CNN-based methods have also been combined with exemplar-based one to explicitly incorporate the mask of holes for better structure recovery and detail enhancement [26, 33, 36] . In these methods, the mask is utilized to guide the propagation of the encoder features from known regions to the holes. However, the copying and enhancing operation heavily increases the computational cost and is only deployed at one encoding and decoding layers. As a result, they are better at filling in rectangular holes, and perform poorly on handling irregular holes (see Fig. 1(e) ).

CNN-based methods have also been combined with exemplar-based one to explicitly incorporate the mask of holes for better structure recovery and detail enhancement.


Along with the development of ships, the mechanical structure inside the ships becomes more and more complex, and so do the excitation mode and the components of excitation signals. Due to the limited load capacity and inner space of the ships, a majority of power devices are installed together rigidly or flexibly to form the isolation object with multiple excitation sources. As the vibration excitations generated by each equipment are different in amplitude, phase, frequency, and direction, those excitation signals are mixed and overlapped, resulting in complicated and variable frequency and phase of excitation signals which happen on the entire vibration isolation object [1] [2] [3] [4] . The energy generated from mechanical vibration of the ships is mainly delivered via the supporting base. Vibration isolation technology can effectively isolate the mechanical vibration transfer. The vibration isolation technology can be divided into passive and active ones. Despite the simple structure and reliable operation, passive vibration isolation technology has inherent defect of poor vibration isolation performance in low frequency and resonance regions. It is difficult to purely rely on passive vibration isolation technology to further improve vibration isolation performance of multisources complex excitations vibration isolation system. Active vibration isolation technology can overcome the defect of the passive vibration isolation technology, which is the poor vibration isolation performance in low frequency and resonance regions. Thus, studies on theories, methods, and technologies of active vibration isolation technology under multiple complex excitation sources are critical to achieve vibration isolation of machinery equipment of ships in terms of whole frequency domain.

As the vibration excitations generated by each equipment are different in amplitude, phase, frequency, and direction, those excitation signals are mixed and overlapped, resulting in complicated and variable frequency and phase of excitation signals which happen on the entire vibration isolation object.


Among the abovementioned research papers related to active vibration isolation, a majority focus on single-layer and double-layer active vibration isolation system with single excitation source, studying dynamics model and control strategy and algorithm, while some propose active control policies and guidelines of multifreedom degree vibration isolation system. However, there have yet been no deep and comprehensive studies about whether resultant effect can be achieved by jointly using multiple active vibration isolators. Multisources complex excitations active vibration isolation system is the system which achieves vibration isolation by giving play to combined effect of active and passive vibration isolation components. It is the typical mechatronic system. Due to the complicated and changeable excitation, strong nonlinear relationship, and interconnection among different excitation sources and different isolators via structure, the system is very complicated. Thus, it is difficult to build a mathematical model which meets the requirements with the analysis method. Experimental data include all information of the model and the use of model identification method in the experimental data is an effective way to solve such issues [16, 17] . The least-squares method is the method which determines the parameter of system model by minimizing square and function of the generalized error. It is applicable to both linear and nonlinear systems. Thus, this paper adopts this method to complete model identification of multisources complex excitations active vibration isolation system. The control is the core link of the active vibration isolation system and the feedback control is especially suitable for complex systems and systems with uncertain parameters [17] . With simple structure, good stability, reliable operation, and strong robustness, PID feedback controller is mainly subject to three parameters, namely, P, I, and D. Determination of control parameters is the core of control system design. As taking of PID control parameters by hands not only is timeconsuming, but also fails to ensure optimal performance, intelligent control algorithm-based PID controller obtained the PID parameters by combining with modern intelligent algorithms such as genetic algorithm, ant colony optimization algorithms, and particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] . The PSO algorithm is a kind of swarm optimization algorithm in the field of smart computing which is obtained by referring to preying of birds. Compared with the genetic algorithm, ant colony optimization algorithms, and other smart computing methods, the PSO algorithm has simple structure, few parameters, fast convergence speed, easiness to implement, and low time complexity and space complexity. It is demonstrated to obtain the good optimal solution at a low computational cost, and thus it is widely studied and applied in PID parameter optimization field [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] .

It is the typical mechatronic system.

Experimental data include all information of the model and the use of model identification method in the experimental data is an effective way to solve such issues.

The control is the core link of the active vibration isolation system and the feedback control is especially suitable for complex systems and systems with uncertain parameters.

As taking of PID control parameters by hands not only is timeconsuming, but also fails to ensure optimal performance, intelligent control algorithm-based PID controller obtained the PID parameters by combining with modern intelligent algorithms such as genetic algorithm, ant colony optimization algorithms, and particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm.

It is demonstrated to obtain the good optimal solution at a low computational cost, and thus it is widely studied and applied in PID parameter optimization field.


Tensile test with small strain rate is conducted on crystalline chitin fiber as schematically shown in Fig. 4a . The stress-strain relationship and the linear fitting series are plotted in Fig. 4b . The backbone elastic modulus of achitin fiber is 92.26 GPa. Such high elastic modulus results from the strong covalent bonds that connect chitin monomers tightly along the backbone direction, making chitin fiber the reinforcing phase in chitin-protein composite materials. This result is comparable to the results from other numerical studies [15, 16] .

This result is comparable to the results from other numerical studies.


Recent studies have shown that the dimension of constituent in biological composites is closely related to their mechanical properties [28] [29] [30] . For instance, the fracture energy of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) is maximized at a certain width (ranging from 6.2 to 7.3 nm) and thickness (ranging 4.8-5.6 nm) [28] . In silk material, properly sized protein crystals can offer optimal load-bearing capacity [29, 30] . In bone, mineral particles with the critical size become insensitive to defects and have strength close to a theoretical limit [24] . In the structures of bone and shell, a theoretical study has pointed out the existence of characteristic length of mineral constituents that accounts for the optimized stress transfer efficiency [31] . Considering that the modeled chitin-protein system shares a similar TSC structure with that of bone and shell, we expect that mechanical properties of the chitin-protein composite could be critically linked with the length of embedded chitin fibers. Meanwhile, as the modeled composite encompasses many chitin-protein interfaces, effect from water could play an important role in tuning the mechanical properties, like many materials with bilayer interfaces [15, 17, 32, 33] . At the chitin-protein interface, water molecules interfere in the bilayer connection and reduce the adhesion strength [15] . However, the hydration effect toward the mechanical properties of the entire chitin-protein composite remains undiscovered.

Recent studies have shown that the dimension of constituent in biological composites is closely related to their mechanical properties.

For instance, the fracture energy of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) is maximized at a certain width (ranging from 6.2 to 7.3 nm) and thickness (ranging 4.8-5.6 nm).

In silk material, properly sized protein crystals can offer optimal load-bearing capacity.

In bone, mineral particles with the critical size become insensitive to defects and have strength close to a theoretical limit.

In the structures of bone and shell, a theoretical study has pointed out the existence of characteristic length of mineral constituents that accounts for the optimized stress transfer efficiency.

Meanwhile, as the modeled composite encompasses many chitin-protein interfaces, effect from water could play an important role in tuning the mechanical properties, like many materials with bilayer interfaces.

At the chitin-protein interface, water molecules interfere in the bilayer connection and reduce the adhesion strength.


Finally, we discretize the continuum equations first in space (creating a semi-discrete system) and then discretize in time using the method of lines. This gives us considerable flexibility in choosing discretization schemes appropriate for very different types of equations. For example, the MHD equations are solved here with high-resolution shock-capturing methods, while we might solve the Einstein equations using methods that preserve a discrete energy norm. Using the method of lines, we can easily and consistently combine these two sets of semi-discrete equations in a uniform time integration. Time integrators can be independently chosen for their desired properties or order of integration. For example, we choose for this work a third-order Runge-Kutta scheme that preserves the TVD condition [21] .

For example, we choose for this work a third-order Runge-Kutta scheme that preserves the TVD condition.


Mesh refinement is necessary for obtaining accurate numerical solutions for three dimensional systems in general relativity, and AMR is essential for complicated problems where the refinement regions can not be guessed a priori. We use the HAD infrastructure to provide Berger-Oliger style AMR [19] . HAD has a modular design allowing one to easily implement many different sets of evolution equations, and different modules can be combined, for example, to solve both the Einstein and MHD equation simultaneously. HAD supports higher order differencing schemes, and our implementation of the MHD equations is fully third order accurate [20] . Refinement regions can be specified in a variety of ways. HAD provides a shadow hierarchy for specifying refinement criteria using truncation error estimates, or the user may specify problem specific criteria, such as refining on gradients or other solution features. HAD supports different interpolation schemes (we choose WENO interpolation for this work) and supports both finite volume and finite difference equations or combinations of both. Finally, as discussed below, HAD scales well in strong scaling tests in both unigrid and AMR tests.

We use the HAD infrastructure to provide Berger-Oliger style AMR.

HAD supports higher order differencing schemes, and our implementation of the MHD equations is fully third order accurate.


The CENO scheme is robust, and has three advantages for our code. First, the method does not require the spectral decomposition of the Jacobian matrix, making it relatively efficient. Central and central-upwind schemes are known to give results nearly identical to those of more complicated methods for many problems [15, 16] . With the added capability of AMR, we find that we are able to efficiently resolve very fine solution features. A second advantage of CENO for our purposes is that it is a finite difference, or vertex centered, method. As we will solve the Einstein equations with finite differences, using a finite difference fluid scheme simplifies coupling the two sets of equations with AMR. The simplification arises because fluid and geometric variables are always defined at the same point as grids are refined. Finite volume and finite difference grids become staggered with respect to each other as they are refined. While we find this simplification advantageous in our present work, we note that our AMR code HAD can combine finite difference and finite volume schemes [17] . A third advantage is that ENO schemes are easily extended to higher order accuracy. Our CENO scheme can reconstruct fluid variables to both first and second order, resulting in second and third order evolution schemes, respectively.

Central and central-upwind schemes are known to give results nearly identical to those of more complicated methods for many problems.

While we find this simplification advantageous in our present work, we note that our AMR code HAD can combine finite difference and finite volume schemes.


Recently, the concept of a variable-speed wind turbine equipped with permanent magnet synchronous generators (PMSG) has received increased attention by various wind turbine manufacturers. The use of permanent magnets in the rotor of the PMSG makes unnecessary to supply magnetizing current through the stator for constant air-gap flux; the stator current needs to be only torque producing [8, 9] . Hence for the same output, the PMSG can operate at a higher power factor because of the absence of magnetizing current, and will be more efficient than the induction machine used in other types of wind turbines.

The use of permanent magnets in the rotor of the PMSG makes unnecessary to supply magnetizing current through the stator for constant air-gap flux; the stator current needs to be only torque producing.


To overcome this problem, models in the dq reference frame have been developed; these models consider the most suitable scheme of the test system according to the topology under study and the control necessities [1, 6, 14] . In the case of real-time simulations the complexity of the model and the computational effort are two aspects to take into account in the modeling [4, 15] . In this contribution a state-space model in the dq reference frame was developed based on these considerations, that is, the model needs to be simpler compared with models obtained in the phase domain and preserve the dynamic behavior of the test system. The developed model meets these characteristics and includes the modulation signal required to control the power electronic converter, that allows the link between the wind turbine and the grid; variable that is omitted in many works.

To overcome this problem, models in the dq reference frame have been developed; these models consider the most suitable scheme of the test system according to the topology under study and the control necessities.

In the case of real-time simulations the complexity of the model and the computational effort are two aspects to take into account in the modeling.


Predicting the mechanical properties, failure and risk of bone fracture non-invasively is an active area of research [26] [27] . Any proposed model must be able to predict the strength and strain distribution accurately under different loading conditions. According to the literature, automatic CT-based FE model is typically used for evaluating the acceptability of the mechanical behavior of bone under loading [28] [29] . This study used automatic mesh generation using CT images. Although the study goal was to answer the question of whether the bone formation in real femur would follow the prediction by ESO, our work was also fundamentally a comparative study and can be extended to perform failure and risk analysis of the bone for a given set of both material and geometrical properties using ESO.

Predicting the mechanical properties, failure and risk of bone fracture non-invasively is an active area of research.

According to the literature, automatic CT-based FE model is typically used for evaluating the acceptability of the mechanical behavior of bone under loading.


Predicting the risk of fracture and failure has been studied on CT based FE models [30] . Muscle malfunction may result in bone remodelling in a specific section due to changes in the mechanical stimulus. By reducing the gluteus medius force, we found that a large portion of anterior and posterior elements were removed and these sections became thinner, as shown in Figure 9 . This could be due to the fact that the gluteus medius force trajectories had an opposite effect in comparison with the joint force on the femur head. By this reduction, the joint force must have become dominant which resulted in the preservation of medial/lateral elements and the removal of anterior/posterior elements, thus leading to a higher fracture risk in those thinner areas. On the other hand, the adductor longus connects the medial part of femur to pelvis (on point P4 in Figure 3 ) with the force pushing from anterior to posterior in adduction. By reducing this muscle force, anterior elements were removed, particularly in the top section, as shown in Figure 10 . It is likely that the risk of fracture in the anterior area would have been increased in this scenario of muscle malfunction.

Predicting the risk of fracture and failure has been studied on CT based FE models.


Millions of tons of rice husk are produced per year in China, and most of it is not properly used [17] . The effective utilization of rice husk remains a challenge. To the best of our knowledge, no research has been published investigating the yield, composition, and property of biochar obtained from the pyrolysis of rice husk impregnated with boric acid. In this work, a series of biochar samples was produced through a two-step pyrolysis of rice husks with different boric acid contents. The biochar yields, compositions, and properties were characterized. From these data, the effects of boric acid content on biochar yield, composition, and property were illustrated. This understanding is useful for biochar production and application from rice husk.

Millions of tons of rice husk are produced per year in China, and most of it is not properly used.


In Recent years, the massive rises in the Internet and low cost of E-mail have attracted a lot of attention of the most of advertisers of markets. As a result, receiving a high volume of unwanted messages which are increasing day by day, have become commonplace for users. These unwanted messages are called Spam [1] . Spams, in most cases are advertisements for advertising suspicious, plans for getting rich fast and seemingly legitimate services [2] .

These unwanted messages are called Spam.

Spams, in most cases are advertisements for advertising suspicious, plans for getting rich fast and seemingly legitimate services.


We further explored the linear relationship between the subjects' rankings and the corpus-based model, using correlation analysis. The elicited judgments were com- Table 5 : Descriptive statistics for Experiment 1, by subjects pared with the interpretation probabilities which were obtained from the model described in Section 2 to examine the extent to which the proposed interpretations correlate with human intuitions. A comparison between our model and the human judgments yielded a Pearson correlation coefficient of .40 (p < .01, N = 270). This verifies the Probability Band effect discovered by the ANOVA, in an analysis which compares the individual interpretation likelihood for each item with elicited interpretation preferences, instead of collapsing all the items in three equivalence classes (i.e., High, Medium, Low). In order to evaluate whether the grammatical function has any effect on the relationship between the model-derived meanings and the human judgments, we split the items into those that received a subject interpretation versus those that received an object interpretation. A comparison between our model and the human judgments yielded a correlation of r = .53 (p < .01, N = 135) for object-related items and a correlation of r = .21 (p < .05, N = 135) for subject-related items. Note that a weaker correlation is obtained for subject-related interpretations. One explanation for that could be the parser's performance, i.e., the parser is better at extracting verb-object tuples than verbsubject tuples. Another hypothesis (which we test below) is that most adjectives included in the experimental stimuli have an object-bias, and therefore subject-related interpretations are generally less preferred than objectrelated ones. An important question is how well humans agree in their paraphrase judgments for adjective-noun combinations. Inter-subject agreement gives an upper bound for the task and allows us to interpret how well the model is doing in relation to humans. For each subject group we performed correlations on the elicited judgments using leave-one-out resampling (Weiss and Kulikowski, 1991) . For the first group, the average inter-subject agreement was .67 (Min = .03, Max = .82, SD = .14) , and for the second group .65 (Min = .05, Max = .82, SD = .14) . This means that our model performs satisfactorily given that humans do not perfectly agree in their judgments.

For each subject group we performed correlations on the elicited judgments using leave-one-out resampling.


The dependences of the directly measured SH and TH power on the input power are shown in Figure 2(a) . Under our experimental condition, the input power of 10 mW corresponds to an input peak intensity of 100 GW/cm 2 . The maximum input power is 54 mW, corresponding to an input peak intensity of 540 GW/cm 2 . The highest SH efficiency of 4.5% is obtained at the input power of 13.3 mW (an input peak intensity of 133 GW/cm 2 ), while the highest TH efficiency of 10.8% is obtained at the input power of 7.4 mW (an input peak intensity of 74 GW/cm 2 ). When the losses are taken into account, composed of the coupling loss of 5% and the Fresnel losses (14.2% for the fundamental wave, 13.6% for the SH wave, 14.5% for the TH wave), the highest efficiencies of the generated SH and TH waves are 6.5% and 15.7%, respectively, as shown in Figure 2(b) . As the input power increases, the SH power increases linearly and the TH power increases quadratically. The THG efficiency saturation has been observed at the intensity level of 20 GW/cm 2 in the femtosecond cascaded THG [8] . When the intensity is raised to the order of magnitude of 100 GW/cm 2 , the THG efficiency can't keep constant. It decreases with the increasing input intensity.

The THG efficiency saturation has been observed at the intensity level of 20 GW/cm 2 in the femtosecond cascaded THG.


The spectra were measured by a high-resolution spectrometer (Ocean Optics), as shown in Figure 3(a) . The SH spectrum has a smooth profile with a FWHM of 4.7 nm. The main peak of the TH spectrum appears at 508.9 nm with a FWHM of 8.7 nm and another peak locates at 516.1 nm. The TH spectral width is more than two times as the reported value of 4 nm by the cascaded THG of 118 fs pump pulses with a FWHM of 51 nm in the two-dimension PPLN [8] . The measured TH mode in the output face of the sample is shown in inset of Figure  3(b) . A nearly circular profile indicates a good spatial intensity distribution of THG.

The TH spectral width is more than two times as the reported value of 4 nm by the cascaded THG of 118 fs pump pulses with a FWHM of 51 nm in the two-dimension PPLN.


However, the most efficient conversion of cascaded THG is achieved when the phase-matching conditions for both second harmonic and sum frequency processes are satisfied. In case of cw or quasi-cw regimes, the simultaneous phase-matching of the two parametric processes has been realized in several different structures in the past two decades [1] [2] [3] . For two-dimension nonlinear photonic crystals, they are often utilized to realize the noncollinear THG [4] [5] [6] . Recently, collinear THG was also achieved by a short-range-ordered two-dimension nonlinear photonic crystal [7] . However, there are few reports on cascaded THG of ultrashort pulses. N. Fujioka realized noncollinear cascaded THG of femtosecond pulses using two-dimension periodically poled lithium niobate and THG efficiency of 8% with spectral width of 4 nm was obtained [8] .

In case of cw or quasi-cw regimes, the simultaneous phase-matching of the two parametric processes has been realized in several different structures in the past two decades.

For two-dimension nonlinear photonic crystals, they are often utilized to realize the noncollinear THG.

Recently, collinear THG was also achieved by a short-range-ordered two-dimension nonlinear photonic crystal.

N. Fujioka realized noncollinear cascaded THG of femtosecond pulses using two-dimension periodically poled lithium niobate and THG efficiency of 8% with spectral width of 4 nm was obtained.


The durability of concrete depends primarily on the ease (or difficulty) with which fluids in the form of liquid (water), gas (carbon dioxide, oxygen) or dissolved ions (chlorides, sulphates) can move through the hardened material [1] . In this respect, transport properties such as diffusion, permeability and absorption are key factors in deterioration processes such as, for example, corrosion of the steel reinforcement resulting from chloride ingress and carbonation, sulphate attack and freeze-thaw damage. It is evident that concrete durability is intimately linked to the microporous nature of the cementitious binder hence pore size, pore-size distribution, pore connectivity and pore constriction all play an important role in the long-term performance of concrete structures.

The durability of concrete depends primarily on the ease (or difficulty) with which fluids in the form of liquid (water), gas (carbon dioxide, oxygen) or dissolved ions (chlorides, sulphates) can move through the hardened material.


The sternocleidomastoid is superficial cervical flexor and takes over the role of deep cervical flexors during neck stabilizing tasks in patients with cervical disorders [16] . High activity of the sternocleidomastoid is often associated with a forward head posture and craniocervical pain [17] . Anecdotally, climbers often have poor posture, with the head held forward, rounded shoulders and lower cervical spine lordosis, although evidence-base for this dysfunctional posture in climbers is limited. Our results show very low activation of sternocleidomastoid during static climbing postures. Therefore, we cannot relate typical static climbing postures to a forward head posture. On the other hand, other climbing related activities such as belaying or spotting climber, due to the need to look upwards for extended periods of time, may induce high activity of sternocleidomastoid and induce impairment of the deep active stabilising system.

The sternocleidomastoid is superficial cervical flexor and takes over the role of deep cervical flexors during neck stabilizing tasks in patients with cervical disorders.

High activity of the sternocleidomastoid is often associated with a forward head posture and craniocervical pain.


The greatest activation of lower trapezius was identified in the "bent arm, straight legs" and "overhanging" postures. These postures placed the support for the hand away from the line of gravitational forces, and required high horizontal forces to be developed in order to maintain equilibrium [11] . Climbing postures involving the external rotation of the shoulder at 90° abduction cause maximum depression of the scapula, isolating the upper and lower trapezius to a greater extent than any other exercise [12] . Interestingly, low activation of the upper trapezius was apparent in all climbing postures, and in both the natural and corrected condition. The low activation of the upper trapezius and high activation of middle and lower trapezius make these climbing postures interesting for rehabilitation programmes, where muscular imbalances between weak lower and middle trapezius and strong upper trapezius lead to scapulothoracic dysfunction [5] .

These postures placed the support for the hand away from the line of gravitational forces, and required high horizontal forces to be developed in order to maintain equilibrium.

Climbing postures involving the external rotation of the shoulder at 90° abduction cause maximum depression of the scapula, isolating the upper and lower trapezius to a greater extent than any other exercise.

The low activation of the upper trapezius and high activation of middle and lower trapezius make these climbing postures interesting for rehabilitation programmes, where muscular imbalances between weak lower and middle trapezius and strong upper trapezius lead to scapulothoracic dysfunction.


Low serratus anterior SEMG activation was found for all postures with a non-significant increase in activation in corrected shoulder positions. The serratus anterior produces scapular upward rotation, posterior tipping, and external rotation, thus preserving the subacromial space [13] . Research has linked weakness in the serratus anterior muscle to shoulder pathology [14] . Therefore, exercises to strengthen the serratus anterior and develop coordination of its activity with the lower trapezius should be considered in climbing training programmes.

The serratus anterior produces scapular upward rotation, posterior tipping, and external rotation, thus preserving the subacromial space.

Research has linked weakness in the serratus anterior muscle to shoulder pathology.


The pectoralis major is one of the strongest prime movers of the glenohumeral joint. Subjects with higher activation of pectoralis major and lower activation of serratus anterior during different push-up exercises have previously demonstrated scapular winding and, therefore, incorrect scapula positioning [15] . We hypothesised higher pectoralis major activation during naturally chosen shoulder positions, which was not confirmed. For all climbing postures, irrespective of shoulder position, very low activity of pectoralis major was recorded. However, the activation of pectoralis major may be different during dynamic climbing movements.

Subjects with higher activation of pectoralis major and lower activation of serratus anterior during different push-up exercises have previously demonstrated scapular winding and, therefore, incorrect scapula positioning.


Climbers adopt static postures while climbing for route reading, recovery, and to dry the hands with chalk. On steep overhanging walls climbers aim to recover on larger holds, with their arms fully extended at the elbow and with a relaxed shoulder. However, relaxation of the shoulder while hanging is not recommended by clinicians due to the potential for shoulder injury [1] . Common shoulder injuries include superior labral, from anterior to posterior (SLAP), tears and impingements [4] . These two injuries are connected with dysfunctional glenohumeral and scapulothoracic kinematics and weak, or insufficient, stabilising musculature [5] . The main stabilising muscles for the shoulder are the lower and middle trapezius and serratus anterior [6, 7] . Dysfunctional kinematics of the shoulder stabilising muscles while climbing may be associated with changed timing properties of the aforementioned muscles and predominant activation of the upper trapezius. Considering the high incidence of shoulder injuries reported by climbers it would appear that involvement in the sport increases the risk of shoulder injuries, as is the case in many overhead sports [8] .

However, relaxation of the shoulder while hanging is not recommended by clinicians due to the potential for shoulder injury.

Common shoulder injuries include superior labral, from anterior to posterior (SLAP), tears and impingements.

These two injuries are connected with dysfunctional glenohumeral and scapulothoracic kinematics and weak, or insufficient, stabilising musculature.

The main stabilising muscles for the shoulder are the lower and middle trapezius and serratus anterior.

Considering the high incidence of shoulder injuries reported by climbers it would appear that involvement in the sport increases the risk of shoulder injuries, as is the case in many overhead sports.


The natural placement of the shoulder in elevation is in agreement with clinicians' observations [1] . No subject maintained the gleno-humeral joint in a central position when asked to place themselves naturally in any of the static climbing postures; as this position was found to produce lower scapula stabilizing muscles activation, climbers should focus on centring the shoulder during actual climbing. On the other hand, using climbing postures while also centring the shoulder might be a suitable exercise after shoulder injuries, in rehabilitation or preventive programmes, as scapula stabilizing muscles are highly activated.

The natural placement of the shoulder in elevation is in agreement with clinicians' observations.


Sport climbing is an increasingly popular recreational and competitive activity. The sport is, in contrast to general opinion, relatively safe with an incidence rate of approximately 0.027-4.2 injuries per 1000 hours of climbing [1] . Primarily injuries occur because of chronic overloading, which represent up to 93% of all injuries [2] . Chronic overuse injuries occur due to repetitive stress without adequate rest and are often associated, among other factors, with wrongly performed movement kinematics or, in sport terminology, incorrect technique [3] .

The sport is, in contrast to general opinion, relatively safe with an incidence rate of approximately 0.027-4.2 injuries per 1000 hours of climbing.

Primarily injuries occur because of chronic overloading, which represent up to 93% of all injuries.

Chronic overuse injuries occur due to repetitive stress without adequate rest and are often associated, among other factors, with wrongly performed movement kinematics or, in sport terminology, incorrect technique.


Perhaps most significantly, the transition to ITQs seems to be slowed by contention over the initial quota assignment. Even when quota is grandfathered, as it usually is, fishermen have incentives to compete for larger allocations in various ways. Anecdotal evidence and theory suggest why some fishermen may prefer the status quo and hence block transition to ITQs (Grainger & Costello 2012b) . Heterogeneity, in terms of skill and capital investments, is likely to exacerbate distributional competition and further slow the transition.

Anecdotal evidence and theory suggest why some fishermen may prefer the status quo and hence block transition to ITQs.


Einstein theory of special relativity has received much criticism [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] . Doubts on the bases of scientific, mathematical, and philosophical contentions have been expressed. Criticism, on both academic and non-academic levels, has been mainly motivated by the unordinary physical phenomena of the time dilation and length contraction of moving objects, emerging from the purely mathematical formulation of the theory, in addition to numerous paradoxes combined with the inconsistency and ambiguity in their resolutions [10] .

Einstein theory of special relativity has received much criticism.

Criticism, on both academic and non-academic levels, has been mainly motivated by the unordinary physical phenomena of the time dilation and length contraction of moving objects, emerging from the purely mathematical formulation of the theory, in addition to numerous paradoxes combined with the inconsistency and ambiguity in their resolutions.


However, it is important to note that the region is not monolithic. Significant differences exist in democratic political institutions and practice. Moreover, none of the data shows that the fledgling democracies do worse in the economic arena compared to rival systems. Given democracy's inherent value, that itself is a strong argument for abiding to favor political liberalization in Africa. In the new development strategy, trade plays an important mission, although not through the mechanisms that economists have traditionally used (Stiglitz, 1998) . The magic of relative advantage is that a poor country benefits from trade. Even if, in absolute terms, its productivity is lower than its trade partners' across the complete range of goods.

In the new development strategy, trade plays an important mission, although not through the mechanisms that economists have traditionally used.


However, some authors have pointed to the gaps between the standard Hecksher-Ohlin trade model and what is observed in practice (Romer, 1994; Sachs and Warner, 1995) . Evidently, something is missing from the standard story. The most important gains from trade policy may come from the increased variety of goods to which an open trading system offers access (Rodriguez-Clare, 1996; Stiglitz, 1997) .

However, some authors have pointed to the gaps between the standard Hecksher-Ohlin trade model and what is observed in practice.

The most important gains from trade policy may come from the increased variety of goods to which an open trading system offers access.


The issue of development and better distribution of world resources have long been components of the world trading system. It is broadly documented that there is a strong nexus between trade and development (Kwa, 2007; Wade, 2008) . Meanwhile, it is hard to disprove the fact that trade policy can be a powerful engine for a country's economic development. The exact nature of the link between trade and development is continuously a subject of controversy within the ranks of academics and policy makers (Arnfred and Utas, 2007) .

It is broadly documented that there is a strong nexus between trade and development.

The exact nature of the link between trade and development is continuously a subject of controversy within the ranks of academics and policy makers.


The model factorial paths for site quality and trust indicate strong antecedents of perceived usefulness on the regression weights (site quality srw = 0.361, cr = 5.804; trust srw = 0.430, cr = 6.754) (see Table 6 ). Both site quality (east = 0.438; west = 0.413; central = 0.415) and trust (east = 0.266; west = 0.284; central = 0.280) have great indirect effects on continuance intentions (see Tables 17-19 ). These findings match the collectivist culture of Saudi Arabia, where people tend to trust only those within their in-group (Yamagishi and Yamagishi 1994) .

These findings match the collectivist culture of Saudi Arabia, where people tend to trust only those within their in-group.


The current Israeli antenatal model is comprised of two distinct pathways wherein medical information is sequestered; HMO community physicians provide antenatal care and hospital physicians provide care for labor and delivery. These frequently disconnected pathways embody the fragmentation of care that contributes to adverse maternal outcomes [2] . Antenatal anesthesia clinics function as a bridge between these pathways. Fifteen years after the opening of Israel's first antenatal anesthesia clinic in Hadassah, most currently running clinics are in the center of the country, two are in the north and none in the south of Israel.

These frequently disconnected pathways embody the fragmentation of care that contributes to adverse maternal outcomes.


There are two traditional modeling approaches for predicting c, discriminative and generative. Discriminative models optimize the conditional probability p(c|x) (or some other discriminative criterion) directly. The models are good classifiers, since they do not waste resources on modeling those properties of the data that do not affect the value of c, that is, the distribution of x. A classic example of a discriminative model is logistic regression, which is a special case of Generalized Linear Models (GLMs) [1] . In GLMs, functions of linear combinations β T x of the independent variables are sought in order to predict p(c|x, β). The other traditional approach is generative modeling of the joint distribution p(c, x). The benefit of generative models is that compared to purely discriminative models, they add prior knowledge of the distribution of x into the task. This facilitates for example inferring missing values, since the model is assumed to generate also the covariates x. The models are often additionally simpler to construct, and their parameters offer simple explanations in terms of expected sufficient statistics. A classic example of generative models is the linear discriminant analysis (LDA).

The models are good classifiers, since they do not waste resources on modeling those properties of the data that do not affect the value of c, that is, the distribution of x. A classic example of a discriminative model is logistic regression, which is a special case of Generalized Linear Models (GLMs).


The two modeling approaches are related. A discriminative classifier can be obtained by simply changing the objective function from the joint likelihood p(c, x|θ) to the conditional likelihood p(c|x, θ) by use of the Bayes formula, and then optimizing the model parameters. The method has been put to extensive use in speech processing applications, where good results have been obtained using discriminative hidden Markov models [6] . What is often neglected is that even after converting a joint density model to a discriminative model, the model still constructs a density estimate for x. In this paper we show that this information may be useful, even if the model is inaccurate, for example in predicting missing values of x. We also show that the discriminative joint density models are very close to so-called generalized linear models with random effects. The models operate in the same parameter space, but the generative formulation restricts the space.

The method has been put to extensive use in speech processing applications, where good results have been obtained using discriminative hidden Markov models.


One of the feasible approaches to consume CO 2 in the environment is to utilize it for the production of industrial polymeric materials. Poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) is a prominent polymer that can be synthesized through the copolymerization of CO 2 and propylene oxide (PO) in the presence of catalysts. The interest of synthesizing PPC through copolymerization using CO 2 as raw materials has been increasing due to the breakthrough findings by Professor Inoue in 1969 [2] . As a biodegradable and bio-based polymeric material, PPC is considered to be a good candidate to complement and replace some of the petroleumbased plastics in various applications. Additionally, its large elongation at break is useful for many applications. Numerous studies have highlighted the benefits of producing PPC in terms of helping to mitigate the CO 2 & Amar K. Mohanty mohanty@uoguelph.ca emission while reducing the current reliance on the conventional fossil-based plastics [1, [3] [4] [5] . However, the property profile of neat PPC cannot fulfill many requirements, as it is neither typical for engineering plastics nor rubbers. PPC presents an amorphous structure and a relatively low glass transition temperature which is within the range of human body temperature. Additionally, the inherent low stiffness and poor thermal stability also limit PPC's industrial application to a large extent. In terms of improving the properties of PPC and exploring new applications, many studies have focused on developing new processing methodologies [6] [7] [8] . Blending of two or more polymers is a well-established technique to address the material property limitations of individual polymers. In general, optimal polymer blends can provide advantage over the individual polymers in terms of processibility, material performance, and cost.

The interest of synthesizing PPC through copolymerization using CO 2 as raw materials has been increasing due to the breakthrough findings by Professor Inoue in 1969.

Numerous studies have highlighted the benefits of producing PPC in terms of helping to mitigate the CO 2 & Amar K. Mohanty mohanty@uoguelph.ca emission while reducing the current reliance on the conventional fossil-based plastics.

In terms of improving the properties of PPC and exploring new applications, many studies have focused on developing new processing methodologies.


The optimal blending of PPC with PLA may result in a blend polymeric material that exhibits a favorable property profile by combining the high elongation at break of PPC and good tensile strength and modulus of PLA. Additionally, PLA has similar chemical structure as PPC, which might help to obtain better compatibility in the blend [11] . In light of this, the PLA/PPC blend system has been investigated in some studies [3, [11] [12] [13] . However, results have shown that only partial miscibility exists between PLA and PPC, resulting in unfavorable properties. Certain compatibilization needs to be introduced into the blend system in order to acquire better performance.

Additionally, PLA has similar chemical structure as PPC, which might help to obtain better compatibility in the blend.

In light of this, the PLA/PPC blend system has been investigated in some studies.


Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is a renewable and compostable thermoplastic, with potential applications in the plastics industry. L-lactic acid, which is used to synthesize PLA, can be obtained by fermenting renewable sugar resources, such as starch and other polysaccharides through a biotechnological process involving lactobacillus bacteria. The raw materials of L-lactic acid are inexpensive and can be easily obtained. Synthesis of PLA starts with the fermentation of dextrose obtained from biomass such as corn starch [9] . A continuous condensation reaction produces pre-polymer of PLA, which has low molecular weight. Then, a mixture of lactide isomers are formed with these oligomers. After a purification process, ring-opening polymerization (ROP) produces high molecular weight PLA polymer. Lactic acid exists in two isomeric states, Dand L-enantiomers, which can be controlled during synthesis by modifying the strains of lactobacillus used.

Synthesis of PLA starts with the fermentation of dextrose obtained from biomass such as corn starch.


Besides its compostability and biocompatibility, PLA has good processibility for films, injection molding parts and composite applications [10] . PLA in general has excellent mechanical properties but lacks impact strength and elongation at break. Researchers have attempted to increase the toughness of PLA with varying routes [10] .

Besides its compostability and biocompatibility, PLA has good processibility for films, injection molding parts and composite applications.

Researchers have attempted to increase the toughness of PLA with varying routes.


Recent concerns over climate change have generated great interest in reducing the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG). Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), as one of the GHG, is considered to be the biggest contributor to climate change. The contribution that triggers global warming is reported to be about 66 % from CO 2 [1] . In the past few decades, the rapid industrialization, population growth and the associated economic activities mainly in developing countries resulted in the emission of massive amount of CO 2 to the atmosphere, causing global warming. Thus, the reduction of CO 2 emission has become a major global target in recent years. In order to address this issue, great efforts are being made to capture and utilize CO 2 , besides reducing the emission.

The contribution that triggers global warming is reported to be about 66 % from CO 2.


The free parameters of physics -fundamental constants and cosmological parametersseem to be finely-tuned for life. Small changes in their values can suppress or erase the complexity upon which physical life as we know it, or can imagine it, depends. The scientific literature on the fine-tuning of the universe for life has been reviewed in several articles [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] .

The scientific literature on the fine-tuning of the universe for life has been reviewed in several articles.


The present study demonstrated that environmental variations during the neonatal period generate stable behavioral changes in adulthood that may or may not be associated with modifications in maternal behavior. The neonatal handling model used in the present study consists of briefly removing pups from the nest followed by tactile stimulation. Our results showed that when the pups were returned to their nests, an increase in mother licking behavior was observed. Additionally, as adults, the animals exhibited less fear-like behavior than those that were not subjected to maternal separation and tactile stimulation. These results are consistent with previous reports, in which animals handled during the neonatal period exhibited less fear-like behavior when exposed to the open field test (Madruga et al., 2006; Padoin et al., 2001) .

These results are consistent with previous reports, in which animals handled during the neonatal period exhibited less fear-like behavior when exposed to the open field test.


The neonatal period is a phase when an animal's first social connections are formed (Scott, 1962) . Normal interactions in the mother-pup relationship are important for the proper growth and development of mammals (Pauk, Khun, Field, & Schanberg, 1986) . Maternal behavior in rats consists of various integrated elements related to the nutrition and care of the offspring. These behaviors either directly involve the pups (e.g., lactation, licking, searching for pups) or do not directly involve the pups (e.g., building nests, maternal aggression) (Numan & Insel, 2003) . In rats, mothers spend up to 85% of their total time during the lactation period in the nest with their pups, feeding or licking their litter (Grota & Ader, 1969; Stern & Johnson, 1990) .

The neonatal period is a phase when an animal's first social connections are formed.

Normal interactions in the mother-pup relationship are important for the proper growth and development of mammals.

These behaviors either directly involve the pups (e.g., lactation, licking, searching for pups) or do not directly involve the pups (e.g., building nests, maternal aggression).

In rats, mothers spend up to 85% of their total time during the lactation period in the nest with their pups, feeding or licking their litter.


Several improvements have to be done in order to use the diagnostic on larger systems. An incremental algorithm able to take into account observations on successive temporal windows is in development [11] . An important point is the choice of the size of the temporal window in which the strategy of merging is applied. The optimal size of the temporal windows has still to be determined, knowing that it clearly depends on the application requirements.

An incremental algorithm able to take into account observations on successive temporal windows is in development.


The objective of this study is the analysis of the sustainable environmental management of small rural tourism companies, which has been previously analysed from different perspectives [25] . This approach is used in the present study, where we will aim to analyse the environmental management of the entrepreneurs. The study of rural tourism in different areas is widely studied in the literature [26] [27] [28] . Our empirical work has been conducted in the Spanish region of Castilla y León, which is the largest region in the whole country and offers more than 18% of the rural tourism destinations in Spain, with more than 3000 accommodations in this area and more than 27,000 hotels. This generates more than 4000 direct jobs to satisfy more than 150,000 overnight stays [29] .

The objective of this study is the analysis of the sustainable environmental management of small rural tourism companies, which has been previously analysed from different perspectives.

The study of rural tourism in different areas is widely studied in the literature.

This generates more than 4000 direct jobs to satisfy more than 150,000 overnight stays.


Even though both ANN-and SVM-based methodologies are used in classification and image retrieval scenarios, it is identified that the SVM-based classification could provide more accurate results [23] [24] [25] . This paper details the design and development of an automated mosquito classification system, concluding with experimental results using the prototype sensor module that validates the proposed approach in classifying mosquitoes from a set of other predefined bugs. The developed system can classify mosquitoes from a set of other predefined bugs such as bees and flies. The main challenges in designing an automated mosquito surveillance system includes the choice of extracted features, classification algorithm and the non-trivial process of implementing theoretical designs generated analytically into physical mechanisms. The proposed approach is environment-friendly, in terms of mosquito surveillance in open or closed drain perimeter, narrow channels and reservoirs, where the satellite mapping and manual examination methods are highly difficult. We analyze the morphological characteristics that distinguish the mosquitoes from other insects and provide color-based analysis for distinguishing the mosquito species. Our long-term objective is to deploy the developed mosquito classification system on a mobile robotic platform, capable of autonomously synthesizing mosquito-vector-density maps across larger areas.

Even though both ANN-and SVM-based methodologies are used in classification and image retrieval scenarios, it is identified that the SVM-based classification could provide more accurate results.


The SM passed over the year all the experimental tests that have been performed, with only few (marginal or theoretically ambiguous) deviations of measurements from the predicted values (most notably, in the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, g µ − 2 [9] ). Nonetheless, the model looks incomplete from the theoretical point of view, due to some relevant limitations. Among them, a missing explanation for some of the most striking features of the model (namely, the hierarchical structure of the particle mass spectra) and the indication of a new mass scale around the TeV, that should prevent the mass of the Higgs boson to be pushed by radiative corrections to values much higher than the measured one. Many New Physics (NP) models have been built to overcome these difficulties and experiments are carried on to test these hypothetical scenarios.

The SM passed over the year all the experimental tests that have been performed, with only few (marginal or theoretically ambiguous) deviations of measurements from the predicted values (most notably, in the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, g µ − 2).


Besides pursuing output and price stability, monetary policy can be used to achieve stable exchange rates, foreign exchange (FX) reserves and policy rates to avoid the fiscal distractions. Insufficient aggregate demand results in unemployment and excess demand results in inflation (Auclert, 2019) . It is the sole responsibility of the monetary authorities to keep a balance between unemployment and inflation.

Insufficient aggregate demand results in unemployment and excess demand results in inflation.


The goals of monetary policy remained same throughout the history of central banks irrespective of any regime, that is, stable prices without hurting the economic growth of the country (Auclert, 2019) . The simple objective behind economic policies is to ensure public welfare, and to meet this objective the government pursue several policies including monetary and fiscal policies. Monetary policy narrows down the objective of welfare maximization by focusing on price and output stabilization (Blanchard and Gali, 2010; Ippolito et al., 2018) . It is considered as actions taken by the policy makers to adjust the quality, accessibility or cost of money. Generally, it is referred as measures taken by the central banks to expand (or contract) its credit as per the demand of economy.

The goals of monetary policy remained same throughout the history of central banks irrespective of any regime, that is, stable prices without hurting the economic growth of the country.

Monetary policy narrows down the objective of welfare maximization by focusing on price and output stabilization.


In the present research, that was conducted in three independent samples of women, we assumed that the lower jealousy of women of medium height reflects a more secure, long-term mating pattern not only characterized by less jealousy, but also by less intrasexual competition and a "slower" life history strategy. First, in Study 1, we examined again the relationship between height and jealousy among women using well-established scales for reactive, anxious and possessive jealousy (Buunk, 1997; Barelds and Dijkstra, 2007) . In addition to establishing more unequivocally the relationship between height and jealousy in Study 1, in Study 2 we examined the relationship between height and individual differences in intrasexual competition, a broader and more encompassing concept than jealousy. Finally, and most importantly, in Study 3 we examined the relationship between height and a "slower" life history strategy.

First, in Study 1, we examined again the relationship between height and jealousy among women using well-established scales for reactive, anxious and possessive jealousy.


We showed that several amendments could significantly decrease Cd concentration in tobacco leaves grown on agricultural soils with low Cd concentrations. The Cd concentrations we reported in tobacco leaves lie within the range commonly reported in field-grown tobacco (Lugon-Moulin et al., 2004) . So far there has been no direct correlation made between Cd concentration in tobacco leaves and Cd intake by smokers. However, it is hypothesised that a reduced Cd content would decrease Cd in smoke. The effects of the amendments on leaf Cd concentrations were however soil-and dose-dependent. The significant interaction between soils and amendments underlines the necessity to choose the amendment according to the soil type.

The Cd concentrations we reported in tobacco leaves lie within the range commonly reported in field-grown tobacco.


While the bulk vacuum remains stable, the brane vacuum is nevertheless unstable beyond the horizon. This instability occurs due to the interaction of quasiparticles living on the brane with that living in the bulk liquid (i.e. in the higher-dimensional space outside the brane) which leads to the decay of the brane vacuum in the region behind the horizon. The weaker is the interaction the longer the black hole lives. This mechanism of the vacuum decay can be applicable for the astronomical black holes, if we really live on brane of the higher-dimensional world. If the matter fields on the brane are properly coupled to, say, gravitons in the bulk, this may lead to the collapse of the black hole which is fast as compared to the popular mechanism of the black-hole evaporation by the Hawking radiation [10] . This is another example of the fragility of the horizon, now due to the interaction with the higher-dimensional world. We shall consider this example in Section 2.

If the matter fields on the brane are properly coupled to, say, gravitons in the bulk, this may lead to the collapse of the black hole which is fast as compared to the popular mechanism of the black-hole evaporation by the Hawking radiation.


In 3 He-A the 'speed of light' c is about three order of magnitude smaller than the speed of sound. Nevertheless the other instability becomes important -the instability of the superfluid quantum vacuum when it moves with supercritical velocity, v > c. This brings us to the problem of the stability of the quantum vacuum in the presence of the non-trivial metric field. After the first proposal by Unruh there were many projects in condensed matter and optics to simulate the event horizon (see the book [9] ). Till now we were not able to construct, even in the gedanken experiment, the condensed matter system whose vacuum state remains stable in the presence of the horizon. Who knows, maybe this is an indication that the real quantum vacuum -the ether -is also highly sensitive to the presence of the horizon or ergoregion.

After the first proposal by Unruh there were many projects in condensed matter and optics to simulate the event horizon (see the book).


The thermodynamic approach is also useful for discussion of the condensed matter analogs of the cosmological constant problems (the detailed discussion can be found in the book [7] ). In quantum liquids these problems are essentially the same as in our quantum vacuum, with probably the only difference that in the quantum liquids the structure of the quantum vacuum is well known even in the trans-Planckian region. In Section 4 we discuss how the cosmological constant problems (why it is not huge, why it is not zero and why it is on the order of the energy density of matter) are solved in quantum liquids. The solution does not depend on the details of the structure of the quantum liquid and follows from the thermodynamic relationthe Gibbs-Duhem relation -applied to the quantum vacuum as a medium.

The thermodynamic approach is also useful for discussion of the condensed matter analogs of the cosmological constant problems (the detailed discussion can be found in the book).


If the time of the collapse of the black-hole horizon is long enough, we can study the thermodynamics related to the horizon: its temperature and the Bekenstein entropy. In condensed matter systems, as well as in quantum vacuum, the low-temperature thermodynamic properties of the system is determined by zero modes, fermionic or/and bosonic. If the condensed matter system has no zero modes, the gapless (massless) modes necessarily appear in the presence of the ergoregion or event horizon. In such systems, all the entropy comes from the microstates in the black hole interior or in the vocinity of the horizon, where the fermion zero modes provide the source of the Bekenstein entropy [11] . In Section 3 we consider here the simplest example of the entropy produced by the condensed-matter analog of the extremal black hole.

In such systems, all the entropy comes from the microstates in the black hole interior or in the vocinity of the horizon, where the fermion zero modes provide the source of the Bekenstein entropy.


Effect of alkaline solution concentration on diameter reduction in glass fibres The fact that the diameter reduction increases at a constant rate with time means the slope of the line can be used to denote the rate of fibre diameter reduction. Figure 3 shows the fibre diameter reduction with time for fibres treated in NaOH at various concentrations. It presents overall a similar trend to that for KOH in Fig. 2 as the diameter reduction increases linearly with time, and the rate increases as a function of concentration. The glass dissolution process in hot KOH and NaOH solutions involves many elementary steps; the hydroxide ions initially have to diffuse through the bulk solution phase, and eventually some of these ions would come into contact with the localised glass surface and potentially react. It is therefore the interaction of the hydroxide ions with the glass surface which results in glass fibre dissolution/diameter reduction. From our experimental results, it is clear that the rate of dissolution of the glass fibres increases with solution concentration. This could be due to more hydroxyl ions being able to collide with the glass fibre surface with enough energy to result in a reaction, as there was an increased concentration in the bulk phase originally. Figure 4 summarises the effect of solution concentration of KOH and NaOH on the rate of fibre diameter reduction. It can be observed from Fig. 4 that the rate of diameter reduction is linearly correlated with the concentration of both KOH and NaOH solutions. In addition, it is found that the diameter reduction rate in NaOH solution is approximately double that in KOH solution at a given concentration. This suggests that NaOH is a more corrosive E-glass fibre etchant than KOH, and this is consistent with previous investigations concerning bulk glass [16, 22, 23] . The disparity in behaviour of KOH and NaOH with E-glass fibre is clear in Fig. 5 , which shows SEM images of a fibre untreated and after treatment in 3 mol/L KOH and NaOH for 5 h at 95°C.

This suggests that NaOH is a more corrosive E-glass fibre etchant than KOH, and this is consistent with previous investigations concerning bulk glass.


As far as the authors know, there are not many papers for directly designing space curves, especially when the monotonicity of the curvature (and torsion) is considered. Adams proposed a method for drawing a space curve with linearly increasing and then linearly decreasing curvature and torsion with specified endpoint conditions [1] . Higashi proposed to use the evolute, which is the locus of the curvature center, to generate high quality curves [8] . The generated space curve is the intersection of two surfaces that are swept by two curves with monotonically varying curvature generated from the evolutes.

Adams proposed a method for drawing a space curve with linearly increasing and then linearly decreasing curvature and torsion with specified endpoint conditions.

Higashi proposed to use the evolute, which is the locus of the curvature center, to generate high quality curves.


Compound-rhythm log-aesthetic space curves rhythm log-aesthetic curves is determined by specifying the ratio of the change of the tangential angle of the first curve against the change of the tangential angle of the whole curve [12] . However, in 3D, there is no concept of tangential angle. Thus we need a different way to specify the connection point of the two curve segments. For the efficient generation of compound-rhythm log-aesthetic space curves, we show that all the parameters for the second curve segment can be derived from the continuity condition of the LCG and LTG. We have implemented our algorithm and confirmed that the curve can be generated fully interactively.

Compound-rhythm log-aesthetic space curves rhythm log-aesthetic curves is determined by specifying the ratio of the change of the tangential angle of the first curve against the change of the tangential angle of the whole curve.


Thermal management is becoming increasingly important especially with the rapid minimization of electronic chips, which continues to provide challenges for thermal researchers. Indeed, reduction in chips size is a real challenge for designing efficient cooling systems with limited space in which to reject generated heat [1] [2] [3] [4] . One of the promising systems by which high performance heat rejection can be achieved is micro and mini-scale systems, such as micro-channel heat exchangers and heat sinks [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] . They are different from traditional channels, and can be classified according to their associated hydraulic diameters, D h , [10] [11] [12] .

Indeed, reduction in chips size is a real challenge for designing efficient cooling systems with limited space in which to reject generated heat.

One of the promising systems by which high performance heat rejection can be achieved is micro and mini-scale systems, such as micro-channel heat exchangers and heat sinks.

They are different from traditional channels, and can be classified according to their associated hydraulic diameters, D h.


Most importantly, need exists to explain the causes of the substantial variation in outcomes between projects. Numerous theories have been advanced in the literature, but few have been empirically tested [39] . During the survey phase of this project, we collected data on several dozen potential explanatory variables, such as the scale and scope of the project, the capabilities of the consultant and client, and the distance between them. We now turn our attention to developing statistical models to explain and perhaps even predict the outcomes of particular outsourced design projects.

Numerous theories have been advanced in the literature, but few have been empirically tested.


The only other academic data on outsourcing outcomes come from an ongoing study by Anderson, Parker, and DavisBlake [27] . Unfortunately, the results of this work have not yet been fully documented. A brief blurb in the Harvard Business Review states that nearly two-thirds of the projects "struggled or failed," but did not provide the data supporting that claim [14] . A 2008 working paper reports mean values and ranges for project managers' assessments of 55 outsourced product or process development projects [15] . The managers were somewhat satisfied with their working relationships with the suppliers (mean of 3.8 on a 5-point scale) but less so with the performance, quality, cost, and time-to-market impact of the project deliverables (3.3, 3.2, 3.3, and 3.0, respectively). Project performance varied widely, with each measure using the full scale range, but the measures were not strongly correlated -a project might perform well on one measure but poorly on another. Methodological drawbacks to this study include the use of a convenience sample and the pooling together of projects from dramatically different industries such as aerospace and consumer products.

The only other academic data on outsourcing outcomes come from an ongoing study by Anderson, Parker, and DavisBlake.

A brief blurb in the Harvard Business Review states that nearly two-thirds of the projects "struggled or failed," but did not provide the data supporting that claim.

A 2008 working paper reports mean values and ranges for project managers' assessments of 55 outsourced product or process development projects.


A third source of quantitative data on outsourcing outcomes is the surveys conducted by trade journals and professional associations. These have the benefit of using quasi-random samples but the response rates are so low as to cast doubts on their representativeness. For example, a study conducted by EE Times and Electronics Supply & Manufacturing invited 11,000 readers to participate and received 303 responses, or just 2.75% [16] . It is possible that only those with an axe to grind took the time to reply. Nonetheless, the results of these studies offer some insights. The EE Times study found that 65% of outsourcing managers had at some point experienced schedule delays on a project, 59% had experienced communication problems, 46% cost overruns, and 21% a project that failed to meet performance requirements [16] . Nearly one-third of those at large companies (>$500 million annual revenue) viewed outsourcing as a "net liability," compared to just 22% of those at mid-size firms and 13% of those at small companies (< $10M) [17] . The author presents the one-third figure as a cause for concern, but does not state whether the remaining two-thirds viewed outsourcing as a net asset, were indifferent, or skipped the question altogether. An ASME survey of engineering executives found that 44% agreed that "outsourcing generally improves my company's overall financial performance," but only 15% agreed that "outsourcing to overseas/non-U.S. firms offers significant advantages" [19] .

For example, a study conducted by EE Times and Electronics Supply & Manufacturing invited 11,000 readers to participate and received 303 responses, or just 2.75%.

The EE Times study found that 65% of outsourcing managers had at some point experienced schedule delays on a project, 59% had experienced communication problems, 46% cost overruns, and 21% a project that failed to meet performance requirements.

Nearly one-third of those at large companies (>$500 million annual revenue) viewed outsourcing as a "net liability," compared to just 22% of those at mid-size firms and 13% of those at small companies (< $10M).

An ASME survey of engineering executives found that 44% agreed that "outsourcing generally improves my company's overall financial performance," but only 15% agreed that "outsourcing to overseas/non-U.S. firms offers significant advantages".


Additional work is clearly needed to investigate the likely complicated transition between the endmember cases of RLO and photoevaporation to understand its influence on Neptunes/sub-Neptunes. RLO models tailored to individual observed systems may also prove fruitful and lend additional credence to the evolution discussed here. A better understanding of how short-period planets become short-period in the first place would also significantly help clarify the extent to which subsequent RLO played a role since distinguishing remnants of RLO from those that superficially resemble remnants is difficult. Our work here also provides additional impetus to better understand the mass-radius relationship for the puzzling population of sub-Neptunes/super-Earths that seem so common in the Milky Way [37] .

Our work here also provides additional impetus to better understand the mass-radius relationship for the puzzling population of sub-Neptunes/super-Earths that seem so common in the Milky Way.


Treated sewage effluent (TSE) generated in stabilization pond systems and, still representing a kind of wastewater, can be defined as the "used water of a community or industry that presents inorganic solids and organic matter in suspension or dissolved" (Pescod, 1992) . In the Northwestern Region of São Paulo State, there are 195 stabilization pond systems operating by the 'Companhia de Saneamento Básico do Estado de São Paulo' (Sabesp), which are producing annually about 46.9 million m 3 of TSE (Fonseca, 2001) . The common practice to cope with this high volume of the nutrient rich effluents (mostly N) is the discharge to surface waters causing serious environmental damages such as eutrophication (Cameron et al, 1997) . However, the need to preserve existing water resources has led to a reevaluation of this practice (Bouwer and Chaney, 1974; Bond, 1998; Toze, 2006) . Various studies in arid and humid regions have shown the land application of treated sewage effluents as water and/or nutrient source for the irrigation of agricultural crops and a complementary treatment method may represent a sustainable alternative to the discharge to waterbodies (Feigin et al., 1991; Bouwer and Chaney, 1974; Pescod, 1992) .

Treated sewage effluent (TSE) generated in stabilization pond systems and, still representing a kind of wastewater, can be defined as the "used water of a community or industry that presents inorganic solids and organic matter in suspension or dissolved".

In the Northwestern Region of São Paulo State, there are 195 stabilization pond systems operating by the 'Companhia de Saneamento Básico do Estado de São Paulo' (Sabesp), which are producing annually about 46.9 million m 3 of TSE.

The common practice to cope with this high volume of the nutrient rich effluents (mostly N) is the discharge to surface waters causing serious environmental damages such as eutrophication.

However, the need to preserve existing water resources has led to a reevaluation of this practice.

Various studies in arid and humid regions have shown the land application of treated sewage effluents as water and/or nutrient source for the irrigation of agricultural crops and a complementary treatment method may represent a sustainable alternative to the discharge to waterbodies.


Nobel Prize winner Richard Feynman was the first in 1959 to predict the future emergence of a new science which could be able to deal with structures on a scale 1-100 nm. Fifty years after, the unpredictable result is the ability to manipulate materials on the same unimaginably small scale which is used by nature [1] . The repercussions that nanotechnology is having in our lives nowadays are towering: the current applications to molecular biology are leading to the development of structures, devices, and systems bearing a capacity to revolutionize medical therapeutics and diagnostics, which has never been seen before.

Fifty years after, the unpredictable result is the ability to manipulate materials on the same unimaginably small scale which is used by nature.


The inflammatory phase begins immediately after injury and may continue for up to 6 days [8] . Growth factors released from the platelets diffuse into tissues surrounding the wound and chemotactically draw inflammatory cells into the injured area. Neutrophils are the first inflammatory cells to enter the wound, followed by monocytes. Once chemotaxis is completed, local mediators activate the inflammatory cells. Activated neutrophils release a number of lysosomal enzymes (such as elastase, neutral proteases, and collagenase) which proteolytically remove damaged components of extracellular matrix (ECM) [8] . Activated monocytes acquire the macrophage phenotype and aid in host defence [8] .

The inflammatory phase begins immediately after injury and may continue for up to 6 days.

Activated neutrophils release a number of lysosomal enzymes (such as elastase, neutral proteases, and collagenase) which proteolytically remove damaged components of extracellular matrix (ECM).

Activated monocytes acquire the macrophage phenotype and aid in host defence.


The proliferation phase is characterised by the formation of the ECM and the beginning of angiogenesis. The primary cells involved in this phase are fibroblasts and endothelial cells. They proliferate in response to growth factors and cytokines that are released from macrophages, platelets and mesenchymal cells, or have been stored in the fibrin clot. In addition to chemotactically drawing fibroblasts into the wound, PDGF, FGF, and EGF induce fibroblast activation and proliferation [9] . During the first 2-3 days after-injury, fibroblasts activity predominantly involves migration and proliferation. After this time, fibroblasts release collagen and glycosaminoglycans (mainly hyaluronic acid, chondroitin-4-sulphate, dermatan sulphate, and heparin sulphate) in response to macrophage-released growth factors, hypoxia and by-products of anaerobic metabolism. The combination of collagen and fibronectin forms the new ECM, which is essential for the development of granulation tissue that eventually fills the wound [6] . Angiogenesis accompanies fibroblast proliferation and allows nutrients and healing factors to enter the wound space. It is also essential for the growth of granulation tissue. The principle growth factors that regulate angiogenesis are FGF, released by damaged endothelial cells and macrophages, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) which is released by keratinocytes and macrophages [6] .

In addition to chemotactically drawing fibroblasts into the wound, PDGF, FGF, and EGF induce fibroblast activation and proliferation.

The combination of collagen and fibronectin forms the new ECM, which is essential for the development of granulation tissue that eventually fills the wound.

The principle growth factors that regulate angiogenesis are FGF, released by damaged endothelial cells and macrophages, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) which is released by keratinocytes and macrophages.


In recent years, nanomedicine has experienced a progressive expansion: its great potential has attracted considerable investments from governments and industry, which are predicted to increase in the near future, leading to further enhancement and development. Similarly, the knowledge of the cellular and molecular processes underlying wound healing has reached a level which let researchers apply for new therapeutic approaches that act directly on cellular and subcellular events during the healing process. Nanotechnology today offers the means to overcome the dimensional barrier of currently used therapies for wounds and ulcers, to reach a dysfunctional molecular target and exert the therapeutic action straight at the origin of the chronic condition. Nanocarriers possess an enormous potential, as nanoparticles-based delivery systems can be highly beneficial to augment the therapeutic power of biological and synthetic molecules. However the promising results brought by new technologies in therapeutics, the real biological effects of nanoparticles have to be carefully assessed before introducing their use in clinical practice. In particular, the release of active peptides may possibly cause interferences with some biological functions and cellular processes. With regard to this, the incorporation of a targeting ligand into nanoparticles has been proposed, in order to give them site-specificity; also, a wide variety of biomaterials has been prompted to meet the specific biological requirements [82] . This could be especially critical for tissue regeneration, where the biomaterial properties could augment the reparative process, or hinder it due to undesirable attributes of the material.

With regard to this, the incorporation of a targeting ligand into nanoparticles has been proposed, in order to give them site-specificity; also, a wide variety of biomaterials has been prompted to meet the specific biological requirements.


Recently, significant growth has been observed in the size and complexity of the technological installations in the automotive, power, chemical and food industries [9] . A side effect of this growth is an increase in the concentration of measuring, processing and control devices. The likelihood of appearance of a fault that may lead to the breakdown of a component, or the whole system, increases with the complexity of the system [8] .

Recently, significant growth has been observed in the size and complexity of the technological installations in the automotive, power, chemical and food industries.

The likelihood of appearance of a fault that may lead to the breakdown of a component, or the whole system, increases with the complexity of the system.


To tackle this problem, as well as to address the increasingly restrictive safety and environmental regulations, a significant rise in the demands on automatic fault detection, isolation and correction (FDIC) algorithms has been observed [18, 9] . These systems are required to cope with large dimensionality of the measured process variables, high sampling rates, nonstationary patterns, false alarms etc. The automation of diagnostic operations makes it possible to significantly shorten the time of identification and isolation of potential breakdowns, which has economic implications.

To tackle this problem, as well as to address the increasingly restrictive safety and environmental regulations, a significant rise in the demands on automatic fault detection, isolation and correction (FDIC) algorithms has been observed.


Since vehicles in a platoon are dynamically coupled by feedback control laws, acting on one vehicle may inevitably affect others or even amplify as they propagate upstream along the platoon [8] . Hence, the problem of string stability or stability of the platoon as a whole is an important aspect of vehicle platoon control, which is beyond stabilizing each of the individual vehicles. However, it is not stringently required in the case of variable spacing policy without inter-vehicle communication [9] . Instead, we are interested in the case of platoon control with constant spacing strategy.

Since vehicles in a platoon are dynamically coupled by feedback control laws, acting on one vehicle may inevitably affect others or even amplify as they propagate upstream along the platoon.

However, it is not stringently required in the case of variable spacing policy without inter-vehicle communication.


Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) include a group of hematopoietic neoplasms characterized by ineffective hematopoiesis and dysplasia that manifest clinically as cytopenias and a variable tendency for leukemic progression [1 && ,2]. Because of the biological heterogeneity of the disease, the clinical manifestations and outcomes of patients with MDS vary significantly [3] . Therefore, the management paradigm for MDS typically follows a riskadaptive strategy that aims to balance the risk/ benefit ratio of any potential therapeutic intervention against the prognostic outlook for the individual patient [4] . Using a number of validated prognostic schemes, of which the most commonly used is the International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS), patients with MDS are typically grouped into two major risk groups: higher risk and lower risk [5, 6] .

Because of the biological heterogeneity of the disease, the clinical manifestations and outcomes of patients with MDS vary significantly.

Therefore, the management paradigm for MDS typically follows a riskadaptive strategy that aims to balance the risk/ benefit ratio of any potential therapeutic intervention against the prognostic outlook for the individual patient.

Using a number of validated prognostic schemes, of which the most commonly used is the International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS), patients with MDS are typically grouped into two major risk groups: higher risk and lower risk.


In this work, cathodes of high entropy alloys Ti-Zr-Hf-VNb were fabricated using vacuum arc melting in atmosphere of high purity argon. Melting was carried out by a nonexpendable tungsten electrode into a copper water-cooled tank (hearth). The obtained ingots were homogenized by 6-7 time melting with a cooling rate of 50 K/s [14] .

The obtained ingots were homogenized by 6-7 time melting with a cooling rate of 50 K/s.


Evaluation of the nanograins size by XRD, according to the Debye-Scherrer, gave the nanograins size of 55-58 nm for samples 512, which did not change after thermal annealing. Evaluation of the diffusion length of positrons was L + ≈ 100 nm, which was essentially longer than the size of Journal of Nanomaterials nanograins. According to the conventional interpretation, the nanopores are primarily placed at the lines of intersection of three or more interfaces. Thus, the ratio of intensities of the positron lifetime components should decrease with the increase of crystallite size. It was confirmed by the theoretical and experimental studies [27] [28] [29] 33] . Therefore, reduction of the S-parameter (sample 512) may be connected to the annealing of interface vacancies, resulting in a decrease of the S-parameter intensity [38] [39] [40] .

It was confirmed by the theoretical and experimental studies 33].

Therefore, reduction of the S-parameter (sample 512) may be connected to the annealing of interface vacancies, resulting in a decrease of the S-parameter intensity.


The morphology of coating surfaces and the element distribution were studied using the scanning electron microscope with EDS analysis JEOL-7000 F. Counts, arising during coating deposition. In other words, the energy of ion plasma flux increases due to the rising bias potential, which enhances the contribution of the radiation factor. It is known that the formation of a two-phase nanostructured film requires two terms: (1) the increased rate of atomic diffusion along the grain interfaces and (2) the high temperature of 873 ∘ K in the process of deposition to complete the process of spinodal segregation [18, 19, 26] .

It is known that the formation of a two-phase nanostructured film requires two terms: (1) the increased rate of atomic diffusion along the grain interfaces and (2) the high temperature of 873 ∘ K in the process of deposition to complete the process of spinodal segregation.


Since a grain size of the nanostructured coatings is smaller than a length of positron diffusion track in defectfree nanograin, all positrons can reach the grain surface and consequently the interfaces. In this case, most of the volume of available information concerns the defects in the interfaces and triple or more joints. Since the grain size in our experiments varies from 40 to 60 nm, the volume fraction of the interfaces may reach 30 to 35 vol.%, and the interfaces of triple joints may be about 5 to 10 vol.%, and then almost all positrons have to be captured along the interfaces [27] .

Since the grain size in our experiments varies from 40 to 60 nm, the volume fraction of the interfaces may reach 30 to 35 vol.%, and the interfaces of triple joints may be about 5 to 10 vol.%, and then almost all positrons have to be captured along the interfaces.


By continuously increasing the pump power from the continuous-wave threshold and finely tilting the glass substrate, a stable Q-switched pulsed laser operation was achieved. The higher threshold for the case of Q-switched laser operation should be explained by the linear absorption loss of the TI Bi 2 Te 3 SA. The stable Q-switching can be easily observed, indicating that the TI-SA plays a key role for passive Q-switching. We first investigated the passively Q-switched operation with 15% OC. Both the pulse repetition rate and the average output power sharply increased, viewing as the typical feature of a passively Q-switched laser. At the pump power of 7.8 W, Fig. 3(a) shows the typical passively Q-switched single pulse profile. The laser emission was monitored and measured with a peak wavelength of 1064 nm by using an optical spectrum analyzer LasScan RS232 shown in Fig. 3(b) . The pulse duration decrease as increasing pump power and was measured to be 673 ns at maximum output power were both recorded using a digital oscilloscope (Agilent technologies DSO-X-3052A) and a fast photodetector (TEO,DET10C). Fig. 3(c) shows the evolution of the pulse repetition rate and the pulse width. The pulse repetition rate almost linearly increased from 37.9 to 45.5 kHz, while the pulse width shortened from 1.36 to 0.63 s. According to the recorded pulse repetition rate and pulse width, we can approximately calculate the pulse peak power and pulse energy [see Fig. 3(d) ]. The maximum pulse energy of 2.44 J can be estimated from the highest average output power of 111 mW, implying the corresponding peak power of roughly pulsed energy of near 4 W. Despite the obtained average power is smaller than the reported 440 mW from Hu's group, the obtained peak power is much higher better than the published rating of 1.7 W [30] .

The maximum pulse energy of 2.44 J can be estimated from the highest average output power of 111 mW, implying the corresponding peak power of roughly pulsed energy of near 4 W. Despite the obtained average power is smaller than the reported 440 mW from Hu's group, the obtained peak power is much higher better than the published rating of 1.7 W.


Meat contains sufficient nutrients to support microbial growth, even at refrigeration temperature. Several intrinsic and extrinsic factors affect growth rate (Greer, 1989; Holmer et al., 2009) . The faster spoilage of DFD pork is promoted by a high ultimate pH but also by its lower content of glucose and glycolytic intermediates, which forces organisms to use amino acids and leads to spoilage and off-odours, notably by the production of malodorous compounds such as biogenic amines putrescin and cadaverin, produced in low quantity, and volatile metabolites, including sulphur compounds, aldehydes and ketones (Newton and Gill, 1981) . In rabbits, the pHu was higher in BF muscle than LD and was attributable to its lower glycolytic potential (Hulot and Ouhayoun, 1999) . Compared to the control group, a significantly lower pH was only observed with the strawberry-supplemented ration in the BF muscle (pHu=5.84; Table 4 ). The fact that the means of the pHu for the LD muscle were below 6 for meat from rabbits fed supplemented rations suggests conducting other experiments at a higher level of supplementation. Other studies, however, did not observe significant effects for dietary supplementation of rabbit feed with rosemary (0.2%), oregano extract (0.2%) and rosemary (0.1%) plus oregano extract (0.1%) on pHu values (Cardinali et al., 2012) . Therefore, based on published studies, it is uncertain if higher incorporation levels would significantly affect this parameter. Improved pre-slaughter management to lower animal stress would be a more sound approach to reduce the pHu of the meat (Hulot and Ouhayoun, 1999) .

Several intrinsic and extrinsic factors affect growth rate.

The faster spoilage of DFD pork is promoted by a high ultimate pH but also by its lower content of glucose and glycolytic intermediates, which forces organisms to use amino acids and leads to spoilage and off-odours, notably by the production of malodorous compounds such as biogenic amines putrescin and cadaverin, produced in low quantity, and volatile metabolites, including sulphur compounds, aldehydes and ketones.

In rabbits, the pHu was higher in BF muscle than LD and was attributable to its lower glycolytic potential.

Other studies, however, did not observe significant effects for dietary supplementation of rabbit feed with rosemary (0.2%), oregano extract (0.2%) and rosemary (0.1%) plus oregano extract (0.1%) on pHu values.

Improved pre-slaughter management to lower animal stress would be a more sound approach to reduce the pHu of the meat.


The identification of plants is an important matter, both for those who need to be certain which organism they are dealing with, and others who are interested in establishing levels of biodiversity. Although biological identification is still often carried out using a "taxonomic key" -a traditional paper-based kind of expert system, there is an increasing trend towards using computer-aided identification systems [1] . Printed identification guides are followed manually, the user making a series of choices from groups of contrasting statements, eventually ending in a name. Although each of these statements concerns the state of at least one character or attribute, there are often additional characters, used for confirmation. The success and accuracy of identification using this methodology relies greatly on the experience of the author of the key, and how carefully it is interpreted by the user.

Although biological identification is still often carried out using a "taxonomic key" -a traditional paper-based kind of expert system, there is an increasing trend towards using computer-aided identification systems.


Advanced ceramics are increasingly utilized in industries such as aerospace, automotive, and cutting tools. Their mechanical properties (such as high hardness, excellent wear resistance, and high-temperature stability) result in superior performances. These very properties are also responsible for difficulties encountered in machining them into desired shapes and dimensions. It was reported that the machining cost for ceramic components could be as high as 90% of the total cost [1] . Therefore, there is a crucial need to develop more cost-effective machining processes for ceramic components.

It was reported that the machining cost for ceramic components could be as high as 90% of the total cost.


One of the remaining challenges for RUM is edge chipping (or, chamfer) [29] [30] . Fig. 2 illustrates the edge chipping induced in the RUM process. Shown in Fig. 2(a) is a workpiece that has been machined into two pieces by RUM. One piece is the machined part with the desired hole, the other is a rod (or slug) removed from the workpiece. Fig. 2(b) shows the side view of the bottom portion of the machined rod. An edge burr around the bottom of the rod is observable.

One of the remaining challenges for RUM is edge chipping (or, chamfer).


Power has become a major design concern in current microprocessors. The power dissipated has two main components: 1) dynamic power, and 2) static or leakage power. Dynamic power is dissipated due to transistor switching activity, while leakage power continuously dissipates, even when transistors are idle. In current CMOS technologies, dynamic power is dominant and leakage power is less of a concern. However, technology projections for the foreseable future (e.g., 70nm technologies) suggest that static power will dominate overall chip power [13] .

However, technology projections for the foreseable future (e.g., 70nm technologies) suggest that static power will dominate overall chip power.


Hydrogen has received extensive attention as an energy source because it has a higher combustion heat value and pollution-free characteristics [1] . In recent years, with the development of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) technology, the expectations have risen that hydrogen will become a significant clean fuel in the near future [2] [3] . However, hydrogen also has several obvious disadvantages such as a low boiling point, high flammability, and difficulty of transport and perfusion, which hinder the popularization and application of PEMFC. Currently, the online hydrogen fuel processing systems involved the microchannel technology, which is characterized by compactness, high efficiency, and low cost, and can convert liquid hydrocarbon fuel to hydrogen for PEMFC in transient operation [4] [5] . Microchannel reactors can be integrated with PEMFC, which does not increases the volume and weight significantly, while the fuel cells can use the existing hydrogen fuel system to provide a continuous supply of hydrogen, which is an important foundation for the construction of effective fuel cells. Therefore, the development of efficient microreactors for hydrogen production is crucial to meet the requirements of various applications [6] .

Hydrogen has received extensive attention as an energy source because it has a higher combustion heat value and pollution-free characteristics.

In recent years, with the development of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) technology, the expectations have risen that hydrogen will become a significant clean fuel in the near future.

Currently, the online hydrogen fuel processing systems involved the microchannel technology, which is characterized by compactness, high efficiency, and low cost, and can convert liquid hydrocarbon fuel to hydrogen for PEMFC in transient operation.

Therefore, the development of efficient microreactors for hydrogen production is crucial to meet the requirements of various applications.