New Caledonian crows keep ‘valuable’ hooked tools safer than basic non-hooked tools

The temporary storage and re-use of tools can significantly enhance foraging efficiency. New Caledonian crows in one of our study populations use two types of stick tools – hooked and non-hooked – which differ in raw material, manufacture costs, and foraging performance. Using a large sample of wild-caught, temporarily captive New Caledonian crows, we investigated experimentally whether individuals prefer one tool type over the other when given a choice and whether they take better care of their preferred tools between successive episodes of use, safely storing them underfoot or in nearby holes. Crows strongly preferred hooked stick tools made from Desmanthus virgatus stems over non-hooked stick tools. Importantly, this preference was also reflected in subsequent tool-handling behaviour, with subjects keeping hooked stick tools safe more often than non-hooked stick tools sourced from leaf litter. These results suggest that crows ‘value’ hooked stick tools, which are both costlier to procure and more efficient to use, more than non-hooked stick tools. Results from a series of control treatments suggested that crows altered their tool ‘safekeeping’ behaviour in response to a combination of factors, including tool type and raw material. To our knowledge, our study is the first to use safekeeping behaviour as a proxy for assessing how non-human animals value different tool types, establishing a novel paradigm for productive cross-taxonomic comparisons.

A Sparse Algorithm for Computing the DFT Using Its Real Eigenvectors

Direct computation of the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) and its FFT computational algorithms requires multiplication (and addition) of complex numbers. Complex number multiplication requires four real-valued multiplications and two real-valued additions, or three real-valued multiplications and five real-valued additions, as well as the requisite added memory for temporary storage. In this paper, we present a method for computing a DFT via a natively real-valued algorithm that is computationally equivalent to a N=2k-length DFT (where k is a positive integer), and is substantially more efficient for any other length, N. Our method uses the eigenstructure of the DFT, and the fact that sparse, real-valued, eigenvectors can be found and used to advantage. Computation using our method uses only vector dot products and vector-scalar products.

PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF ENSURING THE FULFILLMENT OF THE OBLIGATION TO PAY CUSTOMS DUTIES AND TAXES

В таможенной практике складываются различные ситуации, которые приводят к доначислению таможенных платежей, а также образованию задолженности и взиманию пеней. В случае возникновения вопросов по правильному исчислению таможенных платежей на этапе декларирования одним из способов быстрого выпуска товаров без размещения их на складе временного хранения является предоставление обеспечения исполнения обязанности по уплате таможенных пошлин, налогов. Целью научного исследования является рассмотрение некоторых практических аспектов использования денежного залога. По результатам анализа судебной практики можно сделать вывод о том, что остается актуальным вопрос по исчислению пеней при образовании задолженности, выявленной таможенными органами, как в процессе декларирования, так и после выпуска товаров в соответствии с заявленной таможенной процедурой. Научная новизна полученных результатов заключается в выявлении роли таможенного аудита, как процедуры, с помощью которой декларант может своевременно выявить ошибки и неточности до проведения таможенной проверки, избежав тем самым финансовых и временных затрат. In customs practice, there are various situations that lead to additional customs payments, as well as the formation of debts and the collection of penalties. If there are questions about the correct calculation of customs payments at the declaration stage, one of the ways to quickly release goods without placing them in a temporary storage warehouse is to provide security for the fulfillment of the obligation to pay customs duties and taxes. The purpose of the scientific work is to consider some practical aspects of the use of monetary collateral. Based on the results of the analysis of judicial practice, it can be concluded that the issue of calculating penalties for the formation of debts identified by customs authorities both during the declaration process and after the release of goods in accordance with the declared customs procedure remains relevant.

Ensuring radiation safety during temporary storage of solidified radioactive waste in light hangar-type facilities

Expensive permanent storage facilities with massive engineered structures are used traditionally to ensure safe temporary storage of solidified radioactive waste at the NPP sites. Such approach is dictated by the need to comply with the regulatory requirements for limiting the gamma background in the area adjacent to the storage facility. The costs involved in temporary storage of solidified RW can be optimized by using light hangar-type storage facilities. At the same time, the safety of storage, including radiation protection of the personnel, the public and the environment, is undoubtedly ensured through the use of special organizational and engineering solutions. The Novovoronezh NPP, a branch of JSC Concern Rosenergoatom, operates successfully light hangar-type facilities for temporary storage of solidified RW classified as medium-level waste in accordance with OSPORB-99/2009. In the process of operation, a methodology and a method for conditioning and temporary storage of solidified RW were developed to ensure the RW removal for final disposal with no extra process operations and unreasonable costs. A methodology has been developed to assess the radiation situation around storage facilities during temporary storage of RW, as well as a software package for predicting the radiation situation when deciding on the arrangement of the storage facility’s peripheral rows.

Research on Parameter Optimization of the Express Warehousing and Distribution System Based on the Box–Behnken Response Surface Methodology

The response surface method, which has not been applied in the field of logistics, is used to study the express storage and distribution system. The goal is to find out the key factors affecting “customer satisfaction” and “warehouse explosion” and determine the optimal parameters to minimize the operation time and congestion rate of the system. The Box–Behnken response surface method is used to optimize the factors such as sorting speed, distribution speed, sorting temporary storage capacity, and distribution temporary storage capacity in the system, and the logistics simulation software is used to verify the experiment. The predicted value is in good agreement with the measured value. The optimal parameters are sorting speed of 0.002 D/PCS, distribution speed of 31 M/D, sorting temporary storage capacity of 502PCS, and distribution temporary storage capacity of 222PCS. It shows that the response surface method is feasible to optimize the parameters of express storage and distribution system and is helpful to further improve the logistics express service level.

Re-layout of Temporary Storage Area for Toxic and Hazardous Waste using 5S (Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu, Sitsuke)

One of the industries that produces toxic and hazardous waste is rubber industry. This study was conducted in PT. Famili Raya. The problem was toxic and hazardous waste placed in an irregular placement and no follow the government regulations for storing and managing. This aims of this study were to redesign temporary storage area for hazardous waste based on 5S (Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu, Shitsuke) and the regulation, Minister of Environment and Forestry No. 12/2020. The object of this study was temporary storage area for toxic and hazardous waste in PT. Famili Raya. The data used were current condition, actual dimensions of temporary storage area, dimensions of waste, input and output data, and dimensions of a forklift. The results obtained were the proposed layout using the 5S approach could be used to redesign the storage layout in the temporary storage area. Space utility could be reduced by 32,67%. The decrease in space utility did not reduce the maximum storage capacity for used batteries, used tubular lamp, used oil waste, and turpentine oil waste.

Temporary Storage of the Human Nasal Tissue and Cell Sheet for Wound Repair

Temporary storage of nasal tissues and nasal cell sheets, which entails transportation between hospitals and cell culture facilities, is an important issue in regenerative medicine. Herein, we investigated the preservation of chilled and frozen nasal tissues and expiry dates of ready-to-use nasal cell sheets. Although the cell number in preserved tissues was lower than that in fresh tissue, nasal cell sheets could be fabricated from tissues that had been refrigerated for 5 days and frozen–thawed over 5 days. Moreover, the nasal mucosal cell sheets were preserved in a non-hazardous buffer. The cell number, viability, and structure were not maintained in saline containing E-cadherin for 2 days; however, these were maintained in Hank’s balanced salt solution for 2 days, but not for 5 days. To assess the proliferation capacity of cells in the stored cell sheets, we performed cell sheet grafting assays in vitro. Cell sheets stored in Hank’s balanced salt solution for 2 days adhered to collagen gel and expanded normally. Our results show that nasal tissues can be stored temporarily in refrigerators or deep freezers, and Hank’s balanced salt solution can be used for preservation of ready-to-use cell sheets for a few days.

NUCLEAR WASTE MANAGEMENT IN SPAIN: ANALYSIS OF THE CURRENT SITUATION AND ALTERNATIVE STRATEGIES

Centralized Temporary Storage Facility (CTS) is an industrial facility designed to store spent fuel (SF) and high level radioactive waste (HLW) generated at Spanish nuclear power plants (NPP) in a single location. At the end of 2011, the Spanish Government approved the installation of the CTS in the municipality of Villar de Cañas in Cuenca. This approval was the outcome of a long process of technical studies and political decisions that were always surrounded by great social rejection. After years of confrontations between the different political levels, with hardly any progress in its construction, this infrastructure of national importance seems to have been definitively postponed. The present research analyzes the management strategy of SF and HLW in Spain, as well as the alternative strategies proposed, taking into account the current schedule foreseen for the closure of the Spanish NPPs. In view of the results obtained, it is difficult to affirm that the CTS will be available in 2028, with the possibility that its implementation may be delayed to 2032, or even that it may never happen, making it necessary to adopt an alternative strategy for the management of GC and ARAR in Spain. Among the different alternatives, the permanence of the current Individualized Temporary Stores (ITS) as a long-term storage strategy stands out, and even the possibility of building several distributed temporary storage facilities (DTS) in which to store the SF and HLW from several Spanish NPP. Keywords: nuclear waste, storage, nuclear power plants.