Another component supporting the age-related decrease in mind-wandering frequency is the reported reduction in the frequency of future-self thoughts with increased age. Prior research has demonstrated a decrease in future-self thought frequency as one gets older, with no age differences regarding the clarity of the thoughts (Berntsen et al., 2015; Stawarczyk et al., 2012) . That is, the quality and vividness of the thoughts remains stable, merely their quantity decreases. This effect on the frequency may be due to a decrease in future perspectives as we grow old, thus inducing either, less future-selves to think about or, a personal bias that leads to progressively avoid future perspectives, consciously or not. From the literature the important contribution of future thinking to mind-wandering episodes is explicit (Baird et al., 2011; D'Argembeau et al., 2011; Smallwood, Nind, et al., 2009) . Therefore, this suggests that the reduced frequency of self-future thoughts experienced by older adults will inevitably induce a reduction of the general mind-wandering frequency.

Prior research has demonstrated a decrease in future-self thought frequency as one gets older, with no age differences regarding the clarity of the thoughts.

From the literature the important contribution of future thinking to mind-wandering episodes is explicit.


Youth were considered eligible for the Multi-Site Evaluation if they were in intensive foster care, had a service plan goal of independent living or long-term substitute care, and were deemed appropriate for Outreach services by their DCF caseworker. When two youth in intensive foster care met these criteria and were referred to the Outreach program by their DCF workers, the referrals were sent to the Multi-Site Evaluation staff. Using a computer-generated random number, evaluation staff randomly assigned one member in each pair to the Outreach group and the control group. Interviewers who assessed outcomes were blind to the intervention status. Participants and their care providers were not. Youth were followed for 2 years. They were interviewed inperson at entry into the study (baseline) and once each year after that (Courtney et al., 2011a) . Figure 1 is the participant flowchart for this RCT. The original target was to interview 250 youth at baseline; however, intake was halted in March 2007 with a total of 203 youth randomly assigned and 194 interviewed at baseline. Due to the theft of a laptop computer with identifying information about the study youth, a determination was made that it was best to halt further intake. During the course of the trial, no adverse (1) Out of scope refers to runaway status (n ¼ 2 intervention; n ¼ 2 control), or reunited/legal guardian (n ¼ 1 intervention; n ¼ 1 control); (2) Noninterviews at baseline for the control group were due to (a) Youth refusal (n ¼ 2), or (b) Gatekeeper refusal (n ¼ 1); (3) Noninterviews at 1st follow-up were due to (a) Youth refusal (n ¼ 2 control); (4) Noninterview at 2nd follow-up were due to (a) Youth refusal (n ¼ 3 intervention; n ¼ 3 control), (b) Runaway status and other nonlocatable (n ¼ 1 intervention; n ¼ 1 control), (c) Out of area (n ¼ 3 intervention), (d) Incarcerated (n ¼ 1 intervention, n ¼ 2 control), or (e) Other (n ¼ 1 intervention).

Youth were followed for 2 years.

They were interviewed inperson at entry into the study (baseline) and once each year after that.


Fibre reinforced polymers (FRPs) are increasingly being employed for aerospace and marine structures due to their high specific stiffness and strength [1] . FRPs have also been attractive as repair elements of aircraft, civil and naval structures as they can easily be applied to geometrically complicated configurations where repair or local stiffening is needed. Bonded repair in particular, offers distinct advantages over mechanically fastened repair systems. The application of innovative repair concepts in aircrafts requires novel non-destructive techniques which will assess the repair efficiency throughout the service life of the component and subsequently establish the process reliability for airborne structures. More importantly, enabling non-destructive technologies may also guide repair methodologies away from the widely accepted "repair and forget" principle [2] .

Fibre reinforced polymers (FRPs) are increasingly being employed for aerospace and marine structures due to their high specific stiffness and strength.

More importantly, enabling non-destructive technologies may also guide repair methodologies away from the widely accepted "repair and forget" principle.


Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the top five consumed crops worldwide because it is common, affordable, and nutritious (Lovat et al., 2015) . It was the fifth most produced crop in Egypt with 4.8 MMT in 2013 (FAO, 2015 . A plethora of diseases affects potato and causes significant loss of yield and quality (Wale et al., 2008) . Among them is Early Blight (Alternaria solani (Sorauer)). It causes defoliation and reduces tuber yield and quality by 20-30% (Wale et al., 2008) . Management strategies for A. solani depend mainly on the application of fungicides. These fungicides work as either protectants (chlorothalonil and dithiocarbamates) or curative/systemic (azoxystrobin, difenoconazole, and tebuconazole) and are effective at the initial developmental stage of infection (Tomlin, 2003; Wale et al., 2008) . New experimental methods involve the application of abiotic or biotic inducers to help promote plants' immune response against pathogenic attack.

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the top five consumed crops worldwide because it is common, affordable, and nutritious.

A plethora of diseases affects potato and causes significant loss of yield and quality.

It causes defoliation and reduces tuber yield and quality by 20-30%.

These fungicides work as either protectants (chlorothalonil and dithiocarbamates) or curative/systemic (azoxystrobin, difenoconazole, and tebuconazole) and are effective at the initial developmental stage of infection.


So far, research has shown that adolescents with persistent health challenges are at greater risk of having mental health problems than their healthy peers [10, 11, 15] . However, most studies on this issue have been crosssectional, and there is little information regarding the development of mental health problems over time for adolescents and young adults with persistent health challenges. To better understand the challenges adolescents and young adults living with a chronic health condition or disability face, and how they vary over time, we analysed data from a longitudinal Norwegian study "Young in Norway". Greater knowledge of these matters will enable increased awareness of the associations between mental health problems and persistent health challenges, specifically how they develop with increasing age, and further, may warrant interventions that target these problems.

So far, research has shown that adolescents with persistent health challenges are at greater risk of having mental health problems than their healthy peers.


Optic disc is one of the major parts of a retinal fundus image; appears as a very bright region compared to its surrounding. In a circular area of optic disc, there are blood vessels and optic nerves enter to the retina of human eyes. An accurate identification of the optic disc boundary and changes in optic disc shape and area may be can be used to indicate the some diseases progression, especially glaucoma [7] [8] [9] [10] .

An accurate identification of the optic disc boundary and changes in optic disc shape and area may be can be used to indicate the some diseases progression, especially glaucoma.


Moreover, it was evaluated the stabilizing effect of the rheological additives and consistency factors in formulations that in earlier tests, were not stable (i.e., emulsion containing 2.5% emulsifier, E1). Only the emulsion prepared with Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer 0.20% has passed the test of stability. Finally, the study was completed with the preparation of solar formulations. Specifically, the effect of the polyglycerol derivative in comparison to other different natural emulsifiers on emulsions' SPF and their photostability has been studied. Sunscreen can interact with components of the vehicle, and these interaction can affect sunscreen efficacy. The effectiveness of a sunscreen agent applied in an emulsion is influenced mainly by the emulsifier and fatty components. Emulsifiers are able to affect surface tension during the film formation phase, the rheological behavior, and the distribution of the emulsion on the skin [49] . Rheological behavior has a fundamental importance in the formulation of sunscreens, because the formation of an evenly-distributed film is critically influenced by the flowing properties of the formulation [50] . Emulsions containing UVB (Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate) and UVA (Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane) filters and basic emulsions without filters as reference were prepared ( Table 6 ). The results obtained are reported in Figures 8 and 9 . Regarding the emulsions containing the UVB filter (E16a-d), the Polyglycerol rice bran fatty acid esters did not give good results (Figure 8 ). In fact, it showed the lowest SPF value and less photostability, while it improved UVA filter photostability. As we can see from Figure 9 , the emulsion prepared with the polyglycerol esters has an SPF value comparable to that of the emulsion obtained with the glucoside derivative (Montanov 68) but provides better photostability. The decrease of SPF value is higher for the emulsion prepared with Imvitor 372P (17.60%), followed by Olivem 1000 (14.93%), Montanov 68 (12.28%), and Polyglycerol esters (9.62%).

Emulsifiers are able to affect surface tension during the film formation phase, the rheological behavior, and the distribution of the emulsion on the skin.

Rheological behavior has a fundamental importance in the formulation of sunscreens, because the formation of an evenly-distributed film is critically influenced by the flowing properties of the formulation.


A natural surfactant with O/W emulsifying properties was synthesized through a microwave-assisted irradiation process. The reaction was carried out using natural raw materials such as polyglycerol-3 and rice bran oil fatty acids. The synthesis does not involve ethylene oxide and performs without using either a chemical reagent or even an organic solvent. The reaction scheme and the structure of the polyglycerol esters are represented in Figure 1 . This feature is interesting because the liquid crystal system could enhance the stability and moisturizing ability of the emulsion [35] [36] [37] [38] .

This feature is interesting because the liquid crystal system could enhance the stability and moisturizing ability of the emulsion.


The viscosity increase up to 25% (E6) of internal phase volume then returns to decrease (E7). The decrease of viscosity could be due to the increase of the size of the internal Phase [39] [40] [41] . The emulsion E7, with lower viscosity, showed bigger droplets (15-40 μm) compared to the emulsion E6 (5-6 μm), as shown in Figure 5 . In the third step, the concentration of emulsifier at 5% and the oil phase at 14% were kept constant and various emulsions were prepared by changing the nature of the internal phase (Table 3 ). The synthetic ester (E2) was replaced with other oils with different polarity: hydrocarbons (E8a), ether (E8c), natural (E8d-f) and synthetic triglycerides (E8g), vegetable ester (E8h), and alcohol (E8i).

The decrease of viscosity could be due to the increase of the size of the internal Phase.


The different SPF values obtained could be due to the different rheological properties of the emulsions prepared with the various emulsifiers. The emulsion E16a showed the lowest viscosity value (Table 8) , consequently a thinner film of the product on the substrate could be obtained. The film thickness of the product applied is an important parameter that influences the effectiveness of sunscreen [49] [50] [51] .

The film thickness of the product applied is an important parameter that influences the effectiveness of sunscreen.


Fourth, these findings indicate that psilocybin occasions a rich and complex range of human emotions. Participants described powerful and healing catharses suggesting an emotional trajectory. Participant affects have either not been assessed formally in clinical trials of psilocybinassisted psychotherapy, or the range of assessment is limited, as with the use of visual analogue scales assessing feelings of fear, paranoia, and joy (Turton et al., 2014) . Our findings suggest that participants may emerge from this treatment having experienced profound emotional depths and expanded affective boundaries. Future research may evaluate cathartic release and the depth and breadth of affect states occasioned during psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy.

Participant affects have either not been assessed formally in clinical trials of psilocybinassisted psychotherapy, or the range of assessment is limited, as with the use of visual analogue scales assessing feelings of fear, paranoia, and joy.


A number of limitations to this study should be noted. The interview guide focused primarily on the participant experiences during the psilocybin dosage session rather than the preparatory and integration psychotherapy sessions, which we see as essential components. The timing of the interview poses certain concerns, as approximately half the sample were interviewed within 1 week following their second psilocybin dosage session, which allowed little time to review lasting impacts of their experiences but afforded at least one integration psychotherapy session to help consolidate memory and meaning. Conversely, as eight participants were interviewed at approximately 1-year follow-up, the clarity of their recall regarding specific phenomenal experiences a year earlier may have been subject to distortion or clouding. Additionally, the current analysis does not formally address participant-therapist interactions or the nature of therapeutic action as experienced by the patients nor does it address the variety of experiences related to cancer, death, and spirituality reported by this cohort of cancer patients, which is documented in a subsequent article (Swift et al., 2017) . This is perhaps the first qualitative study to explore the subjective inner texture of participant experiences of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy. The findings of the study support the conclusion that psilocybinassisted psychotherapy is well accepted by participants and constitutes a promising intervention for the treatment of existential and psychological distress provoked by a cancer diagnosis. An IPA revealed a complex, multilevel set of processes. Participants experience this treatment as relationally embedded, physically embodied, affect laden, deeply meaningful, and biographically instantiated, with lasting impacts to their experience of themselves and the world. Future research is warranted to attend to these and other possible mediating factors in the design of clinical trials to better articulate psychological mechanisms of action and maximize therapeutic benefit.

Additionally, the current analysis does not formally address participant-therapist interactions or the nature of therapeutic action as experienced by the patients nor does it address the variety of experiences related to cancer, death, and spirituality reported by this cohort of cancer patients, which is documented in a subsequent article.


Metamodelling is an approach to language definition, which has been adopted by industry for defining modelling languages, in particular the UML, and involves the construction of an object-oriented model of the abstract syntax and, optionally, the concrete notation and semantics of the target language [10, 11, 12, 13] . An important feature of the approach is the emphasis placed on tools: it is important that metamodel definitions can be used as input to tools that generate code, including modelling tools to support languages defined by metamodels. Details of available tools in this area are provided in Section 5.

Metamodelling is an approach to language definition, which has been adopted by industry for defining modelling languages, in particular the UML, and involves the construction of an object-oriented model of the abstract syntax and, optionally, the concrete notation and semantics of the target language.


Although the work with UML looks promising, there are still questions to be answered with respect to this approach to metamodelling. One concerns the granularity of language unit required to allow languages to be constructed just by composing different units. It is hard to determine the optimum without building a number of languages in the family. One future work item is to apply the approach to defining a number of the UML profiles currently being ratified by the OMG [14] . This should establish a relatively stable set of language units for UML. Another concerns the applicability of templates: how applicable is the existing set of language definition templates we have defined? This can be determined by trying to use the templates to define other languages which are not part of the UML family, for example other modelling languages, programming languages and the growing number of XMLbased languages, including XML itself. A third question concerns the template mechanism. In Section 4.1 we mentioned the need to develop families of templates each dealing with a particular aspect, such as generalization, in the context of language design. The development of such families could be facilitated by the inclusion of conditional statements in a template, which could be used to control which parts of a template are instantiated. The conditions could be controlled (though not exclusively) by Boolean switches passed as arguments to the template. This would allow a template family to be captured as a single template.

One future work item is to apply the approach to defining a number of the UML profiles currently being ratified by the OMG.


For the past few decades, sustainable development has increasingly become a vital issue at every tourism destination [1] [2] [3] . Likewise, sustainable tourism as a form of pro-social/pro-environmental traveling behavior has received increasing attention from destination researchers/practitioners as well as visitors [4, 5] . Many destinations and tourism companies in the destinations have launched a variety of sustainable initiatives for preserving nature, conserving natural/local resources, protecting cultural authenticity, and achieving socio-economic benefits [2, 3, 6] .

For the past few decades, sustainable development has increasingly become a vital issue at every tourism destination.

Likewise, sustainable tourism as a form of pro-social/pro-environmental traveling behavior has received increasing attention from destination researchers/practitioners as well as visitors.

Many destinations and tourism companies in the destinations have launched a variety of sustainable initiatives for preserving nature, conserving natural/local resources, protecting cultural authenticity, and achieving socio-economic benefits.


An increase in the risk of PID was also observed in women with increasing numbers of negative chlamydia and gonorrhea tests, a finding that, to our knowledge, has not previously been reported. STI screening guidelines recommend regular testing of young sexually active women at higher risk of STIs. Recommendations include those aged <30 years and Aboriginal populations in Australia and those aged <25 years in the United States [25, 31] . We have previously demonstrated in this cohort significantly higher testing rates among both younger women and Aboriginal women [32] . As by definition, this population recommended for testing would also be at higher risk of other infections such as Mycoplasma genitalium and trichomoniasis, the higher PID risk observed associated with greater testing may reflect PID caused by a different etiological agent [33] . Therefore, our observation of increased risk with increased negative tests may simply reflect this practice of testing higher-risk women. This is supported by the finding that women with no test records for chlamydia or gonorrhea had the lowest risk of PID and underlies the importance of considering STI testing history in epidemiological studies quantifying risks associated with chlamydia and gonorrhea.

Recommendations include those aged <30 years and Aboriginal populations in Australia and those aged <25 years in the United States.

We have previously demonstrated in this cohort significantly higher testing rates among both younger women and Aboriginal women.

As by definition, this population recommended for testing would also be at higher risk of other infections such as Mycoplasma genitalium and trichomoniasis, the higher PID risk observed associated with greater testing may reflect PID caused by a different etiological agent.


The exponential growth of IP traffic and strong demand for high-speed connections have initiated intense research efforts with respect to WDM systems with high-capacity optical transmission using optical interfaces with high-speed data rate per-channel [1] - [10] . Along that line, the long-haul transmission of a single-carrier (SC) at 400 Gb/s data rate has been successfully demonstrated recently with polarization-division multiplexed quadrature phase-shift keying (PDM-QPSK) format and symbol rates exceeding 100 GBaud [6] - [10] . Although it would push the boundaries of opto-electronic components and modules, it would offer the benefits in terms of system complexity [5] - [10] . Namely, the employment of the highest feasible electronic multiplexing rates with a minimum number of channel subcarriers can reduce the number of deployed optical components, which typically determinate the transponder cost [5] - [8] . Increasing baud in combination with more robust modulation formats, such as PMD-QPSK, would lead to longer transmission distances and less complex DSP implementation [6] - [10] . Compared with the higher-order modulation formats, such as 16 QAM or higher, the employment of QPSK has the cost of lower spectrum efficiency (SE). While higher order modulation formats requires multilevel drive signals, the optical QPSK signal can be modulated by the basic binary signals. The setup is much simpler in the transmitter-side. Therefore, there should be a tradeoff between the transmission distance and SE. It is believed that increasing the baud to realize SC 400-Gb/s WDM channels is a promising and cost effective solution for future long haul and large-capacity optical transmission networks having in mind that it can also serve a solid foundation for construction of multicarrier channels with multi terabit capacity.

The exponential growth of IP traffic and strong demand for high-speed connections have initiated intense research efforts with respect to WDM systems with high-capacity optical transmission using optical interfaces with high-speed data rate per-channel.

Along that line, the long-haul transmission of a single-carrier (SC) at 400 Gb/s data rate has been successfully demonstrated recently with polarization-division multiplexed quadrature phase-shift keying (PDM-QPSK) format and symbol rates exceeding 100 GBaud.

Although it would push the boundaries of opto-electronic components and modules, it would offer the benefits in terms of system complexity.

Namely, the employment of the highest feasible electronic multiplexing rates with a minimum number of channel subcarriers can reduce the number of deployed optical components, which typically determinate the transponder cost.

Increasing baud in combination with more robust modulation formats, such as PMD-QPSK, would lead to longer transmission distances and less complex DSP implementation.


Results of the AIM and MCS together with CCF values and the total combined uncertainties (U) for the neutron component are presented in Table 2 . It can be seen that the readings of neutron AIM strongly depend on the neutron energy, e.g. the values of CCF for SP change more than twice for different reference points -from 1.46 at reference position 2 to 3.12 at reference position 4. The results from MCS show that outside the calibration hall the component of low-energy neutrons is too small comparing with the high-energy one to be noticeable in the simulated spectrum. This is due to low neutrons emission from the source (1.1 × 10 7 n/s) and in fact that macroscopic cross section for neutrons with energy of 5 MeV interacting in concrete is about fi ve time smaller than for neutrons with the energy in order of keV [10] .

This is due to low neutrons emission from the source (1.1 × 10 7 n/s) and in fact that macroscopic cross section for neutrons with energy of 5 MeV interacting in concrete is about fi ve time smaller than for neutrons with the energy in order of keV.


The following calls made by O. garnettU, were tape-recorded: "cries", "squawks", "trailing calls", and "cackles" (Bearder et al., 1995; Honess, 1996; Bearder, 1999) . Taita Mountain Dwarf Galago Galagoides sp. Dwarf galagos were observed on 12 occasions in Mbololo between 1,600 and 1,800 m, and on 10 occasions in Ngangao between 1,750 and 1,900 m. They were seen in indigenous forest, between 2 and 30 m above the ground utilizing supports ranging from small vertical saplings (1-4 cm diameter) to large tree trunks (> 20 cm diameter). The animals were estimated to weigh 80-100 g, with a head and body length of 110-140 mm, and a tail length of 140-160 mm.

The following calls made by O. garnettU, were tape-recorded: "cries", "squawks", "trailing calls", and "cackles".


In addition to the above works, we have found a new idea of test redundancy in CodeCover tool between a pair of JUnit tests [6] . In this tool, there is a feature called correlation for each pair of tests which is an asymmetric function, and returns a real number in [0…1]. This metric is the ratio of covered items (e.g., statements) by both tests over the covered items of the first test. This is rather a novel concept in redundancy measurement in which partial values of redundancy are meaningful, e.g., a test can be 33% redundant with respect to another test.

In addition to the above works, we have found a new idea of test redundancy in CodeCover tool between a pair of JUnit tests.


A system-in-package (SIP) is a system level that was designed as integrates multiple functional chips, memory chip and discrete components into a single package by way of assembly process [1] [2] . The benefits provided by this integration can reduce the development cost and cycle time as well as scale down the module size compared with the discrete single chip package. A polymer-based material (BT substrate) used for SIP is studied and utilized to simulate and predict the thermal performance and package assembly reliability test. The flip chip specimen was taken and the Moiré Interferometry was used as methodology to verify the developed Finite Element Model and material property [3] . The predicted thermal-induced strain from parametric studies was found to be very good agreement with the experimental results. The FEM model, hereafter, was applied to SIP reliability analysis and thermal design in this research.

A system-in-package (SIP) is a system level that was designed as integrates multiple functional chips, memory chip and discrete components into a single package by way of assembly process.

The flip chip specimen was taken and the Moiré Interferometry was used as methodology to verify the developed Finite Element Model and material property.


With regard to the family functioning results, no previous studies have examined whether low Family APGAR ratings (which mean higher perceived family dysfunction) correlate with school attendance problems. Regarding the link between family functioning and SRB profiles, individuals assigned to the High SRB group reported lower mean scores for the perception of satisfactory family functioning, thereby supporting the third hypothesis. This leads to them experiencing feelings of low family support in the domains of adaptation, partnership, affection, growth, and resolve. In contrast, the Non-SRB profile reported the highest mean score in family functioning, becoming the group with more adaptive characteristics that will favor adequate development and adjustment during this evolutionary stage. If adolescence is already considered a stage that can lead to changes and tensions, it becomes a particularly difficult and adverse time when young people reside in family contexts with problems for proper functioning due to insufficient resources and support or a psychosocial risk situation. The results of this research support previous findings which warn that an unfavorable family environment is a risk factor for school refusal behaviors [53] [54] [55] 65, 77] . Specific family and community involvement activities need to be promoted by schools and centers for absentee students. For example, empirical evidence has revealed that parents with democratic-style family functioning, characterized by affection, control, and the demands of maturity, have adolescents with better emotional and behavioral adjustment [55] . In addition, it has been proven that family practices can significantly decrease chronic absenteeism [76] . To do this, communicating with families about the relevance of regularly attending school; providing techniques to improve communication, conviviality, and familial unity; and establishing parental schools to help families address emotional and educational problems could reduce students' absenteeism. It is essential that adolescents can actively participate with adults in the different issues that affect them, but always from negotiated conflict resolution and acquiring democratic habits for the development of norms.

The results of this research support previous findings which warn that an unfavorable family environment is a risk factor for school refusal behaviors.

For example, empirical evidence has revealed that parents with democratic-style family functioning, characterized by affection, control, and the demands of maturity, have adolescents with better emotional and behavioral adjustment.

In addition, it has been proven that family practices can significantly decrease chronic absenteeism.


The recent mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, MPB) epidemic has affected massive areas of forest in North America [1] . Between the years 1996 and 2013, Colorado severely suffered from MPB infestations, and more than 1.38 million ha of forest land were affected [2] . The timber and bioenergy production decision-making processes are made separately and sequentially. Barriers to producing and utilizing forest biomass for bioenergy include the technical and economic feasibility of biomass feedstock logistics, often limited in comparison to conventional silvicultural treatments and harvesting methods. When utilizing MPB-infested forest resources where lower timber product values and a higher proportion of biomass residues occur, cooperation between timber and bioenergy production requires strengthening to enhance the economic feasibility of forest salvage utilization. Integrating timber and bioenergy production in planning may improve the performance of the entire forest supply chain network.

The recent mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, MPB) epidemic has affected massive areas of forest in North America.

Between the years 1996 and 2013, Colorado severely suffered from MPB infestations, and more than 1.38 million ha of forest land were affected.


One limitation of our study concerns the representativeness of our sample. As noted previously, it is very representative in certain respects and less so in others. On the positive side, it is clearly quite representative of new dramatic television series: we found data on originality and track record for all 107 series and pilot episode teleplays for almost 92% of those. That said, because we limited our examination to hour-long programs, it is not clear if our results extend to comedies or any other scripted genres. Similarly, because we limited our analysis to the top four TV networks, it's also not clear whether our results would be the same for new series appearing on established cable networks like HBO, on smaller broadcast networks like the CW, or streamed over Amazon, Hulu, and Netflix (Tryon, 2015) .

Similarly, because we limited our analysis to the top four TV networks, it's also not clear whether our results would be the same for new series appearing on established cable networks like HBO, on smaller broadcast networks like the CW, or streamed over Amazon, Hulu, and Netflix.


The negligible effect of the Yarkovsky drift on a large asteroid like (142) Polana raises the problem of the origin of its present orbit. There is an analogue case in the resonance 7:3 with Jupiter: asteroid (677) Aaltje (Tsiganis et al., 2003) . One possible mechanism to explain such cases would be chaotic diffusion enhanced by close encounters with massive asteroids which, over Gyr timescales, might push the big asteroids into the resonance. A more efficient alternative, although not yet proved to be compatible with the dynamical history of Mars, would be a slow migration of Mars orbit. This later mechanism of capture is dynamically possible, as we have checked with some numerical experiments, but it does not distinguish between asteroid sizes.

There is an analogue case in the resonance 7:3 with Jupiter: asteroid (677) Aaltje.


The asteroid Main Belt is sculpted by mean motion resonances (MMR), mainly with Jupiter, and secular resonances with the giant planets. However, there are also relatively strong exterior MMR with the terrestrial planets, especially in the inner region of the Belt (Gallardo, 2006) . For any terrestrial planet, its exterior 1:2 MMR is the strongest one, and in the case of Mars, this resonance (1:2M) is located in the inner main belt at a ∼ 2.4184 AU. This MMR produces an evident concentration of asteroids in semimajor axis (Gallardo, 2007) . How was this concentration created? How long does an asteroid stay in resonant motion? Is there any mechanism that replenishes the population? The study of the dynamics of the 1:2M resonance and the origin and evolutionary paths of their members is the aim of this paper.

However, there are also relatively strong exterior MMR with the terrestrial planets, especially in the inner region of the Belt.

This MMR produces an evident concentration of asteroids in semimajor axis.

How was this concentration created?


Shape-memory polymers (SMPs) are materials that can change from a temporary shape to their original shape through an external stimulus. The original shape is given by the curing process and it is permanent while the temporary shape is imposed by a programming process, which depends on the physical nature of the shape-memory polymer (SMP) [1] [2] [3] [4] . The most common type are the thermo-responsive SMPs [5] . The efficiency of a SMP is defined by the shape-memory response (SMR), which includes the mechanical capabilities (high ultimate strength and strain), good fixation and retention of the temporary shape and well-controlled shape-recovery process. Shape-memory thermosets are recently the focus of several researchers due to the higher strength, larger durability, better retention of the temporary shape and faster recovery of the original shape than those SMPs based on thermoplastics. Specifically, epoxy-based SMPs are interesting because of their excellent mechanical properties, electrical insulation and high thermal stability, being potentially interesting in structural applications [3, 6] . Nevertheless, the inherent rigidity of common epoxy resins, their low strain and stress at break, narrows their application range.

The original shape is given by the curing process and it is permanent while the temporary shape is imposed by a programming process, which depends on the physical nature of the shape-memory polymer (SMP).

The most common type are the thermo-responsive SMPs.

Specifically, epoxy-based SMPs are interesting because of their excellent mechanical properties, electrical insulation and high thermal stability, being potentially interesting in structural applications.


Collagens I and IV are keyconstituents of the skin and are involved in various physiopathological alterations associated with cancer or aging. Type I collagen is one of the most abundant proteins in mammals and is found in all dermal layers of skin in high proportion (85-90%). It contributes to the great tensile strength and allows withstanding deformation of the dermis. In chronologic aging, type I collagen of dermis becomes sparser and less soluble [1] . In basal cell carcinoma, type I collagen is found degraded at the level of the peritumoral dermis [2] . Type IV collagen is localized in the basement 422 Spectroscopy: An International Journal membrane of the dermo-epidermal junction (DEJ); this constituent is crucial to maintain the integrity, the stability, and the functionality of this very thin membrane. Antiangiogenic and antitumor activities of type IV collagen were demonstrated in vitro; these properties were attributed to the NC1 domain of the protein [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] . In skin aging, the thickness of the basement membrane increases but the type IV collagen content declines [9] .

In chronologic aging, type I collagen of dermis becomes sparser and less soluble.

In basal cell carcinoma, type I collagen is found degraded at the level of the peritumoral dermis.

Antiangiogenic and antitumor activities of type IV collagen were demonstrated in vitro; these properties were attributed to the NC1 domain of the protein.

In skin aging, the thickness of the basement membrane increases but the type IV collagen content declines.


Presently, immunohistochemistry and western blot techniques are the main techniques to probe collagen IV content in the basement membrane and to investigate molecular alterations such as those associated with aging [10, 14] . The weak point of these techniques is their destructive nature and the necessity to use extrinsic labeling. In contrast, Raman spectroscopy is a nondestructive approach based on the interaction of the light with the matter. This vibrational technique is an interesting label-free tool to probe the intrinsic molecular composition of a sample and also to access some structural information by preserving the sample integrity. To our knowledge, no studies referring to the analysis of human collagen IV by Raman spectroscopy has been published up to now. For type I collagen, researches showed the advantage of Raman microspectroscopy to access in situ conformational information on skin sections [2, 15] .

Presently, immunohistochemistry and western blot techniques are the main techniques to probe collagen IV content in the basement membrane and to investigate molecular alterations such as those associated with aging.

For type I collagen, researches showed the advantage of Raman microspectroscopy to access in situ conformational information on skin sections.


All of the collagen types consist of a set of three polypeptide chains called tropocollagen, about 300 nm and 360 nm in length for type I and IV collagens, respectively [10] . Each polypeptide chain is characterized by a Gly-X-Y sequence where X corresponds frequently to proline and Y to hydroxyproline [11] . For each Gly-X-Y tripeptide unit, there is only one direct intrachain hydrogen bond between the N-H group of glycine and the C=O group of X residue. In addition, stabilizing interactions originate from the network of hydrogen bondings between water and hydroxyproline residues [12] . These different types of interactions ensure tropocollagen to present a triple-helical conformation. For type I collagen of the dermis, tropocollagens are associated with each other by mainly three different types of cross-links (lysinonorleucine, glucosyl-galactosyl-hydroxylysinonorleucine, and histidinohydroxymerosine links), forming a very resistant fiber [10] . So, "fibrillar" is a current adjective for type I collagen. Type IV collagen structure is different from the collagen I. It does not form fibers but a plane network, stabilized by an arrangement of N-terminal domains of four tropocollagens. These domains are associated in tetramers, through disulfide bonds and lysinonorleucine and glucosylgalactosyl-hydroxylysinonorleucine cross-links to constitute the 7S domain [10] . Another feature of collagen IV is the presence of several interruptions within the Gly-X-Y sequence [13] .

All of the collagen types consist of a set of three polypeptide chains called tropocollagen, about 300 nm and 360 nm in length for type I and IV collagens, respectively.

Each polypeptide chain is characterized by a Gly-X-Y sequence where X corresponds frequently to proline and Y to hydroxyproline.

In addition, stabilizing interactions originate from the network of hydrogen bondings between water and hydroxyproline residues.

For type I collagen of the dermis, tropocollagens are associated with each other by mainly three different types of cross-links (lysinonorleucine, glucosyl-galactosyl-hydroxylysinonorleucine, and histidinohydroxymerosine links), forming a very resistant fiber.

These domains are associated in tetramers, through disulfide bonds and lysinonorleucine and glucosylgalactosyl-hydroxylysinonorleucine cross-links to constitute the 7S domain.

Another feature of collagen IV is the presence of several interruptions within the Gly-X-Y sequence.


This means that the composite is hard-drawn and has relatively fine subgrains [16] . Figure 2 shows an image of the carbon replica of the composite. The average size of the dispersed particles of Al 2 O 3 is about 30 nm. At the same time, they occupy a large surface area -of about 20%. This increases the softening temperature and reduces the adhesion of the oxide film to the surface of the composite. Dimensions of dispersed particles are of the nanocomposite category [17, 18] .

This means that the composite is hard-drawn and has relatively fine subgrains.

Dimensions of dispersed particles are of the nanocomposite category.


In conducting this exploration, we have drawn inspiration from several threads of prior work. Most immediately, our work seeks to extend familiar but simple interactions with street posters that involve small numbers of embedded and obvious visual tags. These include the use of QR codes as physical hyperlinks to digital information such as event details, map coordinates or vouchers and promotions [21] . Our aim is to extend such approaches to gracefully embed a higher density of visual codes within an image in a way that is both aesthetic and richly interactive. Our work contrasts with recent approaches that have employed computer vision to recognize the image as a whole. These are often coupled with the display of AR content (e.g. where the poster acts as reference frame in which to visualize 3D graphics) [13] .

These include the use of QR codes as physical hyperlinks to digital information such as event details, map coordinates or vouchers and promotions.

These are often coupled with the display of AR content (e.g. where the poster acts as reference frame in which to visualize 3D graphics).


The world fusion programme needs neutron sources adapted to its own physical requirements. ITER and NIF will teach us how to control deuterium-tritium nuclear fusion reactions under electromagnetic and inertial confinement, however the mechanical properties that essential building bricks will show after few years of operation of a fusion power plant remain unknown. Licensing of a fusion reactor will not be possible without an understanding of the degradation during operation of the materials of its vessel directly exposed to the nuclear reactions. The successful development of nuclear fission power plants in the 50s demanded a parallel intense materials research over decades to understand the impact of fission neutrons in structural materials [40] . Present maturity of materials science and modern computation techniques can guarantee a thorough understanding of the behaviour once relevant data is available; unfortunately the spectrum and flux of either existing or planned fission or spallation neutron sources cannot disclose the unknowns. The transmutation energy threshold for p + and α-particles generation goes beyond typical fission neutrons energy including fast breeder reactors; in turn, spallation sources present wide neutron spectra with long tails reaching one order of magnitude higher energy than fusion neutrons (with the generation of typically one order of magnitude more appm/dpa of He leading to a significantly more severe embrittlement). Furthermore, direct extrapolation of the mechanical degradation under irradiation from a FCC crystal structure of austenitic steels to the ferritic BCC is not possible. Fusion relevant data at 30 dpa is needed to meet nuclear fusion roadmaps [41] . IFMIF will generate neutrons with a broad peak at 14 MeV at a flux of 10 18 /m·s 2 that will allow materials testing at equivalent conditions of those in a fusion power plant. The impact of temperature while irradiation takes place in the detrimental lattice void swelling (observed for ferritic-martensitic steels from 20 NRT dpa) is known; the High Flux Test Module (under validation in Karlsruhe) present 24 independently cooled capsules that will allow the tuning of the optimal operational conditions of a power plant. Furthermore, the small specimens technique is mature; it will provide an understanding of macroscopical properties. Its standardization would be of global benefit. The fusion materials programme demands joining forces, unravelling the physics through suitable testing will validate and tune existing neutronics models and will allow the design of radiation harder low activating materials, with an enormous impact on fusion power plant operational life. Moving towards electricity production demands materials science, in parallel with alternative facilities targeting to tame nuclear fusion reactions, to play a key role in the world fusion programme endeavours. Suited material testing experimental facilities are indispensable; IFMIF is.

The successful development of nuclear fission power plants in the 50s demanded a parallel intense materials research over decades to understand the impact of fission neutrons in structural materials.

Fusion relevant data at 30 dpa is needed to meet nuclear fusion roadmaps.


With the use of valid and reliable measures of healthrelated quality of life (HRQL), it has been well established that many patients with sickle cell disease have significant impairment in HRQL when in their baseline state of health [1] . The ability of a HRQL instrument to detect true change in health status over time (longitudinal validity) and knowledge of what change is meaningful to patients are both critical elements when using HRQL instruments to measure this patient-centered outcome. Recently the PedsQL™ Sickle Cell Disease module has been shown to be a feasible, reliable, and valid disease specific measure of HRQL [2] . However, the ability of this instrument to detect change in patients with sickle cell disease and knowing whether that change in HRQL is meaningful have not been determined. Understanding whether a change in HRQL reflects a meaningful change in health status for a patient is critical to support use of the measure in clinical trials and in the clinical care of patients.

With the use of valid and reliable measures of healthrelated quality of life (HRQL), it has been well established that many patients with sickle cell disease have significant impairment in HRQL when in their baseline state of health.

Recently the PedsQL™ Sickle Cell Disease module has been shown to be a feasible, reliable, and valid disease specific measure of HRQL.


In this paper we carry out a new estimation of the sensitivity of CTA to DM annihilation, and compare this to the sensitivity of Fermi. We improve on previous analyses in a number of ways. First, we present a detailed discussion of all backgrounds, including cosmic-ray protons and electrons, and for the first time in the context of CTA and DM, the effects of the diffuse astrophysical emission. We estimate this from Fermi -LAT data, suitably extrapolated above 500 GeV in order to cover the range of energies relevant for CTA. Second, we study the impact of systematic errors. There are many sources of systematic uncertainty inherent in CTA measurements: event reconstruction, Monte Carlo determination of the effective area, and uncertainty in atmospheric conditions [35] . A detailed assessment can only realistically be performed by the CTA Collaboration itself after the instrument is built; here we instead present a simple but comprehensive statistical framework with which the impacts of these systematics on the sensitivity of CTA to DM annihilation can be illustrated and evaluated. Third, we show that performing the analysis over a series of suitably optimised regions of interest (RoIs) partially compensates for the degradation in sensitivity due to systematics and backgrounds. We carry out a multi-RoI 'morphological' analysis of the gamma-ray emission, and demonstrate how it improves the CTA sensitivity to DM compared to the so-called 'Ring' method previously discussed in the literature [36] .

There are many sources of systematic uncertainty inherent in CTA measurements: event reconstruction, Monte Carlo determination of the effective area, and uncertainty in atmospheric conditions.

We carry out a multi-RoI 'morphological' analysis of the gamma-ray emission, and demonstrate how it improves the CTA sensitivity to DM compared to the so-called 'Ring' method previously discussed in the literature.


This study thus presents alternative model that reflect the structural changes in the oil market using Bayesian inference The model reflects the expected structure of the oil market in the prior density function by using subjective approaches. Occasionally, the subjective approach is sufficient, as experts may make good forecasts. Expert opinion, however, causes bias and uncertainty [32] . To improve the reliability of judgmental forecasts, this study employs Bayesian updating with actual data. Bayesian models, which forecast more accurately than traditional time-series analysis, are generally used in forecasting researches of GDP, inflation, the consumer prices, and the exchange rate [33, 34] . The proposed model is a type of Bayesian normal multiple regression model with informative priors. It applies the recent and expected structure of the oil market to parameters' prior information using a subjective approach and then derives the parameters' posterior density function by updating with available market data. To test the forecasting performance of the proposed model, it is compared to benchmark models, including an ordinary least squares (OLS) linear model and a neural network model using out-of-sample forecasting performance. The results forecast for 2040 by the proposed model are analyzed through comparison with the results of other research.

Expert opinion, however, causes bias and uncertainty.

Bayesian models, which forecast more accurately than traditional time-series analysis, are generally used in forecasting researches of GDP, inflation, the consumer prices, and the exchange rate.


In this paper, we propose a new subspace-based method for speech enhancement based on the principle of low-rank and sparse decomposition (LSD). The main idea behind our method is motivated by the recent development of lowrank and sparse theory [16] . According to this theory, if a given corrupted data matrix Y has an underlying low-rank structure, yet corrupted by sparse additive noises. The underlying low-rank component L can be effectively recovered by solving a convex optimization problem, even if the noise is arbitrary in magnitude. In the time domain, owing to the short-time stability of human speech, speech signals can be assumed to have a low-rank structure. On the other hand, due to the randomness of noise, background noise is more variable and thus can be viewed as sparse and high-rank. Thus LSD theory can be exploited to recover the underlying speech from corrupted speech signals.

The main idea behind our method is motivated by the recent development of lowrank and sparse theory.


The Lanzhou lamb rotavirus (LLR) vaccine is the only vaccine approved for rotavirus infection prevention in China. From 2001 to 2011, children received 838,780 doses of LLR vaccine in Guangzhou [6] . However, there is a paucity of publicly available data regarding this vaccine. Therefore, we conducted an electronic system-based vaccination coverage (VC) survey in Guangzhou to estimate the LLR VC and timeliness among children aged 2 to 59 months to optimize the LLR immunization schedule.

From 2001 to 2011, children received 838,780 doses of LLR vaccine in Guangzhou.


HA scaffold is typically prepared from axial powder compaction of HA powder, followed by binder removal process and further densification of the HA material [4, 11, 12] . To produce straightforward components, axial powder compaction produces little material waste, and production can be carried out at a high rate [13] . Densification processes can be carried out by pressureless sintering, hot isostatic pressing, and microwave sintering [14, 15] .

HA scaffold is typically prepared from axial powder compaction of HA powder, followed by binder removal process and further densification of the HA material.

To produce straightforward components, axial powder compaction produces little material waste, and production can be carried out at a high rate.

Densification processes can be carried out by pressureless sintering, hot isostatic pressing, and microwave sintering.


There are typically two types of HA being researched, namely, dense and porous HA. Both dense and porous types of HA have been applied in many biomedical applications. Dense HA is usually referred to as HA implants with porosity up to 5% and pore size of approximately 1 m [4] . It is the most commonly used material in the case of bone substitution for the ear, such as for ossicle (small bone in the middle ear) connection. The advantage of dense HA is its excellent biocompatibility with minimal risk of resorption due to its slow dissolution rate, even among other calciumphosphate ceramics [5] . Its precipitation rate is also amongst the slowest [6] . These properties give dense HA an edge over highly porous HA for implant or bone replacement applications that are needed for longer period of time. Dense HA also provides sufficient mechanical strength, as compared to porous HA which is much more susceptible to breaking in vivo [7, 8] . Applications of dense HA include a spacer in a disc space, percutaneous access assist devices for continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis, and optical examination of internal tissues and maxillofacial reconstruction [4, 9, 10] . However, no osteoconduction occurs in dense HA as the component is lacked in porosity.

Dense HA is usually referred to as HA implants with porosity up to 5% and pore size of approximately 1 m.

The advantage of dense HA is its excellent biocompatibility with minimal risk of resorption due to its slow dissolution rate, even among other calciumphosphate ceramics.

Its precipitation rate is also amongst the slowest.

Dense HA also provides sufficient mechanical strength, as compared to porous HA which is much more susceptible to breaking in vivo.

Applications of dense HA include a spacer in a disc space, percutaneous access assist devices for continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis, and optical examination of internal tissues and maxillofacial reconstruction.


Over the years, many healthcare products related to the improvement of a person's wellbeing as one ages have seen an increase in demand [1] . One of the examples is the use of an artificial implant to replace dysfunctional body parts or to assist the healing process of a diseased body part. Artificial bone implantation has an advantage over the use of autograft (implant sourcing from the same individual) or allograft (implant sourcing from different individual), mainly due to the limited source of bony parts that can be removed and reimplanted. Secondly, autograft and allograft require secondary operations to perform organ removal from the donor site and implantation into the targeted site. Therefore, artificial materials have been researched for bony implant purposes.

Over the years, many healthcare products related to the improvement of a person's wellbeing as one ages have seen an increase in demand.


HA has been reported to have bioactivity nature and thus assists integration and interaction of osteoblast with the implants [3] . Apart from its compatibility with osteoblast, HA surface is biocompatible with several other types of cells, such as macrophages, fibroblasts, osteoclasts, and periodontal ligament cells [4] . This makes the potential applications of HA even wider.

HA has been reported to have bioactivity nature and thus assists integration and interaction of osteoblast with the implants.

Apart from its compatibility with osteoblast, HA surface is biocompatible with several other types of cells, such as macrophages, fibroblasts, osteoclasts, and periodontal ligament cells.


The current research focuses on the use of near dense HA structures. By having porosity, however minimal, the HA structures will be able to maintain their advantage of assisting cell ingrowth and osteoconductive properties, but at the same time, the structure is mechanically strong enough to withstand breakage. A dense HA spacer for cervical spine is one of the several applications that would benefit from a near dense HA structures with porosity to a certain degree. A clinical outcome of a dense HA spacer was previously reported as equal to autologous iliac crest interbody fusion and that patients who underwent the HA fusion had less need for secondary operation due to plug slippage [7] . With the introduction of porosity, HA fusion in an implant could be further improved without sacrificing its mechanical strength.

A clinical outcome of a dense HA spacer was previously reported as equal to autologous iliac crest interbody fusion and that patients who underwent the HA fusion had less need for secondary operation due to plug slippage.


It is recommended that aneurysmal repair be considered in HAA larger than 2 cm [2] . In our case, the situation was complicated by the fact that the patient had undergone a large myocardial infarction (MI) 3 weeks prior to admission. The decisions to observe and to operate were both high-risk options. The multidisciplinary team in conjunction with the patient and family had to decide if surgical correction of the HAA was still a viable option and if so, what if any window of the rehabilitation should be allowed before attempting surgical repair.

It is recommended that aneurysmal repair be considered in HAA larger than 2 cm.


Since regular stream constraints correspond to constraint automata, we can view regular stream constrains as a restricted temporal logic for which distributed synthesis is easy. In general, distributed (finite state) synthesis of protocols is undecidable [22, 23] . Pushing the boundary from regular to a larger class of stream constraints can be useful for more effective synthesis methods.

In general, distributed (finite state) synthesis of protocols is undecidable.


There are currently two main classes of city scale reconstruction algorithms, the rst uses bag of words methods to identify scene overlap, which is then used to bootstrap large-scale structure from motion registration delivering camera registration and sparse 3D point clouds of the scene [1, 16] . Even with a cloud computer of 62 CPUs these methods only scale to the registration of a few hundred thousand images within 24 hours, not meeting the demand of true Internet scale photo collections. The second class of methods uses appearance based image grouping followed by epipolar geome-try verication to identify overlapping images. A set of identied characteristic views (iconics) is afterwards exploited to bootstrap the ecient image registration through structure from motion [3, 9] . These methods can scale to the processing of a few million images on a single PC within 24 hours as shown in our work [3] .

There are currently two main classes of city scale reconstruction algorithms, the rst uses bag of words methods to identify scene overlap, which is then used to bootstrap large-scale structure from motion registration delivering camera registration and sparse 3D point clouds of the scene.

A set of identied characteristic views (iconics) is afterwards exploited to bootstrap the ecient image registration through structure from motion.

These methods can scale to the processing of a few million images on a single PC within 24 hours as shown in our work.


The consistency of the observed Higgs couplings with the Standard Model strongly constrain the possibilities for discovery of additional Higgs bosons. The simplest explanation for this consistency is that any additional Higgs multiplets have large positive electroweak-preserving mass terms. These models have a "decoupling limit" where the quadratic terms of the new Higgs fields get large, with other couplings held fixed [6, 7] . In this limit, the physical masses of the new Higgs bosons becomes large, and their effects decouple at low energies. Probing additional Higgs bosons near the decoupling limit is therefore very difficult.

These models have a "decoupling limit" where the quadratic terms of the new Higgs fields get large, with other couplings held fixed.


Another limit of multi-Higgs models that is often studied in the literature is the "alignment limit" where the lightest CP even physical Higgs boson h is closely aligned with the VEV in the multi-Higgs field space [7, 8] . The decoupling limit implies the alignment limit, but alignment does not require the new Higgs bosons to be heavy. Alignment without decoupling is not guaranteed by any symmetry, and is therefore an accidental (or fine-tuned) property of the Higgs potential. The alignment limit has a distinctive phenomenology. The approximate alignment of the 125 GeV mass eigenstate h with the Higgs VEV guarantees that the couplings hV V (V = W, Z) are close to the Standard Model values. Since these are among the most precisely measured Higgs couplings, this partially explains the Standard-Model-like nature of the observed Higgs bosons. The alignment limit implies that couplings of the form HV V are suppressed, where H denotes a new Higgs boson. However, the couplings Hf f (f = fermion) are allowed to be unsuppressed, so one searches for signals involving the heavies fermions t, b, and τ [8] [9] [10] .

Another limit of multi-Higgs models that is often studied in the literature is the "alignment limit" where the lightest CP even physical Higgs boson h is closely aligned with the VEV in the multi-Higgs field space.

However, the couplings Hf f (f = fermion) are allowed to be unsuppressed, so one searches for signals involving the heavies fermions t, b, and τ.


In this paper we consider a simple symmetry explanation for the Standard-Model like couplings of the 125 GeV Higgs that allows additional Higgs bosons to be light. We assume that there are additional Higgs doublets that are odd under an approximate Z 2 symmetry, while all Standard Model fields (including the Standard Model Higgs doublet) are even under Z 2 . We first consider the limit where the Z 2 symmetry is exact, and then include small explicit breaking. First, note that the Yukawa couplings of the additional Higgs doublets to Standard Model fermions are forbidden by Z 2 symmetry. Next we consider the couplings of the Higgs bosons to vector bosons. We assume that the Z 2 odd Higgs fields have positive quadratic terms, so that they have vanishing VEV, and the Z 2 symmetry is not spontaneously broken. In this case the Z 2 -even and Z 2 -odd Higgs bosons do not mix, and the Standard Model Higgs doublet is entirely responsible for electroweak symmetry breaking. In this case, the vector couplings of the Z 2 even Higgs boson are the same as in the Standard Model, so the Z 2 symmetry gives a limit where the Higgs is naturally Standard Model-like. In this scenario, the additional Higgs bosons are called "inert" because they do not contribute to electroweak symmetry breaking [11] . In the inert limit, the lightest Z 2 odd particle is stable, and may be dark matter [12] [13] [14] .

In this scenario, the additional Higgs bosons are called "inert" because they do not contribute to electroweak symmetry breaking.

In the inert limit, the lightest Z 2 odd particle is stable, and may be dark matter.


To evaluate the fit of the model must perform an analysis of the waste. This analysis can be by the graph of the residual variances of each observation in relation to the values adjusted by the model. A model has set and the graphic with the points closest to zero in the range −2 and 2 (Figure 4) . Another chart that is also a good indicator of model fit is the graph of the observed values of the response variable in relation to the values set by the model. The points of this graph should be close, indicating that the fitted values are close to observed values (Figure 3 and Figure 4 ) [34] .

The points of this graph should be close, indicating that the fitted values are close to observed values (Figure 3 and Figure 4 ).


The study revealed that TAM, one of agent SERMs, has a very effective activity against breast cancer T47D cells. TAM is a drug that is widely used for the treatment of breast cancer survivals in clinical researches [20] [21] [22] . For latest decades, TAM has been still standard treatment for breast cancer especially for premenopausal women [23] . T47D cells are ER-positive human breast cancer as evidenced by the response to increased cell proliferation as a results of exposure to 17-estradiol [24] . TAM is one of the estrogen antagonist which inhibits the activity of estrogen in most tissues that are sensitive to estrogen. TAM has become the standard treatment for all stages of breast cancer in both pre-and post menopausal women [7] . The potential benefits of the use of TAM as a preventive has been widely studied and reported that TAM has ability to reduce the risk of breast cancer in approximately 50% of most women who have a high risk of breast cancer [6] . The result of TAM on inhibitory cell proliferation of T47D was support by previous studies.

TAM is a drug that is widely used for the treatment of breast cancer survivals in clinical researches.

For latest decades, TAM has been still standard treatment for breast cancer especially for premenopausal women.

T47D cells are ER-positive human breast cancer as evidenced by the response to increased cell proliferation as a results of exposure to 17-estradiol.

TAM has become the standard treatment for all stages of breast cancer in both pre-and post menopausal women.

The potential benefits of the use of TAM as a preventive has been widely studied and reported that TAM has ability to reduce the risk of breast cancer in approximately 50% of most women who have a high risk of breast cancer.


In addition, we also determined the estrogenic effects of FPC using human breast cancer T47D cells which is a positive ER model. The present results suggested that FPC had estrogenic effects of cell proliferation at concentrations lower than 20 μmol/L and shown growth inhibition above 20 μmol/L on T47D cells. The biphasic effect FPC are consistent with previous study in which the other phytoestrogens, genistein and its synthetic analogs could inhibit the growth of cancer cells in vitro, including hormone-dependent breast cancer or not with IC 50 in the range between 10-50 μmol/L (more than 10 μmol/ L) [25, 26] . While at concentrations lower than 10 μmol/L or low to moderate dose (6.25 and 12.50 g/kg body weight), the growth of MCF-7 (estrogen receptor-positive cell line) or human breast cancer cells (MCF-7) implanted into athymic mice were stimulated by genistein or soy isoflavone extracts [27] [28] [29] . The biphasic effect of phytoestrogens genistein or FPC is most likely related to estrogen-like effects at low concentrations, while at high concentrations, these phytoestrogens act not only on estrogen receptors, as for example is the inhibition of one or more cellular signaling molecules that control cell growth and cell apoptosis.

The biphasic effect FPC are consistent with previous study in which the other phytoestrogens, genistein and its synthetic analogs could inhibit the growth of cancer cells in vitro, including hormone-dependent breast cancer or not with IC 50 in the range between 10-50 μmol/L (more than 10 μmol/ L).

While at concentrations lower than 10 μmol/L or low to moderate dose (6.25 and 12.50 g/kg body weight), the growth of MCF-7 (estrogen receptor-positive cell line) or human breast cancer cells (MCF-7) implanted into athymic mice were stimulated by genistein or soy isoflavone extracts.


The interaction between FPC and TAM as a standard treatment for all stages of breast cancer in pre-and post-menopausal women was never studied in more detail. As the use of alternative dietary phytoestrogen supplements is increasing, it is very important to examine the estrogenic effects of novel phytoestrogen, FPC and its interactions with TAM as the standard treatment of breast cancer. It is important to note that even though FPC is weakly estrogenic, the estrogenic effects of FPC was still sufficient to attenuate or reduce the growth inhibition effect of TAM on T47D cells. This result was supported by previous study low-dose dietary genistein negates the therapeutic effect of TAM in athymic nude mice [17] .

This result was supported by previous study low-dose dietary genistein negates the therapeutic effect of TAM in athymic nude mice.


Recently, more than half of incident cases occured in the developing countries [2, 3] . The recent finding described that the mortality from breast cancer is a leading cause of death among adult women in developing countries as well as the developed world [1] . Many factors contribute to the development and progression of breast cancer. Among these factors, estrogens play a crucial role. Estrogens bind to estrogen receptors (ERs), resulting in an activated complex that acts as a transcription factor through binding to target genes, therefore promoting cell proliferation and tumor growth. Agents that modify ER associated signaling are typical selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERM) . SERMs exhibiting mixed antagonist-agonist tissuespecific activities and modulating ER expression may alter ER conformation and ligand binding, and change the expression or binding of co-regulator proteins [4, 5] . Anti-estrogens agents have been widely studied and used for their roles in the prevention and treatment of breast cancer, especially estrogen-dependent breast tumors. Anti-estrogenic strategies have been remarkably efficacious for breast cancer treatment and prevention. Among these, tamoxifen (TAM) is the most widely prescribed SERM worldwide [5, 6] . TAM is one of anti-estrogens that blocks activity of estrogens in most tissues that are sensitive to estrogens. TAM has become the standard treatment for breast cancer at all stages of the disease in both pre-menopausal and postmenopausal women [7] . Factors that might interfere with the efficacy of TAM, by either direct or indirect mechanisms, may modify its efficacy for breast cancer treatment or prevention [8] .

Recently, more than half of incident cases occured in the developing countries.

The recent finding described that the mortality from breast cancer is a leading cause of death among adult women in developing countries as well as the developed world.

SERMs exhibiting mixed antagonist-agonist tissuespecific activities and modulating ER expression may alter ER conformation and ligand binding, and change the expression or binding of co-regulator proteins.

Among these, tamoxifen (TAM) is the most widely prescribed SERM worldwide.

TAM has become the standard treatment for breast cancer at all stages of the disease in both pre-menopausal and postmenopausal women.

Factors that might interfere with the efficacy of TAM, by either direct or indirect mechanisms, may modify its efficacy for breast cancer treatment or prevention.


In the recent years, fractional calculus has been one of the most interesting issues that have attracted many scientists, specially in mathematics and engineering sciences. Many natural phenomena can be presented by boundary value problems of fractional differential equations. Many authors in different fields such as chemical physics, fluid flows, electrical networks, viscoelasticity, try to model these phenomena by boundary value problems of fractional differential equations [1] [2] [3] [4] . To achieve extra information in fractional calculus, specially boundary value problems, readers can refer to valuable papers or books .

Many authors in different fields such as chemical physics, fluid flows, electrical networks, viscoelasticity, try to model these phenomena by boundary value problems of fractional differential equations.


In order to find meaningful critical theory, which should have a finite number of relevant directions, we must start from a theory with sufficiently large theory space so that all possible interactions are taken into account. In practice, to carry out this program, we have to make certain approximations such that the problem becomes tractable. Finite truncations of couplings are most often used to study the problem. The idea behind this is that if approximations with finite number of couplings admit nontrivial FPs, and these are not significantly affected by further analysis with more couplings, it would give a support to hypothesis that a continuum limit exists. Indeed there is accumulating evidence that this is the right direction starting from Einstein theory with a cosmological constant and additional terms [5] - [10] . However a problem is that we cannot exhaust all the infinite number of terms within finite truncations of the theory space. In addition there is also a problem of uniqueness; how to select the concrete quantum theory from the vast sea of possible terms.

Indeed there is accumulating evidence that this is the right direction starting from Einstein theory with a cosmological constant and additional terms.


Regarding Support Reading Strategies, the students reported high use of Strategy 10 (M = 4.08), Strategy 2 (M = 3.78), and Strategy 18 (M = 3.76). The students used these strategies to underline and circle information, take notes and paraphrase or restate ideas in their own words. See Table 3 for more details on the Support Reading Strategies. Given the above, these students qualified as proficient readers because proficient readers aid reading through note-taking, underlining and highlighting textual information (Mokhtari & Sheorey (2002) . To further support the argument that the students were very skillful readers, they reported lower medium use of thinking about information in both English and mother tongue, and translating English into their native languages. In Botswana, students are generally discouraged by teachers with regard to using their mother tongue in schools across all levels of education, because English is the official language. In addition, these students reported medium use of reference materials, and asking themselves questions. It could be argued that these students were in the process of acquiring research skills, which include use of a variety of resources, because they were still at the beginning stages of academics. As far as Global Reading Strategies are concerned, these students reported high use of reading with a purpose, using personal experiences and background knowledge, and reading closely to decide what to take and what to ignore. However, it is important to note that these students reported medium use of Strategy 24 (M = 3.23) where they guessed the content of the text when they read, and also medium use of Strategy 27 (M = 3.39) where they checked to see if their guesses about the text were right or wrong. It is also worth noting that in this subscale, the students also reported medium use of important strategies such as Strategy 20 (M = 2.96), Strategy 15 (M = 2.82), and Strategy 21 (M = 3.14) where they used typographical features such as bold face and italics to identify key information, tables, figures, and pictures in the text to increase understanding; and to critically analyse and evaluate the information presented in the text. They also reported medium use of reviewing text by noting characteristics such as its length and organisation (Strategy 8, M = 2.65). See Table 4 for more details of the Support Reading Strategies. As already noted, in the Problem Solving strategy subscale the students reported high use of guessing the meaning of unknown words and phrases, and from time to time thinking about what they were reading. Here in the Global Reading scale, however, at a medium level, the students guessed the content of the text, and also checked to see if their guesses were right or wrong. It could be argued that the students' guessing and thinking skills were limited to deducing vocabulary meanings rather than digging deep into the gist of the text to infer, interpret and analyse it. In other words, the Social Science students were still not yet proficient in terms of critically interrogating the subject matter of academic texts. Furthermore, they still lacked understanding of the role of length and organisation, especially when summarising academic materials.

Given the above, these students qualified as proficient readers because proficient readers aid reading through note-taking, underlining and highlighting textual information.


The second main topic of our paper is concentrated near the known Gauss-Lucas theorem [23] . According to this theorem the roots {µ k } n−1 1 of the derivative p ′ of a complex polynomial p(∈ C[z]) of degree n lie in the convex hull of the roots {λ j } n 1 of the polynomial p. At a first view this topic is rather far from the above one. Nevertheless the following proposition establishes a "bridge" between two main topics (parts) of the paper. The proof is immediately implied by (1.2) since now c k = 1, k ≤ n. Combining Proposition 1.1 with Theorem 3.7 (our solution to inverse problem) and setting µ n := ( n 1 λ j )/n, we immediately arrive (see Proposition 4.2) at the following result: the vector µ := {µ j } n 1 is bistochastically majorized by the vector λ := {λ j } n 1 , that is there exists a doubly stochastic n × n-matrix S such that µ = Sλ.

The second main topic of our paper is concentrated near the known Gauss-Lucas theorem.


In this paper we have computed the boundary S-matrix for the Gross-Neveu model, extending Ghoshal's analysis of the nonlinear σ model. We also found general (diagonal) solutions for the boundary Yang-Baxter equation for both models and connected them to the boundary conditions proposed recently in our paper [5] . We also proved that the solutions presented in this paper are consistent with boundary-bootstrap. This seems to indicate that the boundary contains a lot of information of the bulk theory. It would be interesting to investigate how much we can learn about bulk integrable models starting from the boundary. As a natural follow-up to this work it would be interesting to study the boundary Yang-Baxter equation in general and see if there are non-diagonal solutions, that is flavor-changing scattering off the boundary. There should be possible, then to find associated microscopic boundary conditions for the elementary fields.

We also found general (diagonal) solutions for the boundary Yang-Baxter equation for both models and connected them to the boundary conditions proposed recently in our paper.


The peak amplitude difference ODF is also noteworthy and should prove to be useful in areas such as real-time sound synthesis by analysis. Spectral processing techniques such as the Phase Vocoder or sinusoidal models work well during the steady-state regions of musical notes, but have problems in transient areas which follow note onsets [5, 23] . One solution to this problem is to identify these regions and process them differently, which requires accurate onset detection to avoid synthesis artefacts. It is in this context that the peak amplitude difference ODF is particularly useful. It was shown to provide more accurate results than the well-established complex domain method with noticeably lower computation requirements, and as it integrates seamlessly with the sinusoidal modelling process, it can be added to the existing sinusoidal modelling systems at very little cost.

Spectral processing techniques such as the Phase Vocoder or sinusoidal models work well during the steady-state regions of musical notes, but have problems in transient areas which follow note onsets.


Even though they display interesting mechanical properties, thermosetting polymer matrices also present undeniable drawbacks: low-temperature storage, very long curing process, and hand-made draping, which cause most of the irreversible defects during the manufacturing process. Thereby, high performance thermoplastic resins offer a promising alternative to thermosetting resins. Indeed, semi-crystalline thermoplastic resins offer a number of advantages over conventional thermosetting resins (such as epoxies): a high degree of chemical resistance, excellent damage and impact resistances, and they may be used over a wide range of temperatures. Following an impact, PMC laminates may undergo delamination, resulting in low damage tolerance, which is of great concern for aircraft applications [7, 8] .

Following an impact, PMC laminates may undergo delamination, resulting in low damage tolerance, which is of great concern for aircraft applications.


The dynamic tests raised major difficulties in view of their goal which was to perform tests at a constant and imposed strain rate. Also, the same problem was posed in the characterization of out-of-plane and through-thethickness material properties. Indeed, for composite materials it is necessary to manufacture very thick plates to be able to machine test specimens to study the materials out of-plane tension, compression and shear properties [26] . The current development of composite (especially high modulus and toughness GFRP and CFRP) materials with higher mechanical characteristics is bringing the difficulty back in the test laboratories (especially when 3D interlock, braided, stitched sandwich, etc., composite materials are studied). For these reasons, specimens with added tabs, and dog-bones forms, were also sometimes used for tension or compression dynamic tests respectively. Being destructives, the related costs of dynamic tests are very high (one must also consider that for research needs, the instrumentation and the results exploitation are heavy and expensive processes).

Indeed, for composite materials it is necessary to manufacture very thick plates to be able to machine test specimens to study the materials out of-plane tension, compression and shear properties.


Over the past 150 years, human activity has significantly altered the global carbon (C) cycle. This has been clearly manifested in the persistent and rapid rise in the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (IPCC 2001) . The two primary factors responsible for modifying the terrestrial C cycle are (i) extraction and emission of C from long-term stores of fossil fuels and (ii) changes in land cover and land use (Sarmiento and Gruber 2002) . Increases in carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have altered atmospheric C fluxes to both the oceans and the terrestrial biosphere (Battle et al. 2000; Bousquet et al. 2000; Rödenbeck et al. 2003) . The potential importance of the biosphere to greenhouse warming is highlighted by the fact that annual fluxes from terrestrial ecosystems are more than an order of magnitude greater than fossil fuel emissions. Thus, it is important to understand the factors controlling the exchange of C between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere, particularly at a continental scale. A major difficulty in determining the role of the biosphere in the global C cycle is the high degree of spatial heterogeneity in the sinks and sources and the extent to which humans have modified and continue to modify the landscape (Houghton 2003) .

This has been clearly manifested in the persistent and rapid rise in the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

The two primary factors responsible for modifying the terrestrial C cycle are (i) extraction and emission of C from long-term stores of fossil fuels and (ii) changes in land cover and land use.

Increases in carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have altered atmospheric C fluxes to both the oceans and the terrestrial biosphere.

A major difficulty in determining the role of the biosphere in the global C cycle is the high degree of spatial heterogeneity in the sinks and sources and the extent to which humans have modified and continue to modify the landscape.


In late 1980s, when Government of Pakistan eliminated limitations for FDI inflows, second spur happened in this field. The period of 1988 is associated with privatization and liberalization strategies, which increased FDI up to $ 711 million (Husain, 2000) . The magnitude of FDI inflows after 2000 to 2013, has been summarized in Figure 1 .

The period of 1988 is associated with privatization and liberalization strategies, which increased FDI up to $ 711 million.


Plants are obligate aerobic organisms like animals and they require oxygen for mitochondrial energy production. Furthermore, plants can deal with much higher concentration of oxygen as the green tissues of plants continuously produce oxygen through the process of photosynthesis during day time. In plants, the green leaves contain 2.5 fold higher oxygen concentration than the non-green parts like root. In both green and non-green parts, the oxygen concentration is much higher than the oxygen concentration found in animal cells (Vanderkooi et al., 1991) . Plant tissues experience wide oxygen fluctuations under abiotic stress conditions, making the surroundings strongly hypoxic (Bailey-Serres and Voesenek, 2008) . Plant seeds also experience huge oxygen variations. When green young seeds are photosynthetically dynamic, the light-dark reaction generates large and quick variations in the internal oxygen concentrations of Brassica napus. The variation ranges from strong hyperoxia (>700 μM in day) to severe hypoxia (<1mM in night). Similar situations have also been observed in many other species (Borisjuk and Rolletschesk, 2008) .

In both green and non-green parts, the oxygen concentration is much higher than the oxygen concentration found in animal cells.

Plant tissues experience wide oxygen fluctuations under abiotic stress conditions, making the surroundings strongly hypoxic.

Similar situations have also been observed in many other species.


Soil health and soil quality are often considered as synonyms [6] . However, soil health places more emphasis on biological activity in soil, such as the contribution of soil organisms to nutrient cycling [7] . Either term is typically defined in terms of vegetation productivity, possibly along with productivity of grazers, the capacity of soil to decompose residues, or the provision by soil of other ecological services [8] . A soil property employed effectively as an indicator of soil health should allow for prediction in advance of that production or service. SOC is considered a valuable indicator of soil health in agricultural soils [9] . MBC has been suggested as another possible indicator [10] . SOC and MBC have sometimes been combined with other measurements to form an index of soil quality [11] [12] [13] . If MBC is to be used to evaluate soil health or soil quality, then the relationship between MBC and SOC needs to be understood clearly.

Soil health and soil quality are often considered as synonyms.

However, soil health places more emphasis on biological activity in soil, such as the contribution of soil organisms to nutrient cycling.

Either term is typically defined in terms of vegetation productivity, possibly along with productivity of grazers, the capacity of soil to decompose residues, or the provision by soil of other ecological services.

SOC is considered a valuable indicator of soil health in agricultural soils.

MBC has been suggested as another possible indicator.

SOC and MBC have sometimes been combined with other measurements to form an index of soil quality.


In the literature, there are two different numerical approaches for modelling the hydrodynamics of gas-solid two-phase flow with CFD simulation: the Euler-Euler and the Euler-Lagrange method [7] . The Euler-Euler method treats each phase as an interpenetrating continuum. In the Euler-Lagrange approach, the gas phase is treated as continua while the solid phases are treated as discrete particles. There are also many drag models that have been developed to investigate the interaction between gas and solid particles in fluidized bed, such as the Syamlal and O'Brien, Wen and Yu and Gidaspow drag models [1, 4, 7] . Unfortunately, in only a limited number of studies have researchers combine both numerical and experimental investigations on the hydrodynamics of a gas-solid fluidized beds.

In the literature, there are two different numerical approaches for modelling the hydrodynamics of gas-solid two-phase flow with CFD simulation: the Euler-Euler and the Euler-Lagrange method.

There are also many drag models that have been developed to investigate the interaction between gas and solid particles in fluidized bed, such as the Syamlal and O'Brien, Wen and Yu and Gidaspow drag models.


Fluidized beds are used in a wide range of industrial applications, covering many sectors including chemical, combustion and energy industries. This variety of applications by fluidized bed systems has the importance of this technology enormously increased. Due to uniform particle mixing and large areas of contact between different phases generated by intensive mixing, fluidized beds have become an important asset in the field of combustion. In the fluidized bed combustor, the fuel particles are suspended and burnt with an intensive mass and heat exchange of hot sand particles and combustion air as well as mass transfer and reactions between gas and fuel particles. In this process, the resulting combustion heat is directly absorbed by the sand bed. This thermal energy stored in the sand particles leads to a homogeneous temperature distribution throughout the fluidized bed and prevents the formation of temperature peaks in bed surface areas [1] . Therefore the heat transfer efficiency in the fluidized bed combustors is strongly dependent on the fluidization quality, and thus is necessary to understand the most important hydrodynamic parameters of the mixtures such as minimum fluidization velocity and maximum bed pressure drop in order to ensure an optimal operating conditions and a complete combustion with minimal pollutant formation in combustion processes.

This thermal energy stored in the sand particles leads to a homogeneous temperature distribution throughout the fluidized bed and prevents the formation of temperature peaks in bed surface areas.


Fragment-based lead discovery (FBLD) has shown promise in current drug discovery and lead optimization. The main concept of this method is to drive new molecules by combining fragments that are determined based on ligandtarget interaction information [9] . Recently, successful application of group-based quantitative structure activity relationship (GQSAR) for lead optimization have been reported [10] . In GQSAR, molecules are fragmented, based on specific molecular sites, bonds, and rings or even interactions with the target, and then the 2D fragment-based descriptors are calculated. The models generated by GQSAR provide hints on the impact of fragment variation on activity [11] .

The main concept of this method is to drive new molecules by combining fragments that are determined based on ligandtarget interaction information.

Recently, successful application of group-based quantitative structure activity relationship (GQSAR) for lead optimization have been reported.

The models generated by GQSAR provide hints on the impact of fragment variation on activity.


Insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) is a tyrosine kinase of the insulin receptor family with hetero-tetrameric α 2 β 2 subunits. Alpha subunit is located extracellularly and contains the binding domain, while the β subunit is mainly intracellular with a small portion spanning across the membranes. The latter subunits are responsible for intracellular signal transduction due to tyrosine kinase domain and associated motifs [1] . IGF-1 receptors are located in all brain tissues such as median eminence, hippocampus, and cortex [2] .

The latter subunits are responsible for intracellular signal transduction due to tyrosine kinase domain and associated motifs.

IGF-1 receptors are located in all brain tissues such as median eminence, hippocampus, and cortex.


Numerous factors influence food preferences, such as socio-cultural factors and genetics. Familiarity with certain foods also influences preference, and can affect the likelihood of trying new foods. Flavor, however, is one of the most important factors influencing food selection [8] [9] [10] . Perception of bitter, sweet, salty, sour and umami taste is mediated by clusters of taste receptor cells on the tongue, palate, larynx, oropharynx, epiglottis and esophagus. These receptors are scattered across the epithelial surface, and are interspersed with one another. Contrary to what was previously believed, there does not exist a clear map of taste regions across the tongue [11] . The current understanding is that signals are transduced to numerous gustatory areas of the brain by the binding of tastants to specific taste receptors [12] . The cholinergic system is thought to primarily mediate gustatory signal transduction; however, glutamate signaling has also been shown to be involved in establishment of conditioned taste aversions [13] . The amygdala and insular cortex are two areas that have been identified as being involved in consolidation and storage of gustatory memories, though research into the full extent of regions involved in this signaling is ongoing [14, 15] . Formation of long-term memory involves new protein synthesis, whereas more rapid formation of short-term memory has been shown to be protein-independent. Formation of human taste memories is thus thought to involve novel protein synthesis; however, the time parameters of these processes are yet to be determined [16] . These memories are retrieved for comparison when a food is consumed, thus biological familiarity plays a role in taste preference. Similarly, olfaction is mediated by olfactory receptor neurons, which utilize a G-protein mechanism to transmit information about an odorant through the olfactory bulb to the olfactory cortex [17] . Odorant recognition helps the gustatory regions of the brain to identify the stimulus present in the oral cavity [12] . Perception of texture and consistency of foods is not mediated by one specific pathway, but could influence flavor intensity, likely by influencing the perception of tastants [18] .

Flavor, however, is one of the most important factors influencing food selection.

Contrary to what was previously believed, there does not exist a clear map of taste regions across the tongue.

The current understanding is that signals are transduced to numerous gustatory areas of the brain by the binding of tastants to specific taste receptors.

The cholinergic system is thought to primarily mediate gustatory signal transduction; however, glutamate signaling has also been shown to be involved in establishment of conditioned taste aversions.

The amygdala and insular cortex are two areas that have been identified as being involved in consolidation and storage of gustatory memories, though research into the full extent of regions involved in this signaling is ongoing.

Formation of human taste memories is thus thought to involve novel protein synthesis; however, the time parameters of these processes are yet to be determined.

Similarly, olfaction is mediated by olfactory receptor neurons, which utilize a G-protein mechanism to transmit information about an odorant through the olfactory bulb to the olfactory cortex.

Odorant recognition helps the gustatory regions of the brain to identify the stimulus present in the oral cavity.

Perception of texture and consistency of foods is not mediated by one specific pathway, but could influence flavor intensity, likely by influencing the perception of tastants.


Cilantro is one of the most polarizing and divisive food ingredients known. It has been well documented that those who like or dislike the herb provide extremely different descriptions of its flavor [1] [2] [3] . Individuals who like cilantro may describe it as fresh, fragrant or citrusy, whereas those who dislike cilantro report that it tastes like soap, mold, dirt or bugs, among other descriptors [2, 3] . Numerous websites and online communities have been created to voice pro-or anti-cilantro opinions. This segregation is not seen with many common foods, which is why cilantro is of great interest to sensory scientists [1] [2] [3] . Most flavors do exhibit some degree of polarity, though it is rarely as extreme as that observed with cilantro. It has been documented that hereditary factors, along with exposure, shape our food preferences [4] [5] [6] . With the rising concern of global obesity, it is prudent to determine the factors that determine acceptance of healthy foods [7] .

It has been well documented that those who like or dislike the herb provide extremely different descriptions of its flavor.

Individuals who like cilantro may describe it as fresh, fragrant or citrusy, whereas those who dislike cilantro report that it tastes like soap, mold, dirt or bugs, among other descriptors.

This segregation is not seen with many common foods, which is why cilantro is of great interest to sensory scientists.

It has been documented that hereditary factors, along with exposure, shape our food preferences.

With the rising concern of global obesity, it is prudent to determine the factors that determine acceptance of healthy foods.