, and molecular biology. Unselfishly this annotation gives an account of his career, concentrating on his influence on haematological Biomedical Scientists throughout the world, and his role in the development of haematology both in the U.K. and internationally. It will also describe his approach to the practice of haematology from a clinical standpoint but perhaps more importantly in regard to Biomedical Scientists, the laboratory aspects of his work.


Shotgun analysis provides a quantitative snapshot of the lipidome composition of cells, tissues, or model organisms; however, it does not elucidate the spatial distribution of lipids. Here we demonstrate that shotgun analysis could quantify low-picomole amounts of lipids isolated by laser capture microdissection (LCM) of hundred micrometer-sized histological zones visualized at the cryosections of tissues. We identified metabolically distinct periportal (pp) and pericentral (pc) zones by immunostaining of 20 μm thick cryosections of a healthy mouse liver. LCM was used to ablate, catapult, and collect the tissue material from 10 to 20 individual zones covering a total area of 0.3-0.5 mm2 and containing ca. 500 cells. Top-down shotgun profiling relying upon computational stitching of 61 targeted selective ion monitoring ( t-SIM) spectra quantified more than 200 lipid species from 17 lipid classes including glycero- and glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, cholesterol esters, and cholesterol. Shotgun LCM revealed the overall commonality of the full lipidome composition of pp and pc zones along with significant ( p < 0.001) difference in the relative abundance of 13 lipid species. Follow-up proteomics analyses of pellets recovered from an aqueous phase saved after the lipid extraction identified 13 known and 7 new protein markers exclusively present in pp or in pc zones and independently validated the specificity of their visualization, isolation, and histological assignment.


The Arabian Gulf, an economically and geopolitically important marine area, is a semi-enclosed and shallow basin with an average depth 36 m. The Gulf is one of the seasonally warmest (i.e., in summer) and most saline marine regions, which naturally experiences extreme seasonal heating, cooling, and evaporation cycles. Recent economic development and industrialization along with climate change also have introduced significant anthropogenic pressures on this naturally-stressed marine environment. Due to its semi-enclosed, shallow morphology and unique climatic setting, the impacts of environmental pressures are increasingly manifested in the hydrography and biogeochemistry of the Gulf. Oceanographic data collected within the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Qatar, although limited in space and time, indicate that physical and biogeochemical properties exhibit high spatial and temporal variability. Previous observational and numerical studies of the region conclude that increased field observation activity is required to better investigate the physical and biogeochemical dynamics of the Gulf. Long-term, continuous, and integrated monitoring of the marine environment, therefore, is essential to understand the status and seasonal/interannual variability of marine physical and biogeochemical dynamics as well as to predict any significant future changes in water column and ecological properties in response to environmental pressures and climatic changes. In this study, basin-scale oceanographic data collected in Qatar's marine region in the recent years are comparatively analyzed with available historical observations to assess thermohaline trends in water column structure and continental shelf circulation, to identify spatial and temporal data gaps, and to provide recommendations regarding optimal time and space coverage for future observational studies.


This essay considers the contribution that social and cultural anthropology can make to other disciplines. This contribution is of two sorts. First, anthropology offers a glimpse of what society may have been like for most of human history when the state and its invading presence are absent. Such knowledge cannot be obtained directly but studying communities where the state is remote does give a flavor of what such life is like. Second, anthropology has developed a method of studying others through participation. This method is apparently deceptively straightforward but, nonetheless, it has profound theoretical implications. It is based on the recognition that we can only know those people who at first seem different by sharing what is implicitly involved as they go about their normal life.


The following bibliography lists only secondary material. For a comprehensive listing of documentary material from the UN and the specialized agencies, see the United Nations Documents Index (New York: United Nations, monthly, $7.50 per year). Principal documentary material on regional, political, and functional organizations may be found in references in the various summaries appearing in this quarterly. Included in this bibliography are the primary professional journals, both United States and foreign, in the field of international organization and allied subjects. References to the UN Monthly Chronicle and the United States Department of State Bulletin are not included since these are standard sources in the field.


The introduction of an innovative organization like Digital Borgo in a strongly conservative context, made mostly by SMEs and few big companies, often with no relationships to each other modify their interests in collaborating and exchanging knowledge. Overcoming all limits, hurdles and an unfavorable mindset, we managed to define a corporate accelerator model that can represent a virtuous example, helping corporates, entrepreneurs, chambers of commerce and universities to collaborate to foster innovation. We are confident that in the future we will be able to say that our model has created a more connected ecosystem among entrepreneurs and innovating corporates, making Abruzzo a region where small cities and low cost of life becomes an advantage for setting up a great ecosystem for innovation and smart growth.


In a patient with nonspherocytic hemolytic anemia, a hexokinase deficiency was detected in the red cells (residual activity about 25% of normal) and in blood platelets (20%-35% of normal activity). Although the total hexokinase activity in lymphocytes was normal, the amount of hexokinase type I was decreased to about 50% of normal. However, the deficiency was compensated for by the appearance of type III hexokinase. Compartmentation studies with controlled digitonin-induced cell lysis showed that this type III enzyme was localized in the cytosol, while almost all hexokinase activity in normal lymphocytes is particulate. No abnormal lymphocyte functions could be detected. The patient was homozygous for the defect. The parents and three of five sibs of the patient were apparently heterozygous with residual activities of 50%-67% of normal in their red cells, but did not show any clinical signs of hexokinase deficiency. The variant enzyme had a slightly decreased affinity for MgATP2- and a strongly increased inhibition constant for glucose-1,6-P2. Affinity for glucose, heat stability, and pH optimum were normal. In the electrophoretic pattern of red cell hexokinase, only one subtype of hexokinase I could be detected, while in normal red cells, at least three subtypes are present. In the heterozygous individuals, no enzymatic abnormalities could be detected, except for an aberration in the electropherogram of one sib.


Although most raptor species are sexually dimorphic, many species are non-discrete in some metrics. A limited amount of existing data for southern Africa suggests that Crowned Eagles Stephanoaetus coronatus exhibit non-discrete sexual dimorphism. Consequently, we investigated gender-related morphometric data of Crowned Eagles with corresponding genetic avian sex tests. Immature (n = 13) and adult (n = 5) Crowned Eagles were trapped, measured and released in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa from 2012 to 2015. Our results show that tarsus width, body mass, and DI claw (hallux) measurements are suitable for discriminating between sexes of mature Crowned Eagles. We comment on the use of South African Ringing Scheme (SAFRING) and colour read-rings as a marking technique in Crowned Eagles. Furthermore, we suggest suitable parameters for accessing nests and marking nestlings. To aid in the age estimates of nestling eagles, a reference of growth of known-age nestlings is provided.