Our study results showed a strong ITNs effect on parasitaemia risk reduction during 2009-2014 following a two-fold increase in coverage in the 5 years. These results support findings in similar malaria endemic settings [3] . This protective effect can be attributed to the physical barrier provided by ITNs to block mosquitoes from infecting humans with Plasmodium sporozoites, thus preventing parasites from completing their development cycle [19] . Also, the insecticide in ITNs reduces the lifespan of vectors when they come into contact, thus decreasing the chances of transmission [6] . Furthermore, the high coverage and utilization registered in the country may have achieved a 'mass effect' that reduces the mosquito population and thus protects people in communities who are not using ITNs but live in close proximity to households with ITNs [20, 21] .

These results support findings in similar malaria endemic settings.

This protective effect can be attributed to the physical barrier provided by ITNs to block mosquitoes from infecting humans with Plasmodium sporozoites, thus preventing parasites from completing their development cycle.

Also, the insecticide in ITNs reduces the lifespan of vectors when they come into contact, thus decreasing the chances of transmission.

Furthermore, the high coverage and utilization registered in the country may have achieved a 'mass effect' that reduces the mosquito population and thus protects people in communities who are not using ITNs but live in close proximity to households with ITNs.


With the deep complicated regions becoming the major battlefield of oil and gas exploitation on land, increasing exploration and production around the world require drilling through and completing wells in deep salt formation, which are technically challenging and costing. The introduction of a borehole in deep salt formation changes the existing stress field and displacement field, resulting in open wellbore shrinkage and time-dependent loading on the casing, which leads to severe well casing damage [1] . The statistical data shows that the well having casing damage in the Zhongyuan oil field is 1123, while the number of casing damage incidents in the salt strata contributed by 68.03% of the total number [2] . At greater depths, both stress and temperature increase; well cementing also faces great technical challenges. Statistical data collected in an oil region in western China shows that five out of seven wells are poorly cementing at the depths of 2990∼3460 m [3] . Partial cementing and deboning at the casing/cement or cement/rock interfaces are potential causes of cement sheath failure [4] . Lacking the intact support of cement sheath, when well casings serve in deep salt formation, their security will drop significantly.

The introduction of a borehole in deep salt formation changes the existing stress field and displacement field, resulting in open wellbore shrinkage and time-dependent loading on the casing, which leads to severe well casing damage.

The statistical data shows that the well having casing damage in the Zhongyuan oil field is 1123, while the number of casing damage incidents in the salt strata contributed by 68.03% of the total number.

Statistical data collected in an oil region in western China shows that five out of seven wells are poorly cementing at the depths of 2990∼3460 m.

Partial cementing and deboning at the casing/cement or cement/rock interfaces are potential causes of cement sheath failure.


Tillage of agricultural lands considerably affects a range of the soil characteristics, thus, it impacts the availability of resources for crop growth. No-till practices reduce the adverse impacts of tillage by increasing the soil aggregation process and by sequestering soil organic carbon (Lal et al., 2004) . Thus, structural stability and quality of the soil are improved (Cassel et al., 1995; Moebius-Clune et al., 2008) . The increased soil organic carbon concentration also enhances microbial productivity and soil fertility, while the increased soil stability reduces its erodibility by water (Lal et al., 2004) .

No-till practices reduce the adverse impacts of tillage by increasing the soil aggregation process and by sequestering soil organic carbon.

Thus, structural stability and quality of the soil are improved.

The increased soil organic carbon concentration also enhances microbial productivity and soil fertility, while the increased soil stability reduces its erodibility by water.


Overdetermined elliptic problems have a long history, which begins with the seminal paper by J. Serrin [21] . A complete review of the results which have been obtained since then goes beyond the aims of this work. In what follows, we only review the contributions regarding exterior or annular domains in the local case, and the few results which are available about overdetermined problems for the fractional Laplacian.

Overdetermined elliptic problems have a long history, which begins with the seminal paper by J. Serrin.


Our estimators are consistent under very weak tail dominance assumptions. To control for asymptotic bias in their limit distribution we need to impose stronger requirements that prevent the tails of the components from vanishing too quickly. These assumptions rule out the Gaussian location model. Such thin-tailed distributions are known to be problematic for inference techniques that rely on tail behavior (Khan and Tamer 2010) .

Such thin-tailed distributions are known to be problematic for inference techniques that rely on tail behavior.


We sought to understand the meaning to employees of staying in or leaving employing organizations by adopting a sensemaking framework, which can add richness and depth to the study of organizational phenomena not easily accessed by other frameworks (Weick et al., 2005) . As Gephart noted, "The depiction and understanding of the meaning of organization members is important in itself and this task is often neglected in organizational research " (2004: 455) . We adopted grounded theory methodology and collected data using primarily in-depth interviews and, secondarily, focus groups. As reviewed above, extant turnover models are based on common foundational assumptions and methods, and grounded theory allows for investigation of understudied aspects of phenomena in order to build new or expand extant theory.

We sought to understand the meaning to employees of staying in or leaving employing organizations by adopting a sensemaking framework, which can add richness and depth to the study of organizational phenomena not easily accessed by other frameworks.


Our findings strongly suggest that researchers expand time frames and span job changes in order to more fully understand turnover. Coping has been defined as thoughts and behaviors used to manage situations that are assessed as threats or stressors, where time spans are important, involving "a cyclical process of resource depletion and repair that unfolds from day to day and week to week" (M. A. Griffin & Clarke, 2011: 360) . Similarly, scholars have suggested that preparation for significant role changes related to identity "may begin long before an actual role change" (Ibarra & Barbulescu, 2010: 137) . Our findings support these ideas. Turnover and socialization have been studied as separate phenomena, but our data support the results from at least one other study that the phenomena are portable across jobs (Boswell et al., 2005) .

Our findings support these ideas.

Turnover and socialization have been studied as separate phenomena, but our data support the results from at least one other study that the phenomena are portable across jobs.


Occupational health psychology literatures contain classifications of coping, the most prevalent being problem-and emotion-focused coping; however, this two-category classification has many problems, including confounding of emotion-focused coping with strain (Cooper et al., 2009) . Another classification proposed is intrapersonal, interpersonal, and intergroup (Breakwell, 1986) . Coping can be characterized as positive (e.g., social support, exercise, use of humor) and negative (e.g., inappropriate venting, alcohol abuse, negative spillover to family). In their review, M. A. Griffin and Clarke note that "a widely accepted definition of the content of coping responses has proved elusive" (2011: 376). Many of our informants used types of coping explicated by all these categories. However, in line with a sensemaking framework, the categories of coping most salient reflect notions of identity, in which possible selves are tested against personal gauges of both authenticity and validation (Ibarra & Barbulescu, 2010) . For our informants, this occurred through social support, fantasy, and reflection.

Occupational health psychology literatures contain classifications of coping, the most prevalent being problem-and emotion-focused coping; however, this two-category classification has many problems, including confounding of emotion-focused coping with strain.

Another classification proposed is intrapersonal, interpersonal, and intergroup.

However, in line with a sensemaking framework, the categories of coping most salient reflect notions of identity, in which possible selves are tested against personal gauges of both authenticity and validation.


Our data were of a single-informant, direct-report nature, primarily composed of in-depth interviews. Social scientists have noted both advantages and limitations to single-informant interviews (Snow & Anderson, 1987) . Interviews can thoroughly tap actors' sensemaking, which has value. Revealing the role of emotions and strain may be more appropriately done with in-depth self-report than with other types of data because researchers may not be reliable judges of emotions in informants (Dimburg, Andreasson, & Thunberg, 2011) . However, a key limitation of sensemaking is that it includes post hoc rationalizations of choices and decisions, and, in fact, all sensemaking is retrospective (Weick, 1995) . We partially addressed this by gathering in situ data about current work situations and by interviewing longer-term stayers; however, even this happens after the action of staying. In addition, sensemaking reveals plausible rather than fully accurate explanations. Thus, a boundary condition of our model, as in all sensemaking work, is that it reveals only conscious reasons for leaving.

Social scientists have noted both advantages and limitations to single-informant interviews.

Revealing the role of emotions and strain may be more appropriately done with in-depth self-report than with other types of data because researchers may not be reliable judges of emotions in informants.

However, a key limitation of sensemaking is that it includes post hoc rationalizations of choices and decisions, and, in fact, all sensemaking is retrospective.


A third major category of contribution of this research relates to the finding that coping is integral to turnover processes. Leavers reported coping with threat and strain in multiple ways within and across jobs, and many long-term stayers were also coping. As our informants coped, they learned in ways that allowed them to "experiment publicly with provisional identities that serve as trials for possible future selves" (Ibarra & Barbulescu, 2010: 136) , such as through social support, fantasy, and reflection. Our findings are in line with the only other study of which we are aware that found coping integral in turnover (Wright & Bonett, 1993) .

Our findings are in line with the only other study of which we are aware that found coping integral in turnover.


In this study, a lower laser power of 240 W was sufficient to cause the melting. However, the literature review demonstrates that a lower laser power leads to the formation of a limited liquid phase. Therefore, the viscosity of the melt pool increases, which has a negative influence on the flowability of the liquid [15] . The consequences of these mechanisms are that caves and crevices can form inside the part, with many un-melted and half-melted particles. While high laser power with high scan speed leads to porosity, the low scan speed leads to the formation of crevices [16] . The least porosity among the built parts was found to be 2.8%, which is higher than the wrought sample porosity of 1.2%. The least noise or SN ratio has been noted at 35 µm layer thickness. When the layer thickness increases, porosity also increases, which would lead to crack formation associated with decrease in ductility and strength. Also, it is evident that density decreases with a larger layer thickness. The larger particles get entrapped in the thicker layer of powder, leading to porosity and causing gas bubbles to form around the pores. In addition, larger particles lead to shrinkage after solidification, and voids, cracks and layer separations can occur at grain boundaries. Therefore, it is advisable to use smaller particles, which would produce dense layers with better compaction. Larger particles could be excluded by the use of a recoater blade [17] .

Therefore, the viscosity of the melt pool increases, which has a negative influence on the flowability of the liquid.

While high laser power with high scan speed leads to porosity, the low scan speed leads to the formation of crevices.

Larger particles could be excluded by the use of a recoater blade.


Our results provide further evidence against a strong relation between the molecules of the vitamin D pathway [50] . In the general population, moderate correlation (r = 0.5) has been observed at up to 14 years between measurements [51] . Additionally, very little intra-individual diurnal variation in 25(OH)D levels has been observed [48, 52] . Breast density was assessed from digital mammograms using Cumulus software. Cumulus was designed for use on film images that have been digitized. Use of digital images may have introduced measurement error which could obscure a relation between breast density and vitamin D or other circulating molecules. However, we were able to detect the expected associations between breast density and established risk factors, such as age, body mass index, and parity, suggesting that any measurement error for breast density was within reasonable limits.

Our results provide further evidence against a strong relation between the molecules of the vitamin D pathway.

In the general population, moderate correlation (r = 0.5) has been observed at up to 14 years between measurements.

Additionally, very little intra-individual diurnal variation in 25(OH)D levels has been observed.


In 2016, Cambodia's National Centre for Parasitology, Entomology and Malaria Control (CNM) released the Malaria Elimination Action Framework, 2016-2020, (MEAF) outlining the country's strategies and plans to achieve elimination of Plasmodium falciparum and multi-drug resistant malaria by 2020 [1] . Several key objectives are described in the MEAF, including 100% parasitological diagnosis for all suspected cases and effective, efficacious treatment of all confirmed uncomplicated malaria cases using first-line ACT: dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DHA PPQ) or artesunatemefloquine (ASMQ) fixed-dose combination (FDC). For P. falciparum infections or mixed infections that include P. falciparum, the MEAF stipulates use of a single lowdose of primaquine. For P. vivax infections, a standard dose of primaquine for up to 14 days is indicated in order to prevent relapse. The MEAF stipulates that glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) testing should be conducted prior to administering primaquine treatment for Plasmodium vivax cases.

In 2016, Cambodia's National Centre for Parasitology, Entomology and Malaria Control (CNM) released the Malaria Elimination Action Framework, 2016-2020, (MEAF) outlining the country's strategies and plans to achieve elimination of Plasmodium falciparum and multi-drug resistant malaria by 2020.


Combining human activity features can help increase the accuracy of urban land use classification [71] . However, feature combination in many studies is limited to two features, and few studies have effectively combined multiple human activity features [50, 51] . The framework proposed in this paper can provide more information for land use classification by combining multiple human activity features based on the FCM algorithm and the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation (FCE) method, which can obtain better accuracy than the method fusing two features. The classification results in Nanjing indicated that the framework can effectively integrate the outflow, inflow, net flow and net flow ratio features of taxi trajectory data and achieve an accuracy of 0.858 (Kappa = 0.810). At the same time, the framework had higher accuracy than the OI_EM method (OA = 0.720, Kappa = 0.632) that integrated the outflow and inflow features. Therefore, the proposed framework can effectively As shown in Figure 6 , region #1 and region #2 are typical residential land, and region #3 belongs to open space. They were correctly identified by the proposed framework in Figure 6b . Figure 7 shows that residential land was easily confused with commercial land and others when applying the OI_EM method, similar to region #1 and region #2, which were both misidentified in Figure 6a . Many cells were also misclassified as commercial land by the OI_EM method, such as region #3, which belongs to open space. Compared with Figure 7 , the mixing of land use types in the confusion matrix of the framework (Figure 5d ) was significantly weaker than that of the OI_EM method. For all the land use types, the framework (Experiment D in Table 3 ) also had higher accuracy than the OI_EM method (Table 4 ). These comparisons demonstrate the advantages of the framework in land use classification.

Combining human activity features can help increase the accuracy of urban land use classification.

However, feature combination in many studies is limited to two features, and few studies have effectively combined multiple human activity features.


The purpose of the present paper is to show that the Widrow-Ho learning rule can be adapted to the generalized auto-associator previously shown to implement a generalized Euclidean distance metric (Abdi, 1988; Abdi et al., 1996) . This exercise involves the notions of generalized eigenvectors and eigenvalues. We show that convergence, and the choice of the learning constant to achieve it, depend only upon the (generalized) eigenvalues of the connection matrix. With this proof in hand, several distance metrics common in the categorization literature and in the neural network literature can be compared and analyzed within a uni ed framework. This paper is organized as follows. First, we dene the notation used in the model presentation and proof. Second, we review the main features of the generalized auto-associator. Third, we present the generalized Widrow-Ho learning rule in the context of the generalized model. Finally, we prove the convergence of the Widrow-Ho rule in terms of the generalized eigenvectors of the matrix of synaptic connections. In order to do that, we begin by showing that Widrow-Ho learning a ects only the eigenvalues of the weight matrix. Then, we provide the speci c expression for the eigenvalues of the weight matrix at a given time. We include also an Appendix reviewing the computation of the generalized eigenvectors.

The purpose of the present paper is to show that the Widrow-Ho learning rule can be adapted to the generalized auto-associator previously shown to implement a generalized Euclidean distance metric.

This paper is organized as follows.


It has been suggested that the inverse Compton (IC) scattering between electrons/positrons induced by DM annihilation and the CMB photon, which causes a non-thermal SunyaevZel'dovich (SZ) effect on CMB, could be an alternative way for DM indirect searches [24, 25, 26, 27, 28] . The DM induced SZ effect shows a specific spectrum which differs from the usual thermal SZ effect, and can be isolated from other SZ effects with observations of arcmin angular resolution and µK sensitivity [28] . In this and a companion paper (paper II) we revisit the detectability of the DM induced SZ effect in two typical kinds of objects: the galaxy clusters (this paper) and dwarf galaxies (paper II). Both the WIMP and light candidate of DM particles are considered.

It has been suggested that the inverse Compton (IC) scattering between electrons/positrons induced by DM annihilation and the CMB photon, which causes a non-thermal SunyaevZel'dovich (SZ) effect on CMB, could be an alternative way for DM indirect searches.

The DM induced SZ effect shows a specific spectrum which differs from the usual thermal SZ effect, and can be isolated from other SZ effects with observations of arcmin angular resolution and µK sensitivity.


The outline of this paper is as follows. In Sec.2 we introduce the thermal gas distribution and DM configuration we adopted, and give the cluster sample we used in this work. The production of electrons/positrons from DM annihilation is presented in Sec.3, and the propagation of electrons/positrons in cluster is described in Sec.4. Sec.5 gives the results of the SZ effect calculations. Finally we draw the conclusions and some discussions in Sec.6. Throughout the paper, we assume a flat ΛCDM model, with the cosmological parameters of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) five year best fitted values, i.e. Ω M = 0.28, Ω Λ = 0.72 and Hubble constant h = 0.7 [8] .

Throughout the paper, we assume a flat ΛCDM model, with the cosmological parameters of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) five year best fitted values, i.e. Ω M = 0.28, Ω Λ = 0.72 and Hubble constant h = 0.7.


The DM substructures inside the halo might also "boost" the annihilation signal [76, 77, 78] . However, the substructures near the center of the halo would be destroyed by the tidal force, and the "boost" can only take effect at large radii [79] . Furthermore, for the cuspy profiles the central density is high enough to dominate the contribution over that from substructures, hence the "boost" effect is relatively weak. Therefore if we investigate the SZ effect at the center of the cluster, the effect of substructures can be reasonably neglected.

The DM substructures inside the halo might also "boost" the annihilation signal.

However, the substructures near the center of the halo would be destroyed by the tidal force, and the "boost" can only take effect at large radii.


The level of driver's license and educational status of the drivers were not predictors of fatality in this study. Drivers who completed primary levels of education (5-8 grade) caused a large number, 712(34.4%), of RTCs and a study in Addis Ababa revealed similar results [14] . In a similar fashion, having secondary educational levels or above increased risk of RTCs in some studies [14, 17] . This is supported also by a study in Qatar in which the highest frequency of crashes (32.7%) occurred among drivers who had university degree [16] . A valid driving license and years of driving experiences were protective for the occurrence of the collisions [27] .

Drivers who completed primary levels of education (5-8 grade) caused a large number, 712(34.4%), of RTCs and a study in Addis Ababa revealed similar results.

In a similar fashion, having secondary educational levels or above increased risk of RTCs in some studies.

This is supported also by a study in Qatar in which the highest frequency of crashes (32.7%) occurred among drivers who had university degree.

A valid driving license and years of driving experiences were protective for the occurrence of the collisions.


Explanations are also closely related to work in data provenance that characterizes those tuples in a database D that "contribute" to the answer of a query over D [28, 12, 9] . Research in data provenance highlights that while the notion of finding tuples that "contribute" to an answer is intuitively appealing, actually formalizing this notion for a broad class of queries is quite challenging. The definition of explanations in this paper provides a novel answer to this challenge for the complete XPath language.

Explanations are also closely related to work in data provenance that characterizes those tuples in a database D that "contribute" to the answer of a query over D.


Our language for modeling management APIs shares the similar idea as the approaches towards feature-based code composition [20] . They allow developers to model code slices as features, and to compose or customize features at a highlevel. From the feature composition, their generator composes the code slices behind the features into an initial version of the program.

Our language for modeling management APIs shares the similar idea as the approaches towards feature-based code composition.


Attitude determination is a very important part for a spacecraft to achieve its designed mission. There are various methods for the spacecraft attitude determination. They can be divided into two classes: deterministic method and optimal estimation method [1] . The deterministic method, the TRIAD algorithm, uses a minimal set of date and then solves three possibly nonlinear equations to obtain the attitude [1] . It is simple and elegant; however, it is suboptimal and of limited use because it makes use of only two unit-vector measurements and ignores one piece of information from one of the unit vectors [2] . The optimal estimation method is based on the solutions to the Wahba's problems, which obtains the optimal attitude estimation by minimizing an appropriate loss function.

They can be divided into two classes: deterministic method and optimal estimation method.

The deterministic method, the TRIAD algorithm, uses a minimal set of date and then solves three possibly nonlinear equations to obtain the attitude.

It is simple and elegant; however, it is suboptimal and of limited use because it makes use of only two unit-vector measurements and ignores one piece of information from one of the unit vectors.


In this work, we first investigated the impact of guard time on TSCH performance in terms of network reliability, goodput and energy consumption. We then performed empirical optimisations on the guard time to maximise the energyefficiency of a TSCH link. Our performance evaluation results, using the Cooja simulator, demonstrate that the guard time has a straightforward impact on energy consumption. In particular, we have shown that fine-tuning the guard time can result into significant savings in energy consumption without compromising network reliability. Our ongoing work consists of further investigating this lead in multi-hop networks, where the clock drift may have a heavy impact on networkwide time synchronisation. Furthermore, we plan to study the behaviour of TSCH under realistic conditions by performing a set of experimental studies over the FIT IoT-LAB testbed [9] .

Furthermore, we plan to study the behaviour of TSCH under realistic conditions by performing a set of experimental studies over the FIT IoT-LAB testbed.


The networks are also intimately connected to gauge theories due to the fact that the branes, in the weak coupling limit, get decoupled from the bulk supergravity theory and corresponding low energy effective dynamics is described by SYM gauge theories. These connections predict non-perturbative states in gauge theories. In particular, a finite network with transverse branes at the ends gives rise to non-perturbative states in the world-volume gauge theories of the boundary branes. Conversely, the positions of the branes at the boundary arise as moduli in the gauge theory of the network. By varying these and other moduli, including those for internal branes, one can study the non-perturbative aspects of the theory like the coulomb and the Higgs branch and phase transitions between them. Similar kinds of networks have also been found to play crucial roles in various other contexts like quantum gravity and branched polymer [14] .

Similar kinds of networks have also been found to play crucial roles in various other contexts like quantum gravity and branched polymer.


We then use the above expressions of the preserved supersymmetry charges to construct several new non-perturbative BPS configurations. It is observed that the supersymmetry condition for a U-brane involves a map from the physical space to the internal space of U-duality. This suggests that one can construct a supersymmetric configuration of arbitrary number of branes, corresponding to a network structure, provided they are oriented in the physical space appropriately [9] . These configurations preserve one-quarter or less supersymmetries.

This suggests that one can construct a supersymmetric configuration of arbitrary number of branes, corresponding to a network structure, provided they are oriented in the physical space appropriately.


Our approach assumes core dumps will be generated when programs fail. Core dumps are expected to contain a complete snapshot of the program state at the point of the failure, including register values, the current calling context, the virtual address space, and so on. Given a core dump, our technique reverse engineers a highly precise identification of the failure point that provides substantially greater precision than what can be derived using just the program counter (PC) and calling context. We leverage a technique called execution indexing(EI) [29] . EI generates a canonical and unique identification of an execution point, called the index, which can be used to locate the corresponding point in other executions. We present an algorithm to reverse engineer the index of the failure point from a core dump.

We leverage a technique called execution indexing(EI).


To gain greater precision, we leverage a canonical execution point representation called execution indexing [29] . An execution point is uniquely represented by its index. In this paper, we devise an algorithm to reverse engineer the index of the failure point from the failure core dump. The failure index is used to find the corresponding point or the closest corresponding point in the passing run. Such a point is called the aligned point in this paper. In our example, since the predicate at F does not take the true branch, it serves the role of the aligned point since it is the point closest to the failure point in the erroneous run.

To gain greater precision, we leverage a canonical execution point representation called execution indexing.


Underwater video analysis is one of the most common techniques used in elite level swimming as an aid to support the coaches and athletes, though new technologies like wearable sensors are emerging [1] . Video is a frequently used instrument for biomechanical monitoring and technique analysis and can benefit from technological advances in processing to enhance it. One important reason might be that the visual sense is very important but a live observation is often not sufficient for the coach and/or the athlete to evaluate performance without a recorded video.

Underwater video analysis is one of the most common techniques used in elite level swimming as an aid to support the coaches and athletes, though new technologies like wearable sensors are emerging.


There is ample evidence that graduate engineers lack the required standard of communication skills, particularly when compared to the needs of industry internationally (Jensen, 2000) (Grünwald N. , 1999) . As we are in the global scenario with rapidly growing uses of science and technology that requires all the time development of various types of software along with the hard ones to cope with the growing need of newer and newer technology to upgrade the lifestyle of the human race, the specific use of English language for specialized engineering field is obviously inevitable. English is cited as the …"major language of international business, diplomacy, and science and the professions" (Kitao, 1996) ).

There is ample evidence that graduate engineers lack the required standard of communication skills, particularly when compared to the needs of industry internationally.

English is cited as the …"major language of international business, diplomacy, and science and the professions").


As the heart of hydraulic system, the condition of hydraulic pump is important to the whole system. For the heavy load and complex working condition, pump is also the unit that usually fails in function [1] . As the failure will result in high industrial cost or even disaster, considerable attention has been paid to the condition monitoring and fault diagnosis of pump for a long time [2] . But most of the researches concentrate on the fault recognition and fault location [1, 3] . Researches on the degradation state identification of pump are rarely reported [4] . The method based on vibration signal analysis is extensively used for pump because of the advantages of fitness and validity [3] .

For the heavy load and complex working condition, pump is also the unit that usually fails in function.

As the failure will result in high industrial cost or even disaster, considerable attention has been paid to the condition monitoring and fault diagnosis of pump for a long time.

But most of the researches concentrate on the fault recognition and fault location.

Researches on the degradation state identification of pump are rarely reported.

The method based on vibration signal analysis is extensively used for pump because of the advantages of fitness and validity.


Many of the biological studies using micro-contact printing to date have been concerned with neural cells and the formation of networks of these cells [10] [11] . Neural cells are relatively large, requiring protein islands of the order of 20µm separated by 100µm. Micro-contact stamping on this scale is challenging, but has been quite successful. In comparison, discoid blood platelets with a diameter in the order of 2µm are far smaller and thus require islands of 1µm dimension with separation distances in the range of 1-7µm. Stamping protein with such high resolution is a significant challenge.

Many of the biological studies using micro-contact printing to date have been concerned with neural cells and the formation of networks of these cells.


Pathological thrombus formation is a complex disease process governed by three fundamental parameters: i) disturbance of haemorheology or blood flow dynamics; ii) abnormalities in blood constituents; and iii) endothelial injury or disruption. Endothelial injury results in the presentation of an array of reactive proteins that both initiate the adhesion of blood platelets to sites of vessel injury and propagate the development of potentially occlusive pathological thrombi. To date, in vitro models of platelet adhesion under both static and blood flow conditions have predominantly utilised purified blood proteins non-specifically adsorbed to glass substrates to investigate platelet adhesion and associated cell signalling events [1] [2] [3] . Although useful, these continuous protein substrates do not address the potential effects of non-uniform protein distribution on platelet adhesion and biochemical activation. Given the heterogeneous distribution of adhesive proteins within the blood vessel wall and at sites of vessel injury in vivo, it is of interest to study the interaction of platelets with artificially patterned arrays of adhesive proteins.

To date, in vitro models of platelet adhesion under both static and blood flow conditions have predominantly utilised purified blood proteins non-specifically adsorbed to glass substrates to investigate platelet adhesion and associated cell signalling events.


Several studies have indicated that birth preparedness is associated with uptake of health facility delivery [8] [9] [10] [11] . Recommended birth preparedness plans differ between countries, but most include: planning the location of delivery and knowing the location of the nearest health facility; identifying a birth attendant; saving money for birth-related and emergency expenses; making arrangements for transport to a health facility for birth or complications; and identification of a blood donor [8] . In 2002, Tanzania adopted a birth preparedness and complication readiness strategy as part of focussed antenatal care, with the overall goal of increasing facility births [12] . The strategy emphasised knowing the expected delivery date; identifying a place of birth; identifying someone to care for the woman's family in her absence; preparing essential items needed for a clean birth; identifying at least two blood donors; preparing funds for transportation; identifying a decision-making family member to accompany a woman during labour; and the importance of delivering in a health facility [12] [13] [14] . This new approach also suggested movement away from a "risk approach" strategy that placed emphasis on facility delivery for women with high-risk pregnancies, which is now emphasised for all women [15] .

Several studies have indicated that birth preparedness is associated with uptake of health facility delivery.

Recommended birth preparedness plans differ between countries, but most include: planning the location of delivery and knowing the location of the nearest health facility; identifying a birth attendant; saving money for birth-related and emergency expenses; making arrangements for transport to a health facility for birth or complications; and identification of a blood donor.

In 2002, Tanzania adopted a birth preparedness and complication readiness strategy as part of focussed antenatal care, with the overall goal of increasing facility births.

The strategy emphasised knowing the expected delivery date; identifying a place of birth; identifying someone to care for the woman's family in her absence; preparing essential items needed for a clean birth; identifying at least two blood donors; preparing funds for transportation; identifying a decision-making family member to accompany a woman during labour; and the importance of delivering in a health facility.

This new approach also suggested movement away from a "risk approach" strategy that placed emphasis on facility delivery for women with high-risk pregnancies, which is now emphasised for all women.


In recent times, there has been a concerted effort to find real world applications of the AdS/CFT correspondence. By extending the rules of the correspondence to finite temperature, there are now well established prescriptions to calculate retarded Green functions which enables us to extract transport properties of interesting physical systems. Although none of these systems, strictly speaking, describe the real world, it is hoped that by studying these problems, one will gain intuition about real physical systems which are for example in the same universality class. On one hand, AdS/CFT methods have found applications to particle physics, e.g., the viscosity of the strongly coupled quark gluon plasma [1] . On the other, these methods have been extended to studying table-top condensed matter physics [2] . It is fair to say that applications of gauge/gravity duality will yield many more surprises.

On one hand, AdS/CFT methods have found applications to particle physics, e.g., the viscosity of the strongly coupled quark gluon plasma.

On the other, these methods have been extended to studying table-top condensed matter physics.


This pilot study demonstrates both the efficacy and the tolerability of substituting carboplatin for cisplatin, combined with etoposide and bleomycin, in paediatric MGCT. In this regimen, a carboplatin AUC of 5-6mgml1' min, which in children with normal renal function is equivalent to approximately 600 mg m2, was recommended. This is somewhat higher than the AUC recommended in adults (4-5) which is predicted to result in moderately severe thrombocytopenia (Calvert et al., 1989) . As a single agent, at a dose of 400 mg m-2, carboplatin has produced high response rates in untreated patients with localized seminomatous and nonseminomatous germ cell tumours (NSGCT) (Horwich et al., 1988) . In one study using JEB in poor risk NSGCT in adults only 40% achieved CR with chemotherapy and surgery (Motzer et al., 1987) . In that study, however, the dose of carboplatin was only 350 mg m-2 which would yield an AUC in the range of 2-3 mg ml min. With a higher dose of carboplatin and an estimated AUC of over 4 mg ml-' min-, 39 out of 39 previously untreated metastatic NSGCT patients achieved complete remission . Because of concern about compromising antitumour activity an AUC of 5-6 was recommended in this study. Comparatively severe myelosuppression was expected and accepted as a trade-off against reduced renal and auditory toxicity. Formal randomised studies comparing the regimen against PVB or BEP are in progress in adults.

This is somewhat higher than the AUC recommended in adults (4-5) which is predicted to result in moderately severe thrombocytopenia.

As a single agent, at a dose of 400 mg m-2, carboplatin has produced high response rates in untreated patients with localized seminomatous and nonseminomatous germ cell tumours (NSGCT).

In one study using JEB in poor risk NSGCT in adults only 40% achieved CR with chemotherapy and surgery.


In practical situations, the problem of the vibration of cylindrical shells with boundary conditions other than simply supported ones could be solved by using the finite element method (FEM). In fact, complex built-up shell structures, which may be approximated by a number of connected cylindrical or other types of shells, could be conveniently tackled by the finite element method. For this purpose, special shell finite elements based on the waveguide finite element method would be suitable. Such finite element analyses have so far been used to tackle stationary shell structures [43, 44] . Alternatively, the homogeneity of the cylinder around the circumference and along the axis has been exploited to post-process the FE model of a small rectangular segment of the cylinder using periodic structure theory to obtain the wave characteristics of a cylinder [45] . Since there is an integer number of wavelengths around the circumference of a closed circular cylinder, one of the integrals in the inverse Fourier transform becomes a simple summation, whereas the other can be resolved analytically using contour integration and the residue theorem [45] .

Such finite element analyses have so far been used to tackle stationary shell structures.

Alternatively, the homogeneity of the cylinder around the circumference and along the axis has been exploited to post-process the FE model of a small rectangular segment of the cylinder using periodic structure theory to obtain the wave characteristics of a cylinder.

Since there is an integer number of wavelengths around the circumference of a closed circular cylinder, one of the integrals in the inverse Fourier transform becomes a simple summation, whereas the other can be resolved analytically using contour integration and the residue theorem.


If the shell rotates around its axis with a constant speed, then the polynomial is no longer bicubic. The full sixth order polynomial occurs. The positive and negative natural frequencies have distinct absolute values and so-called frequency veering (bifurcation) happens. This means that the forward and backward rotating modes no longer rotate with the same rotation speed and thus cannot superimpose into the stationary modes (standing waves). As a result, with spinning shells the modes rotate independently. For example, this phenomenon comes about with tyres rolling over the road surface [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] . This significantly influences the overall NVH (Noise and Vibration Harshness) characteristics of the vehicle.

The full sixth order polynomial occurs.

For example, this phenomenon comes about with tyres rolling over the road surface.


It is very common in the literature on the vibration of cylindrical shells, either rotating or stationary, to assume that the two ends of the shell are simply supported [24, 30, 31] . This type of boundary support is sometimes referred to as a shear diaphragm set of boundary conditions [11, 12] . The reason why this set of boundary conditions is often used is that it is probably the only one for which a relatively simple solution can be obtained analytically. In other words, mode shapes assumed as appropriate products of trigonometric functions of the circumferential and axial variables usually satisfy both the differential equations and the boundary conditions. This results in a mathematically convenient model.

It is very common in the literature on the vibration of cylindrical shells, either rotating or stationary, to assume that the two ends of the shell are simply supported.

This type of boundary support is sometimes referred to as a shear diaphragm set of boundary conditions.


Our results also raise several issues that future research needs to address. First, there is still little evidence on how fairness and relational contracting interact in the field. While it may not be feasible to finance a long-term experiment, it may be possible to tap into an existing environment and examine how a change in pay affects effort compared to a case in which there is essentially no future relationship. In this context it is also worthwhile to stress that from the perspective of our fairness account only those wage variations that are associated with perceived fairness variations will tend to change the workers' behavior (Cohn et al 2007) .

In this context it is also worthwhile to stress that from the perspective of our fairness account only those wage variations that are associated with perceived fairness variations will tend to change the workers' behavior.


Guar became popular material because of the cheap price in addition to the molecular characteristics that tend to inhibit the degradation due to high shear stress. The Pressure drop losses of spiral pipe tend to increase slightly compared with circular pipe [8] . The purpose of this research is to know the reduction of pressure drop in a spiral pipe with the addition of the biopolymer latex (guar gum). Spiral pipe with aspect ratio, P / Di = 4.3, 6.7 and 7.0 are used in this study. Working fluid used is a biopolymer latex solution of 150 ppm and 300 ppm. Circular pipe with same diameter are used as a comparison. Analysis of flow characteristics follows the power law model for non-Newtonian fluid. Testing was conducted from low to Reynolds High Reynolds about 50,000. The results showed that the effect of biopolymer latex solution can lead to reduction in resistance (drag reduction) either on a circular pipe and spiral pipe.

The Pressure drop losses of spiral pipe tend to increase slightly compared with circular pipe.


In a recent work we determined by atomic force microscopy that the peptide (VHLPPP) 8 , which adopts an amphipathic PPII helix conformation (Fig. 1) , self assembles forming parallel fibrils over the highly oriented pyrolytic graphite surface (Kogan et al., 2001) . In order to relate the fibril's width with the dimensions of the molecule (VHLPPP) 8 we proposed two self-assembly models (the geometric model and the micellar one). In the geometric model the formation of the fibrils is determined by the para1lel alignment over the highly oriented pyrolytic graphite surface, where the width of the fibril is related to the length of the molecule. In contrast, in the micellar model the lateral interaction of peptide molecules leads to the formation of cylindrical micelles that deposit over the highly oriented pyrolytic graphite surface giving fibrils in which the PPII helix molecules are aligned in the direction of the fibril axes. Thus, the fibril width is independent of the length of the molecule.

In a recent work we determined by atomic force microscopy that the peptide (VHLPPP) 8 , which adopts an amphipathic PPII helix conformation (Fig. 1) , self assembles forming parallel fibrils over the highly oriented pyrolytic graphite surface.


Biodiesel is produced from various fat and oils with vegetable, animal or algae origin. These Feedstocks (mainly composed by triglycerides), through transesterification reaction with short chain alcohols and in presence of catalyst, yields to fatty alkyl esters and glycerol as byproduct [1] . Almost 95% of vegetable oils used in biodiesel production are edible (palm, soybean, rapeseed oils). Different positive characteristics are related to Biodiesel: improvement of the environment, reduction of foreign oil imports, increase in rural job and energy self-sufficiency in rural areas. However, not all the above mentioned advantages are reached for all biodiesel feedstocks. Edible crops have food competition; possibly leading to food shortages and increase in their prices. Moreover, an expansion of these crops could require monoculture plantation, affecting water resources and biodiversity. Tropical and subtropical countries are called to be the future world suppliers of feedstocks and biodiesel given the high productivity in crops and algae. Most of these countries are involved in a difficult decision of what kind of feedstock should be used, and then the policies to be developed for encouraging new projects, with new feedstocks. Non-edible oils (jatropha and microalgae oil), allows the employment at massive scale of agricultural/degraded/waste lands, preserving most productive lands for food production. Animal fat (tallow oil) and waste cooking oil are valuable alternatives due their low market prices and availability. Additionally, aiming to increase competitiveness of oilseed based biodiesel plants is an actual trend to use cogeneration plants. Last allows the satisfaction of local heat and power requirements, while surplus electricity is sold to central grid [2] . In this work different methodologies from conceptual design and process simulation with ASPEN PLUS, life cycle assessment and waste reduction algorithm are used for energy, and environmental impact investigation of 5 different feedstocks using 3 different technological configurations from industry, such as process with acid catalysis, basic catalysis and cogeneration. The study was developed in the framework of two countries Colombia and Peru. As a result, two feedstocks and one technological configuration are defined as the more convenient for biodiesel production in these countries.

These Feedstocks (mainly composed by triglycerides), through transesterification reaction with short chain alcohols and in presence of catalyst, yields to fatty alkyl esters and glycerol as byproduct.

Last allows the satisfaction of local heat and power requirements, while surplus electricity is sold to central grid.


In this work, the obtained results reveal how with selected five feedstocks is possible to obtain high quality biodiesel (>99 wt); besides, raw glycerol (88%wt). Among results for chemical processes simulation, can be seen how basic catalyzed processes have higher biodiesel yields (74-78%), than acid catalyzed ones (54-63%), with the consequent reduction in the total biodiesel produced. These results are lower compared with values between 90-95% reported from biodiesel simulations, on literature [15] . This fact can be explained by the lower quality of feedstocks considered, especially tallow and waste cooking oil, where a high FFA content and impurities presence; which, although increase the simulation quality, reduces the amount of initial reactant available for transesterification reaction, reducing also biodiesel produced.

These results are lower compared with values between 90-95% reported from biodiesel simulations, on literature.


Epinephrine (EP) and AVP have been tested in CA. EP increases coronary perfusion pressure via α-adrenergic mediated vasoconstriction. However EP exerts β 1 -adrenergic cardiac stimulation, which promotes adverse cardiac effects as increased myocardial oxygen consumption, ventricular arrhythmias and post-resuscitation myocardial dysfunction, and its role as the primary drug administered during CPR has been challenged [10] . Beta-adrenergic blockade during CPR in experimental animal studies resulted in improved restoration of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) after ventricular fibrillation (VF), minimized post-resuscitation myocardial dysfunction and improved survival [11] .

However EP exerts β 1 -adrenergic cardiac stimulation, which promotes adverse cardiac effects as increased myocardial oxygen consumption, ventricular arrhythmias and post-resuscitation myocardial dysfunction, and its role as the primary drug administered during CPR has been challenged.

Beta-adrenergic blockade during CPR in experimental animal studies resulted in improved restoration of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) after ventricular fibrillation (VF), minimized post-resuscitation myocardial dysfunction and improved survival.


In this article we have described stepdown procedures for testing multiple hypotheses that control the F DP without any restrictions on the joint distribution of the p-values. First, we have improved upon a method proposed by Lehmann and Romano [10] . The new procedure is a considerable improvement in the sense that its critical values are generally 50 percent larger than those of the earlier procedure. Second, we have generalized the method of argument used in establishing this improvement to provide a means by which any nondecresing sequence of constants can be rescaled so as to ensure control of the F DP . Finally, we have also described a procedure that controls the F DR, but only under an assumption on the joint distribution of the p-values.

First, we have improved upon a method proposed by Lehmann and Romano.


Therefore, by moving to the SaaS model customers benefit from continuously maintained software. The complexity of transitioning to new releases is managed transparently by the SaaS providers. Thanks to the flexibility, scalability and costeffectiveness of the SaaS model, it has been increasingly adopted for distributing many enterprise software systems, such as banking and e-commerce business software [7] , [9] . In this scenario, enterprises need to establish a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with SaaS providers. SLA is a legal contract between participants to ensure that their Quality of Service (QoS) requirements are met and if any party violates the SLA terms, the defaulter has to pay penalty according to the clauses defined in the SLA.

Thanks to the flexibility, scalability and costeffectiveness of the SaaS model, it has been increasingly adopted for distributing many enterprise software systems, such as banking and e-commerce business software.


Natural coniferin (hereafter "d-coniferin (1D)") is a d-glucoside consisting of d-glucose and coniferyl alcohol. It is considered to be a form of coniferyl alcohol that functions in storage and transport in lignin biosynthesis [1] [2] [3] [4] . There are three important pieces of information known about coniferin transport. First, compound 1D is found in the cambial sap of many tree species [1, 5] . Second, coniferin β-glucosidase is located in the cell wall of coniferous and broad-leaf trees [6, 7] . Third, the incorporation of radioactivity into cell wall lignin is observed when radiolabeled compound 1D is fed to a variety of plants [8] . Taken together, this suggests that compound 1D might be transported through the membrane to the cell wall and be subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis by β-glucosidase to form coniferyl alcohol for lignification. However, this hypothesis has not yet been proven and there is still debate as to whether coniferyl alcohol is transported in its free or glucoside form [3, 4] .

It is considered to be a form of coniferyl alcohol that functions in storage and transport in lignin biosynthesis.

First, compound 1D is found in the cambial sap of many tree species.

Second, coniferin β-glucosidase is located in the cell wall of coniferous and broad-leaf trees.

Third, the incorporation of radioactivity into cell wall lignin is observed when radiolabeled compound 1D is fed to a variety of plants.

However, this hypothesis has not yet been proven and there is still debate as to whether coniferyl alcohol is transported in its free or glucoside form.


A. fumigatus is a viable organism found within airway mucus plugs that causes an intense and local immune reaction, together with marked remodelling of the airway, leading to fixed airflow obstruction with bronchiectasis [2] . Aspergillus sensitization is associated with worse asthma control and significant morbidity [1, 8] . IgE sensitization to A. fumigatus is associated with abnormalities of the airways and changes in mucus production and properties may contribute to the development of ABPA in patients with asthma. This disorder is best detected and treated before bronchiectasis develops because the occurrence of bronchiectasis is associated with poorer outcomes, including progressive destruction of the lung parenchyma and loss of lung function and the recurrent cycle of bacterial infection, chronic mucus production and further airway damage [7] .

A. fumigatus is a viable organism found within airway mucus plugs that causes an intense and local immune reaction, together with marked remodelling of the airway, leading to fixed airflow obstruction with bronchiectasis.

Aspergillus sensitization is associated with worse asthma control and significant morbidity.

This disorder is best detected and treated before bronchiectasis develops because the occurrence of bronchiectasis is associated with poorer outcomes, including progressive destruction of the lung parenchyma and loss of lung function and the recurrent cycle of bacterial infection, chronic mucus production and further airway damage.


As regards gender, our results do not match those in the GEM report because the difference in entrepreneurial intention between males and females was not found to be statistically significant. According to their report, out of every three undertakings, only one is led by a woman. There is ample room for further investigation of this topic, since it seems that the difference is in the fact of undertaking rather than in the intention, as this seems to be similar between men and women. In this respect, several studies have concluded that it is men who implement the entrepreneurial intention and start their own businesses (Delmar & Holmquist, 2004; Winn, 2005) . Among the reasons given to explain this difference is the fact that women might have less confidence in their management abilities (Wilson, Kickul, & Marlino, 2007) . Also, women perceive that the environment does not favor them and that they have less control over their entrepreneurial activity (BarNir, Watson, & Hutchins, 2011) .

In this respect, several studies have concluded that it is men who implement the entrepreneurial intention and start their own businesses.

Among the reasons given to explain this difference is the fact that women might have less confidence in their management abilities.

Also, women perceive that the environment does not favor them and that they have less control over their entrepreneurial activity.


The internal locus of control is a variable which is usually included in models of entrepreneurial intention. In this sense, the Latin American young who report having the inner capacity to execute and take charge of their actions are those who identify themselves as having the greatest motivation to create their own business in the future. The capacity to take charge and assume responsibility for one's own actions is highly valued in the entrepreneurial process, since it is believed that goals are reached by personal action and not by chance or sheer luck. This finding coincides with those of other studies on the ability to control emotions (Kirby, 2004; Schjoedt & Shaver, 2012) .

This finding coincides with those of other studies on the ability to control emotions.


Various studies have shown that women choose to become entrepreneurs less often because they usually perceive a smaller locus of internal control and smaller self-efficacy (Maes, Leroy, & Sels, 2014) . In the same way, some studies have found that women are more prone to attribute their success to the external locus rather than to their own ability or effort (Verheul, Thurik, Grilo, & Zwan, 2012) . Nonetheless, more studies are needed to reach conclusive results. This line of research deserves a closer look.

Various studies have shown that women choose to become entrepreneurs less often because they usually perceive a smaller locus of internal control and smaller self-efficacy.

In the same way, some studies have found that women are more prone to attribute their success to the external locus rather than to their own ability or effort.


This work made a case for IoToF focusing on niche applications which require low data rates along extended reach links. It presented an innovative low-cost FBG based acousto-optic modulation scheme suitable for IoT demands. A simple implementation with off-the-shelf components was able to upstream 300 bps with 8-FSK over links exceeded ∼30 km, which can unleash IoT applications beyond the limits of LoRa and Sigfox. The proposed scheme can be extended to multiple devices due to the multiplexing flexibility offered by the FBG technology. A proper short framing link layer solution over IoToF PHY should also be developed as future work. Another important parameter is the AOM's power consumption, and IoToF device autonomy as a result. We envisage that distributed Raman amplification can be used to extend reach while its pump power recycling is used for power transmission over optical fiber as an ingenious solution that could be applicable for feeding IoToF devices [40] . In addition, an important challenge related with the receiver stage of the IoToF needs to be addressed. Despite the edge-filtering technique allows to interrogate FBGs with high frequency and low-cost, the channel multiplexing is a common issue among the proposed techniques in the state-of-the-art. Commercial devices such coarse or dense WDMs can be used as multichannel edge-filters, increasing the interrogation cost when compared with techniques proposed in the state of the art. Therefore, it is necessary to develop novel strategies or devices to perform the edge-filtering process keeping in mind the low-cost approach. In AOMs fabrication terms, it is necessary to propose more compact and sensitivity devices. In addition, to increase the bit rate is the main aim. Finally, a more realistic scenario with several AOMs and IoT devices need to be implemented to validate the overall performance of the IoToF approach. All underlying data used in this publication can be found Funding: This research received no external funding.

We envisage that distributed Raman amplification can be used to extend reach while its pump power recycling is used for power transmission over optical fiber as an ingenious solution that could be applicable for feeding IoToF devices.


The concept of the internet of things (IoT) is rapidly expanding its reach involving applications in different fields such as domotics, industry, healthcare, and smart cities [1] [2] [3] [4] . The original IoT concept appeared more than three decades ago, being used to combine people, processes and devices with communication technology to remotely exchange data for processing and management [5] . The term IoT was originally attributed to Kevin Ashton in 1999. In his definition, "internet" refers to the global system of interconnected computer networks using the standard internet protocol suite (TCP/IP), which are linked by a broad array of electronic, wireless and optical networking technologies. The "things" term refers to real objects and living entities in the physical or material world. IoT can be considered as a global network, which allows the communication between human-to-human, human-to-things and things-to-things, each element with a unique identity [6] . Therefore, ubiquitous connectivity is an important challenge posed by IoT to communication infrastructures.

The concept of the internet of things (IoT) is rapidly expanding its reach involving applications in different fields such as domotics, industry, healthcare, and smart cities.

The original IoT concept appeared more than three decades ago, being used to combine people, processes and devices with communication technology to remotely exchange data for processing and management.

IoT can be considered as a global network, which allows the communication between human-to-human, human-to-things and things-to-things, each element with a unique identity.


Irrespectively of the above-mentioned causes, such patients require treatment. Does it always has to be surgical treatment and is there a method allowing for a better assessment of prognostic factors predicting a success of operative treatment? While analyzing the period of past 20 years, the authors found out that the effectiveness and successfulness of the surgical procedure were affected by the method of prompt intraoperative iPTH monitoring introduced in the Department at the end of 2002. The criterion of operation effectiveness was a 60 % decrease in iPTH concentration value after 10 min and at least an 80 % decrease 20 min postparathyroidectomy as compared to the initial (preoperative) value. A drop lower than the above-mentioned iPTH concentration values favored a search for supranumerary or ectopic parathyroid tissue and was a prognostic factor of an operative failure-a higher permanent cure rate as compared to patients without intraoperative iPTH monitoring (IOPTH group 201/207 (97.1 %) versus without iPTH group 79/90 (87.8 %), (p = 0.001)). The values were statistically significant [17, 18] .

The values were statistically significant.


Gentamicin is an aminoglycoside with broad bactericidal activity against many aerobic Gram-negative and some aerobic Gram-positive organisms. Gentamicin is the most commonly used aminoglycoside antibiotic and is indicated for moderate-to-severe bacterial infections caused by sensitive agents, primarily Gram-negative bacteria. Gentamicin is typically used in combination with a penicillin or cephalosporin for treatment of severe infections with Staphylococcus aureus, viridians group streptococci, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter, Klebsiella, and other bacteria [25] .

Gentamicin is typically used in combination with a penicillin or cephalosporin for treatment of severe infections with Staphylococcus aureus, viridians group streptococci, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter, Klebsiella, and other bacteria.


Appropriate maintenance of plant equipment and machineries significantly reduces overall operating cost of manufacturing. Additionally, it contributes to customer satisfaction through desired quality and on time delivery. The development of new technologies and managerial practices warrants maintenance crew to ensure having desired technical and managerial skills [1] . Deterioration and failure of systems result to high costs, due to production losses and delays, unplanned intervention on the system and safety hazards. Therefore, appropriate maintenance strategy is necessary in order to prevent failure [2] . Moreover, maintenance crew must select the most appropriate maintenance technique for each machine and manufacturing system out of a set of possible alternatives. In particular, the development of maintenance strategies (i.e. a suitable combination of corrective, preventive and predictive maintenance) must take into account that resource limitation affects maintenance quality [1] . The current practices of the maintenance technique selection are mainly based on the operational criteria in line with machine specification giving utmost importance to the economic factors rather than framing the maintenance strategy based on the strategic importance in combination of technical requirements and efficiency.

The development of new technologies and managerial practices warrants maintenance crew to ensure having desired technical and managerial skills.

Therefore, appropriate maintenance strategy is necessary in order to prevent failure.

In particular, the development of maintenance strategies (i.e. a suitable combination of corrective, preventive and predictive maintenance) must take into account that resource limitation affects maintenance quality.


Infrared cameras in a multiple view configuration can send out very high precision details about the depth and the location of the object by means of traveling wave techniques but it is an expensive solution. Besides, the calibration and the installation of the system is time consuming. On the contrary, a single IR camera-projector configuration (such as Kinect) is simple to calibrate and extremely cheap [11, 12] . However, it can acquire data only for ordinary applications which require fairly low resolution and precision. For high precision applications, either higher resolution RGB camera needs to be combined with an IR camera-projector configuration, or post processing should be applied to the output signal.

On the contrary, a single IR camera-projector configuration (such as Kinect) is simple to calibrate and extremely cheap.


In the present paper, we are not concerned with subsumption reasoning, but with ontology-mediated query answering [16] . In this setting, one has a DL TBox T as well as an ABox A (representing the data) together with a query q, and one wants to know whether TBox and ABox imply that a given tuple is an answer to the query. As queries, one usually considers conjunctive queries or instance queries. In the latter case, the query is actually a concept of the employed DL. As usual in a database context, one distinguishes between combined complexity and data complexity: in the former, the complexity is measured in the combined size of all three inputs T , A, q, whereas in the latter one assumes T and q to be of constant size, and measures the complexity only in the size of the ABox A.

In the present paper, we are not concerned with subsumption reasoning, but with ontology-mediated query answering.


Terminology and notation. A positive constant is admissible if it depends only on q. We write A B to mean A ≤ CB for some admissible constant C, which is allowed to change from line to line. We denote the one-dimensional Hausdorff measure by H 1 . We write log for the base 2 logarithm. An interval of the form [n2 −j , (n + 1)2 −j ) for some j, n ∈ Z is dyadic, and I j denotes the set of dyadic intervals of length 2 −j . The product of two dyadic intervals is a tile, and T j,k denotes the set of 2 −j × 2 −k tiles. Given τ ∈ T j,k , we setτ := τ × [1, 2] . We denote by π i,3 and π i , respectively, the projections (ζ, σ) → (ζ i , σ) and (ζ i , σ) → ζ i , for i = 1, 2 and (ζ, σ) ∈ R 2 × R. If π is one of these projections and S a subset of the domain of π, the π-projection of S refers to the set π(S), and a π-fiber of S is any set of the form π −1 (π(s))∩S with s ∈ S. Horizontal and vertical refer to the directions in R 2 parallel to the standard basis vectors e 1 and e 2 , respectively. Finally, the extension of a set refers to the Fourier extension of the set's characteristic function.

Terminology and notation.

We write log for the base 2 logarithm.

Given τ ∈ T j,k , we setτ := τ ×.


Since the investigation of teachers' theories "continues to remain lightly traveled" (Pajares, 1992, p. 326) , further research should be conducted to provide greater knowledge and insights into the relationship between teachers' educational theories and practices (Fang, 1996) . If we are interested in how classrooms run, we must pay much closer attention to teachers' theories of action and theories-in-use. Such a perspective would have profound implications for designing professional preparation and development programs. Studies in this area could have considerable potential for setting priorities in methods courses and/or in-service workshops. In addition, accounts of such work can provide valuable information about teaching practices for practitioners, curriculum developers, and those involved in teacher education.

Since the investigation of teachers' theories "continues to remain lightly traveled" (Pajares, 1992, p. 326) , further research should be conducted to provide greater knowledge and insights into the relationship between teachers' educational theories and practices.


Jerusalem artichoke has great potential as a source of biomass for energy because it has a rapid growth rate and the ability to grow on marginal land. It had tuber yield as high as 38.9 t ha -1 under favorable conditions in tropical regions (Pimsean et al., 2010) . Jerusalem artichoke has relatively low cultivation costs compared to other energy crops, as it generally requires low inputs in terms of irrigation, fertilization, and pesticides (Kays and Nottingham, 2007) . The development of adaptive and stress-tolerant cultivars may enable this crop to be used as an important feedstock for bioenergy production in tropical regions.

It had tuber yield as high as 38.9 t ha -1 under favorable conditions in tropical regions.

Jerusalem artichoke has relatively low cultivation costs compared to other energy crops, as it generally requires low inputs in terms of irrigation, fertilization, and pesticides.


Severe drought stress resulted in greater reductions of tuber dry weight and biomass than did moderate drought stress. It has previously been reported that water application of 50% of maximum crop evapotranspiration reduced tuber yield by 20% (Conde et al., 1991; Losavio et al., 1997) . Yield reductions in this study were higher than 20%, possibly due to sandy soil and higher temperature. Irrigation is important for sustaining high tuber yield; however, development of Jerusalem artichoke varieties with tolerance to drought is another way to sustain yield. The reductions in tuber yield and biomass were dependent on Jerusalem artichoke genotypes. In this study, genotypes with high potential for tuber yield and biomass in general had greater drought-induced reductions than did genotypes with low potential. Therefore, the main criterion for selection of drought-tolerant genotypes in this study was yield under drought stress. A genotype with high tuber yield potential and low reduction in tuber yield under drought stress has been reported (Liu et al., 2012) . It would be best to develop adapted cultivars for Thailand that combine high yield potential and low reduction under drought conditions.

It has previously been reported that water application of 50% of maximum crop evapotranspiration reduced tuber yield by 20%.

A genotype with high tuber yield potential and low reduction in tuber yield under drought stress has been reported.


Prices in commodity markets mostly reveal high price volatility, especially when contracts are settled close to physical delivery. This is particularly applicable to energy commodities such as oil, gas or electricity (Regnier, 2006) . Moreover, electricity markets have additional characteristics that favor high price volatility.

This is particularly applicable to energy commodities such as oil, gas or electricity.


In the past few decades, the pressures of human population and patterns of economic development have led to the shrinking of available water resources worldwide, while water shortage has become a critical factor in the global water crisis. It is a challenge for water resource managers and planners to maintain sustainable development under situations of increasing population, developing economies and changing climate. Particularly in many semiarid and arid regions, water shortage and an unreliable water supply have been regarded as one major obstacle to regional sustainable development for watershed systems [1] [2] [3] [4] . Water trading is useful for allocating water resources optimally, which increases the economic productivity of water by encouraging its movement from low to high valued use. Under the situation of limited water resources, markets can also provide incentives to adopt water saving policies [5] . Water trading can balance limited water resources between the allocation for human use and the streamflow, especially in semi-arid and arid regions, such that several water trading programs have been established and are under development throughout the world [6] [7] [8] . However, the uncertainties existing in practical water trading programs are often related to errors in the acquired data, variations in spatial and temporal units and the incompleteness or impreciseness of the observed information, which leads to difficulties in planning water trading scientifically [9] . Consequently, the effective planning of water resource management under such uncertainties and complexities is important for facilitating sustainable socio-economic development for watershed systems [10] .

Particularly in many semiarid and arid regions, water shortage and an unreliable water supply have been regarded as one major obstacle to regional sustainable development for watershed systems.

Under the situation of limited water resources, markets can also provide incentives to adopt water saving policies.

Water trading can balance limited water resources between the allocation for human use and the streamflow, especially in semi-arid and arid regions, such that several water trading programs have been established and are under development throughout the world.

However, the uncertainties existing in practical water trading programs are often related to errors in the acquired data, variations in spatial and temporal units and the incompleteness or impreciseness of the observed information, which leads to difficulties in planning water trading scientifically.

Consequently, the effective planning of water resource management under such uncertainties and complexities is important for facilitating sustainable socio-economic development for watershed systems.


A critical component in tandem junction solar cells is the tunnel diode which has been extensively investigated since its invention by Leo Esaki in 1958 [17] . Tunnel diodes function as series connections between pn-junction segments with different band gaps for absorbing different parts of the solar spectrum [18] . To date, NW tunnel diodes have been examined using combinations of binary materials with suggested application in solar cells and electronic devices such as tunneling SRAMs and tunnel FETs [12, [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] . However, NW tunnel diodes with material combinations optimal for solar energy harvesting have not been reported.

A critical component in tandem junction solar cells is the tunnel diode which has been extensively investigated since its invention by Leo Esaki in 1958.

Tunnel diodes function as series connections between pn-junction segments with different band gaps for absorbing different parts of the solar spectrum.

To date, NW tunnel diodes have been examined using combinations of binary materials with suggested application in solar cells and electronic devices such as tunneling SRAMs and tunnel FETs.


As depicted in Fig. 4 , the InP/GaInP configurations (Figs. 4(a) and 4(c) ) have a less abrupt heterointerface than the GaInP/InP configurations (Fig. 4(b) and 4(d) ). A sharper Ga-In than In-Ga switch can be explained by a higher affinity of Au for In than for Ga; therefore, the stored Ga in the seed particles is expelled and replaced more rapidly with In than vice versa [39] . Although a graded heterojunction is less favorable for tunneling, we obtained working tunnel diodes in both InP/GaInP and GaInP/InP configurations. Therefore, we argue that the dopant gradients have greater influence than the material transition on carrier tunneling.

A sharper Ga-In than In-Ga switch can be explained by a higher affinity of Au for In than for Ga; therefore, the stored Ga in the seed particles is expelled and replaced more rapidly with In than vice versa.


As the expanded TPB constructs can predict household waste separation behaviour, it offers promising results that might help to develop effective green campaigns not only in similar cities in China, but also in other regions where household waste separation behaviours are rarely performed. Based on a community-based questionnaire survey with a large sample size in Hangzhou, the results have shown that perceived behavioural control, past behaviour and intention are the predictors of household waste separation behaviour. Moreover, an individual's attitude can be explained by one's perceived moral obligation, whereas waste separation intention is only affected by subjective norm and past behaviour. The waste separation behaviour is significantly influenced by perceived behavioural control, past behaviour and intention, among which an individual's past behaviour is the strongest predictor for waste separation behaviour. In the future, policy makers should focus on residents' habit forming by providing convenient ways to separate waste and undertake intensive information campaign Examples of these policies are: installing adequate separation bins, developing mass mobilisation and community education, encouraging recycling companies, informal recycling system consisting of waste pickers, itinerant buyers, traders in waste materials and non-registered small-scale enterprises, which are suggested to largely influence the efficiency of household waste management in developing countries [8, 10, [65] [66] [67] [68] [69] . Other sectors should participate in the urban household waste management. Implementing mandatory regulations is necessary and beneficial to help residents form their behavioural habits for separating waste.

In the future, policy makers should focus on residents' habit forming by providing convenient ways to separate waste and undertake intensive information campaign Examples of these policies are: installing adequate separation bins, developing mass mobilisation and community education, encouraging recycling companies, informal recycling system consisting of waste pickers, itinerant buyers, traders in waste materials and non-registered small-scale enterprises, which are suggested to largely influence the efficiency of household waste management in developing countries.


There are few places where artisanal fishing is possible along the extensive and inhospitable coasts of Argentina. Artisanal fisheries operate in the Gulfs of San Matías, San José and Nuevo (42˚-43°S; 64°-65°W), which are important and productive areas that support about 400 jobs (fishermen, factory workers, retailers etc.) in Puerto Madryn (Fig. 1 ). Shellfish and finfish resources currently support about 110 artisanal fishers and their families, many living along the coast. The main target species for the shellfish fishers is the scallop Aequipecten tehuelchus, harvested by hooka divers (Ciocco et al., 1998) . Fishing boats are <10 m long, equipped with outboard motors, typically operated by a crew of one deck assistant and two divers. The shellfishing is limited in time on biological and health bans, and the San José Gulf was designated as a Provincial Marine Park in 1974, being a sensitive ecological region due to its high concentration of marine mammals (southern right whale, Eubalaena australis; southern elephant seal, Mirounga leonina) and seabirds.

The main target species for the shellfish fishers is the scallop Aequipecten tehuelchus, harvested by hooka divers.


A study conducted in 2006 in Spain showed that almost 16% and 36% of the diabetic subjects interviewed had not undergone BP and blood lipid measurements in the previous 6 and 12 months, respectively [9] . Current results suggest a possible improvement in the application of cardiovascular risk factor control protocols by primary health care professionals as has been described by other Spanish authors [35] [36] [37] . Reference category "Poor level of adherence" under 25% of recommended practices fulfilled. The statistical power for all analyzes conducted was 80%.

A study conducted in 2006 in Spain showed that almost 16% and 36% of the diabetic subjects interviewed had not undergone BP and blood lipid measurements in the previous 6 and 12 months, respectively.

Current results suggest a possible improvement in the application of cardiovascular risk factor control protocols by primary health care professionals as has been described by other Spanish authors.


Parenting behaviors that are oriented toward becoming more appropriate to the developmental needs of children and adolescents can be taught (Borkowski, Ramey, & Stile, 2002; Brody et al., 2006; Cowan & Pape Cowan, 2002; Cowan, Powell, & Pape Cowan, 1998; Flory, 2004; Patterson, DeGarmo, & Forgatch, 2004) . However, even when parents are willing to modify their parenting behaviors, the effects of long-standing parenting practices may have set in motion within the child a tendency toward internalizing negative affective states. Whereas parents may, with time, exhibit more positive parenting practices, their children may continue to show signs of internalized distress. Clinicians should therefore be attuned to having promoted, or entered, the parenting cycle at a point at which the parents' behavior presently reflects reasonably age-appropriate practices, but the adolescent child expresses apparently ingrained patterns of responding that are problematic. In such cases, we would suggest that clinicians may want to focus on working with the adolescent to help her gain greater mastery over her affective regulation.

Parenting behaviors that are oriented toward becoming more appropriate to the developmental needs of children and adolescents can be taught.


This paper focuses on optimal control problems of convex type and the special properties they enjoy, in particular properties of duality. A fundamental problem form, intended for approximations of more complicated control situations as well as direct use in mathematical modeling, is introduced in terms of linear dynamics and linear constraints that may be represented by penalties, either finite or infinite. A duality theorem is proved and made the basis for deriving necessary and sufficient conditions for the optimality of control functions and state trajectories. The work extends the author's recent results on continuous time problems with piecewise linear-quadratic costs [1] , [2] . It ties in more generally with the theory of dual problems of Bolza in the calculus of variations, as developed earlier by methods of convex analysis in Rockafellar [3] , [4] . A bridge is thereby provided to a conceptual framework dominated by a Hamiltonian function and its gradients or subgradients in the expression of optimality condition.

The work extends the author's recent results on continuous time problems with piecewise linear-quadratic costs.

It ties in more generally with the theory of dual problems of Bolza in the calculus of variations, as developed earlier by methods of convex analysis in Rockafellar.


The economic literature on performance incentive design typically assumes that although organizations have to use imperfect performance measures, they know the relationship between these measures and the true organization's objective (Prendergast, 1999) . In other words, the literature assumes that the principal knows how much gaming distortions will take place after the performance incentive system has been introduced. The principal uses this knowledge to trade-off the gains from incentives with the loss from distortions.

The economic literature on performance incentive design typically assumes that although organizations have to use imperfect performance measures, they know the relationship between these measures and the true organization's objective.


The research most closely related to ours is Winter [17] . The way in which the ASM models are defined closely relates to ours since they have the same concept of routes, which contain tracks and points, between two signals, and contain a static and a behavioural definition. Their models are more advanced than ours since we currently restrict ourselves to have signals in one direction and we do not include shunting. The simplifications to the Winter models includes combining multiple track circuits into one provided they are always grouped together in the control table; this again resonates with the data abstraction we defined in Section 5, but we formalise the abstraction more explicitly.

The research most closely related to ours is Winter.


The challenges of integrated water resources management 3 communicate a city's IWRM performance and exchange experiences, (2) to select appropriate water supply and sanitation strategies and (3) to develop technological and non-technological options as future alternatives for the water cycle, where several possible changes in the use of technology, space and socio-economic scenarios can be introduced. This should finally lead to: (4) a selection of measures, including an evaluation of their costs and benefits under different development scenarios, and how to integrate these in long-term planning on urban investments. The collection of information for Istanbul was carried out by the authors. Feedback was asked from several stakeholders (representatives of municipalities, water utilities, wastewater utilities and water boards) on the preliminary assessment. A site visit was made to Istanbul to drinking water production and wastewater treatment facilities as well as to the bioremediation site in the Golden Horn of Istanbul (Altinbilek 2006) . Final reporting was done in an interactive manner with the stakeholders.

A site visit was made to Istanbul to drinking water production and wastewater treatment facilities as well as to the bioremediation site in the Golden Horn of Istanbul.


Magnesium content is associated to the heart muscle in the water by a positive relation [6] . Enamel in teeth contains calcium, magnesium, and phosphate compounds and therefore the low level of these constituents will make teeth be susceptible to decay induced by acid-producing bacteria [7] . It is a protective factor against cerebrovascular disease (cerebrovascular) [8] . Magnesium deficiency linked to cause several medical issues, such as high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat and diseases, the blood vessels and pre-eclampsia in pregnant women and diabetes type II and osteoporosis [9] - [11] .

Magnesium content is associated to the heart muscle in the water by a positive relation.

Enamel in teeth contains calcium, magnesium, and phosphate compounds and therefore the low level of these constituents will make teeth be susceptible to decay induced by acid-producing bacteria.

It is a protective factor against cerebrovascular disease (cerebrovascular).

Magnesium deficiency linked to cause several medical issues, such as high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat and diseases, the blood vessels and pre-eclampsia in pregnant women and diabetes type II and osteoporosis.


The method for determination of Total hardness, calcium, and magnesium depend on the titration with EDTA (Ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid) which is followed the (APHA) [20] . For total hardness, about 50 ml of the water sample was transferred to the conical flask, then 2 -3 ml of the buffer (pH 10) solution. Followed by adding Eriochrome Black T to the contents of the flask (add gradually to the flask, swirling after each addition) until a deep wine red color is obtained. Finally titrate the water sample with the EDTA until changing the color from the red to the dark blue.

The method for determination of Total hardness, calcium, and magnesium depend on the titration with EDTA (Ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid) which is followed the (APHA).


Algal growth is usually preceded by concrete biofouling. This phenomenon is often grouped in the literature into several stages that include an initial accumulation of adsorbed organics, the settlement and growth of pioneering bacteria creating a biofilm matrix and the subsequent succession of micro and macrofoulers [9] . Usually, bacteria play a dominant role in the formation of this biofilm and further colonisation of larger microorganisms [22] .

This phenomenon is often grouped in the literature into several stages that include an initial accumulation of adsorbed organics, the settlement and growth of pioneering bacteria creating a biofilm matrix and the subsequent succession of micro and macrofoulers.

Usually, bacteria play a dominant role in the formation of this biofilm and further colonisation of larger microorganisms.


Several antimicrobial treatments have been used in concrete and cement-based materials. Conventional studied procedures involve the usage of water repellents, biocides, or both. Water repellents slow the adsorption of water by reducing the surface energy and capillary forces of the concrete, thus decreasing the bioreceptivity of the material. Biocides focus on decreasing biological activity. While the use of hydrophobic compounds alone was shown to be insufficient in inhibiting microbial growth, the application of a combination of both treatments has been reported as effective [10, 20] . The order of application of the different products influences the efficiency of the final treatment; this must be considered to avoid negative effects [15e17] .

While the use of hydrophobic compounds alone was shown to be insufficient in inhibiting microbial growth, the application of a combination of both treatments has been reported as effective.


The main aim of this paper is to present the results obtained in a research devoted to the development of cement-based materials with biocide activity to be used as a biocide mortar layout in existing concrete structures [6, 21] . Therefore, different commercially available antimicrobial products were evaluated for effectiveness against microbial colonisation in concrete. These products were chosen for cost-effectiveness, non-toxicity, and capacity as disinfectants in other applications, such as floor and wall coverings. Different combinations of the commercial biocides were considered to increase their antimicrobial effect obtaining a set of biocide formulations. The experimental campaign was designed to evaluate the influence of the incorporation of the biocide formulations in concrete properties and their antimicrobial activity. Furthermore, the durability of the biocide activity was also evaluated through accelerated aging processes. The performances of the different combinations studied are shown and analysed, with special attention to the reasons responsible for the failure of the formulations.

The main aim of this paper is to present the results obtained in a research devoted to the development of cement-based materials with biocide activity to be used as a biocide mortar layout in existing concrete structures.


From the physiological point of view, it is meaningful to compare the functions of three kinds of related hormones, which are GLP-1, gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon. These factors seem to have various effects on several organs, such as the brain, gastrointestinal tract, pancreas, liver, adipose tissue and bone [17] . Among them, GLP-1 and GIP is a pair of two incretin hormones, which are secreted from the gut for the ingestion of nutrients. Those two hormones can increase insulin secretion and also improve the glucose fluctuation after a meal [18] . GLP-1 and GIP both show the influence of decreased food intake for the brain.

These factors seem to have various effects on several organs, such as the brain, gastrointestinal tract, pancreas, liver, adipose tissue and bone.

Those two hormones can increase insulin secretion and also improve the glucose fluctuation after a meal.


The years at college or university is a period characterized by changes in eating behaviour [1] [2] [3] . For many students, dietary patterns do not meet the recommended guidelines which may result in weight gain [4, 5] . A significant positive association was found between the frequency of eating at the on-campus university restaurant of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Brussels, Belgium) and increases in body mass index (BMI) and fat%, suggesting that Belgian students eating at the on-campus restaurant might make more unhealthy food choices [4] . As unhealthy dietary intake may increase metabolic health risks (e.g. cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus), it has been advocated that universities need to take an active role in designing and implementing food-related health promotion interventions [1, 6] .

The years at college or university is a period characterized by changes in eating behaviour.

For many students, dietary patterns do not meet the recommended guidelines which may result in weight gain.

A significant positive association was found between the frequency of eating at the on-campus university restaurant of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Brussels, Belgium) and increases in body mass index (BMI) and fat%, suggesting that Belgian students eating at the on-campus restaurant might make more unhealthy food choices.

As unhealthy dietary intake may increase metabolic health risks (e.g. cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus), it has been advocated that universities need to take an active role in designing and implementing food-related health promotion interventions.


Recent clinical trials have demonstrated cognitive impairment as an adverse effect of cranial irradiation, based on recall and delayed recall testing using the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test (HVLT). For instance, RTOG 0214 was a phase III trial of prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) versus observation in patients with locally-advanced NSCLC [1] . RTOG 0214 tested HVLT as a secondary endpoint and observed greater decline in HVLT in the PCI cohort as compared to the observation cohort at 1-year follow-up [2] . Similar findings have been demonstrated in the setting of brain metastases [3] .

For instance, RTOG 0214 was a phase III trial of prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) versus observation in patients with locally-advanced NSCLC.

RTOG 0214 tested HVLT as a secondary endpoint and observed greater decline in HVLT in the PCI cohort as compared to the observation cohort at 1-year follow-up.

Similar findings have been demonstrated in the setting of brain metastases.