Polyurethane (PU) foams are versatile engineering materials with a wide range of applications because of their properties that can be readily tailored to form different types of polymer composition. Generally, PU foams are one of the major productions of urethane polymer structure [5] . The formation of biopolymer foam followed the same general reaction of isocyanate with biomonomer and both of which are derived when polymerization reactions occur similar to nearly all polymeric materials [6] . The forming process of biopolymer foam consists of three basic stages such as bubble initiation, bubble growth, and cell opening [7] .

Generally, PU foams are one of the major productions of urethane polymer structure.

The formation of biopolymer foam followed the same general reaction of isocyanate with biomonomer and both of which are derived when polymerization reactions occur similar to nearly all polymeric materials.

The forming process of biopolymer foam consists of three basic stages such as bubble initiation, bubble growth, and cell opening.


The development of foam block system of single degree of freedom is to measure the dynamic response of foam at different levels of compression and excitation. This is to identify the foam viscoelastic properties through a foam modeling that is designed. This concept is to design the foam block system which will contribute to seat-occupant system. The system can be applied in a wide range of polymeric materials for foam dynamic response measurement and its characterization based on the vibration of potential energy, kinetic energy, and energy loss (damping) [10, 11] .

The system can be applied in a wide range of polymeric materials for foam dynamic response measurement and its characterization based on the vibration of potential energy, kinetic energy, and energy loss (damping).


In order to enhance the photostability of biopolymer foam, the pretreatment of the physical property of biopolymer foam is needed, which includes UV stabilizer filler such as titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ). TiO 2 is also an inorganic pigment and is used as an additive of excellent UV screener to reflect the light away from the polymer surface [8] . This pigment is important in polymer as an inner screen for photoproducts and it limited the photooxidative phenomena. It can 2 International Journal of Polymer Science also be used to reduce cost, reinforcement, and hardening, improving slip and storage stability. Furthermore, TiO 2 has been recognized as the most important photocatalyst for the degradation of many organic pollutants in water and air [9] .

TiO 2 is also an inorganic pigment and is used as an additive of excellent UV screener to reflect the light away from the polymer surface.

Furthermore, TiO 2 has been recognized as the most important photocatalyst for the degradation of many organic pollutants in water and air.


The performance of vibration transmissibility and damping characteristic of biopolymer foam using foam block system for automotive applications is important due to the method of transmissibility test that can be used in a wide range of polymeric materials which possess nonlinear viscoelastic properties. Vibration transmissibility is a ratio of the force amplitude transmitted to the amplitude foundation of the applying excitation. This method is also used to determine the damping characteristic of the system that consists of coulomb and viscous damping from free vibration decrements of mass spring system [12] .

This method is also used to determine the damping characteristic of the system that consists of coulomb and viscous damping from free vibration decrements of mass spring system.


A Single Channel Full Duplex System alleviates several wireless bottleneck situations. With no time division, the hidden node problem is reduced since the access point respond without delay to the first transmitting node .Other nodes hear that response and delay their transmissions reducing collisions. Full Duplex reduces loss of network throughput and the delay in multi hop networks. Earlier, Full Duplex prototypes with off-the shelf parts and incorporating IEEE 802.15.4 Modulation/Demodulation schemes with 1mw Transmit power achieves performance within 8% of an ideal system to a distance maximum up to 8m LOS [1] . The full-duplex communication causes wide attention, although it has been proposed in a short while, and it sounds a little unapparent and extraordinary. Some recent researches have verified the feasibility of full duplex wireless device in practice [1, 3, 4, 8, 9] . To realize full duplex operation, the key issue is that how to as much as possible, cancel the large selfinterference signal.

Earlier, Full Duplex prototypes with off-the shelf parts and incorporating IEEE 802.15.4 Modulation/Demodulation schemes with 1mw Transmit power achieves performance within 8% of an ideal system to a distance maximum up to 8m LOS.

Some recent researches have verified the feasibility of full duplex wireless device in practice.


Due to the effectiveness of pool-seq in cost and allele frequency estimation, pool-seq has been applied in a broad range of applications. The majority of these applications rely on sequencing large pools of individuals from multiple populations or generations. Although with further reductions in sequencing costs, pool-seq will remain an important tool for researches requiring adequate sample sizes. With the availability of new software packages for the analysis of pool-seq data, poolseq will be an even more attractive research tool in the future [4] .

With the availability of new software packages for the analysis of pool-seq data, poolseq will be an even more attractive research tool in the future.


In the present study, lymph nodes were the most frequent site of metastasis. In addition, the study determined that other metastases occurred at a rate similar to those reported in the literature. Remote metastases were reported at lower rates in the literature [31, 32] . However, metastatic cancer rates were higher in the present study. We believe that the most probable reason for this is that the present study researched upper UGI cancers in patients who had underdone endoscopy. Furthermore, for reasons that are not yet known, the cancers in the region of the present study occurred at younger ages and progressed more aggressively.

Remote metastases were reported at lower rates in the literature.


The individuals who participated in this study had a normal BMI average. This could be a limitation to extension of the results to whole populations of women, as it is known that in people with normal BMI, less thermal contours are recorded in the torso region, compared with overweight and obese individuals, suggesting a narrower temperature in the study area [24] . The small sample size is also a limitation, but the consistency of the findings between the participants suggests that this is unlikely to have significantly biased the results.

This could be a limitation to extension of the results to whole populations of women, as it is known that in people with normal BMI, less thermal contours are recorded in the torso region, compared with overweight and obese individuals, suggesting a narrower temperature in the study area.


A high student participation in the open-ended online discussion was observed as the students contributed an average of 3.88 posts per students and 120 words per post. The observed online behavioral patterns suggests the students invested significant time and effort in the activity. Furthermore, 60% of the participants made at least three comments when the required number of posts was two. The Canvas platform fostered social interaction as it possessed social media tools such as responding to other student's comments [26, 40] . Furthermore, as students read each other's comments, they were motivated to high-level knowledge processing. However, although the contribution of the whole class was high, 40% of the students were passive submitting the minimum required number of posts or less. Low student participation is often ascribed to the student's digital citizenship. Students who have a low digital proficiency tend to contribute less often. Furthermore, in developing nations lack of internet access or poor connectivity can reduce student participation in online activities. However, in this study the students had free internet access on campus. The author monitored the online discussion without making any contribution. By taking up the role of a facilitator, the instructor can improve student engagement through asking additional questions, clarifying the original questions and addressing any concerns that might arise [31] .

The Canvas platform fostered social interaction as it possessed social media tools such as responding to other student's comments.

By taking up the role of a facilitator, the instructor can improve student engagement through asking additional questions, clarifying the original questions and addressing any concerns that might arise.


The analysis of non-linear data which is noisy, imprecise and possesses temporal characteristics has been an area of considerable interest in pattern recognition over the last few years. Fuzzy techniques have proved successful in several such applications since they take a more flexible approach to pattern recognition (Pal and Majumder, 1986) . In this paper a single nearest neighbour fuzzy approach to pattern recognition is described. The approach is novel in its description however some of its elements represent the synthesis of previous research in the area. This paper describes this new approach in the context of other nearest neighbour and fuzzy pattern recognition techniques, and demonstrates the usefulness of the proposed method on solving the two spiral benchmark and recognising different blends of coffee using electronic nose data. The paper also discusses how non-iterative fuzzy classifiers may operate with incremental learning which should enhance the quality of their decisions.

Fuzzy techniques have proved successful in several such applications since they take a more flexible approach to pattern recognition.


A weakness of the present study is that suicide attempters were not studied prospectively, which means that we were unable to follow coping capacities over time in the same individual, and in relation to treatment and further experiences of life. Another weakness is that the younger controls and the recent suicide attempters were significantly younger than the followed up study groups. We know that coping changes partly with age, depression and attempt status [18] .

We know that coping changes partly with age, depression and attempt status.


The planets in our solar system were formed from material left over after the formation of the Sun, but the details of the formation process are still under investigation. It is believed that the gas giant planets of our solar system, Jupiter and Saturn, have a solid core embedded within a gaseous envelope (Saumon and Guillot 2004) . The most popular theory for the formation of these planets supposes that they were formed in two stages: A solid core was first formed by accretion of planetesimals in the protoplanetary disk, and, when the core became massive enough to gravitationally attract and capture gas from the disk, the gaseous envelope was added.

It is believed that the gas giant planets of our solar system, Jupiter and Saturn, have a solid core embedded within a gaseous envelope.


The common name "horse chestnut″may have come from the uses of seeds for horses to treat overexertion or coughs by Turks and Greeks [18] . Dated from the early 18th century, the horse chestnut has a therapeutic property for anti-fever [5] . In Europe, the bark and leaves of A. hippocastanum have been employed as an astringent to treat diarrhea and hemorrhoids [6] . The HCSE from A. hippocastanum has been used in the treatment of chronic venous insufficiency, hemorrhoids, and postoperative edema [7] [8] [9] . Aescin, also known as β-escin, is the major active component in HCSE and has been shown to have a clinically significant activity in chronic venous insufficiency, hemorrhoids, and postoperative edema. The pharmacology, pharmacokinetics and therapeutic profile of aescin have been reviewed [5] . Based on the publication over the last two decades of numerous randomized controlled trials in prominent, peer-reviewed journals, A. hippocastanum extract is gaining wider acceptance as an effective therapy for venous disorders and edema in the United States [5] .

The common name "horse chestnut″may have come from the uses of seeds for horses to treat overexertion or coughs by Turks and Greeks.

Dated from the early 18th century, the horse chestnut has a therapeutic property for anti-fever.

In Europe, the bark and leaves of A. hippocastanum have been employed as an astringent to treat diarrhea and hemorrhoids.

The HCSE from A. hippocastanum has been used in the treatment of chronic venous insufficiency, hemorrhoids, and postoperative edema.

The pharmacology, pharmacokinetics and therapeutic profile of aescin have been reviewed.

Based on the publication over the last two decades of numerous randomized controlled trials in prominent, peer-reviewed journals, A. hippocastanum extract is gaining wider acceptance as an effective therapy for venous disorders and edema in the United States.


Aesculus hippocastanum is a large deciduous tree, also known as Conker tree. This species is native to a small area in the mountains of the Balkans in southeast Europe, in small areas in northern Greece, Albania, the Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, and Bulgaria. It is now widely cultivated throughout the temperate world because of its large, beautiful flower clusters and its excellent resistance to environmental conditions. The leaves of this species are opposite and palmately compound with 5-7 leaflets. The sessile leaflets are green beneath with obtusely double-serrate. Its flowers are usually white with a small red spot. The fruit is a green, spiky capsule containing one (rarely two or three) brown seed, called chestnut or conker [2] .

The fruit is a green, spiky capsule containing one (rarely two or three) brown seed, called chestnut or conker.


This new study examines the ideal self-concept, but also examines the actual self-concept. This study goes further by examining the notion of self-congruence, which reflects the consumers' perception of the fit between the self-concept (actual or ideal) and the brands' personality or image (Malär et al., 2011) . Two research questions that arise are: Do actual and ideal self-congruence lead to compulsive buying? Which one of the two has a greater contribution in predicting compulsive buying? This research investigates the link between self-congruence and compulsive buying behavior to address this deficiency in the literature.

This study goes further by examining the notion of self-congruence, which reflects the consumers' perception of the fit between the self-concept (actual or ideal) and the brands' personality or image.


We have then computed the typical time scales over which these processes occur. In particular, we have checked that our results are consistent with the decay rates obtained by Hawking and Moss [53] . We have also noticed that the ratio between the decay rates and the ratio between the decay probabilities exactly match in the steepest descent approximation.

In particular, we have checked that our results are consistent with the decay rates obtained by Hawking and Moss.


However, despite the importance of parasitism in ecology, this factor is rarely taken into account in fish ecology and even less in flatfish ecology. Like other small fishes though, young flatfishes are subjected to parasitism in nursery grounds, especially from digenean trematodes for which they can act as second intermediate hosts. Digeneans have a complex life cycle, which follows in marine environment the general scheme of having molluscs as first intermediate hosts, small fishes as second intermediate hosts and piscivorous fishes as definitive hosts (Cribb et al., 2001) . Cercariae actively penetrate through the skin of their second intermediate host and encyst as metacercariae in the body. Transmission to the 4 definitive host then occurs through predation. Metacercariae, like all parasitic stages, are metabolically dependent on their host and use some of their host's energy for their own development and maintenance. Although studies on the effects of digenean metacercariae on fish are scarce, some have shown a clear negative impact of these parasites on growth, condition and survival of freshwater fishes (Lemly and Esch, 1984; Coleman and Travis, 1998; Johnson and Dick, 2001; Collyer and Stockwell, 2004) . Parasitism is thus a factor that could potentially influence habitat quality of juvenile flatfishes.

Digeneans have a complex life cycle, which follows in marine environment the general scheme of having molluscs as first intermediate hosts, small fishes as second intermediate hosts and piscivorous fishes as definitive hosts.

Although studies on the effects of digenean metacercariae on fish are scarce, some have shown a clear negative impact of these parasites on growth, condition and survival of freshwater fishes.


In a previous paper, we documented that GPs offered compelling reasons for low adherence to clinical guidelines, despite considering them necessary [14] . One of the main explanations was the mismatch they experienced when caring for the whole patient while using guidelines focused on single diseases [14] . Caring for the whole person rather than just the single disease is a well-known characteristic of general practice [15] . Nonetheless, GPs are expected to implement a variety of clinical guidelines simultaneously, each of which was designed for the treatment of a single disease. Adherence to guidelines is mandated by medical regulations in Norway [16] . The failure to follow guidelines for each single disease has sometimes resulted in practitioners' work being subjected to professional review.

In a previous paper, we documented that GPs offered compelling reasons for low adherence to clinical guidelines, despite considering them necessary.

One of the main explanations was the mismatch they experienced when caring for the whole patient while using guidelines focused on single diseases.

Caring for the whole person rather than just the single disease is a well-known characteristic of general practice.

Adherence to guidelines is mandated by medical regulations in Norway.


Wireless sensor networks have been highlighted in recent years [1] . A sensor network consists of a large number of sensor nodes that are randomly deployed in a sensing field. A sink node is responsible for receiving instructions from a commander for assigning tasks to all sensor nodes. If the sensor nodes are aware of the occurrence of the events, they will deliver the collected information to the sink node. The sink node thus gathers all needed data and notifies the commander of the result. With ad hoc transmission technology, each sensor node can communicate directly with others in its neighborhood [2] . For connecting with nodes which are out of the radio range, the sensor nodes use multi-hop routing for data transmission.

Wireless sensor networks have been highlighted in recent years.

With ad hoc transmission technology, each sensor node can communicate directly with others in its neighborhood.


Compression-coated tablets (CCT) are dosage forms that consist of an inner core immediate release tablet embedded in an outer layer compartment, which contains either a hydrophilic, hydrophobic or a mixture of both polymers. The outer layer dissolves or disintegrates slowly to release the drug after a predetermined lag time. The advantage of this technique is that it is simply achieved by minor modification of existing equipment, inexpensive, is capable of physically separating two incompatible drugs within the same dosage form, allows taste masking of bitter drugs and is not hazardous to the environment, since it does not require the use of organic solvent (Hadfield et al., 1987; Oth et al., 1993) .

The advantage of this technique is that it is simply achieved by minor modification of existing equipment, inexpensive, is capable of physically separating two incompatible drugs within the same dosage form, allows taste masking of bitter drugs and is not hazardous to the environment, since it does not require the use of organic solvent.


Both LinkedIn and Twitter allow users to describe their interests and knowledge by: (i) Filling in profile information (ii) Posting status updates. However, the percentage of users who post status updates on LinkedIn is significantly lower than the percentage of users who do so on Twitter (Bullas, 2015) . On the other hand, LinkedIn users fill in far more of their profiles on average than Twitter users (Abel, Henze, Herder, and Krause, 2010) .

However, the percentage of users who post status updates on LinkedIn is significantly lower than the percentage of users who do so on Twitter.

On the other hand, LinkedIn users fill in far more of their profiles on average than Twitter users.


The results also indicate that most teachers are aware of the importance of pedagogical and didactical aspects in relation to the design and management of homework. They highlight the necessity of determining the appropriate degree of difficulty and amount of homework assignments (see Table 3 ). Previous research also provided evidence that too many homework assignments could cause additional stress on students and negatively impact their homework behaviors in terms of irritation and repugnance, which could influence the homework completion in a negative way. If homework is too much and too difficult, students may be overwhelmed and thus experience homework-related weariness and lose the motivation and desire to complete homework [1, 2, 6, 10, 11] .

If homework is too much and too difficult, students may be overwhelmed and thus experience homework-related weariness and lose the motivation and desire to complete homework.


In this study, we asked whether the strength of ecosystem engineering-biodiversity relationships varies along an environmental gradient, even in the absence of changes in the amount of physical alteration due to ecosystem engineering. We hypothesized that engineering effects on resource conditions and biodiversity become stronger as the potential for non-structural abiotic change becomes greater, analogous to the potential energy of a physical system (Rankine 1853) . As potential energy is the stored energy that an object possesses due to its relative position in a system, the capacity for ecosystem engineering to change a local environment is due to its position on environmental gradients. For example, engineering that restructures soils and indirectly decreases soil water content may have little effect on soil moisture under drought conditions when a decrease in soil moisture is restricted, and a larger effect on soil moisture as drought is alleviated. As environmental heterogeneity increases with greater differences in abiotic properties between engineered and non-engineered habitats, we may expect landscape-level biodiversity to increase as well. Similar to potential energy, we propose that differences in the potential for non-structural abiotic change can be measured by comparing the change in abiotic conditions due to engineering (a constant structural change) at different points along an environmental gradient. If these differences have a large impact on ecosystem engineering outcomes, then efforts to accurately predict biodiversity responses to engineering along environmental gradients must account for both the amount of physical alteration produced by ecosystem engineering and the capacity for non-structural abiotic change to occur in response to engineering.

We hypothesized that engineering effects on resource conditions and biodiversity become stronger as the potential for non-structural abiotic change becomes greater, analogous to the potential energy of a physical system.


To determine plant responses, we measured plant species cover and primary production for every 1-m² quadrat in April. We estimated cover of all plant species using an 81-point pinframe method (Prugh and Brashares 2012) . In addition to the species recorded under each point in the pinframe, we noted the occurrence of additional species that were within quadrats but not under pin points. To include these species, we recorded species presence as a single pin hit within the quadrat, adding one observation to all species under pins. In effect, a species could have a maximum of 82 observations m -². Aboveground net primary production was estimated by sampling all aboveground biomass in a 0.25 × 0.25 m² area adjacent to the western edge of the 1-m² quadrat, drying at 65°C for 48 h, and weighing. Because all aboveground vegetation senesces in this annual grassland, aboveground biomass in April is approximately equivalent to annual production, assuming little herbivory. Most rodent herbivory occurred after we sampled biomass (Grinnell 1932) .

We estimated cover of all plant species using an 81-point pinframe method.

Most rodent herbivory occurred after we sampled biomass.


Through the implementation of comprehensive guidance and counseling programs, school personnel can provide an effective support system for their students' personal growth (Hui 2000; Sun and Hui 2007; Yuen et al. 2002) . While many aspects of such guidance programs have been thoroughly evaluated already, few if any studies have elaborated on students' own perceptions of school connectedness and how development of connectedness might relate to the various forms of support they have received from their school. In particular, no studies have been conducted with Chinese students in the adolescent age range. This study aimed to fill that gap by obtaining data from high school adolescents in Hong Kong.

Through the implementation of comprehensive guidance and counseling programs, school personnel can provide an effective support system for their students' personal growth.


Although a popular and frequently used mechanism, grandfathering is far from an ideal allocation mechanism as it is often viewed as politically cumbersome and ine¢ cient [4, 33] . Firms may have an incentive to lobby the regulator in favour of larger permit allocations which, due to the use of wasteful resources, may reduce social welfare in the economy. Moreover, when grandfathering is used with information that is updated over time-updated grandfathering-a link is created between a …rm's current level of emissions and it's future permit allocation which may result in a distortionary incentive to increase emissions [2, 19] . In this case, grandfathering no longer produces a cost-e¢ cient level of abatement on the part of …rms.

Although a popular and frequently used mechanism, grandfathering is far from an ideal allocation mechanism as it is often viewed as politically cumbersome and ine¢ cient.

Moreover, when grandfathering is used with information that is updated over time-updated grandfathering-a link is created between a …rm's current level of emissions and it's future permit allocation which may result in a distortionary incentive to increase emissions.


A frequently used allocation mechanism in areas such as labour markets and sporting competition analysis allows participants to be ranked in order of their e¤ort or actions [16, 34] . Within this general model, two main mechanisms exist: rank-order tournaments and rank-order contests. The distinction between the two rests on the relationship between agents' unobservable e¤ort and observable actions. Rank-order tournaments are incentive schemes used in situations where …rms' performance is observed with some exogenous noise. That is, in rank-order tournaments, it is generally assumed that each agent experiences a stochastic relationship between their e¤ort and actions. In most cases, when the observation noise is common to all …rms, rank-order tournaments typically outperform absolute, or individualistic, schemes [10, 13, 16, 23, 24] .

A frequently used allocation mechanism in areas such as labour markets and sporting competition analysis allows participants to be ranked in order of their e¤ort or actions.

In most cases, when the observation noise is common to all …rms, rank-order tournaments typically outperform absolute, or individualistic, schemes.


The general nature of our result suggests that analogous theory can be developed for domains in R d by considering a restriction of the functional to the (now infinite-dimensional) set of equipartitions. With the help of the insight gained from the present results, a theorem analogous to Theorem 2.10 has been established in R d under the assumption that nodal lines (surfaces) do not intersect [7] . A result in the spirit of Theorem 2.10 is also available on discrete graphs [8] .

With the help of the insight gained from the present results, a theorem analogous to Theorem 2.10 has been established in R d under the assumption that nodal lines (surfaces) do not intersect.

A result in the spirit of Theorem 2.10 is also available on discrete graphs.


Knowing the fields in an infinite plane above an object means, all information is available to calculate field above this plane (Balanis, 1996) . From theoretical point of view this would be sufficient to calculate the far-fields of a printed circuit board (PCB). But there are several problems with such a direct approach, e.g. it is not possible to measure field along an infinite plane, accuracy of measurements is limited and accuracy of near-field to far field transformation can be low. Furthermore obtaining far-fields is often not the only aim, also the identification of radiating and disturbing sources, as mentioned above might be needed. Knowing the sources, strategies for noise reduction can easily be developed. Therefore the inverse problem of the resulting electromagnetic field and the causing current distribution on PCB should be solved.

Knowing the fields in an infinite plane above an object means, all information is available to calculate field above this plane.


The Reidemeister moves can be reinterpreted as moves on Gauss diagrams; the virtual moves V 1, V 2, V 3 and SV have no effect on the Gauss diagram. While not every Gauss diagram can be realized as the diagram of a classical knot (the diagram in Fig. 3 is an example), every Gauss diagram can be realized as the diagram of a virtual knot [12] . It is often useful to think of virtual knots in terms of Gauss diagrams, since it avoids the pitfalls created by misinterpreting virtual knots as physical objects.

While not every Gauss diagram can be realized as the diagram of a classical knot (the diagram in Fig. 3 is an example), every Gauss diagram can be realized as the diagram of a virtual knot.


Losses of IPMSM are divided into the copper losses, the iron losses and the mechanical losses. Copper and iron losses can be controlled by a proper motor control strategy, while mechanical losses depend only on the shaft speed, therefore, they cannot be controlled. Copper losses can be decreased by the strategy which provides maximum torque on the rotor for a given stator current amplitude (MTPA -Maximum Torque per Amperes approach [4] ). Iron losses depend on square of the flux amplitude, therefore, they can be governed by controlling the flux level, i.e. varying the d component of stator current [3] . In order to decrease overall losses in the motor, both copper and iron losses should be controlled simultaneously [5] .

Copper losses can be decreased by the strategy which provides maximum torque on the rotor for a given stator current amplitude (MTPA -Maximum Torque per Amperes approach).

Iron losses depend on square of the flux amplitude, therefore, they can be governed by controlling the flux level, i.e. varying the d component of stator current.

In order to decrease overall losses in the motor, both copper and iron losses should be controlled simultaneously.


In summary, we can say that the Tsai-based heuristic performs well in terms of the utility work and the fast sequencing heuristic performs well in terms of utility (KNlog(N) ), where log(N) times more step is required for sequencing the jobs (Tsai, 1995) . Actual computational time of the fast sequencing heuristic is 2-6 times faster than that of the Tsai-based heuristic. Hence, we suggest the Tsai-based heuristic as "the" algorithm for getting a sequence with minimal utility work; however, in the case of a fast algorithm to solve problems concerned with idle time, the fast sequencing heuristic is a possible alternative.

In summary, we can say that the Tsai-based heuristic performs well in terms of the utility work and the fast sequencing heuristic performs well in terms of utility (KNlog(N) ), where log(N) times more step is required for sequencing the jobs.


The plan of the paper is as follows. First, in Sec. 2, we introduce the model of interacting traders of varying wealth in the presence of a central reserve, and show that typically only the wealthiest survive. Next, in Sec. 3, we probe the effect of networks: starting with an existing lattice of interacting traders with nearest-neighbour interactions, we add non-local links between them with probability p [5] . Survivor ratios are then measured as a function of this 'wiring probability' p, as p is increased to reflect the topologies of small world and fully random networks (p = 1). In Sec. 4, we ask the following question: can the destiny of a selected trader be changed by suitable networking? We probe this systematically by networking a given trader non-locally with others of less, equal and greater wealth and find indeed that a trader who would die in his original neighbourhood, is able to change his fate, becoming a survivor via such selective non-local networking. In Sec. 5, we provide a useful statistical measure of survival, the pairwise probability for a trader to survive against wealthier neighbours, i.e. to win against the odds. Finally, we discuss the implications of these results to systemic stability in Sec. 6.

The plan of the paper is as follows.

Next, in Sec. 3, we probe the effect of networks: starting with an existing lattice of interacting traders with nearest-neighbour interactions, we add non-local links between them with probability p.


The FCD path location data blank is affected by the sampling time interval. This paper uses Wang's map matching method to deal with path matching [28] . To reduce computational complexity this method mainly considers the following three aspects: (1) It introduces the heading angle variable to emission probability calculation; (2) It divides the road network according to a square grid, and constructs a candidate road segment searching algorithm based on the hash index; (3) Through on preprocessing the road net, it constructs a road segment transition matrix based on the characteristic that floating cars have a limited scope of space activities in the given time, realizing the fast calculation of the road segment transition probability and reducing the time complexity of the road matching calculation.

This paper uses Wang's map matching method to deal with path matching.


Presently, how to make urban traffic more efficient is becoming more and more important to sustainable urban development. The mobility of the transportation infrastructure is no longer the main goal of urban sustainable transport, and it tends to study improving the efficiency of the travel process. Banister proposes sustainable mobility as a paradigm for the study of urban complexity [3] . Mobility the study of path analysis, through the data mining of GPS data, the driving trajectory of the taxi GPS data that can be adopted for the optimization of the travel pathcan be extracted [21] .

Banister proposes sustainable mobility as a paradigm for the study of urban complexity.

Mobility the study of path analysis, through the data mining of GPS data, the driving trajectory of the taxi GPS data that can be adopted for the optimization of the travel pathcan be extracted.


Urban travel is the most important component for higher transport efficiency of a metropolis. However, with thedevelopment of cities, the pressure of sustainable transportation in urban areas is particularly serious. Furthermore, urban travel is also the most difficult problem to be resolved for rapidly developing metropolises. The complexity of urban travel is becoming more and more obvious. Levinson and Krizek clearly point out that the residents' life (and resulting travel) are more complex, and the city travel time and itinerary becomes more complicated [1] . Zegras finds that changes in urban boundary growth might result in shorter urban trips being replaced by longer inter-urban travel [2] .

Levinson and Krizek clearly point out that the residents' life (and resulting travel) are more complex, and the city travel time and itinerary becomes more complicated.

Zegras finds that changes in urban boundary growth might result in shorter urban trips being replaced by longer inter-urban travel.


Currently, with the development of geo-information science, more and more researchers use crowdsourced or volunteered geographic information as their dataset source. Besides, crowdsourced or volunteered geographic information studies on routing and navigation. For example, Hendawi point out the proliferation of volunteered geographic information (VGI) such as GPS tracks donated by individuals via forums such as OpenStreetMap has created an opportunity for providing next generation routing services [22] . Mobasheri proved crowdsourced datasets are suitable for specialized routing services [23] . Graser pointed out that the quality of these data sources and OpenStreetMap, in particular, is sufficient for answering questions about the heterogeneous nature of VGI in general [24] . In addition, crowdsourced or volunteered geographic information was used for urban and environmental studies. Sun conducted an empirical investigation in Chicago with cycling data from a bicycle-sharing systems (BSS) called Divvy. Divvy publicizes cycling trips of BSS users (including both annual members and casual users) with start and end docking stations as well as trip duration. The BSS data was contributed by individual riders, and thus is considered a type of crowdsourced geographic information (CGI) and has high potential for studies of active travel and sustainable transport [25] . Mooney discuss how CGI and VGI can be used as a complement/addition, or in some cases a replacement, to traditionally generated sources of spatial data and information [26] . Crooks addressed the opportunities presented by the emergence of crowdsourced data to gain novel insights into form and function in urban spaces. These data provide a first-hand account of form and function from the people who define urban space through their activities [27] . The GPS data used in the paper could be categorized as crowdsourced data (but not volunteered). Although we used this dataset in our analyses, other sources of GPS traces collected from volunteers could also be used, if available. Therefore, our method is generic in this sense.

For example, Hendawi point out the proliferation of volunteered geographic information (VGI) such as GPS tracks donated by individuals via forums such as OpenStreetMap has created an opportunity for providing next generation routing services.

Mobasheri proved crowdsourced datasets are suitable for specialized routing services.

Graser pointed out that the quality of these data sources and OpenStreetMap, in particular, is sufficient for answering questions about the heterogeneous nature of VGI in general.

The BSS data was contributed by individual riders, and thus is considered a type of crowdsourced geographic information (CGI) and has high potential for studies of active travel and sustainable transport.

Mooney discuss how CGI and VGI can be used as a complement/addition, or in some cases a replacement, to traditionally generated sources of spatial data and information.

These data provide a first-hand account of form and function from the people who define urban space through their activities.


To overcome such drawbacks, a regularization of the stress-softening damage model is required. A possible choice is to regularize the model through the introduction of gradient terms of the damage variable [35, 36, 15, 30, 9, 39] . In the variational approach of damage mechanics, such regularization can be achieved in an elegant way by adding to the local part of the total energy, a non-local counterpart depending on the gradient of the damage variable [39] . This results in the necessary emergence of a internal length in such regularized damage model. The consequences are of different kinds : the damage criterion becomes non-local and damage localizations has a finite thickness related to the internal length of the model, hence leading to size effects in the model response. Moreover, when the internal length is "small" compared to the characteristic size of the body, the gradient damage model behaves asymptotically as a Griffith fracture model with damage localizations viewed as sharp cracks [14, 46] . However, compared to Griffith fracture model, such gradient damage models or alternatively called smeared crack models are much more practical when considering cracks of unknown and possibly complex shapes, because they do not require the explicit description of the crack geometry: the cracks are identified a posteriori as the regions where the elastic stiffness vanishes over localized bands. Another fundamental advantage of gradient damage models is related to the existence an intrinsic elastic limit stress compared to Griffith model and therefore the ability to retrieve crack nucleation, i.e. the creation of a crack from an intact material with smooth boundaries.

A possible choice is to regularize the model through the introduction of gradient terms of the damage variable.

In the variational approach of damage mechanics, such regularization can be achieved in an elegant way by adding to the local part of the total energy, a non-local counterpart depending on the gradient of the damage variable.

Moreover, when the internal length is "small" compared to the characteristic size of the body, the gradient damage model behaves asymptotically as a Griffith fracture model with damage localizations viewed as sharp cracks.


Social e-learning is a process in which learners achieve learning goals by sharing knowledge, skills and abilities in a community where they have common interests [5] . Sustainable social e-learning occurs along with learners' interaction with one another and their motivation in participation. The abundant resources shared within a learning community offer opportunities for learners to connect to various learning content and peers, whereas one of the biggest challenges is how to direct and motivate learners to access the most appropriate resources and benefit from them. Adaptation and personalisation have been suggested as potential solutions to tackle this challenge [3] .

Social e-learning is a process in which learners achieve learning goals by sharing knowledge, skills and abilities in a community where they have common interests.

Adaptation and personalisation have been suggested as potential solutions to tackle this challenge.


In this study, we demonstrated that it is difficult to diagnose PTC-SCC on preoperative FNAB or CNB. Only 3 of 8 patients (38%) having primary lesions were preoperatively diagnosed as or suspected of having SCC components. This is partially because of the difficulty in differential diagnosis between SCC and UC on cytology. Furthermore, SCC cells may not be aspirated or biopsied if the needle does not appropriately hit SCC components. In our series, all patients were older, 7 patients had carcinoma larger than 4 cm, clinical node metastasis was detected in 7 patients, all had significant extrathyroid extension, and the PTC lesions of 4 patients were diagnosed as tall cell variant. These clinicopathological features were recognized as predicting poor prognosis, indicating that squamous differentiation occurs in PTC with biologically aggressive behavior [10] [11] [12] [13] .

These clinicopathological features were recognized as predicting poor prognosis, indicating that squamous differentiation occurs in PTC with biologically aggressive behavior.


A series of novel linear segmented polyurethanes (PUs) containing a pyridine unit in the main chain have been synthesized by polycondensation reaction of various diisocyanates, 4,4 0 -diphenyl-methane diisocyanate (MDI), toluene 2,4-diisocyanate (TDI), isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) and hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI), with 4,4 0 -{pyridine-2,6-diylbis[nitrilomethylylidene]}diphenol-based diol [36] . All the examined PUs were soluble in polar aprotic solvents. MDI-based PU show more thermal stability compared to other PUs [37] .

A series of novel linear segmented polyurethanes (PUs) containing a pyridine unit in the main chain have been synthesized by polycondensation reaction of various diisocyanates, 4,4 0 -diphenyl-methane diisocyanate (MDI), toluene 2,4-diisocyanate (TDI), isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) and hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI), with 4,4 0 -{pyridine-2,6-diylbis[nitrilomethylylidene]}diphenol-based diol.

MDI-based PU show more thermal stability compared to other PUs.


We found prostate cancer to overexpress IRS-2 over IRS-1. Interestingly, IRS-2 was identified as a positive regulator of metastasis in breast cancer, whereas IRS-1 may be a suppressor of metastasis [21, 22] . This role of IRS-2 in the pathogenesis of metastasis seems to be a general principal that applies for other malignancies as well [15, 21] . Since IRS-2 is downstream the IR for which the ligand, insulin, is markedly elevated in T2DM, our findings of higher IRS-2 in prostate cancer suggests increased risk for metastasis in men with diabetes. In line with this hypothesis, survival after diagnosis of prostate cancer is significantly shorter in patients with T2DM compared to such without [7] .

Interestingly, IRS-2 was identified as a positive regulator of metastasis in breast cancer, whereas IRS-1 may be a suppressor of metastasis.

This role of IRS-2 in the pathogenesis of metastasis seems to be a general principal that applies for other malignancies as well.

In line with this hypothesis, survival after diagnosis of prostate cancer is significantly shorter in patients with T2DM compared to such without.


Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is considered a nutrient-demanding crop. Due to its small, shallow root system and short cycle, nutrients must be supplied to the plant at the most appropriate time and location. Thus, knowing the amount and dynamics of nutrient accumulation during the crop cycle will help plan and manage fertilization, as a nutritional imbalance, caused by deficiency or excess of nutrients, would stress the plant (Franco et al., 2007) . Furthermore, to establish rational fertilization programs, it is essential to know the nutrient absorption potential of the plant, as well as the nutrient amounts exported from the field.

Thus, knowing the amount and dynamics of nutrient accumulation during the crop cycle will help plan and manage fertilization, as a nutritional imbalance, caused by deficiency or excess of nutrients, would stress the plant.


To investigate the possible role of oxidative stress in the PCD of P. gatunense, we examined whether ROS accumulation during aging coincides with cell autolysis. Cell death was assessed by Sytox, a membrane-impermeable DNA-binding dye [9] . The percentage of Sytox-positive cells rose sharply 20 days after culture initiation, that is, several days after the initial rise in the number of ROSpositive cells (Figure 1b) . Sytox-positive cells were unable to swim and were hardly detected in the lake, probably because they sank.

Cell death was assessed by Sytox, a membrane-impermeable DNA-binding dye.


Oxidative stress in Peridinium was assessed from the total ROS in a sample (data not shown), and the percentage of ROS-containing cells ( Figure 1a ). Excellent correlation was observed between these parameters. Individual cells stained with dihydrorhodamine 123 showed variations in the intensity and spectrum of the emitted fluorescence, from red (chlorophyll autofluorescence) in unstressed cells to a yellow or even green color in ROS-containing cells (Figure 1a, inset) . The percentage of ROS-positive Peridinium cells increased significantly during growth in the lake ( Figure 1a ) and in batch cultures (Figure 1b) . The concentration of H 2 O 2 in the cultures also rose with time from undetectable levels at two weeks to 11.5 µM and 102 µM at four and eight weeks, respectively. This increase was accompanied by a rising antioxidative activity, as assessed from the amount of H 2 O 2 that remained in the medium 1 hour after the addition of 1 mM H 2 O 2 . Whereas in the two-week-old culture 60% of added H 2 O 2 was found in the medium after 1 hour, only 8% remained in the eight-week-old culture. These data correlate with the antioxidant enzyme activity in the lake during the Peridinium bloom [4] .

These data correlate with the antioxidant enzyme activity in the lake during the Peridinium bloom.


In the last decade, the wireless power transfer (WPT) plays an important role in many applications and is widely used in near-field inductive coupling links. Currently, most of the implanted devices are powered inductively such as implanted cochlear, retinal implants and implanted micro-systems, used to stimulate and monitoring nerves and muscle activities [1] [2] [3] [4] . The power efficiency of the inductive coupling links of the implanted devices is affected by power loss in the electric circuits of the devices and energy absorption by the biological tissues. The electric circuits involve two parts: the external and internal parts. The external part located outside the body can be accurate with flexibility in the design in terms of size, especially the size of the transmitter coil. While the internal part is located within the human body and should be carefully designed to the smallest possible size, especially the receiver coil, to maximize the patients' comfort. The medium separating the coils in each of the parts is biological tissue [5] .

Currently, most of the implanted devices are powered inductively such as implanted cochlear, retinal implants and implanted micro-systems, used to stimulate and monitoring nerves and muscle activities.

The medium separating the coils in each of the parts is biological tissue.


The penetration of the electromagnetic (EM) waves will occur inside the biological tissues, such as skins, fat and muscles, to achieve an inductive connection link with the implanted part [6] . The tissue temperature will be increased due to the transmission of the signal through it. Hence, the energy of EM signals, absorbed by tissue, may damage the tissue. To avoid this, the operated frequency of the system should be considered carefully [7] . However, the human body consists of about 65%-70% of water. Therefore, the industrial specific medical (ISM) assigned the low frequency band to transmit power and data through the human body and should be lower than 20 MHz such as frequencies (125-134 kHz, 6.78 MHz and 13.56 MHz) which did not lose much of their energy through water, hence, not damage the tissue [8] .

The penetration of the electromagnetic (EM) waves will occur inside the biological tissues, such as skins, fat and muscles, to achieve an inductive connection link with the implanted part.

To avoid this, the operated frequency of the system should be considered carefully.

Therefore, the industrial specific medical (ISM) assigned the low frequency band to transmit power and data through the human body and should be lower than 20 MHz such as frequencies (125-134 kHz, 6.78 MHz and 13.56 MHz) which did not lose much of their energy through water, hence, not damage the tissue.


Humic substances are generally the hydrophobic fraction of NOM and exhibit relatively high specific ultraviolet absorbance (SUVA) values as they usually contain relatively large proportions of aromatic moieties (Chen et al., 2002) . Secondly, microbial by-products are composed of acids, with relatively high charge density, polysaccharides, amino sugars and proteins (Vanboon et al., 2005) . Finally, colloidal natural organic matter contains relatively polar amino sugars and may exhibit high membrane fouling potential due to its neutrality.

Humic substances are generally the hydrophobic fraction of NOM and exhibit relatively high specific ultraviolet absorbance (SUVA) values as they usually contain relatively large proportions of aromatic moieties.

Secondly, microbial by-products are composed of acids, with relatively high charge density, polysaccharides, amino sugars and proteins.


Kuwait is a small open economy, rich in hydrocarbon resources with 9% of the world's reserves of oil and gas. Because of a growing economy, it has huge energy demands and energy requirements, mostly for electricity generation. Total electricity consumption has increased significantly over the past decade, from 17.66 TWh in 1995 to 32.94 TWh in 2005 to 50.57 TWh in 2015 (Enerdata, 2016 . The increasing domestic demand for energy, especially for electricity, may jeopardize Kuwait in terms of its future energy security. At 69.5 Mt of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per capita, Kuwait is considered one of the largest per capita CO2 emitters in the world (Hertog and Luciani, 2009) . A growing economy along with an increasingly wealthy population and harsh weather conditions are driving domestic electricity demand. As such, the sustainability of the energy systems in Kuwait is likely to be vulnerable if the anticipated energy crisis -in particular, the electricity crisis and CO2 emissions issues -are not addressed appropriately.

At 69.5 Mt of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per capita, Kuwait is considered one of the largest per capita CO2 emitters in the world.


For our experiments, co-training never led to a decrease in performance, regardless of the number of iterations. The opposite behaviour has been observed in other applications of co-training (Pierce and Cardie, 2001) . Whether this robustness is a property of the tagging problem or our approach is left for future work.

The opposite behaviour has been observed in other applications of co-training.


As expected fuel price is negatively associated with commuting emissions, but only in low-income districts (table S2) or specifically in Node 9 and 12 (table S3). With a 1 ₹ increase in diesel price, commuting emissions decrease by 11% in node 9, and 10% in node 8 (table S3), whereas aggregate 3% in lowincome districts (table S2). Given these districts have least commuting emissions and low socio-economic status (figure 2), our study finds limited support for increasing gasoline prices as a strategy to mitigate commuting emissions. Rather increasing gasoline price would burden mobility among low socioeconomic status' population. However, increasing transport fuel prices in Indian metropolitan areas has been identified as a strategy to improve public health (Ahmad et al 2017) .

However, increasing transport fuel prices in Indian metropolitan areas has been identified as a strategy to improve public health.


Developed at the Institute of Food Research (UK), the dynamic gastric model (DGM) is an in vitro system that automatically simulates human digestion for the first time from a realistic physiological perspective by accounting for the physical, mechanical and biochemical environment experienced in the stomach (Mercuri et al., 2011; Chessa et al., 2014) . To establish a reliable predictive relationship between DGM output and physiological stomach behaviour, some quantitative analysis of the device function is required. Motivated by this need, the present work establishes conditions relevant to the hydrodynamics of digestion insofar as they may lead to mixing and may be a precursor for turbulence.

Developed at the Institute of Food Research (UK), the dynamic gastric model (DGM) is an in vitro system that automatically simulates human digestion for the first time from a realistic physiological perspective by accounting for the physical, mechanical and biochemical environment experienced in the stomach.


It belongs to the Euphorbiaceae family; it is a native of Latin America and has been introduced in Africa and Asia through Portuguese traders (Jubera et al., 2008) . The plant is drought resistant, can grow on marginal lands and produce till 50 years (Heller, 1996) . It has multipurpose uses. The uses includes as anti erosive fence, its oil is used in soap manufacturing and many parts of the plant are used in traditional medicine. In addition to the above, J. curcas is being promoted for its seed oil (35 %) which can easily be converted to biofuel (Azam et al., 2005) . J. curcas has gained popularity all over the world in comparison to other tree-borne oil seed crops because of its better adaptation to a wide range of environmental conditions, low cost of seeds, high oil content, small gestation period and smaller plant size that makes the seed collection easier (Sujatha, 2006) .

It belongs to the Euphorbiaceae family; it is a native of Latin America and has been introduced in Africa and Asia through Portuguese traders.

The plant is drought resistant, can grow on marginal lands and produce till 50 years.

It has multipurpose uses.

In addition to the above, J. curcas is being promoted for its seed oil (35 %) which can easily be converted to biofuel.

J. curcas has gained popularity all over the world in comparison to other tree-borne oil seed crops because of its better adaptation to a wide range of environmental conditions, low cost of seeds, high oil content, small gestation period and smaller plant size that makes the seed collection easier.


As a general guide to preventing disproportionate or progressive collapse in the event of a critical local failure, a structure should be designed to possess an adequate degree of continuity and ductility, in addition to strength [1] [2] [3] . As far as a frame structure is concerned, the structural system should be able to bridge over the failed load-carrying member, particularly a failed column. Moment-resisting beam-column connections, which hold the critical path of the gravity load in a framed structure, are generally beneficial in terms of the structural redundancy [4] . After the removal of a column, a "double-span" scenario arises, and the soundness of the affected moment connections will play a central role in withstanding and redistributing the gravity loads from the upper storeys over the emerged double-span [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] . In this process, the connection(s) and the adjoining members will typically experience an intensified flexural action stage, followed by a catenary action phase as the deflection in the double span becomes large.

As a general guide to preventing disproportionate or progressive collapse in the event of a critical local failure, a structure should be designed to possess an adequate degree of continuity and ductility, in addition to strength.

Moment-resisting beam-column connections, which hold the critical path of the gravity load in a framed structure, are generally beneficial in terms of the structural redundancy.

After the removal of a column, a "double-span" scenario arises, and the soundness of the affected moment connections will play a central role in withstanding and redistributing the gravity loads from the upper storeys over the emerged double-span.


We propose a machine learning approach to modeling and monitoring the readability of search result summaries. Our approach is as follows. We collect a corpus of search result summaries and corresponding human judgments as described above. The judgments are from 1-5 where 1 is poor and 5 is good. Then we extract various features from the summaries and model the judgments as function of the features. The modeling itself is done using stochastic gradient boosted decision trees (GBDT) [8, 9] . This model is then used for rating a collection of new search result summaries.

Our approach is as follows.

The modeling itself is done using stochastic gradient boosted decision trees (GBDT).


We take the approach that the features available in technology tools should give students and teachers opportunities to explore problems in a way that is not scripted or funneled, and where various features provide a support structure for active reflection on actions and results. By that we mean that the decisions students make about how to proceed with the solution process are not predetermined, yet there are features in the technology tool that provide feedback for student reflection. This is in contrast to software of the computer-aided instruction genre in which students' problem solving processes are often structured with prompts and requested inputs. Aligned with our view, we believe a technology tool should add value to students' problem solving by providing more control to the student. However, how one perceives the value added to a students' problem solving is related to one's epistemological and pedagogical beliefs about mathematics and problem solving (Schoenfeld, 1992) .

However, how one perceives the value added to a students' problem solving is related to one's epistemological and pedagogical beliefs about mathematics and problem solving.


In this study, GPU performance benefits are discussed for a Monte-Carlo simulation of sea ice loads. Specific ice parameters were selected for demonstrative purposes, which allow the engineering designers to have a better understanding of those factors. The speedups attainable with different types of GPUs for sea ice load by using Monte-Carlo simulation is tremendous, and the elapsed time is reduced signifantly. It should be mentioned that while we have used CUDA to implement the parallel algorithm, the results are not specific to this method or to GPUs. There exist many-core processor markets with different devices and architectures, which take advantage of this improvement [15] .

There exist many-core processor markets with different devices and architectures, which take advantage of this improvement.


The present study demonstrated a significant speedup of a standard code for Monte-Carlo simulation of sea ice load on a GPU by using CUDA programming over CPU implementations. Also, there is another article related to GPUaccelerated Monte-Carlo simulation of Brownian motors dynamics with CUDA that brought speedup of about 3,000 compared to typical CPU. The significant speedup that came after using different types of GPUs expands the range of problems solvable by using probabilistic simulations [18] .

The significant speedup that came after using different types of GPUs expands the range of problems solvable by using probabilistic simulations.


Regarding the actual categorization, each comment was included in only one category, based on coder judgments about which category the comment best fit (Weber, 1990) . Coders were instructed to let the comments drive the categorization rather than rely on their beliefs about what the comments might mean or may imply. The level of analysis of the coding was the individual respondent. The entire length of an individual's comment, be this a sentence or a paragraph, was treated as one thought-unit. The most categories represented by a given employee's response was three (i.e., because employees were asked to list at least three different concerns). After a first round of independent rating, in which all comments were categorized according to the eight categories, there was substantial disagreement in categorizations concerning one category. This led to the dropping of this category and re-coding all of the comments originally categorized under it into the remaining categories.

Regarding the actual categorization, each comment was included in only one category, based on coder judgments about which category the comment best fit.


Although evolutionary algorithms were shown to be extremely effective, these techniques require their numerous parameters to be given prior to the optimization, which is difficult in practice. These algorithms need to be run multiple times in a very time-consuming tuning process to find the most appropriate set of parameter values. Due to the difficulty of the VRPTW, it became a significant disadvantage of the mentioned GAs and MAs. This issue was initially addressed in our preliminary study which showed that adapting MA parameters using basic mechanisms helps improve its convergence capabilities (Nalepa 2014) . In this paper, we propose a new adaptive memetic algorithm.

This issue was initially addressed in our preliminary study which showed that adapting MA parameters using basic mechanisms helps improve its convergence capabilities.


Advanced OFDMA mobile systems, such as LTE and WiMAX, have to meet the challenges of achieving higher spectral efficiency and ability to operate in harsh environments. Usually high spectral efficiency in such systems is achieved by tightly squeezing subcarriers into a limited bandwidth [1] . This in turn implies that, when operating in a high-mobility scenario, for example on a high-speed vehicle, the channel exhibits fast fading and the signal experiences channel variation within one OFDMA symbol. Consequently, the channel frequency response (CFR) matrix in the transmission model is no longer diagonal, and off-diagonal terms contribute to severe intercarrier interference (ICI). As a result, a serious performance degradation may ensue if ICI is left untreated.

Usually high spectral efficiency in such systems is achieved by tightly squeezing subcarriers into a limited bandwidth.


Since inflation model building continues and there is so far no hard theory limit on the range of α allowed by any conceivable model of inflation, we adopt the parameterization of eq. (1.9) to study observational constraints on A NL and α using data from LRGs and quasars in the SDSS-III Data Release Eight (DR8) sample [9, [87] [88] [89] . We use these constraints to infer what current LSS observations tell us about the initial conditions in the very early Universe, and inflationary mechanisms for generating them. We also perform a Fisher matrix analysis to assess how much better could a survey of a similar volume as DR8 do, in the absence of any systematic uncertainties in the data.

Since inflation model building continues and there is so far no hard theory limit on the range of α allowed by any conceivable model of inflation, we adopt the parameterization of eq. (1.9) to study observational constraints on A NL and α using data from LRGs and quasars in the SDSS-III Data Release Eight (DR8) sample.


Unlike the analytical and practical interest, the problem of bonded anisotropic sectors with an interface crack has not been treated, because of analytical difficulties. The analysis of anisotropic sector with a radial crack under anti-plane shear loading is the subject of the present investigation. The anti-plane shear tractions act on the edges of the bi-material sector and a traction-free condition is prescribed on the arc segment of the sector. The tractions are assumed to act concentrically which allows the solutions to be used as the Green's function for the analysis of a sector under general distribution of traction. The major task of this paper is to express the prescribed boundary condition on the crack region in the form of a singular integral equation. For this purpose, a novel mathematical technique is employed for the solution of the problem. This technique consists of the use of some recently proposed finite complex transforms (Shahani, 1999) . To formulate the mixed boundary value problem corresponding to the presence of the crack, the attempt is made to extract an equation in the form of a standard singular integral equation which is done in this paper by describing an exact analytical method. The resultant singular integral equation is solved numerically to determine the stress intensity factors at the crack tips. In the special cases, the obtained results coincide with those published in the literature.

This technique consists of the use of some recently proposed finite complex transforms.


It would be natural, therefore, to conclude that a contest designer should aim to level the playing field, since it will make the contestants exert more effort. Handicapping -where stronger participants are a priori weakened -is one such tool that is widely used in sports, promotional tournaments and other types of contests. Firms that use contests as a motivational tool often handicap those of superior ability, or give head-starts to those with inferior ability. Similarly, expenditure in political campaigns is often capped -thereby handicapping the candidate with the richest connections (Che and Gale (1998) ). It is also common to observe handicapping of an outsider in a local procurement auction, or in internal promo-tional tournaments (Chan (1996) ). One extreme policy used to handicap the most efficient players is to exclude them altogether (Baye et al. (1993) ). All these designs are implemented essentially to 'level the playing field' for all the participants, to rescale the ex-ante likelihood of winning for all the participants, and to incentivize participants to exert higher levels of efforts in the contest. In sports this is known as 'competitive balance' and is an important component when designing sports tournaments (Fort and Maxcy (2003) ).

Similarly, expenditure in political campaigns is often capped -thereby handicapping the candidate with the richest connections).

It is also common to observe handicapping of an outsider in a local procurement auction, or in internal promo-tional tournaments).

One extreme policy used to handicap the most efficient players is to exclude them altogether).

In sports this is known as 'competitive balance' and is an important component when designing sports tournaments).


Efficient hospital management may lead to a deduction in the administration costs and reductions of progressive loans (Cline and Luiz 2013) . The proposed solution to manage the stock more efficient is the kanban logic (Jaana et al. 2011) . In a hospital in Seville, Spain, the adoption of the kanban system facilitates the order systems in the hospital. Therefore, it can be said that it helps to improve the managerial system. It shortens the time needed to order the materials in the hospital.

Efficient hospital management may lead to a deduction in the administration costs and reductions of progressive loans.

The proposed solution to manage the stock more efficient is the kanban logic.


The information and communication technologies used by all types of healthcare providers facilitate the electronic capture, storage of different kinds of patient data and also allows to share these data. It could be used to detect diseases at earlier stages, to manage specific individual and population health, and to detect healthcare fraud more efficiently (Raghupathi and Raghupathi 2014) . Even though the information and communication technologies make the work easier, and healthcare professionals do not use all of its potential. Healthcare organisations are noticeably lagging behind in the adoption of these technologies (Tole 2013) . There are the barriers associated with the implementation of a healthcare information system. These barriers are usually connected to the organisational management and the interrelations (Lluch 2011) .

It could be used to detect diseases at earlier stages, to manage specific individual and population health, and to detect healthcare fraud more efficiently.

Healthcare organisations are noticeably lagging behind in the adoption of these technologies.

These barriers are usually connected to the organisational management and the interrelations.


The healthcare facility information system may become a useful instrument for knowing how to deal with a growing number of patients. It allows for managing operations including admissions and transfers, and the results of the laboratory test, and so on. The information system in the hospital may decrease the amount of work and, in this way, be able to assist in reducing the costs linked to these kinds of operations (Sharon Ross and Venkatesh 2016) .

The information system in the hospital may decrease the amount of work and, in this way, be able to assist in reducing the costs linked to these kinds of operations.


In Poland, the usage of databases to collect information about patients is inevitable. The healthcare facilities in the Slovak Republic plan to invest in hardware equipment for data storage in the future. More than half of the hospitals do not have the central databases to store data. Without an appropriate data storage system, the data analysis cannot be provided efficiently enough to be beneficial. Even the general results show that innovating organisations have become leaders of their own sectors, but not all employees would agree with that. All of the respondents agree that innovation has a high cost in Poland. There is also a similar situation in the Slovak Republic. However, the innovation is not declared to be so significant, and hence, the cost devoted to it at such a level is not considered to be important. That is why a lesser amount of money is devoted to this activity in the Slovak Republic. The cost of innovation is a basic obstacle that negatively affects the adoption and the implementation of the innovative practices and activities in hospitals (Piasecka et al. 2015) .

The cost of innovation is a basic obstacle that negatively affects the adoption and the implementation of the innovative practices and activities in hospitals.


The fundamental analytic approach is the self-organising map or is sometimes called the self-organising feature map. It is a type of artificial neural network, displaying a discrete representation of the input database. In this case, the two-dimensional method has been selected. The rectangular shape of the self-organising maps has been applied (Kohonen 1982) .

The rectangular shape of the self-organising maps has been applied.


Each material/geometry/speed/load combination was only tested once. Consequently, these results must be seen as indicative, not having statistical confirmation, although previous results of gear power loss tests following identical experimental procedure have shown very high repeatability. Gear power loss was evaluated using lubricant steady-state temperature measurements at constant torque and speed. This procedure is very efficient when comparing different gear geometries if the remaining parameters remain unchanged [14] . Nevertheless, a better assessment would be obtained if the FZG test rig was equipped with a torque sensor, in order to measure the torque loss under steadystate or transient conditions.

This procedure is very efficient when comparing different gear geometries if the remaining parameters remain unchanged.


Previously, by using chemical bath deposition (CBD) at the operating temperature of 70-95 • C, we were able to grow ZnO NWLs vertically on Al (covered) substrates or contacts, with an intertwined, honeycomb-like pattern and c-axes parallel to the substrates, producing a huge surface-to-volume ratio and extremely thin wall thicknesses [8] . We used ZnO NWLs as the sensitive element in a fully flexible pH sensor based on an extended gate thin film transistor fabricated on a flexible polymeric substrate [9] . The ZnO NWLs based sensor showed an ideal Nernstian response to pH variation (~59 mV/pH) demonstrating the great potentialities of the nanostructure deposited at low temperature.

Previously, by using chemical bath deposition (CBD) at the operating temperature of 70-95 • C, we were able to grow ZnO NWLs vertically on Al (covered) substrates or contacts, with an intertwined, honeycomb-like pattern and c-axes parallel to the substrates, producing a huge surface-to-volume ratio and extremely thin wall thicknesses.

We used ZnO NWLs as the sensitive element in a fully flexible pH sensor based on an extended gate thin film transistor fabricated on a flexible polymeric substrate.


In this paper, the electrical and sensing properties of the fabricated sensor were investigated by measuring the changes of electrical resistance upon exposure to carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ). The monitoring of CO and NO 2 level is of utmost importance in many applicative fields; for example, the monitoring of these gaseous substances at very low concentrations in air is essential for the environmental control [15] . CO is a gas produced during incomplete combustion and it is toxic at very low concentrations. NO 2 is another environmental pollutant arising from combustion facilities, and NO 2 emitted from automobiles and various industrial processes has become in recent years a crucial environmental issue. High concentrations of these pollutants can create a serious hazard for the health and should be continuously monitored and controlled. The concentrations of pollutants to be monitored in air are in the range 5-50 ppm for CO whereas levels of NO 2 are in the sub-ppm range. In confined environments, such as automotive cabin, garage parking or tunnels, these values were also found to be remarkably higher. Therefore, there is a strong demand for developing high performance sensors for monitoring CO and NO 2 [15, 16] .

The monitoring of CO and NO 2 level is of utmost importance in many applicative fields; for example, the monitoring of these gaseous substances at very low concentrations in air is essential for the environmental control.

Therefore, there is a strong demand for developing high performance sensors for monitoring CO and NO 2.


Among the various typologies of ZnO nanostructures, nanowalls (ZnO NWLs) have attracted increasing interest because of their huge surface-to-volume ratio and extremely thin wall thicknesses [2] . These particular nanostructures can be prepared by different methods, both in liquid and gas phase [3] [4] [5] . While gas phase deposition techniques typically require an operating temperature higher than 800 • C, several chemical methods based on aqueous zinc solutions allow the preparation of ZnO NWLs below 100 • C with good structural quality and reproducibility, ensuring also the chance to use a plastic substrate for flexible purposes [6, 7] .

Among the various typologies of ZnO nanostructures, nanowalls (ZnO NWLs) have attracted increasing interest because of their huge surface-to-volume ratio and extremely thin wall thicknesses.

These particular nanostructures can be prepared by different methods, both in liquid and gas phase.

While gas phase deposition techniques typically require an operating temperature higher than 800 • C, several chemical methods based on aqueous zinc solutions allow the preparation of ZnO NWLs below 100 • C with good structural quality and reproducibility, ensuring also the chance to use a plastic substrate for flexible purposes.


One of the major problems in industries that involve crane operations is payload oscillations in point-to-point crane maneuvers. Many control techniques have been developed in the past few decades to reduce these residual oscillations. Point-to-point maneuvers of cranes pose a major challenge to crane controller designers. A large bulk of research have been devoted to dynamics and control of cranes [1] . The main objective of such research is to eliminate the travel and residual oscillations and/or reduce maneuvers time.

A large bulk of research have been devoted to dynamics and control of cranes.


Other types of command shapers were used in the literature. A new single stage variable acceleration profile was introduced by Alhazza and Masoud [17] . They successfully eliminated travel and residual payload oscillations of an overhead crane. Their approach resulted in an acceleration profile which was smoother compared to the double-step acceleration profile. Their work was later extended to include the effect of damping [18] . Numerical simulations and experiments proved that the proposed profiles were capable of eliminating residual oscillations for different damping ratios [19] .

A new single stage variable acceleration profile was introduced by Alhazza and Masoud.

Their work was later extended to include the effect of damping.

Numerical simulations and experiments proved that the proposed profiles were capable of eliminating residual oscillations for different damping ratios.


Massive payloads are generally transferred using cranes. Inefficient crane operations can cause substantial production delays, devastating property damage, and even loss of lives. To maintain fast and safe crane operations, many feedback and feedforward control techniques were proposed. Researchers have successfully used feedback for oscillation control of cranes [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] . Although feedback controllers can effectively reduce residual oscillations, these controllers may require installation of additional hardware on the crane or in some cases alteration to the existing system. These changes may be costly or impractical.

Researchers have successfully used feedback for oscillation control of cranes.


To overcome such disadvantages of feedback controllers, open-loop techniques are becoming more popular especially in point-to-point maneuvers. Input-shaping crane control strategy is considered one of the most commonly used openloop techniques and it can be defined as a method of reducing residual oscillations by convolving a sequence of impulses with a baseline reference command [8] [9] [10] . If the baseline command is constant, then the produced command is an input-shaped step function.

Input-shaping crane control strategy is considered one of the most commonly used openloop techniques and it can be defined as a method of reducing residual oscillations by convolving a sequence of impulses with a baseline reference command.


New line of research has emerged recently on command shaping for double pendulum models of cranes. The interest in such research is due to the fact that the mass of the hook used, in heavy lift cranes, can be so large that the payload and the hoisting mechanism may exhibit a double pendulum behavior [22, 23] . In such application, designing a control system using a simple pendulum model suffers a major drawback due to the uncontrolled second mode oscillations. Such control systems may even induce larger second mode oscillation amplitude.

The interest in such research is due to the fact that the mass of the hook used, in heavy lift cranes, can be so large that the payload and the hoisting mechanism may exhibit a double pendulum behavior.


Slander was a nearly ubiquitous form of perceived discrimination. Only 5% of the sample reported never having witnessed anti-atheist rhetoric in print or television media, suggesting that participants found media messages denigrating atheism to be widespread. It was also relatively common for participants to report that they were told their atheism is an immoral choice, reminiscent of the messages directed at LGB's regarding the "immorality" of their sexual desires and/or choices. In the LGB literature, it is thought that exposure to such microassaults can contribute to internalized negative social attitudes towards the self (Meyer, 2003) . Whether and how such a process occurs within atheists are questions for future research.

In the LGB literature, it is thought that exposure to such microassaults can contribute to internalized negative social attitudes towards the self.


Urbanization, which refers to the increasing amount of people that live in urban areas, is a key index to measure the modernization, industrialization and sociological processes in a country [1] . There are, however, many definitions for urbanization [2] [3] [4] . The urbanization that is currently taking place in China, for instance, is classified as accelerated development [5] . The number and scale of cities has dramatically increased in China, an event which is unprecedented in human history [6] . As a result, the central government has taken urbanization as a key strategy for the country's development in the Eleventh and Twelfth five-year plans [7] .

Urbanization, which refers to the increasing amount of people that live in urban areas, is a key index to measure the modernization, industrialization and sociological processes in a country.

There are, however, many definitions for urbanization.

The urbanization that is currently taking place in China, for instance, is classified as accelerated development.

The number and scale of cities has dramatically increased in China, an event which is unprecedented in human history.

As a result, the central government has taken urbanization as a key strategy for the country's development in the Eleventh and Twelfth five-year plans.


The titration endpoints determined by the SPJ streaming potential method differed by a factor of three or four, compared to endpoints determined by micro-electrophoresis of filtrate obtained during the same SPJ tests. These results are in qualitative agreement with earlier studies [9, 32] . The phenomenon is attributed to a much higher surface area per unit mass of fine material, allowing the fines to more quickly become saturated with titrant that is diffusing at a given rate from the bulk solution to all of the surfaces. It is proposed that the longer fibers, which mainly are sensed by the fiber-pad streaming potential tests, maintain a net negative electrokinetic charge at higher titrant addition levels to mixed furnish because of continual diffusion of the polyelectrolytes into the fine pores in the cell walls.

These results are in qualitative agreement with earlier studies.


The microelectrophoresis method was used for reference data. Microelectrophoresis has a more extensive and proven theoretical basis, compared to streaming potential tests [13, [36] [37] . Micro-electrophoresis also has been used by previous authors for determination of titration endpoints [6, [44] [45] . Despite its use here as a reference method, microelectrophoresis is not necessarily an ideal method for charge measurement of papermaking furnish. Factors tending to make microelectrophoresis less suitable for routine use in papermaking operations include its restrictions of particle size, a need for high dilution, and a high requirements for user skill and maintenance time. Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of electronic components of the experimental system. The four main parts of the SPJ system are: (1) a computer equipped with a plugin data acquisition (DAQ) board, a general purpose interface bus (GPIB), and an AT serial card; (2) such commercial devices as a digital millivolt meter, a conductivity meter, a turbidity meter, and a pH meter, each with a probe or transducer to connect it to the wetted parts of the equipment; (3) the wet-end process itself, i.e. the streaming potential jar; and (4) signal conditioning. The system was controlled by LabVIEW (Laboratory Virtual Instrument Engineering Workbench). Like C or Basic, this is a general-purpose programming system with extensive libraries of functions. Measurements included streaming potential, filtrate mass (for drainage), turbidity (related to retention), conductivity, and pH. Data were collected and then output to the computer display.

Microelectrophoresis has a more extensive and proven theoretical basis, compared to streaming potential tests.

Micro-electrophoresis also has been used by previous authors for determination of titration endpoints.


Compared to various other electrokinetic tests that have been used by papermakers, fiber-pad streaming potential tests offer some potential advantages. For one thing, the tests can be carried out with undiluted fiber slurry samples taken directly from a papermaking process [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] . Also, it is a potential advantage that the streaming potential signals originate at the surfaces of solids in the sample itself, not at a secondary surface as in the case of streaming current tests [19] . Because the measurements don't involve light, there is no concern about focusing or the contamination of windows.

For one thing, the tests can be carried out with undiluted fiber slurry samples taken directly from a papermaking process.

Also, it is a potential advantage that the streaming potential signals originate at the surfaces of solids in the sample itself, not at a secondary surface as in the case of streaming current tests.


The freshwater fish genus Astyanax (Pisces, Characiformes) is widely distributed over the Neotropical region. It comprises more than one hundred nominal species and subspecies, many of which undescribed so far (Garutti and Britski, 1997) . In view of the number of species, distribution and taxonomy, Astyanax has been considered one of the most complex genera of characids in South America, (Zanata, 1995) .

It comprises more than one hundred nominal species and subspecies, many of which undescribed so far.

In view of the number of species, distribution and taxonomy, Astyanax has been considered one of the most complex genera of characids in South America.


Portholes is a distributed media space that supports awareness between distributed work groups through access to information such as who is around, what activities are happening, who is talking to whom (Dourish & Bly, 1992) . Portholes gives a "porthole" view into the workspaces of collaborating colleagues by displaying many concurrent videos, in real-time, in offices and common areas. The leads to informal interactions, spontaneous connections and development of shared cultures -important aspects of the social cohesion in the workplace. From portholes we are interested in the strengthening of work group culture through being aware of what others are doing, and the facilitation of adhoc, informal "corridor" type meetings.

Portholes is a distributed media space that supports awareness between distributed work groups through access to information such as who is around, what activities are happening, who is talking to whom.


In an effort to reduce postoperative morbidity, many gynecologists have focused on surgical approaches that protect the pelvic nerves that can be damaged during RH. The first approach, called nerve-sparing radical hysterectomy (NSRH), was invented by Japanese gynecologists. NSRH has been adopted and developed over the last 20 years by surgical schools around the world [6] [7] [8] .

NSRH has been adopted and developed over the last 20 years by surgical schools around the world.


Over the past decade, heat dissipation in microprocessors has more than doubled [1] . The trend of electronic device miniaturization and increasing power density results in very high localised heat fluxes, this presents a thermal bottleneck in the electronics component cooling sector [2] . The basic requirement for a thermal management system is to efficiently dissipate heat from a heated surface to ensure safe operating conditions, as thermal overstressing is one of the major causes for failure of electronic devices [3] . However, as form factors of electronic devices decrease in size, there is an increase in the demand for confined space thermal management solutions.

Over the past decade, heat dissipation in microprocessors has more than doubled.

The trend of electronic device miniaturization and increasing power density results in very high localised heat fluxes, this presents a thermal bottleneck in the electronics component cooling sector.

The basic requirement for a thermal management system is to efficiently dissipate heat from a heated surface to ensure safe operating conditions, as thermal overstressing is one of the major causes for failure of electronic devices.


It is evidence that Good corporate governance provides the ability to improve competitive advantage, efficiency and effectiveness of companies (Maher and Anderson, 1999) . As a result, stakeholders have begun to realise the importance of good corporate governance practices in protecting their interests. The empirical work on corporate governance and its impact on firm performance has growing remarkably in recent years especially in developing countries. There are little research has looked at corporate governance in developing countries such as Ghana. Previous studies also provide mixed findings on the directions of causality between corporate governance and firm performance. In this context, this paper attempt to examine the relationship between corporate governance and firm performance in Ghana. The Ghanaian business environment is characterised by a good level of growth and further growth is expected because of the recent discovery of oil in the country. This has resulted in the increased awareness of the effects of corporate governance on the performance of firms in Ghana. The study adopts a longitudinal and cross-sectional data set of 20 sampled companies over a period of 5 years. Our findings are useful for the policy community who are concerned with the impact of governance structure on corporate disclosure.

It is evidence that Good corporate governance provides the ability to improve competitive advantage, efficiency and effectiveness of companies.


Since processing tasks via crowdworking platforms has become increasingly popular in the last years, we assume that this development will continue and these intermediaries will enhance their importance for economies. In this context, future research might consider the crowdworking environment also from a service system's perspective ( [20] , [18] ). It is in any case worth putting more research effort in an area where research gaps seem to exist. This is especially true for the evaluation of crowdworking platforms that enable the simultaneous management of external and internal crowds. And the question, what impact the processing of tasks on such platforms has on efficiency, quality, speed and especially the performance of complex work (and to develop corresponding business models [19] ). We plan to further deepen our findings in our future research.

In this context, future research might consider the crowdworking environment also from a service system's perspective (,).

And the question, what impact the processing of tasks on such platforms has on efficiency, quality, speed and especially the performance of complex work (and to develop corresponding business models).


However, even though they are a constituent element of the relationship described above, these platforms have not been investigated in information systems (IS) research very intensively so far [27] . Furthermore, most of the current platforms focus either on managing external (i.e., crowds outside the legal borders of a company) or internal (i.e., crowds inside the legal borders of a company/employees) groups. Platforms that enable to manage both groups simultaneously are according to the best of our knowledge rare. The same is true for hybrid models combining individualized "mini crowdworking platforms" with a general marketplace crowdworking platform. This case study aims at shedding light on this issue and at offering first insights.

However, even though they are a constituent element of the relationship described above, these platforms have not been investigated in information systems (IS) research very intensively so far.


The management of environmental variation has a close analogy in engineering: robust control. Robust control refers to the maintenance of performance (e.g. the ability to feed a population) when a system is subjected to external perturbations (e.g. highly variable rainfall in space and time). However, as is well known in engineering, a system cannot be robust to arbitrary parameter variations and all classes of disturbances (Balas et al., 1991; Boyd and Barratt, 1991; Gilbert and Kolmanovsky, 1999; Zhou and Doyle, 1998; Carlson and Doyle, 2002) . Thus, in developing mechanisms to address an existing suite of environmental disturbances, society necessarily becomes vulnerable to other disturbances. This emergent vulnerability is not necessarily a problem as society may choose to enhance robustness to what it perceives as the most important class of disturbances and accept vulnerabilities to others. This weighting process is fundamental to engineering practice where realistic objectives and design specifications are matched to critical nominal performance (speed, cost) versus robustness trade-offs. Unfortunately, navigating such robustness-vulnerability trade-offs is complicated by the instability of the class of disturbances society faces. Socialecological systems are typically more complex than engineered systems and can exhibit unexpected and catastrophic changes in behavior (Scheffer et al., 2001) . Actions directed at enhancing robustness to a particular class of disturbances may induce changes in ecological dynamics that may, in turn, drastically alter the entire suite of disturbances society faces.

However, as is well known in engineering, a system cannot be robust to arbitrary parameter variations and all classes of disturbances.

Socialecological systems are typically more complex than engineered systems and can exhibit unexpected and catastrophic changes in behavior.


Irrigated agriculture is one of the most common means to manage resource variability. It has been suggested that problems associated with operating and maintaining irrigation systems has been a major factor in the evolution of complex societies (Wittfogel, 1957) . Un-fortunately, irrigation systems frequently fail to sustain higher, less variable yields over long periods. The social system underpinned by irrigated agriculture then "fails" in the sense that social complexity declines, physical infrastructure deteriorates and, in some cases, is completely abandoned. Considerable empirical analysis has been aimed at identifying principles that help distinguish between systems that fail from those that are long-lived (Ostrom, 1990; Webb, 1991; Lam, 1998; Guillet, 1992; Ostrom, 1999) . The analysis carried out in this paper is an effort to complement this empirical work.

It has been suggested that problems associated with operating and maintaining irrigation systems has been a major factor in the evolution of complex societies.

Considerable empirical analysis has been aimed at identifying principles that help distinguish between systems that fail from those that are long-lived.