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Cooperation of UNCITRAL and the International Chamber of Commerce: new possibilities for companies from the belt and road initiative for dispute resolution in trade finance
This chapter aims to introduce the reader to the unique product of the International Chamber of Commerce (hereinafter referred to as the ICC) for dispute resolution in the area of trade finance, namely Documentary Instruments Dispute Resolution Expertise (hereinafter referred to as DOCDEX).
It is argued here that whilst there have been several approaches made with regards to dispute resolution within the Belt and Road Initiative (hereinafter referred to as the BRI), DOCDEX represents another relatively unexplored, but nevertheless effective, option for international trade actors and banks in the area of trade finance, which can offer substantial benefits to the commercial parties and banks participating in the BRI.
The chapter commences with an overview of the history of cooperation between the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (hereinafter referred to as UNCITRAL) and the ICC before discussing the functioning of DOCDEX and the scope the ICC Rules for Documentary Instruments Dispute Resolution Expertise (hereinafter referred to as the DOCDEX Rules). Significant attention is dedicated to the benefits of the DOCDEX system and its limitations. Lastly, an analysis of how a DOCDEX Decision can be used in practice is made
The Vela and Geminga pulsars in the mid-infrared
The Vela and Geminga pulsars are rotation powered neutron stars, which have
been identified in various spectral domains, from the near-infrared to hard
-rays. In the near-infrared they exhibit tentative emission excesses,
as compared to the optical range. To check whether these features are real, we
analysed archival mid-infrared broadband images obtained with the Spitzer Space
Telescope in the 3.6--160 m range and compared them with the data in other
spectral domains. In the 3.6 and 5.8 m bands we detected at
(4--5) significance level a point-like object, that is likely to be the
counterpart of the Vela pulsar. Its position coincides with the pulsar at < 0.4
arcsec 1-accuracy level. Combining the measured fluxes with the
available multiwavelength spectrum of the pulsar shows a steep flux increase
towards the infrared, confirming the reality of the near-infrared excess
reported early, and, hence, the reality of the suggested mid-infrared pulsar
identification. Geminga is also identified, but only at a marginal 2
detection level in one 3.6 m band. This needs a farther confirmation by
deeper observations, while the estimated flux is also compatible with the
near-infrared Geminga excess. The detection of the infrared excess is in
contrast to the Crab pulsar, where it is absent, but is similar to the two
magnetars, 4U 0142+61 and 1E 2259+586, showing similar features. We discuss
X-ray irradiated fall-back discs around the pulsars, unresolved pulsar nebula
structures, and pulsar magnetospheres as possible origins of the excesses. We
note also possible infrared signatures of an extended tail behind Geminga and
of the Vela plerion radio lobes.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures, 2 table
The G292.0+1.8 pulsar wind nebula in the mid-infrared
G292.0+1.8 is a Cas A-like supernova remnant that contains the young pulsar
PSR J1124-5916 powering a compact torus-like pulsar wind nebula visible in
X-rays. A likely counterpart to the nebula has been detected in the optical VRI
bands. To confirm the counterpart candidate nature, we examined archival
mid-infrared data obtained with the Spitzer Space Telescope. Broad-band images
taken at 4.5, 8, 24, and 70 microns were analyzed and compared with available
optical and X-ray data. The extended counterpart candidate is firmly detected
in the 4.5 and 8 micron bands. It is brighter and more extended in the bands
than in the optical, and its position and morphology agree well with the
coordinates and morphology of the torus-like pulsar wind nebula in X-rays. The
source is not visible in 24 and 70 micron images, which are dominated by bright
emission from the remnant shell and filaments. We compiled the infrared fluxes
of the nebula, which probably contains a contribution from an unresolved pulsar
in its center, with the optical and X-ray data. The resulting unabsorbed
multiwavelength spectrum is described by power laws of significantly steeper
slope in the infrared-optical than in X-rays, implying a double-knee spectral
break between the optical and X-rays. The 24 and 70 microns flux upper limits
suggest a second break and a flatter spectrum at the long wavelength limit.
These features are common to two other pulsar wind nebulae associated with the
remnants B0540-69.3 and 3C 58 and observed in all three ranges. The position,
morphology, and spectral properties of the detected source allow us to comfirm
that it is the infrared-optical counterpart to both the pulsar and its wind
nebula system in the G292.0+1.8 supernova remnant.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure
Nonbreeding Eastern Curlews Numenius madagascariensis Do Not Increase the Rate of Intake or Digestive Efficiency before Long-Distance Migration because of an Apparent Digestive Constraint
The possibility of premigratory modulation in gastric digestive performance was investigated in a long-distance migrant, the eastern curlew (Numenius madagascariensis), in eastern Australia. The rate of intake in the curlews was limited by the rate of digestion but not by food availability. It was hypothesized that before migration, eastern curlews would meet the increased energy demand by increasing energy consumption. It was predicted that (1) an increase in the rate of intake and the corresponding rate of gastric throughput would occur or (2) the gastric digestive efficiency would increase between the mid-nonbreeding and premigratory periods. Neither crude intake rate (the rate of intake calculated including inactive pauses; 0.22 g DM [grams dry mass] or 3.09 kJ min(-1)) nor the rate of gastric throughput (0.15 g DM or 2.85 kJ min(-1)) changed over time. Gastric digestive efficiency did not improve between the periods (91%) nor did the estimated overall energy assimilation efficiency (63% and 58%, respectively). It was concluded that the crustacean-dominated diet of the birds is processed at its highest rate and efficiency throughout a season. It appears that without a qualitative shift in diet, no increase in intake rate is possible. Accepting these findings at their face value poses the question of how and over what time period the eastern curlews store the nutrients necessary for the ensuing long, northward nonstop flight
Information Retrieval System for News Articles in Russian
We present a description of the natural language processing system developed for
information retrieval project scan.interfax.ru. The system should process news articles in Russian and retrieve as much information as possible about persons, organizations or other text objects
mentioned there. The conceptual system idea is to process and “understand” documents without using any time dependent named object databases. The system should retrieve and interpret person names, organizations, geography and some other text structures. And only on the second stage —
to make identification of retrieved named objects via database. The resulting information is used in Scan project to allow complex-query search of news articles, to fill a named object database in automatic manner and to provide information for analytical services. We discuss
functionality of the system, main approach ideas used and challenges to be resolved in future work. The article mostly covers entity extraction procedure and fact extraction mechanics. The problems of geography entity extraction are discussed particularly
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