In addition, plasma treatment imparts an etching effect on the material surface leading to the formation of grooves and cracks [45] . In this study, the fabric is first covered by DMH in a pad-dry-plasma-cure process, and when the plasma particles reach the surface of the fabric, they initially interact with DMH. Thus, distribution and coating of DMH onto cotton fabrics is improved by plasma treatment. Meanwhile, the cracks and DMH on the fabric increase the surface friction and roughness, which restricts the sliding action of the yarn during tearing and leads to lower tearing strength [23, 46, 47] . However, the DMH attached to the fabric decreases the etching effect of plasma treatment which prevents the tearing strength of the fabric from declining. Therefore, N 2 plasma treatment introduces N-containing groups and improves the content of DMH on cotton fabric, which increases the content of chlorine and enhances the antibacterial effect as well as its regenerability [24] . The plasma treatment applied after drying is a feasible way for improved functional finishing of cotton fabric.

In addition, plasma treatment imparts an etching effect on the material surface leading to the formation of grooves and cracks.

Meanwhile, the cracks and DMH on the fabric increase the surface friction and roughness, which restricts the sliding action of the yarn during tearing and leads to lower tearing strength.

Therefore, N 2 plasma treatment introduces N-containing groups and improves the content of DMH on cotton fabric, which increases the content of chlorine and enhances the antibacterial effect as well as its regenerability.


Progression to MM has been reported to be less frequent in younger patients, whose survival is also better [10, 24, 30, 31] . Our study confirmed these reports, with progression to MM seen more frequently in older patients, and improved survival in younger patients (Fig. 3 , Table  3 ). However, local failure did not depend on age.

Progression to MM has been reported to be less frequent in younger patients, whose survival is also better.


The key factor which is likely to determine the likelihood of uptake and utilization of alkaliactivated binders in any specific location is the local availability of suitable raw materials (precursors and activators). Many of the precursors which are used to produce alkali-activated binders are also in demand for use in blends with Portland cement, and this competition for raw materials must also be taken into consideration in any discussion of the supply chains related to alkali-activated materials. If alkali-activated materials are to be promoted as an environmentally beneficial option, the transport of bulk materials must obviously be minimized, as this can dominate the emissions footprint of the binder as a whole if materials must be transported long distances [9] . This therefore brings a focus on the development and utilization of locally available materials as precursors to alkali-activated binders. Each precursor will need the correct activator (or combination of activators) to be identified, specified and sourced. There is currently little systematic or predictive information available regarding methodologies or heuristic procedures by which activators can be optimally matched to precursors, so this is currently achieved largely through parametric testing, but the need for improvements in this area has been identified [10] .

If alkali-activated materials are to be promoted as an environmentally beneficial option, the transport of bulk materials must obviously be minimized, as this can dominate the emissions footprint of the binder as a whole if materials must be transported long distances.

There is currently little systematic or predictive information available regarding methodologies or heuristic procedures by which activators can be optimally matched to precursors, so this is currently achieved largely through parametric testing, but the need for improvements in this area has been identified.


CTM simulations were conducted to gain a better understanding of the present condition of photochemical O 3 production in GMA where a gradual increase of the ground-level concentration of O 3 has been observed over the past decade. As input to the CTM simulations, emissions grids were constructed based on the national inventory INEM2008 that was modified by reducing the road mobile emissions by 40%. The annual emissions allocated to municipalities were distributed in space and time using various geographical and survey data. Analysis of the gridded emissions revealed that the emission ratio VOC/NO x in the urban area is greater in GMA than in MCMA due mainly to the older unregulated vehicle fleet in GMA. The CTM results were found appropriate by comparison with routine ground-level monitoring data of criteria pollutants and field campaign data of VOC analysis and ozonesonde vertical profiling. By numerical experiments in which the overall emission rates of NO x and VOC were varied, the O 3 formation in GMA was found to be in the intermediate phase between VOC-sensitive and NO x -sensitive regimes whereas that in MCMA was confirmed to be in the VOC-sensitive regime as in previous research [2] . Although the comparison between the CTM results and the observation data indicated that further adjustment of the emissions inventory might be necessary, the O 3 production regime in GMA was not likely to shift substantially toward distinct VOC-sensitive or NO x -sensitive regime.

By numerical experiments in which the overall emission rates of NO x and VOC were varied, the O 3 formation in GMA was found to be in the intermediate phase between VOC-sensitive and NO x -sensitive regimes whereas that in MCMA was confirmed to be in the VOC-sensitive regime as in previous research.


The GMA atmosphere is likely to shift toward the VOC-sensitive regime if stricter automobile exhaust regulation is implemented, which tends to decrease VOC more rapidly than NO x as happened in MCMA and other metropolitan areas [2, 4, 5, 36] . In the VOC-sensitive regime, increase of NO x would reduce O 3 but would result in increases of NO 2 that is associated with respiratory diseases and also result in increases of nitrate particles that could reduce visibility. Therefore, mitigation strategy has to be planned carefully with a long-term vision based on sound scientific evidence. This study, providing a starting point, needs to be complemented by further research based on more reliable emissions inventory, longer-term surface observation data including VOC and odd nitrogen at multiple sites, and more vertical profiling of O 3 .

The GMA atmosphere is likely to shift toward the VOC-sensitive regime if stricter automobile exhaust regulation is implemented, which tends to decrease VOC more rapidly than NO x as happened in MCMA and other metropolitan areas.


Guadalajara and the surrounding cities constitute Guadalajara Metropolitan Area (GMA), the second largest Mexican metropolitan area next to Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA). Although air quality in MCMA has improved considerably since its worst times around 1990, that in GMA shows worsening tendency especially in ozone (O 3 ) concentration that has been increasing recently [1] . To curb the trend, we need to understand the current photochemical state of the GMA lower troposphere.

Although air quality in MCMA has improved considerably since its worst times around 1990, that in GMA shows worsening tendency especially in ozone (O 3 ) concentration that has been increasing recently.


The use of high-strength materials permits the structural reinforced concrete (RC) elements to have smaller and lighter members through the enhancement of their capacities. In particular, the fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) bar possesses non-electrochemical corrosion performance and a higher strength-weight ratio when compared with the common properties of conventional steel bars [1] [2] [3] [4] . As a result, a large part of the building and infra structures are displaying considerable interest in practical applications of high-strength FRP bars as an alternative for the conventional mild steel bar used for longitudinal reinforcement of flexural members [1] [2] [3] [4] . Meanwhile, use of FRP bars as a longitudinal reinforcement of flexural members requires several precautions for the reduced bond capacity with surrounding concrete and brittle fracture potential of the bars at the large deformation of the members. The reduced bond capacity of FRP bars can require a longer anchorage length to In particular, the displacement ductility ratios of beams with GFRP bars were compared with those measured in the companion beams with steel bars with respect to the longitudinal reinforcement index. The initial inclined cracking strength and the ultimate strength of the beam governed by shear were compared with the predictions calculated using design equations [5, 6] .

In particular, the fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) bar possesses non-electrochemical corrosion performance and a higher strength-weight ratio when compared with the common properties of conventional steel bars.

As a result, a large part of the building and infra structures are displaying considerable interest in practical applications of high-strength FRP bars as an alternative for the conventional mild steel bar used for longitudinal reinforcement of flexural members.

The initial inclined cracking strength and the ultimate strength of the beam governed by shear were compared with the predictions calculated using design equations.


Individuals with more severe disabilities were more likely to request workplace accommodations and were more likely to feel that accommodations were necessary for workplace success. These results may stem from the fact that individuals who have less severe sensory disabilities (such as a mild hearing impairment or low vision) may try to blend in with typical other co-workers instead of requesting accommodations and drawing attention to their disabilities. The reluctance to request accommodations may be related to social stigma and biases associated with sensory disabilities (McMahon et al., 2008) . However, these blending strategies may cost these individuals necessary accommodations for successful work participation (Wilton, 2006) . For instance, they may be less successful at work from not requesting needed accommodations or not using necessary assistive technology devices (Wilton, 2006) . Acceptance of their disability accommodations is essential for a positive self-concept, strong self-esteem, and future successes (Tuttle & Tuttle, 2004) .

The reluctance to request accommodations may be related to social stigma and biases associated with sensory disabilities.

However, these blending strategies may cost these individuals necessary accommodations for successful work participation.

For instance, they may be less successful at work from not requesting needed accommodations or not using necessary assistive technology devices.

Acceptance of their disability accommodations is essential for a positive self-concept, strong self-esteem, and future successes.


Individuals who did not request accommodations reported lower levels of job satisfaction than those who requested and/or received accommodations. This finding underscore the significance of workplace accommodations in helping people with disabilities to improve employment and job satisfaction for people with disabilities (Hartnett et al., 2011; Hendricks et al., 2005) . Individuals are more likely to request a workplace accommodation if they feel it will have a positive impact on job performance (Baldridge & Veiga, 2001) . It can be assumed that these individuals have had a positive experience with the specific accommodations requested in the past, either in school or prior employment, and thus have a more positive affect towards their requests and usefulness.

This finding underscore the significance of workplace accommodations in helping people with disabilities to improve employment and job satisfaction for people with disabilities.

Individuals are more likely to request a workplace accommodation if they feel it will have a positive impact on job performance.


The electricity price in China is heavily regulated, which reduces the price fluctuations and guarantees the revenue for power supplier. The regulated price mechanism had successfully guided investments in new power infrastructures to satisfy the increasing electricity demand along with the fast economy growth during the past decades. For example, the electricity generation volume in China increased from 267 TWh in 1978 to 6,495 TWh in 2017 (NBS, 2018 . However, the regulated price mechanism has also attracted much criticism because the price distortion harms its capability to optimize resource allocation in the power industry, which thus brings deadweight loss to the economy (Joskow, 2007) .

However, the regulated price mechanism has also attracted much criticism because the price distortion harms its capability to optimize resource allocation in the power industry, which thus brings deadweight loss to the economy.


Among the major cereal crops, is unique for its adaptation. It can be grown in a wide range of agro ecological conditions from 53 0 N to 40 0 S latitude and from sea level to over 3000 m in the Himalayas (Lu and Chang, 1980) . Domestication of wild rice probably started about 9000 years ago (Khush, 2000) . Asian and African farmers, mostly women selected different types to suit local condition and needs (Singh et al., 2000) .

It can be grown in a wide range of agro ecological conditions from 53 0 N to 40 0 S latitude and from sea level to over 3000 m in the Himalayas.

Domestication of wild rice probably started about 9000 years ago.

Asian and African farmers, mostly women selected different types to suit local condition and needs.


We would like to emphasize, that the Bahadur-Kiefer type representation we obtain for a sum of order statistics lying between the p n -th population quantile and the corresponding empirical quantile (cf. Theorem 2.2), is especially useful in the construction of the U -statistic type approximation for a (slightly) trimmed sum, as it provides a quadratic term of the desired U -statistic. Note also that formally the representation (2.7) (cf. Theorem 2.2) can be obtained by integrating of the corresponding Bahadur -Kiefer process in interval [ξ pnn:n , ξ pn ), however we prove representation (2.7) for intermediate order statistics (i.e. when p n → 0 (or p n → 1). The remainder terms in our representations are shown to be of a suitable order of magnitude similar as in Reiss [17] .

The remainder terms in our representations are shown to be of a suitable order of magnitude similar as in Reiss.


Cleavage of a heteroduplex between wild type and mutant DNA fragments has been achieved using the plant endonuclease CEL I extracted from celery. Endonucleases such as CEL I exist in various plant species (Oleykowski et al. 1998) . We attempted to screen a population of gamma-rayirradiated rice using an endonuclease extracted from petioles of Brassica rapa, which can be easily obtained all year round.

Endonucleases such as CEL I exist in various plant species.


Despite substantial advances in pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatment possibilities, bipolar disorder often entails multiple relapses and impaired psychological functioning (Berk et al. 2010; Solomon et al. 2010) . However, the extent to which modern treatments have influenced the natural course of mental disorders is not entirely clear. Providing a prognosis of the course and outcome of bipolar disorder(s) continues to be challenging, despite the variety of treatment options and multiple research efforts worldwide. Although long-term symptomatic remission does not guarantee functional recovery, it may have a favorable impact on long-term overall prognosis. The high degree of treatment resistance in patients with bipolar disorder highlights the need to develop better outcome predictors for compliance, prognosis, and treatment intervention, designed to reverse or prevent this burden of illness (Treuer and Tohen 2010) . Therefore, some of our findings, such as differences in compliance rates between countries, as well as potential cultural influences and the influence of different health-care systems -factors that may influence the compliance of bipolar patients -need further investigation.

Despite substantial advances in pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatment possibilities, bipolar disorder often entails multiple relapses and impaired psychological functioning.

The high degree of treatment resistance in patients with bipolar disorder highlights the need to develop better outcome predictors for compliance, prognosis, and treatment intervention, designed to reverse or prevent this burden of illness.


Botswana is a Southern African, land locked, semi-arid and middle-income country of 582 000 square kilometres, with a total sparsely spread population of 2 038 228 million people as at 2011 Population and Housing Census, growing at an annual rate of 1.9 % (Republic of Botswana, 2011) . It has one of the lowest population densities in the world (3.2 inhabitants per square kilometer) and it is estimated to be the size of Kenya or France (Nyati-Ramahobo, 2004) . Roughly, half of the population lives in urban areas and the other half in rural areas (Pridmore, 1995) . It gained its independence in 1966 after 81 years of British protectorate. According to the education statistics of 2011, Botswana has 805 primary schools. Out of this number, 745 are public or government primary schools and 60 are private schools or what is referred to as English Medium schools. These are mostly found in urban and some semi-urban centres. Out of the 745 public schools, 27 schools in remote areas were running boarding system that admitted children who lived in settlements far away from the main economic centres and were hard to reach in terms of geographical terrain, due to poor communication and poorly developed infrastructures.

Botswana is a Southern African, land locked, semi-arid and middle-income country of 582 000 square kilometres, with a total sparsely spread population of 2 038 228 million people as at 2011 Population and Housing Census, growing at an annual rate of 1.9 %.

It has one of the lowest population densities in the world (3.2 inhabitants per square kilometer) and it is estimated to be the size of Kenya or France.

Roughly, half of the population lives in urban areas and the other half in rural areas.


Most RNA virus infections consist of heterogeneous virus populations often referred to as quasi-species [6] . A 475 nt region of the lentivirus pol gene in eight isolates from naturally infected sheep from southern France was found to have nucleotide variation of 2.3-8.1% [11] . The KBV sequences of 23 North American isolates reported here do not seem to be as heterogeneous as in the lentivirus group.

Most RNA virus infections consist of heterogeneous virus populations often referred to as quasi-species.

A 475 nt region of the lentivirus pol gene in eight isolates from naturally infected sheep from southern France was found to have nucleotide variation of 2.3-8.1%.


The avian myeloblastosis virus (AMV) used in the reverse transcription is known to have an error rate of 5.9 × 10 -5 /base [12] . For this 374 bp amplicon an error rate of 0.022 would be expected. The mean distance of 3.2% between some Californian isolates could not be the result of transcription error by AMV. Furthermore, there are eight isolates ( Fig. 1 lower branch) with identical sequences suggesting the high fidelity of the reverse transcription.

The avian myeloblastosis virus (AMV) used in the reverse transcription is known to have an error rate of 5.9 × 10 -5 /base.


Together these results demonstrated our results are highly reliable. We found that the methylated regions in sea lamprey were consecutive; however, the methylation level was lower than in other vertebrates. To distinguish this feature from known methylation patterns, we defined the lamprey pattern as "global genomic DNA intermediate methylation". We also analyzed the methylation characteristics in selected species and found 1) the genome methylation pattern divergence extent between sea lamprey and sea squirt or other methylome available vertebrates are almost equivalent; 2) the methylation level in the promoter region in sea lamprey demonstrated a greater similarity to sea squirt than to other vertebrates (for example, in the promoter region, the decreased methylation detected in sea squirt/lamprey was not apparent in other vertebrates), but the inverse situation was observed in the transcript end site (TES) region; 3) the difference in the intragenic methylation level (exon-intron-exon or intronexon-intron) was reduced in lamprey and vertebrates compared to invertebrates; and 4) transposon methylation in lamprey demonstrated a greater similarity to that in sea squirt than in vertebrates. These observations reveal that the methylation features in lamprey represents an intermediate status between invertebrates and vertebrates. Divergent DNA methylation patterns might be attributed to the divergence of DNA methyltransferases in different eukaryotes. The DNMT3 subfamily performs de novo methylation, which may significantly influence the genomic DNA methylation pattern (Baubec et al. 2015; Jia et al. 2007; Gowher et al. 2005; Qin and Min 2014; Kato et al. 2007; Li et al. 2007; Van Emburgh and Robertson 2011; Yan et al. 2011) . We analyzed the copy numbers and constitution of DNMT3 proteins in sea squirt, zebrafish and human. We were unable to identify the DNMT3B gene in the sea squirt or sea lamprey genome, so these two species may have lost the DNMT3B gene independently. Further research is needed to confirm the loss of the DNMT3B gene in the sea squirt and sea lamprey genomes, instead of being undetectable due to incomplete genome sequencing data. Additionally, two important domains involved in de novo DNA methylation, the PWWP domain and DNA MTase, were incomplete in sea lamprey (PWWP domain loss or DNA MTase deficiency in one copy of lamprey DNMT3A). This phenomenon may have contributed to the non-canonical global DNA methylation pattern in early vertebrates. Interestingly, we found that the DNMT3 copy number and domain composition in birds and reptiles are similar to sea lamprey. For example, there are two DNMT3 genes in chicken genome, and each DNMT3 gene contains one methylase domain. According to a recent study, whole genome DNA methylation level of chicken sperm is about 41%, which is very similar to sea lamprey (Mugal et al. 2015) . It will be of interest to investigate whether the genome methylation pattern is similar between sea lamprey and chicken or other reptiles, such as lizard and turtle. Together, these findings suggest that the evolution of DNMT family in vertebrates possibly contributed to the genomic methylation pattern change in vertebrates. Furthermore, environmental influence during vertebrate evolution may also have contributed to the global DNA methylation change. For example, it has been reported that the whole genome methylation level in reptiles and fishes are negatively correlated with habitat temperature, independently of phylogenetic distance (Varriale, 2014) . It will be interesting to test if the environment has influence on evolutionarily genome methylation pattern transition in the early vertebrates.

The DNMT3 subfamily performs de novo methylation, which may significantly influence the genomic DNA methylation pattern.

According to a recent study, whole genome DNA methylation level of chicken sperm is about 41%, which is very similar to sea lamprey.

For example, it has been reported that the whole genome methylation level in reptiles and fishes are negatively correlated with habitat temperature, independently of phylogenetic distance.


TRAIL is a member of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily of cytokines which induces apoptosis upon binding to its death domain-containing transmembrane receptors such as death receptors 4 and 5 (DR4, DR5) [40] . Importantly, TRAIL preferentially induces apoptosis in cancer cells while exhibiting little toxicity in normal cells [41] . Possessing this unique ability, TRAIL seems to be a very promising candidate to be included into chemotherapy regimens of multiple types of cancer. However, previous studies have shown that many cancer types are resistant to the apoptotic effects of TRAIL [42, 43] . Thus, it is important to investigate the mechanisms involved in the resistance and develop agents that sensitize cancer cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis. As we reported, NDRG1 could up-regulate DR4 and sensitize CRC cells to TRAIL in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, NDRG1 is sufficient to overcome the threshold to modulate TRAIL-induced apoptosis in colorectal cancer.

TRAIL is a member of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily of cytokines which induces apoptosis upon binding to its death domain-containing transmembrane receptors such as death receptors 4 and 5 (DR4, DR5).

Importantly, TRAIL preferentially induces apoptosis in cancer cells while exhibiting little toxicity in normal cells.

However, previous studies have shown that many cancer types are resistant to the apoptotic effects of TRAIL.


Probiotic viability in the digestive tract and anti-pathogenic bacterial properties are considered vital for optimal probiotic function and probiotic products are considered beneficial when they contain at least 7 log colony forming units (cfu)/mL viable cell content (Shan, 2001) . Unsuitable transportation methods, variation in shelf temperature and exposure to acid and bile salts in the gastrointestinal tract are among the various factors that can cause a decrease in the number of probiotic living cells (Soccol et al., 2010) . Hence, the amount of probiotic content may be insufficient to overcome pathogenic microorganisms or even the local microflora. Therefore, cell encapsulation is used as a method of enhancing the cell survivability of probiotics in the digestive tract; microencapsulation techniques have been developed using various matrices for the protection of bacterial cells from damage due to the external environment and have been successfully applied (Rathore et al., 2013) .

Probiotic viability in the digestive tract and anti-pathogenic bacterial properties are considered vital for optimal probiotic function and probiotic products are considered beneficial when they contain at least 7 log colony forming units (cfu)/mL viable cell content.

Unsuitable transportation methods, variation in shelf temperature and exposure to acid and bile salts in the gastrointestinal tract are among the various factors that can cause a decrease in the number of probiotic living cells.

Therefore, cell encapsulation is used as a method of enhancing the cell survivability of probiotics in the digestive tract; microencapsulation techniques have been developed using various matrices for the protection of bacterial cells from damage due to the external environment and have been successfully applied.


In a previous publication, the main features of the hte screening platform for automotive applications were described [26] . Two case studies on (i) steady-state testing of hydrocarbon oxidation and (ii) testing of dynamic oxygen storage capacity (OSC) were given to exemplify the state of maturity of HT technology and its application for the development of exhaust gas catalysts. The intention of the current paper is to provide insight into the actual measurement in an HT reactor system with time resolved, quantitative online analytics, which is fundamentally different from other conventional catalyst screening methodologies. Since the analytical sensors are usually the cost-critical part in an experimental setup, the experimental sequence has been optimized in the HT units to make the most efficient use of these analyzers. This involves fully-automated operation of 48-fold parallel reactors and a sequence of measurements that minimizes equilibration time during and after changing experimental conditions. As a consequence, experimental results are less straight forward to evaluate than in conventional tests, and adequate software support for data processing is required.

In a previous publication, the main features of the hte screening platform for automotive applications were described.


The traditional multicell battery design usually employs a fixed configuration to connect multiple cells in series during operation in order to achieve the required voltage level [1] . However, cell state variations are commonly present in series-connected multicell batteries. In this case, the fixedconfiguration design can only utilize a part of the total battery capacity, which reduces the operating time and lifespan of the battery system. Moreover, the fixed configuration has low reliability and low fault tolerance because the failure of any single cell during operation will result in the failure of the whole battery system.

The traditional multicell battery design usually employs a fixed configuration to connect multiple cells in series during operation in order to achieve the required voltage level.


The first U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for NGS technology was issued in 2013, and a few years later, the approval of the first tests for diagnostic and screening was granted. We provide an overview of NGS-based tests approved for somatic or germline mutation detection in Table 4 . We are now in the big data era borne by the vast amount of data delivered by new sequencing methods. Deciphering this information requires complex bioinformatical analytical tools. At the same time, we have to account for the unquestionable weaknesses of exome sequencing [144] . These disadvantages include the limited power to detect structural gene fusions and the limited ability to delineate tumor purity and differentiate from normal cell contamination. The previously discussed machine learning algorithms in short variant detection can improve the accuracy of TMB and MSI detection, as punctual short variant identification is a crucial part of both. Improved detection of copy number changes can lead to more accurate HRD and tumor heterogeneity analysis [145] .

At the same time, we have to account for the unquestionable weaknesses of exome sequencing.

Improved detection of copy number changes can lead to more accurate HRD and tumor heterogeneity analysis.


However, sodium carbonate is a relatively weak alkali compared with the hydroxide or silicate activators that are more commonly used in alkali activation. For this reason, when using a sodium carbonate activator in a slag-based binder, delayed formation of strength-giving phases is often identified at early times of curing (Duran Atiş et al., 2009; Fernández-Jiménez and Puertas, 2001) . At early age, the formation of calcium and mixed sodium-calcium carbonates, as a consequence of the interaction of the carbonate ions (CO 3 2-) from the activator with the calcium ions (Ca 2+ ) from the dissolved slag, is favoured instead of the development of calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) gels . In order to overcome the delayed hardening (which can take up to 5 d in some systems) and slower strength development of these materials, high-temperature curing has usually been adopted, which limits the commercial application of these materials. In a recent study it was proposed that what might be required to overcome the delayed formation of strength-giving phases in these systems is either & a mechanism by which the carbonate can be removed from solution at early age, leaving the slag to then react in a sodium-hydroxide-rich environment, or & the addition of a second activator compound to modify the pore solution chemistry of the system and supply species that are more prone to react with the progressively dissolving calcium from the slag than are the carbonate ions supplied by the sodium carbonate activator.

For this reason, when using a sodium carbonate activator in a slag-based binder, delayed formation of strength-giving phases is often identified at early times of curing.


Hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane (CL-20, HNIW), cyclotetramethylenetetranitramine (HMX), and cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (RDX) are three most typical nitramine explosives. And they are widely used as the energy source for explosive devices due to their stable performance and high-energy density [1] . However, with the continuous development of technology and weapon systems, ammunition is required to ensure high precision, fierce power, and long range while maintaining high safety in a variety of environments. Therefore, the high-energy and insensitive development of ammunition is an effective way to meet the needs of weapon systems [2] . Conventional nitramine explosives, having large crystal defects such as angular or void morphology and existing more impurities, cannot satisfy the requirements of weapon system development. And ultrafine treatment of explosives is one of the ways to achieve this indicator. It can reduce the probability of hot spot generation and propagation by making the morphology of the explosive particles spheroidized and the particle size become smaller, thereby achieving the purpose of desensitization. The surface molecular arrangement and crystal structure of the ultrafine explosives have changed, giving rise to peculiar surface effect, small size effect, quantum effect, and macroscopic quantum tunneling effect which are not possessed by irregularly shaped explosives, so that the ultrafine explosives have a series of excellent physical, chemical, surface, and interface properties and can achieve extraordinary effects when used [3, 4] .

And they are widely used as the energy source for explosive devices due to their stable performance and high-energy density.

Therefore, the high-energy and insensitive development of ammunition is an effective way to meet the needs of weapon systems.

The surface molecular arrangement and crystal structure of the ultrafine explosives have changed, giving rise to peculiar surface effect, small size effect, quantum effect, and macroscopic quantum tunneling effect which are not possessed by irregularly shaped explosives, so that the ultrafine explosives have a series of excellent physical, chemical, surface, and interface properties and can achieve extraordinary effects when used.


Motivated by those reports on mechanical oscillations, in 2009 we presented some preliminary theoretical reports on the optical propagation in porous silicon-based multilayers designed as hybrid combinations of FN and Bragg mirror (BM) dielectric sections [48] [49] [50] . In these works we obtained an enhancement of in-gap microcavity mode localization as well as of the omnidirectionality of the reflectance properties of the structures proposed. Moreover, a significant selective spatial localization was detected for some propagating modes. That is, there are wavelengths for which the intensity of the electric field confines almost totally within the FN section or within a BM one. Some refinements of these results, but still preliminary ones were published in a more recent article [51] . It is worth mentioning that, later than the publication of our 2009 reports there have been some communications in relation with optical properties of hybrid periodic/ quasiregular and quasiregular/quasiregular hybrid dielectric heterostructures [52] [53] [54] . There is also a very recent experimental and theoretical report on tunable resonant transmission in a kind of porous silicon-based heterostructures [55] . The main interest in these works is focused on their use as reflectors and filters, and nothing is said there about the confinement or localization of the optical waves.

Motivated by those reports on mechanical oscillations, in 2009 we presented some preliminary theoretical reports on the optical propagation in porous silicon-based multilayers designed as hybrid combinations of FN and Bragg mirror (BM) dielectric sections.

Some refinements of these results, but still preliminary ones were published in a more recent article.

It is worth mentioning that, later than the publication of our 2009 reports there have been some communications in relation with optical properties of hybrid periodic/ quasiregular and quasiregular/quasiregular hybrid dielectric heterostructures.

There is also a very recent experimental and theoretical report on tunable resonant transmission in a kind of porous silicon-based heterostructures.


The engineering of electromagnetic modes at optical frequencies in artificial dielectric structures, with periodic, quasiperiodic or random variation in the refractive index, was first proposed independently by Yablonovitch, Kohmoto and John in 1987 [1] [2] [3] . Such kinds of complex dielectrics are often considered as photonic crystals or quasicrystals, and can be much easily obtained in a onedimensional multilayered configuration. Their attributes have generated worldwide research and development of sub-µm and µm size active and passive photonic devices such as a single-mode and non-classical sources, guided wave devices, resonant cavity detection, and components for optical communication.

The engineering of electromagnetic modes at optical frequencies in artificial dielectric structures, with periodic, quasiperiodic or random variation in the refractive index, was first proposed independently by Yablonovitch, Kohmoto and John in 1987.


From the optical point of view, previously done work has focused on the study of the localization of light waves within FN quasiperiodic multilayer quasicrystals which leads to the appearance of photonic bandgaps, in a similar way to those existing in periodic structures. The photonic localization in the dielectric microstructure bears an analogy to the electronic localization in crystals [3] . Later on the concept of localization was recognized as applicable to any type of wave, such as acoustical wave [16] .

The photonic localization in the dielectric microstructure bears an analogy to the electronic localization in crystals.

Later on the concept of localization was recognized as applicable to any type of wave, such as acoustical wave.


Model checking is one of the most successful techniques used to identify bugs in software and hardware [3] . One of the advantages of model checking is that it provides a concrete error trace in the program that shows how the error state is reachable (i.e., how the bad behavior manifests). Such error traces can be very long and complex, and therefore, it is quite cumbersome and time consuming to manually examine the trace to identify the root cause of the error. In several cases, a bug may be due to problems in more than one statement that are quite far apart in the error trace. Further, it is very hard to identify the root cause of an error just by examining a single error trace.

Model checking is one of the most successful techniques used to identify bugs in software and hardware.


There are several ways to fabricate polymeric membranes, such as track etching, sintering, stretching, and phase separation. The morphology of the resulting membrane strongly depends on the properties of the materials used to fabricate it and the process conditions employed. One well-known procedure for fabricating membranes is immersion precipitation [5] [6] [7] . In this process, an asymmetric structure comprising a dense top layer and a porous sublayer is created. Adding tiny amounts of organic/inorganic additives to the dope solution produces significant effects on membrane morphology and performance [8] [9] [10] . Polyethyleneglycol (PEG) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) are widely used in casting solutions to change the morphology and performance of the membrane produced [11] [12] [13] . Adding these additives leads to low membrane fouling, high flux, selectivity, and other advantages [14] [15] [16] [17] .

One well-known procedure for fabricating membranes is immersion precipitation.

Adding tiny amounts of organic/inorganic additives to the dope solution produces significant effects on membrane morphology and performance.

Polyethyleneglycol (PEG) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) are widely used in casting solutions to change the morphology and performance of the membrane produced.

Adding these additives leads to low membrane fouling, high flux, selectivity, and other advantages.


Immersing the cast film into a distilled water bath initiates precipitation. Solvent/nonsolvent exchange takes place and nuclei of the polymer-poor phase form. These nuclei continue to grow until the polymer concentration at the pore/solution interface becomes high enough for solidification to occur. Under instantaneous demixing conditions, the composition of the nuclei remains stable for a long period. Generally, macrovoids are formed where instantaneous demixing takes place [19] . The conversion of big macrovoids to finger-like pores reduces flux. Increasing the amount of ethanol amine probably changes the diffusion rates of the solvent and nonsolvent, leading to delayed demixing. The occurrence of delayed or instantaneous demixing is influenced by thermodynamic stability and kinetic processes. When an additive is added to the casting solution, its thermodynamic stability is changed. On the other hand, the addition of additives to the casting solution can affect the solvent/nonsolvent exchange rate, resulting in kinetic effects [13, 14] . According to the literature, additives with different structures exert different effects on the properties of the membrane. These effects are due to the attraction of the additive to the polymer chains and its affinity for the solvent or nonsolvent. These effects are important for EAs with -OH or -NH functional groups. For instance, the presence of these hydrophilic functional groups in the casting solution increases the affinity and the exchange rate of nonsolvent for diffusion through the membrane bulk. Adding diethanol amine during membrane preparation leads to a sharp decrease in the rejection of the resulting membrane from 75 % to near 46 % (Fig. 3) . This value indicates that the flux reaches about 55 L/m 2 h when 5 wt% diethanol amine is added but decreases to 47 L/m 2 h when 10 wt% diethanol amine is added. Upon comparing the SEM images of membranes containing 3 wt% ethanol amine (Fig. 2b) and diethanol amine (Fig. 4) , it is clear that adding the diethanol amine leads to much bigger and more open macrovoids in the membrane. In addition, the number and shape of the pores close to the surface differ depending on whether 3 wt% ethanol amine or diethanol amine is added. The number of pores increase and the shape of the pores change from a closed to a more open shape upon shifting the additive from 3 wt% ethanol amine to diethanol amine. This is probably because thermodynamic instability overcomes the kinetic process, leading to a more porous structure [20, 21] .

Generally, macrovoids are formed where instantaneous demixing takes place.

On the other hand, the addition of additives to the casting solution can affect the solvent/nonsolvent exchange rate, resulting in kinetic effects.

This is probably because thermodynamic instability overcomes the kinetic process, leading to a more porous structure.


Lung cancer, especially lung adenocarcinoma, is one of the main causes of death worldwide [1] . Approximately 85% patients with lung cancer have non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), a histologically heterogeneous type of lung cancer [2, 3] . Cytotoxic chemotherapy moderately prolongs continuity for patients with advanced NSCLC. Multiple options are available for treating patients with lung cancer, including radiation therapy, chemotherapy, surgery, and its combinations [4, 5] . Combination chemotherapy can be used for treating specific cancer types even at progressive stages. Use of different drug combinations has played an important role in cancer treatment over several years.

Lung cancer, especially lung adenocarcinoma, is one of the main causes of death worldwide.

Approximately 85% patients with lung cancer have non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), a histologically heterogeneous type of lung cancer.

Multiple options are available for treating patients with lung cancer, including radiation therapy, chemotherapy, surgery, and its combinations.


This paper proposes, for neuroplasticity experiments, to measure connectivity between left and right hemispheres via cross-correlation between all pairs of voxels in right and left hemisphere regions of interest. This approach yields estimation of large cross-correlation matrices with over 1000 elements. Further, following a standard data pre-processing methodology, a bandpass filtering at 0.01-0.1 Hz is used to identify hemodynamic response [7] . Furthermore, because an observed time series signal for an individual voxel is contaminated by a relatively large noise, new methods of statistical analysis and inference are required.

Further, following a standard data pre-processing methodology, a bandpass filtering at 0.01-0.1 Hz is used to identify hemodynamic response.


It is generally known that 50% to 74% of patients with MUI can expect recovery of complete urinary continence because the factors of urinary urgency can be completely reversed by anti-incontinence surgery [12] . However, it has also been reported that patients with MUI experience a lower complete cure rate and satisfaction after surgery than do those with SUI only, with a rate of 36% to 66% [13] . It has also been reported that DO persisted after surgery in 4 of 12 patients with DO, and SUI persisted after surgery in 9 patients, whereas urinary incontinence resolved after surgery in 32 of 50 patients [13] . In short, a main risk factor for surgical failure for MUI is the existence of DO before surgery [14] .

It is generally known that 50% to 74% of patients with MUI can expect recovery of complete urinary continence because the factors of urinary urgency can be completely reversed by anti-incontinence surgery.

However, it has also been reported that patients with MUI experience a lower complete cure rate and satisfaction after surgery than do those with SUI only, with a rate of 36% to 66%.

It has also been reported that DO persisted after surgery in 4 of 12 patients with DO, and SUI persisted after surgery in 9 patients, whereas urinary incontinence resolved after surgery in 32 of 50 patients.

In short, a main risk factor for surgical failure for MUI is the existence of DO before surgery.


According to those who rejected the al-muzara'ah, the object of the vow (akad) in al-muzara'ah had not existed and not clear in its rate. This is because the wage for the farmer is from the harvest that has not existed yet (alma'dum) and unclear (al-jahalah) in its measurement. Therefore, the profit to be divided from the beginning is unclear as yet at the initial stage. There is a possibility that the harvest may not materialise after the farmer works on the agricultural land. This will cause the farmer not to reap any rewards from his labour (al-Zaila'i, 2000) . This al-ma'dum and al-jahalah nature to the vow (akad); causing the vow (akad) to be invalid. They debated that the Prophet's (Rasulullah SAW) hadith reported by a majority of hadith reporters told through Prophet's (Rasulullah SAW) practice with the people of Khaybar which has been used as an argument by the fuqaha' who accepted the al-muzara'ah not as the al-muzara'ah vow (akad), instead the practice is in the form of al-kharaj almuqasamah, that determines the pawn which is supposed to be paid by the farmer to the Prophet (Rasulullah SAW) every harvesting season.

This will cause the farmer not to reap any rewards from his labour.


Most of these studies deal with norms (in the case of (weighted) ℓ p penalties with 1 ≤ p < 2) and quasi-norms in the case of penalties with 0 < p < 1. In this work we propose to look at the slightly more general framework of so-called F-norms, where penalties of type |x k | p k are considered. We collect some known results about these F-norms, provide some new results that are of interest in the context of sparse regularization and investigate regularization properties of these penalties. Note that an application of this theoretical framework has been dealt with for complex valued signals in a finite dimensional context, more precisely for parallel Magnetic Resonance Imaging, showing a promising numerical behaviour -see [9] .

Note that an application of this theoretical framework has been dealt with for complex valued signals in a finite dimensional context, more precisely for parallel Magnetic Resonance Imaging, showing a promising numerical behaviour -see.


The second factor is the high utilization of hospitals. In Japan there is little functional differentiation between clinics and hospitals, and their boundary is further blurred because a third of the clinics have a small number of beds (the distinction is primarily legal in that facilities with more than 20 beds are designated as hospitals, whereas those having fewer than 20 are called clinics). Neither is there much differentiation between acute and long-term care (Ikegami, 1992) . The price charged by all providers (hospitals and clinics) is uniform, assuming that their quality is the same. However, patients are increasingly turning away from clinics in favour of hospitals because of their perceived higher quality.

Neither is there much differentiation between acute and long-term care.


US-born Hispanics/Latinos consistently had the highest AL scores. Assuming that newer immigrants come with a health advantage and lose that advantage through a process of acculturation to levels comparable of the native born population, it's conceivable that individuals who have already adopted the host culture (US born) would no longer exhibit such health advantage. This is consistent with previous reports using NHANES data (Kaestner et al., 2009; Peek et al., 2010) . However, exposure to stressors associated with acculturation might not be the only factor that drives our associations. In addition, the process of acculturation is complex and may be different for each of the Hispanic groups from different countries of origin. Longitudinal studies will be needed to address these questions, which we plan to conduct in future studies using the HCHS/SOL cohort.

This is consistent with previous reports using NHANES data.


Most of the papers above dealing with transshipment assume that lateral transshipment already exists in system. However, lateral transshipment will make the problem complicate and tend to be very difficult to analyze analytically, especially BLT [18] . Hence, will lateral transshipment really need? This paper handles this problem from the performance measurement point. We consider one supply chain system consists of one supplier and two retailers, allowing a retailer transship from the other one for inventory replenishment besides order from supplier. System's models were developed by system dynamics assume that all the members use the order-up-to policy, and numerical experiment was run on Venple platform.

However, lateral transshipment will make the problem complicate and tend to be very difficult to analyze analytically, especially BLT.


Currently, fossil fuels, such as oil, natural gas, and coal, represent the primary energy sources existent on the planet. However, these resources are limited and their shortage is predicted for the next 50 years [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] . Other than their potential shortage, fossil fuels contribute considerably to negative environmental impacts. Therefore, reductions in carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions, one of the main gases responsible for greenhouse effects (GHG), through the use of renewable energy sources, is a main target, with goals to reduce GHGs emissions from 1990 to 2030 by 40% and to reduce GHGs emissions by 80-95% by 2050 [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] .

However, these resources are limited and their shortage is predicted for the next 50 years.

Therefore, reductions in carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions, one of the main gases responsible for greenhouse effects (GHG), through the use of renewable energy sources, is a main target, with goals to reduce GHGs emissions from 1990 to 2030 by 40% and to reduce GHGs emissions by 80-95% by 2050.


Liver is the main detoxifying organ in the body. However, continuous exposure to certain chemotherapeutic agents, drugs, environmental toxins, viral infections or bacterial invasion can trigger liver injury and eventually lead to various liver diseases (Stephens et al., 2014) . Susceptibility of the liver to injury by such agents is much higher than any other organ because of its central role in metabolism as well as its ability to concentrate and biotransform xenobiotics (Kumar et al., 2015) .

However, continuous exposure to certain chemotherapeutic agents, drugs, environmental toxins, viral infections or bacterial invasion can trigger liver injury and eventually lead to various liver diseases.

Susceptibility of the liver to injury by such agents is much higher than any other organ because of its central role in metabolism as well as its ability to concentrate and biotransform xenobiotics.


It has been suggested that non-local correlations stronger than quantum correlations between two sub-systems that cannot exchange any information would be "theoretically possible" [1] [2] . The present paper will closely examine this assertion, the assumptions on which it is based and the mainstream argumentation of this question, where bipartite correlations are modelled in terms of "boxes". A "box", which is the central device of the Bell's game played by two parties, can be described by an arithmetic relation between couples of "inputs", which can be regarded as the indexes of the two directions (right or left) each of the two parties (Alice and Bob) push her/his joystick, and "outputs", which are the possible responses of the box for these actions. This convenient representation of bipartite correlations will be adopted here for discussing the validity of some mainstream ideas about the question of super-quantum correlations.

It has been suggested that non-local correlations stronger than quantum correlations between two sub-systems that cannot exchange any information would be "theoretically possible".


The melanin pigments of animal origin fall into two major groups: eumelanins and phaeomelanins, whose EPR spectra differ considerably in terms of shape and parameters. The latter makes it possible to determine the melanin type by the shape of EPR spectrum (Montefoiori, Zhou, 1991) . The present study demonstrates that the eumelamin type pigments are synthesized at all the stages of H. illucens life cycle: prepupae, pupae, adult flies (dead flies), but in different quantities. The greatest quantity of melanin was found in the pupae, At the рrepupae stage intensive synthesis of pigment occurred. The empty membrane of the pupa contained the smallest quantity of melanin. In the imagines, the quantity of melanin was somewhat smaller per individual compared with that in the larva, however, the total quantity of pigment per of dead flies is comparable to that for pupae. Melanin was present not only in the cuticle (and hence remained in the membrane of the pupae upon emergence of the adult fly) but also remained in the body of the insect in a complex with lipids, which is determined by the structural and functional properties of melanin, which are associated with its capacity to form complexes with electrophilic substances. As exemplified by pupae of H. illucens, it has been revealed that associated with melanin is essentially the lauric acid whose proportion in the lipid portion of the melanin accounted for 80%. The mass proportion of melanin in the complex did not exceed 7%, which proved to be almost a half of the entire melanin of the pupa. It is the presence of melanin that caused isolation of the lauric acid as a complex with pigment in case of alkaline hydrolysis, and the hydrophobic properties of the fatty acid determined the fluctuation of the complex, and the hydrolysis and the hydrophobic properties of the fatty acid also determined the fluctuation of the complex and the upper portion of the reaction mixture in case of acid sedimentation of the cuticle melanin. Thus, melanin in the cuticle was in two forms: half of the pigment was closely associated with the cuticle whereas the other half forms a complex with the body lipids. In this case, melanin as an antioxidant may not only perform the function of protection from oxidation but also promote the anti-infection function of insect protection.

The latter makes it possible to determine the melanin type by the shape of EPR spectrum.


An efficient wireless broadcast scheme must solve two key interrelated challenges: (i) Messaging Overhead : Traditionally, each node of a WSN rebroadcasts any new data packet, resulting in too many unnecessary transmissions [14] . For example, if a software update of k packets is to be sent over a WSN of n nodes, potentially k times n broadcasts could be sent out. The larger the number of broadcasts, the more cumulative power is consumed because of the communication. Furthermore, the increased messaging overhead introduces more collisions and thus affects the channel reliability.

An efficient wireless broadcast scheme must solve two key interrelated challenges: (i) Messaging Overhead : Traditionally, each node of a WSN rebroadcasts any new data packet, resulting in too many unnecessary transmissions.


Despite the plenty of benefits of HEBM, there are several disadvantages in powder processing by mechanical milling, including surface oxidation, energy consumption, potential fire risk and expensiveness of industrial level production. These disadvantages of HEBM to prepare Mg-based alloys for H-storage can extensively be eliminated by severe plastic deformation (SPD) techniques, including high-pressure torsion (HPT), cold rolling (CR) and equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP). These methods originally were invented for producing porosity and impurity-free bulk nanocrystalline samples [17] [18] . The SPD techniques have numerous benefits, i.e. the process is less intensive than HEBM, scaling up to larger quantities at a lower cost has larger potential, impurity concentration is lower and it causes less safety concerns [19] .

These methods originally were invented for producing porosity and impurity-free bulk nanocrystalline samples.

The SPD techniques have numerous benefits, i.e. the process is less intensive than HEBM, scaling up to larger quantities at a lower cost has larger potential, impurity concentration is lower and it causes less safety concerns.


As a starting point, a pilot project was launched on Tecvia production site in Geneva (Switzerland) in 2011. This installation was designed to reduce energy consumption related to maintaining bitumen at constant temperature and implicitly, reduce emissions of greenhouse gases [7] . On the other side, simulations performed by Colas Switzerland showed that the annual performance of the solar thermal system could be significantly improved in particular by reducing the operating temperature and the distance between the collector field and the storage tanks.

This installation was designed to reduce energy consumption related to maintaining bitumen at constant temperature and implicitly, reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.


Simulation tool represents a powerful tool for plant sizing, optimization and energy yield estimations. It also allows to explore sensitivity analyses on different design parameters. First simulation results have shown annual specific collector yield of 128.5 kWh/m 2 aperture area despite the use of a very efficient solar thermal collector. This value is 1.8 times lower than initially evaluated by COLAS (238 kWh/m 2 a), but it is comparable to the Geneva installation results where a yearly solar productivity of 93 kWh/m 2 has been reported [7] . The solar thermal simulation is currently under validation against experimental results. Investigations proceed to evaluate all possible areas of improvement in order to maximise the solar yield and reduce gas consumption and implicitly greenhouse gas emissions for this industrial application.

This value is 1.8 times lower than initially evaluated by COLAS (238 kWh/m 2 a), but it is comparable to the Geneva installation results where a yearly solar productivity of 93 kWh/m 2 has been reported.


On an ISO 11783 class 3 compatible tractor, the hydraulic valves are controlled using a command that states the requested flow as a percentage of the maximum flow that the valve can deliver (ISO, 2009) . If the characteristics of the valve are not known beforehand, there is no way knowing what is the actual flow and the cylinder velocity that the flow causes. The characteristics of the other hydraulic and mechanical parts connected to the valve can also affect the outcome. Automatic control of the boom requires that there is a model that defines the dynamics of the system in simple but fairly accurate way. Therefore, we have created a model to describe the system and done identification tests to define the parameters for each of the individual valve-cylinder pairs.

On an ISO 11783 class 3 compatible tractor, the hydraulic valves are controlled using a command that states the requested flow as a percentage of the maximum flow that the valve can deliver.


The hairy fig is a deciduous plant widely distributed in southern China as a traditional plant resource used as medicinal and edible food by Hakka people. It is a clearly recognizable plant for its five-fingered leaf shape and mature fruit that resembles wild peach ( Figure 1) . Moreover, the fruits of hairy fig are a famous herb used by Hakka people in Chinese folk medicine for inhibiting tumor growth, promoting lactation, as anticoagulant, and for improving fatigue resistance [18, 19] . Currently, our previous research demonstrated that HFE has strong antifungal activity against P. italicum and P. digitatum in vitro conditions [20, 21] . Not surprisingly, chitosan coating enriched with HFE provided an enhanced antifungal activity, and it is likely that research will broaden the practicability of the botanical fungicide. Development of antimicrobial/antioxidant coatings from polysaccharides, such as chitosan, have been studied extensively, whereas few works have been conducted on developing films using the combination of chitosan and natural plant extract-based antifungal components. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effect of chitosan coating enriched with or without HFE for cold-stored navel orange preservation.

Moreover, the fruits of hairy fig are a famous herb used by Hakka people in Chinese folk medicine for inhibiting tumor growth, promoting lactation, as anticoagulant, and for improving fatigue resistance.

Currently, our previous research demonstrated that HFE has strong antifungal activity against P. italicum and P. digitatum in vitro conditions.


Gravitation is one of the known fundamental interactions of physics, and the General Theory of Relativity (GTR) is, at present, its best theoretical description [1] . As such, GTR is one of the pillars of our knowledge of Nature; intense experimental and observational scrutiny is required not only to gain an ever-increasing confidence about it, but also to explore the borders of the realm of its validity at different scales. To this aim, a variety of different theoretical, experimental and observational approaches are required to extend the frontiers of our knowledge of the gravitational phenomena. Are there some founded hopes to testing newly predicted gravitational effects in the near future in some suitable astronomical and astrophysical laboratories? What are the possibilities opened up by forthcoming space-based missions?

Gravitation is one of the known fundamental interactions of physics, and the General Theory of Relativity (GTR) is, at present, its best theoretical description.


With the increasing concerns about the global warming issue, renewable energy resources turn to be gaining more energy demand applications. Unfortunately, most (if not all) renewable energy resources suffer currently from the lack of providing constant power. This is due to the uncontrollable change in the surrounding weather and environmental conditions. A possible and practical solution to overcome the problem of not relying totally on the renewable energy resources, is to constitute a hybrid DC grid made of a combination of parallel energy resources and storage units and interconnect it (i.e the hybrid DC grid) to the AC grid [1] [2] [3] . The DC grid is connected to the AC grid through conventional power inverter modules [1] [2] [3] . A glance at the anticipated task from such proposed solution is that at any prospective energy load demand, the energy is guarantied from the DC grid as well as from the AC grid.

A possible and practical solution to overcome the problem of not relying totally on the renewable energy resources, is to constitute a hybrid DC grid made of a combination of parallel energy resources and storage units and interconnect it (i.e the hybrid DC grid) to the AC grid.

The DC grid is connected to the AC grid through conventional power inverter modules.


For CML patients, methods for predicting and monitoring response to treatment have changed considerably in recent years from the repeated examination of bone marrow metaphases for the presence of the Ph+ chromosome in patients treated with interferon-a (IFNa) or allogenic stem cell transplantation (SCT), to quantitative assays based on reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (QRT-PCR). QRT-PCR has provided extremely valuable for assessing and monitoring minimal residual disease in patients who achieve Ph negativity after treatment with IFNa or with imatinib mesylate or after allogenic SCT [12] . The application of this method requires patients to be monitored serially in complete cytogenetic remission with repeated bone marrow examinations. Decreasing or rising amounts of BCR-ABL transcripts detected by QRT-PCR may indicate the need for reduced or further therapy, respectively.

QRT-PCR has provided extremely valuable for assessing and monitoring minimal residual disease in patients who achieve Ph negativity after treatment with IFNa or with imatinib mesylate or after allogenic SCT.


Let S R be an Euclidean sphere in C n of radius R; we say that X is transversal to S R at p ∈ S R if < X(p) > R ⊕T p S R = (T pC n ) R . Theorem 1.1 (Arnold [1] ). Let o be a Poincaré singular point of X: then there exists R 0 > 0 such that for every 0 < R < R 0 , X is transversal to S R .

Theorem 1.1 (Arnold).


Although in some European countries Qigong is considered and supported by the health systems as a preventive measure, training programs for children are not widely spread. As this is possibly due to a lack of data, we were interested in a further understanding of the modes of action of Qigong. We chose the so-called "White Ball" exercise system, as it takes 5 min to do it and can be integrated at work or at school [9, 10] .

We chose the so-called "White Ball" exercise system, as it takes 5 min to do it and can be integrated at work or at school.


In the evaluation, we addressed life sciences, a domain where the information overload is now more painful than ever and where efficient data/knowledge integration can bring a lot of benefit [11] . Specifically, we looked into knowledge consolidation, by which we mean-at the abstract level-grouping of possibly isolated, yet related simple facts into more general chunks of knowledge with similar meaning. Drilling down to a more concrete level of the actual experiments, we applied the framework proposed in this paper to clustering of entities (i.e., subjects and objects) and relations based on their distributional features within a corpus of input resources. We considered two types of inputs -existing linked data sets and statements extracted from texts associated with the linked data sets. Details on the data, experiments, evaluation methods and results are provided in the corresponding sections below.

In the evaluation, we addressed life sciences, a domain where the information overload is now more painful than ever and where efficient data/knowledge integration can bring a lot of benefit.


In the case of Γ = γ z , one should also take care of mixing between the bare Γ = γ z and Γ = 1 qPDFs [11] . The running of the renormalized quark qPDF is simply the dependence of the renormalized amputated quark qPDF Λ(z, p; p R ) on p, with p slightly away from p R . Any mismatch between the nonperturbative and 1-loop perturbative running could be another source of systematic error.

In the case of Γ = γ z , one should also take care of mixing between the bare Γ = γ z and Γ = 1 qPDFs.


One issue we ran into during the implementation phase was in evaluating our work. We presented some results that show output arriving early and decreased state throughout the execution of the query, but how do we compare our work to other stream processing systems? How do we know what "good" performance is? We are designing a benchmark for stream processing systems based on the scenario in XMark [21] .

We are designing a benchmark for stream processing systems based on the scenario in XMark.


There is common work with partial evaluation of queries [13] , [23] . Both address applying blocking operators to long or continuous inputs. Punctuation might be used to help partial operators communicate output that is "partial" versus output that is "correct," or assist in computing how close we are to the "correct" output.

There is common work with partial evaluation of queries.


To investigate the effects of species diversity on predators, we examined individual growth rates of largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides (henceforth bass) in 80 lakes in Connecticut, USA. After their first year, largemouth bass are highly piscivorous and can feed on a variety of fish species [8] . However, individual growth rates can vary widely among systems as a function of the quantity and quality of available prey [9] . Therefore, we hypothesized that fish species diversity could have potentially strong positive or negative effects on bass growth.

After their first year, largemouth bass are highly piscivorous and can feed on a variety of fish species.

However, individual growth rates can vary widely among systems as a function of the quantity and quality of available prey.


The tight relationship between chaos theory and cryptography has been pointed out by some researchers [1, 2, 16, 31] . Many fundamental characteristics of chaos, such as mixing and sensitivity to initial conditions, can be connected with those of good ciphers, such as confusion and diffusion. Since chaos theory has developed well in recent decades, and numerous chaotic systems can be employed in ciphers, chaos should be a new rich source of cryptography.

The tight relationship between chaos theory and cryptography has been pointed out by some researchers.


The experimental setup is shown in Fig. 2 . Two continuous-wave optical sources (one distributed feedback laser, DFB, at 1559.6 nm and one external cavity laser, ECL at 1560.4 nm) were used as pump waves. These are amplified by a high-power erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) and applied to a reel of highly nonlinear fiber (HNLF). The HNLF used has a zero dispersion wavelength ð 0 Þ of 1562 nm, a dispersion slope S of 0.018 ps=ðnm 2 Á kmÞ, a nonlinear coefficient The filter response is controlled by changing the number and relative amplitude of the optical carriers. It is done by changing the power of the pump carriers through the gain of the optical amplifier. Additionally, to increase control over the optical carriers, the amplitudes of the optical carriers can be adjusted by means of optical filtering [16] - [19] . A polarization controller and a short length of polarization maintaining fiber (differential group delay, DGD, of around 1.5 ps), is introduced after the HNLF. It results in an optical filter generated by the light travelling along the two axes of the modulator with the DGD introduced by the PMF. Fig. 3 shows the optical filter response obtained for different polarization states at the input of the PMF. As it can be seen the optical filter FSR is around 5.5 nm which agrees with the theoretical value (5.4 nm). This optical filtering stage allows further adjustment of the amplitudes of the set of optical carriers. After the filter control stage, optical carriers are modulated in a quadrature-biased (QB) Mach-Zehnder modulator, fed by the microwave signal generated by a vector network analyzer (Agilent PNA-X). To avoid dispersion induced fading a dualdrive MZM is used to get single sideband modulation (SSB). After modulation the signals are amplified and filtered to reduce noise and launched to a reel of 10 km standard single mode fiber (SSMF) where time delays are generated through fiber dispersion. Finally, the signals are photodetected and the filter response obtained as the S 21 parameter in the vector network analyzer.

Additionally, to increase control over the optical carriers, the amplitudes of the optical carriers can be adjusted by means of optical filtering.


Growth rate is an important characteristic of the physiological state of a bacterial population. Understanding how cells achieve balanced growth by coordinating the expression of thousands of genes for a variety of cellular processes while competing for resources under fluctuating environmental conditions, is still one of the most fundamental challenges in cell physiology [1] . From an evolutionary point of view, it is very intriguing to understand how and why cells have different metabolic strategies (e.g. with respect to catabolic efficiency) at different growth rates [2] . Such phenotypic traits have now been observed across all domains of life [3] . From an application point of view, control of microbial growth rate by modulation of nutrient availability (e.g. for medium optimization) can have a huge impact on product yield in industrial settings [4] [5] [6] . Therefore, detailing the correlation of growth rate with various cellular responses is of paramount importance for better understanding of cell physiology.

Understanding how cells achieve balanced growth by coordinating the expression of thousands of genes for a variety of cellular processes while competing for resources under fluctuating environmental conditions, is still one of the most fundamental challenges in cell physiology.

From an evolutionary point of view, it is very intriguing to understand how and why cells have different metabolic strategies (e.g. with respect to catabolic efficiency) at different growth rates.

Such phenotypic traits have now been observed across all domains of life.

From an application point of view, control of microbial growth rate by modulation of nutrient availability (e.g. for medium optimization) can have a huge impact on product yield in industrial settings.


However, most of the above studies are valid only for the chaotic neural networks whose parameters are precisely known. But in a practical situation, the parameters of some systems cannot be exactly known a priori, the effect of these uncertainties will destroy the synchronization and even break it [27] [28] [29] [30] . Therefore, it is essential to investigate the synchronization of delayed chaotic systems in the presence of unknown parameters.

But in a practical situation, the parameters of some systems cannot be exactly known a priori, the effect of these uncertainties will destroy the synchronization and even break it.


In the past few years, there has been increasing interest in the potential applications of the dynamics of artificial neural networks in many areas [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] . In such applications, analysis of the equilibrium points is a prerequisite. Thus, different types of neural networks with or without time delays have been widely investigated and many stability criteria have been obtained [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] .

In the past few years, there has been increasing interest in the potential applications of the dynamics of artificial neural networks in many areas.

Thus, different types of neural networks with or without time delays have been widely investigated and many stability criteria have been obtained.


Today, vernacular architecture is considered a model for sustainable architecture, and the strategies that are now the basis of sustainable construction are derived from aspects and characteristics of this type of architecture [1] . In the past, people in Palestine built their houses per their possibilities, needs, available materials, topography, and culture. Without any control from the government or any legal limitations or architects, it was people's architecture, simple architecture.

Today, vernacular architecture is considered a model for sustainable architecture, and the strategies that are now the basis of sustainable construction are derived from aspects and characteristics of this type of architecture.


Another comparative study discussed high-density housing in Palestine and the lack of land by comparing between contemporary and traditional typologies and identifying the use of land parameters of traditional housing to improve contemporary housing in Palestine [10] . This study has analyzed different housing, such as courtyard houses, single houses, and attached houses. In addition, it defines the following typologies for Palestinian buildings: i) low-rise-low-density housing, ii) high-rise-high-density housing, and iii) courtyard housing.

Another comparative study discussed high-density housing in Palestine and the lack of land by comparing between contemporary and traditional typologies and identifying the use of land parameters of traditional housing to improve contemporary housing in Palestine.


Mining has a large impact on the environment. Clearing land for an open-pit changes dramatically the landscape and this impact is reinforced by piles of waste rocks. Mining is also a source of local and global pollutants. Mining activities are typically regulated: environmental permit of mine. When designing regulation authorities search for a balance between economically sound business and environmental and social impacts. Developing and maintaining economically efficient and sustainable mining sector is important for example for the European Union, which has an under-developed mining sector despite of the fact the EU is very dependent on imported raw materials (Tiess, 2010) .

Developing and maintaining economically efficient and sustainable mining sector is important for example for the European Union, which has an under-developed mining sector despite of the fact the EU is very dependent on imported raw materials.


Green bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an important vegetable crop widely used as a protein source and for other nutrients in many developing countries. The total worldwide cultivated area of green beans is 1,527,613 hectares, producing 21,720,588 tons, as reported by FAO [9] . China is the world's leading producer of green beans, with a total cultivated area of 635,385 hectares and a production of 17,031,702 tons [9] . In Egypt, green beans are a major cash crop, important not only for export but also for local markets, where it is an important protein source with high nutritional value for Egyptian families [10] . Approximately 3.5% of the total world production of green beans comes from Egypt [11] .

The total worldwide cultivated area of green beans is 1,527,613 hectares, producing 21,720,588 tons, as reported by FAO.

China is the world's leading producer of green beans, with a total cultivated area of 635,385 hectares and a production of 17,031,702 tons.

In Egypt, green beans are a major cash crop, important not only for export but also for local markets, where it is an important protein source with high nutritional value for Egyptian families.

Approximately 3.5% of the total world production of green beans comes from Egypt.


The increase in the usage of concrete around the world is associated with the increased demand for raw materials necessary for its production. Reuse of waste materials as building materials is particularly important in order to reduce energy consumption and the use of natural resources, with respect to the 4R principle (Reduce-Reuse-Recover-Recycle) [1] . The use of waste materials as construction materials helps to protect the environment by supporting the reduction of greenhouse gas emission and the consumption of natural resources, and it also leads to cost reductions [2, 3] . Changing the mentality of society and engineers will allow treating the waste not only as an environmental issue, but also as an important source of industrial raw materials. Introducing the idea of the closed-loop economy that involves closing the product's life-cycle may result in a reduction in the amount of waste that needs to be deposited in landfills [4] [5] [6] .

Reuse of waste materials as building materials is particularly important in order to reduce energy consumption and the use of natural resources, with respect to the 4R principle (Reduce-Reuse-Recover-Recycle).

The use of waste materials as construction materials helps to protect the environment by supporting the reduction of greenhouse gas emission and the consumption of natural resources, and it also leads to cost reductions.

Introducing the idea of the closed-loop economy that involves closing the product's life-cycle may result in a reduction in the amount of waste that needs to be deposited in landfills.


Proteins are biopolymers constructed from a sequence of amino acid residues. The potential energy landscapes of proteins have many degrees of freedom and include important contributions between pairs of residues that are distant in sequence, but close to each other in space. Despite this complexity, many globular proteins fold to a well-defined the native state. According to the thermodynamic hypothesis, this structure is the global free energy minimum for a given sequence [1] . Frustration occurs when there are low-lying structures separated by high barriers [2] . All the favourable interactions between pairs of residues cannot be accommodated at the same time, which can lead to energetic frustration, where there are several low-lying structures with different patterns of contacts. Geometric frustration occurs when the interconversion of two low-lying structures requires the breaking of several favourable contacts.

According to the thermodynamic hypothesis, this structure is the global free energy minimum for a given sequence.

Frustration occurs when there are low-lying structures separated by high barriers.


Waste glass and fly ash to prepare foam glass were studied [8] . The result from TG-DTG revealed that the appropriate foaming temperature was around 950 °C. The foam glass had a bulk density of 267.2 kg/m 3 , a compressive strength of 0.9829 MPa, and a porosity of 81.55%. According to these results, the starting materials and SiC were successfully employed as a high temperature foaming agent.

Waste glass and fly ash to prepare foam glass were studied.


The introduction of recycled glass, obtained by comminuting discarded bottles, in the manufacture of ceramic pieces in replacement of a part of sand associated with the clay-like material was evaluated [3] . The glass was mixed in proportions of 3, 5 and 10% with a clay-like material. They observed excellent results for introduction of recycled glass in the production of ceramic pieces, mainly by the positive effects from the ceramic properties of water absorption, apparent porosity, loss to fire and apparent density, particularly when a 10% glass powder was used in the ceramic mass.

The introduction of recycled glass, obtained by comminuting discarded bottles, in the manufacture of ceramic pieces in replacement of a part of sand associated with the clay-like material was evaluated.


The feasibility of using soda-lime waste glass powder for latent heat storage application, where n-Octadecane was loaded into glass powder (GP) was studied [6] . The TGA and thermal cycling results confirmed that the composite PCM is thermally stable and reliable. A thermal performance test showed that the cement paste panel with composite PCM reduced the indoor temperature by 3 °C. The thermal performance test on a small scale showed that the n-octadecane-GP composite PCM is effective in reducing the indoor temperature, as well as the temperature fluctuations. Therefore, it can be used in buildings for thermal energy storage in order to reduce energy cost, the scale of air-conditioning and flatten the fluctuation of indoor temperature.

The feasibility of using soda-lime waste glass powder for latent heat storage application, where n-Octadecane was loaded into glass powder (GP) was studied.


The sustainability of concrete and cement industries consists of using pozzolanic additions, especially if obtained from waste such as waste glass was analyzed [4] . Crushed waste glass was ground (WGP) and used in mortar as a partial cement replacement (0%, 10% and 20%) material to ascertain applicability in concrete. An extensive experimental program was carried out including pozzolanic activity, setting time, soundness, specific gravity, chemical analyses, laser particle size distribution, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) on WGP and resistance to alkali silica reaction (ASR), chloride ion penetration resistance, absorption by capillarity, accelerated carbonation and external sulphate resistance on mortar containing WGP. The WGP10 mortar showed a remarkable resistance to sulphate attack, far higher than silica fume (SF). Although soda lime glass presents a high alkali content, use of ground waste glass as cement replacement in mortar, improved resistance to ASR and chloride penetration with replacement dosage and greatly improved sulfate resistance without compromising strength. Therefore, this waste material can successfully enhance durability and further contribute to sustainability in construction.

The sustainability of concrete and cement industries consists of using pozzolanic additions, especially if obtained from waste such as waste glass was analyzed.


Glass is a non-crystalline inert material, non-porous and fragile and is considered as a thermal insulator. By presenting these features and being impermeable to the passage of oxygen or carbon dioxide, the use of glass debris as filler in the manufacture of PUR can offer a number of advantages, such as reduction of collection costs, reducing environmental pollution, improving the economy and reducing the consumption of natural resources [1] . On the other hand, there are also many applications for waste glass.

By presenting these features and being impermeable to the passage of oxygen or carbon dioxide, the use of glass debris as filler in the manufacture of PUR can offer a number of advantages, such as reduction of collection costs, reducing environmental pollution, improving the economy and reducing the consumption of natural resources.


The behaviour of waste glass powders of different fineness with that of natural pozzolana, coal fly ash and SF was compared [5] . Blended both with Portland cement and lime, ground glass improved strength, resistance to chloride penetration and resistance to sulphate attack of mortars more than natural pozzolana and similarly to fly ash. Mortars with ground glass immersed in water for seven years did not show any sign of degradation, increased their compressive strength and were also not affected by fineness.

The behaviour of waste glass powders of different fineness with that of natural pozzolana, coal fly ash and SF was compared.


The effects of soda-lime waste glass, from the recovery of bottle glass cullet, in partial replacement of Na-feldspar for sanitary ware ceramic production were discussed [7] . Measurements have been performed by in situ high temperature X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, thermal dilatometry, water absorption and mechanical testing. The glass substituted feldspar from 30 to 50% wt allows one to accelerate the mullite growth reaction kinetics, and to achieve macroscopic features of the ceramic output that comply with the latest technical requirements.

The effects of soda-lime waste glass, from the recovery of bottle glass cullet, in partial replacement of Na-feldspar for sanitary ware ceramic production were discussed.


The multiple benefits of the new recycling process to RFG (recycled foam glass) were investigated [11] . They mainly used a mix of rejected waste glass from conventional container glass recycling and waste of special glass such as monitor glass, bulbs and glass fibers. According to their research, the green building product is a RFG to be used in high efficiency thermally insulating and lightweight concrete. The environmental gains have been contrasted against induced impacts and improvements have been proposed. In accordance with an eco-efficiency principle, a recourse has been highlighted to high energy intensive recycling which should be limited to waste that cannot be closed-loop recycled.

The multiple benefits of the new recycling process to RFG (recycled foam glass) were investigated.


Cyanide leaching has been used to leach gold from ores for more than a century because of its simple process, high efficiency and low cost. However, there are increasing public worries over the sustained use of cyanide because it is extremely poisonous and can readily cause serious environmental and health problems. In addition, cyanide leaching shows unsatisfactory performance on refractory gold ores such as those containing copper or "preg-robbing" carbon [1] . So, considerable attention has been paid to non-cyanide techniques. Of the alternative techniques, thiosulfate leaching offers the advantages of non-toxicity, low reagent costs, fast leaching rate and good performance in treating certain refractory gold ores, and thus, has been widely accepted by researchers as the most promising non-cyanide technique to replace conventional cyanidation [2, 3] .

In addition, cyanide leaching shows unsatisfactory performance on refractory gold ores such as those containing copper or "preg-robbing" carbon.

Of the alternative techniques, thiosulfate leaching offers the advantages of non-toxicity, low reagent costs, fast leaching rate and good performance in treating certain refractory gold ores, and thus, has been widely accepted by researchers as the most promising non-cyanide technique to replace conventional cyanidation.


The intensification of production processes and continuous expansion of advanced materials brings the new requirements to grinding wheels. The grinding wheels must guarantee the achievement of high accuracy and quality of machined surfaces [5] . Abrasive materials and binder materials continually undergoing development and now there are highly productive grinding technologies, which ensure the favourable mechanical and thermal stresses of grinded surfaces [6] , [12] . These technologies have higher acquisition costs, but provide the required quality of machined surface, high durability and tool life, reduced maintenance costs and energy consumption. This leads to a recovery of investment due to of higher productivity.

The grinding wheels must guarantee the achievement of high accuracy and quality of machined surfaces.

Abrasive materials and binder materials continually undergoing development and now there are highly productive grinding technologies, which ensure the favourable mechanical and thermal stresses of grinded surfaces.


For compliant mechanisms, elastic strain is the basis for kinematic actuation. Their main advantages are reduced wear, friction and backlash compared to conventional mechanisms. These characteristics lead to higher precision and reliability to perform the tasks they are built for. Moreover, they can use their own stored elastic energy to return to the initial position when the input actuation is ceased, without the need for a second actuation (Howell, 2013) . The main disadvantages are: part of the input work being spent on elastic deformation of the mechanism itself, susceptibility to fatigue and the lack of systematic design methodologies for real-life applications.

Moreover, they can use their own stored elastic energy to return to the initial position when the input actuation is ceased, without the need for a second actuation.


AdMonitor of MeiHua Information's tracking service also includes radio, outdoor, and internet advertising in China, but this study only investigated television advertising. It is important to examine advertising on other media and make cross-media comparisons in future research. Another limitation is that there were no actual perceptions from consumers to further support the interpretations of the use of the appeals and cultural values in this study, and experimental methodologies that ask consumers to report their thoughts and feelings about the commercials should be included in future research. Finally, it is worthwhile to interview advertisers to better understand their perspectives to the use of appeals and valuesacross product categories. In fact, more collaboration between academics and practitioners is a key initiative advocated for future international advertising research (Taylor, 2005) .

In fact, more collaboration between academics and practitioners is a key initiative advocated for future international advertising research.


Due to the scope and importance of microfinance, many studies have focused on this sector. Researchers have mainly analyzed its impact, outreach and sustainability. In this sense, outreach and sustainability is a widely discussed issue in this field [2] [3] [4] . Although sustainability and outreach are seen as competing forces, in some cases we can see them as complementary. This implies that sustainability is necessary to achieve outreach. In this sense, sustainability is the capacity of a program to remain financially viable even if subsidies and financial aids are cut off. This variable is one of the most analyzed in the studies that investigate microfinance sector development. Among these studies, an important line of research focuses on the analysis of the most favorable conditions for the development of this sector [2, [5] [6] [7] . The results of these studies show that the macroeconomic conditions of a country, especially the development of its financial system and its economic growth, could influence the growth of the microfinance sector.

In this sense, outreach and sustainability is a widely discussed issue in this field.

Among these studies, an important line of research focuses on the analysis of the most favorable conditions for the development of this sector.


The results show the relevance of the moderating effect of economic growth in the analysis of microfinance sector development. In fact, the absence of a relationship between the financial and microfinance sectors development our first analysis appears to be caused by the opposite effect occurring depending on the degree of economic growth. On the one hand, when there is a high level of negative economic growth, there is a negative relationship between the development of the financial sector and the development of the microfinance sector. This substitution effect may appear because an economic recession slows the growth of MFIs and, therefore, their microcredit supply [8, 11, 12] . If we add a developed financial system, clients can move towards the traditional financial system both due to the scarcity of microcredit offers and the existence of a greater variety of loans or lower financing costs [9, 10, 20] . On the other hand, when the economy experiences a high degree of economic growth, there is a complementary effect, as the sources of MFI financing increase through the traditional financial system [10, 13, 14, 22, 23, 50, 51] . In addition, the development of the financial system can also improve the efficiency of MFIs through the implementation of banking techniques [7, 10, 52] .

This substitution effect may appear because an economic recession slows the growth of MFIs and, therefore, their microcredit supply.

If we add a developed financial system, clients can move towards the traditional financial system both due to the scarcity of microcredit offers and the existence of a greater variety of loans or lower financing costs.

On the other hand, when the economy experiences a high degree of economic growth, there is a complementary effect, as the sources of MFI financing increase through the traditional financial system.

In addition, the development of the financial system can also improve the efficiency of MFIs through the implementation of banking techniques.


The main objective of this paper is to explore how the relationship between financial development and the development of the microfinance sector may be conditioned by the degree of economic growth in the country. As a first approximation, and for purely descriptive purposes, the descriptive statistics are presented in Table 4 by dividing the sample according to whether the economic growth is negative or positive. Firstly, regarding the dependent variable, there is greater growth of MFI credit (MFIG) in those countries with positive economic growth, a difference that is statistically significant. In the case of financial development (FD), countries with positive economic growth have deeper financial systems. This positive relationship is in line with the results of the previous literature, which has been proposing a direct relationship between both variables [26] [27] [28] 42] .

This positive relationship is in line with the results of the previous literature, which has been proposing a direct relationship between both variables.