The dual-frequency scatterometer reexamined

The utility of dual frequency scatterometers in measuring ocean wave directional spectra can be increased by adding third frequency to the system. The background which effectively limits signal detectability in dual frequency operation can be made a part of the signal through the addition of this third frequency. Signal detectability is limited only by system thermal noise and space based operation becomes more feasible

Mediation In International Commercial Arbitration: Some Practical Aspects

In international commercial arbitration, some disputes cry out for informal resolution by the parties themselves. In assessing their response, parties, arbitrators and arbital institutions must have in mind fundamental, practical and ethical considerations. This paper addresses some of the practical and provocative issues raised in these circumstances

Whose Information Is It Anyway? An Argument for Information Stewardship

Information is an important resource for businesses and government, with information quality influencing decision quality, and highlighting our need to manage our information well: as a resource. Information Resource Management (IRM) has as its goal the management of information as a resource, but has not been implemented with the level of success expected. Problems with the implementation of IRM are indicated by the presence of redundant or inconsistent data, inability to share information across systems, and difficulty finding the information on systems. We propose that these difficulties are related to behaviours linked to perceived ownership of corporate information by organisational sub-units. To evaluate the proposition, we performed a case study on an organisation to see if we could identify the presence of problems, and the presence of the ownership behaviours. The case study revealed the presence of both problems with information management and behaviours related to ownership. To improve the management of information in organisations, we recommend that organisations take ownership of the information resource at the corporate executive level, and educate users of the information on the benefits of stewardship of the information they use. This will encourage staff at all levels to see information as a resource, not merely a cost of doing business

Stochastic parameterization: uncertainties from convection

In 2005, the ECMWF held a workshop on stochastic parameterisation, at which the convection was seen as being a key issue. That much is clear from the working group reports and particularly the statement from working group 1 that “it is clear that a stochastic convection scheme is desirable”. The present note aims to consider our current status in comparison with some of the issues raised and hopes expressed in that working group report

FRB microstructure revealed by the real-time detection of FRB170827

We report a new fast radio burst (FRB) discovered in real-time as part of the UTMOST project at the Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Radio Telescope. FRB170827 was first detected with our low-latency (20 ± 7 Jy ms, and is narrow with a width of ∼400 s at 10 per cent of its maximum amplitude. However, the burst shows three temporal components, the narrowest of which is ∼30 s, and a scattering time-scale of 4.1 ± 2.7 s. The FRB shows spectral modulations on frequency scales of 1.5 MHz and 0.1 MHz. Both are prominent in the dynamic spectrum, which shows a very bright region of emission between 841 and 843 MHz, and weaker and patchy emission across the entire band. We show that the fine spectral structure could arise in the FRB host galaxy, or its immediate vicinity

The Failure of a Soil Blanket Lining Caused by the Action of Bacteria

A raw water storage reservoir was constructed with earth embankments and a soil blanket floor lining. Treated sewage effluent was used as construction water. Bacteria in the soil were capable of converting the organic nitrogen and ammonia present in the effluent to nitrite and then to nitrate under aerobic conditions. This nitrate was reduced to nitrogen gas under anaerobic conditions. The generation of gas had a leavening effect on the soil structure of the floor lining leading to a high water permeability, thus making the soil lining ineffective

Stem Cell Therapies for Cervical Spinal Cord Injury

Cervical-level injuries account for the majority of presented spinal cord injuries (SCIs), yet there are few therapies that successfully improve the overall quality of life for patients. Regenerative therapies aimed at ameliorating deficits in respiratory and motor function are urgently needed. Cellular transplantation strategies are a promising therapeutic avenue. These strategies seek to overcome the inhibitory environment of the injury site, increase native regenerative capacities, provide scaffolding to bridge the lesion, or replace injury-lost neurons and glia

Intuitivno pretraživanje baze slike kao potpora označavanju slika

Image annotation is typically performed manually since automatic image annotation approaches have not matured yet to be used in practice. Consequently, image annotation is a labour intensive and time consuming task. In this paper, we show how an image browsing system can be employed to support efficient and effective (manual) annotation of image databases. In contrast to other approaches, which typically present images in a linear fashion, we employ a visualisation where images are arranged by mutual visual similarity. Since in this arrangement similar images are close to each other, they can easily be selected and annotated together. Organisation on a grid layout prevents image overlap and thus contributes to a clear presentation. Large image databases are handled through a hierarchical data structure where each image in the visualisation can correspond to a cluster of images that can be expanded by the user. Experimental results indicate that annotation can be performed faster on our proposed system.Označavanje slika obično se obavlja ručno jer automatski pristupi još nisu dovoljno kvalitetni kako bi se koristili u praksi. Zbog toga je označavanje slika u bazi vremenski zahtjevno. U ovom radu pokazat ćemo kako se sustav za pregled slika u bazi može koristiti kao učinkovita potpora ručnom označavanju slika. Za razliku od drugih pristupa, koji prikazuju slike u linearnom poretku, korištena je vizualizacija u kojoj su slike složene po međusobnoj sličnosti. Budući da su na taj način slične slike međusobno blizu jedna drugoj, lako ih je selektirati i zajednički označiti. Slike su organizirane u mrežni prikaz radi sprječavanja preklapanja i jasnije prezentacije. Velike baze podataka organizirane su u hijerarhijsku strukturu gdje svaka slika u pojedinoj vizualizaciji može pripadati skupu slika čiji prikaz korisnik po želji može proširivati. Rezultati provedenih eksperimenata pokazuju da se označavanje slika pomoću predloženog sustava može obavljati brže nego na uobičajeni način

A PC parallel port button box provides millisecond response time accuracy under Linux

For psychologists, it is sometimes necessary to measure people's reaction times to the nearest millisecond. This article describes how to use the PC parallel port to receive signals from a button box to achieve millisecond response time accuracy. The workings of the parallel port, the corresponding port addresses, and a simple Linux program for controlling the port are described. A test of the speed and reliability of button box signal detection is reported. If the reader is moderately familiar with Linux, this article should provide sufficient instruction for him or her to build and test his or her own parallel port button box. This article also describes how the parallel port could be used to control an external apparatus