Contrary to genetics, the main question of the temporal SNA community is link prediction. There are two camps in this field. An overwhelming majority of publications on this topic predicts the network structure solely based on network topology [5] [6] [7] . The other camp also predicts links, but considers the actor attributes. Reported results that pursue such an approach were mostly concerned with specific types of data sets such as academic collaboration or business cooperation networks [16] . These data sets are textually rich, and therefore specialized models were applied to them. To the best of our knowledge, the SNA community has not yet considered simultaneously predicting data and links for temporal networks.

There are two camps in this field.

An overwhelming majority of publications on this topic predicts the network structure solely based on network topology.

Reported results that pursue such an approach were mostly concerned with specific types of data sets such as academic collaboration or business cooperation networks.


Our results showed differences between groups for WBC, RBC, Hgb, and, consequently, haematocrit. The first step in stress response is the activation of the sympathetic nervous system (Montané et al., 2003) . The stimulation of adrenal medulla and the consequent release of catecholamines cause changes in the physiology of the animals. Increases of RBC, haemoglobin concentration and Hct are associated with splenic contraction caused by the effect of catecholamines on the spleen and on the reduction of the plasma volume (Montané et al., 2003) . The significant higher values observed in our study in the hare without blindfold confirms the significant reduction of the stress obtained with the use of blindfold.

The first step in stress response is the activation of the sympathetic nervous system.

Increases of RBC, haemoglobin concentration and Hct are associated with splenic contraction caused by the effect of catecholamines on the spleen and on the reduction of the plasma volume.


TFA anhydride is the most widely used derivatizing agent, known to react with and acylate the primary and secondary amine groups of the amphetamine-type illicit drugs [8, 10, 12, [15] [16] [17] 23] . However, excess TFA and byproducts such as, trifluoroacetic acid, are produced in reactions with the target compounds [24] . These have to be removed from the extract prior to the GC/MS analysis, in order to avoid damaging to the GC column [25] . In the present study, our sample preparation of drying the reaction mixture with TFA anhydride under a stream of nitrogen and reconstituting the residue in ethyl acetate greatly reduced both excess derivatizing agent and the acid byproduct. The TFA derivatives of the seven compounds were well separated with good peak shapes and no remarkable impurities within 9.5 min (Figure 1 ). In the preliminary experiment, the mixtures of MA, AM, MDMA, MDEA, MBDB, MDA, and BDB were compared on different stationary phases using several temperature programs. The best compromise between analysis time and resolution was achieved on the Equity-5 capillary column. Figures 2-8 show the EI full-scan mass spectra with ionizing energies of 70 eV and 20 eV for the TFA derivatives of MA, AM, MDMA, MDEA, MBDB, MDA, and BDB and their probable fragmentation pathways. The molecular ions for MA and AM were barely detectable and therefore of little quantitative value, at m/z 245 and m/z 231, respectively, (Figures 2 and 3) . MDMA, MDEA, MBDB, MDA, and BDB produced molecular ions with relatively high abundance (6-12% at 70 eV and 9-53% at 20 eV) at m/z 289, 303, 303, 275, and 289, respectively (Figures 4-8) . The relative abundance of molecular ions in the EI mass spectra of these derivatives may depend substantially on the chemical nature of substituents directly attached to the benzene ring, such as their inductive effect and/or their thermal stability.

TFA anhydride is the most widely used derivatizing agent, known to react with and acylate the primary and secondary amine groups of the amphetamine-type illicit drugs.

However, excess TFA and byproducts such as, trifluoroacetic acid, are produced in reactions with the target compounds.

These have to be removed from the extract prior to the GC/MS analysis, in order to avoid damaging to the GC column.


When we shift our information into the cloud, we may no longer have control of it. The cloud provides us with the access to the data, but the most important thing is to ensure that only authorized entities have access to the data. It is important to understand how we can protect our data and resources from a security violation in the cloud that provides shared platforms and services [5] .

It is important to understand how we can protect our data and resources from a security violation in the cloud that provides shared platforms and services.


Cloud Computing as defined by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) states that:-Cloud computing is a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction. This cloud model promotes availability and is composed of five essential characteristics, three delivery models, and four deployment models.‖ [2] . Cloud computing has become a very attractive model because of its apparent economic and operational benefits. The cloud provides super computer level power of computing to the end user. For example if we use a thin client or any other access point, user can reach to the cloud for resources whatever they need it. Therefore cloud computing can also be expressed as on demand computing. This enormous power is made possible through large -scale, distributed, cluster computing, often in association with virtualization software, for example Xen and parallel processing. To paraphrase Sun Microsystems' famous axiom, in cloud computing the network becomes the supercomputer [3] .

This cloud model promotes availability and is composed of five essential characteristics, three delivery models, and four deployment models.‖.

To paraphrase Sun Microsystems' famous axiom, in cloud computing the network becomes the supercomputer.


In all kinds of practical scenarios, target tracking is one of the most important applications of WSN. Target tracking is a process of estimating or predicting the trajectories and velocities of some mobile targets by the sensor nodes in WSN collaboratively. The cooperation among sensor nodes could improve the accuracy of target's location or velocity. The targets of tracking can be any mobile objects, such as animals, humans, and vehicles [2] .

The targets of tracking can be any mobile objects, such as animals, humans, and vehicles.


Differing from the traditional target tracking, the target tracking using WSN brings up many challenges: keeping the tracking accuracy under the node's resources constraints. As most existing works have mentioned, the constraints of node resources, such as sensing range, communication bandwidth, and computation ability, are critical factors to keep accuracy and to save energy for target tracking in wireless sensor networks [7] . Recently, many researches have proposed algorithms to improve energy efficiency while keeping the target tracking accuracy.

As most existing works have mentioned, the constraints of node resources, such as sensing range, communication bandwidth, and computation ability, are critical factors to keep accuracy and to save energy for target tracking in wireless sensor networks.


In several European countries, teleradiology has become part of the regular workflow for purposes of workload balancing. This is usually the case within a hospital comprised of several facilities, separated geographically. In countries with PACS integrated in a regional or national network, image distribution can be organised in a cross-enterprise fashion [3] . In other institutions, teleradiology is used for providing remote, off-hour radiological coverage; for emergency readings and to a lesser extent for subspecialty readings [5] . In the past decade, several national and international commercial teleradiology providers have emerged in Europe, facilitating the outsourcing of diagnostic readings [3, 7, 8] .

In countries with PACS integrated in a regional or national network, image distribution can be organised in a cross-enterprise fashion.

In other institutions, teleradiology is used for providing remote, off-hour radiological coverage; for emergency readings and to a lesser extent for subspecialty readings.

In the past decade, several national and international commercial teleradiology providers have emerged in Europe, facilitating the outsourcing of diagnostic readings.


A number of natural products are used in the traditional medicine of many countries and alternative medicines for the treatment of various diseases are increasing in popularity. Many medicinal plants provide relief of symptoms comparable to that obtained by allopathic medicines. Therefore, an assessment of their genotoxic potential is necessary to ensure a relatively safe use of medicinal plants (Surh and Ferguson, 2003) .

Therefore, an assessment of their genotoxic potential is necessary to ensure a relatively safe use of medicinal plants.


This paper provides an analytical method of predicting the closed-loop performance of a recently developed robust model predictive control (MPC) scheme (Richards and How 2006) . The MPC performance is rarely considered explicit, and is typically evaluated by the numerical simulation. Investigating the effects of various controller settings therefore requires an extensive computation. The contribution of this paper is a method of analytically predicting the performance of a system controlled by MPC, enabling the rapid investigation of the effect of controller parameters without recourse to extensive simulation.

This paper provides an analytical method of predicting the closed-loop performance of a recently developed robust model predictive control (MPC) scheme.


Performance levels and confidence intervals for each testing condition (raw data) are shown in Table 3 . To control for potential response bias on the part of listeners (i.e., a tendency to respond "same" or "different" regardless of trial type), proportions of hits (i.e., correct identification of different trials) and false alarms (i.e., responding "different" on same trials) were transformed to a discrimination score (d') for each listener in each testing condition using yes-no tables of signal detection theory (Elliott, 1964) . To avoid the possibility of infinite d' scores (resulting from proportions of 0 or 1), proportions were adjusted by adding .5 to the number of hits or false alarms and Note. Performance at chance levels is 50% correct.

To control for potential response bias on the part of listeners (i.e., a tendency to respond "same" or "different" regardless of trial type), proportions of hits (i.e., correct identification of different trials) and false alarms (i.e., responding "different" on same trials) were transformed to a discrimination score (d') for each listener in each testing condition using yes-no tables of signal detection theory.


By separating the fluid dynamic calculation from that of the chemistry, the unsteady flamelet model allows the use of comprehensive chemical mechanisms, which include several hundred reactions. This is necessary to describe the different processes that occur in a DI Diesel engine such as auto ignition, the burnout in the partially premixed phase, the transition to diffusive burning, and formation of pollutants like NOx and soot. The experimental results show good agreement for the whole combustion cycle (ignition delay, maximum pressures, torque and pollutant formation) between the two-component reference fuel and Diesel. The simulations are performed for both reference fuels and are compared to the experimental data. Pollutant formation (NOx and soot) is predicted for both reference fuels. The contributions of the different reaction paths (thermal, prompt, nitrous, and reburn) to the NO formation are shown. Finally, the importance of the mixing process for the prediction of soot emissions is discussed [4] .

Finally, the importance of the mixing process for the prediction of soot emissions is discussed.


The KIVA engine simulation developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory was used to characterize the combustion of alternative fuels in a direct injection diesel engine. Rapeseed oil, its methyl ester and hexadecane were used in engines run at 3000 rev/min and 50% maximum torque. Approximately 40 consecutive cycles were phase averaged to derive the pressure traces for comparison to KIVA predictions. The engine parameters and the fuel properties used in the simulations are described. Simulation results were good for the methyl ester and for hexadecane which was used as a reference fuel. The model predicted lower pressures for the rape oil than those which were experimentally observed [5] .

The model predicted lower pressures for the rape oil than those which were experimentally observed.


In the case of normal incidence, triple-band perfect absorption has been discussed in the above section. In the practical work, it is preferable to maintain high absorption under oblique angle of incidence. Thus, the absorption characteristics of the designed MA for wide angle of incidence are given in Fig. 6 . For transverse electric (TE) mode in Fig. 6(a) and (b) , the three absorption peaks hardly move as the incident angle changes. Especially, their absorptivities are still over 80% even when increasing to 60°. For transverse magnetic (TM) mode in Fig. 6(c) and (d), three resonant frequencies almost maintain stable and their absorptivities are above 88% even up to 60°. It is found that additional peaks are generated for both TE and TM mode. The reason is that there may exist the equal decay between the EM radiation and material absorption at an incident angle [22] . That is to say, this phenomenon may be due to the special ratios between geometrical structure of the CSR and the wavelength of additional peaks [29] , [30] .

The reason is that there may exist the equal decay between the EM radiation and material absorption at an incident angle.

That is to say, this phenomenon may be due to the special ratios between geometrical structure of the CSR and the wavelength of additional peaks.


However, all techniques which are based on dimensionality reduction cannot be applied to threshold queries because necessary temporal information is lost. Usually, in a reduced feature space, the original intervals indicating that the time series is above a given threshold cannot be generated. In addition, the approximation generated by dimensionality reduction techniques cannot be used For many applications, the Euclidean distance may be too sensitive to minor distortions in the time axis. It has been shown, that Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) can fix this problem [1] . Using DTW to measure the distance between two time series t 1 and t 2 , each value of t 1 may be matched with any value of t 2 . However, DTW is not applicable to threshold queries because it considers the absolute values of the time series rather than the intervals of values above a given threshold.

It has been shown, that Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) can fix this problem.


Mutual Coupling is an inevitable phenomenon for multiple antenna system. This property degrades the system performance in two ways, namely by increasing coupling and by distorting the radiation pattern. It is well-known that coupling between two patches, two apertures, or two wires is a function of position of one element relative to other [1] . The aforesaid problem will be increased if the antennas are very close to each other.

It is well-known that coupling between two patches, two apertures, or two wires is a function of position of one element relative to other.


Zinc oxide (ZnO) is an interesting material due to its excellent optical, chemical, electrical, and piezoelectric properties [1] [2] [3] [4] . ZnO is an n-type oxide semiconductor material and has been investigated since it has very stable thermal characteristics, with a direct wide band gap of 3.37 eV, a large exciton binding energy of 60 meV, and transparent conductivity. ZnO nanowires are one dimensional (1D) structures with remarkable physical properties. Comparing with carbon nanotubes, ZnO nanowires have a good mechanical strength and thermal and chemical stability; thus they are potential substitute of carbon nanotubes. ZnO nanowires are widely applied in the field of optoelectronic and nanomechanics, such as in ultraviolet light-emitting diodes, varistors, surface acoustic wave (SAW) components, transparent electrodes for solar cell window, gas sensors, and photocatalysts [5, 6] .

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is an interesting material due to its excellent optical, chemical, electrical, and piezoelectric properties.

ZnO nanowires are widely applied in the field of optoelectronic and nanomechanics, such as in ultraviolet light-emitting diodes, varistors, surface acoustic wave (SAW) components, transparent electrodes for solar cell window, gas sensors, and photocatalysts.


Leucaena leucocephala (subabul) is a tropical wild plant which does not need man-made irrigation and abundantly available throughout the year. The seeds of this plant are produced in large amounts and considered as an agricultural waste (Patil and Shrivastava 2010) . The present piece of work reports the enhancement in the sorption potential of L. leucocephala seed powder (LLSP) for arsenite and arsenate from water bodies.

The seeds of this plant are produced in large amounts and considered as an agricultural waste.


Among individual Th17-related potential biomarkers, only baseline serum IL-17A concentrations are herein associated with PFS in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer treated with a bevacizumab-based chemotherapy. We can extrapolate that the clinical response could be influenced by or associated with other individual Th17-related biomarkers in larger panels or at early stages of the disease, e.g. IL-6 and IL-23 as markers of Th17 maturation or IL-17 and TNF-α as the main secreted factors. The fact that Il-17A was the only significant Th17-related factor associated with PFS must be reproducibly analyzed in other prospective studies. Moreover, it is important to distinguish the impact of IL-17A and the infiltration of Th17 cells. A recent meta-analysis following Prisma guidelines emphasizes the fact that high IL-17A quantities were Fig. 2 Kaplan-Meier plots. Progression-free survival according to the score calculated by baseline concentrations of plasma VEGF and serum IL-17A and bevacizumab C trough . P = 0.0006 by log-rank test correlated with poor prognosis in cancer and notably in colorectal cancer but the impact of high Th17 cell frequencies is very controversial and depends on the cancer type [42] .

P = 0.0006 by log-rank test correlated with poor prognosis in cancer and notably in colorectal cancer but the impact of high Th17 cell frequencies is very controversial and depends on the cancer type.


In this paper, the structural configuration of Tibetan ancient timber structure with connections, such as the column base, chock block, short stick and mortise-tenon connection, is studied based on a large number of field survey results. The differences of construction and force flow between Han-style and Tibetan buildings are introduced. The aseismic characteristics of Tibetan ancient timber structure have been introduced. Semirigid beam-column joint, which is one of the most important features of Tibetan ancient timber structure, influences significantly the global behavior of the structural system. Numerical simulations of a typical 3-storey structural unit in Potala Palace are studied. The acceleration responses of the structure under the action of El-Centro seismic waves are studied. Most Tibetan ancient timber structures are suffering from different degrees of structural damage which are weakness to the seismic resistance. Typical damage problems of the structural components are summarized and the main causes of this damage are analyzed. Different rehabilitation methods that can serve as references for maintenance of the Tibetan ancient timber structure are also discussed. Figures 2 and 3 show the two kinds of typical Han-style timber structures with post and lintel skeletons. Timber frame with laminated beams and columns shown in Figure 2 is mainly in north of China. The timber skeleton of this kind of structure consists of posts and cross beams rising toward the ridge in diminishing lengths. The purlins-horizontal members that support the rafters are positioned along the stepped shoulders of the skeleton. The rafters are short, stretching down only from purlin to purlin [1] . Figure 3 is the timber frame with column and ties usually used in south of China [16] . The main feature of this kind of structure is that the purlins are supported directly by columns. The cross tie connecting the columns is called Chuan, only having the cross link function.

The rafters are short, stretching down only from purlin to purlin.

Figure 3 is the timber frame with column and ties usually used in south of China.


Study of Chinese ancient architecture began in the 1930s. Liang and other architects published a lot of field investigation reports which have big influences to later studies on the Chinese ancient structures [1] . It is however, not until 1990s, that some scientists began to employ structural analysis in their research on ancient timber structures. Ma studied the building technologies of ancient Chinese timber structures [2] . Wang's research focused on the distribution and transmission of vertical loads in timber structural members [3] .

Liang and other architects published a lot of field investigation reports which have big influences to later studies on the Chinese ancient structures.

Ma studied the building technologies of ancient Chinese timber structures.

Wang's research focused on the distribution and transmission of vertical loads in timber structural members.


Because of the limited ability to monitor watershed scale inputs to coastal waters and wetlands, simulation modeling of these inputs is needed (Rollo and Robin, 2010) . On the coast of Puerto Rico, anthropogenic disturbances have been identified as major contributors to the deterioration of mangrove wetlands, shallow water coral reefs, and seagrass beds (Zitello et al., 2008) . Agriculture in coastal zones of Puerto Rico is often adjacent to or near mangrove wetlands. Riparian buffers, while they may also be wetlands, can be used to protect mangrove wetlands from inputs of sediment, nutrients, and pesticides from agriculture.

Because of the limited ability to monitor watershed scale inputs to coastal waters and wetlands, simulation modeling of these inputs is needed.

On the coast of Puerto Rico, anthropogenic disturbances have been identified as major contributors to the deterioration of mangrove wetlands, shallow water coral reefs, and seagrass beds.


Other study suggested that garlic supplementation significantly reduced serum glucose but increased serum insulin and liver glycogen [17] . Investigations suggested that garlic reduces lipid synthesis and influenced glycogen metabolism in the liver of rats [17] . The hypoglycemic effect of garlic seems to be associated with the elevation of insulin level. The increased insulin response also promotes the conversion of the inactive form of glycogen synthetase to the active and enhances conversion of blood glucose into glycogen [17] . Therefore, it is clear that hormones are one of the most effective factors in reduction of blood lipid and sugar. Furthermore, because to date, hormonal surveys have reported only on animal experiments, thus, we designed the current study to measure factors such as FBS, cholesterol, TG, HDL-C and LDL-C, thyroids hormones (T3, T4, TSH) and insulin in hyperglycemic and/or hyperlipidemic individuals to find out the possible pathways that garlic may control on sugar and lipid metabolism.

Other study suggested that garlic supplementation significantly reduced serum glucose but increased serum insulin and liver glycogen.

Investigations suggested that garlic reduces lipid synthesis and influenced glycogen metabolism in the liver of rats.

The increased insulin response also promotes the conversion of the inactive form of glycogen synthetase to the active and enhances conversion of blood glucose into glycogen.


Recently, it has been suggested that genetic selection in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) has contributed to reduced levels of some micronutrients in grain [1] . Concerns regard ing diminished grain quality have spread to other crops such as corn (Zea mays L.). In a study evaluating six corn hybrids released between 1959 and 1988, lower values of micronutrients were found in the newer hybrids [4] . A study of four tropical corn cultivars released between 1970 and 1990 noted some differences among cultivars; however, it was not clear whether new cultivars designed for higher yields would result in decreased grain nutrient concentration [5] . Similar variation in grain nutrient concentrations among corn hybrids have also been reported in different field studies [3] .

Recently, it has been suggested that genetic selection in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) has contributed to reduced levels of some micronutrients in grain.

In a study evaluating six corn hybrids released between 1959 and 1988, lower values of micronutrients were found in the newer hybrids.

A study of four tropical corn cultivars released between 1970 and 1990 noted some differences among cultivars; however, it was not clear whether new cultivars designed for higher yields would result in decreased grain nutrient concentration.

Similar variation in grain nutrient concentrations among corn hybrids have also been reported in different field studies.


Grain nutrient concentration plays a key role in seed quality as it relates to seed reserves required to germination and nutritional feed value [1] . Grain nutrient concentration can also provide information related to nutrient exportation (i.e., removal from the field) and the necessity for soil nutrient replenishment through fertilization [2, 3] . Despite these important issues, tissue analysis has traditionally focused on leaf, rather than grain, nutrient levels to diagnose wholeplant nutritional status.

Grain nutrient concentration plays a key role in seed quality as it relates to seed reserves required to germination and nutritional feed value.

Grain nutrient concentration can also provide information related to nutrient exportation (i.e., removal from the field) and the necessity for soil nutrient replenishment through fertilization.


Because the heating temperature did not reach the γ′ solution temperature, there was a transition region between γ phase district and the original region. This transition region always located inside the deformed microstructure, which was defined as District II and District Ш. District II consisted of γ phase and γ′ phase, and the fraction of γ′ phase in this region was lower than that in the original region. District Ш also consisted of γ phase and γ′ phase, and the fraction of γ′ phase in this region was higher than that in District II but lower than that in the original region. With the growth of recrystallized grains, new grains boundary started to migrate to District II. The as-cast γ′ phase in the District II would dissolve in the RX boundary. These effects were explained in terms of high solubility and diffusivity in the RX interface [14] [15] [16] . The solute dissolving behavior of as-cast γ′ phase in the District II would lead to supersaturation on the RX boundary. Compared with District Ш, the stored energy was higher near the cold worked surface, and the content of γ′ phase was lower in District II, so the RX boundary migrated quickly. The cubic γ′ phase would reprecipitates in the region where RX boundaries have migrated. On the contrary, the stored energy was lower and the content of γ′ phase was higher in District Ш, then RX boundary migrated slowly. Therefore, the γ′ phases almost reprecipitated in the RX interface at the same time as the as-cast γ′ phases were solute dissolved. Consequently, this reprecipitating behavior along with the migrating grain boundary would make the reprecipitated γ′ phase grow directionally, and finally formed the lamellar γ′ phases. In addition, the lamellar γ′ phases turned coarse in the CRX region due to the high reprecipitating temperature. As a result, the CRX formed in District II and District Ш, and hence mixed characteristics of the ERX and CRX existed at the same time in the deformed region, as shown in Fig.2 . It can be concluded that the ERX grains formed in the single γ phase region where γ′ phase dissolved completely, and CRX formed in the region where γ′ phase dissolved partially.

These effects were explained in terms of high solubility and diffusivity in the RX interface.


E-mail address: jichunxiong@yahoo.com.cn 1000-9361 © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. doi: 10.1016/S1000-9361(09)60244-2 peening and grit blasting), and foreign object impact encountered. Then, surface recrystallization (RX) can take place in the SX blades during solution heat treatment [9] . With the complete removal of grain boundary strengthening elements such as C, B, Zr, the presence of RX grains could be detrimental to the performance characteristics of SX alloy, particularly its creep resistance [10] [11] [12] . It has been reported that the RX is one of the major causes of non-conformance during the processing of SX blades [11] . However, little information is available in the open literature about the formation and growth of RX grains of SX superalloys. The main purpose of this investigation is to find the microstructural evolution and formation mechanism of RX behavior of SX superalloys.

Then, surface recrystallization (RX) can take place in the SX blades during solution heat treatment.

With the complete removal of grain boundary strengthening elements such as C, B, Zr, the presence of RX grains could be detrimental to the performance characteristics of SX alloy, particularly its creep resistance.

It has been reported that the RX is one of the major causes of non-conformance during the processing of SX blades.


Here, we further explore the use of the ReaxFF force field to develop novel, structurally relevant atomistic models of CDCs. Our combined computational and experimental approach directly compares experimentally-derived structural information to properties of models derived from simulation. Here, we examine the effects of quench rate on CDC structure, including a slower rate than was used in prior ReaxFF studies [71] . We also investigate the role of a novel post-quenching compression step as a means to adjust pore size distribution. CDC structure is examined, including pore size distributions, pair distribution functions, and ring sizes. These analyses make comparisons to X-ray scattering, nitrogen sorption, and electron microscopy results. We demonstrate close agreement between experiment and simulation, including pore size distributions, for our approach.

Here, we examine the effects of quench rate on CDC structure, including a slower rate than was used in prior ReaxFF studies.


Carbide-derived carbons (CDCs) are a class of porous carbons with well-ordered porosities and heterogeneous, short-range graphitic ordering [1] . The most common synthesis approach uses systems on the order of a few hundred or thousand atoms are sufficient for capturing short-range features such as bonding, ring formations, and a small number of structural features and pores. Larger system sizes on the order of tens or hundreds of thousands of atoms are needed to better sample a range of structural heterogeneities and pore size distributions.

Carbide-derived carbons (CDCs) are a class of porous carbons with well-ordered porosities and heterogeneous, short-range graphitic ordering.


Recently, remarkable relation between 2-and 4-dimensonal CFT's was proposed by Alday, Gaiotto and Tachikawa [4] . The core of their proposal is that the instanton part of the Nekrasov partition for a SU (2) superconformal gauge theory is exactly equal to a certain conformal block of 2-dimansional CFT. This means that we can recast the Nekrasov partition function into a CFT correlator by summing over Young diagrams.

Recently, remarkable relation between 2-and 4-dimensonal CFT's was proposed by Alday, Gaiotto and Tachikawa.


Weighted piecewise LDA is another technique for addressing the small sample size problem [22] . The technique first creates subsets of features and applies LDA to each subset. The technique then combines the resulting piecewise linear discriminants to produce an overall solution. More recently, discriminant analysis based on the average margin is proposed [23] . The technique is closely related to LDA but does not involve inverting matrices. Since the criterion (tr(S b − S w )) is additive, the technique does not suffer from the small sample size problem.

Weighted piecewise LDA is another technique for addressing the small sample size problem.

More recently, discriminant analysis based on the average margin is proposed.


Space-based technology and applications have become an essential tool in many countries, especially developing ones, making the world a "global village". Earth satellite communication and other applications of satellite technology have made the study of space environment, including the ionosphere, more popular in recent times. As a result, the study of the equatorial ionosphere and its current systems has continued to gain much interest due to the complexities associated with the region (Rabiu et al., 2007) .

As a result, the study of the equatorial ionosphere and its current systems has continued to gain much interest due to the complexities associated with the region.


SVM with Gaussian kernel is employed as the classifier [25] . To avoid overfitting, we conducted a grid-search for the best parameters of SVM by fivefold cross validations on the training set. For training and testing purpose, we created several training-testing pairs. Each pair owns 6000 images, which is comprised by unaltered composite database and its altered version. Training is performed on a random 50% subset of the pair, and testing is performed on the remaining 50%. Hereafter, the same SVM setups are adopted unless particularly specified. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and the detection error are used to evaluate the SVM-based detector's performance. In formula (9), FPR and TPR denote the false positive rate and true positive rate, respectively.

SVM with Gaussian kernel is employed as the classifier.


The Quality of image fusion is an essential determinant of the value of processing images fusion for many applications. Spatial and spectral qualities are the two important indexes that used to evaluate the quality of any fused image. Generally, one aims to preserve as much source information as possible in the fused image with the expectation that performance with the fused image will be better than, or at least as good as, performance with the source images [1] . Several authors describe different spatial and spectral quality analysis techniques of the fused images. Some of them enable subjective, the others objective, numerical definition of spatial or spectral quality of the fused data [2] [3] [4] [5] . The evaluation of the spatial quality of the pan-sharpened images is equally important since the goal is to retain the high spatial resolution of the PAN image. A survey of the pan sharpening literature revealed there were very few papers that evaluated the spatial quality of the pan-sharpened imagery [6] . However, the jury is still out on the benefits of a fused image compared to its original images. There is also a lack of measures for assessing the objective quality of the spatial resolution of the fusion methods. As a result of that, an objective quality of the spatial resolution assessment for fusion images is required.

Generally, one aims to preserve as much source information as possible in the fused image with the expectation that performance with the fused image will be better than, or at least as good as, performance with the source images.

Some of them enable subjective, the others objective, numerical definition of spatial or spectral quality of the fused data.

A survey of the pan sharpening literature revealed there were very few papers that evaluated the spatial quality of the pan-sharpened imagery.


The vanadium slag mixed with salt roasts in an oxidizing atmosphere, vanadium precipitates from the mineral structure and oxidizes to pentavalent vanadium oxide, and then vanadium pentoxide reacts with sodium oxide decomposed from sodium to form soluble sodium vanadate [6] [7] [8] . There is a lot of literature on the extraction of vanadium pentoxide from vanadium-containing material using NaCl, Na 2 SO 4 , and Na 2 CO 3 as additives [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] . The representative vanadium extraction route mainly consists of the following procedures: sodium salt roasting, water leaching, solution purification and V precipitation [5] .

The vanadium slag mixed with salt roasts in an oxidizing atmosphere, vanadium precipitates from the mineral structure and oxidizes to pentavalent vanadium oxide, and then vanadium pentoxide reacts with sodium oxide decomposed from sodium to form soluble sodium vanadate.

There is a lot of literature on the extraction of vanadium pentoxide from vanadium-containing material using NaCl, Na 2 SO 4 , and Na 2 CO 3 as additives.

The representative vanadium extraction route mainly consists of the following procedures: sodium salt roasting, water leaching, solution purification and V precipitation.


However, there are only a few studies of elements' effects on the salt roast vanadium process with the addition of calcium (every 1% increase of CaO in slag would cause a 4.7%-9.0% V 2 O 5 loss [18] ). This study will investigate the effect of chromium on salt roasting to provide a theoretical basis for the separation of chromium and vanadium in the future. The change in the mineralogy of vanadium slag was studied by XRD, SEM/EDS and TG-DSC techniques; the effect of the roasting temperature on vanadium extraction and the characterization of leach residues are also discussed.

However, there are only a few studies of elements' effects on the salt roast vanadium process with the addition of calcium (every 1% increase of CaO in slag would cause a 4.7%-9.0% V 2 O 5 loss).


The neural fuzzy inference system-based weather prediction model is one of the data driven modeling approaches. The problem with the data driven modeling approach is that the underlying rules cannot be specified [46, 47] . Thus, data driven modeling may provide a practical or feasible way to solve problems worldwide. The computing world has a lot to gain from neural networks. Their greatest advantage is their ability to model complicated non-linear relationships without a priori assumptions, just like a black box [48] . They have the ability to learn through examples, making them very flexible and powerful. Furthermore, there is no need to know the internal mechanisms of a task. The obtained results also showed that NFIS-WPMs outperformed the ANNs models. This may be related to the effect of fuzzification for the inputs through fuzzy classification methods. Because the meteorological premises were first fuzzified and then fed to the NFIS-WPMs, and fuzzy-based neural network modeling has been performed on the fuzzified data, the ability of these modeling approaches has been improved.

The problem with the data driven modeling approach is that the underlying rules cannot be specified.

Their greatest advantage is their ability to model complicated non-linear relationships without a priori assumptions, just like a black box.


However, classes and occupational status categories are aggregated occupational groups. Not surprisingly, a large part of economic inequality occurs within them (Weeden et al. 2007; Kim and Sakamoto 2008) . Depending on the question at hand, this may be a serious limitation. Consider, for instance, the widening economic inequality in the United States since the 1980s, which has been mostly driven by disparities at the top of the economic distribution (Autor, Katz, and Kearney 2006) . This substantial change would be largely missed by accounts of stratification based on aggregate classes. In contrast, measures of earnings capture inequality at the most disaggregate individual level, and they therefore account for hierarchical differences within occupational categories.

Not surprisingly, a large part of economic inequality occurs within them.

Consider, for instance, the widening economic inequality in the United States since the 1980s, which has been mostly driven by disparities at the top of the economic distribution.


But if a theory of labor market meritocracy is to be tested, the specific factors leading to equal opportunity among college graduates of different social origins should be specified. By drawing on the literature on labor market discrimination based on race and gender, I focus on two processes leading to ascription-based discrepancies: allocative inequality and within-occupation differences in economic rewards (Treiman and Hartmann 1981; England 1992; Petersen and Morgan 1995; Padavic and Reskin 2002; Petersen and Saporta 2004) . Allocative inequality refers to differences in occupational allocation, so that members of groups defined by ascription are concentrated in relatively low-paying occupations. Within-occupation rewards inequality emerges when members of disadvantaged ascriptive groups receive lower economic returns than their advantaged peers even if placed in the same occupations.

By drawing on the literature on labor market discrimination based on race and gender, I focus on two processes leading to ascription-based discrepancies: allocative inequality and within-occupation differences in economic rewards.


The epiphytic fern flora of Hyeronima alchorneoides makes for interesting comparisons with the terrestrial fern flora as the species grows on both alluvial bottoms and upland terraces. We were thus able to sample a diversity of soil types and found that alluvial bottoms were areas of particularly high terrestrial fern diversity. For example, the final terrestrial transect sampled happened to occur along a small stream on one of the alluvial bottoms at La Selva. The number of terrestrial species in this particular plot was almost double that of the most diverse terrestrial plot in the sample. While other factors may be involved, this observation further supports the importance of edaphic factors to patterns of terrestrial fern distribution (Tuomisto and Ruokolainen, 1994; Tuomisto and Poulsen, 1996; Tuomisto et al., 1998) .

While other factors may be involved, this observation further supports the importance of edaphic factors to patterns of terrestrial fern distribution.


In here, we focus on the nonlinear response of a class of 'soft' base isolators for earthquake protection of conventional buildings known as high damping rubber bearings (HDRB). These are becoming widely popular in Europe and there are currently two large firms that mass produce them according to specifications set by the client. The same holds true in Japan, while in the United States a different category of base isolators known as friction pendulums are popular. Recently, the authors have developed a generalized trilinear hysteretic model (THM) that best describes the mechanical response of HDRB specimens under harmonic excitation of variable frequency that leads to induced strains of up to 200% [4] . In contrast with the basic THM and its predecessor, the bilinear hysteretic model (BHM), which can be solved analytically, this is no longer the case with the generalized THM. Therefore, it is imperative to develop variants of the Newmark-beta method that are specially tailored for highly nonlinear response of a single-degree-of freedom representation. This algorithm needs to be calibrated against experimental results so that its accuracy can be established.

Recently, the authors have developed a generalized trilinear hysteretic model (THM) that best describes the mechanical response of HDRB specimens under harmonic excitation of variable frequency that leads to induced strains of up to 200%.


This observational study, using data from 36 clinics in four provinces in South Africa, found that after adjusting for patient factors, a lower doctor : patient ratio was associated with increased odds of unsuppressed viral load at 24 months in patients on ART, although this association was not found with the loss to follow-up or composite poor outcome. The importance of doctor : patient ratios has previously been shown in the cohort study conducted in 32 public sector clinics in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, where the risk of default was higher in clinics with a lower doctor : patient ratio and with parttime doctors compared with full time doctors [45] . No other studies have shown this association although many had attempted to measure staff : patient ratios but have not linked these to ART outcomes.

The importance of doctor : patient ratios has previously been shown in the cohort study conducted in 32 public sector clinics in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, where the risk of default was higher in clinics with a lower doctor : patient ratio and with parttime doctors compared with full time doctors.


In order to take into account all these constraints, a proper methodology has to be used. One of the most used approaches relies on the study of the characteristic modes of the structure [6, 7] . The main objective of this approach is to place the antenna elements on the structure in such a way that each element excites the fundamental modes with different amplitudes and phases. As a result, the multiantenna system will have a low ECC.

One of the most used approaches relies on the study of the characteristic modes of the structure.


At other times in the interviews, parents described periods of free choice, when children were able to explore materials without the direct intervention of teachers. Descriptions of these sessions seem to reflect an understanding of play having characteristics, one of which is that it is controlled by the child (Dockett, 1999) . These episodes of free play seemed to be confined to after-lunch sessions or when the children were 'hot' or 'tired' and the parents emphasised that this type of play was beneficial for the children at the end of the day, when 'work' was complete.

Descriptions of these sessions seem to reflect an understanding of play having characteristics, one of which is that it is controlled by the child.


The data discussed here were gathered as part of a larger study exploring how 26 parents (24 mothers and 2 fathers) at a non-government school viewed the Preparatory Year (O'Gorman, 2008) . The school in which the study took place is situated in an area of high growth in outer urban south-east Queensland and had four Prep classrooms at the time of data collection. Participants were parents of children from across the four classrooms.

The data discussed here were gathered as part of a larger study exploring how 26 parents (24 mothers and 2 fathers) at a non-government school viewed the Preparatory Year.


We have shown a novel association between serum Ca levels and increased levels of α klotho in the different studied groups. Huang and Moe demonstrated novel features of klotho include its autocrine-paracrine-endocrine glycan-modifying enzymatic function in the urinary lumen on calcium and phosphate transporters. Klotho reduces calciuria in distal tubules by its sialidase activity, acting directly on the apical calcium channel. Desialidation of the channel uncovers glycan residues that promote binding to galectin-1, resulting in stabilization of residence on the plasma membrane [25] . Further studies are needed to explain this correlation in CKD and dialysis patients. Also, more research is needed to assess the correlations between Ca and klotho in healthy subjects.

Desialidation of the channel uncovers glycan residues that promote binding to galectin-1, resulting in stabilization of residence on the plasma membrane.


I N this paper we present the results of an empirical study of practical combinatorial interaction testing (CIT). CIT is increasingly important because of the increasing use of configurations as a basis for the deployment of systems [1] . For example, software product lines, operating systems and development environments are all governed by large configuration parameter and feature spaces, for which combinatorial interaction testing has proved a useful technique for uncovering faults.

CIT is increasingly important because of the increasing use of configurations as a basis for the deployment of systems.


Two widely used algorithms for CIT are Simulated Annealing (SA) and Greedy. The previous literature assumes a trade-off between computational cost of finding CIT test suites and the fault revealing power of the test suites sofound when time to run the test suites is considered [2] , [3] , [4] . The 'conventional wisdom' is that Greedy is fast (but its test suites are large and therefore less effective at finding faults quickly). SA, being a meta-heuristic, is generally believed to be slower to compute the test suite, yet it can produce smaller test suites that can find faults faster [4] .

The previous literature assumes a trade-off between computational cost of finding CIT test suites and the fault revealing power of the test suites sofound when time to run the test suites is considered.

SA, being a meta-heuristic, is generally believed to be slower to compute the test suite, yet it can produce smaller test suites that can find faults faster.


The number of stalks does not constitute an yield component, neither does the percentage of fertile stalks. This variable expresses the percentage of stalks that actually produced a panicle, which decrease with increasing rate of N ( Table 1 ). The reduction in fertile stalks could be related to the greater number of stalks produced as nitrogen fertilization increased, which could have caused a smaller number of vegetative buds to become reproductive. High nitrogen rates induce the formation of large number of stalks and leaves, creating unfavorable conditions to yielding, such as shading and lodging (Barbosa Filho, 1987 and 1991) . The increase in number of stalks, provided by the increasing rates of nitrogen fertilization, contributed to increase the number of leaves, which could have caused shading, decreasing the area of active photosynthesis and diminishing the production of carbohydrates. This would not have been sufficient to ensure panicle primordium differentiation, panicle growth and stalk elongation. As a consequence, some stalks produced panicles, and others did not.

High nitrogen rates induce the formation of large number of stalks and leaves, creating unfavorable conditions to yielding, such as shading and lodging.


Salmonellosis is regarded as one of the most prevalent foodborne zoonotic infection in both developed and developing countries, even though the prevalence seems to vary between countries (Molla et al., 2003) . It is usually challenging to explain the state of salmonellosis in developing countries resulting from the very limited scope of studies, with lack of co-ordinated epidemiological surveillance systems. In addition, under-reporting of cases coupled with the presence of other diseases well-thought-out to be of high significance may have surpassed the problem of salmonellosis in some developing countries including Nigeria. The upsurge of global populace with mass production of animal and human food as well as the rapid international trade in aquaculture, agriculture and food products could further degenerate the problem (Dahshan et al., 2010) .

Salmonellosis is regarded as one of the most prevalent foodborne zoonotic infection in both developed and developing countries, even though the prevalence seems to vary between countries.

The upsurge of global populace with mass production of animal and human food as well as the rapid international trade in aquaculture, agriculture and food products could further degenerate the problem.


Reptiles are ectothermic vertebrates, and are distributed in most parts of the world except for the poles (Vitt & CaldWell 2013) . These animals are affected by the climate, and especially by temperature. Climate change from the last glacial period has been considerable and is predicted to increase because many scenarios have predicted high levels of greenhouse gases by 2050 and 2070 (Canadell et al. 2007) . Recent IPCC reports have provided four categories as different climate layers (2.6, 4.5, 6.0 and 8.5) and each category includes a particular scenario for future climate change in relation to greenhouse gas emissions.

Reptiles are ectothermic vertebrates, and are distributed in most parts of the world except for the poles.

Climate change from the last glacial period has been considerable and is predicted to increase because many scenarios have predicted high levels of greenhouse gases by 2050 and 2070.


In this study, we examined the effects of small-scale deforestation on the surface air temperature using FLUXNET, AsiaFlux, ChinaFLUX, and Chinese Forest Ecosystem Research Network (CFERN) and paired surface station observations in North/South America and in Eastern Asia. Consistent with climate model predictions, the observed change in the surface temperature T (open land minus forest) due to land clearing was dependent on latitude in these continents. North of 10 • N, the observed latitudinal dependency was greater in magnitude for Americas (−0.079 (±0.010) • C per degree latitude) than for Asia (−0.046 (±0.011) • C per degree), suggesting a stronger snow albedo effect in Canada than in northeast Asia. Using the combined datasets, we found that local deforestation warmed the surface air by 0.67 ± 0.45 • C (number of site pairs n = 8) in tropical and subtropical latitudes (15 • S-20 • N) and cooled the surface air by 0.95 ± 0.51 • C (n = 17) in boreal latitudes (≥45 • N). The warming in the low latitudes was associated with increase in the daily maximum temperature with little change in the daily minimum temperature, while the reverse was true in the boreal latitudes. In latitudes north of 35 • N, the observed cooling signal was weaker, by about 2 • C, than that simulated using a climate model of large-scale deforestation (Davin and de Noblet-Ducoudré 2010) .

In latitudes north of 35 • N, the observed cooling signal was weaker, by about 2 • C, than that simulated using a climate model of large-scale deforestation.


However, existing soil surveys can be an important starting point for generating more detailed soil maps. One possibility to refine information on soil distribution is to use spatial disaggregation of multi-component MUs. Spatial disaggregation follows Digital Soil Mapping (DSM) techniques and environmental covariates to separate soil components within a multi-component MU, based on spatial relationships or patterns between soils and the landscape (Sarmento et al., 2017; Vincent et al., 2018) . The objective is to use a map with fewer details to produce an enhanced map that represents the distribution of the soil components, i.e., a map with more single MUs . Spatial disaggregation of the multi-component MUs takes advantage of valuable sources of information, such as legacy data, which can be observational points (independent pedons) and/or soil maps with their respective descriptive reports.

Spatial disaggregation follows Digital Soil Mapping (DSM) techniques and environmental covariates to separate soil components within a multi-component MU, based on spatial relationships or patterns between soils and the landscape.


Conjugated heat transfer in a channel with a deposit layer gradually growing on the wall is widely encountered in many engineering applications such as fouling in heat exchangers [1] [2] [3] [4] . In these systems, the working fluid carries particles either of an organic or inorganic origin flowing into channels. These particles have a tendency to deposit onto the wall of the channels, forming a deposit layer. The continuously growing and increasingly thicker deposit layer, formed by the deposited particles, normally has a low thermal conductivity. With heat transfer involved, such deposit layer introduces extra thermal resistance and consequently leads to a low heat transfer performance of the system. Besides, the deposit layer reduces flow cross sectional area of the channel and directly responsible for inducing a larger pressure drop. Unfortunately, the deposition process, although highly undesirable for heat transfer, can only be minimized.

Conjugated heat transfer in a channel with a deposit layer gradually growing on the wall is widely encountered in many engineering applications such as fouling in heat exchangers.


The open oceans and deep seas (> 200 m depth) cover the majority of the Earth's surface area and habitat volume. Within these, the vast deep-pelagic habitat between the sunlit layers (upper 200 m) and the seafloor is the largest and least-understood environment on our planet (Webb et al., 2010) . This habitat contains the mesopelagic (200-1000 m depth) and bathypelagic (water column > 1000 m depth) zones, though the precise depth at which these zones transition is variable, and vertical connectivity across this transition appears to be the rule rather than the exception at larger spatiotemporal scales (Sutton, 2013) .

Within these, the vast deep-pelagic habitat between the sunlit layers (upper 200 m) and the seafloor is the largest and least-understood environment on our planet.

This habitat contains the mesopelagic (200-1000 m depth) and bathypelagic (water column > 1000 m depth) zones, though the precise depth at which these zones transition is variable, and vertical connectivity across this transition appears to be the rule rather than the exception at larger spatiotemporal scales.


Eucalyptus species constitute the most widely planted hardwood tree in the temperate and subtropical regions of the world and their wood is used as a raw material for production of cellulose. Developing a transformation strategy for this species would be an important step towards the improvement of its features for the species' utilization by the pulp and paper industries. Several reports regarding transformation methods in Eucalyptus species are available (HO et al., 1998; MULLINS et al., 1997) . For the first time, genetic engineering in E. camaldulensis has been reported, using antisense CAD grown in a greenhouse (VALERIO et al., 2003) .

Several reports regarding transformation methods in Eucalyptus species are available.

For the first time, genetic engineering in E. camaldulensis has been reported, using antisense CAD grown in a greenhouse.


PFOS supports feeding development and shortens time to full oral feeds in very preterm infants. It helps them achieve the normal milestone of independent oral feeding and shortens LOS. A better understanding of how GA, chronological age and lung disease interact with the genetic control of feeding development can further improve our ability to effectively utilize different feeding entrainments in clinical practice [76] .

A better understanding of how GA, chronological age and lung disease interact with the genetic control of feeding development can further improve our ability to effectively utilize different feeding entrainments in clinical practice.


The second reason is that they feel that this "Principle" is in relation with the concept of "weight" of a body [5] - [12] . This is "inevitable", because the phenomenology studied by Archimedes introduces the concept of "density", a "property" of the matter intimately related to the "weight" of a body. Weight is one of the most important consequences of the natural process we call "gravitation", and therefore we can understand the importance of the discussion about this "Principle".

The second reason is that they feel that this "Principle" is in relation with the concept of "weight" of a body.


In this paper, we have provided explicit realizations of the Schwarzschild and the ReissnerNordstöm geometry as non-commutative spaces in the framework of matrix models. Our construction is based on suitable embeddings of these classical geometries M 4 ⊂ R D ("branes") in higher-dimensional flat spaces. These 4-dimensional branes are equipped with certain selfdual symplectic structures, which define the non-commutative form of these spaces via a star product. These embeddings and the corresponding symplectic structure are chosen such that they are asymptotically constant. To be more precise, for r → ∞ they reduce to the usual Groenewold-Moyal quantum plane which is trivially embedded in R D . At the semi-classical level, the central singularity is reflected by the fact that the embedding escapes to infinity. Non-commutative effects are expected to modify this behavior, which is however not addressed in the present paper. The requirement of asymptotic triviality is not satisfied by the standard embeddings e.g. of the Schwarzschild geometry in the literature [14] [15] [16] . This requirement is strongly suggested by the matrix model framework, because the effective action may contain terms which depend on the embedding of M ⊂ R D and not only on its intrinsic geometry. In fact, flat GroenewoldMoyal quantum planes are always solutions of this class of matrix models, independent of e.g. vacuum energy contributions. Asymptotic triviality is also natural since we want to consider our solution as a perturbation of some larger cosmological context through a localized mass. In other words, the embedding presented here should naturally generalize to many-particle configurations.

The requirement of asymptotic triviality is not satisfied by the standard embeddings e.g. of the Schwarzschild geometry in the literature.


IPGs of applications where packet send times are human-driven and effectively random were shown to be iid (e.g. Telnet [4] ). However, for other applications autocorrelation of IPGs tends to exist because of large-time-scale behaviours, such as the congestion window growth/collapse for TCP or the application's encoding for games or VoIP over UDP. Network jitter reduces existing correlations, but even after many hops often there is some correlation. Furthermore, if the warden is close to the covert sender, the IPGs observed are largely unaffected by network jitter.

IPGs of applications where packet send times are human-driven and effectively random were shown to be iid (e.g. Telnet).


The examples (double, mirror and print-xml) contain the special primitive operator du described in Section 4. Hence, they are not confluent but innermostconfluent. The operator du is an inverse of itself [9, 10] . Thus, the TRS R du is also an inverse system of itself. For this reason, exceptionally, the inversion compiler does not produce any rules of InvDup but introduces Du instead of InvDup.

The operator du is an inverse of itself.


Clinical studies with maraviroc have shown that it has nondose-proportional oral pharmacokinetics [4, 5] . Two clinical studies were designed to investigate further the pharmacokinetics and excretion of maraviroc in healthy human subjects. The first study aimed to quantify the amount of drug-related radioactivity in blood, plasma, urine and faeces following a 14 C-labelled dose of 300 mg maraviroc and to elucidate the metabolite profile of maraviroc.The second study investigated the pharmacokinetics, safety and toleration of intravenous (i.v.) maraviroc and determined the absolute bioavailability of 100 mg oral maraviroc. In addition, data from both of these studies, as well as predictions of absorption from other Phase I studies, were used to construct a mass-balance model to describe the disposition of maraviroc.

Clinical studies with maraviroc have shown that it has nondose-proportional oral pharmacokinetics.


A most common treatment of the task at hand is based on the following variational formulation. Find a transformation φ minimizing the total energy where D corresponds to a dissimilarity measure quantifying the difference between the transformed template, T φ , and the reference, R. In this work we are mostly interested in mass preserving transformations [41] . In this case D takes the form In (1), S is a regulariying term which eliminates unwanted transformations, φ ref is a favoured transformation (typically set to identity) and α > 0 is a regularization parameter that controls the influence of S.

Find a transformation φ minimizing the total energy where D corresponds to a dissimilarity measure quantifying the difference between the transformed template, T φ , and the reference, R. In this work we are mostly interested in mass preserving transformations.


Chitinase (EC 3.2.1.14) is a glycoside hydrolase that hydrolyzes chitin, a linear b-1, 4-linked monopolymer of N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc). Based on structures and catalytic mechanisms, the chitinases are classified into two families, 18 and 19 [6, 7] . Family 18 chitinases are widely distributed in a variety of organisms such as bacteria, fungi, bacteriophages, animals and higher plants (classes III and V); whereas family 19 chitinases are found only in higher plants (classes I, II and IV). Recently, however, some members of the family 19 chitinases have been found in genomes of actinobacteria, proteobacteria, nematodes and bacteriophages [8] . Based on amino acid sequence comparisons, phylogenetic analysis shows the family 19 chitinases are separated into five clusters (clusters I to V) [8] . Of these, cluster III of the family 19 chitinases are most distantly related to the other clusters [8] . The cluster III family 19 of chitinases consists only of those from proteobacteria and bacteriophages and the genes in proteobacteria are often found within the phage-related regions. The cluster III family 19 chitinase genes in PA0629 from Pseudomonas aeruginosa and PFL_1227 from P. fluorescens Pf-5 are located within a region of one of the variants of a defective phage (pyocin) and prophage, respectively. Their recombinant proteins have lysozyme activity that hydrolyses peptidoglycans, alternating b-1, 4-linked residues of N-acetylmuramic acid (MurNAc) and GlcNAc [9, 10] .

Based on structures and catalytic mechanisms, the chitinases are classified into two families, 18 and 19.

Recently, however, some members of the family 19 chitinases have been found in genomes of actinobacteria, proteobacteria, nematodes and bacteriophages.

Based on amino acid sequence comparisons, phylogenetic analysis shows the family 19 chitinases are separated into five clusters (clusters I to V).

Of these, cluster III of the family 19 chitinases are most distantly related to the other clusters.

Their recombinant proteins have lysozyme activity that hydrolyses peptidoglycans, alternating b-1, 4-linked residues of N-acetylmuramic acid (MurNAc) and GlcNAc.


In addition to jet mill design and milling conditions, the material properties are of crucial importance i.e. the mechanical properties of the material, its processing condition, the starting size or size distribution and the pre-existing imperfections and flaws in the material [15] [16] [17] . In spite of the crucial importance of material properties, the current understanding of the influence of material properties is very limited. This lack of information is reflected in the disappointing experience that each milling test with a new material has to start from scratch. Today no certain method exists to allow prediction or at least estimation of the milling behaviour of particles based on material properties [18] .

In addition to jet mill design and milling conditions, the material properties are of crucial importance i.e. the mechanical properties of the material, its processing condition, the starting size or size distribution and the pre-existing imperfections and flaws in the material.

Today no certain method exists to allow prediction or at least estimation of the milling behaviour of particles based on material properties.


The two most important applications of jet milling are in the pharmaceutical industry and granulation industry. Jet milling is commonly used in the pharmaceutical industry where micronization is used to raise drug activity by increasing the particle specific surface area, or by allowing active substances to reach their site of action by reducing the particle size [11] . In the granulation industry, and during the granulation process, a relatively wide range of granule sizes are produced whereas in most technologies the desired granule size range is rather narrow. The undersized particles are usually recycled to the granulation step while the jet milling of oversized particles is very useful due to the flexibility of the process [19] . In the present work and according to the knowledge of the present authors, jet milling has been used for the first time to convert machining scraps of cast iron to powder. Detailed description of the designed apparatus and the series of experiments through which the milling parameters are optimized as well as the particle breakage mechanism are presented.

Jet milling is commonly used in the pharmaceutical industry where micronization is used to raise drug activity by increasing the particle specific surface area, or by allowing active substances to reach their site of action by reducing the particle size.

The undersized particles are usually recycled to the granulation step while the jet milling of oversized particles is very useful due to the flexibility of the process.


We conclude with the remark that the findings summarized above are in fact somewhat puzzling when contrasted to the conventional picture of quantum Hall physics. It is usually stated that the quantum Hall effect requires three key ingredients: Landau quantization, quenched disorder 1 and (spatial) boundaries, i. e., a finite-sized sample [21] . The first brings about the quantization of conductivity, the second prevents the states from spilling between the Landau levels ensuring the existence of a gap and the last one in fact allows the charge transport to happen (as it is the boundary states that actually conduct). In our model, only the first condition is satisfied. The second is put by hand by assuming that the gap is automatically preserved, i. e. that there is no mixing between the Landau levels. There is, however, no physical explanation as to how the boundary states are implicitly taken into account by AdS/CFT.

It is usually stated that the quantum Hall effect requires three key ingredients: Landau quantization, quenched disorder 1 and (spatial) boundaries, i. e., a finite-sized sample.


In the field theory frame, we have calculated the DC conductivity using k F and v F values extracted from holography. The holographic calculation of conductivity that takes into account the fermions corresponds to the corrections of subleading order in 1/N in the field theory and is very involved [15] . As we are not interested in the vertex renormalization due to gravity (it does not change the magnetic field dependence of the conductivity), we have performed our calculations directly in the field theory with AdS gravity-dressed fermion propagators. Instead of controlling the occupancy of the Landau levels by changing the chemical potential (as is usual in non-holographic setups), we have controlled the filling of the Landau levels by varying the Fermi energy level through the magnetic field. At zero temperature, we have reproduced the integer QHE of the Hall conductivity, which is observed in graphene at moderate magnetic fields. While the findings on equilibrium physics (Landau quantization, magnetic phase transitions and crossovers) are within expectations and indeed corroborate the meaningfulness of the AdS/CFT approach as compared to the well-known facts, the detection of the QHE is somewhat surprising as the spatial boundary effects are ignored in our setup. We plan to address this question in further work.

The holographic calculation of conductivity that takes into account the fermions corresponds to the corrections of subleading order in 1/N in the field theory and is very involved.


It is worth noting that one subject (PC) (Figure 1) showed an inappropriate trend in the SOL for the 3 meals. Further examination of his sleep data revealed a reduction in REM sleep, a delay in ROL, and an increase in stage 2 after both high-GI (4 h and 1 h) meals. These data contrasted those for the mean values obtained for the other 11 subjects. As an elite cyclist, PC claimed to have ceased all exercise for ≥24 h before each of the sleep studies, and thus fulfilled inclusion criteria of this study. Although inappropriate to delete PC from the data, it is known that changes to sleep variables are associated with acute strenuous exercise (O'Connor & Youngstedt 1995) . In the case of PC, 24 h cessation of exercise may have been insufficient to normalize sleep indexes.

Although inappropriate to delete PC from the data, it is known that changes to sleep variables are associated with acute strenuous exercise.


Fuel flexibility and the ability to burn low-grade fuels are major advantages generally associated with fluidized bed combustion [1] - [2] . Because of these advantages, the fluidized bed seems to be one of the most suitable combustion technologies for converting biomass into energy [3] . Nonetheless, fuel flexibility also poses challenges. The use of demanding heterogeneous fuels such as biomass not only increases the need for monitoring the combustion process, but also complicates the development of new methods for diagnosing it.

Fuel flexibility and the ability to burn low-grade fuels are major advantages generally associated with fluidized bed combustion.

Because of these advantages, the fluidized bed seems to be one of the most suitable combustion technologies for converting biomass into energy.


Despite sea bream shows a great potential allowing its rearing in captivity, the lack of a strong mechanism of natural resistance and acclimation in the winter makes the breeding of this species not yet ideal. Farmed gilthead sea bream are affected by a pathological condition termed ''winter disease'' or ''winter syndrome'' during long-term exposure to cold (Ibarz et al., 2010) . Knowledge of haematological and immunological responses could contribute to the evaluation of resistance against infectious diseases and thereby enable to increase survival rate and reduce the time and cost needed for growth (Morgan et al., 2003; Kumari et al., 2006; Bowden et al., 2007) . Even if haematological data are not used routinely in health care of fish, they are gradually introduced to determining the health status of these animals (Percin and Konyalioglu, 2008) .

Farmed gilthead sea bream are affected by a pathological condition termed ''winter disease'' or ''winter syndrome'' during long-term exposure to cold.

Knowledge of haematological and immunological responses could contribute to the evaluation of resistance against infectious diseases and thereby enable to increase survival rate and reduce the time and cost needed for growth.

Even if haematological data are not used routinely in health care of fish, they are gradually introduced to determining the health status of these animals.


Deep networks have achieved impressive performance on image recognition (Russakovsky et al 2015) . Nonetheless, for any visual system to parse objects in the real world, it needs not only to assign category labels to objects, but also to interpret their intra-class variation. Figure 2 shows an example: for a chair, we are interested in its intrinsic properties such as its style, height, leg length, and seat width, and extrinsic properties such as its pose.

Deep networks have achieved impressive performance on image recognition.


We study the problem of generating a codebook for a vector quantizer (VQ). The aim is to find M code vectors (codebook) for a given set of N training vectors (training set) by minimizing the average pairwise distance between the training vectors and their representative code vectors. The problem of generating an optimal codebook is a combinatorial optimization problem and it is NP-complete [1] . In other words, there is no known polynomial time algorithm for finding the globally optimal solution. However, reasonable suboptimal solutions are typically obtained by heuristic algorithms [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] . The most cited and widely used algorithm is the generalized Lloyd algorithm (GLA) [2, 3] . It starts with an initial solution, which is iteratively improved using two optimality criteria in turn until a local minimum has been reached.

The problem of generating an optimal codebook is a combinatorial optimization problem and it is NP-complete.

However, reasonable suboptimal solutions are typically obtained by heuristic algorithms.

The most cited and widely used algorithm is the generalized Lloyd algorithm (GLA).


The current study is an exploratory examination of the cross-cultural adaptation of a distinct group of teenaged international students, Taiwanese unaccompanied sojourners, living in Toronto, Canada. Based on a quantitative survey questionnaire developed specifically for this population, the study assesses Taiwanese unaccompanied sojourners' perceived readiness and preparedness for overseas study. In addition, the study seeks to test key adaptation variables emerged from the questionnaire and the variables' relationships in path models conceptualized within acculturation and ethnic identity literature (Berry, 1997; Kim & Abreu, 2001; Roysircar-Sodowsky & Maestas, 2000) . Finally, implications and recommendations for counseling, educational interventions, and cross-cultural training for young international students are put forth.

In addition, the study seeks to test key adaptation variables emerged from the questionnaire and the variables' relationships in path models conceptualized within acculturation and ethnic identity literature.


Third, our results underscore the critical role of interpersonal competence as a key mediator of acculturative stress for unaccompanied sojourners. As demonstrated, satisfying social relationship and friendship, and adequate access to social support work to lessen the negative impact of sojourners' acculturative strains resulting from perceived prejudice. Being without parental guidance and protection makes adolescents students particularly vulnerable to isolation and loneliness in host cultures (Lin, 1992) . However, sojourners can ensure a greater psychological health and resistance to acculturation strains by cultivating sound social competency and interpersonal resources.

Being without parental guidance and protection makes adolescents students particularly vulnerable to isolation and loneliness in host cultures.


The current-mode (CM) ADC is advantageous because it can be implemented by standard CMOS technology only and it is also demonstrating excellent characteristics such as in particular, high resource efficiency (power and area) [9] . Furthermore, many signal processing systems are current-based, like biometrics and image sensors [10] . The CM ADC should be designed to accept current as the input signal.

The current-mode (CM) ADC is advantageous because it can be implemented by standard CMOS technology only and it is also demonstrating excellent characteristics such as in particular, high resource efficiency (power and area).

Furthermore, many signal processing systems are current-based, like biometrics and image sensors.


Primary health care has been widely cited for its potential to improve population health, ensure access to care and control costs [1] [2] [3] [4] . However, many Canadians do not have a primary care physician and even among those that do, timely access can be difficult [5, 6] . In response, integrated primary care models have been implemented across Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.

Primary health care has been widely cited for its potential to improve population health, ensure access to care and control costs.

However, many Canadians do not have a primary care physician and even among those that do, timely access can be difficult.


In this paper, we report a thorough investigation of spontaneous emission in multilayer phoxonic cavities and focus on the influence of an elastic wave, which resonantly vibrates the cavity region, on the emission rates, based on rigorous full electrodynamic and elastodynamic calculations. Our description is valid for light-matter interaction in the weak coupling regime. For systems with quantum wells or quantum dots, it has been reported that elastic waves influence the quantum efficiency by modulating the electron band structure and the exciton wavefunctions of the emitter [19, 33] . However, here, we shall be concerned only with the influence of the photonic environment, modulated by an elastic wave, ignoring modifications of the electron states due to pressure variations. Therefore, we consider fast emitters and elastic waves of frequency much smaller than the spontaneous emission rate, in which case the effect of the elastic wave occurs, mainly, through the modulation of the refractive index and the interfaces of the photonic environment. Our approach is a first step towards the description of a dynamically tuned elastic-wavedriven light emission.

For systems with quantum wells or quantum dots, it has been reported that elastic waves influence the quantum efficiency by modulating the electron band structure and the exciton wavefunctions of the emitter.


In the future, the fiber structure could be specially designed in order to reduce the fiber weight, such as by optimizing the diameter of the fiber claddings. In this case, the resistance could be decreased, which contributes to reduce the pump powers. Moreover, the powerful thermal radiation could be used in fully on-chip devices for large-scale integration which is promising to greatly reduce the pump power. The switching function of the free-hanging fibers could be instead of improved devices using more light and compact materials, such as movable cantilever waveguides in SOI platform [44] - [46] . As the weight of the on-chip movable counterpart is much lighter than the fiber, the SOI system is more efficient to convert the scattered light power to the fiber mechanical energy. Thus the required pump power might be greatly reduced as several milliwatts. The insertion loss of the proposed switch could be reduced to 0.58 dB and the operation bandwidth could increase to 80 nm by using the ultra-low loss grating couplers [47] .

The switching function of the free-hanging fibers could be instead of improved devices using more light and compact materials, such as movable cantilever waveguides in SOI platform.

The insertion loss of the proposed switch could be reduced to 0.58 dB and the operation bandwidth could increase to 80 nm by using the ultra-low loss grating couplers.


Polyamide 66 (PA66) is widely used in engineering plastics due to its excellent properties. PA66 and its nanocomposites are continuously studied [35] [36] [37] . Semi-crystalline polymer PA66 possesses a lot of hydrophilic groups. The key factor for the crystal structures formed is the ability of the NH group to form H-Bonds with the CO group in PA66. In the injection molding process, the α structure is the main physical structure of the PA66 crystal. In the α structure, the PA66 chains are in the fully extended planar zigzag conformation. The crystal structure of PA66 is triclinic. The lattice constants of PA66 crystal are a = 0.49 nm, b = 0.54 nm, c = 1.72 nm [38] . The crystallographic parameter of the <2100> RGO spacing is 0.246 nm [39] . Hence, the disregistry between the c-axis of the PA66 crystal and the crystallographic parameter of <2100> RGO spacing is 0.1%, which is lower than PCL/RGO nanocomposites. The crystal of PA66 can, in theory, epitaxially grow on the surface of laminated RGO. Because of the existence of H-bonds, RGO more easily absorbs the chains of hydrophilic PA66. Therefore, PA66 was chosen as the representative of semi-crystalline polymers with H-bonds to investigate the effect of epitaxial crystals in semi-crystalline polymer/RGO nanocomposites.

PA66 and its nanocomposites are continuously studied.

The lattice constants of PA66 crystal are a = 0.49 nm, b = 0.54 nm, c = 1.72 nm.

The crystallographic parameter of the <2100> RGO spacing is 0.246 nm.


In the injection-molding samples, the chains of PA66 and platy RGO are subjected to intensive shear flow in the injection molding process. As the amount of RGO is increased, the epitaxial crystals gradually become the main portion of PA66 crystal. In the non-isothermal crystallization process, not only is the crystal of the PA66 matrix epitaxial on the surface of platy RGO, but also the (100) crystal plane is parallel to the platy RGO [32] . The orientation of platy RGO is parallel to the injection flow direction in the injection-molding process. Under the influence of the shear field, the chains of the PA66 matrix are parallel to the injection flow direction and the platy RGO. Furthermore, because of the presence of RGO, the mobility of PA66 matrix chains is restricted. During the cooling process, the orientation of the PA66 chains in the epitaxial crystals is kept. Therefore, the degree of their orientations increases. These results indicate that the degree of orientation depends on the proportion of epitaxial crystals in the polymer nanocomposite. The crystal orientation of the PA66 matrix is enhanced with the increase of RGO. In PA66/RGO nanocomposites, a 2D layered RGO could absorb the PA66 chain and provide the base for the epitaxial crystal of the PA66 matrix. In high-crystallinity PCL/RGO and PE/RGO nanocomposites, the existence of numerous epitaxial crystals can greatly improve its mechanical properties. In the hydrophilic PA66 matrix, there are fewer epitaxial crystals. The tensile strength of hydrophilic PA66/RGO nanocomposites is increased by 4%. This indicates that the quantity of the epitaxial crystals influences the improvement of mechanical properties.

In the non-isothermal crystallization process, not only is the crystal of the PA66 matrix epitaxial on the surface of platy RGO, but also the (100) crystal plane is parallel to the platy RGO.


In the work presented here a self-developing acrylamidebased photopolymer has been used as the photosensitive medium [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] . The capability of this material to record at low spatial frequencies has been attributed to the relatively high permeability of the polymer matrix and fast monomer diffusion, which allows for the recording of high diffraction efficiency gratings even in the low spatial frequency regime [19] . Such low spatial frequencies are preferable when devices with larger acceptance angle (broad angular and wavelength selectivity operation ranges) are sought. Keeping the spatial frequency low ensures that the angular selectivity of each individual grating/lens is low so that the range of angles accepted by each individual grating is maximized and the number of gratings needed in the combined device is minimized. In this work we present low spatial frequency photopolymer holographic lenses stacked together in order to increase the angular range of the focussing device.

In the work presented here a self-developing acrylamidebased photopolymer has been used as the photosensitive medium.

The capability of this material to record at low spatial frequencies has been attributed to the relatively high permeability of the polymer matrix and fast monomer diffusion, which allows for the recording of high diffraction efficiency gratings even in the low spatial frequency regime.


Several factors may account for the complex and somewhat inconsistent PSG findings regarding specific sleep parameters in BPD. One possible explanation is that discrepancies reflect fundamental classification and diagnostic issues that have recently been the subject of intense debate in the personality disorder field [46, 47] . Categorical diagnoses of PD according to the DSM have come under fire for not fully covering personality pathology, including an arbitrary diagnostic boundary, and being overly heterogeneous [48] . With a heterogeneous diagnostic system of classification for BPD, it makes sense that sleep correlates of the disorder would be heterogeneous as well.

One possible explanation is that discrepancies reflect fundamental classification and diagnostic issues that have recently been the subject of intense debate in the personality disorder field.

Categorical diagnoses of PD according to the DSM have come under fire for not fully covering personality pathology, including an arbitrary diagnostic boundary, and being overly heterogeneous.


Biosorption, a physicochemical phenomenon, is an alternative, attractive, convenient to operate and posses numerous inherent benefits, such as simplicity of design, abundant in nature, cheap, efficient, possible recycle of biosorbents, wide range of operation conditions. Mostly, biosorbents have revealed valuable because of their good binding capability toward various dye groups (Crini 2006; Ju et al. 2008; Vijayaraghavan et al. 2008) . Sorption mechanisms involve adsorption, chelation, ion-exchange, complexation and binding behavior depends upon pollutant's chemical nature, biosorbent's type and conditions such as ionic strength, temperature and pH. Many agricultural wastes have been used as biosorbent for decolonization and detoxification of water stream. Modifications or pretreatments of the biomaterial may amplify the surface area of the biosorbent and improved the uptake of pollutant from the solution (Oei et al. 2009; Bhatti et al. 2010) .

Mostly, biosorbents have revealed valuable because of their good binding capability toward various dye groups.

Modifications or pretreatments of the biomaterial may amplify the surface area of the biosorbent and improved the uptake of pollutant from the solution.


Finally evaluating these complex systems is very problematic due to the distributed nature of agents and the diversity of scenarios that Context Aware Systems address. Additionally we propose a way to compare different agent architectures for Context Aware System. It considers agent interactions as the most important characteristic of agent systems (Wooldridge & Ciancarini, 2001) . So, in this paper, we describe the assignment of weight values to agents interaction in two different MAS architectures for Context Aware problems solving different scenarios.

It considers agent interactions as the most important characteristic of agent systems.


From a clinical standpoint, the finding that PTSD predicts reoffending in a multivariate model that included substance use disorders suggests that treating substance use disorders will not be sufficient to eliminate the recidivism risk conferred by PTSD. This finding is consistent with efforts to incorporate more trauma-informed treatment in correctional settings and in interventions aimed at reducing comorbid PTSD and substance use disorders (Wallace, Conner, & Dass-Brailsford, 2011) . The call for the development of interventions aimed specifically at addressing trauma history has spurred research on the efficacy of such interventions, and preliminary evidence suggests they are beneficial for reducing symptoms of PTSD, decreasing recidivism, and improving treatment adherence (Messina, Calhoun, & Braithwaite, 2014; Messina, Grella, Cartier, & Torres, 2010) . The trauma-informed treatment movement has largely emphasized the need to consider trauma history when treating female offenders, partly due to the higher rates of trauma exposure reported by incarcerated women than men (Messina, Grella, Burdon, & Prendergast, 2007) . However, the present study found that PTSD increased risk of recidivism in both men and women, suggesting that attending to trauma exposure and treating PTSD symptoms in men may also be relevant to reducing risk of recidivism. Investigating whether gender differences in responsiveness to trauma-informed treatment affect the risk of criminal recidivism is a promising future direction that remains largely unexplored.

This finding is consistent with efforts to incorporate more trauma-informed treatment in correctional settings and in interventions aimed at reducing comorbid PTSD and substance use disorders.

The call for the development of interventions aimed specifically at addressing trauma history has spurred research on the efficacy of such interventions, and preliminary evidence suggests they are beneficial for reducing symptoms of PTSD, decreasing recidivism, and improving treatment adherence.

The trauma-informed treatment movement has largely emphasized the need to consider trauma history when treating female offenders, partly due to the higher rates of trauma exposure reported by incarcerated women than men.


Previous research also has found that justice-involved adults with mental illness experience high rates of recent victimization (55% in the prior 6 months), and recent victimization relates to increased risk of criminal behavior (Sadeh et al., 2014) . Recent trauma exposure among justice-involved persons with mental disorders may create periods of heightened stress and vulnerability that increase recidivism risk by, for instance, triggering the use of maladaptive coping skills to attenuate trauma-related symptoms. Furthermore, evidence is growing that PTSD confers risk of other maladaptive behaviors that increase contact with the justice system, including other-directed violence and illicit substance use (Chilcoat & Breslau, 1998) . Overall, the results of the present study, in combination with the research reviewed above, provide compelling evidence that PTSD deserves attention in developing interventions to reduce justice system involvement of persons with mental disorders.

Previous research also has found that justice-involved adults with mental illness experience high rates of recent victimization (55% in the prior 6 months), and recent victimization relates to increased risk of criminal behavior.

Furthermore, evidence is growing that PTSD confers risk of other maladaptive behaviors that increase contact with the justice system, including other-directed violence and illicit substance use.


A few years ago, the discovery of a link between the occurrence of certain cancers and the existence of anomalies of the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) errors repairing replication system (MMR system for Mismatch Repair) opened new horizons in the study of carcinogenesis in Humans (Aaltonen et al., 1993; Ionov et al., 1993) . This deficiency leads to nucleotide instability of the DNA affecting mainly the microsatellite repeated sequences of the genome, without associated chromosomal abnormality. In some cases, these microsatellites are located in intronic regions, or 5 'or 3' untranslated regions of some human genes, and it has been described that they may play a regulatory role in the expression of said genes.

A few years ago, the discovery of a link between the occurrence of certain cancers and the existence of anomalies of the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) errors repairing replication system (MMR system for Mismatch Repair) opened new horizons in the study of carcinogenesis in Humans.


Mechanical removal of the biofilm, performed by appropriate use of toothbrush and dental floss, has been the main tool in oral hygiene care [8] . However, despite recognition of the effectiveness of mechanical biofilm control, the process may be potentialized by chemical control, especially in individuals at high risk to develop oral diseases [8] [9] . The foremost chemical agents currently available are chlorhexidine, triclosan, cetylpyridinium chloride, and natural products [10] [11] . In this respect, natural products have been proposed in attempt to minimize undesirable effects caused by synthetic agents such as imbalance of the resident microbiota, and altered taste, besides representing a new antimicrobial possibility that might be used to face a situation of microbial resistance [12] .

Mechanical removal of the biofilm, performed by appropriate use of toothbrush and dental floss, has been the main tool in oral hygiene care.

However, despite recognition of the effectiveness of mechanical biofilm control, the process may be potentialized by chemical control, especially in individuals at high risk to develop oral diseases.

The foremost chemical agents currently available are chlorhexidine, triclosan, cetylpyridinium chloride, and natural products.

In this respect, natural products have been proposed in attempt to minimize undesirable effects caused by synthetic agents such as imbalance of the resident microbiota, and altered taste, besides representing a new antimicrobial possibility that might be used to face a situation of microbial resistance.


Oral health is essential to general health and quality of life. It implies being free from mouth and facial pain, oral and throat cancers, oral infection and sores, periodontal disease, tooth decay, tooth loss, and other diseases and disorders that limit an individual's capacity in biting, chewing, smiling, speaking, and psychosocial wellbeing [1] . Despite great achievements in oral health of populations globally, problems still remain in many communities all over the world, since dental caries and periodontal diseases have been considered the most important global oral health burdens [2] .

It implies being free from mouth and facial pain, oral and throat cancers, oral infection and sores, periodontal disease, tooth decay, tooth loss, and other diseases and disorders that limit an individual's capacity in biting, chewing, smiling, speaking, and psychosocial wellbeing.

Despite great achievements in oral health of populations globally, problems still remain in many communities all over the world, since dental caries and periodontal diseases have been considered the most important global oral health burdens.