Water scarcity is increasing and this is exacerbated by population growth and ongoing climate change and variability [1] . Most of the regions categorized as 'water scarce' lie in the semi-and arid tropics. It is also in these regions that approximately 70% of the population depends on agriculture for their food and livelihood [2, 3] . The prevalence of food and nutritional insecurity in semi-and arid tropics also remains high. South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have the highest estimated number of individuals experiencing some form of undernutrition (281 million and 224 million, respectively) [4] . This represents about 15% and 23% of the respective populations of South Asia and SSA. These figures are expected to increase due to population growth and climate change. The 2014/15 and 2015/16 drought that was experienced across SSA due to El Niño placed more than 30 million people at risk of hunger, with children being most vulnerable [5] . There is a need for a paradigm shift in terms of how we address challenges of food and nutrition security [6] ]. Part of this includes identifying and promoting the cultivation of crops that are most suited to these environments. Such crops should also have the inherent capacity to contribute to the resilience of farming systems in these areas.

Water scarcity is increasing and this is exacerbated by population growth and ongoing climate change and variability.

It is also in these regions that approximately 70% of the population depends on agriculture for their food and livelihood.

South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have the highest estimated number of individuals experiencing some form of undernutrition (281 million and 224 million, respectively).

The 2014/15 and 2015/16 drought that was experienced across SSA due to El Niño placed more than 30 million people at risk of hunger, with children being most vulnerable.

There is a need for a paradigm shift in terms of how we address challenges of food and nutrition security].


We proposed that SIN-HCl might play a protective role in sepsis according to its anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory properties. In order to test this hypothesis, we used a CLP mouse model, which was reliable and clinically relevant to the sepsis. The CLP procedure was commonly applied because it produced an endogenous polymicrobial infection that was similar to peritonitis and sepsis in clinic. Studies showed that CLP-induced septic mortality was significantly reduced in mice if they were immediately treated with SIN-HCl, indicating that SIN-HCl played a protective role in CLP-induced sepsis. This finding was consistent with previous study that SIN could attenuate endotoxemia [20] . Additionally, post-administration of SIN-HCl significantly improved the survival rates of mice, further indicating the potential of SIN-HCl as a new therapeutic option for sepsis. The decrease in organ damage and inflammatory cytokine production by SIN-HCl treatment also supported our hypothesis.

This finding was consistent with previous study that SIN could attenuate endotoxemia.


A series of projects investigated this issue further. One example is the W.D. Hamilton Archives from the British Library in 2000, which examined Professor Hamilton's electronic manuscripts, electronic messages and other materials (Summers & John, 2001) . The Personal ARchives Accessible in DIGital Media (PARADIGM 1 ) project by the University of Oxford and University of Manchester explored archivists' roles in selecting, acquiring, processing, storing and preserving individuals' digital collections using the papers of contemporary British politicians as a test bed (Thomas & Martin, 2006) . More recently, the Digital Lives 2 project at the British Library addressed curatorial issues of personal digital collections (Williams, Dean, Rowlands & John, 2008) .

One example is the W.D. Hamilton Archives from the British Library in 2000, which examined Professor Hamilton's electronic manuscripts, electronic messages and other materials.

The Personal ARchives Accessible in DIGital Media (PARADIGM 1 ) project by the University of Oxford and University of Manchester explored archivists' roles in selecting, acquiring, processing, storing and preserving individuals' digital collections using the papers of contemporary British politicians as a test bed.

More recently, the Digital Lives 2 project at the British Library addressed curatorial issues of personal digital collections.


Understanding bloggers' perspectives and integrating them into preservation efforts could facilitate management and preservation of blogs for personal purposes, as it can be helpful to bloggers who are developing personal digital archives. It would also help archivists to develop new approaches for appraisal of personal collections, as personal materials require different concepts and treatment by archivists because these materials are not typically generated as transactional or public activities (Hobbs, 2001) . Additionally, it is beneficial for programmatic blog preservation activities to develop preservation tools for repositories and adopt these tools into workflows.

It would also help archivists to develop new approaches for appraisal of personal collections, as personal materials require different concepts and treatment by archivists because these materials are not typically generated as transactional or public activities.


As a way to limit potential respondents to personal bloggers and omit those who pursue business objectives, this study focused on bloggers who have written about the theme of travel, although their blogs were not exclusively limited to that subject. This theme was chosen, in part, because travel is one of the most popular themes among bloggers (Technorati, 2011) . In addition, travel blogs often contain various forms of information, such as text, photographs and videos, and bloggers write about travel information as well as personal experiences related to travel.

This theme was chosen, in part, because travel is one of the most popular themes among bloggers.


This paper presents the development of control strategies for effective machining of axisymmetric and helical profiles on cylindrical parts using wire EDM. In the present work, a rotary setup developed by previous researchers was used for achieving the required rotational motion of the workpiece (Janardhan and Samuel, 2010) . A motorised linear stage was developed in this work for achieving linear motion of the workpiece for machining axisymmetric forms and helical profiles. Different axisymmetric forms and helical profiles were machined using the setup and the dimensions of the features were evaluated.

In the present work, a rotary setup developed by previous researchers was used for achieving the required rotational motion of the workpiece.


Studies have shown that 3,4-dinitrofurazanofuroxan (DNTF) has a high energy density, high heat of formation and high detonation velocity. It has been considered as one of the most promising HEDC. The molecular structure of DNTF is shown in Figure 1 . Its density is 1.937 g·cm −3 , its detonation velocity is more than 9000 m·s −1 and it performs better than HMX [8] [9] [10] . In addition, DNTF has been used in modified propellant formulations because of its low friction sensitivity which helps reduce danger during production of a propellant. But so far it has not been widely used in explosive circuits. This paper explores the application of DNTF in PBX formulations used for explosive circuits. Glycidyl azide polymer (GAP) was chosen as the binder. GAP has azido groups (−N 3 ), which have a high nitrogen content, low mechanical sensitivity, clean products as well as other advantages [11] [12] [13] [14] . Explosion tests have shown good effects. In the research presented in this article, we also investigated the mechanical sensitivity, thermal stability and detonation velocity of the GAP/DNTF based PBX explosives.

Its density is 1.937 g·cm −3 , its detonation velocity is more than 9000 m·s −1 and it performs better than HMX.

GAP has azido groups (−N 3 ), which have a high nitrogen content, low mechanical sensitivity, clean products as well as other advantages.


The AMLR can be affected by subject parameters such as gender, age, body temperature, state of arousal, and drugs as shown in ABR (Choi et al., 2015) . Among these factors, gender is one of the most important factors affecting the latency and amplitude of the AMLR (Amenedo & Díaz, 1998) . Many previous studies have reported an apparent and consistent trend toward longer latencies and smaller amplitudes for males in comparison to females (Stewart et al., 1993) . However, there is no agreement of a concrete gender effect on each AMLR wave (Na, Pa, Nb, and Pb). In more detail, the latency of the Na component is longer for males than females while the latencies of other components and amplitudes of all AMLR components for male adults were equal to female adults (Amenedo & Díaz, 1998) . The Pb component for elderly patients with Alzheimer's disease was twice as large for females as for males (Phillips et al., 1997) . In this study, the average amplitude of the Pa component was 0.83 µV for males and 1.35 µV for females while that of the Pb component was -0.21 µV for males and +0.21 µV for females. Absolute amplitude of the Pb component was equivalent for adult males and females aging from 19 to 78 years old (Rasco et al., 2000) . In young male and female adults, there was a significant gender effect on the Pa component and not a significant effect on the Pb component (Tucker et al., 2002) . In more detail, Pa latencies for males were longer than in females and Pa amplitudes for females were larger than in males.

The AMLR can be affected by subject parameters such as gender, age, body temperature, state of arousal, and drugs as shown in ABR.

Among these factors, gender is one of the most important factors affecting the latency and amplitude of the AMLR.

Many previous studies have reported an apparent and consistent trend toward longer latencies and smaller amplitudes for males in comparison to females.

In more detail, the latency of the Na component is longer for males than females while the latencies of other components and amplitudes of all AMLR components for male adults were equal to female adults.

The Pb component for elderly patients with Alzheimer's disease was twice as large for females as for males.

Absolute amplitude of the Pb component was equivalent for adult males and females aging from 19 to 78 years old.

In young male and female adults, there was a significant gender effect on the Pa component and not a significant effect on the Pb component.


After the auditory middle latency response (AMLR) had been introduced as an electrical response occurring between 10 and 100 ms after the introduction of an acoustical signal at a moderate intensity level, AMLR has been used a neurodiagnosis tool of cortical auditory function in children and adults with normal and abnormal hearing (Hall, 2007) . In AMLR waveforms, there are four major components consisting of two negative voltage waves (Na and Nb) and two positive voltage waves (Pa and Pb). The first negative peak (Na) occurs within 10 msec while the prominent positive peak (Pa) normally shows a latency of about 22-30 msec. The second negative peak (Nb) occurs in 30-40 msec while the next positive peak (Pb) is present in 45-50 msec (Hall, 2007) . These waves of the AMLR correspond to the specific locations of the auditory cortex. The Na component of the AMLR arises from the inferior colliculus within the midbrain region in animals and the primary auditory cortex (Heschl's gyrus) within the temporal lobe in humans (Liegeois-Chauvel et al., 1994; McGee et al., 1991) . The Pa component is generated from the subcortical and cortical regions of the auditory system while the Pb component has multiple origins such as the reticular activating formation and the auditory cortex, particularly the posterior region of the planum temporale (Liegeois-Chauvel et al., 1994; McGee & Kraus, 1996; Polyakov & Pratt, 1994) .

After the auditory middle latency response (AMLR) had been introduced as an electrical response occurring between 10 and 100 ms after the introduction of an acoustical signal at a moderate intensity level, AMLR has been used a neurodiagnosis tool of cortical auditory function in children and adults with normal and abnormal hearing.

The second negative peak (Nb) occurs in 30-40 msec while the next positive peak (Pb) is present in 45-50 msec.

The Na component of the AMLR arises from the inferior colliculus within the midbrain region in animals and the primary auditory cortex (Heschl's gyrus) within the temporal lobe in humans.

The Pa component is generated from the subcortical and cortical regions of the auditory system while the Pb component has multiple origins such as the reticular activating formation and the auditory cortex, particularly the posterior region of the planum temporale.


Recently, there was some evidence for improvement of the latency and amplitude of AMLR waveforms after cochlear implantation. The AMLR has been used as a measure of the effectiveness of cochlear implantation in restoring speech perception abilities in postlingually deaf adults. The relationship between auditory evoked potentials including AMLR, mismatch negativity, and auditory late response and word/sentence speech perception after cochlear implantation was investigated in postEffect of Stimulus Rate and Gender on Auditory Middle Latency Response in Young Adults lingually deaf adults (Purdy & Kelly, 2016) . There were no consistent changes over time in AMLR and consistent changes of N1 amplitude and P2 area in auditory late response. We need to confirm the optimal stimulus parameters to reveal the closer association between auditory evoked potentials and speech perception after cochlear implantation in postlingually deaf adults.

The relationship between auditory evoked potentials including AMLR, mismatch negativity, and auditory late response and word/sentence speech perception after cochlear implantation was investigated in postEffect of Stimulus Rate and Gender on Auditory Middle Latency Response in Young Adults lingually deaf adults.


We have sought the optimal stimulus rate leading to the robust latency and maximal amplitude of auditory evoked response, particularly ABR waves as well as gender effect (Choi et al., 2015) . We expanded our goal to the AMLR waves. Therefore, this study investigated whether the latencies and amplitudes of the AMLR waves are affected by the different stimulus rates and genders in young adults. We attempted to seek the most optimal and stable stimulus rates leading the robust latencies and amplitudes of the AMLR. For this goal, we measured the latencies and amplitudes of the AMLR waves (Na, Pa, Nb, and Pb) with five different stimulus rates (0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8/s) in 30 young male and female subjects.

We have sought the optimal stimulus rate leading to the robust latency and maximal amplitude of auditory evoked response, particularly ABR waves as well as gender effect.

We expanded our goal to the AMLR waves.


As shown in the auditory brainstem response (ABR), the latency and amplitude of the AMLR can be affected by multiple stimulus parameters such as rate, type, duration, intensity, and polarity (Choi et al., 2015) . Among these factors, the optimal stimulus rate for AMLR is clinically important because it produces quality response with minimal test time. A reliable and robust AMLR is consistently produced at the stimulus rates of 8/s to 11/s. These stimulus rates are slower than those of ABR due to its relatively longer latency. However, the Pa component of the AMLR in infants and the Pb component of the AMLR in patients of all ages are generated by the stimulus rates of 1/s or 0.5/s (Jerger et al., 1987) . Another research with four different stimulus rates (1.1, 4.1, 7.7, and 11.3/s) in normal young adults showed that the latency Pa increased and amplitudes of Pa and Pb decreased when the stimulus rates were increased from 1.1/s to 11.3/s (Tucker et al., 2002) . It is valuable to note that there is no agreement of the optimal stimulus rates which are very sensitive for the AMLR waves in children and adults although the stimulus rates less than 11/s is slow enough to produce the AMLR.

As shown in the auditory brainstem response (ABR), the latency and amplitude of the AMLR can be affected by multiple stimulus parameters such as rate, type, duration, intensity, and polarity.

However, the Pa component of the AMLR in infants and the Pb component of the AMLR in patients of all ages are generated by the stimulus rates of 1/s or 0.5/s.

Another research with four different stimulus rates (1.1, 4.1, 7.7, and 11.3/s) in normal young adults showed that the latency Pa increased and amplitudes of Pa and Pb decreased when the stimulus rates were increased from 1.1/s to 11.3/s.


The effects of stimulus rate and gender on the AMLR waveforms investigated by our present study can be affected by age. The average ages used in our study were about 25 years old for males and 21 years old for females. Many previous studies have reported age-related changes in the AMLR waveforms such as poorer waveform morphology, increased latency, and increased amplitude (Amenedo & Díaz, 1998; McGee & Kraus, 1996; Woods & Clayworth, 1986) . These changes include a slight increase or no increase in the latencies of Na, Pa, and Pb with age and a linear increase in the amplitudes of Pa and Pb with age. In more detail, the amplitude of Pb increased with age in women (Pfefferbaum et al., 1979) . The Pb latency was longer in older women (Erwin & Buchwald, 1986) . Slower stimulus rate (1 to 2/ s) has been used to obtain a true AMLR waveform in neonates and young children and the Pa components of the AMLR were not reliably recorded for stimulus rates exceeding 5/s (Jerger et al., 1987) . In pathology, slow stimulus rate of 1/s is required to consistently record the Pb components of the AMLR (Buchwald et al., 1989; Hall, 2007) . Furthermore, in individuals with Alzheimer's disease, the latency and amplitude of Pa was normal but the amplitude of Pb significantly decreased (Buchwald et al., 1989) . In patients with Alzheimer's disease, the latency of Pb was longer and the amplitude of the Pb was larger than in age-matched controls (Irimajiri et al., 2005) . In patients with Parkinson's disease, there was a Pb abnormality (Pekkonen et al., 1998) . Therefore, the larger amplitudes of all AMLR waveforms in males shown in this study may come from the difference in the average age of the subjects participated in the study. More investigation is needed to consider advancing age for future study investigating the effects of stimulus rates and gender on the AMLR waveforms in relation to the effects of age.

Many previous studies have reported age-related changes in the AMLR waveforms such as poorer waveform morphology, increased latency, and increased amplitude.

In more detail, the amplitude of Pb increased with age in women.

The Pb latency was longer in older women.

Slower stimulus rate (1 to 2/ s) has been used to obtain a true AMLR waveform in neonates and young children and the Pa components of the AMLR were not reliably recorded for stimulus rates exceeding 5/s.

In pathology, slow stimulus rate of 1/s is required to consistently record the Pb components of the AMLR.

Furthermore, in individuals with Alzheimer's disease, the latency and amplitude of Pa was normal but the amplitude of Pb significantly decreased.

In patients with Alzheimer's disease, the latency of Pb was longer and the amplitude of the Pb was larger than in age-matched controls.

In patients with Parkinson's disease, there was a Pb abnormality.


We investigated the optimal stimulus rates characterizing the latency and amplitude of the AMLR waveforms in different gender. In this study, it is valuable to note that there are some limitation on generalization and clinical application due to the small size of subjects, the selected subjects in the specific locations, the limited ranges of stimulus rate, and the different stimulus conditions as shown in our previous study of ABR (Choi et al., 2015) . Nevertheless, this study provides gender-specific norms for male and female subjects for the AMLR waveforms. These norms will be usefully applied to individuals with aging related hearing loss, noise induced hearing loss, and different hearing loss.

In this study, it is valuable to note that there are some limitation on generalization and clinical application due to the small size of subjects, the selected subjects in the specific locations, the limited ranges of stimulus rate, and the different stimulus conditions as shown in our previous study of ABR.


The survival of patients with PCNSL has improved with the development of combination induction therapy and the incorporation of intensive consolidation chemotherapy, whole brain radiation, or high-dose chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation [8] . However, these treatments are toxic and are not well tolerated especially by elderly patients who make up the majority of immunocompetent patients with PCNSL [2, 3] . Moreover, survival is expected to plateau soon with currently available therapeutic agents [8] . As such, there is a dire need for novel therapeutic agents.

The survival of patients with PCNSL has improved with the development of combination induction therapy and the incorporation of intensive consolidation chemotherapy, whole brain radiation, or high-dose chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation.

However, these treatments are toxic and are not well tolerated especially by elderly patients who make up the majority of immunocompetent patients with PCNSL.

Moreover, survival is expected to plateau soon with currently available therapeutic agents.


The helicoidal plywoods have the chiral order of a chiral-nematic liquid crystal, which possess orientational order with a superposed rotation and layer periodicity [2] . Figure 1 shows a schematic of helicoidal plywood, where the CMF orientation is represented by lines. Figure 1(a) shows the parallel CMF arrangement on each plane and the rotation of CMF orientation angle by a small degree when traversing normal to each plane, as in chiral nematic LCs. On each plane shown in Figure 1 (a) the orientation of CMFs is like in nematic LCs, but on a larger scale it has a layer structure like smectic LCs. The distance through which these planes undergo a 2 rotation is called the pitch p o , the magnitude of which is usually a few m. In Figure 1 (b), oblique section of the helicoidal plywood shows the characteristic arced pattern, widely observed in many plant cell walls and other extracellular fibrous biological composites, such as insect cuticles and bones [2] . The normal section of the helicoidal plywood in Figure 1 (c) shows the cholesteric helix defined by its axis orientation unit vector h, its pitch p o , and the rotation sense (left or right). The mechanical advantage of helicoidal fiber orientation in the secondary cell wall is that the structure has good properties in all directions which increase the fracture strength since the path of any crack will be diverted by the change in orientation, resulting in an increased capacity to dissipate energy. Owing to the structural similarity between helicoidal plywoods and chiral nematic LCs, it has been hypothesized that these structures arise through liquid crystalline self assembly that occurs at sufficiently high concentration of BLCPs, when the excluded volume of the CMFs is minimized in presence of chiral interactions [2] . A review supporting this hypothesis by analyzing it from the aspects of anatomy and developmental biology has emphasized on the necessity of characterizing the nature of the forces inducing this self-assembly [30] . Although there is no in vivo experimental evidence supporting this hypothesis, it is known that the cellulose microfibrils extracted from plant cell walls by acid-hydrolysis self-assemble to form chiral-nematic phases in vitro [10, 11] .

The helicoidal plywoods have the chiral order of a chiral-nematic liquid crystal, which possess orientational order with a superposed rotation and layer periodicity.

In Figure 1 (b), oblique section of the helicoidal plywood shows the characteristic arced pattern, widely observed in many plant cell walls and other extracellular fibrous biological composites, such as insect cuticles and bones.

Owing to the structural similarity between helicoidal plywoods and chiral nematic LCs, it has been hypothesized that these structures arise through liquid crystalline self assembly that occurs at sufficiently high concentration of BLCPs, when the excluded volume of the CMFs is minimized in presence of chiral interactions.

A review supporting this hypothesis by analyzing it from the aspects of anatomy and developmental biology has emphasized on the necessity of characterizing the nature of the forces inducing this self-assembly.

Although there is no in vivo experimental evidence supporting this hypothesis, it is known that the cellulose microfibrils extracted from plant cell walls by acid-hydrolysis self-assemble to form chiral-nematic phases in vitro.


Previously a computationally implemented mathematical model based on the Landau-de Gennes theory has been employed to investigate the effect of constraining surfaces on the development of structure in a lyotropic chiral nematic liquid crystalline mesophase [34, 35] . These computations elucidated the need for a constraining surface that can direct the chiral nematic helix in a direction normal to it, to form a defect free monodomain twisted plywood structure [34, 35] . Recently, an integrated mechanical model describing nematic liquid crystalline self-assembly of rigid rods on an arbitrarily curved membrane has been presented and relative predictions of cellulose ordering and orientation in the plant cell wall are presented. An integrated shape and nematic order equation developed in this work gives a complete model whose solution describes the coupled membrane shape and fiber order state [36] . When integrated with the Gibbs-Duhem equation, the model can describe the role of temperature and adsorption on membrane shape and fiber order [37] . A viscoelastic model that integrates the statics of anisotropic membranes, the planar nematodynamics of fibers and the dynamics of isotropic membranes, has been reported to predict transitions between axial and azimuthal fiber arrangements of interest to cellulose fiber orientation in plant morphogenesis [38] .

Previously a computationally implemented mathematical model based on the Landau-de Gennes theory has been employed to investigate the effect of constraining surfaces on the development of structure in a lyotropic chiral nematic liquid crystalline mesophase.

These computations elucidated the need for a constraining surface that can direct the chiral nematic helix in a direction normal to it, to form a defect free monodomain twisted plywood structure.

An integrated shape and nematic order equation developed in this work gives a complete model whose solution describes the coupled membrane shape and fiber order state.

When integrated with the Gibbs-Duhem equation, the model can describe the role of temperature and adsorption on membrane shape and fiber order.

A viscoelastic model that integrates the statics of anisotropic membranes, the planar nematodynamics of fibers and the dynamics of isotropic membranes, has been reported to predict transitions between axial and azimuthal fiber arrangements of interest to cellulose fiber orientation in plant morphogenesis.


The presence of secondary phases, such as plant cells and pit canals in the domain of self-assembling cell wall material, are evidently the origin of surface constraints that results in distortions, vortices and defect disclinations, such as saddle-like patterns [39, 40] . LC analogues in plant cell walls having the structure of chiral-nematic LC phases, can nucleate disclination characteristics of orientationally ordered nematic LCs, as well as dislocations characteristic of layered Smectic-A LCs. As discussed below, the core of disclinations can be singular, when the equilibrium orientational order is distorted or non-singular, such that the rod-like molecules escape into the third dimension avoiding gradients in molecular order. The type and number of defects stabilized in these materials and the nature of the corresponding defect cores (singular or non-singular), affect crack propagation and, hence, determine the strength of the material. Figure 2 (a) shows an example of structure adaptation of a helicoidal plywood, involving the pitch expansion and helix rotation to avoid stress concentration around pit canals (denoted by P) in plant cell walls. Figure 2 (b) shows a schematic of a disclination line defect of strength -1, in a natural helicoidal plywood found in walnut, due to inclusion of four cell lumens (denoted by L). These disclination line defect patterns observed in electron micrographs of plant cell walls can be used as fingerprints to identify the LC phases involved in their formation and their material properties. Understanding the disclination line, defect nucleation and stabilization mechanism in helicoidal plywoods can be used as a model for gaining insight into similar phenomenon in other lamellar systems, such as diblock co-polymers and SmA LCs [41] . A computational modeling study of texture formation in a nematic carbonaceous mesophase matrix with embedded circular carbon fibers, has concluded that the number and type of disclinations that arise invariably obey the experimentally observed Zimmer's rule; the disclination line strength is equal to -(N-2)/2, where N is the number of inclusions [42, 43] . A Landau-de Gennes type model for defect coarsening process of the isotropic/smectic-A phase transition, has been used to simulate elementary a b dislocations, total dislocation content and defect annihilation laws for smectic disclinations has been established [44] . The model has also been used to characterize edge dislocation arising in SmA LC [45] . The main objectives of this work are: (1) To elucidate the role of liquid crystalline self-assembly in the formation of helicoidal plywoods in plant cell walls, using computational modeling of defect texture formation in chiral-nematic mesophases; and (2) to determine the specific viscoelastic material properties, the specific geometric conditions involving the pitch of the plywood and the characteristic length scale of inclusions, and strength of interfacial interactions between the inclusion and the mesophase, that are required to observe typical hyperbolic textures in plant cell walls. In this paper, the defects textures analysis in a self assembling chiral nematic LC phase, due to four cylindrical inclusions representing cell lumens, are simulated using the Landau de Gennes theory. The number and types of disclinations and dislocations arising in the chiral-nematic phases are characterized. By comparing the texture simulation results and typical natural defect patterns in helicoidal plywoods, confirmation of the directed self-assembly process in the presence of curved inclusion assemblies can be established. Furthermore by exploring the viscoelastic-geometric parametric space, a semi-quantitative characterization of the relevant material properties of CMF and the role of the pitch of the chiral phase-to-domain length are revealed. By comparing the present results with previous simulations and experiments on fiber-filled nematics, it is also possible to demonstrate that cellulosic mesophases respond as expected from layered anisotropic soft matter under complex confinement.

The presence of secondary phases, such as plant cells and pit canals in the domain of self-assembling cell wall material, are evidently the origin of surface constraints that results in distortions, vortices and defect disclinations, such as saddle-like patterns.

Understanding the disclination line, defect nucleation and stabilization mechanism in helicoidal plywoods can be used as a model for gaining insight into similar phenomenon in other lamellar systems, such as diblock co-polymers and SmA LCs.

A computational modeling study of texture formation in a nematic carbonaceous mesophase matrix with embedded circular carbon fibers, has concluded that the number and type of disclinations that arise invariably obey the experimentally observed Zimmer's rule; the disclination line strength is equal to -(N-2)/2, where N is the number of inclusions.

A Landau-de Gennes type model for defect coarsening process of the isotropic/smectic-A phase transition, has been used to simulate elementary a b dislocations, total dislocation content and defect annihilation laws for smectic disclinations has been established.

The model has also been used to characterize edge dislocation arising in SmA LC.


The models were developed and tested in the context of the CU Communicator dialog system which is used for telephone-based flight, hotel and rental car reservations [11] . The text corpus was divided into two parts as training and test sets with 15220 and 1220 sentences, respectively. The test set was further divided into two parts. Each part, in turn, was used to optimize language and interpolation weights to be used for the other part in a "jacknife paradigm". The results were reported as the average of the two results. The average sentence length of the corpus was 4 words (end-of-sentence was treated as a word). We identified 20 dialog contexts and labeled each sentence with the associated dialog context.

The models were developed and tested in the context of the CU Communicator dialog system which is used for telephone-based flight, hotel and rental car reservations.


The polyethylene of Group 1, made of GUR 1050 resin, sterilized through the use of ethylene oxide, was manufactured by ram extrusion and machining. Group 2 polyethylene is compression-molded from GUR 1020 resin and is sterilized by means of gamma irradiation in an oxygen free-environment. In vitro studies on tibial inserts for knee arthroplasties have shown that compression molded and oxygen free sterilization reports less wear than machined tibial inserts for total knee arthroplasties [11, 17, 18] . Yet little knowledge is available on the performance of THAs with regard to these same variables.

In vitro studies on tibial inserts for knee arthroplasties have shown that compression molded and oxygen free sterilization reports less wear than machined tibial inserts for total knee arthroplasties.


The occupational attainment process is embedded in social networks. People with larger, more diverse and socio-economically more advantageous networks are more likely to be employed and to have better paid and more prestigious jobs (Lin, 2001) . Social network members could help job seekers, for example, through the provision of resources, such as job and labour market information, social influence, and encouragement. These social network resources are considered as social capital in its instrumental tradition (Bourdieu, 1986; Portes, 1998; Völker and Flap, 1999; Lin, 2001; Li, 2010) .

People with larger, more diverse and socio-economically more advantageous networks are more likely to be employed and to have better paid and more prestigious jobs.

These social network resources are considered as social capital in its instrumental tradition.


Patients who had a lower physical health, a higher diabetes-related distress and perceived more hyper-and hypoglycaemias were less satisfied with the monitoring frequency. We also found significant differences for LDL cholesterol and diastolic blood pressure, but the absolute differences were very small. So it seems that well-controlled type 2 diabetes patients based their dissatisfaction with the monitoring frequency on logical reasons. This is in concordance with the preferences of the patients at baseline, where we showed that patients seem to make logical choices regarding the monitoring frequency [4] . These results confirm that patients themselves should also be involved in determining the monitoring frequency. One out of three had a strong preference for three-monthly monitoring and therefore, this should be taken into account. A major advantage is that treating patients according their preference might improve treatment adherence and thus clinical outcomes [23] . Especially in diabetes care this is of utmost importance, since patients have to deal with treatment adherence and self-management to keep their diabetes under control. This could be achieved by discussing the preferred monitoring frequency with the patient on a structured annual basis. Besides, general practitioners might discuss with the patient their satisfaction with the monitoring frequency.

This is in concordance with the preferences of the patients at baseline, where we showed that patients seem to make logical choices regarding the monitoring frequency.

A major advantage is that treating patients according their preference might improve treatment adherence and thus clinical outcomes.


Wireless sensor and actor networks (WSANs) have been receiving significant attention from many researchers because of their potential for various new applications that require autonomous interaction with the environment. WSANs consist of a group of sensors and movable actors that are linked by a wireless medium to perform sensing and acting tasks [1] . The sensors detect and report events of interest to the actors. The actors, on the other hand, make decisions and perform appropriate actions based on reports received from sensors. WSANs can be used in various applications, such as forest fire monitoring, urban search and rescue, battlefield surveillance, home automation, and environmental monitoring.

WSANs consist of a group of sensors and movable actors that are linked by a wireless medium to perform sensing and acting tasks.


Among the many advantages of the alternative production system are the elimination of polyethylene plastic mulches and the reduction in use of commercial fertilizers and herbicides. Eliminating these three inputs lowers production cost by about $1850/ha. The only added cost is that of hairy vetch seed (about $36/ha) and mowing of the cover crop (Kelly et al., 1995) .

The only added cost is that of hairy vetch seed (about $36/ha) and mowing of the cover crop.


Wetting properties of fluids on fiber surfaces play an important role in the textile industry and polymer composites engineering. In textile industry people mainly consider the nature of fiber dyeing and cleaning properties by surfactants and the ability of substances to waterproof fabrics. In polymer composites engineering, researchers have paid significant attention to the interface properties of various fiber/matrix systems such as the fiber surface wetting property and the fiber/matrix interface bonding strength among others. These properties affect the toughening and damage mechanisms of fibers as reinforcement in composite materials [1] . As one of the typical micromechanical testing methods, the fiber microdebond test has been developed for evaluating the fiber/matrix interface strength [2] , [3] . In this testing process, fabrication of uniform micro samples with polymer microdroplets on monofilaments is the key step to yield repeatable experimental data since the geometrical shape, aspect ratio, and contact angle of the droplet affect the test results. As a matter of fact, the geometry of a droplet on a fiber is governed by the wetting property of the droplet.

These properties affect the toughening and damage mechanisms of fibers as reinforcement in composite materials.

As one of the typical micromechanical testing methods, the fiber microdebond test has been developed for evaluating the fiber/matrix interface strength.


Our work focuses on the Arabic text classification. Our main contribution is the proposal of a text representation model and a hybrid algorithms classification based on Latent Dirichlet Allocation and Support Vector Machine Classifiers. This was achieved through creating an Arabic text classification framework to evaluate our approach [38] .

This was achieved through creating an Arabic text classification framework to evaluate our approach.


Increasing project management maturity reflects a clear trend. Organizations are applying process approaches in their operations, in other words, they are using quality management in their project management. Organizations are increasingly standardizing their project management practices across all or most of their enterprise (PMI, 2012) .

Organizations are increasingly standardizing their project management practices across all or most of their enterprise.


Project management maturity is rising. PMI's Pulse of the profession in 2012 reported that 20% of participants in the annual global survey of practitioners and project management leaders described their organizations as having high overall project management maturity. The corresponding figure in 2006 was 11% (PMI, 2012) . This observation is in line with another large survey by PWC, the Global survey on the status of project management where more than 62% of companies in the 2012 survey were operating in level 4 or level 5 of the maturity scale. The corresponding figure in 2004 was 21.9% (Clack, Fass, Graeber, Honan and Ready, 2012) . The PMI report points out a clear correlation between higher maturity levels and on-time and on-budget delivery in projects (PMI, 2012) .

Project management maturity is rising.

The corresponding figure in 2006 was 11%.

The corresponding figure in 2004 was 21.9%.

The PMI report points out a clear correlation between higher maturity levels and on-time and on-budget delivery in projects.


Some important classes of algebraic integers can be specified by the sizes of their conjugates, e.g., Pisot, Salem or Perron numbers. Sometimes certain refinements of these classes of numbers are necessary. For instance, strong Pisot numbers play a prominent role in the study of limit points of sequences of fractional parts of algebraic integers [2] .

For instance, strong Pisot numbers play a prominent role in the study of limit points of sequences of fractional parts of algebraic integers.


A generalized Internet worm is a kind of computer program that can replicate itself and spread from one host to another through the network [1] . Internet worms are built to propagate without warning or user interaction with the characters of rapid pervasive speed, large invasive scale, and severe destructive power. In the modern information and network security, Internet worms have become one of the most serious security threats to the Internet [2] .

A generalized Internet worm is a kind of computer program that can replicate itself and spread from one host to another through the network.

In the modern information and network security, Internet worms have become one of the most serious security threats to the Internet.


Our main result suggests that the communicative deficiencies of the Euro-system have been intrinsically linked to its adopted strategy, and that, by contrast, the Fed has benefited from an inherent advantage in terms of information dissemination. The format of central banks' communication is critical to their ability to properly convey their intentions to market participants. Our study emphasises that it is important for central banks to disclose a single, clear signal given that market participants also form their own opinion of the economic outlook. A corollary to this conclusion is that increased transparency leads to an enhanced understanding of the motives and actions of central banks, as has been evidenced by the Bank of England and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, known for their excellent provision of information. More broadly, our approach can explain how fragmented communication may exacerbate coordination problems in financial markets (Gai and Shin, 2003) . Indeed, although a collection of indicators taken together may convey a coherent message, the fragmented nature of the communicative process leaves open the possibility that some market observers may fail to capture the intended picture or otherwise remain uncertain as to whether everyone has grasped it correctly.

More broadly, our approach can explain how fragmented communication may exacerbate coordination problems in financial markets.


An analytical method based on the shifting function method has been presented for solving the one-dimensional transient heat conduction problem with time-dependent HTC for a composite slab consisting of an arbitrary number of layers. Applying the shifting function method yields new partial differential equations under conventional types of initial, boundary, and interfacial conditions. In this paper, the derived equations were solved by using an orthogonal expansion based on the Vodicka type of orthogonality relationship. Numerical calculations were performed for two representative composite slabs. The numerical results demonstrated the effects of temporal variations in the HTC on the transient temperature field, in particular, on the temperatures at two external boundaries. This paper considers the temporal variation in the HTC at only one external boundary. The solution needs to be extended so that the time-dependency of the HTCs at both boundaries can be considered. This might possibly be achieved by introducing two different shifting functions [19, 29] . The present analytical method can easily be extended to other simple geometries; it changes nothing beyond the forms of the eigenfunction, shifting function, function ( ), and the orthogonal relationship of (44). The analytical solution derived is applicable to nonhomogeneous materials, such as functionally graded materials, under the laminate approximation theory [30] .

This might possibly be achieved by introducing two different shifting functions.

The analytical solution derived is applicable to nonhomogeneous materials, such as functionally graded materials, under the laminate approximation theory.


Gas-liquid two-phase flow of low liquid loading attracts considerable attention due to its common occurrence in petroleum, nuclear, and chemical engineering. The natural gas usually exhibits as gas-liquid two-phase flow of low liquid loading under stratified or annular flow regime in transportation pipelines. It is still a challenge to measure the individual flowrate of the gas and liquid phases on line accurately. Currently the metering of natural gas flow still relies on the separation approach heavily [1] . In the separation approach the natural gas flow is separated first and then the gas/liquid flowrates are measured separately by traditional single-phase flowmeters, respectively. The metering uncertainty is affected by the separation efficiency significantly. In some cases a certain amount of liquid is carried into the gas line, resulting in gas-liquid two-phase flow again. Moreover, bulky and heavy separators are mandatory in the separation approach. The requirement for maintenance and space of separators poses severe problems to some applications like offshore platforms where the maintenance and space are quite expensive and limited. The development of nonseparation approaches is a highly desired undertaking [2, 3] .

Currently the metering of natural gas flow still relies on the separation approach heavily.

The development of nonseparation approaches is a highly desired undertaking.


The ultrasonic flowmeter (USF) is of noncontact and noninvasive nature, which has triggered some pioneer efforts on developing USF for gas-liquid two-phase flows [12, 13] . To obtain more information from USF multipath designs were also employed. However, a series of issues arises with the usage of multipath, such as mutual influence among the sound paths, installation effects, and complicated calibration. In this work a single-path USF is investigated for metering gas-liquid two-phase flow of low liquid loading. The objective of this work is to explore the potential of a single-path USF by developing error correction methods for measuring gasliquid two-phase flows with potential applications to wet natural gas.

The ultrasonic flowmeter (USF) is of noncontact and noninvasive nature, which has triggered some pioneer efforts on developing USF for gas-liquid two-phase flows.


To date, many studies have focused on analyzing PQ characteristics of points of common coupling (PCCs) with wind farms. Furthermore, most PQ research concentrates on the assessment, detection, identification, location, and improvement of PQ [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] . PQ assessment can be used to make comprehensive judgments on the status of PQ over a historical period, but it fails to assess PQ status in the future. The goal of PQ detection is to identify PQ disturbance from many signals. The methods have a good ability to carry out signal recognition, but they are accustomed to already-existing PQ analysis problems. PQ location methods can be used to locate PQ disturbances quickly and accurately, but it also analyzes historical data. There are many measures that can be used to improve PQ, and the control effects are satisfactory. However, these measures are rarely combined with trend analysis and early warnings.

Furthermore, most PQ research concentrates on the assessment, detection, identification, location, and improvement of PQ.


It is important to note that the changes in draft resistance (Fig. 7) are caused due to soil failure. Draft requirement for these implements ranged from 8.2 kN for the disk plow to 13 kN for the chisel plow. This large variation was due to the difference in implements specifications and operating width of the implements. ASABE Standard D497.6 defines implement draft except disk plow and this definition will be used for the remainder of this article. The ASABE coefficients are for a wide range of soil conditions and consequently cannot be expected to yield accurate estimates for a given situation; the ASABE Standard indicates an expected range of ±25-50% for the various tillage implements (McLaughlin et al., 2008) . The ASABE data overestimated the draft requirement Figure 7 Draft requirement and fuel consumption of the moldboard plow in field test. Tractor and tillage implements in clay soilof moldboard plow at applied velocities by 18%, 11%, 11% and 2%, respectively, and overestimated the draft requirement of chisel plow by 34%, 31%, 28% and 25%, too. These results revealed that the measured drafts were within the expected range of draft given in the ASABE Standard. Moreover, it found that by the increase of forward velocity, difference between dynamometer data and ASABE estimate became smaller. By considering the obtained draft forces from field tests (Table 3) and implements width, it shows that in the equal work width (1 m), mold board plow draft at different velocities was 2.09, 2.12, 2.07 and 2.2 times as much as the chisel plow draft requirement. This result shows that Consequence of past global researches about the relevance between draft requirement of moldboard and chisel plow was indefeasible and would be certified.

The ASABE coefficients are for a wide range of soil conditions and consequently cannot be expected to yield accurate estimates for a given situation; the ASABE Standard indicates an expected range of ±25-50% for the various tillage implements.


As we were writing up our project, a related paper by Fleming showed how one can obtain the well-known BFKL equation from rapidity RGE in the effective theory [14] . In Fleming's calculation the forward scattering matrix element which falls in the Glauber region is calculated to one-loop order and rapidity divergent couterterm is determined. As a result the BFKL equation and the Regge behavior emerge from SCET with Glauber gluons. In our paper we also showed how Regge behavior emerges from SCET with Glauber gluons, however we looked at it from a fixed order point of view by summing a series of graphs order-by order in the perturbation theory. In doing so we paid a special attention to the momentum region where the Regge behavior arises from and we concluded that the Glauber mode plays an important role to connect the n−collinear sector withn− collinear sector with keeping intermediate propagators on-shell. The combined Regge mode we find is the mutual overlap of all such graphs at a given order and reproduces the Regge behavior. It should be noted that Fleming uses real QCD and works in the framework of SCET II with Glaubers. In our work we only considered the modes of SCET I with Glauber gluons added and used a toy scalar field theory.

As we were writing up our project, a related paper by Fleming showed how one can obtain the well-known BFKL equation from rapidity RGE in the effective theory.


The burden of hypertension worldwide contributes significantly to heart failure, coronary artery events, stroke, kidney failure, disability, and premature death [1] . Modifiable lifestyle behaviors such as tobacco use, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, and alcohol abuse are the major risk factors contributing to the rising incidence of high blood pressure [2] . A populationbased approach to decreasing blood pressure levels in the general population by even modest levels has the potential to substantially reduce morbidity and mortality and possibly to delay the onset of hypertension [3] . It has been estimated that a 5-mmHg reduction of systolic blood pressure (SBP) in the population would result in a 14 % overall reduction in mortality due to stroke, a 9 % reduction in mortality due to coronary heart disease, and a 7 % decrease in allcause mortality [3, 4] . A study published in 1998 showed that the association between blood pressure and stroke in East Asia seems higher than in Western populations. A population-wide reduction of 3 mmHg in diastolic blood pressure is predicted to eventually decrease the number of strokes by about one-third [5] .

The burden of hypertension worldwide contributes significantly to heart failure, coronary artery events, stroke, kidney failure, disability, and premature death.

Modifiable lifestyle behaviors such as tobacco use, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, and alcohol abuse are the major risk factors contributing to the rising incidence of high blood pressure.

A populationbased approach to decreasing blood pressure levels in the general population by even modest levels has the potential to substantially reduce morbidity and mortality and possibly to delay the onset of hypertension.

It has been estimated that a 5-mmHg reduction of systolic blood pressure (SBP) in the population would result in a 14 % overall reduction in mortality due to stroke, a 9 % reduction in mortality due to coronary heart disease, and a 7 % decrease in allcause mortality.

A population-wide reduction of 3 mmHg in diastolic blood pressure is predicted to eventually decrease the number of strokes by about one-third.


Robots named "BIREM" were also developed to move in complex environments under steel bridges to inspect cracks and corrosion areas. BIREM moves while adsorbing to the steel wall using a rimless wheel with attached magnets [10, 11] . Additionally, BIREM has a high success rate while traveling between a ceiling and a vertical wall. Furthermore, it is possible to change the course in the left and right directions with the steering mechanism on the front and rear wheels attached to second generation BIREM (BIREM 2nd) because of the small ground contact area of the magnets.

BIREM moves while adsorbing to the steel wall using a rimless wheel with attached magnets.


We organize our contribution in three main steps: First, we estimate a series of linear vector autoregressive (VAR) models that include aggregate business cycle variables but also relative sectoral information. The latter is either the change in leverage of SOEs relative to that of private firms or the growth rate of SOE investment relative to the growth rate of private investment. A monetary policy shock is identified using restrictions on the sign of the impulse responses (Uhlig, 2005) . Although the model is symmetric, the responses of the relative variables are informative about asymmetries in the adjustment to monetary policy. We find that a monetary policy shock has significantly stronger effects on SOE investment and leverage compared to private firms. Both, investment and leverage expand stronger after a policy easing than in the case of private firms.

A monetary policy shock is identified using restrictions on the sign of the impulse responses.


The overall performance of the proposed model was further compared with those produced by J48 Decision Trees, and Neural Net. They are state-of-the art methods that are widely used in data mining [63] . Although the models in this study fit the training data well, their prediction capabilities are clearly lower than the proposed model (Tables 3-5) . To confirm the difference of the prediction performances of the classifier ensemble model and the other susceptibility assessment models, McNamar's test should further used. The test result shows that, statistically, the prediction performance of the proposed model is significantly higher ( Table 6 ).

They are state-of-the art methods that are widely used in data mining.


The second group could be further categorized into three main topics: deterministic methods, statistical methods, and data mining. In general, the deterministic methods have the most accurate results due to data dependency and site-specific nature and are most suitable for site-specific locations in localized scales [9] . For large areas, application of deterministic methods is almost impossible due to the difficulty of collecting detailed geo-engineering data, therefore the use of statistical and soft computing methods has increased [10] . The statistical methods are considered to be suitable for the mapping of landslide susceptibility over large areas and using the statistical hypothesis that future landslides will occur under the same geo-environmental conditions that produce them in the past. Therefore, large amounts of data need to be collected and processed and these tasks are time consuming and involve various complex processes [11] . More importantly, because the prediction capability of statistical models is still not sufficient, data mining has been considered.

In general, the deterministic methods have the most accurate results due to data dependency and site-specific nature and are most suitable for site-specific locations in localized scales.

For large areas, application of deterministic methods is almost impossible due to the difficulty of collecting detailed geo-engineering data, therefore the use of statistical and soft computing methods has increased.

Therefore, large amounts of data need to be collected and processed and these tasks are time consuming and involve various complex processes.


Based on such motivation, this paper explores a current state-of-the-art Rotation Forest ensemble with k-NN algorithm for landslide susceptibility mapping. The main objective of this study is therefore to create a novel methodological approach that is capable to solve the complex and high-dimensional data, for landslide susceptibility mapping. The proposed approach is a combination of an instance based learning algorithm (k-NN) and the Rotation Forest (RF) ensemble, where the Information Gain is used for feature selection. The Lang Son city area (Vietnam) is selected as a case study because it belongs to one of the most vulnerable areas with respect to landslides in the northeast region of Vietnam [46] . However, landslide studies in this area have seldom been carried out; therefore, assessment of landslide susceptibility is considered to be an urgent task. The usability of the proposed model is assessed through comparisons with those obtained from various soft computing techniques using the same data such as Random Forest, J48 Decision Trees, and Multilayer Perceptron Neural Networks, and finally, conclusions are given.

The Lang Son city area (Vietnam) is selected as a case study because it belongs to one of the most vulnerable areas with respect to landslides in the northeast region of Vietnam.


The indiscriminate use of antimicrobials has generated serious problems on global health, since the bacteria have developed resistance to them, both in veterinary medicine as well as in human medicine, so the World Health Organization is considering infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria as an emergent global disease and a major public health problem. The development of novel therapeutic strategies, however, seems to have reached a dead end. Despite the urgent need to find new antibacterial products, many pharmaceutical companies have abandoned antibiotic drug discovery programs. For this reason, pharmacological alternatives have been sought, such as the use of fungi and medicinal plants (Roca et al., 2015) .

For this reason, pharmacological alternatives have been sought, such as the use of fungi and medicinal plants.


The proposed method can be utilized to measure the taxi accessibility at the grid cell level, and the size of grid cell can be adjusted according to the research goal. This method provided a practical way to measure taxi accessibility. Three kinds of opportunities were employed, including the constant POIs, total drop-offs, and dynamic drop-offs. In addition, four typical time periods were selected to show the dynamic accessibility in a day. To handle the limitations of road network, land use, and taxi GPS data, a make-up method was proposed to identify the grid cells that are likely to be reachable according to their adjacent grid cells. Furthermore, the grid cells with poor accessibility in specific time periods can be identified, thus some policies can be put forward to improve the accessibility. The method can also be applied to predict accessibility conditions for future scenarios which have some changes in opportunity [1] . In all, the proposed method can provide objective, representative, and cost-effective accessibility values, with temporal and spatial sensitivity.

The method can also be applied to predict accessibility conditions for future scenarios which have some changes in opportunity.


Furthermore, there have been studies that utilized taxi GPS data to explore accessibility. A stochastic methodology was proposed for GIS-based accessibility modeling using GPS-based floating car data and Monte Carlo simulation, which was illustrated using a case study on medical emergency service accessibility [19] . A novel integrated access measure was introduced to compute the accessibility to points of interest (POIs), which was able to capture the temporal dynamics by taking into account the speed variability using floating car data during peak and off-peak hours on weekdays and weekends [20] . Furthermore, a geographically weighted spatial regression model was applied to find that a higher relationship between taxi and metro ridership in the regions where lower accessibility to metro stations existed [21] . Furthermore, a strong link between demand for taxi, land use patterns, and accessibility to other modes is found [22] . A high-resolution grid was imposed over the study area to compute accessibility at a high disaggregation level. It was observed that the travel time threshold and POI weights had a profound influence on the final accessibility values. Moreover, a method was developed to systematically examine the current urban land use and road network conditions as well as to identify poorly connected regions, using GPS data collected from taxis [1] . Changes in automobile accessibility over the course of the day-as coursed by congestion of the road network in eight metropolitan areas of the European Union-were studied, which indicated that congestion most notably affects accessibility distribution inside each city [23] .

A stochastic methodology was proposed for GIS-based accessibility modeling using GPS-based floating car data and Monte Carlo simulation, which was illustrated using a case study on medical emergency service accessibility.

A novel integrated access measure was introduced to compute the accessibility to points of interest (POIs), which was able to capture the temporal dynamics by taking into account the speed variability using floating car data during peak and off-peak hours on weekdays and weekends.

Furthermore, a geographically weighted spatial regression model was applied to find that a higher relationship between taxi and metro ridership in the regions where lower accessibility to metro stations existed.

Furthermore, a strong link between demand for taxi, land use patterns, and accessibility to other modes is found.

Moreover, a method was developed to systematically examine the current urban land use and road network conditions as well as to identify poorly connected regions, using GPS data collected from taxis.

Changes in automobile accessibility over the course of the day-as coursed by congestion of the road network in eight metropolitan areas of the European Union-were studied, which indicated that congestion most notably affects accessibility distribution inside each city.


With the continuing urbanization and rapid growth of cities around the world, traffic demands are increasing faster than traffic supplies. Therefore, it is critical to understand the changing land use structure and transport conditions to identify poorly accessible areas and improve their accessibility [1] . Accessibility is an appropriate indicator to evaluate the interaction between traffic and land use, which can simultaneously consider the travel road network and travel demand. It considers not only travel efficiencies but also the distribution of land-use and activity locations across the transport network [1] . Accessibility was first defined as a measure of the potential for interaction [2] . Conventionally, the accessibility measure is based on survey data, census geodemographics, and transport data, which cost large quantities of time and money. In addition, the available data are limited, making it difficult to capture daily fluctuations in accessibility.

Therefore, it is critical to understand the changing land use structure and transport conditions to identify poorly accessible areas and improve their accessibility.

It considers not only travel efficiencies but also the distribution of land-use and activity locations across the transport network.

Accessibility was first defined as a measure of the potential for interaction.


The findings indicated that the three kinds of opportunities are highly concentrated in the inner part of city. However, the distribution of the POIs is more dispersed. For dynamic drop-offs, it was observed that the midday off-peak hours have a higher value. From the spatial perspective, the eastern part has the higher accessibility than the western part and the inner part of the city has better accessibility than the outer part, whereas the core areas such as Tiananmen Square do not show a high value in accessibility. In addition, it was observed that high accessibility grid cells are likely to cluster together. From a temporal perspective, the peak hours (7:00-9:00 and 17:00-19:00) had lower accessibilities in all three measures. The late-night hours had the best performance in the constant POIs measure and the total drop-offs measure. It is also found that accessibility conditions change significantly depending on the time of day [18] . However, the dynamic drop-offs measure had the best accessibility in the midday off-peak hours. Overall, the fluctuations of accessibility are consistent with the traffic situation in a day, which is consistent with the previous findings [18, 23] . Dynamic of accessibility in a day provide more insight to analyze the accessibility issues that is hard to find in the static accessibility [18] . A comparison of different time periods indicated that grid cells with higher accessibility at a time period tend to have higher accessibility at other time periods. In addition, the total drop-off accessibility is similar to the constant POIs accessibility. However, the total drop-off accessibility is different from the dynamic drop-off accessibility in the four time periods, which has the largest value in the midday off-peak hours. This is not consistent with the previous study which found that the constant job accessibility and variable job accessibility are highly correlated [8] .

It is also found that accessibility conditions change significantly depending on the time of day.

Overall, the fluctuations of accessibility are consistent with the traffic situation in a day, which is consistent with the previous findings.

Dynamic of accessibility in a day provide more insight to analyze the accessibility issues that is hard to find in the static accessibility.

This is not consistent with the previous study which found that the constant job accessibility and variable job accessibility are highly correlated.


Nigella crude extracts were reported to have a promising effect on multi-drug resistant organisms, including Staphylococcus aureus, Shigella, Vibrio cholera and Candida albicans (Salman et al., 2008) . The antibacterial effect of N. sativa was further tested on Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. While black seed extract and oil were shown to possess antibacterial activity, Gram-positive bacteria were more susceptible to the black seeds oil, whereas Gram-negative organisms were more sensitive to the black seeds extracts (Gulluce et al., 2003) .

Nigella crude extracts were reported to have a promising effect on multi-drug resistant organisms, including Staphylococcus aureus, Shigella, Vibrio cholera and Candida albicans.

While black seed extract and oil were shown to possess antibacterial activity, Gram-positive bacteria were more susceptible to the black seeds oil, whereas Gram-negative organisms were more sensitive to the black seeds extracts.


An alarming increase in antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains necessitates that search for more effective antibiotics, which depends on localization of bioactive photochemical. Insofar as plants were long used for preventing, or even curing infectious conditions, several plant products were documented to inhibit growth of pathogenic bacteria (Knapp and Melly, 1986) . Of these, black seed extract was extensively studied for its antimicrobial activity against a wide range of bacterial, fungal and parasitic organisms (Manoj and Pradeep, 2005) . Here we investigate Tunisian N. sativa fixed oil anti-bacterial and anti-Candida activities, which were reported as inhibition zones, along with "in vitro" activities (MIC, MBC and MFC) .

Insofar as plants were long used for preventing, or even curing infectious conditions, several plant products were documented to inhibit growth of pathogenic bacteria.

Of these, black seed extract was extensively studied for its antimicrobial activity against a wide range of bacterial, fungal and parasitic organisms.


A variety of plants and plant extracts were used throughout human history for medicinal purposes (Ali and Blunden, 2003) . Of these Nigella sativa, an annual herbaceous plant belonging to the Ranunculaceae family that produces seeds commonly known as "black seed" was used for more than 2000 years in the Middle East and Indian subcontinent for treating a variety of diseases (Aljabre et al., 2005) . It was shown that Nigella extracts and oils mediate diverse biological activities, including anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, antidiabetic,and antibiotic activities (Burtis and Bucar, 2000) . Accordingly, Nigella were recommended as supplement in the treatment of diverse ailments, ranging from asthma, chronic headache (including migraine), chest congestion, dysmenorrhoea, obesity, paralysis, hemiplegia, back pain, rheumatism, hypertension and gastrointestinal problems. Furthermore, it was proposed to be used as a stimulant, diuretic, emmenagogue, lactagogue, anthelmintic and carminative agent (Cowan, 1999) .

A variety of plants and plant extracts were used throughout human history for medicinal purposes.

Of these Nigella sativa, an annual herbaceous plant belonging to the Ranunculaceae family that produces seeds commonly known as "black seed" was used for more than 2000 years in the Middle East and Indian subcontinent for treating a variety of diseases.

It was shown that Nigella extracts and oils mediate diverse biological activities, including anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, antidiabetic,and antibiotic activities.

Furthermore, it was proposed to be used as a stimulant, diuretic, emmenagogue, lactagogue, anthelmintic and carminative agent.


Maize is a major food crop and source of animal feed in Africa, the Americas and Asia as well as a feed for livestock in these regions (Bergvinson, 2000) . It is the third most important cereal after wheat and rice globally and the most widely distributed (Purseglove, 1981; Siwale et al., 2009) . It is popular for being more resistant to pests and diseases and easier to store and process than traditional food cereals including sorghum and millets in Kenya (Karaya et al., 2009) .

Maize is a major food crop and source of animal feed in Africa, the Americas and Asia as well as a feed for livestock in these regions.

It is the third most important cereal after wheat and rice globally and the most widely distributed.

It is popular for being more resistant to pests and diseases and easier to store and process than traditional food cereals including sorghum and millets in Kenya.


A study of the mechanical and tribological properties of TiAlN coatings, especially the hardness and plasticity, is conducted in this paper using the forming process. This study is important because the damage in tribological processes directly depends on the formation of wear particles, which are initially generated by the contact between asperities when the films are plastically deformed, thus increasing their hardness and producing fractures. Surface damages are generated, which decrease the lifetime of the protective layer [20] .

Surface damages are generated, which decrease the lifetime of the protective layer.


The Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) will enroll a million or more participants in a cohort program with the goal of learning about disease risk, discovering new disease biomarkers, expanding our knowledge of pharmacogenomics, and finding targeted and individualized treatment of diseases [1] . An understanding of research subject selection is critical. It is important to recruit from a broad population-representative sample to maximize generalizability of findings and minimize potential bias. An understanding of factors that influence participation in an observational longitudinal research study will enhance recruitment, improve study retention, and increase external validity.

The Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) will enroll a million or more participants in a cohort program with the goal of learning about disease risk, discovering new disease biomarkers, expanding our knowledge of pharmacogenomics, and finding targeted and individualized treatment of diseases.


The present study was undertaken to determine the settlement pattern of blue crab megalopae in the Newport River estuary (North Carolina, USA) as related to environmental factors. Settlement on passive collectors was monitored from September to November during 7 yr, and time-series data were analyzed for periodicity as well as for cross-correlation with tidal amplitude and wind stress. Further analysis examined the relationship between settlement peaks and tidal times, tidal amplitude, and lunar cycle. The magnitude of nightly immigration depends upon the abundance of megalopae at the entrance of an estuary and the success of FTT. Nevertheless, since immigration does not occur without FTT, we hypothesized that settlement peaks would occur on nights when the relationship between the times of flood tide and the light:dark cycle promote maximal FTT. These conditions are predicted to occur when all of the nocturnal flood tide occurs in darkness (Tankersley et al. 2002) .

These conditions are predicted to occur when all of the nocturnal flood tide occurs in darkness.


The aim of this paper is to demonstrate, for the first time, an analytical study of the nonlinear phase shift induced by SBS in SMF using the pump power recycling technique. It is proposed that the pump recycling technique makes use of the remnant pump energy by reflecting it via a mirror [9, 10] . Our theoretical model predicts two kinds of nonlinear phase shift through SBS, additional nonlinear phase shift to (a) the pump wave and (b) the Stokes wave. An extensive behavioral study of the nonlinear phase shift includes the following parameters: length of the SMF, mirror reflectivity and frequency detuning with different values of input pump power. The paper is organized as follows. In section 2, we introduce the basic definitions of the nonlinear phase shift including equations that govern the phase shift to the pump and Stokes waves in SMF. The derivation of the additional nonlinear phase shift to the pump and Stokes waves in the pump power recycling technique is described in detail in section 3. Section 4 demonstrates the effect of the performance parameters of the nonlinear phase shift such as the length of the optical fiber, mirror of the reflectivity and the frequency detuning for the pump and Stokes waves. Finally, section 5 concludes our research work.

It is proposed that the pump recycling technique makes use of the remnant pump energy by reflecting it via a mirror.

The paper is organized as follows.


Understanding trend and opinion spreading or consensus formation processes within a population is fundamental to construct coherent views and explanations for real-world events or phenomena. Examples of such processes include: a group of experts having to make a joint assessment of a certain policy, the impact of a viral marketing campaign conducted using on-line social media or even, in the context of economics and politics, an issue that influences the development of opinion dynamics studies, the voting problem. This last problem was investigated in an early model proposed by Herbert Simon [21] .

This last problem was investigated in an early model proposed by Herbert Simon.


The palatal defect has been associated with discomfort and disability in speech, mastication and swallowing [6] . Many surgical attempts have been tried in the past for the closure of the same. In the present study an attempt has been made to close the anterior palatal fistula by dorsal tongue flap.

The palatal defect has been associated with discomfort and disability in speech, mastication and swallowing.


Two examples that have successfully implemented an inclusive curriculum are the Popular Participation in Curriculum and Instruction (PoPCI) implemented in Ethiopia and the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative project (AKRSI). The PoPCIfocuses on integrating the indigenous knowledge (IK) of a local community in Ethiopia into the formal school curriculum by teamingup classroom teachers with "local experts" to create and deliver lessons for primary school students on relevant topics such as carpentry, pottery, blacksmithing, weaving and agriculture. The project was found useful in the sense of allowing students to value their community knowledge as equivalent to what is taught in school. Students also began to value local and modern sector occupation choices after their graduation.Also, the AKRSI example follows a similar template as PoPCI by incorporating Native Alaskans' knowledge and culture into the conventional school curriculum. As an example, in science classes, students learn about physical concepts of tension, force, and weight by studying the snowshoes that Native Alaskans wear. These projects demonstrated how students unfamiliar with content taught through the conventional curriculum were made to learn to appreciate it when connections are made to the knowledge they hold from their environment and communities [5] .

These projects demonstrated how students unfamiliar with content taught through the conventional curriculum were made to learn to appreciate it when connections are made to the knowledge they hold from their environment and communities.


The findings of the study has demonstrated that teaching methods which incorporate indigenous scientific knowledge as the tool for providing experiential bases for formal science learning can be beneficial for reinforcing learning. Students showed increased understanding of the scientific concepts and demonstrated visible excitement in their interaction with the local resources.Also, the teachers who initially were found to lack deep understanding ofthe connection gained insight into the underlying processes and how their lessons could benefit from incorporating the examples. The literature also recognizes the beneficial effect of the learner's socio-cultural background in the teaching and learning of science for a strong foundation and effective learning outcomes [11] .

The literature also recognizes the beneficial effect of the learner's socio-cultural background in the teaching and learning of science for a strong foundation and effective learning outcomes.


Our aims in this study are twofold. Firstly, to quantify the effect of tree planting and fire management on AGB accumulation and plant species diversity over 18 years by remeasuring the study plots established in 2005. It is likely that the rate of AGB accumulation will change with increasing time after planting, as has been demonstrated in an Australian tropical forest restoration project (Paul et al., 2015) . Specifically, we predict that initial AGB accumulation will be slow as planted seedlings have few photosynthesizing leaves, limiting growth, which will increase as the size of trees in the stand increases. Thus, we expect more recent AGB accumulation rates to be greater, and be more representative of rates over the coming decades.

Our aims in this study are twofold.

It is likely that the rate of AGB accumulation will change with increasing time after planting, as has been demonstrated in an Australian tropical forest restoration project.


The April 2015 World Bank report on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has revealed that poverty has been decreasing in all regions of the world with the exception of most African countries. According to the narrative, about 45% of countries in the sub-Saharan African region are still substantially off-track from reaching the MDGs extreme poverty target of halving poverty by 2015 from 1990 (Asongu & Kodila-Tedika, 2015) . Political instability and corruption have been documented to represent substantial challenges to lifting the continent from its poverty tragedy (Amavilah, 2015) .

According to the narrative, about 45% of countries in the sub-Saharan African region are still substantially off-track from reaching the MDGs extreme poverty target of halving poverty by 2015 from 1990.

Political instability and corruption have been documented to represent substantial challenges to lifting the continent from its poverty tragedy.


The conditional randomization test conditioning on the observed covariate balance shares similarities with rerandomization [3] . Rerandomization is a treatment assignment mechanism that restricts s to the set of treatment assignments which satisfy a pre-determined level of covariate balance. A balance criterion, B(w, X), determines if the treatment assignment is acceptable, B(w, X) = 1, or unacceptable, B(w, X) = 0. Thus, s = {w: B(w, X) = 1}. As a result, the observed treatment assignment is guaranteed to be balanced on covariates. The experiment is then analyzed using a randomization test where the reference set is s.

The conditional randomization test conditioning on the observed covariate balance shares similarities with rerandomization.


We perform our analysis on 190 fixed JavaScript bug reports from eight web applications and four JavaScript libraries (see Table 2 ). Note that these bug reports are a subset of the bug reports we explored in a recent empirical study [13] . However, the analysis conducted here is new and is not part of our previous study.

Note that these bug reports are a subset of the bug reports we explored in a recent empirical study.


We subsequently showed that the combination of RT and paclitaxel-loaded DLN resulted in a therapeutic response that was significantly better than the results achieved with either RT or paclitaxel-loaded DLN alone. In our preclinical study, the median overall survival of subjects treated with the combination of RT + DLN was improved over RT alone by 13 days. This extended survival represents an increase over RT alone of approximately 61%. To put this into the appropriate clinical context, temozolomide, the most important new drug to enter the armamentarium against GBM in the last 10 years, when combined with radiation results in an increase in survival duration of only ~21% over RT alone in GBM patients [2] . When we optimized our radiation techniques to enhance conformality of dose delivery with the tumor target and we increased the dose of paclitaxel integrated into the www.impactjournals.com/oncotarget DLN, we observed additional improvements in survival. A majority of the animals treated with optimized radiation therapy techniques and hiDLN remained alive at the end of the experiment with no detectable signs of tumor. We further note that the animals tolerated this combination of targeted RT and hiDLN remarkably well. Despite the presence of advanced tumors, all mice tolerated repeated administrations of DLN without discernible toxicities or weight loss.

To put this into the appropriate clinical context, temozolomide, the most important new drug to enter the armamentarium against GBM in the last 10 years, when combined with radiation results in an increase in survival duration of only ~21% over RT alone in GBM patients.


The separation of ownership and management induces information asymmetry between management and market participants and creates a conflict of interest among market participants [1] . Auditors' primary role is to reduce this information asymmetry by verifying and confirming managers' assertions [2] . Indeed, high audit quality is a precondition for reducing information asymmetry and enhancing the credibility of accounting information.

The separation of ownership and management induces information asymmetry between management and market participants and creates a conflict of interest among market participants.

Auditors' primary role is to reduce this information asymmetry by verifying and confirming managers' assertions.


This study investigates the relationship between mandatory auditor rotation and the cost of equity capital in the Korean audit market. Under mandatory auditor rotation, the firms that have been using the same auditors for the last 6 years must switch to a new auditing firm. The rule aimed to avoid close relationships between the client and incumbent auditors, in order to prevent auditors from losing independence and quality [7] . There is a global discussion as to the adoption of mandatory audit firm rotation, yet only 26 counties did or do adopt this policy. Thus, the direct evidence on the consequences of mandatory audit firm rotation is currently insufficient.

The rule aimed to avoid close relationships between the client and incumbent auditors, in order to prevent auditors from losing independence and quality.


We explore whether mandatory auditor rotation affects the cost of equity capital from 2006 to 2008 using 191 firm-year observations from the Korean stock market. We use the cost of equity capital as a proxy for perceived audit quality and calculate four measures (PEG, MPEG, GM, and the arithmetic mean of these variables) [23, 24] . We find the following results. First, the cost of equity capital decreases if the client firm must change audit firms, indicating that investors reflect this rotation in their resource allocate decisions. That is, the perceived audit quality and independence increases under a mandatory audit firm rotation regime because investors expect that new auditors offer a fresh look at a client. Second, the relationship between mandatory audit firm rotation and the cost of equity capital is still negative when we consider the manufacturing industry effect. Third, the robustness tests using one-year lagged control variables are consistent with our main results.

We use the cost of equity capital as a proxy for perceived audit quality and calculate four measures (PEG, MPEG, GM, and the arithmetic mean of these variables).

We find the following results.


We argue that the mandatory audit firm rotation regime clearly provides benefits, though we cannot rule out the potential auditor switching costs. This study may provide useful insights to management because mandatory audit firm rotation acts as a bonding mechanism to mitigate agency problems [47] . For example, if management is planning for external finance, they signal the credibility of the accounting information through enhanced auditor independence. This study also has implications for policy makers. While Korea rescinded mandatory audit firm rotation in 2009, Korean policy makers pondered its implementation for three years. Since the regime may have side effects, it is necessary to improve our understanding and to provide sufficient time to prepare before implementing mandatory audit firm rotation.

This study may provide useful insights to management because mandatory audit firm rotation acts as a bonding mechanism to mitigate agency problems.


The finite element method (FEM) is a numerical method that can be used to solve different kinds of engineering problems in the stable, transient, linear, and nonlinear cases [1] . Among finite element method software programs, ABAQUS is known as one of the most precise and practicable software programs in industry and academic researches. It is used for high capability to advance nonlinear dynamic analysis such as earthquake and water wave loading on structures [2] .

The finite element method (FEM) is a numerical method that can be used to solve different kinds of engineering problems in the stable, transient, linear, and nonlinear cases.

It is used for high capability to advance nonlinear dynamic analysis such as earthquake and water wave loading on structures.


The main aspects determining land use types or vegetation cover in a certain region are the agroclimatic conditions and land resources (Fischer et al. 2005) . One of the most important and often most limiting resource for the vegetation is the water content in soil. However, plants also play a major role in forming the soil water regime. The interaction among vegetation and soil conditions highlights the importance of understanding possible changes in the atmosphereplant -soil system forced by altered atmospheric conditions.

The main aspects determining land use types or vegetation cover in a certain region are the agroclimatic conditions and land resources.


Both yield strength and ultimate tensile strength usually increase with strain rate for steel materials. The ductility of quenched and tempered steel may increase with strain rate, while the ductility of the material which high strength is achieved by precipitation hardening process may decrease with strain rate. Body-centered cubic (bcc) materials can also behave different from face-centered cubic (fcc) materials. Thermal softening decreases strength and increases ductility. Thus the ductility of materials could increase with small strain rates but could decrease with higher strain rates due to thermal softening. Decreased ductility at higher strain rates may be explained by shear localization due to adiabatic heating [12] . Unstable adiabatic shear transfers the entire burden of strain to a finite number of these shear planes (adiabatic shear bands). Due to restriction on computational time, the element sizes are traditionally too coarse to resolve the shear bands by direct simulation.

Decreased ductility at higher strain rates may be explained by shear localization due to adiabatic heating.


We also apply the IMPETUS Afea node splitting algorithm and the corpuscular model. The corpuscular method does not start from the continuum equations, but postulate a number of particles that interact by collisions [29, 30] . In the Lagrangian solver, instead of eroding cells that fails, the nodes can split, resulting in a sort of crack propagation. These cracks are constrained by the mesh, or cell size.

The corpuscular method does not start from the continuum equations, but postulate a number of particles that interact by collisions.


In this article, the fracture behavior of steel rings, taken from a 25 mm warhead, is studied. To reach the strain rates of more than 10 3 /s, an expanding ring test is performed. A streak camera was used to examine the ring velocity, and a water tank was used to collect the fragments [19] .

A streak camera was used to examine the ring velocity, and a water tank was used to collect the fragments.


The split-Hopkinson bar (SHB), which may be used in compression, tension and torsion testing, is the most widespread method for material high strain rate characterization. However the strain rate never exceeds 10 3 /s and is thus much lower than that achieved under explosive loadings. Many ductile materials display an increase in yield stress for strain rates above 10 3 /s [17, 18] . It is challenging to conduct material tests at the strain rates of larger than 10 3 /s. The flyer plate impact testing produce uniform stress and strain rates but the testing is expensive. The Taylor testing is relatively inexpensive and data could be obtained from simple post-test measurements. However, the Taylor test produces non-uniform stress and strain fields and the results are not so easily interpreted for material modeling.

Many ductile materials display an increase in yield stress for strain rates above 10 3 /s.


An n by n (partial) latin square is an n by n array in which each cell contains (at most) one symbol, chosen from an n-set, such that each symbol occurs (at most) once in each row and (at most) once in each column. A partial latin square is said to be completed to (or embedded in) a latin square if its empty cells are filled to produce a latin square. There exist many results on completions or embeddings of partial latin squares, see [2, Sections II.1.6 and IV.17]. Perhaps two of the best known relate to the Evans Conjecture and Hall's Marriage Theorem [4] . In 1960, Evans conjectured that any partial n by n latin square with at most n − 1 filled cells can be completed to a latin square. The conjecture was proved in 1981 by Smetaniuk [7] .

Perhaps two of the best known relate to the Evans Conjecture and Hall's Marriage Theorem.

The conjecture was proved in 1981 by Smetaniuk.


However, only very few developed countries have so far achieved an absolute decoupling of final energy consumption and economic growth over extended periods of time [6] . One of the few examples where this has happened is the UK. Despite a 19% growth in real GDP, final energy consumption (excluding non-energy use) declined by 11% between 2001 and 2013 ( Fig. 1) . However, to meet climate change targets energy consumption will most probably need to be reduced even further. To assess the need for further policy interventions and to see whether lessons from the UK can be applied in other countries, it is important to understand what has been driving the reduction in energy consumption in the UK and whether the trends are likely to continue into the future.

However, only very few developed countries have so far achieved an absolute decoupling of final energy consumption and economic growth over extended periods of time.


This study will contribute to this understanding by providing an analysis of the final energy consumption in the UK 'productive' sectors between 1997 and 2013, meaning the industrial and non-industrial sectors producing economic output. While final energy consumption in the productive sectors only accounted for 31% of all final energy consumption in the UK in 2013 (Fig. 2) , the reductions in final energy consumption in these sectors accounts for about two thirds of the overall reductions in UK final energy consumption since 2001. To investigate the drivers of energy consumption in the productive sectors this study employs an index decomposition analysis with two novel features. Firstly, it draws on energy conversion chain (ECC) analysis that allows the estimation of the conversion efficiencies from final energy to useful exergy [9] . In this way energy intensity reductions can be broken down into a component representing thermodynamic conversion efficiency and a component representing the changing monetary output per unit of useful exergy. Secondly, it employs data from a multiregional input-output (MRIO) model to investigate how much of the energy savings resulting from structural change can be attributed to offshoring. The results of this decomposition analysis are also compared to the results of a conventional approach featuring only energy intensity and structural change factors.

Firstly, it draws on energy conversion chain (ECC) analysis that allows the estimation of the conversion efficiencies from final energy to useful exergy.


Mixing ratios of alkaline-reactive Br varied from <1.5 to 9 pmol mol −1 with values tending to be higher during daytime. Particulate Br deficits varied from 1 to 6 pmol mol −1 with the greatest deficits also tending to occur during daytime. Simulated Br t and Br − mixing ratios and EFBr values were similar to those observed with early morning maxima and dusk minima. However, the diel cycles differed in detail among the various simulations. In low-salt simulations halogen cycling was less intense, Br − accumulated and Br t and EFBr increased slowly overnight. In highersalt simulations with more intense halogen cycling Br − and EFBr decreased and Br t increased rapidly after dusk. Cloud processing, which is not considered in this version of MOCCA, may also affect these diel cycles (von Glasow and Crutzen, 2003) . Measured BrO was never above detection limit (≈2 pmol mol −1 ) during the experiment, however relative changes in the BrO signal during the 3-hour period ending at 11:00 local time were mostly negative, averaging −0.3 pmol mol −1 . Both of these results are consistent with MOCCA simulations of BrO mixing ratios.

Cloud processing, which is not considered in this version of MOCCA, may also affect these diel cycles.