Typical SOA modelling lifecycles include the phases of service identification, service specification, and service realization (Arsanjani, 2004) . Our research emphasizes the importance of the service identification phase for defining the right service because mistakes made here can lead the overall failure of the resulting SOA-based system. The success critically depends on the correct identification, presentation and definition of the key services, because the exposed functionalities in a service define the service granularity. It is important to appreciate that achieving an optimal level of service granularity requires a compromise between many elements, both technical and non-technical. In particular, the optimal granularity of key services can be expected to vary at various layers with different service types or service layers (Reldin et al, 2007; Ramollari et al, 2007) .

Typical SOA modelling lifecycles include the phases of service identification, service specification, and service realization.

In particular, the optimal granularity of key services can be expected to vary at various layers with different service types or service layers.


It is impossible to change all the existing spectrum management policies at once. One practical approach is to utilize the spectrum resource more efficiently without interfere with the licensed users. The cognitive radio may make it become reality. As cognitive radio is first promoted at the end of 20th century, it has now been widely regarded as the foundation as next generation of wireless network. Now it has driven many research works focuses on the area of cognitive radio and open spectrum network [2] .

Now it has driven many research works focuses on the area of cognitive radio and open spectrum network.


Traditionally, engineering approaches were employed to predict the future demand manually with the help of charts and tables. These traditional methods mainly considered weather impacts as well as calendar effects. Nowadays, these features are still determined for developing load models with novel methods [2] .

Nowadays, these features are still determined for developing load models with novel methods.


Reliability of wireless communication largely depends on the environment and the communication medium. The medium in the case of IBSN is the body itself, which is conductive with varying permittivity and permeability and largely affects the propagation of the electromagnetic waves. The physical layer (PHY) and the medium access control layer (MAC) of implant communication are standardized by the IEEE 802.15 task group 6 [13] . A frequency band called Medical Implant Communication Service (MICS) is introduced, which operates at 402-405 MHz for implant communication [13] . MICS band is used by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI).

The physical layer (PHY) and the medium access control layer (MAC) of implant communication are standardized by the IEEE 802.15 task group 6.

A frequency band called Medical Implant Communication Service (MICS) is introduced, which operates at 402-405 MHz for implant communication.


The antenna used for IBSN is limited in size and the RF propagation is not trivial inside the body [18] . The communication channel inside the body is completely different from that in the free space because of the tissue properties. Furthermore, the directivity of the antenna is a challenge because the properties of the body tissues influence the antenna radiation pattern. Channel characteristics provided in the IEEE 802.15.6 standard do not clearly indicate the characteristics of the antenna in the path loss model. Furthermore, it is unclear whether antenna matching has been applied when obtaining the channel model in the IEEE 802.15.6 standard [18] .

The antenna used for IBSN is limited in size and the RF propagation is not trivial inside the body.

Furthermore, it is unclear whether antenna matching has been applied when obtaining the channel model in the IEEE 802.15.6 standard.


It is a clinical challenge to estimate patients' prognosis after radical primary treatment of RCC. Novel prognostic tools are needed to identify patients with high-risk characteristics and to develop strategies for follow-up of this increasing patient group [1] . The most powerful known independent prognostic factors are clinical stage and histological grade even though candidates for prognostic and predictive factors have been actively investigated [1, 5] . The aim of the present study was to investigate if serum levels of YKL-40 are associated with the prognosis of renal cell carcinoma.

Novel prognostic tools are needed to identify patients with high-risk characteristics and to develop strategies for follow-up of this increasing patient group.

The most powerful known independent prognostic factors are clinical stage and histological grade even though candidates for prognostic and predictive factors have been actively investigated.


Recently, a fixed-complexity sphere decoder (FSD) has been proposed to solve the variable complexity problem of SD [7] . The algorithm used an ordering process to determine the order of symbols to be detected and then enumerated different numbers of candidates for each symbol. Then it calculated the Euclidean distances between the received signal and all the vector combinations of these candidates and chose the vector with the smallest Euclidean distance as the detected symbol. Since the FSD searches for the candidates in a processive way rather than a recursive way as in SD, the detection complexity is fixed for all SNRs.

Recently, a fixed-complexity sphere decoder (FSD) has been proposed to solve the variable complexity problem of SD.


In order to prove the main result, Theorem 21, we investigate the spectral properties of idempotent cyclic projectors. By idempotent cyclic projectors we mean finite compositions of certain nonlinear projectors on idempotent semimodules. The continuity and homogeneity of these nonlinear projectors enables us to apply to their compositions, i.e. to the cyclic projectors, some results from non-linear Perron-Frobenius theory. The main idea is to prove the equivalence of the following three statements: 1) that the semimodules have trivial intersection, 2) that the separating halfspaces exist, and 3) that the spectral radius of the associated cyclic projector is strictly less than 1. This equivalence is established in Theorems 16 and 19, which deal with the special case of archimedean semimodules, i.e. semimodules containing at least one positive vector. As an ingredient of the proof, we use a nonlinear extension of Collatz-Wielandt's theorem obtained by R.D. Nussbaum [18] . To derive the main separation result, Theorem 21, we show that for any collection of trivially intersecting semimodules, there is a collection of trivially intersecting archimedean semimodules, such that every semimodule from the first collection is contained in an archimedean semimodule from the second collection.

As an ingredient of the proof, we use a nonlinear extension of Collatz-Wielandt's theorem obtained by R.D. Nussbaum.


The combined method presented here, involving both kyphoplasty and percutaneous osteosynthesis, therefore provides a useful strategy for dealing with Magerl A3 type burst fractures not associated with neurological deficits. After undergoing this minimally invasive surgery (Fig. 5) , patients are able to return home quickly after a mean hospital stay of only 4.5 days compared to 10.1 days in the case of patients treated via the posterior pathway and 7.2 days in patients treated via the anterior approach [3] . However, length of stay and the time of resuming work must be considered with caution due to various factors like organization of medical system or insurance reimbursement system that may influence these parameters. It is also possible to perform hardware removal through a minimally invasive approach and we recommend it especially in young patients to preserve mobility of adjacent levels.

After undergoing this minimally invasive surgery (Fig. 5) , patients are able to return home quickly after a mean hospital stay of only 4.5 days compared to 10.1 days in the case of patients treated via the posterior pathway and 7.2 days in patients treated via the anterior approach.


The welfare topic tended to produce the most discussion. Self-reported engagement correlated well with utterances, but neither correlated significantly with any GSR measures. Maximum change in GSR from baseline appeared to be the most robust psychophysiological measure. As expected, participants in the CR condition produced significantly more utterances but, unexpectedly, they also had significantly higher average maximum GSR changes during discussion than those working under MR [1] .

As expected, participants in the CR condition produced significantly more utterances but, unexpectedly, they also had significantly higher average maximum GSR changes during discussion than those working under MR.


Consider that while consensus seeking reduces the costs of entering a discussion, the inability to openly disagree with peers leads to endless discussion, reducing the likelihood of finding a problem solution; worse, a minority in a dictatorship can exploit the consensus process by always rejecting disagreeable points of view, thereby suppressing the beliefs of a majority [8] . This result suggests how autocratically operated businesses can be led astray. However, under democratic decision making, people are more willing to engage in conflict to debate an issue, thereby raising the costs of entering a debate, but consequently producing more efficient and effective decision-making [9] .

Consider that while consensus seeking reduces the costs of entering a discussion, the inability to openly disagree with peers leads to endless discussion, reducing the likelihood of finding a problem solution; worse, a minority in a dictatorship can exploit the consensus process by always rejecting disagreeable points of view, thereby suppressing the beliefs of a majority.

However, under democratic decision making, people are more willing to engage in conflict to debate an issue, thereby raising the costs of entering a debate, but consequently producing more efficient and effective decision-making.


With the three-person format, the two decision rules appeared to produce different levels of participant engagement, but the overall amount of discussion was not as great as desired. Also, we had no objective means of assessing the quality of the decisions that resulted other that by asking outside experts (and inter-rater assessments), motivating us to shift to larger groups and to use the Wason Selection Task, which has a rational solution [11] . In addition, we replaced the BIOPAC MP36 that we had used previously with the Affectiva QSensors wristband system with the band placed on the underside of the wrist of the dominant hand.

Also, we had no objective means of assessing the quality of the decisions that resulted other that by asking outside experts (and inter-rater assessments), motivating us to shift to larger groups and to use the Wason Selection Task, which has a rational solution.


Quercetin is a flavonoid found in fruits, vegetables and other medicinal and aromatic plants (Rupasinghe, 2008) . Its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities have been demonstrated in in vitro experiments. Due to its antioxidant activity, it can be used in fish oil storage in aquaculture (Nieto et al., 1993) .

Quercetin is a flavonoid found in fruits, vegetables and other medicinal and aromatic plants.

Due to its antioxidant activity, it can be used in fish oil storage in aquaculture.


In the first model, we included the full set of covariates mentioned previously, with prior achievement measured by the baseline CELDT score of the corresponding CELDT outcome variable (e.g., if the dependent variable was speaking, then the prior achievement was the previous year ' s speaking score). In the second model, we included the full set of covariates and the four baseline CELDT scores as a composite measurement of the student ' s prior English-language skills. Effect sizes were computed for outcome CELDT measures that showed a significant association with the TAP intervention. The formula used to compute effect sizes was Cohen ' s d , which indicates the standardized difference between means of different groups (Cohen, 1977 ) .

The formula used to compute effect sizes was Cohen ' s d , which indicates the standardized difference between means of different groups.


Among various recycling options of AD in literature, construction and building materials applications is one of the value-added options to end dumping (Mahinroosta & Allahverdi, 2018a) . Applicability in construction and building materials is in concrete production, alumina cement production, filler in asphalt, non-aerated concrete, concrete bricks and tiles (Mahinroosta & Allahverdi, 2018b) . Correspondingly, the authors noted volume of waste reduction, conforming disposal cost and diminished environmental pollution as benefits derivable from construction and building materials applications of dross. This suggests that any innovation in converting industrial waste to building material and components has the ability to improve the construction industry performance with reduced environmental impact.

Among various recycling options of AD in literature, construction and building materials applications is one of the value-added options to end dumping.

Applicability in construction and building materials is in concrete production, alumina cement production, filler in asphalt, non-aerated concrete, concrete bricks and tiles.


Furthermore, morphine dependence induced by repeated administration of morphine over 5 days can affect the consumption of a sucrose solution, and this may be closely correlated with the progression or exacerbation of motivation of drug reinforcement. Many studies have shown that a higher dose of morphine reduced intake of the sucrose in freefeeding rats [39] . Also, the morphine dependence greatly reduced intake of the saccharin or reduced the motivation to acquire the sucrose reinforcement when assessed in fooddeprived rats using a saccharin conditioned stimulus [39] . Impulsive choice or impulsivity can be defined as an exaggerated preference for small immediate rewards and can be measured in humans and animals using a discounting of morphine dependence. We observed that changes in sucrose consumption in dependent rats mirror changes in impulsivity. Dependent rats show both increased impulsivity and decreased sucrose consumption during dependence, but not after abstinence [40] .

Many studies have shown that a higher dose of morphine reduced intake of the sucrose in freefeeding rats.

Also, the morphine dependence greatly reduced intake of the saccharin or reduced the motivation to acquire the sucrose reinforcement when assessed in fooddeprived rats using a saccharin conditioned stimulus.

Dependent rats show both increased impulsivity and decreased sucrose consumption during dependence, but not after abstinence.


As an example of a typical functional regression problem, consider the sample of trajectories in Figure 1 . Displayed are 50 randomly selected 100-channel absorption spectra which are used to predict the composition of food samples. The spectra shown are from meat specimen and the goal is to predict fat contents. These spectra have been densely sampled at 100 support points and are seen to be quite smooth, with only small measurement errors. Taking advantage of the smoothness of these trajectories is key to the efficient modeling of regression relationships that include functional predictors. The functional nature of the predictors and the measurements need to be adequately reflected in the statistical modeling of such data (Rice, 2004; Zhao et al., 2004) .

The functional nature of the predictors and the measurements need to be adequately reflected in the statistical modeling of such data.


During the last decade, the utilization of sintered NdFeB magnets in large motor and generator applications has become more common. The remanence of NdFeB material is superior in comparison to other types of magnet materials. The challenge is coercivity, which decreases rapidly as the temperature rises. Coercivity at elevated temperatures can be increased by partial substitution of Nd with Dy. Increasing Dy content, however, decreases the remanence and is therefore an unfavorable way of improving stability at elevated temperatures. In addition, dysprosium is not as abundant as neodymium in ores and thus it is much more expensive than Nd. A lot of effort has recently been put into development work for lower Dy content magnets with higher coercivities [1] [2] [3] .

A lot of effort has recently been put into development work for lower Dy content magnets with higher coercivities.


MOOC has the emergent phenomenon of complex self-organizing systems. The mutation theory believes that a small disturbance in the system which is amplified by the nonlinear interaction between individuals will cause the mutation of individual attribute and behavior. The multiple individual uncertainty mutation which is amplified by individual interaction will cause the emergence phenomenon (Mackness et al., 2016) . When system has the emergent phenomenon, complex systems will be changed from low equilibrium state to high equilibrium state, and the new process and structure will take the place of the old process and structure (Giddens, 2016; Parks-Stamm et al., 2017; Liu, 2017) . The comparison of generation mode of traditional on-line course and MOOC course resources is shown as Figure 1 .

The multiple individual uncertainty mutation which is amplified by individual interaction will cause the emergence phenomenon.

When system has the emergent phenomenon, complex systems will be changed from low equilibrium state to high equilibrium state, and the new process and structure will take the place of the old process and structure.


Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide. It ranks as the fourth leading cause of cancer death after lung, liver, and stomach cancer (Ferlay et al., 2015) . Currently, surgery and chemotherapy are the most common treatments, and the treatment selection is mainly based on the tumor Abbreviations AJCC, American Joint Committee on Cancer; AUC, area under receiver operating characteristic; CI, confidence interval; CRC, colorectal cancer; DFS, disease-free survival; GEO, Gene Expression Ominus; HR, hazard ratio; LASSO, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator method; RFS, recurrence-free survival; ROC, receiver operating characteristic; ssGSEA, single-sample gene-set enrichment analysis; TNM, TNM Classification of Malignant Tumours.

It ranks as the fourth leading cause of cancer death after lung, liver, and stomach cancer.


The OTS/CafeOBJ (Observational Transition Systems in CafeOBJ) method is a formal method. In this method, it is verified that a specification satisfies a given desired property by describing a proof score. There are many successful case studies of formal verification with proof scores [6] , [8] - [10] . On the other hand, there is no established method to obtain test cases which test whether an implementation satisfies the property verified by a proof score.

There are many successful case studies of formal verification with proof scores.


This review only included interventions delivered by mobile telephones, a strategy which led to almost 50% of articles screened for eligibility excluded, as they employed remote delivery by another means, most commonly by computer. Therefore, a small number of studies were included. Although our results should be interpreted with caution due to this, the effect across all studies is consistent and substantial, and allows us to draw preliminary conclusions regarding the potential effectiveness of mobile CM interventions. Furthermore, one might also argue that combining studies of different designs is a study limitation. However, all studies in each comparison employed the use of mobile telephones to address the same clinical outcome among a substance-use population group. In addition to this, all studies had relatively consistent parameters of the contingency management interventions (i.e. escalating reinforcement schedules) to strengthen behaviour change, making it appropriate to combine them. A key distinction was not the design of the studies, but rather the extent to which they were able to yield an unbiased estimate of the effect size in question [45] .

A key distinction was not the design of the studies, but rather the extent to which they were able to yield an unbiased estimate of the effect size in question.


Aberrant hepatic arteries, defined as hepatic arterial branches that do not originate from the celiac axis, common (CHA) or proper hepatic artery (PHA), are common (reported prevalence 21-45 %) [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] . Frequently encountered variants are aberrant LHAs originating from the LGA and aberrant RHA's originating from the SMA. According to the early work of Michels, aberrant hepatic arteries can be further divided into accessory and replaced hepatic arteries, both with a unique territory of blood-supply within the liver [1] . A replaced hepatic artery is a full substitute for the LHA or RHA originating from the celiac axis. An accessory hepatic artery, on the other hand, complements its normally derived counterpart, and only supplies a part of the right or left hemi-liver [1, 9] .

Aberrant hepatic arteries, defined as hepatic arterial branches that do not originate from the celiac axis, common (CHA) or proper hepatic artery (PHA), are common (reported prevalence 21-45 %).

According to the early work of Michels, aberrant hepatic arteries can be further divided into accessory and replaced hepatic arteries, both with a unique territory of blood-supply within the liver.

An accessory hepatic artery, on the other hand, complements its normally derived counterpart, and only supplies a part of the right or left hemi-liver.


The MFM provides a numerical measure of motor skills for patients with neuromuscular diseases. It comprises 32 items, static and dynamic. These items are tested in lying, sitting or standing positions and are divided into three dimensions: Dimension 1 (D1)-standing position and transfers, with 13 items; Dimension 2 (D2)-axial and proximal motor function, with 12 items; Dimension 3 (D3)-distal motor function, with 7 items, 6 of them are related to the upper limb. Each item is graded on a four-point scale, the generic degree is defined by: 0-cannot start the task or cannot maintain the initial position; 1-partially performs the exercise; 2-partially performs the requested movement or completely realized, but imperfectly (with compensations, insufficient maintenance of time position, slowness, lack of control of movement); 3-fully realized, "usual" exercise with controlled, perfect, objective, and performed with a constant velocity motion. The MFM scale allows the comprehensively evaluation, proximal, distal and axial motor dysfunctions, through evidence into three dimensions, thus being useful instrument for use in a broad spectrum of neuromuscular disorders, ranging from those predominant in girdle to distal ones. The MFM is adapted to patients with walking ability and those with partial or total restriction of movement [7] .

The MFM is adapted to patients with walking ability and those with partial or total restriction of movement.


A total of 36 medical records with confirmed clinical diagnosis of DMD, attended at the Neuromuscular Dis-eases Clinic from Campinas State University (UNICAMP) were reviewed. All patients were male, between 3 and 16 years-old (mean 11.19 ± 3.53), originating from the countryside and neighborhood of São Paulo and had previous MFM-P scores [7] data. Exclusion criteria comprised no confirmed DMD clinical diagnosis, and association with other diseases or other types of muscular dystrophies.

All patients were male, between 3 and 16 years-old (mean 11.19 ± 3.53), originating from the countryside and neighborhood of São Paulo and had previous MFM-P scores data.


To a certain extent, our study provides an integrated framework to study Malaysia's transformation to a net oil importer and its subsequent energy security status in term of oil import dependency. However, to investigate the topic comprehensively, other aspects need to be integrated into the framework. For instance, our simulation does not consider the influence of petrol price over GDP through inflation which may affect the affluence level and eventually adjust oil consumption. Subjects such as the unexpected effect of efficiency improvements, or the rebound-effect, are particularly motivating. Efficiency improvement in this subject may be translated as lower price per energy unit, thus may reduce the desired effect of subsidy elimination. In relation to energy security evaluation, this study only presents one indicator related to availability dimension of energy security among many others dimensions [63, 64] . One might consider that the transformation may affect other dimensions and therefore required to be incorporated in the model. Therefore, the study may be extended toward these directions.

In relation to energy security evaluation, this study only presents one indicator related to availability dimension of energy security among many others dimensions.


Based on the simulation results, Malaysia is expected to become a net oil-importing country in 2012 at the earliest, and by 2021 at the latest. The main reason for such an imminent transformation year is the inconsistent implementation of subsidy elimination which obstructs other efforts to decrease oil consumption. At the same time, oil production rates are declining very fast after they peaked in 2004. On the contrary, the transformation could be delayed if Malaysia takes the options to rigorously eliminate subsidies and put more investment into enhancing production. The combined effect of these options on the transformation year are significant mainly because of the timely deviation of the oil consumption trajectory. If subsidy elimination is delayed the effect will likely to be lessened. Table 5 presents predictions on the transformation years by others and this study. The results of our study clearly provide a new range of predicted year of transformation. The most effective strategy to delay the transformation is through pricing mechanisms. Eliminating subsidies can prolong the transformation due to its effect of increasing oil product prices. Furthermore, sustaining the high price of oil products, despite the volatility of international oil price, will be beneficial in maintaining a low level of oil consumption growth. In this regard, Malaysian government may learn from Indonesia's experience. Following its transition to net oil importer, the petroleum subsidy in Indonesia was planned to be gradually lifted from 2005 until total subsidy elimination in 2007 [57] . However, the plan is being constantly delayed. Malaysia may learn some challenges that Indonesia faced that make the plan very difficult to realize [58] .

Following its transition to net oil importer, the petroleum subsidy in Indonesia was planned to be gradually lifted from 2005 until total subsidy elimination in 2007.

Malaysia may learn some challenges that Indonesia faced that make the plan very difficult to realize.


In pavement constructions, soil material is highly required in the road construction industry. Nonetheless, if the road material does not accord with the requisite standards for filling a section of the road with soil, the material will then be supplied either from other cut sections alongside the road or from a borrow site which has the appropriate material (Amu et al., 2011) . Exploring novel materials or employing new technological procedures are inevitable nowadays as there is an ever-growing attempt for surging the profits, reasonably lowering financial and material resources as well as being more economical (Mondschein and Valentin, 2007) . Thus in stabilization, the chief aim is i n enhancing the material performance by improving its strength, stiffn ess and durability (Sese et al., 2005) . By means of chemical and mechanical processes, geomaterials which are in fact soils and rocks need stabilization in construction and maintenance of transportation facilities. When applying these techniques and processes, the properties of stabilized geomaterials and their mixtures should be appropriate for being use in foundation designs, embankments, shoulders, subgrades, bases, as well as the surface courses (Das, 2003) . While the vertical subgrade pressure is significantly decreased by the stabilized layers existing in a pavement, they simultaneously attract the tensile stresses at the bottom of the stabilized layers. Normally for promoting the marginal aggregates' quality, pavement materials must be stabilized. In providing a wearing surface, subsequently, pavements with stabilized layers need to be overlaid with asphaltic materials (George, 1990) . It is necessary to be noted that the appropriate quantity of the stabilizing agent and water in the mixture will be determined by the mix design for ascertaining the strength adequacy and stiffness of the layers in order to support the traffic loads (Freeman et al., 2002) .

Nonetheless, if the road material does not accord with the requisite standards for filling a section of the road with soil, the material will then be supplied either from other cut sections alongside the road or from a borrow site which has the appropriate material.

Exploring novel materials or employing new technological procedures are inevitable nowadays as there is an ever-growing attempt for surging the profits, reasonably lowering financial and material resources as well as being more economical.

Thus in stabilization, the chief aim is i n enhancing the material performance by improving its strength, stiffn ess and durability.

When applying these techniques and processes, the properties of stabilized geomaterials and their mixtures should be appropriate for being use in foundation designs, embankments, shoulders, subgrades, bases, as well as the surface courses.

In providing a wearing surface, subsequently, pavements with stabilized layers need to be overlaid with asphaltic materials.

It is necessary to be noted that the appropriate quantity of the stabilizing agent and water in the mixture will be determined by the mix design for ascertaining the strength adequacy and stiffness of the layers in order to support the traffic loads.


Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is clinically, pathologically and genetically a heterogeneous disorder characterized by behavioural changes and cognitive decline. FTD has often, but not always, a presenile onset (Rosso et al., 2003) . Semantic dementia and non-fluent progressive aphasia are clinical variants of FTD. In 5-10% of cases, FTD is preceded, accompanied or followed by signs of motor neuron disease (FTD þ MND) (Rosso et al., 2003; Goldman et al., 2005; Johnson et al., 2005) . Several studies have shown that survival in patients with FTD þ MND is significantly shorter than in FTD patients without features of motor neuron disease (Hodges et al., 2003; Bigio et al., 2004; Josephs et al., 2005) .

FTD has often, but not always, a presenile onset.

In 5-10% of cases, FTD is preceded, accompanied or followed by signs of motor neuron disease (FTD þ MND).

Several studies have shown that survival in patients with FTD þ MND is significantly shorter than in FTD patients without features of motor neuron disease.


All above economic views require assumptions to be presence such as no liquidity constraints, perfect financial markets in Ricardian equivalence. However, these assumptions are usually un-existed thus the significance of theories is questioned in both theory and practice (Haque and Montiel, 1989) . Furthermore, there are some cases that the effectiveness of fiscal policy is explained by all of these views. For instance, if government is restricted by the fiscal rules to balance the fiscal budget in the long run, thus individuals may partial adjust their behaviors if they have short-term horizon which presents the presence of both Ricardian and neo-classical views. In the same idea, if the current path of government debt is not sustainable and future tax increases will be required to lower the debt, the Ricardian view may be presence in expansionary fiscal policy seemingly with the Keynesian view which depends on the level of public debt (Sutherland, 1997) . Or, if the government expenditure is in line of an upward-trending stochastic process that individuals believe a sharply fall when it approaches a specific "target point," there will be a non-linear relationship between private consumption and government expenditure (Bertola and Drazen, 1993) . Therefore, the argument of a non-linear relationship between fiscal policy and economic growth makes sense in literature. However, the literature needs the explanations for the mechanism and empirical evidences.

However, these assumptions are usually un-existed thus the significance of theories is questioned in both theory and practice.

In the same idea, if the current path of government debt is not sustainable and future tax increases will be required to lower the debt, the Ricardian view may be presence in expansionary fiscal policy seemingly with the Keynesian view which depends on the level of public debt.

Or, if the government expenditure is in line of an upward-trending stochastic process that individuals believe a sharply fall when it approaches a specific "target point," there will be a non-linear relationship between private consumption and government expenditure.


The departure from the frequency expected in the 2004 yellow × red crosses results could be ascribed to a failure in seed set caused by environmental factors, as crosses were made in the field, not in the greenhouse. Besides, a failure in manual pollination cannot be ruled out. Although H. petiolaris is highly incompatible, self-pollination has been observed under mixed loads of heterospecific pollen (Desrochers and Rieseberg, 1998) . However, this situation may have taken place due to the presence of H. annuus plants in the experiment field.

Although H. petiolaris is highly incompatible, self-pollination has been observed under mixed loads of heterospecific pollen.


Cities are not only places where people live: cities are where people interact with others, feel a connection with others and develop their collective goals (e.g., economic prosperity, social cohesion, and environmental sustainability). The modern discourse on sustainable cities strongly emphasizes the need for shared, participative and inclusive cities. Cities are expected to be places for the practice of democracy and for the construction of social equality and inclusion (Peñalosa, 2011) . More recently, the environmental dimension of urban settlements has gained strength and importance as a basis for such links and activities to emerge and develop.

Cities are expected to be places for the practice of democracy and for the construction of social equality and inclusion.


Alzheimer's disease (AD), the primary cause of age related dementia, is associated with a decline in cognitive abilities due to irreversible deterioration of brain functions [1] . Cognitive impairments of elderly people, such as loss of memory, language and judgmental deficits, are main symptoms of AD [2] . The intermediate stage that AD patients experience while passing through a gradual transition from normal cognition to AD is termed Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) [3] . An increasing need for computational methods emerges to evaluate cognitive impairment and diagnose dementia in preclinical or early clinical stages of AD, including MCI stage [4] .

Alzheimer's disease (AD), the primary cause of age related dementia, is associated with a decline in cognitive abilities due to irreversible deterioration of brain functions.

Cognitive impairments of elderly people, such as loss of memory, language and judgmental deficits, are main symptoms of AD.

The intermediate stage that AD patients experience while passing through a gradual transition from normal cognition to AD is termed Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI).

An increasing need for computational methods emerges to evaluate cognitive impairment and diagnose dementia in preclinical or early clinical stages of AD, including MCI stage.


Contact probe Coordinate Measuring Machines (CMM) are the predecessor to laser scanners [6] . Contact probes have limitations inherited from their technique that make them unsuitable for scanning many delicate objects or fine polished surfaces. The laser scanners on the other hand do not need to touch the object surface and offer higher scanning speed. However, they are likely to face many challenging and optically tough surfaces such as shiny, translucent, or transparent surfaces. Scanning of a shiny surface such as machined steel or aluminum often leads to second-order or higher order reflections superposed on the true laser projections [7] . In addition, speckle noise makes it difficult to analyze captured images [8] . Shiny surfaces can be sprayed with a thin layer of antireflective coating before measurement to suppress such kinds of issues [9] . However, this solution is not suitable to many applications. In addition, there is another category of errors, usually referred to as systematic errors that occur due to inaccuracies in relative positions and orientations of sensors and target surfaces [10] . Systematic errors can also arise from digitization and thresholding of light intensities when subpixel precision of laser line position is computed [11] . Variations of ambient light can have a large impact on the accuracy of measurements [12] .

Contact probe Coordinate Measuring Machines (CMM) are the predecessor to laser scanners.

Scanning of a shiny surface such as machined steel or aluminum often leads to second-order or higher order reflections superposed on the true laser projections.

In addition, speckle noise makes it difficult to analyze captured images.

Shiny surfaces can be sprayed with a thin layer of antireflective coating before measurement to suppress such kinds of issues.

In addition, there is another category of errors, usually referred to as systematic errors that occur due to inaccuracies in relative positions and orientations of sensors and target surfaces.

Systematic errors can also arise from digitization and thresholding of light intensities when subpixel precision of laser line position is computed.

Variations of ambient light can have a large impact on the accuracy of measurements.


Optical occlusion can happen when scanning a complex shaped surface. This means that the main true reflection is occluded by the object itself such that height cannot be measured. The cutting tools used for our case study do not involve such complex surfaces. However, occlusion is typically resolved with multiple cameras, multiple light sources, or moveable singular optical system [1, 4] .

However, occlusion is typically resolved with multiple cameras, multiple light sources, or moveable singular optical system.


In higher codimensions, however, the situation is much more complicated, as was shown in a seminal paper by Lawson-Osserman [15] . In dimension n = 2, they showed the solvability of the Dirichlet problem for the minimal surface system with arbitrary continuous 1 boundary data on a bounded convex domain in R 2 . Again, in general, these solutions are not unique. In dimension n ≥ 4, they gave non-existence examples for Dirichlet problems on unit balls with higher codimensions (Theorem 6.1, [15] ). It is therefore natural to investigate under which conditions on the boundary data the Dirichlet problem for minimal graphs with dimension n > 2 and codimension m ≥ 2 can be solved.

In higher codimensions, however, the situation is much more complicated, as was shown in a seminal paper by Lawson-Osserman.

In dimension n ≥ 4, they gave non-existence examples for Dirichlet problems on unit balls with higher codimensions (Theorem 6.1,).


In many countries there is an ongoing debate about the need to reform regulatory frameworks for education. The two main issues discussed are financing problems and the need to increase students' achievement levels. The economics literature and policy makers recognize that these two issues are related. The usual argument depends on the effect of the pool of students (through the peer group effect) and of school resources on quality of education. The importance of the peer group effect has led to the idea that careful consideration of rationing mechanisms that affect the mix of students at school (like tuition fees, scholarships, vouchers or the introduction of charter and magnet schools) may improve quality of education (Nechyba, 2006) . The objective of this paper is to analyze another important potential channel that links quality of education and the way school systems are financed (publicly, through the market or through the market with regulatory constraints). This channel emphasizes the relation between willingness to pay for education and the grading standards. This channel brings new policy recommendations and affects the way empirical results about quality of education are interpreted.

The importance of the peer group effect has led to the idea that careful consideration of rationing mechanisms that affect the mix of students at school (like tuition fees, scholarships, vouchers or the introduction of charter and magnet schools) may improve quality of education.


Human sound source localisation performance is very robust, even in the presence of multiple competing sounds and room reverberation [1] . The two main cues that are used by the auditory system to determine the azimuth of a sound source are interaural time differences (ITDs) and interaural level differences (ILDs) [2] . However, these binaural cues are not sufficient to uniquely determine the location of a sound [3] . In particular, a given ITD value actually corresponds to a number of possible locations that lie on the so-called cone of confusion. Hence, if listeners were only to use these binaural cues, then front-back confusions would frequently occur in which a source located in the front hemifield was mistaken for one located in the rear hemifield (or vice versa). In practice, human listeners rarely make front-back confusions because they also use information gleaned from head movements to resolve ambiguities [4, 3, 5] .

Human sound source localisation performance is very robust, even in the presence of multiple competing sounds and room reverberation.

The two main cues that are used by the auditory system to determine the azimuth of a sound source are interaural time differences (ITDs) and interaural level differences (ILDs).

However, these binaural cues are not sufficient to uniquely determine the location of a sound.

In practice, human listeners rarely make front-back confusions because they also use information gleaned from head movements to resolve ambiguities.


The 2000s 'mining boom' has been proportionally larger than any other commodity boom enjoyed by Australia since Federation (Grafton 2012) . As a result of the boom, mining represented about 10 per cent of Australian GDP in value-added terms in 2011-2012 (Figure 2 ). At 2011-2012 prices, mining industry gross fixed capital formation represents about 4 per cent of GDP, the highest contribution of any single industry. In 2011-2012, new capital expenditure in the mining sector was 53 per cent of private new capital expenditure and was valued at $82 billion (Figure 3 ). This compares with an inflation-adjusted figure of $7.6 billion a decade ago.

The 2000s 'mining boom' has been proportionally larger than any other commodity boom enjoyed by Australia since Federation.


Mining involves the extraction and processing of a range of mineral deposits, many of which are spatially distributed unevenly across Australia. For example, Western Australia is heavily endowed with iron ore and gas; Queensland and New South Wales with coal, and also coal seam gas. Since the early 2000s, Australian mining has experienced a structural shift as prices for key resource exports rose dramatically in line with a surge in demand in emerging economies coupled with a short-run inelastic supply response. Higher resource prices (Figure 1 ) created substantial rents for mining companies with existing mines. In response, mining capital investment and employment grew rapidly up until 2011 with private new capital expenditures in the sector increasing fourfold as a proportion of the Australian total. Direct mining employment tripled from 2000-2001 to 2011-2012 . This decade-long period has been called the price or development phase of the mining boom (Grafton 2012) .

This decade-long period has been called the price or development phase of the mining boom.


Testosterone and other androgenic steroid drugs have been used in the past to increase or maintain muscle mass. These drugs act via the androgen receptors and as such have shown significant side effects that must be carefully evaluated before initiating any therapy. There is an increased risk for prostate hyperplasia and cancer in men, virilization in women, and cardiac hypertrophy and atherosclerosis for both [25] . Safer approaches have been evaluated as well. A randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled, multicenter trial was conducted to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a novel selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM). A total of 120 healthy men and postmenopausal women were evenly randomized to take placebo or 0.1, 0.3, 1 or 3 mg of SARM for 12 weeks. The incidence of adverse events was similar amongst groups with no serious events reported. Specifically, the novel compound did not have effects on sebum production or hair growth in women while eliciting a dose-dependent increase in total lean body mass, highlighting the benefits of dissociating the anabolic and androgenic activities when a therapeutic effect is sought [26] .

There is an increased risk for prostate hyperplasia and cancer in men, virilization in women, and cardiac hypertrophy and atherosclerosis for both.

Specifically, the novel compound did not have effects on sebum production or hair growth in women while eliciting a dose-dependent increase in total lean body mass, highlighting the benefits of dissociating the anabolic and androgenic activities when a therapeutic effect is sought.


A distributed computer system (DCS) is a collection of interconnected independent computers (hosts) that appears to its users as a single coherent system [1] . DCS provide an efficient way to achieve fault-tolerance and share system resources such as processing elements, memory modules, data files, and so on. A successful execution of a distributed program usually requires one or more of the resources that reside on multiple hosts at different geographic sites of the DCS.

A distributed computer system (DCS) is a collection of interconnected independent computers (hosts) that appears to its users as a single coherent system.


The newly developed vee-tail type, due to its excellent ability of stealth, has drawn the favor of many designers [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] . This type of tail can replace the ordinary horizontal and vertical tails and decrease the aerodynamic interferences between the tail and fuselage to a great extent. It can also largely reduce the infiltration areas of tail [6] [7] [8] . Both the F-117 (a kind of stealth plane newly developed in USA) and He162 (a kind of light fight developed in Germany) have adopted the vee-tail configuration, and they have comparatively better viability in the war [9] .

The newly developed vee-tail type, due to its excellent ability of stealth, has drawn the favor of many designers.

It can also largely reduce the infiltration areas of tail.

Both the F-117 (a kind of stealth plane newly developed in USA) and He162 (a kind of light fight developed in Germany) have adopted the vee-tail configuration, and they have comparatively better viability in the war.


The COX-2, inducible isoform of prostaglandin H synthase, has been implicated in the growth and progression of a variety of human cancers. Over-expression of COX-2 is known to correlate with the aggressive and invasive potential of tumor cells [16] . It has been reported that breast tumor cells over-expressing COX-2 developed vascular channels when plated on three-dimensional matrigel cultures [17, 18] . We hypothesized that COX-2 may play a role in VM formation. To this end, we evaluated COX-2 expression in gliomas by immunohistochemistry and correlated the results with VM. A significant association was observed between VM and COX-2 expression, suggesting that COX-2 could contribute to VM formation.

Over-expression of COX-2 is known to correlate with the aggressive and invasive potential of tumor cells.

It has been reported that breast tumor cells over-expressing COX-2 developed vascular channels when plated on three-dimensional matrigel cultures.


Using these invariants we obtain partial results in the direction of the conjecture (6) . For a group G denote by δpGq the minimal number of generators of the augmentation ideal of G as a ZrGs-module. In the case when M is weakly monotone and π 1 pM q is a finite group we prove that ppHq δpπ 1 pM qq. In particular we confirm the conjecture (6) for weakly monotone manifolds whose fundamental groups are finite simple or solvable (Theorem 5.7).

Using these invariants we obtain partial results in the direction of the conjecture.


Historically, the development of ANN technology was motivated by human brain's ability to solve very complex tasks. ANNs comprise of two main elements; the neurons or processing elements (PEs) and the connections between the PEs which have weight values. Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of a basic PE model (Haykin, 1999) .

Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of a basic PE model.


Perovskite-type oxides with ABO 3 structure and related materials constitute a group of compounds with a significant technological value because of their interesting physical and chemical properties [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] . Within this family of compounds, cobaltites, of general formula RECoO 3 (RE = rare earth like La, Nd, Gd, etc.), have been widely studied for their important applications as catalysts, thermoelectric compounds, cathodes for solid-oxide fuel-cells, and gas sensors [9] [10] [11] [12] . Several investigations have shown that the presence of cobalt ions, with different oxidation states, plays an important role in the transport properties and catalytic activity of perovskites [13, 14] . Furthermore, the ability to modify their microstructures, such as porosity, distribution, shape, and particle size can induce changes in their physical properties [15, 16] . Owing to the nanometric size of the perovskite particles, many applications are potentiated. Nowadays, various synthesis methods are investigated in order to achieve control of the size and shape of the nanoparticles. These methods include 2 Journal of Nanomaterials sol-gel routes, hydrothermal, solid-state reaction, coprecipitation, spray pyrolysis, solution-combustion processes, and physical vapor deposition [17] . In particular, "soft" chemistry methods allow a better control on the stoichiometry and a reduction of the synthesis temperature, which permits obtaining homogeneous nanoparticles [18] .

Perovskite-type oxides with ABO 3 structure and related materials constitute a group of compounds with a significant technological value because of their interesting physical and chemical properties.

Within this family of compounds, cobaltites, of general formula RECoO 3 (RE = rare earth like La, Nd, Gd, etc.), have been widely studied for their important applications as catalysts, thermoelectric compounds, cathodes for solid-oxide fuel-cells, and gas sensors.

Several investigations have shown that the presence of cobalt ions, with different oxidation states, plays an important role in the transport properties and catalytic activity of perovskites.

Furthermore, the ability to modify their microstructures, such as porosity, distribution, shape, and particle size can induce changes in their physical properties.

These methods include 2 Journal of Nanomaterials sol-gel routes, hydrothermal, solid-state reaction, coprecipitation, spray pyrolysis, solution-combustion processes, and physical vapor deposition.

In particular, "soft" chemistry methods allow a better control on the stoichiometry and a reduction of the synthesis temperature, which permits obtaining homogeneous nanoparticles.


Career success in the 21 st century is related to human performance, satisfaction and self-realization (Rodrigues et al., 2013) . The formation of professional identity is a professional inquiry into the alternatives to the undertaking of commitments, the selected alternative and the revision of occupational alternatives (Porfeli, 2012) . A commitment to a particular profession provides career stability in this dynamic world of work. A strong professional identity is a professional character which is a necessity in the field of competitiveness.

Career success in the 21 st century is related to human performance, satisfaction and self-realization.

The formation of professional identity is a professional inquiry into the alternatives to the undertaking of commitments, the selected alternative and the revision of occupational alternatives.


Positive AM effects on K r efficiency Arbuscular mycorrhizae had a clear impact on root conductance in both Piper and Psychotria species. For shade-tolerant species growing at light intensities in which these species would commonly grow beneath the closed canopy of a neotropical forest, mycorrhizae reduced the total and proportional production of fine roots, but improved their water uptake efficiency by 60 -70% (Fig. 2a) . Tropical understory shrubs have shallow root systems with no access to deeper water, and greater proportional allocation to root surface area relative to tree saplings (Becker & Castillo, 1990) . The higher proportion of root surface area to mass in roots may be critical to survival throughout the dry season in this forest.

Tropical understory shrubs have shallow root systems with no access to deeper water, and greater proportional allocation to root surface area relative to tree saplings.


Rice is a staple food for more than 50% of the world population (Fageria et al., 2010) . Nitrogen (N) is the main nutrient that affects the rice yield, because it increases the percentage of filled spikelets, increases the leaf *Corresponding author. E-mail: marconibt@gmail.com. Tel: +55-64-36205636. Fax: +55-64-36205636.

Rice is a staple food for more than 50% of the world population.

E-mail: marconibt@gmail.com.

Tel: +55-64-36205636.

Fax: +55-64-36205636.


Renewable energy and other low-carbon energy sources will become major contributors to the electricity generation systems for the purpose of significant reduction in CO 2 emissions. However, the flexibility, variability, noncontrollability, of the sources, and the ability to maintain the balance between demands and supply are difficult [38] . Under this kind of situation, the current power infrastructures in both Europe and America are getting out of date even with very different policies, as well as social and economical contexts. Key solutions for both of them seem to be the evolution toward a more intelligent power grid. The vision of the United States is mainly related to a largely centralized power grid system with a high integration of demand response and some penetration of distributed power systems used for additional support to the system [39] . Oppositely, the vision of Europe is clearly impacted by the concern derived from the wide range of natures and degrees of evolution of the power grids across European countries. The consequence of this concern is identified in the need to have a flexible, reliable and accessible power grid system. The future power grid systems in Europe can satisfy the needs of a wide range of customers and economies [39] . However, as the chief officer of the National Electric Company summarized, due to the differences in national condition, the main composition of future intelligent power grid systems between China and western nations should differ considerably in aspects including development procedure, development direction, and focal points. Then, the results of our estimated power grid systems are consistent with the well-known discussion.

However, the flexibility, variability, noncontrollability, of the sources, and the ability to maintain the balance between demands and supply are difficult.

The vision of the United States is mainly related to a largely centralized power grid system with a high integration of demand response and some penetration of distributed power systems used for additional support to the system.

The future power grid systems in Europe can satisfy the needs of a wide range of customers and economies.


Studies that have examined various selected aspects of the circadian system have documented relevant postoperative changes in the regulation of melatonin production [1] [2] [3] . Melatonin is produced by the pinealocytes in the nucleus suprachiasmaticus in a circadian pattern. While during daytime bright light attenuates synthesis, darkness allows plasma melatonin levels to increase rapidly and peak during night time. Under stable conditions melatonin appears to influence non-vital functions including sleep regulation, waking patterns, body temperature and modulation of mood and vigilance [4] . However, the role of melatonin under stressful situations is not fully understood and may be underestimated.

Studies that have examined various selected aspects of the circadian system have documented relevant postoperative changes in the regulation of melatonin production.

Under stable conditions melatonin appears to influence non-vital functions including sleep regulation, waking patterns, body temperature and modulation of mood and vigilance.


Application of UV radiated semiconductor catalysts for the removal of organic compounds from water has been a topic of interest for last few decades [1] [2] [3] . Over the years, a large number of semiconductors have been used as photocatalysts. The most commonly studied photocatalysts are TiO 2 , ZnO and CdS [4] [5] [6] . Among the various semiconductors the TiO 2 is generally considered to be the best photocatalyst and has been widely used for the treatment of water from a number of organic pollutants [7] [8] [9] . However, widespread use of TiO 2 is uneconomical for large-scale water treatment operations. It has become an imperative to find an alternative to TiO 2 .

Application of UV radiated semiconductor catalysts for the removal of organic compounds from water has been a topic of interest for last few decades.

The most commonly studied photocatalysts are TiO 2 , ZnO and CdS.

Among the various semiconductors the TiO 2 is generally considered to be the best photocatalyst and has been widely used for the treatment of water from a number of organic pollutants.


The results presented in this paper are obtained using two building blocks. One is an asynchronous version of the Reliable-Broadcast protocol of Srikanth and Toueg [11] . The other building block is a novel witness technique. The witness technique limits the ability of faulty processes to lie about the range of values they were able to collect. This building block seems to be very powerful and it enables the non-faulty processes to rapidly converge their values.

One is an asynchronous version of the Reliable-Broadcast protocol of Srikanth and Toueg.


The current iBGP organizations are known to be imperfect [21] . Several researchers have proposed solutions to improve them. One approach is to centralise all routing decisions in a Routing Control Platform that can be considered as a super Route Reflector RCP [22] . Another approach is to extend iBGP to allow each router/RR to advertise several paths towards each destination [15] . This iBGP extension allows all BGP routers inside an AS to learn several paths towards each destination and thus block the propagation of withdraws, achieving the same objective as our communities. Furthermore, as the backup paths are propagated and not only the information about their availability, connectivity losses are also prevented. This extension also allows for other utilizations of additionnal paths, such as multipath routing. This is definitely a very promising solution for the future, but currently, as this mechanism increases the number of BGP messages and the memory required to store all the additional paths, all routers cannot support it. In the meantime, our communities can be used to prevent withraw propagation, as they do not require any change to the BGP syntax and could be deployed incrementally .

The current iBGP organizations are known to be imperfect.

One approach is to centralise all routing decisions in a Routing Control Platform that can be considered as a super Route Reflector RCP.

Another approach is to extend iBGP to allow each router/RR to advertise several paths towards each destination.


Comparison among these different hybridization schemes has shown that solar reforming utilizes the solar energy more efficiently [3] . In addition, solar reforming is also a storage mechanism because it stores the solar energy in the form of a chemical fuel [4, 5, 6] . Furthermore, system of a direct expansion chemical cycle utilizing steam reforming of methane shows that CO 2 emissions can be reduced by as much as 22% when compared to traditional combustion of methane [7] .

Comparison among these different hybridization schemes has shown that solar reforming utilizes the solar energy more efficiently.

In addition, solar reforming is also a storage mechanism because it stores the solar energy in the form of a chemical fuel.

Furthermore, system of a direct expansion chemical cycle utilizing steam reforming of methane shows that CO 2 emissions can be reduced by as much as 22% when compared to traditional combustion of methane.


Organic-Inorganic hybrid perovskite materials have attracted much attention due to their easy solution process, and they require no high-temperature and tunable optical bandgap in the visible to infrared regions. It will be a fascinating material for applications in low-cost and large-area optoelectronic devices [1] - [6] . Recent work on high-efficiency methylammonium lead trihalide perovskite photovoltaics has shown these materials to possess not only high charge-carrier mobility, mechanical and thermal stability of inorganic semiconductors but also flexibility, simple processing, facile tuning of optical and electrical properties of organic semiconductors [7] - [9] . Recently, bright and color tunable electroluminescence (EL) devices with perovskite materials were reported. It is shown that excellent emission properties of perovskite, such as a narrow full width at half maximum and high photoluminescence quantum yield, and indicates these materials will generally be applicable in display and lighting [6] , [10] , [11] .

It will be a fascinating material for applications in low-cost and large-area optoelectronic devices.

Recent work on high-efficiency methylammonium lead trihalide perovskite photovoltaics has shown these materials to possess not only high charge-carrier mobility, mechanical and thermal stability of inorganic semiconductors but also flexibility, simple processing, facile tuning of optical and electrical properties of organic semiconductors.

It is shown that excellent emission properties of perovskite, such as a narrow full width at half maximum and high photoluminescence quantum yield, and indicates these materials will generally be applicable in display and lighting.


The analytic form for m ( ) is known in those few cases where the closed analytic form of the square-integrable solutions can be found. For example, when q(x) is a positive power of x, the only known examples are q(x) = x 2 ; for which the m ( ) function is a quotient of gamma functions, and q(x) = x, for which the m ( ) function involves a quotient of sums of Bessel functions. In view of the di culty of ÿnding the m ( ) function in closed form, numerical approaches to calculating m ( ) have been developed [2] [3] [4] 8] .

In view of the di culty of ÿnding the m ( ) function in closed form, numerical approaches to calculating m ( ) have been developed.


Formalin is another potential disinfectant that has been used on a large scale throughout the past few decades. Such outdated disinfectant is still adopted by some fish hatchery managers as the best multipurpose disinfectant for broodstocks and their egg progeny [54] . However, formalin has the potential of being toxic, where it has been reported to cause total eggs mortality when temperature rises above 25°C [56] . Numerous disinfectant were further developed and proved to be less efficient and of narrow safety margin. Thus, the search for an efficient and safe disinfectant was a must in modern food/ornamental aquaculture operations.

Such outdated disinfectant is still adopted by some fish hatchery managers as the best multipurpose disinfectant for broodstocks and their egg progeny.

However, formalin has the potential of being toxic, where it has been reported to cause total eggs mortality when temperature rises above 25°C.


In Egypt, Saprolegniosis is considered one of the most important causes of mortalities among angelfish Pterophyllum scalare (Cuvier-Valenciennes) [33] . However, literatures about Saprolgenia infection in spawner angelfish were nil. Thereby, the current study aimed to identify aquatic fungi affecting angelfish eggs through using DNA based phylogenetic technique and some fungal morphological parameters. An ultimate aim was to test the efficacy of povidone iodine to control Saprolegnia infections in angelfish eggs under normal hatchery conditions in Egypt.

In Egypt, Saprolegniosis is considered one of the most important causes of mortalities among angelfish Pterophyllum scalare (Cuvier-Valenciennes).


Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology has become the most promising technology since US-FCC approved the 3.1-10.6 GHz band for unlicensed radio frequency applications as this technology offer high performance in the outdoor and indoor wireless communication systems. It has the advantages of low cost, low complexity, low power consumption, high data transmission rate etc. and research on UWB getting interest in both academia and telecommunication industry. Antennas, as a key component of the UWB system, have recently been widely investigated by many researchers. However, the design of low profile, compact and efficient antennas for UWB applications is still a major challenge. An efficient antenna is required to achieve sufficient bandwidth to cover the entire UWB, along with exhibiting stable radiation characteristics and good time domain behavior. Several microstrip line-fed and coplanar waveguide-fed antennas have been reported for UWB applications. These antennas use the monopole configuration, such as square, ring, elliptical, triangle, pentagon, and hexagonal antennas, and the dipole configuration such as rectangular and bow-tie antennas [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] . Some of these UWB antennas did not have planar structures (i.e., their ground planes are perpendicular to the radiators) and are not suitable to be integrated with the printed circuit boards.

These antennas use the monopole configuration, such as square, ring, elliptical, triangle, pentagon, and hexagonal antennas, and the dipole configuration such as rectangular and bow-tie antennas.


As the channel lengths of MOS devices scale below 180 nm, leakage current becomes non-negligible and off-state current and power dissipation have become important. With technology scaling, the supply voltage needs to be scaled in order to maintain reliable operation of the transistors. This forces the threshold voltage of the transistors to be scaled in order to maintain performance. Off-state leakage current increases exponentially as the threshold voltage is scaled. It has been projected that the transistor off-state current per micron of transistor width increases by ∼ 5× per generation [1] . As a result, in the current technology generation, leakage power has become a significant fraction of the total power dissipation and this fraction is projected to increase with technology scaling [2] .

It has been projected that the transistor off-state current per micron of transistor width increases by ∼ 5× per generation.

As a result, in the current technology generation, leakage power has become a significant fraction of the total power dissipation and this fraction is projected to increase with technology scaling.


The important consequences on the choice of method of estimation of the CRPS has also been illustrated on real meteorological data with raw ensembles and calibrated ensembles. As an example, the comparison of several calibrated ensembles may be mislead by a poor estimate of the average CRPS of ensembles of quantiles. The 1-norm CRPS is just the weighted mean of the absolute error of each member. The average 1-norm CRPS is thus minimized if all the members are equal to the median of the observation CDF (Gneiting 2011) .

The average 1-norm CRPS is thus minimized if all the members are equal to the median of the observation CDF.


The predicted secondary structure composition of Cyanothece sp. PCC 7424 PEPCK was determined using the NPS@ server which generates a consensus report from twelve secondary structure prediction methods [6] . All PEPCKs shared similar alpha helical and -sheet content (Table 3) . A more detailed analysis of the secondary structural elements of Cyanothece sp. PCC 7424 PEPCK was performed using the PDBsum tool [20] . The secondary structure prediction server revealed that 26.05% of amino acids resided inhelices, while 16.26% of residues were in -sheets. The rest of the amino acids were found in other conformations such as -hairpins and -turns. The topology of Cyanothece sp. PCC 7424 PEPCK is illustrated in Figure 3(b) . The overall fold of the enzyme is similar to other PEPCKs for which crystal structures are available. The protein's main chain consists of a C-terminal domain and an N-terminal domain that are both folded into a mixed / topology.

The predicted secondary structure composition of Cyanothece sp. PCC 7424 PEPCK was determined using the NPS@ server which generates a consensus report from twelve secondary structure prediction methods.

A more detailed analysis of the secondary structural elements of Cyanothece sp. PCC 7424 PEPCK was performed using the PDBsum tool.


Model checking has turned out to be an useful technique for verifying temporal properties of finite-state systems (Larsen et al. 1995) . Particularly, real-time model checking has been mostly studied and developed in the framework of Alur and Dill's Timed Automata (TA) , that is, using automata extended with clocks that progress synchronously with the time. There now exists a large amount of theoretical knowledge and practical experience for this class of system. However, it is agreed that their main drawback is the complexity blowup induced by timing constraintsmost verification problems are at least PSPACE-hard for TA.

Model checking has turned out to be an useful technique for verifying temporal properties of finite-state systems.


The verification of the real time aspects of high-integrity computer-based system can usually be seen as a three stage process which aims to assert the feasibility of the requeriments, its design and implementation (Burns 2003) . In this paper we are interested in the first two stages. To examine the requirements and design, it is necessary to build a model that represents the temporal behavior of the proposed system. The model obtained is then checked for feasibility and safety.

The verification of the real time aspects of high-integrity computer-based system can usually be seen as a three stage process which aims to assert the feasibility of the requeriments, its design and implementation.


One of the classic probes for forming a thermalized partonic medium in a heavy ion collision is the change that this should cause in the properties of heavy quarkonium [1] . It is traditional to address quarkonium through potential models, but in the finite-temperature context this has been hampered by the multitude of independent definitions of a potential that could in principle be introduced. A possible way to reduce the degeneracy is to use the weak-coupling expansion as a test bench; at least within that approach, it should be possible to derive from QCD the potential that plays a physical role. Indeed, it has been discovered that the relevant potential is none of the plethora of conventional ones but a new object, which even has an imaginary part, representing a decoherence of the quark-antiquark state that is induced by the thermal medium [2] - [5] . Subsequent to the perturbative introduction, it appears that it may be possible to promote the corresponding definition to the non-perturbative level [6] .

One of the classic probes for forming a thermalized partonic medium in a heavy ion collision is the change that this should cause in the properties of heavy quarkonium.

Indeed, it has been discovered that the relevant potential is none of the plethora of conventional ones but a new object, which even has an imaginary part, representing a decoherence of the quark-antiquark state that is induced by the thermal medium.

Subsequent to the perturbative introduction, it appears that it may be possible to promote the corresponding definition to the non-perturbative level.


Human Computer Interaction (HCI) deals with the knowledge to assist human's physical and mental skills for the ever-developing technology [1] . In Europe and United States, HCI is playing a vital role in IT industry since 1980 [2] . One major topic of HCI is the study and practice of usability. Usability is a quality characteristic that includes many factors e.g. a product should be easy to learn and use [3] . The scope of usability is not limited to user interface only rather it deals with the entire system [4] .

Human Computer Interaction (HCI) deals with the knowledge to assist human's physical and mental skills for the ever-developing technology.

In Europe and United States, HCI is playing a vital role in IT industry since 1980.

Usability is a quality characteristic that includes many factors e.g. a product should be easy to learn and use.

The scope of usability is not limited to user interface only rather it deals with the entire system.


What does thermodynamic fluctuation theory tell us? In its well-known Gaussian approximation it yields the probability of finding a system in some thermodynamic state. Most texts do not go further than this Gaussian approximation. However, here I argue that going further using ideas from Riemannian geometry adds a fundamentally new element to the picture: the thermodynamic Riemannian curvature R, which yields information about interparticle interactions [2] .

However, here I argue that going further using ideas from Riemannian geometry adds a fundamentally new element to the picture: the thermodynamic Riemannian curvature R, which yields information about interparticle interactions.


Ischemic heart disease (IHD) is a major cause of death all over the world. Reduction in the blood flow to myocardium leads to IHD and its restitution (reperfusion), spontaneously or by drug / surgery, is essential for tissue/organ survival. However, reperfusion itself exacerbates myocardial injury, commonly known as myocardial ischemicreperfusion injury (IRI) [1] . Therefore, IRI is considered as a common sequel of IHD. Oxidative stress has been largely implicated in the etiopathogenesis of IRI. Oxidative stress occurs due to increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) like, superoxide radical, hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radical at the time of reperfusion, which overwhelms the endogenous antioxidant defense [2] . Interaction of ROS with cell membrane and various other cellular components have deleterious effects on cellular functions and viability. Oxidative stress is evidenced by increased cellular accumulation of lipid peroxides and depletion of endogenous antioxidants [3] [4] [5] .

However, reperfusion itself exacerbates myocardial injury, commonly known as myocardial ischemicreperfusion injury (IRI).

Oxidative stress occurs due to increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) like, superoxide radical, hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radical at the time of reperfusion, which overwhelms the endogenous antioxidant defense.

Oxidative stress is evidenced by increased cellular accumulation of lipid peroxides and depletion of endogenous antioxidants.


In more general terms, these results add more evidence about the importance of using different types of supporting gestures for L2 instructional practices. As we have seen before, semantically related iconic gestures have also been found to enhance novel word acquisition (Kelly et al., 2009; Macedonia et al., 2011; Tellier, 2008; Thompson, 1995) . However, pitch gestures do not convey semantic information per se. So why is it that they produce these beneficial effects?

As we have seen before, semantically related iconic gestures have also been found to enhance novel word acquisition.


The importance of this can be emphasized with actions of large cities, such as London where the local government introduced a three-year temporary regulation that allows change of use from offices to residential without planning permission. Similar regulations have been allowed in other major cities as well (Langston, Wong, Hui, & Shen, 2008) . It seems that the increasing demand volatility together with sustainable development agendas drive public authorities to encourage for reusing the existing building stock more efficiently.

Similar regulations have been allowed in other major cities as well.


CLT benefits from its suitability for prefabrication, fast erection and better quality control, and therefore it is reported that 8 out of 10 modern timber constructions over 25 m in height are built with CLT [18] . This phenomenon shows that CLT has the niche in timber structures of around this height. The first multi-storey CLT building was the Stadthaus project in Murray Grove of Hackney Borough, London. It is a residential building with an eight-storey CLT structure built on a Reinforced Concrete (RC) ground floor. It was the tallest timber structure at the time it was completed, but was later overtaken by the Forte project in Melbourne. Nowadays, the tallest CLT platform construction is the Dalston Lane project (Figure 2 ), a residential development in London, which is 33.8 m in height [19] . CLT benefits from its suitability for prefabrication, fast erection and better quality control, and therefore it is reported that 8 out of 10 modern timber constructions over 25 m in height are built with CLT [18] . This phenomenon shows that CLT has the niche in timber structures of around this height. The first multi-storey CLT building was the Stadthaus project in Murray Grove of Hackney Borough, London. It is a residential building with an eight-storey CLT structure built on a Reinforced Concrete (RC) ground floor. It was the tallest timber structure at the time it was completed, but was later overtaken by the Forte project in Melbourne. Nowadays, the tallest CLT platform construction is the Dalston Lane project (Figure 2 ), a residential development in London, which is 33.8 m in height [19] . Recent trends have considered wood to be a sustainable construction material and multi-storey CLT buildings are becoming common all over the world. With policy support from the Chinese government to promote the use of timber for construction, the issue of the lack of quantitative evidence for this argument needs to be addressed. This paper aims to compare and discuss the feasibility of using CLT in mid-rise residential housing to replace concrete ones in cold regions in China by means of a life-cycle assessment of energy consumption and carbon emissions.

CLT benefits from its suitability for prefabrication, fast erection and better quality control, and therefore it is reported that 8 out of 10 modern timber constructions over 25 m in height are built with CLT.

Nowadays, the tallest CLT platform construction is the Dalston Lane project (Figure 2 ), a residential development in London, which is 33.8 m in height.


Photodynamic therapy (PDT), involving the production of various types of ROS by photosensitizers (PSs) under light activation, is regarded as a promising strategy for cancer therapy [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] . Compared with surgery and chemotherapy, PDT features less invasiveness, better tumor localization, and minimal drug resistance [38] [39] [40] . More importantly, the high levels of ROS generated by PDT can not only induce cancer cell apoptosis and necrosis, but can also create a specific ROS-rich microenvironment to trigger on-demand de-cross-linking of the ROS-responsive CCL micelles to enable selective chemodrug release in cancer cells.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT), involving the production of various types of ROS by photosensitizers (PSs) under light activation, is regarded as a promising strategy for cancer therapy.

Compared with surgery and chemotherapy, PDT features less invasiveness, better tumor localization, and minimal drug resistance.


Perhaps the most classical approach to ground plane estimation makes use of multi-view geometry or motion cues to first triangulate points in 3D, or directly obtain the 3D point cloud using depth sensors like LIDAR. Then a large plane is fitted to the 3D points using a robust model fitting algorithm like RANSAC [26] . When only a single image is available, parallel lines detected on the ground plane can be used to estimate vanishing points and the horizon line [14] . While these geometry-based approaches are exact with noiseless input, their performance is highly dependent on the reliability of low-level computer vision algorithms to extract corner points or line segments. The current best practice is to use a combination of geometry-based and learning-based methods to obtain both accurate and robust results. A single image is fed into the front-end encoder and then outputs three heads, namely normal estimation, depth estimation and ground segmentation. The estimated ground segmentation is used to isolate the ground regions and are used to selectively back-propagate parameter updates only through the ground regions in the image. Depth head: The ground plane normal n d is obtained by fitting a plane from the ground plane point cloud using the Differentiable RANSAC (DSAC). Normal head: We calculate the ground plane normal nn by taking the average over the estimated pixel-wise ground plane normals.

Then a large plane is fitted to the 3D points using a robust model fitting algorithm like RANSAC.

When only a single image is available, parallel lines detected on the ground plane can be used to estimate vanishing points and the horizon line.


Shifting agriculture has been practiced for millennia around the world [1] [2] . It is commonly seen as an environmentally detrimental conversion of natural habitats into agriculture areas with little conservation value [2] [3] [4] . However, 'shifting agriculture' refers to a diversity of agricultural practices with varied environmental impacts ranging from beneficial to detrimental [5] . Consequently the role of shifting agriculture in biodiversity conservation needs to be re-assessed [2, [5] [6] .

Shifting agriculture has been practiced for millennia around the world.

It is commonly seen as an environmentally detrimental conversion of natural habitats into agriculture areas with little conservation value.

However, 'shifting agriculture' refers to a diversity of agricultural practices with varied environmental impacts ranging from beneficial to detrimental.

Consequently the role of shifting agriculture in biodiversity conservation needs to be re-assessed.


In spite of the latest efforts, current empirical research still does not provide decisive answers on the reasons behind these fluctuations in levels of transparency. To a great extent, this gap in the literature has persisted due to the lack of reliable and operational measures of transparency (Hollyer, Rosendorff & Vreeland, 2014; Piotrowski & Bertelli, 2010) . However, several attempts to develop assessment models have been deployed in recent years. Most notably, many of Transparency International's (TI) national chapters have been trying to develop local government transparency indexes for their own countries (some more successfully than others).

To a great extent, this gap in the literature has persisted due to the lack of reliable and operational measures of transparency.


It should be noted at the outset that the MTI adopts (and measures) the abovementioned definition of transparency, not a more comprehensive notion of "local government transparency" that may go beyond the simple disclosure of information online (Meijer, Hart & Worthy, 2015) . The selection of indicators and their respective weights followed a participatory approach that can be universally replicated. But the MTI model and scores used in this research are unique to the Portuguese local government context and reflect the intrinsic legitimacy of the modelling process. In more general terms, a similar process could be developed in other countries to produce different sets of indicators and weights that would be regarded as relevant by the country's legitimate stakeholders.

It should be noted at the outset that the MTI adopts (and measures) the abovementioned definition of transparency, not a more comprehensive notion of "local government transparency" that may go beyond the simple disclosure of information online.


Transparency is generally regarded as a key element of good governance (TI, 2015) . The topic has been widely discussed in recent literature and relates to many other concepts such as open government and freedom of information. For the purpose of this research, we adopt a simpleand perhaps slightly more constrained than usual -operational definition of transparency: it corresponds to "the online publicity of all the acts of government and their representatives to provide civil society with relevant information in a complete, timely, and accessible manner" (i.e. in the municipalities' official websites) (da Cruz et al., 2016) .

Transparency is generally regarded as a key element of good governance.

For the purpose of this research, we adopt a simpleand perhaps slightly more constrained than usual -operational definition of transparency: it corresponds to "the online publicity of all the acts of government and their representatives to provide civil society with relevant information in a complete, timely, and accessible manner" (i.e. in the municipalities' official websites).


Our operational definition of transparency as "the online publicity of all the acts of government and their representatives to provide civil society with relevant information in a complete, timely, and accessible manner" entails some limitations. First, the definition focuses on information available online, therefore potentially discriminating against digitally disadvantaged citizens. Second, despite the focus on "complete, timely, and easily accessible" information, the data collected for the MTI does not allow us to control for levels of accessibility. In other words, and similarly to other indexes present in the literature, the MTI model can only guarantee that the information included in its calculation is present on the official websites and not that it is easily accessible and/or of high quality. Despite these limitations, we are confident that this type of information has the potential to disclose private interests which can conflict with the collective interest and make actors accountable for decisions and actions taken or omitted, and the facts that informed them (da Cruz et al., 2016) .

Despite these limitations, we are confident that this type of information has the potential to disclose private interests which can conflict with the collective interest and make actors accountable for decisions and actions taken or omitted, and the facts that informed them.


One important implication from our analysis concerns the potential payments to developing nations for reducing carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). Brazil has been considered a prime candidate for a REDD programme, partly because of its vast forest estate and also because of its detailed forest monitoring schemes (Nepstad et al. 2007) . One of the key features of any REDD programme is that reduced emissions must be calculated as deviation from a baseline deforestation rate (Mollicone et al. 2007) . If, as our analysis suggests, there is no sure way for estimating how much deforestation would have occurred in the absence of a REDD programme, then time-series models of future deforestation should not be relied upon to determine the carbon emissions that were avoided by implementing a programme (Kerr et al. 2004) . Rather, historical observed deforestation estimates should be used to assess the magnitude of the reduction in carbon emissions from avoided deforestation.

Brazil has been considered a prime candidate for a REDD programme, partly because of its vast forest estate and also because of its detailed forest monitoring schemes.

One of the key features of any REDD programme is that reduced emissions must be calculated as deviation from a baseline deforestation rate.

If, as our analysis suggests, there is no sure way for estimating how much deforestation would have occurred in the absence of a REDD programme, then time-series models of future deforestation should not be relied upon to determine the carbon emissions that were avoided by implementing a programme.


Model significance was assessed using standard ANOVA on the MAMs, and with remove-one cross-validation which is a powerful alternative to parametric estimates of model significance (Maggini et al. 2006) . In this procedure, each observation is removed from the dataset in turn, and the remaining data points are used to predict the value of the removed data point. This is repeated with each data point being removed in turn. The predicted values are regressed against the observed values, with the regression representing the ability of the model to recreate the observed data.

Model significance was assessed using standard ANOVA on the MAMs, and with remove-one cross-validation which is a powerful alternative to parametric estimates of model significance.


A free-standing structure is one that stands alone (or on its own foundation) and is free from external support or attachment to a non-electro-active platform. One of the advantages of free-standing thick-film structures is their ability to provide a support structure upon which other sensing materials can be deposited. Such structures are threedimensional micromechanical structures and are analogous to silicon micro-machined MEMS [9] . The main difference is that free-standing thick-film structures are formed without the need for a supporting platforms, which are passive mechanical elements that do not directly contribute to the generation of electrical energy. It is therefore desirable for them to be thin and flexible.

Such structures are threedimensional micromechanical structures and are analogous to silicon micro-machined MEMS.


Bulk piezoelectric materials can be measured with either static or dynamic measurement methods. The measurement of thick-film piezoelectrics, however, is not straightforward because the films are attached to a substrate, the effect of which is to introduce a boundary condition on the active material. The longitudinal piezoelectric charge coefficient, d 33 , cannot therefore be measured directly because of the influence of additional electrical charge produced as a result of the transverse piezoelectric, d 31 , effect. The properties of thickfilm piezoelectric materials are therefore inferred accounting for the measurement errors [11] . Free-standing unimorph structures, with a laminar layer of PZT sandwiched between upper and lower electrodes can serve as a characterization tool, to investigate the mechanical and electrical properties of piezoelectric materials.

The properties of thickfilm piezoelectric materials are therefore inferred accounting for the measurement errors.


The Korean government has implemented policies to help the adaptation of international marriage migrant women to the Korean society. However, most of these policies focused on services for sociocultural adaptation such as Hangeul (Korean Alphabet) teaching, and supporting employment, while Korean culture education and psychological problems, such as mental health problems, tend to be lightly treated . For example, depression in the Korean society is apt to be left ignored for a long time due to the perception that depression can be handled by one's own will (Oh & Park, 2007) . These results indicate that mental healthcare experts need to actively develop an intervention strategy to deal with psychological problems among rural international marriage migrant women, focusing on their psychological adaptation.

For example, depression in the Korean society is apt to be left ignored for a long time due to the perception that depression can be handled by one's own will.


Individual psychological adaptation level is a very important indicator to show one's psychological well-being and the overall adaptation level. It was commonly measured with the level of selfesteem, depression and life satisfaction (Bradley & Van Willigen, 2010; Shin, Han, & Kim, 2007) . Based upon the literature, our study measured the level of psychological adaptation with self-esteem, depression, and social problem solving ability levels.

It was commonly measured with the level of selfesteem, depression and life satisfaction.


Beamforming techniques are applied to microphone arrays in the objective of separating sources and improving intelligibility, by means of spatial filtering. The problem of source separation and extraction depends on the number of sources, the number of microphones and their arrangements, the noise level, the way the source signals are mixed within the environment, and on the prior information about the sources, microphones, and mixing parameters. Blind methods do not rely on specific characteristics of the sources, microphones, or mixing parameters. On the contrary, informed methods exploit some prior information about the sources and microphones for example, the location of a desired source. In general, the problem is more difficult when the reverberation time of the acoustic environment is large, and when the number of sources is larger than the number of microphones. As much as the number of microphones is large, the performance of Beamforming techniques is often better. However, when the number of microphones surpassed the number of sources, perfect attenuation of all interferers becomes impossible using time-invariant Beamforming techniques and only partial interference attenuation is possible. This can be explained when in time-invariant Beamforming, the number of directions of arrival that can be perfectly cancelled is restricted by the number of microphones. In order to obtain tangible results, Beamforming techniques require information about the microphone array configuration and the sources. Few methods proposed in the literature have good separation results in a real cocktail party environment. Given the fact that almost all previous proposed methods had shortcomings, researchers resort to methods based on the combination techniques such as Beamforming and BSS [9, 18, 19] .

Given the fact that almost all previous proposed methods had shortcomings, researchers resort to methods based on the combination techniques such as Beamforming and BSS.


Several limitations of the study need to be considered. Firstly, claims represent reported MSDs and may not fully reflect the entire burden to industry. Under-reporting is commonplace in compensation systems where workers may not report injuries due to continued employment issues [28, 29] . Secondly, given the cross-sectional nature of the data, the medical and indemnity costs may not represent final costs as all claims were censored at 31 December 2005, probably resulting in an underestimation of the costs. Thirdly, several key pieces of information were not recorded in the claim data, namely: (i) co-morbidities, (ii) mechanism of injury and (iii) number of workers exposed. Lack of co-morbidity and mechanism of injury data makes it difficult to identify exact cause of the MSDs. Fourthly, the lack of knowledge on the number of individuals exposed precludes estimating MSD rates, further complicating the understanding of their impact. Since only ~70% of all Ohio workers are covered by the Ohio workers' compensation system, there are no existing databases that can provide the distribution of workers in each industry. The total numbers within a job sector would not affect the average cost per claim across job sectors and age groups. Finally, ICD coding is subject to inaccuracies due to variations in diagnostic accuracy and in clinical decisions regarding diagnostic methods [30] . The potential for inaccurate ICD assignment was minimized by standardized physician examinations and diagnostic processes [30] . These limitations are typical of compensation data and need to be kept in mind in interpreting the results.

Under-reporting is commonplace in compensation systems where workers may not report injuries due to continued employment issues.

Finally, ICD coding is subject to inaccuracies due to variations in diagnostic accuracy and in clinical decisions regarding diagnostic methods.

The potential for inaccurate ICD assignment was minimized by standardized physician examinations and diagnostic processes.


Traditionally this has been achieved using an array of lamps covering an area considerably larger than the test section (Simon, 1976) . This is inefficient in terms of the laboratory space requirement and heat input in what should ideally be a temperature-controlled area; there is also a risk of a bright spot under each bulb if the bulb to panel distance is small. The simulator described here overcomes these difficulties by using a reflecting light tube.

Traditionally this has been achieved using an array of lamps covering an area considerably larger than the test section.