Most of the pioneering work on vibrating bubble columns was conducted between 1960 and the late 1980s [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] . More recently, there has been a renewed interest in the study of vibrating bubble columns [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] . These recent efforts have developed theoretical physics-based models to predict mass transfer and void fraction in bubble column reactor (BCR) systems undergoing vibration [18] [19] [20] . These models were tested in a limited range of data, but have yet to be fully understood or validated against a broad range of experimental data. Therefore, additional work is required to gain a fundamental understanding of the multiphase flow (including bubble size distribution, void fraction and the resulting mass transfer) to enable scale-up and improving the operation of BCRs. The current work aims to expand the available parameter space and test current models.

Most of the pioneering work on vibrating bubble columns was conducted between 1960 and the late 1980s.

More recently, there has been a renewed interest in the study of vibrating bubble columns.

These recent efforts have developed theoretical physics-based models to predict mass transfer and void fraction in bubble column reactor (BCR) systems undergoing vibration.


Sauter mean diameter (d 32 ) was measured from still images similar to other studies in the literature [18] [19] [20] 24, 27] . A series of images (>10) with an exposure of 250 µs were taken at each column height (h = 30, 45 and 60 cm) to quantify any height dependence. The images were acquired near the mid-column cross section to reduce optical distortion from the column wall. ImageJ was used to measure the projected bubble area. A spatial calibration for each image was determined from a known reference distance in the images. The projected area measurements were then converted to an equivalent bubble diameter to calculate d 32 (see Equations (3) and (4)). The flow visualization setup used to produce both air-water interface and bubble images is shown in Figure 2 . For more information on bubble measurement uncertainty using the current experimental setup, the interested reader is directed to Mohagheghian and Elbing [24] .

Sauter mean diameter (d 32 ) was measured from still images similar to other studies in the literature.

For more information on bubble measurement uncertainty using the current experimental setup, the interested reader is directed to Mohagheghian and Elbing.


In a homogenous body free from external forces and surface constraints, inclusion refers to a finite subdomain subjected to a prescribed eigenstrain [1] . Thermal expansion, swelling strain, phase transformation, plastic deformation, and piezoelectric/piezomagnetic strain are examples of nonelastic strains, namely eigenstrains [2] [3] [4] . The eigenstrain theory enables in a single mathematical formulation to study each of these phenomena, including the response of an electrically conducting material. It can also be used to study the impact of microstructural imperfections in homogeneous and heterogeneous media.

In a homogenous body free from external forces and surface constraints, inclusion refers to a finite subdomain subjected to a prescribed eigenstrain.

Thermal expansion, swelling strain, phase transformation, plastic deformation, and piezoelectric/piezomagnetic strain are examples of nonelastic strains, namely eigenstrains.


Nighttime light (NTL) data has a high association with land cover/use distribution, which indicates that it can be used in LUCC prediction. High NTL values occur along the coastal area and the Connecticut River. This should be similar to other economic drivers. There are several shortcomings in NTL data, including coarse spatial resolution, limited dynamic range and lack of in-flight calibration [39] . However, compared with other socio-economic drivers, NTL data has some obvious advantages. First, it is easier to access (it is open to everyone and can be downloaded for free). Second, it has global coverage and is not restricted to specific areas. Third, NTL data from the new source (VIIRS) is available for almost every day, except for some situations influenced by clouds or moonlight. Therefore, it can be used as a supplement to economic drivers, or used as a proxy of economic drivers when they are not available in some regions or in a specified year.

There are several shortcomings in NTL data, including coarse spatial resolution, limited dynamic range and lack of in-flight calibration.


The main aim of the presented study was to investigate what effect the ester monomer and diisocyanate type (IPDI and HDI) would have on the mechanical and biological properties. DSC studies indicate that introduction of an ester component to the structure of poly(carbonate-urea-urethane)s resulted in decrease of T g with simultaneously a small amount of crystalline phase observed [41] . Similar changes of T g , in the range of −46 to −54°C, were described when oligo(ε-caprolactone) diol was mixed with oligo(hexamethylene carbonate) diol and used in poly(ester-carbonate-urethane-urea)s as a soft segments [42] .

DSC studies indicate that introduction of an ester component to the structure of poly(carbonate-urea-urethane)s resulted in decrease of T g with simultaneously a small amount of crystalline phase observed.

Similar changes of T g , in the range of −46 to −54°C, were described when oligo(ε-caprolactone) diol was mixed with oligo(hexamethylene carbonate) diol and used in poly(ester-carbonate-urethane-urea)s as a soft segments.


Furthermore, there is a critical need for the development of new biocompatible materials to limit the growing number of life-threatening infections associated with the use of medical devices [32] . The formation of pathogenic biofilms, especially by Candida species, requires initial surface adhesion and is one of the virulence factors that facilitate the colonization of medical devises [33, 34] . Chronic and recurrent fungal infections, as well as bloodstream invasive candidiasis are a consequence of pathogenic biofilm formation [34, 35] . Therefore, the restrictions of biofilm growth via inhibition of metabolic activity, pathogen communication or selective eradication of cells embedded in the biofilm matrix are important challenges facing modern medicine. A promising strategy to address these issues is the creation of materials that possess surface properties, which inhibit biofilm formation.

Furthermore, there is a critical need for the development of new biocompatible materials to limit the growing number of life-threatening infections associated with the use of medical devices.

The formation of pathogenic biofilms, especially by Candida species, requires initial surface adhesion and is one of the virulence factors that facilitate the colonization of medical devises.

Chronic and recurrent fungal infections, as well as bloodstream invasive candidiasis are a consequence of pathogenic biofilm formation.


Heterogeneous objects have been modeled using evaluated model or unevaluated models [11] . Evaluated models decompose the geometry of the object into simple cells and define the material composition within each CONTACT B. Gurumoorthy bgm@mecheng.iisc.ernet.in cell; unevaluated model maps the material function to the geometry of the object. Evaluated models have the potential to represent wide range of heterogeneous objects by subdividing the geometry and define the material distribution in the sub-divided domains. However, the sequential approach of decomposition and defining the material distribution leads to inaccuracy in material distribution and geometry for the coarse mesh size and large memory size for finer mesh size. Moreover, editing the material distribution requires decomposition of the original geometry from scratch which is expensive. On the other hand, unevaluated models use analytic functions to define geometry and material composition that can be stored compactly and edited efficiently. But unevaluated models can only model a limited range of heterogeneous objects because of the limited functions. These functions are defined in terms of the shape parameters or distance from the material reference features. Distance from material reference feature defines material distribution independent of the shape which models the material properties more realistically. The problem of heterogeneous material modeling is seen as a boundary value problem where the user prescribes a known material composition at specified entities (either on or inside the object) and the modeling scheme has to then blend the different compositions to realize a smooth variation elsewhere within the object [3] . When the interest of the user is in having a simple variation in the composition from the boundary into the object or the other way, this approach requires the user to either discretize the domain to obtain entities inside the domain or to introduce new material features inside the domain to define the material composition. This paper develops a hybrid representation that is based on the Medial Axis Transform (MAT).

Heterogeneous objects have been modeled using evaluated model or unevaluated models.

The problem of heterogeneous material modeling is seen as a boundary value problem where the user prescribes a known material composition at specified entities (either on or inside the object) and the modeling scheme has to then blend the different compositions to realize a smooth variation elsewhere within the object.


Municipal solid waste (MSW) is one of the main byproducts of urban life. Approximately 3.5 million tons of MSW is generated daily on a global scale [1] . Improper management of MSW would lead to dioxin contamination and other environmental and inhabitant health hazards [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] . Chinese cities are facing the serious challenge of MSW management with rapid economic growth and urbanization [10, 11] . In 2016, the total delivery amount of municipal solid waste reached 203.62 million tons, an increase of 33.83 percent compared to ten years ago [12] . The disposal of MSW has been the major concern in urban environmental governance. The clear understanding of characteristics and trends of solid waste generation is the base for the estimation of the amount of municipal solid waste generation (MSWG), which is the fundamental step for the design and optimization of waste collection and treatment system in terms of the additional costs and environmental impacts [13, 14] .

Approximately 3.5 million tons of MSW is generated daily on a global scale.

Improper management of MSW would lead to dioxin contamination and other environmental and inhabitant health hazards.

Chinese cities are facing the serious challenge of MSW management with rapid economic growth and urbanization.

In 2016, the total delivery amount of municipal solid waste reached 203.62 million tons, an increase of 33.83 percent compared to ten years ago.

The clear understanding of characteristics and trends of solid waste generation is the base for the estimation of the amount of municipal solid waste generation (MSWG), which is the fundamental step for the design and optimization of waste collection and treatment system in terms of the additional costs and environmental impacts.


The first type of users uses smartphones personally or for business, and they are mostly in their 30s or 40s. This group includes both males and females who are highly educated, with household monthly income greater than $350. The proper advertising strategy for them is stress mobile web searches with the "Internet in my hand" or banner-like advertisements and n-screen ads, depending on the users' situations such as when traveling in a car or in their offices. The second type of users likes smartphones' appealing points, and they look for practical values. They are mostly in their 20s and 30s, mostly male, and have comparatively even distributions of educational levels and household income. They use applications, contents, and services freely according to their own tastes and situations, are able to operate new technologies, and are interested in mash-up advertisements such as in-app ads, QR, and AR. An advertisement that can provide various experiential levels of value and economic usage modes at the same time is appropriate. A combined advertisement offering new technology, incentives and coupons should be highly successful [18] .

A combined advertisement offering new technology, incentives and coupons should be highly successful.


The mobile advertising market is growing along with the spread of smartphone demand and 4G mobile broadband technology such as LTE (long-term evolution), HSPA (high-speed packet access), and EV-DO Rev. A/B. The government has announced that the official number of Korean domestic smartphone subscribers reached about thirty-six million as of September of 2013 [1] . A smart device represents a unique medium that can be characterized by the "24-hours within-30 cm" concept. This broadens the strategic position of mobile advertising businesses as a marketing channel to enhance the relationship with consumers as an emerging converging communication media.

The government has announced that the official number of Korean domestic smartphone subscribers reached about thirty-six million as of September of 2013.


According to eMarketer research, global mobile ad spending reached USD 6.43 billion in 2012 and Asia-Pacific is still an exceptionally strong mobile advertising market, particularly in South Korea and Japan. The market size of mobile ads spending reached USD 2.56 billion last year [2] . With dominant centralized enterprises such as KT, SKT, LGU +, Daum, and Google, the competition is expected to grow as well. It is important initially to discover targeted consumers' potential levels and external characteristics and requirements and then provide differentiated services based on each company's core capabilities, resources, and structural economic "ad-network" systems.

The market size of mobile ads spending reached USD 2.56 billion last year.


The third type of user is interested in new experiences offered by smartphones. These users are mostly in their 20s, and the other variables had little relevance. They use mobile videos or download applications, and their usage levels are higher than those by the other types. They are also highly communicative with others. Also, the Q research results revealed that they have a high level of interests in media streaming, advanced coupons and e-book advertisements as noted in preferences for the R research results. They are the user most sensitive to mobile campaigns using collective intelligence or viral advertisements. Therefore, interactive advertisements that match their communication styles along with social advertisements and mobile rich-media advertisement will be effective. Moreover, these users think it is ideal to encounter advertised products having good evaluations or receive recommendations from trustworthy people. Therefore, a strategy that minimizes risk by increasing the number of acquaintances and applying "funnel theory" is deemed. Lastly, the fourth type of users considers smartphones as friends. They stay connected to the network at all times when traveling. They are mostly in their 30s or older, with incomes of less than $260. Their gender and level of education had little effect on the outcomes. The fourth type prefers SNS, media, and evolutional coupon advertisements and smartphones at all times. Therefore, they are advertisement consumers who will be interested in real-time context advertisements delivered through the means of GPS or LBS, or SNS social advertisements [24] .

Therefore, they are advertisement consumers who will be interested in real-time context advertisements delivered through the means of GPS or LBS, or SNS social advertisements.


In this paper, schedule delay is defined with respect to departure time, i.e. deviation from PDT. In an uncongested situation there is no difference defining scheduling costs around PDT or PAT, since a shift from PDT then corresponds to a similar shift from PAT. Given congestion, the definitions differ and scheduling cost should be defined at the end where the traveller has the most crucial time constraint. The stated preference data collected for estimation of the departure time and mode switch model used in this paper indicate time constraints at both origin and destination (Börjesson 2006) . In this paper we show that even commuting trips with fixed working hours (the fixed trip purpose) do not only have time constraints at destination, but also at origin, probably due to the timing of fixed trips being early in the morning and scheduling costs are known to increase for early morning departures (Tseng and Verhoef 2008) . Defining scheduling costs with respect to PDT has advantages from an implementation point of view. It can also be argued that it is more adequate to define scheduling costs around PDT since PDT is what the traveller can control.

The stated preference data collected for estimation of the departure time and mode switch model used in this paper indicate time constraints at both origin and destination.

In this paper we show that even commuting trips with fixed working hours (the fixed trip purpose) do not only have time constraints at destination, but also at origin, probably due to the timing of fixed trips being early in the morning and scheduling costs are known to increase for early morning departures.


The reverse engineering results show that the differences between preferred and actual profiles are larger for flexible and business trips than for fixed trips. Flexible and business trips thus change departure time because of congestion to a greater extent than fixed trips. Not only do fixed trips have stronger time restrictions at work, they also seem to have strong time restrictions at the origin. The reason for this is not evident, but a tentative explanation is that fixed trips occur earlier in the morning, which has been shown to increase schedule disutility (Tseng and Verhoef 2008) . Fixed trips are in general also more rigid, following a certain time schedule and less open to changes in timing of the trip. One should remember that the segments differ not only in trip flexibility, but also in socioeconomic characteristics.

The reason for this is not evident, but a tentative explanation is that fixed trips occur earlier in the morning, which has been shown to increase schedule disutility.


Nevertheless, it emerged that Szekeres models were "hiding" a sufficient number of crucial, in some sense, properties in their intrinsic structure. At a geometrical level, it was proved immediately after their discovery that they admit no isometries i.e. there are no non-trivial Killing Vector Fields (KVFs) admitted by the spacetime manifold. Therefore one could reasonably expect that the absence of KVFs should make Szekeres models quite general within the class of inhomogeneous models. However, the well known kinematical properties of the vanishing of the acceleration and the vorticity of the fluid velocity (or, in the case of the vacuum subfamily of models, the timelike vector field normal to the spatial hypersurfaces t =const.), indicate that these models are more special than expected. In addition, Barnes and Rowlingson have shown that, apart from they being algebraically special (namely of Petrov type D), the magnetic part H ab of the Weyl tensor vanishes [8] . Consequently Szekeres models belong to a wider family of models satisfying H ab = 0 which can then be of the Petrov type I, D or O. This family contains, as special cases, many well-known and important solutions like the standard Friedmann-Lemaître (FL) cosmological model, the Spatially Homogeneous (SH) Bianchi type I models, as well as other cosmological or astrophysical solutions of the EFE with sound physical interest [9] .

In addition, Barnes and Rowlingson have shown that, apart from they being algebraically special (namely of Petrov type D), the magnetic part H ab of the Weyl tensor vanishes.

Consequently Szekeres models belong to a wider family of models satisfying H ab = 0 which can then be of the Petrov type I, D or O. This family contains, as special cases, many well-known and important solutions like the standard Friedmann-Lemaître (FL) cosmological model, the Spatially Homogeneous (SH) Bianchi type I models, as well as other cosmological or astrophysical solutions of the EFE with sound physical interest.


Other research has suggested that there is a "leveling" and converging of indicators as people age. The disparity in the quality of life indicators between ethnic seniors and the dominant group diminishes as they age because of such variables as strong family connections and supports. If an ethnic minority person who is middle-aged has a low income, their income changes little as they move into retirement and from employment income and onto income support programs (Novak, 1997) .

If an ethnic minority person who is middle-aged has a low income, their income changes little as they move into retirement and from employment income and onto income support programs.


Gerontological research on minority groups has generally applied three conceptual frameworks: multiple jeopardy, leveling, and the life course perspective (Novak, 1997) . In multiple jeopardy, researchers use variables such as age, sex, income, education, disability, and ethnicity to classify individuals. Broadly speaking, each of these variables can be compared to mainstream society and since older immigrants or visible minorities have poorer health and lower incomes than the mainstream group, they experience the multiple "jeopardy" of their "status". Not all immigrants are "visible minorities" and many of the elderly immigrants can be considered part of the mainstream society. In addition, because women live longer, the percentage of women increases over time. So the "jeopardy" of age, sex, visible minority, ethnicity, language, health, income, and so on compound and disadvantage the individual. If a cross section of the sample is studied, it neglects the change over time that the group experiences. If the group starts out poor in both wealth and health, then the group will remain so later in life. If multiple jeopardy affects only the lower class visible minority then it is only social class rather than ethnic status that creates the multiple jeopardy (Novak, 1997) . This theoretical approach has limitations.

Gerontological research on minority groups has generally applied three conceptual frameworks: multiple jeopardy, leveling, and the life course perspective.

If multiple jeopardy affects only the lower class visible minority then it is only social class rather than ethnic status that creates the multiple jeopardy.


Pain is associated with altered gene expression in primary afferent neurons and second-order spinal cord neurons [5] . Results from the present study revealed moderate p-ERK expression in the ipsilateral spinal cord on day 3 after carcinoma cell inoculation. The vast majority of primary afferents, which make synaptic contacts with spinal dorsal horn neurons, contain glutamate, which is released by activity. Glutamate, substance P (SP), and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) exert excitatory effects, which lead to depolarization of spinal neurons. ERK activation may be an initial trigger of spinal neurons activation. In addition, reduced, but sustained, ERK activation is present in dorsal horn neurons for several weeks, which could play a role in maintaining gene expression.

Pain is associated with altered gene expression in primary afferent neurons and second-order spinal cord neurons.


In an effort to advance glanders-melioidosis vaccine development, we introduced both a new antigen and vaccination technology to the field. Our results demonstrate that the autotransporter BatA is a valuable target for developing countermeasures against both B. mallei and B. pseudomallei. We also establish PIV5 as a novel vaccine delivery platform for the organisms that evokes crossspecies protection against lethal aerosol exposure. PIV5 is a nonsegmented negative strand RNA virus of the family Paramyxoviridae and is thought to be a contributing factor of kennel cough [37, 54] . Several characteristics make it an excellent vector for developing countermeasures. Kennel cough vaccines containing live PIV5 have been used for more than 30 years with an excellent record of safety and efficacy. Humans are exposed to the virus due to close contact with vaccinated dogs. Approximately 30% of the population has neutralizing antibody titers against PIV5, yet no recorded illnesses have been attributed to the virus [55] . Thus, PIV5 is safe and elicits immune responses in humans. PIV5 is safer than other viral vaccine vectors such as adenovirus and poxvirus because it does not have a DNA phase in its replication cycle.

PIV5 is a nonsegmented negative strand RNA virus of the family Paramyxoviridae and is thought to be a contributing factor of kennel cough.

Approximately 30% of the population has neutralizing antibody titers against PIV5, yet no recorded illnesses have been attributed to the virus.


However, the source materials used for the electrospinning process need to be prepared with appropriate physical properties including the viscosity, which determines the diameter of the nanowires as well as the processability itself. For this purpose, the source chemicals are frequently mixed with viscous polymers that are to be removed later by heating. A typical example is polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and it can be removed by heating to a rather low temperature below 200 ∘ C [24] . We investigated the electrospinning technique to fabricate films of copper nanofiber web having high conductivity for flexible substrate application. We also report the limitation of the technique for the purpose application.

A typical example is polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and it can be removed by heating to a rather low temperature below 200 ∘ C.


Clustering techniques are used when the data are expected to group physically in various categories. Cluster analysis was used to describe the patterns of diabetic nephropathy based on the clinical, pathogenetic, and physiological features. According to this analysis, four clusters were formed, each one distinctively characterizing each stage of diabetic nephropathy. Patients with the highest cIMT values, highest levels of adiponectin, and lowest levels of ox-LDL were included in one cluster and all assigned to stage 5 of diabetic nephropathy. Definitely, the repeatability of the cluster solutions should be validated in different samples and the clinical benefit must be proven [33] . Although cluster analysis is inadequate in identifying disease causes, its results may give insights into the structure of a data set and lead to hypotheses for further investigation. In patients with end stage diabetic nephropathy, the increased atherosclerotic burden is peculiarly accompanied by a favorable profile of both adiponectin and ox-LDL. Therefore, apart from physiological and traditional factors associated with cIMT, other pathological/protective factors affecting this surrogate marker of atherosclerosis should be explored in diabetic nephropathy. For example, other modified forms of LDL as well as circulating markers of antioxidant capacity should be examined since the latter have been shown to be negative determinants of cIMT in diabetic patients [48] .

Definitely, the repeatability of the cluster solutions should be validated in different samples and the clinical benefit must be proven.

For example, other modified forms of LDL as well as circulating markers of antioxidant capacity should be examined since the latter have been shown to be negative determinants of cIMT in diabetic patients.


There are ten protein members in the SPARC family, with the present study concentrating on SPARC-like protein 1 (SPARCL1 or Hevin). SPARCL1 gene is localized at chromosome 4q22 and has been conserved in humans. SPARCL1 is widely expressed in normal and cancer tissues, and it was initially identified as an anti-adhesive extracellular matrix protein with anti-proliferative effects mediated through cell-cell adhesion [10, 11] . Down-regulation of SPARCL1 has been found in several tumor types such as pancreatic, prostate, bladder, ovarian, breast and non-small cell lung cancers, and this suggests that SPARCL1 may be a candidate for a tumor suppressor gene in these tumors and a potential target for cancer diagnosis and therapy [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] . However, there is no evidence of the gene deletion or mutation that is responsible for the down-regulation of SPARCL1 in lung cancer and some other cancers [18, 19] . Therefore, the SPARCL1 gene is unlike a classical tumor suppressor gene with a mutation in one allele and a mutation or deletion in another allele. Strong SPARCL1 expression has also been observed in both tumor cells and stroma of the endometrioid adenomyfibroma. However, a weak and similar staining pattern has been observed in malignant tumor and its stroma [15] .

SPARCL1 is widely expressed in normal and cancer tissues, and it was initially identified as an anti-adhesive extracellular matrix protein with anti-proliferative effects mediated through cell-cell adhesion.

Down-regulation of SPARCL1 has been found in several tumor types such as pancreatic, prostate, bladder, ovarian, breast and non-small cell lung cancers, and this suggests that SPARCL1 may be a candidate for a tumor suppressor gene in these tumors and a potential target for cancer diagnosis and therapy.

However, there is no evidence of the gene deletion or mutation that is responsible for the down-regulation of SPARCL1 in lung cancer and some other cancers.

However, a weak and similar staining pattern has been observed in malignant tumor and its stroma.


Another principle for WPT is far-field EM or microwave energy transfer is seldom used. Instead of the nonradiative used in inductive and capacitive cases, a radiative EM field functions as the energy transfer medium. Rectification of these high-frequency waves at the pick-up unit can be achieved at high efficiency of 80% -90% [11] . Generation of the microwaves, on the other hand, is much more difficult, particularly when a solid-state RF generator is used.

Rectification of these high-frequency waves at the pick-up unit can be achieved at high efficiency of 80% -90%.


Surgical technique is extremely important in determining implant performance and consequently in rehabilitation and LOS (Gross & Muir, 2016; Phruetthiphat et al., 2016) . Two of the most commonly used approaches are the anterolateral (modified Watson-Jones) and the posterior (Southern, Moore, Gibson, or posterolateral) approaches (Palan, Beard, Murray, Andrew, & Nolan, 2009) . Surgical approach, preparation of the implant bed, and cementing techniques all reflect on implant survival (Gross & Muir, 2016) .

Surgical technique is extremely important in determining implant performance and consequently in rehabilitation and LOS.

Two of the most commonly used approaches are the anterolateral (modified Watson-Jones) and the posterior (Southern, Moore, Gibson, or posterolateral) approaches.

Surgical approach, preparation of the implant bed, and cementing techniques all reflect on implant survival.


Most observers agree that the international security order is changing from unipolarity under US hegemony to what is referred to as a multipolar, bipolar, polar or apolar system (Brooks and Wohlforth 2016) . Underlying this argument is not so much that the United States (US) is becoming weaker or losing its military might, but rather that other countries are becoming richer and more powerful. It is the rise of emerging powers -Brazil, China, India, Russia (the socalled BRICs countries) -that is redefining the international global order by altering the power relations amongst states. In this article we aim to contribute to a better understanding of if and how these global power shifts influence EU-US relations by studying how the European Union (EU) and the US have responded to Russia and China's territorial claims in Ukraine and the South China Sea. Are these developments weakening EU-US relations, or have they instead triggered stronger cooperation between the EU and the US? This has not been explored systematically in the existing literature. EU-US unity or dissent in response to rising powers has deep implications not only for our understanding of transatlantic security relations but also for our understanding of future global power-relations more broadly. After all, making territorial claims -whether in other states or in international waters -is the most fundamental way a state can seek to increase its external influence.

Most observers agree that the international security order is changing from unipolarity under US hegemony to what is referred to as a multipolar, bipolar, polar or apolar system.


From a neo-realist perspective, one might expect the rise of emerging powers to lead to a strengthening of relations between the EU and the US. Since the Second World War, the US and (Western) Europe have been linked together through a variety of different institutions, not least in the realm of security. In the face of rising powers, one would expect that the existing hegemon (the US) would work together with its junior partner (the EU) to counter-balance the powers of rising states and maintain its global and regional power positions (Waltz 2000) .

In the face of rising powers, one would expect that the existing hegemon (the US) would work together with its junior partner (the EU) to counter-balance the powers of rising states and maintain its global and regional power positions.


One might argue that our results are evidence of "idleness aversion," whereby individuals prefer doing something (even work) rather than sitting in one place doing nothing ( Hsee et al., 2010 ) . While we agree that this is one possible interpretation, we believe this does not simply "explain away" our contention that workfare might be a preferable policy to simple welfare payments. First, in our experiment, people were allowed to bring reading material or other diversions with them, somewhat alleviating the boredom that might drive idleness aversion. Anecdotally, people in the wait conditions also seemed to converse a fair amount, suggesting they were not as bored as subjects in earlier studies on idleness aversion. Second, our daily PANAS measures of psychological wellbeing were conducted before the start of each session. Therefore the disutility of idle waiting for that day is not likely to have been captured in these reports (though we cannot rule out the possibility that they might capture disutility from anticipated boredom). Third, even if idleness aversion played a role, that would only support the argument that work ordeals are preferable to ordeals in the form of "waiting in line" for payment, since working at least provides some form of productive engagement that wards off the detrimental effects of idleness.

One might argue that our results are evidence of "idleness aversion," whereby individuals prefer doing something (even work) rather than sitting in one place doing nothing.


It is important to understand how the structure of social welfare programs influences the wellbeing and decision-making of target populations. Indeed, policymakers need this information to design programs to maximize recipient welfare. In practice, the most popular social welfare programs tend to include some form of restriction on welfare recipients, from conditional cash transfers, voucher transfers, feeding programs (in-kind food aid), and workfare programs (or public work programs) ( Honorati et al., 2015 ) . Indeed, one can categorize these programs as varying in their levels of restriction in two key domains: (1) restrictions on the receipt of transfers (making receipt less or more conditional on the completion of certain actions by the beneficiary, as in conditional cash transfers or workfare); and (2) restrictions on the consumption of transfers (whether transfers come in more or less fungible forms -from cash payments to vouchers with varying degrees of restriction on eligible items to food aid).

In practice, the most popular social welfare programs tend to include some form of restriction on welfare recipients, from conditional cash transfers, voucher transfers, feeding programs (in-kind food aid), and workfare programs (or public work programs).


The proposed circuit of a common-source amplifier with low power UWB LNA has been demonstrated [28] . Additional analysis and discussion which emphasize the low power UWB are provided. Based on the effect of the body-biased technique and the current reused cascode structure, the low power consumption of our work can achieve lower than 5 mW including the output buffer. The analysis and design approach of the circuit is addressed in Section 2. The design procedure and body biased technique are also discussed in this Section 2. The measurement results are presented in Section 3. The conclusion is given in Section 4.

The proposed circuit of a common-source amplifier with low power UWB LNA has been demonstrated.

The conclusion is given in Section 4.


However, in reality, truth-telling bidding may not be the optimal solution due to the budget limit for each ad campaign. Bidding constantly at the true value can lead to running out of budget quickly without having covered a wide range of users and impressions [20] . Consequently, the bidder fails to obtain potential profits and might even be subject to heavy losses since the payback of the impressions may be less than the total cost of winning the auction.

Bidding constantly at the true value can lead to running out of budget quickly without having covered a wide range of users and impressions.


The work of Kaup, Upmeier, Vigue´and others showed that there is a natural partially defined Jordan triple product on any complex Banach space A; which, when the open unit ball in A is a bounded symmetric complex domain, is universally defined [32] [33] [34] , [44] [45] [46] [47] . In this case, A is said to be a JB Ã -triple. The part played by idempotents in the study of algebraic structures endowed with a binary product is played by tripotents in the theory of JB Ã -triples. A class of JB Ã -triples that are extremely well-endowed with tripotents is that of JBW Ã -triples, which are JB Ã -triples that are Banach dual spaces. Examples of JBW Ã -triples are JBW Ã -algebras and, in particular, W Ã -algebras, or von Neumann algebras, many properties of which may be discovered by investigating their triple structure.

The work of Kaup, Upmeier, Vigue´and others showed that there is a natural partially defined Jordan triple product on any complex Banach space A; which, when the open unit ball in A is a bounded symmetric complex domain, is universally defined.


After holding at a temperature above M s and further quench, researchers agree that, in hypoeutectoid steels, the matrix is mainly formed by bainitic structures with retained austenite in the form of thin films and/or martensite-austenite (MA) islands [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] . Bainite is thus the isothermal product obtained from the decomposition of austenite. Carbides can also be present in bainite, depending on the composition of the steel and the isothermal holding temperature and time. Below M s , however, the nature of the products formed during isothermal holding is unclear due to the coexistence of product phases with morphological similarities such as tempered martensite and bainite.

After holding at a temperature above M s and further quench, researchers agree that, in hypoeutectoid steels, the matrix is mainly formed by bainitic structures with retained austenite in the form of thin films and/or martensite-austenite (MA) islands.


The goals of this study are: to characterize the microstructural features obtained in isothermal treatments performed at temperatures above and below M s ; relate those features to the product phases formed at each isothermal temperature; and determine, based on that characterization, the martensitic or bainitic nature of those product phases. For this purpose, isothermal heat treatments were applied at different temperatures around the M s -temperature that were selected based on a previous study [11] . Various microstructures formed by combinations of different volume fractions of bainitic ferrite, tempered martensite, and fresh martensite were created. Volume fractions of those product phases were extracted from the dilatometry results presented in earlier work [11] . The identification of phases by dilatometry in combination with the characterization of microstructures formed at different temperatures by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) provided a straight and systematic way of phase analysis.

For this purpose, isothermal heat treatments were applied at different temperatures around the M s -temperature that were selected based on a previous study.

Volume fractions of those product phases were extracted from the dilatometry results presented in earlier work.


Besides capturing local information, additional modalities can be considered to extract different heuristics. Based on extracting features from images captured in an overhead view, it makes sense to include depth information as an additional modality. To that end, previous work on multimodal person re-id has shown RGB and depth based features to complement each other well [10, 13, 18] .

To that end, previous work on multimodal person re-id has shown RGB and depth based features to complement each other well.


Since the relativistic images are very close to the lens, direct observation of such lensing effects needs a very high angular resolution. The supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way, Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), has the largest apparent angular diameter (i.e., shadow) ∼ 50 microarcsecond (μas) among all the black holes known in the universe [23] . A global sub-mm very long baseline interferometry network, called Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), will firstly and soon give a direct image of Sgr A*, which can provide a new fundamental laboratory for testing black hole theories as well as gravity in the strong field regime [24] [25] [26] [27] .

The supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way, Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), has the largest apparent angular diameter (i.e., shadow) ∼ 50 microarcsecond (μas) among all the black holes known in the universe.

A global sub-mm very long baseline interferometry network, called Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), will firstly and soon give a direct image of Sgr A*, which can provide a new fundamental laboratory for testing black hole theories as well as gravity in the strong field regime.


One of the most important issues in chamomile production is mechanization of harvesting. The best quality of chamomile is obtained when it is harvested by hand, which is labourintensive, causes high price of the product, it is difficult to organize harvesting process and it causes a series of other problems (Franke, Schilcher, 2005) . Mechanized harvesting requires a forced compromise between the quality of harvesting and the degree of mechanization, just like with other cultures. There are a large number of harvesters for chamomile harvesting in the market, self-propelled, pull-type, semi-mounted and tractor mounted harvesters. They all differ according to their technical properties and construction, as well as the quality of harvesting and performance (Pajić, 2012) . Considering specifics of using different types of harvesters for chamomile harvesting in the Republic of Serbia, researches so far performed have shown that semi-mounted and tractor mounted harvesters offer better economic effects (Pajić et al., 2011) .

The best quality of chamomile is obtained when it is harvested by hand, which is labourintensive, causes high price of the product, it is difficult to organize harvesting process and it causes a series of other problems.

They all differ according to their technical properties and construction, as well as the quality of harvesting and performance.

Considering specifics of using different types of harvesters for chamomile harvesting in the Republic of Serbia, researches so far performed have shown that semi-mounted and tractor mounted harvesters offer better economic effects.


Visual events are typically coherent with sounds and they are integrated. When we see that a car is moving, we hear the engine sound at the same time. Sound carries rich information regarding the spatial and temporal cues of the source within a visual scene. As shown in the bottom example of Figure 1 , the engine sound suggests where the source may be in the physical world [11] . This implies that sound is not only complementary to the visual information, but also correlated to visual events.

As shown in the bottom example of Figure 1 , the engine sound suggests where the source may be in the physical world.


Cathodoluminescence (CL) measurement is well known to be one of the powerful techniques for the investigation 2 Advances in Condensed Matter Physics of recombination processes in semiconductors. In addition, from its spatially resolved luminescence profile, one can estimate a dislocation distribution inside the sample without destructing its structure. There have been numerous researches on using the CL measurements to examine the properties of the GaN as well as InGaN/GaN MQWs [13, 14] . However, to the best of our knowledge, there have not been any reports on CL mapping of a high-efficiency InGaN/GaN blue LED structure with an additional high-energy emission. In this study, we (i) employ the CL measurement technique to investigate the optical and structural properties of the InGaN/GaN blue LED and (ii) correlate luminescence mapping results with the high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) observations to study the possible origin of its high quantum efficiency.

There have been numerous researches on using the CL measurements to examine the properties of the GaN as well as InGaN/GaN MQWs.


Bisphenols Inhibited the Decatenation Activity of Topoisomerase II␣ but Did Not Inhibit the Relaxation Activity of Topoisomerase I. As shown in Fig. 2B for S4OH and DHDP specifically, and in Table 1 for all compounds tested, the bisphenols varied considerably in their ability to inhibit decatenation activity of human topoisomerase II␣. This assay is a measure of the inhibition of catalytic enzyme activity only, and it is not a measure of whether these compounds acted as topoisomerase II poisons as do some widely used anticancer drugs (Fortune and Osheroff, 2000; Li and Liu, 2001) . The activity of the sulfoxide S4OH was close in activity to the oxygen-ether O3OH. An electronegative atom such as a sulfoxide (as in S4OH) or an oxygen (as in O3OH) or sulfur (as in SCHO1 OR SCHO2) in the bridge between the phenyl rings increased topoisomerase II␣ inhibitory activity compared with a CH 2 bridge (BHPM). Substitution of the 3-position in the oxygen-ether DHDP with a single OH (as in O3OH) increased activity, whereas replacement at the 3-or 3Ј-OH with one or two formyl groups decreased activity (OCHO1 and OCHO2, respectively). Conversely, when TDP with a sulfur-ether was modified with the addition of either one or two formyl groups (SCHO2 and SCHO1, respectively) activity was increased. The most potent topoisomerase II␣ inhibitor, the biscatechol sulfoxide S4OH, was also more potent than S3OH, indicating a preference for 3,3Ј-electronegative substitution. The two sulfones tested NSC38049 and NSC40763 were of lower activity, suggesting a sulfoxide (or a sulfur or oxygen) was more favorable for activity. As with K562 cell growth inhibitory activity, further substitution or conversion of the linker in EIBP (as in bisphenol A; 4,4Ј-dihydroxybenzophenone; bispAC3; bispCP5; or cyclofenil diphenol) did not improve activity.

This assay is a measure of the inhibition of catalytic enzyme activity only, and it is not a measure of whether these compounds acted as topoisomerase II poisons as do some widely used anticancer drugs.


Existing SMPC-based GWAS implementations also lack high precision and a possibility to take into account a large number of participants. These aspects can be improved by applying floating point arithmetic with increased bit-length, thereby delivering both, high precision and a wide range of possible values, e.g., 2 −126 to 2 127 for 32-bit floating point numbers. Fortunately, ABY already supports IEEE 754 floating point arithmetic with up to 64-bit precision [16] .

Fortunately, ABY already supports IEEE 754 floating point arithmetic with up to 64-bit precision.


Periodic ribbed plates with symmetric ribs are found in engineering structures such as ships, aircraft, spacecraft, and buildings [1] . At the design stage it is essential to consider noise control in order to reduce reradiated sound from mechanical excitation, as well as structure-borne sound transmission to vulnerable parts of a structure that support sensitive equipment. This requires the availability of validated prediction models in the audio frequency range that can consider both structure-borne sound transmission and sound radiation.

Periodic ribbed plates with symmetric ribs are found in engineering structures such as ships, aircraft, spacecraft, and buildings.


An important goal of primary education is the development of text comprehension among students. Generally speaking, reading has two fundamental qualities, one of which is known as reading outcomes, which includes vocabulary knowledge and understanding the meaning of text. The other side constitutes the will to read -in other words, interest in reading (Cambria & Guthrie, 2010) . A good reader is one who has developed both sides. Although skilful students may be able to read, without will, their academic progress might be limited, making it very difficult to become an effective reader in the long term (Cambria & Guthrie, 2010; Guthrie, Klauda, & Ho, 2013) .

The other side constitutes the will to read -in other words, interest in reading.

Although skilful students may be able to read, without will, their academic progress might be limited, making it very difficult to become an effective reader in the long term.


We, however, note that a potential of (NO 3 -/NO 2 -) redox couple is almost equal to normal hydrogen potential (0.01 V, NHE), which is dramatically lower compared to redox potential of (H 2 O 2 /H 2 O) reaction (1.77 V, NHE) [26] . For comparison, the voltage required for water decomposition into hydrogen and oxygen is just 1.23 V. Hence, nitrite versus H 2 O 2 as metabolite of oxidative stress can be considered only as a reductant, rather than an oxidant. This makes doubtful the reported increase of both H 2 O 2 and NO 2 -in EBC in case of inflammatory diseases.

We, however, note that a potential of (NO 3 -/NO 2 -) redox couple is almost equal to normal hydrogen potential (0.01 V, NHE), which is dramatically lower compared to redox potential of (H 2 O 2 /H 2 O) reaction (1.77 V, NHE).


As seen in figure 1 , the flow-injection (FIA) system equipped with Prussian Blue based hydrogen peroxide sensor responds to EBC as to H 2 O 2 solutions of micro-Molar concentrations. As published elsewhere, FIA systems equipped with Prussian Blue based sensors usually display the lower limit of the calibration range below 0.1 µmol/L [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] . To confirm, that the response of FIA system was indeed to hydrogen peroxide, the enzyme catalase (which catalyses dismutation of hydrogen peroxide) in concentration of 5 µg per ml was added to EBC. After treatment with catalase the response of FIA system to EBC was decreased by 40-60%. Hence, the main part of the FIA system response is indeed generated by free hydrogen peroxide in EBC. The fact, that treatment with catalase did not cause a complete disappearance of the signal in FIA system, can be explained in terms of complex formation between H 2 O 2 and organic compounds (like urea). Alternatively, Prussian Blue based sensors can respond to organic peroxides present in EBC.

As published elsewhere, FIA systems equipped with Prussian Blue based sensors usually display the lower limit of the calibration range below 0.1 µmol/L.


We already reported on Prussian Blue as the most advantageous hydrogen peroxide transducer [14] [15] [16] . Comparing with the most widely used platinum, Prussian Blue modified electrodes are: (i) three orders of magnitude more active in H 2 O 2 reduction and oxidation in neutral media, and (ii) three orders of magnitude more selective for hydrogen peroxide reduction in the presence of oxygen [17] . The attractive performance characteristics of the electrochemically deposited Prussian Blue allowed to denote it as artificial enzyme peroxidase [15, 16] . Moreover, on the basis of nano-structured Prussian Blue (its nanoelectrode arrays) the electrochemical sensor with the record performance characteristics has been elaborated [18, 19] . Hence, it was highly attractive to apply the advanced sensor for hydrogen peroxide to monitor H 2 O 2 in EBC.

We already reported on Prussian Blue as the most advantageous hydrogen peroxide transducer.

Comparing with the most widely used platinum, Prussian Blue modified electrodes are: (i) three orders of magnitude more active in H 2 O 2 reduction and oxidation in neutral media, and (ii) three orders of magnitude more selective for hydrogen peroxide reduction in the presence of oxygen.

The attractive performance characteristics of the electrochemically deposited Prussian Blue allowed to denote it as artificial enzyme peroxidase.

Moreover, on the basis of nano-structured Prussian Blue (its nanoelectrode arrays) the electrochemical sensor with the record performance characteristics has been elaborated.


Antithrombotic prevention was adequate in 72% of admitted patients according to the Hospital Británico's institutional guidelines for TP. In 10% of patients prevention was inadequate due to "excess" of thromboprophylaxis (31/322), and in 18% due to "deficit" in prescribing. If we use the 8 th ACCP International Consensus Guidelines as a comparator, the percentage of patients receiving adequate prophylaxis was 86%. In a comparable study (ENDORSE) where the same methods were used, the adequate TP rate in hospitalized patients in the 4 participating Latin American countries was less than 50% [6] .

In a comparable study (ENDORSE) where the same methods were used, the adequate TP rate in hospitalized patients in the 4 participating Latin American countries was less than 50%.


Nevertheless, despite the efforts of many physicians reflected in innumerable journals, and the seriousness that this problem has merited in the published literature, the truth is that not enough is done for adequate prophylaxis. The ENDORSE study, a cross-sectional study that evaluated the appropriateness of TP indications according international antithrombotic guidelines done in 68,000 hospitalized patients worldwide (including four Latin American countries), showed that only 50% of patients received adequate TP [6] . Furthermore, 36% of surgical patients and 52% of medical patients did not receive any prophylaxis at all, despite being at risk for VTE [6] . It also showed that 50-70% of thromboembolic events occurred in medical patients [7] [8] . It is estimated that 1 out of every 6 VTEs can be avoided with adequate TP [9] .

The ENDORSE study, a cross-sectional study that evaluated the appropriateness of TP indications according international antithrombotic guidelines done in 68,000 hospitalized patients worldwide (including four Latin American countries), showed that only 50% of patients received adequate TP.

Furthermore, 36% of surgical patients and 52% of medical patients did not receive any prophylaxis at all, despite being at risk for VTE.

It also showed that 50-70% of thromboembolic events occurred in medical patients.

It is estimated that 1 out of every 6 VTEs can be avoided with adequate TP.


Currently, deep learning end-to-end approaches dominate IC work (Donahue et al., 2015; Karpathy and Fei-Fei, 2015; Vinyals et al., 2015) . Such approaches do not use an explicit detection step, but instead use a 'global' image embedding as input (generally a CNN) and learn a language model (generally an LSTM) conditioned on this input. Thus, they are trained to learn image caption generation directly from a parallel imagecaption dataset. The advantage is that no firm decisions need to be made about object categories. However, such approaches are hard to interpret and are dataset dependent (Vinyals et al., 2017) .

Currently, deep learning end-to-end approaches dominate IC work.

However, such approaches are hard to interpret and are dataset dependent.


Several limitations need to be considered when interpreting these results. First, as this is a large populationbased study, it was not feasible to measure insulin sensitivity directly with an insulin clamp. Instead, insulin sensitivity was estimated with HOMA-%S, which is a relatively simplistic index of insulin sensitivity calculated from fasting plasma insulin and glucose levels. Consequently, the non-significant findings in this study may be attributable to the imprecision of HOMA-%S. Although HOMA-%S has been found to be significantly correlated (r=0.88) with insulin sensitivity, this finding was only based on a small study using the minimal model [44] . Thus, further research using the insulin clamp is required to confirm our findings. Second, we were not able to account for the influence of intra-individual variation in HOMA-%S measurements, as they were based on only one measurement. However, findings from large datasets have shown that measurements using a single sample yield similar results to those from multiple samples [17] . Third, this study examined the risk of CVD and mortality over a 5 year period, which may not be long enough to detect a significant association, although several other studies have demonstrated that the relationship between insulin resistance (as estimated with hyperinsulinaemia) and CVD becomes weaker with time [45] . Finally, the generalisability of this study to the Australian population is limited by the estimated baseline response rate of 37%. Non-English speaking Australians and people who completed less than 12 years of school were under-represented in AusDiab, so these findings may not be generalisable to these groups [26] .

Consequently, the non-significant findings in this study may be attributable to the imprecision of HOMA-%S. Although HOMA-%S has been found to be significantly correlated (r=0.88) with insulin sensitivity, this finding was only based on a small study using the minimal model.

However, findings from large datasets have shown that measurements using a single sample yield similar results to those from multiple samples.

Third, this study examined the risk of CVD and mortality over a 5 year period, which may not be long enough to detect a significant association, although several other studies have demonstrated that the relationship between insulin resistance (as estimated with hyperinsulinaemia) and CVD becomes weaker with time.

Non-English speaking Australians and people who completed less than 12 years of school were under-represented in AusDiab, so these findings may not be generalisable to these groups.


Jute is a naturally and easily available plant, which is fully biodegradable. The largest producers of jute are India, China and Bangladesh. The development of biodegradable materials from renewable sources is becoming more common due to the increase in environmental awareness [10] . Jute causes minimal abrasion to the processing equipment, has a low density, is not harmful to health and has a desirable dimensional stability. Moreover, jute textiles are abundantly available, easy to transport, inexpensive and eco-friendly, possess a high moisture retention capacity and have superior rigidity [11] .

The development of biodegradable materials from renewable sources is becoming more common due to the increase in environmental awareness.

Moreover, jute textiles are abundantly available, easy to transport, inexpensive and eco-friendly, possess a high moisture retention capacity and have superior rigidity.


Alkaline treatment, also known as mercerization, is the most frequently used treatment to improve the properties of short or long fiber-reinforced composites [18] . Such treatments improve the fiber-matrix adhesion by removing the natural and artificial impurities such as lignin, pectin and waxes. Alkaline treatment leads to fibrillation, which causes the breaking down of the composite fiber bundle into smaller fibers. Alkaline treatment also reduces the fiber diameter, which increases the fiber's aspect ratio [19] . Thus, a rough surface and enhancement in the aspect ratio of the fiber offer better fiber-matrix interface adhesion, enhancing the mechanical properties of the composites [9] . Alkaline treatment increases surface roughness, resulting in better mechanical interlocking and an increase in the amount of cellulose exposed on the fiber surface. This increases the number of possible reaction sites and improves fiber wetting.

Alkaline treatment, also known as mercerization, is the most frequently used treatment to improve the properties of short or long fiber-reinforced composites.

Alkaline treatment also reduces the fiber diameter, which increases the fiber's aspect ratio.

Thus, a rough surface and enhancement in the aspect ratio of the fiber offer better fiber-matrix interface adhesion, enhancing the mechanical properties of the composites.


Consolidated with its excellent tensile and flexural strengths for an extensive variety of shapes and nonwoven items, kenaf bast fiber has desirable primary qualities that make it the material of choice. Kenaf applications may include absorbents materials, paper products, animal feeds and building materials. Realizing the numerous opportunities of commercially exploitable derived products from kenaf, the National Kenaf Research and Development Program (NKRDP) in Malaysia has been assigned to develop and design kenaf functionality as a possibility for new manufacturing for Malaysian agricultural products [9] .

Realizing the numerous opportunities of commercially exploitable derived products from kenaf, the National Kenaf Research and Development Program (NKRDP) in Malaysia has been assigned to develop and design kenaf functionality as a possibility for new manufacturing for Malaysian agricultural products.


The thermal stability of any natural fiber composite may also impose limitations in applications at temperatures that cause degradation of the fiber's organic structure. In principle, the temperature not only degrades the structure, but also affects most properties of the natural fiber composites. A complete understanding of these effects requires a review on the composite basic thermogravimetric, i.e., weight loss with increasing temperature characterization [14] . Most of the polymer matrixes have several outstanding characteristics for composite fabrication, which include high resistance, transparency and high heat distortion temperature [15] . The polymers incorporated with lignocellulose fiber increase its limitations. Fiber degradations tend to occur when used with matrices that involve processing at high temperatures [16] . Fiber decomposition leads to substantial fiber breakage, which damage the morphology and final properties of the composites. This usually occurs while bonding the fibers with the polymer matrix [17] .

A complete understanding of these effects requires a review on the composite basic thermogravimetric, i.e., weight loss with increasing temperature characterization.

Most of the polymer matrixes have several outstanding characteristics for composite fabrication, which include high resistance, transparency and high heat distortion temperature.

Fiber degradations tend to occur when used with matrices that involve processing at high temperatures.

This usually occurs while bonding the fibers with the polymer matrix.


The security and resiliency of electric power supply to serve critical facilities are of high importance in today's world. In India, with the increasing complexity of power grids, growing demand and growing concerns for environment accentuate the leap towards something 'smarter'. Instead of building large electric power grids and high capacity transmission lines an intelligent approach is essential for transforming the existing power grid to a 'smarter grid' widely referred as 'smart grid'. Smart grid technologies have the potential to transform the existing grids to more efficient, self healing, reliable, safer and less constrained grids [1] .

Smart grid technologies have the potential to transform the existing grids to more efficient, self healing, reliable, safer and less constrained grids.


About 10 days before onset of the PSA 1 mode, the OLRA along the equator show enhanced convection in the central Pacific between 140ЊE and 160ЊW. Soon af- terwards, a dipole appears at 15ЊS in the 200-hPa streamfunction composite near the convective area and a wave train extends from the South Pacific downstream. The wave train and dipole propagate eastward together with the OLRA. During the mature phase of PSA 1, the OLRA composite shows a dipole with enhanced convection in the central Pacific and suppressed convection in the western Pacific, which is the signature of the tropical IO (Lau and Chan 1986; Knutson and Weickmann 1987) . For PSA 2, both OLRA and 200-hPa streamfunction anomalies are in quadrature with anomalies for PSA 1. The similarity between the evolution of total OLRA and the IS-filtered anomalies indicates that the same tropical-extratropical linkages exist in both interannual and intraseasonal bands. The PSA modes and the tropical IO have different periods suggesting that the PSA modes are not pure responses to the tropical IO, and that they interact episodically.

During the mature phase of PSA 1, the OLRA composite shows a dipole with enhanced convection in the central Pacific and suppressed convection in the western Pacific, which is the signature of the tropical IO.


In the last decade, symplectic topology has been extensively used to explore the world of smooth 4-manifolds, where Donaldson's work which provided a description of symplectic 4-manifolds in terms of Lefschetz fibrations up to blow-ups played a remarkable role. Auroux, Donaldson and Katzarkov extended this result to establish a correspondence between the larger class of near-symplectic 4-manifolds and an appropriate generalization of Lefschetz fibrations up to blow-ups [2] . A detailed topological study of these fibrations, called broken Lefschetz fibrations herein, and generalization of various ideas succeeded in the study of symplectic 4-manifolds to this broader setting are the main themes of our article.

Auroux, Donaldson and Katzarkov extended this result to establish a correspondence between the larger class of near-symplectic 4-manifolds and an appropriate generalization of Lefschetz fibrations up to blow-ups.


In this paper, we consider families of periodic orbits starting from the ones in the rotating Kepler problem by following the approach whose origin goes back to Poincaré. For such families, the parameter will be the mass ratio of the two primaries. Fixing the energy and varying the mass ratio, Poincaré obtained periodic orbits in the PCR3BP from periodic orbits in the rotating Kepler problem [22] . In the rotating Kepler problem, there are two kinds of periodic orbits: circular orbits and T k,l -type orbits(including collision orbits). A circular orbit with a positive or a negative angular momentum is called the retrograde circular orbit or the direct circular orbit, respectively. We remark that this definition depends on the sign of the magnetic term in the Hamiltonian, see Section 3. Those circular orbits come from the retrograde and direct circular orbits in the inertial Kepler problem. On the other hand, T k,l -type orbits come from elliptic orbits in the inertial Kepler problem, more precisely they are k-fold Kepler ellipses in an l-fold rotating coordinate system. The family of T k.ltype orbits is called the T k,l -torus family. This family bifurcates from a |k − l|-fold covered direct circular orbit and ends at a (k + l)-fold covered retrograde circular orbit, see Proposition 3.4. Note that the T k,l -torus family is in fact a 2-parameter family: one variable represents the rotational symmetry and the other one represents varying eccentricity or equivalently energy level. Since the rotation of periodic orbits does not affect the shape, without loss of generality we may think of the torus family as a 1-parameter family whose parameter is eccentricity (or energy level).

Fixing the energy and varying the mass ratio, Poincaré obtained periodic orbits in the PCR3BP from periodic orbits in the rotating Kepler problem.


The main result of this paper is to determine the invariants of families of periodic orbits of the second kind in the PCR3BP: Remark 1.4. Recall that switching off the rotating terms from the Hamiltonian of the PCR3BP gives rise to another integrable system called the Euler problem of two fixed centers. The invariants for periodic orbits in the Euler problem will be determined in the forthcoming paper [18] . Once such invariants are determined, comparing those with the invariants for the rotating Kepler problem, given in this paper, one can see whether periodic orbits in the two integrable systems can be connected by Stark-Zeeman homotopies.

The invariants for periodic orbits in the Euler problem will be determined in the forthcoming paper.


Due to the rapid economic development, there has been a constant increase in the building energy consumption in China. According to the relevant statistics, the building energy consumption accounts for about 30% of the total energy consumption of the society at large [1] . As for a building, according to the statistics, the external walls of a building, or the barriers between the internal and the external parts, roughly account for 45% of the total building external area. The energy dissipated through the walls from the structure enclosure accounts for more than 60% of the energy loss of the entire building [2] . Accordingly, the most effective way of reducing the energy dissipation through the walls is to improve the thermal insulation of its external walls.

According to the relevant statistics, the building energy consumption accounts for about 30% of the total energy consumption of the society at large.

The energy dissipated through the walls from the structure enclosure accounts for more than 60% of the energy loss of the entire building.


The need to develop embedded scanning systems for optical sensing application is a real challenge [1] , [2] . As an example, biomedical applications lead scientists to imagine less expensive and more compact systems, either for diagnostic or prognostic uses, or for remote patient care. According to the optical sensing technique and application field, several system configurations can be imagined. In that perspective, we will focus ourselves on laser Doppler flowmeters sensors based on the Optical Feedback Interferometry (OFI) principle.

The need to develop embedded scanning systems for optical sensing application is a real challenge.


The conversion technique has been developed based on the ITU-R P 618-9, together with a combination of ITU-R P 530-12 and the revised Moupfouma model, for the satellite and terrestrial rain attenuation predictions, respectively. The proposed method has been used for converting the measured and predicted rain attenuation data exceeded for an average year for 15 GHz DIGI MINI-LINKS in Malaysia; and the results have been found to be comparable with direct measurements taken in Malaysia and similar tropical climates like Singapore and Nigeria [2, 18] . The model is therefore recommended for converting terrestrial rain attenuation data to be used for earth-satellite applications at Kuband in the Tropical Malaysian Peninsula and other climates that have similar situations.

The proposed method has been used for converting the measured and predicted rain attenuation data exceeded for an average year for 15 GHz DIGI MINI-LINKS in Malaysia; and the results have been found to be comparable with direct measurements taken in Malaysia and similar tropical climates like Singapore and Nigeria.


The rain-attenuation analyses are important for the study of the rain fade characteristics, which is a useful piece of information in the link budget estimation for predicting the expected outage as a result of rain attenuation on a microwave link [4, 5] . Long-term rain attenuation data are usually available for the terrestrial links in most tropical regions and so there is the need to convert them for use in satellite applications. This has become imperative because of the fact that these regions do not have sufficient earth-satellite data, which is useful in the preliminary design of earth-satellite microwave links.

The rain-attenuation analyses are important for the study of the rain fade characteristics, which is a useful piece of information in the link budget estimation for predicting the expected outage as a result of rain attenuation on a microwave link.


The findings with respect to selected hypotheses are presented in this section. The individual and enterprise level hypotheses of the USAID study led to mixed and rather insignificant results. As argued earlier, measuring impact at these levels is unsatisfactory, and the household level is the most promising way to obtain meaningful impact estimates. Hence, this section focuses on selected household level results only, i.e. on income, housing expenditure and children's education. Replication is an important step in validating results (Hamermesh, 2007) . Hence, the USAID data 9 were subjected to ANOVA and ANCOVA. My replication closely reproduced the USAID study results and is thus not discussed further.

Replication is an important step in validating results.


The quaternary chalcogenide Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 recently gained attraction as a prospective absorber material for thin film photovoltaic applications. As it consists merely of earth-abundant, non-toxic and low-cost elements, it would be a suitable alternative to other chalcogenide-based absorber materials such as CdTe or CIGS (CuIn x Ga (1-x) Se 2 ) that are currently used in thin films. It is a direct band gap p-type semiconductor with an optical band gap energy value of 1.5 eV and has a large absorption coefficient in the order of 10 -4 cm -1 [1] [2] [3] . Up to now record efficiencies of CZTS-based thin films reached values up to 8.4% [4] . Yet, compared to the currently used chalcopyrite materials, efficiencies are significantly lower.

It is a direct band gap p-type semiconductor with an optical band gap energy value of 1.5 eV and has a large absorption coefficient in the order of 10 -4 cm -1.

Up to now record efficiencies of CZTS-based thin films reached values up to 8.4%.


CZTS is a quaternary semiconductor belonging to the I 2 -II-IV-VI 4 compound family. It adopts a tetragonal structure that can be derived from the zinc blende type by doubling the c-axis of the cubic sphalerite unit cell and by substituting the cations. A substitution scheme from binary ZnS to ternary Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 is shown in Figure 1 . The correct crystal structure of CZTS has been a controversial issue. Two main structure types are described for quaternary A [11] . In these types the sulfur atoms form a ccp array where half of the tetrahedral voids are occupied by the cation species. The structures are closely connected but differ in the distribution of Figure   2c ).

Two main structure types are described for quaternary A.


Zooplankton biomass was estimated as displacement volume (ml/100m 3 ) after removal gelatinous organisms (Omori and Ikeda, 1992) . Maps of the horizontal distribution of fish eggs and larvae, zooplankton biovolume, salinity and temperature were made using GRI graphic package (Kelley, 1997) . All surface salinity and temperature maps refer to data collected at 10m depths. Contour maps were made using the objective analyses method with a grid of 0.5 degrees latitude by 0.6 degrees longitude. Vertical profiles of water salinity, temperature and density (σ t ) were drawn using the same method with a grid of 1.8 by 7.5 m. These graphs were combined to characterize the oceanographic conditions of the areas with highest ichthyoplankton abundance and food availability for larval fish. The study region was sub-divided in four sub-regions according to the spatial distribution of ichthyoplankton and the presence of coastal upwelling. These sub-regions were analyzed by transects from the coastal zone to the 100 m depth isobaths.

Zooplankton biomass was estimated as displacement volume (ml/100m 3 ) after removal gelatinous organisms.

Maps of the horizontal distribution of fish eggs and larvae, zooplankton biovolume, salinity and temperature were made using GRI graphic package.


The essence of competition is changing in various industries around the world. To identify the boundaries of an industry has become a challenge. Hypercompetition is a term often used to capture the reality of the current competitive landscape. The emergence of a global economy and technology, and the rapid technological change are the main drivers of a hypercompetitive environment (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2011) . In hypercompetitive conditions, assumptions of market stability are replaced by perceptions of instability and change (McNamara, Vaaler, & Devers, 2003) . In a hypercompetitive environment, the companies challenge the competition hoping to improve its competitive position and, consequently, their performance (Ferrier, 2001) . Hypercompetition has forced companies to accelerate their decision making process, either for survival or growth. Therefore, the strategic decision making process and its rapid development is a research phenomenon of interests in the entrepreneurship and strategy fields.

The emergence of a global economy and technology, and the rapid technological change are the main drivers of a hypercompetitive environment.

In hypercompetitive conditions, assumptions of market stability are replaced by perceptions of instability and change.

In a hypercompetitive environment, the companies challenge the competition hoping to improve its competitive position and, consequently, their performance.


Dual sourcing, a form of supply diversification, has become a common procurement strategy in practice (Anupindi and Akella 1993) . For example, the main supplier for HP's DeskJet printers is in Singapore. At the same time, HP has a local source of supply in Vancouver to respond faster to demand increases or supply disruptions in the North American market. Similarly, the Spanish toy manufacturer Famosa receives approximately 80% of its products from China, and the rest comes from European sources only when the Chinese production is insufficient. Although the dual-sourcing benefit of mitigating supply risks is well recognized, firms might prefer single sourcing, for instance, to streamline their supplier base or for more effective quality control and coordination (Larson and Kulchitsky 1998) . As an example, over 98% of Ford's outsourced parts are supplied by single-source suppliers. Evidently, whether to choose single sourcing or dual sourcing is a firm's strategic decision, and supply uncertainty is a key factor, among others, in crafting the firm's sourcing strategy. In addition, in today's networked markets, risks resulting from supply uncertainty are often interdependent, leading to the chain effect of demand-side shortages among competing retailers. Consequently, the effect of supply uncertainty on firm profitability should be evaluated in the context of both the supplyside uncertainty and the demand-side competition. So far, previous research has shed little light on how different sourcing strategies would affect both the vertical buyer-supplier relationship and the horizontal market competition. We aim to fill this gap in the literature.

Dual sourcing, a form of supply diversification, has become a common procurement strategy in practice.

Although the dual-sourcing benefit of mitigating supply risks is well recognized, firms might prefer single sourcing, for instance, to streamline their supplier base or for more effective quality control and coordination.


An effective heat sink should achieve a high heat removal rate, maintain a low and relatively uniform and stable temperature and minimize the overall pressure loss and/or flow power requirements. The advantages of using microchannels are higher surface area per unit volume, larger heat transfer coefficients, low flow rate requirements and minimal coolant volume. Flow boiling heat sinks can operate at much higher heat flux and more uniform temperature than single-phase heat sinks, see reviews [1] [2] [3] . However, these advantages come with consequences such as large pressure drops and flow instabilities associated with two-phase microscale flow [4, 5] . A large pressure drop can also contribute to non-uniform operating temperature when flow is in the two-phase regime.

Flow boiling heat sinks can operate at much higher heat flux and more uniform temperature than single-phase heat sinks, see reviews.

However, these advantages come with consequences such as large pressure drops and flow instabilities associated with two-phase microscale flow.


The present study has the added complexity of vapor extraction along the channel across a porous membrane. The process can be related to vacuum membrane distillation, which has been described in a number of studies [24] [25] [26] [27] . Basically, distillation uses thermally induced transport of vapor through a porous hydrophobic membrane. A heated, aqueous feed solution is brought into contact with the feed side of the membrane. Vapor flow through the membrane has been successfully modeled based on Darcy's law, using the local vapor pressure difference across a membrane of a given permeability.

The process can be related to vacuum membrane distillation, which has been described in a number of studies.


One of the problems known to impede operator performance is that of data overload (Woods, Patterson and Roth, 2002) . Whilst in many systems there is no shortage of information that is able to be presented to the operator, there are limits in regard to the cognitive resource that operators can allocate to this information. As such, although data is available, operators may not be able to extract meaning from this data in relation to their goals. With this in mind it makes sense to design information representations that avoid such problems of data overload.

One of the problems known to impede operator performance is that of data overload.


Although the application scenario of our tracking framework addresses a particular task, the challenges to be addressed, however, characterize a generic tracking problem resulting from (1) varying number of targets, (2) incoherent motion, (3) occlus ion and merges, (4) all targets have dark appearance, similar shape and no texture and (5) long tracking gaps. Most tracking frameworks assume a coherent motion, i.e. all the elementary targets move with similar average velocity over extended periods of time. However, this assumption does not hold here. A pictorial illustration is shown in Fig. 1 , where a set of object detections as unordered bounding boxes (BBs) are produced by a standard moving object detector. Different colors are used here to denote the expected label for better visualization. It can be seen that a merged (see Fig. 1g ) or false negative (FN) BB (see (b, i)) produces a tracking gap, which makes it unsuitable for frame by frame tracking approaches such as particle filter based algorithms [8] . As the mandibles (i.e. labels 2 and 4) do not provide much information for biologists, we do not track them in the case where they are merged or occluded.

It can be seen that a merged (see Fig. 1g ) or false negative (FN) BB (see (b, i)) produces a tracking gap, which makes it unsuitable for frame by frame tracking approaches such as particle filter based algorithms.


The first aspect to consider is the "soybean market and the factors that can impact on supply and demand" (BARBOSA & VIEIRA, 2013) . Brazil has a strong exporting agriculture and its main commodity is soybeans. However, its storage seems to be commercially not interesting because "in Brazil and in the other countries in the Southern Hemisphere harvest extends from March to May, while in the Northern Hemisphere it takes place in September/October (in the United States)". Thus, "Brazilian preferential export period" occurs from "May to August, i.e., prior to American crop harvest" (FERREIRA et al., 1993) .

The first aspect to consider is the "soybean market and the factors that can impact on supply and demand".

Thus, "Brazilian preferential export period" occurs from "May to August, i.e., prior to American crop harvest".


Lately, a monocriteria approach has been mostly used to aid in decision-making. This approach is based on a single criterion (in general, a quantitative measure of economic efficiency) such as risk-return ratio and NPV. Finally yet importantly, mathematical optimization models have been applied to achieve "optimal solutions" (ENSSLIN et al., 2000) .

Finally yet importantly, mathematical optimization models have been applied to achieve "optimal solutions".


This result proves that the main effects intensifying the sintering process take place during the preparation of mixtures, i.e., during the MA process. In fact, during this process, the most significant changes or structural defects of material occur, e.g., fragmentation, homogenization and particle hardening [11] . The above-mentioned effects greatly influence the subsequent sintering process of the produced mixtures that may also be observed in Figs. 2 and 4 . Moreover, an increase in the SiC content causes faster hardening of mechanically alloyed particles as well as their higher fragmentation efficiency. Both of these features intensify the driving force of the sintering process. It was observed that the value of shrinkage for the MA mixtures, which occurred during heating, reached or even exceeded the dimensional changes that were taking place during isothermal sintering of the samples, Tables 1 and 2 . The observed effects were independent of the type of applied atmosphere and the amount of carbon, i.e., 0.4 or 0.6 mass%.

In fact, during this process, the most significant changes or structural defects of material occur, e.g., fragmentation, homogenization and particle hardening.


The aim of the present work was to investigate the influence of the MA process and the amount of SiC and carbon addition on the thermal effects occurring during sintering of low-alloy steel, i.e., Astaloy CrL. In order to properly evaluate the differences between the produced materials, a dilatometer was used to register any dimensional changes and thermal effects; dilatometry is the most suitable method of observation of basic phenomena that are taking place during sintering low-alloy steels [12] . This technique was also successfully used for investigation of samples prepared from mechanically alloyed powders [13, 14] . Furthermore, the influence of powder annealing and atmosphere applied during the sintering process was investigated.

The aim of the present work was to investigate the influence of the MA process and the amount of SiC and carbon addition on the thermal effects occurring during sintering of low-alloy steel, i.e., Astaloy CrL. In order to properly evaluate the differences between the produced materials, a dilatometer was used to register any dimensional changes and thermal effects; dilatometry is the most suitable method of observation of basic phenomena that are taking place during sintering low-alloy steels.

This technique was also successfully used for investigation of samples prepared from mechanically alloyed powders.


Another important point is their lack of using the proper listening strategies which will provide them success in listening processes. Listening strategies are the methods used when the understanding process is interrupted at any time during listening; to solve the problem and turn the process into a full and complete meaning (Chamot, 1995) . It is hard to assume that participants with a low-middle level of English will be successful in long clips without using these methods.

Listening strategies are the methods used when the understanding process is interrupted at any time during listening; to solve the problem and turn the process into a full and complete meaning.


With the danger zone boundary set at 40 m, there was no evidence for differences in survival between birds foraging in dangerous and safe area (survival was 0.78-0.79 in dangerous and 0.76-0.79 in safe area; see Table 3 for more detail and Table 4 for the Model selection results). Adding a state effect on survival increased the QAIC c by 1.98 (Table 4) ; hence, this parameter should be considered uninformative (Arnold 2010) . Similarly, there was only limited support for state-dependent survival when the danger zone boundary was set at 500 m. Although there was some support for an interaction between state and age on survival, where juveniles had higher survival in the safe area (0.85 vs. 0.78) and adults had higher survival in the dangerous area (0.79 vs. 0.77-for more detail see the model-averaged estimates in Table 3 and Table  5 for Model selection results), the model with constant survival had similar support with fewer parameters. Therefore, overall, we found very limited evidence in agreement with Prediction 1 ("survival chances will be higher in safe (offshore) foraging areas than in dangerous (nearshore) foraging areas").

Adding a state effect on survival increased the QAIC c by 1.98 (Table 4) ; hence, this parameter should be considered uninformative.


Ontogenetic shifts mediated by predation danger do not necessarily follow a transition from dangerous to safe habitat. Juvenile bluegill sunfish Lepomis macrochirus restricted themselves to safe but poor habitats and only entered the dangerous but food rich habitats when they were large enough not to be susceptible to largemouth bass Micropteris salmoides, a gape-limited predator (Werner et al. 1983) . Likewise, juvenile snowshoe hares Lepus americanus, under the threat of great horned owls Bubo virginianus, get forced by older, more dominant animals into dangerous, but food-rich habitat. This allows them to maximize growth rate and force their way into safer areas (Fitzgerald and Keith 1990; Rohner and Krebs 1996) .

Juvenile bluegill sunfish Lepomis macrochirus restricted themselves to safe but poor habitats and only entered the dangerous but food rich habitats when they were large enough not to be susceptible to largemouth bass Micropteris salmoides, a gape-limited predator.

This allows them to maximize growth rate and force their way into safer areas.


Type Ia supernovae are one of the most widely studied astronomical events and rightfully so because of their enormous importance in measuring cosmic distances. Although not everything is understood about these events, the general consensus is that they are produced due to the thermonuclear explosion of a white dwarf having mass very close to the Chandrasekhar limit of 1.44M ⊙ , when M ⊙ being the mass of Sun [1] . However, recent observations of a fast-growing number of several peculiar, overluminous type Ia supernovae, e.g. SN 2006gz, SN 2007if, SN 2009dc, SN 2003fg, bring even this basic idea into serious question, as they are best explained by invoking progenitor white dwarfs with super-Chandrasekhar mass in the range 2.1 − 2.8M ⊙ [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] .

Although not everything is understood about these events, the general consensus is that they are produced due to the thermonuclear explosion of a white dwarf having mass very close to the Chandrasekhar limit of 1.44M ⊙ , when M ⊙ being the mass of Sun.

However, recent observations of a fast-growing number of several peculiar, overluminous type Ia supernovae, e.g. SN 2006gz, SN 2007if, SN 2009dc, SN 2003fg, bring even this basic idea into serious question, as they are best explained by invoking progenitor white dwarfs with super-Chandrasekhar mass in the range 2.1 − 2.8M ⊙.


In 1995, we observed an increase from 24 to 43% control, and in 1996, an increase from 15 to 24% in weed control in nontreated conservation-tilled peanut using the Brazilian cover crop management system; i.e., cover crops grown to produce large amounts (.4,480 kg/ha) of residue rolled to form a dense mat on the soil surface, compared to winter fallow (Derpsch et al., 1991; Reeves, 2003) . In two of three years, black oat biomass was equivalent to rye and equivalent or greater than wheat. However, inferior cold tolerance of black oat compared to rye may limit its current zone of utilization and presents an opportunity for future germplasm research. Our results support literature that reports the allelopathic potential of black oat and rye is greater than wheat (Phatak, 1998) . The maximum weed control gain provided by winter cover crops was an increase from 24 to 70% control when comparing black oat to winter fallow in nontreated plots in 1995. Systems that did not include herbicides were not effective at controlling weeds adequately the entire season and resulted in substantial yield losses. However, when winter cover crops were utilized along with PRE herbicides, similar weed control to the high input system was attained in eight out of twelve comparisons.

In 1995, we observed an increase from 24 to 43% control, and in 1996, an increase from 15 to 24% in weed control in nontreated conservation-tilled peanut using the Brazilian cover crop management system; i.e., cover crops grown to produce large amounts (.4,480 kg/ha) of residue rolled to form a dense mat on the soil surface, compared to winter fallow.

Our results support literature that reports the allelopathic potential of black oat and rye is greater than wheat.


The polyphenols, including phenolic acids, flavonoids, lignans, and stilbenes, are an extensive group of secondary metabolites having in common a hydroxy-substituted benzene ring in their structure [1] . The legumes are especially rich in flavonoids [2] . A variety of biological functions have been proposed for polyphenols in plants, such as protection against radiation, oxidative damage, and diseases and participation in signalling pathways [3] . Polyphenols have been associated also with the health-promoting effects of consuming fruits and vegetables, and this positive effect has been related to their antioxidant activity [4] . These health-promoting properties include risk from cancer and cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disease [5] [6] [7] [8] .

The polyphenols, including phenolic acids, flavonoids, lignans, and stilbenes, are an extensive group of secondary metabolites having in common a hydroxy-substituted benzene ring in their structure.

The legumes are especially rich in flavonoids.

A variety of biological functions have been proposed for polyphenols in plants, such as protection against radiation, oxidative damage, and diseases and participation in signalling pathways.

Polyphenols have been associated also with the health-promoting effects of consuming fruits and vegetables, and this positive effect has been related to their antioxidant activity.

These health-promoting properties include risk from cancer and cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disease.


Top-quark decays are known to be privileged places for testing the Standard Model (SM) and for providing hints on the theory that completes it at high energies. There are theoretical, phenomenological and experimental reasons for this fact. At the theory level, within the SM the top quark is the only 'heavy' fermion, with namely mass of the order of the electroweak symmetry breaking (EWSB) scale, or equivalently with Higgs coupling of O(1). This circumstance motivates beyond-SM scenarios where the top quark plays an active role in the EWSB dynamics, at variance with the other quarks. At the phenomenological level, the large top mass causes the top quark to decay before hadronization, so that the details of its production mechanism (e.g. the relative weights of the different spin amplitudes) are testable from the kinematic behavior of its decay products. Finally, at the experimental level, any collider experiment devoted to directly exploring the EWSB scale is in principle also a top-quark factory. Most notably, this is true for the LHC that, in 2011 alone, has produced as many as 8 · 10 5 tt pairs per experiment [1] .

Most notably, this is true for the LHC that, in 2011 alone, has produced as many as 8 · 10 5 tt pairs per experiment.


Negative binomial regression was used to calculate rate-ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for the comparison of claim rates. A likelihood-ratio test for over-dispersion indicated the use of a negative binomial regression model rather than a Poisson regression model. Rate-ratios were calculated using all claims data over the study period, and adjusted for age, occupation, and year of injury. Rate-ratios were additionally stratified by gender. Statistical analyses were completed using Stata IC/10.1 [18] .

Statistical analyses were completed using Stata IC/10.1.


In AAC technologies the source of sulphates, besides cement, is usually calcium sulphate in the form of gypsum or anhydrite. The most commonly used gypsum dihydrate (hydrated calcium sulphate) as one of the components of the concrete binder. Sulphates in an aerated concrete mixture regulate the setting of the mixture. The release of hydrogen in the cast aerated concrete mass is slower and the concrete microstructure is better. Sulphates influence the shape of tobermorite crystals -they are larger and flatter [13] .

Sulphates influence the shape of tobermorite crystals -they are larger and flatter.