Unfortunately, most polymers are not compatible with each other and also contain impurities, especially if they originate from waste streams. Even in the case of polyolefins, simple mixing of different waste polymers leads typically into an immiscible blend, which has limited or no commercial use due to its inadequate mechanical properties. The immiscible blends lack strong interfacial bonding, resulting also in weak morphological stability, creating an increased risk of phase separation in further processing and use [6, 11] . In order to overcome these shortcomings, compatibilizing agents can be used. They promote miscibility by lowering interfacial tension between the polymers, hence enhancing the interfacial adhesion. This results in a more stable morphology and more uniform distribution of the dispersed phase [12] . Wood-polymer composites (WPC) are materials or products consisting of one or more natural fibres or flours and one or a mixture of polymer(s). The natural fibres and flours come from different sources, and different polymers, virgin or recycled, are used. Currently, the main applications of WPC products are decking, cladding, panelling, fencing and furniture [13] . To improve the mechanical properties of WPCs, good adhesion between the wood fibre and polymer matrix is required. Unfortunately, both components are naturally incompatible due to the hydrophilic nature of wood materials and hydrophobic nature of polymers. Compatibility in the composite can be improved by using either physical or chemical In order to decrease the use of virgin plastics made from non-renewable fossil oil, it would be environmentally sustainable to reclaim plastics from waste streams and to recycle them with minimal effort. The properties of commingled plastics are often poor, so upgrading their performance to meet the requirements of industry and market is crucial. Unfortunately, that is challenging both from economical and technical perspectives [6] . For recycling of plastic waste, mechanical recycling is the most commonly used process, which typically consists of material collection, sorting, washing and grinding [7] . If the process enables substitution of virgin polymers in industrial applications, high ecological benefits can be achieved [8] . The current methods used for the sorting of mixed plastic waste depend on the differences in various properties of plastics. These methods rely on spectral, optic, electrostatic and gravimetric differences of the materials, i.e., their physical and chemical properties [9] . The most common plastic sorts, polyolefins (i.e., polyethylenes and polypropylene), are close to each other not only chemically but also in density, rendering the simplest mechanical separation methods futile. On the other hand, this indicates that, e.g., polyolefins can be extracted from waste streams simultaneously by e.g., water sink-float method, which is technically simple and inexpensive to operate [9, 10] .

The immiscible blends lack strong interfacial bonding, resulting also in weak morphological stability, creating an increased risk of phase separation in further processing and use.

This results in a more stable morphology and more uniform distribution of the dispersed phase.

Currently, the main applications of WPC products are decking, cladding, panelling, fencing and furniture.

Unfortunately, that is challenging both from economical and technical perspectives.

For recycling of plastic waste, mechanical recycling is the most commonly used process, which typically consists of material collection, sorting, washing and grinding.

If the process enables substitution of virgin polymers in industrial applications, high ecological benefits can be achieved.

These methods rely on spectral, optic, electrostatic and gravimetric differences of the materials, i.e., their physical and chemical properties.

On the other hand, this indicates that, e.g., polyolefins can be extracted from waste streams simultaneously by e.g., water sink-float method, which is technically simple and inexpensive to operate.


A relatively high amount of compatibilizers was studied, and the best performance of the composites was achieved at the highest 7% level of compatibilization. This is in contradiction with some previously published papers showing that the highest performance of WPCs are achieved at compatibilizer levels of 3-4%, and the performance starts to decrease at higher levels [27, 44] . This suggests that compatibilization of plastic mixtures with wood fibres is more challenging, and to achieve an increase in mechanical performance, a higher compatibilizer content that is typically used is required. The optimization of the amount and type of compatibilization in wood-mixed waste polymer composites still needs further research.

This is in contradiction with some previously published papers showing that the highest performance of WPCs are achieved at compatibilizer levels of 3-4%, and the performance starts to decrease at higher levels.


There are strong environmental and legislative drivers towards utilizing plastic waste with other methods than disposal. Composites are naturally mixtures of different materials, so it is reasonable to expect that it would be easier and less expensive to utilize mixed waste plastics in them [16] . As noted above, WPCs may be made from recycled plastics, and in general, the properties of WPCs can be improved by the addition of compatibilizers. In this study, the possibility of improving the properties of WPCs made from commingled plastic waste with the addition of compatibilizers is examined in order to find new, feasible means for recycling and use for the millions of tons of plastic waste produced annually. The effect of different levels of addition of compatibilizers and the potential of compatibilizer blends on the properties of WPCs is also evaluated.

Composites are naturally mixtures of different materials, so it is reasonable to expect that it would be easier and less expensive to utilize mixed waste plastics in them.


Clearly, any completely positive matrix is nonnegative and positive semidefinite. We call the family of matrices that are both nonnegative and positive semidefinite doubly nonnegative. Doubly nonnegative matrices of order less than 5 are completely positive [6] . However, this is no longer true for matrices of oder larger than or equal to 6 [7] .

Doubly nonnegative matrices of order less than 5 are completely positive.

However, this is no longer true for matrices of oder larger than or equal to 6.


A n × n matrix A is said to be completely positive, if there exists a (not necessarily square) nonnegative matrix V such that A = V V T . Completely positive matrices of order n form a cone, with the dual cone of copositive matrices, i.e. the matrices with x T Ax ≥ 0 for all x with nonnegative elements [1] . Completely positive and copositive matrices have been widely studied, and they play an important role in various applications. However, several basic questions about them are still open. For background, we refer the reader to the following works and citations therein [2, 3, 4, 5] .

Completely positive matrices of order n form a cone, with the dual cone of copositive matrices, i.e. the matrices with x T Ax ≥ 0 for all x with nonnegative elements.

For background, we refer the reader to the following works and citations therein.


Of note, in patient 8, the IOM event occurred 6 min after contrast extravasation. It may be considered that during this time, monitoring was false negative. We hypothesize that the initial contrast leakage did not modify the SEP and MEP until the extent of bleeding caused brain injury, a fact that did not occur after the first transient extravasation in the same patient. This limitation should be acknowledged when arterial ruptures are detected in the angiogram. However, the present data reinforce the value of IOM in preventing ischemic complications in endovascular procedures. Experimental and clinical data indicate that the SEPs provide a reasonable estimate of the functional state of brain areas during incomplete ischemia [32, 33] . Indeed, SEP abolition is considered as the upper threshold of the state defined as ischemic penumbra, where tissue is hypoperfused but not irreversibly damaged [34] .

Experimental and clinical data indicate that the SEPs provide a reasonable estimate of the functional state of brain areas during incomplete ischemia.

Indeed, SEP abolition is considered as the upper threshold of the state defined as ischemic penumbra, where tissue is hypoperfused but not irreversibly damaged.


Intuitively technological progress is the root cause of reduction of carbon emission (Dinda 2009b) . Is technological progress in the right direction towards the low carbon emission with economic growth? A careful study is necessary to understand the causal linkage between technological progress, income and carbon emissions. It certainly helps to formulate proper policy for mitigating climate change of a country and the world as a whole.

Intuitively technological progress is the root cause of reduction of carbon emission.


Students indicated several events or experiences such as an interest in agriculture, personal factors, and other job opportunities that most influenced their decisions to enroll in a postsecondary education program of agriculture. These findings support the Social Learning Theory of Career Decision Making that suggests environmental conditions and events influence the choice of educational pursuits (Sharf, 2006) . In particular, the events and experiences noted by the students in this study were more closely related to the educational and occupational conditions within the SLTCDM category of environmental conditions and events.

These findings support the Social Learning Theory of Career Decision Making that suggests environmental conditions and events influence the choice of educational pursuits.


The rationale for the BO approach is to achieve ecological outcomes in a more efficient way than in traditional political approaches, being commonly regarded as a market-based instrument (henceforth MBI) [9] . Yet, while BO is often regarded as an MBI for biodiversity both in academic and political spheres (especially in the form of the banking mechanism), some recent articles have shown that BO mechanisms do not really share the characteristics of market or market-like instruments, either in theory or in practice [10, 11] . However, most academics and policy-makers still value BO on economic grounds, the revival of BO in environmental policies largely resting on its ability to promote economic incentives for biodiversity conservation. Overall, by allowing environmental outcomes to be achieved without limiting economic development, the concept of BO offers the promise of making economic development and growth compatible with biodiversity conservation [12] .

The rationale for the BO approach is to achieve ecological outcomes in a more efficient way than in traditional political approaches, being commonly regarded as a market-based instrument (henceforth MBI).

Yet, while BO is often regarded as an MBI for biodiversity both in academic and political spheres (especially in the form of the banking mechanism), some recent articles have shown that BO mechanisms do not really share the characteristics of market or market-like instruments, either in theory or in practice.

Overall, by allowing environmental outcomes to be achieved without limiting economic development, the concept of BO offers the promise of making economic development and growth compatible with biodiversity conservation.


In practice, the BO principle encompasses three main mechanisms: (1) direct offsets, requiring developers to carry out compensatory measures themselves through restoration actions or acquisitions of natural areas in which appropriate conservation plans are implemented; (2) the banking mechanism, whereby a third party called a bank operator implements larger restoration projects ahead of future impacts, generating thereby offsetting credits for future needs of developers; and (3) offsetting funds, organized by certain environmental organizations (public agencies or non-governmental conservation organizations) in order to collect money from developers to carry out restoration actions or conservation projects [7] . How these different mechanisms are used and regulated depends on the legislation and the institutional environments of each country [8] . In addition to this, there are also voluntary offsets in which developers propose offsets outside legal requirements, but we do not propose to treat them in this paper.

In practice, the BO principle encompasses three main mechanisms: (1) direct offsets, requiring developers to carry out compensatory measures themselves through restoration actions or acquisitions of natural areas in which appropriate conservation plans are implemented; (2) the banking mechanism, whereby a third party called a bank operator implements larger restoration projects ahead of future impacts, generating thereby offsetting credits for future needs of developers; and (3) offsetting funds, organized by certain environmental organizations (public agencies or non-governmental conservation organizations) in order to collect money from developers to carry out restoration actions or conservation projects.

How these different mechanisms are used and regulated depends on the legislation and the institutional environments of each country.


The second way of aiding GNSS using 3D mapping is shadow matching. This is a new technique that determines position by comparing the measured signal availability and strength with predictions made using a 3D city model [20] . It is designed to be used alongside conventional ranging-based GNSS positioning in dense urban areas in order to improve the cross-street accuracy. Since 2011, several groups have demonstrated shadow matching experimentally, using both single and multiple epochs of GNSS data [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] . Cross-street positions within a few meters have been achieved in environments where the error in the conventional GNSS position solution is tens of meters, enabling users to determine which side of the street they're on. Shadow matching has also been demonstrated in real time on an Android smartphone [26] . The challenge now is to improve reliability and integrate shadow matching with other positioning techniques [27] .

This is a new technique that determines position by comparing the measured signal availability and strength with predictions made using a 3D city model.

Since 2011, several groups have demonstrated shadow matching experimentally, using both single and multiple epochs of GNSS data.

Shadow matching has also been demonstrated in real time on an Android smartphone.

The challenge now is to improve reliability and integrate shadow matching with other positioning techniques.


This paper documents the first formal user evaluation of a hierarchical phrase browsing interface based on automatically generated phrases. We focus on a particular browsing tool whose evolution has been described in the literature [13, 15] . Section 2 outlines related work and describes how phrase browsing differs from conventional search and browsing techniques. We then briefly sketch the operation of the target system, Phind (for "phrase index"), from a user perspective. The experimental conditions are detailed in Section 4 and the findings presented in Section 5. Finally we discuss how our findings might influence the design of future phrase browsing interfaces for digital libraries.

We focus on a particular browsing tool whose evolution has been described in the literature.


We will investigate the responses of Chinese stock market returns to oil price shocks in terms of several aspects. First, each variable in the quantile VAR (Vector Autoregression) model can be defined to be at some specific state of the business for the analysis, i.e., the quantiles may differ across equations. In order to analyse the asymmetric shock effects, we propose relating conditional quantiles of the change rate of supply and demand in the oil market to business states [34] . In the oil market, the lower negative change rate of global oil production, global real economic activity and the real oil price (at lower quantiles of the change rate distribution) can be attributed to business busts, whereas their higher positive change rates (at upper quantiles of the change rate distribution) can be attributed to a boom business state. This means that during a business bust phase, the supply and demand in the oil market should decrease while during a business boom phase, the supply and demand will increase. This assumption is reasonable. For example in a boom state, on one hand oil producers may adjust their oil production to increase the oil supply. On the other hand, a high demand for oil would drive up the price of oil. Therefore lower quantiles correspond to a bust oil market state, while upper quantiles correspond to a boom oil market state. Additionally, the lower quantiles of stock market return distributions correspond to a bearish market and its upper quantiles correspond to a bullish market.

In order to analyse the asymmetric shock effects, we propose relating conditional quantiles of the change rate of supply and demand in the oil market to business states.

This assumption is reasonable.


Case Reports in Urology 70% of cases of true hermaphrodites have 46 XX karyotype [2] . Only 10% of cases are 46 XY karyotype, while the rest represent complex karyotypes of which the most common is 46 XX/46XY [2, 5] . The presence of a Y chromosome is more often observed in the absence of an ovotestis [5] . The gene YpqA1 determines testicular development. Not all cases of ovotesticular disorder with testicular tissue have this gene. It is thought that this gene is probably translocated on the X chromosome or any other autosomal site in these patients [2] . In some of these patients gonadal mosaicism may be an explanation [5] .

Case Reports in Urology 70% of cases of true hermaphrodites have 46 XX karyotype.

Only 10% of cases are 46 XY karyotype, while the rest represent complex karyotypes of which the most common is 46 XX/46XY.

The presence of a Y chromosome is more often observed in the absence of an ovotestis.

It is thought that this gene is probably translocated on the X chromosome or any other autosomal site in these patients.

In some of these patients gonadal mosaicism may be an explanation.


Q on the complex Q on the unit sphere. For that purpose we compute the spectrum of the Laplacians on the Rumin complex of (p, q)-forms for general (p, q). For (0, q)-forms the operator Q coincides with the usual C-R Laplacian b and its spectrum has been found earlier by Folland [5] . So our results generalize that of Folland.

Q on the complex Q on the unit sphere.

For (0, q)-forms the operator Q coincides with the usual C-R Laplacian b and its spectrum has been found earlier by Folland.


The grassland is the most threatened ecosystem of the earth. There are various causes explaining this: agricultural intensification, urbanization, energy development, expansion of invasive species [1] . Consequently, and for a few decades, the grassland bird populations have declined continuously [2] .

There are various causes explaining this: agricultural intensification, urbanization, energy development, expansion of invasive species.

Consequently, and for a few decades, the grassland bird populations have declined continuously.


Biominerals are usually formed on the surface of organic templates (or matrixes). Recently, inorganic materials with higher performance and more exquisite morphologies have been obtained by biomimetic synthesis. Simulating the biomineralization process of the nucleation and growth of inorganic materials mediated by organic matrixes has become the focus of material science [23, 24] . Gelatin is the denaturation product of collagen which is the major structural protein in the connective tissue of animal skin and bones. Gelatin has been investigated by in vitro biomineralization [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] . Heterogeneous nucleation of ZnO using gelatin as the organic matrix has been studied [20] . However, the reported synthetic methods are limited to the growth of 1D or 2D ZnO (thin films) and only few on 3D ordered architectures [6] . In the present work, a simple and biomimetic process was employed to synthesize 3D zinc oxide architectures at room temperature. The biomimetic growth and self-assembly of zinc oxide 3D architectures in the gelatin solution were investigated, and the formation mechanism of the 3D ZnO architectures was also discussed.

Simulating the biomineralization process of the nucleation and growth of inorganic materials mediated by organic matrixes has become the focus of material science.

Gelatin has been investigated by in vitro biomineralization.

Heterogeneous nucleation of ZnO using gelatin as the organic matrix has been studied.

However, the reported synthetic methods are limited to the growth of 1D or 2D ZnO (thin films) and only few on 3D ordered architectures.


Raman spectroscopy has also been an imperative tool for predicting cocrystal formation demonstrating the hydrogen bond formation between the API and CCF. FT-Raman spectrum of the cocrystal was shown in fig. 4 . Important peaks seen were C=N strong 1590.04 cm , Cl strong 690.42 cm -1 . The characteristics peaks of (O-H) at 3100-3650 cm -1 and (N-H) at 3300-3500 cm -1 were not observed in FT-Raman spectra indicated weak non-covalent bond formation. XRD patterns of drug and cocrystals were shown in fig. 5 . The diffraction pattern of the API and cocrystals showed that both were crystalline in nature as demonstrated by numerous distinct peaks of 2θ. Powder XRD pattern of lornoxicam cocrystals indicates formation of new crystalline phases, which can be attributed to cocrystal formation [39, 40] .

Powder XRD pattern of lornoxicam cocrystals indicates formation of new crystalline phases, which can be attributed to cocrystal formation.


The data for aqueous solubility profile of the API was shown in fig. 2 . The solubility of cocrystals in distilled water was shown in Table 2 . The maximum aqueous solubility was obtained with lornoxicamsaccharin sodium cocrystals (F18), which might have resulted from changes in the molecular attributes due to non-covalent interaction in cocrystals. Saccharin has been reported as typical coformer in the literature for improving solubility of the parent API and also to make sweet cocrystal owing its sweetening property [32, 33] . The more hydrophilic nature of coformer as compared to the constituent drugs, and therefore such selective drug solubilisation is generally observed with solubilizing agents (coformer) in aqueous media [34] . Solubility is related to the crystal lattice energy within the solid state; there are various potential interactions within the crystal structure including hydrogen bonding and vander Waals interactions within cocrystals [35] . The solubility enhancement of lornoxicam in cocrystals with saccharin may be a result of lower lattice energy of cocrystals allowing the more facile crystal disruption by the solvent [36] . The solubility advantage of cocrystals could effectively translate to an improved absorption of the drug.

Saccharin has been reported as typical coformer in the literature for improving solubility of the parent API and also to make sweet cocrystal owing its sweetening property.

The more hydrophilic nature of coformer as compared to the constituent drugs, and therefore such selective drug solubilisation is generally observed with solubilizing agents (coformer) in aqueous media.

Solubility is related to the crystal lattice energy within the solid state; there are various potential interactions within the crystal structure including hydrogen bonding and vander Waals interactions within cocrystals.

The solubility enhancement of lornoxicam in cocrystals with saccharin may be a result of lower lattice energy of cocrystals allowing the more facile crystal disruption by the solvent.


The evaluation results of immediate release tablet of lornoxicam cocrystal are shown in Table 4 . The hardness of P4 batch was found to be 5.5±0.5 kg/ cm 2 . Uniformity of weight and friability were found to be within pharmacopoeia limits [42] . In vitro disintegration time was found to be not more than 24 s. The intrinsic dissolution rate (IDR) at the end of 60 min was 10.81±0.17 mg/cm 2 and 12.73±0.26 mg/ cm 2 , respectively for lornoxicam and F18 cocrystal indicating cocrystal improved IDR. After performing the evaluation of experimental formulation batches 86.14±1.33% and 93.01±0.77% cumulative drug release was observed in distilled water and phosphate buffer pH 7.4, respectively with P4 batch. Hence, it was selected as optimized batch.

Uniformity of weight and friability were found to be within pharmacopoeia limits.


The melting point of API, coformers and cocrystals were as given in Table 2 . Almost in all cocrystal batches melting point was different from API and coformers. There was no correlation between melting point of cocrystal and API/coformer. The transformed melting points of cocrystals may be assigned to the physical non-covalent interaction between drug and coformer, altered packing arrangement or change in the crystallinity of molecules [31] .

The transformed melting points of cocrystals may be assigned to the physical non-covalent interaction between drug and coformer, altered packing arrangement or change in the crystallinity of molecules.


The addition of SSG can improve drug release while addition of magnesium stearate could decrease the drug release from formulation. SSG is hydrophilic carboxymethylated starch polymer, which act by rapid water uptake and its water uptake is higher at alkaline pH compared to acidic pH [43] . SSG takes up more than 20 times its own weight of water [44] . Hence, it showed faster swelling and disintegration of tablet assisting dissolution of the drug. Magnesium stearate is hydrophobic lubricant commonly used in small concentration but increasing its concentration in the formulation could decrease the drug release. The P-values for the percent cumulative drug release of lornoxicam:saccharin sodium co-crystals in distilled water and phosphate buffer at pH 7.4 were less than 0.05. Thus, the 2 2 experimental factorial designs can be utilized for evaluation effects of selected variables magnesium stearate and SSG on drug release. The factorial interactions of variables were diminishing the drug release of lornoxicam from formulation as exemplified in equations. Hence, concentration of magnesium stearate shall be kept low while SSG can be used at higher concentration to obtain optimum drug release from the tablet formulations.

SSG is hydrophilic carboxymethylated starch polymer, which act by rapid water uptake and its water uptake is higher at alkaline pH compared to acidic pH.

SSG takes up more than 20 times its own weight of water.


DSC analysis was employed to evaluate the phase of transformation during the formation of cocrystals. DSC thermogram of lornoxicam in fig. 6A showed an endothermic peak at 221.26° corresponding to its melting point. There was a shift in the drug peak in case of the cocrystals and a single peak was observed at 219.28° in fig. 6B . The strong non-covalent interaction between the API and the coformer generally led to the formation of cocrystals. This non-covalent physical interaction expected to be between an API and a coformer is due to hydrogen bond formation between polar functional groups. This interaction resulted in moderate to complete alterations in molecular arrangement of cocrystal formed, thus giving a new crystalline arrangement with altered physical properties including the melting point and/or the solubility. The formation of cocrystal was also confirmed on the basis of powder XRD studies, which indicated completely different diffractograms for cocrystals and lornoxicam. Thus the strength of hydrogen bonding will definitely influence the melting point characteristic of a cocrystal [41] .

Thus the strength of hydrogen bonding will definitely influence the melting point characteristic of a cocrystal.


The partition coefficient (log P) of lornoxicam in octanol/water and octanol/buffer pH 7.4 was 2.13 and 1.91, respectively. It indicated that lornoxicam is hydrophobic in nature, which might be the reason for its poor aqueous solubility. The reported partition coefficient of lornoxicam is 1.8, as determined in n-octanol and phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) [37] . The partition coefficient (log P) of lornoxicam:saccharin sodium cocrystals was found to be 1.69 and 1.28, respectively in octanol/water and octanol/buffer pH 7.4 systems. This revealed the transformation of hydrophobic nature of lornoxicam to hydrophilic nature in cocrystal form.

The reported partition coefficient of lornoxicam is 1.8, as determined in n-octanol and phosphate buffer (pH 7.4).


Among major cell populations found in inflamed synovial tissue, Sema3B and Sema3F are expressed by RA FLS, but not by RA monocytes/macrophages, and their expression is downregulated after inflammatory stimulation. This may be important in vivo, as we observed in early arthritis patient synovial tissue that mRNA expression of Sema3B, and to a lesser extent Sema3F, negatively correlated with the expression of TNF and IL-1b, cytokines which are present in the synovial compartment of early arthritis patients [2, 33] . Initial inflammatory cues in the early arthritis synovial environment might reduce Sema3B and Sema3F expression, contributing to disease development by blocking a negative regulatory mechanism that would suppress FLS invasive capacity.

This may be important in vivo, as we observed in early arthritis patient synovial tissue that mRNA expression of Sema3B, and to a lesser extent Sema3F, negatively correlated with the expression of TNF and IL-1b, cytokines which are present in the synovial compartment of early arthritis patients.


In this section, we formalize how we describe an MGRIT solver for artificial neural networks. We must define Φ ( ) i , or the propagator on level for training step i. This corresponds to block row i in equation (5) . We first define a "Naive Solver", because it is the simplest, out-of-the-box option. Next, we will explore modifications that lead to faster convergence.

This corresponds to block row i in equation.


Adult-onset leukoencephalopathy with axonal spheroids and pigmented glia (ALSP) is an autosomal dominant neurological disorder that predominantly affects the cerebral white matter [1] . ALSP encompasses two similar entities previously known as hereditary diffuse leukoencephalopathy with spheroids (HDLS) and pigmentary orthochromatic leukodystrophy (POLD) [1] . ALSP is clinically characterized by executive dysfunction, memory decline, personality changes, motor impairments, and seizures [2] . Frontal lobe syndrome in ALSP is characterized by loss of judgment, lack of social inhibitors, lack of insight, and motor persistence, which usually appears early in the disease course. The mean age at onset is 43 years ranging from 18 to 78 years [3] . Patients with ALSP eventually become bedridden with a mean disease duration of 6.8 years from onset to death [3] .

Adult-onset leukoencephalopathy with axonal spheroids and pigmented glia (ALSP) is an autosomal dominant neurological disorder that predominantly affects the cerebral white matter.

ALSP encompasses two similar entities previously known as hereditary diffuse leukoencephalopathy with spheroids (HDLS) and pigmentary orthochromatic leukodystrophy (POLD).

ALSP is clinically characterized by executive dysfunction, memory decline, personality changes, motor impairments, and seizures.

The mean age at onset is 43 years ranging from 18 to 78 years.

Patients with ALSP eventually become bedridden with a mean disease duration of 6.8 years from onset to death.


Structures with inhomogeneities or defects exhibit nonlinear behavior. In particular, strong nonlinear responses can be observed in structures with fatigue cracks. Nonlinear parameters are often more sensitive to fatigue cracks than their linear counterparts [1] [2] [3] . Nonlinearity due to crack formation manifests itself as distortion, accompanying wave harmonics, and in sum and difference frequency generation (sidebands). For linear intact structures, these nonlinear responses are weak, but they become remarkably strong for damaged structures [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] .

Nonlinear parameters are often more sensitive to fatigue cracks than their linear counterparts.

For linear intact structures, these nonlinear responses are weak, but they become remarkably strong for damaged structures.


Nonlinear wave modulation spectroscopy (NWMS) is one of the nonlinear ultrasonic techniques based on nonlinear mixing of two distinct input signals [4] . Normally, a lowfrequency pumping input and a high-frequency probing input are used in NWMS for creating modulation. Here, the amplitude of modulation heavily depends on the choice of the probing and pumping frequencies, and the optimal combination of these two input frequencies is also affected by environmental and operational conditions (e.g., temperature and loading) of the target structure and even by defect configurtions [7, [9] [10] [11] . Therefore, finding the optimal combination of the probing and pumping frequencies, which can maximize the modulation level, becomes a moving target. To find an optimal combination of the probing and pumping frequencies that can maximize the modulation level, frequency-swept probing signals and a frequency-fixed pumping signal are used [11] .

Nonlinear wave modulation spectroscopy (NWMS) is one of the nonlinear ultrasonic techniques based on nonlinear mixing of two distinct input signals.

Here, the amplitude of modulation heavily depends on the choice of the probing and pumping frequencies, and the optimal combination of these two input frequencies is also affected by environmental and operational conditions (e.g., temperature and loading) of the target structure and even by defect configurtions.

To find an optimal combination of the probing and pumping frequencies that can maximize the modulation level, frequency-swept probing signals and a frequency-fixed pumping signal are used.


Authors at a previous CIRED conference have shown that rising demand from electrical heating and vehicles will drive major distribution network reinforcement costs unless 24-hour demand profiles can be levelled [1] . This involves signalling to consumers to indicate when electricity use should be constrained and when distribution network capacity is available. However in an industry where transmission and distribution have been unbundled from supply of electricity, the relationship with each consumer is usually held by an electricity supplier in competition with other suppliers. Constraining demand on a distribution network segment therefore involves a complex interaction between a monopoly provider (the Distribution Network Operator 1 (DNO)), the competing electricity suppliers with customers on the network segment, and the consumers themselves. Balancing these interests and addressing other issues such as customer privacy and data confidentiality is a challenge for which no clear paradigmatic solution has emerged.

Authors at a previous CIRED conference have shown that rising demand from electrical heating and vehicles will drive major distribution network reinforcement costs unless 24-hour demand profiles can be levelled.


This project has been proposed to Brookhaven National Laboratory-Accelerator Test Facility and approved. This is a collaboration between UCLA high energy group (PI: Prof. David Cline) and BNL-ATF. BNL-ATF is one of the few facilities that can provide both high quality electron beam and high intensity laser beam. Simulation research work and hardware design have been done in accordance to BNL-ATF's real experimental condition [10, 11] . The simulation results predict that vacuum laser acceleration phenomena can be observed with ATF's diagnostic system.

Simulation research work and hardware design have been done in accordance to BNL-ATF's real experimental condition.


Curcuma longa (C. longa), normally called turmeric, is derived from rhizomes of the plant and has a long history of use in Indian Ayurvedic medicine [15] . Curcumin (1,7-bis (4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-1,6-heptadiene-3,5-dione) is one of the major principal coloring bioactive compound present in the C. longa tuber powder and has extensive biological activity including anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-carcinogenic, anti-ageing and anti-mutagenic effects [16] . Curcumin, a fluorescent molecule with emission properties highly dependent on the polarity of its environment, has been extensively considered for its photophysical and fluorescent enhancement properties [17] .

Curcuma longa (C. longa), normally called turmeric, is derived from rhizomes of the plant and has a long history of use in Indian Ayurvedic medicine.

Curcumin (1,7-bis (4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-1,6-heptadiene-3,5-dione) is one of the major principal coloring bioactive compound present in the C. longa tuber powder and has extensive biological activity including anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-carcinogenic, anti-ageing and anti-mutagenic effects.

Curcumin, a fluorescent molecule with emission properties highly dependent on the polarity of its environment, has been extensively considered for its photophysical and fluorescent enhancement properties.


Correlational analyses provided empirical evidence for the construct validity of the FIS. As expected, fear of intimacy was significantly correlated with loneliness, low self-disclosure, and low social intimacy. Moderately strong correlations supported these measures as overlapping but not identical constructs. Such findings are consistent with those of other researchers who have identified, for example, self-disclosure as one part of intimacy (Gilbert, 1976; Waring & Chelune, 1983) . In contrast, the weaker but significant correlations found between the FIS and measures of social desirability and need for cognition had not been predicted. These had been expected to be unrelated constructs supportive of discriminant validity. However, covariate techniques to control for social desirability indicated that need for cognition was not associated with fear of intimacy, and supported the original prediction of independence of the measures. Furthermore, no significant correlation was obtained between need for cognition and fear of intimacy in Study 2.

Such findings are consistent with those of other researchers who have identified, for example, self-disclosure as one part of intimacy.


Pituitary adenomas (PAs) are benign tumours with a high prevalence in autopsy and radiological studies, ranging from 14.4 up to 22.5% [1] . However, clinically relevant PAs are significantly less common, affecting 1 : 1064 up to 1 : 1470 of the general population [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] . The great majority of PAs occur sporadically, but around 5% are familial in origin, which either occur as part of a syndrome, such as in multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) and MEN4 or in Carney complex, or can be isolated to the pituitary as in familial isolated pituitary adenomas (FIPAs). FIPA kindreds are recognised when 2 or more family members display PAs in the absence of other syndromic features.

Pituitary adenomas (PAs) are benign tumours with a high prevalence in autopsy and radiological studies, ranging from 14.4 up to 22.5%.

However, clinically relevant PAs are significantly less common, affecting 1 : 1064 up to 1 : 1470 of the general population.


PBL was chosen because this method has been shown to enhance the cognitive process of integrative knowledge in medical students [11, 14, 23, 24] . Our results show that they considered this objective to be reasonably achieved and that they also received significant knowledge in specific topics. This was an important fact, as they were in their first year at the university and some problems might be expected with this sudden immersion in the clinical field. However, this does not appear to be a problem for most students. Appendix C summarizes some free comments of students.

PBL was chosen because this method has been shown to enhance the cognitive process of integrative knowledge in medical students.


Similar to prior studies which showed that younger consumers have a greater tendency to adopt innovations, such as internet banking, this study found that mobile banking is most commonly adopted by consumers aged between 21 to 30 years. In this context, this is understandable since mobile banking requires the use of mobile devices such as a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or 3G mobile phones, which are usually purchased by young consumers with more disposable income. The high educational background of mobile banking users is explained by the need to master the complexity of conducting financial transactions via mobile channels (Black et al., 2001) .

The high educational background of mobile banking users is explained by the need to master the complexity of conducting financial transactions via mobile channels.


Several studies have shown that agile methods have provided significant gains in software projects [19] . However, it is also known that when prioritizing delivery speed, as may happen in agile projects, Technical Debt may be incurred. Much of this debt is not even identified, monitored or managed. Technical Debt that is not well managed runs the risk of high maintenance costs.

Several studies have shown that agile methods have provided significant gains in software projects.


To investigate the issue further, we examined judgment performance as a function of response latency. For each subject, we first determined the median response time (RT) to unstudied words. This RT was then used to separate items in the two study conditions (1ϫ and 2ϫ) into "faster" and "slower" response subsets for which the proportion of high-frequency judgments was then recalculated. As described above, faster responses should better reflect more automatic, fluency-based processes, while slower responses should reflect more consciously controlled recollection (Hintzman & Curran, 1994; Toth, 1996) . Thus, if the priming effects observed in the FA condition were not due to automatic/implicit influences of memory, but rather reflected explicit uses of memory, we should expect to see a significant effect of prior presentation for the slower responses, but little or no effect for the faster responses.

As described above, faster responses should better reflect more automatic, fluency-based processes, while slower responses should reflect more consciously controlled recollection.


Performance on the frequency-judgment task is presented in Fig. 1 as a function of attention at encoding (Full vs. Divided) and study repetitions (1ϫ, 2ϫ, and new). Note that for this and subsequent figures, error bars are 95% withinsubjects confidence intervals (Loftus & Masson, 1994) . As can be seen in the figure, prior presentation increased the proportion of high-frequency judgments but only in the Full Attention (FA) condition; subjects in the Divided Attention (DA) condition showed no effect of the prior study experience. These impressions were supported by an analysis of variance (ANOVA) which, although producing no main effects of attention, F Ͻ 1, demonstrated a significant effect of item repetition, F(2,44) ϭ 4.42, MSe ϭ .005, p Ͻ .02, as well as a significant interaction between the two factors, F(2,44) ϭ 3.81, MSe ϭ .005, p Ͻ .03. Planned comparisons showed that subjects in the FA group made significantly more "high-frequency" responses to the 1ϫ and 2ϫ items than to the unstudied items [t's(22) ϭ 3.85 and 4.11, respectively; p's Ͻ .005]. The small difference between 1ϫ and 2ϫ was not significant (t Ͻ 1), nor were any of the differences between items in the DA group (F Ͻ 1).

Note that for this and subsequent figures, error bars are 95% withinsubjects confidence intervals.


Note that a latency analysis also has implications for the retrieval intentionality criterion (Schacter et al., 1989) . If, as suggested by this criterion, our task was completely implicit, reflecting only unintentional influences of memory, then one might expect the pattern of performance to be roughly the same for the fastest and slowest responses as a function of study processing. In contrast, if the frequency-judgment task involved a mixture of controlled and automatic influences (consistent with the multiple-strategy perspective presented in the introduction), then one might expect to find an interaction between LoP and response speed.

Note that a latency analysis also has implications for the retrieval intentionality criterion.


In 1990, V.A. Vassiliev introduced the concept of a finite type invariant of knots, called Vassiliev invariants, by using singularity theory and algebraic topology [17] . These Vassiliev invariants provided us a unified framework in which to consider "quantum invariants" including knot polynomials. In particular, in 1993, J.S. Birman and X.-S. Lin showed that each coefficient in the Maclaurin series of the Jones, Kauffman, and HOMFLY polynomial, after a suitable change of variables, is a Vassiliev invariant [4] . From this viewpoint we find a criterion whether the derivatives of knot polynomials at some points are Vassiliev invariants or not.

In 1990, V.A. Vassiliev introduced the concept of a finite type invariant of knots, called Vassiliev invariants, by using singularity theory and algebraic topology.

In particular, in 1993, J.S. Birman and X.-S. Lin showed that each coefficient in the Maclaurin series of the Jones, Kauffman, and HOMFLY polynomial, after a suitable change of variables, is a Vassiliev invariant.


In addition to C 6 rings also found in graphitic carbon, fullerenes incorporate C 5 rings. Soot with high tortuosity (curved lamellae) and more reactive nanostructures have been hypothesized to form by partial oxidation of benzene and C 5 chemistry in flames [18, 26] . The large carbons in SP-AMS mass spectra may thus provide information on refractory soot composition and nanostructures related to soot reactivity. In modern diesel engines, soot forms in large amounts shortly after ignition and is oxidized in the late combustion cycle. As a result, only a small fraction of the soot initially formed in the combustion exits the engine into the tailpipe [53, 82, 83] . Identifying soot components which are easily oxidized (removed) may therefore aid in developing new soot mitigation strategies for internal combustion engines. Absorption Angstrom exponents were previously reported to increase with higher min-iCAST OP [35] . This suggests that soot particle components responsible for SP-AMS large carbons can have absorption spectra more similar to brown carbon (with absorption Angstrom exponents >>1).

Soot with high tortuosity (curved lamellae) and more reactive nanostructures have been hypothesized to form by partial oxidation of benzene and C 5 chemistry in flames.

As a result, only a small fraction of the soot initially formed in the combustion exits the engine into the tailpipe.

Absorption Angstrom exponents were previously reported to increase with higher min-iCAST OP.


The belief in the surprising failure strain enhancement of the LE fibre gradually increased when more experimental data became available as well as more convincing theoretical hypotheses followed [24] [25] [26] [27] . Three different hypotheses for the hybrid effect have been coined by now: (1) residual stresses, (2) changes in the damage development leading to final failure of the hybrid composite, and (3) dynamic stress concentrations. Most hypotheses have been applied to unidirectional hybrid composites in either the intrayarn or interlayer configuration. These hypotheses can be extended to multidirectional composites, as their failure, although more complex, still coincides with failure of fibres in the loading direction. Therefore, almost all models in literature predict the hybrid effect for unidirectional rather than for multidirectional hybrid composites. The next sections discuss the three possible hypotheses for the hybrid effect for failure strain in unidirectional hybrid composites.

The belief in the surprising failure strain enhancement of the LE fibre gradually increased when more experimental data became available as well as more convincing theoretical hypotheses followed.


Accurately measuring the hybrid effect requires very precise tensile tests on the hybrid composite as well as on the reference carbon fibre composite. Most of the reported hybrid effects were found in unidirectional composites, which are even more difficult to test than multidirectional composites. Therefore, the baseline strength or failure strain of the carbon fibre reference composites is doubtful in several publications. It has been pointed out that stress concentrations at the grips may be less detrimental in hybrid composites than in nonhybrid composites [13] . This could lead to an overestimation of the hybrid effect. This protective effect of the glass layers can also be exploited for a more reliable measurements of the baseline failure strain of UD carbon fibre composites. The carbon fibre layers however have to be sufficiently thick to avoid any hybrid effects. The minimal layer thickness in this case should be supported by modelling evidence.

It has been pointed out that stress concentrations at the grips may be less detrimental in hybrid composites than in nonhybrid composites.


The LE and HE fibres can be combined in many different configurations. The three most important configurations are visualised in Fig. 1 . In the interlayer configuration, see Fig. 1a , the layers of two fibre types are stacked onto each other. This is the simplest and cheapest method for producing a hybrid composite. In the intralayer hybrid, the two fibre types are mixed within the layers. This is illustrated in Fig. 1b , where different yarns are co-woven into a fabric. Other intralayer configurations such as parallel bundles are also possible. The two fibre types can also be mixed or co-mingled on the fibre level, resulting in an intrayarn hybrid (see Fig. 1c ). More complex configurations can be obtained by combining two of these three configurations. For example, an intrayarn hybrid can be woven together with a homogeneous yarn. A crucial aspect in hybrid composites is the dispersion of the two fibre types. This is a measure for how well the two fibre types are mixed and is defined as the reciprocal of the smallest repeat length [10, 14] . Fig. 2 schematically illustrates the degree of dispersion. The present paper is split up into six sections, of which the first one is this introduction. In the second section, the synergy between the two fibres, the so-called hybrid effect, will be discussed. The third section reviews the existing models for the hybrid effect and failure development of UD hybrid composites and provides suggestions for future model developments. The fourth section describes the mechanical properties of composites and how they can be improved by fibre hybridisation. The fifth section gives an overview of the most recent trends in fibre hybridisation. The final section gives conclusions as well as recommendations for future work.

This is a measure for how well the two fibre types are mixed and is defined as the reciprocal of the smallest repeat length.


Over the years, toughening of fibre-reinforced polymer composites has been a highly active research area. Many different strategies have been proposed to make these materials more damage resistant and less brittle. One of the most researched strategy is toughening of the polymer matrix by tuning the polymer chemistry or by rubbers, thermoplastics or nano-scale reinforcements. In this strategy, the increased matrix toughness has a beneficial effect on the matrix-dominated composite properties [1] [2] [3] . In search of new toughening mechanisms, there has been an increasing interest in structure-property relations of biological composites that are exceptionally resilient to failure [4] [5] [6] .

In this strategy, the increased matrix toughness has a beneficial effect on the matrix-dominated composite properties.

In search of new toughening mechanisms, there has been an increasing interest in structure-property relations of biological composites that are exceptionally resilient to failure.


The last review paper on hybrid composites was written in 1987 by Kretsis [10] . Since then, a much wider range of materials is available and several processing technologies have been invented and improved. This resulted in a renewed interest in hybrid composites as a possible strategy for toughening fibre-reinforced composites.

The last review paper on hybrid composites was written in 1987 by Kretsis.


Recently there has been growing interest in the development of dense stereo reconstruction techniques [10] . These techniques focus on producing 3D models from a sequence of calibrated images of an object where the intrinsic parameters and pose of the cameras are known. In addition to the multiple views, many of these techniques also require knowledge of the object's silhouette in each view to provide: (a) an approximate initial reconstruction, (b) an outer bound for the reconstructed object and (c) approximate occlusion reasoning [12] . This demand for accurate object silhouettes will influence the acquisition of the image sequence to provide an easy segmentation task, for example sequences are taken on turntables against fixed coloured or known backgrounds. Naturally this places limitations on the subject matter for reconstruction since real world objects will often be immovable and there will be no control over the image background which may well vary considerably with differing views of the object. To extend the applicability of multi-view stereo to real world objects it is necessary to be able to segment a rigid object in a sequence of possibly cluttered images.

Recently there has been growing interest in the development of dense stereo reconstruction techniques.

In addition to the multiple views, many of these techniques also require knowledge of the object's silhouette in each view to provide: (a) an approximate initial reconstruction, (b) an outer bound for the reconstructed object and (c) approximate occlusion reasoning.


This observation explains how a process based on timers can produce the large variations in delay measured in this and previous experimental studies [3] , [5] . As a result of physically where and when a client scans, an AP may, or may not, receive probe requests on any number of overlapping channels. Consequently a wireless card may, or may not, wait for the duration of the maximum channel timer on a given channel.

This observation explains how a process based on timers can produce the large variations in delay measured in this and previous experimental studies.


As emotion understanding based upon cognitive and social factors is a dynamic and multiple process, it is highly realized with interpersonal interactions in the social environment. Interaction with parents is of great significance in the social and emotional relations of preschool children. Therefore, the parental responses are one of the most substantial indicators affecting the children's emotional development (Dunn, Brown, & Beardsall, 1991) . In the preschool period mothers socializing negative emotions is more complicated compared to socialization of positive emotions for mothers (Ramsden & Hubbard, 2002) . In the light of all these information, in this study, it was aimed to examine the relationship between Turkish children's emotion understanding during preschool period and maternal responses to children's negative emotions. Emotion understanding is also investigated according to children's age and gender.

Therefore, the parental responses are one of the most substantial indicators affecting the children's emotional development.

In the preschool period mothers socializing negative emotions is more complicated compared to socialization of positive emotions for mothers.


The structure of the church is mainly made by brick masonry. The masonry is covered by Angera stone, a dolomia with pink and yellow colouration, extracted around the Maggiore Lake in Northern Italy; some structural (columns) and decorative elements are entirely made of Angera stone. Unfortunately, due to high porosity and calcareous composition, this stone is highly susceptible to atmospheric damage, especially in the urban environment of Milan [11] . The damage on the façades was observed since the early decades of the 20th century and the deteriorated decorations and renders were replaced with cement-based decorative materials, which imitated the original stone.

Unfortunately, due to high porosity and calcareous composition, this stone is highly susceptible to atmospheric damage, especially in the urban environment of Milan.


Enhancing productive potential of the dairy cattle is of primary importance for the animal breeder. In the overall genetic improvement of a trait, the sire path contributes greatly in comparison to the dam path due to higher intensity of selection [1] . Use of high genetic merit bulls in artificial insemination would bring higher genetic progress when bulls are evaluated by an effective method of selection. Selection of dairy animals is basically carried out using linear and nonlinear models of genetic evaluation and the sires are ranked on the basis of production performance of its daughters.

In the overall genetic improvement of a trait, the sire path contributes greatly in comparison to the dam path due to higher intensity of selection.


Ensuring that cities have an adequate supply of water has become increasingly important as human populations continue to concentrate in urban areas. The global urban population has increased from 30% in 1950 to over 50% as of 2010 [1] . A similar trend has been recorded in South Korea, where more than 80% of the population now lives in urban areas. The rapidly growing demands of urban areas are straining local and regional water supplies, and concerns over urban water scarcity have become more prominent in this country.

The global urban population has increased from 30% in 1950 to over 50% as of 2010.


SEM micrograph (Fig. 3a) shows that the particles characteristics of HOFA are mainly spherical in shape with few to several micrometers in size. The spherical particles are mostly porous in nature. The pores were individually situated and randomly located on the particle surface. Due to removal of impurities during the washing process, the porosity of the particles is increased significantly (Fig. 3b) . The carbonization process has significant influence on the particle's porosity development. As shown in Fig. 3c , the surface porosity of the HOFA is dramatically increased by chemical activation process. The laser scattering particles size analyzer confirmed that the mean diameter of the collected HOFA sample is 53.49 (lm) with standard deviation of 32.89 (lm). The particles size distribution of the fly ash is shown in Fig. 4 . Figure 5 shows the N 2 -77 K adsorption isotherms for the chemically activated cleaned unburned carbon and raw HOFA. According to BDDT classification, these isotherms can be classified as Type I, concave to the P/P o axis that is typical for microporous materials. However, the study isotherms do not reach the plateau at higher relative pressure, indicating the presence of meso-and macroporosity. The FAC prepared at higher temperature with maximum holding time and H 3 PO 4 ratio showed higher adsorption of N 2 than other FAC. The surface area of the prepared FACs was estimated following the BET theory (Eq. 1-5) and reported in Table 3. DR method (Eq. 6) was used to calculate the micropore volume of the produced FACs. In this case, the total pore volume was estimated at a partial pressure of 0.99 P/P 0 (STP) using the conversion factor of 0.001547, assuming the density of condensed N 2 in the pores is equal to the density of bulk liquid N 2 (Kruk and Jaroniec 2001) .

In this case, the total pore volume was estimated at a partial pressure of 0.99 P/P 0 (STP) using the conversion factor of 0.001547, assuming the density of condensed N 2 in the pores is equal to the density of bulk liquid N 2.


By using sentences like (1) and (2), a number of studies have investigated the influence of implicit causality on sentence processing (Caramazza et al., 1977; Garnham, 2001; Garnham, Traxler, Oakhill, & Gernsbacher, 1996; Greene & McKoon, 1995; Koornneef & Van Berkum, 2006; Long & De Ley, 2000; Stewart, Pickering, & Sanford, 2000; Vonk, 1985) . These studies manipulated the congruency of the information in the subordinate clause with the implicit causality bias of the verb, as explained above, and the congruency of the pronoun in the subordinate clause. By using protagonists of different gender, pronouns refer unambiguously to one of them. An example is given in (3).

By using sentences like (1) and (2), a number of studies have investigated the influence of implicit causality on sentence processing.

An example is given in (3).


The information sources mentioned in this example all point to 'John' as the preferred referent for the ambiguous pronoun 'he'. However, it should be clear, that none of these sources is conclusive with respect to the definite resolution of the pronoun. A definitive answer to whom 'he' refers cannot be given until all sentence information has been obtained. The subordinate clause ends stating that 'he' had played very well, and our knowledge about winning and losing tennis matches dictates that playing well is a suitable reason for winning but not for losing a tennis match. In the end, therefore, the comprehension of the sentence results in a representation in which 'he' is resolved as referring to 'John' and not to 'Pete', since it was 'John' who won the match, given that 'Pete' was beaten. The subordinate clause is congruent with an interpretation that the cause of the event in the main clause is attributed to 'John'. In (2), on the other hand, the subordinate clause is incongruent with this interpretation. Our world knowledge dictates that being ill is a suitable reason for losing a game but not for winning. Therefore, the final interpretation of sentence (2) should be that the cause of 'beating' is attributed to the protagonist in the main clause who is losing and, consequently, that 'he' refers to 'Pete'. Reading times for incongruent sentences and naming times for the referent of incongruent sentences are longer than for congruent sentences (Caramazza et al., 1977; Garvey & Caramazza, 1974; Vonk, 1985) . This effect is called the congruency effect.

Reading times for incongruent sentences and naming times for the referent of incongruent sentences are longer than for congruent sentences.


The eye movements might reveal the influence of other information sources as well, such as first mention, subject bias, and parallel processing, which show a bias toward the subject or the first-mentioned protagonist of the first clause when the second clause is presented (Gernsbacher, 1990; Gordon, Grosz, & Gilliom, 1993; Järvikivi, Van Gompel, Hyönä, & Bertram, 2005; Sheldon, 1974) . In the present study, these factors have not been varied: In all implicit causality sentences used, the subject of the main clause coincided with the first-mention position. These structure related factors will be called first mention throughout this paper.

The eye movements might reveal the influence of other information sources as well, such as first mention, subject bias, and parallel processing, which show a bias toward the subject or the first-mentioned protagonist of the first clause when the second clause is presented.


By applying existing technologies, new aggregates, which are known as recycled concrete aggregates (RCA), are obtained from these petrous materials. The use of RCA in the construction industry has increased in recent years [20] . However, additional research is required to diversify RCA applications and promote their use as a common practice.

The use of RCA in the construction industry has increased in recent years.


In particular, construction and demolition waste (C&DW) is the most notable recyclable material within the construction industry [13] . C&DW is defined as the debris materials resulting from the construction, renovation or demolition of structures such as commercial buildings, individual residences or civil engineering structures [14] . However, no global definition of C&DW has been established. For example, in Germany, excavation waste is included in the definition of C&DW [15] .

In particular, construction and demolition waste (C&DW) is the most notable recyclable material within the construction industry.

C&DW is defined as the debris materials resulting from the construction, renovation or demolition of structures such as commercial buildings, individual residences or civil engineering structures.

For example, in Germany, excavation waste is included in the definition of C&DW.


However, granular or cement-treated materials mixed with RCA may have problems with lixiviates. The fine fraction of the RCA can be diluted with water and cause an increase in pH that could be detrimental for the surrounding environment [28] . However, in hot-mix asphalt (HMA), leachates are avoided because the aggregates are coated with bitumen; thus, RCA are suitable for usage in HMA for flexible pavements in road construction [28] . Nevertheless, the poor quality of RCA results in different engineering properties of HMA that include RCA compared to mixtures comprised of only natural aggregates.

The fine fraction of the RCA can be diluted with water and cause an increase in pH that could be detrimental for the surrounding environment.

However, in hot-mix asphalt (HMA), leachates are avoided because the aggregates are coated with bitumen; thus, RCA are suitable for usage in HMA for flexible pavements in road construction.


The sessile cheilostome bryozoan Celleporella hyalina is a clonal, colonial invertebrate which encrusts macroalgae in the intertidal zone. It is a simultaneous hermaphrodite with separate male, female and feeding zooids and broods its embryos in specialised ovicells. Released larvae settle within a few hours (Ryland 1974) .

Released larvae settle within a few hours.


Energy is essential for economic development in Africa [1] . The current electrification figures show that countries in sub-Saharan Africa are facing major challenges in reaching positive economic growth and supplying basic energy services to rural communities [2] . Sustainable energy technologies are available and can be used to great effect in Africa to alleviate this problem [3] . Sustainable energy technologies can also contribute to job creation [4] . The implementation of renewable energy technologies in sub-Saharan Africa to date, however, has not always been successful due to both technical and non-technical factors [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] . Prior to this study a comprehensive framework of factors to select renewable energy technologies did not exist. The purpose of this research was to develop such a framework and to validate it by means of empirical analyses.

Energy is essential for economic development in Africa.

The current electrification figures show that countries in sub-Saharan Africa are facing major challenges in reaching positive economic growth and supplying basic energy services to rural communities.

Sustainable energy technologies are available and can be used to great effect in Africa to alleviate this problem.

Sustainable energy technologies can also contribute to job creation.

The implementation of renewable energy technologies in sub-Saharan Africa to date, however, has not always been successful due to both technical and non-technical factors.


Paper is an incredibly important material to humanity and ever-present in cultural heritage. A complex network of fibers, paper poses interesting challenges to conservators and conservation scientists alike. Its mechanical proper-ties have long been studied, as they are integral to the production and use of paper. Mechanical properties are determined by the network formation of paper, which can have fibers that are as much as ten times longer than the sheet thickness (Alava and Niskanen 2006) . Additionally, mechanical properties are affected by composition (type and length of the cellulose fibers and the presence of sizing and additives), manufacturing techniques, and the history of its use.

Mechanical properties are determined by the network formation of paper, which can have fibers that are as much as ten times longer than the sheet thickness.


Environmental pollution and the depletion of energy resources has been a severe problem for human society. Therefore, there is strong impetus for renewable energy to replace the traditional energy sources because of the environmental pollution. There are many kinds of renewable energy, such as hydro, wind and solar [1] . Small hydropower is considered to be promising despite the fact that it is not widely used.

There are many kinds of renewable energy, such as hydro, wind and solar.


In this paper, we introduced a simple methodology of how a first approximation to raw material criticality (based on the economic importance and the supply risk which form the two dimensions of the criticality matrix) could be analyzed over a period of time using broadly available production and trade data. It is needless to say that this dynamic approach is a strong simplification of static multi indicator methods performed in previous criticality studies (see Table 1 ). It only focuses on the quantitative relevance of primary raw materials and does not take into account aspects of environmental risk, substitutability or recyclability of different materials. However, the approach introduced in this paper forms a well accessible manner to get a feeling of which raw materials might be critical for an economy and how this raw material dependency has changed in previous years without having to go into any detail regarding industrial use patterns, value chains or even sectoral economic analyses. Hence, such an analysis will not replace any static multi indicator approach but might provide additional insight into commodity dependency. Furthermore, the approach applied for the evaluation of the relative economic importance or the supply risk, respectively, is not intended to be a fixed set of indicators and equations. The supply risk measure could, for example, be enhanced by the World Governance Indicators (WGI, published by the World Bank) as performed by the European Commission [13, 14] . Besides the supply risk, the price volatility as an indicator for market dynamics could be included as suggested by the US National Science and Technology Council [64] . Similar enhancements and modifications could be applied to the evaluation of the economic importance.

The supply risk measure could, for example, be enhanced by the World Governance Indicators (WGI, published by the World Bank) as performed by the European Commission.

Besides the supply risk, the price volatility as an indicator for market dynamics could be included as suggested by the US National Science and Technology Council.


In order to evaluate political instruments or measures for how to reduce raw material dependency by substitution, higher efficiency of use or more efficient recycling, and raw material specific models are needed that cover the entire material life cycle including primary and secondary production [66, 67] . Hence, indicator based screening methods, no matter if they are static or dynamic, will always be used to identify those materials among a large number of different elements for which more detailed analyses are needed [64] . In this context, the methodology presented here might contribute to previously performed static analyses and to ongoing efforts aiming at taking into account temporal variations in the assessment of raw material criticality.

In order to evaluate political instruments or measures for how to reduce raw material dependency by substitution, higher efficiency of use or more efficient recycling, and raw material specific models are needed that cover the entire material life cycle including primary and secondary production.

Hence, indicator based screening methods, no matter if they are static or dynamic, will always be used to identify those materials among a large number of different elements for which more detailed analyses are needed.


Reflectarray antennas have received considerable attention over the years and are quickly finding many applications. Reflectarray antennas combine the same features of parabolic reflectors and phased arrays providing a directive beam in a desired scanned angle. The most important advantages of reflectarrays over phased arrays are the elimination of complexity and losses of the feeding network and the higher efficiency [1] [2] [3] [4] . The reflectarray consists of an array of unitcells illuminated by a primary feed. Each unit-cell is designed in such a way to correct the phase of the incident wave as is done in the traditional parabolic reflector. In reflectarrays, the phase of the reflected field from each element is adjusted so that the main beam can be directed to a desired direction. Several reflectarray approaches are proposed to control the reflection phase in the literature [5] . For example, one is to use identical microstrip patches with differentlength phase-delay lines attached so that they can compensate for the phase delays over the different paths from the illuminating feed. The other is to use variable-size patches, dipoles, or rings so that elements can have different scattering impedances and, thus, different phases to compensate for the different feed-path delays. To overcome the shortcoming of narrow bandwidth of the reflectarray, dual-band multilayer reflectarrays using variable patch size, annular rings, and crossed dipoles are being developed [6] [7] [8] .

The most important advantages of reflectarrays over phased arrays are the elimination of complexity and losses of the feeding network and the higher efficiency.

Several reflectarray approaches are proposed to control the reflection phase in the literature.

To overcome the shortcoming of narrow bandwidth of the reflectarray, dual-band multilayer reflectarrays using variable patch size, annular rings, and crossed dipoles are being developed.


Strengths of this study include the comprehensive evaluation of cognition and temporal discounting in a fairly large cohort of community-based older persons. This enabled us to examine the association of global cognition and five specific cognitive abilities with temporal discounting among persons carefully evaluated and determined to be free of dementia. Limitations included the volunteer cohort, which may limit the generalizability of findings, and the single assessment of discounting using a series of hypothetical questions. Although a task involving actual monetary payment may be preferable, prior studies using hypothetical tasks like that used here have shown that the tendency to discount future rewards (or the inability to delay gratification) is associated with numerous psychological problems including gambling, substance abuse, depression and anxiety, as well as poorer academic, occupational and financial outcomes [3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 22, 27, 37] . These data provide strong support for the ecological validity of measures such as that used here. Longitudinal study would enable us to examine the dynamic changes that may occur in both cognition and temporal discounting in aging. Future studies are needed to investigate whether and how the associations of cognition and age with temporal discounting change over time with advancing age and to clarify the association of discounting with decisionmaking and health outcomes in old age.

Although a task involving actual monetary payment may be preferable, prior studies using hypothetical tasks like that used here have shown that the tendency to discount future rewards (or the inability to delay gratification) is associated with numerous psychological problems including gambling, substance abuse, depression and anxiety, as well as poorer academic, occupational and financial outcomes.


The model results were reploted as percent of N 2 O converted from NO x (ΔN 2 O/ΔNO x ). The calculations indicate a peak NO x to N 2 O conversion of approximately 20 percent (Figure 4) . Again, these results coincide with typical results reported in the literature [18] . However, reductions of up to 40 percent have been reported in full-scale, utility boiler applications, which suggest that mixing has an effect on the N 2 O formation. Figure 6 shows the effect of baseline NO x on N 2 O formation. The urea flow required to achieve stoichiometric conditions (NSR = 1.0) is also included in the figure. Larger urea flows are required to maintain an NSR of 1.0 for increased baseline NO x levels. For the range of baseline NO x calculated, reduced NO x levels were in the range of 73 ppm ± 3ppm. N 2 O emissions from the ureabased SNCR process increases almost linearly with baseline NO x . At a release temperature of 980˚C, reducing baseline NO x by half (from 1000 to 500 ppm) can reduce N 2 O emissions by up to 50 percent. In this case, this effect is kinetically related to the NO x concentration available for reaction R2.

Again, these results coincide with typical results reported in the literature.


The optical property of aerosol particles is a very important parameter for understanding the aerosol effects on radiative forcing and climate change. Spatiotemporal distributions of aerosol particles are needed to accurately calculate radiative forcing in the global climate system (Li et al., 2016) . Atmospheric chemical transport models (CTMs) are useful tools for estimating the spatial distributions and concentrations of aerosol particles on regional to global scales. In addition to CTMs, satellite remote sensing is widely used to characterize aerosol particles and their impact on climate change and air quality (van Donkelaar et al., 2010) . However, both methods are uncertain due to lack of regional specific optical properties. Thus, to improve the accuracy of CTMs and satellite remote sensing, it is essential to validate these approaches using ground-based remote sensing techniques and surface optical measurements.

Spatiotemporal distributions of aerosol particles are needed to accurately calculate radiative forcing in the global climate system.

In addition to CTMs, satellite remote sensing is widely used to characterize aerosol particles and their impact on climate change and air quality.


Illustrations of the accuracy and stability of Weeks method for the matrix exponential are provided in the third section. Our examples include both matrices with pathological spectra and matrices which arise in the numerical simulation of PDEs. The first differential equation is the usual advection and diffusion equation, which has been solved with great success by other numerical Laplace transform methods, chiefly the Fourier series method [30] . The second PDE is a dispersive equation, the scalar nonparaxial beam propagation equation from computational photonics [42] . The solutions to this equation are complex and are typically propagated by conservative algorithms. It thus presents an interesting challenge to any numerical Laplace transform inversion procedure. Since one typically encounters sparse and dense matrices, our examples include both.

The first differential equation is the usual advection and diffusion equation, which has been solved with great success by other numerical Laplace transform methods, chiefly the Fourier series method.

The second PDE is a dispersive equation, the scalar nonparaxial beam propagation equation from computational photonics.


The present text is organized as follows. In the first section, we extend Weeks method to the computation of the time domain function f (t) for a general matrix function F (s). We provide midpoint and FFT algorithms for the coefficients a n and an estimate of the errors following the recent work by Weideman for the scalar Weeks method [37] . Once the theoretical apparatus has been established, we apply it to the particular case of the matrix exponential.

We provide midpoint and FFT algorithms for the coefficients a n and an estimate of the errors following the recent work by Weideman for the scalar Weeks method.


Talbot's method applies a deformed contour to the integration of the complex inversion integral (1.1). It maps the standard Bromwich contour to one which opens toward the negative real axis s(θ) = σ + λθ(iν + cot(θ)) where λ,ν,σ ∈ R and θ ∈ (−π,π). It thus inherently assumes that the physical system damps highly oscillatory terms and is not appropriate for purely conservative problems. The nontrivial task of developing software to select optimal values for these parameters has been undertaken for scalar functions [24] . Simplified alternatives to Talbot's contour have also been proposed [2] .

The nontrivial task of developing software to select optimal values for these parameters has been undertaken for scalar functions.

Simplified alternatives to Talbot's contour have also been proposed.


In this paper, we present an approach to calculate a matrix function from its Laplace space representation. To perform the numerical inversion of the Laplace transform, we extend the well established scalar Weeks method to matrix functions parameterized by time. This entails a matrix formulation, an analysis of the errors, and a systematic comparison of selection algorithms for the method's parameters. Also novel is a pseudospectra based approach to the selection of these two tuning parameters. To illustrate and quantify our discussion, we focus upon the computation of the matrix exponential from its corresponding Laplace space function [23] .

To illustrate and quantify our discussion, we focus upon the computation of the matrix exponential from its corresponding Laplace space function.


However, it is not clear at all whether this generalized mean curvature satisfies the same basic properties of the classical one. In particular, it is well known that if two smooth, k-dimensional surfaces have an intersection with positive H k measure, then their mean curvatures coincide H k -almost everywhere on that intersection. Thus it is reasonable to expect that the same property holds for two integral k-varifolds having a non-negligible intersection. The importance of assuming that the varifolds are integral (i.e., with integer-valued multiplicities) is clear, as one can build easy examples of varifolds with smoothly varying multiplicities, such that the corresponding mean curvatures are not even orthogonal to the tangent planes (see also the orthogonality result for the mean curvature of integral varifolds obtained by K. Brakke [9] ).

The importance of assuming that the varifolds are integral (i.e., with integer-valued multiplicities) is clear, as one can build easy examples of varifolds with smoothly varying multiplicities, such that the corresponding mean curvatures are not even orthogonal to the tangent planes (see also the orthogonality result for the mean curvature of integral varifolds obtained by K. Brakke).


Aerobic capacity (VO2 max) is the "maximal amount of oxygen that human body can utilize per minute of activity or physical workout" (Dhara & Chatterjee, 2015, p. 9) . It is the most frequently used measure of cardiorespiratory fitness (Grant, Corbett, Amjad, Wilson, & Aitchison, International standard of physical activity is maximal oxygen uptake expressed as millilitre/kg/minutes because the absolute value is highly affected by body weight (Shete, Bute, & Deshmukh, 2014) . It has been established that low level of physical activity affects body composition and the correlation between body composition and cardiovascular fitness is inversely proportional (Brooks, 2002) .

It is the most frequently used measure of cardiorespiratory fitness (Grant, Corbett, Amjad, Wilson, & Aitchison, International standard of physical activity is maximal oxygen uptake expressed as millilitre/kg/minutes because the absolute value is highly affected by body weight.

It has been established that low level of physical activity affects body composition and the correlation between body composition and cardiovascular fitness is inversely proportional.


Even though students' aerobic capacity is poor, significant differences between groups according to nutritional status were obtained. That is, students who are underweight and normal weight have better aerobic capacity than overweight and obese students. Similar results were obtained in other studies, i.e. non-obese students had higher VO2 max values than the obese (Nabi et al, 2015; Chouhan, Trigotra, Dashora, & Mangat, 2014) .

Similar results were obtained in other studies, i.e. non-obese students had higher VO2 max values than the obese.


Here, we analyze the quantum simulation of arbitrary and generic models, where spin chains alone or coupled to bosonic modes are emulated in superconducting circuits [28] . We use digital techniques in order to imitate systems whose dynamics in principle may differ from the ones of the experimental setups. Finally, we study the feasibility and efficiency of the implementation of three generic models in a realistic circuit quantum electrodynamics setup.

Here, we analyze the quantum simulation of arbitrary and generic models, where spin chains alone or coupled to bosonic modes are emulated in superconducting circuits.


An alternative technique for congestion control is based on congestion notification, such as explicit congestion notification ECN [28] . ECN sends congestion alarm to the source nodes contributing to its appearance to throttle its injection rate, if the occupancy of queues in the router exceeds a predefined threshold. However, many works have shown that ECN is slow to response and is potentially unstable [17, 18, 26] . Since our work is orthogonal to these reservation-based and notification-based congestion control mechanisms, the approach of HARE can be combined with these state-of-art solutions and the existing advantages can be retained together.

An alternative technique for congestion control is based on congestion notification, such as explicit congestion notification ECN.

However, many works have shown that ECN is slow to response and is potentially unstable.


Increased trade openness through increased trade opportunities and increased output may lead to greater participation of women in paid workforce. Our study does not consider participation of women in the paid workforce as one of the indicators of gender inequality, as it may be low even among women with high education due to cultural and social expectations. Participation in workforce is also governed by women"s education and health and other cultural factors such as, mobility of women. The mobility of women, particularly in many parts of South Asia, is limited as young girls and women are often expected to take responsibility of the household duties and men are expected to be the earners of the family. This, however, is changing rapidly in the major towns and cities as in the post-reform period "while the loosening of restrictions on physical mobility are seen as a hallmark of modernity, any attempts to restrict women"s access to education and work constitute proof of "backwardness" (Ganguly-Scrase & Vandenbroek, 2005) .

This, however, is changing rapidly in the major towns and cities as in the post-reform period "while the loosening of restrictions on physical mobility are seen as a hallmark of modernity, any attempts to restrict women"s access to education and work constitute proof of "backwardness".


Attention was then turned to the partitioning of solutes in other bi-phase systems such as chromatographic systems resembling the properties of biomembranes. Thin layer chromatography is a low-cost, rapid and easy-toperform separation technique whose main application in drug development process is at present the octanol/water lipophilicity determination [14] [15] [16] . The most important thin layer chromatographic parameter used to evaluate the lipophilicity is the R M value introduced by Bate-Smith and Westall: R M = log (1/R f -1) [17] .

Thin layer chromatography is a low-cost, rapid and easy-toperform separation technique whose main application in drug development process is at present the octanol/water lipophilicity determination.

The most important thin layer chromatographic parameter used to evaluate the lipophilicity is the R M value introduced by Bate-Smith and Westall: R M = log (1/R f -1).


The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is the main physical and enzymatic barrier that separates brain tissues and blood, prevents the penetration of the central nervous system (CNS) by undesired substances (peripherally acting drugs or harmful compounds) and facilitates its penetration by neurotherapeutics [1] [2] [3] . The most common measures of the BBB permeability are log BB -the blood/brain partitioning coefficient at equilibrium conditions, i.e. the ratio of the drug concentration in the brain to that in the blood plasma measured at some defined time point and the less frequently used kinetic permeability log PS, where P is the observed permeability across BBB (cm/s) and S is the surface area of brain capillary endothelium (cm 2 /g) [3, 4] . The evaluation of the compound's ability to cross the BBB is a vital step in assessing its therapeutic potential because many promising neurotherapeutics miss their goal due to their inability to enter the brain or, oppositely, peripherally acting drugs exhibit unwanted side effects due to their undesired brain penetration. The in vivo, in vitro and in silico methods used currently to study the drug brain penetration are discussed in a number of review papers [2, 5, 6] . High costs and low throughput of any in vivo experiments as well as the need to use lab animals are the reasons why several in vitro cellbased methods of the BBB permeation assessment have been developed [7] . Concurrently with the development of the in vitro cell-based techniques, some non-cell-based assays have been introduced [8] . As more data on the CNS activity of different compounds were gathered, several attempts were made to generate computational models linking the BBB permeability of compounds to their experimentally measured and/or theoretically calculated physicochemical features [4, 5] .

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is the main physical and enzymatic barrier that separates brain tissues and blood, prevents the penetration of the central nervous system (CNS) by undesired substances (peripherally acting drugs or harmful compounds) and facilitates its penetration by neurotherapeutics.

The most common measures of the BBB permeability are log BB -the blood/brain partitioning coefficient at equilibrium conditions, i.e. the ratio of the drug concentration in the brain to that in the blood plasma measured at some defined time point and the less frequently used kinetic permeability log PS, where P is the observed permeability across BBB (cm/s) and S is the surface area of brain capillary endothelium (cm 2 /g).

The in vivo, in vitro and in silico methods used currently to study the drug brain penetration are discussed in a number of review papers.

High costs and low throughput of any in vivo experiments as well as the need to use lab animals are the reasons why several in vitro cellbased methods of the BBB permeation assessment have been developed.

Concurrently with the development of the in vitro cell-based techniques, some non-cell-based assays have been introduced.

As more data on the CNS activity of different compounds were gathered, several attempts were made to generate computational models linking the BBB permeability of compounds to their experimentally measured and/or theoretically calculated physicochemical features.


Salinity and temperature are the most important parameters in physical oceanography applications. Traditionally, the degree of salinity in seawater is measured by the conductivity-temperaturedepth (CTD) system, which depends on the measurement of electrical conductivity due to the presence of chlorine ions in the seawater [1] , [2] . However, the system is usually expensive, big size and may suffer from electromagnetic interference. In the past, many optical fiber sensors for salinity and/or temperature in seawater have been developed, including fiber Bragg grating, the two-core fiber, the photonic crystal fiber, the fiber Fabry-Pérot interferometer, high-birefringence elliptic fiber, and microfiber knot/coil resonators with sensitivities of 20-240 pm/‰ and 10-472 pm/ C, respectively, which show the advantages of compact size and electromagnetic immunity [2] - [8] . However, the relative low sensitivities still need to be improved and complex fabrications may limit their further applications in developing high performance and low-cost optical sensors in ocean multiparameter detections.

Traditionally, the degree of salinity in seawater is measured by the conductivity-temperaturedepth (CTD) system, which depends on the measurement of electrical conductivity due to the presence of chlorine ions in the seawater.

In the past, many optical fiber sensors for salinity and/or temperature in seawater have been developed, including fiber Bragg grating, the two-core fiber, the photonic crystal fiber, the fiber Fabry-Pérot interferometer, high-birefringence elliptic fiber, and microfiber knot/coil resonators with sensitivities of 20-240 pm/‰ and 10-472 pm/ C, respectively, which show the advantages of compact size and electromagnetic immunity.


There have been many studies related to external factors for adopting green logistics. Governmental regulations are considered to be the dominant forces. A fleet's environmental strategy is always influenced by environmental regulations, such as emissions standards (Meegeren, 2001) . Government legislation and enforcement actions are considered as having the most important impact on a truck fleets' environmental decision-making (Henriques & Sadorsky, 1996) . In addition to external controls from laws and regulations, market participants and the community environment of a truck fleet are becoming important environmental issues (Chen & Soyez, 2003) . Cooperation with suppliers, consumers and manufacturers can provide more effective ways to solve environmental challenges (Prakash & Potoski, 2006) . When Chinese companies apply green logistics practices, market pressure also becomes a major factor (Zhu, Sarkis & Lai, 2007) .

A fleet's environmental strategy is always influenced by environmental regulations, such as emissions standards.

Government legislation and enforcement actions are considered as having the most important impact on a truck fleets' environmental decision-making.

In addition to external controls from laws and regulations, market participants and the community environment of a truck fleet are becoming important environmental issues.

Cooperation with suppliers, consumers and manufacturers can provide more effective ways to solve environmental challenges.

When Chinese companies apply green logistics practices, market pressure also becomes a major factor.


Besides, CEM is also influenced by the company's own characteristics, such as ownership, size and financial position. One study showed that companies or enterprises, which are related to the field of natural resources, are more likely to do environmental planning, while companies or enterprises in the services sector are less likely to do this type of planning (Henriques & Sadorsky, 1996) . Image or interest in company management can also be a factor (Downing & Kimball, 1982) .

One study showed that companies or enterprises, which are related to the field of natural resources, are more likely to do environmental planning, while companies or enterprises in the services sector are less likely to do this type of planning.

Image or interest in company management can also be a factor.


Some studies have shown that consumers often prefer to choose environmentally friendly raw products (Weber, 1990) . When investigating the market demand for Taiwan enterprises, environmental management was identified as a powerful force (Wen & Chang, 1998) . Public pressure has been found to play an important role in CEM (Gunningham, Kagan & Thornton, 2003) . It was found that when developing an environmental plan, pressure from the public in CEM is generated by a number of decision-making policies in large companies in Canada (Henriques & Sadorsky, 1996) .

Some studies have shown that consumers often prefer to choose environmentally friendly raw products.

When investigating the market demand for Taiwan enterprises, environmental management was identified as a powerful force.

Public pressure has been found to play an important role in CEM.

It was found that when developing an environmental plan, pressure from the public in CEM is generated by a number of decision-making policies in large companies in Canada.


Due to the growth of the Chinese economy in recent years, road transport has become a dominant part of the transportation system in China (He et al., 2005) . The road freight sector accounted for 75.5% of the total freight volume in 2010. It is projected that in 2020, there will be 85.1 million vehicles and an extra 175.6 million motorcycles in China (Wang, Cai, Lu & Chen, 2007) . Truck fleets 1 are one of the main elements of the road freight industry, which are taking on the transportation, loading/unloading, storage, distribution, purchasing and other logistics services. There are now more than 800,000 truck fleets in China. In 2010, the number of commercial trucks was 10,501,900. Considering the development path of the transport sector, there is little doubt that the road transport sector will become dominant in China's emissions inventories in the near future (Wang, Cai, Lu & Chen, 2007) .

Due to the growth of the Chinese economy in recent years, road transport has become a dominant part of the transportation system in China.

It is projected that in 2020, there will be 85.1 million vehicles and an extra 175.6 million motorcycles in China.

Considering the development path of the transport sector, there is little doubt that the road transport sector will become dominant in China's emissions inventories in the near future.