Recently, model predictive control (MPC) has been recognized as a promising method in the UAV community [5] . MPC is an optimal control strategy that uses a model to predict the future behaviour of the plant. Based on these predictions, a performance index defined to penalize tracking errors is minimized with respect to the sequence of future inputs, in which only the first action is applied into the plant. This procedure is repeatedly executed in a receding horizon fashion to continuously generate control signals. MPC is a suitable control technique for UAV tracking control, because it naturally takes into account the future value of the reference to eliminate the present and future tracking errors. Moreover, the non-linear MPC is able to consider the kinematics and dynamics of a helicopter as an entire system, which leads to an integrated guidance and control fashion to enhance the flight agility.

Recently, model predictive control (MPC) has been recognized as a promising method in the UAV community.


Moreover, TDZ increased the ethylene production in cut stock flowers and these findings were in according with previously observations [17] . The ethylene produced by TDZ has been used for promoting leaf abscission in cotton plants [18] . Experiments performed on cotton demonstrated that TDZ induced abscission of young and mature leaves. The role of TDZ-induced ethylene during leaf abscission was extensively characterized using ethylene inhibitors such as silver thiosulfate that completely inhibited leaf abscission in intact cotton leaves [19] . On the basis of these results the lack of negative effect of TDZ in cut stock should be explained considering the tissues sensitivity to ethylene. This hypothesis might be justified considering the behaviour of transgenic plants that overproduce cytokinins. Transgenic petunia containing the construct SAG12:IPT that overexpressed cytokinins showed that the higher level of cytokinins reduced the sensitivity of flowers to exogenous ethylene [20] .

Moreover, TDZ increased the ethylene production in cut stock flowers and these findings were in according with previously observations.

The ethylene produced by TDZ has been used for promoting leaf abscission in cotton plants.

The role of TDZ-induced ethylene during leaf abscission was extensively characterized using ethylene inhibitors such as silver thiosulfate that completely inhibited leaf abscission in intact cotton leaves.

Transgenic petunia containing the construct SAG12:IPT that overexpressed cytokinins showed that the higher level of cytokinins reduced the sensitivity of flowers to exogenous ethylene.


For general bottom topographies numerical methods are available. For geometries where the depths at either side tend asymptotically to the same value, a solution can be obtained by utilizing the Green's function for a time-harmonic wave source in finite depth. Application of Green's theorem provides a Fredholm integral equation for the unknown velocity potential over the non-constant part of the bottom profile whilst a separate integral representation provides the potential at an arbitrary point in the fluid region in terms of the potential on this bottom profile. Despite the simplicity of this formulation the authors are not aware of any calculations using this method for a given bottom profile, although the method has been used in a corresponding acoustic problem to derive frequencies of trapped modes over an arbitrary obstacle in an acoustic waveguide (Linton & Evans 1992) .

Despite the simplicity of this formulation the authors are not aware of any calculations using this method for a given bottom profile, although the method has been used in a corresponding acoustic problem to derive frequencies of trapped modes over an arbitrary obstacle in an acoustic waveguide.


Another explanation for the superior positive emotion effect is that positive stimuli signal reward and elicit an approach tendency, whereas negative stimuli signal punishment and are associated with avoidance (Kiefer, Schuch, Schenck & Fiedler 2007) . This explains why people seemed to suppress thus lead to poor performance in remembering negative materials. Indeed, the current study found that negative emotional contents were significantly less remembered even when compared to the baseline condition.

Another explanation for the superior positive emotion effect is that positive stimuli signal reward and elicit an approach tendency, whereas negative stimuli signal punishment and are associated with avoidance.


Long-term memory has been broken down into two categories, explicit and implicit. Explicit memory is the ability to consciously recall some experience or thought and, implicit memory is an experience that one may not be able to consciously recall yet can be shown to be present. It refers to situations in which memory is affected by prior events but the remembered has no awareness of this influence (Neath 2008) . In other words, implicit memory refers to memories of which people are not consciously aware, but which can affect subsequent performance and behavior (Feldman 2008) .

It refers to situations in which memory is affected by prior events but the remembered has no awareness of this influence.

In other words, implicit memory refers to memories of which people are not consciously aware, but which can affect subsequent performance and behavior.


The zonal structure of fracturing has been discovered in the drilling-and-blasting processes of openings and in experiments. The zonal disintegration phenomenon around the tunnels in the Witwatersrand gold mines in South Africa at depths of 2000e 3000 m was initially observed with a periscope (Cloete and Jager, 1972) . Subsequently, the zonal disintegration phenomenon was widely observed in the surrounding rock mass in deep gold mines in South Africa (Adams and Jager, 1980) . Similarly, the zonal disintegration phenomena have also been discovered in the Taimyrskii and Mayak mines in Russia (Shemyakin et al., 1986a) . Shemyakin, who first studied the zonal disintegration phenomenon of deep rock masses in 1986, obtained satisfactory results via in situ observations (Shemyakin et al., 1986b) . After that, great efforts have been continuously made to understand the zonal disintegration phenomena as a type of failure mode of deep rock masses.

The zonal disintegration phenomenon around the tunnels in the Witwatersrand gold mines in South Africa at depths of 2000e 3000 m was initially observed with a periscope.

Subsequently, the zonal disintegration phenomenon was widely observed in the surrounding rock mass in deep gold mines in South Africa.

Similarly, the zonal disintegration phenomena have also been discovered in the Taimyrskii and Mayak mines in Russia.

Shemyakin, who first studied the zonal disintegration phenomenon of deep rock masses in 1986, obtained satisfactory results via in situ observations.


Investigations of the microcharacteristics of various materials by physical methods are responsible for the introduction of concepts such as dislocations, disclinations, vacancies, and other characteristics of crystal structure defects in literature. From the perspective of classical mechanics of continuous medium and non-equilibrium thermodynamics, the characteristics for internal structure descriptions introduced by different investigators clearly require an extension of the kinematic basis of the theory. In the 1950s, the natural kinematic variables for the models of defects observed in the crystal structure of materials were demonstrated to be nonEuclidean objects (Bilby et al., 1955; Myasnikov and Guzev, 2000) . The idea is introduced by abandoning the kinematics hypothesis of the classical continuum model and suggests that the internal geometry of a material does not coincide with the geometry of the observer's Euclidean space.

In the 1950s, the natural kinematic variables for the models of defects observed in the crystal structure of materials were demonstrated to be nonEuclidean objects.


Growing capacities of RE, particularly solar PV and wind, have resulted in falling costs and increased competitiveness of RE technologies on a levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) basis [17] . Storage technologies have shown similar cost reductions, especially batteries [18] . Therefore, combining RE and storage may offer the lowest cost power solutions in the future [17] . In a European context, this could represent a well-timed opportunity. Currently, much of the generation capacity is rather old and carbon intensive. At the same time, most of the nuclear power plants of Europe may be decommissioned before 2050. So, there appears to be an opportunity to replace older power plants with RE technologies without the risk of stranded investments [19] .

Growing capacities of RE, particularly solar PV and wind, have resulted in falling costs and increased competitiveness of RE technologies on a levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) basis.

Storage technologies have shown similar cost reductions, especially batteries.

Therefore, combining RE and storage may offer the lowest cost power solutions in the future.

So, there appears to be an opportunity to replace older power plants with RE technologies without the risk of stranded investments.


There are joint EU goals defined to increase the share of RE. The overall policy requires the EU to fulfil at least 20% of its total energy consumption from renewables by 2020. Also, all EU countries must ensure at least 10% of their transport fuels come from RE sources by 2020 in National Renewable Energy Action Plans (NREAPs). Leading up to 2020, two trajectories must be achieved. The minimum indicative Renewable Energy Directive (RED) Trajectories for RE share in each Member State had to be met by 2018 and Expected Trajectories had to be adopted as part of the NREAPs of 2010, with reports from Member States submitted to the European Commission in 2011, 2013, and 2015. RED was amended in 2015 to address concerns around the indirect land-use of biofuels, with a limitation of 5% for food-based fuels. There was an additional framework adopted by the EU Council in 2014 for 2030 goals: a binding minimum 40% domestic reduction in GHG emissions compared with 1990 levels; a binding minimum 27% share of Gross Final Energy Consumption as well as an indicative minimum 27% improvement in energy efficiency; and national level integration of 2030 goals into energy frameworks. The binding renewable energy target was also adjusted upwards to 32% in 2018, with an aim to revise that figure higher still by 2023 [13] . Nationally, targets and goals differ substantially, as well as the support instruments used to achieve them ( Figs. 1 and 2) .

The binding renewable energy target was also adjusted upwards to 32% in 2018, with an aim to revise that figure higher still by 2023.


Microgrids projects have emerged as a promising solution to electrify remote rural and under-served urban areas [4] . A microgrid is a localized group of generation and storage devices working together to supply a local demand [5] . Generation can be based on photovoltaics, wind power, fossil-fueled distributed generation, or a combination of these and other technologies. Microgrids are able to operate connected to a main grid or in stand-alone (often called off-grid). Rural electrification introduces the indicators proposed and the algorithm to obtain the proposed CSI using these indicators. The proposed framework for monitoring the sustainable development of an existing microgrid is presented in Section 6. Section 7 summarizes the case study and the obtained results. Finally, Section 8 presents the conclusions of this work.

Microgrids projects have emerged as a promising solution to electrify remote rural and under-served urban areas.

A microgrid is a localized group of generation and storage devices working together to supply a local demand.


The formation of the fermentation enzymes and the production of lactate, ethanol and butanediol by A. eutrophus are probably the result of various successive regulatory events. The change in the NADH/NAD+ ratio may be involved as the primary metabolic signal (Harrison, 1976) . The sequence of events is a matter of speculation. The NADH/NAD+ ratio may directly cause inhibition of various enzymes which would result in the accumulation of intermediary metabolites; the latter may subsequently function at the genetic level to derepress the formation of fermentation enzymes. This assumption is necessary to explain why the relative respiration rate at which derepression occurs is different for each enzyme.

The change in the NADH/NAD+ ratio may be involved as the primary metabolic signal.


The quantity H C (P) is a special case of an entropic uncertainty measure called sometimes the zero-continent entropy [18] . We will deal with it in the next few Sections. The S-L entropies depend on certain parameters. If these parameters approach 1 then they converge toward the Shannon entropy. In Sec.2 we present some important S-L entropies and describe their mathematical properties. In Sec.3 we depict their graphical representations as a function of components of a probability distribution and the corresponding parameters. In Sec.4 we show how to formulate the uncertainty principle of quantum physics by means of S-L entropies.

The quantity H C (P) is a special case of an entropic uncertainty measure called sometimes the zero-continent entropy.


The association between depression and increased service utilization may be because of high rates of somatization, symptom amplification, and heightened awareness of bodily sensation among depressed patients [29] . Relative to non-depressed patients, those with depression are 3-4 times more likely to complain of nonspecific symptoms such as fatigue, dizziness, headache, abdominal pain, and back pain [11] . While cancer and its treatments may be associated with an increase in these symptoms, these reports suggest that depressed cancer patients may report more frequent and/or more intense experiences of these non-specific symptoms, ultimately prompting more healthcare utilization.

The association between depression and increased service utilization may be because of high rates of somatization, symptom amplification, and heightened awareness of bodily sensation among depressed patients.

Relative to non-depressed patients, those with depression are 3-4 times more likely to complain of nonspecific symptoms such as fatigue, dizziness, headache, abdominal pain, and back pain.


In this paper an ultrasonic flow meter for water was exposed to five different test configurations, one reference set-up and four disturbances. The disturbances, which were mounted in front of the meter, were a single elbow, a double elbow out of plane, a reduction in diameter and a rotating valve. The experiments were performed in a flow meter calibration facility in the flow range with Reynolds number approximately from 25 to 110 000. All four of the disturbances caused errors when compared with the reference experiment [14] .

All four of the disturbances caused errors when compared with the reference experiment.


Interviews in the villages were facilitated by a local interpreter. Village indunas helped select suitable interpreters. Interviews were voice recorded wherever possible and verbatim transcripts (based on translation from local dialects) completed. The interview transcripts were coded, using the NVivo software program, which helps to sort and organise transcripts of conversations into a reduced number of researcher designated coded clusters (Weitzman, 2000) . Although the researcher designates the codes, these are generally regarded as emergent, where ideas apparent from the interviews provide the basis for codes. Initial emergent codes were derived from frequently mentioned concepts such as 'jobs in Kruger'.

The interview transcripts were coded, using the NVivo software program, which helps to sort and organise transcripts of conversations into a reduced number of researcher designated coded clusters.


The case study approach enabled this research to focus on the Kruger Park, its associated tourism and local communities (where interactions with tourism are possible) as a social ecological system. The concept of social ecological systems recognises that human and natural systems are explicitly interdependent -that events in one affect the other. Also, interactions occur between social and ecological systems across multiple scales (Liu et al., 2007) . For example, apartheid policies of resettlement into Bantustans (apartheid tribal homelands) are recognised as having caused local environmental degradation (Pollard et al., 2008) . Conceptualising the Park and its local communities as a social ecological system also provides for a rich description of the potential impacts of tourism, by identifying interactions between system components, such as between the Park and communities, which may in turn affect the possibilities for benefiting from tourism.

Also, interactions occur between social and ecological systems across multiple scales.

For example, apartheid policies of resettlement into Bantustans (apartheid tribal homelands) are recognised as having caused local environmental degradation.


On splitting methane into carbon atoms and hydrogen atoms, and molecular hydrogen into atomic hydrogen, gas state carbon atoms convert into graphite state carbon atoms followed by diamond state carbon atoms. Conversions of gas state carbon atoms into graphite and diamond state carbon atoms require a partially non-conservative force to furnish their electron dynamics [37] . During the interaction of gases with hot-filaments, dissociation under the thermal activation of hot-filaments into hydrogen and carbon atoms takes place. Thermal activation of filaments is the source of typical energies converting gas state atoms to graphite and diamond state atoms.

Conversions of gas state carbon atoms into graphite and diamond state carbon atoms require a partially non-conservative force to furnish their electron dynamics.


At low chamber pressures, the increase in the mean free paths under low pressures leads to partially controlled dynamics of depositing carbon atoms. The carbon film deposited at 3.3 kPa shows mixed behaviour of nucleating tiny grain and their growth into grains and particles. However, since the production of active species is proportional to the pressure, their concentration eventually goes through a maximum level as the reactant pressure falls below a critical value [17] . As given in Table 1 , under fixed input power, temperature of hot-filaments at high chamber pressure was decreased, which also decreased the temperature of substrate. This leads to the enhancement of the rate of secondary nucleation where the thickness of the deposited films reduced as shown in Figure 2 (E) and (F). The thickness of carbon film at chamber pressure 8.6 kPa is the highest as shown in Figure 2 (D) . The dissociation of the molecular hydrogen into atomic hydrogen is initially increased by increasing chamber pressure to 8.6 kPa where more atoms of gas state carbon convert into graphite state carbon atoms followed by diamond state carbon atoms. However, on increasing the chamber pressure to 11.3 kPa or 14.0 kPa, not only the dissociation rate of hydrogen was affected but the rate of gas' collisions was also enhanced. As a result, there is a decreased rate of conversion of gas state carbon atoms into graphite state carbon atoms followed by diamond state carbon atoms. Hence, the growth rate decreased along with the deteriorating quality of diamond-specific growth. Under commonly employed conditions of HFCVD process, the transportation of atomic hydrogen for growing surface is a diffusion limited process [31] .

However, since the production of active species is proportional to the pressure, their concentration eventually goes through a maximum level as the reactant pressure falls below a critical value.

Under commonly employed conditions of HFCVD process, the transportation of atomic hydrogen for growing surface is a diffusion limited process.


The theory of viscous fluid plays an important role in real life due to its tremendous applications in science and technology. For viscous fluids, scientists generally consider the case of constant viscosity because of simplicity, but in certain situations and with a more practical point of view, the viscosity of the fluid can be variable. There are three possibilities for variable viscosity. For liquids, viscosity can depend on space variables or temperature, whereas in solids or highly non-Newtonian fluids viscosity can be a function of pressure, in the cases of gases the viscosity may exhibit variations with density. For liquids the most feasible scenario is to consider the viscosity as a function of temperature. The variations in fluid temperature due to the heat transfer from the boundaries, heat produced by the inner friction of the nanofluid phases or other sources can disturb the fluid dynamic viscosity. The viscosity thus is no longer expected to be constant. The phenomenon can be observed in number of materials. For example: In water and coal slurries the viscosity varies with temperature variations. Viscosity of these fluids normally is inversely related to the temperature. A rise in temperature therefore may fasten the mass transport phenomena. To study the flow and thermodynamics of the fluid, it is therefore unavoidable to consider the temperature dependence of the dynamic viscosity. There are few useful studies which deal with viscosity being considered as a function of temperature [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] .

There are few useful studies which deal with viscosity being considered as a function of temperature.


Although the aforementioned rear-end collision avoidance detection approaches have shown some potential in certain conditions, several technical barriers remain to be surmounted. First, most of the research uses vision sensors, which are weather sensitive and thus not adaptive for wide applications. In addition, some research has adopted technologies such as scanning radar to provide relative positioning for the collision avoidance system, but in these cases the system performance is highly related to the cost of the sensors. Compared with the other technologies, GNSS and its fusion with other data sources are an optimal method for collision avoidance systems due to low cost and insensitivity to the weather. The relative position and real-time dynamic information between two GNSS users can be obtained from wireless communication in order to assess the safety situation for the avoidance of rear-end collisions. In current GNSS based rear-end collision avoidance systems, however, the accuracy of the real-time estimation of positioning and dynamic states can be affected by abrupt manoeuvers by the drivers [7] [8] [9] . Although a reliable algorithm for extracting the car-following status is therefore essential, the reliability and robustness of the GNSS fusion will also be critical for successful rear-end collision avoidance systems.

In current GNSS based rear-end collision avoidance systems, however, the accuracy of the real-time estimation of positioning and dynamic states can be affected by abrupt manoeuvers by the drivers.


Estimating the accuracy of a LULC classification is an important issue. Only a few existing databases are available for validation, and these data, although called "reference data", may be imperfect and could have a significant impact on the accuracy assessment [23] . The first reference dataset, the Belgian inventory grid, suffered from synchronicity problems, which have been pointed out as a critical aspect of the accuracy assessment [24] . Indeed, the last updating of the Belgian inventory grid was carried out in 2014 and was compared here with Sentinel-2 imagery from 2016.

Only a few existing databases are available for validation, and these data, although called "reference data", may be imperfect and could have a significant impact on the accuracy assessment.

The first reference dataset, the Belgian inventory grid, suffered from synchronicity problems, which have been pointed out as a critical aspect of the accuracy assessment.


Two pieces of interesting information could be retrieved from an investigation of the classifiers' performance under a different sampling size. First, MLC and RF performed similarly. The difference in their performance was not statistically significant (less than 5%) [16] . However, the highest accuracy was achieved with MLC in relation to both reference datasets (LUCAS and the National Belgian grid). Second, although a large training dataset was desirable, the maximum OA was reached with only 30% of the LUCAS dataset for all the classification algorithms. Estimating the accuracy of a LULC classification is an important issue. Only a few existing databases are available for validation, and these data, although called "reference data", may be imperfect and could have a significant impact on the accuracy assessment [23] . The first reference dataset, the Belgian inventory grid, suffered from synchronicity problems, which have been pointed out as a critical aspect of the accuracy assessment [24] . Indeed, the last updating of the Belgian inventory grid was carried out in 2014 and was compared here with Sentinel-2 imagery from 2016. However, this validation dataset enabled us to define the correct size of the sampling data, the classification algorithm, and the land area statistics. In contrast, the LUCAS validation dataset was based on Sentinel-2 imagery with 10 m spatial resolution and not on the aerial photography of 0.25 m. Thus, we observed errors related to the boundaries of small features, such as rivers less than 10 m wide, in the Belgian grid validation. The LUCAS validation dataset was mainly used to validate the classification accuracy due to its synchronicity with the scene.

First, MLC and RF performed similarly.

The difference in their performance was not statistically significant (less than 5%).


Two pieces of interesting information could be retrieved from an investigation of the classifiers' performance under a different sampling size. First, MLC and RF performed similarly. The difference in their performance was not statistically significant (less than 5%) [16] . However, the highest accuracy was achieved with MLC in relation to both reference datasets (LUCAS and the National Belgian grid). Second, although a large training dataset was desirable, the maximum OA was reached with only 30% of the LUCAS dataset for all the classification algorithms.

First, MLC and RF performed similarly.


Common sense knowledge representation is the qualitative and it is shown that qualitative knowledge represents the superset of the quantitative knowledge [12] . Spatial knowledge has a central point in many domains like Artificial Intelligence (AI), spatio-temporal reasoning, natural language processing, human machine interaction, automated reasoning. Spatio-temporal reasoning plays an important role in many computer vision applications, such as path planning in robotics, visual object recognition at higher level which includes the interpretation and integration of visual information and video scene interpretation.

Common sense knowledge representation is the qualitative and it is shown that qualitative knowledge represents the superset of the quantitative knowledge.


An important implication of the fact that the study is based on interview data is that the results are about the interviewees' thoughts about each organization (Silverman, 1993) . They highlight what the interviewees talked about and how they presented their ideas. Conclusions can therefore be drawn about the interviewees' thoughts, but not about an actual separation between knowledge and actions.

An important implication of the fact that the study is based on interview data is that the results are about the interviewees' thoughts about each organization.


The multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) is a key technology for evolving wireless technologies including LTE and LTE-Advanced (or IMT-Advanced) [1] . It involves multiple antennas to enhance the capacity and throughput in multipath propagation environments. The MIMO performance in a multiantenna communication system depends on the antenna placement and design at the terminal and on the channel environment. Furthermore, since the MIMO radio channel is a combination of the antenna characteristics and the radio propagation conditions, the antenna performance metrics, such as gain, radiation efficiency, and the difference of gain between the multiple antennas, do not directly point towards the MIMO performance.

The multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) is a key technology for evolving wireless technologies including LTE and LTE-Advanced (or IMT-Advanced).


One of the key issues addressed in anechoic chamber and fading emulator-based multiprobe systems is the number of required probes. Due to the fact that the cost for such a multiprobe system increases rapidly with the required number of probes, it becomes important to analyze in detail what the required number of probes is. The purpose of this paper is to establish accurate rules for the number of probes required for synthesizing the radio propagation channel inside the multiprobe system as a function of the size of the DUT in wavelengths and the uncertainty level of the field synthesis. These rules concern particularly 2D circular multiprobe systems, and hence they support well the development of test methods relying on 2D channel models like SCME and WINNER II. Here, the synthesis of the electromagnetic fields is conducted using the spherical wave theory which has been widely used in the spherical near-field as well as far-field antenna measurements to model the 3D radiation from antennas [16] .

Here, the synthesis of the electromagnetic fields is conducted using the spherical wave theory which has been widely used in the spherical near-field as well as far-field antenna measurements to model the 3D radiation from antennas.


Let us describe how is organize this paper. In the next section we introduce notations and prove some results about approximation of C b (H) functions by trigonometric series and some properties of the solutions of the measure equation (2) . In section 3, we prove Theorem 1.2. Finally, Theorems 1.4 and 1.5 are proved in section 4 and 5, respectively. In order to be clear, each proof is divided into several subsections.

In the next section we introduce notations and prove some results about approximation of C b (H) functions by trigonometric series and some properties of the solutions of the measure equation.

In section 3, we prove Theorem 1.2.


Organisations attempting to build new business models face challenges around key capabilities; needing to support their services strategy incrementally, while attempting to deliver step changes in service value outcomes (Story, Raddats, Burton, Zolkiewski & Baines, 2016) . In response to these challenges, firms need to develop clear lines of communication between their NPD and NSD staff, to reduce conflict and increase learning across the organisation, and ensure that staff can understand each other's issues -through such options as training and job switches. Structures also need to be put in place to support clearer revenue attribution across SBUs and to help with the services personnel constraints that many servitizing firms face, which hinder services implementation efforts. Our findings suggest that multi-skilling current staff, building standardisation or modularisation of services, where possible, and developing supporting process tools improve firms' NSD outcomes.

Organisations attempting to build new business models face challenges around key capabilities; needing to support their services strategy incrementally, while attempting to deliver step changes in service value outcomes.


Considering which of the segments to target and how to respond, segment 3 is a priority as it comprises the greatest proportion of the sample (30%) and highlights value-action or attitudebehaviour gap (Blake, 1999; Kollmuss and Agyeman, 2002) . Therefore, policies which change behaviour are preferred over those solely providing information. For this segment, Personal Norms have a positive association with a willingness to pay more to fly and willingness to adapt everyday behaviour. This reinforces the need to align a desire to reduce reliance on air travel with these energy saving behaviours, increasing the influence of personal norms upon willingness to reduce air travel and flight frequency.

Considering which of the segments to target and how to respond, segment 3 is a priority as it comprises the greatest proportion of the sample (30%) and highlights value-action or attitudebehaviour gap.


A more developed implementation of the method has the potential to provide many aspects of the spatiotemporal analytical capabilities required for more general GIS-BIM integration [10] . For example, a regional energy provider could deploy the processing, modelling, and dissemination components of the system, publishing messages that describe the state of the integrated intra-urban and intra-building demand-supply network that it manages. A facility manager could then subscribe to a topic on the broker, exploiting the published messages (in a similar way to component C of Figure 9 ) on a dashboard that supports fault diagnosis through highlighting anomalies in a flow visualisation; at the same time, a civil systems engineer or urban planner could subscribe to the same topic and conduct analyses on historic time-series data in support of assessing the impact of proposed modifications to the supporting infrastructure.

A more developed implementation of the method has the potential to provide many aspects of the spatiotemporal analytical capabilities required for more general GIS-BIM integration.


Home gardens are perhaps the best-developed agroforestry system in Sri Lanka. This system of perennial cropping has been practiced for centuries. It is essentially mixed cropping with a variety of tree species that provide food, fruits, timber, medicine and spices. The significance of homegardens to rural livelihoods is well appreciated throughout the world (Fernandes and Nair, 1986; Soemarwoto, 1987; Torquebiau, 1992; Jose and Shanmugaratnam, 1993; Nair, 2006) . The garden may become the principal source of household food and income during periods of stress, e.g. the preharvest lean season, harvest failure, prolonged unemployment, health or other disabilities suffered by family members or agricultural and economic disruption caused by warty as well.

The significance of homegardens to rural livelihoods is well appreciated throughout the world.


Phase change materials (PCM) have attracted the interest of the scientific community due to the possibilities of increasing of the thermal energy storage in buildings. Utilization of PCM will reduce the energy demand, and thereby contribute to a better environment. During the daytime, PCM absorbs excess heat by melting. The heat is released when the temperature decreases at night, causing the PCM to solidify [1] . Due to the high latent heat capacity of PCM, a considerable amount of heat energy can be stored during the phase change [1, 2] . However, utilizing bulk quantities of PCMs is subject to problems. A low thermal conductivity causes bulk amounts of PCM to solidify only around the edges preventing a good heat transfer process [2, 3] . These problems can be avoided by encapsulating the PCM into microcapsules. These microcapsules can then be incorporated into building materials, such as concrete, in order to create a smart material suitable for passive house construction. Incorporating micro-encapsulated PCM (MPCM) in structural materials significantly improves thermal energy storage. However, MPCM has been found to reduce the mechanical properties of building materials [4] .

The heat is released when the temperature decreases at night, causing the PCM to solidify.

Due to the high latent heat capacity of PCM, a considerable amount of heat energy can be stored during the phase change.

A low thermal conductivity causes bulk amounts of PCM to solidify only around the edges preventing a good heat transfer process.

However, MPCM has been found to reduce the mechanical properties of building materials.


In recent years, the effect of PCMs and MPCMs on the mechanical properties of structural materials especially cementitious materials such as mortar and concrete has been studied at various curing conditions. Unfortunately, the presence of MPCM decreases the mechanical strength of concrete [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] . Several factors have been suggested to contribute to this strength reduction. When MPCMs replaces a certain percentage of sand, the mechanical strength decreases due to lower stiffness and strength of MPCM compared to sand [6] . In addition, rupture of the capsules during the mixing process and compression may cause leakage of PCM into the cementitious materials thereby reducing the strength [7] . PCM might induce voids and air bubbles, which also reduces the concrete strength [8] . In addition, weak bonds between the MPCM and the binder matrix can lead to interfacial gaps between MPCM and the concrete matrix [9] .

Unfortunately, the presence of MPCM decreases the mechanical strength of concrete.

When MPCMs replaces a certain percentage of sand, the mechanical strength decreases due to lower stiffness and strength of MPCM compared to sand.

In addition, rupture of the capsules during the mixing process and compression may cause leakage of PCM into the cementitious materials thereby reducing the strength.

PCM might induce voids and air bubbles, which also reduces the concrete strength.

In addition, weak bonds between the MPCM and the binder matrix can lead to interfacial gaps between MPCM and the concrete matrix.


The main purpose of this study is to examine how incorporation of MPCM influences the mechanical properties of both GPC and PCC at different curing times. Since the state (liquid or solid) of the PCM might influence the compressive strength, the systems have been studied both below and above the melting point of the PCM. The PCM utilized in this study has a melting temperature of about 28°C, which is suitable for warm climates such as southern Europe [18, 19] . In order to gain more information regarding the cause of the reduced compressive strength, we have also investigated how the MPCM alters the microstructures of GPC and PCC.

The PCM utilized in this study has a melting temperature of about 28°C, which is suitable for warm climates such as southern Europe.


Together with the ideal MHD potential energy, δW f (which includes the effects of geometry, field line bending, and free expansion energy associated with the pressure gradient), the boundary term Φ b (i) and the inertia term ω 2 (ii) describe ideal MHD shear Alfvén waves and eigenmodes. The non-ideal effects (iii)-(v) influence an ideal MHD eigenmode by altering its frequency, growth rate and mode structure. In addition, they introduce gaps and, hence, various accumulation points in the continuous SAW spectrum, which serve as birth points for various types of discrete Alfvén eigenmodes [21] .

In addition, they introduce gaps and, hence, various accumulation points in the continuous SAW spectrum, which serve as birth points for various types of discrete Alfvén eigenmodes.


FG smart materials with continuous transition of material properties throughout the domain have been proposed to avoid failure and discontinuity of multiphysics fields in conventional laminated smart composites. FG structures also benefit from their multiphysics properties on the surfaces that enhance their compatibility for various applications [45, 46] . Accordingly, investigation on multiphysics analysis of FG intelligent structures is essential for promoting their applications.

FG structures also benefit from their multiphysics properties on the surfaces that enhance their compatibility for various applications.


For both the MFIE and EFIE, the solution current is usually expanded in a basis of RWG functions [2] . The testing of the EFIE is usually done by means of rotated RWGs, where 'rotated' means that the cross product with the surface normal was taken. This discretization strategy has proven very successful regarding the accuracy of the solution current. In addition, the solution current is provably low-frequency stable. For the MFIE, the testing is usually done with the RWGs (not rotated), leading to the standard MFIE. Although this leads to a very well-conditioned system, the accuracy of the solution current is generally worse than that of the EFIE. Also, the current solution of the standard MFIE is not low-frequency stable. Therefore the charge associated with this solution current diverges when the frequency goes to zero. This behavior is neither physical nor consistent with the EFIE solution. It also has deleterious repercussions on the normal component of the electric field, which diverges along with the charge.

For both the MFIE and EFIE, the solution current is usually expanded in a basis of RWG functions.


This is true because the charge distribution ρ(r) associated with the solution current is given by ρ(r) = j ω ∇ · j (r). We know that in reality, the charge distribution should converge to the static value when the low-frequency limit is taken. There-fore the divergence of the solution current must become proportional to the frequency, again in the low-frequency limit. Currents that satisfy (1) will be called low-frequency stable. When an electromagnetic scattering problem is discretized, however, it is not trivial to automatically get solution currents that are low-frequency stable. Indeed, ordinarily one would expect that when a continuous problem such as an integral equation is discretized, the discretization error would contaminate any small O (ω) contributions to the solution current. Yet these small contaminations have a large effect on the fields. As it turns out, the lowfrequency stability of the solution current, i.e. the absence of contamination, depends critically upon the discretization strategy [1] .

As it turns out, the lowfrequency stability of the solution current, i.e. the absence of contamination, depends critically upon the discretization strategy.


In OBS, IP packets reaching the edge router are aggregated into bursts before being transmitted in the optical core network. The assembly algorithm at the edge router keeps track of the size of the burst and the delay experienced by the first packet in the burst. A timer-based assembly algorithm creates a burst when the delay for the first packet reaches a timeout, while a size-based algorithm creates a burst when the size of the burst reaches a threshold. A size/timer-based hybrid burstifier creates a burst when either of the size or time thresholds is reached. As far as TCP throughput is concerned, size-based burstification performs the worst, size/timer-based performs better, and timer-based performs the best [6, 7] .

As far as TCP throughput is concerned, size-based burstification performs the worst, size/timer-based performs better, and timer-based performs the best.


From simple logical constructs to complex deep neural network models, Artificial Intelligence (AI)-agents are increasingly controlling physical/mechanical systems. Self-driving cars, drones, and smart cities are just examples of such systems to name a few. However, regardless of the explosion in the use of AI within a multitude of cyber-physical systems (CPS) domains, the safety and reliability of these AI-enabled CPS is still an under-studied problem. It is then unsurprising the failure of these AI-controlled CPS in several, safety-critical, situations leading to human fatalities [1] .

It is then unsurprising the failure of these AI-controlled CPS in several, safety-critical, situations leading to human fatalities.


Applying formal verification to neural network models comes with its unique challenges. First and foremost is the lack of widelyaccepted, precise, mathematical specifications capturing the correct behavior of a neural network. Therefore, recent works focused entirely on verifying neural networks against simple input-output specifications [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] . Such input-output techniques compute a guaranteed range for the output of a deep neural network given a set of inputs represented as a convex polyhedron. To that end, several algorithms that takes advantage of the piecewise linear nature of the Rectified Linear Unit (ReLU) activation functions (one of the most famous nonlinear activation functions in deep neural networks) have been proposed. For example, by using binary variables to encode piecewise linear functions, the constraints of ReLU functions are encoded as a Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MILP). Combining output specifications that are expressed in terms of Linear Programming (LP), the verification problem eventually turns to a MILP feasibility problem [32, 34] .

Therefore, recent works focused entirely on verifying neural networks against simple input-output specifications.

Combining output specifications that are expressed in terms of Linear Programming (LP), the verification problem eventually turns to a MILP feasibility problem.


Opioid substitution treatment (OST) could play a key role in the management of the HCV epidemic among PWID [21] . Modelling studies have shown that scaling up HCV treatment combined with improved coverage of OST and needle and syringe programs can prevent onwards transmission and lead to substantial reductions in HCV prevalence [22, 23] . Furthermore, OST programs could provide a platform for linkage to HCV care using existing frameworks for multidisciplinary addiction care. HCV assessment and treatment within such integrated models has shown its feasibility in several studies [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] . However, HCV treatment uptake among OST patients has to our knowledge not been documented at the population level.

Opioid substitution treatment (OST) could play a key role in the management of the HCV epidemic among PWID.

Modelling studies have shown that scaling up HCV treatment combined with improved coverage of OST and needle and syringe programs can prevent onwards transmission and lead to substantial reductions in HCV prevalence.

HCV assessment and treatment within such integrated models has shown its feasibility in several studies.


The phenomenon of resonance is also particularly important in structural engineering. It represents a form of dynamic instability, which occurs when an external periodic frequency matches one of the natural frequencies of vibration of the mechanical system. In this case, therefore, structural design deals with the determination of such dangerous natural frequencies according to modal analysis [2] [3] [4] .

In this case, therefore, structural design deals with the determination of such dangerous natural frequencies according to modal analysis.


Buckling, resonance and flutter are the main forms of instability of the elastic equilibrium of structural systems. In buckling instability, by removing the hypothesis of small displacements so that the deformed structural configuration can be distinguished from the undeformed one, it is possible to show that the solution of an elastic problem can represent a condition of stable, neutral or unstable equilibrium, depending on the magnitude of the applied load. As is well-known, buckling is usually observed in slender structural elements subjected to a compressive stress field, such as columns of buildings, machine shafts, struts of trusses, thin arches and shells. In some cases, elastic instability can also take place for special loading and geometrical conditions, as for example in the lateral torsional buckling of slender beams [1] .

In some cases, elastic instability can also take place for special loading and geometrical conditions, as for example in the lateral torsional buckling of slender beams.


Most websites use interactive online forms as the main contact point between users and the company. The design of these forms can be a crucial factor for the success of online transactions. Users do not visit a website with the intention or goal of filling in a form. Focusing on the example of online shopping: once users have chosen the items that they wish to buy, they want to complete their shopping as quickly, easily, and safely as possible. In this context, a form may often be perceived as a hurdle. If they are difficult to use, it may even lead to customers aborting the transaction, resulting in loss of profit [1] . A successful revision and redesign of a suboptimal online form may result in an increased completion rate in the range of 10%-40% [1] . The eBay User Experience and Design Group reported that a redesign of the eBay registration form made a significant contribution to eBay's business and user success [2] .

If they are difficult to use, it may even lead to customers aborting the transaction, resulting in loss of profit.

A successful revision and redesign of a suboptimal online form may result in an increased completion rate in the range of 10%-40%.

The eBay User Experience and Design Group reported that a redesign of the eBay registration form made a significant contribution to eBay's business and user success.


Nurses often state that "I did it; I just did not document it, " but regulatory and legal views on documentation counter argue with the adage "if it was not documented; it was not done" [58] . Having a quality nursing document is important as it improves communication, avoids duplication, provides clear information, avoids irrelevant data been entered and inaccuracies occurring. Within palliative care nursing documentation needs to reflect the specialist and expert nursing afforded to patient and their families, moving beyond the recording of physical care and symptom management. Nurses need to demonstrate the value they place on all aspects of their care by documenting the total care provided. To support nurses' documentation of care, education and support is required, but this education has to occur within a culture of change within the whole organisation/service in order to achieve sustainable changes in attitudes and practice.

Nurses often state that "I did it; I just did not document it, " but regulatory and legal views on documentation counter argue with the adage "if it was not documented; it was not done".


The import dependence of the various technology options is measured by the domesticity score: 0 for imported electricity, 0.5 for imported fuel to generate electricity, 1 for domestic production and fuel (see Fig. 8 ). By this measure, scenarios moving towards 100% renewables move towards a system-wide domesticity score of almost 1, whereas both nuclear and fossil-heavy scenarios move towards 0.5. The lowest scores of around 0.3 are for model runs combining renewables with desert solar import and fossils or nuclear. However even in the desert solar import scenario group, the 90% renewable cases achieve a score of almost 0.7. Storage is considered a key element to enable higher renewables penetration. A generic grid-scale battery technology with a fixed cost of 42 GBP/kW charge/discharge capacity cost is used to examine its effect. As can be seen in Fig. 9 , the availability of even expensive (above 350 GBP/kWh storage capacity) grid-scale storage significantly lowers the LCOE for scenario groups 1, 2 and 3. This cost decrease proceeds linearly until around 75 GBP/kWh, after which further cost reductions have a much stronger effect. This suggests that with grid-scale storage capacity at costs much below 75 GBP/kW, a combination of wind and solar with no other technologies moves within the realm of feasibility even without much interconnection outside the UK. Research into storage technologies is ongoing, although storage capacity cost estimates for technologies at the commercial or demonstration stage are in the upper range of the costs considered here [49] . Notably, scenario groups 4 and 5 see only a moderate cost reduction even with storage capacity costs below 75 GBP/kWh. This demonstrates the importance of either a baseload-capable technology (which is how we assume tidal power operates) or larger-scale geographic interconnection (of which the desert solar import can be seen as a proxy) in the absence of sufficiently cheap storage. Given the hourly resolution, these results cannot consider shorter-term balancing for which storage may be additionally relevant in scenarios with higher renewables shares.

Research into storage technologies is ongoing, although storage capacity cost estimates for technologies at the commercial or demonstration stage are in the upper range of the costs considered here.


We consider a stylized space of combinations between nuclear, fossil fuels and renewables, and examine combinations of these with respect to their levelized costs, emissions intensity, and energy security. The fossil fuel group represents a mix of baseload (coal), mid-merit (combined-cycle gas turbine) and peaking (open cycle gas turbine) plants, which are the current backbone of the power system. Renewables encompass onshore and offshore wind, rooftop and large-scale solar PV, tidal range and stream, as well as the existing capacity of hydropower (pumped storage is considered a storage technology and is not grouped with renewable generation). Finally, nuclear is often seen as a potential large-scale source of low-carbon electricity. The mix of generated electricity in the UK in 2013 was about 61.2% fossil fuels, 13.2% renewables, and 23.9% nuclear, with 1.8% of other sources [27] . The potential contribution of bioenergy, including co-firing in fossil plants, is not taken into consideration in this stylized set of technologies, because the barriers for this technology's deployment appear more substantial than for other technologies. While PV and wind power are already being deployed at a large scale, the availability of large-scale bioenergy in the UK is less certain; there is a large number of competing technologies and the market potential of any of them is uncertain. There is also a need for further technology development, and questions of land use and environmental impact [28] . The exclusion of bioenergy can be considered a conservative assumption: it would act as a dispatchable technology (or even a storage technology) for balancing purposes, thus reducing the system costs of high renewables penetrations. One of the scenario groups (A4, see Table 1 ) uses the potential large-scale tidal power deployment to examine the effect of a renewable power source both domestic and dispatchable.

The mix of generated electricity in the UK in 2013 was about 61.2% fossil fuels, 13.2% renewables, and 23.9% nuclear, with 1.8% of other sources.

There is also a need for further technology development, and questions of land use and environmental impact.


Scenarios from these first two groups of studies disagree significantly on the importance and feasibility of key technology groups such as nuclear power or fossil fuels with CCS. These disagreements are partially driven by differing levels of detail on technical feasibility and partially by how strongly economic considerations are included (e.g. via cost minimization) [19] . The third and final class consists of more recent attempts to synthesize approaches from both previous groups, combining (1) more spatial and temporal detail based on measured or modeled renewable resource data, and (2) modeling these constraints in the context of economic capacity planning.

These disagreements are partially driven by differing levels of detail on technical feasibility and partially by how strongly economic considerations are included (e.g. via cost minimization).


A well-known example is the so-called Heartbleed Bug [12] . It represented a serious security leak in the OpenSSL cryptography library, allowing anyone on the Internet to read the memory of the software systems relying on the vulnerable versions of the OpenSSL software. The vulnerability was introduced in 2012 and remained lingering until it was discovered and traced in April 2014. Upon its discovery, half a million of servers certified by trusted authorities were believed to be affected by the security vulnerability, connected to a simple programming mistake.

A well-known example is the so-called Heartbleed Bug.


With the exception of serum urea, all serum parameters analyzed, namely, creatinine, ALT and AST decreased in a time-and concentrationdependent manner. Since, these serum parameters were analyzed only at the end of the experiment, i.e., day 28, the high excretion of these parameters coincided with the very high urinary excretion of blood sodium and potassium ions. The kidney plays a very important role in the removal of metabolic wastes from the blood stream. Its functionality, therefore, can be assessed among many others by determining the serum concentration of excretory constituents [24] . The significant decrease in serum creatinine, sodium ion and potassium ion was probably linked to metabolic alkalosis as revealed by the values of urine pH of 8 -9 for the 4 weeks of study.

Its functionality, therefore, can be assessed among many others by determining the serum concentration of excretory constituents.


In the present study, the mean gain in weight was high in groups which received AQE which may be due to the beneficial effect of the extract. After the consumption of AQE, animals showed a slight stimulation of appetite for food and water. It is known that in addition to their therapeutic properties, medicinal plants can affect positively the nutritional status of an animal [23] . However, the highest dose of AQE causedserious weight loss in the rats which could be explained by the high urinary excretion of water to the diuretic properties of N. latifolia .

It is known that in addition to their therapeutic properties, medicinal plants can affect positively the nutritional status of an animal.


In Côte d'Ivoire, the aqueous extract of stem bark of N. latifolia (AQE) is largely and daily used against malaria and its symptoms such as fever. In these circumstances, the toxicity of plant after oral repeated administration must be clarified. The available low dose toxicity profile of AQE is extremely limited. Short-term exposure to high doses of aqueous extract of plant induces various metabolic changes and toxic responses, however, extrapolation of these findings to the long-term and low-dose exposures to human are subject is highly problematic [16] . Since, additional experiments to investigate NOAEL are indispensables, OFA rats were orally administrated with 1.8, 18 and 180 mg/kg of AQE for 28 days. In parallel, we performed oral acute toxicity study in Swiss mice.

Short-term exposure to high doses of aqueous extract of plant induces various metabolic changes and toxic responses, however, extrapolation of these findings to the long-term and low-dose exposures to human are subject is highly problematic.


In a wide range of the Reynolds number a fixed circular cylinder placed in a homogeneous wind velocity field will generate vortex shedding of a frequency approximately proportional to the far field wind velocity. However, if the cylinder is elastically suspended and free to vibrate, resonance will occur when the vortex shedding frequency becomes close to an eigenfrequency of the cylinder. This vibration causes a feedback to the velocity field such that the vortex shedding frequency becomes "locked in" at the considered eigenfrequency within a rather wide interval of the wind velocity (Sarpkaya 1979) .

This vibration causes a feedback to the velocity field such that the vortex shedding frequency becomes "locked in" at the considered eigenfrequency within a rather wide interval of the wind velocity.


However, we must note that the RBL based selfreferenced setups have to deal with some loss of the low-frequency components, which deficiency generates a diffraction-fringe-like noise on the reconstruction. Although this property might limit the imaging property of the RBL based SHS, the exact position of the target object is still determinable. This property can be efficiently utilizable in applications where the 3D position of singular fluorescent point source is to be determined. Our results pave the way for a new kind of implementation of 3D photoactivated localization microscopy [26] .

Our results pave the way for a new kind of implementation of 3D photoactivated localization microscopy.


Demand Response (DR) and distributed generators are the flexibility resources with more interest and development in current power systems, which opens a path for others to raise as well, for instance, electric vehicle and storage units [3, 4] . Demand response is divided in two types including price and incentive-based where the first corresponds to the response of consumers given a price signal (price variation) and, the latter, to the response of consumers given monetary incentives (tax relief, payment) [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] . These two types of demand response are used by different entities and to distinct consumers. Namely, the grid operators and aggregators use incentive-based while retailers tend to use more price-based strategies. Distributed generators have been significantly promoted in recent years through feed-in tariffs to make these resources more attractive to consumers [11] [12] [13] . Due to this initiative, the number of prosumers (consumers that own generation means) raised significantly in several countries (e.g., Portugal, Germany, UK). However, the high participation of these resources in energy markets has not yet been achieved mostly because of their small generation capacity and intermittent production. The complement that demand response and distributed generators give to each other provide the aggregator with sufficient tools to manage these resources and allow their indirect participation in energy markets [2, [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] ].

Demand Response (DR) and distributed generators are the flexibility resources with more interest and development in current power systems, which opens a path for others to raise as well, for instance, electric vehicle and storage units.

Demand response is divided in two types including price and incentive-based where the first corresponds to the response of consumers given a price signal (price variation) and, the latter, to the response of consumers given monetary incentives (tax relief, payment).

Distributed generators have been significantly promoted in recent years through feed-in tariffs to make these resources more attractive to consumers.

The complement that demand response and distributed generators give to each other provide the aggregator with sufficient tools to manage these resources and allow their indirect participation in energy markets].


Learning features from a set of robot observations is most often carried out with statistical methods, and the easiest amI most commonly used is Priucipal Com ponent Analysis (PCA) [10] . This is a global fe ature extraction method which projects a set of robot obser vations linearly to a low-dimensional subspace, com puted by solving a matrix eigenvalue problem. The nice thing about PCA is that it combines many opti mality properties and is very simple to implement [10] . Recent reports on the use of PCA on mobile robots are [8, 2, 6, 11, 15, 5] .

Learning features from a set of robot observations is most often carried out with statistical methods, and the easiest amI most commonly used is Priucipal Com ponent Analysis (PCA).

The nice thing about PCA is that it combines many opti mality properties and is very simple to implement.

Recent reports on the use of PCA on mobile robots are.


The notion rough path was coined by Terry Lyons in 1994 [20] . The corresponding theory provides an extension of Young integrals to less regular driving signals. In the context of probability theory, it allows an alternative representation for solutions to Stratonovich differential equations as solutions to rough path differential equations (RDE). The power of the approach is that once the driving signal has been associated to a rough path, the solution can be written as continuous function (Itô map) of the rough path signal by Terry Lyons' universal limit theorem [22] . In general irregular controls admit several extensions to rough paths. Nontheless, in the context of stochastic analysis there is one canonical choice which is uniquely defined up to a null set. Since the null set does not depend on the choice of the RDE this allows one to pick a random RDE depending on the path itself and, in particular, the concept of filtrations becomes obsolete for the existence of solutions.

The notion rough path was coined by Terry Lyons in 1994.

The power of the approach is that once the driving signal has been associated to a rough path, the solution can be written as continuous function (Itô map) of the rough path signal by Terry Lyons' universal limit theorem.


A simple representation of the pore structure can be in the form of the ordered or random packings of spheres, cylinders or square obstacles. As a first approximation for a reconstructed medium, the fluid flow in 2D random arrangements of square obstacles of different aspect ratio was simulated by the present authors [34] . Predictions of the permeability were conducted and they were in good agreement with the available correlations. The effect of the obstacles' aspect ratio on the permeability was also studied.

As a first approximation for a reconstructed medium, the fluid flow in 2D random arrangements of square obstacles of different aspect ratio was simulated by the present authors.


Many retail stores which deal in fresh goods or takeout goods often make a discount sale for daily perishable products when they are likely to be unsold. It is because the stores judge that the discount sale gains profit of the day greater than the disposal of the unsold products. Even if the profit of the day is increased by the discount, however, long-term profit might be decreased. Consumer's reference price is declined by the discount sale, and the consumers are not willing to purchase the products at their regular prices. The effect on decreased demand is referred to as a reference price effect on demand (Kahneman and Tversky, 1979) .

The effect on decreased demand is referred to as a reference price effect on demand.


Fiji presents a unique context for confirm ing the universality of the marketing concept. For example, the composition of organizational culture is more heavily weighted toward con sensual and bureaucratic values and less so to ward the competitive and entrepreneurial values that have a positive influence on firm competi tiveness (see Table 1 ). This organizational value profile more closely resembles those found in transitional economies of China and Vietnam (Deshpandé & Farley, 2004) . Fiji does not have a history of a planned economy, which suggests there may be other macroenvironmental forces at work. Either way, these results would indicate an opportunity to increase organizational com petitiveness for firms that develop these values. On the flip side, these results also suggest that global competition poses a significant threat to firms operating in Fiji, as these indigenous firms are on the whole weak in competitive and en trepreneurial values.

This organizational value profile more closely resembles those found in transitional economies of China and Vietnam.


Inflammation is involved in arterial stiffness development by impairment of endothelial function by reducing NO bioavailability and increasing ET-1 [10] . The contribution of an inflammatory status is furthermore reflected in the role of MMPs in elastin degradation, the overexpression of lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor 1 (LOX-1, by a nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) dependent mechanism), increasing uptake of oxLDL, the transdifferentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) into an osteoblastic phenotype under inflammatory conditions, influence of cytokines, increased AGE's synthesis, C-reactive protein (CRP: inhibits endothelial NO synthase, increases cytokine expression and generation of ROS, affects adhesion molecules and microRNAs) [25] . Inflammation can, therefore, induce functional and structural arterial stiffening [26] . Chronic low-grade inflammation interacts synergistically with oxidative stress, but the order and relationship between these events are unclear [19] .

Inflammation is involved in arterial stiffness development by impairment of endothelial function by reducing NO bioavailability and increasing ET-1.

The contribution of an inflammatory status is furthermore reflected in the role of MMPs in elastin degradation, the overexpression of lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor 1 (LOX-1, by a nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) dependent mechanism), increasing uptake of oxLDL, the transdifferentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) into an osteoblastic phenotype under inflammatory conditions, influence of cytokines, increased AGE's synthesis, C-reactive protein (CRP: inhibits endothelial NO synthase, increases cytokine expression and generation of ROS, affects adhesion molecules and microRNAs).

Inflammation can, therefore, induce functional and structural arterial stiffening.

Chronic low-grade inflammation interacts synergistically with oxidative stress, but the order and relationship between these events are unclear.


The paper uses Cobb-Douglas production function to process production analysis of agricultural biogas plants. At the beginning of the 20 th century, the Cobb-Douglas production function was perceived as historic landmark in economics. Production function generally quantifi es the relationship between the inputs and outputs of the production process. It may contain one or more inputs or outputs. The inputs can be assumed either as fi xed or as variable (work, land, assets, or change in technology). It is also possible to analyze the production fl exibility, which is defi ned as the percentage change in the output caused by the percentage change in input (Debertin, 1986) .

It is also possible to analyze the production fl exibility, which is defi ned as the percentage change in the output caused by the percentage change in input.


Rainwater is a significant water resource in Thailand due to its abundance. It has been widely used in sectors of the society especially in households and in agriculture. Being dominated by monsoons, rainwater can be harvested mainly in the rainy season which in most parts of Thailand generally starts in June and lasts until October with an average rainfall per annum at 1,500-1,600 mm [1] . Rainwater utilization has been in use for more than 2,000 years in the Thailand [2] . In the past cement and earthen jars have been used as containers for collecting and storing rainwater in Ayutthaya. There is an impending water crisis given the high growth in water demand, the corresponding shortage of water supply, and a possible increase in water tariffs in part due to the need to expand water supplies. This can be offset because of the existence of sufficient levels of rainfall and the availability of the option of rainwater harvesting. Undertaking a pilot project in a province like Ayutthaya which reflects the situation in central part of Thailand to promote rainwater harvesting is an effective way to demonstrate how combining current technologies with existing resources and materials in a cost-effective manner can resolve the water crisis in the years to come.

Being dominated by monsoons, rainwater can be harvested mainly in the rainy season which in most parts of Thailand generally starts in June and lasts until October with an average rainfall per annum at 1,500-1,600 mm.

Rainwater utilization has been in use for more than 2,000 years in the Thailand.


In this paper we have proposed a design process for the design and assessment of interruption-tolerant systems. The feasibility of such an approach is illustrated by a case study that enables us to compare two interaction techniques with respect to their tolerance to interaction techniques with respect to interruptions. The presented case study was purposely minimalist so that we could highlight the approach without the dealing with the complexity of a case study. However, we are currently working on the application of the approach to dynamic reconfigurable systems [27] . Indeed, in many safety critical applications the dynamic reconfiguration is a main requirement to make the system more resilient to failures or malicious attacks. In such a context, we need appropriate analysis techniques to determine which would be best system configuration (which may include the choice of an interaction technique).

However, we are currently working on the application of the approach to dynamic reconfigurable systems.


A major feature of medicines development today is the design of suitable vehicles for drug delivery. Delivery vehicles for therapeutic compounds must be biocompatible and nontoxic [1] . Many of these systems are pH/thermo-sensitive or osmotically driven [2] . Thin polymer films have also been employed to control drug release for various routes of administration, such as transdermal, colonic, localized, and ophthalmic. Mucoadhesive polymeric film formulations can circumvent limitations caused by conventional vaginal formulations such as tablets and creams [3] . For example, the release of paclitaxel from PVP-g-PLGA film was found to be continuous and not preceded by initial drug burst [4] .

Delivery vehicles for therapeutic compounds must be biocompatible and nontoxic.

Many of these systems are pH/thermo-sensitive or osmotically driven.

Mucoadhesive polymeric film formulations can circumvent limitations caused by conventional vaginal formulations such as tablets and creams.

For example, the release of paclitaxel from PVP-g-PLGA film was found to be continuous and not preceded by initial drug burst.


When chitosan is dissolved in dilute acetic acid solutions, the amino groups become protonated and associated with acetate counter-ions, making the charged polymer soluble [11] . Chitosan films have been usually prepared by chemical crosslinking via electrostatic interaction between multivalent phosphates and chitosan in the formulation [12] . Chitosan crosslinked films swell under acidic conditions due to the ionization of amino groups but remains in a shrunken state under neutral conditions. Chitosan itself has intragastric-floating characteristics and can cause prolonged retention of the dosage form in the stomach [13] .

When chitosan is dissolved in dilute acetic acid solutions, the amino groups become protonated and associated with acetate counter-ions, making the charged polymer soluble.

Chitosan films have been usually prepared by chemical crosslinking via electrostatic interaction between multivalent phosphates and chitosan in the formulation.

Chitosan itself has intragastric-floating characteristics and can cause prolonged retention of the dosage form in the stomach.


Regarding radioprotection techniques, modern shielding systems allow to reduce the scattered radiation to the testis up to 1% of the prescribed dose. However, the received dose depends primarily on the distance from the field edge to the gonads [24] . Modifications in irradiation techniques has reduced radiation dose scattered to testis during treatment of pelvic fields. For example, proton radiotherapy significantly reduced scattered dose to normal tissues compared with intensity-modulated radiotherapy in male patients treated for pediatric pelvic rhabdomyosarcoma [25] . This could suggest a wider use of proton radiotherapy instead of intensity-modulated radiotherapy also in other pediatric malignancies in order to better safeguard future reproductive function; however, further studies are needed.

However, the received dose depends primarily on the distance from the field edge to the gonads.

For example, proton radiotherapy significantly reduced scattered dose to normal tissues compared with intensity-modulated radiotherapy in male patients treated for pediatric pelvic rhabdomyosarcoma.


In this study we found a high percentage of patients (one third) with suboptimal TT levels; however, a low prevalence of overt hypogonadism (TT ≤2.3 ng/mL) and altered LH levels were recorded. This probably occurred because blood samples for hormone essays were not drawn in standardized condition. According to Endocrine Society guidelines, testosterone must be measured in the morning after 8 h of fasting and the diagnosis must be confirmed repeating the blood sampling a second time under the same conditions [18] . We were unable to follow these indications because, to improve patients' compliance, we performed blood sampling at the same time of the outpatient visit, which sometimes took place also in the afternoon.

According to Endocrine Society guidelines, testosterone must be measured in the morning after 8 h of fasting and the diagnosis must be confirmed repeating the blood sampling a second time under the same conditions.


As universities have the obligation to cultivate youth leadership, a series of service leadership initiatives including credit bearing subjects and non-credit bearing programs have been offered to nurture high quality university students at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) [8] . Since the 2012-13 academic year, a 2-credit elective General Education subject "Service Leadership" was offered to undergraduate students. This piloted subject was based on the positive youth development approach and service leadership framework that was developed by the Hong Kong Institute of Service Leadership and Management (HKI-SLAM), with a basic postulation that Effective service leadership consists of Moral character, Competence and Caring dispositions (E = MC 2 ; [10] ). To better promote student service leadership through developing the character strengths, intrapersonal and interpersonal competencies, and caring dispositions, the subject adopted innovative teaching strategies, including lectures, experiential learning, group presentations, and written assignments. As expected, evaluation findings of "Service Leadership" subject showed that most students who took the course showed high levels of overall satisfaction with the course with very positive perceptions on the course contents, lecturers, and course benefits [11, 12] . Additionally, over 50% of the participating students had the willingness to recommend the course to their friends and take similar courses again in the future [12] .

As universities have the obligation to cultivate youth leadership, a series of service leadership initiatives including credit bearing subjects and non-credit bearing programs have been offered to nurture high quality university students at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU).

This piloted subject was based on the positive youth development approach and service leadership framework that was developed by the Hong Kong Institute of Service Leadership and Management (HKI-SLAM), with a basic postulation that Effective service leadership consists of Moral character, Competence and Caring dispositions (E = MC 2 ;).

As expected, evaluation findings of "Service Leadership" subject showed that most students who took the course showed high levels of overall satisfaction with the course with very positive perceptions on the course contents, lecturers, and course benefits.

Additionally, over 50% of the participating students had the willingness to recommend the course to their friends and take similar courses again in the future.


Finally, it was found that subjective outcomes in "Service Leadership" course under the GYLP were better than that in the course at PolyU. Specifically, students in the GYLP showed a higher level of overall satisfaction with the course with significantly better perceptions on the course content, lecturer attributes, and perceived course benefits. Three reasons may contribute to this encouraging finding. First, the intensive short-term course strengthens the learning outcomes of students compared to traditional fixed course design [14, 15] . Second, the modified course in the GYLP has drawn experiences (e.g. course arrangement and teaching approaches) from the pioneer attempt at PolyU during semester 2 in academic year 2012-13. Third, before teaching "Service Leadership" course in the GYLP, some orientated learning and warm-up activities (e.g. dialogue with local leaders, visits to local communities, and group projects) were provided to the students in their home institutions (i.e. PolyU and PKU, respectively). It led students to have a general idea about service leadership, including its objectives, beliefs, missions, and values. These positive changes demonstrated that the course content, lecturer teaching skills, and perceived course benefits have been improved in "Service Leadership" course under the GYLP, although the effectiveness of the first "Service Leadership" course provided in PolyU had already been found to be satisfactory.

First, the intensive short-term course strengthens the learning outcomes of students compared to traditional fixed course design.


Finally, the "Service Leadership" course in the GYLP showed higher effectiveness than did the 2-credit general education course in PolyU [11] . We found GYLP students have higher perceptions on the course content (4.33 > 3.86, t = -4.369, p < 0.001), lecturer attributes, (4.58 > 4.25, t = -3.782, p < 0.001) and perceived course benefits (4.15 > 3.82, t = -2.935, p < 0.01). Compared to students in the "Service Leadership" course at PolyU, a higher portion of students in the GYLP had the willingness to recommend the course to their friends (4.04 > 3.72, t = -1.920, p < 0.10) and participate in similar courses in the future (3.77 > 3.38, t = -1.972, p < 0.10), and had a higher level of overall satisfaction with the course (4.11 > 3.82, t = -2.171, p < 0.05).

Finally, the "Service Leadership" course in the GYLP showed higher effectiveness than did the 2-credit general education course in PolyU.


Leadership training programs are commonly used to promote leadership qualities in university students. However, most existing programs mainly focus on leadership skills, while little attention has been placed on nurturing youth moral character and caring dispositions [13] . Against this background, besides the credit bearing "Service Leadership" subject developed for nurturing student service leadership, two non-credit bearing programs including "Wofoo Leaders' Network Workshops" (WLN) and "Global Youth Leadership Program" (GYLP) were designed at PolyU. While WLN workshops were offered to students from all tertiary institutions in Hong Kong which consisted of three series of service leadership training workshops, GYLP was a 2-year leadership learning initiative with various cross-territorial activities jointly administered by PolyU and Peking University (PKU).

However, most existing programs mainly focus on leadership skills, while little attention has been placed on nurturing youth moral character and caring dispositions.


Mercerization is one of the most conventionally used treatments for natural fibers to modify its surface properties so that it can be successfully employed in composite formation [16] . Available literature pertaining to alkali treatment of many natural fibers reveal that the process removes one of the cementing materials, hemicelluloses, depending on the concentration of the alkali used, time and temperature of treatment etc. The thermal and weathering studies have been reported on many other natural fibers and their composites [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] . However, there is no work on the tropical wood mercerization with N,N-Dimethylacetamid monomer impregnation.

Mercerization is one of the most conventionally used treatments for natural fibers to modify its surface properties so that it can be successfully employed in composite formation.

The thermal and weathering studies have been reported on many other natural fibers and their composites.


Let A (κ, χ) denote the set of those surface in A(κ) whose Euler-Poincaré characteristic is χ. The connected components of A (κ) are the sets of those surfaces of a given topological type [24] . Therefore, A (κ, χ) (if non-empty) is a connected component of A (κ) if χ is positive or odd, and is the union of two components otherwise.

The connected components of A (κ) are the sets of those surfaces of a given topological type.


Recently, a large-scale field trial funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (the 100-car Naturalistic Study) found that driver inattention was associated with 78% of traffic collisions and 65% of near-collisions. Distractions by secondary tasks such as IVIS were found to be the main source of this inattention (Neale et al., 2005) . Therefore, it is important that the effect of these secondary tasks on driving is evaluated in some way, to ensure that a particular IVIS does indeed provide information and assistance in a safe driving environment, rather than causing unnecessary distraction.

Distractions by secondary tasks such as IVIS were found to be the main source of this inattention.


Although vehicle routing problems are often solved using such a hierarchical objective function, a bi-objective approach could be used as well. While minimizing the number of vehicles affects vehicle and labor costs, minimizing distance affects time and fuel resources (Ombuki et al., 2006) . Clearly, both objectives might be conflicting in some cases. Using a hierarchical objective function will bias the search toward minimizing the number of vehicles, while a bi-objective approach will reveal the possible trade-off between both objectives. Therefore, in this paper the problem is interpreted as a bi-objective problem.

While minimizing the number of vehicles affects vehicle and labor costs, minimizing distance affects time and fuel resources.


Calculations of in-and out-migration using this communitylevel unit of analysis (aggregations of census block groups) were not possible. Therefore, we used change in population between 1990 and 2000 as a proxy for in-and outmigration, with the assumption that natural increase was close to the national average of 3.4% for nonmetropolitan counties (Johnson and Cromartie 2006) . Although population change indicated the magnitude of change in population in a given community, we relied on qualitative data to better understand the extent of in-versus out-migration in a sample of case-study communities.

Therefore, we used change in population between 1990 and 2000 as a proxy for in-and outmigration, with the assumption that natural increase was close to the national average of 3.4% for nonmetropolitan counties.


What are the implications of these findings for public land management policy and rural community development? Since the 1980s understanding of the relation between forests and communities has evolved away from the notion of community stability, a foundation of the commodity-based model of economic development. Current thinking focuses instead on the concept of community resilience. Researchers have found that the greater the diversity of economic opportunities available in a community, the greater the ability of the community to adapt to change, with positive implications for socioeconomic wellbeing (Donoghue and Sturtevant 2007) . Managing for multiple forest uses provides diverse economic opportunities for community residents-in the wood products industry, ranching, nontimber forest product harvesting, and the recreation and tourism industries-potentially contributing more to community resilience and socioeconomic well-being than managing for environmental protection to the exclusion of resource extraction.

Researchers have found that the greater the diversity of economic opportunities available in a community, the greater the ability of the community to adapt to change, with positive implications for socioeconomic wellbeing.


Why are people moving to communities around public lands? Is it because they want to live near natural amenities like mountains, water bodies, and forests, or because of specific forest management policies? Our findings suggest that amenity migration to nonmetropolitan communities has more to do with the presence of public lands and the values they offer, than with the specific policies according to which they are managed. This is particularly so because natural amenities are only one of the things that draw people to rural communities; social amenities are also important. We believe in-migration is likely to influence forest management policy more than forest management policy influences in-migration. Many challenges are associated with population growth around public forest lands. These include increased recreation demands, increased potential for introducing invasive species, growing parcelization and habitat fragmentation on adjacent lands, and the need to reduce hazardous fuels and suppress fire in wildland-urban interface areas. Some researchers have begun to examine the implications of amenity migration for forest management policy (Kruger et al. 2008) . More work on how to prevent amenity migration from undermining the natural amenity values of public lands is called for.

Some researchers have begun to examine the implications of amenity migration for forest management policy.


Robot guidance as a form of social interaction between a robot and a human has not been studied much. This is related to perceived usefulness and usability of the robot but also to how the robot should behave in its role as a guide. For instance, in our earlier workshop with shopping mall customers one finding was that a mall robot should not behave as if it was in the position of a human. The robot should not refer to itself as human, for instance, saying "in my view" or "personally I think" [14] . But to what extent a robot guide should mimic a human guide, and how do people perceive a robot as a guide?

The robot should not refer to itself as human, for instance, saying "in my view" or "personally I think".


The splitting axiom implies that the bilinear form constructed from the second derivatives of the potential is compatible with the quantum product ⋆ α on T α QH G (X) in the usual sense. However this bilinear form will usually be degenerate and so will not define a family of Frobenius algebra structures. It is convenient to throw into the definition of the trace certain Liouville classes on the moduli space of gauged maps, in which case, if G is trivial, τ G X becomes equivalent to the graph potential considered in Givental [18] .

It is convenient to throw into the definition of the trace certain Liouville classes on the moduli space of gauged maps, in which case, if G is trivial, τ G X becomes equivalent to the graph potential considered in Givental.


India alone generates around 400 million tons biomass every year that can be utilized in production of value added products [7] . As per indigenous farming, around 90 million metric tons of vegetables are being produced per year in India as a second leading producer in the world [8] . Generally,vegetable processing units generate more than 30% (w/w) waste during harvesting, processing, and marketing. Based on vegetable production statistics, it has been noted that India is leading producer of green pea (Pisum sativum) with annual production of around 3.56 million metric tons, which subsequently generates more than 1 million ton of pea pod waste every year [9] . In day-to-day life, a huge amount of vegetable waste being generated is either ploughed back into soil or left as a city waste on a dumping ground, which ultimately causes environmental pollution [10] . The modern driving force in bioconversion of these wastes into biobutanol would be beneficial in context of reducing pollution and indirectly relate to strengthen nation's economy [9] .

India alone generates around 400 million tons biomass every year that can be utilized in production of value added products.

As per indigenous farming, around 90 million metric tons of vegetables are being produced per year in India as a second leading producer in the world.

Based on vegetable production statistics, it has been noted that India is leading producer of green pea (Pisum sativum) with annual production of around 3.56 million metric tons, which subsequently generates more than 1 million ton of pea pod waste every year.

In day-to-day life, a huge amount of vegetable waste being generated is either ploughed back into soil or left as a city waste on a dumping ground, which ultimately causes environmental pollution.

The modern driving force in bioconversion of these wastes into biobutanol would be beneficial in context of reducing pollution and indirectly relate to strengthen nation's economy.


The economic development of Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRICs) in the past decades is projected to emerge as a dominant economic block in the world's economy. The BRIC thesis has been said to be a very optimistic proposition derived from the 'demographic weight' of the large developing countries. However, the idea that "demography is destiny" in this context is based on two assumptions: firstly, that the policies and the institutions of the BRICs are fully compatible with neoliberal policies that could foster growth when the international environment is stable, and secondly that their global political and economic power will rise to a level similar to that of the G7 in the near future (Hawksworth and Cookson, 2006) . This article seeks to summarise the distinctive features of each of the BRICs economies and to analyse these in the context of this forecast.

However, the idea that "demography is destiny" in this context is based on two assumptions: firstly, that the policies and the institutions of the BRICs are fully compatible with neoliberal policies that could foster growth when the international environment is stable, and secondly that their global political and economic power will rise to a level similar to that of the G7 in the near future.


However, each of these has problems. Hand-crafted preprocessing is frequently used, but is time-consuming and requires in-depth domain knowledge. Writing a custom learner is possible, but is labour-intensive. Relational learning techniques tend to be very sensitive to noise and to the particular clausal representation selected. They are typically unable to process large data sets in a reasonable time frame, and/or require the user to set limits on the search such as refinement rules (Cohen, 1995) .

However, each of these has problems.

They are typically unable to process large data sets in a reasonable time frame, and/or require the user to set limits on the search such as refinement rules.


Growing interested by the scheduling community has lead researchers to develop list scheduling heuristics for heterogeneous processors mainly due to the fact that these algorithms can be easily applied to a fixed number of heterogeneous processors. However, they are considered to be very greedy and may produce solutions far from the optimal one. In this manner, genetic algorithms are considered here as a technique to exploit the search space so that better solutions are achieved. Particularly, we propose a hybrid evolutionary approach for the static scheduling onto heterogeneous processors with intercommunication costs which combines concepts implemented in genetic algorithms with those from list scheduling [7] . The Hybrid Task Scheduling Genetic Algorithm (HTSGA) produces a variety of lists of priorities which are decoded by a given list scheduling heuristic. Genetic Algorithms usually require long processing times to achieve efficient solutions for a variety of problems [14] . However, for the scheduling problem which considers DAGs, the task precedence reduces the number of feasible solutions and this, these algorithms require significant less processing times. In an attempt to decrease this processing time even further, we adopted the approach in which the genetic algorithm produces priority lists associated with the tasks instead of encoding the whole solution.

Particularly, we propose a hybrid evolutionary approach for the static scheduling onto heterogeneous processors with intercommunication costs which combines concepts implemented in genetic algorithms with those from list scheduling.

Genetic Algorithms usually require long processing times to achieve efficient solutions for a variety of problems.


The Table 3 shows the improvements to the makespan when comparing HTSGA (columns 2 to 4) and HTSG (the last three columns) with the original list scheduling algorithms HEFT and ETF, and the genetic algorithm PSGA. Nicely, both of our proposed algorithms produce schedules with much smaller makespan mainly for fine grained instances ((F, L) = (1, 5), (1, 10) ). These experiments shows the gains that the evolutionary approaches offers, mainly when we consider heterogeneous processors and high communication costs.

Nicely, both of our proposed algorithms produce schedules with much smaller makespan mainly for fine grained instances ((F, L) = (1, 5),).


A new interesting feature arises upon introducing boundaries. In integrable quantum field theories, in the presence of boundaries, full integrability of the bulk can be maintained only for appropriate choices of boundary condition. The same situation arises in AdS/CFT correspondences [8] .

The same situation arises in AdS/CFT correspondences.


The goethite surface charge density (σ 0 ) was determined by a potentiometric titration method (Janusz et al. 1997) . A titrator Titrino 702 SM (Metrohm) was used. The probes were titrated by 0.1 M NaOH, from pH 3.5 to 10. They were prepared by adding 0.4 g of goethite to the solution (10 ml) containing only supporting electrolyte (0.0001 M NaCl) or simultaneously supporting electrolyte and polymer (100 ppm).

The goethite surface charge density (σ 0 ) was determined by a potentiometric titration method.


Polyacrylamide use in the wastewater treatment is very advantageous. Compared to other substance (e.g. alum and ferric chloride) use, it requires lower dosage and reduces the amount of sludge produced. Moreover, the polymer is able to connect smaller solid particles and the formed flocs are more resistant to shearing (Ebeling et al. 2005) .

Moreover, the polymer is able to connect smaller solid particles and the formed flocs are more resistant to shearing.