A knowledge of the similarity of the genomes in different species provides a means by which evolutionary relationships can be assessed (Kihara, 1937) . In addition, it also provides an important starting point in alien introgression programmes (Gale & Miller, 1987) . Many attempts have been made to introgress genes into crops from related, frequently uncultivated, relatives. Such gene transfer is facilitated by homologous or homoeologous recombination at meiosis. A knowledge of the similarity of the genome(s) of the crop to those of related species is important, as this permits an estimation of the frequency of recombination that will occur in interspecific hybrids. Thus, this information allows predictions to be made of the likelihood of transferring specific target genes from one species to another. Genome relationships can be studied by meiotic analysis of polyploid hybrids, and the development of mathematical models has led to a more objective, quantitative approach (Alonso & Kimber, 1981; Crane & Sleper, 1989; Chapman & Kimber, 1992; Sybenga, 1996) . Although mathematical models have proved to be invaluable for determining genome relationships, they become redundant if it is possible to distinguish individual genomes and chromosomes in a hybrid either morphologically or using cytological techniques such as C-banding, fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) or genomic in situ hybridization (GISH) (Phillips & Strickland, 1966; Naranjo et al., 1987; King et al., 1993 King et al., , 1994 Miller et al., 1994) .

A knowledge of the similarity of the genomes in different species provides a means by which evolutionary relationships can be assessed.

In addition, it also provides an important starting point in alien introgression programmes.

Genome relationships can be studied by meiotic analysis of polyploid hybrids, and the development of mathematical models has led to a more objective, quantitative approach.

Although mathematical models have proved to be invaluable for determining genome relationships, they become redundant if it is possible to distinguish individual genomes and chromosomes in a hybrid either morphologically or using cytological techniques such as C-banding, fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) or genomic in situ hybridization (GISH).


Producing environmental-friendly materials due to ecological issues has increasingly captured the attention of the world in government sectors and in the scientific community. The awareness of ecological issues led many government leaders of the countries in the world to introduce green technology to people. Converting wastes to functioning materials through green technology is an approach to solve one of the major ecological issues on wastes. Malaysia, who has become one of the biggest palm oil producer in the world, produces tons of wastes which include empty fruit bunches (EFB), palm kernel shells (PKS), pericap and palm oil effluent. These wastes worsen the disposal problem [1] .

These wastes worsen the disposal problem.


The existence of a family of regular solutions describing the moduli space of a gauge theory is particularly significant. All other attempts of deforming a known solution along a moduli space always gave rise to singular backgrounds. For instance, solutions dual to the Coulomb branch of vacua in N = 4 or N = 2 theories contain singularities corresponding to distributions of branes for whose resolution stringy effects are usually invoked [14] . The solution presented here is the first example of gauge theory which can be described in a controllable way along its moduli space.

For instance, solutions dual to the Coulomb branch of vacua in N = 4 or N = 2 theories contain singularities corresponding to distributions of branes for whose resolution stringy effects are usually invoked.


Before the introduction of esophago-gastroduodonoscopy (EGD), the majority of RAPs had been categorized as functional pain with psychogenic sources [2] . However, after the advent of pediatric EGD in 1970s, organic etiologies gradually became more prominent and reached to greater proportions. Nowadays, they are responsible for something less than 10% to as much as 50% of RAPs [3] .

Before the introduction of esophago-gastroduodonoscopy (EGD), the majority of RAPs had been categorized as functional pain with psychogenic sources.

Nowadays, they are responsible for something less than 10% to as much as 50% of RAPs.


In the ELISA and western blot methods, cellular proteins were extracted without fixing the cells. Both methods showed equivalent reactivity of the products in the assay format (Figs 3a and 4a) and greater binding of LR769 in the HUVEC-binding reactions (Figs 3b and 4b) . The western blot confirmed that the rhFVIIa molecules in the binding reaction were fulllength size (Fig. 4a) . Competition with a 10-fold excess of Protein C or soluble EPCR indicated specificity for EPCR (Fig. 4c) . In agreement with previously reported results, addition of sTF increased binding of FVIIa to HUVEC (Fig. 4c) [13, 21] .

In agreement with previously reported results, addition of sTF increased binding of FVIIa to HUVEC (Fig. 4c).


The proposed FSKH algorithm is different from standard KH in two aspects. Firstly, in FSKH, the population of individuals is initialized using opposition based learning (OBL) strategy [27] . By using OBL strategy, the proposed algorithm can make a more uniform distribution of the krill populations. What is more, we can obtain fitter starting candidate solutions even when there is no knowledge about the solutions.

Firstly, in FSKH, the population of individuals is initialized using opposition based learning (OBL) strategy.


Biotechnological recovery of this potentially attractive substrate requires the conversion of its major components (cellulose and hemicellulose) to fermentable sugars, which could be further converted to ethanol. This process may thereby represented an opportunity for the reduction of an important residue stream generated from the wastewater treatment unit of paper mills, having direct benefits in the reduction of land-filling costs while producing a commercial product. However, the chemical characteristics of the sludge are determined by the pulping process and source of furnish (Kerstetter et al., 1997) . Outstanding issues for further evaluation of this possibility include economic analysis, which is underway, analysis of the amenability of hemicellulose sugars to conversion, assessment of the feasibility and profitability of mineral recovery from the residues remaining after enzymatic hydrolysis and on-site versus off-site cellulase production. In conclusion, PS represents a potential resource to be used by other industries to obtain useful value-added products. In order to realize industrialization as soon as possible, it is important to pursue more effective techniques to increase the conversion of cellulosic ethanol, cut back production costs and achieve the maximization of resource utilization.

However, the chemical characteristics of the sludge are determined by the pulping process and source of furnish.


The use of Rotating Magnetic Fields (RMF) to drive toroidal currents and both create and sustain Field Reversed Configurations (FRC) has a long history, primarily in rotamak devices [1] . Most analysis has been based on assuming a uniform plasma resistivity and a uniform electron rotational speed ω e at some fraction ζ = ω e /ω of the RMF frequency ω [2, 3, 4] . For a given RMF amplitude, B ω , this analysis produces a relationship between applied RMF torque, the plasma resistivity, and the achievable plasma density [5, 6] . However, experimentally, when the resistivity was estimated based on the ratio of absorbed RMF power to the square of the driven current, serious discrepancies were noted. Much higher plasma densities and driven currents were produced than calculated, especially when taking into account FRC lengths l s greater than the RMF antenna length l a [7] . Under some low ζ drive conditions experimental features were also observed that could not be accounted for by simple uniform resistivity modeling; most notably the RMF not penetrating to the FRC magnetic field null. Although we have always modeled RMF drive in terms of total RMF and resistive torques, assuming that radial plasma flow could redistribute the RMF drive forces, it was difficult to understand how the FRC flux could be maintained with so little RMF drive at the null, where the RMF flow driven EMF, v r ×B z , was unavailable.

The use of Rotating Magnetic Fields (RMF) to drive toroidal currents and both create and sustain Field Reversed Configurations (FRC) has a long history, primarily in rotamak devices.

Most analysis has been based on assuming a uniform plasma resistivity and a uniform electron rotational speed ω e at some fraction ζ = ω e /ω of the RMF frequency ω.

For a given RMF amplitude, B ω , this analysis produces a relationship between applied RMF torque, the plasma resistivity, and the achievable plasma density.

Much higher plasma densities and driven currents were produced than calculated, especially when taking into account FRC lengths l s greater than the RMF antenna length l a.


Post stroke rehabilitation at the acute stage usually starts with one-to-one therapies conducted by physiotherapists in acute-care clinics [3] . To reduce the total cost of the treatment, patients are typically sent back to their home when their ability to walk is improved, even though they have not fully recovered the function of upper extremity, especially the distal segments, such as hands and fingers [4] . In many cases, it will take a long period of time to recover the function of flexion, extension, abduction, and adduction of the fingers [5] . Thus, leaving the fingers in a flexed or extended position leads to difficulties in ADL, such as feeding, dressing, grooming and personal hygiene.

Post stroke rehabilitation at the acute stage usually starts with one-to-one therapies conducted by physiotherapists in acute-care clinics.

To reduce the total cost of the treatment, patients are typically sent back to their home when their ability to walk is improved, even though they have not fully recovered the function of upper extremity, especially the distal segments, such as hands and fingers.

In many cases, it will take a long period of time to recover the function of flexion, extension, abduction, and adduction of the fingers.


The Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) technology is being used for the safety and non-safety applications in vehicular communication. The allocated bandwidth of 75 MHz in 5.9 GHz spectrum band is being utilized for this purpose [1] . The IEEE Wireless Access in Vehicular Environment (WAVE) 1609 is being used as a standard for communication between vehicles. The WAVE communication model is similar to the Open System Interconnect (OSI) model with some modifications on different layer and some extensions to the management layer. Research in the past has focused on many areas from the Physical, MAC, Network, Application to the Security and Management Layers. Each Layer has its own challenges that add up to the overall performance of the DSRC. For a large number of vehicles, the congestion can severely degrade network performance which affects mostly the safety applications of the vehicles. Supporting the reliability and scalability for V2V safety communications has been the main objective of many researches in the recent past by improving the Quality of Service (QoS) parameters of the network and resolving the scalability issue. Several factors influence this aforementioned communication. In this paper, we explain these factors that influence the performance of VANETs by explaining the work done on each layer, challenges at every layer, and the future of VANETs. The Physical layer has been studied in terms of channel selection and estimation schemes, diversity schemes, propagation models, and cognitive radios. Whereas the MAC layer has been thoroughly researched for Multi-Channels, contention window size adjustment, hidden/exposed nodes, contention and scheduling based algorithms, and congestion control algorithms. The Routing layer has been studied in terms of different routing protocols and the advantages of cross layer routing protocols. Finally, future research directions and ongoing research in the fields of VANETs are discussed.

The allocated bandwidth of 75 MHz in 5.9 GHz spectrum band is being utilized for this purpose.


This study is aimed to determine the relationship between Tax Revenue and GDP in Nigeria and Ghana and comprises the period 2000-2016. Yearly data from 2000 to 2016 is used in the analysis. The data for the analysis is retrieved from the Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin and Bank of Ghana Statistical Bulletin. The duration of the study was 17 years; which gave rise to a time series data. This research is using Granger causality to examine the causality between tax and economic growth. Besides that, to examine the relationship between Tax Revenue and GDP is estimated by using the Least Squares Method (LSM). The specific model adopted for this study is: Table 1 presents the descriptive statistics of the variables. Next, the stationary of the time series is determined, because when non-stationary variables are used, it results in a spurious regression. The study used the Augmented Dickey-Fuller test (ADF) method. Stationary time series tend to return their mean value and fluctuate around within a more-orless constant range. On the other hand, non-stationary variables become stationary after been differentiated, and in this case, first-order differentiation is sufficient (Temiz and Gökmen, 2014) . The results show in Table 2 .

On the other hand, non-stationary variables become stationary after been differentiated, and in this case, first-order differentiation is sufficient.

The results show in Table 2 .


An initial physical examination with inspection of the perineal region is recommended, as well as the assessment of tone and muscle mass, seeking neurological or anatomical changes and discarting infections and the presence of POP [22] . This initial examination was reported in only three studies [15, 21, 23] . This finding is extremely worrysome as, since the initial examination is not performed, the physiotherapist will not have parameters to establish proper treatment and prognosis for the patient, characterizing a poor-quality care.

An initial physical examination with inspection of the perineal region is recommended, as well as the assessment of tone and muscle mass, seeking neurological or anatomical changes and discarting infections and the presence of POP.

This initial examination was reported in only three studies.


Frequency of training of two days per week can produce improvement with regards to people with poor physical fitness (Badiola, Moragón Abad, Díaz-Munío Carabaza, & Sebastia Sancho, 2008) . Fixed seat rowers train an average of 5.31±1.43 days per week. Nonetheless, when observing the contrast between high and low performance in this modality, statistically significant differences were found because they train 6.43±0.66 days per week versus 4.80±1.40 days respectively. More training days per week probably will lead to achieve higher performance.

Frequency of training of two days per week can produce improvement with regards to people with poor physical fitness.


Third, microservices simplify correctness and performance debugging, as bugs can be isolated to specific components, unlike monoliths, where troubleshooting often involves the end-to-end service. Finally, microservices fit nicely the model of a containerbased datacenter, with each microservice accommodated in a single container. An increasing number of cloud service providers, including Twitter, Netflix, AT&T, Amazon, and eBay have adopted this application model [4] .

An increasing number of cloud service providers, including Twitter, Netflix, AT&T, Amazon, and eBay have adopted this application model.


Recently, we have suggested the reduction of a soluble intermediate species as the RDS in the whole reaction mechanism. This intermediate species would be characterized by a new reduction peak around 0.85 V at 0.05 V s −1 , at slow rotation rates and quiescent solutions and, together with dissolved O 2 , may modify the oxide-growth dynamics on Pt(111) [35] . In this paper, the relation between initial oxidized states on Pt(111) and the ORR dynamics is assessed by employing electrochemical techniques, in order to get a deep insight about the interaction of oxygen, and the soluble intermediate, in these processes.

This intermediate species would be characterized by a new reduction peak around 0.85 V at 0.05 V s −1 , at slow rotation rates and quiescent solutions and, together with dissolved O 2 , may modify the oxide-growth dynamics on Pt(111).


As explained above, in RDE experiments, an electrochemical reduction peak appears in the voltammogram when the contribution of convection to the electrode dynamics becomes negligible. Then, the current response follows that expected for a stationary electrode under quiescent voltammetric conditions [42] . Consequently, a linear dependence on the square root of v is expected for j p , when the reacting species is dissolved, with an intercept close to zero and a slope proportional to the transfer coefficient of the reactant. Besides, the position of E p should also follow a linear dependence with the logarithm of v, and the slope would correspond to half of the Tafel slope for the reaction [39, 42] .

Then, the current response follows that expected for a stationary electrode under quiescent voltammetric conditions.

Besides, the position of E p should also follow a linear dependence with the logarithm of v, and the slope would correspond to half of the Tafel slope for the reaction.


The P2P approach to IPTV streaming in the Internet has been an interesting topic for many years. Most of the proposals were justified by the lack of a viable alternative, such as IP multicast, dealing with the challenge of connecting a large user base to a single TV server. As IPTV started to penetrate in the commercial providers, usually having their own infrastructure in place, IP multicast became again the preferred choice. In addition, new standardization efforts by ETSI TISPAN concerning the next-generation mobile and fixed networks include IPTV delivered via multicast [13] [14] .

In addition, new standardization efforts by ETSI TISPAN concerning the next-generation mobile and fixed networks include IPTV delivered via multicast.


We have performed an updated analysis of light sterile neutrinos in the context of cosmology. A fourth, mainly sterile mass state with the mass and mixing needed to fit short baseline data is inevitably thermalised in the early Universe and its effect on structure formation and the CMB makes it extremely disfavoured by current data. The fact that the presence of additional massless or massive neutrinos is disfavoured remains true even in extended cosmological models with significantly more parameters than the standard ΛCDM model [75] . However, if sterile neutrinos are charged under a new, non-standard interaction this picture can change dramatically.

The fact that the presence of additional massless or massive neutrinos is disfavoured remains true even in extended cosmological models with significantly more parameters than the standard ΛCDM model.


In the last published rounds of the blind docking challenge, Critical Assessment of PRediction of Interactions (CAPRI), although multiple groups generated high-quality models for various homodimers, no group was able to predict high-quality models for the five homotetramer targets, including two for which no acceptable solutions were submitted (Lensink et al., 2016) . Recently, four leading symmetric docking methods were evaluated on a benchmark of 251 complexes, 180 of which were homodimers (Yan et al., 2018) . Despite a favorable benchmark composition, starting with homology-modeled monomers, none of the methods was able to produce a CAPRI-acceptable model in the top ten predictions for more than half the complexes.

In the last published rounds of the blind docking challenge, Critical Assessment of PRediction of Interactions (CAPRI), although multiple groups generated high-quality models for various homodimers, no group was able to predict high-quality models for the five homotetramer targets, including two for which no acceptable solutions were submitted.

Recently, four leading symmetric docking methods were evaluated on a benchmark of 251 complexes, 180 of which were homodimers.


The previous sections presented the RDM services and infrastructure components established within the INF project of the Collaborative Research Centre/Transregio 32 (CRC/TR32) project. Implementing such RDM support and services within interdisciplinary, long-term research projects such as DFG-funded CRCs is crucial. DFG therefore provides funding for these integrated INF services projects that can be used to support RDM and/or implement RDM infrastructures for CRCs. Besides the adequate funding of staff (e.g. postdoc researchers, technical staff), funding is also available for storage, hardware and software or licenses can be requested (Redöhl 2016) .

Besides the adequate funding of staff (e.g. postdoc researchers, technical staff), funding is also available for storage, hardware and software or licenses can be requested.


Hence, the computational cost of the mapping and unmapping of memory regions in the DMAR units is therefore considered the main bottleneck [3, 19] . One ap- proach for mitigating this bottleneck was improving the free space management of the IOMMU mapping layer in order to decrease the overhead related to mapping and unmapping operations [17] . Another approach is to shorten the unmappings time by performing asynchronous IOTLB flushes during invalidation through the usage of invalidation queues [7] . In addition to the software-induced overhead in IOMMU manipulation, there is also an orthogonal question of whether the IOMMU hardware address resolution mechanism introduces significant overhead. To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first attempt to address this question. As noted before, whenever a DMA access is performed through the IOMMU, the IOMMU translates the virtual I/O address to the machine (host physical) address. To efficiently perform this task, an I/O Translation Lookaside Buffer (IOTLB) is included in the IOMMU. However, every IOTLB cache-miss presents high latency as it requires physical address resolution, which is performed by a page-walk through the DMAR paging hierarchy in the main memory. Thus, IOTLB implementation and its usage by operating systems may have significant impact on I/O throughput.

Hence, the computational cost of the mapping and unmapping of memory regions in the DMAR units is therefore considered the main bottleneck.

One ap- proach for mitigating this bottleneck was improving the free space management of the IOMMU mapping layer in order to decrease the overhead related to mapping and unmapping operations.

Another approach is to shorten the unmappings time by performing asynchronous IOTLB flushes during invalidation through the usage of invalidation queues.


Electrophysiological measurements. Measurements of the membrane potential (E M ) were carried out at 22°C on outer cortical cells of intact seedlings by standard microelectrode techniques described earlier (Pavlovkin et al. 1993) . The seedlings were attached to a Plexiglas holder with a soft rubber ring and mounted in a vertical 5 ml plexiglas cuvette perfused at a flow rate 4 ml/min with a standard solution containing 0.1mM KCl and 0.5mM CaSO 4 , adjusted to pH 5.7, in which various concentrations of beauvericin (Sigma) were added (beauvericin stock solution: 5 mg of BEA was dissolved in 10 ml DMSO). The microelectrode was inserted into the outer cortex cells 5 mm behind the root tip. Insertion of the microelectrode was observed under microscope and the electrode was pushed not further than 30-40 µm into the tissue. Fusicoccin (Sigma), a H + -ATPase stimulator was used (in 0.1% ethanol, final concentration 30µM) for monitoring the functionality of membrane H + -ATPase (Marrè 1979) .

Electrophysiological measurements.

Measurements of the membrane potential (E M ) were carried out at 22°C on outer cortical cells of intact seedlings by standard microelectrode techniques described earlier.

Fusicoccin (Sigma), a H + -ATPase stimulator was used (in 0.1% ethanol, final concentration 30µM) for monitoring the functionality of membrane H + -ATPase.


Correlated imaging is an imaging technique that reconstructs an unknown object by measuring the second-order correlation between two light fields [1] - [6] . There are mainly two imaging modes for correlated imaging: ghost imaging and ghost diffraction. For both the two imaging modes, sampling number is a major factor that influences the imaging quality. How to get high-quality image with fewer samples is a very important topic in correlated imaging. In recent years, compressive sampling (CS), as an advanced image reconstruction algorithm, has been applied to ghost imaging, which can decrease the sampling number effectively [7] , [8] . However, the image reconstruction is complicated and time-consuming.

Correlated imaging is an imaging technique that reconstructs an unknown object by measuring the second-order correlation between two light fields.

In recent years, compressive sampling (CS), as an advanced image reconstruction algorithm, has been applied to ghost imaging, which can decrease the sampling number effectively.


Facing those disharmonies, a number of authors have discussed the utility of introducing the metric of flat background space-time into GR [3] - [22] . Those theories called the bi-metric gravitation or the field-theoretical approach to General Relativity. All of authors have been aware of that there is a correct intrinsic structure in GR, even if they feel uncomfortable with purely geometrical interpretation of gravitation. That is the structural form of Einstein equations! That is why all of authors guess their Lagrangian densities according to the Einstein equations in order to corresponding with Einstein equations. However, in those theories, some authors assume that two metric tensors, the Riemannian space-time and flat background space-time, exist at the same time; while others assigned have no particular fundamental or geometric significance to the relationships of the Riemannian space-time, the gravitational field and the flat background space-time [2] , [23] . Some questions naturally arise. Why is the structural form of Einstein equations correct even if it is obtained from the geometric interpretation that people feel uncomfortable? What relationship between the gravitational field and the Riemannian space-time is exactly? Can we find a way to hold the structural form of Einstein equations, abandon the purely geometric interpretation of gravitation and make the equations global Lorentz invariance? Or can we regard G. Liu 2 Einstein equations as the equations of gravitation in flat space-time?

Facing those disharmonies, a number of authors have discussed the utility of introducing the metric of flat background space-time into GR.

However, in those theories, some authors assume that two metric tensors, the Riemannian space-time and flat background space-time, exist at the same time; while others assigned have no particular fundamental or geometric significance to the relationships of the Riemannian space-time, the gravitational field and the flat background space-time.

Some questions naturally arise.


Although General Relativity (GR) is widely accepted wherewith its graceful structures and elegance of its concepts, also giving a description of gravitational phenomena in agreement with observation, it is rather disconcerting to note that the theory appears strikingly different from the present particle theory. Gravitation plays a unique role in physics, as it is connected with the geometry of space and time. Supersymmetry appears to be required to have a perturbative quantum theory that includes gravitons and is also exactly Lorentz invariant. Whether the observed global Lorentz invariance of flat space-time is realized exactly in nature [1] ? The notions of energy and momentum play an important role in physics, while there is no widely accepted way to localize the energy and momentum of the gravitational field itself [2] .

Whether the observed global Lorentz invariance of flat space-time is realized exactly in nature?

The notions of energy and momentum play an important role in physics, while there is no widely accepted way to localize the energy and momentum of the gravitational field itself.


The aforementioned methods for estimating the essential or fundamental matrix are affected by the problem of degenerate configurations. Two distinct cases of degeneracy arise: degeneracy in the motion, where the camera undergoes only rotation and little or no translation, and degeneracy in scene structure, where all or many of the points are coplanar. In both cases, the accuracy of the pose estimation will be severely degraded [8] . This is an important drawback in real-world applications, where vehicles will often make small incremental motions and where the majority of the scene can consist of objects in or close to the ground plane. To remedy the problems of degeneracy, a stereo camera configuration is typically used, which allows for much better triangulation of the feature points even in the cases of motion or scene degeneracy.

In both cases, the accuracy of the pose estimation will be severely degraded.


The Conversion Rate is a basic tool for measuring the effectiveness of an advertisement, which is expressed as a ratio of the number of the user's desired interactions to the number of situations, in which they could potentially be realized (Jankowski et al., 2016) . In the case of an online advertisement, the desired interaction can be, for instance, the user's "click" in an interactive advertisement object, for example, a banner, and the number of situations is determined by the number of pop-ups of this advertisement. In the conducted analyses, a coefficient CR was determined a posteriori on the basis of real data. The intensity of an advertising content was determined in subjective research by users of the website in which the advertisement was placed. The publisher's profit was calculated as the product of the number of interactions and the costs incurred by the advertiser, at the same time, the costs are dependent on the intensity of the advertisement. The data discussed were gathered for 50 decision variants which were advertisements of 10 advertisers characterized by different intensity and which were displayed with a different frequency.

The Conversion Rate is a basic tool for measuring the effectiveness of an advertisement, which is expressed as a ratio of the number of the user's desired interactions to the number of situations, in which they could potentially be realized.


The virus invades a wide range of anatomic structures of the central nervous system (CNS) [10] [11] [12] . Neuroinvasive WNV disease can manifest as one of three main clinical entities: West Nile meningitis (WNM), West Nile encephalitis (WNE), or acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) [13] . Myelitis with AFP can occur independently or in conjunction with WNE. CNS disease has been associated with changes in cognitive status, muscle weakness, motor neuron disease (flaccid paralysis and hyporeflexia), cranial nerve palsies (most commonly facial nerve palsy), Guillain-Barre like syndrome (GBS), or movement disorders (e.g., myoclonus, tremor, parkinsonism) [1, 8, [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] . This spectrum of clinical findings is mirrored by radiologic abnormalities that involve the basal ganglia, thalami, cerebellum, and brain stem [19] [20] [21] . Importantly, imaging studies may be normal or demonstrate only nonspecific changes in patients with acute neuroinvasive WNV infection and are thus of limited utility for diagnostic purposes [1, 12] .

The virus invades a wide range of anatomic structures of the central nervous system (CNS).

Neuroinvasive WNV disease can manifest as one of three main clinical entities: West Nile meningitis (WNM), West Nile encephalitis (WNE), or acute flaccid paralysis (AFP).

CNS disease has been associated with changes in cognitive status, muscle weakness, motor neuron disease (flaccid paralysis and hyporeflexia), cranial nerve palsies (most commonly facial nerve palsy), Guillain-Barre like syndrome (GBS), or movement disorders (e.g., myoclonus, tremor, parkinsonism).

This spectrum of clinical findings is mirrored by radiologic abnormalities that involve the basal ganglia, thalami, cerebellum, and brain stem.

Importantly, imaging studies may be normal or demonstrate only nonspecific changes in patients with acute neuroinvasive WNV infection and are thus of limited utility for diagnostic purposes.


In general, the execution time decreased and the speedup ratios increased with the number of cores used in parallel computation for all the experiments. However, for the parallel computation at sub-basin level alone (i.e., the experiment with 1 thread per process), the speedup ratios reached a plateau when the number of cores exceeded 24. For the two-level parallel computation, the scalability was better than the parallel computation at sub-basin level alone. When the number of cores exceeded 24, the speedup ratios of two-level parallel computation were larger than those of the parallel computation at sub-basin level alone. This is because the parallel efficiencies at the sub-basin level were limited by the load imbalance of computing tasks and communication overhead at the sub-basin level. The more the number of tasks that were divided at sub-basin level, the worse the load imbalance and communication overhead problem will become, thus the parallel computation is less efficient. By utilizing parallelizability at a finer level (the grid-cell level in this case) as well as that at the sub-basin level, two-level parallel computation required a smaller number of parallel tasks at the sub-basin level to make use of a given number of cores compared to parallel computation at the sub-basin level alone. In this way, the load imbalance and communication overhead problem could be relieved. The speedup ratios of the two-tier parallel computation would reach a plateau when the number of cores used in parallel computation exceeded a larger threshold. This threshold, on one hand, depended on parallelizability at the sub-basin level. The shape of the watershed and the number of sub-basins affected parallel performance (Liu et al., 2013) . On the other hand, this threshold depended on parallelizability at the grid-cell level. If the scalability of parallel computation at the grid-cell level was good enough, the higher the number of threads within each process, the better the scalability of the two-level parallel computation. Although the threshold still existed, the scalability of the two-level parallel computation was effectively improved compared to that of the parallel computation at sub-basin level alone.

The shape of the watershed and the number of sub-basins affected parallel performance.


Because of the limited research on eco-innovations in the tourism sector, this exploratory study aims to examine the development of eco-innovations. To achieve that end, two main goals are proposed. First, this study examines the development and typology of eco-innovations among tourism companies worldwide. A total of 57 tourism companies are analysed using several qualitative methods to ensure reliability. Second, to examine eco-innovation knowledge, the contingent theory umbrella is used. According to the contingency theory, each company is viewed as a unique entity because of each feature distinguishing characteristic, denominated dimensions or factors. These dimensions, some external and others company-specific, affect its organizational behavior [3, 4] . The most relevant factors in tourism are type of tourist industry, size and location of headquarters [7] . Thus, several highly innovative aspects that have not been previously studied in the tourism sector are addressed in a holistic manner.

These dimensions, some external and others company-specific, affect its organizational behavior.

The most relevant factors in tourism are type of tourist industry, size and location of headquarters.


Massive gravity includes a non-dynamical tensor field called fiducial metric, f µν , in order to construct a mass potential. For example, the FP and the original dRGT theories are constructed by adopting the Minkowski fiducial metric. Hassan and Rosen proposed an extended theory of dRGT massive gravity with a fiducial metric being dynamical as well by introducing the Einstein-Hilbert term of the fiducial metric in the action. They proved that this theory is also free from the BD ghost [15] . Since this theory contains two symmetric dynamical tensor fields of metrics, it is called bi-gravity theory.

They proved that this theory is also free from the BD ghost.


Zeolites are crystalline aluminosilicates with a distinctive pore structure in the microporous range (Ismail et al. 2010) . They are characterized by a large selectivity and the ability to separate substances based on the variation in sizes and shapes of separated molecules. As a result, the species with a molecular diameter which makes them too large to pass through a zeolite pore are effectively sieved. Adsorption processes derived from molecular sieving and selectivity are always reversible in theory and typically reversible in practice. This permits the zeolite to be reused many times, cycling between adsorption and desorption. This is one of the reasons for the substantial economic value of zeolites in adsorption applications.

Zeolites are crystalline aluminosilicates with a distinctive pore structure in the microporous range.


Evaluation of cells by flow cytometry revealed that autophagic induction is limited to a minor population of cells, while a more significant population of cells initiate apoptosis when treated with the combination. The percentage of cells exhibiting induced autophagy increased only modestly when treated with tamoxifen in combination with an HDAC inhibitor compared to tamoxifen alone, suggesting addition of an HDAC inhibitor increases autophagy within this minor population and not across all cells. When autophagy was inhibited in cells treated with an HDAC inhibitor and tamoxifen, cell death was enhanced. Thus, autophagy in these cells is promoting survival. We believe the promotion of survival within this minor population may be an important factor in enabling the development of tamoxifen resistance. In support of autophagy as a contributor to resistance development, recent studies have demonstrated that autophagy in tamoxifen resistant breast cancer cells promotes survival, which when inhibited induces apoptotic cell death [22, 23, 36] . Furthermore, the ability of autophagy to shelter populations of tumor cells and to allow them to evolve was recently demonstrated in DCIS tissue samples obtained from patients [37] . Cells exhibiting malignant characteristics were able to be cultured from these tissues and form tumors in mice, which were dependent on autophagy.

In support of autophagy as a contributor to resistance development, recent studies have demonstrated that autophagy in tamoxifen resistant breast cancer cells promotes survival, which when inhibited induces apoptotic cell death.

Furthermore, the ability of autophagy to shelter populations of tumor cells and to allow them to evolve was recently demonstrated in DCIS tissue samples obtained from patients.


To obtain the results of the proposed TP-MBNR-PH, initially we have to apply the formula for computing the Tate pairing of elliptic curves over finite fields. Integers with at least 160 bit size which are represented with bases 1/2, 3, and 5 are used in Miller's algorithm. Table 2 shows the cost and pre-computed cost for the operations TADD, TSUB, THAL, TTRL, and TQNT in the proposed TP-MBNR-PH. Let TADD, TSUB, THAL, TTRL, and TQNT denote the addition, subtraction, halving, tripling, and quintupling operations, respectively, as shown in Table 2 . Figure 1 and Table 3 shows the number of multiplication operation to compute Tate pairing using different methods. Let I, S and M denote the cost of inversion, squaring and multiplication in F * q respectively as shown in Table 1 . Let I k , S k and M k ≈ k 1.6 M denote the cost of inversion, squaring, and multiplication in F * q k , respectively, as shown in Table 1 . Let M b (≈ kM) denote the cost of multiplication between F * q and F * q k . An embedding degree denoted as k, which takes the values of 4, 6, and 8 [27] . In Table 4 , we significantly improves the proposed TP-MBNR-PH and show the comparison of the proposed TP-MBNR-PH with an existing algorithm.

An embedding degree denoted as k, which takes the values of 4, 6, and 8.


In this section, we show the total computation cost of encryption and decryption for the MA-ABE. The proposed Tate pairing algorithm is discussed in detail in Section 3. The proposed decentralized KP-ABE is constructed with the help of the proposed TP-MBNR-PH and compared with MA-ABE using an existing Tate pairing algorithm. In this experiment, we used an Intel Core i3-3217U CPU processor (Intel, China) with 1.80 GHz and 8 GB RAM. Let us assume the number of attribute authorities, N = 2, and say, attribute n varies from 10 to 50. Figure 2 depicts the comparison of total encryption cost of MA-ABE for the proposed scheme and [12, 13] . The time complexity of proposed encryption algorithm increases linearly with respect to the attributes. Figure 2 clearly shows the significant improvement of the proposed encryption algorithm when compared with the existing schemes [12, 13] . Figure 3 depicts the comparison of the total decryption cost of MA-ABE for the proposed scheme and [12, 13] . The time complexity of the proposed decryption algorithm increases linearly with respect to the attributes. Figure 3 clearly shows the significant improvement of the proposed decryption algorithm when compared with the existing schemes [12, 13] .

Figure 2 depicts the comparison of total encryption cost of MA-ABE for the proposed scheme and.

Figure 2 clearly shows the significant improvement of the proposed encryption algorithm when compared with the existing schemes.

Figure 3 depicts the comparison of the total decryption cost of MA-ABE for the proposed scheme and.

Figure 3 clearly shows the significant improvement of the proposed decryption algorithm when compared with the existing schemes.


In this section, we show the total computation cost of encryption and decryption for the MA-ABE. The proposed Tate pairing algorithm is discussed in detail in Section 3. The proposed decentralized KP-ABE is constructed with the help of the proposed TP-MBNR-PH and compared with MA-ABE using an existing Tate pairing algorithm. In this experiment, we used an Intel Core i3-3217U CPU processor (Intel, China) with 1.80 GHz and 8 GB RAM. Let us assume the number of attribute authorities, = 2, and say, attribute n varies from 10 to 50. Figure 2 depicts the comparison of total encryption cost of MA-ABE for the proposed scheme and [12, 13] . The time complexity of proposed encryption algorithm increases linearly with respect to the attributes. Figure 2 clearly shows the significant improvement of the proposed encryption algorithm when compared with the existing schemes [12, 13] . Figure 3 depicts the comparison of the total decryption cost of MA-ABE for the proposed scheme and [12, 13] . The time complexity of the proposed decryption algorithm increases linearly with respect to the attributes. Figure 3 clearly shows the significant improvement of the proposed decryption algorithm when compared with the existing schemes [12, 13] .


Tetrahedrite-tennantite typically hosts between 0.1 and 1000 ppm Se. The most Se-rich tetrahedrite is recorded in sample VFI031 (Emperor Gold Mine, Fiji; 624 ppm). In general, the highest levels of Se in tetrahedrite-tennantite are reached when galena does not co-crystallize; i.e., from TetTen, TetTen-Sp-Cp, and TetTen-Cp assemblages (see Se plot in Figure 4 ). This is to be expected since galena is always the preferred host of Se in BMS assemblages [30] .

This is to be expected since galena is always the preferred host of Se in BMS assemblages.


The efficient use of energy resources is currently deemed a key factor to tackle increasing environmental threats by, for example, facilitating a reduction of CO 2 emissions. Accordingly, a significant effort has been made to improve energy efficiency (EE) at the building level based on traditional practices that aim at reducing energy waste by, for example, improving the insulation levels of buildings [1] , [2] . However, in order to maximise its effectiveness, the EE concept should be extended in light of the emergence of smart solutions at the building (and district) level [3] , [4] . These smart solutions include information and communication technologies, and distributed energy resources such as solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, electric heat pumps (EHP), combined heat and power (CHP) and so forth.

Accordingly, a significant effort has been made to improve energy efficiency (EE) at the building level based on traditional practices that aim at reducing energy waste by, for example, improving the insulation levels of buildings.

However, in order to maximise its effectiveness, the EE concept should be extended in light of the emergence of smart solutions at the building (and district) level.


In this paper, firstly, a new type of basis cubic B-spline functions is constructed. This type of basis cubic B-spline functions can effectively satisfy simply supported, clamped, free and guided edge conditions with easy numerical manipulation. Any beam functions can be accurately approximated by the new type of basis B-spline functions. The plate deflection is chosen as field function and expressed as the product of basis cubic B-spline functions in both x and y directions. The frequency equation is formulated based on classical thin plate theory by performing Hamilton's principle. The validity of the present approach is well established by demonstrating the excellent agreement between the present results and those of analytical solutions by Bert and Malik [2] . As an application of the proposed method, frequency parameters of 13 cases of rectangular plates with at least one guided edge, which are possible by approximate or numerical methods only, are presented.

The validity of the present approach is well established by demonstrating the excellent agreement between the present results and those of analytical solutions by Bert and Malik.


There exist 21 possible combinations of the three classical edge conditions for rectangular plates, and accurate results for the free vibration of rectangular plates with all 21 combinations of edge conditions have been presented by Leissa [6] . The number of all possible combinations gives rise to 34 additional ones when at least one guided edge is involved. Of all these 34 cases, analytical solution is possible for 21 cases only, and the analytical solutions of the frequency parameters for the 21 cases have been presented by Bert and Malik [2] . The solutions of the remaining 13 cases are possible by approximate or numerical methods only, however, no investigation has been reported. The main purpose of this study is to provide accurate results of frequency parameters for the remaining 13 cases via bicubic B-spline method.

There exist 21 possible combinations of the three classical edge conditions for rectangular plates, and accurate results for the free vibration of rectangular plates with all 21 combinations of edge conditions have been presented by Leissa.

Of all these 34 cases, analytical solution is possible for 21 cases only, and the analytical solutions of the frequency parameters for the 21 cases have been presented by Bert and Malik.


Moreover, in this work, we also empirically explored the importance of highlevel nodule attributes such as calcification, sphericity, lobulation and others to improve malignancy determination. Rather than manually determining these attributes we used 3D CNN to learn discriminative features corresponding to these attributes. The 3D CNN based features from these attributes are fused in a graph regularized sparse multi-task learning. Another important imaging modality for lung nodule diagnosis is Positron Emission Tomography (PET). It has been found that the combination of PET and CT can improve the diagnostic accuracy of solitary lung nodules [22] . With the increase in the availability of PET/CT scanners, our future work will involve their utilization for simultaneous detection and characterization of pulmonary nodules.

It has been found that the combination of PET and CT can improve the diagnostic accuracy of solitary lung nodules.


Given the infrastructure-specific flooding vulnerability results, we can prioritize spatially explicit infrastructure recommendations that are Bsafe-to-fail^to non-stationary weather extremes. Cities are composed of complex infrastructure systems that are interdependent, multifunctional, and increasingly co-located in ways that decentralize much of the hardinfrastructure; thus, recommendations for one system can affect others. BSafe-to-fail^infra-structure design tends to emphasize resilience characteristics that account for the interdependent, complex nature of urban infrastructure including isolation, fail-silence, redundancy and modularization, diversity in system responses, connectivity across multi-scale networks, and adaptive capacity. Risk-based approaches typically design and operate infrastructure in isolation without considering the consequences of failures linked from one system to another (e.g., power supply system failure to drainage pump failure, drainage system failure to roadways flooding) (Blockley et al. 2012) . One goal of Bsafe-to-fail^design is to ensure that unpredicted shocks that affect a single infrastructure system do not cause secondary or tertiary impacts to other systems. BSafe-to-fail^allows decision-makers to better acknowledge interdependent systems in the design stage via failure modes and ensures that infrastructure risks are managed interconnected parts. We position multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) as an effective way to organize many Bsafe-to-fail^characteristics and facilitate decision-making across different urban infrastructure characteristics and adaptive solutions. While different characteristics are uniformly weighted within each perspective in this study, incorporating multiple stakeholder and decision-maker preferences may lead to non-uniform and probabilistic weightings that reflect data uncertainty and different social/political/technical capacities. Furthermore, the current results are discrete rankings of solutions, where non-uniform weighting may generate distributions for the importance of each solution which are more difficult to interpret but may provide more useful information to decision-makers to evaluate the cost and benefit of Bsafe-to-fail^designs in climate change adaptation. Although outside the scope of this work, future work should focus on incorporating expert opinion in developing weighting schemes and identifying the sensitivity of decisions to non-uniform, probabilistic results.

Risk-based approaches typically design and operate infrastructure in isolation without considering the consequences of failures linked from one system to another (e.g., power supply system failure to drainage pump failure, drainage system failure to roadways flooding).


This study was conducted at the Harry Blossfeld plant nursery of São Paulo, situated in Cotia (23°36'30.0"S 46°50'48.9"W). According to Köppen's climate classification, the study region presents Cwa, the altitude tropical climate [24] . Featuring concentered rains during summer, dry winter, and the highest mean temperature above 22°C.

According to Köppen's climate classification, the study region presents Cwa, the altitude tropical climate.


All data were compiled into the Excel component of the Microsoft Corporation Office pack and represented through graphics and tables. The most common germination indices were obtained using GerminaQuant software [28] . All statistical tests were executed with individual data of the replicas and performed using GerminaQuant, based on R software [29] . The results were tested by ANOVA and in sequence submitted to the Tukey test, adopting a critical p-value of 1% (α < 0.01).

The most common germination indices were obtained using GerminaQuant software.

All statistical tests were executed with individual data of the replicas and performed using GerminaQuant, based on R software.


This species also plays a relevant ecologic role as a food source for a great number of animals like birds, mammals, and insects [6] , [8] . These interactions contribute to the reduced number of viable seeds that stay disposable to germinate and recover the population. An even lower number of germinated seeds reaches one-yearold [6] .

This species also plays a relevant ecologic role as a food source for a great number of animals like birds, mammals, and insects.

An even lower number of germinated seeds reaches one-yearold.


Furthermore, the illegal harvesting of this species heart of palm has been focusing on individuals at least 2 meters high. This criterion not only affects young individuals but also those in the reproductive phase (between sixand nine-year-old individuals), which is incompatible with this species slow life cycle, leading to a reduction in the natural populations and extinction [1] , [4] , [9] . E. edulis is also a key species in ecologic studies of the Atlantic rainforest [9] . Other authors have demonstrated that programs seeking in situ recovery must focus on seed banks' maintenance and replanting techniques to effective forestry management [2] , [5] . Thus, scientific research development in seedling production and ecophysiology is essential to guide recovery programs and/or commercial production [4] , [5] , [7] , [10] .

This criterion not only affects young individuals but also those in the reproductive phase (between sixand nine-year-old individuals), which is incompatible with this species slow life cycle, leading to a reduction in the natural populations and extinction.

E. edulis is also a key species in ecologic studies of the Atlantic rainforest.

Other authors have demonstrated that programs seeking in situ recovery must focus on seed banks' maintenance and replanting techniques to effective forestry management.

Thus, scientific research development in seedling production and ecophysiology is essential to guide recovery programs and/or commercial production.


Actually, also some physicians in geriatrics and child care had sickness-certification cases. This can be explained in at least three ways; one is that the participants were asked to indicate the type of clinic where they mainly worked, but some might also be clinically active in other types of clinics. The second is that some of their patients are adolescents, above the age of 16, and thus can be sickness absent and in geriatrics also some patients work in spite of old age. The third is that they might sickness certify parents of children or relatives of geriatric patients. So far, none have studied this. We were surprised by the very high rates of consultations and also by the large variety in rates of physicians experiencing problems with these tasks. In Sweden, as in most welfare countries, specialists generally are to refer patients to PHC when treatment is finished or stabilised. It is an understanding that sickness-certification is to be monitored from PHC if a patient is referred to other clinics by the general practitioner in PHC. Nevertheless, very high rates of physicians in different clinics had such tasks very often. More studies are needed to verify these results also in other countries. However, other studies indicate that GPs generate about half of all sickness-certification, which is well in line with our results [1, 34] . An obvious issue here is whether the results can be generalized also to other countries. Sickness-certification practices have only been studied in very limited populations and mainly for GPs in other countries -thus, the situation might be similar there, however, that remains to be seen. Regarding other aspects of sickness-certification practice, results from different countries and from different time periods have been unexpectedly similar [11] .

So far, none have studied this.

However, other studies indicate that GPs generate about half of all sickness-certification, which is well in line with our results.

Regarding other aspects of sickness-certification practice, results from different countries and from different time periods have been unexpectedly similar.


The effect on workforce capacity once these older psychiatrists do begin to retire will be substantial. Previous authors have noted the importance of increasing recruitment of medical students into psychiatry in order to sustain the specialty [11] . The gap left by older male retirees may not be completely filled by young females, whose lifetime participation in the workforce is generally lower than that of males. Women are more likely to work part time and retire earlier than males [9, 20, 21] . They are also more likely to take time out of the workforce to have and raise children. Factoring in these gender differences will be crucial to future workforce planning [10] .

Previous authors have noted the importance of increasing recruitment of medical students into psychiatry in order to sustain the specialty.

Women are more likely to work part time and retire earlier than males.

Factoring in these gender differences will be crucial to future workforce planning.


In order to design a porous inorganic membrane unit and to determine the optimum operating conditions for such separation processes, a knowledge of the transport mechanisms of molecules within micropores is necessary. Gas transport mechanisms through polymeric membranes are recognized as solution and diffusion processes. On the other hand, for inorganic porous membranes which have rigid and stable porous structures, gases permeate through narrow but permanent open spaces. A qualitative and quantitative understanding of the transport mechanisms of molecules through such a limited space is important from both the viewpoint of scientific interest and engineering demands for the development of inorganic molecular separation membranes. The mechanism of gas permeation for microporous inorganic membranes has been studied using zeolite or modified glass membranes by many groups [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] . However, in terms of the theoretical treatment of observed experimental results, difficulties as the result of uncertainties associated with the characteristics of porous structures, such as the effects of pore size distribution and the presence of unexpected large pinholes have always existed.

The mechanism of gas permeation for microporous inorganic membranes has been studied using zeolite or modified glass membranes by many groups.


There continue to be rapid improvements in MISS technology, enabling innovative surgical approaches to traditional spinal disease. There is a continuous trend toward minimally Minimally Invasive Surgery 9 invasive surgical approaches in many different surgical subspecialties. This paradigm shift of "less is more" has flourished in MISS approaches for discectomies, foraminotomies, decompression for stenosis, instrumentation and fusion, spinal tumor resection, and deformity correction [84] .

This paradigm shift of "less is more" has flourished in MISS approaches for discectomies, foraminotomies, decompression for stenosis, instrumentation and fusion, spinal tumor resection, and deformity correction.


We aim at obtaining a "climatologically representative" spectrum with frequency from the order of 1 yr −1 to 10 Hz. The sonic data at Høvsøre have shown questionable quality for frequencies higher than about 3 Hz, likely caused by flow distortion of the mast when winds are from the north (Peña et al. 2015) . All calculation has been conducted to the Nyquist frequency of the time series but the presentation sometimes is limited to a few Hz, which is usually in the inertial subrange where spectral properties are well-known. Climatological 10-min mean cup anemometer data are used to calculate the power spectra for frequencies up to the Nyquist frequency, 0.05 min −1 . The spectrum was calculated using the Fourier transform, with a linear detrending applied to the yearly time series. The few missing data in the time series were filled in using linear interpolation with data before and after the gaps. A smoother spectrum is obtained afterwards by averaging the values of the spectral power in bins of log 10 f , with 25 bins used for each decade. We refer to this as logsmoothing. Good data coverage is important for a reliable calculation of the Fourier spectrum and all time series used herein have a data coverage better than 97 %.

The sonic data at Høvsøre have shown questionable quality for frequencies higher than about 3 Hz, likely caused by flow distortion of the mast when winds are from the north.

We refer to this as logsmoothing.


In the well-known chemical synapses, the communication is carried out through the release of neurotransmitters from the presynaptic neuron that bind to specific receptors, causing changes in the ionic permeability of the postsynaptic membrane. By contrast, in the electrical synapses, the communication is done by Gap Junctions (GJ) that are clusters of intercellular channels allowing the bidirectional *Address correspondence to this author at the Laboratory of Physiology of Reticular Formation, National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery, M.V.S. Insurgentes Sur 3877, Col. La Fama, C.P. 14269, Mexico D.F., Mexico; Tel: + 52 55 5606 3822; Fax: + 52 55 5424 0808; E-mail: jfranco@innn.edu.mx transit of ions directly into the cytoplasm of adjacent cells [2, 3] .

La Fama, C.P. 14269, Mexico D.F., Mexico; Tel: + 52 55 5606 3822; Fax: + 52 55 5424 0808; E-mail: jfranco@innn.edu.mx transit of ions directly into the cytoplasm of adjacent cells.


In this paper, we consider the rumor model with three control strategies depending on interest level of rumor for preventing the spread of rumor, unlike previous papers. Three strategies are composed of announcing the truth before ignorants receive rumor, punishing spreaders, and deleting messages in media [2] . We investigate optimal strategies to prevent the spread of rumor from three perspectives. First, we focus on the interest level of rumor and confirm the change of spreaders and controls depending on the level. The degree of interest in rumors varies according to sex, occupation, and age. A high interest level of rumor will lead to a rapid spread, while at a low level it will be slow. So when controlling a rumor, we need to consider the interest level of rumor. We define the interest level as the parameter " " in our paper.

Three strategies are composed of announcing the truth before ignorants receive rumor, punishing spreaders, and deleting messages in media.


Health care is the third largest economic sector in New York City, accounting for more than 13% of all employment and wages and is an economic sector heavily dependent on public funds [22] . The health care sector, like virtually all segments of New York's economy, is dependent on foreign-born workers that must be healthy to be productive [3, 23] . We were not able to add productivity effects to our economic analysis. Were we able to, the projected savings may be higher.

Health care is the third largest economic sector in New York City, accounting for more than 13% of all employment and wages and is an economic sector heavily dependent on public funds.

The health care sector, like virtually all segments of New York's economy, is dependent on foreign-born workers that must be healthy to be productive.


Cartoons are important features of newspapers and magazines with a lot of readers following such cartoon series. The effectiveness of cartoons in print media was examined [10] . The authors also looked at the safety such cartoons offer in terms of freedom of expression, especially during the intolerant military regimes [10] .

The effectiveness of cartoons in print media was examined.

The authors also looked at the safety such cartoons offer in terms of freedom of expression, especially during the intolerant military regimes.


The dynamic facial reanimation technique must produce a coordinated, spontaneous, and symmetrical smile. Among the various procedures for reconstructing facial paralysis, cross facial nerve grafting, following free muscle transfer, is the most effective surgical procedure for achieving symmetrical spontaneous motion for complete type paralysis patients [1] . However, it requires a much longer period, and the outcome is delayed for up to a year. The majority of patients with facial paralysis are the incomplete type. For those patients, reconstruction with a free muscle transfer might be an inordinate procedure. Moreover, the preservation of residual facial nerve function is also important for incomplete facial nerve palsy patients. Therefore, less invasive surgery that can show prompt results is required for those patients.

Among the various procedures for reconstructing facial paralysis, cross facial nerve grafting, following free muscle transfer, is the most effective surgical procedure for achieving symmetrical spontaneous motion for complete type paralysis patients.


A purposive sampling was chosen to match the criterion of successful RTW [29] . The outpatient unit identified approximately 20 potential participants based on the inclusion criteria. Ten were identified to be contacted for participation in the study, five men and five women, aged 27-55. The team leader for the outpatient unit, a social worker, initially contacted the participants by telephone, and invited them to participate in the study. All gave permission to the researcher to contact them, first by letter and later by telephone, and all agreed to participate.

A purposive sampling was chosen to match the criterion of successful RTW.


The low percentage of benches cleaning, hand wash found in this study may increase the risk of infected with pathogenic agents inside these laboratories. Further laboratory work area precautions were also investigated and only 13(6.8%) laboratories were using international biohazard symbols and signs, while 71 (37.4 %) of them had an entry restrictions to their site. No doubt, application of these precautions will enable laboratory personnel to reduce the risk of acquiring infection or export the infection to the surrounded environment [10] .

No doubt, application of these precautions will enable laboratory personnel to reduce the risk of acquiring infection or export the infection to the surrounded environment.


Pillar 1, the traditional pay-as-you-go system, has been extended by Pillar 2, occupa-tional pension schemes, and Pillar 3, private pension schemes. Private pension schemes are voluntary and generally subsidized [1] . Consequently, the success of retirement reform depends on the acceptance of private pensions and, therefore, on the effects of tax-based saving incentives on contribution behavior.

Private pension schemes are voluntary and generally subsidized.


Due to the subsidy, the Riester Pension is superior to non-funded saving accounts, especially for families with children and low income [5] . Studies investigating the probability of participating in a Riester Pension found that the number of children, income, and age were the dominating factors [6] - [8] . However, as with other voluntary private pensions, it is not clear if the introduction of the Riester Scheme in 2002 has had an impact on the overall saving rate of households [9] [10] . Consequently, the introduction of the Riester Scheme is considered to be expensive and not effective.

Due to the subsidy, the Riester Pension is superior to non-funded saving accounts, especially for families with children and low income.

Studies investigating the probability of participating in a Riester Pension found that the number of children, income, and age were the dominating factors.

However, as with other voluntary private pensions, it is not clear if the introduction of the Riester Scheme in 2002 has had an impact on the overall saving rate of households.


Using a thermal camera with high temperature sensitivity and an automated computer vision approach to detect the traces, outperformed the results reported by prior related work [34] . Our approach unveils PINs/Patterns with high success after 30 seconds while previous work was successful up to only 3 seconds after authentication. While a higher sensitivity camera might have led to better results in manual analysis, we believe the main enhancement to come from the automated computer vision approach which allowed detection of heat traces despite being invisible to manual visual inspection.

Using a thermal camera with high temperature sensitivity and an automated computer vision approach to detect the traces, outperformed the results reported by prior related work.


At first, plant defences were generally assumed to be constitutive, which is always expressed in the plant. However, this view has changed based on evidence that many defences are only induced in the presence of herbivores. Assuming that defences are costly to an organism, one mechanism by which these costs might be reduced is for the organism to activate its defence mechanisms only when predation risk is sensed (Agrawal, 1998) . Another way to reduce costs is to rely on primary metabolites such as storage lipids, which are enzymatically transformed after wounding or ingestion, as in the case of diatom oxylipins. Signals for predation risk may come in visual, audio, physical or chemical forms. Since plants generally lack or have poorly developed visual and audio receptors, detecting predators will have to rely on chemical or mechanical cues.

Assuming that defences are costly to an organism, one mechanism by which these costs might be reduced is for the organism to activate its defence mechanisms only when predation risk is sensed.


To effectively achieve nonlinear control, we propose an SF model in this paper [27] . Here, by assumption, TakagiSugeno fuzzy systems, which are also denoted as T-S fuzzy systems, are considered as terms of plant representation models. These fuzzy systems belong to the category of datadriven fuzzy systems, in contrast to the more traditional 2 Mathematical Problems in Engineering category of semantic-driven fuzzy models. The proposed corresponding model of SF systems, presented below, differs from the existing ones cited in the literature in the fact that each subsystem is a T-S fuzzy system, hence defining a class of SF systems. It should be noted that this class inherits some essential features of hybrid systems while retaining all of the information and knowledge representation capacity of fuzzy systems. Furthermore, this model is used for the extra design of the switching law based on the previous works [16] [17] [18] [19] .

To effectively achieve nonlinear control, we propose an SF model in this paper.

Furthermore, this model is used for the extra design of the switching law based on the previous works.


It is well known that parallel distributed compensation (PDC) control has been found to be a particular means for fuzzy systems due to its universal property [16] [17] [18] [19] 34] . However, an undesired chattering effect will occur. This paper presents a combined switching controller, which has nonfuzzy-rules-based combination of switching controller and supplementary controllers, for SF systems subject to parameter uncertainties. The switching controller consists of several linear controllers. One of the switching controllers is employed at each moment according to a switching scheme, which is derived based on the Lyapunov stability theory. The supplementary controller is employed to handle the external disturbance. The smooth transition acted on the switching controller and the supplementary controllers is governed. As a result, the combined switching controller provides good performance during the transient period, and the chattering effect is removed when the system state approaches the origin.

It is well known that parallel distributed compensation (PDC) control has been found to be a particular means for fuzzy systems due to its universal property.


We work over the complex numbers C. Let X be the smooth variety A×Y where Y is an r-dimensional smooth quasi-projective variety and A is a g-dimensional abelian variety. There is a natural morphism (0.1) π n : Hilb n (X) → A which is the composition of the map Hilb n (X) → Sym n (A) and the addition map Sym n (A) → A. It is clear that π n gives an isotrivial fibration which shows that the Euler characteristic of Hilb n (X) is 0. The fiber over O A ∈ A is defined to be K n (X) := π −1 n (O A ). We call the construction above the generalized Kummer construction of X = A×Y . When A is an abelian surface and Y is a point, this construction gives a group of interesting examples of holomorphic symplectic varieties, which are the generalized Kummer varieties introduced by Beauville [1] . However, it should be mentioned that the scheme K n (X) is always singular when the dimension of X is greater than 2 and n is large.

When A is an abelian surface and Y is a point, this construction gives a group of interesting examples of holomorphic symplectic varieties, which are the generalized Kummer varieties introduced by Beauville.


Considering that local sheep breeds are important for biological diversity, concerns about the conservation of genetic diversity have arisen since the late 1990s (Chen, 1995; Chen et al., 2002; Gao et al., 2008) . Subsequently, several breeding farms were established to avoid further losses of genetic diversity and to maximize gene purity. However, few reports have been published on assessing the contribution of the local breeding farms in northwest China in terms of genetic conservation schemes. Moreover, a deeper knowledge of the genetic diversity is essential for conservation decisions on maintenance and/or improvement. Therefore, it was meaningful to perform a study on investigating the genetic diversity within and among the local breeds from breeding farms in northwest China.

Considering that local sheep breeds are important for biological diversity, concerns about the conservation of genetic diversity have arisen since the late 1990s.


A follow-up study by the same authors focuses specifically on the concurrency control problems that arise in SPSs when window of a long-running query may slide while being accessed by another on-demand snapshot query, resulting in a read-write conflict [16] . This work considers sub-windows to be atomic units of data access, shows that conflict serializability is not strong enough to guarantee correct and up-to-date query results for the considered SPS access patterns, and proposes two stronger isolation levels. These are implemented as part of a transaction scheduler which minimizes the number of aborted transactions. Different from this work, we not only consider streaming data sources (and periodic window queries over them), but relations (and general continuous queries) as well, and accordingly provide a more general transactional model.

A follow-up study by the same authors focuses specifically on the concurrency control problems that arise in SPSs when window of a long-running query may slide while being accessed by another on-demand snapshot query, resulting in a read-write conflict.


These traits, make the nature of the current international STI landscape more complex, and call for improved research approaches in the field of innovation policies for the support to financing STI activities. Policy interventions in the STI domain require new rationales than those typically advocated and confined to market failures in the presence of relevant knowledge spill-overs and capital market imperfections (Mazzucato, 2016b) . This modified global scenario calls for new methods and mechanisms for financing scientific and innovation activities all along the global value chains; a re-consideration of the traditional funding tools; and a more granular understanding of the role of the public sector (and of supra-national, national, regional, and local industrial and innovation policy initiatives) for financing STI activities that goes beyond the notion of simply fixing failures.

Policy interventions in the STI domain require new rationales than those typically advocated and confined to market failures in the presence of relevant knowledge spill-overs and capital market imperfections.


Furthermore, state estimation methods for stochastic systems with complex characteristics and/or unknown structure have been proposed by using Bayes theorem on probability distribution [19] [20] [21] . Since the above previously reported estimation algorithms are based on the whole of the probability distribution, their derivation processes became rather complicated. Especially, though the unscented Kalman filter (UKF) and particle filter are useful for non-linear systems, UKF considers only the mean and variance of variables, and the particle filter needs very complicated algorithm based on Monte carlo simulation [15, 21] .

Furthermore, state estimation methods for stochastic systems with complex characteristics and/or unknown structure have been proposed by using Bayes theorem on probability distribution.

Especially, though the unscented Kalman filter (UKF) and particle filter are useful for non-linear systems, UKF considers only the mean and variance of variables, and the particle filter needs very complicated algorithm based on Monte carlo simulation.


The specific signal in the actual electromagnetic wave frequently shows some very complex fluctuation forms of non-Gaussian type owing to natural, social and human factors [1] [2] [3] . Furthermore, the observed data are inevitably contaminated by the background noise of arbitrary distribution type [4, 5] . In these situations, it is often desirable to estimate several evaluation quantities such as the peak value, the amplitude probability distribution, the average crossing rate, the pulse spacing and duration distributions, etc. of the specific signal. Without losing their mutual relationships, it is indispensable to estimate the original wave fluctuation form itself of the specific signal based on the observed noise data.

The specific signal in the actual electromagnetic wave frequently shows some very complex fluctuation forms of non-Gaussian type owing to natural, social and human factors.

Furthermore, the observed data are inevitably contaminated by the background noise of arbitrary distribution type.


Orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT) is an important treatment for patients with end-stage, refractory heart failure. Advances in immunosuppressive therapies have resulted over time in improved longevity of post-OHT recipients [1] . Presently, the leading causes of cardiovascular mortality in late post-OHT (> 10 years) patients include graft failure and coronary allograft vasculopathy (CAV) [2] . The diagnosis of CAV is typically confirmed with invasive coronary angiography, often with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) to detect abnormal intimal thickening. Other invasive markers of CAV include abnormal coronary flow reserve or TIMI frame counts [3, 4] . Lately however, there is a growing interest to identify a robust, non-invasive technique to diagnose and monitor CAV.

Advances in immunosuppressive therapies have resulted over time in improved longevity of post-OHT recipients.

Presently, the leading causes of cardiovascular mortality in late post-OHT (> 10 years) patients include graft failure and coronary allograft vasculopathy (CAV).

Other invasive markers of CAV include abnormal coronary flow reserve or TIMI frame counts.


The parametrised versions of the uniform boundary condition serve as first step for glueing results for integral foliated simplicial volume. We will give a simple example of such a glueing result along tori in Section 10. Moreover, the uniform boundary condition for the parametrised ℓ 1 -norm on S 1 is a crucial ingredient in the treatment of S 1 -actions for integral foliated simplicial volume [6] .

Moreover, the uniform boundary condition for the parametrised ℓ 1 -norm on S 1 is a crucial ingredient in the treatment of S 1 -actions for integral foliated simplicial volume.


It is well known that the concentration of trace elements in soil, water and air continues to increase due to numerous variable factors, such as industrial activities, traffi c emissions and domestic waste. Many trace elements are present in petrol, deisel oil and are emitted by vehicle exhaust. It is known that these trace elements have the potential to accumulate in plants, animals, other living organisms and soil. Even a minimal concentration of some trace element ions like cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and arsenic (As) is toxic to living organisms (Mendil and Tuzen 2011) .

Even a minimal concentration of some trace element ions like cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and arsenic (As) is toxic to living organisms.


There is a significant limitation with HPT because of the inhomogeneous strain, at least in principle, across the diameter of the samples during the HPT deformation, which can lead to the homogeneity of hardness and microstructure of disks and be verified by materials such as Al, Ni, Cu and austenitic steel for giving the lower values of hardness in the centers but higher hardness in the edge of disks [1, 5] . However, recently experiment results of pure Al material of HPT indicated that there are higher hardness values in the centers of the disks [11, 12] . The study on inhomogeneity of HPT processed IF steel disks is particularly concerned by materials researchers.

There is a significant limitation with HPT because of the inhomogeneous strain, at least in principle, across the diameter of the samples during the HPT deformation, which can lead to the homogeneity of hardness and microstructure of disks and be verified by materials such as Al, Ni, Cu and austenitic steel for giving the lower values of hardness in the centers but higher hardness in the edge of disks.

However, recently experiment results of pure Al material of HPT indicated that there are higher hardness values in the centers of the disks.


Simplified farfield-prediction-techniques for turbulent jets rely on acoustic analogies [40] [41] [42] . The acoustic mode greatly facilitates such predictions: source mechanisms which contribute to acoustic energy are discussed in Section 3.4. The compactness of the radial support of acoustic sources leads to significant advantages in near and far-field sound pressure level (SPL) predictions. POD is also used to isolate specific modes of oscillations in the acoustic mode, which contribute to periodic as well as intermittently-radiated components in the core.

Simplified farfield-prediction-techniques for turbulent jets rely on acoustic analogies.


Foldable structures, which can be transformed from a closed configuration to a expanded form, are developed from the earliest modern stages with PineroÕs movable theater in 1961 [1] . Especially during the last decade, the retractable roof structures are widely used in long-span space structures [2] . On the other hand, with the further development of aerospace science and technology, deployable structures are of even greater interest in aerospace industries [3, 4] .

Foldable structures, which can be transformed from a closed configuration to a expanded form, are developed from the earliest modern stages with PineroÕs movable theater in 1961.

Especially during the last decade, the retractable roof structures are widely used in long-span space structures.

On the other hand, with the further development of aerospace science and technology, deployable structures are of even greater interest in aerospace industries.


The studied samples consist of InAs QDs layer with 2.4 ML nominal thickness grown at 500 ∘ C by molecular beam epitaxy on semi-insulating (001) GaAs substrate. The samples differ on the InAs material deposition rates being varied from 0.013 ML/s to 0.069 ML/s. The QDs are covered by 50 nm of GaAs at 500 ∘ C with a relatively high growth rate (0.98 ML/s) for all samples to minimize the In/Ga intermixing. The optical properties are evaluated by photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy using a 514.5 nm line of an Ar + laser. The PL emission was dispersed by a spectrometer and detected by an InGaAs photodetector using a conventional lock-in technique. More details on the growth procedure, photoluminescence, and atomic force microscopy investigations of these structures can be found elsewhere [7] .

More details on the growth procedure, photoluminescence, and atomic force microscopy investigations of these structures can be found elsewhere.


Road safety is inherently associated with any new technology introduced in vehicles. The negative impacts of road accidents include fatalities, injuries, material damages, and disruption of traffic and the introduction of appropriate driver assistance systems could alleviate to a certain degree these consequences, both in terms of frequency and intensity (Sala and Mussone 2000) . Driver assistance systems have the potential to improve road safety by influencing traffic exposure, by reducing the probability of crashes and by reducing injury consequences. More precisely, driver assistance systems support the modification of the driving task by providing information, advice, and assistance, they influence directly and indirectly the behaviour of users of both equipped and non-equipped vehicles and alleviate accident consequences by invehicle intelligent injury reducing systems (Naniopoulos 2000) .

The negative impacts of road accidents include fatalities, injuries, material damages, and disruption of traffic and the introduction of appropriate driver assistance systems could alleviate to a certain degree these consequences, both in terms of frequency and intensity.

More precisely, driver assistance systems support the modification of the driving task by providing information, advice, and assistance, they influence directly and indirectly the behaviour of users of both equipped and non-equipped vehicles and alleviate accident consequences by invehicle intelligent injury reducing systems.


Besides solubility a key issue in the synthesis of polyoxadiazole is the achievement of high molecular weight and good mechanical properties. An optimization of polyoxadiazole synthesis for preparation of membranes has been also previously reported [11] . The synthesis was performed with the diphenyl ether attached to the main chain. Poly(4,4'-diphenylether-1,3,4-oxadiazole) (POD-DPE) soluble in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) could be obtained, allowing the preparation of dense films by solvent evaporation [11] .

An optimization of polyoxadiazole synthesis for preparation of membranes has been also previously reported.

Poly(4,4'-diphenylether-1,3,4-oxadiazole) (POD-DPE) soluble in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) could be obtained, allowing the preparation of dense films by solvent evaporation.


However, due to its restricted solubility, membranes were prepared from polymer solutions in sulfuric acid by phase inversion giving porous membranes. The conductivity of the undoped porous membranes with 100% of relative humidity was around 10 -7 S cm -1 [5] . High proton conductivities were obtained (10 -1 S cm -1 ) for doped uncompressed polyoxadiazole membranes with phosphoric acid and attributed to the fact that the acid fills the pores of these materials providing a conduction pathway through the liquid phase [5] . Recently new functionalized oxadiazole oligomers and polymers prepared by another route, as well as organic inorganic membranes, have been developed by our group [6] [7] [8] . Tailored structures containing oxadiazole groups and acid sites with improved solubility could be in this form synthesized and tested as fillers for dense fuel cell membranes based on sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) [6] . Sulfonated poly(aryl ether ketones) containing benzoxazole were recently reported for proton conduction [9, 10] .

The conductivity of the undoped porous membranes with 100% of relative humidity was around 10 -7 S cm -1.

High proton conductivities were obtained (10 -1 S cm -1 ) for doped uncompressed polyoxadiazole membranes with phosphoric acid and attributed to the fact that the acid fills the pores of these materials providing a conduction pathway through the liquid phase.

Recently new functionalized oxadiazole oligomers and polymers prepared by another route, as well as organic inorganic membranes, have been developed by our group.

Tailored structures containing oxadiazole groups and acid sites with improved solubility could be in this form synthesized and tested as fillers for dense fuel cell membranes based on sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone).

Sulfonated poly(aryl ether ketones) containing benzoxazole were recently reported for proton conduction.


Explosion of population coupled with industrial revolution results in pollution of water, air and soil. The discharge of pollutants from various industries poses threat to the biodiversity of earth (Muthezhilan et al., 2008) . The textile industry consumes large quantities of water and produces huge volume of waste water from different steps in the dyeing and finishing process (Babu et al., 2007) . The dyes present in textile effluent impart persistent colour to the receiving streams and interfere with photosynthesis of the phytoplankton (Cunningham et al., 2001) . Synthetic dyes have a wide application in food, textile, leather, cosmetics and paper industries due to their ease of production, fastness and variety in colour (Adedayo et al., 2004) . Azo dyes are largest and most versatile class of dyes and are widely used in textile industries. More than 2000 structurally different azo dyes are currently in use . The annual world production of azo dyes is estimated to be around one million tons (Stolz, 2001; Pandey et al., 2007) . In India, an average mill discharges is about 1.5 million litres of effluent per day, which leads to cause choronic and acute toxicity (Sandhya et al., 2005 and Arami et al., 2006) . Azo dyes are xenobiotic compounds, characterized by one or more azo groups (-N=N-) (Selvam et al., 2003) . Due to their chemical structures, dyes are resistant to fading on exposure to light and water (Robinson et al., 2001) . Dyes are toxic, highly persistent and ubiquitously distributed in the environment (Pearce et al., 2003; Maguire, 1992; Zollinger, 1991) . Removal of these dyes from effluent is necessary not only for aesthetic reasons, but also because many azo dyes and their breakdown products (aromatic amines) are toxic and mutagenic (Weisburger, 2002) . But because of the high cost and disposal problems, most of chemical and physical methods for treating dye waste water were not widely applied in the textile industries (Mazmanci and Unyayar, 2005) . In this situation it is mandatory to treat such wastewater prior to their discharge. Among various physico-chemical processes, biological methods are considered to be a promising one (Crini, 2006; Kumar et al., 2006; Silver et al., 2006; Batzias and Sidiras, 2007) . Therefore, the objective of this study was to focus our attention on the isolation of efficient dye-decolourizing bacteria from contaminated sites of an industrial estate.

The discharge of pollutants from various industries poses threat to the biodiversity of earth.

The textile industry consumes large quantities of water and produces huge volume of waste water from different steps in the dyeing and finishing process.

The dyes present in textile effluent impart persistent colour to the receiving streams and interfere with photosynthesis of the phytoplankton.

Synthetic dyes have a wide application in food, textile, leather, cosmetics and paper industries due to their ease of production, fastness and variety in colour.

The annual world production of azo dyes is estimated to be around one million tons.

In India, an average mill discharges is about 1.5 million litres of effluent per day, which leads to cause choronic and acute toxicity.

Azo dyes are xenobiotic compounds, characterized by one or more azo groups (-N=N-).

Due to their chemical structures, dyes are resistant to fading on exposure to light and water.

Dyes are toxic, highly persistent and ubiquitously distributed in the environment.

Removal of these dyes from effluent is necessary not only for aesthetic reasons, but also because many azo dyes and their breakdown products (aromatic amines) are toxic and mutagenic.

But because of the high cost and disposal problems, most of chemical and physical methods for treating dye waste water were not widely applied in the textile industries.

Among various physico-chemical processes, biological methods are considered to be a promising one.


In this paper, we analyse an individual large BrO event observed by the GOME-2 instrument in March 2007. The sequence of satellite measurements is used to study the spatial and temporal evolution of the event and is compared to transport simulations by the FLEXPART particle dispersion model (Stohl et al., 1998) . To investigate the vertical distribution and origin of the BrO, several model runs initialised in different altitudes (boundary layer, lower troposphere, upper troposphere, lower stratosphere) were performed. A possible influence of stratospheric air masses on the high BrO values observed was investigated with data on tropopause heights and total ozone columns as well as backward trajectories.

The sequence of satellite measurements is used to study the spatial and temporal evolution of the event and is compared to transport simulations by the FLEXPART particle dispersion model.


Although European corn borers deposit eggs on many other plants, our data indicate they exhibit a signiÞcant preference for oviposition on corn. The strength of the preference we observed might have been inßuenced by planting dates and relative growth rates of corn compared with the other plants in our Þeld plots. European corn borer preference for corn as a host plant is affected by the relative growth stage of the corn compared with the growth stage of other potential host plants growing nearby (Derridj et al. 1989) . Under some conditions, noncorn hosts may be more attractive locally as oviposition sites than corn because of their relative phenology (Anderson et al. 1984) . However, a range of corn plant growth stages will often be available even on a small spatial scale because of variation in planting dates (as demonstrated by our results), developmental differences among hybrids, and variability in growing conditions between and within Þelds. Combining our results with those of previous studies on European corn borer oviposition leads to the prediction that most European corn borer eggs will be oviposited on corn in the Northeast.

European corn borer preference for corn as a host plant is affected by the relative growth stage of the corn compared with the growth stage of other potential host plants growing nearby.

Under some conditions, noncorn hosts may be more attractive locally as oviposition sites than corn because of their relative phenology.


The urbanization of landscapes causes substantial alterations to watershed processes and subsequent stream function. Elevated OM loads throughout the Jordan River are attributed to urbanization of the watershed and the discharge of pollutants directly into the river. As previously described, the Jordan River suffers from symptoms of the urban stream syndrome, which can be traced back to the initial development of Salt Lake City and the greater Jordan River watershed. Some of the many factors impacting the Jordan River are agricultural runoff draining into Utah Lake (Jordan River source water), direct stormwater and reclaimed water inputs to the Jordan River, and regulation of the flow regime out of Utah Lake and by the Surplus Canal diversion. Flows out of Utah Lake are regulated in an attempt to ) for six sampling locations along the study segment of the Jordan River (measured data at site F (km 66) were not usable). Positive metabolism estimates indicate autotrophy with production greater than respiration, while negative values indicate heterotrophy with production less than respiration N is shown on the y-axis prevent flooding and thus rarely exceed 5.7 m 3 s −1 3 . Additionally, over half of river discharge is diverted by the surplus canal resulting in artificially low flows and a static flow regime in the lower half of the river. With high nutrient concentrations, sufficient light availability and shallow water depths, primary production was extremely high in the upper river and greater than respiration (Fig. 4) . As mentioned above, high OM loads were delivered to the lower river where the physical character of the river changes dramatically. The switch from coarse to fine substrate from the upper to lower river is the product of sedimentation of OM-rich fine particles out of the water column, leading to elevated sediment oxygen demand (Hogsett and Goel 2013) . The combined effect of slow water velocities, increased turbidity, deepening and narrowing of the channel, and the deposition of fine sediment substrate resulted in high respiration rates that overwhelmed rates of primary production in the lower river (Fig. 5) . Rates of primary production and reaeration were unable to produce sufficient DO to satisfy the biochemical oxygen demand and remain above the defined threshold concentration (4.0-4.5 mg L −1 depending on the time of year) for aquatic life.

The switch from coarse to fine substrate from the upper to lower river is the product of sedimentation of OM-rich fine particles out of the water column, leading to elevated sediment oxygen demand.