The Open Skies Treaty has been a peace-building instrument between North American and European nations for over two decades. This agreement is based on the possibility for each country-signatory of the Treaty to independently conduct observation flights and obtain aerial imagery data of the territories of other Treaty States-Parties. This imagery data was originally acquired only using traditional photographic film cameras. Together with the rapid development and advancement of digital sensor technologies, the logical step forward was to amend the Treaty provisions to allow for the use of these types of sensors during observation missions. This paper describes this transition process and highlights a number of technical problems which needed to be addressed by experts working within the Open Skies Consultative Commission workgroups.

Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADCs) are devices that transform analog signals into digital signals and are used in various applications such as audio recording, data acquisition, and measurement systems [1]. Prior to the development of actual chip, there is a need for prototyping, testing and verifying the performance of ADCs in different scenarios. Analog macros cannot be tested on an FPGA. In order to ensure the macros function properly, the emulation of the ADC is done first. This is a digital module and can be designed in System Verilog. This paper demonstrates the design of the module on FPGA for Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) emulation. The emulation is done specific to the ADC macro which has programmable resolutions of 12/10/8/6 bit.

In the recent years three-dimensional buildings modelling based on an raw air- borne laser scanning point clouds, became an important issue. A significant step towards 3D modelling is buildings segmentation in laser scanning data. For this purpose an algorithm, based on the multi-resolution analysis in wavelet domain, is proposed in the paper. The proposed method concentrates only on buildings, which have to be segmented. All other objects and terrain surface have to be removed. The algorithm works on gridded data. The wavelet-based segmentation proceeds in the following main steps: wavelet decomposition up to appropriately chosen level, thresholding on the chosen and adjacent levels, removal of all coefficients in the so-called influence pyramid and wavelet reconstruction. If buildings on several scaling spaces have to be segmented, the procedure should be applied iteratively. The wavelet approach makes the procedure very fast. However, the limitation of the proposed procedure is its scale-based distinction between objects to be segmented and the rest.

In this paper a possibility of determining a local velocity of the surface acoustic Rayleigh waves using a transducer, with the rigidly connected emitting and receiving parts, is considered. A problem on spatial resolution of such a transducer for investigation of inhomogeneous specimens is also examined. A high spatial resolution can be obtained due to the transducer displacement by a value less than the distance between the emitting and receiving parts. It is shown that in this case it is not necessary to measure the transducer displacement with a high accuracy for precise determination of the velocity. Such an effect is obtained through measuring the velocity of surface waves in one local region of the specimen with respect to the other. The criterion for optimal spatial resolution selection during spatially inhomogeneous specimens study is also proposed. The proposed criterion use is illustrated on the example of the determination of spatial distribution of the surface acoustic velocity in a steel specimen subjected to inhomogeneous plastic deformation.

Breast cancer screening is based on X-ray mammography, while ultrasound is considered a complementary technique with improved detection in dense tissue. However, breast cancer screening requires a technique that provides repeatable results at the inspection interval which cannot be achieved with manual breast exploration. During the last years there have appeared several approaches to overcome this limitation by means of automated ultrasonic tomography performed with motorized probes or with a large set of array transducers. This work addresses these problems by considering a quite simple and low-cost arrangement, formed with a ring of conventional medical-grade array probes which are multiplexed to the electronics to build Full Angle Spatially Compounded (FASC) images. The work analyzes the performance of such arrangement in terms of resolution and isotropy, showing by numerical modelling and experimentally that it provides high resolution and homogeneity in the whole imaged region. The implementation of this technique would provide more than one circular FASC per second and a whole breast volume image in 1–2 minutes with conventional technology, a process fast enough to be clinically useful. Moreover, the automated technique is repeatable and can be used by the clinician to perform immediately the diagnosis without requiring additional data processing.

Kinetic resolution of (R)- and (S)-mandelic acid by its transesterification with vinyl acetate catalysed by Burholderia cepacia lipase has been studied. The influence of the initial substrate concentration on the kinetics of process has been investigated. A modified ping-pong bi-bi model of enzymatic transesterification of (S)-mandelic acid including substrate inhibition has been developed. The values of kinetic parameters of the model have been estimated. We have shown that the inhibition effect revealed over a certain threshold limit value of the initial concentration of substrate.

This paper reports a new multi-item planning and scheduling problem in a job-shop production

system with the consideration of energy consumption. A mixed integer linear programming

is proposed to integrate planning and scheduling with the consideration of energy

aspect. In this study a new operational constraint is considered in the tactical level because

of the huge interest given to energy consumption and its strong link existing with production

system. To evaluate the performance of this model, computational experiments are

presented, and numerical results are given using the software CPLEX and then discussed.

A highly sensitive photonic crystal fiber based on the surface plasmon resonance (PCF-SPR) biosensor for the detection of the density alteration in non-physiological cells (DANCE) is described. Human acute leukemia cells are determined by the discontinuous sucrose gradient centrifugation (DSGC) in which the cells are separated into several bands. The separated cells with different intracellular densities and refractive indexes (RI) ranging from 1.3342 to 1.3344 are distinguished in situ by means of the differential transmission spectrum. The biosensor shows a maximum amplitude sensitivity of 2000 nm/RIU and resolution as high as 5 × 10⁻⁵ RIU. According to the wavelength interrogation method, a maximum spectral sensitivity of 9000 nm/RIU in the sensing range between 1.33 and 1.53 is achieved, corresponding to a resolution as high as 1.11 × 10⁻⁵ RIU for the biosensor. The proposed PCF-SPR biosensor has promising application in biological and biochemical detection.

In dentistry, 3D intraoral scanners (IOSs) are gaining increasing popularity in the production of dental prostheses. However, the quality of an IOS in terms of resolution remains the determining factor of choice for the practitioner; a high resolution is a quality parameter that can reduce error in the production chain. To the best of our knowledge, the evaluation of IOS resolution is not clearly established in the literature. This study provides a simple assessment of resolution of an IOS by measuring a reference sample and highlights various factors that may influence the resolution. A ceramic tip was prepared to create a very thin object with an edge smaller than the current resolution stated by the company. The sample was scanned with microCT (micro-computed tomography) and an IOS. The resulting meshes were compared. In the mesh obtained with the IOS, the distance between two planes on the edge was approximately 100 micrometers, and that obtained with microtomography was 25 micrometers. The curvature values were 27.46 (standard deviation – SD) 14.71) μm ^-1 and 5.18 (SD 1.16) μm ^-1 for microCT and IOS, respectively. These results show a clear loss of information for objects that are smaller than 100 μm. As there is no normalized procedure to evaluate resolution of IOSs, the method that we have developed can provide a positive parameter for control of IOSs performance by practitioners.

Objectives: In the article we describe the new, high frequency, 20 MHz scanning/Doppler probe designed to measure the flow mediated dilation (FMD) and shear rate (SR) close to the radial artery wall.

Methods: We compare two US scanning systems, standard vascular modality working below 12 MHz and high frequency 20 MHz system designed for FMD and SR measurements. Axial resolutions of both systems were compared by imaging of two closely spaced food plastic foils immersed in water and by measuring systolic/diastolic diameter changes in the radial artery. The sensitivities of Doppler modalities were also determined. The diagnostic potential of a high frequency system in measurements of FMD and SR was studied in vivo, in two groups of subjects, 12 healthy volunteers and 14 patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD).

Results: Over three times better axial resolution was demonstrated for a high frequency system. Also, the sensitivity of the external single transducer 20 MHz pulse Doppler proved to be over 20 dB better (in terms of a signal-to-noise ratio) than the pulse Doppler incorporated into the linear array. Statistically significant differences in FMD and FMD/SR values for healthy volunteers and CAD patients were confirmed, p-values < 0:05. The areas under Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves for FMD and FMD/SR for the prediction CAD had the values of 0.99 and 0.97, respectively.

Conclusions: These results justify the usefulness of the designed high-frequency scanning system to determine the FMD and SR in the radial artery as predictors of coronary arterial disease.

It is now widely recognized that the evaluation of the uncertainty associated with a result is an essential part of any quantitative analysis. One way to use the estimation of measurement uncertainty as a metrological critical evaluation tool is the identification of sources of uncertainty on the analytical result, knowing the weak steps, in order to improve the method, when it is necessary. In this work, this methodology is applied to fuel analyses and the results show that the relevant sources of uncertainty are: beyond the repeatability, the resolution of the volumetric glassware and the blank in the analytical curve that are little studied.

The article provides an overview of the supranational bank resolution regime established under the Single Resolution Mechanism framework. Both the substantive rules governing the resolution process and its procedural requirements are explained. The main focus of the article is the decision-making practice of the Single Resolution Board (SRB), an EU agency responsible for the execution of the resolution framework, which has already intervened in a number of cases in which banks were considered “failing or likely to fail” by the European Central Bank. The article analyses the existing decisions on resolution action in order to establish how the substantive rules on resolution are interpreted by the SRB in its decision-making practice.

Underwater acoustic images are acquired using sonar instrument that uses sound propagation to navigate and map the sea floor. The sonar devices are effectively used to create images of large area of the seabed. However, the visual perception of the object in the acoustic image depends on refraction, which is a function of changes in the speed of sound in successive layers of water. And refraction depends mainly on temperature, slightly on salinity and hydrostatic pressure. The quality and resolution of sonar imaging of the bottom depends on many other factors such as pitch, yaw and heave of the side scan sonar, the presence of volume scatterers in the water body, the distance of the sonar from the bottom and orientation of the object. Generally, the objects in an acoustic image would be of small size compared to their normal size as the distance between the sonar and object is larger. To detect and recognize the objects in the images, the resolution should be enhanced. In this paper, we propose an efficient edge preserving interpolation method for underwater acoustic image resolution enhancement which preserves the edge sharpness. The method handles the diagonal pixels in the first pass, in turn fills the horizontal and vertical pixels in the second pass. The results obtained are compared with the state-of-the-art interpolation techniques and the performance measures such as Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR) and Structural Similarity Index Measurement (SSIM) shows an improved result.

In the paper, we demonstrate the feasibility of interdigital electrodes fabrication with the usage of inkjet printing technology. The emphasis was put to obtain better shape quality and lower spacing between electrodes with respect to typical printing process. The paper presents an analysis of the main factors that have an influence on the dimension and quality of printed structures and proposes two methods that allow eliminating the main problems. The first proposed method is based on controlling the time between patterning of successive drops. While the second method is based on changing the design methods considering printing orientation. Both methods do not require any additional technological processes or the use of any special surface preparation methods. Finally, the obtained results and conclusions were presented and discussed.

Adjustable-width pulse signals are widely used in systems such as test equipment for hold time, response time and radar testing. In this study, we proposed a pulse generation method based on virtual sampling with ultra-high pulse width resolution. In the proposed method, the sampling rate of a digital-to-analogue converter (DAC) was adjusted to considerably improve pulse width resolution. First, the sampling rate was matched with the target pulse width resolution to digitally sample the ideal signal and generate digital waveform sampling points. Next, the signal bandwidth of the DAC was matched using a low-pass digital filter. Finally, the waveform sampling points were downsampled using an integer factor and output after digital-to-analogue conversion. The waveform pulse width information generated by high-frequency digital sampling was passed step by step and retained in the final output analogue signal. A DAC with a sampling rate of 1.25 GSa/s was used, and the pulse width resolution of the pulse signal was 0.1 ns. Theoretically, a sampling rate of 10 GSa/s is required to achieve 0.1 ns resolution. This method is simple, has a low cost, and exhibits excellent performance.

Single Image Super-Resolution (SISR) through sparse representation has received much attention in the past decade due to significant development in sparse coding algorithms. However, recovering high-frequency textures is a major bottleneck of existing SISR algorithms. Considering this, dictionary learning approaches are to be utilized to extract high-frequency textures which improve SISR performance significantly. In this paper, we have proposed the SISR algorithm through sparse representation which involves learning of Low Resolution (LR) and High Resolution (HR) dictionaries simultaneously from the training set. The idea of training coupled dictionaries preserves correlation between HR and LR patches to enhance the Super-resolved image. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, a visual comparison is made with popular SISR algorithms and also quantified through quality metrics. The proposed algorithm outperforms compared to existing SISR algorithms qualitatively and quantitatively as shown in experimental results. Furthermore, the performance of our algorithm is remarkable for a smaller training set which involves lesser computational complexity. Therefore, the proposed approach is proven to be superior based upon visual comparisons and quality metrics and have noticeable results at reduced computational complexity.

The Parliament of the Republic of Poland was one of five European parliaments which – in view of the full-scale aggression by Russia against Ukraine which commenced on 24 February 2022 – adopted resolutions declaring the Russian Federation as a state associated with terrorism. The Polish acts are consistent with resolutions adopted on the same subject by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the European Parliament of the European Union (EP).
Although not legally binding, the adoption of these resolutions have a large symbolic dimension and may have a negative impact on the perception of and possibilities of Russian participation in the international arena. From the Polish perspective, the national decisions linking Russia with terrorist activities will influence decisions taken within the sanctions regime, as well as with regard to the legal qualification of certain acts under Polish criminal law in the course of proceedings conducted by Polish prosecution authorities in relation to the war. Finally, as long as the war continues and the assessment of Russia as a terrorist state remains in place, it will not be possible to restore and maintain ordinary diplomatic, economic and other relations with that state.

After the banking crisis, the European Union (EU) introduced a framework for the restructuring and orderly liquidation of credit institutions. The overarching goal of the new rules is to manage severe banking crisis more efficiently. One of the main pillars of the European bank resolution regime are the powers of the resolution authorities to use resolution tools (sale of business, bridge bank, bad bank and bail-in). However, the question arises whether the implemented toolkit will be sufficient to effectively contain systemic banking crisis. The literature regarding empirical research on the effectiveness of the BRRD tools provides ambiguous conclusions. Therefore, the newly established resolution authorities in the EU were asked to express their opinion about their readiness to combat systemic crisis and the usefulness of the accessible toolkit. The evaluation of the effectiveness of the resolution tools in a systemic crises by the resolution authorities showed that the most effective resolution tool seems to be the bad bank, while bank liquidation was rated as the least appropriate. Nevertheless, the resolution authorities also identified many barriers for all resolution tools that may limit the ability of their implementation and possibly translate into the lower effectiveness of the resolution framework.

The environment is the greatest good for the people. Everyone wants to breath air of the best possible quality, whether living in the city center of a metropolis or in a rural area. Air polluted with very fine particles contribute to the negative effect on people’s health and the whole environment. A significant part of air dust pollution comes from the so-called low emissions sources which include: non-standard furnaces, fireplaces, low-efficiency outdated boilers and local heat sources. Since the beginning of Polish Mining Group’s existence, the company actively participates and supports many activities, the aim of which is to improve the air quality by producing and supplying high quality coal for the residential sector. The company has undertaken pro-ecological activities towards creating a new, pro-ecological strategy as well as product offer. The production of an ecological coal assortment is systematically developing but new coal products are also being launched on the market. One of the company’s priorities is the production of thermal coal for the residential sector. Many organizational and technological changes have been made In that area (e.g. the establishmsnt of the Eco-Fuels Production Plant) to ensure a suitable level of production of the highest quality thermal coal.

The Court of the Eurasian Economic Union was created in 2015 as a judicial organ with jurisdiction over a range of subject matters within the Eurasian Economic Union. It replaced the Court of the Eurasian Economic Community, which operated within the Eurasian Economic Community and its Customs Union (2012-2014). Though the Union become the next step in the integration process of the post-Soviet area, the newly created Court has not been given de jure a successor status. The Court of the Union was set up anew as one of the four institutional bodies in the structure of the Union. It was empowered to settle disputes between the Member States, as well as to consider different types of actions brought by private actors (economic entities only). The interpretative function of the Court was enshrined as “competence on clarification.” Moreover, the Commission, the main executive and regulative organ, was not given locus standi in actions against the Member States to enhance their compliance with the obligations of EAEU law. Preliminary jurisdiction was also cut down as compared to the Court of the Community or other regional integration courts. However, some new functions were given to the Court, and its five years long practice shows a clear tendency to substitute missing powers with those given but in a broader context, as well as its aspirations to play a consolidating role for the legal order of the Union.

The effective implementation of new market strategies presents the mining enterprises with new challenges which require precise assessment instruments of the carried out business to be met at the level of mines, preparation plants, coking plants, and steelworks. These instruments include deposit, technological, and economic parameters, which together with a safety margin, determining the percentage reserve level of each parameter, shape the profitability of undertaken projects. The paper raises the issue of designing an IT architecture of the system for deposit modelling and mining production scheduling, implemented in the JSW SA. The development and application of the system was important with regard to the overriding objective of the Quality ProgramProgram of the JSW Capital Group, which is increasing the effectiveness of deposit and commercial product quality management. The paper also presents the required specification of the technical architecture necessary to implement systems and the actions required to integrate them with other IT systems of the JSW Group. The heuristic technical architecture of the JSW SA production line management system presented in the paper enables an analysis of the production process profitability in a carried account system in the area of mines, preparation plants, and coking plants of the mining group of the biggest European coal producer for metallurgical purposes.

The main objective of the article is to assess the changes in carbon dioxide emissions in residential sector caused by the implementation of the plans contained in the Air Protection Programs, anti-smog resolutions adopted in 9 voivodeships and the nationwide “Clean Air” program. The reduction of emissions of pollutants which directly affecting air quality and human health, i.e. particulate matter and benz(a)pyrene, which residential sector is the main source, can also affect the amount of emitted of carbon dioxide. To determine the changes in carbon dioxide emissions in the residential sector, emissions of CO2 in base year of 2017 from various energy carriers were determined, plans for reducing of low-stack emission were reviewed and the future structure of energy carriers used in households was estimated. The processes of increasing the efficiency of energy use through both the replacement of boilers and thermomodernization were also taken into account. The obtained results show that the highest CO2 emission reduction of 6% is achieved in case of “Clean Air” program. In frame of this program in 3.5 million of single-family houses a heating system replacement and thermomodernization is planned. Implementation of plans included on Air Protection Programs and anti-smog resolutions can lead to a relatively small (approx. 1%) reduction of CO2 compared to base year 2017. The detailed results of future fuel consumption and CO2 emission for individual voivodeships and for the whole of Poland was presented.

In last years, accurate spatial data from high resolution satellite images are getting more and more frequently used for modelling topography and other surveying purposes. To extract accurate spatial information, a sensor's mathematical models are needed. Those models classified to two branches: rigorous (parameirical or physical) models and non-rigorous models. In the paper a dynamic sensor model is proposed to extract spatial information from geo-rectified images named the geo-images which their geometry at the time of imaging have been lost. The developed model has been reconstructed basing on a transformation of central-perspective projection into a parallel one.