The carbon dioxide continuous scrubber (CDOCS) system is a rather simple concept utilizing an MEA solution in a packed bubble column (PBC) as the CO 2 absorber, and a smaller PBC containing a heating element as the regenerator [13] . Air is scrubbed during bubbling through the absorber, and a flush gas is bubbled through the regenerator to carry away the regenerated CO 2 from the heated MEA solution. A low head flow, induced by the liquid lift from the air hold-up in the absorber PBC, is used to move solution from the top of the absorber, to the top of the regenerator, then return it to the bottom of the absorber.

The carbon dioxide continuous scrubber (CDOCS) system is a rather simple concept utilizing an MEA solution in a packed bubble column (PBC) as the CO 2 absorber, and a smaller PBC containing a heating element as the regenerator.


The packed bubble column has not been reported in literature or industry as an apparatus for CO 2 absorption from air or other gas streams. It is well known that a bubble column provides excellent liquid/gas contact. A high surface area, low volume packing in the bubble column increases the gas hold-up, reduces geysering, and maintains a small bubble size [12] .

A high surface area, low volume packing in the bubble column increases the gas hold-up, reduces geysering, and maintains a small bubble size.


Monoethanolamine (MEA) is the most widely employed solvent for CO 2 absorption, used for over seventy years in the CO 2 production and gas sweetening industries. Though new amines and amine mixes have been developed, MEA is still the preferred absorbent for low pressure and low concentration CO 2 absorption. The properties and behavior of amine solutions, while not entirely understood, have been empirically documented over time to provide engineers with a useful database for design [10] . Absorption occurs at temperatures up to approximately 60°C. The MEA -CO 2 reaction is exothermic and reversible by supplying heat to the system. The temperature swing absorption/evolution process reverses at approximately 70°C [11] . The basic MEA temperature swing chemistry is given in Equation 1.

The properties and behavior of amine solutions, while not entirely understood, have been empirically documented over time to provide engineers with a useful database for design.

The temperature swing absorption/evolution process reverses at approximately 70°C.


SMEs exist in diverse industries and often face resource constraints in developing SD. Thus, 70% of all industrial pollutants are generated by SMEs [6] . A previous study has demonstrated that approaches to launching SD must be formulated with SME features rather than simply shifting SD practices from large enterprises to SMEs, as the latter approach has been indicated to be unsuitable [7] . Although large enterprises and governments have attempted to increase SME engagement in sustainability initiatives, a framework allowing SMEs to clarify and launch the requested SD arrangements is lacking [8] [9] [10] . In addition, ways to assess performance and expressively engage SMEs in real SD management and practices are absent in previous studies [11] .

Thus, 70% of all industrial pollutants are generated by SMEs.

A previous study has demonstrated that approaches to launching SD must be formulated with SME features rather than simply shifting SD practices from large enterprises to SMEs, as the latter approach has been indicated to be unsuitable.

Although large enterprises and governments have attempted to increase SME engagement in sustainability initiatives, a framework allowing SMEs to clarify and launch the requested SD arrangements is lacking.

In addition, ways to assess performance and expressively engage SMEs in real SD management and practices are absent in previous studies.


As a result of the United Nation announcing the 2030 sustainable development (SD) goals, an increasing number of countries are striving to accomplish these goals. Thus, the Chinese government declared the "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan" to lead enterprises in developing sustainability [1] . Although large-scale enterprises have abundant resources for adhering to the sustainability policies, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) encounter difficulty in pursuing such policies due to resource constraints. In addition, the market consists of 80% SMEs, affecting the overall economic growth of China. However, launching SD possesses complexity and uncertainties; thus, SMEs lack an effective and efficient approach to assess performance. This study proposes a hybrid method to offer guidelines for these SMEs to improve SD by generating unexpected dynamics to expedite the realization of 2030 SD goals.

Thus, the Chinese government declared the "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan" to lead enterprises in developing sustainability.


Focusing on the photosensitivity side, the use of 248 nm, 5 ps laser radiation provides specific advantages compared to the previous art. The energy sum of two 248 nm photons is above the bandgap of the silicate glass, leading to significant two-photon absorption coefficients, compared to longer wavelengths, i.e. 267 nm [4, 15] . That higher two-photon absorption coefficient in combination with the occurrence of intensities of the order of tens of GW/cm 2 , can lead to the efficient grating recording in the hydrogenated silica, utilising modest radiation doses and longer laser pulses. Moreover, the 248 nm photon highly overlaps with the oxygen deficiency and hydrogen based defect centers absorbing at 5 eV vicinity, increasing the possibility of single photon related excitations, which in turn may also contribute to the overall photosensitivity yield [16, 17] .

The energy sum of two 248 nm photons is above the bandgap of the silicate glass, leading to significant two-photon absorption coefficients, compared to longer wavelengths, i.e. 267 nm.

Moreover, the 248 nm photon highly overlaps with the oxygen deficiency and hydrogen based defect centers absorbing at 5 eV vicinity, increasing the possibility of single photon related excitations, which in turn may also contribute to the overall photosensitivity yield.


The concept of pseudorandom functions was proposed by Goldreich, Goldwasser and Micali [16] . They provided a definition and gave a generic method of constructing them from any one-way permutation. An efficient PRF based on the Decisional Diffie-Hellman assumption was proposed by Naor and Reingold [28] .

The concept of pseudorandom functions was proposed by Goldreich, Goldwasser and Micali.

An efficient PRF based on the Decisional Diffie-Hellman assumption was proposed by Naor and Reingold.


Music listening has long been a popular in-vehicle activity. In particular, it can mitigate boredom when driving alone [2] . However, an investigation of the effect of music genre on physiological, mental, and driving performance is rare. Additionally, the intervention effect of the driver's personal character on the association between music type and driving performance should be explored. In this study, effects of music genre (e.g., rock and light music) and driver temperament on physiological and driving performance were evaluated using the driving simulator approach. Results of M-ANOVA indicated that both the within-subject effect (music genre) and between-subject effect (driver temperament) on the mean and variability of heart rate, frequency of lane crossing, and standard deviation of speed were significant. Additionally, the interaction effect between music genre and driver temperament was prevalent. Such findings should be indicative of the driver education and promotion strategies that could in turn enhance driving safety.

In particular, it can mitigate boredom when driving alone.


Eukaryotic algae (EUK) and four distinct populations of cyanobacteria (numbered 1-4) were differentiated through logical gating of bivariate flow cytometry analysis plots (Fig. 2) . Each point on the individual plots represents a single particle detection, thus darker areas indicate higher particle densities. Groups of eukaryotic algae and cyanobacteria are shown within ellipses because they are difficult to distinguish visually in monochromatic plots. Spatial variability in assemblage and population abundance is evident (Table 1 ). The highest abundances were seen in the low chlorophyll, low phycoerythrin population, Synechococcus elongatus ( Fig. 2 ; Cyanobacteria 2), with 801.9±56.3Â10 3 and 532.9±25.0Â10 3 cells ml )1 present only at the western Florida Bay sites (Ninemile Bank and Sprigger Bank, respectively). S. elongatus is known to form blooms in central and western Florida Bay (Lavrentyev et al., 1998; Phlips et al., 1999; Glibert et al., 2004) . A second population of Synechococcus sp, distinguished by higher phycoerythrin and a smaller size ( Fig. 2 ; Cyanobacteria 3), was present at all stations, but with higher densities at the northeast- ern sites and with highest abundance (522.0±81.2Â10 3 cells ml )1 ) at Trout Creek. Cyanobacteria 4, similar in size to S. elongatus, but with a higher phycoerythrin content, were present at much lower abundance at northeast Florida Bay sites (32.1±4.90Â10 3 cells ml )1 at South Nest; 37.4±11.3Â10 3 cells ml )1 at Duck Key). Eukaryotic algae were present at all stations in very low abundance, with the largest population at the Trout Creek site (4.6±1.8Â10 3 cells ml )1 ). High abundances of autofluorescing detrital particles were evident at all stations (Table 1) ; however, the largest detrital signal occurred in the Everglades freshwater discharge exiting Taylor Slough at Trout Creek. The west Florida Bay stations had threefold higher detritus concentrations than the northeastern sites.

S. elongatus is known to form blooms in central and western Florida Bay.


The d 13 C signature of the Trout Creek 0.1-50 lm POM fraction was more isotopically depleted then those at open water marine sites. This depletion may reflect differing carbon sources between the brackish mangrove ecotone and open marine systems, perhaps indicating that the Trout Creek outflow is influenced by dissolved or particulate organic carbon associated with terrestrial sources (Kendall & McDonnell, 1998) . This contention is supported not only by the station's proximity to the mangrove ecotone of the southern Everglades, but also by a more than fourfold higher concentration of detritus at the Trout Creek site, compared to the open marine sites in northeastern Florida Bay. The carbon isotopic signa-tures evident at the station imply that a large component of the detritus is likely of mangrove origin with some autochthonous inputs from the water column community.

This depletion may reflect differing carbon sources between the brackish mangrove ecotone and open marine systems, perhaps indicating that the Trout Creek outflow is influenced by dissolved or particulate organic carbon associated with terrestrial sources.


In this work we present a new layer-by-layer method (LBL) we have developed to synthesize and grow MOFs on surfaces (surface-mounted MOFs (SURMOFs)) [17] . This concept is based on surface chemistry and is in principle related to the solid-phase synthesis of complex (bio-)organic polymers, such as peptides, DNA, etc., by using an appropriately functionalized organic surface as a (two-dimensional) nucleation site [18, 19] . In contrast to the established synthesis protocols of MOFs in general, where the educts (primary building blocks, typically two) are mixed and treated under solvothermal conditions, the LBL growth mode of MOFs is based on the combination of the reaction partners in a sequential fashion separated by removing unreacted components after each step. Using this route we have been able to synthesize and grow different types of MOFs on organic surfaces with different functionalities.

In this work we present a new layer-by-layer method (LBL) we have developed to synthesize and grow MOFs on surfaces (surface-mounted MOFs (SURMOFs)).

This concept is based on surface chemistry and is in principle related to the solid-phase synthesis of complex (bio-)organic polymers, such as peptides, DNA, etc., by using an appropriately functionalized organic surface as a (two-dimensional) nucleation site.


Firstly, all selected articles had to be peer-reviewed journal articles or book chapters written in English, resulting in the exclusion of, for example, conference papers and dissertations. Secondly, the articles had to focus on the integration of at least three of the STEM disciplines. Articles studying the combination of only two disciplines, for example, interdisciplinary mathematics and science or technology integration in mathematics, were excluded. Thirdly, the articles had to provide a clear description of teaching practices for integrated STEM. Finally, all articles had to describe instructional practices for integrated STEM in secondary education. One rater checked whether the articles met the criteria and in case of doubt, papers were discussed with two other raters until consensus was reached. After applying the criteria only 15 articles remained in the sample. Given the small number of articles, the "snowball approach" was used to retrieve additional publications (Doust et al., 2005) . Reference lists of all selected articles were inspected and eight additional relevant articles that met the inclusion criteria were added to the dataset, resulting in a total of 23 articles.

Given the small number of articles, the "snowball approach" was used to retrieve additional publications.


Historically, radiation has been delivered using threedimensional conformal radiation therapy (3DCRT) in a threeor four-field dose delivery technique with excellent target coverage and a well-documented, well-tolerated toxicity profile. With the advent of new technologies, many studies have evaluated the benefits of these technologies in rectal cancer. Intensity modulated radiation therapy is a highly conformal treatment; the radiation beam intensity is modulated to achieve an elevated radiation dose intensity near the tumor and a decreased dose intensity near the neighboring normal tissues which may result in a lower rate of complications. In rectal cancer, the two main dose-limiting organs at risk are the small bowel and the bone marrow. Grade ≥3 toxicity is less than 10% when <195 cc of small bowel receives a dose of 45 Gy or higher [12] . For rectal cancer, since the prescription is most often 50.4 Gy, it is hence important to limit the dose to the small bowel. As for the bone marrow, it has been shown that hematologic toxicity is increased with increasing pelvic bone marrow volume irradiated [13] . As the technologies have evolved to more accurately deliver dose, we have the potential to increase dose, which may improve rates of pathologic complete response or better control acute and long-term treatment related toxicities.

Grade ≥3 toxicity is less than 10% when <195 cc of small bowel receives a dose of 45 Gy or higher.

As for the bone marrow, it has been shown that hematologic toxicity is increased with increasing pelvic bone marrow volume irradiated.


Neoadjuvant long-course chemoradiation is the gold standard for locally advanced rectal cancer (T3-T4 or lymph node positive), followed by surgical resection and adjuvant chemotherapy, which was shown to decrease the risk of loco-regional recurrence [7] [8] [9] . Preoperative chemoradiation compared to postoperative chemoradiation was associated with improved local control and reduced toxicity [5] . Postoperative chemoradiation is recommended to patients with pathological T3-T4 disease or lymph node positive rectal cancer [10, 11] . For patients with T1-T2 node negative rectal cancer managed with local excision who have high-risk features, postoperative chemoradiation is also recommended.

Neoadjuvant long-course chemoradiation is the gold standard for locally advanced rectal cancer (T3-T4 or lymph node positive), followed by surgical resection and adjuvant chemotherapy, which was shown to decrease the risk of loco-regional recurrence.

Preoperative chemoradiation compared to postoperative chemoradiation was associated with improved local control and reduced toxicity.

Postoperative chemoradiation is recommended to patients with pathological T3-T4 disease or lymph node positive rectal cancer.


Multiplier ideals have become quite important in higher dimensional geometry, because of their strong vanishing properties, (cf [1] , [3] , [4] , [5] , [6] , [12] ). They reflect the singularity of a divisor, ideal sheaf, or metric. It is however fairly difficult to calculate multiplier ideals explicitly, even in the simplest cases: the algebraic definition of the multiplier ideal associated to an arbitrary ideal sheaf a requires that we construct a log resolution of a and perform calculations on the resolved space. In this note, we compute the multiplier ideal associated to an arbitrary monomial ideal a. Like a, it can be described in combinatorial and linear-algebraic terms.

Multiplier ideals have become quite important in higher dimensional geometry, because of their strong vanishing properties, (cf,,,,,).


Camera-based photoplethysmography (cbPPG) is a currently evolving measuring technique that utilizes video cameras for the remote acquisition of vital signs [1] . In many aspects, it resembles the common photoplethysmography (PPG) where emitted light is modulated by the cutaneous vasculature, captured and transformed into a cardiac signal [2] . However, cbPPG has a major advantage over PPG as it simply functions with ambient light and allows the assessment of spatial information instead of being restricted to a punctual measurement [3] .

Camera-based photoplethysmography (cbPPG) is a currently evolving measuring technique that utilizes video cameras for the remote acquisition of vital signs.

In many aspects, it resembles the common photoplethysmography (PPG) where emitted light is modulated by the cutaneous vasculature, captured and transformed into a cardiac signal.

However, cbPPG has a major advantage over PPG as it simply functions with ambient light and allows the assessment of spatial information instead of being restricted to a punctual measurement.


Despite the broad opportunities, most studies in cbPPG focus on methods for the reliable extraction of the heart rate [4] . Other measures such as the blood pressure (BP) are less often addressed. For PPG, various approaches have been explored to estimate the continuous BP or surrogates by using PPG signals [2] . For cbPPG, only a few works exist where either the pulse transit time or the shift between cbPPG signals of different body sites is correlated to the diastolic and systolic BP [5] [6] [7] . The pulse pressure (PP), however, is a BP parameter which was not considered so far although it is of high importance by being a risk marker for coronary heart disease and a predictor for all-cause, coronary and cardiovascular mortality [8, 9] .

Despite the broad opportunities, most studies in cbPPG focus on methods for the reliable extraction of the heart rate.

For PPG, various approaches have been explored to estimate the continuous BP or surrogates by using PPG signals.

For cbPPG, only a few works exist where either the pulse transit time or the shift between cbPPG signals of different body sites is correlated to the diastolic and systolic BP.

The pulse pressure (PP), however, is a BP parameter which was not considered so far although it is of high importance by being a risk marker for coronary heart disease and a predictor for all-cause, coronary and cardiovascular mortality.


A named graph only captures 'where now' provenance. Harth, Polleres and Decker argue that a more social provenance model is required [33] . By a social provenance model, they mean that the context should record who provenance. The 'where now' provenance of named graphs can be extended with 'who now' provenance, by also identifying the agent who published the data. This work captures such social provenance, by extending the notion of a named graph with pairs.

Harth, Polleres and Decker argue that a more social provenance model is required.


As an important distribution system, a microgrid integrates a variety of renewable and traditional distributed generations and different loads [1] . How to design optimal controllers to guarantee that the microgrid operates well in both islanded and grid-connected modes is one of the critical issues in the microgrid research area [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] . More specifically, it is important to control the voltage and frequency of each power converter connected to each distributed generation, called the VF control, in the islanded mode while it is necessary to regulate the output active and reactive powers of each distributed generation, called the P-Q control in the grid-connected mode. Some recent works have studied the optimal voltage control issue of the distribution systems in the presence of distributed energy resources [7, 8] . This paper focuses on the optimal P-Q control issue of a microgrid in the grid-connected mode.

As an important distribution system, a microgrid integrates a variety of renewable and traditional distributed generations and different loads.

How to design optimal controllers to guarantee that the microgrid operates well in both islanded and grid-connected modes is one of the critical issues in the microgrid research area.

Some recent works have studied the optimal voltage control issue of the distribution systems in the presence of distributed energy resources.


In cool-season grasses, fructans are mainly accumulated in both leaf sheaths and elongating leaf bases. In Lolium perenne 64 % of total fructans are stored in the leaf sheaths and 36% in the elongating leaf bases (Morvan et al., 1997) . It has been suggested that sheaths serve predominantly as thoroughfares for carbohydrates between leaf blades and other parts of the plant (Borland and Farrar, 1988) . When carbon is fixed in excess relative to the overall plant demand, assimilates are unloaded along the path and stored mainly as storage carbohydrates. Sheaths are then considered to function metabolically as a reservoir of nonstructural carbohydrates in plant species devoid of storage organs per se (Housley and Volenec, 1988) .

In Lolium perenne 64 % of total fructans are stored in the leaf sheaths and 36% in the elongating leaf bases.

It has been suggested that sheaths serve predominantly as thoroughfares for carbohydrates between leaf blades and other parts of the plant.

Sheaths are then considered to function metabolically as a reservoir of nonstructural carbohydrates in plant species devoid of storage organs per se.


It is well known that Lolium species are very sensitive to abiotic stresses (Humphreys et al., 2006) . So, the presence of fructans of different sizes in different tissues of plants of L. multiflorum growing under appropriate subtropical environmental conditions should be taken into account to understanding physiological responses of plants growing under the stress conditions of polluted sites. The capacity to accumulate toxic elements from the air and the biomonitoring efficiency of the studied cultivar may also be affected since their concentrations are expressed relative to leaf matter.

It is well known that Lolium species are very sensitive to abiotic stresses.


The access road to this concession goes northward from the Mahakam River, and there was a plan to extend this road to enter Malinau District (the next district to the north), where many of the concession area were as yet unexploited. From our 1999 to 2009 surveys, we knew that P. aduncum was absent from Malinau at that time. We were concerned that P. aduncum might use the new road to invade the rich and biodiverse forests of Malinau [18] [19] [20] . We undertook this study to examine this risk and determine whether the spread might be prevented.

We were concerned that P. aduncum might use the new road to invade the rich and biodiverse forests of Malinau.


Attending to consumer proximity, cities and urban areas are to be studied. These locations present renewable resource scarcity in general. However, several authors, following the evolution of regulations in countries like UK, present the advantages of small wind [7] - [15] . This paper collects the technical state of the art of the urban small wind sector and the diversity of generators used for this application. Additionally, it presents a valid analytical model for transient analysis of a radial flux permanent magnet synchronous generator (RF-PMSG), which has been implemented on Matlab Simulink. Results obtained by means of the simulator are briefly described, as well as future research lines.

However, several authors, following the evolution of regulations in countries like UK, present the advantages of small wind.


Results are supported by similar observations made in a study which clearly indicates high efficiency of phosphate solubilisation by Bacillus species and Aspergillus species (Rajankar et al., 2007) . Accordingly it was found that fungi have been more efficient in solubilising phosphates than bacterial isolates. The intracellular phosphatase activity of these organisms showed a higher value too, A. niger being the most efficient with an activity of 11.5 Um L -1 and giving the greatest amongst bacteria with an activity of 5.33 Um L -1 at pH 10. The dominant phosphate solubilizers were identified using molecular techniques up to species level. The 16s rDNA sequencing resulted in the identification of the predominant phosphate solubilizers as B. subtilis and A. niger.

Results are supported by similar observations made in a study which clearly indicates high efficiency of phosphate solubilisation by Bacillus species and Aspergillus species.


Despite the important attention human resource issues have received in recent years, health workers in many lowincome settings report their superiors taking little interest in their job satisfaction and work environment, although relatively simple and cost-effective steps can be taken to improve them. It was shown that recognition, responsibility, and training are the main motivational factors for retention of health workers [15] . These motivational factors are closely linked with the perception of job satisfaction. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the job satisfaction of health care staff working in maternal and reproductive health care in Kenya and to explore associations between job satisfaction, staff characteristics, and working atmosphere.

It was shown that recognition, responsibility, and training are the main motivational factors for retention of health workers.


However 'Openness' dimension of the personality model was not found to be significantly influencing perception of Psychological Contract Breach, thus refuting hypothesis 4. Some researchers have revealed that people high on this dimension of personality tend to be liberal and tolerant (Jost, 2006; McCrae, 1996) . Such people are willing to make adjustments in notions and activities in accordance with new situations (Goldberg, 1993) . The tendency of being able to adjust and adaptive in the situation makes such people less concerned about the breach in their contract.

Some researchers have revealed that people high on this dimension of personality tend to be liberal and tolerant.

Such people are willing to make adjustments in notions and activities in accordance with new situations.


So the cross-sectional research may not give accurate picture. Persistent use of field studies and survey methods has resulted in a "methodological rut" (Conway & Briner, 2009; Taylor & Tekleab, 2004) . Use of mixed method research design would be better to have better insight. Future research should explore contract breach on experimental or longitudinal designs that will provide more convincing evidence on the relationship. Future research should be conducted with a more vigorous and diverse sample and should take into account above limitations in order to have better insights.

Persistent use of field studies and survey methods has resulted in a "methodological rut".


Such people are high performance -oriented and usually calm in stressful situations and have ability to cope in the time of crisis. They tend to form long term employment relationship with employer (Raja et al., 2004) . People having these tendencies and mentalities, probably become more concerned with their performance and not engage themselves in looking and evaluating inducements by employer, thus leading to less perception of contract breach.

They tend to form long term employment relationship with employer.


Agreeableness describes people as cooperative, trusting and good natured; avoiding tensions and disagreements in the workplace; not jealous (Costa & McCrae, 1985) . Agreeable people show care and love, provide emotional support, are considerate to others and form deep relationship with others. Agreeable people have the tendency to be pleasant and to concern for co-operation and social harmony (Graziano & Eisenberg, 1997) . Probably because of these tendencies, agreeable people are less likely to think about the differences between expectations and obligations.

Agreeableness describes people as cooperative, trusting and good natured; avoiding tensions and disagreements in the workplace; not jealous.

Agreeable people have the tendency to be pleasant and to concern for co-operation and social harmony.


Texture profile analysis Universal Texture Analyser (CNS, Farnell, UK) equipped with the Texture ProTM texture analysis software were used to carry out texture profile of the roasted beans. For the measurement of texture, a 36 mm cylindrical probe P/36 R was used in terms of compression force (g) and the instrument was calibrated with a 30 kg load cell. The probe was allowed to compress 5 mm into the sample and the samples were placed onto the platform while the target value was set at 15 mm at 1 mm/s. The texture profile analyzer enabled to calculate the hardness, adhesiveness, cohesiveness, springiness, resilience, chewiness, gumminess and fracturability of the sample beans. The properties of texture were obtained from the force time curves. Fracturability (N) (first peak of first compression) and hardness (N) (maximum peak of first compression) were considered to evaluate the textural properties of the cocoa beans (Bourne, 1982) .

Fracturability (N) (first peak of first compression) and hardness (N) (maximum peak of first compression) were considered to evaluate the textural properties of the cocoa beans.


We propose an alternative approach to color imaging, one that is well-suited to computational cameras that are freed from the restrictions of traditional digital signal processor-based architectures. As depicted in the bottom of Fig. 1 , our filter array leaves the majority of pixels unaltered, and therefore measures luminance without subsampling. Color is sampled only sparsely, by placing copies of the standard 2 × 2 Bayer block (or something like it) on a relatively coarse grid. This sort of sparse color sampling has been previously considered in the context of recognition and military surveillance, where the goal is to improve luminance resolution at the expense of color fidelity [11] . In contrast, we show here that with an appropriate computational reconstruction process, high color fidelity need not be sacrificed with this arrangement. In fact, the resulting system is often preferable to a Bayer-like approach for general color photography, because it has direct measurements of high-frequency spatial information in the luminance channel; and spectral information (hue and saturation), while measured sparsely, is easier to reconstruct given these measurements and an appropriate image prior.

This sort of sparse color sampling has been previously considered in the context of recognition and military surveillance, where the goal is to improve luminance resolution at the expense of color fidelity.


Previous studies have predominantly focused on the association between water quality and the potential of cross contamination (Allende et al., 2008; Luo et al., 2011; Van Haute, Sampers, Holvoet, & Uyttendaele, 2013) . Minimal information is available regarding quantitative assessment of the fraction of wash water responsible for observed chlorine demand, particularly in regards to organic loading. Therefore, this study evaluated the organic input per unit of processed produce during a washing process by using chemical properties (e.g., chemical oxygen demand or total organic carbon) of wash water from four different vegetables (romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, carrots, and baby spinach). The data generated is useful in terms of estimating the quantity of chlorine demand input per mass of vegetable following different produce processing techniques. Moreover, the assessment of chlorination kinetics of these vegetable wash waters was conducted to characterize the behavior of chlorine demand in terms of reaction time and chloramine formation. By generating these data, existing and alternative industrial raw vegetable wash water processes should be able to be evaluated for the best treatment strategy. Further, use of this information could enable conceptual engineering designs for safe water reuse during leafy green washing processes.

Previous studies have predominantly focused on the association between water quality and the potential of cross contamination.


While a harmonic quantum oscillator displays a behavior analogous to its classical counterpart, the same does not hold for nonlinear oscillators. The presence of a conservative (Kerr) nonlinearity facilitates the creation of non-classical states. Although top-down fabricated NEM-resonators typically possess a finite Kerr constant µ, it is usually too small to alone suffice for non-classical state generation. In contrast, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene membranes can exhibit strong enough nonlinearities for non-classical states to emerge during free evolution [5, 7] . Using CNTs or graphene also alleviates the need for active cooling due to their low masses and high frequencies [1, 5] . For this reason, carbon based NEM-resonators are highly promising for the study of nonlinear mechanical systems in the quantum regime.

In contrast, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene membranes can exhibit strong enough nonlinearities for non-classical states to emerge during free evolution.

Using CNTs or graphene also alleviates the need for active cooling due to their low masses and high frequencies.


In this paper we study a situation more relevant to the coherent quantum dynamics of carbon based NEM-resonators, namely, a nonlinear oscillator with NLD. In this field there is little to be found in the literature [10] . Our main goals are to characterize the resulting steady states along with the corresponding features of the relaxation dynamics. For the nonlinear oscillator with NLD we find that the parity conserving nature of NLD helps to preserve phase coherence also in the presence of a finite conservative nonlinearity. However, we also find that for sufficiently large ratio between the Kerr constant µ and the NLD strength γ 2 , the coherence of the steady state is suppressed.

In this field there is little to be found in the literature.


Further, at finite temperatures, with NLD, the final state is not a standard thermal state with a reduced density matrix ρ ∝ e −H/k B T unless linear damping (LD) is present. The corresponding Wigner distribution has a dip in the center, whose depth depends on the initial conditions. In the presence of both NLD and LD, the relaxation is governed by a crossover between two different relaxation rates. In the long-time limit, the decay rate Γ is independent of the initial oscillator amplitude for NLD. Instead it is a function only of temperature T . To facilitate experimental determination of the governing damping mechanism, we also present the corresponding signatures in the time evolution of the position coordinate variance. This paper is organized as follows: In section 2, we present the underlying theoretical frameworks used for analytical (rotating wave approximation [RWA] ) and numerical (Wangsness-Bloch-Redfield [21] [22] [23] ) calculations. The latter are used to verify the validity of the RWA-calculations. Then, in section 3, we present results pertaining to the steady states for various scenarios involving NLD and LD. Results on the relaxation towards the steady states are found in section 4, followed by a section with summary and conclusions.

This paper is organized as follows: In section 2, we present the underlying theoretical frameworks used for analytical (rotating wave approximation [RWA] ) and numerical (Wangsness-Bloch-Redfield) calculations.


While there is a vast literature analyzing the conditions under which international environmental agreements (IEAs) can effectively be enforced, there has been very little focus on the political feasibility of effective enforcement systems. The lack of research on the conditions under which effective policies are also likely politically feasible is surprising, given the discrepancy which is often found in environmental policy-making between what constitutes the most effective policy option on the one hand and what is politically feasible on the other hand (Skodvin 2007) . Concerning enforcement, while theoretically there are good reasons to incorporate potent participation and compliance enforcement in IEAs that provide public goods, most IEAs lack such provisions. By improving our knowledge of the factors that influence whether a given policy proposal can successfully be adopted, it might be possible to devise strategies for overcoming the constraints that are at play and to lessen the gap between the ''desirable and the possible'' (Meltsner 1972) .

The lack of research on the conditions under which effective policies are also likely politically feasible is surprising, given the discrepancy which is often found in environmental policy-making between what constitutes the most effective policy option on the one hand and what is politically feasible on the other hand.

By improving our knowledge of the factors that influence whether a given policy proposal can successfully be adopted, it might be possible to devise strategies for overcoming the constraints that are at play and to lessen the gap between the ''desirable and the possible''.


Over the past 25 to 30 years, the use of production contracts in hog production has increased substantially. During the same period, operations have become larger and more specialized; the number and production share of farrow-to-finish operations has declined, while the shares of operations that are farrow-to-wean, wean-to-feeder, and feeder-to-finish have increased (McBride and Key 2013) . On average, in 2009, larger, more specialized operations were especially likely to use contracts (McBride and Key 2013) . Hog contracts generally involve the contractor maintaining ownership of animals, providing inputs and technical advice to farmers. The farmer provides labor and facilities.

During the same period, operations have become larger and more specialized; the number and production share of farrow-to-finish operations has declined, while the shares of operations that are farrow-to-wean, wean-to-feeder, and feeder-to-finish have increased.

On average, in 2009, larger, more specialized operations were especially likely to use contracts.


The results of the analysis provide a way of evaluating the effects of government policies regarding agricultural production contracts. Under pressure from farmers, Iowa and other US states enacted laws that banned meatpacker ownership or control of cattle and hogs intended for slaughter. While contracting per se was not outlawed under these measures, contracts where the meatpacker controls major production decisions were. In our context, the laws outlawed restrictive contracts in which the meatpacker specifies nonlabor inputs but did not outlaw basic contracts in which the farmer chooses the means of production (McEowen et al. 2002) . Clearly, the reduced information rents farmers receive under integration and input control contracts provided them with an incentive to lobby for these laws. Our framework allows us to assess the social desirability of such laws. Because labor has a limited ability to substitute for animals in meat production, this type of contract provisions almost certainly do not increase total surplus in our framework. They can only promote efficiency if another market failure exists and its effects are mitigated by replacing the spot market with contracted and integrated production. On the other hand, the substitutability of labor for specific production techniques may be somewhat higher, so that the efficiency implications of such contract provisions are less clear.

In our context, the laws outlawed restrictive contracts in which the meatpacker specifies nonlabor inputs but did not outlaw basic contracts in which the farmer chooses the means of production.


Identification of emerging trends in economic behavior in households with people of different sex, age and other characteristics can be achieved through quantitative comparisons which are based on statistical data on people's monetary incomes and their structure, wages and their correlation to the subsistence minimum, indicators of income differentiation of the population (Thalassinos and Pociovalisteanu, 2009) . Data in this case are collected by means of regular formal and private household surveys. It should be mentioned that to compare the living standards of different types of households, it is necessary to comply with such a condition as the comparability of incomes. Consumer spending can be used for this purpose.

Identification of emerging trends in economic behavior in households with people of different sex, age and other characteristics can be achieved through quantitative comparisons which are based on statistical data on people's monetary incomes and their structure, wages and their correlation to the subsistence minimum, indicators of income differentiation of the population.


Two-component paint systems are used in various segments of the industrial coatings market. The performances of these systems are, in general, surprisingly good. The gloss, looks, chemical resistance and mechanical properties have the standard of solvent based products. However, the application of these aqueous two-component polyurethanes is rather less intense and it prevents the breakthrough of this technology into the market of the industrial coatings. It is, for instance, difficult to obtain greater layer thickness without surface defects using these two-component systems [1] . Likewise, the procedure itself of obtaining the polyols is rather essential and is reflected on characteristics of the obtained film [2, 3] .

It is, for instance, difficult to obtain greater layer thickness without surface defects using these two-component systems.

Likewise, the procedure itself of obtaining the polyols is rather essential and is reflected on characteristics of the obtained film.


The thermal stability of the aqueous polyurethanes measured by using the dynamic method of the thermogravimetric analysis has been studied by Fambi and Pegoretti [19] . They have studied the thermal stability of polyurethanes based on a solvent and on an aqueous base in the process of which the polyester and the polyether components without the catalysts have been used as polyol components. The objective of the this paper is to evaluate the thermal stability of the aqueous polyurethanes (aqPUR) by means of the dynamic method based on the TGA, applying employing the polyol components based on different acrylic copolymers and the catalysts of different selectivity.

The thermal stability of the aqueous polyurethanes measured by using the dynamic method of the thermogravimetric analysis has been studied by Fambi and Pegoretti.


In recent decades, ethanol production has been sourced solely from sugarcane and concentrated in the state of Sao Paulo, in southeastern Brazil, which accounts for approximately 58% of the national production [1] . Nevertheless, the need for diversifying feedstocks for the production of ethanol is already a cause for concern. Cultivation of multiple sources of feedstocks for energy use in appropriate ecological regions provides greater security against pests, which could jeopardize the use of this energy source [4] . Currently, the risks of monocultures are even larger, considering the scenario of increasingly atypical climates, in addition to fluctuations in the commodities market linked to factors beyond the control of producers.

In recent decades, ethanol production has been sourced solely from sugarcane and concentrated in the state of Sao Paulo, in southeastern Brazil, which accounts for approximately 58% of the national production.

Cultivation of multiple sources of feedstocks for energy use in appropriate ecological regions provides greater security against pests, which could jeopardize the use of this energy source.


Ethanol is consolidated as fuel for light-duty vehicles in Brazil and has been widely available in the Brazilian market since the 1980s. Currently, Brazil is the world's second largest ethanol producer and the largest exporter. In 2015, the country produced 29.9 Mm 3 of ethanol, 1.90 Mm 3 of which was for export [1] . Twenty-one percent of the energy consumption matrix of the transport sector in Brazil comes from renewable sources [2] . The Brazilian ethanol market is still booming, with a growth of 5.8% in production and 19% in consumption compared to 2014 [2, 3] .

In 2015, the country produced 29.9 Mm 3 of ethanol, 1.90 Mm 3 of which was for export.

Twenty-one percent of the energy consumption matrix of the transport sector in Brazil comes from renewable sources.

The Brazilian ethanol market is still booming, with a growth of 5.8% in production and 19% in consumption compared to 2014.


White-rot fungi remove lignin, cellulose and hemicelluloses from wood. Two main patterns are recognized. One is known as selective delignification, in which lignin is removed more than hemicelluloses or cellulose, at early stages of decay, and may be almost entirely removed in the secondary wall and middle lamellae (Levin & Castro 1998) . Other decay fungi, instead, may break down lignin, cellulose and hemicelluloses at approximately the same rates. This is known as simultaneous white rot (Schwarze et al. 2000) . During this process, the cells are left riddled with holes and erosion troughs or with extensively thinned secondary walls (Levin & Castro 1998) .

Two main patterns are recognized.

One is known as selective delignification, in which lignin is removed more than hemicelluloses or cellulose, at early stages of decay, and may be almost entirely removed in the secondary wall and middle lamellae.

This is known as simultaneous white rot.

During this process, the cells are left riddled with holes and erosion troughs or with extensively thinned secondary walls.


However, unfortunately, most people are much poorer at decision making than they think. For illustration, there is a misconception that the decision maker thought they do not have enough information to make good decision [7] . Contrarily, in most cases, they spend much time to collect relative (or even irrelevant) information and trap themselves in the huge amount of information. Decision making is a sophisticated art and decision makers indeed require some help.

For illustration, there is a misconception that the decision maker thought they do not have enough information to make good decision.


The priorities of decision criteria imply the preference of domain expert and therefore, to make better decision, and decision maker can make their choice according to the alternative rank via HDMSM. Also, the visual abilities of HDMSM enable decision maker to compare all available alternative form perspective and then improve decision making quality. Finally, we provide a system demonstration section to illustrate that how HDMSM aggregated the opinion from a group of domain experts. How to appropriately integrate a variety of MCDM approaches is an important issue in decision science [19] . HDMSM provides a valuable recommendation for decision maker to optimize multiple criteria decision making.

How to appropriately integrate a variety of MCDM approaches is an important issue in decision science.


The advent of modern forms of energy production-such as the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil-in tandem with other technological changes helped usher in a rapid increase in standard of living in many parts of the world [1] . Before the rise of industrialized energy production, life expectancy and many other indicators of well-being had remained stagnant throughout much of human history. Hence, the widespread growth in the production and consumption of energy-as well as contemporaneous changes like the decline in deaths due to contagious disease-has been a key contributor to improving worldwide living standards, economic development, and the general advance of civilization [2, 3] .

The advent of modern forms of energy production-such as the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil-in tandem with other technological changes helped usher in a rapid increase in standard of living in many parts of the world.

Hence, the widespread growth in the production and consumption of energy-as well as contemporaneous changes like the decline in deaths due to contagious disease-has been a key contributor to improving worldwide living standards, economic development, and the general advance of civilization.


We have identified a citrus-derived flavonoid, didymin that addresses each of these drawbacks. Didymin is a palatable dietary flavonoid that is orally active, making it a candidate for convenient oral administration in children. Because didymin is non-bitter, time and effort can be saved in developing an effective means of administration (i.e., it is unlikely taste modifying additives will be needed for oral formulations for children). Instead, it is likely didymin can be administered in milk or other liquid diets or formulations for infants and children, for whom it usually it not feasible to use derivatized preparations such as pills and creams. Our studies have revealed that didymin is highly effective against NB both in vitro and in mouse xenografts in vivo [15] . Importantly, we have demonstrated that didymin inhibits multiple targets that are critical for driving NB (PI3K, N-Myc and vimentin), but not related targets that are important for neuronal homeostasis such as Sox2, Nestin, DCX, and NeuN. Didymin treatment was tolerable and appears to be non-toxic, as revealed by DCX staining of newly formed neurons, NeuN staining of mature neurons in the hippocampal dentate gyrus, Ki67 staining of proliferating neural progenitors, and Sox-2 staining of neural stem cells in the subventricular zone of brains in control and didymin-treated mice. High-throughput proteomics approaches have identified N-Myc and its regulator, RKIP, as a strong candidate targets for the activity of didymin. N-Myc is a growth-stimulating protein that is typically overexpressed in NB. Therefore, we postulate that didymin exerts its anticancer effects by suppressing N-Myc through RKIP. We also anticipate that RKIP and N-Myc are mechanistically linked to didymin, and didymin will cause both N-Myc dependent and independent inhibition of the growth of NB cells and NB stem cells.

Our studies have revealed that didymin is highly effective against NB both in vitro and in mouse xenografts in vivo.


Heavy crude oil, of significant economic value, poses difficulty in recovery because of its high viscosity and low flow characteristics. EOR methods were employed to overcome the difficulty. MEOR is a tertiary recovery method which can enhance the recovery of crude oil [43] . The soil sample pH was found to be 8.5 ± 0.5, which was slightly alkaline in nature. It has already been reported that the fractionation of hydrocarbons is higher under slightly alkaline conditions [44] [45] [46] . The eTPH was found to be~4.2%. The mineralogy study of the 10 soil samples showed that minerals such as calcite, quartz, albite, palygorskite, anorthite, dolomite, gypsum, halite, microcline, muscovite, rutile, suhailite and takanelite are present in the soil samples. The heavy crude oil sample viscosity and API gravity were determined as 650,000 mPa·s and 4.57 • , respectively.

MEOR is a tertiary recovery method which can enhance the recovery of crude oil.

It has already been reported that the fractionation of hydrocarbons is higher under slightly alkaline conditions.

The eTPH was found to be~4.2%.


Global energy requirements demand an increased production of crude oil. During conventional recovery methods, about 30-40% of crude oil is recovered while rest remains trapped in the reservoir [1] [2] [3] [4] . Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) targets the trapped crude oil. Crude oil is a fossil fuel which is considered as non-renewable energy source. It is composed of a mixture of different hydrocarbons (including alkanes/paraffins, alkenes/olefins, cycloalkanes/naphthenes, and aromatics), complex hydrocarbons (such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), resins, asphaltenes, along with certain other hetero-species, containing nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur [5] . Heavy crude oil is characterized by high density or specific gravity, more resistant to flow with an American Petroleum Institute (API) gravity of less than 20 • . Extraction of heavy crude oil needs higher energy input. Current methods of extraction include open-pit mining, steam stimulation, the addition of sand to the oil, and the injection of air into well to create subterranean fires that burn heavier hydrocarbons to generate heat. Transportation of these types of crude oil through pipelines poses much difficulty and requires certain diluting agents. Sometimes heavy and light crude oils are mixed to facilitate transport through pipeline. This will result in contamination of the light crude and a reduction in its value [6] .

During conventional recovery methods, about 30-40% of crude oil is recovered while rest remains trapped in the reservoir.

It is composed of a mixture of different hydrocarbons (including alkanes/paraffins, alkenes/olefins, cycloalkanes/naphthenes, and aromatics), complex hydrocarbons (such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), resins, asphaltenes, along with certain other hetero-species, containing nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur.

This will result in contamination of the light crude and a reduction in its value.


Heavy crude oil, of significant economic value, poses difficulty in recovery because of its high viscosity and low flow characteristics. EOR methods were employed to overcome the difficulty. MEOR is a tertiary recovery method which can enhance the recovery of crude oil [43] . The soil sample pH was found to be 8.5 ± 0.5, which was slightly alkaline in nature. It has already been reported that the fractionation of hydrocarbons is higher under slightly alkaline conditions [44] [45] [46] .

MEOR is a tertiary recovery method which can enhance the recovery of crude oil.

It has already been reported that the fractionation of hydrocarbons is higher under slightly alkaline conditions.


The crude oil utilization capability of the isolates were determined by the study of growth characteristics in heavy crude as the sole carbon source, the technique has been used in several studies to determine the oil degradation potential of Pseudomonas and Bacillus sp. [47, 56] . Higher concentrations of hydrocarbons might inhibit biodegradation by limiting nutrient or oxygen supply or by its toxic effects [57] . B. firmus and B. halodurans were shown to have significant growth in BH medium with up to 7% heavy crude oil, which implicates the isolates' tolerance to higher concentrations of heavy crude oil. The pH of the medium turned became more alkaline during the growth period. It was already reported that a slightly alkaline pH may enhance the rate of biodegradation [44] [45] [46] . The findings suggest the isolates as being potential candidates for biotransformation of heavy crude oil.

The crude oil utilization capability of the isolates were determined by the study of growth characteristics in heavy crude as the sole carbon source, the technique has been used in several studies to determine the oil degradation potential of Pseudomonas and Bacillus sp..

Higher concentrations of hydrocarbons might inhibit biodegradation by limiting nutrient or oxygen supply or by its toxic effects.

It was already reported that a slightly alkaline pH may enhance the rate of biodegradation.


In section 2, we prove the parabolic Omori-Yau maximum principle. In section 3 we prove Theorem 1.3 and in section 4 we prove Theorem 1.4. The author would like to thank Jingyi Chen for the discussion on Omori-Yau maximum principle and Kwok Kun Kwong for suggesting the work of Li and Wang [7] .

The author would like to thank Jingyi Chen for the discussion on Omori-Yau maximum principle and Kwok Kun Kwong for suggesting the work of Li and Wang.


As a direct spatial-temporal discretization and simple model, it seems to be convenient to combine the proposed method with circuit simulator to solve the transmission line system with nolinear or passive terminations. However, the implicit difference schemes give some limitations for the complex circuits analysis. A future extension of the novel 1D-FDTD method would be to add terms to account for the MTL with arbitrary loads. On the other hand, the interconnect systems introduced in this paper are passive networks. Nevertheless, in some integrated circuits, with the operating frequency increasing to the millimeter wave range, the transmission line properties of some active devices, such as MESFET, should be considered [27] . In this situation, both the active and passive parts are included in the model. Can we still apply the novel techniques to such problems? This is a very important issue for future realistic applications.

Nevertheless, in some integrated circuits, with the operating frequency increasing to the millimeter wave range, the transmission line properties of some active devices, such as MESFET, should be considered.


Exacerbations of vasculitic symptoms have been reported during interferon therapy, but they have almost always occurred in those with pre-existing vasculitis or cryoglobulinaemia [4, 5] . Occurrence of de novo cryoglobulinaemic vasculitis after successful viral suppression late in the course of interferon therapy is unusual, especially with use of the pegylated form. We report a case of severe de novo cryoglobulinaemic mononeuritis multiplex (MNM) that occurred during week 30 of antiviral treatment for chronic HCV infection. Cryoglobulins had been undetectable in the pre-treatment period and at the time of presentation the patient was HCV RNA-negative.

Exacerbations of vasculitic symptoms have been reported during interferon therapy, but they have almost always occurred in those with pre-existing vasculitis or cryoglobulinaemia.


We evaluated CASCOM using both qualitative and quantitative methods. We analysed and compared our proposed solution with respect to the existing GSN configuration model [1] . First, let us present our quantitative evaluation strategy (i.e. computational performance). In Figure 14a , we examined the feasibility of CASCOM model in term of how much data storage capacity is required as the knowledge-base grows. In Figure 14b , we examined the feasibility of CASCOM by measuring the variability of the data model loading time as the knowledge-base grows. Next, in Figure 14c , we evaluated the variability of query processing time, related to searching tasks, when the knowledgebase grows. In Figure 14d , we examined how IoT resource composition and secondary context discovery query processing time varied as the knowledge-base grows. In order to evaluate CASCOM's computational performance, we generated a data model, according to the ontology presented in Figure 9 , that consists of large amount of IoT resource descriptions. Now, let us present our qualitative evaluation strategy (i.e usability). We used three use-case scenarios for this evaluation. In each use case, the user was required to configure the IoT middleware in such a way that it produces a specific data stream: (1) monitor Phytophtora disease, (2) monitor environmental pollution, and (3) monitor and analyse crowd movement (indoor). Further, we selected three types of users: (1) IT experts who were familiar with GSN configuration process, (2) IT experts who was were familiar with the GSN, and (3) non-IT experts.

We analysed and compared our proposed solution with respect to the existing GSN configuration model.


Reflection-based implementations are known to yield performance drawbacks. Nevertheless, we think that such an approach can be made practicable if implementation algorithms are carefully tuned to perform as many computations as possible at creation time to reduce invocation time overhead, but without inducing impracticable space usage. We claim that this approach, consisting in finding a good compromise between space, creation time, and invocation time, is a general design concern related to reflection-based implementations [14] , [15] .

We claim that this approach, consisting in finding a good compromise between space, creation time, and invocation time, is a general design concern related to reflection-based implementations.


However, emotions are not always easily exhibited through these cues. This is why specialised devices capturing brain activity are used more and more to detect emotions. A brain-computer interface (BCI), which uses electroencephalography (EEG) techniques to record the electrical activity of the brain, is one such device. Among the manifold applications, EEG signals allow one to create emotional models capable of reporting a person's emotional state when an external stimulus is presented [6] .

Among the manifold applications, EEG signals allow one to create emotional models capable of reporting a person's emotional state when an external stimulus is presented.


Traditionally, EEG techniques have been applied to medical applications [10] [11] [12] . Nonetheless, they are now being used in different fields such diverse as marketing, video games and e-learning [13, 14] . These new fields of application have pushed the evolution of EEG devices, following the new users' needs in terms of usability, affordability and portability. The Emotiv EPOC+ headset (https://www.emotiv.com/EPOC/) is one of these new devices. It is a low-priced and lightweight portable BCI-EEG device that offers great flexibility compared to traditional devices used in medicine. Even so, the device captures, processes and analyses in real-time a relatively high amount of data, which have enabled its use in new tele-health systems [15] .

Traditionally, EEG techniques have been applied to medical applications.

Nonetheless, they are now being used in different fields such diverse as marketing, video games and e-learning.

Even so, the device captures, processes and analyses in real-time a relatively high amount of data, which have enabled its use in new tele-health systems.


The propagation of optical signal over the underwater channel suffers from severe water absorption and particle scattering, which results in the overall attenuation and multipath propagation of the optical beam, respectively [6] . Absorption is an energy transfer process that is dependent upon the refractive index of the water medium, whereby photons lose their energy by converting into other forms, such as heat and photosynthesis. This would in turn result in the irreversible loss of optical intensity, causing the total propagation energy of light to decrease continuously, thereby limiting the link distance of the UWOC channel. For various water types with different concentrations of phytoplankton, ranging from very clear (oligotrophic) to highly turbid (eutrophic) waters, the total spectral absorption can range from almost identical to that of pure water to one which shows orders-of-magnitude greater absorption than pure water [6] . Scattering refers to the multiple deflection of light from its original path after traversing a large number of particles present in the transmission medium, which are composed of discrete electric charges such as electrons and protons. Such phenomenon is mainly caused by the particles of sizes comparable to the wavelength (diffraction), or by particulate matters with refractive indices different from that of the water (refraction). As a result of the particle-light interaction, these charges are set in oscillation where the net effect is manifested in the emission of secondary radiation to give the scattering effect.

The propagation of optical signal over the underwater channel suffers from severe water absorption and particle scattering, which results in the overall attenuation and multipath propagation of the optical beam, respectively.

For various water types with different concentrations of phytoplankton, ranging from very clear (oligotrophic) to highly turbid (eutrophic) waters, the total spectral absorption can range from almost identical to that of pure water to one which shows orders-of-magnitude greater absorption than pure water.


Chocolate is a suspension of fine solid particles of sugar, cocoa and milk powder in a continuous fat phase. Chocolates are solid at ambient (20˚C -25˚C) and melt at body temperature (37˚C) giving a smooth suspension of particulate solids with a pleasing cooling sensation in the mouth [1] . The continuous phase influences the sensory characteristics such as mouth feel or melt in mouth.

Chocolates are solid at ambient (20˚C -25˚C) and melt at body temperature (37˚C) giving a smooth suspension of particulate solids with a pleasing cooling sensation in the mouth.


Numerous functional foods are consumed as part of a normal diet and they provide consumers with well-documented and physiological benefits such as probiotic bacteria. Probiotics are live microorganisms and proliferate in the human bowels that confer a health benefit by altering the enteric microflora. The main sources of these organisms are fermented dairy products, for example, yoghurts. However, the functional dairy product must contain a defined number of live probiotic bacteria (usually at least 10 6 cfu/g). Furthermore, their number at the end of the shelf life is the most important criterion when the health-promoting value of a given foodstuff is evaluated [4] [5] [6] [7] .

Furthermore, their number at the end of the shelf life is the most important criterion when the health-promoting value of a given foodstuff is evaluated.


A classic example is the Ramsey growth model with a convex-concave production function of Skiba [26] . If a society starts with a relatively generous supply of capital, the welfare maximizing policy will involve further investment and growth toward a high-income equilibrium. In contrast, a society starting with a capital stock below the threshold level should remain in that low-capital, low-production, low-consumption domain because the long-run benefits of investment do not outweigh the short-run benefits of consumption.

A classic example is the Ramsey growth model with a convex-concave production function of Skiba.


If every compatible function f : G → G is either constant or a left translation, then we say G is translation complete or t-complete for short. It is easy to see that the compatible functions on G are exactly the unary congruence preserving functions on the regular Gset; moreover G is t-complete if and only if the regular G-set is 1-affine complete. Nevertheless one can consider t-completeness as a notion in pure group theory, and we use this perspective for the remainder of the paper. Our main reference for definitions and standard results on group theory is [11] .

Our main reference for definitions and standard results on group theory is.


This study focuses on the disenrollment of the elderly from the program and transfer to a nursing home. A managed home care population is different in terms of risk for adverse outcomes such as nursing home placement, hospitalisation, death, or functional decline (Chernew et al., 2001) . However, the focus of our study is on the transfer to nursing homes because the prevention of nursing home placement is one of the main goals in the PASSPORT program and there is some room for policy makers to facilitate this outcome with appropriate policy options.

A managed home care population is different in terms of risk for adverse outcomes such as nursing home placement, hospitalisation, death, or functional decline.


Traditional statistical models used to determine the econometric function of the real estate prices assume that the price distribution (depend variable) is representative of a deterministic function of the real estate characteristics considered (independent variables). The noisiness of statistical sample is generally modelled hypothesizing that the outputs are affected by a Gaussian noise with a zero mean and constant variance, which does not depend on input variables. Then, the interpolating function is chosen using the maximum likelihood criterion. In this sense, it has been demonstrated that in the case of an output noise independent from the input variables, the maximum likelihood criterion provides distorted results because it systematically underestimates the variance of the noise itself [19] [20] [21] [22] .

In this sense, it has been demonstrated that in the case of an output noise independent from the input variables, the maximum likelihood criterion provides distorted results because it systematically underestimates the variance of the noise itself.


Obviously, the above hedonic equilibrium equation applies to all real estate goods falling in the same market, but this aspect creates problems when different submarkets are present in the same urban area (with consequent spatial heterogeneity) [26] . Large-scale implementation of linear or nonlinear hedonic models can be found in the literature, but their usefulness depends on how models minimize pricing errors due to the large samples from which dataset are extrapolate. Specification error is almost always unavoidable because values does not map linearly onto real estate characteristics, and so errors are due to neglected nonlinearities [27] .

Obviously, the above hedonic equilibrium equation applies to all real estate goods falling in the same market, but this aspect creates problems when different submarkets are present in the same urban area (with consequent spatial heterogeneity).

Specification error is almost always unavoidable because values does not map linearly onto real estate characteristics, and so errors are due to neglected nonlinearities.


To solve the nonlinear system of equations which the geometric approach to the position problem generates, different methods can be used. Newton's method is a direct method which has quadratic convergence in the neighbourhood of each root and is easy to implement. This method needs the Jacobian matrix of the system to be known. In this method, it is very important to have a good starting point since the success of the algorithm depends on this [13] . Other approaches are indirect since they turn the problem of obtaining the roots of the system into a minimization problem of an error function that measures the non-fulfilment of the system's equations. Therefore, different optimization methods can be used. These methods can be classified according to the order of the derivatives that they use.

In this method, it is very important to have a good starting point since the success of the algorithm depends on this.


The direct position problem of a linkage consists of calculating the position of all its elements when the value of the degrees of freedom (DOFs) is known [9] . Two approaches to pose this problem exist. The geometric approach, which is the most used, is based on considering every element of the linkage as an independent solid, obtaining its position in the space from the solution of the equations which are imposed by the geometric constraints [9] . The energy-approach is based on the finite elements and it applies finite elements techniques to solve the kinematic problems [3, 4] . This approach is not discussed in this paper.

The direct position problem of a linkage consists of calculating the position of all its elements when the value of the degrees of freedom (DOFs) is known.

The geometric approach, which is the most used, is based on considering every element of the linkage as an independent solid, obtaining its position in the space from the solution of the equations which are imposed by the geometric constraints.

The energy-approach is based on the finite elements and it applies finite elements techniques to solve the kinematic problems.


Small drop truncation also impacts the ratio of σM (spectral width of the mass spectrum) to Dm (mass-weighted mean diameter). The inclusion of the drizzle and small drops increases the spectral width and reduces Dm so that the ratio σM/Dm is amplified relative to the truncated DSDs. We have shown that errors in estimation of µ from Dm will occur when using truncated DSDs [42] . Small drop truncation also causes higher artificial correlation between μ and Λ (slope of the standard gamma) when µ is estimated using the method of moments [53, 54] .

We have shown that errors in estimation of µ from Dm will occur when using truncated DSDs.

Small drop truncation also causes higher artificial correlation between μ and Λ (slope of the standard gamma) when µ is estimated using the method of moments.


Mathematical modeling and simulation of chromatography are useful tools to understand the involved transport mechanisms, to scale up physio-chemical parameters, and to optimize the experimental conditions. Several models exist in the literature with different levels of complexities to describe the process [2, 3] . The general rate model (GRM) is the most complicated and detailed model in chromatography among all the transport models [3] . In GRM, chromatographic separation is governed by several sorption and transport mechanisms at different scales. Molecules in a sample of mixture are transported by convection through interstitial bulk phase between the chromatographic beads and are dispersed due to inhomogeneities in the flow. The external film mass transfer resistances equilibrate the concentration gradients between the bulk phase and the stagnant film round the porous beads. The intra particle diffusion (combination of pore and surface diffusion), difference in the adsorption/desorption rate and equilibria make possible the separation of individuals components from complex mixtures.

Several models exist in the literature with different levels of complexities to describe the process.

The general rate model (GRM) is the most complicated and detailed model in chromatography among all the transport models.


High performance liquid chromatography is considered as an efficient quantitative and qualitative chromatographic tool in chemical engineering for the separation of multi component mixtures in which each component has different adsorption affinity. Chromatographic techniques have numerous advantages and play key roles in chemical, pharmaceutical, petrochemical, bio-technical, photochemical and food industries. There are several characteristics which make the HPLC procedures more superior over other forms of chromatography namely, (i) it is universally applicable and only few samples are excluded from the possibility of HPLC, (ii) its analysis time is short, (iii) its operation on much larger scale is possible, (iv) it has remarkable assay precision (±0.5% ), and (v) HPLC columns are reusable without regeneration [1] [2] [3] .

There are several characteristics which make the HPLC procedures more superior over other forms of chromatography namely, (i) it is universally applicable and only few samples are excluded from the possibility of HPLC, (ii) its analysis time is short, (iii) its operation on much larger scale is possible, (iv) it has remarkable assay precision (±0.5% ), and (v) HPLC columns are reusable without regeneration.


The analytical solutions of linear chromatographic models can be used to quantify the effect to different mass transfer and reaction kinetics on the process without doing practical experiments in the laboratories [3, 5, 19, 20, [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] . These models are useful to understand the chromatographic process, as in most of the situations the injected volume of the sample is small and is diluted. The derived analytical solutions could be used to validate the numerical solutions of more complex models when no experimental data is available.

The analytical solutions of linear chromatographic models can be used to quantify the effect to different mass transfer and reaction kinetics on the process without doing practical experiments in the laboratories.


The Laplace domain solutions can be used to derive the statistical temporal moments [3, [34] [35] [36] . The retention equilibrium-constant and parameters of the mass transfer kinetics in the column are related to the moments. The moment analysis has been used in a number of studies of fixed-bed systems [3, [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] .

The Laplace domain solutions can be used to derive the statistical temporal moments.

The moment analysis has been used in a number of studies of fixed-bed systems.


The measured current at 20mV is directly proportional to the area available for electrochemical reaction. In order to calibrate this relationship composite anodes of different sizes where packed for the calibration run ( figure 2(a) ). The external cathode areas varied from 0.000636m 2 (10 beads) to 0.0.1272m 2 (2000 beads), by packing different size electrodes in each of the three columns. Figure 3 shows the current measurements of the minimum and maximum velocities. The non-zero offset of the total current measurement can be attributed to the contribution of the non-faradaic current (current produced by physicochemical processes other than the redox reaction). The non-faradaic current was measured by repeating the calibration experiments with a NaOH only solution. The faradaic current (caused by electrochemical reaction) can be obtained by the difference between the two linear regressions (figure 3) and behaves according to the expected outcome. It is important to note that the influence of non-faradaic current in the mass transfer measurements is negligible and therefore not reported (Wang, 2006) .

It is important to note that the influence of non-faradaic current in the mass transfer measurements is negligible and therefore not reported.


With regard to the cell types responsible for the IFN type I release it is noted, that almost any nucleated cell in culture, such as macrophages or lymphocytes, can produce IFNs. However, precursor dendritic cells with plasmacytoid morphology (pDC) were characterized as a specialized subset of cells producing the bulk amount of IFN type one during viral infections [26, 27] . It is conceivable that pDCs may account for the large part of the IFN response in isolated PBMCs reported here. Both Gripp-Heel® and Engystol® triggered an increase in IFN production only in the presence of viral structures, suggesting that Engystol® and Gripp-Heel® rather exert their effect when the immune system is already active than during healthy and inactive immune conditions. We speculate that this subpopulation may be the target for the IFN release induced by Gripp-Heel® and Engystol®. However, this needs to be scientifically proven in further experiments.

However, precursor dendritic cells with plasmacytoid morphology (pDC) were characterized as a specialized subset of cells producing the bulk amount of IFN type one during viral infections.


Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is a solid state joining technique developed by TWI, Cambridge, in 1991 [4] . FSW is immune to the defects and property deteriorations such as melting, solidification, dissolution and or coarsening of precipitates and softening of heat affected zone. In addition, the extensive thermomechanical deformation induces dynamic recovery and dynamic recrystallization that refine the weld microstructure [5] . Therefore, FSW welds have shown the improved mechanical properties compared with fusion welds [6e8] . The present research work focuses on the development of mathematical models to predict the mechanical properties (yield strength, tensile strength and percentage elongation) of FSW joints of aluminum alloy AA2014 and to study the effects of various process parameters, viz., tool rotational speed, welding speed, tilt angle and tool pin profile, on the mechanical properties of friction stir welded joints.

Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is a solid state joining technique developed by TWI, Cambridge, in 1991.

In addition, the extensive thermomechanical deformation induces dynamic recovery and dynamic recrystallization that refine the weld microstructure.


The fusion welding of heat treatable aluminum alloys has always been a great challenge for designers and technologists. The difficulties associated with these joints are presence of a tenacious aluminum oxide, high thermal conductivity, high coefficient of thermal expansion, solidification shrinkage, and adsorbed gases in molten aluminum [1] . In fusion welding, formation of brittle inter dendritic structure occurs due to eutectic melting and resolidification of the fusion zone, which results in decreasing in the mechanical properties like lower strength, hardness and ductility [2, 3] . In addition to the above, the high strength aluminum alloys AA 2014 are prone to solidification cracking. Therefore, the fusion welding processes are not suitable for joining these alloys.

The difficulties associated with these joints are presence of a tenacious aluminum oxide, high thermal conductivity, high coefficient of thermal expansion, solidification shrinkage, and adsorbed gases in molten aluminum.

In fusion welding, formation of brittle inter dendritic structure occurs due to eutectic melting and resolidification of the fusion zone, which results in decreasing in the mechanical properties like lower strength, hardness and ductility.


In business reality, because of various uncontrollable factors, sale costs are usually uncertain and private for firms in a supply chain. Take the retailer Best Buy as an example; the income from maintenance service is an important part of operating profit, and the cost generated is always uncertain and held privately by Best Buy [1] . In addition, we find that many franchisees often conceal cost information such as sales cost from franchisors in the contract [2] . Since cost is a crucial factor in a firm's profit performance, the fluctuation in cost should not be ignored. In a supply chain, cost uncertainty influences directly pricing decision, products sales amount in specific sale channel, and even cooperation between upstream and downstream firms. As such cost information sharing becomes an important issue for firms in a supply chain.

Take the retailer Best Buy as an example; the income from maintenance service is an important part of operating profit, and the cost generated is always uncertain and held privately by Best Buy.

In addition, we find that many franchisees often conceal cost information such as sales cost from franchisors in the contract.


Interestingly, the source mechanism weighting produces very similar shaped stress maps for each combination. The direction of fracture growth is visible from the stress maps, which is in the direction of the maximum horizontal stress. Although source mechanism 2 produced slightly higher average lateral distances for the 0.001 MPa threshold than the other two weightings, it does not exceed 45 m (Fig. 7) . However, should pumping go on for longer than 360 mins, the difference between source mechanism 2 and 3 is likely to increase and become more evident, which may help constrain maximum pumping times on site. This small difference in the stress maps between the weightings agrees with the findings of Vasudevan & Eaton [22] . These results are positive and highly significant for operational practice as it means that regardless of the source mechanism, operators can define a safe lateral respect distance for hydraulic fracturing operations away from known faults and other structural weaknesses.

This small difference in the stress maps between the weightings agrees with the findings of Vasudevan & Eaton.


There have been a number of events in Ohio, Arkansas and Oklahoma, associated to shale gas operations, but which were a consequence of re-injection of wastewater [14, 15] . Hundreds of thousands of shale gas hydraulic fracturing episodes have occurred without issue; however, it is these few instances of felt seismicity that the public remembers. It is, therefore, essential that the risks and uncertainty are fully understood and minimized in order to restore public confidence in the exploration and exploitation of shale gas and hydraulic fracturing. This is particularly the case in the UK, where permission has recently been granted for a number of exploratory wells.

There have been a number of events in Ohio, Arkansas and Oklahoma, associated to shale gas operations, but which were a consequence of re-injection of wastewater.


Westerners live independently in less constraining social worlds and attend to the object and their goals with respect to it. Physical 'affordances' of the environment can also influence perception but is assumed less important. The built environments of the East are more complex and contain more objects than do those of the West. In addition, artistic products of the East emphasize the field and deemphasize objects. In contrast, Western art renders less of the field and emphasizes individual objects and people [21] .

In contrast, Western art renders less of the field and emphasizes individual objects and people.


In 1940, sociologist and criminologist Edwin Sutherland, considered an influential scholar of the 20 th century, wrote an article in the American Sociological Review titled White-Collar Criminality. Sutherland offered to debunk the myth that criminality was reserved for those of the lower rungs of society maintaining that educated, socio-economically well-off individuals are capable of engaging in crime. Although Sutherland was not the first to comment and publish on the issues surrounding white-collar crime, according to white-collar crime scholar Gilbert Geis, he was considered a pioneer in putting "the concept front and center in the world of social science" (Schoepfer & Tibbetts, 2012, p. 67) . In addressing Sutherland's issue with crime causation, Sutherland advocated for a reorientation away from an emphasis on biological, genetic and individual personality characteristics to explain in part or whole criminality emphasizing a more parochial sociological framework focusing solely on the socialization or learning process within close personal and/or social groups to explain the acquisition of criminal attitudes and cognitions (Boduszek & Hyland, 2011) . Differential association theory was Sutherland's major contribution to criminology positing that criminal behavior is learned by interacting with others who engage in criminality producing unique rationalizations, motives and neutralization techniques attributable to different crime classifications including white-collar crime.

In addressing Sutherland's issue with crime causation, Sutherland advocated for a reorientation away from an emphasis on biological, genetic and individual personality characteristics to explain in part or whole criminality emphasizing a more parochial sociological framework focusing solely on the socialization or learning process within close personal and/or social groups to explain the acquisition of criminal attitudes and cognitions.


According to statistics, most of concrete structures damaged are located in severe environment, which draws lots of attention for engineers and scientists. The temperature in severe environment may range from −30 ∘ C in winter to 30 ∘ C during the summer; furthermore it varies from day to night sharply. The severe environment has caused serious problems for concrete structures. In the present work, a typical case was chosen to ascertain the deterioration mechanism. It is a matter of concrete materials in an airport runway. Serious cracking and spalling appeared upon surface of concrete shortly after the structure was put into service, as shown in Figure 1 . The groundwater in situ is not aggressive according to geological survey by local authorities. Hence, the possibility of sulfate attack can be excluded. Since the alkali content of the cement used for the runway shoulder is a little high and the reactivity of the aggregates used is unknown, the occurrence of alkali-aggregate reaction is not eliminable. Both alkali-aggregate reaction and freeze-thaw cycles may result in similar macrostructurally visible cracking and spalling [13] . The present investigation is to identify which one is responsible for the deterioration of the concrete. Concrete cores were taken from the structure, as a reference; concrete samples were also made in laboratory. Various types of testing were carried out to characterize alkali-aggregate reaction and frost resistance. In addition, impermeability and microstructure of the concrete in question were also examined to elucidate the deterioration mechanism.

Both alkali-aggregate reaction and freeze-thaw cycles may result in similar macrostructurally visible cracking and spalling.


Current university programs are not so focused on contents as they used to be. These contents have to be taught anyway, but changing the way they are transmitted to students and enhancing strategies to carry them out effectively and efficiently. In this context, the importance of competence acquisition is a key factor; therefore, universities should carry out those strategies needed to acquire them considering the teaching and learning process [1] .

In this context, the importance of competence acquisition is a key factor; therefore, universities should carry out those strategies needed to acquire them considering the teaching and learning process.


Competences are the set of cognitive, procedural and attitudinal skills that can and should be achieved in higher education; they are essential to ensure: personal, professional and social selfconfidence; responsiveness to the needs of the life context; and effective exercise of the rights and duties of the citizens. These competences go beyond the professional skills, typical of the traditional model of university education [2] . Regulations and society demand broader degrees; hence, the educational model has to be changed in order to achieve the competences requested [3] . Thus, the current university model corresponds to a constructivist model in which the student is the center, building their own learning. Active methodologies are used, which implies that actions come from the students, with the commitment and support of teachers [4] .

These competences go beyond the professional skills, typical of the traditional model of university education.

Regulations and society demand broader degrees; hence, the educational model has to be changed in order to achieve the competences requested.

Active methodologies are used, which implies that actions come from the students, with the commitment and support of teachers.


As described in the previous sections, we solved the problems of these approaches by using the Bitcoin blockchain as the trusted entity for the choreography. In general, the usage of blockchain in BPM is still at its very beginning [26] . Nevertheless, through its design, the blockchain can provide a shared trust basis which is not under the control of a single organization. Messages can be exchanged directly within blockchain transactions and token information can be stored in the blockchain by embedding them in transactions.

In general, the usage of blockchain in BPM is still at its very beginning.


Choreographies are especially important for interorganizational settings, where it is not possible to estab-lish a centralized process control because of organizational boundaries [2] . Furthermore, in very large settings, a central Business Process Management System (BPMS) may become a bottleneck [4] . Choreographies, which are executed in a highly decentralized manner, help to mitigate this scalability issue [3] .

Choreographies are especially important for interorganizational settings, where it is not possible to estab-lish a centralized process control because of organizational boundaries.

Furthermore, in very large settings, a central Business Process Management System (BPMS) may become a bottleneck.

Choreographies, which are executed in a highly decentralized manner, help to mitigate this scalability issue.


Especially in Business to Business (B2B) settings, contracts are at the core of processes [5] . A process contract describes the terms of the collaboration between different entities, i.e., the obligations and rights of all process participants, and the rules applying to process execution. Such a contract is attached to a process instance. In the case of choreographies, records about the decentralized execution of a process are the basis for contract verification. This documentation must be indisputable and accepted by all choreography participants [6] . It can then be used to enforce the contract underlying a choreography. Based on this, a process owner can penalize a process participant in case of the incorrect execution of an activity. At the same time, a participant can claim payment from the process owner for the participation in the execution of a process, since the execution of an activity is documented.

Especially in Business to Business (B2B) settings, contracts are at the core of processes.

This documentation must be indisputable and accepted by all choreography participants.


B EING able to access data efficiently and reliably has become the first priority of many organizations in today's information age. To achieve this goal, a typical data storage system has built-in redundancies at various levels. At the storage device level, redundancy is achieved using RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks) [1] , [2] . At the controller level, multiple HBAs (host bus adapters) and NICs (network interface cards) are used. Redundant switches, bridges, and connecting cables are also employed at the network level. Software mechanisms are designed to bypass failed components to provide continued data availability. Different topological architectures and faulttolerant mechanisms exist for a SAN (storage area network), and new ideas and technologies emerge rapidly [3] . In order to make design decisions and provide optimal storage solutions, it is highly desirable to have efficient benchmark tools to quantitatively evaluate performance of various SAN architectures under faulty conditions. Current benchmark tools focusing on performance evaluation are not efficient enough to accurately measure the behavior of storage systems. Under many circumstances, the performance of a storage system available to users is the result achieved by file systems. This result is influenced by many factors such as file system caches, data organization, and buffer caches, so it cannot represent the true performance of the storage. For some applications, such as databases, which can utilize the raw performance of a storage device directly, it is desirable and necessary to measure and compare different storage systems at the raw (block) level. It is also important for file system and OS designers to know how much potential raw performance they could exploit and how much optimization they have made.

At the storage device level, redundancy is achieved using RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks).

Different topological architectures and faulttolerant mechanisms exist for a SAN (storage area network), and new ideas and technologies emerge rapidly.