Rapid human population growth, along with the spread of technology and culture have significantly increased the rate of natural degradation processes in the pedosphere. Several parts of Central and Southeastern Europe (CASEE) are characterized by severe soil degradation due to accelerated water and wind erosion, nutrient imbalance, depletion of soil organic matter, waterlogging, salinization, contamination, acidification, landslides, soil sealing and compaction by both farm machinery and grazing. Many of these processes cause land abandonment which, in turn, may accelerate degradation processes due to desertification. Abandoned poor agricultural land in Poland constitutes at least 1/3 of all waste land (almost 0.5 million ha) [1] . Both policies and planning instruments for agriculture in many CASEE countries were missing prior to establishing the European Union. Therefore, migration from rural to urban areas and the lack of rural infrastructure development led to an increase in negative anthropogenic influence on soils [2] .

Abandoned poor agricultural land in Poland constitutes at least 1/3 of all waste land (almost 0.5 million ha).

Therefore, migration from rural to urban areas and the lack of rural infrastructure development led to an increase in negative anthropogenic influence on soils.


From the analysis of the results, the study provided evidence that participants did not take their participation seriously for several reasons-most notably, the absence of instructor presence. The participants were asked to participate individually without interference from the instructor after they were provided with a clear set of rules that included a wide range of topics to select from for participation, the definition of a beneficial post, the required number of beneficial posts required per week, and the grade points awarded for each beneficial post. Although all participants indicated these rules were helpful, most believed the rules were insufficient to encourage participation without the instructor's presence. They believed that the instructor's presence during the participation process would have helped improve the quantity and quality of their participation. They recommended that instructor presence may include, but not be limited to, assigning a specific topic to discuss weekly, providing feedback on their answers, and managing the discussion. Clearly, this result would not be a radical departure from what previous studies have shown regarding the significant influence of the instructor on the WhatsApp learning environment (Plana et al., 2013; Amry, 2014) .

Clearly, this result would not be a radical departure from what previous studies have shown regarding the significant influence of the instructor on the WhatsApp learning environment.


Generally, transportation planning departments consider the peak traffic demands during normal workdays and on special occasions [2] , [3] . However, it is almost impossible to conceive transportation plans for emergency situations, due to which large volumes of traffic involved in mass evacuations is likely to exceed the capacity of road networks that may lead to the loss of human lives. For example, due to the lack of proper evacuation plan, in 1991, 25 people lost their lives within the first 30 minutes while attempting to flee their Oakland Hills (California) neighborhood during a wildfire. Moreover, reports indicate that the inefficient evacuation planning in case of the Katrina and Rita hurricanes resulted in a heavy traffic jam on the interstates. A similar traffic jam occurred for 20 hours after a winter storm in Atlanta, GA, USA, in January 2014, as the transportation network was incapable of handling the traffic congestion caused by snow and accidents. To prevent such incidents, emergency evacuation plans must be developed to ensure the availability of safest and most efficient evacuation routes for the residents of a structure, region, or city.

Generally, transportation planning departments consider the peak traffic demands during normal workdays and on special occasions.


By taking an alternative philosophical view of the discrete points being part of a continuous path in a multidimensional space (say some Euclidean space R d ), one may lift the path to its signature and apply the powerful theory of rough paths in order to analyse the original signal. The idea that the signature can be thought of as an informative transform of a multidimensional time series was first introduced by B. Hambly and T. Lyons [9] . We use the term transform in the sense that no information is lost (modulo the notion of tree-like equivalence) by taking the signature of a bounded variation path.

The idea that the signature can be thought of as an informative transform of a multidimensional time series was first introduced by B. Hambly and T. Lyons.


The k-means method has been used for sample classification. Although it can cluster samples on the basis of the distance, it does not take into account the correlation among variables. Recently, self-organizing map (SOM) has been proposed [14] . SOM is a machine learning process that imitates the brain learning process, and it can visualize high dimensional data as a map on the basis of similarities between samples. However, SOM does not always give clear boundaries between clusters on the map. In addition, it requires high computational load, and its parameter tuning and data preprocessing are complicated.

Recently, self-organizing map (SOM) has been proposed.


Even if a good soft-sensor is developed successfully, its estimation performance deteriorates as process characteristics change. In chemical processes, process characteristics are changed by catalyst deactivation, scale adhesion and so on. In semiconductor manufacturing processes, periodic cleaning of equipment changes the process characteristics dramatically. Therefore, maintenance of soft-sensors is very important to keep their estimation performance. They should be updated as the process characteristics change. However, repeated and manual construction of them should be avoided due to heavy workload [8] .

However, repeated and manual construction of them should be avoided due to heavy workload.


Soft-sensors have been widely used for estimating product quality or other key variables. Partial least squares (PLS) and artificial neural network (ANN) have been widely accepted as useful techniques for softsensor design [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] . In addition, the application of subspace identification (SSID) to soft-sensor design has been reported [6, 7] .

Partial least squares (PLS) and artificial neural network (ANN) have been widely accepted as useful techniques for softsensor design.

In addition, the application of subspace identification (SSID) to soft-sensor design has been reported.


In our population, we observed a direct correlation between the degree of disease activity and the area measured under the TI curve during wash-out phase. Consequently, we also found an inverse correlation between wash-out slope and GN activity score. This means that patients suffering from GN have a slower contrast agent wash-out during CEUS, suggesting a disturbance of perfusion in glomerular capillaries during the early stages of GN. Furthermore, the histological element directly correlated with the prolonged wash-out was mesangial hyperplasia, which is known to be one of the early ultrastructural alterations in the pathologic glomerulus, which ultimately leads to fibrosis and sclerosis [44, 45] . In conclusion, CEUS appears to be a safe and promising tool in the study of renal parenchymal diseases. Our findings indicate how CEUS reflects microvascular alteration in the early stages of GN, and confirm how crucial the role of mesangial hyperplasia is in the progression of the disease. More efforts are necessary to clarify whether CEUS can be used as a non-invasive technique to predict GN severity and to investigate the effectiveness of therapies. For this last point, if the results will be confirmed, TI curves can be used as a response parameter to the therapy in GN.

Furthermore, the histological element directly correlated with the prolonged wash-out was mesangial hyperplasia, which is known to be one of the early ultrastructural alterations in the pathologic glomerulus, which ultimately leads to fibrosis and sclerosis.


However, there were significant changes for the cooperatives when subjects were stratified into responders and non-responders (Figure 2 ). Namely, responders had increased baseline levels of cooperative #2 enriched in Bacteroidaceae and decreased-of cooperative #1 enriched with Clostridiales. The taxa included in cooperative #2 are reported to be associated with long-term "Western diet" [48] . While no significant associations between responder/non-responder clusters and physiological factors were identified, one can speculate that FDP consumption may have a more profound positive impact on the microbiota of individuals on "Western diet".

The taxa included in cooperative #2 are reported to be associated with long-term "Western diet".


Some quantitative results may be useful to outline a geography of values for each of the two territories identified by the proposed axiological filter: the calculated total energy potential, assuming 66 for Siracusa and 140 for Enna 3 MW generators, which corresponds to a productibility, respectively, of 61 and 16 MW, with a notable efficiency gap with regard to the economic result, given that the unit cost is around 1700 per kW. The landscape cost is also very different, being 976 (for Siracusa) and 1682 (for Enna) km 2 . Consequently, extending this tool to the whole regional territory would make it possible to define the intervention priorities consistently, and to bring analyses together where effectively necessary, making the whole information and organisation system more efficient, according to a single multi-level method [32, 33] . The proposed tool supports a "value geography policy", which connects the horizontal dimension of extensive knowledge with the vertical dimension of detailed analytical assessment to consolidate a summary vision that is based on value judgments.

Consequently, extending this tool to the whole regional territory would make it possible to define the intervention priorities consistently, and to bring analyses together where effectively necessary, making the whole information and organisation system more efficient, according to a single multi-level method.


These topics involve wide ecological and environmental issues that are profoundly affected by the scientific assessment methods and content, precisely because it is impossible to provide evidence for or against this kind of energy production, especially when comparing the overall supply chain with that of fossil fuels. Consequently, opinion on wind energy varies significantly. This opinion is positive if we take a deep long-term ecological view and worry about the progressive shift of environmental and human cost towards the most disadvantaged areas of the planet. It views territorial containment, by companies and homes, and the outcomes of their needs and relative economic performance on the environment and landscape, so that they are "aware" of the effects their lifestyles have [3, 4] .

It views territorial containment, by companies and homes, and the outcomes of their needs and relative economic performance on the environment and landscape, so that they are "aware" of the effects their lifestyles have.


We decided to use Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) for the estimation of a smooth signal (Wood, 2017; Yee, 2015) . The smoothness can be regulated by a tuning parameter, which is selected by cross-validation. A GAM fit is based on natural cubic splines with knots at every data point. Depending on the tuning parameter, one can obtain the whole spectrum from the linear fit to the very non-smooth exact fit. Once the GAM fits for both input variables of the log-ratio are available, the curvature of the log-ratio of the smoothed concentrations can be computed, and an unsupervised learning method is employed, leading to a hitlist of log-ratios most suitable for finding mineralization. The proposed method has been tested on two real data sets, where the mineralizations are known, and the results seem to be reliable and carrying out promising prospects.

We decided to use Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) for the estimation of a smooth signal.


Gastroparesis is characterized by clinical symptoms that may consist of bloating, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, early satiety and abdominal pain [1] [2] [3] . The etiology of gastroparesis is varied and includes diabetic, idiopathic, viral, autoimmune, and post-surgical gastroparesis [2, 3] . Often patients present with concomitant overlap syndromes, consisting of migraine headaches, interstitial cystitis, fibromyalgia, and systemic hypercoagulability [4] [5] [6] . The diagnosis is based on clinical presentation, full-thickness gastric biopsy, electrophysiological recording, and radionuclide emptying studies [7, 8] . Initial screening and diagnosis of gastroparesis rely on distinguishing the patient's symptom pattern as chronic or cyclic; this is a separate entity from cyclic vomiting syndrome [4, 9] . Up to 50% of diabetic gastroparesis patients, and many idiopathic gastroparesis patients, have a cyclic pattern [4] . Family history assessment is important, especially in the assessment of overlapping diseases, such as cyclic vomiting, clotting disorders, migraine, fibromyalgia, interstitial cystitis, bladder dysfunction, endometriosis, and depression [6, 10] . It is also important to be able to differentiate gastroparesis from gastroparesis like syndrome (GLS). These two diseases are incredibly difficult to differentiate by gastric emptying testing (GET) alone [11] . Recent investigations into distinguishing the two based on interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) loss and fibrosis of the pylorus (with gastroparesis patients having worse features comparatively) are proving as better methods to determine which patients would benefit from more invasive therapies [12] . These diseases may have an impact on outcome, but not always a negative one for gastric electrical stimulation (GES) patient selection.

Gastroparesis is characterized by clinical symptoms that may consist of bloating, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, early satiety and abdominal pain.

The etiology of gastroparesis is varied and includes diabetic, idiopathic, viral, autoimmune, and post-surgical gastroparesis.

Often patients present with concomitant overlap syndromes, consisting of migraine headaches, interstitial cystitis, fibromyalgia, and systemic hypercoagulability.

The diagnosis is based on clinical presentation, full-thickness gastric biopsy, electrophysiological recording, and radionuclide emptying studies.

Initial screening and diagnosis of gastroparesis rely on distinguishing the patient's symptom pattern as chronic or cyclic; this is a separate entity from cyclic vomiting syndrome.

Up to 50% of diabetic gastroparesis patients, and many idiopathic gastroparesis patients, have a cyclic pattern.

Family history assessment is important, especially in the assessment of overlapping diseases, such as cyclic vomiting, clotting disorders, migraine, fibromyalgia, interstitial cystitis, bladder dysfunction, endometriosis, and depression.

These two diseases are incredibly difficult to differentiate by gastric emptying testing (GET) alone.

Recent investigations into distinguishing the two based on interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) loss and fibrosis of the pylorus (with gastroparesis patients having worse features comparatively) are proving as better methods to determine which patients would benefit from more invasive therapies.


The results have showed there were no restraints in using Optimod'Lyon, as long as participants are familiar with the technology and with the use of smartphones applications (e.g. Google Maps), GPS navigators and websites to obtain travel information. A sample including people of different ages, education and profession showed how the use of technology largely cuts across the socio-economic characteristics as the wide market penetration of the ICT tools demonstrates. In fact, the rise in mobile devices popularity and the ubiquitous web are changing the way of living; for example, social media have better performed than traditional systems in providing information during emergency situations (Yates and Paquette, 2011) . In January 2014, 90% of American adults have a cell phone and 64% have a smartphone; mobile devices are full of sensors and such data can be harvested for multiple uses.

In fact, the rise in mobile devices popularity and the ubiquitous web are changing the way of living; for example, social media have better performed than traditional systems in providing information during emergency situations.


Even though the conclusions of this study should be considered with caution due to the sample size (ex-ante=50; ex-post=46), they match well the outcomes of other studies. Nevertheless, these conclusions cannot be generalised as it was impossible to have a control group since all participants got a smartphone. This limitation is not uncommon in field studies, but it raises the possibility that events other than the introduction of the multimodal app may have produced the observed effects (Bamberg et al., 2003) . Finally, during the test, the Optimod'Lyon app was updated three times, adding small changes in terms of content and user interface that could cause some bias on the results.

This limitation is not uncommon in field studies, but it raises the possibility that events other than the introduction of the multimodal app may have produced the observed effects.


All three soil types, obtained from different geographical areas of Sri Lanka representing the wet zone (Gannoruwa and Gampaha) and the intermediate wet zone (Matale), showed an increasing trend when the initial concentration was increased. Similar increasing trend was also observed for the thiram content in the soil phase, which was determined by taking the difference between the initial and equilibrium thiram concentrations in the aqueous phase (Fig. 3) . Thiram was preferably adsorbed to clay particles and organic matter in soil, and not on sand. Consequently, thiram concentrations were higher in the aqueous phase when partitioned with more sandy soil. Although differences among the three soil types were not significant, the small differences observed could be attributed to different cations present in soil (Table 1) . Adsorption of thiram on soil containing higher concentrations of cations (e.g., soil from Matale) would be higher due to complex formation ability of thiram. The reason for not observing a significant difference among the three soil types may be due to the presence of relatively high levels Cu (II) in all soil types, which readily form a complex with thiram (Zhao et al., 2003) . The ratio of the concentration of thiram in the soil to that in the aqueous phase; i.e., the apparent partition coefficient (K D ′) changed with the initial thiram concentration (Fig. 4) , indicating that the rate of Table 1 : Cations present in soil, in ppm, obtained from different areas as determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy increase in the thiram concentration in the aqueous phase and that in the soil phase was not proportional to each other. Further, as there was no detectable thiram in the aqueous phase below 3.0 ppm thiram, the K D ′ values at low concentrations would be much higher. This trend was apparent for all three soil types. Although change in K D ′ with concentration seemed incorrect when the fundamental aspects of equilibrium systems were concerned, it can be argued that true dynamic equilibrium had not been established at smaller initial concentrations, probably up to 5.0 ppm due to the availability of vacant adsorption sites. Hence, irreversible transfer of thiram molecules from the aqueous phase to the solid phase was probably predominant at such concentrations. Additionally, diffusion of thiram molecules through cavities and pinholes of the soil matrix would probably occur when soil is exposed to thiram solution. However, electrostatic attractions are not possible as thiram is not ionic. Due to the factors stated above, at low concentrations, the rate of adsorption should be greater than rate of desorption. Upon increasing concentration, thiram molecules would probably be adsorbed on the surface of soil particles and the dynamic equilibrium is Table 2 .

The reason for not observing a significant difference among the three soil types may be due to the presence of relatively high levels Cu (II) in all soil types, which readily form a complex with thiram.


Lamotrigine (LTG) is a new antiepileptic drug and is chemically unrelated to any of the traditional drugs. Although it was initially used in association with other anticonvulsant drugs in the treatment of refractory epilepsy (EP), LTG monotherapy has recently been shown to be useful in the treatment of various types of epilepsy and epilepsy syndromes, both in children and adults [1] [2] [3] . Although therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of LTG was not initially recommended, LTG use has increased due to high interindividual variability and the effects of certain antiepileptic drugs often associated with LTG, such as inhibitors (eg, valproic acid) or inducers (eg, carbamazepine, phenobarbital, phenytoin and primidone) [4, 5] .

Although it was initially used in association with other anticonvulsant drugs in the treatment of refractory epilepsy (EP), LTG monotherapy has recently been shown to be useful in the treatment of various types of epilepsy and epilepsy syndromes, both in children and adults.

Although therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of LTG was not initially recommended, LTG use has increased due to high interindividual variability and the effects of certain antiepileptic drugs often associated with LTG, such as inhibitors (eg, valproic acid) or inducers (eg, carbamazepine, phenobarbital, phenytoin and primidone).


Our study aimed to present a three-layer model (stakeholders, markets, technologies) for the assessment of residential smart grids. In this way, knowledge about the actual performance of residential smart grids can be collected and evaluated within its framework. The use of the three-layer approach increases awareness of the multidisciplinary aspects of the problem, which most of the recent and extensive technical literature reviews point out [11] .

The use of the three-layer approach increases awareness of the multidisciplinary aspects of the problem, which most of the recent and extensive technical literature reviews point out.


For the successful deployment of residential smart grids, it is evident that interdisciplinary information about energy technologies, energy markets and the needs of various types of stakeholders must be identified, merged, and implemented in practice. Therefore, in this paper, the results of an in-depth literature study are presented, aimed at elaborating a framework for gathering knowledge and developing understanding about residential smart energy systems. This framework, called the three-layer model, comprises three layers: stakeholders, the market, and technologies [1] . Each layer is defined below. The framework originates from the European research program, ERA-Net Smart Grids Plus, in which it is considered to provide a common context for interdisciplinary smart grid research (see Figure 1 ) [2] . According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), a smart grid is defined as "an electricity network that uses digital and other advanced technologies to monitor and manage the transport of electricity from all generation sources in that (local) network to meet the varying electricity demands of end-users" [3] .

This framework, called the three-layer model, comprises three layers: stakeholders, the market, and technologies.

Each layer is defined below.

The framework originates from the European research program, ERA-Net Smart Grids Plus, in which it is considered to provide a common context for interdisciplinary smart grid research (see Figure 1 ).

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), a smart grid is defined as "an electricity network that uses digital and other advanced technologies to monitor and manage the transport of electricity from all generation sources in that (local) network to meet the varying electricity demands of end-users".


We defined and discussed each layer in terms of recent issues from different perspectives. Uncertainties still exist with regard to market structures, task delegation, the necessity for new (data-handling) institutions, etc. Issues resulting from human factors and the stakeholders layers, comfort expectancies, the aims and requirements of smart grid users are still unknown parameters, however they are deemed to be crucial in order to fit the market and demand energy management systems in smart grids. If the goal of some consumers is to be more sustainable, and for others to relinquish any comforts, but only to sell some of their local energy production, then the conflict of interest has to be analyzed well considering the entire grid. Consuming only renewable energies and storing them may not be the greenest way, as batteries also have notable ecological impacts. Bottom-up end user and stakeholder capacities and demands must be analyzed in conjunction with statistical consumption graphs. Also, a portfolio of users identified for minimizing bias, should be considered in order to discern structural and pricing issues in smart grids. Modellers admit the necessity of including many parameters, especially stakeholder behavioral or characterization parameters [54] . Social acceptance and practices also have to be considered closely and more data is needed to be more statistically significant, in order to define to what extent flexibility may play a role [28] .

Modellers admit the necessity of including many parameters, especially stakeholder behavioral or characterization parameters.

Social acceptance and practices also have to be considered closely and more data is needed to be more statistically significant, in order to define to what extent flexibility may play a role.


TCM believes that Baduanjin qigong can help dredge meridians, Qi, and blood, regulate visceral function, strengthen the body and dispel evil, and strengthen physical fitness in order to improve sleep, relieve bad mood, and improve blood lipid metabolism [10] [11] [12] . The Baduanjin is a series of aerobic exercises believed to impart a silky quality to the body and its energy, and to improve general health. It can be broken down into eight exercises that focus on different physical areas and meridians [13, 14] .

TCM believes that Baduanjin qigong can help dredge meridians, Qi, and blood, regulate visceral function, strengthen the body and dispel evil, and strengthen physical fitness in order to improve sleep, relieve bad mood, and improve blood lipid metabolism.

It can be broken down into eight exercises that focus on different physical areas and meridians.


The sample for this study consists of seven industrial sectors listed in Bursa Malaysia and in the stock exchange of Thailand. The seven sectors from Malaysia consists of industrial products, consumer products, trading and services, construction, properties, plantations and technology while the seven sectors from Thailand consists of industrials, consumer products, services, property and construction, agro and food, resources and technology. These sectors are chosen because of homogeneous characteristic between these sectors will contribute more accurate result. This study excludes the finance, investment, trust and funds firms due to different regulatory requirement on these industries which are in compliance with Bank and Financial Institution Act 1989 (BAFIA); and different accruals behaviour (Srinidhi and Gul, 2007) . In addition, industries with less than ten firms are also excluded from the study because it could affect the measurement of earnings management and they are inappropriate to be generalized as an industry (Peasnell, Pope and Young, 2000) . The pool data for this study was from 2010, 2011 and 2012. However the data was collected from 2009 to 2012. The sample selection process is summarized in Table 1 as shown below.

This study excludes the finance, investment, trust and funds firms due to different regulatory requirement on these industries which are in compliance with Bank and Financial Institution Act 1989 (BAFIA); and different accruals behaviour.

In addition, industries with less than ten firms are also excluded from the study because it could affect the measurement of earnings management and they are inappropriate to be generalized as an industry.


In recent decades, the intense research in the area of polymer composites has motivated a great interest towards carbon-based materials including carbon black, carbon nanotubes, graphite or graphene. One type of carbon particle, carbon black, has been used for a long time in the rubber OPEN ACCESS industry to prepare composites with greatly improved properties with regard to the unfilled polymer. The field of rubber composites is of particular importance because elastomers, in most of their industrial applications, have to be compounded with mineral fillers on account of their poor elastic modulus and the lack of electrical and thermal conductivity in the pristine form. The reinforcing ability of carbon black is related to its complex structure [1] [2] [3] . Carbon black is composed of primary particles, ranging from 10 to 50 nm, fused together to build up stable aggregates that form a persistent and irreversible structure, the size of which varies from 50 to some hundred nanometers. These aggregates stick together to form loosely bonded agglomerates that are fully reversible and are known as transient structures. Parameters such as surface area, morphology of aggregates and essentially surface chemical characteristics have been shown to have a large influence on the reinforcing properties of carbon black [4] .

The reinforcing ability of carbon black is related to its complex structure.

Parameters such as surface area, morphology of aggregates and essentially surface chemical characteristics have been shown to have a large influence on the reinforcing properties of carbon black.


The last few years have seen the extensive use of fillers with at least one dimension in the nanometric scale because of the small size of the filler and the corresponding increase in the surface area, allowing to achieve the desired properties at much lower filler loadings than those required with the conventional carbon black [5] . These nanoparticles include spherical particles such as silica or titanium dioxide generated in situ by the sol-gel process; layered silicates; carbon or clay fibers; carbon nanotubes; and graphene [5] [6] [7] . In particular, nano fillers with high anisotropic geometrical factor have attracted a huge scientific interest due to their ability to form a percolation network at much lower content than conventional fillers [8] [9] [10] [11] . The formation of an interconnecting filler network within the soft elastomeric matrix has a strong impact on the electrical, mechanical and thermal response of the composite material. For example, very small quantities of carbon nanotubes (around 0.5 phr, "phr" means parts by weight per hundred parts of rubber) have been shown to provide electrical conduction when incorporated into elastomeric media usually considered as electrical insulators [12] . Conventional carbon black particles have to be used at contents as high as 10-50 phr to reach the percolation threshold characterized by a sharp drop, by several orders of magnitude in the electrical resistance.

The last few years have seen the extensive use of fillers with at least one dimension in the nanometric scale because of the small size of the filler and the corresponding increase in the surface area, allowing to achieve the desired properties at much lower filler loadings than those required with the conventional carbon black.

These nanoparticles include spherical particles such as silica or titanium dioxide generated in situ by the sol-gel process; layered silicates; carbon or clay fibers; carbon nanotubes; and graphene.

In particular, nano fillers with high anisotropic geometrical factor have attracted a huge scientific interest due to their ability to form a percolation network at much lower content than conventional fillers.

For example, very small quantities of carbon nanotubes (around 0.5 phr, "phr" means parts by weight per hundred parts of rubber) have been shown to provide electrical conduction when incorporated into elastomeric media usually considered as electrical insulators.


The first stage in production of oil and gas from oil and gas wells is transportation of multiphase mixture (gas/oil/water/sand) through long production pipe lines to a high pressure separator (primary separator). The multiphase mixture is initially separated and transported for further processing. Efficient separation of gas, oil, water, and sand is of critical importance to achieve the desired production rate. Many of today's separation systems are based on gravity where the gas is vented off at the top, solids present in the mixture removed at the bottom, and the oil and water separated after settling. Separation is accomplished by the difference in densities between the oil and water. When the magnitude of the density difference between oil and water is large, the separation process is enhanced whilst a slow separation process is expected with a low density difference. The longer the residence time better separation is achieved, however a shorter residence time and a highly efficient separation is desired with respect to production rate. Research into optimizing the various stages in the refining of petroleum and its allied products has increased since the world's oil production has reached its peak [1] . Even though there has been considerable increment in the development of marginal oil wells due to the increase in price of crude oil on the international market, the demand of petroleum products far exceeds the supply. One way of increasing the supply of refined crude oil is to optimize the separation stage. The controllability of gravity 4 separators significantly affects the efficiency of the separation process. Improving the process control of gravity separators will subsequently improve the accuracy of gas/liquid and oil/water interface level measurements [2] . The gas/liquid and oil/water interface levels were measured from the bottom of the separator.

Research into optimizing the various stages in the refining of petroleum and its allied products has increased since the world's oil production has reached its peak.

Improving the process control of gravity separators will subsequently improve the accuracy of gas/liquid and oil/water interface level measurements.


However, why does the cerebral peduncle atrophy occur within 1 year of cerebral infarction? What is the impact of cerebral peduncle atrophy on limb motor function recovery? All of these questions require further study. Motor evoked potentials, an objective quantitative index, can be used to reflect the functional status and integrity of the pyramidal tract and to speculate on neurofunctional recovery. The limb motor function of stroke patients with negative motor evoked potentials does not tend to exhibit good reco-very, a phenomenon that is reversed for patients with positive motor evoked potentials [11] [12] [13] . For patients with normal motor evoked potentials in the acute phase, neurofunctional deficit scores in the convalescent period were improved significantly from the acute phase. For patients with abnormal motor evoked potentials, especially loss of motor evoked potentials in the acute phase, neurofunctional deficit scores in the convalescent period deteriorated or did not improve compared with the acute phase.

The limb motor function of stroke patients with negative motor evoked potentials does not tend to exhibit good reco-very, a phenomenon that is reversed for patients with positive motor evoked potentials.


The article is organized as follows: First, finite element formulation of the functionally graded enriched finite elements are presented. In the numerical examples section, the problem of a mode-I surface crack in an FGM plate under tensile loading is followed by different cases involving two-dimensional mixed-mode loading conditions. These include: inclined central crack in a large FGM medium under uniform tensile strain and stress loadings, a slanted crack in a finite-size FGM plate under exponentially varying tensile stress loading and an edge crack in a finite-size plate under shear traction load. These cases allow comparisons of mode-I and mode-II stress intensity factors with analytical and numerical solutions available in the literature. To demonstrate the general capability of analyzing three-dimensional mixed-mode loading conditions involving all modes of fracture, a deflected surface crack in a finite-size FGM plate under uniform tensile loading is considered (Walters et al., 2006) . Through above applications, it is demonstrated that enriched elements are suitable to accurately compute fracture parameters for three-dimensional cracks in FGMs in a straightforward and efficient manner without the need for special finite element meshes and post-processing of the results.

To demonstrate the general capability of analyzing three-dimensional mixed-mode loading conditions involving all modes of fracture, a deflected surface crack in a finite-size FGM plate under uniform tensile loading is considered.


Few studies examined the relationship between digital games and achievement for non-traditional students (Burgess, Stermer, & Burgess, 2012; Young et al., 2012) . In fact, the National Research Council suggested research be conducted on games and learning while also admitting that little evidence exist to support digital games as a tool for achievement (Clark, Tanner-Smith, & Killingsworth, 2014) . Recommendations on how best to employ digital games to improve learning outcomes are available, however, a broader understanding of the possible influence on diverse learners or subject matters is required (Kim & Chang, 2010) .

Few studies examined the relationship between digital games and achievement for non-traditional students.

In fact, the National Research Council suggested research be conducted on games and learning while also admitting that little evidence exist to support digital games as a tool for achievement.

Recommendations on how best to employ digital games to improve learning outcomes are available, however, a broader understanding of the possible influence on diverse learners or subject matters is required.


Digital games-based learning has been used to increase student retention, build teamwork skills, and communication (Bodnar, Anastasio, Enszer, & Burkey, 2016) . Furthermore, digital gaming technology provides the option to measure students' progress over extended periods of time due to the prolonged interaction and play with the games. To be effective at the university level, digital games must align with the course content and course objectives (Moylan et al., 2015) .

Digital games-based learning has been used to increase student retention, build teamwork skills, and communication.

To be effective at the university level, digital games must align with the course content and course objectives.


Signal compression is used in many fields such as sound processing and image processing. It is also important if we use communication channel in networked control system. Delta-Sigma analog-to-digital converter is known to achieve high resolution conversion [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] . DeltaSigma modulator (DSM) is a kind of noise-shaping type converter and one characteristic is that it can remove the effect of low-frequency noise.

Delta-Sigma analog-to-digital converter is known to achieve high resolution conversion.


An analog-to-digital converter is a device that converts a analog signal to a digital signal. AD/DA conversion has become a core technology in digital signal processing [1] . Signal compression is one of the most important functions to make an appropriate AD/DA conversion system.

AD/DA conversion has become a core technology in digital signal processing.


All-IP is a broad concept which means that the core network will be completely packet-switched and based on IP [2] . The main advantages of an All-IP architecture are reduced costs and efficient support to mass-market usage of 2 Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering any IP-based service. On the other hand, a packet-switched network imposes some challenges on the provision of QoS guarantees for delay-sensitive services such as voice that was traditionally provided over circuit-switched networks and now must share the system resources with other services. In this multiservice scenario, system operators expect to achieve high system capacity by fulfilling the heterogeneous QoS requirements of the multiple flows in the system. Although in LTE a UE can bear multiple service flows, without loss of generality, here, only one service flow is considered per UE. Consequently, flow and UE are interchangeable throughout the text.

All-IP is a broad concept which means that the core network will be completely packet-switched and based on IP.


Antenna system has wide applications in mobile electronics such as wireless mobile communication, radio frequency identification (RFID), and wireless sensor network [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] . These systems, aiming to achieve multiple-antenna design with multiple independent channels on sizelimited platforms, always seek means to greatly improve the capacity and data-rate of communication. According to traditional antenna theory, in order to obtain excellent gain of space diversity and space multipexing, the minimum distance between antenna units should be more than one half-wavelength, thus causes large physical volume in structure. Moreover, the diffraction limit of electromagnetic wave due to the loss of evanescent waves in the far field which carry high spatialspectrum information, restrains the resolution of electromagnetic devices. Despite many efforts are put for minimization of antenna units, integration of multiple antennas with independent channels on size-limited mobile electronic terminals is still a challenge. Therefore, the conception of subwavelength antenna system, which could achieve reduction of device space with electromagnetic time reversal (TR) technique, leads to one new research direction for compact wireless mobile terminals.

Antenna system has wide applications in mobile electronics such as wireless mobile communication, radio frequency identification (RFID), and wireless sensor network.


In our experiment, the tissues of the intestinal epithelium revealed cells with circular, well-defined, mid-sized nuclei; these characteristics, according to the literature, define the monocytes (Esteban et al., 1994) . The monocytes that are macrophage precursors are key cells in the non-specific defense system of the fish . Such cells may have one or several nuclei and are able to endocyte and to phagocyte foreign bodies that enter to the organism (1-10 μm in size) due to the presence of glycoprotein receptors in their plasmatic membrane that modify their means for secretions and marker substances (Esteban et al., 1994; Dalmo et al., 1997) . When the macrophages are stimulated, they produce an intermediate reaction of oxygen, nitric oxides, enzymes, lysozymes, cytokines, and other marker molecules (Bricknell & Dalmo, 2005) . The high frequency of monocytes in the intestinal tissues and the greater growth and survival of the individuals treated with βG MOS suggest a positive effect on the health of the P. adspersus larvae.

In our experiment, the tissues of the intestinal epithelium revealed cells with circular, well-defined, mid-sized nuclei; these characteristics, according to the literature, define the monocytes.

Such cells may have one or several nuclei and are able to endocyte and to phagocyte foreign bodies that enter to the organism (1-10 μm in size) due to the presence of glycoprotein receptors in their plasmatic membrane that modify their means for secretions and marker substances.

When the macrophages are stimulated, they produce an intermediate reaction of oxygen, nitric oxides, enzymes, lysozymes, cytokines, and other marker molecules.


One of the canonical examples of the AdS/CFT correspondence is provided by ABJM theory [1] . This is a three-dimensional Chern-Simons theory coupled to matter with gauge group U (N ) q ×U (N ) −q , where q labels the Chern-Simons level on each factor. It has manifest N = 6 supersymmetry, with an enhancement to N = 8 when q = 1, 2. The theory describes the low energy dynamics of N M2 branes on C 4 /Z q . In the large N and strongly coupled limit, the physics of the ABJM theory is captured holographically by D = 11 supergravity on AdS 4 × S 7 /Z q .

One of the canonical examples of the AdS/CFT correspondence is provided by ABJM theory.


Locations of possible leg springs.-Compatibility of locomotor kinematics with the SLIP and LLS models indicate that elastic energy storage is a significant component of locomotion in L. vittatum, but the anatomical placement of appropriate elastic mechanisms is not known. The existence of highly efficient springs has already been documented at the tibia-tarsus joint in L. vittatum, although its precise role in locomotion has yet to be determined (Sensenig & Shultz 2003) . The tibiatarsus joint of each leg is spanned by a pair of deformable sclerites that store energy during flexion and return up to 90% of this energy during extension. Gravity can potentially assist muscles in deforming the elastic sclerites of legs 1 and 3 during locomotion, but flexion of this joint in leg 4 occurs only when the leg is off the ground and it is unlikely that the sclerites could be loaded by gravity.

The existence of highly efficient springs has already been documented at the tibia-tarsus joint in L. vittatum, although its precise role in locomotion has yet to be determined.


The analyses in this study are based on narrative data collected through life history interviews (Goodson and Sikes 2001; Mishler 1999) . Open-ended questions were asked about the interviewees' personal and professional histories and their present work that focused on their experiences of documentation. The interviews had a character of 'conversations' with the intent to capture the preschool teachers' experiences of documentation in preschool. The teachers' stories about themselves and their experiences of documentation provide data about the use of documentation in Swedish preschools from a teacher's point of view. The questions departed from a broad definition of the concept of documentation, including everything that the teachers themselves defined as work with documentation. The forms of documentation included in the data are here described in short. Quality reports, activity plans, and documents of commitment are mainly a task for the preschool managers and are usually made public in official homepages and reports. Wall-documentation is when teachers collect pictures or take photographs and exhibit them for parents and children, often accompanied by a quote from a goal taken from the national curriculum. Pedagogical documentation is a certain form for documenting children's activities with roots in the Reggio Emilia philosophy. The method is common in the data and is taught in certain courses and described in literature (Åberg and Lenz Taguchi 2005) . Triple logs are a method based on a template that serves to facilitate teachers' systematic common reflections on activities in preschool. Individual performance reviews and portfolios are focused on individual children's development and learning. Often examples of children's work are collected in a binder.

The analyses in this study are based on narrative data collected through life history interviews.

The method is common in the data and is taught in certain courses and described in literature.


On the other hand, preferential water flow can enhance the transport of organic pollutants to the deeper layers (Zehe and Fluhler, 2001) . If upland soil is frequently irrigated or saturated with water for a significant part of the year, there is an increased leaching of PAHs from contaminated sites to the deeper layers, thereby endangering groundwater quality (Weigand et al., 2001) . To avoid any risk of food production and to limit the damaging effect of these contaminants on the ecosystem, a wide-ranging investigation of soil contamination by PAHs is needed.

On the other hand, preferential water flow can enhance the transport of organic pollutants to the deeper layers.

If upland soil is frequently irrigated or saturated with water for a significant part of the year, there is an increased leaching of PAHs from contaminated sites to the deeper layers, thereby endangering groundwater quality.


Non-perturbative QCD with a large number of colors at finite chemical potential is likely a crystal of confined baryons. The crystal binding energy can be parametrically small, causing it to melt under quantum fluctuations and/or temperature. The result is a strongly coupled baryonic liquid. The original Skyrme model supports this descriptive although it suffers from the inherent shortcomings of the higher order chiral terms at high density [4] . The chiral holographic approaches to QCD support the crystal structure in the large number of colors limit without the shortcomings of the Skyrme model [5] . The crystal is found to melt at relatively small temperatures by the Lindemann criterion, resulting into a holographic liquid of instantons at low density and dyons at higher densities. Therefore, it is reasonable to think that the cold and dense inhomogeneous phase gives way to a homogeneous phase under the effects of temperature.

The original Skyrme model supports this descriptive although it suffers from the inherent shortcomings of the higher order chiral terms at high density.

The chiral holographic approaches to QCD support the crystal structure in the large number of colors limit without the shortcomings of the Skyrme model.


Many products can be derived from whey through various processes and technologies. Among popular whey products are condensed whey, dried whey, modified dry whey, whey protein concentrate and isolates, as well as lactose (crystallized and dried). There are also many other secondary and tertiary products that can be derived from whey. Spray drying is a well-established method for converting liquid feed materials into dried powder form. Spray drying involves pumping a concentrated liquid feed through a device, which forms small droplets sprayed into hot air to dry rapidly and produce fine powdered products (Anandharamakrishnan et al. 2007; Masters 1991; Raffin et al. 2006) . Four main processing steps are involved in spray drying: atomization, mixing of hot gas and atomized particles, droplets evaporation and collection of the dried products.

Spray drying involves pumping a concentrated liquid feed through a device, which forms small droplets sprayed into hot air to dry rapidly and produce fine powdered products.


Commercialisation of scientific breakthrough innovations in biotechnology depends on active involvement of scientists (Zucker and Darby, 1996) . Hence, close and regular collaboration is needed between industry, hospitals and academics to make sure the commercial success of biomedical research (Juanola-Feliu et al., 2012) . However, most university-based inventions are licensed at a somewhat embryonic stage and because of that, further development in cooperation with the inventor is needed for commercial success . The other issue with early stage disclosure and technology transfer is uncertain market potential for most of these inventions .

Commercialisation of scientific breakthrough innovations in biotechnology depends on active involvement of scientists.

Hence, close and regular collaboration is needed between industry, hospitals and academics to make sure the commercial success of biomedical research.


Brazil represents an important upper-middle-income country to evaluate the epidemiology of cancer occurring in HIV-infected populations. Similar to highincome countries, ART has been available in Brazil since 1996. Brazil also has cancer registries to compare rates of specific cancer types in HIV-infected populations to rates in the general population. Importantly, recent studies from Brazil have indicated that non-AIDS-defining conditions increasingly contribute to morbidity and mortality in HIV-infected individuals [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] . The epidemiology of ADCs and NADCs in HIV-infected populations has not been described in Brazil. It is unknown whether cancer trends in HIVinfected populations in Brazil are similar to those in high-income countries like the U.S. This study aimed to compare the epidemiology and predictors of malignancy in clinical cohorts of HIV patients from Rio de Janeiro (Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas [INI] ), Brazil, and Tennessee (Vanderbilt Comprehensive Care Clinic [VCCC]), USA, as an example referent HIV-infected population with a diverse patient profile.

Importantly, recent studies from Brazil have indicated that non-AIDS-defining conditions increasingly contribute to morbidity and mortality in HIV-infected individuals.


Responses were put together to obtain a value for each of the four constructs defined by the questionnaire: comprehensibility, manipulability, enjoyment, and usefulness. The questionnaire contained both positive and negative worded items. For the negatively formulated questions, we first reversed the results in order to have the same scale. We chose to alternate positive and negative items. In this way, the user may be more careful when completing the questionnaire, and the answer was, thus, more relevant for the survey. After that, the scores were converted to a range of 0 to 6. All the values were then summed, and the sum was mapped to a range of 0 to 100. This method of data aggregation was done according to the instructions from the original HARUS questionnaire assessment [54] .

This method of data aggregation was done according to the instructions from the original HARUS questionnaire assessment.


However, the development of applications that targets reactivation of CH in local citizens remains a challenge [52] . In this sense, it is of the utmost importance to take into account the process of evaluation of digital cultural resources. Digital resources are a combination of cultural resources that are created using computer and multimedia technologies. They can be accessed and used in digital form [53] .

However, the development of applications that targets reactivation of CH in local citizens remains a challenge.

They can be accessed and used in digital form.


Since the Th1 cytokine IFNγ worsens the arthritic response by up-regulation of the activating FcγRs, overexpression of a Th2 cytokine during arthritis might be protective, because of down-regulation of these receptors. In earlier studies, we found that adenoviral overexpression of IL-4 resulted in reduced MMP-mediated cartilage damage and chondrocyte death during ICA and arthritis induced by collagen type II [10, 11] . IL-4 is regarded as a potent anti-inflammatory cytokine by direct inhibition of proinflammatory cytokines such as IFNγ, IL-1, and tumor necrosis factor α [12] . However, IL-4 protein and mRNA are hardly detected in synovial fluid and synovium of rheumatoid arthritis patients [13] . In contrast, IL-13 is expressed in rheumatoid arthritis synovial fluid and synovial fluid macrophages and resembles many functions of IL-4 [14, 15] . Systemic overexpression of IL-13 in collagen-type-II-induced arthritis and local overexpression of IL-13 in rat adjuvant-induced arthritis reduced joint inflammation and bone destruction [16, 17] . However, the effect of IL-13 on cartilage destruction was not investigated in detail in these studies and remains to be elucidated.

In earlier studies, we found that adenoviral overexpression of IL-4 resulted in reduced MMP-mediated cartilage damage and chondrocyte death during ICA and arthritis induced by collagen type II.

IL-4 is regarded as a potent anti-inflammatory cytokine by direct inhibition of proinflammatory cytokines such as IFNγ, IL-1, and tumor necrosis factor α.

However, IL-4 protein and mRNA are hardly detected in synovial fluid and synovium of rheumatoid arthritis patients.

In contrast, IL-13 is expressed in rheumatoid arthritis synovial fluid and synovial fluid macrophages and resembles many functions of IL-4.

Systemic overexpression of IL-13 in collagen-type-II-induced arthritis and local overexpression of IL-13 in rat adjuvant-induced arthritis reduced joint inflammation and bone destruction.


Retinoblastoma, a rapidly developing cancer and which also be inherited, arises from the immature neural retinal cells of retina. Genetic mutation involving "Retinoblastoma gene 1 (Rb1) at chromosome 13 affects has a significant role in its etiology [1] . RB inherited as autosomal dominant trait, with 40% of worldwide cases belonging to this category, needs mutation in both the alleles for the disease to occur [2] . Irrespective of the gender and race the mean age-adjusted incidence of RB in the USA is 11.8 per million children aged 0 -4 years [3] .

Genetic mutation involving "Retinoblastoma gene 1 (Rb1) at chromosome 13 affects has a significant role in its etiology.

RB inherited as autosomal dominant trait, with 40% of worldwide cases belonging to this category, needs mutation in both the alleles for the disease to occur.

Irrespective of the gender and race the mean age-adjusted incidence of RB in the USA is 11.8 per million children aged 0 -4 years.


Retinoblastoma occuring in about 3 percent of registered cancers in children < 15-year-old, and in 1 in 18,000 live births, may assume an endophytic pattern, in which the growth is predominantly into the vitreous cavity, or an exophytic pattern, in which the tumor grows into the subretinal space, often detaching the overlying retina. The growth pattern is not prognostic for survival but can have implications for management. The important histopathogical progostic factors for RB are the optic nerve invasion, extraocular extension and choroidal invasion. Ten percent mortality has been reported with superficial invasion of the nerve head, 29 percent with involvement of the lamina, 42 percent with extension posterior to the lamina, and 78 percent with tumor cells to the surgical resection line [9, 10] .

Ten percent mortality has been reported with superficial invasion of the nerve head, 29 percent with involvement of the lamina, 42 percent with extension posterior to the lamina, and 78 percent with tumor cells to the surgical resection line.


In recent years, substances derived from medical plants, such as paclitaxel, camptothecin, and vincristine, have been confirmed to be useful as chemotherapy drugs [5] . Anemarrhenae rhizoma (Zhimu in Chinese), the dried rhizome of A. asphodeloides Bunge (A. asphodeloides, Faro. Liliaceae), is a well-known traditional Chinese medicinal herb which has long been included in Chinese traditional medical recipes for treatment of inflammation, fever, and diabetes [6, 7] .

In recent years, substances derived from medical plants, such as paclitaxel, camptothecin, and vincristine, have been confirmed to be useful as chemotherapy drugs.

Liliaceae), is a well-known traditional Chinese medicinal herb which has long been included in Chinese traditional medical recipes for treatment of inflammation, fever, and diabetes.


Since chemotherapy drugs exhibit low selectivity, they destroy both tumor cells and normal cells. A locoregional drug administration need to be studied to avoid the systemic toxicity associated with chemotherapy drugs and maintain their therapeutic concentrations in the local region of tumors [8] . Electrospinning has been proven to be a great fabrication method for drug delivery systems due to the large selection of possible synthetic and natural, biodegradable or nondegradable polymers, and large surface-to-volume ratio [12, 13] . The drug-loaded fibers prepared by electrospinning can be implanted intratumorally, adjacent to the cancerous tissue or at the surgical resection margins for cancer chemotherapy of solid tumors [14, 15] . For preventing the recurrence of tumor, the drug-loaded fibers can be attached to the surgical site following removal of the tumor. As the drugs were moderately released from the sustained-release carriers, relatively steady effective concentration can be achieved to inhibit tumor growth [4, 14] .

A locoregional drug administration need to be studied to avoid the systemic toxicity associated with chemotherapy drugs and maintain their therapeutic concentrations in the local region of tumors.

Electrospinning has been proven to be a great fabrication method for drug delivery systems due to the large selection of possible synthetic and natural, biodegradable or nondegradable polymers, and large surface-to-volume ratio.

The drug-loaded fibers prepared by electrospinning can be implanted intratumorally, adjacent to the cancerous tissue or at the surgical resection margins for cancer chemotherapy of solid tumors.

As the drugs were moderately released from the sustained-release carriers, relatively steady effective concentration can be achieved to inhibit tumor growth.


Classically, surgery is the first-line treatment for most solid tumors [1] . However, it is difficult to completely remove the tumor through surgery [2] . The residual cancer cells remaining at or near the resection margins or site of initial treatment always initiate a local recurrence of tumors [3, 4] . Thus, chemotherapy has been applied widely as an adjuvant procedure followed by surgery.

Classically, surgery is the first-line treatment for most solid tumors.

However, it is difficult to completely remove the tumor through surgery.

The residual cancer cells remaining at or near the resection margins or site of initial treatment always initiate a local recurrence of tumors.


Timosaponin B-II (TB-II) ( Figure 1 ) is a typical furostanol saponin isolated from the rhizome of A. asphodeloides [8] . It has been reported that TB-II has remarkable inhibiting effects on superoxide generation, inflammatory reaction, and platelet aggregation potential [9, 10] . Recent research has shown that TB-II will be converted to Timosaponin A-III (TA-III) by glycosidase treatment in vivo, which can induce apoptosis in various cancer cell lines [11] .

Timosaponin B-II (TB-II) ( Figure 1 ) is a typical furostanol saponin isolated from the rhizome of A. asphodeloides.

It has been reported that TB-II has remarkable inhibiting effects on superoxide generation, inflammatory reaction, and platelet aggregation potential.

Recent research has shown that TB-II will be converted to Timosaponin A-III (TA-III) by glycosidase treatment in vivo, which can induce apoptosis in various cancer cell lines.


Visual corona tests are advantageous since they allow identifying the critical points regarding corona appearance. The information acquired from visual corona tests is very useful, since a precise assessment of the corona onset conditions plays a key role to design devices intended for high-voltage applications [22] , [24] , [28] . Visual corona tests are conducted in darkened laboratories, since most of the corona radiation falls within the ultraviolet spectrum, thus being almost imperceptible in daylight to the human eye [29] .

The information acquired from visual corona tests is very useful, since a precise assessment of the corona onset conditions plays a key role to design devices intended for high-voltage applications.

Visual corona tests are conducted in darkened laboratories, since most of the corona radiation falls within the ultraviolet spectrum, thus being almost imperceptible in daylight to the human eye.


The science and technology of nanomaterials has created great excitement and expectations in the last few years. There has already been much progress in the synthesis, assembly and fabrication of nanomaterials, and, equally importantly, in the potential applications of these materials in a wide variety of technologies. Nanomaterials applied in the field of biomedicine are defined Nanobiomaterials. Of which, magnetic nanobiomaterials, with small size effect, good magnetic direction property, bio-compatibility and certain biomedical function, can be applied in the field of drug delivery, immobilization on enzymes, immunoassay and separation or classifying of cells [1] [2] [3] [4] , etc. It is very necessary to study on the bio-effect and toxicology of magnetic nanobiomaterials because they contact living body directly. More and more researchers think much of this problem and take lots of experiments [5, 6] . This paper are concerned on the biological effect of iron oxide and its hydrate nanoparticles which size are about 50-120 nm. The results will help us to find the proper size of magnetic nanobiomaterials for the using of biomedical engineering.

Of which, magnetic nanobiomaterials, with small size effect, good magnetic direction property, bio-compatibility and certain biomedical function, can be applied in the field of drug delivery, immobilization on enzymes, immunoassay and separation or classifying of cells, etc.

More and more researchers think much of this problem and take lots of experiments.


We present new data suggesting that normotriglyceridaemic men with visceral obesity have decreased catabolism of chylomicron remnants. In multiple linear regression analysis, decreased catabolism of the remnantlike emulsion in the obese subjects was positively associated with the degree of visceral adiposity, as measured by the WHR, and not with the normal or nearnormal plasma lipid levels [21] . Our observation is based on the use of a novel and acceptable stable isotope breath test that has been extensively studied and validated in experimental animals, and more recently in human models of genetic hyperlipidaemias [17] [18] [19] [20] .

In multiple linear regression analysis, decreased catabolism of the remnantlike emulsion in the obese subjects was positively associated with the degree of visceral adiposity, as measured by the WHR, and not with the normal or nearnormal plasma lipid levels.

Our observation is based on the use of a novel and acceptable stable isotope breath test that has been extensively studied and validated in experimental animals, and more recently in human models of genetic hyperlipidaemias.


In 1948, the World Health Organization affirmed the right to sexual health for all, which is defined as "a state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being related to sexuality" [1] . The rights include, inter alia, to seek, receive and acquire information in relation to sexuality and sex education. But what really constitutes the right to sexual health and sex education for young people with intellectual disabilities (ID) in practice?

In 1948, the World Health Organization affirmed the right to sexual health for all, which is defined as "a state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being related to sexuality".


Genetically modified (GM) major feed crops have been recently developed and disseminated to produce animal feeds and fibrous material. Thus, pest protected plants, maize and cotton, and herbicide tolerant soybean, maize and canola are currently grown in the American continent representing up to 70% of the U.S. planting in 2001 (Faust, 2002) . Sugar/and fodder beets tolerant to different herbicides have also been successfully developed . And recently, a new variety of wheat resistant to glyphosate has been developed and tested for safety in the pig species (Peterson et al., 2003) .

Thus, pest protected plants, maize and cotton, and herbicide tolerant soybean, maize and canola are currently grown in the American continent representing up to 70% of the U.S. planting in 2001.

And recently, a new variety of wheat resistant to glyphosate has been developed and tested for safety in the pig species.


Inverse Scaled Fourier Transform (ISFT) is a frequency-domain scaling approach. It uses chirp multiplications and FFTs to correct the scaling in time domain which would be generated if traditional inverse Fourier Transform is used for a linearly scaled signal in frequency domain [15] . It has been used to correct the RCM of monostatic SAR [16] . In this paper, an ISFT imaging algorithm for OS-BSAR is proposed. After we obtain the point target reference spectrum, we express it in terms of a normal spatial coordinate system by twodimensional Taylor expansion. Then the spectrum of the raw data is expressed as the Fourier transform of the reflectivity pattern. In addition, a range-frequency linearization operation is performed to derive the range-frequency scaling factor. After that, ISFT operation along range frequency and inverse Fourier transform along azimuth frequency are carried out to get the final image.

It uses chirp multiplications and FFTs to correct the scaling in time domain which would be generated if traditional inverse Fourier Transform is used for a linearly scaled signal in frequency domain.

It has been used to correct the RCM of monostatic SAR.


Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) uses relative motion between an antenna and its target region to provide high spatial resolution [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] . Bistatic SAR has received considerable attentions and research around the world recently [6] [7] [8] [9] . Several airborne experiments have been carried out and some spaceborne projects are scheduled as well. One-Stationary bistatic SAR (OS-BSAR) refers to bistatic SAR where azimuth aperture is synthesized by only one moving station, while the other platform is nearly stationary. In this mode, the stationary transmitter or receiver could be mounted on a geostationary satellite, a stratosphere low speed airship, or a ground-based high-altitude platform.

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) uses relative motion between an antenna and its target region to provide high spatial resolution.

Bistatic SAR has received considerable attentions and research around the world recently.


To test the efficiency of resulting external memory controller radiation behaviour researches of the DSP processor TMS320C50 (Texas Instrumenrs) were conducted in comparison with the use of DMA controller unit [16] . Functional control was consisted of testing internal memory blocks: 1) at maximum frequency (about 50 MHz), 2) using DMA interface (up to 100 kHz). During the experiment, it was found that functional failure doesn't revealed under exposure to extreme levels using DMA mode while the first method show functional failure that proves the inapplicability DMA mode as the sole means in testing processors under radiation fields.

To test the efficiency of resulting external memory controller radiation behaviour researches of the DSP processor TMS320C50 (Texas Instrumenrs) were conducted in comparison with the use of DMA controller unit.


Metrics and metric frameworks can help with processes or methodologies for the design of ontologies or ontological tools. A well-known methodology for the evaluation of ontological adequacy of taxonomic relationships is OntoClean defined by Guarino and Welty [5] . Another process is the OntoMetric process defined by Lozano-Tello and Gómez-Pérez [7] . OntoMetric is a process to select ontologies using a broad range of metrics, not only those that can be collected form the actual ontologies.

A well-known methodology for the evaluation of ontological adequacy of taxonomic relationships is OntoClean defined by Guarino and Welty.

Another process is the OntoMetric process defined by Lozano-Tello and Gómez-Pérez.


Adaptive traffic control is an effective method to improve operation efficiency of traffic flow and alleviate traffic congestion. It generally obtains traffic volume through real-time detection of passing vehicles, by loop detectors laid on each approach lane of intersections. Automatic detection of traffic volume is pivotal for applying adaptive traffic signal control [1] [2] . Traffic control systems normally record traffic volume passing over loop detectors and optimize signal timing plans at fixed time intervals (e.g. 5 minute). To get optimal timing plans for the next interval, systems need to predict volumes based on volumes of several previous intervals. This is short-term traffic volume prediction problem of adaptive traffic control. With higher prediction accuracy, optimized signal timing plans will be able to adapt better to traffic flow state of the next interval [3] .

Automatic detection of traffic volume is pivotal for applying adaptive traffic signal control.

With higher prediction accuracy, optimized signal timing plans will be able to adapt better to traffic flow state of the next interval.


The most commonly used methods for the assessment of textural properties are those which apply large deforming forces (e.g., via puncture or compression), and are therefore destructive (Abbott 2004) . Because of the empirical nature of these tests, however, they do not provide an understanding of food microstructure or force-deformation and failure mechanisms at the cellular level. The puncture and compression tests are both force-measuring methods, which measured values have the dimensions of mass, distance and time. They rely on measuring the force and/or deformation required to push or punch a probe into a food to a depth that causes irreversible damage or failure. Flat plate compression is a technique very similar to that of puncture, except that the perimeter effect is eliminated through the use of flat plates with an area exceeding that of the sample (Jackman et al. 1990) .

The most commonly used methods for the assessment of textural properties are those which apply large deforming forces (e.g., via puncture or compression), and are therefore destructive.

Flat plate compression is a technique very similar to that of puncture, except that the perimeter effect is eliminated through the use of flat plates with an area exceeding that of the sample.


The promotion of a high level of food safety is a major policy priority worldwide. The innocuousness of foodstuffs is a concept inherent in food safety and is related to many aspects of agrarian technologies as well as to food production and processing. Food borne diseases are among the most serious public health concerns worldwide, being a major cause of morbidity (Wallace et al., 2000) . Due to great advances in agricultural biotechnology, scientists are able to use artificial genetic manipulations to successfully transfer genes for herbicide tolerance and insect resistance into traditional crops or other advances. Many genetically modified (GM) plant cultivars have been registered worldwide. The most cultivated of genetically modified (GM) is the Roundup Ready soybean, which represents the staple constituents of many foods (Elsanhoty et al., 2006) . Foods made from soybeans are among the most traditional and familiar foods in some countries around the world (Elsanhoty et al., 2011) . Many of transgenic crops such as Soybeans A5547, A2704, MON89788, 356043, and MON87701 are approved for the EU market. A number of methods have been developed for the detection of Roundup Ready soybean. These include protein-based methods for the detection of the EPSPS gene product in transgenic raw or unprocessed soy products (Lipp et al., 2000; Meyer et al., 1996) . Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based methods, both qualitative and quantitative, are also used for more highly processed soy-based food products (Moriuchi et al., 2007; Wu et al., 2010) . Moreover, DNA-based methods are the most widely used techniques for detection of genetically modified (GM) in food products. PCR methods have been proved to be the most sensitive and reliable means of detecting and quantifying genetically engineered traits in crops and foods (Holst-Jensen et al., 2006) .

Food borne diseases are among the most serious public health concerns worldwide, being a major cause of morbidity.

The most cultivated of genetically modified (GM) is the Roundup Ready soybean, which represents the staple constituents of many foods.

Foods made from soybeans are among the most traditional and familiar foods in some countries around the world.

These include protein-based methods for the detection of the EPSPS gene product in transgenic raw or unprocessed soy products.

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based methods, both qualitative and quantitative, are also used for more highly processed soy-based food products.

PCR methods have been proved to be the most sensitive and reliable means of detecting and quantifying genetically engineered traits in crops and foods.


Soybean has many functional properties such as soybean proteins help to improve technological processes used in the manufacture of meat products and reduce their formulation costs (Criado et al., 2005) . In addition, the growing demands of consumers for healthy and safer safe products have also promoted the use of soybean proteins in processed meat products as fat replacer . Soy proteins are also widely used in emulsified meat products due to their unique functional properties such as water binding, fat binding, texture and emulsifying capability, and organoleptic features such as appearance, firmness, and slicing characteristics (Belloque et al., 2002) .

Soybean has many functional properties such as soybean proteins help to improve technological processes used in the manufacture of meat products and reduce their formulation costs.

Soy proteins are also widely used in emulsified meat products due to their unique functional properties such as water binding, fat binding, texture and emulsifying capability, and organoleptic features such as appearance, firmness, and slicing characteristics.


Although it is unclear why high test scorers are less likely to succeed, it is possible that high scorers have other institutional options available to them and may feel more freedom to take those options if not initially successful. Some evidence also suggests that those strong in leftbrain functioning (i.e., thinking logically and sequentially, processing grammar/vocabulary/mathematical equations) are weaker in right-brain functioning (i.e., thinking simultaneously and holistically, being imagistic, perceiving shapes/environments) [41] [42] [43] [44] . While left-brain functioning is generally tested by standardized entrance exams, an art-and design-focused environment generally requires high right-brain functioning. Standardized test scores may therefore fail to account for the type of academic ability necessary for success in an art and design environment. The finding that high test scorers receiving merit-based scholarships were more likely to succeed than those not receiving aid may reflect that scholarship recipients are more highly motivated and therefore more likely to succeed. Those receiving scholarship dollars may also feel a heightened commitment to the school if they chose it based on the "best deal" offered [20] . Overall, the above findings indicate that financial support is essential for student success at private art and design colleges and that this is especially the case for high test scorers.

Some evidence also suggests that those strong in leftbrain functioning (i.e., thinking logically and sequentially, processing grammar/vocabulary/mathematical equations) are weaker in right-brain functioning (i.e., thinking simultaneously and holistically, being imagistic, perceiving shapes/environments).

Those receiving scholarship dollars may also feel a heightened commitment to the school if they chose it based on the "best deal" offered.


It should be noted, however, that the (more realistic) baroclinic setting changes the problem quite significantly, as it does not support steadily translating monopole solutions (Flierl et al. 1983) . Given that there is no reason to believe that the 'real' oceanic vortices have zero net angular momentum, the no net angular momentum theorem leads to the conclusion that they are non-steady. It is unclear though how long they remain coherent and spatially localized, and how the time scale of their evolution compares with the scale observed in the ocean (up to 2-3 years).

It should be noted, however, that the (more realistic) baroclinic setting changes the problem quite significantly, as it does not support steadily translating monopole solutions.


The stress applied on plants is a well-known approach to induce changes in the chemical profile of secondary metabolites, including phytoalexins. This is a heterogeneous group of low molecular weight antimicrobial compounds that are de novo synthesized and accumulated in response to stress, biotic or abiotic elicitors [1] . Phytoalexins increasingly gain scientific interest due to their bioactivity and potential to enhance the nutraceutical value of crops [2] . Soy bean (Glycine max) is an important source of isoflavonoids.

This is a heterogeneous group of low molecular weight antimicrobial compounds that are de novo synthesized and accumulated in response to stress, biotic or abiotic elicitors.

Phytoalexins increasingly gain scientific interest due to their bioactivity and potential to enhance the nutraceutical value of crops.


High-speed countercurrent chromatography (HSCCC), a support free liquid-liquid partition chromatographic technique, eliminates irreversible adsorption of the sample onto solid support and has an excellent sample recovery [10] . It has been successfully applied to isolate and purify a number of natural products. This present paper describes a HSCCC method for separation of glyceollins from elicited soy bean seeds crude extract. The optimum conditions were obtained, which led to the successful separation of glyceollins HSCCC separation yielded 6.0 mg of glyceollins and with purities > 86.90 %. This method has been successfully employed in the analytical and semi preparative separation of glyceollins from other components found in extracted soy bean. However, Glyceollins have not been separated preparatively by means of high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) from other studies.

High-speed countercurrent chromatography (HSCCC), a support free liquid-liquid partition chromatographic technique, eliminates irreversible adsorption of the sample onto solid support and has an excellent sample recovery.


In order to address food insecurity of the rapidly growing population in Ethiopia, the current agricultural area assumed to increase by 25%, while average yields are assumed to increase by one-half by 2020 (Ehui et al., 2002) . Food insecurity often turns into famine with the slightest adverse climatic incident. The challenge, therefore, is how to meet the increasing demand given the existing but dwindling natural resources and worsening climatic conditions. Hence, there should be ways to use improved technologies of agricultural production to enhance the economic, social, and institutional conditions necessary for increased agricultural production and productivity (Mekuria, 2003) .

In order to address food insecurity of the rapidly growing population in Ethiopia, the current agricultural area assumed to increase by 25%, while average yields are assumed to increase by one-half by 2020.

Hence, there should be ways to use improved technologies of agricultural production to enhance the economic, social, and institutional conditions necessary for increased agricultural production and productivity.


A further approach to reducing the operating costs is the participation in the electricity market. Numerous publications investigate the charging of EVs with trading on the day-ahead market [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] . An intelligent trading on the day-ahead market can lead to a significant reduction of the electricity costs arising from charging EVs. However, it is hard to realize in practice, since it requires the knowledge or at least a good prediction of the energy requirements of the EVs that have to be charged on the next day. Especially for public charging stations, the prediction of the next day's usage can be very challenging.

Numerous publications investigate the charging of EVs with trading on the day-ahead market.


It is fair to say that very little has been done using plasmonics for optical computing or optical information processing. To date, most of the effort has been directed to understanding the basic principles and demonstrating devices in proof-of-principle experiments. The resurgence in the study of surface plasmons has been driven by the optics community, and as such, most applications of plasmonics mimic configurations in optics or photonics, such as waveguides, devices for converting polarization, optical filters, and so on [12] . However, plasmons represent the extreme frequency limit of the classical skin effect well known in radio frequency engineering, which has led to descriptions of plasmons in terms of electric circuits, antennas, and electrical filters.

The resurgence in the study of surface plasmons has been driven by the optics community, and as such, most applications of plasmonics mimic configurations in optics or photonics, such as waveguides, devices for converting polarization, optical filters, and so on.


Photonics is based on the propagation of light. Unlike electrons, the optical signal can be encoded directly on the photon wave function, such as by modulating the polarization or the phase of the beam, which takes advantage of the coherent nature of the wave. The carrier frequency of an optical electromagnetic wave is exceptionally high, in the region of hundreds of terahertz, enabling very large data transfer rates. However, photons interact very weakly with one another, if at all, so that all-optical modulation and switching are difficult to achieve [7] . With very intense beams, it is possible to drive non-linear changes in material properties, such as refractive index changes, that can be used for modulation or by using electro-optical effects whereby an electrical signal changes the optical properties of a material to modulate the light beam. Currently, information in communications networks is processed by converting the optical signal into an electronic one and then applying electronic signal processing methods. This is not a coherent process, and the phase information associated with the light beam must be decoded and converted into an electrical signal. Moreover, photons have no mass and therefore cannot remain stationary in space, which is problematic for optical memory. Photonic circuits are characterized by waveguides and linear effects such as interference, diffraction, and resonance.

However, photons interact very weakly with one another, if at all, so that all-optical modulation and switching are difficult to achieve.


A less homogeneous pattern, and this is a second main conclusion, is found with respect to firms' activity rate. In this regard, the empirical evidence still finds a bell-shaped parabola for non-cooperative firms. By contrast, a U-shaped relationship emerges for cooperatives: this seems to indicate that active cooperatives in the market benefit from more intense banking competition, even though it produces negative effects when too exasperated. This result lends support to the hypothesis put forward in the paper, according to which that the effects produced by the structure of the banking market can differ between coops and non-coops, since cooperatives' institutional specificities can jeopardize the possibility of maintaining lending relationships; so that, where the credit market is more concentrated, these firms would be disadvantaged. On the other hand, the evidence according to which a greater banking competition would be beneficial for cooperatives can be explained by resorting to at least two arguments: firstly, a higher number of banks operating in the market could lead (the most) opaque firms to fractionalize their debt among several intermediaries, in order to maximize the amount of credit obtained. On their part, in such a situation, banks are more inclined to lend to opaque firms counting on the monitoring activity of the other intermediaries involved (Pagano et al, 1998; Ongena and Smith, 2000) . An alternative interpretation could be that increased competitive pressures encourage more efficient bank screening procedures, so that banks are inclined to lend to (more) opaque firms on the basis of expected performance rather than past records and firms' marketable assets as collateral (Benfratello et al. 2006) .

On their part, in such a situation, banks are more inclined to lend to opaque firms counting on the monitoring activity of the other intermediaries involved.

An alternative interpretation could be that increased competitive pressures encourage more efficient bank screening procedures, so that banks are inclined to lend to (more) opaque firms on the basis of expected performance rather than past records and firms' marketable assets as collateral.


These results suggest that rhizosphere acidification caused by ammonium uptake could trigger PM H + ATPase activity which in turn stimulated hydrophilic- Fig. 9 Influence of anion-channel blockers (in root exudate collection solutions) on H + exudation rate and hydrophilic-BNIs release in sorghum roots; 'Hybridsorgo' (a and c); PVK 801 and 296 B (b and d). Bars represent means of 3 replicates ± SE. Letters above the bars indicate the significant difference between treatments (P ≤ 0.05) Fig. 10 Relationship between H + extrusion rate and hydrophilic-BNIs release from roots of sorghum genetic stocks -'Hybridsorgo', PVK 801 and 296 B BNIs release (Zhu et al. 2012) . Apart from ammonium uptake, its assimilation in the root cells is also critical to trigger H + pumps running to sustain the accelerated release of hydrophilic-BNIs (i.e., ammonium assimilation produces H + in the cytoplasm of root cells; to keep the pH constant in cytoplasm, PM H + ATPase activity is activated to pump H + outside root cells, which in turn facilitates hydrophilic-BNIs release) (Zeng et al. 2016) .

Letters above the bars indicate the significant difference between treatments (P ≤ 0.05) Fig. 10 Relationship between H + extrusion rate and hydrophilic-BNIs release from roots of sorghum genetic stocks -'Hybridsorgo', PVK 801 and 296 B BNIs release.

Apart from ammonium uptake, its assimilation in the root cells is also critical to trigger H + pumps running to sustain the accelerated release of hydrophilic-BNIs (i.e., ammonium assimilation produces H + in the cytoplasm of root cells; to keep the pH constant in cytoplasm, PM H + ATPase activity is activated to pump H + outside root cells, which in turn facilitates hydrophilic-BNIs release).


In previous research, we simultaneously improved both the extraction performance of the DW and the quality of the DW-contained audio by developing a multipurpose optimization problem for deciding the positions of the DW in the frequency domain and obtaining a near-optimum solution for the problem using a discrete wavelet transform (DWT) and a genetic algorithm (GA) for realizing high tolerance to MP3 compression, which is the most popular compression technique [13, 14] . Our method enabled us to embed the DW in an almost optimal manner within any digital audio. However, obtaining the near-optimum solution was very time consuming. In the present study, to overcome this issue essentially, we have developed an authentication method for digital audio to protect the copyrights. In contrast to the DW, no additional information is inserted into the original audio by the proposed method, and the digital audio is authenticated using features extracted using the DWT and characteristic coding of the proposed method. This paper presents an analysis of the performance of the method.

In previous research, we simultaneously improved both the extraction performance of the DW and the quality of the DW-contained audio by developing a multipurpose optimization problem for deciding the positions of the DW in the frequency domain and obtaining a near-optimum solution for the problem using a discrete wavelet transform (DWT) and a genetic algorithm (GA) for realizing high tolerance to MP3 compression, which is the most popular compression technique.


This study explored the associations between psychosocial and physiological variables and diabetes' indicators for Asians and Pacific Islanders with type 2 diabetes. The effect of health behavior on health outcomes is consistent with previous studies on type 2 diabetes [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] . The results from the SEM models indicated the positive effects of exercise and foot care on all health indicators. Regular exercise and foot care was with higher health behavior scores (good health behavior) related to lower HbA1c values and lower depression scores. For both diabetes quality of life and general health, the SEM models indicate that good health behaviors are associated with better diabetes quality of life and better general health.

The effect of health behavior on health outcomes is consistent with previous studies on type 2 diabetes.


These emerging expectations may reflect overconfidence in our ability to automate the driving task. The implementation of autonomous vehicles faces considerable unresolved challenges. The technology to support self-driving cars remains limited and inadequate, and a host of other difficulties stands in the way of widespread deployment of autonomous vehicles (Hodson, 2015) . Only recently have the human factors dilemmas for autonomous vehicles begun to receive their due consideration (Merat & Lee, 2012) .

The technology to support self-driving cars remains limited and inadequate, and a host of other difficulties stands in the way of widespread deployment of autonomous vehicles.

Only recently have the human factors dilemmas for autonomous vehicles begun to receive their due consideration.


The design and management of supply chains (SC) are nowadays one of the most active research topics of management decision making in SC. In the literature, there is no quantitative and precise definition of SC. Usually it is defined as an integrated process where several business entities, such as suppliers, production plants, warehouses and customers work together to plan, coordinate and control raw materials, in-process products, and end products from suppliers to customers [17] .

Usually it is defined as an integrated process where several business entities, such as suppliers, production plants, warehouses and customers work together to plan, coordinate and control raw materials, in-process products, and end products from suppliers to customers.


In the literature, the term "supply management " has not yet been unanimously defined. Purchasing function has recently emerged as an important area of management and decision-making. There is no doubt that the most important activity of purchasing function is the choice of the ordering policy ( [1] , [3] , [4] ). Nowadays, the SC draws attention to quality, cost reduction, customer satisfaction, and partnerships. Strategic sourcing, supplier partnership, risk analysis in such partnership are the main topics in field of buyer-seller relation.

There is no doubt that the most important activity of purchasing function is the choice of the ordering policy (,,).


In manufacturing theory and purchasing practice of SC, single and multiple sources are used regardless of the question whether the purchase refers to one or more kinds of raw material. A single source implies supply of raw material from one reliable supplier. In this case, the highest level of supplier partnering can be achieved. It is denoted as "network supplier", which means that SC and supplier have identical aims and resources [10] . In purchasing environments where no single reliable supplier is available to deliver in small lot sizes on time and in the quantity required, multiple source offers an attractive alternative. In the literature one can find the papers which treat supply issues with two or more suppliers of raw material.

It is denoted as "network supplier", which means that SC and supplier have identical aims and resources.


Social, economic, technological and other environmental changes in the business world request changes in the operation of SC. The complexity of decisionmaking in coordinated management is permanently increasing. By applying coordinated management and control the total costs in SC can be significantly reduced [4] .

By applying coordinated management and control the total costs in SC can be significantly reduced.