DNA damage, particularly DNA strand breaks, was measured using the Comet assay to evaluate whether AgNPs induced any genetic toxicity in D. magna (Table 2) . AgNPs and Ag ions may exert genotoxic effects on D. magna, given that DNA strand breaks (OTMs) increased in D. magna exposed to AgNPs and Ag ions. A statistically significant increase in OTMs was observed in D. magna exposed to 1 and 1.5 g/L of AgNPs and Ag ions. However, the degree of increase in OTM was more consequential in AgNPs exposed D. magna than in those exposed to Ag ions. Moreover, exposure concentration dependant DNA damage was observed in AgNPs exposed D. magna. Even though genotoxicity tests with the Comet assay are widely used in aquatic environmental monitoring, most Comet assays have been performed on in vitro systems of aquatic species, mostly using fish-driven cell lines [19, 30] . The measurement of genotoxic effects of emerging nanomaterials, using in vivo genotoxicity biomarker in aquatic invertebrates, could be a useful tool for monitoring aquatic toxicity due to nanoparticles. AgNPs may influence the genetic constitution of populations by directly damaging DNA molecules within the individual cell nucleus, but the ecological relevance of changes in single cells within some tissues of certain individual organisms is extremely difficult to assess.

Even though genotoxicity tests with the Comet assay are widely used in aquatic environmental monitoring, most Comet assays have been performed on in vitro systems of aquatic species, mostly using fish-driven cell lines.


Despite the dramatic increase in the use of such nanomaterials, little information is available on their potential harmful effects on the environment. Most current literature on the toxicity of nanoparticles; however, comes from mammalian studies that have focused on respiratory exposure, or from in vitro assays using mammalian cells [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] . Ecotoxicological studies on nanoparticles are more limited, with only a few reports on the acute toxic effects of nanoparticles on aquatic organisms [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] . Few ecotoxicity studies on aquatic organisms have been performed that include genotoxic endpoints. However, the presence of genotoxic and potentially carcinogenic compounds in aquatic environments is of major concern with respect to the health of aquatic media biota [17] [18] [19] . The potential genotoxic effects of emerging nanomaterials, such as AgNPs, on aquatic systems should be identified to allow for their safe use.

Most current literature on the toxicity of nanoparticles; however, comes from mammalian studies that have focused on respiratory exposure, or from in vitro assays using mammalian cells.

Ecotoxicological studies on nanoparticles are more limited, with only a few reports on the acute toxic effects of nanoparticles on aquatic organisms.

However, the presence of genotoxic and potentially carcinogenic compounds in aquatic environments is of major concern with respect to the health of aquatic media biota.


The present finding also suggests some problems with the current diagnostic criteria of the MHLW Research Group. In 5 patients, cortisol secretion was not suppressed by either low-or high-dose DSTs, although other functional tests of the HPA axis were normal. False positive DST results may occur in patients with obesity, depression, alcoholism or in those who are taking drugs that increase dexamethasone clearance (e.g., phenytoin, phenobarbital, rifampicin and troglitazone) [11, 12] . Among patients with an isolated abnormal DST, one was obese.

False positive DST results may occur in patients with obesity, depression, alcoholism or in those who are taking drugs that increase dexamethasone clearance (e.g., phenytoin, phenobarbital, rifampicin and troglitazone).


The field of data publication is not as straightforward as it may at first appear, but as the areas detailed above have demonstrated, many of these issues can be resolved through a combination of constructing the publication workflow correctly and utilising a robust and stable infrastructure for publication. This is evidenced by the successful publication of over 300 datasets, over 200 DOIs issued, and 20 web services published, all using the workflow and infrastructure detailed above. The EIDC has also been recognised as an accepted repository for data by the British Ecological Society, the Nature Publishing Group and the Earth System Science Data journal. It has been shown that many researchers' primary concern over data publication is failure to receive credit for their work [2] . The workflow and infrastructure utilised by the EIDC has therefore enabled producers of environmental data to publish the data they have generated in the public domain, safe in the knowledge that the data are secure and that, by ensuring the data are citeable, they will receive credit for their work. The EIDC has witnessed an increase in the number of requests to deposit, and a corresponding increase in the number of published data resources. For the financial year 2013-2014, 35 deposit requests were made, increasing to 83 for the year 2014-2015. Not all of these requests were granted, but the same time period saw an increase in the number of resources published from 25 in 2013-2014 to 92 in 2014-2015. Based on figures for the first half of 2015-2016, the total requests and published resources this year will exceed those in previous years. Dealing with this increase in both requests and published resources can easily be accommodated by the infrastructure and workflow that the EIDC has put in place, with the primary limit on processing of deposit requests being resource.

It has been shown that many researchers' primary concern over data publication is failure to receive credit for their work.


The lack of access to affordable financial services is one of the underlying reasons for the levels of poverty observed in many developing countries. Microfinance institutions offer financial services, for the most part loans, to individuals and groups of people in order to meet their short-term consumption and investment needs. Microfinance institutions provide access to finance to those individuals (lacking credit histories and collateral) who are normally excluded from mainstream financial services (Cull et al., 2009; Hermes et al., 2011; Ledgerwood et al., 2013; Morduch, 1999) .

Microfinance institutions provide access to finance to those individuals (lacking credit histories and collateral) who are normally excluded from mainstream financial services.


Microfinance institutions also vary by commercial orientation. Some microfinance institutions act as not-for-profit organizations and focus on providing credit to the very poor at relatively generous repayment terms. These institutions seek to cover operating costs. Their social mission is one of financial inclusion and poverty reduction. In contrast, other microfinance institutions are organised as commercial for-profit financial institutions offering traditional financial products to clients across the entire income distribution. These microfinance institutions still seek to provide access to finance to poorer communities, but do not necessarily offer the level of access to the very poorest segments of society. This has led to some commentators questioning whether these for-profit microfinance institutions have deviated from their traditional purpose and experienced the so-called mission drift by striving to serve better off customers (Cull, Demirgüç-Kunt, & Morduch, 2009; Ledgerwood et al., 2013; Mersland & Strøm, 2010) .

This has led to some commentators questioning whether these for-profit microfinance institutions have deviated from their traditional purpose and experienced the so-called mission drift by striving to serve better off customers.


Throughout this paper, we refer to these two classifications as groups of type (1) and (2) . This paper is divided into three sections. The first section focuses on some background about some topics in graph theory, while the second section provides some earlier and recent publications that are related to the commutativity degree and graph theory, more specifically to generalized conjugacy class graph and the orbit graph. In the third section, we presented our results which include the probability that a group element fixes a set, orbit graph and generalized conjugacy class graph.

Throughout this paper, we refer to these two classifications as groups of type (1) and.


In the Yongan watershed, annual NAPI rapidly increased from 129.8 kg P km -2 year -1 in 1960 to 927.1 kg P km -2 year -1 in 2000 (Fig. 2a) , followed by a 16% decline to 781.2 kg P ha -1 year -1 in 2010. Consistent with previous studies (Russell et al. 2008; Han et al. 2011; Hong et al. 2012 Goyette et al. 2016) . In terms of NAPI components for the Yongan watershed, the percentage added to agricultural land (NAPI A ) decreased from * 80 in 1960 to * 43% in 2010, with that added to residential land (NAPI R ) increasing from * 20 to * 57% during the 1960-2010 period. Annual NAPI A increased 4.0-fold in 1960-2000 and declined 38% over the 2000-2010 period. Annual NAPI R steadily rose to produce a 43.3-fold increase over the 51-year study period due to a 4.6-fold increase in net food and feed P input and a 150.7-fold increase in non-food P input, as well as an 88% decline in recycled animal/ human waste for fertilizing croplands (Table 1) .

Consistent with previous studies.


Twice as many boys than girls reported direct exposure to pregnancy/abortion which seems quite peculiar. The most obvious explanation is, that the boys reported pregnancies where they were directly involved. When a boy in India impregnates a girl, it is often forced on him to marry the girl and to take full responsibility of his actions, or alternatively to raise money for an early abortion. Thus, because there are a lot of negative circumstances automatically related to getting a girl pregnant, especially for a young boy, it may be reported as direct exposure to a PTE. In a Western frame of mind, we would expect that issues such as rape and sexual abuse would be more prevalent in females than males. Even so, the present results are comparable to a similar Kenyan study where the males also reported higher exposure to pregnancy/abortion, rape and sexual abuse than the females [17] . Some boys could have misunderstood the purpose of the question and may have reported their own direct experience of sexually abusing, impregnating or raping another person. An additional explanation of the higher reports of sexual abuse and rape in the Indian and Kenyan boys than girls, may be found in that the majority of people in India and Kenya regard sex before marriage as being wrong and a girl in these countries may be rejected (by the family or society) or regarded of less value if she has had sexual relations before she is married whether it is her own fault or not [30] [31] [32] . The same, however, is not the case for the boys. Therefore, girls may be more reluctant to report sexually related issues such as abuse, rape or pregnancy/abortion than males in these countries.

Even so, the present results are comparable to a similar Kenyan study where the males also reported higher exposure to pregnancy/abortion, rape and sexual abuse than the females.

An additional explanation of the higher reports of sexual abuse and rape in the Indian and Kenyan boys than girls, may be found in that the majority of people in India and Kenya regard sex before marriage as being wrong and a girl in these countries may be rejected (by the family or society) or regarded of less value if she has had sexual relations before she is married whether it is her own fault or not.


Despite the advancement and technological achievement of the current age, documents are still printed on paper and widely exchanged, hence the need for Writer Identification (WI). WI helps to properly identify the writer of a handwritten document. Shapes and styles of an individual's handwriting contain hidden personal traits of the writer which can contribute to the process of handwriting identification in dynamic biometric study. The biometric features are used to identify the identity of the writer [1] [2] [3] [4] . This is also applicable in the case of identifying the writer between a pair of twins. Through studying the signature, WI is commonly used to authenticate legal paper. WI can also be used in identifying the authorship of documents without signature, such as letters of threat, historical, or ancient manuscripts and other documents only containing handwritten text without the person's signature. The current technology allows WI to be performed even with the use of limited samples of handwriting. In the field of handwriting analysis for forensic purposes, WI holds great importance and is widely used on evidence to be used in the courtroom [5] [6] [7] [8] . Therefore, the many issues and challenges in Twins Handwriting Identification need to be given attention for further investigation.

The biometric features are used to identify the identity of the writer.

In the field of handwriting analysis for forensic purposes, WI holds great importance and is widely used on evidence to be used in the courtroom.


Spatial variability of material properties affects soil behaviour and geo-structural performance [1] . It also causes uncertainty about actual ground conditions, and leads to the need for probabilistic analysis and measures of response [2] . These include reliability, which is the probability of failure not occurring, and risk, which is the probability of failure × consequence of failure. This paper considers reliability and risk for the problem of 3D slope stability. In particular, it uses finite elements and stochastic analysis to investigate the influence, on slope performance, of the spatial variability of undrained shear strength (c u ).

Spatial variability of material properties affects soil behaviour and geo-structural performance.

It also causes uncertainty about actual ground conditions, and leads to the need for probabilistic analysis and measures of response.


In reviewing previous studies of injury severity in accidents involving trucks, it was easy to find that, up to date, there were limited studies focusing on how to alleviate fatal truck accidents. It can be summarized that identifying and gaining a comprehensive understanding of the factors that contribute to the fatal truck-related crash is significantly meaningful. Also, from previous studies it was found that fatal crashes in rural and urban areas had different mechanisms of occurrence. The effects on resulting injury severities in two areas were very different which is a crucial fact in implementing more effective and efficient injury prevention strategies to enhance safety [2, 3] .

The effects on resulting injury severities in two areas were very different which is a crucial fact in implementing more effective and efficient injury prevention strategies to enhance safety.


The Electro-Hydraulic Excitation system (EHES) is a key component for modern simulation test of automobile or mobile machines and the seismic fatigue test of dams or tall buildings. The system is mainly worked by the reciprocating motion of valve spool, which varies the flow in cycles (Fig. 1) . However, the vibration amplitude is restricted within a narrow range due to the characteristic of valve port [1] . Therefore, the optimization of vibration performance for EHES has been the focus of both academic and industrial field.

However, the vibration amplitude is restricted within a narrow range due to the characteristic of valve port.


Although we do not here solve the problem of endpoint divergences in QCD, based on our fixed order calculations, combined with intuition from the case of N = 1 QCD, we conjecture a form for the leading logarithmic "soft quark Sudakov" in QCD. Our result takes a simple, but interesting form with similarities to structures observed in the large-x resummation of off-diagonal splitting functions [51] [52] [53] [54] . We also show that this soft quark Sudakov seems to have some degree of universality. Our paper therefore provides three new ingredients towards understanding factorization at subleading power • An explicit calculation of the subleading power collinear limits involving quarks for e + e − → 3 parton and H → 3 parton amplitudes at two loops.

Our result takes a simple, but interesting form with similarities to structures observed in the large-x resummation of off-diagonal splitting functions.


Full documentation of FoLiA is available elsewhere (van Gompel, 2014) . It o ers a reference guide to all elements and attributes that FoLiA de nes. A brief summary of key features will be repeated in Section 6.2. Section 6.4 subsequently presents the currently available so ware infrastructure for FoLiA. Section 6.5 presents some corpora that have been delivered in FoLiA.

Full documentation of FoLiA is available elsewhere.


Hong Kong); and Ngan Collins (RMIT University). We are honoured that these talented people with much international expertise in employment relations (ER) devoted some of their valuable time to engage with the ideas in the 6th edition of our book International and Comparative Employment Relations: National Regulation, Global Changes (Bamber et al. 2016) . We are much obliged to Victor Devinatz (Illinois State University) and the Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal for commissioning these essays and for inviting us also to contribute this article.

We are honoured that these talented people with much international expertise in employment relations (ER) devoted some of their valuable time to engage with the ideas in the 6th edition of our book International and Comparative Employment Relations: National Regulation, Global Changes.


Heterogeneous traffic mixes are the common sight of appearance in all the developing economies including India. The behaviour of heterogeneous traffic mix on urban arterials is described in various studies [4] [5] [6] . In brief, the traffic streams comprise small and highly manoeuvrable vehicles such as motorised two wheelers (MTW) and motorised three-wheelers (MThW). They continuously search for the gaps in the stream to move downstream even in the congested condition, which is described as creeping behaviour. Highway capacity is greatly affected by widely varying physical and dynamical characteristics of vehicles in addition to the absence of lane discipline. There is a significant difference between the behaviour of homogenous and heterogeneous traffic streams. Thus, it is interesting to study the relationship between traffic stream variables under heterogeneous traffic flow conditions and the functional forms that represent it.

The behaviour of heterogeneous traffic mix on urban arterials is described in various studies.


In these lecture notes we give a short introduction to the use of spectral theory in the theory of special functions. Conversely, special functions can be used to determine explicitly the spectral measures of explicit operators on a Hilbert space. The main ingredient from functional analysis that we are using is the spectral theorem, both for bounded and unbounded self-adjoint operators. We recall the main results of the theory in §2, hoping that the lecture notes become more self-contained in this way. For differential operators this is a very well-known subject, and one can consult e.g. Dunford and Schwartz [7] .

For differential operators this is a very well-known subject, and one can consult e.g. Dunford and Schwartz.


With the increasing awareness of global environmental protection and the increasing number of related environmental regulations, manufacturing enterprises are facing more stringent environmental requirements. Nowadays, green supply chains have become inevitable choices for manufacturing enterprises who wish to deal with environmental problems. Green supply chain management includes many links, such as green supplier assessment, green product design, green production, green marketing and waste recovery [1] [2] [3] . Green supplier assessment is in the upstream of the whole supply chain, and its effect on environmental protection and cost saving can be transmitted to every part of the downstream through the supply chain.

Green supply chain management includes many links, such as green supplier assessment, green product design, green production, green marketing and waste recovery.


The relevant temporal patterns obtained show that these exergames on the Interactive Slide clearly foster physical activity in participating children as a reaction to the virtual activity that the games on the platform propose. There certainly appear continuous motor skills, several of them being very repetitive due to the logic of the games. However, the diversity of stimuli and spatial structures allows children to use a diverse range of locomotion, stability and manipulative of motor skills (Gallahue and Cleland-Donnelly, 2003; Castañer and Camerino, 2006) . The results reveal that the Interactive Slide stimulates a great number of motor skills and a rich variability of them. In a pedagogical sense, to optimize body movement in children while playing strategic virtual games in these experiences is very important. The study has sought to offer a way of thinking on an educational potential, beyond sedentary behaviors, when designing exertion interfaces for children.

However, the diversity of stimuli and spatial structures allows children to use a diverse range of locomotion, stability and manipulative of motor skills.


The success of approaches for assigning threads (or processes) to multi-core systems relies on the existence of reasonably accurate models for estimating resource (CPU and memory) availability. System efficiency prediction involves estimating the system's behaviour for the set of tasks to be executed on it. Making such predictions is complicated owing to the dynamic nature of the system and its workload, which can vary drastically in a short span of time (Beltrán et al., 2008) . For any prediction approach, it can be useful to know a priori certain characteristics of tasks that are planned to be assigned to the system. As an example, it is useful to know the maximum amount of main memory a task will consume at any point during its execution (memory requirement). This information is useful to forecast the amount of time that may be consumed for memory paging activities. It is also useful to know the CPU requirement of the task, which is the fraction of time a task requires the CPU.

Making such predictions is complicated owing to the dynamic nature of the system and its workload, which can vary drastically in a short span of time.


With this work, we show that generic image characteristics are good candidates for the foundation of a retinal image quality assessment algorithm. This is due not only to the reliable overall quality classification, but also to the additional information given by the four algorithms that indicates which image features are impairing the most a given retinal image. This is important information for a fundus camera operator as it can guide him during the retinal image capture, helping making the necessary adjustments and corrections to maximize the final image quality. Furthermore, since retinal photography technicians' experience may vary, a real-time automated retinal image quality assessment is also preferable as it provides consistent objective quality indicators [31] . Further work is ongoing addressing the quality evaluation of retinal images with different characteristics (such as including Age-related Macular Degeneration -AMD -typical lesions). Concurrently the present version of the algorithm is being integrated into a real-time retinal image capture and analysis platform, which is expected to report information about retinal image colour, focus, contrast, illumination and overall quality and to warn the fundus camera operator in case of "ungradable" image.

Furthermore, since retinal photography technicians' experience may vary, a real-time automated retinal image quality assessment is also preferable as it provides consistent objective quality indicators.


Wind power energy has in the last century emerged as a new large scale renewable energy technology. The drivers of the new technology have been a combination of technical development and political ambition. The main political incentive relates to the ongoing discussions on global climate change and the desire to reduce carbon dioxide emissions [1] . In this respect, wind power represents an environmental friendly energy source without fuel cost and without gas emissions [2] . Present technology, dominated by the megawatt-scale Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWT), has demonstrated the viability of large scale systems capable of supplying a substantial part of the electric energy supply on the national and even continental level.

The main political incentive relates to the ongoing discussions on global climate change and the desire to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

In this respect, wind power represents an environmental friendly energy source without fuel cost and without gas emissions.


In more recent years, several new VAWT projects have started with a strong focus on offshore. One of these efforts is the DeepWind project where a floating offshore vertical wind turbine with a Darrieus type rotor is proposed [6, 7] . The aim of the VAWT project is to investigate the possibility of building a 5 MW offshore wind turbine.

One of these efforts is the DeepWind project where a floating offshore vertical wind turbine with a Darrieus type rotor is proposed.


Conventional strategies for polluted water treatment have certain drawbacks. While the combination of nitrification and denitrification can theoretically deal with nitrogencontaining waste streams, it is, however, limited by having to cope with widely changing concentrations of contaminants and sensitivity of bacteria. Adsorption and reverse osmosis can be applied but, because of its low efficiency, a subsequent waste treatment has to follow [2] . In the gas phase, a common industrial practice is incineration, which for nitrogencontaining compounds may result in the formation of nitrogen oxides such as NO, NO 2 , and possibly N 2 O, contributing to the formation of photochemical smog, the greenhouse effect, and stratospheric ozone depletion. To mitigate these unwanted environmental effects equipment modifications, selective noncatalytic and catalytic reduction processes have been required in order to reduce NO x emissions [3] .

Adsorption and reverse osmosis can be applied but, because of its low efficiency, a subsequent waste treatment has to follow.

To mitigate these unwanted environmental effects equipment modifications, selective noncatalytic and catalytic reduction processes have been required in order to reduce NO x emissions.


In this study, the thoracic datasets is dedicated to classification problem related to the post-operative life expectancy in the lung cancer patients: class 1 -death within one year after surgery, class 2 -survival; recoded as Risk1Y: 1 year survival period -(T)rue value if died (T, F), where the class value (Risk1Y) is binary valued. Multilayer Perceptron, J48 and Naive Bayes machine learning algorithms were calibrated to optimize the baseline performance accuracy of each classifier. Also stratified 10-fold cross-validation was used to measure the unbiased predictive accuracy of each classifier compared. Constraints involved in mining privacy-sensitive, heterogeneous and voluminous data must be considered in clinical mining. It is the responsibility of the researcher to anonymize data to ensure privacy-preserved clinical mining [21] . The clinical data contains either unique binary-valued attributes or multi-valued attributes from positive defined interval such as blood pressure or body temperature; and negative values resulting from screening diagnosis such as ECG, and RTG [23] . The uniqueness of clinical data requires researchers to take into consideration ethical, security and legal aspects of clinical mining, such as data ownership, fear of lawsuits, expected benefits, and special administrative issues [22] . However, the quality of machine learning algorithms applicable in clinical prognosis is dependent on the ability of the researcher to carefully choose, tune and apply machine learning classification to clinical prognosis.

It is the responsibility of the researcher to anonymize data to ensure privacy-preserved clinical mining.

The clinical data contains either unique binary-valued attributes or multi-valued attributes from positive defined interval such as blood pressure or body temperature; and negative values resulting from screening diagnosis such as ECG, and RTG.

The uniqueness of clinical data requires researchers to take into consideration ethical, security and legal aspects of clinical mining, such as data ownership, fear of lawsuits, expected benefits, and special administrative issues.


The cultivation of oat has assumed a prominent position due to growth in no-till systems combined with crop rotation. The oat species most commonly cultivated are: common oat (Avena sativa L.), red oat (Avena byzantina C. Koch) and black oat (Avena strigosa Schreb). Black oat is indicated for the production of forage, and the grains of cultivars of common and red oat, in addition to the production of forage, can be used in industry (Floss, 2007) .

Black oat is indicated for the production of forage, and the grains of cultivars of common and red oat, in addition to the production of forage, can be used in industry.


Helical foundation and anchor capacity has been empirically related to installation torque (Hoyt and Clemence, 1989) . The coefficient of proportionality, K, between capacity and torque is known to vary for helical foundations and anchors of different geometric configurations. Previous research indicates that K may depend on depth (Ghaly, Hanna, and Hanna, 1991b) . Other research indicates that K is independent of helical blade radius and highly dependent on hub diameter (Hoyt and Clemence, 1989) . Still other literature indicates that K is weakly correlated with number of helical blades (Hargrave and Thorsten, 1992) .

Helical foundation and anchor capacity has been empirically related to installation torque.

Previous research indicates that K may depend on depth.

Other research indicates that K is independent of helical blade radius and highly dependent on hub diameter.

Still other literature indicates that K is weakly correlated with number of helical blades.


The concept of an automated vehicle convoy is not new; it can be traced back to the 1939 World"s Fair (Tomizuka, 1994) . However, approaches to the problem have changed as new technology becomes available. Much work was done in the area in the mid 1980s to 1990s by the California PATH (Partners for Advanced Transit and Highways) program.

The concept of an automated vehicle convoy is not new; it can be traced back to the 1939 World"s Fair.


The decision to deescalate surgical treatment of low-grade central chondrosarcomas is difficult for experienced teams who are aware of the difficulties of treating patients with local recurrences and metastases [12] [13] [14] . However, the damages associated with extensive surgical resection are incommensurate with the low-aggressive nature of these tumors [14, 17] . We therefore asked three questions: (1) whether curettage and cryotherapy in patients with Grade I long-bone intramedullary chondrosarcomas would eliminate recurrences and metastases; (2) whether the patients would be able to resume their activities and maintain high functional scores; and (3) whether the approach would have a low complication rate.

The decision to deescalate surgical treatment of low-grade central chondrosarcomas is difficult for experienced teams who are aware of the difficulties of treating patients with local recurrences and metastases.

However, the damages associated with extensive surgical resection are incommensurate with the low-aggressive nature of these tumors.


Two kinds of cells were adopted in our study. Primary endometrial stromal cells were obtained from the endometrium. It could well represent the physiology of endometrial tissues. The Ishikawa cell line was cultured from a well-differentiated adenocarcinoma of the human endometrial epithelium. It has been used as a classical model in the detection of estrogenic chemicals, especially in the response of the endometrial epithelium to chemical exposure [21] . Different responses to DEHP exposure were observed between the two kinds of cells. The inflammatory reaction was more obvious in primary cultured cells than in the Ishikawa cell line. The results indicated that the different responses to chemical exposure between primary cultured cells and the cell line should be kept in mind.

It has been used as a classical model in the detection of estrogenic chemicals, especially in the response of the endometrial epithelium to chemical exposure.


The asphalt concrete or hot mix asphalt (HMA) is the most widely used infrastructure materials for road construction. Hot mix asphalts can be described as a multiphase heterogeneous material composed of a viscoelastic asphalt binder, irregular rigid aggregate particle in high volume fraction, and small percentage of air voids [14] . These various properties of materials component contribute to the complex mechanical behavior of HMA, which can be characterized as viscoelasticity, and plastic under different condition such as temperature, load application and aging [14, 15] . Thus the mechanical behavior of hot mix asphalt should be understood by not only the individual properties of HMA components, but also by considering asphalt binder and aggregate acting together. The goal of this study is to evaluate the pavement materials characteristics of hot-mix asphalt for Western Australia roads using a laboratory tests so that data can be used to predict the likely performance of Western Australia flexible pavement.

Hot mix asphalts can be described as a multiphase heterogeneous material composed of a viscoelastic asphalt binder, irregular rigid aggregate particle in high volume fraction, and small percentage of air voids.

These various properties of materials component contribute to the complex mechanical behavior of HMA, which can be characterized as viscoelasticity, and plastic under different condition such as temperature, load application and aging.


A summary of asphalt binder content for different types of asphalt mixes is shown in Table 3 . The results indicated that AC14-75 and A20-75 blow property of asphalt mix had low percentage of binder content of 4.7% and 4.3% in the given order. This showed that AC14-75 and AC20-75 blow asphalt mixes might have increased the frictional contact between aggregate particle and the overall stiffness and stability of the asphalt mixes as compared to other asphalt mixes. However, SMA7-50, AC7.50 and AC14-50 blow asphalt mixes had high percentage of binder content. This showed that increase in binder content reduce the frictional contract between aggregate particles. Beyond a certain value, further increases in binder content reduce the frictional contact between aggregate particles and the overall stiffness and stability of the asphalt [19] . At low percentages, added binder content increases the mix cohesion and strength [38] . Average Marshall Compaction stability and Marshall Compaction flow for different types of asphalt mixes are shown in Table 4 . As it can be seen from the analyses, AC20-70 blow asphalt mix had high stability of 16 kN as compared to other asphalt mixes. AC7-50, AC14-50 and AC14-75 blow asphalt mix had a similar strength and stability of 15.1 kN. This indicated that the asphalt mixes pavement will have the necessary bearing capacity to support the expected traffic loads and durability to withstand weathering. Marshall Compaction flow rate for AC20-75 blow was less as compared to other asphalt mixes. However, SMA7-50 blow had poor strength and stability and high Marshall Compaction flow of 5.3 mm, and can highly affect the pavement performance. Recent laboratory studies have shown that the compaction can highly affect the performance of the hot-mix asphalt mixtures [30, 31] .

Beyond a certain value, further increases in binder content reduce the frictional contact between aggregate particles and the overall stiffness and stability of the asphalt.

At low percentages, added binder content increases the mix cohesion and strength.

Recent laboratory studies have shown that the compaction can highly affect the performance of the hot-mix asphalt mixtures.


High demand for new asphalt pavement often requires that paving be done unfavourable construction conditions. For example, Low air temperatures, high winds, and night construction create adverse conditions for hot-mix asphalt paving [1] . This presents a risk for road owners and contractors. To achieve optimum load-bearing and weathering characteristics, an asphalt mix must be compacted to a specific range of density, and the time required for hot-mix asphalt to reach the proper compaction temperature to achieve this density decreases with an increased rate of cooling [1] .

For example, Low air temperatures, high winds, and night construction create adverse conditions for hot-mix asphalt paving.

To achieve optimum load-bearing and weathering characteristics, an asphalt mix must be compacted to a specific range of density, and the time required for hot-mix asphalt to reach the proper compaction temperature to achieve this density decreases with an increased rate of cooling.


Hot-mix asphalt (HMA) is known by many different names: asphaltic concrete, plant mix, bituminous mix, bituminous concrete, and many others [2, 3] . It is a combination of two primary ingredients -aggregates and asphalt binder. About 95% of the total mixtures by weight are aggregates, and these are mixed with an approximately 5% of asphalt binder to produce HMA [2, 3] .

Hot-mix asphalt (HMA) is known by many different names: asphaltic concrete, plant mix, bituminous mix, bituminous concrete, and many others.

About 95% of the total mixtures by weight are aggregates, and these are mixed with an approximately 5% of asphalt binder to produce HMA.


A summary of average tensile strength ratio of dry and moisture condition is shown in Table 2 . From the data presented, it can be seen that the AC7-50 blow asphalt mix has generally had high TSR of 112.9% as compared to other asphalt mixes. AC20-75 blow was the second best to have nearly reached a TSR of AC7-50 blow. This showed that the asphalt mixes are non-moisture susceptible. SMA7-50, AC14-50 and AC14-75 blow asphalt mixes had also relatively low as compared to AC7-50 and AC20-75 blow asphalt mixes but both of them are not susceptible to moisture. According to AASHTO T283,"Resistance of Compacted Bituminous Mixture to Moisture Induced Damage", the design asphalt mixture is judged to be non-moisture susceptible if it has a TSR greater than 80 percent [33] [34] [35] .

According to AASHTO T283,"Resistance of Compacted Bituminous Mixture to Moisture Induced Damage", the design asphalt mixture is judged to be non-moisture susceptible if it has a TSR greater than 80 percent.


Developing collegial ties within a distributed organization is a challenge, since co-workers may be strangers separated by space and time. These separations pose similar challenges to those impeding the development of collegial ties in distance learning environments. Computer support for nurturing such collegial ties can be helpful. Furthermore, the provision of peer-help and peer tutoring has the positive side effect of strengthening the knowledge and confidence of both the person being helped and the helper or tutor (Palthepu et al., 1991; Slavin, 1990) .

Furthermore, the provision of peer-help and peer tutoring has the positive side effect of strengthening the knowledge and confidence of both the person being helped and the helper or tutor.


One of the strengths of molecular diagnostic assays for the detection of breast cancer is the ability to incorporate multiple genetic markers into a single assay. We have already identified five markers with moderate to high accuracy for the detection of breast cancer as defined by ROC analysis (Mitas et al, 2001) . The use of multiple markers has the potential to increase both the sensitivity and specificity of these molecular diagnostic assays. The results presented here confirm this concept. We have previously analysed 17 of the 22 lymph nodes containing metastatic breast cancer described here with a seven marker panel and have observed that with the exception of one node, all others overexpressed at least two cancer-associated genes (Mitas et al, 2001) . The remaining node marginally overexpressed mam1 (28-fold higher than normal control lymph nodes). In this report, we observed that the same node overexpressed PSE at a level 1.5610 5 -fold higher than normal control lymph nodes (data not shown). These results suggest that PSE has the capacity to complement the markers that we have previously identified.

We have already identified five markers with moderate to high accuracy for the detection of breast cancer as defined by ROC analysis.

We have previously analysed 17 of the 22 lymph nodes containing metastatic breast cancer described here with a seven marker panel and have observed that with the exception of one node, all others overexpressed at least two cancer-associated genes.


To our knowledge, there is no study investigating the additive effect of NAFLD and MetS on osteoporosis before. Recently, it is found that NAFLD can occur independently of insulin resistance and the MetS, and furthermore, there is evidence for not only reciprocal causality between these two diseases but also each acting as a perpetuating or exacerbating factor for the other [47] [48] [49] [50] . Thus, NAFLD is not a simple component of MetS. In addition, the synthetic effect of NAFLD and MetS has been found in various diseases [51, 52] . Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the interactive effect of SNAFLD and Mets on osteoporosis in postmenopausal females. All the patients were divided into 4 subgroups based on the status of SNAFLD and MetS. We found that the value of RERI was 2.556 with 95% CI ranged 0.475 to 4.636, which indicated that there was a strong additive interaction between SNAFLD and MetS on osteoporosis, and there would be 2.556 relative excess risk that contributed by the additive interaction. Moreover, AP was 0.454 with 95% CI ranged 0.201 to 0.706, suggesting that 45.4% osteoporosis exposed to the two risk factors was caused by the additive interaction of SNAFLD and MetS. Taken together, the result showed that there was a strong additive interaction of SNAFLD and MetS on the osteoporosis onset, and the increased risk of osteoporosis prompting by the presence of both SNAFLD and MetS was significantly higher than by either SNAFLD or MetS alone. Thus, this significant additive interaction indicates that MetS might attribute an extra risk of osteoporosis for patients who also have SNAFLD.

Recently, it is found that NAFLD can occur independently of insulin resistance and the MetS, and furthermore, there is evidence for not only reciprocal causality between these two diseases but also each acting as a perpetuating or exacerbating factor for the other.

Thus, NAFLD is not a simple component of MetS. In addition, the synthetic effect of NAFLD and MetS has been found in various diseases.


The existence of the Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instability in the compression period of the plasma focusis established with the aid of the interferometric studies [10] . The interface between the plasma and the magnetic field is found to be unstable during radial compression, where the inertial force inside the plasma column is in the direction normal to the magnetic field. The electron and ions to drift in opposite direction is due to the charge independent force interacts with the magnetic field. A charge separation in the surface layer of the plasma column is due to this drift and is responsible to establish an E-field, which then introduces a further plasma drift. Therefore, the system becomes unsteady and this moment is referred to as the commencement of RT instability. The boundary of plasma column is fluted due to RT instability at the end of the compression phase. The growth time of the RT instability is about 30 ns [11] .

The existence of the Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instability in the compression period of the plasma focusis established with the aid of the interferometric studies.

The growth time of the RT instability is about 30 ns.


For the detection of X-rays, an array of five filtered PIN diode detector (BPX-65) was housed at 43.50 cm far from the hollow anode head to measure the radiation emission from focused plasma. For X-ray detection the glass window of the PIN diode was detached. The PIN diode response is between 0.5 and 30 keV [8] . These detectors were normalized against each other by masking all of them with different thickness of filters. The window of each diode was covered with Al foil and those thicknesses of each of them were given in Table 2 .

The PIN diode response is between 0.5 and 30 keV.


Athletic jumps are specific cyclically-acyclic movements that despite the good performance of the techniques require from competitors a high level of motor, specific-motor and functional abilities. Also all the jumping disciplines contain appropriate morphological profile of athletes (height, weight, BMI, age) that is characteristic for it. It is usually said that the jumpers are of high growth and relatively low weight, with long legs, long and thin muscles, and the muscle structure is dominated by white muscle fibers (Pavlović, 2016) . According to the constitution the leading is a leptosome type with the participation of athletics. Both male and female jumpers are dominated by muscle mass (50-53%), on the second place are bones (16-19%) , and the last are fats (5-9%). Based on these parameters, it can be concluded that the jumpers of both sexes are dominates by mesomorphic with a share of ectomorphic component (Ugarković, 1996) .

It is usually said that the jumpers are of high growth and relatively low weight, with long legs, long and thin muscles, and the muscle structure is dominated by white muscle fibers.

Based on these parameters, it can be concluded that the jumpers of both sexes are dominates by mesomorphic with a share of ectomorphic component.


There have been several efforts in combining variational autoencoders and recurrent networks (Gregor et al., 2015; Chung et al., 2015; Fraccaro et al., 2016) . While the details vary, these models typically contain latent variables at each time step in a sequence. This prior work mainly focused on ways of parameterizing the time dependence between the latent variables, which gives them more power in modeling distributions over observation sequences. In this paper, we similarly use latent variables at each time step, but we adopt stronger independence assumptions which leads to simpler models and inference procedures. Also, the models cited above were developed for modeling data distributions, rather than for supervised or semi-supervised learning, which is our focus here.

There have been several efforts in combining variational autoencoders and recurrent networks.


Organic matter is a complex and dynamic soil component that exerts a major influence on soil behaviour, properties and function in the ecosystem. Organic matter greatly enhances the usefulness of soils for plant production. Nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur and micronutrients are stored as constituents of soil organic matter until released by mineralization. Organic manure significantly increased soil organic matter content, EDTA-extractable Fe, Zn, Cu and plant available N, P and K (Rezaenejad and Afyuni, 2001) . Organic substances dissolve phosphorus, calcium and magnesium carbonates and other compounds by various products of microbial activity and organic acids associated with humus also accelerate the release of nutrient elements from mineral structures (Brady and Weil, 1996) . All these phenomena are undoubtedly of very great importance in the soil because they are responsible for bringing about the conversion of a number of chemical elements into forms available to plants.

Organic manure significantly increased soil organic matter content, EDTA-extractable Fe, Zn, Cu and plant available N, P and K.

Organic substances dissolve phosphorus, calcium and magnesium carbonates and other compounds by various products of microbial activity and organic acids associated with humus also accelerate the release of nutrient elements from mineral structures.


In 52 districts among the 64 districts of Bangladesh, the groundwater arsenic value exceeded the recommended value of WHO (0.01 mg/L) (Dhar et al., 1997) . Significant positive correlation was observed between groundwater arsenic and total arsenic levels in surface as well as sub-surface soils (Biswas et al., 2003) . As many agricultural soils in Bangladesh are becoming contaminated with arsenic, there is a need to observe the organic matter effect on nutrient availability in soil and transfer of nutrients from soil to plant organ. A number of reports are available on the nutrient contents of rice grain and straw but very few reports are available on the nutrient contents of rice husk and root. Rice husks are usually used as fuel and at the end the ashes are being recycled to the crop fields. Plant roots are being recycled in the crop fields. It would be important to know the nutrients contents of rice husk and straw to know the amount of nutrients being recycled in the rice fields. Therefore, a pot experiment was conducted to investigate the role of different manures on nutrient partitioning in Boro rice grown on an arsenic contaminated soil.

In 52 districts among the 64 districts of Bangladesh, the groundwater arsenic value exceeded the recommended value of WHO (0.01 mg/L).

Significant positive correlation was observed between groundwater arsenic and total arsenic levels in surface as well as sub-surface soils.


The rate of effective BP control for Allisartan Isoproxil was 67.2% at week 8 during the randomized, double blind period, which was slightly higher than in other six trials of single antihypertensive drug (hydrochlorothiazide 46%, atenolol 51%, captopril 42%, clonidine 50%, diltiazem 59%, or prazosin 42%) reported before [19] . Another randomized, double blind, phase II clinical study completed in 2009 also revealed that Allisartan Isoproxil showed comparable effect as Losartan potassium (published in chinese). Long term observation indicated that Allisartan Isoproxil even induced a higher rate of effective BP control (>80%) although 18 patients received other antihypertensive drugs. All these results confirmed the effective antihypertensive function of Allisartan Isoproxil. However, only essential hypertensive patients at lowmedium risk were recruited in the present study, it was still hard to know the exact effect of Allisartan Isoproxil in hypertensive patients at high cardiovascular disease risk. Clinical trial with combination treatment in such patients would be helpful to answer the question. Anyway, the present study at least provided strong evidences for further clinical research of Allisartan Isoproxil to finally achieve its clinical utilization.

The rate of effective BP control for Allisartan Isoproxil was 67.2% at week 8 during the randomized, double blind period, which was slightly higher than in other six trials of single antihypertensive drug (hydrochlorothiazide 46%, atenolol 51%, captopril 42%, clonidine 50%, diltiazem 59%, or prazosin 42%) reported before.


Secondly, some studies further identified the strengths and weaknesses of the product/service derived from OCRs and decided which product/service features should be improved based on not only the importance to customer satisfaction but also the performance of each product/service feature. They used the sentiment scores calculated by sentiment analysis of OCRs to measure the performance of each product/service feature and used the frequencies of the mentioned product/service features to measure their importance to customer satisfaction. Then they used an algorithm to calculate a value considering both the performance and importance of each product/service feature to determine which product/service feature(s) should be improved first. A gap-based approach was proposed to direct product or service quality diagnosis and improvement towards a customer-oriented focus [15, 16] . The gap-based approach used the difference value between the customer expectation score and customer perception score of each product or service feature to identify those that are in most urgent need of improvement to yield better customer satisfaction. Similarly, a product opportunity mining approach combing the values of importance and satisfaction into a single metric was proposed to identify potential opportunities for product topics obtained from social media data from the customer perspective [7] . However, although these studies further considered the performance of each product/service feature, they merely measured the performance of the target product/service features themselves without comparing with other products/service in the market segment. Neglecting the situation of the market segment may easily lead to improper decision-making. Besides, they used the frequencies of the mentioned product/service features to measure their importance to customer satisfaction roughly. It has been recognized that the relationship between feature performance and overall customer satisfaction in the real world is nonlinear and asymmetrical [17, 18] . It is necessary to differentiate the importance of each product/service feature to customer satisfaction when their performance are high and low.

A gap-based approach was proposed to direct product or service quality diagnosis and improvement towards a customer-oriented focus.

Similarly, a product opportunity mining approach combing the values of importance and satisfaction into a single metric was proposed to identify potential opportunities for product topics obtained from social media data from the customer perspective.

It has been recognized that the relationship between feature performance and overall customer satisfaction in the real world is nonlinear and asymmetrical.


Phase transitions of Quantum Chromodynamics(QCD) with finite temperature and isospin density n I = n u − n d , which describes the asymmetry between up and down quarks as well as protons and neutrons, have attracted many attentions in the past decades. The isospin asymmetry exists widely in many different situations. For example, the proton-to-neutron ratio in relativistic heavy ion collisions(RHIC) is about 2/3 in Au or Pb beams, which might causes the imbalance between the generated charged pions [1] . In astronomy, the formation of neutron stars is strongly related to the equation of state at finite isospin chemical potential [2, 3] . In the early Universe, the isospin asymmetry in baryon sector coming from the lepton asymmetry could affect the equilibrium conditions around the time of QCD transition [4] .

For example, the proton-to-neutron ratio in relativistic heavy ion collisions(RHIC) is about 2/3 in Au or Pb beams, which might causes the imbalance between the generated charged pions.

In astronomy, the formation of neutron stars is strongly related to the equation of state at finite isospin chemical potential.

In the early Universe, the isospin asymmetry in baryon sector coming from the lepton asymmetry could affect the equilibrium conditions around the time of QCD transition.


To demonstrate the utilities of the architectural system model, we have developed a prototype architecture evolution environment called Mae. The current implementation of Mae consists of an extension and loose integration of DRADEL, an environment for supporting architecture-based analysis and development, and Mé-nage, a graphical environment for specifying versioned software architectures. This particular combination provides the functionality needed to manage architectural evolution: like any architecture development environment, architectures can be created, manipulated, and analyzed; in addition, all changes to the architecture are captured and related to each other using the system model described in the previous section. Figure 3 , the graphical user interface of Mae consists of two windows through which all user interaction is coordinated. The first window is a generic interface for the specification of evolving architectures. It is complemented by the second window that creates the binding from the generic interface to a specific architecture description language-in this case, C2SADEL [22] . With this explicit separation of concerns, our environment is more amenable to adapting to other ADLs: only the language binding needs to be replaced while the generic interface may be reused.

It is complemented by the second window that creates the binding from the generic interface to a specific architecture description language-in this case, C2SADEL.


Further, in today's increasingly competitive environment, the IB process may enable the smoother and more cost-efficient introduction of other strategies such as new material introduction, modularity, portfolio level designs, alternative product development processes, and strategies not yet conceived. IB is just beginning to emerge as a viable methodology. Its applications have not yet been fully realised. It may have occurred to the reader that IB is not a process that is limited to automotive bodies, but may also apply to other applications, such as starter motors, [16, 17] . The general concept of integrating, as opposed to segregating planning and implementation, which leads to the concept of delaying decisions until sufficient data is available to understand the impacts of current design are at the core of the IB philosophy.

It may have occurred to the reader that IB is not a process that is limited to automotive bodies, but may also apply to other applications, such as starter motors.


In recent years, a growing interest has been seen in renewable generation systems; the most common renewable energy sources are solar and wind energy [1] . The naturally intermittent properties of wind speed and sunlight cause power fluctuations in wind turbines and photovoltaic systems, so it is difficult to store the renewable energy for future use [2] . Thus, an energy storage system (ESS) is needed in renewable generation systems to manage the power flow [3] .

In recent years, a growing interest has been seen in renewable generation systems; the most common renewable energy sources are solar and wind energy.

The naturally intermittent properties of wind speed and sunlight cause power fluctuations in wind turbines and photovoltaic systems, so it is difficult to store the renewable energy for future use.

Thus, an energy storage system (ESS) is needed in renewable generation systems to manage the power flow.


Although domestic fish production has been growing in Nigeria since 2005, fish supply has continually fallen short of demand due to the rapidly growing human population. The situation has caused a widening demand-supply gap which has led to huge import of fish to augment local demand. Nigeria's fish import grew from 246,850 tonnes in 2000 to 2,027,797 tonnes in 2011, culminating in an annual average fish import of 738,308.69 tonnes between 2000 738,308.69 tonnes between and 2012 738,308.69 tonnes between (FAO, 2014b . The nation's fish import bill gulped a whopping 2.03 billion US dollars in 2011, making Nigeria one of the largest importers of fish in the developing world (FAO, 2016) .

The nation's fish import bill gulped a whopping 2.03 billion US dollars in 2011, making Nigeria one of the largest importers of fish in the developing world.


In a previous study, we found that rosmarinic acid (RA), a major phenylpropanoid compound in herbs of Lamiaceae family, is highly increased in P. frutescens grown under uptake stress created by a nutrient-limited condition combined with high light intensity (LI) in plant factories, while maintaining a constant concentration of perillaldehyde (PA), a main terpenoid found in perilla essential oils [16] . Given the differences that exist between terpenoids and phenylpropanoids with respect to biosynthetic pathways and accumulation, there likely are no synchronous increases in PA and RA. However, since the biosyntheses of flavonoids share the biosynthetic pathway with phenylpropanoids, it remains unclear how flavonoids might react to an environment that affects the production of phenylpropanoids.

In a previous study, we found that rosmarinic acid (RA), a major phenylpropanoid compound in herbs of Lamiaceae family, is highly increased in P. frutescens grown under uptake stress created by a nutrient-limited condition combined with high light intensity (LI) in plant factories, while maintaining a constant concentration of perillaldehyde (PA), a main terpenoid found in perilla essential oils.


Secondary metabolites (SMs) in plants are an important part of food nutrition, and their content could be used to determine food quality. SMs include terpenoids, phenylpropanoids, avonoids, and alkaloids that are essential food ingredients that determine avor, color, and taste in grains, vegetables, and fruits [1] . In addition, since the bene cial bioactivities to human health from compounds such as antioxidants have become well known, many SMs are being recognized as having medicinal e ects on both the human body and mind [2, 3] .

SMs include terpenoids, phenylpropanoids, avonoids, and alkaloids that are essential food ingredients that determine avor, color, and taste in grains, vegetables, and fruits.

In addition, since the bene cial bioactivities to human health from compounds such as antioxidants have become well known, many SMs are being recognized as having medicinal e ects on both the human body and mind.


Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. In these models, the mobility of users allows data to be physically carried and then exchanged on an opportunistic basis. More broadly, epidemic algorithms support the spreading of information opportunistically between proximate hosts. These algorithms have shown their utility for the dissemination of information in non-mobile contexts, such as synchronising information between distributed databases [4] .

These algorithms have shown their utility for the dissemination of information in non-mobile contexts, such as synchronising information between distributed databases.


Although there has been a large volume of clinical studies on neopterin and, to a much lesser extent, 7,8-dihydroneopterin, few have looked directly at the actual sites and potential source of macrophage-generated 7,8-dihydroneopterin and neopterin. We have previously shown that human pus contains neopterin at concentrations ten-to a hundred-fold higher than human plasma, supporting the view that the source of 7,8-dihydroneopterin and neopterin in plasma is the actual site of inflammation [24] . Immune staining of carotid plaque has shown regions with high levels of neopterin associated with macrophages [7, 9] . Our previous analysis of atherosclerotic plaques removed from carotid arteries showed neopterin concentrations ranging from 0.72 to 2.34 μmol/L within the whole plaque [15] . Within one individual plaque that we sectioned, we reported large variations in neopterin concentration ranging from 0.4 to 2.2 nmol/g of wet tissue [6] . Based on these limited data, there appears to be a large range of neopterin concentrations both between plaques and within an individual plaque. As 7,8-dihydroneopterin is oxidised to neopterin, measurement of both compounds along the length of multiple plaques may reflect the dynamics of both macrophage activation and the oxidative environment across the various regions of plaque experience.

We have previously shown that human pus contains neopterin at concentrations ten-to a hundred-fold higher than human plasma, supporting the view that the source of 7,8-dihydroneopterin and neopterin in plasma is the actual site of inflammation.

Immune staining of carotid plaque has shown regions with high levels of neopterin associated with macrophages.

Our previous analysis of atherosclerotic plaques removed from carotid arteries showed neopterin concentrations ranging from 0.72 to 2.34 μmol/L within the whole plaque.

Within one individual plaque that we sectioned, we reported large variations in neopterin concentration ranging from 0.4 to 2.2 nmol/g of wet tissue.


To summarize our second point, agriculture expansion in Amazonia may impose a large loss of several ecosystem services. One of the services quantified here, carbon storage, would decrease from 23% to 56% depending on the land-use scenario. Other losses in ecosystem services, although not quantified here, will most likely ensue, including biodiversity loss and spread of infectious diseases (Foley et al 2007) . Yet the expected increase in agriculture output that would compensate (and justify) such losses may not occur. In our simulations, pasture production may increase by only 3%, and soybean production may decrease by 16% in the governance land-use scenario. In BAU scenario (142% increase in Amazon agriculture area), pasture output may increase by 60%, and soybean output may actually decrease by 26%. In all cases, a no-win situation is realized: the loss of ecosystem services is associated with a loss in soybean productivity and total Amazon soybean production. In turn, pasture total output would be much lower than that expected from pasture expansion. This unexpected no-win scenario arises as a consequence of the climate feedbacks introduced from changes in land use, which were usually ignored in previous studies.

Other losses in ecosystem services, although not quantified here, will most likely ensue, including biodiversity loss and spread of infectious diseases.


Third, uncertainties in the future scenarios cannot be eliminated, either in predicted climate (IPCC A2) or land-use trajectories. A steep decline in deforestation rates in the Brazilian Amazon in recent years demonstrates that land-use trajectories can change drastically in a short period of time (Soares-Filho et al 2012) . However, future efforts to reduce deforestation will need to address the increasing global demand for food production (especially protein from cattle and soy) that will build up pressure to expand the agriculture frontier, especially in southern and eastern Amazon (Lapola et al 2011) .

A steep decline in deforestation rates in the Brazilian Amazon in recent years demonstrates that land-use trajectories can change drastically in a short period of time.

However, future efforts to reduce deforestation will need to address the increasing global demand for food production (especially protein from cattle and soy) that will build up pressure to expand the agriculture frontier, especially in southern and eastern Amazon.


The Bayesian nonparametric mixture models have been implemented in a wide range of applications, including topic modeling, image analysis, and lifetime distribution [21, [24] [25] [26] . The attractiveness of Bayesian nonparametric mixture models includes the ability to handle randomness of the mixing distribution of a noisy dataset. The randomness of the mixing component is estimated using infinite dimension priors, whereby during sampling, true mixture components are built automatically and the rest die out. This study constructed priors using the stick-breaking process [21] . This process represents an infinite discrete distribution with the probability of being repeated from the previous draws. This characteristic makes the stick-breaking process appropriate for clustering data with multistate characteristics. However, controlling infinite dimensional posterior distribution can be computationally expensive [27] . To reduce this problem, literature suggests the use of truncated dimension priors to reduce computational complexity [27] .

The Bayesian nonparametric mixture models have been implemented in a wide range of applications, including topic modeling, image analysis, and lifetime distribution.

This study constructed priors using the stick-breaking process.

However, controlling infinite dimensional posterior distribution can be computationally expensive.

To reduce this problem, literature suggests the use of truncated dimension priors to reduce computational complexity.


This has prompted calls for a rebalancing of the economy both sectorally (less dependence on financial services) and geographically. In the recession of the early 1980s governments focused on the small business sector as a source of new jobs. In this recession, in contrast, both national and regional governments in the UK, and in other countries, have switched their focus to high growth firms (HGFs) as a strategy for creating new jobs and fostering economic recovery ( Mason and Brown, 2013; Coad et al, 2014) . Indeed, HGFs have been deemed 'vital' to the UK's economic recovery' (Hutton and Lee, 2012, p. 331 ).

In this recession, in contrast, both national and regional governments in the UK, and in other countries, have switched their focus to high growth firms (HGFs) as a strategy for creating new jobs and fostering economic recovery.


In Section 5 we study the smallest weights of coarse structures that belong to various classes (indiscrete, ultranormal, hypernormal) of locally finite or finitary cellular coarse structures on ω. The main result of this section are Theorem 5.2 and Corollary 5.9. One of cardinals appearing in this Theorem 5.2 is ∆ • ω . It is defined as the smallest weight of an indiscrete cellular finitary coarse structure on ω. Since each maximal cellular finitary coarse structure on ω is indiscrete, the cardinal ∆ • ω is well-defined and belongs to the interval [∆, c]. In Corollary 5.9 we prove that under ∆ • ω = c, there are 2 c ultranormal cellular finitary coarse structures on ω. On the other hand, we do not know if an ultranormal cellular finitary coarse structure on ω exists in ZFC. Corollary 5.9 yields a (consistent) negative answer to Question 5.4 of Protasov and Protasova [16] .

Corollary 5.9 yields a (consistent) negative answer to Question 5.4 of Protasov and Protasova.


The consequence of molecular variability is more than six hundreds known natural anthocyanins. Six the most frequented are cyanidins, delphinidins, malvinidins, pelargonidins, petunidins, and peonidins (IWASHINA, 2000) . Anthocyanins are phenolic phytochemicals classified within flavonoids together with flavonols, flavones, flavanols, flavanones, and isoflavonoids (LIU, 2004) .

Six the most frequented are cyanidins, delphinidins, malvinidins, pelargonidins, petunidins, and peonidins.

Anthocyanins are phenolic phytochemicals classified within flavonoids together with flavonols, flavones, flavanols, flavanones, and isoflavonoids.


Our study provides support for a theoretical model of MD recently derived from qualitative data [5] . That model suggested that MD is based on an innate capacity for immersive daydreaming that is associated with an intense, rewarding sense of presence. Our findings shed light on a recent analysis of MDer testimonials suggesting that both a history of childhood adversity and current social isolation are important factors in the development and maintenance of MD [5] . However, our structural analysis findings seem to imply that the adversity is irrelevant once the other factors are present.

Our study provides support for a theoretical model of MD recently derived from qualitative data.

Our findings shed light on a recent analysis of MDer testimonials suggesting that both a history of childhood adversity and current social isolation are important factors in the development and maintenance of MD.


This study contributes to the literature of behavioral addictions in general, and of MD in particular, by offering insight into psychological processes potentially implicated in the development of MD. However, before we discuss the emerging tentative model to explain MD, we propose that the addiction component of MD speaks to a possible link between MD and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Although no neuroimaging study that we are aware of has directly compared OCD, impulse control disorder (ICD) and substance use disorder (SUD), these psychopathologies are thought to be mediated by changes in partially overlapping neural circuits. This notion is based on results showing corticostriatal dysfunction across multiple contexts in functional neuroimaging studies of OCD, ICD and SUD [30] . It is possible that OCD, ICD and SUD share some form of behavioral disinhibition and that are all maintained by the positive reinforcement associated with reduced negative affect or with the pleasure associated with the repeated behavior.

This notion is based on results showing corticostriatal dysfunction across multiple contexts in functional neuroimaging studies of OCD, ICD and SUD.


Absorption and behavioral addiction are indeed central to MD. In this study, these two factors alone accounted for 66% of MD variance. While the absorptive nature of MD is rather obvious, we feel the addictive nature of this mental activity requires further discussion. Behavioral addictions have been recognized as psychiatric diagnoses for quite a while [27] . Recently, gambling disorder was added to other addictive behaviors in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) of the American Psychiatric Association [28] . Section III (emerging measures and models) of the DSM-5 also included a behavioral addiction named Internet Gambling Disorder. The emergence of behavioral addiction research over the last two decades has raised concern among some researchers, who claimed that theoretical and confirmatory research approaches may lead to the overpathologizing of everyday life. They suggested that what is needed is a research approach focusing on the psychological processes involved rather than a criteria-based approach [29] .

Behavioral addictions have been recognized as psychiatric diagnoses for quite a while.

Recently, gambling disorder was added to other addictive behaviors in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) of the American Psychiatric Association.

They suggested that what is needed is a research approach focusing on the psychological processes involved rather than a criteria-based approach.


Twenty-four percent of MDers reported impairment in social skills and social isolation [12] . Recent data on MD indicated that social inadequacy and isolation may indeed play a role in the development and maintenance of MD [13] . In this study, we did not postulate that social anxiety is necessarily associated with dissociative absorption, as childhood trauma would be. We aimed to gauge the relationship between social anxiety and MD and the mediating role played by addiction to fantasy as possible psychological sustenance for socially deprived individuals.

Twenty-four percent of MDers reported impairment in social skills and social isolation.

Recent data on MD indicated that social inadequacy and isolation may indeed play a role in the development and maintenance of MD.


Low acuity visits in the ED may cause significant problems since they consume resources that should be allocated for high acuity patients [1] [2] [3] [4] . Triage has, in part, been developed in order to allocate resources [3, 4] . Strategies aimed at diverting non-urgent patients by using triage did not seem to improve access of more urgent patients in a Canadian tertiary health care ED (university hospital). This may be explained by the observation that the probability of a patient to have a severe and/or life threatening was high and non-acute patients represented only a small fraction of the patient flow [3] . There is some data from tertiary health care systems suggesting that team-triage may reduce the time to doctor, time to radiology and the length of stay in the ED [5] . Experienced doctor-nurse triage teams have been reported to be an effective way of shortening the waiting time in the ED, irrespectively of the urgency of the condition [5] .

Low acuity visits in the ED may cause significant problems since they consume resources that should be allocated for high acuity patients.

Triage has, in part, been developed in order to allocate resources.

This may be explained by the observation that the probability of a patient to have a severe and/or life threatening was high and non-acute patients represented only a small fraction of the patient flow.

There is some data from tertiary health care systems suggesting that team-triage may reduce the time to doctor, time to radiology and the length of stay in the ED.

Experienced doctor-nurse triage teams have been reported to be an effective way of shortening the waiting time in the ED, irrespectively of the urgency of the condition.


Over the past couple of decades, numerous research efforts have been devoted to the area of photonic integrated circuits (PICs) [1] - [5] . This is mainly because the cost, size, weight, and combined insertion loss of the on-chip optical components can be significantly reduced through integration, while the stability and performance of the photonic integrated systems can be drastically enhanced. In addition to these obvious advantages, low-power-consumption is also an important motivating factor for photonic integration. The device reliability increases with decreasing power levels, and therefore, PICs contribute to the system reliability to a great extent by reducing its operating electrical power [3] . The associated total thermoelectric cooler (TEC) power consumption also decreases significantly.

Over the past couple of decades, numerous research efforts have been devoted to the area of photonic integrated circuits (PICs).

The device reliability increases with decreasing power levels, and therefore, PICs contribute to the system reliability to a great extent by reducing its operating electrical power.


In addition to the LO and MO, the synthesizer includes a photonic integrated coherent receiver and feedback electronics to realize an OPLL. The photonic receiver receives the mixed output of LO and MO signals and produces an error signal fed into the electronic circuits that tune the phase of the LO in order to match that of the MO. Therefore, high-performance, low-power and compact coherent receiver PICs with an integrated widely-tunable LO are of significant research interest due to their use in optical coherent communication, possibly employing OPLL systems in relatively short links [7] .

Therefore, high-performance, low-power and compact coherent receiver PICs with an integrated widely-tunable LO are of significant research interest due to their use in optical coherent communication, possibly employing OPLL systems in relatively short links.


The nonlinear WGMR pumped with continuous-wave (CW) light produces an OFC when the power of the pump exceeds a certain threshold [15] . The process results from an optical phenomenon relying upon both self-and cross-phase modulation in the reonator host material, and it is similar to the modulation instability in optical fiber. The high Q-factor of the WGMR ensures that the pump power required to produce an OFC spanning a few THz does not exceed a few tens of mW. Thus, the low power consumption of the comb reference also contributes to minimizing overall system power. Our OFC spans approximately 23 nm, and it is produced by pumping the WGMR with 20 mW of light at 1550 nm.

The nonlinear WGMR pumped with continuous-wave (CW) light produces an OFC when the power of the pump exceeds a certain threshold.


Recently, highly integrated optical phase-locked loops (OPLLs) have been found to be one of the most attractive technologies for a number of emerging applications, including optical sensing and frequency synthesis [6] . Many novel compact optical systems in these areas can be developed by using such integrated OPLLs. In this work, we demonstrate the OPLL-based offset locking of an onchip widely-tunable local oscillator (LO)-laser within the coherent receiver PIC to a microresonatorbased optical frequency comb (OFC). This is a major step towards an eventual demonstration of the chip-scale, low-power, ultrastable optical frequency synthesizer. An integrated optical synthesizer is a device that is able to produce a narrow-linewidth optical signal at a desired wavelength. Such a synthesizer can be created by offset locking of a broadly tunable LO laser to an OFC master oscillator (MO).

Recently, highly integrated optical phase-locked loops (OPLLs) have been found to be one of the most attractive technologies for a number of emerging applications, including optical sensing and frequency synthesis.


In the comparison between cultivation years for the hybrid Hyola 432, the year of 2009 was favorable to the expression of the highest grain yield, followed by 2010 and 2008, respectively, which were different (Table 2) . On the other hand, Hyola 61 showed similar grain yield response in the cultivation years of 2009 and 2010, with the lowest grain yield in 2008. These results tend to characterize the hybrid Hyola 432 as the one with the highest instability for grain production, compared with Hyola 61. Studies on genetic and environmental effects show that 73% of the variation in grain yield in winter rapeseed *Significant at 0.05 probability level by F test; DF -Degrees of freedom Table 1 . Summary of the analysis of variance for grain yield as a function of plant arrangement in different cultivation years for two rapeseed hybrids Table 2 . Mean grain yield as a function of plant arrangements in the cultivation years of two rapeseed hybrids Means followed by the same lowercase letters in the column and uppercase letters in the row do not differ at 0.05 probability level, according to the model of Scott-Knott; S -Superior to the mean + 1 standard deviation; and I -Inferior to the mean + 1 standard deviation is explained by the environment, 8% by difference between genotypes and 19% by the interaction genotype x environment (Marjanović-Jeromela et al., 2011) .

Mean grain yield as a function of plant arrangements in the cultivation years of two rapeseed hybrids Means followed by the same lowercase letters in the column and uppercase letters in the row do not differ at 0.05 probability level, according to the model of Scott-Knott; S -Superior to the mean + 1 standard deviation; and I -Inferior to the mean + 1 standard deviation is explained by the environment, 8% by difference between genotypes and 19% by the interaction genotype x environment.


The effects of national culture on organizations can explain the reasons underlying such results. Turkish culture has high scores in collectivism dimension. Thus; the relationships in such a cultural context is generally close and family-type. Responsibility and loyalty are important characteristics in such cultures, which are also essential for clan culture. According to collectivists, relationships have a normative dimension, whereas individualists put emphasis on operational dimension of relationships (Hofstede et al. 1990; Bodur and Kabasakal 2002) .

According to collectivists, relationships have a normative dimension, whereas individualists put emphasis on operational dimension of relationships.


In this context; it is aimed to diagnose the culture of a pharmaceutical company and fi nd out the perceived and preferred cultural profi les regarding the headquarters and branches of the company. Furthermore; it is aimed to discuss reasons lying behind the differences between "perceived" and "preferred" organizational culture as it is important for the success of the organization. When there is a match between the perceived and preferred organizational culture, it can be said that person-organization fi t exists which would lead to higher organizational performance. Higher organizational performance is the outcome or result as well as the indicator of effort and achievement such as productivity, customer satisfaction, profi t, and quality (Burke, Litwin 1992) .

Higher organizational performance is the outcome or result as well as the indicator of effort and achievement such as productivity, customer satisfaction, profi t, and quality.


Nineteen of these 25 patients with RTA had complete RTA and the remaining 6 had incomplete RTA as per our definition mentioned above. All the 25 patients with RTA were, however, analysed as a single group in this study. The median duration of symptoms at diagnosis was 36 (range: 0.5 -168) months. The reasons for patients seeking medical attention in this hospital are depicted in Table 2 . It is noticeable that only 10 patients (nine patients with neuromuscular and one with multiple fractures) had clinical complaints related to RTA. The remaining 15 patients (60%) did not have any clinical symptoms of RTA in their initial presentation, even though five of these 15 patients had history of documented hypokalemic paralysis. No other cause for RTA was detected in any of these patients. None of these patients were on any medications including Ayurvedic and herbal products which may cause RTA [19] .

None of these patients were on any medications including Ayurvedic and herbal products which may cause RTA.


Dengue is the most common and serious arthropod-borne viral disease. First reported in 1779 by David Bylon during an epidemic in Indonesia, there has been a dramatic expansion in disease distribution in the last 50 years [1] . Before 1970, only nine countries had dengue epidemics. Currently, dengue is endemic in more than a hundred countries in five out of the six WHO regions [2] . It is estimated that there are 2.5 billion people living in dengue-endemic countries [3, 4] .

First reported in 1779 by David Bylon during an epidemic in Indonesia, there has been a dramatic expansion in disease distribution in the last 50 years.

Currently, dengue is endemic in more than a hundred countries in five out of the six WHO regions.

It is estimated that there are 2.5 billion people living in dengue-endemic countries.


In the history veri cation method, double spending is detected because two di erent sets of electronic cash with the same identi er are returned. When double spending is detected, the perpetrator is identi ed by comparing the circulation history of the two sets of electronic cash and nding the branching point. The history of a token used in FlexToken corresponds to the circulation history in this electronic cash system. In this approach, however, the validity of the electronic cash is not guaranteed during circulation because double spending cannot be detected until the electronic cash is returned. To solve this problem, a method of guaranteeing the validity of cash during circulation by combining the history veri cation method with the balance method using a smartcard has been proposed (Nakayama et al., 1997) .

To solve this problem, a method of guaranteeing the validity of cash during circulation by combining the history veri cation method with the balance method using a smartcard has been proposed.


Although a clear cell variant and a chromogranin A negative SPN has already been reported, our case did not show nuclear β-catenin nor vimentin expression, therefore ruling out SPN [16, 18] . MCN is not connected to the pancreatic duct system and contains epithelium (in rare cases squamous epithelium), surrounded by an ovarian- like stroma that stains positive for progesterone receptor, inhibin, CEA, and chromogranin A [19] . Moreover, the epithelial component of MCN is positive for MUC5AC and negative for MUC1 and MUC2, obviously in difference to our results [2, 20] . Metastasis of an extrapancreatic primary clear cell tumor, particularly renal RCC was seriously considered especially since CD10 expression was expressed focally and with faint intensity, however no invasiveness and the absence of vimentin positivity argues against pancreatic metastases of RCC. In addition, the profile of expressed mucins, several tumor free MRI scans of the kidneys and the uneventful clinical follow-up for now over two years rule out RCC metastases [21] . The molecular basis of clear cell morphology in the presented tumor is unknown and only a few studies discussed genesis of clear cell morphology. So far, the best studied tumor in this context is clear cell RCC and hypoxia regulatory factors have been identified as driving force for the clear cell phenotype [22] . HIF-1α, carbonic anhydrase IX, and GLUT1 have been described as markers for the hypoxia-inducible factor pathway [23] .

Although a clear cell variant and a chromogranin A negative SPN has already been reported, our case did not show nuclear β-catenin nor vimentin expression, therefore ruling out SPN.

MCN is not connected to the pancreatic duct system and contains epithelium (in rare cases squamous epithelium), surrounded by an ovarian- like stroma that stains positive for progesterone receptor, inhibin, CEA, and chromogranin A.

Moreover, the epithelial component of MCN is positive for MUC5AC and negative for MUC1 and MUC2, obviously in difference to our results.

In addition, the profile of expressed mucins, several tumor free MRI scans of the kidneys and the uneventful clinical follow-up for now over two years rule out RCC metastases.

So far, the best studied tumor in this context is clear cell RCC and hypoxia regulatory factors have been identified as driving force for the clear cell phenotype.

HIF-1α, carbonic anhydrase IX, and GLUT1 have been described as markers for the hypoxia-inducible factor pathway.


Spun-casting is an economical method for producing concrete elements with a long tradition. In the mid of the 20 th century concrete mixtures were made using high water-cement (w/c) ratios [4] . Excess water left the mixture during centrifugation.

In the mid of the 20 th century concrete mixtures were made using high water-cement (w/c) ratios.


Over the decades the way in which employability has been described has fluctuated, along with the changing contexts in which individuals have sought employment (Grazier, 1998) . A review of the concept of employability from the 1940's to 1990's indicates a move from a dichotomy of either being employable or not, to a consideration of employability as having a dynamic adaptive nature (Grazier, 1998) . Thus, theories of employability have become increasingly complex, and multi-dimensional.

Over the decades the way in which employability has been described has fluctuated, along with the changing contexts in which individuals have sought employment.

A review of the concept of employability from the 1940's to 1990's indicates a move from a dichotomy of either being employable or not, to a consideration of employability as having a dynamic adaptive nature.


The solvent-free process use is largely growing nowadays, due to the economic and environmental benefits. In recent years, studies have been conducted in order to understand and explain the mechanical properties of the PSA, seeking to relate these characteristics to their compositions, aiming at a better association with the final application (Fernandes, 2010) . The tesa SE, a german company, has successfully implemented a solvent-free technology to produce natural rubber-based adhesive tapes. Currently, the company aims to change the production process of some products from the solvent-based method to a solvent-free one. However a simple one-to-one transfer of the adhesive formulation proved to be problematic. This study, undertaken within tesa SE company, has focused on the development and study of PSA formulations, by varying two plasticizing oils and one type of resin. A preliminary formulation was implemented in a pilot plant, known as #145. This has very good properties, in general, but the adhesion characteristics are too low. Therefore this study aims at developing a methodology for new formulations for PSA, to find out which one gives the higher value of peel adhesion, while maintaining all other properties.

In recent years, studies have been conducted in order to understand and explain the mechanical properties of the PSA, seeking to relate these characteristics to their compositions, aiming at a better association with the final application.


After the formulation and tests of the samples, experimental data were used to feed the software referred earlier in order to generate a mathematical model for the process. These models are represented as response surfaces relating the influence between tested parameters process response (Scholz, 2013) . Table 2 and Figure 1 show peel adhesion tests performed on steel and coated fabric. In the case of the fabric surface, tests were conducted in two different situations: (a), the strip was attached to the surface and tested fresh at room conditions; (b), the tape was attached to the surface and stored in an oven at 40°C for 24 hours.

These models are represented as response surfaces relating the influence between tested parameters process response.


For S. flavescens, the formation of juvenile plants (an appearance of first two leaves) from the control seeds began earlier than from seeds stored in LN. There were no significant differences in the plant height, size and number of leaves, and root diameter between the plantlets derived from cryopreserved and control seeds during the entire period of culturing [23] . It is indicative of normal development of plantlets derived from the seeds treated by LN. Only slight increase of a root diameter was found in the 70-day-old seedlings from frozen seeds.

There were no significant differences in the plant height, size and number of leaves, and root diameter between the plantlets derived from cryopreserved and control seeds during the entire period of culturing.


In this paper we consider the impact of modern supercomputers on the design of iterative methods for solving large linear systems of equations. Because of the increased importance of three-dimensional models, iterative methods are again playing a major role. There is a general consensus that for problems arising from partial differential equations in threedimensional domains, direct methods alone are too costly, both in terms of storage and computation. For example a 50 x 50 x 50 grid with five degrees of freedom per grid point, such as Euler's equation in fluid dynamics, will lead to matrices of size N=625,000 and of bandwidth m M 25000. Even though reordering techniques can be used to exploit the sparsity of the matrix, the complexity of the problem is still very high. For a survey of the impact of supercomputing on aerodynamics research, where these types of problems arise, see Peterson [93] . The main attraction of iterative methods in an example like this one is their low storage requirement. In fact in many cases the matrix need not be stored entirely because it consists of a small number of blocks that are repeated many times.

For a survey of the impact of supercomputing on aerodynamics research, where these types of problems arise, see Peterson.


A significant breakthrough, with serious implications for civil use of hybrid propulsion systems, had place quite recently, due to the development of mobile technologies. Tens of millions of mobile phones, tablets, and portable computers needed a reliable and safe energy source with limited dimensions and mass. The solution was the use of successive generations of lithium batteries. Initially, little attention was paid to the importance of so-called BMS's (Battery Management Systems) controlling the battery charging/discharging processes. However, it soon turned out that these processes have to be permanently controlled, which now is frequently executed by displaying main charging parameters, such as voltage, electric current, and temperature on the screen [8] . At present, hybrid propulsion systems are being developed by various companies all over the world, they are also the object of numerous research activities worldwide [9] [10] .

However, it soon turned out that these processes have to be permanently controlled, which now is frequently executed by displaying main charging parameters, such as voltage, electric current, and temperature on the screen.

At present, hybrid propulsion systems are being developed by various companies all over the world, they are also the object of numerous research activities worldwide.


In this paper, we propose a modified COM approach, which can be used in the practical design of a layered SAW filter. Unlike the half-space SAW filter, frequency dependences of the COM parameters are included by using the effective permittivity approach [22] . Owing to the introduction of the COM model, the effects of propagation loss, electrode reflections, electrical transduction, acoustic reception, thin film loss and the distributed finger capacitance can be taken into account in the frequency analysis of the layered SAW filter. The frequency response of an IDT/ZnO/R-plane sapphire layered SAW filter is analysed and compared with the existing experimental results.

Unlike the half-space SAW filter, frequency dependences of the COM parameters are included by using the effective permittivity approach.