This paper has examined how niche innovations influence transitions of the kind sought by proponents of a more sustainable agri-food system, improving understanding of processes involved. The case of Food for Life suggests how scaling up and out an innovative programme can achieve change which might represent a transition pathway. We have characterised this as a specific mode of policy transfer, and demonstrated that its defining features increase the likelihood of successful outcomes, namely the continued involvement of a delivery agent across contexts transferred into. This suggestion deserves further investigation through comparative research into the relative success of different modes of policy transfer and their role in accelerating sustainability transitions [66] . The analytic questions proposed here can help evaluate the relative merits of different modes of transfer, and the likelihood of successful outcomes. In addition to Food for Life, they might also be applied to other types of food sustainability initiatives such as those led by government, private sector and civil society actors.

This suggestion deserves further investigation through comparative research into the relative success of different modes of policy transfer and their role in accelerating sustainability transitions.


The need to change an unsustainable food system seems in little doubt; how this might be effected is a fundamental question for agri-food and sustainability scholars [1] . Desire for change has stimulated a proliferation of alternative food initiatives, but innovations remain piecemeal, making limited impact on the dominant system [2] [3] [4] . This resultant gap between ambition and achievement presents a challenge for those facilitating or researching sustainability transitions. Bringing transitions under the spotlight, Hinrichs suggests that there are many potential pathways to food system sustainability the "processes, promises and pitfalls" of which need interrogation [1] (p. 144). We interrogate one such pathway.

The need to change an unsustainable food system seems in little doubt; how this might be effected is a fundamental question for agri-food and sustainability scholars.

Desire for change has stimulated a proliferation of alternative food initiatives, but innovations remain piecemeal, making limited impact on the dominant system.

Bringing transitions under the spotlight, Hinrichs suggests that there are many potential pathways to food system sustainability the "processes, promises and pitfalls" of which need interrogation(p. 144).

We interrogate one such pathway.


A prolonged QT interval and increased QT dispersion are markers of an increased risk for malignant cardiac arrhythmia and SCD [9, 26] . The QT interval represents the electrocardiographic correlate of ventricular de-and repolarization including the vulnerable period for reentry tachycardia. As such, QTc prolongation to >450 ms has been identified as a risk factor for malignant ventricular Figure 1 The length of the QT interval was obtained by identifying the QRS onset and the point at which the downward slope of the T wave returns to baseline.

A prolonged QT interval and increased QT dispersion are markers of an increased risk for malignant cardiac arrhythmia and SCD.


Regarding the detection performance, for Methods A and B, the detection probability can be basically improved by increasing the overhead. In fact, the minimum number of samples required for the cyclostationarity detection so that the signals become detectable is O((SNR) −2 ) samples [9] . In addition, when the same amount of overhead is incurred, the detection performance for Methods A and B is expected to become nearly equal. For example, let us see the case when an equal overhead is paid for Methods A and B. For this case, the detection performance is evaluated based on computer simulation in Figure 13 for Methods A and B when using the optimum detector. In the simulations, it is assumed that the number of subcarriers used for the preamble and that of the dedicated subcarriers are the same, and no data symbols are transmitted for Method B, that is, |G| = |D| = K. In addition, we assume that Method A has no GI while Method B includes GI, N = 64 and N dg = 80; and therefore, in order to satisfy the equal overhead condition, that is, V 1 KN = |D|N dg V 1 , the numbers of the OFDM symbols for Methods A and B are set to V 0 = 80 and V 1 = 64, respectively.

In fact, the minimum number of samples required for the cyclostationarity detection so that the signals become detectable is O((SNR) −2 ) samples.


In general, the accuracy of the PulmoTrack-CC method for voluntary coughs matches or exceeds that of all other published cough detection methods applied to spontane- ous coughs [12, 14, 15] . This is despite the fact that the validation database described herewith imposes deliberate challenging conditions on the detection algorithm. However, since the detected coughs were voluntary, further validation is needed in 24 hours ambulatory recordings of patients with respiratory diseases. Clearly, a study with spontaneous cough under natural ambulatory conditions is called for. The PulmoTrack-CC™ uses data from the PPG Sensors with supporting information from the pneumograph belt and the ambient microphone. It should be noted that the algorithm is fully automatic with no need for pre-training of the algorithm with the individual patient. Additionally, there is no need for manual or operator intervention in the detection process. The processing of each 60 seconds of record requires less than 10 seconds, depending on the type of CPU processor.

In general, the accuracy of the PulmoTrack-CC method for voluntary coughs matches or exceeds that of all other published cough detection methods applied to spontane- ous coughs.


The existing (but limited) empirical work in this field suggests that differences in factor prices, and labor cost differentials especially, are one of the main driving forces of international fragmentation. In Europe, the persistent wage gap between older EU members and countries in Eastern Europe and in the Mediterranean Basin explains to a large extent the decision by EU firms to transfer abroad more or less extensive segments of previously integrated production processes. But geographic and cultural proximity also plays a key role in the choice of localization. In many industries, delocalization of production appears to be a response to the increasing competitive pressure exerted by low-cost producers on European firms (Baldone, Sdogati, & Tajoli, 2002) .

In many industries, delocalization of production appears to be a response to the increasing competitive pressure exerted by low-cost producers on European firms.


Cadmium telluride (CdTe) quantum dots capped with thioglycolic acid (TGA) on positively charged zinc phthalocyanines cause quenching of luminescence intensity of the compound in a solvent mixture of water and pyridine. This phenomenon may be interpreted as fluorescence resonance energy transfer between the electropositive zinc phthalocyanine and CdTe [9] . The electrocataytic properties of the conjugations of azidefunctiolised CdSe/ZnS QDs with tetrakis (5-hexyn-oxy) iron (II) phthalocynine can be employed for sensing toxic pesticide paraquat with the detection limits of 5.9×10 -9 µM, satisfying the international standard [10] .

This phenomenon may be interpreted as fluorescence resonance energy transfer between the electropositive zinc phthalocyanine and CdTe.

The electrocataytic properties of the conjugations of azidefunctiolised CdSe/ZnS QDs with tetrakis (5-hexyn-oxy) iron (II) phthalocynine can be employed for sensing toxic pesticide paraquat with the detection limits of 5.9×10 -9 µM, satisfying the international standard.


Different processes can be used to produce nanostructure coatings, including atmospheric plasma spraying (APS), high-velocity oxygen fuel spraying and flame or cold-gas spraying [13] . However, suspension plasma spraying (SPS) is one of the more widely used processes to produce finely structured coatings while still maintaining the versatility and flexibility of the thermal spray routes [14] . SPS allows the direct injection of sub-micrometer to nanometer-sized particles into the coating through the use of a liquid as a carrier medium for the suspension particles.

Different processes can be used to produce nanostructure coatings, including atmospheric plasma spraying (APS), high-velocity oxygen fuel spraying and flame or cold-gas spraying.

However, suspension plasma spraying (SPS) is one of the more widely used processes to produce finely structured coatings while still maintaining the versatility and flexibility of the thermal spray routes.


Microalgae technology continues to show promise for becoming a major source of renewable liquid transportation fuel in the coming decades [1] [2] [3] [4] . Since biodiesel can be produced from biological lipids, the ability to grow algae reliably with high lipid content can possibly reduce the ultimate cost of the biodiesel produced [5, 6] . There is a demand for a high throughput, label-free method for sorting cells based on lipid content [7] . The cytoplasmic conductivity of microalgae can be varied in a repeatable fashion by inducing lipid accumulation [8, 9, 10] . Consequently, microalgae are an ideal target for a continuous-flow screening device that utilizes dielectrophoresis for separation.

Microalgae technology continues to show promise for becoming a major source of renewable liquid transportation fuel in the coming decades.

Since biodiesel can be produced from biological lipids, the ability to grow algae reliably with high lipid content can possibly reduce the ultimate cost of the biodiesel produced.

There is a demand for a high throughput, label-free method for sorting cells based on lipid content.

The cytoplasmic conductivity of microalgae can be varied in a repeatable fashion by inducing lipid accumulation.


Dielectrophoresis refers to the motion of polarizable particles in a non-uniform electric field [11] . Conceptually, one can imagine the formation of a dipole within a neutral particle placed in an electric field. If the strength of the field is not spatially uniform, the dipole can be unbalanced leading to a net force developing on the particle [12] . If the particle is more polarizable than the medium, it will undergo positive DEP (pDEP) and tend toward regions with higher electric fields. Conversely, if the particle is less polarizable than the medium, it will undergo negative DEP (nDEP) and tend away from regions with higher electric fields [13, 14] .

Dielectrophoresis refers to the motion of polarizable particles in a non-uniform electric field.

If the strength of the field is not spatially uniform, the dipole can be unbalanced leading to a net force developing on the particle.

Conversely, if the particle is less polarizable than the medium, it will undergo negative DEP (nDEP) and tend away from regions with higher electric fields.


To overcome these problems, since the 2000s, the introduction of DNA-based methodologies, such as Real-Time PCR and genotyping identification (NGS, WGS), has been introduced in the study of microbial contaminating populations allowing the identification of most of the present microorganisms. Such molecular analyses are in fact culture-independent methods, require smaller samples, collected directly on artifacts surfaces, and are faster than traditional identification methods [25] [26] [27] . Analysis by Real-Time PCR may also enable the discrimination of viable from dead cells, as reported in several studies [28] [29] [30] .

Such molecular analyses are in fact culture-independent methods, require smaller samples, collected directly on artifacts surfaces, and are faster than traditional identification methods.

Analysis by Real-Time PCR may also enable the discrimination of viable from dead cells, as reported in several studies.


Cellular manufacturing, an application of group technology, focuses on the creation of manufacturing cells in which a number of part families are manufactured. A cell consists of a set of functionally dissimilar machines which are placed in close proximity to one another and dedicated to the manufacture of a set of parts [1] . This grouping of functionally dissimilar machines is what differentiates cellular manufacturing from the traditional job-shop layout "called a functional layout" in which machines with similar processing functions are grouped together. A part family, in this context, is a set of parts which are similar in terms of processing requirements.

A cell consists of a set of functionally dissimilar machines which are placed in close proximity to one another and dedicated to the manufacture of a set of parts.


A number of factors, including vulnerability to machine breakdown, under utilisation of resources and eventual unbalanced workload distribution in a multi-cell plan, pose some problem when using the group technology concept [2] . Taking into account the machine breakdown, the random failing consequence on the cellular shop performance is more serious than on the functional shop performance. Indeed, production cells formed of dissimilar machines do not insert any redundant machines. Therefore, equipment that breakdown, generates the interruption of the whole cell. This leads to the partial deterioration of the performance of the total system [3] . Generally, a sudden breakdown has a meaningful effect on the cost of operation and maintenance, on the dissatisfaction of customers and on the total production [4, 5, 6] . Therefore, the application of an efficient strategy against these perturbations permits to improve the performance of these production systems.

A number of factors, including vulnerability to machine breakdown, under utilisation of resources and eventual unbalanced workload distribution in a multi-cell plan, pose some problem when using the group technology concept.

This leads to the partial deterioration of the performance of the total system.

Generally, a sudden breakdown has a meaningful effect on the cost of operation and maintenance, on the dissatisfaction of customers and on the total production.


During a major SSW event, the polar stratosphere switches from typical winter conditions to summer conditions, e.g. Figure 1 , for the order of a week. At approximately the same time, we see that the midlatitude mesosphere, shown here, undergoes a similar abrupt, season-like switch in its temperatures. For example, the range of temperatures, between 45 and 90 km, is ~265-180 K in the undisturbed winter and ~280-160 K in the summer and during major SSWs [not shown]. The transition from winter to summer temperatures in the mesosphere results in a cooling of the upper mesosphere and a warming of the lower mesosphere [4] . These temperature deviations can be seen in all six event periods given in Figure 2 . This suggests that the coupling of the stratosphere and mesosphere during SSWs extends to midlatitudes for most major SSW events and that this coupling at lower latitudes is not a rare occurrence.

The transition from winter to summer temperatures in the mesosphere results in a cooling of the upper mesosphere and a warming of the lower mesosphere.


The mothers of the cryptorchid children were significantly older than those of the control group, despite the fact that they were both recruited randomly. This is in agreement with previous studies that have identified maternal age as a risk factor of congenital cryptorchidism [42, 43] . Interestingly, maternal age also correlated with increased levels of PCBs and PCDD/Fs in their offspring, which may contribute to the risk of cryptorchidism. We argue that when studying the association between congenital cryptorchidism and exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals, this kind of predictors of prenatal exposure should not be adjusted for. Theoretically, if all the predictors of prenatal exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals between the mothers were known and adjusted for, we would not find an association between cryptorchidism and exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals even if there was a true relationship between the two. However, if maternal age has an independent effect on the pathogenesis of congenital cryptorchidism, which is not a consequence of the age-related increase in the body burden of the chemicals, it might explain some of the observed association between cryptorchidism and exposure to PCDD/Fs and PCDD/F-like PCBs.

This is in agreement with previous studies that have identified maternal age as a risk factor of congenital cryptorchidism.


There have been a number of attempts to apply model-driven architecture (MDA) techniques for the modeling and translation of SOA qualities into system-level realization mechanisms [25, 26] . In these approaches, quality properties of services and applications are modeled in platform-independent ways and then transformed into platform-dependent code and configurations for middle-ware to realize these qualities. However, the entities being modeled, even though being platform-independent, are still technical entities (i.e. they represent technical concepts such as filter, connector, service, or proxy), not business-oriented entities. This not only limits the participation of business analysts and IT compliance officers in the modeling process, but also makes it difficult to align the models with the original business requirements.

There have been a number of attempts to apply model-driven architecture (MDA) techniques for the modeling and translation of SOA qualities into system-level realization mechanisms.


In future, the successful procedure of SET should keep in practice, but more efforts are obviously needed to neutralize the situation effects when respondents have to answer to compromising, uncomfortable or threatening questions (e.g. self-report about their delinquent behavior). In particular, in interview situations characterized by individuals' inconsistent response patterns, both the interview and interviewer effects have to be avoided. Therefore, the mail survey might be more appropriate than the en face interview (Sudman and Bradburn, 1982) . In the mail survey, the guarantee of anonymity is definitive, and the interviewer effect excluded. The negative consequences of the response behavior, correlated with the presence of third persons not from the respondents' household, could be minimized.

Therefore, the mail survey might be more appropriate than the en face interview.


Clinical and preclinical studies have reported that withdrawal from repeated exposure to Nic generates substantial levels of anxiety [11, 27] . This behavioral phenotype was evident in the EPM tests conducted in the present study, as the [28] . Sanjoinine A, which is an alkaloid compound of SZS, exerted anxiolytic effects in mice in the EPM and open-field tests [29] . Furthermore, the oral administration of spinosin, which is a major flavonoid in SZS, produced anxiolytic effects in mice in EPM and light/dark box tests via the modulation of GABAa and 5-HT1a transmissions [23] . It is noteworthy that these studies investigated the innate fear and anxiety that animals have for open fields and elevated spaces, rather than anxious states precipitated by stress-induced pathophysiological changes in neuroendocrine systems. A preliminary experiment in the present study found that 180 mg/kg/d AESZS increased the number of entries into open arms and time spent in the open arms of the EPM in naive rats, indicating that this treatment had an inhibitory effect on innate anxiety. NicW is a stressor that induces dysregulation of the central nervous system in rats and leads to a pathophysiological state of anxiety [30] . Therefore, the present results that AESZS alleviated NicW-induced anxiety suggest that SZS was effective for both innate anxiety and noxious stimulus-induced anxiety behaviors as well.

Clinical and preclinical studies have reported that withdrawal from repeated exposure to Nic generates substantial levels of anxiety.

This behavioral phenotype was evident in the EPM tests conducted in the present study, as the.

Sanjoinine A, which is an alkaloid compound of SZS, exerted anxiolytic effects in mice in the EPM and open-field tests.

Furthermore, the oral administration of spinosin, which is a major flavonoid in SZS, produced anxiolytic effects in mice in EPM and light/dark box tests via the modulation of GABAa and 5-HT1a transmissions.

NicW is a stressor that induces dysregulation of the central nervous system in rats and leads to a pathophysiological state of anxiety.


Case study is a well-established research method in management and business studies. Case study consists of detailed investigations (from one or more organizations, or groups within organizations), and data collection. The aim is to provide an analysis to reveal insights on the context and processes involved in the phenomenon under study [36] . A case study in supply chain contracting offers the opportunity to study a phenomenon in its own natural setting where complex links and underlying meanings can be explored [37] .

The aim is to provide an analysis to reveal insights on the context and processes involved in the phenomenon under study.

A case study in supply chain contracting offers the opportunity to study a phenomenon in its own natural setting where complex links and underlying meanings can be explored.


As a remark, it is known that company decisions and the overall management strategy related to supply chain contracting are affected by the national culture [32] . Hofstede's national cultural dimensions theory is well-established to explain the cultural problem, and its four cultural dimensions (i.e., power distance, individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity, and uncertainty avoidance) describe the effects of a national culture on the values of its members' behavior [33] . Taking U.S.A. and China as examples, U.S.A. culture has a lower score than China in power distance dimension (40 in U.S.A. vs. 80 in China), but much higher than China in individualism (91 in U.S.A. vs. 20 in China) ( Figure 1 ) (In this paper, we focus on discussing power distance and individualism/collectivism as these two dimensions are more relevant to our case study results). Owing to the presence of "national culture", Eastern and Western companies should exhibit differences in terms of decision making. Thus, in supply chain contracting, national culture should yield supply chain contracts which are structured differently between the East and the West [34] . To be specific, for Chinese suppliers, the normal mode of operations is usually trust based (i.e., "guanxi", which means relationship), while, in contrast, the Western firms would prefer to operate more on formal "black and white" contracts [35] . In the existing literature, however, the effect of national culture on supply chain contract adoption is under-studied. To fill the research gap, in this research, we conduct case studies to investigate how the channel parties (that have distinctive national cultures) employ supply chain contracts in the form of MMP, in supply chains from the fashion companies in U.S.A. and China, respectively.

As a remark, it is known that company decisions and the overall management strategy related to supply chain contracting are affected by the national culture.

Hofstede's national cultural dimensions theory is well-established to explain the cultural problem, and its four cultural dimensions (i.e., power distance, individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity, and uncertainty avoidance) describe the effects of a national culture on the values of its members' behavior.

Thus, in supply chain contracting, national culture should yield supply chain contracts which are structured differently between the East and the West.

To be specific, for Chinese suppliers, the normal mode of operations is usually trust based (i.e., "guanxi", which means relationship), while, in contrast, the Western firms would prefer to operate more on formal "black and white" contracts.


The case studies reported in this paper were developed primarily based on in-depth individual interviews. The two companies, one from China and one from USA, were in a similar position of their corresponding market in terms of their market size and role (i.e., supplier) in the fashion supply chain. To be specific, the interviews were conducted with the former executive manager of LC (for confidentiality issue, LC and LX are fictitious names for real fashion companies (please see Sections 3.2 and 3.3 for more details)) in U.S.A. and the general manager of LX in China. As a cross-cultural study between U.S.A. and China, the interview protocol of MMP implementation was first designed in English and then translated into Chinese. The interview protocol is shown in the Appendix. To ensure the accuracy of translation, an independent researcher was invited to help with translation. The interview protocol was structured by asking open-ended questions. The interviewees were able to fully express their views. In order to allow proper analysis and discussion, the interviews were all recorded and transcribed, interpreted, coded and displayed [36] .

In order to allow proper analysis and discussion, the interviews were all recorded and transcribed, interpreted, coded and displayed.


There are many types of supply chain contracts, such as the money markdown policy (MMP), the channel rebates contract, the quantity discount contract, the consumer rebates contract, the quantity flexibility contract, and the backup agreement, being adopted in the fashion industry [3] . Based on our industrial observations and survey in the fashion industry, MMP is particularly popular and commonly implemented [4] . More importantly, different from the return policy, MMP has no physical return [5] . The physical return in supply chains is obviously a less environmentally friendly practice.

There are many types of supply chain contracts, such as the money markdown policy (MMP), the channel rebates contract, the quantity discount contract, the consumer rebates contract, the quantity flexibility contract, and the backup agreement, being adopted in the fashion industry.

Based on our industrial observations and survey in the fashion industry, MMP is particularly popular and commonly implemented.

More importantly, different from the return policy, MMP has no physical return.


On the other hand, grid current often contains low order harmonics ranged under kHz, which mainly caused by a dead time effect or grid voltage distortion [6] . The dead-time effect results in non-linearity of an inverter system and thus many compensation methods have been introduced. The grid voltage distortion is usually involved from a non-ideal grid condition.

On the other hand, grid current often contains low order harmonics ranged under kHz, which mainly caused by a dead time effect or grid voltage distortion.


Graph PL (GPL), Prevayler, and BerkelyDB [3] . Figs. 19 and 20 show a performance comparison between the brute force approach (which analyzes all configurations, one at a time), lifted analysis with sharing, lifted analysis with maximum variability abstraction α ∅ , and the average time of single program analysis. The experiments are executed on a 64-bit Intel ® Core TM i5 CPU running at 1.8 GHz frequency with 8 GB memory. Fig. 19 shows the analysis times to run four methods from our benchmarks with the highest number of configurations |K|. Fig. 20 plots the average "speed up factor" with sharing and maximum abstraction as a function of the number of valid configurations in all methods of our benchmarks. We see that the brute force is fastest when we only have 1 configuration and thus nothing to share or abstract. We see that the effectiveness of sharing and maximum abstraction goes up as we get more configurations. For the method with the highest number of configurations GPL::Vertex.display() with |K| = 106 configurations, we obtain that sharing is 8 times and maximum abstraction is 160 times faster than the brute force approach.

Graph PL (GPL), Prevayler, and BerkelyDB.


The authors have reviewed classic JHMs used to treat constipation and compared the pharmacological actions of KM with those of Western drugs. In a single-center, randomized, and doubleblind study, Daikenchuto was found to have no significant effect on gastrointestinal and colonic transit, rectal compliance, anal sphincter pressure or bowel function in female patients with functional constipation (Iturrino et al., 2013) . The effectiveness of KM allows physicians to provide individualized treatment to constipated patients and offer holistic JHMs capable of targeting multiple organ and cellular sites. However, there are limitations in the evaluation of the clinical efficacy of JHMs in a randomized clinical study setting because a placebo formulation that matches the texture, flavor, and other characteristics of the active drug is not always available. In addition, it is difficult to accurately evaluate herbal efficacy on individual patients with the current study model. A new strategy for evaluating various herbal combinations, including JHMs, and exploring pharmacological data may be needed in order to gain deeper insight into current herb-based therapies.

In a single-center, randomized, and doubleblind study, Daikenchuto was found to have no significant effect on gastrointestinal and colonic transit, rectal compliance, anal sphincter pressure or bowel function in female patients with functional constipation.


One of the long-term goals of any university in the U.S. and around the world is to reduce the student attrition rate [37] . It is reported that about one-fourth of the students dropped out of college after their first year and it increases to 50% by the end of the fourth semester [39] . The benefits of improving student retention is self-evident including higher chance of having a better career and higher standard of life [36] . On the other hand, the higher student retention rate, the more likely that the university is positioned higher in rankings, secure more government funds, and has easier path to program accreditations. In view of these reasons, directors and administrators in universities are increasingly feeling the pressure to outline and implement strategies to decrease student attrition. This requires a better planning for interventions and a more thorough understanding of the fundamental issues that cause the student attrition problem. In higher education, student retention rate is defined as the percentage of students who after completing a semester return to the same university for the following semester. Universities are eager to find out who are at a higher risk of dropping out from their study and how they can address this issue and improve the retention rate. Thus, this clearly motivates the need for developing predictive models that can effectively identify the students who are potentially going to dropout and the semester that the dropout is going to occur at during their college program.

One of the long-term goals of any university in the U.S. and around the world is to reduce the student attrition rate.

It is reported that about one-fourth of the students dropped out of college after their first year and it increases to 50% by the end of the fourth semester.

The benefits of improving student retention is self-evident including higher chance of having a better career and higher standard of life.


In the recent years, interaction and adsorption of H 2 , CO 2 , H 2 S, and N 2 O gas with pristine BeONTs were investigated, and these results indicated BeONTs as a good candidate for adsorbing gas and making a gas sensor [40] [41] [42] [43] . For this aim, in the current research, the effects of 1Ca-and 2Ca-doped BeONTs on the adsorption of N 2 O on both exterior and interior surfaces of nanotube are studied using density functional theory and the B3LYP/(d, p) level of theory, in order to reveal some clues for chemical sensor design. These results can provide valuable information about its interaction and reactivity of N 2 O gas with pristine and Cadoped BeO nanotube.

In the recent years, interaction and adsorption of H 2 , CO 2 , H 2 S, and N 2 O gas with pristine BeONTs were investigated, and these results indicated BeONTs as a good candidate for adsorbing gas and making a gas sensor.


The rapid developments in information and communication technologies (ICT) over the last decade created the technical basis for the current implementation of an industry 4.0. This refers to the transformation from automated to intelligent manufacturing. After the mechanization, the use of electricity and the application of information technologies, the implementation of cyber-physical systems (CPS) represents the fourth major development step in industrial production (Kagermann, Wahlster, and Helbig 2013) . The German government established the term industry 4.0 by using it in the high-tech strategy 2020 in accordance with the so-called fourth industrial revolution (Oesterreich and Teuteberg 2016) . In addition to the development of smart products and augmented operators, it involves the realization and networking of smart machines (Weyer et al. 2015) . These intelligent technical systems are intended to make industrial production faster, more efficient and more flexible, thus ensuring the competitiveness of companies. The building envelope can be understood as a system of its components. The components must co-operate for multi-functional operability of the façade according to the assets in the industrial production chain. It is assumed that strategies and concepts for the control and organization of adaptive façade systems can be derived from industrial intelligent technical systems to the benefit of the building performance.

After the mechanization, the use of electricity and the application of information technologies, the implementation of cyber-physical systems (CPS) represents the fourth major development step in industrial production.

The German government established the term industry 4.0 by using it in the high-tech strategy 2020 in accordance with the so-called fourth industrial revolution.

In addition to the development of smart products and augmented operators, it involves the realization and networking of smart machines.


Safe work environment is one of the basic rights of employees, guaranteed by the current European and national and legislation. In advanced countries, lack of appropriate management is considered to be the cause of injuries and damage to health, work environment or the equipment. This is confirmed by a large number of fatal and serious work injuries. Official statistics talk about 2.2 million deaths per year worldwide [1] . However, real numbers are even worse. This is mainly caused by the absence of real work accident register in the less developed countries. Several myths are connected with this, for example that a workplace without any reported accidents is never a safe one. Injuries always result from a potential danger. It is therefore necessary that employers, in cooperation with their employees, take all the measures that form a part of the real risk management assessment in individual workplaces. It is important to realize that there is no absolute safety and, as relevant statistics show, accidents are mainly caused by irresponsible conduct, violation of work safety procedures and a breach of safety regulations.

Official statistics talk about 2.2 million deaths per year worldwide.

However, real numbers are even worse.


When it comes to symmetries, it seems that only the automorphism groups of Fibonacci and Lucas cubes have been determined so far [1] . Hence, in this paper we take a closer look at their symmetries, more precisely at the orbits under the action of the automorphism group. We proceed as follows. The next two sections are of preliminary nature. In the first of them we introduce concepts and notations needed, and recall or prove some related results. In the subsequent section we investigate some properties of dihedral transformations of nonempty strings defined over a finite alphabet. In Section 4, we determine the number of vertex and edge orbits, the sets of the sizes of the orbits, and the number of orbits of each size of Fibonacci cubes, as well as give a combinatorial interpretation for the number of vertex orbits. In the last section we prove parallel results for Lucas cubes. Contrary to Fibonacci cubes, where there are only orbits of size 1 and 2, the situation with Lucas cubes is more intriguing and complex.

When it comes to symmetries, it seems that only the automorphism groups of Fibonacci and Lucas cubes have been determined so far.

We proceed as follows.


Less characterized DDIs with boceprevir and telaprevir are those involving hepatic transport proteins [36] . Boceprevir appears to be an inhibitor of organic anion transporting polypeptide 1B (OATP1B), whereas telaprevir is an inhibitor of OATP1B1 and OATP1B3, organic cation transporter 1, and multidrug and toxin extrusion 1; these transporters are involved in the active uptake of drugs in the liver [36, 37] . Inhibition of these transporters may result in higher systemic exposure but reduced hepatic exposure and efficacy of drugs targeting the liver (e.g. statins, metformin, valsartan) [38] [39] [40] . Boceprevir also appears to be a substrate of breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP), a hepatic transporter involved in the active biliary elimination of drugs from the liver [37] . Drugs that are substrates/inhibitors of BCRP (e.g. eltrombopag and cyclosporine) may potentially inhibit the biliary elimination of boceprevir, resulting in higher hepatic exposure [41, 42] . Alternatively, boceprevir could increase the hepatotoxic potential of other coadministered BCRP substrates (e.g. methotrexate, rosuvastatin, lapatinib) [43] [44] [45] . Additional examination of the potential interactions involving elimination pathways mediated by hepatic transport proteins is needed.

Less characterized DDIs with boceprevir and telaprevir are those involving hepatic transport proteins.

Boceprevir appears to be an inhibitor of organic anion transporting polypeptide 1B (OATP1B), whereas telaprevir is an inhibitor of OATP1B1 and OATP1B3, organic cation transporter 1, and multidrug and toxin extrusion 1; these transporters are involved in the active uptake of drugs in the liver.

Inhibition of these transporters may result in higher systemic exposure but reduced hepatic exposure and efficacy of drugs targeting the liver (e.g. statins, metformin, valsartan).

Boceprevir also appears to be a substrate of breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP), a hepatic transporter involved in the active biliary elimination of drugs from the liver.

Drugs that are substrates/inhibitors of BCRP (e.g. eltrombopag and cyclosporine) may potentially inhibit the biliary elimination of boceprevir, resulting in higher hepatic exposure.

Alternatively, boceprevir could increase the hepatotoxic potential of other coadministered BCRP substrates (e.g. methotrexate, rosuvastatin, lapatinib).


In order to minimize the weight and size of an aircraft engine, one strives to increase both the efficiency and total pressure ratio of the compressor. To maximize the total pressure ratio, the flow near the outer blade span is transonic, whereas the flow near the hub is usually subsonic. One of the drawbacks of such a transonic compressor rotor is that strong shock waves usually appear near the blade tip and extend over part of the blade surface, which inevitably cause entropy production and thus efficiency deficit. For low-aspect-ratio rotor blades, tip-leakage flow loss and secondary flow loss account for a considerable part of the total flow loss [1] [2] [3] . Hereby, although the adiabatic efficiency of most compressor rotors is already over 90% nowadays, it is still quite possible to obtain much gain on performance improvement by using an advanced optimization method.

For low-aspect-ratio rotor blades, tip-leakage flow loss and secondary flow loss account for a considerable part of the total flow loss.


Hydroxyethyl starch (HES) is infused to sustain circulation in patients undergoing surgery and suffering from trauma and critical disease [1] [2] [3] . However, these patients may be subsequently complicated by acute kidney injury (AKI), and HES might effectuate adverse events in renal function. The principal detection of AKI is a rapid increase in plasma creatinine (p-crea) or a sudden drop in urine output [4] . Sex, age, medication, nutrition, and muscle mass exerts a crucial effect on p-crea [5] . Simultaneously, the level of p-crea is upregulated at 24-48 h after renal damage, and hence, the diagnosis of AKI is delayed when p-crea is the sole biomarker for renal injury. Remarkable progress has been made in recent years with respect to achieving an earlier diagnosis of AKI via the evaluation of biomarkers in urine [6] . Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) is a small protein, filtered via the glomeruli and reabsorbed in the proximal tubules, and thus, the low concentrations can be assessed in the blood and urine [7] . Approximately 6 h after a renal injury, NGAL experiences an abrupt upsurge attributable to an increasing expression and secretion in the epithelial cells of the thick ascending limb of Henle's loop, the distal tubules, and the collecting ducts [7] . On the other hand, NGAL has been demonstrated and substantiated to predict AKI; malignancies and infections can engender a false increase [8] .

Hydroxyethyl starch (HES) is infused to sustain circulation in patients undergoing surgery and suffering from trauma and critical disease.

The principal detection of AKI is a rapid increase in plasma creatinine (p-crea) or a sudden drop in urine output.

Sex, age, medication, nutrition, and muscle mass exerts a crucial effect on p-crea.

Remarkable progress has been made in recent years with respect to achieving an earlier diagnosis of AKI via the evaluation of biomarkers in urine.

Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) is a small protein, filtered via the glomeruli and reabsorbed in the proximal tubules, and thus, the low concentrations can be assessed in the blood and urine.

Approximately 6 h after a renal injury, NGAL experiences an abrupt upsurge attributable to an increasing expression and secretion in the epithelial cells of the thick ascending limb of Henle's loop, the distal tubules, and the collecting ducts.

On the other hand, NGAL has been demonstrated and substantiated to predict AKI; malignancies and infections can engender a false increase.


The information available about the morphology of actinomycetes grown in submerged culture is restricted, even though this group of microorganisms is used to produce many of the antibiotics in current use (Whitaker, 1992) . The morphology of these filamentous microorganisms is an important factor when they are employed in the industrial production of secondary metabolites, such as antibiotics. Control of mycelial morphology is often regarded as a prerequisite to ensure increased productivities in industrial applications (Papagianni and Mattey, 2006) . For example, a mycelial form of Streptomyces griseus is required for streptomycin production, but pelleted and fragmented forms are undesirable (Schatz and Waksman, 1945) . On the other hand, pellets of S. nigrificans have been shown to produce more glucose isomerase than the mycelial form (Whitaker, 1992) .

The information available about the morphology of actinomycetes grown in submerged culture is restricted, even though this group of microorganisms is used to produce many of the antibiotics in current use.

Control of mycelial morphology is often regarded as a prerequisite to ensure increased productivities in industrial applications.

For example, a mycelial form of Streptomyces griseus is required for streptomycin production, but pelleted and fragmented forms are undesirable.

On the other hand, pellets of S. nigrificans have been shown to produce more glucose isomerase than the mycelial form.


To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study reporting secretion of exosome-like extracellular vesicles by canine mammary epithelial cells in vitro. Similar to previous reports of canine exosomes found in urine and serum/plasma, the vesicles were irregularly rounded, occasionally "cup-shaped," and immunopositive for the transmembrane tetraspanin protein CD9, known to regulate the progression of cancer [37] [38] [39] . These findings strongly support these vesicles being exosomes, the small subcellular particles 50-200 nm in diameter that are actively shed from multivesicular bodies of parent cells. Exosomes contain proteins, peptides, mRNA, and microRNA, have been shown to be taken up by distinct cells through endocytosis, and they may play a role in distant cell-to-cell communication, especially in the context of neoplasia [37, 38] . As expected, the cell-free conditioned media that contained these exosomes was highly enriched in hundreds of distinct microRNAs. The microRNA profile of normal and malignant canine mammary exosomes was distinct, and yielded a number of significantly up-regulated and down-regulated miRs that may represent putative biomarkers of mammary neoplasia. These findings largely corroborate previous studies on miRNA in canine mammary neoplasia. Several studies of miRNA expression in canine mammary tumor tissue and CMT cells versus normal mammary tissue found significantly increased miR-29b, which was also significantly upregulated in the CMT exosomal RNA in the present study (along with the closely related miR-29c) [24, 25] . One of those studies also found miR-181b was significantly upregulated in the tubulopapillary carcinoma subtype [24] .

Similar to previous reports of canine exosomes found in urine and serum/plasma, the vesicles were irregularly rounded, occasionally "cup-shaped," and immunopositive for the transmembrane tetraspanin protein CD9, known to regulate the progression of cancer.

Exosomes contain proteins, peptides, mRNA, and microRNA, have been shown to be taken up by distinct cells through endocytosis, and they may play a role in distant cell-to-cell communication, especially in the context of neoplasia.

Several studies of miRNA expression in canine mammary tumor tissue and CMT cells versus normal mammary tissue found significantly increased miR-29b, which was also significantly upregulated in the CMT exosomal RNA in the present study (along with the closely related miR-29c).

One of those studies also found miR-181b was significantly upregulated in the tubulopapillary carcinoma subtype.


In previous related work, McInnes and Waters considered reconfiguration of smart structures using phase space connections [16] . A simple smart structure model was presented, constructed from two masses and three springs clamped at both ends. The model was approximated with cubic nonlinearities to investigate the key characteristics of the system. A set of both stable and unstable equilibrium configurations were identified with a subset of equal-energy unstable configurations found. A novel method was then proposed to reconfigure the smart structure between these equal-energy unstable states using heteroclinic connections in the phase space of the problem. It was assumed that active control could maintain the structure in each unstable state [17] . This cubic nonlinear model has also been used to investigate vibrational energy harvesting through the use of stochastic resonance [18] .

In previous related work, McInnes and Waters considered reconfiguration of smart structures using phase space connections.

It was assumed that active control could maintain the structure in each unstable state.

This cubic nonlinear model has also been used to investigate vibrational energy harvesting through the use of stochastic resonance.


A linkage mechanism is a simple mechanical device with the purpose of transferring force from an input to an output [1] . Some mechanisms have been developed that possess two or more equilibrium configurations, so-called bistable and tristable mechanisms. These mechanisms use external energy input to transition from one stable position to other stable positions over a potential energy barrier [2, 3] . Such ingenious mechanisms have broad application in practical engineering, and research continues to improve their performance [4] . Meanwhile, multiple equilibria are widespread in a range of other phenomenon, not only those involved in mechanical processes but also ranging from electronics to living cells. These systems have the fundamental feature that once an input reaches a certain threshold value, the system switches to and stays in the corresponding state even when the input is removed [5, 6] .

A linkage mechanism is a simple mechanical device with the purpose of transferring force from an input to an output.

These mechanisms use external energy input to transition from one stable position to other stable positions over a potential energy barrier.

Such ingenious mechanisms have broad application in practical engineering, and research continues to improve their performance.

These systems have the fundamental feature that once an input reaches a certain threshold value, the system switches to and stays in the corresponding state even when the input is removed.


A reconfigurable smart model is considered here as a mechanical system which has the ability to change its kinematic configuration between a finite set of stable or unstable equilibria. Heteroclinic connections are then employed to achieve a reconfiguration of the structure by connecting the unstable equilibria that lie on the same energy surface in the phase space of the problem. In principle, zero net energy is 3 required to achieve transition between these unstable equilibria, unlike transitions between stable equilibria which require the addition of and then dissipation of energy [16] . Moreover, a computational optimal control method can be used to determine the required control time histories under a set of desired boundary conditions with a suitable performance index function [19] . In addition, a reconfiguration method based on a reference trajectory and an inverse control method has been applied to a simple double mass-spring model of a smart structure [20] .

In principle, zero net energy is 3 required to achieve transition between these unstable equilibria, unlike transitions between stable equilibria which require the addition of and then dissipation of energy.

Moreover, a computational optimal control method can be used to determine the required control time histories under a set of desired boundary conditions with a suitable performance index function.

In addition, a reconfiguration method based on a reference trajectory and an inverse control method has been applied to a simple double mass-spring model of a smart structure.


All participants received the same two lists. Word list A was immediately followed by list B. The identical word sequence in the lists for each and every participant made it possible to exactly compare pause lengths across participants. If the words had been presented in a randomized sequence, non-controllable interaction effects may have occurred that are known from sentence processing [8] .

If the words had been presented in a randomized sequence, non-controllable interaction effects may have occurred that are known from sentence processing.


In short, we did indeed find that preparation time was significantly correlated with word articulation duration in monolinguals. In contrast, in bilinguals this correlation was not only not significant for non-words, but the correlation between preparation and articulation for words was zero. Why would this be the case? It was suggested that the phonological loop can be circumvented in word memory if the words allow for semantic associations [24] . In fact, we can presume that a similar strategy may have also occurred in the current study on word articulation. One could imagine that the bilingual participants may have engaged in matching the words and non-words with those in the lexica of the various languages that they were able to speak in everyday life [25] . Bilinguals may have come up with a fast mapping of some vaguely similar sounding word that was familiar to them, but would be 'foreign' to most other people. In contrast, monolinguals speakers may have taken an English phonology approach and deciphered the correct pronunciation based on some familiar phonological fragments that were contained in the non-words -hence the significant correlation between preparation and articulation for both words and non-words.

Why would this be the case?

It was suggested that the phonological loop can be circumvented in word memory if the words allow for semantic associations.

One could imagine that the bilingual participants may have engaged in matching the words and non-words with those in the lexica of the various languages that they were able to speak in everyday life.


Meanwhile the solar power systems have been widely used as a renewable energy source not only in urban but also in rural area. A remote controlled weeder using solar module was developed and evaluated (Kim and Jang, 2007) . Some environment monitoring systems adopt a solar module for power source of remote sensors. Various wireless sensors with solar power source have been developed and used due to their low cost and long service life (Kim et al., 2008; Sun et al., 2009) .

A remote controlled weeder using solar module was developed and evaluated.

Various wireless sensors with solar power source have been developed and used due to their low cost and long service life.


Ground penetrating radar (GPR) is a nondestructive measurement technique, which emits electromagnetic (EM) waves through a wideband antenna and collects signals reflected from a visually opaque substance or earth material [1] . In a B-scan GPR measurement situation, the scattered data is recorded from a number of spatial positions on a straight scan by moving the antenna(s) on top of the ground surface and looking downward. During this process, a transmitreceive phenomenon occurs at each of these observation positions and then the recorded data is combined to produce a two-dimensional (2-D) space-time GPR image.

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) is a nondestructive measurement technique, which emits electromagnetic (EM) waves through a wideband antenna and collects signals reflected from a visually opaque substance or earth material.


These four cases can be compared along many dimensions. In this short paper, we have focused on comparisons between big and small science and the state of their infrastructure, whether ramping up or down. Future papers will address differences in governance, scientific goals, communities of practice, and other factors. Although our case studies are broad in scope and rich in detail, our sample is not large enough to draw statistical comparisons. Some of our methods and findings could be transferred to other domains through case studies or large surveys. However, since many of the issues identified depend heavily upon local conditions, such as those relating to exchange of datasets, generic surveys risk missing important context. Other quantitative methods such as network analysis can complement case studies [48] . We are currently analyzing the email archives of CENS and SDSS, to determine how topical conversations evolved over the course of projects and to identify communication patterns among collaborators.

Other quantitative methods such as network analysis can complement case studies.


We then propose an instructive toy model in which the potential of the theory at the component level, and after having integrated out the auxiliary field, contains an infinite number of terms. Interestingly the full series in the deformation parameter can be summed. Another amusing property of the final potential is that it is a function only of the product of the scalar and the antiscalar field. In the Euclidean space the antiscalar field is not merely the complex conjugated of the scalar field. Although we are forced, by the very definition of the deformed superspace, to be in the Euclidean space the structure of the potential is so intriguing to us that we have been tempted to analytically continue it in the Minkowski space. If the determinant of the deformation parameter is assumed real then also the potential is real and positive. One can show that the vacuum structure of the theory is unchanged with respect to the undeformed space while the potential is largely affected in the infrared, i.e. for small values of the bosonic field values. It naturally introduces a new maximum with a finite value of the potential while the theory still preserves Lorentz symmetry [1] .

It naturally introduces a new maximum with a finite value of the potential while the theory still preserves Lorentz symmetry.


The observation that pulsed-irradiation protocols partially anneal the TT-OSL signal is consistent with investigations of the thermal stability of the signal. Laboratory studies have demonstrated that the TT-OSL signal is significantly less stable than the fast component OSL signal (Adamiec et al., 2010) . These findings are supported by a study of coastal deposits comparing TT-OSL ages with 290 °C post IR-IRSL feldspar ages, where TT-OSL equivalent dose underestimations were observed for older samples (Thiel et al., 2012) . The relatively low thermal stability of the TT-OSL signal compared to the fast component OSL and post IR-IRSL signals results in signal loss during burial for older samples due to the shorter signal lifetime at natural burial temperatures (Duller and Wintle, 2012) . As pulsed-irradiation was first introduced for use with the more thermally stable fast component OSL signal, the influence of pulsed-irradiation protocols for the fast component OSL signal cannot be surmised from this study.

Laboratory studies have demonstrated that the TT-OSL signal is significantly less stable than the fast component OSL signal.

These findings are supported by a study of coastal deposits comparing TT-OSL ages with 290 °C post IR-IRSL feldspar ages, where TT-OSL equivalent dose underestimations were observed for older samples.

The relatively low thermal stability of the TT-OSL signal compared to the fast component OSL and post IR-IRSL signals results in signal loss during burial for older samples due to the shorter signal lifetime at natural burial temperatures.


The opposite effect can occur if the quartz grain has an abundance of temporally unstable electronic hole traps. In this instance, competition for electrons during recombination would be greater for laboratory irradiation due to a higher concentration of electronic holes in alternative recombination centres, resulting in the natural signal being brighter than an equivalent laboratory signal and therefore leading to age overestimation (Bailey, 2004) . Pulsed-irradiation divides the laboratory irradiation dose into smaller irradiation steps and heats the sample between steps. The thermal treatments between steps are designed to deplete the temporally unstable traps and thus make laboratory competition effects in the quartz crystal similar to those which occur due to the low radiation dose rates received in nature.

In this instance, competition for electrons during recombination would be greater for laboratory irradiation due to a higher concentration of electronic holes in alternative recombination centres, resulting in the natural signal being brighter than an equivalent laboratory signal and therefore leading to age overestimation.


The quality of a tofu can be examined using destructive testing. A textural analyzer is suitable for characterizing the mechanical property; while microscope analysis explores the chemical composition and the microstructure [4, 5] . The above two methods are of a destructive nature and require laboratory practice. They are not suitable for on-line application as a quality indicator. Ultrasound which can give a big amount of information in a short time has been shown to be effective in detecting the gelation process and the final product in an efficient way [3, 5] . While ultrasound is a means feasible for on-line quality detection, its setup is expensive.

A textural analyzer is suitable for characterizing the mechanical property; while microscope analysis explores the chemical composition and the microstructure.

Ultrasound which can give a big amount of information in a short time has been shown to be effective in detecting the gelation process and the final product in an efficient way.


The formation of a tofu gel requires soya milk mixed with a coagulant to be heated to a reaction temperature. In gelation, protein clusters are formed as a mechanism of ion exchanging between soya milk and the added coagulant. The concentration of the exchanging ions, anions orcations, is a result of the ongoing gelation process. The ion concentration can be easily characterized as electrical conductivity, an easy, economic, and efficient measurement [6] .

The ion concentration can be easily characterized as electrical conductivity, an easy, economic, and efficient measurement.


There is controversy over the use of antithrombotic therapy in ICAD. With spontaneous ICAD, the most commonly used regimen is intravenous heparin followed by warfarin for at least 3 months. There is some evidence that antiplatelet agents might be associated with better neurological outcomes in patients with traumatic dissection [32] .

There is some evidence that antiplatelet agents might be associated with better neurological outcomes in patients with traumatic dissection.


The temperature varied in different seasons and locations. During the study, temperature was recorded 18.6, 22.4 and 17.6 °C for upstream, midstream and downstream, respectively. These values are within the generic standard of 40°C recommended for the wastewater discharged into surface waters. The effluent temperature <40 0 C does not appear to pose any threat to aquatic cycle and homeostatic balance of water bodies (Jaji et al. 2007) .

The effluent temperature <40 0 C does not appear to pose any threat to aquatic cycle and homeostatic balance of water bodies.


Histology, the study of anatomy of tissues of plants and animals at the cellular level, is most often performed in the confines of a laboratory environment using large tabletop devices with high cost and complexity. With significant advances in computing power, new computational imaging techniques have shown considerable promise in simplifying and miniaturizing various traditionally complex and laborious imaging tasks. Of particular interest in the research community is the notion of lens-free microscopy, which has gained tremendous amount of traction as an enabler for large-scale scientific imaging. Lens-free microscopy is particularly advantageous for applications such as digital histology due to its capability of imaging a very large field-of-view (FOV). Additionally, lens-free microscopes are robust and inherently compact due to the lack of optical elements, therefore lending themselves to be used as a portable device [1] .

Additionally, lens-free microscopes are robust and inherently compact due to the lack of optical elements, therefore lending themselves to be used as a portable device.


The resolution and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) achieved using lens-free microsocopy can be improved beyond the inherent limits that are imposed primarily by the detector, as the pixel size of the detector dictates the spatial resolution while the sensitivity of the detector plays a large role in SNR. There are three main techniques for increasing the spatial resolution and SNR in lensfree microscopy: 1) light-field encoding magnification, 2) aperture scanning, and 3) wavelength scanning. The magnification of the light-field encoding can be achieved by placing the sample further away from the detector and closer to the light source [2] . Aperture scanning can be achieved by introducing sub-pixel shifts when capturing a series of light-field encodings of the same sample, which in turn creates a large synthetic aperture, thus increasing the resolution by an order of magnitude [3] . Finally, wavelength scanning can be achieved illuminating a sample with light at different wavelengths, with the appropriate combination of which would result in enhanced resolution and SNR [4, 5] .

The magnification of the light-field encoding can be achieved by placing the sample further away from the detector and closer to the light source.

Aperture scanning can be achieved by introducing sub-pixel shifts when capturing a series of light-field encodings of the same sample, which in turn creates a large synthetic aperture, thus increasing the resolution by an order of magnitude.

Finally, wavelength scanning can be achieved illuminating a sample with light at different wavelengths, with the appropriate combination of which would result in enhanced resolution and SNR.


To demonstrate the efficacy of the presented compact, field-portable lens-free microscope, digital histology was performed using the instrument on two different histology samples: i) bovine inflamed lung (see Figure 2) , and ii) corn plant stem (see Figure 3) . The microscopy images produced using the presented system in this study are 168 mega-pixels in size, resulting in a 16-fold increase compared to the 10.5 megapixel monochromatic detector used in the system. In Figure 2 a large area of the pathology sample can be observed and with it, many features of interest. In the zoomed-in image, the inflammation of the respiratory tract can clearly be observed along with thickening or scarring (fibrosis) of the connective tissue in the airway smooth muscles. The major causes of the inflammation of lungs are asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [7] . Figure 3 shows the histology of a stem of a corn plant in its entirety. The epidermis, the outer layer of the sample, as well as the cuticles, cells comprising the epidermis, are clearly observed and can be enumerated. Furthermore, the cortex, the webbed structure within the sample, can be observed which is where the plant stores its nutrients required for photosynthesis. Through two zoom levels the vascular bundle can be observed. The water and ions within the plant are carried via the xylems which can be observed in the vascular bundle. Performing histology on plants in this manner can be beneficial in gauging health of the plant in one acquisition and may allow for estimating the yield or the crop.

The major causes of the inflammation of lungs are asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.


Such spaces can be realized as solutions, for example, branes, sometimes with specific background fields, in string theory and in the matrix version of M -theory [2] . Gauge theories on such spaces are interesting since they can describe fluctuations of the brane solutions. Fuzzy spaces are noncommutative spaces which can be described by finite dimensional matrices.

Such spaces can be realized as solutions, for example, branes, sometimes with specific background fields, in string theory and in the matrix version of M -theory.


Outside the operation room, a number of modern radiographic techniques exist to determine limb axis, alignment and rotation. These are conventional anteroposterior and lateral long-plate radiographs as well as CT or MRI scans of the limbs [10, 11] . Malrotation is best demonstrated in a CT scan of both limbs, by analyzing superposed CT slices (e.g., femoral condyles and femur neck for antetorsion). Angulation in the coronal plane (i.e., varus-valgus deformity) is best analyzed on a CT scout or on anterior-posterior long plate radiographs of the entire limb. The lateral long plate radiographs help to determine sagittal plane angulation (i.e., antecurvatum or recurvatum). Unfortunately, these techniques are normally not available during the operation.

These are conventional anteroposterior and lateral long-plate radiographs as well as CT or MRI scans of the limbs.


It offers high throughput, no need for supports except from the first layers to be detached from the machine worktable, no post-processing, wide range of materials, high automation possibilities (Eyers and Dotchev, 2010; Bassoli et al., 2005; Caulfield et al., 2007) . Fully functional components can be obtained for example in polyamide (unfilled or reinforced with glass fibres/beads, Aluminium and carbon), flame retardant polyamides and Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) for automotive, aerospace and military industries, but also biomedical devices and consumer goods (Eyers and Dotchev, 2010; Berti et al., 2010; Senthilkumaran et al., 2009) . Polyamide-matrix composite parts can be produced directly from the CAD model, without any post-treatment.

It offers high throughput, no need for supports except from the first layers to be detached from the machine worktable, no post-processing, wide range of materials, high automation possibilities.

Fully functional components can be obtained for example in polyamide (unfilled or reinforced with glass fibres/beads, Aluminium and carbon), flame retardant polyamides and Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) for automotive, aerospace and military industries, but also biomedical devices and consumer goods.


Hand function results from the combined contribution of intrinsic and extrinsic muscles. Extrinsic hand muscles originate from the forearm with a long tendon inserting onto the (meta) carpals or fingers. The origins of intrinsic muscles can be found distal to the wrist joint. They insert onto either extensor mechanism or fingers. The extrinsic muscles are thought to be the main force producing muscles, while the intrinsic muscles appear to work as modulators for balancing the moments around finger joints (Buford et al. 2005) . The extensor mechanism of the fingers is a collagenous web in which the Extensor Digitorum Communis muscle (EDC) and the intrinsic muscles are integrated, and which allows for force transfer from the intrinsic muscles at the metacarpal phalangeal (MCP) joint to the extensor side of the fingers (Levangie & Norkin 2011) .

The extrinsic muscles are thought to be the main force producing muscles, while the intrinsic muscles appear to work as modulators for balancing the moments around finger joints.

The extensor mechanism of the fingers is a collagenous web in which the Extensor Digitorum Communis muscle (EDC) and the intrinsic muscles are integrated, and which allows for force transfer from the intrinsic muscles at the metacarpal phalangeal (MCP) joint to the extensor side of the fingers.


The LHC bounds obtained in this way are restrictive, and probe smaller couplings than direct detection experiments searching for "spin dependent" interactions between partons and dark matter [4] . These contact interaction studies are refered to as "Effective Field Theory" (EFT), and considered to be relatively model independent. However, the particle content is an input in EFT, and the restrictive LHC limits assume that the dark matter particle is the only new particle accessible at the LHC. Relaxing this assumption can significantly modify the experimental sensitivities [12, 13, 14] . This has motivated various simplified models for dark matter searches at the LHC [15, 16, 17] . Retaining this assumption, as will be done in this note, is only marginally consistent, because the contact interactions to which the LHC is sensitive would have to be mediated by strongly coupled particles. As recalled in the next section, this implies that colliders can exclude contact interactions of order their sensitivity, but not much larger.

The LHC bounds obtained in this way are restrictive, and probe smaller couplings than direct detection experiments searching for "spin dependent" interactions between partons and dark matter.

Relaxing this assumption can significantly modify the experimental sensitivities.

This has motivated various simplified models for dark matter searches at the LHC.


As our study mainly focused on seasonal influenza outbreaks, the appropriate duration of school closure likely differs from that needed for controlling pandemics. Japan has implemented school actions during seasonal influenza outbreaks since the 1950's under the School Health Law. Presently, the main purpose of class closure is the interruption of an influenza outbreak within the school and not the control of an influenza outbreak in the community. However, as a common family in Japan consists of two working parents and 1-2 children, the duration of a school closure is also quite important in terms of childcare and the economy. For instance, in Australia, 45% of parents of asymptomatic students reported taking at least one day off work to care for their child [25] . In the USA, 16%-22% of households reported that a family member had missed work and lost pay to care for infected schoolchildren [26] , [27] . Therefore, minimal, but effective, school actions would help limit lost work days for the parents of uninfected children, thereby lessening the impact of school closures initiated in response to influenza infection. Our findings suggest that two-day class closure is an effective strategy for interrupting influenza outbreaks in a class. Furthermore, as the absentee rates during an outbreak were highest on Monday, class closures were typically initiated on Tuesday or Wednesday. Thus, these findings support the view that two-day class closures, such as Tuesday-Wednesday, should be undertaken immediately once class absentee rates reach 10%.

For instance, in Australia, 45% of parents of asymptomatic students reported taking at least one day off work to care for their child.

In the USA, 16%-22% of households reported that a family member had missed work and lost pay to care for infected schoolchildren.


JIS SKD61 is a hot-work die steel that is widely used in the mold and die manufacturing industry. It is often utilized to manufacture hot extrusion dies, casting molds, and forging dies due to its significant toughness, high hardness, and sufficient resistance to high temperature fatigue properties. Generally, a mold and die manufacturing process consists of rough machining, heat treatment, and then a finish grinding operation. This process is both costly and time-consuming. Furthermore, the quality of the machined surface produced by the grinding operation is prone to thermal damage [1] .

Furthermore, the quality of the machined surface produced by the grinding operation is prone to thermal damage.


It is known that the machine tool system is often affected by chatter vibrations during milling operation. The chatter vibrations of the cutting system are generated by a self-excitation phenomenon in the production of chip thickness [15] . In machining, the self-excited machine tool becomes unstable and chatter vibrations grow until the cutter jumps out of the cut [16] . In general, this is one of the common phenomena which negatively affects the machine tool, the cutting tool and the product quality.

The chatter vibrations of the cutting system are generated by a self-excitation phenomenon in the production of chip thickness.

In machining, the self-excited machine tool becomes unstable and chatter vibrations grow until the cutter jumps out of the cut.


The analysis of ancient DNA is complicated by cytosine deamination, a common type of miscoding lesion accumulating in ancient DNA with increasing age and temperature (Sawyer et al., 2012; Frederico et al., 1990) . These lesions are more frequent at the ends of ancient DNA fragments and cause cytosines to be misread as thymines (Briggs et al., 2007) . Laboratory methods exist that can remove this type of damage during library preparation (Briggs et al., 2010) . However, these methods also reduce the number of molecules that are made accessible to sequencing and are therefore best avoided when material is scarce and a high coverage genome is the aim.

The analysis of ancient DNA is complicated by cytosine deamination, a common type of miscoding lesion accumulating in ancient DNA with increasing age and temperature.

These lesions are more frequent at the ends of ancient DNA fragments and cause cytosines to be misread as thymines.

Laboratory methods exist that can remove this type of damage during library preparation.


Recent work on reducing bookkeeping and conflict avoidance costs in STM includes techniques for exploiting hardware transactional memory [4, 10, 11, 37, 50] . These efforts focus on structuring transactions to reduce conflicts and minimize the transaction data footprint so they can run in hardware. This work is orthogonal to the issues discussed here, and we plan to investigate combining STO with HTM. For instance, a datatype could use HTM to atomically read a value and its associated version number.

Recent work on reducing bookkeeping and conflict avoidance costs in STM includes techniques for exploiting hardware transactional memory.


STO's flexibility lets datatype designers adopt many ideas from the literature on concurrent datatype design, including locking, optimistic verification, direct updates (eager versioning), and deferred updates (lazy versioning) [22, 27] . Our datatypes take advantage of this flexibility; for instance, our map data structures use direct updates for inserted items and deferred updates for all other modifications ( §4), and our list datatypes use some techniques like those in the optimistic transactional lazy set [24] . Lock-free compare-andswap designs tend to interact badly with transactions, however, since transactional commit protocols use locking to ensure that multiple modifications appear to commit atomically.

STO's flexibility lets datatype designers adopt many ideas from the literature on concurrent datatype design, including locking, optimistic verification, direct updates (eager versioning), and deferred updates (lazy versioning).

Our datatypes take advantage of this flexibility; for instance, our map data structures use direct updates for inserted items and deferred updates for all other modifications ( §4), and our list datatypes use some techniques like those in the optimistic transactional lazy set.


STO comprises a core system that implements the commit protocol and an extensible library of transactional datatypes. Most programmers will not need to implement new datatypes, since they can use those available in libraries; we hope this makes it easier to write transactional programs that both avoid bugs and perform well. However, advanced programmers can add new datatypes, either general or application-specific [32] . As with any efficient concurrent datatype, a STO transactional datatype can be hard to write, but STO's helper classes and design patterns ease this burden and our experience argues this skill can be learned.

However, advanced programmers can add new datatypes, either general or application-specific.


It is a well known fact in general relativity that gravitation tends to focus null geodesics; this fact lies at the heart of, e.g., the singularity theorems of Hawking and Penrose [1] . In this work we wish to point a simple and striking illustration of this fact, which seems to have been overlooked in the literature, concerning the area of cross-sections of lightcones: We prove that such cross-sections, in space-times satisfying the Einstein equations with vanishing cosmological constant Λ, and with the energy-momentum satisfying the dominant energy condition, are smaller than the corresponding areas of cross-sections of light-cones in Minkowski space-time. Moreover, under supplementary restrictions on the energy-momentum tensor, equality of areas for a cross-section S implies that the spacetime is Minkowskian in the domain of dependence of that part of the light-cone which lies between the vertex and the cross-section S. A similar result holds when Λ = 0: in the statement just given one needs to replace the Minkowski space-time by the de Sitter or anti-de Sitter space-time. The precise statements can be found in Section 2.

It is a well known fact in general relativity that gravitation tends to focus null geodesics; this fact lies at the heart of, e.g., the singularity theorems of Hawking and Penrose.


Multivariate statistical methods including factor analysis have been used successfully in hydrochemistry for many years. Surface water, groundwater quality assessment and environmental research employing multi-component techniques are well described in the literature (Praus, 2005) . Multivariate statistical approaches allow deriving hidden information from the data set about the possible influences of the environment on water quality (Spanos et al., 2003) .

Surface water, groundwater quality assessment and environmental research employing multi-component techniques are well described in the literature.

Multivariate statistical approaches allow deriving hidden information from the data set about the possible influences of the environment on water quality.


The quality of water is identified in terms of its physical, chemical and biological parameters (Sargaonkar and Deshpande, 2003) . The particular problem in the case of water quality monitoring is the complexity associated with analysing the large number of measured variables (Saffran, 2001) . The data sets contain rich information about the behaviour of the water resources. The classification, modelling and interpretation of monitoring data are the most important steps in the assessment of water quality.

The quality of water is identified in terms of its physical, chemical and biological parameters.

The particular problem in the case of water quality monitoring is the complexity associated with analysing the large number of measured variables.


The cells in the PJK system vary in water saturation levels with location and depth. The first two cells are saturated year round, while the third cell is less saturated than the first two, and the last cell periodically becomes dry. For comparison, the results for Cell 3 only will be discussed. Within the following figures, the control is indicated by "C", while glucose, lactate, and acetate supplements are indicated, respectively by "G", "L", and "A", and each replicate is represented. The flow for this system is horizontal, and therefore the saturated bottom portions of the cells are anaerobic, while the top, especially for Cells 3 and 4 can become aerobic. Accordingly, methanogenic activity would be expected in the bottom samples of the cells. The headspace analysis results in 2005, however, indicated the top of Cell 3 produced methane gas, while the bottom of Cell 3 did not (Fig. 4 and 5) . The addition of glucose appeared to stimulate CO 2 production as well as H 2 S production over that of the control, and the other supplements. First of all, this indicated that the fermentative population may have been carbon limited. Secondly, it may be inferred that it is an organic acid fermentation product other than lactate or acetate that was the preferred carbon source for this population of sulfate reducing bacteria. Glucose is not used directly by SRB (Faque, 1995) . Finally, the lack of methane production coupled with an increase in H 2 S production of the bottom of this sample location suggested that SRB are not in competition with methanogens for carbon sources.

Glucose is not used directly by SRB.


Haemophilia A is a congenital disorder of coagulation that mainly affects males; the prevalence in the Italian population was 6.2/100.000 inhabitants in 2012 (95%CI 6.0-6.4) and 12.7/100.000 inhabitants (95%CI 12.3-13.1) among the Italian males [1] . As other chronic diseases, haemophilia has high economic burden, especially when patients are treated with prophylaxis. This is mainly due to the complex therapy management process that involves expensive treatments. In particular, as confirmed by the available scientific literature, haemophilia A is one of the most expensive diseases because of the required lifetime treatment and the management of the related adverse effects and complications, especially when patients develop factor VIII inhibitors [2] [3] [4] [5] . In addition, indirect costs, usually expressed in terms of considerable loss of productivity for the society, should be taken into account [6, 7] . High healthcare costs are due to the continuous factor VIII (FVIII) infusions therapy that people affected by haemophilia A need for the management and the prevention of bleedings and to reduce the risk of complications, such as flexion contractures, joint arthritis/arthropathy, chronic pain, muscle atrophy, compartment syndrome, neurologic impairment.

Haemophilia A is a congenital disorder of coagulation that mainly affects males; the prevalence in the Italian population was 6.2/100.000 inhabitants in 2012 (95%CI 6.0-6.4) and 12.7/100.000 inhabitants (95%CI 12.3-13.1) among the Italian males.

In particular, as confirmed by the available scientific literature, haemophilia A is one of the most expensive diseases because of the required lifetime treatment and the management of the related adverse effects and complications, especially when patients develop factor VIII inhibitors.

In addition, indirect costs, usually expressed in terms of considerable loss of productivity for the society, should be taken into account.


Between December 2000 and June 2007, 8 endovascular interventions for thromboembolic stroke were identified in 7 patients (26 ± 6 years of age; 5 women) ( Table  1) . For purposes of analysis, the patient who presented twice is hereafter considered to have experienced 2 distinct and separate events (the patient's strokes occurred 3 years apart, were secondary to a cardiac abnormality, and involved different vascular territories). Presenting mean NIHSS score was 13 ± 4.3 (median 13, range [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] . All patients presented within 6 hours of symptom onset (0-3 hours for 4 events; 3-6 hours for 4 events).

Presenting mean NIHSS score was 13 ± 4.3 (median 13, range.


Some chromosome pairs in Kif18A depleted cells are significantly displaced from the metaphase plate. Thus, these misaligned pairs could be subject to regulation by Aurora A, explaining the observed increase in Hec1 phosphorylation. However, our data indicate that Kif18A KD cells expressing GFP-Kif18A AVVVA have aligned chromosomes with increased phospho-Hec1 levels. Furthermore, primary embryonic fibroblasts isolated from Kif18a mutant mice divide with normal kinetics despite chromosome alignment defects [27] . These data collectively indicate that Kif18A's chromosome alignment and attachment functions are independent of each other. While these alternative models are not mutually exclusive with Kif18A's recruitment of PP1 to kinetochores, our data strongly support PP1-dependent dephosphorylation of Hec1 as the primary mechanism for Kif18A's role in enhancing kinetochore-microtubule attachments.

Furthermore, primary embryonic fibroblasts isolated from Kif18a mutant mice divide with normal kinetics despite chromosome alignment defects.


Recent findings show that Hec1 has different binding configurations on polymerizing and depolymerizing microtubules, and that Hec1 phosphorylation only affects microtubule association on polymerizing microtubules [39] . These data suggest that Hec1 dephosphorylation primarily increases the affinity of kinetochores for polymerizing K fibers. Kif18A's behavior on growing and shortening microtubules is consistent with a role for the motor in specifically promoting the attachment of polymerizing K fibers. For example, Kif18A localizes asymmetrically on sister K fibers in mitotic cells [4] . Furthermore, purified Kif18A accumulates on growing microtubules but dissociates from shortening microtubules in vitro [34] . Taken together, these data imply that Kif18A may accumulate preferentially on growing K fibers, where it could promote Hec1 dephosphorylation. Switching to a phosphorylation-independent binding state during depolymerization circumvents the need for constant suppression of Aurora B activity near its outer kinetochore substrates for stabilizing and maintaining attachments.

Recent findings show that Hec1 has different binding configurations on polymerizing and depolymerizing microtubules, and that Hec1 phosphorylation only affects microtubule association on polymerizing microtubules.

For example, Kif18A localizes asymmetrically on sister K fibers in mitotic cells.

Furthermore, purified Kif18A accumulates on growing microtubules but dissociates from shortening microtubules in vitro.


Our data strongly support a model in which Kif18A promotes Hec1 dephosphorylation by recruiting PP1 to the plus-ends of K fibers ( Figure 7 ). Our data indicate that the majority of kinetochores are attached to K fibers and devoid of SAC proteins during metaphase in the absence of Kif18A activity, suggesting that the motor is not necessary for initial end-on attachments during prometaphase ( Figure 7A ). This is also consistent with previous studies indicating that Kif18A's motility to K fiber plus-ends, which is relatively slow (~75-100 nm/sec), is contingent on the presence of a stable kinetochore microtubule track ( Figure 7B ) [34, 38] . As kinetochores become attached, Kif18A accumulates at K fiber plus-ends, where it confines chromosome movements and promotes the complete dephosphorylation of Hec1. We propose that Kif18A's dual functions provide positive feedback for K fiber attachment while the motor simultaneously dampens K fiber dynamics to align chromosomes during metaphase ( Figure 7C-D) . These combined activities facilitate temporal coordination between attachment and alignment.

This is also consistent with previous studies indicating that Kif18A's motility to K fiber plus-ends, which is relatively slow (~75-100 nm/sec), is contingent on the presence of a stable kinetochore microtubule track ( Figure 7B ).


Biorientation and chromosome alignment during cell division ensure maintenance of genomic stability. Temporally regulated changes in the affinity between kinetochores and microtubules help to promote and stabilize bioriented attachments. As biorientation occurs, K fiber dynamics are also dampened to confine chromosome movements at the spindle midzone and form the metaphase plate. Our work indicates that Kif18A possesses two separable functions, one relying on its ability to suppress microtubule dynamics and the second on its direct interaction with PP1, that together couple the stabilization of bioriented attachments with the alignment of chromosomes at the spindle equator [22, 23] .

Our work indicates that Kif18A possesses two separable functions, one relying on its ability to suppress microtubule dynamics and the second on its direct interaction with PP1, that together couple the stabilization of bioriented attachments with the alignment of chromosomes at the spindle equator.


The carrageenan-induced paw edema is considered as a model of the acute phase of inflammation which is widely used for discovery and investigation of anti-inflammatory drug [15] . Especially, this model is known to be sensitive to cyclooxygenase inhibitors and has been used to evaluate the effect of NSAIDs, which involves the inhibition of PGs synthesis [20] . Paw edema is processed by several inflammatory mediator released in ordinate sequence. The initial phase is caused by the release of histamine, serotonin, and bradykinin and followed by the release of prostaglandins (PGs) at the 3rd hour and lasts for about 6 hour after carrageenan injection [20] . The final phase appears to be most interesting in which the maximal vascular response occurs with the leukocyte migration to the inflamed area [21] . In the present study, oral administration of PI or PC extract suppressed the hind paw edema. The significant inhibitory effect of both extracts on carrageenan-induced paw edema at the 3rd hour suggests that the underlying mechanism of action of PI and PC extracts may involve blocking of the PGs synthesis and/or the other inflammatory mediators.

The carrageenan-induced paw edema is considered as a model of the acute phase of inflammation which is widely used for discovery and investigation of anti-inflammatory drug.

Especially, this model is known to be sensitive to cyclooxygenase inhibitors and has been used to evaluate the effect of NSAIDs, which involves the inhibition of PGs synthesis.

The initial phase is caused by the release of histamine, serotonin, and bradykinin and followed by the release of prostaglandins (PGs) at the 3rd hour and lasts for about 6 hour after carrageenan injection.

The final phase appears to be most interesting in which the maximal vascular response occurs with the leukocyte migration to the inflamed area.


Fussy/picky eating and food neophobia are common behaviours throughout childhood. Fussy eating has been defined as the consumption of an inadequate variety or quantity of foods through the rejection of a substantial amount of both familiar and unfamiliar foods [1] . Food neophobia is a related concept and refers to the unwillingness to eat new foods [1] . However, definitions of fussy eating behaviours vary widely across studies and an operational definition of fussy eating does not exist [2] .

Fussy eating has been defined as the consumption of an inadequate variety or quantity of foods through the rejection of a substantial amount of both familiar and unfamiliar foods.

Food neophobia is a related concept and refers to the unwillingness to eat new foods.

However, definitions of fussy eating behaviours vary widely across studies and an operational definition of fussy eating does not exist.


Apart from life safety of occupants, pressurization is a useful strategy to facilitate the extinguishing and rescue operations of firefighters. The prevision of a space protected from toxic gases improves the working conditions of firefighters: if well designed, pressurized stairwells (and sometimes adjacent lobbies) represent a safe space to enter the building and directly attack the fire floor. In this case, more powerful fans are required to maintain tenable conditions for firefighters, because fire conditions inside the building could be well developed, but not as high as external windows breakage would require. Well-established literature is available for these systems [9] [10] [11] [12] .

Well-established literature is available for these systems.


Morphological features such as tumour size, histological type, cellular and nuclear characteristics, mitotic index, necrosis, vascular invasion, hormonal receptors and axillary tumour lymph node status are routinely used. However, these parameters are not enough to predict the course of the disease. Molecular biology advances have made it possible to discover new markers, which have already been incorporated to the clinical practice and provide key information about the tumour biological behaviour and the potential response to radiation or chemotherapy guiding to the best therapeutics. In connection with this, the use of tumour markers panel gives more accurate information than that provided by just one factor. The fact described have made the cancer prognostic more exact than twenty years ago [2, 3] .

The fact described have made the cancer prognostic more exact than twenty years ago.


Her-2 detection may support selection of optimal therapy for breast cancer patients with antibody directed against this protein or adjuvant chemotherapy in advanced breast cancer. Mucin CA 15.3 is used to monitor the efficacy of treatment and detect recurrences. CA 27.29 may predict disease relapses and can be used to detect when the treatment fails [64] .

CA 27.29 may predict disease relapses and can be used to detect when the treatment fails.


Supported Liquid Membranes (SLMs) are porous membranes impregnated with liquids. They can be applied to many separation processes. Usually, use of conventional SLMs is associated with two common problems. The first one is vaporization of the liquid into the atmosphere or its dissolution in the contacting phase. The second one is the limited capacity of SLMs. However, it seems that favorable properties of ionic liquids can lessen these problems. For example, ILs are non-volatile, which helps minimize their losses through vaporization. SLMs containing immobilized ionic liquids are also called Supported Ionic Liquid Membranes (SILMs). SILMs are being widely studied for use in many industrial processes, eg removal of acid gases from the exhaust gases generated during combustion of fossil fuels (eg coal). In a SILM, ionic liquid acts as a transmembrane medium that facilitates selective transportation of the separated components [12] [13] [14] [15] .

In a SILM, ionic liquid acts as a transmembrane medium that facilitates selective transportation of the separated components.


The aim of extractive distillation is to remove one component of the mixture by addition of another component (so-called entrainer). The entrainer interacts with other components by changing their relative volatilities. The method is commonly used in separation of azeotropic and close-boiling mixtures, but it requires vaporization of both streams (the entrainer and component stream). The new concept consists in using ionic liquids as the entrainers. This modification allows avoiding azeotropic distillation [15] .

This modification allows avoiding azeotropic distillation.


A growing interest is observed in processing of biomass into fuels and chemicals through bioconversion. The most attractive processes are ABE (acetone -butanol -ethanol) and ethanol fermentations. Both ethanol and n-butanol are popular chemicals suitable for numerous applications. They have also been widely studied as fuel additives. Table 3 compares butanol and ethanol with other fuels. As can be seen from the table, properties of butanol are similar to those of gasoline [24, 25] . At present, the separation of components from the ABE fermentation broth is highly energy-intensive. Ordinary distillation is economically unjustified. Moreover, the concentrations of ethanol and butanol in the broth are considerably low. According to available studies, extraction and pervaporation are the most promising techniques of product recovery.

As can be seen from the table, properties of butanol are similar to those of gasoline.