Plants encounter water stress either when the transpiration rate gets intense or when the root water supply becomes limiting. In first place, water stress is the result of the water deficit, drought or high salinity of soil (Wang et al., 2014) . As an instance, when plants experience high soil salinity or low soil temperature, water remains in soil solution but plants cannot uptake it. This situation is regarded as 'physiological drought'.

In first place, water stress is the result of the water deficit, drought or high salinity of soil.


However, plants also have demonstrated the developed adaptations to stresses with a series of physiological and biochemical interventions that in volves the function of many stress-related genes (Vinocur and Altman 2005) . Drought is addressed as a situation which results in reducing plant water potential and turg or to the extent that eventually plants encounter difficulties in performing normal physiological functions (Farooq et al., 2009) . Drought is as an abiotic stress which is found to be multidimensional in nature, and it has a huge effect on plants at various levels of their organization (Yordanov et al., 2000) . It is the fact that under prolonged drought, many plants dehydrateand die. Water stress in plants lowers the plant-cell's water potential and as a result their turgor reduces, which escalate the solutes' concentrations in the cytosol and extracellular matrices (Yordanov et al., 2000) .

However, plants also have demonstrated the developed adaptations to stresses with a series of physiological and biochemical interventions that in volves the function of many stress-related genes.

Drought is addressed as a situation which results in reducing plant water potential and turg or to the extent that eventually plants encounter difficulties in performing normal physiological functions.

Drought is as an abiotic stress which is found to be multidimensional in nature, and it has a huge effect on plants at various levels of their organization.

Water stress in plants lowers the plant-cell's water potential and as a result their turgor reduces, which escalate the solutes' concentrations in the cytosol and extracellular matrices.


RAB27B, a secreted Rab GTPase, modulates vesicle exocytosis intracellularly [29] . On knocking down the expression of RAB27B in HCC cells, we found that the PI3K/AKT pathway was inhibited. Accompanying this, both P-PI3K and p-AKT expression were decreased. AKT has been found to attach to the cytoplasmic membrane before activation. Once activated by growth factors, it is transferred to the nucleoplasm [30] . In HCC cells, with an increase in RAB27B expression, an elevation in extracellularly-secreted cytokines may stimulate the PI3K/ AKT pathway, which can promote cell proliferation and inhibit cell apoptosis.

RAB27B, a secreted Rab GTPase, modulates vesicle exocytosis intracellularly.

Once activated by growth factors, it is transferred to the nucleoplasm.


Sustainable development is currently closely linked to sustainable assessment. This last point is particularly complex to define. Indeed, a sustainable assessment must necessarily be performed to understand whether a territory is really under an energy transition. The definition of an index is not harmonized. This can be easily understood by the various standpoints on the comprehensive information contained within sustainability indicators, [19] . Recent studies have highlighted the importance of understanding what the driving factors of energy transition for SIDS are through the lens of robust energy policy development to promote the potential of renewable sources, [20] . Thus, the question of sustainability must be studied via a dynamic approach measurement, that allow to measure an evolution in time.

This can be easily understood by the various standpoints on the comprehensive information contained within sustainability indicators.

Recent studies have highlighted the importance of understanding what the driving factors of energy transition for SIDS are through the lens of robust energy policy development to promote the potential of renewable sources.


With the rapid development and application of big data and 5G mobile communication technology, it is a promising solution to store mass information in central database and direct transmits safety related messages to the destination node in form of single-hop broadcasting routing decided by central-server in VANET accident warning system. There are two main technical challenges associated with these centralserver-based accident avoidance systems [13] . The first is the generation of key point with respect to the reliable estimation of a vehicle's position in terms of reducing position data updating. The second is the reliable transmission of these position data through the channel to their intended recipients with high probability. This paper focuses on these two challenges, which reside in reducing vehicle position data updating frequency and improving reliability of the intervehicle's single-hop broadcasting. To achieve these two goals, we should research the position updating algorithms and strategies based on prediction threshold on the basis of the accurate and real-time predictive results, which could also ensure the timeliness and reliability of message delivery. Thus the position data updating pressure in central server could be reduced, and the robustness of data transmission is increased.

There are two main technical challenges associated with these centralserver-based accident avoidance systems.


By contrast, the key to the semi-dihedral case is the theory of Auslander-Reiten sequences or almost split sequences. In Section 6, we construct exotic endotrivial modules over finite groups having a semi-dihedral Sylow 2-subgroup, by using a certain Auslander-Reiten sequence which has as middle term the heart Rad(R k )/ Soc(R k ) of the projective cover R k of the trivial module. The existence of this sequence is related to the fact that the component of the stable AuslanderReiten quiver containing Ω(k) has tree class D ∞ . This is an important result due to K. Erdmann [20, 18, 19] . The fact that the end terms of this Auslander-Reiten sequence are endotrivial is due to C. Bessenrodt [3] .

This is an important result due to K. Erdmann.

The fact that the end terms of this Auslander-Reiten sequence are endotrivial is due to C. Bessenrodt.


Frugivorous animals may influence the spatial patterns of young and adult plants, promoting seed shadows around the parental tree due to viable remnant seeds dispersed near the parent tree [2, 3] . The seed shadow generated by primary dispersers is often modified by secondary dispersers and post-dispersal predators [4] . A large portion of a plant population's potential recruitment is lost to seed predation, and this is the main ecological and evolutionary force that affects trees at the individual, population, and community levels [4] .

Frugivorous animals may influence the spatial patterns of young and adult plants, promoting seed shadows around the parental tree due to viable remnant seeds dispersed near the parent tree.

The seed shadow generated by primary dispersers is often modified by secondary dispersers and post-dispersal predators.

A large portion of a plant population's potential recruitment is lost to seed predation, and this is the main ecological and evolutionary force that affects trees at the individual, population, and community levels.


Many predators may respond to distance of seeds deposition in relation to parental tree, and density of the seed pile, depending on the season, availability of alternative resources, and relative density of young plants [38] . In this study, the number of seeds used in the experiments is highly correlated with their seed disappearance in the field. The correlation between the size and the weight of seeds and the scores of the experiments show a tendency toward increasing mortality with higher number of seeds. Thus, in the experiments with many seeds, after the seeds have disappeared, there is a higher tendency for mortality than germination. The large seeds are not ingested and are spitted out by the tamarins, but these seeds are benefited in germination, due to the remove of the pulp.

Many predators may respond to distance of seeds deposition in relation to parental tree, and density of the seed pile, depending on the season, availability of alternative resources, and relative density of young plants.


We found no significant differences between germination of treatment seeds (defecated or spit out) and control seeds (from fruits or seeds with pulp) in the majority of tests (38.9%). In a previous study of seed germination in the lab, no significant differences in germination of seeds ingested and defecated by the golden lion tamarins were found in about 50% of the tests. These results varied with the plant species, and in experiments with the same plant species carried out in different periods [24, 26] .

These results varied with the plant species, and in experiments with the same plant species carried out in different periods.


The interest in TAA continues to rise with currently more than 20 TAA designs available worldwide. TAA in general is considered to be a cost-effective alternative to arthrodesis. Compared with total ankle arthroplasty, ankle fusion is associated with a higher rate of pseudarthrosis, loss of mobility and progressive arthritis in the adjacent joints. Furthermore, ankle fusion has a complication rate up to 60 %. The main reasons for revision following arthrodesis are nonunion, malunion, infection and wound complications [11] [12] [13] [14] .

The main reasons for revision following arthrodesis are nonunion, malunion, infection and wound complications.


Moreover, the actual supply chain operations involve the interactive behaviors among stakeholders. For instance, whether the farmers are effectively receiving incentives is related to how their interests coincide with the bio-energy plant. In this study, the subsidy only acts on the stakeholders, such as the bio-energy plant and farmers, separately, instead of taking their interactions into account. Studies have shown that coordination among stakeholders on the supply chain network has great potential of increase of eco-efficiency [39] . Therefore, it is recommended that incentive policies apply to multiple stakeholders at the same time to maximize their synergistic effects and enhance the sustainability of supply chain.

Studies have shown that coordination among stakeholders on the supply chain network has great potential of increase of eco-efficiency.


The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a proposition of China for regional economic cooperation under the development of economic globalization [1] . It aims at reinforcing efficient policy coordination to construct an open, encompassing and shared economic mode [2] . Agriculture is the dominating industry of the national economy for countries along BRI routes. Agricultural development inevitably produces a substantial amount of agro-wastes, of which agro-straw is a major portion that accounts for 80.5% of the total [3] [4] [5] . Due to the biomass abundance in agro-straws, proper energy recovery could be a win-win strategy for both the economy and the environment.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a proposition of China for regional economic cooperation under the development of economic globalization.

It aims at reinforcing efficient policy coordination to construct an open, encompassing and shared economic mode.

Agricultural development inevitably produces a substantial amount of agro-wastes, of which agro-straw is a major portion that accounts for 80.5% of the total.


The clinical diagnosis of chronic periodontal disease is based on visual and radiographic assessment of the periodontal tissues and on measurements of the space between the tooth and gum [2] . However, traditional clinical criteria are often insufficient for determining sites of active disease, for monitoring quantitatively the response to therapy or for measuring the degree of susceptibility to future disease progression [4] . Therefore, it is necessary to establish effective markers indicating periodontitis progression.

The clinical diagnosis of chronic periodontal disease is based on visual and radiographic assessment of the periodontal tissues and on measurements of the space between the tooth and gum.

However, traditional clinical criteria are often insufficient for determining sites of active disease, for monitoring quantitatively the response to therapy or for measuring the degree of susceptibility to future disease progression.


Phosphoaluminate cement (PAC) is an anionic specialty cement with the [P-O] and [Al-O] present as the primary components [15] . The main hydration products of PAC are calcium phosphorus aluminate hydrate, calcium phosphate hydrate, calcium aluminate hydrate, and gels. There is no calcium hydroxide or ettringite formed during the process of the hydration. Portland cements (PC) are the most common cementitious materials used in the making of concrete structures. The main hydration products of PC are calcium hydrate (CH), calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H), and so on. CH easily reacts with sulfate and produces expansile products which can deThe embedded properties of PAC could satisfy the requirements of concrete durability in specific environments. Based on the adsorption agglomeration theory and the adsorption characteristics of different kinds of pores at liquid nitrogen temperature the influential regularity of the pore structure of the hardened PAC paste is investigated. In the present paper, adsorption isotherms and hysteresis loops were collected, the Brunauer-EmmettTeller (BET) surface areas were derived, the stages of hydration were examined and the mechanism of early phase hydration was discussed.

Phosphoaluminate cement (PAC) is an anionic specialty cement with the [P-O] and [Al-O] present as the primary components.


In regular microstructures with equally sized fibres, fibres are grown (due to contaminant deposition) until the close-packing of the given lattice is reached and the simulation is terminated (Dalwadi et al., 2016) . In a random lattice this method would not work well since two fibres could already be close initially, leading to a short filter lifetime. To deal with this case, we propose an agglomeration algorithm whereby as fibres come into contact they are combined into a larger fibre.

In regular microstructures with equally sized fibres, fibres are grown (due to contaminant deposition) until the close-packing of the given lattice is reached and the simulation is terminated.


Filtration problems are also commonly modelled using a macroscale approach (Lakdawala, 2010; Manikantan and Gunasekaran, 2013; Krupp et al., 2017) . Here, the filter is modelled as a continuum and its characteristics are accounted for via empirical macroscopic parameters. Macroscale models are popular because one can relatively cheaply simulate the whole filtration process and various operational set-ups. Hence, unlike microscopic models, they are suitable for predictive studies. On the other hand, studying different types of filter media using this approach would require supplementing the simulations with experimental measurements, which are time-demanding and expensive to carry out. Hence, the macroscale approach is impractical for such a study.

Filtration problems are also commonly modelled using a macroscale approach.


In the wider context, the mathematical framework that we have laid out applies to a range of other problems in which obstacle growth and coalescence are important. For example, in the application of tissue engineering and cell growth, the model may be used to understand the effect that irregularities in the scaffold have on the rate of tissue growth. The problem may also be studied in reverse, whereby material is being removed from rather than deposited on obstacles. Such a scenario may occur in various geological applications with dissolution of porous media or in cases where the goal is to remove a particular substance, such as in the decontamination of chemical from a porous medium (Dalwadi et al., 2017) . The model could also be generalized to account for transfer of material from obstacle to obstacle, mimicking scenarios such as Ostwald ripening (Voorhees, 1985) .

Such a scenario may occur in various geological applications with dissolution of porous media or in cases where the goal is to remove a particular substance, such as in the decontamination of chemical from a porous medium.

The model could also be generalized to account for transfer of material from obstacle to obstacle, mimicking scenarios such as Ostwald ripening.


Filtration of contaminant out of a fluid is vital for many industrial applications. Filtration technology is used in air conditioning and purifying systems, cars, vacuum cleaners, water treatment and food industries to name a few. Filtration in these applications operates under the same principles (Neunzert and Prätzel-Wolters, 2015) . Contaminated fluid, such as air or water, is transported through a porous material, the filter media. As contaminants pass through the filter media, they come into contact with the surface of the porous media and adhere, and as a result, a cleaner fluid is produced. Filtration processes can be classified using four main characteristics: the transport mechanism, the operational set-up, the adsorption mechanisms and the filter media type.

Filtration in these applications operates under the same principles.


The therapy for upper limb disabilities varies depending on severity. If patients have a high enough degree of residual control, then techniques like shaping and constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) are applied. Patients that have weaker hand movement and control often use commercially available forearmhand orthotic devices with electric stimulation [3] .

Patients that have weaker hand movement and control often use commercially available forearmhand orthotic devices with electric stimulation.


Although the distribution of grasses became more even for blocks 1 and 3 over time, grasses remained clumped at all spatial scales for block 1, while the distribution of grasses for block 3 changed from clumped during 2004 to even during 2007 up to 1m distances. It is interesting to note that most of the B. eriopoda, the dominant grass on block 3, which once covered much of the Jornada Experimental Range, has been substantially reduced over the last 150 years (Gibbens et al. 2005) . We observed that changes in the spatial patterns of B. eriopoda individuals were more extreme than the changes observed for Sporobolus spp., suggesting that these grasses may respond differently to resource distribution.

It is interesting to note that most of the B. eriopoda, the dominant grass on block 3, which once covered much of the Jornada Experimental Range, has been substantially reduced over the last 150 years.


It is quite natural to ask for the next case, a del Pezzo threefold X = Q 4 0 ∩ Q 4 ∞ of degree four which is the complete intersection of two quadric 4-folds. Indeed, X is very attractive since there are several ways to understand vector bundles on X. Since X is a 3-fold, we may construct vector bundles on X by observing curves lying on X via Serre correspondence. On the other hand, it is also well-known that the geometry of the intersection of 2 even dimensional quadrics is closely related to a hyperelliptic curve. Bondal and Orlov showed that the derived category of coherent sheaves on the intersection of 2 even dimensional quadrics has a semiorthogonal decomposition whose components are the derived category of the hyperelliptic curve associated to the 2 given quadrics and the exceptional collection [8] . Recently, there were several attempts to understand vector bundles on a variety using the semiorthogonal decomposition of its derived category. For instance, Kuznetsov studied instanton bundles on some index 2 Fano 3-folds via semiorthogonal decompositions [23] . Lahoz, Macrì, and Stellari studied ACM bundles on cubic 3-folds and 4-folds via semiorthogonal decomposition [24, 25] . Therefore, it is reasonable to apply the semiorthogonal decomposition to understand vector bundles on the intersection of two even dimensional quadrics.

Bondal and Orlov showed that the derived category of coherent sheaves on the intersection of 2 even dimensional quadrics has a semiorthogonal decomposition whose components are the derived category of the hyperelliptic curve associated to the 2 given quadrics and the exceptional collection.

For instance, Kuznetsov studied instanton bundles on some index 2 Fano 3-folds via semiorthogonal decompositions.

Lahoz, Macrì, and Stellari studied ACM bundles on cubic 3-folds and 4-folds via semiorthogonal decomposition.


When data collection was completed, these were tabulated and statistical analysis was performed. The number of factors to be maintained based on the parallel analysis to polychoric variables was verified, using R software version 2.15.3 (Hayton, Allen & Scarpello, 2004; Watkins, 2006) . Then, a database was generated for the software version 6.12 MPlus to perform exploratory factor analysis to polychoric variables (E-SEM), and to obtain fit indices that indicate the suitability of the structure found based on the present sample, considered appropriate from 0.70 (Embretson 1996; Nunnally, 1978) . For the E-SEM, the Geomin oblique rotation and Maximum Likelihood (ML) extraction method were used, considered suitable for polychoric variables. The factors of the constructs related to the Mood Instability dimension were correlated with the two dimensions of the NEO-PI-R and the five dimensions of PID-5.

The number of factors to be maintained based on the parallel analysis to polychoric variables was verified, using R software version 2.15.3.

Then, a database was generated for the software version 6.12 MPlus to perform exploratory factor analysis to polychoric variables (E-SEM), and to obtain fit indices that indicate the suitability of the structure found based on the present sample, considered appropriate from 0.70.


A more pathological personality functioning can be defined according to three relevant characteristics: adaptive inflexibility, vicious circle, and tenuous stability (Millon, 2011) . Adaptive inflexibility refers to the difficulty in relating to others, dealing with stress, and using few and ineffective strategies to achieve goals. The vicious circle is related to behaviors that persist and accentuate pre-existing difficulties in the individual, and tenuous stability is related to a lower resilience against psycho-stressing situations.

A more pathological personality functioning can be defined according to three relevant characteristics: adaptive inflexibility, vicious circle, and tenuous stability.


In the present study, a literature research with the descriptor personality in the Scielo database found 481 national publications, while the Science Direct International database shows 9227 publications with the same construct (using the descriptor in the English language). Despite the evident discrepancy between the number of national and international publications, it is clear that this is one of the most studied constructs in psychology (John, Robins & Pervin, 2008) . This research has been conducted within this framework, presenting the revision of one of the dimensions of the DCPI (Dimensional Clinical Personality Inventory), one of the few Brazilian instruments designed to assess personality characteristics specifically in the more pathological ranges of the construct.

Despite the evident discrepancy between the number of national and international publications, it is clear that this is one of the most studied constructs in psychology.


This paper describes an experimental comparison of several alternative methods for obtaining reliable error estimates of tree-based regression models. These methods are evaluated in the context of pruning regression trees which is considered one of the key issues for obtaining accurate and simple trees (Breiman et al.,1984) . Our comparative study has a particular emphasis on large samples of data.

These methods are evaluated in the context of pruning regression trees which is considered one of the key issues for obtaining accurate and simple trees.


Nonetheless, molten PCL requires the use of high temperatures (above 140 °C) in order to achieve suitably low viscosities for melt-processing [41] . These conditions are not acceptable for most medical applications where bioactive molecules are incorporated into the polymer, since these can be easily damaged by the high temperature. Lower temperature processing can be achieved by the use of organic solvents, but this introduces unwelcome residues and can inactivate complex biomolecules [42] . In addition, the use of solvents imposes the need for an often challenging purification step for their removal after processing, thus making the overall process longer and more expensive.

Nonetheless, molten PCL requires the use of high temperatures (above 140 °C) in order to achieve suitably low viscosities for melt-processing.

Lower temperature processing can be achieved by the use of organic solvents, but this introduces unwelcome residues and can inactivate complex biomolecules.


Furthermore, the plasticisation is easily reversible: upon depressurisation, the supercritical solvent is removed and no residue is left. This use of CO 2 can be extremely valuable in the preparation of polymeric materials for food packaging and medical applications [16, 29] . This, together with the accessible critical point of CO 2 (31.1 °C and 73.8 bar) and its non-flammability, non-toxicity and low price, make CO 2 a valuable renewable alternative to conventional solvents for polymer synthesis and processing.

This use of CO 2 can be extremely valuable in the preparation of polymeric materials for food packaging and medical applications.


In the present analysis, an experiment was performed to investigate the flame pulsation at various operating conditions under a swirl non-premixed flame. Flame pulsation was determined by measuring the fluctuation of the rate of flame heat-release [2, 29] . The varying parameters include flow rate of fuelṁ F , combustor pressure P, mass flow rate of primary airṁ pri , and exit velocity of injector v e . At first, flame dynamic behavior was analyzed with a sequence of instantaneous images for a typical condition. Second, the frequency and amplitude for varying operating conditions were examined. Finally, the measured frequency was compared with the predicted value using theoretical models, and the scaling relationships for St with Fr, St with Re were obtained respectively.

Flame pulsation was determined by measuring the fluctuation of the rate of flame heat-release.


Kelvin-Helmholtz instability initiates large vortices around the flame surface driven by buoyant force. These vortices, having convective motion, cause flame pulsation [2] . The pulsation can exist even with stabilized supplies of fuel and oxidizer. Flame puffing always induces a recurring alteration in the structure of flame, which affects the entrainment rate of air into the flame, flame length, flame radiation, and combustion efficiency. Under severe cases, the flickering can result in the extinction of the flame and the combustion device's failure, such as a gas turbine combustor and boiler furnace. Therefore, understanding flame oscillatory behavior is significant to the combustion community [3] .

These vortices, having convective motion, cause flame pulsation.

Therefore, understanding flame oscillatory behavior is significant to the combustion community.


Pseudoephedrine is a drug commonly prescribed as a nasal decongestant and bronchodilator and is also available in over the counter cold remedy medications. The chemical structure of pseudoephedrine is similar to that of the psychostimulant amphetamine and both are classified as sympathomimetic drugs [1] . Numerous studies have documented the cellular effects of amphetamine which include increased dopamine release, inhibition of dopamine uptake, D1 and D2 dopamine receptor stimulation, cAMP changes, cAMP responsive element binding protein (CREB) activation, immediate-early gene expression and activation of other specific genes such as dynorphin [2] .

The chemical structure of pseudoephedrine is similar to that of the psychostimulant amphetamine and both are classified as sympathomimetic drugs.

Numerous studies have documented the cellular effects of amphetamine which include increased dopamine release, inhibition of dopamine uptake, D1 and D2 dopamine receptor stimulation, cAMP changes, cAMP responsive element binding protein (CREB) activation, immediate-early gene expression and activation of other specific genes such as dynorphin.


Co-doping of ceria has been found to be very effective for enhancement of conductivity in recent years [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] . Most of these compounds contain rare earth elements as a constituent. In the present investigations, effect of co-doping has been studied using Sr as a co-dopant in the composition Ce 0.95 Ca 0.05 O 1.95 , which exhibits the maximum conductivity in our investigation as mentioned above.

Co-doping of ceria has been found to be very effective for enhancement of conductivity in recent years.


A machine translation system requires a substantial amount of translation knowledge typically embodied in bilingual dictionaries, transfer rules, example bases, or a statistical model. Over the last decade, research has focused on the automatic acquisition of this knowledge from bilingual corpora. Statistical systems build translation models from this data without linguistic analysis (Brown, 1993) . Another class of systems, including our own, parses sentences in parallel sentence-aligned corpora to extract transfer rules or examples (Kaji, 1992) (Meyers, 2000) (Watanabe, 2000) . These systems typically obtain a predicateargument or dependency structure for source and target sentences, which are then aligned, and from the resulting alignment, lexical and structural translation correspondences are extracted, which are then represented as a set of rules or an example-base for translation. However, before this method of knowledge acquisition can be fully automated, a number of issues remain to be addressed. The alignment and transfer-mapping acquisition procedure must acquire rules with very high precision. It must be robust against errors introduced by parsing and sentence-level alignment, errors intrinsic to the corpus, as well as errors resulting from the alignment procedure itself. The procedure must also produce transfer mappings that provide sufficient context to enable the translation system utilizing these mappings to choose the appropriate translation for a given context.

Statistical systems build translation models from this data without linguistic analysis.

Another class of systems, including our own, parses sentences in parallel sentence-aligned corpora to extract transfer rules or examples.


Nonetheless, individual agents can react simultaneously to a given economic stimulus; while some may be able to react instantaneously and so will adjust with different time lags. Thus, when considering aggregate behaviour, the time path of structural changes in economic series is likely to be better captured by a model whose deterministic component permits gradual rather than instantaneous adjustment between different values (Leybourne, Newbold and Vougas, 1998) . From this point of view, some authors proposed different unit root tests that consider smooth rather than a sudden change. The main idea behind of these tests is that nonlinearities can be present in time series as an asymmetric speed of mean reversion and autoregressive parameter varies depending upon the values of a variable. This nonlinear behaviour implies that there is a central regime where the series behave as a unit root whereas for values outside the central regime, the variable tends to revert to the equilibrium (Cuestas and Ordóñez, 2014) .

Thus, when considering aggregate behaviour, the time path of structural changes in economic series is likely to be better captured by a model whose deterministic component permits gradual rather than instantaneous adjustment between different values.

This nonlinear behaviour implies that there is a central regime where the series behave as a unit root whereas for values outside the central regime, the variable tends to revert to the equilibrium.


Stochastic algorithms usually incorporate random elements or stochasticity into the strategy for searching the space of possible solutions. While stochastic algorithms can find solutions to problems in large search spaces, it can be at the expense of repeatability because of the random search method. In some cases, the convergence on solutions can take a long time, especially because in the initial stages the starting population is not known (Stockwell 1999) . For example, in most stochastic models used to predict fruit fly populations in the field, the spatial distribution is considered to be very close to random . On the other hand, deterministic models assume that the future response of the system is completely determined by knowledge of the present state and future measured inputs (Jorgensen & Fath 2011) .

In some cases, the convergence on solutions can take a long time, especially because in the initial stages the starting population is not known.

On the other hand, deterministic models assume that the future response of the system is completely determined by knowledge of the present state and future measured inputs.


However, infrequent bus availability and lack of funds for the bus would make even this intervention fail for many women. Thus, not only culturally appropriate and supportive projects like Madrinas Obstéricas, but also structurally responsive interventions would be needed. In many areas of medicine, "structural competency" is being taken on in order to address the health effects of structural violence [44, 45] . This approach within medical training consists of developing a core series of skills for working in setting of social and economic inequalities that affect both health outcomes and health care itself. Recognising the structures that shape clinical interactions, observing and imagining structural interventions, and re-articulating common frameworks for understanding health in structural terms are three of these skills that are of particular relevance to the perinatal care of indigenous women in Mexico, and could make an important contribution to improving clinical care.

In many areas of medicine, "structural competency" is being taken on in order to address the health effects of structural violence.


Stigma against persons living with HIV has been found to be high overall and considerably higher in rural settings within Vietnam than in urban settings [8] . Also, when similar measures have been used, persons in Vietnam have been found to express more stigma against PLHIV than persons in settings with generalized HIV epidemics, where HIV epidemiology and stigma dynamics are very different, such as South Africa or Botswana [9, 10] . The Government of Vietnam has recognized that stigma against PLHIV is in need of attention and in 2006 strengthened legislation and extended protection for PLHIV by promoting their rights to HIV-related confidentiality, medical care, and to integration within the community, as well as prohibiting HIVrelated stigma and discrimination [11, 12] . The law on HIV/AIDS is new and research has yet to be produced on its effects on stigma and discrimination towards PLHIV in Vietnam.

Stigma against persons living with HIV has been found to be high overall and considerably higher in rural settings within Vietnam than in urban settings.

Also, when similar measures have been used, persons in Vietnam have been found to express more stigma against PLHIV than persons in settings with generalized HIV epidemics, where HIV epidemiology and stigma dynamics are very different, such as South Africa or Botswana.

The Government of Vietnam has recognized that stigma against PLHIV is in need of attention and in 2006 strengthened legislation and extended protection for PLHIV by promoting their rights to HIV-related confidentiality, medical care, and to integration within the community, as well as prohibiting HIVrelated stigma and discrimination.


The paper is structured as follows. We describe local search using an example from IR in section 2, from research done so far with hillclimbers. Extensions to hillclimbers for IR are then described in section 3, providing an overview of the various neighbourhood search techniques and giving references for further reading -though the reader is directed to other introductions (Osman, 1995; Osman and Laporte, 1996; Osman and Kelly, 1996; Reeves 1993) . The concept of knowledge based optimizer design is outlined in section 4. In section 5 we then outline how local search techniques can be used in IR using a Query based taxonomy, and then outline ideas for good practice when applying local search methods to IR problems in section 6 by discussing the issue of evaluation. A conclusion is given at the end and we discuss the implications of the research.

The paper is structured as follows.

Extensions to hillclimbers for IR are then described in section 3, providing an overview of the various neighbourhood search techniques and giving references for further reading -though the reader is directed to other introductions.


Despite that in vivo, release of OMVs could not be monitored, the presence of particles resembling these vesicles has been detected in plasma from patients with different infectious processes [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] . OMVs serve as secretory vehicles for proteins and lipids of Gram negative bacteria and play roles in establishing a colon-ization niche carrying or transmitting virulence factors into host cells or modulating host defense and response, acting also as long-range virulence factors that can protect luminal cargo from extracellular host proteases and penetrate into tissues more readily than larger bacteria [19] . An extensive review about the significance of bacterial OMVs in the host-pathogen interaction was published by Kuehn and Kesty [20] . Besides the toxin o protein delivery, other roles were characterized for OMVs, such as: interaction interspecies during multispecies infections, DNA transfer, DNA uptake, communication interspcies [21] .

Despite that in vivo, release of OMVs could not be monitored, the presence of particles resembling these vesicles has been detected in plasma from patients with different infectious processes.

OMVs serve as secretory vehicles for proteins and lipids of Gram negative bacteria and play roles in establishing a colon-ization niche carrying or transmitting virulence factors into host cells or modulating host defense and response, acting also as long-range virulence factors that can protect luminal cargo from extracellular host proteases and penetrate into tissues more readily than larger bacteria.

An extensive review about the significance of bacterial OMVs in the host-pathogen interaction was published by Kuehn and Kesty.

Besides the toxin o protein delivery, other roles were characterized for OMVs, such as: interaction interspecies during multispecies infections, DNA transfer, DNA uptake, communication interspcies.


A world vegetable survey showed that 402 vegetable crops are cultivated worldwide, representing 69 families and 230 genera [17, 18] . Leafy vegetables, of which the leaves or young leafy shoots are consumed, are the most often utilized (53% of the total), followed by vegetable fruits (15%), while vegetables with below ground edible organs comprised 17%. Many vegetable crops have more than one part used. Most of the vegetables are market fresh with only a small proportion processed because most vegetables are perishable. Consumption shortly after harvest guarantees optimal vegetable quality.

A world vegetable survey showed that 402 vegetable crops are cultivated worldwide, representing 69 families and 230 genera.


The strongest limits on Z bosons arise of course from their Drell-Yan like decays into electrons and muons at the LHC. This is due to the easily identifiable experimental signatures [6] . The top-pair signature is more difficult, as top quarks decay to W bosons and bottom quarks, where the latter must be tagged and the two W bosons may decay hadronically, i.e. to jets, or leptonically, i.e. into electrons or muons and missing energy carried away by a neutrino. In addition and in contrast to the Drell-Yan process, the electroweak top-pair production cross section obtains QCD corrections not only in the initial, but also in the final state. For conclusive analyses, precision calculations are therefore extremely important to reduce theoretical uncertainties, arising from variations of the renormalization and factorization scales µ r and µ f and of the parton density functions (PDFs) f a/p (x a , µ f ), and for an accurate description of the possible experimental signal and the SM backgrounds.

This is due to the easily identifiable experimental signatures.


In order to investigate the thermal stability and the oxidation resistance of the as-prepared Mo 2 C powder by the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), which was carried out at temperatures below 900˚C under flowing air in Figure 3 . In the figure, we can find that the weight of the product has not changed significantly below 350˚C. A slight weight loss indicates that the sample might adsorb a little water on the surface. However, an obvious weight loss step occurred in the temperature range of about 350˚C to 450˚C, which may be attributed to oxidation of the graphite to form CO 2 [17] . In this stage, the sample Mo 2 C is very stable. The Mo 2 C sample begines to oxidize at the temperature about 450˚C, indicating that the sample is oxidized to form molybdenum trioxide and carbon dioxide. The sample can be oxidized thoroughly at 550˚C. Therefore, the weight gain remains almost constant on the TGA curve when the temperature ranges of about 550˚C to 720˚C. When the temperature exceeds 720˚C, the curve of the as-prepared Mo 2 C sample has suddenly declined, which is attributed to molybdenum trioxide evaporated at this high temperature (about 740˚C). In a word, because of the ultrafine particles, the sample can be oxidized thoroughly at about 550˚C. But the sample has good thermal stability below 450˚C.

However, an obvious weight loss step occurred in the temperature range of about 350˚C to 450˚C, which may be attributed to oxidation of the graphite to form CO 2.


Implant osseointegration is defined by an intimate bone contact and high adhesive interfcacial shear strength. In the current study, histomorphometric evaluation was selected because it is a reliable and well-defined method for which considerable work has been performed and numerous historical data are available [6, [8] [9] [10] . This study demonstrated that polyethylene implants coated with Ti-PVD and biomimetically or electrolytically deposited HA were able to develop osseointegration comparable to that of a plasma sprayed-HA coated titanium PE implant, that are largely used in hip arthroplasty.

In the current study, histomorphometric evaluation was selected because it is a reliable and well-defined method for which considerable work has been performed and numerous historical data are available.


In order to get an insight into the physics of the problem, we present the results of numerical computations of velocity, temperature and concentration for different values of Prandtl number Pr , Schmidt number Sc, magnetic field parameter M, combined buoyancy ratio parameter N, time t and radiation parameter F . Pr physically relates the relative thickness of hydrodynamic and thermal boundary layers while Sc relates the relative thickness of hydrodynamic and concentration boundary layers (Deka and Paul (2011) ). Velocity profiles represented by Fig.1 show the effect of Pr and Sc numbers for different values of time near the cylinder at X = 1. Effects of Pr and Sc numbers on the transient temperature profiles are given in Fig.2 and transient concentration profiles in Fig.3 with respect to time, near to cylinder at X = 1. The effect of Pr number is very important in temperature field especially. The radiation effect had not been taken into account in the first three figures.

Pr physically relates the relative thickness of hydrodynamic and thermal boundary layers while Sc relates the relative thickness of hydrodynamic and concentration boundary layers).


The more people connect to the internet, making electronic mail (email) as one form of communication the most rapid and economical. The amount of digital information in email as a result of the development of information technology requires a way of organizing and grouping information in an email inbox for the convenience of its users. This unstructured grouping of information is known by the classification of documents [2] .

This unstructured grouping of information is known by the classification of documents.


Large data centers host many third party web applications providing comprehensive services. In such systems, there is a decisive need to provide quality-of-service (QoS) performance guarantees for each class of differentiated services [3] . The QoS of the hosted applications plays a crucial role in attracting and retaining customers, directly impacting on providers profits. Hence, the service providers guarantee a certain level of QoS for each application. In return, the clients agree to pay the service provider based on the specified level of QoS. Such issues of QoS requirements are often negotiated based on Service Level Agreements (SLAs), in which the expected performance level and the cost model involving both revenue and penalty will be clearly defined [7] . The main issue of preserving the QoS is the high variability of the workload, which makes it difficult to estimate the resource requirement in advance [8] .

In such systems, there is a decisive need to provide quality-of-service (QoS) performance guarantees for each class of differentiated services.

In return, the clients agree to pay the service provider based on the specified level of QoS. Such issues of QoS requirements are often negotiated based on Service Level Agreements (SLAs), in which the expected performance level and the cost model involving both revenue and penalty will be clearly defined.

The main issue of preserving the QoS is the high variability of the workload, which makes it difficult to estimate the resource requirement in advance.


The residence time distribution (RTD) in an extruder is a useful means of determining optimal processing conditions for mixing, cooking, and shearing reactions during the process. From the RTD functions one can estimate the degree of mixing, the residence time of mass flow and the average total strain exerted on the mass during its transition and thus provide a clear picture of how an extruder behaves as a chemical reactor (Fichtali and van de Voort 1989) . These results coupled with the knowledge of the operating variables such as temperature, screw speed, screw configuration, and moisture content provide necessary information to predict what fraction of the material will undergo specific reactions.

From the RTD functions one can estimate the degree of mixing, the residence time of mass flow and the average total strain exerted on the mass during its transition and thus provide a clear picture of how an extruder behaves as a chemical reactor.


Nevertheless, extruded rice snacks have been gaining popularity in Western markets during recent years (Pan et al. 1992) . Rice has the ability to expand well and makes an excellent extruded snack. The bland flavor of rice makes it desirable for preserving more expensive flavor attributes (Huber and Rokey 1990) .

Nevertheless, extruded rice snacks have been gaining popularity in Western markets during recent years.

The bland flavor of rice makes it desirable for preserving more expensive flavor attributes.


With near VoD, the program start time is no longer immediate and some artificial delay is added. The hope is that multiple requests for the same program will be made in a short period of time. These requests are then batched and a single program stream is used to service the entire group. The assumption is that the network has an efficient multicast delivery facility and can provide a single program stream to several viewers. Near VoD has proven to be a scalable alternative to true VoD [1] , [2] . The biggest limitation of near VoD is that it requires large viewer populations to achieve sufficient economies of scale. Furthermore, there is a trade-off between scalability and the amount of time viewers must wait before a program starts.

Near VoD has proven to be a scalable alternative to true VoD.


Self excited induction generators (SEIG) have become very popular in wind turbine energy. This is mainly because they have advantages of rugged construction, simple, robust, less expensive and require very little maintenance. They do not require external power supplies to produce magnetic flux for maintaining the desired voltage at the generator terminals. Hence, they are very much suitable for remote and isolated areas applications [1] [2] .

Hence, they are very much suitable for remote and isolated areas applications.


Such methods are characterized by detailed algebraic derivations for the coefficients of the equations. However, these mathematical manipulations are tedious, time-consuming and prone to human errors. In addition, the coefficients established are valid only for this model. For example, if we change the type of load or include the core-loss resistance all the mathematical treatments must be modified [10] .

For example, if we change the type of load or include the core-loss resistance all the mathematical treatments must be modified.


Multiple studies have concluded that both judicial proceedings and statutory rights of redemption do indeed lengthen the foreclosure process and increase lender costs. As expected, the foreclosure process is the longest in states with the strictest foreclosure processes (Hayre & Saraf, 2008) . Foreclosure timelines are about five months longer in states with judicial proceedings than in states with nonjudicial processes (Wood, 1997) . Evidence from the mortgage insurance industry in the late 1980s provides some evidence that statutory rights of redemption also lengthen the foreclosure process (Clauretie, 1989; Clauretie & Herzog, 1990) . Although little evidence has emerged on the impact of state-level foreclosure prevention initiatives, to the extent these initiatives enhance borrower protections, both the length and the cost of the foreclosure process presumably increase. Because judicial proceedings, rights of redemption, and state-level initiatives increase the costs of foreclosure to lenders, these policies may encourage lenders to work with borrowers to avoid foreclosure. By lengthening the foreclosure process, these policies are also designed to give borrowers and lenders more time to find alternatives to foreclosure.

As expected, the foreclosure process is the longest in states with the strictest foreclosure processes.

Foreclosure timelines are about five months longer in states with judicial proceedings than in states with nonjudicial processes.

Evidence from the mortgage insurance industry in the late 1980s provides some evidence that statutory rights of redemption also lengthen the foreclosure process.


With a magnitude measured in dozen and dozen of terabyte of data, the web is not an easy medium to master. Most of web search engines explore a certain portion of the web by indexing most frequent words in all HTML files they can find (search based on the content of documents) and by storing them into a database. Users write a query containing keywords related to the subject they want to search, the engine consults the database and provide results as a linear list of documents containing these words, typically ranked in order of relevance. Indexing is the most common approach to information discovery but the keyword matching provides just one ingredient to finding the right Web pages. The unsatisfactory aspect of this approach is that the list can be quite long, with many replications, and without any indication of possible grouping of related material. Evaluation functions of these engines are usually poor, so documents placed on the top of the result list are often less acceptable than lower ones. If the list is long, one might never reach the better documents, because there is a strong probability that the user gets bored after clicking on several hundred links and gives up. For this reason, in these last years, many search engines moved from (or at least combined) indexing to categorization. In the last years of 1990s Lycos, Yahoo, Altavista, Netscape and Lycos, with many others engines, maintain a categorization of Web pages represented by a position within a knowledge hierarchy. This approach allows a more focused search restricted to the documents within a given category and also the results of a query are arranged within subcategories. This solution is not lacking of drawbacks: first, for many search engines this task is based on manual categorization of documents performed by a team of thousand of well-trained categorization technicians. It is questionable whether manual classification will be able to scale well with the growth of the web. Furthermore, the consistency of categorization is hard to maintain when different human classifiers are involved. An experimental study on manual indexing for information retrieval systems has shown that the degree of overlap in the keywords selected by two similarly trained people to represent the same document is, on average, no higher than 30% [4] .

An experimental study on manual indexing for information retrieval systems has shown that the degree of overlap in the keywords selected by two similarly trained people to represent the same document is, on average, no higher than 30%.


Such type of processes are called Peacocks. They were introduced and intensively studied by B. Roynette, C. Profeta, F. Hirsch, and M. Yor [10] . Actually we will prove that such property is also verified in many disordered systems such as SherringtonKirkpatrick (SK) model, Edwards-Anderson (EA) model, Random field Ising (RFIM) model.

They were introduced and intensively studied by B. Roynette, C. Profeta, F. Hirsch, and M. Yor.


Mobile devices have removed the location limitation such that one can personalize and suggest content in suitable form to him or her while considering the environment where the person is. For example, the tool can be used to obtain updated information about sightseeing around the world. The information can be shared with other users interactively. There are certain challenges in this area such as lack of an efficient model, diversity of information and the reality that the information is not collected in a central server [1] .

There are certain challenges in this area such as lack of an efficient model, diversity of information and the reality that the information is not collected in a central server.


Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major public health issue. It affects approximately 13% of adults in the US and is a strong risk factor for progression to end-stage renal disease, cardiovascular disease and mortality [1] [2] [3] [4] . Unfortunately, prevention and treatment options for CKD and end-stage renal disease are limited [5] . Identifying novel risk factors for CKD may increase our understanding of the pathogenesis of CKD and reveal insights for prevention strategies.

It affects approximately 13% of adults in the US and is a strong risk factor for progression to end-stage renal disease, cardiovascular disease and mortality.

Unfortunately, prevention and treatment options for CKD and end-stage renal disease are limited.


The overarching methodology was Design-Based Research, which was chosen to guide the development of enhanced educational outcomes. Design-based research has increasingly received attention from researchers in education for its interactive and integrative qualities (Reeves, 2006) . It aims to make a grounded connection between research and real-world contexts. This methodology can be thought of as seeking to develop best practice in complex learning environments through the incorporation of evaluation and empirical analyses, from which multiple entry points for various scholarly endeavours arise (Anderson & Shattuck, 2012) .

Design-based research has increasingly received attention from researchers in education for its interactive and integrative qualities.

This methodology can be thought of as seeking to develop best practice in complex learning environments through the incorporation of evaluation and empirical analyses, from which multiple entry points for various scholarly endeavours arise.


Finally, the objective of the current study was not to correlate support seeking with grades as a measure of distance learner success. However, the current study observes that the most effective support seekers, despite the pressures of everyday life, told the most positive stories about distance learning. In stark contrast, those who barely sought support were those whose stories were most commonly littered with frustration and admissions of waning self-regulation (Anderson et al., 2011) . That said, it is worth noting that anomalies always exist. Ian barely reflected on learning supports yet his story was unequivocally as positive as his most interactive peers. This example highlights the danger of over generalising from the findings and underscores the importance of retaining a highly personalised dimension to ODL in new digitalised experiences.

In stark contrast, those who barely sought support were those whose stories were most commonly littered with frustration and admissions of waning self-regulation.


Consistent with a phenomenological approach to understanding experiences in participants' own words, a grounded theory approach was applied to the process of thematic data analysis. Thematic analysis is a technique for identifying, analysing and reporting themes within data. A theme captures something important about the data in relation to the research question, and represents some level of patterned response or meaning within the data set (Braun & Clarke, 2006) . By following a realist approach, the student voice was retained at the forefront of the analysis. In other words, participants' experiences were described as fully as possible to retain a sense of context. Within the limitations of grounded theory, an inductive approach (bottom-up) was applied, which meant that the major themes arose from the data.

A theme captures something important about the data in relation to the research question, and represents some level of patterned response or meaning within the data set.


An intriguing and significant feature of the homology core we present appears when our underlying matchbox manifold M is constructed by suspending a topologically transitive Γ action on a zero-dimensional compact space Z over the oriented manifold M . We show under these circumstances that the top Cech cohomology of such a matchbox manifold is tractable, and as a result in many natural cases the homology core can be identified with the space of finite Borel measures on the space Z that are invariant under the given action of Γ. A related result for tiling spaces is given by Bellissard, Benedetti & Gambaudo [7] . We note however that this result needs only part of the invariant, and is dependent only on the core as an abstract monoid, independent of its representation.

We show under these circumstances that the top Cech cohomology of such a matchbox manifold is tractable, and as a result in many natural cases the homology core can be identified with the space of finite Borel measures on the space Z that are invariant under the given action of Γ. A related result for tiling spaces is given by Bellissard, Benedetti & Gambaudo.


The thermodynamic behaviour, and the related temperature distribution, in a Mediterranean courtyard is defined by the interaction of different causes, such as thermo-mechanical interactions between the walls, elements in the courtyard (fountains, vegetation, etc.) and the air circulating around them [3] . These ones generate a complex structure in the temperature distribution. Three main physical causes that explain this distribution are: stratification, convection and flow patterns.

The thermodynamic behaviour, and the related temperature distribution, in a Mediterranean courtyard is defined by the interaction of different causes, such as thermo-mechanical interactions between the walls, elements in the courtyard (fountains, vegetation, etc.) and the air circulating around them.


Many studies have evaluated the efficacy of both techniques for pain from cancer of the pancreas [1, 5] . However, no reported study has compared the efficacy of both techniques for pain from upper gastrointestinal tumors. Therefore, the aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of a celiac plexus block versus a splanchnic nerve block for control of pain and the effects of these methods on the quality of life upon a six-month follow-up post-intervention for patients with upper GIT tumors.

Many studies have evaluated the efficacy of both techniques for pain from cancer of the pancreas.


Early cancer diagnosis and advances in therapeutic options have extended the life expectancy of patients. However, pain management for these patients has not been as effective. Therefore, as a management strategy, a multidisciplinary approach is recommended, involving a combination of an interventional treatment with neurolysis (chemical neurolysis with alcohol or phenol) and pharmacotherapy. Neurolysis alleviates pain by disrupting pain signals along the neural pathway [1] . Patients whose pain has not been controlled by pharmacotherapy or who have experienced drug-related side effects are ideal candidates for interventional therapy [2] .

Neurolysis alleviates pain by disrupting pain signals along the neural pathway.

Patients whose pain has not been controlled by pharmacotherapy or who have experienced drug-related side effects are ideal candidates for interventional therapy.


Autophagy is one mechanism that cells use to degrade cytoplasmic proteins and organelles during the maintenance of cellular homeostasis (Klionsky et al., 2000) . Autophagy has recently been proposed as a mechanism for MHC class I-mediated cross-presentation of exogenous antigens similar to tumor antigens (Li et al., 2008) . During the process of cross-presentation, APCs such as dendritic cells (DCs) internalize and degrade antigens from the extracellular environment and display the resulting peptides in association with MHC class I molecules on their cell surfaces (Shen et al., 2006) . The stimulation of naive CD8 + T cells by these peptide-MHC class I complexes is known as cross-priming. A growing body of evidence has indicated that autophagy is a potential mechanism for MHC class I-mediated presentation of tumor antigens (Crotzer et al., 2009) . Moreover, there is increasing evidence for autophagy in donor cells as an important mechanism for facilitating antigen delivery to conventional DCs (cDCs), which may contribute to a better understanding of how to optimize immunotherapy for treatment of cancer and chronic infectious disease (Joubert et al., 2012) .

Autophagy is one mechanism that cells use to degrade cytoplasmic proteins and organelles during the maintenance of cellular homeostasis.

Autophagy has recently been proposed as a mechanism for MHC class I-mediated cross-presentation of exogenous antigens similar to tumor antigens.

During the process of cross-presentation, APCs such as dendritic cells (DCs) internalize and degrade antigens from the extracellular environment and display the resulting peptides in association with MHC class I molecules on their cell surfaces.

A growing body of evidence has indicated that autophagy is a potential mechanism for MHC class I-mediated presentation of tumor antigens.

Moreover, there is increasing evidence for autophagy in donor cells as an important mechanism for facilitating antigen delivery to conventional DCs (cDCs), which may contribute to a better understanding of how to optimize immunotherapy for treatment of cancer and chronic infectious disease.


As previously stated, the maximum difference allowed and accepted between theoretical and actual energy consumption is ±15%. Also, the theoretical consumption is generally lower, up to 50%, than the actual one (Majcen at al. [34] ). But "However, the alternatives to simulation methods (as used in some countries), such as energy labels calculated on the basis of the actual energy consumption of the former occupant or based solely on insulation values, are not expected to produce more accurate results" [34] . Therefore, it appears that until now there has been no alternative but to reduce to a minimum the discrepancies between actual conditions and theoretical calculations, by using the latter as the last option. In fact, they are based on common methodologies and assumptions, defined by international standards; therefore, the comparison of results and the percentage variation can give us a clear and more indicative ranking of the considered choices.

Also, the theoretical consumption is generally lower, up to 50%, than the actual one (Majcen at al.).

But "However, the alternatives to simulation methods (as used in some countries), such as energy labels calculated on the basis of the actual energy consumption of the former occupant or based solely on insulation values, are not expected to produce more accurate results".


Finally, some considerations regarding the transferability of the tool are here illustrated. The methodology here presented proposes a new approach to the definition of a general plan of retrofitting intervention that takes into account not only economic but also energy and environmental aspects, based on a novel methodology used to assess the actual building conditions [17] . The four steps of the methodology (Figure 1 ) are general so that they can be applied to different geographic and cultural situations, as well as to different scales. The evaluation of the existing building stock can be made through the judgmental sampling approach, as here proposed, or through previous studies about the building typology of the region. The number of classes to be considered depends on the objective of the research and, finally, on the experts that make the choice itself (for example, the technician of the local housing body, of the municipality, of the chambers of builders, of the regional administration in charge for financial contributions and so on). Of course, the more classes there are, the more building samples there are to be analysed, and the higher the costs.

The methodology here presented proposes a new approach to the definition of a general plan of retrofitting intervention that takes into account not only economic but also energy and environmental aspects, based on a novel methodology used to assess the actual building conditions.


We will define and study a class of schemes that we call correspondence scrolls. The origin of our interest was in a paper by Frank Schreyer and the first author on the equations and syzygies of degenerate K3 surfaces such as K3 carpets [13] . Correspondence scrolls are a natural generalization of rational normal scrolls and K3 carpets that includes families of (degenerate) Calabi-Yau 3-folds and many other examples.

The origin of our interest was in a paper by Frank Schreyer and the first author on the equations and syzygies of degenerate K3 surfaces such as K3 carpets.


However, all the studies have only been devoted to imaging the inner layers of the arteries close to the lumen. Different layers have been distinguished in normal arteries including the intima, the media, the external elastic lamina and the adventitia [9, 15] . To our knowledge, no attempts have yet been made to characterize finer features that are present in the arterial wall as detected by EV-OCT. In particular, there are various morphological features present in the adventitia, albeit with a significantly lower intensity due to the intrinsic optical absorption and scattering properties of tissue. Furthermore, the thicker vessel wall and larger diameter of the carotid artery add to the challenge of EV-OCT due to limited penetration depth and reduced lateral resolution.

Different layers have been distinguished in normal arteries including the intima, the media, the external elastic lamina and the adventitia.


Two entities, who only share a password, and who are communicating over an insecure network, want to authenticate each other and agree on a large session key to be used for protecting their subsequent communication. This is called the password-authenticated key exchange problem. If one of the entities is a user and the other is a server, then this can be seen as a problem in the area of remote user access. Many solutions for remote user access rely on cryptographically secure keys, and consequently have to deal with issues like key management, public-key infrastructure, or secure hardware. Many solutions that are password-based, like telnet or Kerberos, have problems that range from being totally insecure (telnet sends passwords in the clear) to being susceptible to certain types of attacks (Kerberos is vulnerable to off-line dictionary attacks [30] ).

Many solutions that are password-based, like telnet or Kerberos, have problems that range from being totally insecure (telnet sends passwords in the clear) to being susceptible to certain types of attacks (Kerberos is vulnerable to off-line dictionary attacks).


Previously, we reported that 1,4-benzoquinone (PBQ) exhibited a similar modification feature in 30 min which is 3-fold longer than the one for CBQ [23] . This suggests that CBQ is more effective than PBQ in terms of RNase polymerization. Without including covalent linkages of RNase to CBQ, the calculated MW values for RNase oligomers are 27, 41, and 55 kDa, respectively. The MW values observed in SDS-PAGE experiment are slightly higher than the calculated MW values for oligomers suggesting that adduct formation of RNase and CBQ occurred simultaneously with RNase crosslinking.

Previously, we reported that 1,4-benzoquinone (PBQ) exhibited a similar modification feature in 30 min which is 3-fold longer than the one for CBQ.


The full-scan UV-Vis spectra of the modified, postdialyzed RNase (obtained after removal of CBQ and CHQ) show two chromophores at 280 and 350 nm (Figure 4(b) ), which are not present in the spectra of the unmodified RNase (Figure 4(a) ). These newly developed chromophores for the modified RNase indicate that RNase was covalently linked to CBQ. The time-dependent changes in A 280 and A 350 occurred within 24 h of incubation and plateaued in time. This plateauing feature is anticipated since RNase has a limited number of nucleophilic amino acids susceptible to alkylation. ) and the slow spectral change for CBQ + Cys (Figure 4(f) ) are consistent with the later spectral development observed for the post-dialyze RNase between 1 -48 h incubations (Figure 4(b) ). The lower rate constant for CBQ + Asp is expected since the α-carboxylate group of Asp does not serve as a good nucleophile. However, the slow reaction of Cys and CBQ is unexpected considering that BQ and Cys of RNase are known to form a well-identified adduct [32, 33] .

However, the slow reaction of Cys and CBQ is unexpected considering that BQ and Cys of RNase are known to form a well-identified adduct.


The RRE also may be considered as a measure of irreversibility effects within the surface. This is because the ability of the material to transport heat, and therefore entropy, away from the nominal surface of contact is affected by the effects of the temperature and the state of mechanical strain on the transport properties [23] . The degradation in the transport properties, moreover, is one of the manifestations of irreversibility effects within a tribosystem [21, 29] . For both materials, a transition in the SWR takes place when the RRH changes from a negative sign (indicating under supply of frictional entropy) to a positive sign (indicating over supply of Frictional entropy). This transition is from a lower to a higher SWR for Copper and from a higher SWR to a lower one for Titanium. Both curves, again, display opposite curvature. An interesting behavior, is noted when the MWR for both material is plotted against the RRE as shown in figures (7 c and d). It is noted that the MWR, for both materials exhibits a a transition from a higher wear rate to a lower one upon the change in the sign of the RRE. That is when the entropy supplied to the system doesn't exceed the entropy transport capacity, ETC, of the system the MWR increases. As the amount of entropy supplied approaches the ETC of the system, wear is minimized. This trend continues when there is an excess of entropy within the system. When the entropy supply exceeds the ETC, there will be an entropy accumulation within the system. This will lead the system to evolve into equilibrium or a quasi-stable (steady state attrition) state. The mechanism of the accumulation and the beneficial bounds of that accumulation may be investigated in detail upon the consideration that the MAZ is a heat engine in the thermodynamic sense of Carnot. Thus the MAZ may be considered a heat engine that transports heat from a high temperature reservoir, represented by the asperity contact layer, to a low temperature reservoir, represented by the sub-contact layer. One can then proceed to calculate the thermodynamic efficiency of such engine and have more insight into the process. However, details of such a process are considered beyond the scope of this work. At any rate, however, the interesting finding remains to be the decrease of mass wear relative to the ETC, and relative to whether or not the ETC of the material is approached or exceeded.

This is because the ability of the material to transport heat, and therefore entropy, away from the nominal surface of contact is affected by the effects of the temperature and the state of mechanical strain on the transport properties.

The degradation in the transport properties, moreover, is one of the manifestations of irreversibility effects within a tribosystem.


There have been many computer network attacks in recent times which were difficult to detect based only on packet header inspection. Deep packet inspection of the payload is needed to detect any application level attack. In the area of NID systems, new vulnerabilities are identified on a daily basis and appropriate rules are developed for defense. These rules may represent either new signatures or changes to existing ones. From October 2007 to August 2008, 1348 new SNORT rules were added while 8170 rules were updated (on a daily or weekly basis). The most recent 2.8 version of July 29th, 2009 contains 15,730 rules that involve 6455 distinct patterns of sequential characters; our evaluation uses this version of SNORT. It becomes obvious that robust NID systems should handle pattern updates (including additions, deletions and editions) without taking them off-line. Signature matching is also relevant to virus detection techniques that look for the presence of specific command sequences (of characters) inside a program [19] . Although we focus on pattern matching for NID, our approach can be extended for virus detection as well where new signatures are added almost daily.

Signature matching is also relevant to virus detection techniques that look for the presence of specific command sequences (of characters) inside a program.


Carbon dioxide is another biogenic greenhouse gas playing a significant role in anthropogenic global warming. In dairy farming its major sources are soil and cattle. In soils, carbon dioxide is mainly released by microbial decay of plant litter and soil organic matter, and root respiration (Bahn et al., 2006) . Cattle emit CO 2 through the respiration of organic carbon from ingested grass or fodder. However, this short-cycling carbon is generally seen as not relevant for the greenhouse effect, because it is assumed that carbon dioxide emissions have been fixed by plants through photosynthetic activity earlier in the farm cycle and thus make no net contribution to global warming (Schils et al., 2005) . Soils can also act as a sink for CO 2 ; the CO 2 fixed in plant biomass through photosynthesis can be stored in the soil as organic C by converting plant residues into soil organic matter after being returned to the soil. Root systems also make a significant contribution to soil C inputs through rhizodeposition (Rees et al., 2005) . If the input of C into the soil is greater than its losses as CO 2 , C is stored in the soil.

In soils, carbon dioxide is mainly released by microbial decay of plant litter and soil organic matter, and root respiration.

However, this short-cycling carbon is generally seen as not relevant for the greenhouse effect, because it is assumed that carbon dioxide emissions have been fixed by plants through photosynthetic activity earlier in the farm cycle and thus make no net contribution to global warming.

Root systems also make a significant contribution to soil C inputs through rhizodeposition.


In this study we will analyse the mitigation options available for organic mixed crop-dairy systems, which are more common in Europe than specialised dairy or arable units (Stockdale et al., 2001) . They are seen as systems having the potential to increase the efficiency of N cycling, thus reducing N losses to the environment (Ledgard, 2001) . However, the combination of plant and animal production induces complex interrelations between the emissions of GHG and ammonia, which need to be studied before the implementation of mitigation options.

In this study we will analyse the mitigation options available for organic mixed crop-dairy systems, which are more common in Europe than specialised dairy or arable units.

They are seen as systems having the potential to increase the efficiency of N cycling, thus reducing N losses to the environment.


Finally, the results found from the correlation analysis show that those subjects with maladaptive perfectionism inclinations, meaning, with high indicators of concern over mistakes and parental control, it shows higher stress perception as we can see in other study (Dunkley, Zuroff, & Blankstein, 2003) . This way, we can see that when the parental figures hope for a higher results, the fear of failure in the task and disappoint the expectations, produce more stress perception in the teenagers. Consequently, is more likely that they don't involve in new situations if they don't have insured success, being this a problem to learn confrontation stress strategies.

Finally, the results found from the correlation analysis show that those subjects with maladaptive perfectionism inclinations, meaning, with high indicators of concern over mistakes and parental control, it shows higher stress perception as we can see in other study.


The stress response is considered adaptive except when it repeats in several occasions and it shows in a chronic way by both frequency and duration, becoming this an unnecessary waste of energy. It recognizes an adaptive process because it makes the activation to adjust to new conditions and this will define the individual's psychological wellbeing as well as his physic and mental health. This mechanism has change like an evolutionary process, like a protective alarm in different situations where your own life is in danger (Dunkley, Berg, & Zuroff, 2012; Taylor, Papay, Webb, & Reeve, 2016) . However, from the way to understand and face these changes and events appear the stress perception concept, where we understand that the response is not base in the stimulus's characteristics but in the personal and contextual factors.

This mechanism has change like an evolutionary process, like a protective alarm in different situations where your own life is in danger.


In this section, we present details of the finding on the implementation of the proposed study. In our study, we have used LISREL software package to analyze the questions, which were gathered using Likert scale (Likert, 1932) . Table 2 shows details of our finding along with the questions.

In our study, we have used LISREL software package to analyze the questions, which were gathered using Likert scale.


Second, the assessment of bird coloration has also improved, as portable spectrophotometers are now widely available to collect quantitative and objective data on reflectance in a standardized fashion (Montgomerie 2006) . Objectivity is important because relying on human vision to evaluate bird colors may be misleading due to the differences between avian and human visual systems (Bennett et al. 1994) . For example, while human eyes operate with three-color cones, birds use four single cone types and a double cone type that permit them to see in the ultraviolet (UV) and the near-UV part of the light spectrum (Bowmaker et al. 1997; Andersson et al. 1998; Hart et al. 2000) . Moreover, in the avian cones, oil droplets filter the incoming wavelengths, which results in a narrowed spectral sensitivity of the cones and a sharpened color discrimination (Vorobyev 2003; Hart and Vorobyev 2005) . Therefore, some aspects of avian coloration may be hidden from the human eye, and it is highly likely that birds perceive colors differently than human observers. As such, the use of subjective scores may fail to capture differences between species that are beyond our visual capacity (Eaton 2005) . In particular, UV colors, to which humans are blind, may play an important function in sexual selection, as many feathers that are used in courtship displays reflect wavelengths in the UV spectrum (Hausmann et al. 2003; Håstad et al. 2005) . This confounding phenomenon remained completely disregarded in the classical tests of the H&Z hypothesis.

Second, the assessment of bird coloration has also improved, as portable spectrophotometers are now widely available to collect quantitative and objective data on reflectance in a standardized fashion.

Objectivity is important because relying on human vision to evaluate bird colors may be misleading due to the differences between avian and human visual systems.

For example, while human eyes operate with three-color cones, birds use four single cone types and a double cone type that permit them to see in the ultraviolet (UV) and the near-UV part of the light spectrum.

Moreover, in the avian cones, oil droplets filter the incoming wavelengths, which results in a narrowed spectral sensitivity of the cones and a sharpened color discrimination.

As such, the use of subjective scores may fail to capture differences between species that are beyond our visual capacity.

In particular, UV colors, to which humans are blind, may play an important function in sexual selection, as many feathers that are used in courtship displays reflect wavelengths in the UV spectrum.


As the environmental concerns become more important in manufacturing industry, Supply Chain Management (SCM) has gained noticeable attention in the literature. SCM can be defined as an integrated system including the purchasing, manufacturing, holding, distribu-tion and manage of products (Bilgen 2010) . Supply chain structures deal with issues such as effective use of limited resources, development of environmentally friendly production methods, government regulations and meeting the customer's expectations. Environment awareness and management of these environmental concerns are one of the most important subjects of SCM. At this point Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) has appeared as an organizational doctrine which helps establishments and their participants to achieve corporate profit and market-share objectives by decreasing environmental impacts and risk while increasing ecological efficacy (Azevedo et al. 2011) .

SCM can be defined as an integrated system including the purchasing, manufacturing, holding, distribu-tion and manage of products.

At this point Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) has appeared as an organizational doctrine which helps establishments and their participants to achieve corporate profit and market-share objectives by decreasing environmental impacts and risk while increasing ecological efficacy.


The existence of dark matter (DM) is a well established fact, confirmed by a plethora of observations including the most recent cosmological surveys [1] . However, so far all evidences for DM come solely from gravitational effects, and its nature remains yet to be understood. If DM is constituted by new fundamental particles, the most compelling question is perhaps which other types of interactions these particles can have with ordinary matter, which could allow its 'discovery' via non-gravitational effects. But the little we know about DM brings about other puzzles, and one of the most intriguing ones is why is the DM energy density so close to the energy density of baryons: Ω DM /Ω B ≈ 5.5 [1] ?

The existence of dark matter (DM) is a well established fact, confirmed by a plethora of observations including the most recent cosmological surveys.

But the little we know about DM brings about other puzzles, and one of the most intriguing ones is why is the DM energy density so close to the energy density of baryons: Ω DM /Ω B ≈ 5.5?


We will use three ensemble approaches. First a fixed weight ensemble approach in which edges are added together in a weighted graph. Second, we added the edges using weights learned through fuzzy clustering based on POS errors. Third, we will use a meta-classifier that uses an SVM to predict the correct model for edge using only model agreements without any linguistic information added. Parsing accuracy and machine translation has been examined in terms of BLEU score (Quirk and Corston-Oliver, 2006) . However, we believe our work is the first to examine the NLP pipeline for ensemble parsing for both dependency and constituent parsers as well as examining both BLEU and NIST scores' relationship to their Unlabeled Accuracy Score(UAS).

We will use three ensemble approaches.

Parsing accuracy and machine translation has been examined in terms of BLEU score.


A key component of the water cycle is precipitation, but not all basins are well gauged at the surface. The TRMM multi-satellite precipitation analysis (TMPA) carries out estimations from satellite measurements. In most cases a ground validation might be required. Only a few works on this topic in Asia have been reported. For example, it was used 1º  1º boxes over Thailand at monthly and daily scales to evaluate TRMM predicted rainfall against rain gauge measurements [5] . It was found TRMM 3B42 V6 performed better than the 3B43 product when evaluated against gauge measurements. Moreover, high correlation was found for 3 days using the spatial average of 50 boxes. This latter study was limited to evaluation without the proposal of a validation method. Similarly, it was compared the performance of TRMM products against ground-based gauge measurements over Bangladesh [6] . The analysis was made on a point-by-point basis at five selected gauges for the period 1998-2002. It was confirmed that 3B42 V6 performed better than other TRMM products. Moreover, they reported that using spatial averages at a country level reduces biases compared with analysing on a point basis. Again, it would be interesting to include a validation procedure on top of the evaluation. The present study, different from the previous two, proposes correction factors for TRMM products using the available ground measurements at basin scale for hydrological purposes.

For example, it was used 1º  1º boxes over Thailand at monthly and daily scales to evaluate TRMM predicted rainfall against rain gauge measurements.

Similarly, it was compared the performance of TRMM products against ground-based gauge measurements over Bangladesh.


The classification of subfactors of "small index" greater than 4 was initiated by Haagerup [14] . His main result is a list of all possible pairs of principal graphs of subfactors of index larger than 4 but smaller than 3 + √ 3. Here we begin to see subfactors whose principal graph is different from its dual principal graph. If Γ refers to a pair of principal graphs and we need to refer to one individually, we will use the notation Γ p and Γ d . Haagerup's list is as follows.

The classification of subfactors of "small index" greater than 4 was initiated by Haagerup.

Haagerup's list is as follows.


We have reviewed two other football matches experiencing similar problems. In the first, a Dutch team, SC Heerenveen was better off by losing than by playing a draw (Csató, 2018i) . In the second, both teams were interested in achieving a draw in order to grab the only chance to qualify (Csató, 2018d) .

In the first, a Dutch team, SC Heerenveen was better off by losing than by playing a draw.

In the second, both teams were interested in achieving a draw in order to grab the only chance to qualify.


Thermo-chemical conversion technologies can efficiently convert biomass to gaseous, liquid, and solid products under thermal conditions [1] . Pyrolysis and liquefaction are the typical thermo-chemical processes for the conversion of biomass to produce liquid products in high yields. During the pyrolysis process, biomass is heated in the absence of air, forming bio-oils and gaseous products [2] . Liquefaction technology as a widely used method has a lower process temperatures as compared to pyrolytic conversion. In liquefaction processes, biomass depolymerizes in the presence of organic reagents to form useful chemicals [3, 4] . The bio-oils cannot be used as transportation fuels directly without further treatment due to their high oxygen and water contents. Catalytic pyrolysis liquefaction is a promising way to improve bio-oil quality by removing oxygen, while also increasing the calorific value and stability [5] . However, the use of environmentally friendly and low energy-intensive approaches is highly desired. Hot-compressed and super/subcritical water have been widely studied and developed as technologies for the conversion of biomass to clean fuel and valuable chemicals [6, 7] . The main advantage of these technologies is that drying process is not required for the conversion of wet biomass, because the water contained in biomass served as solvent as well as reactant [7] .

Thermo-chemical conversion technologies can efficiently convert biomass to gaseous, liquid, and solid products under thermal conditions.

During the pyrolysis process, biomass is heated in the absence of air, forming bio-oils and gaseous products.

In liquefaction processes, biomass depolymerizes in the presence of organic reagents to form useful chemicals.

Catalytic pyrolysis liquefaction is a promising way to improve bio-oil quality by removing oxygen, while also increasing the calorific value and stability.

Hot-compressed and super/subcritical water have been widely studied and developed as technologies for the conversion of biomass to clean fuel and valuable chemicals.

The main advantage of these technologies is that drying process is not required for the conversion of wet biomass, because the water contained in biomass served as solvent as well as reactant.


Many researchers have also evaluated the characteristics of the solid residue from hydrothermal liquefaction of biomasses by using FT-IR [13] [14] [15] . However, the biomass is a polymer with a particularly complex structure, and therefore, FT-IR alone is not enough to study the hydrothermal liquefaction of biomass. However, more information from the infrared analysis of solid residues may help to better understand the liquefaction processes. To the best of our knowledge, in the previous investigations focused on the evaluation of the characteristics of whole solid residues by using techniques such as FT-IR, X-ray diffraction, and NMR few attempts have been made to first divide the solid residues into different fractions, and then further investigate the characteristics of these various fractions.

Many researchers have also evaluated the characteristics of the solid residue from hydrothermal liquefaction of biomasses by using FT-IR.


The carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen contents of cypress and solid residues were analyzed using an Elemental Analyzer (Elementar Analysen Syetem GmbH, Hanau, Germany). The oxygen content was estimated based on the assumption that the samples only contained the elements carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen. The higher heating values (HHV) of the samples were calculated based on Dulong formula, as described previously [16] .

The higher heating values (HHV) of the samples were calculated based on Dulong formula, as described previously.


The ethanolic twigs extract of A. edulis had showed significant deterrence against M. persicae as well as against E. paenulata (data from our previous report [11] ). However, many of the fractions obtained from the VLC showed to be active also against R. padi, the other aphid tested in this study ( Table 1) . Indeed, there were more fractions active against aphids (13 out of 14) than against chewers (10 out of 14). On the other hand, as a general trend, when activity was found, fractionation caused a decrease in activity against aphids and an increased effect on chewers compared to the whole twig extract, with the extreme in fraction 11 in which an antifeedant effect against S. littoralis was found when no activity was detected in the crude extract from which fraction 11 was obtained. These observations may point to some kind of adding or even synergistic effect in the mixture when tested against aphids, and on the contrary, an antagonistic effect in the case of the chewers.

The ethanolic twigs extract of A. edulis had showed significant deterrence against M. persicae as well as against E. paenulata (data from our previous report).


We observe that many context-aware applications are loss-tolerant, which means that they can adapt to occasional data loss and often do not require exact data delivery. Many multimedia applications are loss tolerant in nature, but we focus on non-multimedia applications in this paper. For instance, an application that maintains a room's temperature for current user(s) will likely be able to function correctly even if it misses several sensor readings. Similarly, an ActiveMap application can adapt to loss of location-change updates by fading the object at its current location as a function of time since the last update [7] . One reason these applications are able to tolerate data delivery loss is that they are designed to cope with unreliable sensors, which also may lead to data loss and inaccuracy.

Similarly, an ActiveMap application can adapt to loss of location-change updates by fading the object at its current location as a function of time since the last update.


Traditional congestion and flow-control protocols concern both unicast and multicast. They are typically transparent to applications and provide semantics such as reliable in-order data transport. When computational and network resources are limited, these protocols have to either regulate the sender's rate or disconnect the slow receivers [5, 9] . The usual alternative, UDP/IP, has no guarantees about delivery or ordering, and forces applications to tolerate any and all loss, end to end. Our goal, on the other hand, is to trade reliability for quicker data delivery and service continuity for loss-tolerant applications. Our PACK service applies to data streams with a particular structure. This loss of generality, however, enables PACK to enforce receiver-specified policies. The PACK protocol does not prevent or bound the amount of congestion, which is also dependent on cross traffic. But with an appropriate customized policy, a receiver is able to get critical data or summary information during congestion. For many applications this outcome is better than a strict reliable service (TCP) or a random-loss (UDP) service.

When computational and network resources are limited, these protocols have to either regulate the sender's rate or disconnect the slow receivers.


Neither hydrothermal treatment nor storage time has influenced external color, soluble solids, titratable acidity and ascorbic acid (p > 0.05) ( Figure 3A, 3B, 3C e 3D) . Fresh-cut 'Ponca' tangerines had a decrease of the L-value on the 6 th day of storage at 0 ºC and 10 ºC (Damiani et al., 2008) . Fresh-cut 'Murcott' tangors, stored at 6 ºC for nine days, did not present difference in soluble solids in storage (Kluge et al., 2003) . Vitamin C level in fresh-cut 'Ponca' tangerines decreased during storage at 5 ºC (Pinto et al., 2007) .

Fresh-cut 'Ponca' tangerines had a decrease of the L-value on the 6 th day of storage at 0 ºC and 10 ºC.

Fresh-cut 'Murcott' tangors, stored at 6 ºC for nine days, did not present difference in soluble solids in storage.

Vitamin C level in fresh-cut 'Ponca' tangerines decreased during storage at 5 ºC.


The flavor of 'Pera' sweet oranges submitted to hydrothermal treatment (50 ºC for 8 to 30 min) was not altered (Arruda et al, 2008; Pinheiro et al., 2009) . To judge appearance, two tests were accomplished: a paired-preference test and a visual quality test. The paired-preference test showed that judges preferred hydrothermally treated fruits to the control fruits. During the 1 st day of storage at 5 ºC, 21 judges preferred the hydrothermally treated sample to the control sample. On the sixth day, 23 judges preferred the treated sample. A minimum of 21 answers in favor of a certain sample is necessary to characterize a significant difference between samples at 5 % significance level (Meilgaard et al., 1991) .

The flavor of 'Pera' sweet oranges submitted to hydrothermal treatment (50 ºC for 8 to 30 min) was not altered.

A minimum of 21 answers in favor of a certain sample is necessary to characterize a significant difference between samples at 5 % significance level.