Data mining (DM), which provides valid and interpretable results to researchers, is becoming an essential way to transform data into information in a wide range of areas, such as marketing, banking, surveillance, and fraud detection (Benoît, 2002) . In education, DM has been applied to data retrieved from the implementation of different instructional modalities including, particularly, computer-based and web-based education as well as traditional (face-to-face) education. Recently, to extract unexpected knowledge and discover various patterns in large data sets from especially e-learning systems for the purpose of solving educational problems, "educational data mining" has been used as a common term (Lile, 2011) . Since computer and web-based educational systems can record vast amounts of student profile data onto log files and databases, DM techniques can be applied to find interesting and unanticipated relationships among attributes of students, teaching and learning strategies, and assessments (Beikzadeh et al., 2008; Romero, Ventura & García, 2008) .

Data mining (DM), which provides valid and interpretable results to researchers, is becoming an essential way to transform data into information in a wide range of areas, such as marketing, banking, surveillance, and fraud detection.

Recently, to extract unexpected knowledge and discover various patterns in large data sets from especially e-learning systems for the purpose of solving educational problems, "educational data mining" has been used as a common term.

Since computer and web-based educational systems can record vast amounts of student profile data onto log files and databases, DM techniques can be applied to find interesting and unanticipated relationships among attributes of students, teaching and learning strategies, and assessments.


Costa Rican formal conservation efforts were a political strategy designed to stem the rapid deforestation affl icting the country (Boza 1993; Evans 1999; Brockett & Gottfried 2002; Sánchez-Azofeifa et al. 2003) . Formation of national parks dates back to at least 1955, but earnest legislation and implementation began in the 1970s (Evans 1999; Schelhas & Pfeffer 2005; Robalino & Villalobos-Fiatt 2010) . The connection between deforestation and the implementation of national parks is made clear by the fact that the legislation that enabled their creation was the 1969 Forestry Law (Ramírez 2004) . Furthermore, the national park service (SPN) was originally housed under the General Forestry Directorate of the Ministry of Agriculture (Evans 1999; Campbell 2002) .

Costa Rican formal conservation efforts were a political strategy designed to stem the rapid deforestation affl icting the country.

Formation of national parks dates back to at least 1955, but earnest legislation and implementation began in the 1970s.

The connection between deforestation and the implementation of national parks is made clear by the fact that the legislation that enabled their creation was the 1969 Forestry Law.

Furthermore, the national park service (SPN) was originally housed under the General Forestry Directorate of the Ministry of Agriculture.


Costa Rica is considered an international leader in biodiversity conservation. Currently, it has 26% of its land and 17% of its coastal waters under some form of conservation, with 28 national parks (Robalino & Villalobos-Fiatt 2010) . Costa Rica has at least seven offi cial forms of protection ranging from forms of absolute preservation (national parks and biological reserves) to conservation forms that integrate human livelihoods (wildlife refuges, national monuments, forest reserves, wetlands, and protected zones), as well as a few areas that have been integrated into international forms of protection (peace parks and World Heritage sites).

Currently, it has 26% of its land and 17% of its coastal waters under some form of conservation, with 28 national parks.


Thus, we must develop a research programme that contextualises the relationship between PAs and population growth. Accurate analyses are needed to provide a sound basis for conservation policy makers at the local, national, and global levels. Indeed, the data presented on these Costa Rican cases indicate other factors, and highlight why a more nuanced analysis is needed. As is the case with all studies interested in the nexus between the environment and migration, it is critical that we understand the household level decisions being made throughout the entirety of the system, in both the sending and the receiving communities (Bilsborrow 2002; Carr 2008) .

As is the case with all studies interested in the nexus between the environment and migration, it is critical that we understand the household level decisions being made throughout the entirety of the system, in both the sending and the receiving communities.


In terms of study methods, test studies on the failure of deep rock masses can be classified into two types: field test studies and model test studies. These two types of test studies have common characteristics: knowledge of patterns is derived from large amounts of test data, and the effects of some factors on the failure of deep rock masses are directly evaluated [4] . Field full-prototype-scale tests are advantageous in that they have visual results and phenomena and the test results can be used directly [6] . Physical simulation tests are an effective, economical, and important manner in which we study deep underground engineering structures. A physical model is a real physical entity. When the model satisfies the basic similarity principle, a physical model can preclude mathematical and mechanical difficulties and relatively truly, comprehensively, visually, and accurately reflect the overall mechanical characteristics, deformation trend, and stability characteristics of the rocks surrounding a deep underground engineering structure [4] . The results obtained from a physical model and the results obtained from numerical calculation or theoretical analysis can be mutually verified; a physical model can also be utilized to discover new mechanical phenomena and patterns to provide important bases for establishing new calculation theories and mathematical models.

These two types of test studies have common characteristics: knowledge of patterns is derived from large amounts of test data, and the effects of some factors on the failure of deep rock masses are directly evaluated.

Field full-prototype-scale tests are advantageous in that they have visual results and phenomena and the test results can be used directly.

When the model satisfies the basic similarity principle, a physical model can preclude mathematical and mechanical difficulties and relatively truly, comprehensively, visually, and accurately reflect the overall mechanical characteristics, deformation trend, and stability characteristics of the rocks surrounding a deep underground engineering structure.


Currently, there are many theories regarding the relation between the depth of a cavern and the pressure of the rocks surrounding the cavern. In some equations, the pressure of the rocks surrounding a cavern is unrelated to the depth of the cavern; in other equations, however, the pressure of the rocks surrounding a cavern is related to the depth of the cavern. The current study shows that when the rocks surrounding a cavern are in a plastic deformation state, the embedded depth of the cavern is greater, and the pressure of the rocks surrounding the cavern is higher. The rocks surrounding a deep cavern are often in a high plastic state; thus, the pressure of the rocks surrounding the cavern increases with the increasing depth [1] [2] [3] . Rock masses with different properties will have different failure modes under high pressure from the surrounding rocks [4, 5] .

The rocks surrounding a deep cavern are often in a high plastic state; thus, the pressure of the rocks surrounding the cavern increases with the increasing depth.

Rock masses with different properties will have different failure modes under high pressure from the surrounding rocks.


In this paper, we focus on examining the new version of the Song protocol [7] . We discover that an attacker is able to desynchronise a tag without even compromising the internal data stored in the tag. Furthermore, this protocol is not scalable, as the server needs to perform a brute force search to retrieve the tag's records, which in turn affects the server performance, especially if it has to handle a large population of tags. After analysing the weaknesses of this protocol, we propose a revised protocol to eliminate these attacks with comparable computational requirements.

In this paper, we focus on examining the new version of the Song protocol.


The ratio λ pick (t)/λ 3γ is determined using the energy spectrum measured by the Ge detectors. The energy spectrum of the o-Ps decay sample, referred to as the oPs spectrum, is obtained by subtracting accidental contributions from the measured spectrum. The 3γ-decay continuum spectrum is estimated using Monte Carlo simulation in which the geometry and various material distributions are reproduced in detail [9] . For every simulated event, three photons are generated according to an order-α-corrected energy spectrum. Successive photoelectric, Compton, or Rayleigh scattering interactions of every photon are then followed through the materials until all photon energy is either deposited or escapes from the detectors. The response function of the detectors is determined based on the measured spectrum of monochromatic γ-rays emitted from 152 Eu, 85 Sr, and 137 Cs, with this function being used in the simulation [9] . These material and detector effects are taken into account precisely, and the 3γ-spectrum is obtained. These are continuous distributions, and is normalized to the observed o-Ps spectrum with the ratio of event numbers within the region (480-505 keV).

The 3γ-decay continuum spectrum is estimated using Monte Carlo simulation in which the geometry and various material distributions are reproduced in detail.

The response function of the detectors is determined based on the measured spectrum of monochromatic γ-rays emitted from 152 Eu, 85 Sr, and 137 Cs, with this function being used in the simulation.


Malignant gliomas (MGs) account for approximately 50% of all malignant primary brain tumors in adults [1] . Standard therapy for newly diagnosed disease includes surgical resection when feasible, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Particularly, the role of chemotherapy has progressively become more important ever since a metanalysis suggested a small but significant increase in the 1-year survival rate of MG patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy [2] . However, despite optimal treatment, median survival ranges from 12 to 15 months for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and from 2 to 5 years for anaplastic gliomas [3] . Such a dismal prognosis is mainly to ascribe to the rapid onset of radio-and/or chemo-resistance as well as to the limited therapeutic options available for MGs recurring after standard treatment.

Malignant gliomas (MGs) account for approximately 50% of all malignant primary brain tumors in adults.

Particularly, the role of chemotherapy has progressively become more important ever since a metanalysis suggested a small but significant increase in the 1-year survival rate of MG patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy.

However, despite optimal treatment, median survival ranges from 12 to 15 months for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and from 2 to 5 years for anaplastic gliomas.


The approach we take in this paper is influenced by the extensive recent work on timestepping methods for dynamic simulation of rigid-body systems in frictional contact [2, 3, 4, 35, 36, 37, 39] . Instead of developing integrators that numerically solve continuous equations of motion while respecting the constraints on the state variables, time-stepping methods directly discretize the equations of motion and the associated constraints automatically, thus guaranteeing the satisfaction of the constraints. We will show the existence of solutions for time-stepping compliant contact models, and demonstrate the convergence of these solutions to solutions ob-tained by rigid body dynamic models (when these are available) as the contact compliance is reduced to zero.

The approach we take in this paper is influenced by the extensive recent work on timestepping methods for dynamic simulation of rigid-body systems in frictional contact.


Silver nitrate is an inorganic compound with chemical formula AgNO3. Silver salts have antiseptic properties. Until the development and common adoption of antibiotics, dilute solutions of AgNO3 is used to be dropped into newborn babies' eyes at birth to prevent contraction of gonorrhea from the mother. Eye infections and blindness of newborns was reduced by this method, but incorrect dosage could cause blindness in extreme cases. This protection was used by Credé in 1881 for the first time (Credé, 1881) . The antimicrobial properties of silver were first detected thousands of years ago when silver containers have been used to store water for preservation. Its disinfection property has been scientifically studied for over a century. Before a disinfectant can be efficiently used as a water disinfectant, its inactivation kinetics must be recognized. Kinetics generally depend on both the dosage of disinfectant and the time of application.

This protection was used by Credé in 1881 for the first time.


In salt-marsh restoration, the most rapid development of vegetation is expected from the community species pool within a target area, either from established vegetation or existing seed bank . Colonization of plants from the species pool is a two-step process: seed availability and germination. Seed germination is a complex physiological process depending on many environmental conditions (Mayer and Poljakoff-Mayber 1982) . Saltmarsh plant species with high salinity tolerance have been shown to germinate and establish earlier .

Seed germination is a complex physiological process depending on many environmental conditions.


We allow for differential compliance with school starting rules in VIC/ACT, WA and NSW: in the first stage, early school entry eligibility and age are interacted with state; state dummies are also included in the regressions. Thus, the control variable vector X 4−5 includes age in months dummies, state dummies, and interactions between age and state. No other controls are necessary in the RDD framework when the running variable is randomly determined at the cut-off (Lee & Lemieux 2010) . As an instrument for the interaction between early school start and disadvantage status, we use the interaction between the early school entry eligibility and disadvantage status.

No other controls are necessary in the RDD framework when the running variable is randomly determined at the cut-off.


As with other studies, sample size restrictions means that we only have a few observations of children born just before or just after the school entry cut-off date. In order to circumvent this problem, we also use children born further away from the cut-off date. Thus, it is important to flexibly model the running variable, which is the child's age in months 3 (Lee & Lemieux 2010) . We expect parents to be more compliant with the school entry rules for cases where the child is older at the point he/she reaches the school-eligible age.

Thus, it is important to flexibly model the running variable, which is the child's age in months 3.


The second reason we focus on married mothers is that we can use the father's income as a measure of disadvantage. As explained above, household income is not a good measure of disadvantage in our analysis, because mother's employment and, in turn, their income may be affected by whether a child starts school earlier or later (Zhu & Bradbury 2015) . Overall, the results based on the father's income as the measure of disadvantage (last column of Table 3 ) are consistent with the results based on low maternal education. According to the parent-evaluations, children of low-earning fathers have lower cognitive and non-cognitive skills whereas no gaps in non-cognitive skills are found using teacher evaluations. We also do not find any evidence that early school start opens gaps in noncognitive skills. One difference from the full sample is that an early school start is not found to narrow the gaps in the cognitive skills. Table 4 presents the results for children of mothers who work part-time (25 hours or less) or do not work at all. We are interested in this sub-sample because children of mothers who do not work full-time are more likely to stay at home rather than attend childcare before starting school. Therefore, larger differences in the home environment between disadvantaged children and advantaged children are expected for this sub-sample. Further, we may also expect there to be less variation in the quantity and quality of childcare by disadvantage status for this sub-sample. Consequently, early school start may have larger effects on the gaps in cognitive and non-cognitive skills among children of mothers who do not work full-time. Another reason to focus on this sub-sample is to net out the effect of early school start on maternal employment. Some mothers may change their employment behaviour in response to their child's early school start (Zhu & Bradbury 2015) . Subsequently, differences in children's test scores may in part, reflect the impact of maternal employment differences. We find that 38 per cent of mothers with children who are eligible to start school in the year they turn five work less than or equal to 25 hours per week, compared to 79 per cent for mothers with children who are ineligible to start school early. This difference is also statistically significant. This suggests that maternal employment may be one of the channels that is driving the difference in the test score gaps between early and late starters.

As explained above, household income is not a good measure of disadvantage in our analysis, because mother's employment and, in turn, their income may be affected by whether a child starts school earlier or later.

Some mothers may change their employment behaviour in response to their child's early school start.


One example of how the State attempts to modify these inequalities is by providing free schooling to children. However, some researchers argue that the inequalities of opportunity are perpetuated, even accelerated, during the schooling years by the increasing divide between private and public schooling (Preston 2011) . Children who attend private schools, compared to those who attend public schools, may have greater access to resources within the school, which can better aid their teachers in delivering the course curriculum and create a more enriching environment for children to learn. Children who attend private schools may also have fewer encounters with children with extreme behavioural problems compared to children who attend public schools.

However, some researchers argue that the inequalities of opportunity are perpetuated, even accelerated, during the schooling years by the increasing divide between private and public schooling.


On the other hand, early schooling is found to widen the gap in vocabulary skills between children from NES and ES families. Among children from ES families, those who started school early do substantially better in the vocabulary test (by almost one half of a standard deviation) than those who started school later. On the contrary, the difference in the vocabulary test score between early and late starters among children from NES families is small (0.464 − 0.392 = 0.072) and not statistically significant. This finding is surprising, because early starters have completed one more year of schooling than late starters. Dynamic complementarity between investments is a possible explanation for the small effect of additional schooling on vocabulary skills among children from NES families. Dynamic complementarity refers to the dependence of the return to skills investment on the stock of that skill (Cunha & Heckman 2008) . In our context, the effect of reading classes on reading skills may depend on the basic stock of vocabulary skills possessed by the child. If children from NES families have poor basic vocabulary skills, they may not derive much benefit from reading classes at school.

Dynamic complementarity refers to the dependence of the return to skills investment on the stock of that skill.


The proof of the main result of this manuscript is based on the following rationale: We start from a variational formulation of the problem (1)- (2) . Due to its special form, the principal part can be reduced to a boundary integral if harmonic test functions are used in this variational principle. We then construct a sequence ϕ ε of harmonic test functions with a particular singular behavior in the limit ε → 0 and choose appropriate Dirichlet boundary data g ε which vary locally around points where the right-hand side of (5) holds true. When inserting the corresponding solutions and test functions into the variational principle, one can see that the lower order terms scale differently with respect to ε compared to the principal part. The latter term however is localized at the boundary and can be fully controlled, which allows us to prove the validity of (5) by contradiction. The main arguments used in our proofs are rather general and allow us to extend the above results in various directions. Some particular results and examples for applications will be presented at the end of the manuscript.

The proof of the main result of this manuscript is based on the following rationale: We start from a variational formulation of the problem (1).


The decision to save either by hoarding cash or placing deposits into financial intermediaries (financial institutions) is an important one, especially in developing economies where households typically save cash at home (Stix 2012) . This trend in savings can lead to adverse impacts on economic development (Levine and Zervos 1998) . Despite this observation, the existing literature has paid little attention to the issue of selecting between hoarding cash or saving in financial intermediaries. Consequently, this study seeks to understand whether shortterm precautionary motives of households affect their participation in and contribution to saving intermediaries.

The decision to save either by hoarding cash or placing deposits into financial intermediaries (financial institutions) is an important one, especially in developing economies where households typically save cash at home.

This trend in savings can lead to adverse impacts on economic development.


In developing economies, the ability to access a formal financial system is not equal among citizens. In rural areas especially, individuals are at a disadvantage due to differences in: education; geographical distance; and formal institutional networks. Filling the gap between the demand and supply of funds in a formal financial system, the informal financial mechanism is now recognized as an important channel to accumulate savings for investment. Such local capital mobilization helps improve the welfare of all participants as well as fulfil personal needs and hedge against possible future risks to households through savings (Kimuyu 1999; Gugerty 2007; Kedir and Ibrahim 2011; Pellegrina 2011) .

Such local capital mobilization helps improve the welfare of all participants as well as fulfil personal needs and hedge against possible future risks to households through savings.


The appeal of informal institutions such as Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs) or private moneylenders is greater in developing economies, especially in rural areas, where the formal financial system is still weak and full insurance coverage is not offered. Additionally, the informal financial system does not require much initial capital or sophisticated operation, such as offices, labourers, computers, and an accounting computer system. Another advantage of the informal system is in the aspect of information dissemination, which may lead to lower transactions costs and less time-consuming processes. People who engage with a specific informal saving institution often come from the same community with the same information available to them. Therefore, participants can reduce the risk of information asymmetry as well as easily manoeuvre around issues such as adverse selection, moral hazards, misevaluations, high monitoring costs, high controlling costs, and repayment insecurities, and, at the same time, increase both trust and valuable social capital (Carpenter and Jensen 2002; Etang, Fielding and Knowles 2011; Kedir and Ibrahim 2011) .

Therefore, participants can reduce the risk of information asymmetry as well as easily manoeuvre around issues such as adverse selection, moral hazards, misevaluations, high monitoring costs, high controlling costs, and repayment insecurities, and, at the same time, increase both trust and valuable social capital.


As depositors' trust forms the bedrock of informal institutions, any negative event will have a more severe impact on depositors as compared to the impact experienced by depositors in formal institutions. However, regardless of its benefits and disadvantages, the informal financial mechanism will continue to exist as a complementary channel to formal systems and play an important role in the process of development. Each household's choice in savings mechanism -formal intermediaries, informal intermediaries, or cash hoarding -is determined by the liquidity each mechanism offers. For example, long-term motives like setting up a business or a motive to bequest something do not require liquid savings, as the probability of a sudden need for this money is rather small. The precautionary motive requires highly liquid savings in developing economies, where insurance for precautionary purposes seems to be less developed (Carrin 2002) .

The precautionary motive requires highly liquid savings in developing economies, where insurance for precautionary purposes seems to be less developed.


Despite financial institutions having a high demand for deposits, cash hoarding became extremely dominant in Vietnamese households (Newman, Tarp and Broeck 2012) . Therefore, the question of how to motivate households to place their savings in formal financial institutions, so that their money can circulate in the economy instead of remaining underneath pillows, became an important consideration for policymakers. Motivated by the current strain on the financial market, this study investigates whether households' short-term precautionary motive in rural Vietnam affects their decision to place their monetary savings in formal and/or informal saving intermediaries, instead of placing cash at home.

Despite financial institutions having a high demand for deposits, cash hoarding became extremely dominant in Vietnamese households.


Currently in discussion in the West is the extension of mediastinal lymphadenectomy. Before, in 1994, the ISDE had defined four types of mediastinal lymphadenectomy in treating esophageal cancer (SCC) according to its extension: the standard, the extended, the total mediastinal and the three-field [8] . The advent of imaging-integrated surgery requires a new look at mediastinal lymphadenectomy.

Before, in 1994, the ISDE had defined four types of mediastinal lymphadenectomy in treating esophageal cancer (SCC) according to its extension: the standard, the extended, the total mediastinal and the three-field.


The side effects of the procedure were mostly mild and transient, although they were not uncommon in our cohort. Most of these were related to side effects of the anaesthetic medication used or to transient systemic effects of the steroids injected. Hypopigmentation and skin atrophy at the injection site have been reported earlier [8, 14] . In agreement with most other authors, we were able to demonstrate a high rate of complete resolution of these local corticosteroid side effects over time.

Hypopigmentation and skin atrophy at the injection site have been reported earlier.


Average shear rate calculations for complex geometries such as helical impellers, flat blade and fan turbines have been investigated using mixer viscometry [10, 11] . This approach uses a mixer constant, k′ to convert a rotational speed to a shear rate. The mixer constant is used to quantify the effect of specific system geometry and fluid characteristics on the shear rate. Once k′ has been established, an average shear rate can be approximated simply as the product of this constant and the rotational speed. Two widely practiced mixer viscometry techniques used to calculate mixer constants are the matching viscosity and slope methods, and development of both procedures can be found in Steffe [12] .

Average shear rate calculations for complex geometries such as helical impellers, flat blade and fan turbines have been investigated using mixer viscometry.

Two widely practiced mixer viscometry techniques used to calculate mixer constants are the matching viscosity and slope methods, and development of both procedures can be found in Steffe.


Strong, up to several hundred millivolts per meter, perpendicular electric fields exist at around 5000-13 000 km altitude in conjunction with optical auroral arcs and inverted-V electron precipitation (Mozer et al., 1977) . Closer examination of the perpendicular electric fields reveals that they often form a convergent electric field signature (electric fields pointing toward each other in close spatial separation). That the pairs of convergent electric fields are typically not caused by temporal variations can be inferred from the fact that upgoing ion beam energies match with the potential V integrated from the boundary of the structure along the satellite orbit, V =− ds×E . The potentials V obtained in this way also agree with typical inverted-V electron energies measured at lower altitudes. Thus, it seems that there exists a negative potential structure for each inverted-V event. From the fact that the occurrence frequency of strong convergent electric fields goes down with decreasing altitude, it was concluded that the potential contours must close above the ionosphere, thus forming an upward parallel electric field (Torbert and Mozer, 1978; Mozer et al., 1980; Bennett et al., 1983) . This also supports the view that the U-shaped potential model is responsible for generating inverted-V type electron energy spectra (Carlqvist and Boström, 1970) .

Strong, up to several hundred millivolts per meter, perpendicular electric fields exist at around 5000-13 000 km altitude in conjunction with optical auroral arcs and inverted-V electron precipitation.

From the fact that the occurrence frequency of strong convergent electric fields goes down with decreasing altitude, it was concluded that the potential contours must close above the ionosphere, thus forming an upward parallel electric field.

This also supports the view that the U-shaped potential model is responsible for generating inverted-V type electron energy spectra.


Since there is a lot of support for the U-shaped potential model from low-altitude observations (altitude below 13 000 km), a natural question arises in what way the U-shaped potential contours continue at higher altitudes. It is topologically necessary that all potential contours close somewhere within the flux tube, either below the equatorial plane or in the opposite hemisphere. In this paper, by "lowaltitude" we refer to radial distances below 3 R E which corresponds to altitude 13 000 km. Surprisingly, no clear evidence of significant convergent electric field signatures was found above about 20 000 km altitude in a statistical study using 78 events for which simultaneous ground magnetometer data were available to rule out substorm cases (Janhunen et al., 1999) . Stable arcs are so common phenomena that among 78 events there should be some, thus the indirect implication was that above stable arcs, no clear evidence of significant convergent fields was found.

Surprisingly, no clear evidence of significant convergent electric field signatures was found above about 20 000 km altitude in a statistical study using 78 events for which simultaneous ground magnetometer data were available to rule out substorm cases.


The second element for cartilage tissue engineering is the scaffold. There are three kinds of scaffold materials; those are natural biomaterials, synthetic polymeric materials, and composited materials. Generally speaking, natural biomaterials have favorable biocompatibility but inferior mechanical stability. In contrast to natural biomaterials, synthetic polymeric materials have favorable mechanical stability but inferior biocompatibility [15] . Composited materials are normally composited with natural biomaterials with some synthetic parts. They can provide the scaffold with favorable biocompatibility as well as strong stability. Although the more complicated fabrication process could be their disadvantage, composited materials provide the researchers with a better choice on the scaffold materials. The scaffold for cartilage tissue engineering should have good biocompatibility and considerable porosity [16] . It should be favorable for cell growth and differentiation as well [17] . The scaffold used in this research was chitosan hydrogel. Hydrogels are normally made to a three-dimensional construct in which cells can anchor, grow, differentiate, and excrete extracellular matrix. Due to their mechanical properties similar to natural tissue, hydrogels are broadly used as the scaffold for tissue engineering. Chitosan has similar properties with glycosaminoglycans, which are the main composition of extracellular matrix in cartilage tissue [18, 19] . The nonimmunogenic property of chitosan hydrogel is a special advantage for implantation in vivo as well as for tissue culture in vitro. With special fabrication process, we can also endow it with highly porous structure.

In contrast to natural biomaterials, synthetic polymeric materials have favorable mechanical stability but inferior biocompatibility.

The scaffold for cartilage tissue engineering should have good biocompatibility and considerable porosity.

It should be favorable for cell growth and differentiation as well.

Chitosan has similar properties with glycosaminoglycans, which are the main composition of extracellular matrix in cartilage tissue.


Growth factor, which is another element, is very important if the stem cells are supposed to be differentiated into some special cells [20] . It is the signal to induce stem cells to differentiate. At present, the usually used cartilage inducing growth factors include TGF-, BMP, and IGF-1 [21] [22] [23] . TGFseries are composed of TGF-1, TGF-2, TGF-3, and TGF-4. They can promote the differentiation of cartilage by improving the expression of cartilage transcription factor SOX9 [24] . TGF-1, which can stimulate the secretion of Aggrecan and type II collagen and keep the phenotype of chondrocyte stable, is the major cell factor to induce MSCs to differentiate into chondrocytes [23] . In this research, we used TGF-1 as the growth factor, modified chitosan as the scaffold material, and considered MSCs as the seed cells to explore a novel cartilage regeneration method. The obtained cartilage tissue was proved the same as its natural counterpart by immunohistochemistry staining tests and qPCR tests.

Growth factor, which is another element, is very important if the stem cells are supposed to be differentiated into some special cells.

At present, the usually used cartilage inducing growth factors include TGF-, BMP, and IGF-1.

They can promote the differentiation of cartilage by improving the expression of cartilage transcription factor SOX9.

TGF-1, which can stimulate the secretion of Aggrecan and type II collagen and keep the phenotype of chondrocyte stable, is the major cell factor to induce MSCs to differentiate into chondrocytes.


Cartilage impairment is one of the most common diseases in the world. It brings about enormous pains to the patients, brings about considerable economic burden to the society, and brings about a big challenge to the clinicians and researchers [1] [2] [3] . Cartilage has little self-healing capability due to its avascular structure. Even if there is new tissue forming at the injured position of cartilage, it usually does not have the biomechanical properties of normal cartilage [4] .

It brings about enormous pains to the patients, brings about considerable economic burden to the society, and brings about a big challenge to the clinicians and researchers.

Even if there is new tissue forming at the injured position of cartilage, it usually does not have the biomechanical properties of normal cartilage.


Optic pathway gliomas (OPGs) are predominantly classified as pilocytic astrocytomas: World Health Organization (WHO) Grade 1 [1] . Although 10 to 30 % are confined to unilateral optic nerve, the majority involves some combination of optic chiasm, optic tracts, hypothalamus and third ventricle. They can be present in any location along the course of the optic pathway, with significant visual morbidity [1] . In a minority of cases, focal neurological deficits can occur owing to tumor extension into adjacent areas of the brain.

Optic pathway gliomas (OPGs) are predominantly classified as pilocytic astrocytomas: World Health Organization (WHO) Grade 1.

They can be present in any location along the course of the optic pathway, with significant visual morbidity.


The literature on Role Mining and RBAC state tuning is quite extensive. The works most closely related to this paper are [5, 13, 16, 17] . These approaches are similar to ours in that they aim at reconfiguring an existing set of roles with the goal of simplifying them.

The works most closely related to this paper are.


MPICH-G2 uses depth to represent where an MPI process is located in a computational Grid [7] . The depths include levels of wide area, local area, system area, and machine-specific area. The topology table represented by depths and colors is a global table for the whole grid and needs to be accessible by every process. Our topology ID representation has a distributed compact table and requires much less space.

MPICH-G2 uses depth to represent where an MPI process is located in a computational Grid.


Mpumalanga Province has also recorded a relatively lower decrease in malaria deaths compared to KwaZulu-Natal. Confidential inquiries into deaths have revealed a combination of factors that were responsible: late presentation of cases and management at health facilities [2] . The strategies for mitigating these challenges will involve ongoing training of health cadres on diagnosis and treatment, and scaling up health promotion for communities to seek treatment early and for South Africa to consider a review of its drug treatment policy to ensure community health workers can diagnose and treat malaria, this issue is currently being addressed by the South African health authorities.

Confidential inquiries into deaths have revealed a combination of factors that were responsible: late presentation of cases and management at health facilities.


Prior to using a natural enemy in a biological control programme, it is essential to evaluate its predatory capacity. One of the criteria for determining the efficiency of a predator is the ability of the predator to change its feeding behaviour in response to changes in prey density, that is, its functional response, defined as the number of prey eaten per predator as a function of prey density [13, 14] . Several types of functional response curve have been described, including a linear increase (type I), an increase decelerating to a plateau (type II), or a sigmoidal increase (type III) in which predators cause a constant (I), negative (II), or positive (III) density-dependent mortality of their prey [13, 15, 16] .

One of the criteria for determining the efficiency of a predator is the ability of the predator to change its feeding behaviour in response to changes in prey density, that is, its functional response, defined as the number of prey eaten per predator as a function of prey density.

Several types of functional response curve have been described, including a linear increase (type I), an increase decelerating to a plateau (type II), or a sigmoidal increase (type III) in which predators cause a constant (I), negative (II), or positive (III) density-dependent mortality of their prey.


Results of the polynomial logistic regression for 3rd and 4th instar larvae and adult female N. arcuatus indicate a type III functional response for these predator stages. The linear coefficient, 1 , was positive, and the quadratic coefficient, 2 , was negative for these stages (Table 1) . Thus, the proportion of prey consumed is positively density dependent, which indicates a type III functional response (Figures 1 and 2 ). Therefore, (3) was substituted for (2) , and the two data sets were fitted to a type III functional response curve. Results of the nonlinear least square regression indicated that parameters and were not significantly different from 0 (not shown): therefore, they were removed from the model, and a reduced model was used [20] . Similarity relationships between and 0 in these data sets ( = 0 ) enabled the use of model (6) for data analysis. Both the estimated value and ℎ were smallest for 4th instar larvae followed by adult females. The asymptotic 95% confidence interval for and ℎ showed that there was a significant difference between ℎ and ℎ + ℎ , while there is no significant difference between and + (Table 4) . Thus, there is a significant difference between ℎ and ℎ + ℎ and these three groups also have a different functional response, with a significant difference in handling time, but not in constant (Table 3 ). For these three groups the relationships between the attack rate and the initial number of prey were linear ( = 0 ), and the rate of successful attack ( ) ranged from 0.0284 to 1.704 h −1 for 3rd instar larvae; from 0.0132 to 1.452 h −1 for 4th instar larvae; and from 0.0172 to 0.6872 h −1 for adult females. The value of the coefficient of determination ( 2 = 1 − residual sum of squares/corrected total sum of squares) indicated that Rogers's random predator equations ( (2) and (4)) adequately described the functional responses of all stages of N. arcuatus (see values for 2 , Table 2 ). The maximum number of N. viridis eggs that could be eaten by all stages of N. arcuatus increased with larval instar and adult females consumed more N. viridis eggs than adult males (Table 2 ). This parameter was highest for 4th instar larva followed by adult females and 3rd instar larva.

Results of the nonlinear least square regression indicated that parameters and were not significantly different from 0 (not shown): therefore, they were removed from the model, and a reduced model was used.


For Single Layer Feed forward neural Networks (SLFNs) Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) is a popular algorithm. But a number of the responsibilities that ELM focuses are single-label, where an instance of the input set is connected with one label. This study proposes a novel method for preparing ELM that will be competent of more than one label categorization utilizing the Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA). CCA-ELM is the name of the new method involving 4 steps in the training process. Any correlation between the input characters and the set of labels using CCA is calculated in the initial step. The succeeding step plots the input space and label space to the new space. Then ELM is utilized to categorize and the ultimate step is to plot to the original input space. Thus compared to the other algorithm that uses similar standard CCA, experimental results prove that CCAELM can enhance ELM for categorization on more than one label learning and its recognition performances are superior (Kongsorot and Horata, 2014) .

Thus compared to the other algorithm that uses similar standard CCA, experimental results prove that CCAELM can enhance ELM for categorization on more than one label learning and its recognition performances are superior.


The units to be addressed in the training programme are: ICT in the new context of higher education, online information searches, and educational applications of Web 2.0. Within these are also addressed, amongst others, the following areas: forms of online communication and their evolution, advanced information searches, ethics and responsibility of digital citizens, new communication strategies through digital applications of Web 2.0,blog creation using Blogger, embedding videos, Scribd documents, SlideShare presentations, creating a Mindomo account, mind-map design, and information and practise in creating presentations in Prezi. Although the inclusion of ICT in the higher education system in Nicaragua has been slow, nowadays it is possible to confirm that the use of these tools has increased in teaching and administration amongst the faculty, as pointed out by the Institutional Strategic Plan at UNAN-Managua, which establishes that, the academic management of new information and communications technology necessarily implies modifying the inputs, processes, and products of higher education. Online and in-person training for teachers, researchers, students and administrators is also imperative to ensure full use of ICT (UNAN-Managua, 2014) .

Online and in-person training for teachers, researchers, students and administrators is also imperative to ensure full use of ICT.


Seabirds are useful as bioindicators of coastal and marine pollution (Hays and Risebrough, 1972; Gochfeld, 1980; Walsh, 1990; Peakall, 1992; Furness, 1993; Furness and Camphuysen, 1997) . Marine birds, defined as birds that spend a significant proportion of their life in coastal or marine environments, are exposed to a wide range of chemicals because most occupy higher trophic levels making them susceptible to bioaccumulation of pollutants. Since different families of seabirds, and different species within these families, have different life history strategies and cycles, behavior and physiology, diet, and habitat uses, their vulnerability varies (Burger and Gochfeld, 2001a) . Further, the relative proportion of time marine birds spend near shore, compared to pelagic environments, influences their exposure. As with other animals, susceptibility often varies with age, reproductive stage, and gender (Burger, 1993) .

Seabirds are useful as bioindicators of coastal and marine pollution.

Since different families of seabirds, and different species within these families, have different life history strategies and cycles, behavior and physiology, diet, and habitat uses, their vulnerability varies.

As with other animals, susceptibility often varies with age, reproductive stage, and gender.


The dried nori products produced in China had two specific genotypes denoted ''China_Sub01'' and ''China_-Sub02'' marked by a single nucleotide deletion of the nucleotide sequence of the partial ITS-1 region of the P. yezoensis strain Minomiasakusa [2] . The China_Sub02 genotype had a single nucleotide insertion in the region of the 5.8S rRNA gene in the 426-bp long partial ITS-1 sequence in the China_Sub01 genotype. Among 160 pieces of thalli samples prepared from 54 dried nori products in China, 151 pieces had these Chinese-specific genotypes ( Table 2 ). The remaining nine pieces had nucleotide sequences that were identical to Japan_Sub02.

The dried nori products produced in China had two specific genotypes denoted ''China_Sub01'' and ''China_-Sub02'' marked by a single nucleotide deletion of the nucleotide sequence of the partial ITS-1 region of the P. yezoensis strain Minomiasakusa.


In Japanese products, the genetic variation of P. yezoensis was very low, and the nucleotide sequences in the ITS region of almost all products were identical to the genotype Japan_Sub01, which corresponded to the reference strains of P. yezoensis f. narawaensis (i.e., U-51, Saga-5, Sasiki, Fukuoka-1, Ariake-1, and Saga103) [5, 8] . The two exceptional cases in which we detected the genotype Japan_Sub02 may have been due to contamination by wild strains in the aquaculture field. In recent years, specific strains have been obtained by the selective breeding of P. yezoensis f. narawaensis in Japanese institutes and have been applied in commercial production [1] [2] [3] . Therefore, genetic homogeneity may be increased by the selective breeding of nori cultivar strains. In Chinese products, the cultivar strain that was closely related to the P. yezoensis strain Minomiasakusa, was detected in 41 of the 45 products used in this study. The Minomiasakusa strain was established from a wild strain in 1979 by a Japanese company (http://www.hinsyu.maff.go.jp/tokei/contents/14_ 2012kaiso.pdf). The genotypes China_Sub01 and China_such cases, multiple trace elemental analysis can support RFLP analysis by MspI cleavage [15] .

In Japanese products, the genetic variation of P. yezoensis was very low, and the nucleotide sequences in the ITS region of almost all products were identical to the genotype Japan_Sub01, which corresponded to the reference strains of P. yezoensis f. narawaensis (i.e., U-51, Saga-5, Sasiki, Fukuoka-1, Ariake-1, and Saga103).

In recent years, specific strains have been obtained by the selective breeding of P. yezoensis f. narawaensis in Japanese institutes and have been applied in commercial production.

The genotypes China_Sub01 and China_such cases, multiple trace elemental analysis can support RFLP analysis by MspI cleavage.


Instead, we apply a successful paradigm from formal verification to the planning domain: the method of counterexample-guided abstraction refinement (CE-GAR) [15, 5] . In CEGAR, one starts with a very coarse abstract model, which is effective but may not be informative, meaning that it may produce extremely suboptimal plans. Then the abstract model is refined iteratively as follows: first, if the abstract model does not exhibit the desired property, then an abstract counterexample (that exhibits why the property fails on the abstract model) is constructed automatically; second, it can be checked automatically if the abstract counterexample corresponds to a concrete counterexample; if this is not the case, then third, the abstract model is refined automatically in order to eliminate the spurious counterexample. Counterexample-guided abstraction refinement improves on cone-of-influence refinement in that new features are added only at states where they are needed for a plan to achieve the objective, whereas states that need not be distinguished for planning remain lumped together in the abstraction. In this way, a nonuniform abstraction is constructed-exposing more detail where necessary, and less detail where sufficientand the construction is fully automatic (algorithmic).

Instead, we apply a successful paradigm from formal verification to the planning domain: the method of counterexample-guided abstraction refinement (CE-GAR).


In a recent paper, algebraic renormalization has been considered with regard to practical applications [6] . A procedure has been suggested and worked out, which allows an efficient determination of the breaking terms. Actually the computation can be reduced to the evaluation of universal, i.e. regularization-scheme-independent, counterterms.

In a recent paper, algebraic renormalization has been considered with regard to practical applications.


Recall that a codimension c subscheme X ⊂ P n is standard determinantal if I X = I t (A) for some homogeneous t × (t + c − 1) matrix A as above. Moreover X ⊂ P n is a good determinantal scheme if additionally, I t−1 (A) defines a scheme of codimension greater or equal to c + 1 in P n . Note that if X is standard determinantal and a generic complete intersection in P n , then X is good determinantal, and conversely [34] , Thm. 3.4. We say that A is minimal if f ij = 0 for all i, j with b i = a j .

Note that if X is standard determinantal and a generic complete intersection in P n , then X is good determinantal, and conversely, Thm. 3.4.


The final set of analyses we conducted focused on the relationship between individuals' scores on the traditional contingencies of self-worth subscales and their expectations that those domains are used in others' social judgments. Scores on the subscale for contingency on appearance were positively associated with higher expectations of appearance as a basis for social rejection and acceptance, r ranking = .32, p = .004, r rating = .24, p = .03. The pattern was replicated with contingency on virtue, r ranking = .33, p = .003, r rating = .38, p < .001. However, no association was obtained between contingency on respect from others and expectations of relational value, r ranking = .06, p > .10, r rating = .02, p > .10. As expected, individuals whose self-esteem was contingent on appearance were more likely to report that appearance is a domain used by others when they make social evaluations. Similarly, participants whose self-worth is staked on virtue were more likely to consider virtue to be a domain that others use when making relational evaluations. From these results, we conclude that individuals think others make social judgments using the same information the individuals use in judgments of their selfworth. Although we did not find significant effects for individuals with self-worth contingent on respect from others, we did find that our expected pattern emerged for those with both relatively internal (virtue) and relatively external (appearance) contingencies of self-worth (Crocker, Luhtanen, et al., 2003) . The lack of findings for respect from others is not surprising given that the scale asks questions about the importance of others' opinions. It was likely difficult for participants to think about how other's opinions of themselves influenced other's social judgments.

Although we did not find significant effects for individuals with self-worth contingent on respect from others, we did find that our expected pattern emerged for those with both relatively internal (virtue) and relatively external (appearance) contingencies of self-worth.


In this study, we found that when social exclusion was salient, individuals whose self-esteem was contingent on virtue, an internal domain, demonstrated an increased accessibility of negative virtue-related words compared to those whose self-esteem was not contingent on virtue. These results are consistent with our findings from Study 2 using a relatively internal domain instead of a domain with clear implications for social acceptance (Crocker, Luhtanen, et al., 2003) . Furthermore, we replicated our findings using alternate conceptualizations of interpersonal outcomes and domain accessibility.

These results are consistent with our findings from Study 2 using a relatively internal domain instead of a domain with clear implications for social acceptance.


Following the writing task, participants completed a word-stem completion task (Quinn, Kallen, & Cathey, 2006) . Participants were shown a word with a missing letter (e.g., _ecent) and were asked to complete it by filling in the letter to create the first word that came to their minds (e.g., decent or recent.). This task contained 13 words, eight of which could be related to the domain of virtue (three negative: blame, sin, wrong, and five positive: decent, right, honor, moral, pure). We used a thesaurus to generate virtue-related words. Only words that could have one letter dropped and be reasonably completed as a non-virtue-related word were chosen. The mean number of positive virtue words created was 2.51 with a standard deviation of 0.98. The mean number of negative virtue words created was 1.82 with a standard deviation of 0.65. For each participant, we created an index that reflected the accessibility of negative compared to positive virtue words. To create this index, we standardized their positive and negative responses, and then subtracted their positive score from their negative score. Higher values correspond to greater accessibility of negative virtue outcomes relevant to positive virtue outcomes. We centered this variable prior to analysis.

Following the writing task, participants completed a word-stem completion task.


Two sets of berms were established to direct runoff from two adjacent pens through one of two 0.23 m Parshall flumes ( fig. 1 ). Samplers were installed at each flume to characterize water quality. Two additional 0.15 m Parshall flumes, with samplers, were installed down-gradient from discharge tubes to collect samples. Difficulties of maintaining upstream flow resulted in using the NRCS curve number method to estimate runoff volume (Grant, 1991) . Samplers were operated in the field from April 1 to October 31 annually. Very little runoff occurred during the 5-month period without samplers primarily due to frozen conditions.

Difficulties of maintaining upstream flow resulted in using the NRCS curve number method to estimate runoff volume.


Analysis of the solids removed from the debris basin consisted of total and volatile solids, TN, and organic nitrogen. Total solids were determined gravimetrically at 105°C, while volatile solids were determined by loss on ignition at 550°C. Total nitrogen was approximated by summing the total Kjeldahl nitrogen with the nitrate-nitrogen (2M KCl extraction, colorimetric determination) (Mulvaney, 1996) . Organic nitrogen was determined by adjusting the total Kjeldahl nitrogen for ammonium.

Total nitrogen was approximated by summing the total Kjeldahl nitrogen with the nitrate-nitrogen (2M KCl extraction, colorimetric determination).


In this paper we have presented a comprehensive set of observations of the ionospheric footprint of an FTE using the EISCAT Svalbard radar, the SuperDARN HF radar network, ground-based optics, and three low-altitude polar orbiting spacecraft. During an interval of southward IMF the EIS-CAT Svalbard radar was tracking a train of narrow flow channels drifting into the polar cap. One of these flow channels was measured with unprecedented completeness. It was surrounded by reverse flow and joined by a PMAF on its poleward edge, consistent with a small-scale twin vortex flow pattern and field-aligned currents on the sides of the flow channel, a downward current on the equatorward side, and an upward current on the poleward side (Southwood, 1987; Oksavik et al., 2004a) . The high spatial resolution of the observations made it possible to track this particular flow channel and its persistence in time and space from where it was launched (equatorward of the cusp aurora) until it left the field-of-view some 15 minutes later and 4 • of latitude deeper into the polar cap. On a gross scale the convection pattern across the polar cap may look like a two-cell pattern, however, on spatial scales of a few tens of kilometers one may see flow distortions due to individual FTEs superimposed onto the background convection. The dimensions of the flow channel indicate that the magnetic flux of the event was at least 1 MWb. We also suggest that the Birkeland current filaments often seen by low-altitude spacecraft in the cusp/mantle are really associated with FTEs in progress. In order to put these high-resolution observations in contrast to classical region 0 or cusp/mantle currents inferred from satellites, we suggest the new term -FTE currents -to describe the Birkeland currents of individual flux transfer events.

It was surrounded by reverse flow and joined by a PMAF on its poleward edge, consistent with a small-scale twin vortex flow pattern and field-aligned currents on the sides of the flow channel, a downward current on the equatorward side, and an upward current on the poleward side.


It is generally accepted that mortality in diabetes cannot be assessed through the analysis of death certificates, where diabetes is often underreported as the underlying cause of death [5, 6, 22, 23] . Reliable information on diabetes-related mortality requires prospective studies of defined cohorts recruited from general population surveys [22] . To our knowledge, our study on diabetes-related mortality is the first study with these characteristics carried out in southern Europe. The size of our study is remarkable, since it included the follow-up of about 26,830 patient-years, the analysis of about 18,000 death certificates, and the tracing of 97.8 % of the initial cohort.

It is generally accepted that mortality in diabetes cannot be assessed through the analysis of death certificates, where diabetes is often underreported as the underlying cause of death.

Reliable information on diabetes-related mortality requires prospective studies of defined cohorts recruited from general population surveys.


Inflammatory responses may promote neural hyperexcitability in the brain, which leads to decreased seizure threshold in patients with seizure disorders [10] . Consequently, epileptic seizures and inflammatory mediators can form a positive feedback loop, reinforcing each other [11] . In seizure disorders, hyperglycemia is also associated with increased seizure frequency and lower seizure threshold [12, 13] . Positive correlation has been described between blood sugar level and frequency and duration of seizures, while correction of hyperglycemia remains the main goal in the management of seizures [14] .

Inflammatory responses may promote neural hyperexcitability in the brain, which leads to decreased seizure threshold in patients with seizure disorders.

Consequently, epileptic seizures and inflammatory mediators can form a positive feedback loop, reinforcing each other.

In seizure disorders, hyperglycemia is also associated with increased seizure frequency and lower seizure threshold.

Positive correlation has been described between blood sugar level and frequency and duration of seizures, while correction of hyperglycemia remains the main goal in the management of seizures.


This leads one to consider models with the additional property of Bose-Fermi degeneracy n F = n F in their massless spectra, known in the literature as super no-scale models [15, [34] [35] [36] [37] . This eliminates the polynomial fall of the potential, which is now forced to fall exponentially fast. The first examples of chiral heterotic models exhibiting this desired behaviour in their potential, together with the additional requirement that the latter has the shape of a bump, were presented in recent work [33] .

This leads one to consider models with the additional property of Bose-Fermi degeneracy n F = n F in their massless spectra, known in the literature as super no-scale models.

The first examples of chiral heterotic models exhibiting this desired behaviour in their potential, together with the additional requirement that the latter has the shape of a bump, were presented in recent work.


Another possibility is to consider models where α i a = 0 such that the linear growth in the volume is absent from the very beginning [15] . This could be achieved by requiring the absence of the exact N = 2 sector. Namely, by ensuring that any N = 2 subsector in the theory is obtained as the spontaneous breaking of an N = 4 one, which may be realised by employing freely-acting orbifolds [44, 45] . In the case of the Z N 2 -type orbifolds under consideration here, however, this is incompatible with the presence of a chiral matter spectrum, which requires that the original theory (before the Scherk-Schwarz flux is turned on) be realised as an N = 1 preserving non-freely acting orbifold, in which the chiral matter arises precisely from the fixed points. It is then straightforward to show that the N = 2 subsectors of the latter, always give rise to contributions α i a = 0 in (1.4) and, therefore, suffer from the decompactification problem.

Another possibility is to consider models where α i a = 0 such that the linear growth in the volume is absent from the very beginning.

Namely, by ensuring that any N = 2 subsector in the theory is obtained as the spontaneous breaking of an N = 4 one, which may be realised by employing freely-acting orbifolds.


The above results indicate that the coating of CNT/PTFE composite film on the bipolar plate increases the output power and the lifetime of the fuel cell. The coating of amorphous carbon film by the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method has also been reported to increase the output power of the fuel cell by 1.4 times, because the contact resistance between the bipolar plate surface and the MEA is decreased [16, 17] . Moreover, the electrochemical measurement shows that the coating of carbon film enhances the corrosion resistance of the stainless steel [18, 19] . On the other hand, the deposition of CNT directly on stainless steel by the catalytic deposition of C 2 H 2 has also been reported to decrease the contact resistance to carbon paper [20] . The above previous reports commonly use vacuum process to deposit the carbon film or the CNT on the bipolar plate. The coating of the CNT/PTFE composite film, which was carried out in this study, has an advantage that it of is lower cost than that of the amorphous carbon film because this coating does not require vacuum process.

The coating of amorphous carbon film by the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method has also been reported to increase the output power of the fuel cell by 1.4 times, because the contact resistance between the bipolar plate surface and the MEA is decreased.

Moreover, the electrochemical measurement shows that the coating of carbon film enhances the corrosion resistance of the stainless steel.

On the other hand, the deposition of CNT directly on stainless steel by the catalytic deposition of C 2 H 2 has also been reported to decrease the contact resistance to carbon paper.


Microseismic monitoring can play an important role in the prediction of the rock bursts in deep mines [1] [2] [3] . As the moisture content of coal increases or decreases, the characteristics of microseismic and acoustic emissions also change. Few studies exist on the strength and failure characteristics of water-saturated coal specimens under impact, and the results of such an investigation are helpful in preventing rock burst.

Microseismic monitoring can play an important role in the prediction of the rock bursts in deep mines.


Consequently, other approaches to task analysis are more commonly used for instructional development, including job analysis, subject matter analysis, and anthropological analyses (Jonassen et al., 1999) . Job analysis utilizes behavioral task analyses that emphasize directly observable activities rather than their underlying cognitive precursors. For example, determined using behavioral task analyses, the job specifications of a computer programmer might include the preparation of flowcharts to illustrate sequences of operations within a piece of software, but they would not specify any of the complex cognitive tasks that are necessary to develop the programming structures that the flowcharts represent (Clark & Estes, 1996; Cooke, 1992) . Subject matter analysis emphasizes the examination of the structural nature of knowledge and the ways in which relevant concepts are related to one another (e.g., the hierarchical relationships among tasks or categories). Other types of task analysis include anthropological methods that emphasize the situated nature of task performance as part of cultural and social human activities (Jonassen et al., 1999) . For instructional purposes, these forms of task analysis commonly utilize direct observations, content analysis of existing documents (e.g., manuals, policy handbooks), and interviews or focus groups with experts (Loughner & Moller, 1998) .

Consequently, other approaches to task analysis are more commonly used for instructional development, including job analysis, subject matter analysis, and anthropological analyses.

For example, determined using behavioral task analyses, the job specifications of a computer programmer might include the preparation of flowcharts to illustrate sequences of operations within a piece of software, but they would not specify any of the complex cognitive tasks that are necessary to develop the programming structures that the flowcharts represent.

Other types of task analysis include anthropological methods that emphasize the situated nature of task performance as part of cultural and social human activities.

For instructional purposes, these forms of task analysis commonly utilize direct observations, content analysis of existing documents (e.g., manuals, policy handbooks), and interviews or focus groups with experts.


SFDs are specific lubricating elements that provide mechanical support and viscous damping in a rotordynamic system. The application of SFDs helps to solve the most commonly recurring vibration problems in practice by attenuating the vibration amplitudes of the rotor at critical speeds and reducing the likelihood of rotor instabilities [1] . However, SFDs in high-speed turbomachinery, including aircraft jet engines often endure severe conditions where the lubricant film is squeezed and ruptured rapidly, while providing the reaction forces to attenuate the steady-state unbalance induced vibration amplitudes.

The application of SFDs helps to solve the most commonly recurring vibration problems in practice by attenuating the vibration amplitudes of the rotor at critical speeds and reducing the likelihood of rotor instabilities.


This paper describes some properties of solutions of boundary value problems for div-curl systems on bounded regions Ω ⊂ R 2 . This is a degenerate elliptic system of two equations in two unknowns where the existence and uniqueness conditions for solutions depend on both properties of the data and also the topology of the region and the boundary conditions. Questions about well-posedness and uniqueness of solutions were studied using variational methods in Alexander and Auchmuty [1] . Here primary attention is devoted to finding energy (2-norm) bounds on solutions, their dependence on boundary conditions and associated regularity results.

Questions about well-posedness and uniqueness of solutions were studied using variational methods in Alexander and Auchmuty.


Complete life tables are published by sex at a national level on a regular basis. However, such life tables are incomplete or unavailable for many middle and low-income countries. Furthermore, because background mortality can vary widely, either geographically, by socio-economic level, or by ethnicity, it is desirable to be able to produce life tables specific to these populations in order to better understand how mortality varies within them [1] .

Furthermore, because background mortality can vary widely, either geographically, by socio-economic level, or by ethnicity, it is desirable to be able to produce life tables specific to these populations in order to better understand how mortality varies within them.


Dilution analysis is a GC-O technique estimating the sensory contribution of single odor active compounds, for instance, AEDA and CharmAnalysis (combined hedonic response measurement). AEDA method, the generally applied GC-O sensing method, was chosen to specify the contribution of odor active substance in star anise [4, 10] . AEDA results could be used to understand the star anise aroma and help the quality control. In AEDA, the dilution factor (FD value) is simply the last dilution at which an odor active compound is detected [11] .

AEDA method, the generally applied GC-O sensing method, was chosen to specify the contribution of odor active substance in star anise.

In AEDA, the dilution factor (FD value) is simply the last dilution at which an odor active compound is detected.


These results are useful for establishing sensory evaluation standards for star anise. Quality of star anise affects product quality significantly due to its wide applications. The main quality standard for star anise in China is "National Standard of the People's Republic of China GB/T 7652-2006", which only normalized physical and chemical properties for raw star anise [12] . However, there is no specification for star anise aroma as a spice. Thus, it is difficult to maintain quality of star anise stable during process. Consequently, it is necessary to propose a quality standard for normalizing aroma for this spice as follow.

The main quality standard for star anise in China is "National Standard of the People's Republic of China GB/T 7652-2006", which only normalized physical and chemical properties for raw star anise.


Simultaneous distillation-extraction (SDE) and solid-phase microextraction (SPME) are generally applied for GC-O analysis due to adequate reproducibility, representativeness and high efficiency [4] . SDE has the advantage of using a small amount of solvent for extracting a large amount of volatile substances. Although SDE alleviates the instability of the analytes by combining distillation and extraction, heatsensitive compounds or artefacts may appear, given that SDE involves high temperatures [7] . We harvested 78 volatile compounds with SDE, although artefacts could not be totally ruled out due to oxidation and/or pollution [8] . However, artefacts may be negligible in total volatile components, considering volatile molecules of star anise that were well-established in literatures, such as trans-anethole, panisaldehyde, linaloo and limonene account for more than 95 % (Fig. 1) . To further validate results from SDE, SPME is also applied to prepare volatile components. SPME is a method that does not require solvent and relative low temperature, which is useful for extracting molecules with different volatility from those extracted by SDE. Consequently, combining SDE and SPME to isolate odor molecules without analyzing entire cohort of volatile compounds is helpful for enhancing representativeness. In addition, it is speculated that SPME is useful in collecting and monitoring volatile molecule profile changing during spice processing due to its efficiency. Thus, it is promising to use SPME in optimizing spice processing. In short, combining SDE and SPME extracting volatile components is beneficial for mutual validation and offering useful tools for investigating spice processing.

Simultaneous distillation-extraction (SDE) and solid-phase microextraction (SPME) are generally applied for GC-O analysis due to adequate reproducibility, representativeness and high efficiency.

Although SDE alleviates the instability of the analytes by combining distillation and extraction, heatsensitive compounds or artefacts may appear, given that SDE involves high temperatures.

We harvested 78 volatile compounds with SDE, although artefacts could not be totally ruled out due to oxidation and/or pollution.


However, an entity pair often has more than one type of semantic relations in real world. Consequently, a bootstrapping-based extraction system might introduce some irrelevant noises into further iteration. For example, given the entity pair (Bill Gates, Microsoft) for CEO-of-Company relation, two context patterns: "was the CEO of " and "has retired from" can be easily extracted from the Web. These context patterns express two different relationships and only the former is relevant to the target relation. If the irrelevant context pattern is used for further iteration, more irrelevant context patterns will be introduced into the extracted results. Although many filtering functions have been proposed in the literature, the extraction precision still is not satisfactory [2] . A significant number of noise or weakly relevant relationship instances are returned. Therefore, we use a graph based multi-view learning algorithm to rank all the extracted entity pairs by their relevance to the given seeds.

Although many filtering functions have been proposed in the literature, the extraction precision still is not satisfactory.


Accurate estimates of sea-surface temperature (SST) transport are fundamental to predicting climate change. One method to obtain such estimates is to analyze the propagation of anomalously warm and cold patches of water (SST anomalies) in surface currents. Advective transport times are often identified by the time-lag of greatest correlation between time series of SST anomalies at remote locations [1] [2] [3] . The disadvantage of this approach is that the modal time of the two-point correlation function does not necessarily occur at the advective time in flows where SST anomalies are advected by currents, diffused by eddies, and relaxed to atmospheric temperatures.

Advective transport times are often identified by the time-lag of greatest correlation between time series of SST anomalies at remote locations.


Private participation in transportation infrastructure projects has been sought by governments globally because of scarcity of public resources, economic expansion, increased demand for better services, and deterioration of transportation infrastructure -particularly in emerging economies. Public-private partnership (PPP) agreements have been used as an important financial engineering alternative to attract private investment to infrastructure projects. PPP can be defined as an arrangement in which private parties participate in or provide support for the provision of infrastructure-based services (Grimsey & Lewis, 2004) . In this context, project finance structures have been used to finance public infrastructure particularly based on concession agreements (Yescombe, 2002) . PPP can take different forms; one popular arrangement used in transportation projects is the build-operate-transfer (BOT) approach, in which a private investor has the right to finance, develop, and operate a project for a defined period and then transfer it to the government.

PPP can be defined as an arrangement in which private parties participate in or provide support for the provision of infrastructure-based services.

In this context, project finance structures have been used to finance public infrastructure particularly based on concession agreements.


In this paper, we explored the alternative view for the business cycle in order to develop a deeper understanding of the economic shocks. Let us assume that two pendulum clocks, which represent industrial sectors, with slightly different oscillation periods are hanged on a beam. The pendulums of these two clocks oscillate with the same period and two clocks show the same hour [15] . When we move one pendulum clock to another beam, the periods of the oscillation are not same for both the pendulum clocks, and they gradually deviates. A pendulum clock is considered as a limit cycle oscillator, which receives energy from the rest of the system and releases energy and entropy to the rest of the system during the oscillation. The observed oscillation with the same period is induced by the interaction between two pendulum clocks mediated by the beam. This phenomenon is called synchronization, or entrainment [16, 17] .

The pendulums of these two clocks oscillate with the same period and two clocks show the same hour.

This phenomenon is called synchronization, or entrainment.


Recently, several studies reported the use of tissue-engineered small intestine in small animal models using natural or synthetic polymers scaffolds seeded with autologous cells [7, 8] . Reports on large animal models (dog and pig) were able to demonstrate the feasibility of successful generation of engineered intestine with correct architecture, including features of an intact stem cell niche [9, 10] . Even if the histology of engineered intestinal segments show normal structures including the presence of neuronal elements and appear to be functional, motility has not yet been demonstrated in these segments.

Recently, several studies reported the use of tissue-engineered small intestine in small animal models using natural or synthetic polymers scaffolds seeded with autologous cells.

Reports on large animal models (dog and pig) were able to demonstrate the feasibility of successful generation of engineered intestine with correct architecture, including features of an intact stem cell niche.


Scarcity of bicycle data is also true for the city of Salzburg, which serves as the test bed for the present study. The city administration provides data from six bicycle count stations, but there is no empirical data on the city-wide distribution of bicycle flows [18] . Therefore, the prediction of bicycle accidents is expected to benefit from alternative modelling approaches that are less data-driven, although a caveat remains regarding potential biases in the police accident reports, which serve as validation data [19] .

The city administration provides data from six bicycle count stations, but there is no empirical data on the city-wide distribution of bicycle flows.

Therefore, the prediction of bicycle accidents is expected to benefit from alternative modelling approaches that are less data-driven, although a caveat remains regarding potential biases in the police accident reports, which serve as validation data.


Firstly, the results affirm the quality of the simulation data and thus the validity of the Salzburg bicycle model for the purpose of simulating bicycle traffic flows of a city. Validity thereby has to be stated in reference to its specific purpose for which it was designed [33] . Unlike fine-scaled ABMs that are designed to study the interaction of traffic participants at intersections or other specific spatial contexts, the purpose of the Salzburg bicycle model is to simulate traffic flow patterns of the road network of an entire city. It therefore trades off behavioural realism at the local scale, e.g., giving way or adapting speed, with behaviour on the regional scale, e.g., finding a safe route. In the absence of observed city-wide bicycle traffic data, ABM has proven to be an approach that is well suited to estimating traffic patterns. Agent-based simulation modelling thus can be used as a means to overcome a lack of adequate bicycle traffic data, which is one of the main challenges in estimating bicycle accident risks [34] .

Validity thereby has to be stated in reference to its specific purpose for which it was designed.

Agent-based simulation modelling thus can be used as a means to overcome a lack of adequate bicycle traffic data, which is one of the main challenges in estimating bicycle accident risks.


The various applications of homogenization discussed in the literature have demonstrated its efficiency and usefulness for the overall modeling of beam-like structures exhibiting periodic geometrical or material heterogeneity as detailed in T. Messager (B) Université de Nantes, Nantes Atlantique Universités, Nantes, France e-mail: tanguy.messager@univ-nantes.fr T. Messager · P. Cartraud Institut de Recherche en Génie civil et Mécanique (GeM), UMR CNRS 6183 Ecole Centrale de Nantes, BP 92101, 44321 Nantes cédex3, France e-mail: patrice.cartraud@ec-nantes.fr [3] [4] [5] [12] [13] [14] . This approach is based on the asymptotic expansion method, and gives the first-order approximation of the three-dimensional heterogeneous solution from the solution of two successive problems: a microscopic threedimensional problem, posed on the axial period of the structure (the basic cell), and, a macroscopic one-dimensional problem. The macroscopic problem equations show that the overall behavior is that of a Navier-Bernoulli-Saint Venant beam. Its effective elastic properties are obtained from the solution of the microscopic problem, which is usually computed from the finite element (FE) analysis of the structure axial period.

The various applications of homogenization discussed in the literature have demonstrated its efficiency and usefulness for the overall modeling of beam-like structures exhibiting periodic geometrical or material heterogeneity as detailed in T. Messager (B) Université de Nantes, Nantes Atlantique Universités, Nantes, France e-mail: tanguy.messager@univ-nantes.fr T. Messager · P. Cartraud Institut de Recherche en Génie civil et Mécanique (GeM), UMR CNRS 6183 Ecole Centrale de Nantes, BP 92101, 44321 Nantes cédex3, France e-mail: patrice.cartraud@ec-nantes.fr.


Agronomic, morphological and molecular characteristics, among others, can be used in genetic diversity quantification (Amorim et al., 2007) . The fruit quality is one of the main goals of peach breeding programs, with a direct relationship with market and consumer preferences. In peach, quality refers to obtaining productive plants, with large and firm fruit, with great flavor, color, shape and texture (Wagner Junior et al., 2011) .

Agronomic, morphological and molecular characteristics, among others, can be used in genetic diversity quantification.

In peach, quality refers to obtaining productive plants, with large and firm fruit, with great flavor, color, shape and texture.


The Viruá National Park is situated in the far north of Brazil, in the state of Roraima, with several vegetation physiognomies and complex ecosystems that are specific to the Amazon region, especially the campinarana, characterized by open and scleromorphic shrubby vegetation (3-4 m), low species diversity, and high endemism (Barbosa and Ferreira, 2004) . The phytophysiognomical gradations of wooded campinaranas are associated with different levels of soil hydromorphism. With increasing soil hydromorphism, the wooded campinarana is replaced by arboreal and shrubby campinaranas, then grassy-woody campinarana, and, finally, completely herbaceous vegetation.

The Viruá National Park is situated in the far north of Brazil, in the state of Roraima, with several vegetation physiognomies and complex ecosystems that are specific to the Amazon region, especially the campinarana, characterized by open and scleromorphic shrubby vegetation (3-4 m), low species diversity, and high endemism.


Undoped and S-TiO 2 -added membranes were prepared by a solvent-casting technique, starting from a Nafion 5 wt.% solution (Ion Power Inc), where solvents (water and alcohols) were gradually replaced by N,N-dimethylacetamide (Sigma Aldrich). When required, the inorganic particles were added to this Nafion suspension. The obtained mixtures, both loaded and undoped, were poured on a Petri dish. After a heating treatment at 100 °C, dry membranes were obtained and hotpressed at 175 °C and 50 atm for 15 minute in order to improve their thermo-mechanical properties. The membranes were finally activated by immersion in boiling hydrogen peroxide (3% w/w), sulfuric acid (0.5 M) and water. After preparation, all the membrane samples were stored in distilled water. Membrane's thickness was measured in the dry state, immediately after the hotpressing procedure, resulting in the range of 100÷110 µm for all the samples. In the present work, 5 wt.% of S-TiO 2 with respect to dry Nafion content was considered, being this filler concentration the most performing one according to our previous investigations [29, 30] . Composite and undoped Nafion membranes will be labelled as M5 and M0, respectively.

In the present work, 5 wt.% of S-TiO 2 with respect to dry Nafion content was considered, being this filler concentration the most performing one according to our previous investigations.


For tree network topology, an experiment has been carried out to determine the effectiveness of positioning nodes among the network for the purpose of better throughput. The study was performed using OPNET simulator testing different mobility models, the authors concluded that group mobility model had the best performance among other suggested model such as random waypoint, random walk, and pursue mobility model [11] . From their literature, it had been concluded that various researchers have not taken into consideration the routing strategies and its optimization.

The study was performed using OPNET simulator testing different mobility models, the authors concluded that group mobility model had the best performance among other suggested model such as random waypoint, random walk, and pursue mobility model.


In recent years, wind power technology has seen rapid development due to a significant reduction in its operating cost. Currently, wind power has reached a global capacity of 433 GW and for the past 5 years increased in installed capacity by 13-21% each year [1] . The emerging problem is that in some countries the best onshore locations are no longer available, and there is considerable public opposition to a significant increase in onshore wind power installations. Exploitation of the huge offshore wind resource, with considerably less environmental impact than large onshore wind farms, offers a possible solution to the problem of providing for future green energy needs [2] .

Currently, wind power has reached a global capacity of 433 GW and for the past 5 years increased in installed capacity by 13-21% each year.

Exploitation of the huge offshore wind resource, with considerably less environmental impact than large onshore wind farms, offers a possible solution to the problem of providing for future green energy needs.


The proposed model was applied to carry out the load analysis of a 5 MW offshore HAWT. For structural dynamics solution, the aerodynamic damping needs to be estimated in advance. Fig. 2a shows the relationship between d and dU d /U r at a blade section 35.88 m from the hub centre when operating under a 12 m s -1 turbulent wind. This can be used to determine the correction factor b in Eq. (2) when using Method A [13] . It is found that linear regression of the data points gives a straight line almost exactly passing through the origin. Thus the slop of the red line in Fig. 2a is the correction factor b in Eq. (2) at this blade section for a 12 m s -1 wind. Through simulations using a number of turbulent winds with different mean wind speeds, the relationship between correction factor b and mean wind speed at different blade sections can be revealed. Fig. 2b shows the correction factor b as a function of wind speed at four blade stations. It is observed that higher wind speed corresponds to smaller correction factor, implying more correction. Also, the blade section closer to the hub centre needs more correction. Within the normal operational wind conditions, the correction factor deviates considerably from 1 in most cases, suggesting that the correction factor should be taken into consideration to determine the aerodynamic damping of a variable speed wind turbine. Fig. 3a shows the time history of the modal aerodynamic damping ratio of the tower during power production under the 12 m s -1 turbulent wind, calculated by Method A. It is found that the aerodynamic damping ratio varies between 0.05 and 0.24, with an average value of 0.2. Fig. 3b shows the modal aerodynamic damping ratio obtained using Method B [5] . For a steady wind at 12 m s -1 speed, the aerodynamic ratio obtained by Method B is 0.24, slightly higher than the average value obtained by Method A. When using Method B in a time domain simulation, the instantaneous aerodynamic damping value can be determined as a function of the instantaneous wind speed at the hub centre.

This can be used to determine the correction factor b in Eq. (2) when using Method A.

Fig. 3b shows the modal aerodynamic damping ratio obtained using Method B.


To enable meaningful comparison, the concept of 'Fatigue Damage-Equivalent Load' (FDEL) was used to equate the fatigue damage represented by rainflow cycle-counted data to that caused by a single load range repeating at a single frequency. The FDEL was estimated for each load component assuming 1.37×10 8 cycles in the turbine lifetime of 20 years. Table 1 shows the obtained FDEL of tower base moment M y , which is crucial in the fatigue design of the tower. In the calculation, the slope of the SN curve was chosen as m = 4 [14] . It is clear that aerodynamic damping greatly affects the FDEL of M y . The value of M y calculated without considering aerodynamic damping is more than 5 times that considering aerodynamic damping. The actual fatigue load is significantly less than the cumulative fatigue load (sum of 'wind-only' and 'wave-only' loads). Moreover, it is less than the fatigue load of considering only the waves, which means that the introduction of wind does not increase but reduces the fatigue load considerably. This is mainly due to the aerodynamic damping analysed above, which restrains the tower vibrations induced by hydrodynamic forces as the wind and waves are co-directional. Table 1 also shows that using Method B for estimation of aerodynamic damping will underestimate the fatigue load by about 9%, compared to Method A.

In the calculation, the slope of the SN curve was chosen as m = 4.


In our previous work, we have evaluated the performance of one ToF camera for close range leaf imaging (Kazmi et al., 2012) . But every ToF camera has different sensor properties and robustness against background illumination. A qualitative comparison of the response of several different ToF cameras with stereo vision under indoor/outdoor illumination conditions, particularly for agricultural purposes, is not available in literature. Such sensor characteristics would be very helpful for analyzing the performance of these sensors and weighting the cost of making a choice.

In our previous work, we have evaluated the performance of one ToF camera for close range leaf imaging.


Mathematical optimization techniques have found application for the design of high performance converter and drive systems [1, 2, 3] . However, optimization methods for the design of aircraft or shipboard power distribution systems where efficiency, size, and weight are of paramount importance have received very little attention in the past [4] . The development of an optimization methodology for these power distribution systems is involved due to the complexity of the components and their strong interaction. Our approach to the development of a global optimization methodology is to begin with the development of an optimization methodology for the individual components of the power distribution system. The models of the individual components account for the interactions with the other components in the global system in a simplified manner. Therefore, the methodology optimizes the performance of the local component while accounting for global interactions. When the subsystems are considered jointly, the optimization formulation for each subsystem is such that they can be combined in a straightforward way to obtain an optimization methodology for the entire system.

Mathematical optimization techniques have found application for the design of high performance converter and drive systems.

However, optimization methods for the design of aircraft or shipboard power distribution systems where efficiency, size, and weight are of paramount importance have received very little attention in the past.


The principal objective of this research effort is to develop and demonstrate optimization methods that facilitate the design of aircraft power distribution systems [1] . This approach is a departure from past design methodologies that are primarily ad hoc. The ad hoc approach to power system design is time intensive and yields components that are over designed to ensure global stability of the power system. The optimization methodology proposed here accounts for component interactions in the system to yield smaller, lighter weight components while maintaining performance requirements. Weight reduction in power distribution systems may be critical for the performance of air vehicles, especially for smaller vehicles such as uninhabited surveillance and combat aircraft for which electronics systems make up a large percentage of the aircraft weight.

The principal objective of this research effort is to develop and demonstrate optimization methods that facilitate the design of aircraft power distribution systems.


We concurrently observed that smokers developed significantly more gastric distension. In our knowledge, there are no data in the literature concerning this kind of side effect of the tobacco. It is usually known to accelerate the gastric emptying [16, 17] . This may be due to a statistical bias, because of a majority of smokers in our cohort.

It is usually known to accelerate the gastric emptying.


This paper forms the final part in a recent series of papers by the current authors highlighting the thermal decomposition and fire retardant behaviour of natural mixtures of huntite and hydromagnesite [1] [2] [3] [4] . Mixtures of huntite and hydromagnesite form naturally and are commercially mined and processed as an alternative to the commonly used mineral filler fire retardants, aluminium hydroxide (ATH) and magnesium hydroxide (MDH). It has been argued that such mixtures are a 'greener', more environmentally friendly alternative to these more widely used fire retardants because of a cleaner, less energy intensive production process.

This paper forms the final part in a recent series of papers by the current authors highlighting the thermal decomposition and fire retardant behaviour of natural mixtures of huntite and hydromagnesite.


We have also demonstrated that pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) (Fig. 1A) , which is a cofactor in the bacterial oxidative metabolism of alcohols, prevents the amyloid formation of -synuclein ( -Syn), which plays a crucial role in the onset of Parkinson's disease [12] . We have concluded that PQQ inhibits -Syn fibrillation by binding with -Syn covalently via Schiff-base formation (Fig. 1B) . Moreover, PQQ-modified -Syn is also able to prevent -Syn fibril formation [12] .

We have also demonstrated that pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) (Fig. 1A) , which is a cofactor in the bacterial oxidative metabolism of alcohols, prevents the amyloid formation of -synuclein ( -Syn), which plays a crucial role in the onset of Parkinson's disease.

Moreover, PQQ-modified -Syn is also able to prevent -Syn fibril formation.


Moulds produce a wide range of MVOCs: alcohols, ketones, terpenes, esters and sulphur compounds [9] [10] [11] . The production depends on environmental conditions, the species and the substrate on which the fungi grow [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] . However, no single VOC seems to be a reliable indicator of biocontamination [18] . For this reason fungal detection cannot be based on a single substance but on the coexistence of several compounds.

Moulds produce a wide range of MVOCs: alcohols, ketones, terpenes, esters and sulphur compounds.

The production depends on environmental conditions, the species and the substrate on which the fungi grow.

However, no single VOC seems to be a reliable indicator of biocontamination.