For a case-control study with unrelated individuals, the best source of controls is the population from which cases were ascertained, and recruiting admixed subjects from the same clinic or very nearby geographic location can even minimize differences in the degree of admixture [22] . In the present study, despite obtaining African American case-control samples from individuals residing in similar (urban) areas, and that we were able to find similar effects for the ancestry in asthma risk in two independent case-control samples, we cannot exclude the fact that residual confounding may exist due to unmeasured factors (environmental, social, cultural, or behavioral). In addition, albeit sampling did not include close relative subjects, cryptic relatedness cannot be ruled out from the study. However, simulation studies have evidenced the limited impact of including subjects with close familiar relationships in population-based association studies [47] . Most importantly, we did not have data for the location of residence (as a proxy for exposure to pollution) and SES. Previous studies have not observed African ancestries in African Americans varying with urban or suburban residence [48] . However, it is well known that SES is strongly correlated with race and ethnic background and is a robust predictor of access to and quality of health care and education in the U.S., which, in turn, may be associated with differences in the incidence and outcomes of those diseases [17] . By focusing exclusively on African Americans, we may not totally alleviate this confounding given that skin pigmentation and African ancestry are modestly correlated in African Americans [49] . Earlier studies have suggested that biological endpoints, such as blood pressure, might be influenced by skin color and hypothesized that this was due to SES [50] [51] [52] [53] . However, a more recent evaluation did not reveal any correlation linking skin pigmentation with health outcomes among African Americans [54] . This makes a residual correlation of individual admixture with social or other environmental agents less likely [55] . In support of this, previous studies exploring the relationship between African ancestry and asthma risk, asthma-related traits or allergic sensitization, did not observe confounding effects due to SES [21, 22, 48] . In summary, a consistent association of African ancestry with asthma risk was observed in a large case-control sample of selfreported African American subjects. Although confounding effects attributable to other relevant risk factors cannot be ruled out, we replicate previous findings and support the notion that ethnic disparities in asthma incidence are affected, in part, by genetic determinants. Frequency differences for risk alleles across populations and/or differential gene-environmental interactions may lead to differential disease susceptibility.

For a case-control study with unrelated individuals, the best source of controls is the population from which cases were ascertained, and recruiting admixed subjects from the same clinic or very nearby geographic location can even minimize differences in the degree of admixture.

However, simulation studies have evidenced the limited impact of including subjects with close familiar relationships in population-based association studies.

Previous studies have not observed African ancestries in African Americans varying with urban or suburban residence.

However, it is well known that SES is strongly correlated with race and ethnic background and is a robust predictor of access to and quality of health care and education in the U.S., which, in turn, may be associated with differences in the incidence and outcomes of those diseases.

By focusing exclusively on African Americans, we may not totally alleviate this confounding given that skin pigmentation and African ancestry are modestly correlated in African Americans.

Earlier studies have suggested that biological endpoints, such as blood pressure, might be influenced by skin color and hypothesized that this was due to SES.

However, a more recent evaluation did not reveal any correlation linking skin pigmentation with health outcomes among African Americans.

This makes a residual correlation of individual admixture with social or other environmental agents less likely.

In support of this, previous studies exploring the relationship between African ancestry and asthma risk, asthma-related traits or allergic sensitization, did not observe confounding effects due to SES.


An explicit expression of the distribution, defined by Equation (12), is difficult to be found for two orders of reasons. First, as already mentioned, the deviations, i  , are dependent random variables owing to Equation (4) . Second, even   1 n  deviations could not be considered as independent, contrary to what might be suggested by an algebraic interpretation of Equation (4) . Conversely, any deviation is a function of the measures, 1 2 , as shown by Equation (8) . Accordingly, the arithmetic mean standard deviation, , , , n m m m   , has to be expressed in terms of independent random variables. Aiming to calculate the multiple integral on the right-hand side of Equation (12), three steps shall be performed as outlined below.

First, as already mentioned, the deviations, i  , are dependent random variables owing to Equation.

Second, even   1 n  deviations could not be considered as independent, contrary to what might be suggested by an algebraic interpretation of Equation.


Rotifers are a group of free-living, planktonic pseudocoelomates characterized by possessing a wheel of cilia called a corona at the anterior end (Zou, 2003) . There is an alternation of parthenogenic and sexual reproduction in the life cycle of rotifers (Snell and Carmona, 1995) . At the beginning of the growing season, diploid parthenogenic females hatch out from the RE of the previous season. Parthenogenic females reproduce unisexually by laying diploid eggs, which develop into females. Upon receiving appropriate environmental cues, rotifers can switch the mode of reproduction from parthenogenic reproduction to sexual reproduction, in which diploid sexual females are produced (Snell and Carmona, 1995) . Diploid sexual females then produce haploid eggs through meiosis, which develop into haploid males or RE if fertilized by males (Preston et al., 2000) . RE are the sources of genotypic variability and permit escape from harsh environments through dormancy (Birky and Gilbert, 1971; King and Snell, 1977; Pourriot and Snell, 1983) .

Rotifers are a group of free-living, planktonic pseudocoelomates characterized by possessing a wheel of cilia called a corona at the anterior end.

There is an alternation of parthenogenic and sexual reproduction in the life cycle of rotifers.

Upon receiving appropriate environmental cues, rotifers can switch the mode of reproduction from parthenogenic reproduction to sexual reproduction, in which diploid sexual females are produced.

Diploid sexual females then produce haploid eggs through meiosis, which develop into haploid males or RE if fertilized by males.

RE are the sources of genotypic variability and permit escape from harsh environments through dormancy.


There are several ways to model TCLs, including modeling based on the actual physical process, regression modeling based on historical data, and modeling based on the Fokker-Planck diffusion equations. Other authors focus on a probability characteristics model and the use of black-box model identification techniques [9] [10] [11] . These models are often too complicated for the control system. For example, the physical process model, which needs to be converted to the mathematical model of control, cannot be directly used in numerical simulations. The regression model requires a large amount of historical data. Similarly, the model based on Fokker-Planck equation is very complex and difficult to implement [12] . A state sequence model, proposed by Lu and Chassin, considers the uncertainty modeling of thermostatically controlled loads. The disadvantage of this model is that it can only slowly change the load over time.

Other authors focus on a probability characteristics model and the use of black-box model identification techniques.

Similarly, the model based on Fokker-Planck equation is very complex and difficult to implement.


Traditionally, the power system adopts the strategy of "electricity production determined by loads" to achieve power balance. Loads have been regarded as the passive physics terminal. In recent years, the smart grid concept has become popular in the electric system. The communication capability of the new intelligent service network and the loads' controllability have been greatly improved. Direct Load Control (DLC), which usually reduces the loads by controlling the thermostatically controlled loads (TCLs) of air conditioners, fridges, water heaters of the residential users or the small-business users, is an important type of incentive-based demand response. These kinds of loads are called flexible loads. They have heat energy storage ability and can switch or change the control parameters in a short time, which will not impact users. Meanwhile, they have the potential to balance system power. Flexible loads can have a real-time response to the grid's demand, reduce the backup capacity properly, and improve the level of the power system to run safely and economically [4] . They can be incorporated into the normal operation of power system's dispatch by the demand response [5] .

Flexible loads can have a real-time response to the grid's demand, reduce the backup capacity properly, and improve the level of the power system to run safely and economically.

They can be incorporated into the normal operation of power system's dispatch by the demand response.


Spiroheterocycles acquired a special place in the heterocyclic field due to highly pronounced pharmacological activities. Spiro-oxindole derivatives possess antimicrobial, antitumour, anticonvulsant, potential antileukaemic, local anaesthetic and antiviral activities [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] . Therefore, we planned to synthesize new spirooxindoles and screen them for both in vitro and in silico antibacterial and antifungal activities.

Spiro-oxindole derivatives possess antimicrobial, antitumour, anticonvulsant, potential antileukaemic, local anaesthetic and antiviral activities.


The enzyme glucosamine-6-phosphate synthase is a new target for antifungals [9] [10] [11] . This complex enzyme catalyses complex reaction involving ammonia transfer from l-glutamine to fructose-6-phosphate followed by isomerisation of the formed fructosamine-6-phosphate to glucosamine-6-phosphate [12, 13] . This is the first step of the pathway leading to the formation of UDP-GlcNAc, a product that is present in all classes of organisms. UDPGlcNAc is utilized to build macromolecules necessary for cell wall assembly, such as chitin and mannoproteins in fungi and peptidoglycan in bacteria. In mammals, UDP-GlcNAc is used for the biosynthesis of glycoproteins and mucopolysaccharides. Despite of the fact that glucosamine-6-phosphate synthase is present in all types of cells, it may be exploited as a target for potential antifungal drugs, and selective toxicity can be achieved [14, 15] . Obviously, glucosamine-6-phosphate, the product of this enzyme, is indispensable for fungi and human cells; however, the consequences of its deficiency in both species are very different. Even brief inactivation of GlcN-6-P synthase is lethal for fungal cells, whereas depletion of the aminosugar pool for a short time is not lethal in mammals given the longer lifespan of mammalian cells, long half life time of GlcN-6-P synthase and rapid expression of the mammalian gene encoding the enzyme GlcN-6-P synthase [16] . Hence, a docking study with respect to antibacterial and antifungal activities was performed on the newly synthesized spirooxindoles for better understanding of the drug-receptor interaction, and the results of such studies are reported.

The enzyme glucosamine-6-phosphate synthase is a new target for antifungals.

This complex enzyme catalyses complex reaction involving ammonia transfer from l-glutamine to fructose-6-phosphate followed by isomerisation of the formed fructosamine-6-phosphate to glucosamine-6-phosphate.

Despite of the fact that glucosamine-6-phosphate synthase is present in all types of cells, it may be exploited as a target for potential antifungal drugs, and selective toxicity can be achieved.

Even brief inactivation of GlcN-6-P synthase is lethal for fungal cells, whereas depletion of the aminosugar pool for a short time is not lethal in mammals given the longer lifespan of mammalian cells, long half life time of GlcN-6-P synthase and rapid expression of the mammalian gene encoding the enzyme GlcN-6-P synthase.


After extracting fault features from vibration signals, many scholars adopt neural networks, support vector machines (SVMs) or other intelligent methods to identify the fault features of bearings [1, 15, 16] . However, neural network identification methods are built based on large training samples. Their training speed is low, and such methods can easily fall into local extrema [17] . SVMs represent a method of small-sample learning that can obtain a globally optimal solution; however, the kernel function and parameters are not easy to confirm. Because the internal relations between the features of different faults obviously differ, the relations can be used to perform fault diagnosis. Thus, a new pattern recognition method based on the VPMCD method was proposed by Raghuraj and Lakshminarayanan [18, 19] . Cheng adopted the VPMCD method to study the fault diagnosis of bearings and to improve diagnosis performance [20] . LS regression is used in the VPMCD method to estimate the model parameters based on the assumption that no highly linear correlations exist between independent parameters. However, the fault feature data are limited in practical situations such that a linear correlation between independent variables is inevitable for small samples. A high degree of correlation influences the accuracy of parameter estimation, therein increasing model error and destabilizing the model. To address this problem, instead of the LS method, PLS regression is used to estimate the model parameters. The PLS method benefits from a strong processing capacity for high-dimensional data and can estimate parameters given a linear dependence between independent variables to improve the estimation accuracy [21] .

After extracting fault features from vibration signals, many scholars adopt neural networks, support vector machines (SVMs) or other intelligent methods to identify the fault features of bearings.

Their training speed is low, and such methods can easily fall into local extrema.

Thus, a new pattern recognition method based on the VPMCD method was proposed by Raghuraj and Lakshminarayanan.

Cheng adopted the VPMCD method to study the fault diagnosis of bearings and to improve diagnosis performance.

The PLS method benefits from a strong processing capacity for high-dimensional data and can estimate parameters given a linear dependence between independent variables to improve the estimation accuracy.


Rolling element bearings are significant components of rotary machines, and their working condition can directly affect the operation of the machine. The failure of a bearing can lead to the failure of the entire structure. Therefore, the early fault diagnosis of rolling element bearings can improve the safety of operating machinery [1] [2] [3] .

Therefore, the early fault diagnosis of rolling element bearings can improve the safety of operating machinery.


Several studies have been focused on simulating the strain distribution and crack formation for multiphase materials at the microstructural level [21] [22] [23] . Different modeling techniques have been used to model crack initiation and propagation. The predominant method used over the past decade is the extended Finite Element Method (XFEM) due to its advantage of crack path independence [24, 25] . The most common way to validate the simulation predication is the capability to reproduce the macroscopic experimental stress-strain [26, 27] . However, multiscale modelling requires more deformation details at the microstructural scale. One potential route to obtain this information is through DIC, enabling a quantitative comparison of the strain distribution at the microstructural scale with validation of events such as decohesion and micro-cracking.

Several studies have been focused on simulating the strain distribution and crack formation for multiphase materials at the microstructural level.

The predominant method used over the past decade is the extended Finite Element Method (XFEM) due to its advantage of crack path independence.

The most common way to validate the simulation predication is the capability to reproduce the macroscopic experimental stress-strain.


Ductile iron is a multiphase material with ferrite, pearlite and graphite as constituents [12] . The properties between the constituents are very different resulting in a heterogeneous deformation at the micro-scale, in particular around graphite particles [13] [14] [15] . The arrangement of the phases will result in a significant scatter in the local response of the material to the loading, especially during deformation, crack initiation and propagation.

Ductile iron is a multiphase material with ferrite, pearlite and graphite as constituents.

The properties between the constituents are very different resulting in a heterogeneous deformation at the micro-scale, in particular around graphite particles.


The building sector is linked to climate policy by means of the GHG emissions of the energy use of the building stock in the domestic, institutional, and business sectors. From the aspect of environmental protection, it is in the exceptional situation that it is the focus of most national developments due to the immense and cost effective possibilities for reducing GHG emissions arising from the enormous mass of these buildings. The essence of the above is that since a given unit of investment can result in much greater reductions than in the other sectors definitive in climate change, the developments that aim at reducing GHG emissions are generally implemented in this sector (for example, transport) [1] .

The essence of the above is that since a given unit of investment can result in much greater reductions than in the other sectors definitive in climate change, the developments that aim at reducing GHG emissions are generally implemented in this sector (for example, transport).


Trends in ozone are of the order of a few percent per decade, e.g., in the upper stratosphere around +1 % to +3 % per decade (Harris et al., 2015) . Although the trends in total column ozone are insignificant, in the upper stratosphere (around 40 km) the ozone level has significantly increased (Harris et al., 2015) . This increase does not indicate that ozone in the whole stratosphere is increasing. In contrast, many studies have suggested that, at midlatitudes and tropical latitudes, the ozone content in the lower stratosphere has continued to decrease (Ball et al., 2018) . Thus, it is important to take ozone measurements with an instrument with high spatial and temporal resolution to detect these changes. DIAL (differential absorption lidar) measures the vertical distribution of ozone density with high temporal and vertical resolution. In the DIAL technique, two laser beams at different wavelengths are simultaneously transmitted to the atmosphere. The spectral range for the laser beams is chosen in the UV range in which one of the wavelengths is highly absorbed by ozone and is called the "online" wavelength. The other wavelength has a relatively lower absorption by ozone and is called the "off-line" wavelength. As the ozone cross sections are well known, the differential lidar technique allows the absolute number density to be determined from the combination of the online and off-line measurements, without the need for external calibration.

Trends in ozone are of the order of a few percent per decade, e.g., in the upper stratosphere around +1 % to +3 % per decade.

Although the trends in total column ozone are insignificant, in the upper stratosphere (around 40 km) the ozone level has significantly increased.

In contrast, many studies have suggested that, at midlatitudes and tropical latitudes, the ozone content in the lower stratosphere has continued to decrease.


Our primary purpose in this research was twofold. First, we tried to ascertain the dimensional nature of perfectionism, so as to help future research with this personality trait with potentially weighty consequences for students in achievement settings. Whereas researchers seldom question the maladaptive nature of socially prescribed perfectionism, they have not been able to reach a firm conclusion regarding the adaptive nature of self-oriented perfectionism (Stoeber et al., 2009) . We reasoned that dimensionality of perfectionism would play out most vividly when assessed in reference to typical learning situations, due to the ongoing competition, imminent possibilities of failure, and ambiguous definitions of success inherent in them.

Whereas researchers seldom question the maladaptive nature of socially prescribed perfectionism, they have not been able to reach a firm conclusion regarding the adaptive nature of self-oriented perfectionism.


Second, we wanted to test once again the importance of academic motivation in assisting learners with adaptive as well as maladaptive dispositions to adjust and function better in specific achievement situations. Because personality traits predispose learners to certain motivational tendencies, academic motivation likely mediates the processes linking perfectionism to achievement-related outcomes (Mills & Blankstein, 2000) . Further, because self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism differ with respect to who initiates and maintains control over goals and standards, learners high in each type of perfectionism inevitably generate different responses toward identical challenges and setbacks and are expected to conclude the same achievement episodes differently by following disparate motivational paths.

Because personality traits predispose learners to certain motivational tendencies, academic motivation likely mediates the processes linking perfectionism to achievement-related outcomes.


The literature concerning the use of FACTS devices is wide. However, most papers treat only the operational improvement by using FACTS devices [1] [2] [3] . This topic is considered as the operation planning, in which FACTS devices are used, for example, to redistribute the active power flow in order to eliminate congestion problems and/or to optimize the power dispatch. In this way, the PS is considered a FACTS device with the characteristic of redistributing the active power flow.

However, most papers treat only the operational improvement by using FACTS devices.


As we know, data points with high similarity should have uniform density and consistent spatial characteristic [26] . Therefore, the key to estimate whether a pair of data points belong to a specific cluster is how to use the data information between them. The local projection distance measure (LPDM) presented in the current paper can reflect the local spatial structure of dataset in more depth, by which the goal of rational partition for synthetic datasets, images, and most of real-world datasets may be well achieved.

As we know, data points with high similarity should have uniform density and consistent spatial characteristic.


Energy is one of the keys to the development of nations and society. Civilization is dependent on a constant, consistent supply of energy; globally, the demand for energy has been increasing consistently in parallel with growth in population and economic consumption [1] . Stringent energy-related problems have led to an increased interest in renewable energy sources. Due to the intermittent nature of those sources, the energy production varies significantly according, for example, to the hour of the day and the period of the year. Therefore, it is necessary to store the produced energy allowing its use after production. The criteria for the selection of solutions for the storage of renewable energy are still under debate, both for stationary and mobile applications [2] .

Civilization is dependent on a constant, consistent supply of energy; globally, the demand for energy has been increasing consistently in parallel with growth in population and economic consumption.

The criteria for the selection of solutions for the storage of renewable energy are still under debate, both for stationary and mobile applications.


As opposed to classical text clustering, SRC must deal with small text fragments (Web snippets) and be processed in run-time. As a consequence, it is hard to implement efficiently and effectively [9] . So, most successful methodologies follow a monothetic approach [40, 10, 12, 35] . The underlying idea is to discover the most discriminant topical words in the collection and group together Web snippets containing these relevant terms. On the other hand, the polythetic approach, in which the main idea is to represent Web snippets based on the Vector Space Model (VSM) has received less attention [18, 22, 41, 30] . The main reason is the fact that the labeling process is a surprisingly hard extra task [9] .

As a consequence, it is hard to implement efficiently and effectively.

So, most successful methodologies follow a monothetic approach.

On the other hand, the polythetic approach, in which the main idea is to represent Web snippets based on the Vector Space Model (VSM) has received less attention.

The main reason is the fact that the labeling process is a surprisingly hard extra task.


An important limitation of the EN framework is that the valuation of claims is carried out ex-post, i.e. at the maturity of the contracts, once the amount of external funds of each bank is known. One only needs to compute how losses, if any, should be redistributed among the surviving financial institutions. While EN emphasized the importance of moving towards an ex-ante valuation accounting for uncertainty (deriving, e.g., from possible shocks or cashflows between the valuation date and the maturity date), and despite the great interest in financial contagion spurred by the 2008 crisis, most works on systemic risk and stress-testing of interbank networks have focused on the original ex-post framework in which valuation and maturity times coincide (Acemoglu et al., 2015; Cifuentes et al., 2005; Elsinger et al., 2006; Glasserman and Young, 2015; Rogers and Veraart, 2013) .

While EN emphasized the importance of moving towards an ex-ante valuation accounting for uncertainty (deriving, e.g., from possible shocks or cashflows between the valuation date and the maturity date), and despite the great interest in financial contagion spurred by the 2008 crisis, most works on systemic risk and stress-testing of interbank networks have focused on the original ex-post framework in which valuation and maturity times coincide.


In sum, this study provided preliminary evidence for the reliability, as well as the convergent and discriminant validity, of scales designed to measure coping through emotional approach. These data relied on individuals' own perceptions of their coping mechanisms and, thus, are subject to self-report biases (Coyne & Gottlieb, 1996) . Study 2 was designed to address this issue.

These data relied on individuals' own perceptions of their coping mechanisms and, thus, are subject to self-report biases.


The effect of particle size on the dissolution of chalcopyrite ore by 4M HNO 3 solution at 80 0 C was examined using three particle sizes: -90 + 75 µm, -112 + 90 µm, and -300 + 112 µm. The result of this investigation is shown in Figure 3 . From Figure 3 , while the dissolution of chalcopyrite with the samples of particle size -90 + 75µm was between 30 -80% after 120 minutes, the dissolution decreased to about 20 -55% for the particle size above -90 + 75µm. This may be attributed to increase in surface area for the finer size chalcopyrite ore (Baba et al. 2012; Baba et al. 2007; Aydogan et al. 2005) .

This may be attributed to increase in surface area for the finer size chalcopyrite ore.


To further support this assertion, the plot of the rate constant, K, versus inverse of square of particle radii (1/r o ) 2 on the particle diameter gave a linear relationship as presented in Figure 8 . Hence, linearity of the plot in Figure 8 affirmed the rate determining step for the dissolution of chalcopyrite ore by HNO 3 media occur via diffusion control mechanism. Apparently, the plot of K versus (1/r 0 ) was not linear. The X-ray diffraction analysis of the solid residual product obtained from the leaching of 10g/L chalcopyrite ore at optimal condition by 4M HNO 3 at 80 0 C are presented in Table 1 . Table 1 showed that the predominant peaks in the chalcopyrite ore (CuFeS 2 ), namely pyrite (FeS 2 ) and host of other iron compounds in the original sample were effectively leached at optimal conditions. However, the dominant mineral phases that formed the residual products are α-quartz (SiO 2 ) and tin oxide (SnO 2 ). Further investigation of change on chalcopyrite surface at 80 0 C by 4M HNO 3 solution during leaching for 2 hours was also examined by SEM as depicted in figure 9 . From SEM in figure 9 , it is evident that a greater reduction in the phase of the ore (b) comparing with the SEM of leaching at 60 minutes (a) based on the larger pore size observed. Furthermore, it is worthwhile to predict that the possible presence of pyrite on the surface of the ore may gave rise to sulphur layer formation, because of high copper recovery and may prevent the leaching of chalcopyrite ore. Therefore, the possible presence of pyrite (when unleached) may leads to greater permeability and the porosity of the sulphur layer formed which apparently may enhances chalcopyrite leaching (Javad-Koleini et al. 2010) .

Therefore, the possible presence of pyrite (when unleached) may leads to greater permeability and the porosity of the sulphur layer formed which apparently may enhances chalcopyrite leaching.


The elemental composition of the chalcopyrite ore under study examined by XRF technique showed that the ore contains 24.16% Cu, 36.53% Fe and 2.02% Mn as major elements. Other elements found in the ore include Sn, Mg, Pb and Ca. These were recorded at low to trace levels (Ayinla, 2012) .

These were recorded at low to trace levels.


Thirty-one eyes of 20 patients with TBU were identified. Full details regarding baseline demographic and clinical characteristics are presented in Table 1 . Of note, 16 patients were born outside the USA with 7 being from high TB-burden countries [11] . Five patients had underlying immunosuppressing conditions: 1 with psoriasis receiving methotrexate; 2 with chronic hepatitis C; 1 with end-stage renal disease status post renal transplant on mycophenolate, prednisone, and tacrolimus; and 1 with diabetes.

Of note, 16 patients were born outside the USA with 7 being from high TB-burden countries.


Abstraction of demographics (age, gender, country of origin), TB risk factors, prior active or latent TB infection (LTBI), medical co-morbidities, time from symptom onset to diagnosis, and site of involvement was performed using a standardized data tool. Site of inflammation was categorized by a fellowship-trained uveitis specialist as anterior uveitis, intermediate uveitis, posterior uveitis, or panuveitis according to Standardization of Uveitis Nomenclature (SUN) guidelines [9] . Unilateral or bilateral disease was also ascertained. Information collected on diagnostic evaluation included TST, QFT-G, ocular sampling for MTB-PCR, sputum sampling for acid-fast bacilli (AFB) smear and culture, chest radiograph or computed tomography (CT), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) test.

Site of inflammation was categorized by a fellowship-trained uveitis specialist as anterior uveitis, intermediate uveitis, posterior uveitis, or panuveitis according to Standardization of Uveitis Nomenclature (SUN) guidelines.


The most likely reason for an individual's death in an accident is lack of the first aid provision that is because of emergency services not receiving information about accident in time. Emergency response time is extremely vital when it involves incidents involving vehicle accidents. Analysis shows that if we decrease just 1-minute in accident response time that can increase chances of saving an individual's life up to six percent [4] . In order to reduce response time, implementation of enhanced traffic technologies would be necessary, which will help scale back response time and therefore reduce fatalities.

Analysis shows that if we decrease just 1-minute in accident response time that can increase chances of saving an individual's life up to six percent.


The number of deaths due to traffic accidents is very high. Looking at the number of deaths and injuries due to road traffic accidents shows the global crisis of road safety. Nearly 1.3 million people are killed every year and about 50 million injured worldwide due to road accidents, which averages to 3,287 lives lost every day. More than 50 percent of road traffic deaths affect young adults between the age of 15-44. Around 400,000 individuals under the age of 25 dies in road traffic accidents every year. Even in countries with very good road safety measures, the number of road accident deaths is getting higher every year [1] . More than 90% of road traffic deaths occur in middle-income countries. In low-income countries the figure is even higher.

Even in countries with very good road safety measures, the number of road accident deaths is getting higher every year.


The video data and field notes capturing students' and teachers' social activity in the design and making environment were analyzed using interaction analysis methods ( Jordan & Henderson, 1995) . In this study, following such methods meant paying careful attention to the construction of an interaction on a moment-to-moment basis. It was important to understand how the ongoing interaction was constructed into being over time and how different discursive acts were built into episodes with a particular meaning. The interaction analysis approach thus enabled us to gain insights in the students' knowledge creation processes -their development, maintenance, and closure. Interaction analysis also enabled us to understand how the students' funds of knowledge and negotiations among students and teachers mediated the knowledge creation processes.

The video data and field notes capturing students' and teachers' social activity in the design and making environment were analyzed using interaction analysis methods.


Our analytic approach can be defined as abductive, involving repeated iterations between theory and data (Van Maanen, Sørensen, & Terence, 2007) . Our interaction analysis proceeded to the tracing of the main forms (or patterns) of students' knowledge creation from the depicted interaction episodes. To capture the manifestations of students' funds of knowledge related to familiar/customary patterns of activity for doing school activities, we first further analyzed the interaction episodes that took place among the students and their teachers in the FUSE Studio. In this analytical phase, we also depicted the manifestations of the students' funds of knowledge when interacting with artifacts and objects (i.e., not just with people) during 57 FUSE activities. When applying this type of knowledge creation pattern, the students often drew from their existing knowledge of formal schooling without questioning or reconceptualizing the FUSE challenges or the teacher's instructions. Then, we zoomed into the interaction episodes among the students that provided evidence of breaking away from their existing funds of knowledge and traditional socio-material enactments of doing school-based activities. Thereafter, to dig deeper into the students' formation of new knowledge, we analyzed those interaction episodes where students' out of school/free-time interests were recognized and taken into account (by their peers and/or a teacher) and where they reframed the activity, extending the original FUSE challenges.

Our analytic approach can be defined as abductive, involving repeated iterations between theory and data.


Maltoni D. Has proposed various methods and problems for fingerprint recognition. He has given idea how fingerprint get different noises with different stages of processing [1] . Louise has proposed fingerprint recognition for low quality images and emphasized upon ridge detection and Improved algorithms for enhancement of fingerprint images [2] . S.G.mallat described how to singularity detection using the wavelet transformation. Amra Graps uses the various wavelet technique as well as its importance from other de-noising techniques [4, 8] . Rakesh has given the idea in order to utilise the wavelet transformation in fingerprint recognition [6] . Gornale S.S has given the idea to de-noise fingerprint using multi-resolution analysis through stationary wavelet transformation, which have the adaptive normalization based on block processing, are proposed. A direction stream field of the ridges is computed for the fingerprint image. To accurately locate ridges, a ridge orientation based computation scheme is used [5] . But this method used the library Matlab function which is less efficient in order to de-noise. Zhen_bing Zhao has given a better idea for de-noising using wavelet transformation based on noise standard deviation estimation [3] . So the fingerprint image transformed by wavelet domain by an efficient way de-noise gives a better result and fulfils various authentication and pattern recognition methods.

He has given idea how fingerprint get different noises with different stages of processing.

Louise has proposed fingerprint recognition for low quality images and emphasized upon ridge detection and Improved algorithms for enhancement of fingerprint images.

Amra Graps uses the various wavelet technique as well as its importance from other de-noising techniques.

Rakesh has given the idea in order to utilise the wavelet transformation in fingerprint recognition.

To accurately locate ridges, a ridge orientation based computation scheme is used.

Zhen_bing Zhao has given a better idea for de-noising using wavelet transformation based on noise standard deviation estimation.


In the simplest ballistic conception of dispersal, the horizontal distance (x) traveled by an individual seed from a release height (h,) to a deposition site on the ground is where v, is the terminal velocity of the seed and u is the horizontal wind velocity averaged between h, and the ground during the seed's flight (Pasquill and Smith 1983) . The trajectory angle (0) followed by the seed in flight is [21 0 = tan -' (vdu) (Of course, it is not expected that a real seed will follow the straight-line trajectory determined by 0. As the horizontal wind velocity will decline from h, to the ground, the real trajectory 'Present address: Department of Geography, Concordia University, 1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West, Montreal, Que., Canada H3G 4M8.

In the simplest ballistic conception of dispersal, the horizontal distance (x) traveled by an individual seed from a release height (h,) to a deposition site on the ground is where v, is the terminal velocity of the seed and u is the horizontal wind velocity averaged between h, and the ground during the seed's flight.

West, Montreal, Que., Canada H3G 4M8.


Financial ratios were also used for the purpose of predicting future performance. However, using all the available financial ratios in stock evaluation is impractical as it will make the evaluation process computationally and analytically complicated. There were many methods which have been implemented to identify the most important ratios. In order to select and identify the most important financial ratio, Fuzzy Delphi Method (FDM) on expert judgement was proposed because the method is an analytical technique. The advantage of using FDM is that it requires only a small number of samples and the derived results are objective and reasonable. Therefore, it can save time and the cost of collecting expert opinion. More importantly, it takes into account the fuzziness that cannot be avoided during the survey process [12] . With application of Alirezaee and Afsharian's model, the DEA method was used to find the efficiency score and ranking on the selected stocks listed companies in Bursa Malaysia. CCR output oriented proposed calculating the efficiency score in every stock. The efficiency score has a range score between 0 and 1. A stock is efficient when the score is 1 and inefficient when the score is less than 1. If the stocks have the same efficient score, a problem will occur when ranking the stocks. Thus, the purpose of this study is to select the appropriate inputs and outputs, rank the stocks using the original model by Alirezaee and Afsharian using the Balance Index. In order to perform the evaluation, financial analysis based on the computation of financial ratios can be used as evaluation criteria. Since there are many ratios available, it is important to identify the most critical ratio to be considered in the evaluation. In this study, we choose FDM to select the most important financial ratios for stock evaluation by using restriction in DEA. In the literature, many studies have used DEA model to measure performance companies and industry activities in various sectors. A summary of the literature including the DEA studies conducted by several business companies shown in Table 1 . Based on Table 1 , it shows that price to earnings ratio is the most parameter used among researchers to evaluate companies' performances. Therefore, in this research, we use the price to earnings ratio as one of the critical financial ratio to evaluate performance of companies.

More importantly, it takes into account the fuzziness that cannot be avoided during the survey process.


As a response to this dilemma, various methods have been proposed for solving risk analysis problems for mechatronics systems. For example, the frequently used methods are ETA and FTA. However, ETA is unable to handle the process of identifying safety risk because of multiple no related events. FTA can identify hazards that present mishap risk with an assessment of the risk [21] . But as the probabilities of various basic events are difficult to collect and estimate, FTA is unable to give quantitative risk assessment.

FTA can identify hazards that present mishap risk with an assessment of the risk.


Overall, feather Hg concentrations of Yellow-billed Loons sampled from 2007 to 2012 provided the most compelling evidence of risk. Seven percent of the feather samples exceeded Hg concentrations of approximately 20.0 µg/g fw, which relate to projected lowered reproductive success in Common Loons (Evers et al. 2008b) . However, exposure to Hg in Common Loons is greatest during the breeding season, whereas for Yellow-billed Loons it is currently greatest during the winter. Therefore, it is uncertain how MeHg loading during the winter may contribute to lowered reproductive output of Yellow-billed Loons.

Seven percent of the feather samples exceeded Hg concentrations of approximately 20.0 µg/g fw, which relate to projected lowered reproductive success in Common Loons.


In the current work, the authors propose a general, robust methodology for the automatic detection of static image regions containing no information relevant in the cross-correlation operation. Without any special requirement for the image regions to be excluded (shape, luminosity, or contrast), the method takes advantage of the statistical information contained within each individual pixel across several independent PIV images. A statistical test distinguishes unseeded image regions from image sections of interest with pixel accuracy. The underlying principle is the understanding that the temporal intensity variation of pixels constituting the unseeded partitions is mainly due to camera noise, producing a normal-distributed intensity histogram (Westerweel 2000) . Pixels of seeded image regions on the other hand are characterized by the strong alternation of bright and dark values, producing highly skewed histograms (Westerweel 2000) . A normality test is, therefore, performed on the time history of each pixel of the image to distinguish objects from particle images. Unlike filtering operations, the categorisation is performed pixelwise and, therefore, does not incorporate neighbouring pixels. As a result of an automatic thresholding on the p value of the normality test, the proposed method is fully autonomous and independent of user input. The technique is fully assessed on synthetic images and the application to several experimental cases is proposed to show its suitability for a variety of real conditions.

The underlying principle is the understanding that the temporal intensity variation of pixels constituting the unseeded partitions is mainly due to camera noise, producing a normal-distributed intensity histogram.

Pixels of seeded image regions on the other hand are characterized by the strong alternation of bright and dark values, producing highly skewed histograms.


As the trypsin inhibitors are known to cause reduced digestion and mainly are anti-nutritional and insecticidal, their presence in the pod from juvenile to mature stages could be an important component of the biochemical basis of resistance to podborer. The levels of these anti-nutritional factors have been determined in pigeonpea whole seed (Prasad et al., 2009; Swathi et al., 2014; Singh and Jambunathan, 1981) . However, these inhibitors were thoroughly studied in soybean among all legume species and concluded as antinutritional and even their residual activities in processed human foods lead to concern for human health. Even though, it well known that pigeonpea PIs can be reduced by cooking, germination or fermentation, yet there are significant differences found in their electrophoretic forms in the wild and cultivated species. Nonetheless, these crude proteins were tested against human pancreatic trypsin to address human health concern and no significant inhibition against them was found. Surprisingly, the inhibition levels are more active against Helicoverpa mid gut trypsin-like enzymes when compared to human pancreatic trypsin which was evident through the enzymatic assays. This is because major protease inhibitors in the seed were found specific to mammalian serine proteases. The pod borer larval midgut has a serine type proteas, and these inhibitors are potent and could effectively inhibit the protease from insect gut.

The levels of these anti-nutritional factors have been determined in pigeonpea whole seed.


In the higher latitudes, ice load is taken as design control load based on estimation. Intensive vibration induced by continuous crushing of ice will influence security and comfort of workers. At the same time, the degradation of resistance induced by the excessive and large amplitude vibration may lead to the fatal results. In 1964, two platforms that were completed in 1962-1963 collapsed, due to sea ice in Cook Inlet in Alaska; in 1969, a new offshore platform collapsed under the repeated hit of large ice loads (average ice thickness of flat ice was about 60 cm; the biggest thickness was above 1 m) [1] .

In 1964, two platforms that were completed in 1962-1963 collapsed, due to sea ice in Cook Inlet in Alaska; in 1969, a new offshore platform collapsed under the repeated hit of large ice loads (average ice thickness of flat ice was about 60 cm; the biggest thickness was above 1 m).


Unmanned aerial vehicles have potential as a platform for detecting and managing crop stress during the growing season, and they provide unique advantages compared with other platforms (Colomina and Molina 2014) . Unmanned aerial vehicles may be automated allowing information to be acquired more frequently with fewer resources than manned aircraft and can be done independent of field ground conditions. A potential issue with mounting an active crop canopy sensor on a UAV is the proximity needed to acquire crop canopy reflectance. The close proximity needed may be restrictive for UAV flight. The hypothesis is that the ranges reported for use of the active crop canopy sensor mentioned below will facilitate a range of height that a UAV may operate effectively within to accurately collect crop canopy reflectance.

Unmanned aerial vehicles have potential as a platform for detecting and managing crop stress during the growing season, and they provide unique advantages compared with other platforms.


Diabetes mellitus is a worldwide public health problem, which resulted from either a deficiency or tolerance in insulin [1] . Glucose biosensors are becoming an indispensable means for the diagnosis and therapy of diabetes mellitus [2] . Amperometric enzyme electrodes based on glucose oxidase (GOx) have been extensively used for the detection of the blood glucose concentration due to the high catalytic activity for the oxidation of glucose to gluconolactone [3] . Nevertheless, the direct electron communication between redox proteins and electrode surfaces is difficult because the redox center in biomolecules is usually buried in the large three-dimensional structure of enzyme molecules [4, 5] . Various materials have been studied to promote electron transfer of redox enzymes onto the surface of electrodes [6] [7] [8] [9] .

Diabetes mellitus is a worldwide public health problem, which resulted from either a deficiency or tolerance in insulin.

Glucose biosensors are becoming an indispensable means for the diagnosis and therapy of diabetes mellitus.

Amperometric enzyme electrodes based on glucose oxidase (GOx) have been extensively used for the detection of the blood glucose concentration due to the high catalytic activity for the oxidation of glucose to gluconolactone.

Nevertheless, the direct electron communication between redox proteins and electrode surfaces is difficult because the redox center in biomolecules is usually buried in the large three-dimensional structure of enzyme molecules.

Various materials have been studied to promote electron transfer of redox enzymes onto the surface of electrodes.


We used the scheduling refinement tool in the design of a voice codec for mobile phone applications.The vocoder contains two tasks for encoding and decoding in software, assisted by a custom hardware co-processor. For the implementation, the Vocoder was compiled into assembly code for the Motorola DSP56600 processor and linked against a small custom RTOS kernel that uses a scheduling algorithm where the decoder has higher priority than the encoder [7] . Table 1 shows the results for the vocoder model. The vocoder models were exercised by a testbench that feeds a stream of 163 speech frames corresponding to 3.26 s of speech into encoder and decoder. The transcoding delay is the latency when running encoder and decoder in backto-back mode and is related to response time in switching between encoding and decoding tasks.

For the implementation, the Vocoder was compiled into assembly code for the Motorola DSP56600 processor and linked against a small custom RTOS kernel that uses a scheduling algorithm where the decoder has higher priority than the encoder.


The installation of a Power System Stabilizer (PSS) appears as a simple and inexpensive technique for many years to produce an amount of damping torque through the injection of a supplementary stabilizing signal at a voltage reference input of an Automatic Voltage Regulator (AVR), which has increased the stability of the power system. However, their performance deteriorated when the system operating conditions varied widely [2] [3] [4] . Hence, in order to operate power systems effectively without lessening the system safety and quality of supply, even in the case of emergency conditions such as loss of transmission lines and/or generating units, new control strategies need to be applied. Flexible AC Transmission System (FACTS) device is an effective technology that has appeared as an alternative way in controlling power flow and damping power system oscillations. Although the damping ratio of FACTS-based stabilizer controllers is not often their main function, but its ability to increase power system damping characteristics has been acknowledged [5, 6] .

However, their performance deteriorated when the system operating conditions varied widely.

Although the damping ratio of FACTS-based stabilizer controllers is not often their main function, but its ability to increase power system damping characteristics has been acknowledged.


Unified Power Flow Controller (UPFC) is one of the most important FACTS device families. Its primary function is to control and optimize the real and reactive power flow in a given line, voltage, and current at the UPFC bus [7, 8] . This is achieved by regulating the controllable parameters of the transmission system such as line impedance, phase angle, and voltage magnitude. Beside these primary functions, it can also provide appropriate damping effect to the tie interconnected modern power systems oscillation through its supplementary controller and increase system stability [9] .

Its primary function is to control and optimize the real and reactive power flow in a given line, voltage, and current at the UPFC bus.

Beside these primary functions, it can also provide appropriate damping effect to the tie interconnected modern power systems oscillation through its supplementary controller and increase system stability.


Recently, Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) technique has appeared as a useful tool for engineering global optimization. PSO is a population-based stochastic optimization method, which employs the swarm intelligence produced by the cooperation and rivalry between the particles in a swarm. PSO is unlike the other evolutionary algorithms having many advantages. The major advantages are as follows: it is fast and simple, does need to apply operators such as GA algorithm, and is easy to be implemented [19, 20] . The simple PSO greatly depends on its parameters, and it is not guaranteed to be global convergent. In order to improve the global searching ability and prevent a slide into the premature convergence to local minima, PSO and chaotic sequence techniques are combined to form a Chaotic Particle Swarm Optimization (CPSO) technique.

The major advantages are as follows: it is fast and simple, does need to apply operators such as GA algorithm, and is easy to be implemented.


Elliptic-curve cryptography (ECC) is the algorithm-of-choice for public-key cryptography in embedded systems. Performance, security and cost are the three important dimensions of ECC implementations. ECC accelerators should support multiple security and performance levels, allowing the system to adjust its security-performance to application-specific needs [1] . To achieve these goals, much research has been conducted targeting different aspects, and most research topics fall into two categories: efficient implementations and security analysis.

ECC accelerators should support multiple security and performance levels, allowing the system to adjust its security-performance to application-specific needs.


The waterfowl of the order Anseriformes are an ecologically diverse group, which are the subject of extensive research and are intensively managed (Nichols et al., 1995) . Genetic studies of waterfowl utilising allozyme electrophoresis and mitochondrial DNA have provided valuable information on their evolutionary history (Cooke and Buckley, 1987) . However, highly variable molecular markers have not been identified for various taxons of this group.

The waterfowl of the order Anseriformes are an ecologically diverse group, which are the subject of extensive research and are intensively managed.

Genetic studies of waterfowl utilising allozyme electrophoresis and mitochondrial DNA have provided valuable information on their evolutionary history.


Many studies have shown that microsatellite loci are often conserved among closely related species including birds (Moore et al., 1991) . Chicken microsatellite primers have been tested in another Galliformes, turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) (Levin et al., 1995; Liu et al., 1996) . For example, markers developed for domestic species are potentially useful for even-hoofed mammals (Slate et al., 1998) . The cross-species applicability of microsatellites in birds was also evaluated (Primmer et al., 1997) . In waterfowl of the Anatidae family it has been established that 18 microsatellite markers of Peking duck (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus) amplify in Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata), Greylag goose (Anser anser), Swan goose (Anser cygnoides), and Canada goose (Branta canadensis) (Maak et al., 2003) . The cross-species applicability of ten microsatellites of Common Eider (Somateria mollisima) was also shown for the Anatidae species: Bewick swan (Cygnus bewickii), Barnacle goose (Branta bernicla), Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), Peking duck, Muscovy duck, Pochard (Aythya ferina), Velvet Scoter (Melanitta fusca) and Goosander (Mergus merganser) (Paulus and Tiedemann, 2003) . Cross-species applicability is also likely among different species from the families Anatidae (Anseriformes) and Phasianidae (Galliformes).

Many studies have shown that microsatellite loci are often conserved among closely related species including birds.

Chicken microsatellite primers have been tested in another Galliformes, turkey (Meleagris gallopavo).

For example, markers developed for domestic species are potentially useful for even-hoofed mammals.

The cross-species applicability of microsatellites in birds was also evaluated.

In waterfowl of the Anatidae family it has been established that 18 microsatellite markers of Peking duck (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus) amplify in Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata), Greylag goose (Anser anser), Swan goose (Anser cygnoides), and Canada goose (Branta canadensis).

The cross-species applicability of ten microsatellites of Common Eider (Somateria mollisima) was also shown for the Anatidae species: Bewick swan (Cygnus bewickii), Barnacle goose (Branta bernicla), Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), Peking duck, Muscovy duck, Pochard (Aythya ferina), Velvet Scoter (Melanitta fusca) and Goosander (Mergus merganser).


In the recent years, dental implant rehabilitation has confronted requests for optimal functional and aesthetic outcomes which require an inflammation of the predictable surgical techniques and long-term clinical results. Besides of the successful functioning on a long-term, several types of complications have been recently encountered. The clinical condition involving dental implants, characterized by the inflammation, bleeding, suppuration of peri-implant tissues and rapid bone loss is widely known as periimplantitis [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] . Peri-implantitis is associated with the presence of a sub-marginal plaque, which contains a large variety of Gram-negative anaerobic rods, fusiform bacteria, motile and curved rods and spirochetes [7] . It contains large amounts of densely packed inflammatory cells (neutrophilis, macrophages, lymphocytes and plasma cells), frequently accompanied by a crater like bone defects that surround the contaminated implant [8, 9] . Several lines of evidence indicated that an accumulation of bacteria on the implant surface plays an important role in the aetiology of peri-implantitisan inflammatory condition affecting the tissues around osseointegrated implants, leading to loss of supporting bone [10] . Nevertheless, peri-implant tissues can be kept in a healthy clinical state and some endosseous implants successfully used as prosthetic abutments for the oral rehabilitation of fully and partially edentulous patients for a prolonged period of time [11] . Besides of a numerous patient-related factors (insufficient bone quality, smoking, systemic diseases or chemotherapy), surgical trauma or bacterial contamination during implant insertion, non-fit dental implant prosthesis and abnormal masticatory load are reported to be the most important causes of early implant failure [12] [13] [14] . Peri-implantitis can be defined as a site-specific infectious disease associated to an inflammatory process involving periodontal soft tissues, and causing bone loss around an osseointegrated implant. Numerous aetiological factors may play a decisive role for the progress of peri-implant infection. The implant design, the degree of roughness, the external morphology, the abutment connection, the passivation of the prosthesis and excessive mechanical load are all related with the disease [6, 15] . Diagnosis can be referred on altered clinical condition like the colour in the gingiva, bleeding on probing (BOP), increased probing depth (PD), suppuration, and gradual loss of peri-implant bone as diagnosed by decrease of radiologic bone level (RBL) in standardized radiography. The diagnosis and therapies for the soft tissue inflammation and peri-implant bone loss is quite challenging for the clinician. Diagnostic measures, such as probing pocket depth, radiographic tools, and microbial sampling have been shifted from the periodontal area and utilized during the maintenance phase of the dental implant treatment [16] . The main aim in the treatment of peri-implantis is to arrest the progression of the disease and at the same time to keep the dental implant in function solving the inflammatory signs of bleeding and pain [17] . Periimplant bony defects around dental implants can be treated with either non-surgical or surgical (resective or regenerative) techniques. Bone tissue regeneration is the objective therapeutic option in selected periimplant bony defects of functioning implants if appropriate surgical techniques are utilized and the aetiologic cause is fully eradicated [18] . The purpose of this systematic review is to screen recent literature on various approaches of surgical regenerative treatment of peri-implantitis in order to give the clinicians valuable suggestions for the most appropriate treatment modality.

The clinical condition involving dental implants, characterized by the inflammation, bleeding, suppuration of peri-implant tissues and rapid bone loss is widely known as periimplantitis.

Peri-implantitis is associated with the presence of a sub-marginal plaque, which contains a large variety of Gram-negative anaerobic rods, fusiform bacteria, motile and curved rods and spirochetes.

It contains large amounts of densely packed inflammatory cells (neutrophilis, macrophages, lymphocytes and plasma cells), frequently accompanied by a crater like bone defects that surround the contaminated implant.

Several lines of evidence indicated that an accumulation of bacteria on the implant surface plays an important role in the aetiology of peri-implantitisan inflammatory condition affecting the tissues around osseointegrated implants, leading to loss of supporting bone.

Nevertheless, peri-implant tissues can be kept in a healthy clinical state and some endosseous implants successfully used as prosthetic abutments for the oral rehabilitation of fully and partially edentulous patients for a prolonged period of time.

Besides of a numerous patient-related factors (insufficient bone quality, smoking, systemic diseases or chemotherapy), surgical trauma or bacterial contamination during implant insertion, non-fit dental implant prosthesis and abnormal masticatory load are reported to be the most important causes of early implant failure.

The implant design, the degree of roughness, the external morphology, the abutment connection, the passivation of the prosthesis and excessive mechanical load are all related with the disease.

Diagnostic measures, such as probing pocket depth, radiographic tools, and microbial sampling have been shifted from the periodontal area and utilized during the maintenance phase of the dental implant treatment.

The main aim in the treatment of peri-implantis is to arrest the progression of the disease and at the same time to keep the dental implant in function solving the inflammatory signs of bleeding and pain.

Bone tissue regeneration is the objective therapeutic option in selected periimplant bony defects of functioning implants if appropriate surgical techniques are utilized and the aetiologic cause is fully eradicated.


In this study a short titration dose from an oromucosal spray of CBM (Sativex®) was well tolerated. Only one patient in the CBM arm was withdrawn due to AEs. Although AEs were more common in the CBM group (86% vs. 67%), they were either mild or moderate. Somnolence was the most frequently reported AE in both study groups. However, it has also been considered as a beneficial effect in this setting [8] . Other neuropsychiatric AEs were more frequently reported among CBM-treated patients, but in general they were either mild or moderate. The median dose was four sprays per day for 4 days after MEC.

However, it has also been considered as a beneficial effect in this setting.


The ability of rumen microbes to digest structural carbohydrate (SC) determines the energy metabolism of ruminant animals (Schofield, 2000) . The non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) and SC are degraded and taken up by the microbes in the rumen and converted into forms such as volatile fatty acids which can be utilized by the host animal. This is a time-dependent dynamic process, which means there is competition between digestion and passage of carbohydrate in the rumen. In this regard, the measurement and interpretation of carbohydrate digestion rate and digestibility should be carefully examined in a study of ruminant nutrition (Schofield, 2000) .

The ability of rumen microbes to digest structural carbohydrate (SC) determines the energy metabolism of ruminant animals.

In this regard, the measurement and interpretation of carbohydrate digestion rate and digestibility should be carefully examined in a study of ruminant nutrition.


Because the resistances of the filters are usually very low, the oscillation is only slightly damped and may continue to oscillate [15] . Under this condition, the source current will be badly distorted. The damping of the oscillations can be realized either passively or actively. In addition to modifying the transfer function and degrading of harmonic suppression capability of the filters, passive damping methods create a considerable amount of power loss especially in high power applications [14, 16] . Because of excessive power loss in the resistor, this method is impractical especially in high-power applications [2] .

Because the resistances of the filters are usually very low, the oscillation is only slightly damped and may continue to oscillate.

In addition to modifying the transfer function and degrading of harmonic suppression capability of the filters, passive damping methods create a considerable amount of power loss especially in high power applications.

Because of excessive power loss in the resistor, this method is impractical especially in high-power applications.


Microalgae are rich in essential nutrients and bioactive molecules, and therefore, are valuable nutrient sources for humans and animals (Becker, 2004) . They contain highquality protein, 50-70% of which is likely to be bioavailable to animals (Becker, 2007) . The bioactive components include polyunsaturated fatty acids, sugars, polysaccharides, vitamins, minerals, and pigments (Becker, 2004) . Thus, microalgae can be high quality feed components.

Microalgae are rich in essential nutrients and bioactive molecules, and therefore, are valuable nutrient sources for humans and animals.

They contain highquality protein, 50-70% of which is likely to be bioavailable to animals.

The bioactive components include polyunsaturated fatty acids, sugars, polysaccharides, vitamins, minerals, and pigments.


This study observes and analyzes the satisfaction and motivations of tourists visiting the Costa del Sol (Spain). They are attracted by its gastronomy as the primary motivation to choose the destination, also analyzing the sociodemographic profile, satisfaction and motivational variables that make them a participant in this new experiential tourism, and their relation to each other [4] . Therefore, alternative experiences to traditional cultural tourism are researched based mainly on visual perception, with the help and reinforcement of the enjoyment of other senses (gastro-tourism, eno-tourism, oil-tourism). A gastronomic tourist who perceives a complete sensory experience, mainly regarding taste, suggests experiencing a greater fusion with the environment where one travels through food.

They are attracted by its gastronomy as the primary motivation to choose the destination, also analyzing the sociodemographic profile, satisfaction and motivational variables that make them a participant in this new experiential tourism, and their relation to each other.


Considering the groups pre and post HAART, as expected, the advent of HAART had a stronger preventive effect against Ocular Problems Before and in the HAART Era the development of opportunistic infections than against external ocular diseases. However, despite the tendency to a decrease, we are still observing ocular problems in patients using HAART. Many patients remain having the diagnosis in late stages of immunodeficiency and, as a consequence, late access to HAART. In this situation, the immune recovery is not immediate, being the patient susceptible to infectious complications during a long period of time, after the beginning of treatment. Other possible reason might be individual differences in susceptibility to specific infections, e.g. CMV retinitis [27, 29, 30, 31] .

Other possible reason might be individual differences in susceptibility to specific infections, e.g. CMV retinitis.


Since R22 came into common use as a refrigerant in 1936, it has been applied in systems ranging from the smallest window airconditioners to the largest chillers and heat pumps because of its inherent efficiency and high refrigeration capacity and it has the largest sales volume among all refrigerants. Individual equipment using this versatile refrigerant ranges from 2kW to 33 MW in cooling capacity. No other refrigerant has achieved such a wide range of applications (Calm and Domanski, 2004) . However, R22 is one of a class of chemicals, HCFCs, to be phased out internationally by year 2020 and 2030 in developed and developing nations, respectively, due to their environmental hazard of ozone depletion (Aprea and Renno, 2004; Bolaji, 2011) .

No other refrigerant has achieved such a wide range of applications.

However, R22 is one of a class of chemicals, HCFCs, to be phased out internationally by year 2020 and 2030 in developed and developing nations, respectively, due to their environmental hazard of ozone depletion.


The natural refrigerants are the naturally occurring substances such as ammonia, hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide, water and air. In this group, the hydrocarbons are most closely related to the HFCs. Their thermodynamic and transport properties are very similar to most HFCs currently used in refrigeration and airconditioning systems, which make them suitable as substitute refrigerants in the existing HCFC and HFC systems without any major changes in the design (Castro et al., 2005; Park and Jung, 2007; Palm, 2007) .

Their thermodynamic and transport properties are very similar to most HFCs currently used in refrigeration and airconditioning systems, which make them suitable as substitute refrigerants in the existing HCFC and HFC systems without any major changes in the design.


Another multi-step carburization process has been developed by Zuker [17] . In this method, WC was synthesized from a tungsten precursor compound by heating the precursor compound to a first temperature at least 450˚C in a reducing gas composition to form an intermediate tungsten product, and then carburizing the intermediate tungsten product in a second furnace at temperature above 750˚C under a carburization condition in a hydrocarbon gas environment. Later, Dow Chemical had modified this process to produce commercial quantities of 0.1 -0.2 micron size WC powders.

Another multi-step carburization process has been developed by Zuker.


Furthermore, strain engineering has been a consistent route for the modulation of the optoelectronic characteristics of 1L-MoS 2 . Several theoretical and experimental results have demonstrated that the application of uniaxial or isotropic strains can modulate the band gap of monolayer 1L-MoS 2 and can even induce the phase change from the direct gap to an indirect gap and thus have a significant effect on the PL intensity of 1L-MoS 2 [14] [15] [16] [17] . It has also been suggested that strain engineering of the band structure of MoS 2 could be useful for increasing the carrier mobility of MoS 2 [15, 18] .

Several theoretical and experimental results have demonstrated that the application of uniaxial or isotropic strains can modulate the band gap of monolayer 1L-MoS 2 and can even induce the phase change from the direct gap to an indirect gap and thus have a significant effect on the PL intensity of 1L-MoS 2.

It has also been suggested that strain engineering of the band structure of MoS 2 could be useful for increasing the carrier mobility of MoS 2.


It has also been suggested that perturbative tachyon condensation might play a role in the resolution of cosmological singularities [23, 24] . By tuning parameters, it may be possible to find regimes in the non-perturbative formulation of the twisted compactification where perturbative tachyons condense before world-sheet string theory becomes invalid. It would be interesting to see whether this can actually happen in the context of these complete non-perturbative models.

It has also been suggested that perturbative tachyon condensation might play a role in the resolution of cosmological singularities.


The RASMO algorithm is designed based on a multi-layered cascade architecture which removes non-support vectors early in the training process and guarantees a convergence to the global optimum [32, 33] . The cascade architecture has received significant attention from the research community due to its high accuracy in data training. RASMO partitions the training data set into smaller subsets and allocates each of the partitioned subsets (data chunks) to a single map task in MapReduce. Each map function (called mapper) trains a subset of the data in parallel in the first layer. The generated support vectors are combined and forwarded as a training input to the next layer. The process continues until only one set of support vectors is left. The support vectors of the final SVM are used to evaluate the initial data chunks to determine whether further optimizations are required. If a global convergence is not reached at this stage, the whole process will be repeated until the global optimum is reached. The genetic algorithm based load balancing scheme is applied in the first of layer computation in RASMO as this layer is the most intensive part in computation in optimizing the whole training dataset. The resulting support vectors from the first layer computation are used to create the input data for next layers which is usually much smaller in size in comparison with the original training data [34] . The size of each data chunk at the first layer is computed by the load balancing scheme based on the resources available in a cluster of computers such as the computing powers of processors, the storage capacities of hard drives and the network speeds of the participating nodes.

The RASMO algorithm is designed based on a multi-layered cascade architecture which removes non-support vectors early in the training process and guarantees a convergence to the global optimum.

The resulting support vectors from the first layer computation are used to create the input data for next layers which is usually much smaller in size in comparison with the original training data.


In order to check the effect of nitriding over the morphology of Ti thin films, AFM measurements were carried out. Three-dimensional surface morphologies of TiN thin films are shown in Figure 2 . It is interesting to note that at lower nitriding time there is an increase in particle size as well as in the surface roughness for the nitriding time upto 60 minutes. However, further increase in the nitriding time results in the reduction in both the particle size as well as the surface roughness. The calculated values of surface roughness and particle size for all the samples are shown in Table 1 . It is found that the grown films are composed of long columnar crystal grains with valleys in between, as shown in Figure 2 . The increase in the nitriding time leads to the diffusion of more and more nitrogen and hydrogen ions inside the lattice. This diffusion leads to the filling of valleys in between and suppresses the grain growth in the thickness direction, resulting in flat smooth surfaces [26] . It can be clearly seen that the films with nitriding time 30 and 60 min were greyish, whereas the films with 120 min treated exhibit shiny golden colour. The change in colour (from grey to shiny golden) is correlated with an enhancement in nitrogen concentration in the host Ti films [27] .

This diffusion leads to the filling of valleys in between and suppresses the grain growth in the thickness direction, resulting in flat smooth surfaces.

The change in colour (from grey to shiny golden) is correlated with an enhancement in nitrogen concentration in the host Ti films.


XRD pattern of TiNx films deposited at different nitriding times are shown in Figure 1 . Here low intensity and large FWHM of diffraction peaks clearly indicate that the films are not fully crystalline and a large fraction of the films are still amorphous. It has been found that films grown at room temperature exhibits peaks corresponding to (111), (220) planes of TiN. A visual inspection over the XRD data indicates that Bragg's angle of the (200) plane has been shifted slightly towards lower angle side. The shift in the (200) plane corresponds to the distortion in the metastable phase because of the fact that sputtering is a non-equilibrium process, and the interstitial sites in hcp a-Ti (1.19Å) are smaller in size as compared to nitrogen atoms (1.35Å) [25] . At nitriding time of 120 min, the intensity of Bragg reflections are enhanced as compared to the film deposited at low nitriding time, which is an evidence of the improved crystallinity. The stoichiometry continued to remain TiNx (x < 1.0), but only crystallites of (220) orientation could be observed.

The shift in the (200) plane corresponds to the distortion in the metastable phase because of the fact that sputtering is a non-equilibrium process, and the interstitial sites in hcp a-Ti (1.19Å) are smaller in size as compared to nitrogen atoms (1.35Å).


Although DRoF schemes are an interesting alternative to their analogue counterparts, the fact that the remote site requires the employment of a high bandwidth DAC may be a disadvantage, and therefore the existence of a viable alternative would be desirable. Here we also propose a novel solution for the implementation of future DRoF systems based on the usage of a bandpass (BP) sigma-delta modulator (SDM) at the transmitter side, working as a 1-bit ADC, which avoids the need of a DAC at the receiver side [6] . Moreover, we show, according to the best of our knowledge, the world's first digitised RoF solution avoiding the employment of a DAC at the receiver, and capable of achieving RF carrier signals in the GHz region by extracting high frequency signal replicas that arise due to properties of the SD based digital transmission over fibre.

Here we also propose a novel solution for the implementation of future DRoF systems based on the usage of a bandpass (BP) sigma-delta modulator (SDM) at the transmitter side, working as a 1-bit ADC, which avoids the need of a DAC at the receiver side.


Laser surface engineering is a promising approach for the surface modification of different materials. The high energy laser beam is capable to generate rapid rates of heating and cooling. The process can lead to a nonequilibrium cooling resulting in grain refinement, morphology change, phase transformation and change in chemical composition of surface without changing the properties of the bulk material. Compared to the other surface modification techniques such as sand blasting and machining, laser surface processing is a direct process which provides uniform surface structure. Unlike the coating method, laser processing does not have issue of poor adherence of surface with bulk material. In the past, laser technology has been used to improve surface properties such as mechanical, corrosion, wear and wettability properties of materials. Several researches have been reported concerning the efficiency of laser material processing to achieve better surface properties [1] [2] [3] . The wetting characteristics of a material can be modified efficiently by using proper laser processing parameters.

Several researches have been reported concerning the efficiency of laser material processing to achieve better surface properties.


The need of providing high performances and satisfying potentially conflicting requirements generally forces the use of complex configurations, with a large number of reradiating elements. At their turn, the latter could present a complex structure, with several degrees of freedom, which have to be adjusted in order to satisfy the antenna constraints. All these factors concur to increase the RA design complexity and, therefore, the use of an indirect synthesis procedure based on an optimization algorithm could be convenient, since it can handle a large number of degrees of freedom and provide a configuration satisfying at the best the different constraints on the antenna [11] [12] [13] .

All these factors concur to increase the RA design complexity and, therefore, the use of an indirect synthesis procedure based on an optimization algorithm could be convenient, since it can handle a large number of degrees of freedom and provide a configuration satisfying at the best the different constraints on the antenna.


One of the most important characteristics of a laser welding system is the beam quality that the lasers deliver. The beam quality affects the power density of the beam, which has a direct effect on the penetration depth and geometry of the weld [6, 7] . High power density of the beam means deeper penetration for the same level of power and welding speed. Single-sided welding of T-joints with fiber the penetration depth and geometry of the weld [6, 7] . High power density of the beam means deeper penetration for the same level of power and welding speed. Single-sided welding of T-joints with fiber lasers is not an entirely novel concept, and its applicability and key parameters have been studied, for example, for aluminum welding in the aircraft industry [4] . The high depth-to-width aspect ratio of typical fiber laser welds can be a drawback in medium and thick section welding of Tand fillet joints. Space and maneuverability restrictions on the welding head can cause the laser beam to cross the joint plane at a certain angle, and a narrow melt pool may easily partially miss the joint plane and produce incomplete fusion. In addition, T-joint welds can be several meters long and heatinduced distortions during welding can thus cause variations in joint fit-up regardless of the accuracy of the original setup.

The beam quality affects the power density of the beam, which has a direct effect on the penetration depth and geometry of the weld.

Single-sided welding of T-joints with fiber the penetration depth and geometry of the weld.

Single-sided welding of T-joints with fiber lasers is not an entirely novel concept, and its applicability and key parameters have been studied, for example, for aluminum welding in the aircraft industry.


Poultry diets are composed mainly of maize and soyabean and plant products are low in carnitine. Nevertheless, it is generally accepted that endogenous L-carnitine synthesis together with bird's dietary intake should be sufficient for normal functions. Methionine and lysine are usually the most important limiting amino acids in poultry nutrition and are frequently supplemented in the formulated diets. Carnitine can be biosynthetized endogenously from these two amino acids. When diets are not supplemented with these two amino acids, the chicken may not be able to synthesize adequate amounts of carnitine (Arslan, 2006) .

When diets are not supplemented with these two amino acids, the chicken may not be able to synthesize adequate amounts of carnitine.


We found that survival was significantly lower for black patients only before the 1990s. This finding is somehow surprising as access to care has not improved much for blacks [19] . Inadequate health care access and insurance coverage are major factors that contributed to racial and ethnic disparities before the implementation of the affordable health care act (ACA) in 2014 [20] [21] [22] . In addition, it has been shown that even if blacks have access to care, it may not be timely and of good quality. Thus, the upcoming years will show whether the ACA will benefit racial and ethnic minorities who historically have experienced lower coverage rates and suboptimal access to care [21, 22] .

This finding is somehow surprising as access to care has not improved much for blacks.

Inadequate health care access and insurance coverage are major factors that contributed to racial and ethnic disparities before the implementation of the affordable health care act (ACA) in 2014.

Thus, the upcoming years will show whether the ACA will benefit racial and ethnic minorities who historically have experienced lower coverage rates and suboptimal access to care.


Racial and ethnic minorities have been shown to have worse outcomes and receive a lower quality of healthcare than those of non-minorities. This has been attributed to decreased access to necessary health care due to socioeconomic status, language, geography, and cultural familiarity. There is a great need to educate healthcare professionals regarding racial disparities in order to better provide quality healthcare to minority patients [1] .

There is a great need to educate healthcare professionals regarding racial disparities in order to better provide quality healthcare to minority patients.


For television use, the flexible displays should be equipped with loudspeakers. However, conventional dynamic loudspeakers are not always suitable for sheet-type displays because of their size and weight. In addition, their forceful vibration might have a malignant influence upon the display's internal structure. Thus, we touched on development of a flexible sound generator based on the thermoacoustic effect. As described above, this study has two crucial points. The first is that a structure is mainly made from materials for unified architecture and fabrication process with the OLED displays [12] . The second is sound generation without mechanical vibration.

The first is that a structure is mainly made from materials for unified architecture and fabrication process with the OLED displays.


Since 1991, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have attracted significant attention due to their unusual mechanical and electrical properties [9] [10] [11] [12] . Interest has recently grown toward investigating the flow of fluids through the inner shell of single-walled CNTs (SWCNTs) for investigating flux of water or as size-based chemical or biological separation devices [13] [14] [15] . SWCNTs are perfectly suited for such applications over other nanoporous materials because the smoothness and hydrophobicity of the inner walls of SWCNTs leads to an almost frictionless transport of water [16, 17] . At the same time, the size of SWCNTs is much smaller (0.6 -2 nm) leading to both higher flux and selectivity.

Since 1991, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have attracted significant attention due to their unusual mechanical and electrical properties.

Interest has recently grown toward investigating the flow of fluids through the inner shell of single-walled CNTs (SWCNTs) for investigating flux of water or as size-based chemical or biological separation devices.

SWCNTs are perfectly suited for such applications over other nanoporous materials because the smoothness and hydrophobicity of the inner walls of SWCNTs leads to an almost frictionless transport of water.


Rough set can realize the representation and inference of the uncertain knowledge [9] . The theories of approximation representation and equivalence relation were widely used for image processing and pattern recognition [10] [11] [12] . This paper presents a novel candidate smoke region segmentation method based on rough set theory. Figure 1 shows the basic process of the proposed scheme. Above all, video backgrounds are automatically updated based on three-frame difference approach to avoid the interference of static smoke-color objects such as blue sky. Afterwards, the upper approximation, lower approximation, and roughness of smoke-color distribution are represented using rough set theory in order to exclude moving regions of non-smokecolor objects, such as leaves and flowers. Finally, smoke regions are initially segmented by gray wave brand of , , basic color features. However, superfine partition can lead to small regions since excessive wave peaks are generated by initial segmentation. Thus these similar regions are merged based on equivalence relation of rough set theory.

Rough set can realize the representation and inference of the uncertain knowledge.

The theories of approximation representation and equivalence relation were widely used for image processing and pattern recognition.


We describe in this article an object-oriented framework called DEVSimPy allowing to propose solution to the three types of problem previously mentioned. Furthermore this environment provides a user-friendly interface for creating DEVS models. The simulation is performed by running the PyDEVS simulator [9] . The originality of our approach lies in the facts that it is based on a strong notion of genericity of use. We have already validated the use of the proposed approach in the framework of the simulation of a complex system: the software simulation of the management of a hydraulic network. The design of the software leans on the collaboration of several specialists in charge of different part of the common library of models to be defined: (i) a specialist of the development of mathematical modeling in charge of the simulation of the behavior of dams, (ii) a specialist of spatial data modeling in charge of the simulation of data related to geographic information systems, (iii) a specialist of discrete event modeling in charge of the simulation of the hydraulic Engineer strategies and (iv) a specialist of learning based models in charge of the simulation of predictive systems as rainfall or water consumption. These four types of specialists will be able to collaborate within the proposed software framework as representing each of them an Application Builder. We will point out how the DEVSimPY framework has been used in order to define a software simulation of the hydraulic network system. The paper is organized as follows. Section 2 presents the basics of our work: the DEVSimPy framework. Section 3 first introduces the complex application case: the simulation of a hydraulic network management. We then point out how the DEVSimPy framework has been used in order to perform a simulation model of such complex system. Finally, section 4 concludes the paper and provides some perspectives of work.

The simulation is performed by running the PyDEVS simulator.

The paper is organized as follows.


A natural task across all these fields is to count the number of distinct nonbacktracking walks of a given length between pairs of nodes, and to form a compact expression for the associated generating function. For network centrality, in the case of standard walk counts it has been argued that an exponential-style power series gives a useful alternative to the standard resolvent-style version [15] . For example, based on an analogy with a physical oscillator, it may be argued that moving from the resolvent to the exponential takes us from classical to quantum physics [16] . Further, there are effective and reliable tools for computing the action of the matrix exponential [2, 21, 22] . This provides the initial motivation for our article, where we study the exponential generating function associated with non-backtracking walks. We also note that more general matrix functions have been proposed in this walk-counting context [17] . Hence, we then extend the analysis to cover generating functions based on arbitrary power series.

For network centrality, in the case of standard walk counts it has been argued that an exponential-style power series gives a useful alternative to the standard resolvent-style version.

For example, based on an analogy with a physical oscillator, it may be argued that moving from the resolvent to the exponential takes us from classical to quantum physics.

Further, there are effective and reliable tools for computing the action of the matrix exponential.

We also note that more general matrix functions have been proposed in this walk-counting context.


Market orientation (MO) research commonly relies on the principle that a positive relationship exists between companies' market orientation and business strategic performance [1] [2] [3] [4] . This MO-strategic performance (MO/SP) interrelationship has been criticized for being difficult to define, measure, and evaluate, contributing to split results in research. One cause of ambiguity is that performance is a multidimensional construct that must be accurately defined in order to measure its relationship to MO [5] . A second mentioned cause is that different situational characteristics that influence the nature of the sample make measurement results difficult to evaluate and assert [5] .

Market orientation (MO) research commonly relies on the principle that a positive relationship exists between companies' market orientation and business strategic performance.

One cause of ambiguity is that performance is a multidimensional construct that must be accurately defined in order to measure its relationship to MO.

A second mentioned cause is that different situational characteristics that influence the nature of the sample make measurement results difficult to evaluate and assert.


Because CSR covers completely different dimensions of responsibility (social, economic and environmental), these can affect different parts of an organization in different ways. Research shows that many organizations find they must prioritize the CSR issues perceived as most relevant to their business activities [49, 50] . For PHCs, all three CSR dimensions are of relevance. The issues of customer living conditions and their ability to negotiate and influence decisions through their membership in the Union of Tenants represent the social dimension. Environmentally, the PHCs are responsible for building materials and chemicals, etc., which affect the tenants' outside and inside living environments. And the companies' main mission is to serve groups with scarce economic resources, which is the economic dimension. Therefore, it is relevant to analyze and compare the CSR dimensions that affect the GDI/R and MO/SP relationship.

Research shows that many organizations find they must prioritize the CSR issues perceived as most relevant to their business activities.


SAR of mobile phone absorbed by humans is very dependent on the mobile network carrier, characteristics of mobile phone and antenna, antenna positioning, and the radiated power from the mobile phone [14] [15] [16] . Other factor which influenced the EM absorption is the positioning of the mobile phone or the phantom itself [17] [18] [19] . The dielectric properties of human also effect SAR values [20] . Increase in conductivity and the decrease in permittivity of the human head cause increment of SAR [21] . Particular body tissue with higher water content contributes to higher SAR. Higher water content of body tissue implies that the body tissue has greater conductivity and is more susceptible to absorb EM waves. The magnitude of body tissue's conductivity and permittivity are dependent on the exposure frequency [11, 22] . The permittivity and conductivity of the tissues remain constant as long as the tissues exposed to a constant frequency exposure. Different exposure of operational frequency eventually altered the tissue's conductivity and permittivity accordingly.

SAR of mobile phone absorbed by humans is very dependent on the mobile network carrier, characteristics of mobile phone and antenna, antenna positioning, and the radiated power from the mobile phone.

Other factor which influenced the EM absorption is the positioning of the mobile phone or the phantom itself.

The dielectric properties of human also effect SAR values.

Increase in conductivity and the decrease in permittivity of the human head cause increment of SAR.

The magnitude of body tissue's conductivity and permittivity are dependent on the exposure frequency.


However, as every embedded system, Java Cards are sensitive to attacks based on physical phenomena, amongst which fault-injection-based attacks. The principle of a fault injection on a smartcard is to modify the physical environment of the card in order to provoke an abnormal behavior of the component. It can target either the processor, the data/address bus or even the memory cells [8] . Since their publication in 1996, Fault Attacks (FA) have been mainly tackled in the literature with regards to embedded cryptographic implementations [9] [10] [11] . However these attacks can potentially target any function of an embedded system [12] .

It can target either the processor, the data/address bus or even the memory cells.

Since their publication in 1996, Fault Attacks (FA) have been mainly tackled in the literature with regards to embedded cryptographic implementations.

However these attacks can potentially target any function of an embedded system.