— The experiments aimed to compare data driven models for the valuation of residential premises were conducted using KEEL (Knowledge Extraction based on Evolutionary Learning) system. Twelve different regression algorithms were applied to an actual data set derived from the cadastral system and the registry of real estate transactions. The 10-fold cross validation and statistical tests were app...

THE FUNCTION OF THE EPIGLOTTIS IN SOUND PRODUCTION (HISSING) OF PITUOPHIS MELANOLEUCUS.-Since White (1884) first related the enlarged epiglottis of Pituophis to the quality and unusual loudness of the sound production (hissing) in these snakes, a number of workers have discussed this functional relationship. The enlarged epiglottis of Pituophis, a generic characteristic (Cope, 1891), forms a pl...

The genus Vestalenula is the most species rich in the putative ancient asexual ostracod Family Darwinulidae. Several new Recent species were described from various continents, mostly based on carapace shape and structure. These species were found in a variety of aquatic and (semi-) terrestrial habitats, including springs, streams, interstitial waters, leaf litter in forests and in splash zones ...

We present results of seismic tomography for a broad region of southern Africa using data from the seismic component of the Kaapvaal Project, a multinational, multidisciplinary experiment conducted in the late 1990s. Seismic images provide clear evidence of mantle structures that mimic the surface geology across the region and provide important constraints on subcrustal structure associated wit...

Systematic spatial variations of anisotropic characteristics are revealed beneath the eastern U.S. using seismic data recorded between 1988 and 2016 by 785 stations. The resulting fast polarization orientations of the 5613 measurements are generally subparallel to the absolute plate motion (APM) and are inconsistent with the strike of major tectonic features. This inconsistency, together with t...

The interplay between the pectoral module (the pectoral girdle and limbs) and the pelvic module (the pelvic girdle and limbs) plays a key role in shaping avian evolution, but prior empirical studies on trait covariation between the two modules are limited. Here we empirically test whether (size-corrected) sternal keel length and ilium length are correlated during avian evolution using phylogene...

The aerospace community has an increasing interest in developing super sonic transport class vehicles for civil aviation. One of the concerns in such a project is to minimize the sonic boom produced by the aircraft as demonstrated by its ground signature. One approach being considered is to attach a spike/keel on the front of the aircraft to attenuate the magnitude of an aircraft’s ground signa...

New shear-wave splitting measurements at permanent broadband seismic stations in the south-central United States reveal the orientation and degree of polarization of mantle fabrics, and provide constraints on models for the formation of these fabrics. For stations on the stable North American craton, correspondence between observed polarization direction of the fast wave and the trend of Proter...