In addition to the previous stages, in the third stage of concessions, there was an improvement in the incorporation of Factor X, an instrument used for the concessionaire company to seek efficient operation so that the productivity gains of the companies could be absorbed, as well as replacing the revenue fee, based on the Long-Term Interest Rate and inflation, by a fee based on the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) methodology (Ribeiro & Meyer, 2006) . Furthermore, these changes signaled the adoption of a price-cap regulatory system. During this stage, ANTT indicated, in the concession contracts, an IRR of 7.2% per year.

In addition to the previous stages, in the third stage of concessions, there was an improvement in the incorporation of Factor X, an instrument used for the concessionaire company to seek efficient operation so that the productivity gains of the companies could be absorbed, as well as replacing the revenue fee, based on the Long-Term Interest Rate and inflation, by a fee based on the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) methodology.


Image segmentation has made significant advances in recent years. Recent work based largely on deep learning techniques which has resulted in groundbreaking improvements in the accuracy of the segmentations (e.g., currently reported over 79% (mIOU) on the PASCAL VOC-2012 test set [44] ). Because image segmentations are a mid-level representation, they have the potential to make major contributions across the wide field of visual understanding from image classification to image synthesis; from object recognition to object modeling; from high-performance indexing to relevance feedback and interactive search.

Recent work based largely on deep learning techniques which has resulted in groundbreaking improvements in the accuracy of the segmentations (e.g., currently reported over 79% (mIOU) on the PASCAL VOC-2012 test set).


Surface and subsurface nitrate loss from agricultural lands has been a substantial water quality concern globally [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] . Nitrogen added to the soil in the form of fertilizer or manure is a major cause of nitrate loss from the agricultural lands. Since nitrogen inputs on the agricultural land are not entirely consumed by plants a significant portion, in the form of nitrate, is lost into the ground and surface water. High nitrate concentration in surface and ground water is a concern because: It may lead to accelerated eutrophication in water bodies, it has a potentially harmful effect to children less than a year old as it can cause methamoglobinemia and it can be toxic for livestock.

Surface and subsurface nitrate loss from agricultural lands has been a substantial water quality concern globally.


Several declarative languages for expressing agreements and contracts have been created over the last decade. Among them, WS-Agreement, WSLA and SLA-ng have been subject to a considerable amount of analysis, critique and proposed improvements (Tian et al., 2004; Frankova et al., 2006; Truong et al., 2008) . A number of service execution platforms have been specifically developed or extended to exploit the contents of such contracts and act accordingly in decisive situations where the contracts conflict with the state of the platform. Depending on the nature of the situation, either the contracts can be modified by renegotiating or cancelling them, the service execution can be modified by terminating, reconfiguring, rebinding or otherwise adapting services, and the platform can be modified by acquiring more resources, migrating workload to other servers or equivalent actions which help solve the conflict. These technical, corrective actions belong into the functionality of all adaptive platforms for contractbound service execution. The term Service-Level Management (SLM) encompasses adaptivity but especially includes changes of a contract within its lifecycle as well as admission control functionality to reduce the need for adaptivity.

Among them, WS-Agreement, WSLA and SLA-ng have been subject to a considerable amount of analysis, critique and proposed improvements.


Crowd density estimation is to analyze of the number or density of the crowd in images or videos [3] . The main scenes can be tourist attractions, sports events or cultural performances ( Figure  1 ). Before the rise of deep learning, people mainly used traditional image processing methods to calculate the number of people in the scene. However, these methods cannot be applied to the monitoring of the crowd because the effect of crowd density estimation is not satisfactory. Because the crowds are very dense in some scenarios, quick and accurate estimation of crowd density is impossible for traditional computer vision algorithms. With the continuous improvement of deep learning technology and hardware, crowd density estimation has made breakthrough progress in recent years. The deep learning technology makes it possible to estimate crowd density in many complex scenarios [4, 5] . However, crowd density estimation still faces some serious challenges.

Crowd density estimation is to analyze of the number or density of the crowd in images or videos.

The deep learning technology makes it possible to estimate crowd density in many complex scenarios.


Well known for that there are two branches of the 1D GMRF for a classic mounting under oblique incidence, which are split from a central resonant wavelength [17] . And there exist a pair of resonance bands of the 1D GMRF for a full conical mounting under oblique incidence, which are degenerate and never split no matter what the incident angle is [29] . For classic mounting, the incident plane is perpendicular to the grating grooves, and the incident plane is parallel to the linear bars for full conical mounting. For 2D GMRF with POI in xz-plane as presented in Fig. 1(a) , the grating pillars along x-axis (with grating period as y ) are parallel to POI, which can be considered as full conical mounting incidence, while the grating pillars along y-axis (with grating period as x ) are normal to POI and can be considered as a classic mounting incidence. Therefore, the physical mechanism of the spectral responses of 2D GMRF can be analyzed in detail, in terms of the diffracted wave vectors of 1D GMRFs with classic and full conical mountings.

Well known for that there are two branches of the 1D GMRF for a classic mounting under oblique incidence, which are split from a central resonant wavelength.

And there exist a pair of resonance bands of the 1D GMRF for a full conical mounting under oblique incidence, which are degenerate and never split no matter what the incident angle is.


The information and results of the author's own research included in this article show that the actions taken by Rzeszow's authorities with the aim of developing sustainable transportation are consistent and durable. Technical and organizational factors were used for this. These actions are supported by appropriate EU funds [19] . They lead to an increase in the attractiveness of public transport and the development of zero-emission transport, which also includes bicycle transport. Compared to other cities, the share of cycling is very low, and in this area further decisive action by the municipal authorities is required to develop this type of transport. Investments in bicycle paths without appropriate action to change transport habits are insufficient. The increase in the number of passengers using public transport has been greater than the growth in the city's population in recent years. This positive effect has been achieved largely thanks to the steps taken by the city's authorities, which has resulted in reducing public transport journey times and allowing traffic in congested areas to become more fluid. In the immediate perspective, it is predicted that public transport will be linked with individual bicycle, pedestrian, car and railway transportation by means of transport hubs. This will create an "eco-mobility chain". Energy efficiency will further be improved with the planned and carried out purchases of modern buses (including buses with unconventional drives). With the energy efficiency of public transport improved, the negative effects on the environment can be reduced, especially concerning the emission of greenhouse gases and other toxic substances. The consistent implementation of all actions described in Section 5 on the part of the city's authorities will have a significant impact on improving the quality of life in Rzeszow and on caring for the natural environment.

These actions are supported by appropriate EU funds.


The traditional ADM approach of the conserved quantities and the Hamiltonian analysis of general relativity is based on the 3+1 decomposition of the fields and the geometry. Hence it is not a priori clear that the energy and the spatial momentum form a Lorentz vector, or the spatial angular momentum and centre-of-mass form an anti-symmetric Lorentz tensor. To ensure the Lorentz covariance of the conserved quantities at spatial infinity Nester developed a spacetime-covariant Hamiltonian formulation of general relativity [7] . However, the content and the results of the theory can be spacetime covariant even if its form is not. Thus, in particular, we should find a spacetime interpretation of the traditional Hamiltonian formulation and the 'conserved' quantities of the theory in terms of some appropriately defined asymptotic spacetime Killing vectors.

To ensure the Lorentz covariance of the conserved quantities at spatial infinity Nester developed a spacetime-covariant Hamiltonian formulation of general relativity.


Evidence supports that there is a positive correlation between the level of neural tension and severity of symptoms of CTS, suggesting that resources which reduce neural tension should be used [5] . The neural mobilization (MN) is a technique used to restore movement and neural elasticity, thus contributing to the resolution of the symptoms. Its goal is to improve and restore the neurodynamics and axoplasmic flow, restoring the homeostasis of the nervous tissue [13] . Despite being widely used among physiotherapists already, recent systematic review concluded that it is still not possible to say that the MN has positive impact on CTS [14] .

Evidence supports that there is a positive correlation between the level of neural tension and severity of symptoms of CTS, suggesting that resources which reduce neural tension should be used.

Its goal is to improve and restore the neurodynamics and axoplasmic flow, restoring the homeostasis of the nervous tissue.

Despite being widely used among physiotherapists already, recent systematic review concluded that it is still not possible to say that the MN has positive impact on CTS.


The achievement of an efficient conversion of sun light into electricity is a compelling scientific target considering the worldwide increasing demand for energy and the fact that the sunlight is certainly the largest and available single source of clean energy. Although several new technologies have been developed for this purpose they are not yet an economically viable alternative to fossil fuels [1] . Among organic photovoltaic (OPV) family, Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSC) exhibit a conversion efficiency value lower than the corresponding photovoltaic devices based on silicon [2] . Nevertheless they represent, nowadays, a solid alternative for less-expensive photovoltaic energy production attracting the commercial interest of many industrial companies such as Aisin Seiki, Konarka, Dyesol, and G24 innovations, Limited.

Although several new technologies have been developed for this purpose they are not yet an economically viable alternative to fossil fuels.

Among organic photovoltaic (OPV) family, Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSC) exhibit a conversion efficiency value lower than the corresponding photovoltaic devices based on silicon.


The diagnosis of hemoparasitic infections has remarkably been optimised as skills, expertise and diagnostic contraptions have greatly been improved over the years. Hierarchically, ticks were placed as the primary arthropod vectors of protozoa, rickettsiae, bacteria and viruses in horses, donkeys, mules and zebras (Salih et al., 2015) . The prevalence of tick-borne diseases varies globally, their effect on equids breeding, athletic performances and precincts in meeting global needs connected to exportation or partaking in horse-riding sporting events is significant in the tropical, subtropical and in some temperate regions as they cause enormous peril to the well-being of equids in these areas (Baldani et al., 2010; Salih et al., 2015) . The illness in equids is typified by fever, anemia, hepatosplenomegaly, icterus, intravascular hemoglobinuria, hemolysis, and death can ensue (Baldani et al., 2010) . The essential tick-borne hemoparasites in equids comprise Babesia caballi and Theileria equi (B. equi), they share the same tick vectors, and they are also found in the same locations, and recurrently they infect horses. The genera Babesia and Theileria belong to the family Piroplasmidae.

Hierarchically, ticks were placed as the primary arthropod vectors of protozoa, rickettsiae, bacteria and viruses in horses, donkeys, mules and zebras.

The prevalence of tick-borne diseases varies globally, their effect on equids breeding, athletic performances and precincts in meeting global needs connected to exportation or partaking in horse-riding sporting events is significant in the tropical, subtropical and in some temperate regions as they cause enormous peril to the well-being of equids in these areas.

The illness in equids is typified by fever, anemia, hepatosplenomegaly, icterus, intravascular hemoglobinuria, hemolysis, and death can ensue.


The United Nations Population Division reports that in mid-2010 there were 523 million people in the world who were aged 65 years or more [1] . It has been estimated that this will rise to 601 million in 2015 and to 714 million in 2020, such that for the first time in human history there will be more people in the world over age 65 than under age 5. This profound population transformation will affect society in many fundamental ways, not least in relation to the health-care costs associated with the treatment of degenerative diseases.

The United Nations Population Division reports that in mid-2010 there were 523 million people in the world who were aged 65 years or more.


The influence of ASA grade on outcome has various implications. First, given the increasing reliance on selfrated outcome scores in spine surgery, a better appreciation of factors that can affect the scores-independent of the technical success of the surgery-is necessary. In any studies comparing treatment outcomes in non-randomised studies (registries/observational studies), it is essential to consider comorbidity as a confounding variable or mediator in the statistical analyses, to improve internal validity. The ASA grade is a simple rating, routinely available for all surgical patients, and may be helpful in producing algorithms for use in the decision-making and preoperative consent processes regarding the risks and benefits of surgery. As far as setting realistic expectations is concerned, patients with a higher ASA grade should be informed that they should expect smaller improvements in health status/ outcome. Otherwise, inappropriate expectations of treatment may be elicited, leading to subsequent dissatisfaction with the outcome [12] . To this end, the large volumes of data collected in spine registries could be utilised for the In an increasingly competitive environment, clinical outcomes assessment of health-care providers is an important issue [13] . In relation to this, benchmarking and clinical quality indicators must adjust for differences in clinical risk factors, to allow meaningful comparisons of performance. Finally, in attempting to improve outcomes, further studies are required to ascertain whether potentially modifiable comorbidities that negatively impact outcome can be addressed/treated preoperatively.

Otherwise, inappropriate expectations of treatment may be elicited, leading to subsequent dissatisfaction with the outcome.

To this end, the large volumes of data collected in spine registries could be utilised for the In an increasingly competitive environment, clinical outcomes assessment of health-care providers is an important issue.


As noted, data for the smear result of tissue or body fluid other than sputum were 49.2% concordant. On both the RVCT and the medical record, at least one tissue or body fluid type was associated with each positive smear result, with 76.4% concordance on tissue/body fluid types(s). Among discordant results for positive smear, 54.4% were associated with a specific tissue/body fluid type that was documented in the medical record, but not reported on the RVCT (not shown). Conversely, the RVCT reported 45.6% of positive smear results associated with a specific tissue or fluid that was not documented in the medical record (not shown). Local TB control staff may have received telephone reports of these results and documented them only on a paper RVCT in the medical record before reporting it. In this circumstance, since the study team did not abstract data from paper RVCTs in the medical record, more complete information on these variables for some cases may be contained on the RVCT than the abstracted medical record. Results that were documented in the medical record, but were not reported may be explained by the retrospective nature of the field study which benefited from results and documentation that may not have been available at the time the RVCT was submitted. Data on microscopic smear results for tissue or body fluid other than sputum are used for TB case confirmation among a very small proportion (approximately 0.5%) of TB cases who lack sputum and/or other cultures to confirm TB [21] . Since all cases in the sample were M. tuberculosis culture positive, discordance of data between the RVCT and the medical record for these variables has little consequence for the study population. Among patients whose TB case confirmation relies on microscopic smear results, the absence of these data could delay case confirmation and reporting. The proposed RVCT revision provides much more detailed and specific instructions for reporting and updating information for these variables that will likely improve data quality.

Data on microscopic smear results for tissue or body fluid other than sputum are used for TB case confirmation among a very small proportion (approximately 0.5%) of TB cases who lack sputum and/or other cultures to confirm TB.


There has been work on formalizing choreography specifications using process algebras [7, 16] . Our work is complementary to work on formalizing semantics of choreography specification languages. Our focus in this paper is formal visual representations that can be used by service developers to visualize their designs.

There has been work on formalizing choreography specifications using process algebras.


The release of azo dyes into the environment in effluent from textile dyeing plants is a major concern in wastewater treatment, since these compounds are highly recalcitrant to conventional wastewater treatment processes. The recalcitrance of azo dyes has been attributed to the presence of sulfonate groups and azo bonds, two features generally considered as xenobiotic (Rieger et al. 2002) . In addition, some azo dyes or their metabolites may be mutagens or carcinogens (McCann and Ames 1976) . Several combined anaerobic and aerobic microbial treatments have been suggested to enhance the degradation of azo dyes (Neill et al. 2002) . Under anaerobic conditions, however, azo reductases usually cleave azo dyes into the corresponding amines, many of which are also mutagenic and/or carcinogenic (Chung and Cerniglia 1992; Abadulla et al. 2000) . Furthermore, azo-reductases have been shown to be highly specific enzymes, cleaving only azo bonds of selected dyes (Zimmermann et al. 1984) .

The recalcitrance of azo dyes has been attributed to the presence of sulfonate groups and azo bonds, two features generally considered as xenobiotic.

In addition, some azo dyes or their metabolites may be mutagens or carcinogens.

Several combined anaerobic and aerobic microbial treatments have been suggested to enhance the degradation of azo dyes.

Under anaerobic conditions, however, azo reductases usually cleave azo dyes into the corresponding amines, many of which are also mutagenic and/or carcinogenic.

Furthermore, azo-reductases have been shown to be highly specific enzymes, cleaving only azo bonds of selected dyes.


Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world accounting for 7.6 million deaths (around 13% of all deaths) in 2008. Deaths from cancer worldwide are projected to continue rising, with an estimated 13.1 million deaths in 2030 according to WHO [1] . Surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are the three major types of cancer treatment. Mathematical models and control theories can be employed to improve the quality of treatment and obtain systematic strategies of drug delivery.

Deaths from cancer worldwide are projected to continue rising, with an estimated 13.1 million deaths in 2030 according to WHO.


Rabbits are small animals, which are very economic to buy and rear, compared to larger animals, homogenous from a genetic perspective (being mainly derived from crossbreading) and show low inter-individual variability. Moreover, they are characterized by a very short productive cycle (around 90 days), as well as an ease of handling and observation. They require limited space and are taking on an increasingly important role in meat production throughout the world. Furthermore, rabbits are herbivorous non-ruminants that are able to utilize a wide range of feed resources, and the post-gastric digestion of such animals is influenced by their rich microbial intestinal population (particularly at the caecum level). One of the leading causes of mortality is disease of the digestive apparatus, involving the microbiota. This feature makes the use of rabbits interesting to assess the influence of SBO on animal welfare and intestinal microflora. Moreover, rabbits serve to bridge the gap between the small animal models, which are perhaps more suitable for biomedical research, and larger animals used for animal production. The results of researches on feed additives, growth performance, feed nutrient digestibility and the meat quality of rabbits have recently been published (Trocino et al., 2013; Villamide et al., 2013; Tres et al., 2014; Zhu et al., 2014) .

The results of researches on feed additives, growth performance, feed nutrient digestibility and the meat quality of rabbits have recently been published.


The layout of the paper is as follows. In section 2 we extract the general features of transseries solutions of differential equations in class (1) . In 3 we calculate terms in the expansion for a specific example and show how the leading order of the transseries be doubly resummed for the case in question. This leads to a two parameter solution that can be used to satisfy initial data. We derive the subdominant asymptotics in section 4. In order to identify the activity of the Stokes lines we derive the subsubdominant asymptotics in section 5. In 6 we can then subsequently identify the location of turning points, Stokes curves and higher order Stokes curves. Hence we can make conjectures about the activity of the Stokes curves as they cross the higher order Stokes curves and the presence of a virtual turning point. It is also necessary to calculate the sub-subdominant terms, because for z → −∞, these terms grow to become the dominant solution, and so determine the nature of the hetero/homoclinic connection. In 7 we demonstrate how a hyperasymptotic approximation to the initial data can be used to lock on to a specific solution over an extended interval. In section 8 we verify the activity of the Stokes curves against numerical computations seeded with hyperasymptotic accuracy. Finally all these threads are drawn together in section 9 where the accuracy over an extended range of z of the double resummation is numerically verified as a function of the underlying two free parameters, including its use to locate poles near to the virtual turning point where the solution undergoes a rapid change. The paper then concludes in section 10. Appendix A summarises the hyperasymptotic results that are used.

The layout of the paper is as follows.

In section 2 we extract the general features of transseries solutions of differential equations in class.

The paper then concludes in section 10.


If the farms are converging to the same average growth rate of productivity, the expected sign on the initial growth rate variable will be negative (Islam 2003) . The opposite is true, if there is divergence. In the case of divergence, the sign on the initial growth rate variable will be positive. The capital to labor and purchased inputs to labor ratios were used to explore input bias while the livestock to crop ratio was used to explore output bias.

If the farms are converging to the same average growth rate of productivity, the expected sign on the initial growth rate variable will be negative.


Efficiency change represents a movement toward or away from the production frontier. A movement towards the production frontier would improve productivity. Efficiency change can be further decomposed into pure technical efficiency change (PTEC) and scale change (SCC). Scale change reflects the shift in productivity due to changes in the scale of the farm relative to the optimal scale (Färe and Grosskopf 1996) . The first bracketed term in equation (1) captures the efficiency change between two years and is calculated by dividing the distance function using year t technology and the inputs and outputs for year t by the distance function using year t +1 technology and the inputs and outputs for year t +1.

Scale change reflects the shift in productivity due to changes in the scale of the farm relative to the optimal scale.


The idea of link penalties is also introduced as an attempt to develop an efficient and acceptable method for finding alternate paths in a network. Routing strategies suggesting multiple alternative paths to the driver have been proven to be superior to single path solutions, especially when the market penetration (proportion of equipped vehicles in the entire vehicle fleet) of the route guidance system is high [21] . The reason for this is that suggesting only one path to all participating drivers increases the risk of congestion feedback, which results in all vehicles being guided along a single path and thus causing congestion on a previously uncongested road.

Routing strategies suggesting multiple alternative paths to the driver have been proven to be superior to single path solutions, especially when the market penetration (proportion of equipped vehicles in the entire vehicle fleet) of the route guidance system is high.


Unlike simultaneous bilinguals, sequential bilinguals are exposed to the L2 after 'basic' knowledge of the first language has already been established (and this is estimated to have happened by around the age of three [McLaughlin, 1978; De Houwer, 1995; Genesee, Paradis & Cargo, 2004] ). When a child arrives in the new linguistic environment with previously acquired L1 knowledge, then heritage language knowledge later on will logically reflect (i) maintenance of what was already acquired before arrival and (ii) any additional knowledge acquired -and maintained -afterwards. The older the child is on arrival in the new environment, the better developed their L1 lexicon is likely to be, and so age at emigration can be expected to play a part in L1 lexical knowledge differences among sequential bilinguals who arrived in the new linguistic environment at different ages. In the case of simultaneous bilinguals, who were all born in the host country or arrived there as infants, other factors, including their parents' family language practices, stand a better chance of emerging as ones that help to account for individual differences in L1 competence.

Unlike simultaneous bilinguals, sequential bilinguals are exposed to the L2 after 'basic' knowledge of the first language has already been established (and this is estimated to have happened by around the age of three).


The occurrence of visual fixation seems to be related to the patient's overall behavioral profile. VS/UWS patients showed no visual fixation, the more stimuli the patient showed fixation to the higher the CRS-R score was (i.e., fixation to 0, 1, 2 and 3 stimuli, obtained a score of 4.8, 8.3, 9.3 and 9.6, respectively). Due to clinical limitations we could not use an eye-tracker, to more objectively measure fixation. However, our results overlap with a study that used an eye tracking machine to assess visual tracking behavior and was able to differentiate MCS from VS/UWS [13] . In our group, only three out of 43 patients in MCS failed to show visual fixation. Neurological assessment showed that one of these 3 patients failed to eye blink to threat, indicating impaired brainstem reflexes. The remaining two patients had intact brainstem reflexes and reproducible but inconsistent command following, which could be explained by a visual impairment [14] .

However, our results overlap with a study that used an eye tracking machine to assess visual tracking behavior and was able to differentiate MCS from VS/UWS.

The remaining two patients had intact brainstem reflexes and reproducible but inconsistent command following, which could be explained by a visual impairment.


The control of TB in PNG is of special interest to Australia. Being less than 5 km away, at some points, PNG is its closest neighbour. Furthermore, Australia's TSI, which straddles the border between the two countries, is under a treaty signed between the two countries that allows for the relatively free movement for people of both countries in the region. As Australia has very low incidence of TB and one of the most well-resourced health care systems in the world, there has been an observed and significant number of cross-border health care requests by PNG nationals. High rates of MDR TB notifications among PNG patients seeking health care in Australia have also, as indicated above, raised serious concerns over a possible and ongoing transmission of MDR TB from PNG, and a possible MDR TB outbreak in Australia in the near future (Lumb et al. 2007; Gilpin et al. 2008) . These concerns form the backdrop of Australia's support to TB-related programs in PNG.

High rates of MDR TB notifications among PNG patients seeking health care in Australia have also, as indicated above, raised serious concerns over a possible and ongoing transmission of MDR TB from PNG, and a possible MDR TB outbreak in Australia in the near future.


In this article, we focus on the case for Australia investing in the control of TB in its closest neighbour, Papua New Guinea (PNG). This case is particularly interesting due to extensive population mobility and the large gap in living standards, health services and especially TB prevalence between the two countries. Of major importance is the increasing concern in Australia over the potential and ongoing importation of MDR TB from PNG, and a possible outbreak of MDR TB in the near future due (partly) to the frequency of MDR TB observed among PNG patients seeking health care services in Australia (Lumb et al. 2007; Gilpin et al. 2008) .

Of major importance is the increasing concern in Australia over the potential and ongoing importation of MDR TB from PNG, and a possible outbreak of MDR TB in the near future due (partly) to the frequency of MDR TB observed among PNG patients seeking health care services in Australia.


Being an airborne communicable disease, TB poses a major threat not only to countries with a high burden of TB but also to the entire world due to the increase in travel and migration. For example, the high prevalence of TB in northern Europe in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries caused a disease transmission, due to the effects of migration, to highly susceptible populations in Africa, Asia and the Americas, resulting in epidemics in those populations (Davies 1995) . Over the last 50 years, this direction has flipped. The incidence of TB has fallen dramatically in developed countries while it remains high in developing countries, with immigration now more likely from developing to developed countries as global mobility rises. As a result, most of new active TB cases in developed countries occur among foreign-born migrants and travellers to areas with a high TB burden (Gaudette & Ellis 1993; McKenna et al. 1995; Cobelens et al. 2001) .

For example, the high prevalence of TB in northern Europe in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries caused a disease transmission, due to the effects of migration, to highly susceptible populations in Africa, Asia and the Americas, resulting in epidemics in those populations.

As a result, most of new active TB cases in developed countries occur among foreign-born migrants and travellers to areas with a high TB burden.


Using evidence-based EFA methods, this study found that the 20 math, reading, and English items of the SDQ coalesced into relatively orthogonal math and verbal self-concept factors in a sample of students of African ancestry enrolled in secondary schools in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. These results are broadly consistent with those found for adolescents in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North American (Gilman et al., 1999; Marsh, 1990; Mucherah & Finch, 2010; Nishikawa, Norlander, Fransson, & Sundbom, 2007; Wastlund et al., 2001; Yeung & Lee, 1999) . However, scrutiny of Table 2 reveals that several verbal items contributed relatively little to the analysis (especially Verbal Item 9 with a communality of .17) making them prime suspects for future revision of the SDQ (Child, 2006) . This result is compatible with recommendations based on item response theory analyses to shorten SDQ scales because of redundancy among the items (Flannery, Reise, & Widaman, 1995) . Regardless, the value of SDQ factors should be judged by the meaningfulness of their relationships with external criteria and their replicability across samples, methods, and studies (Gorsuch, 1983; Tucker & MacCallum, 1997) .

These results are broadly consistent with those found for adolescents in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North American.

However, scrutiny of Table 2 reveals that several verbal items contributed relatively little to the analysis (especially Verbal Item 9 with a communality of .17) making them prime suspects for future revision of the SDQ.

This result is compatible with recommendations based on item response theory analyses to shorten SDQ scales because of redundancy among the items.

Regardless, the value of SDQ factors should be judged by the meaningfulness of their relationships with external criteria and their replicability across samples, methods, and studies.


Modern finance, similar to interdependent economies, is already composed of an interdependent system with a broad and interconnected network, which follows the increasingly global nature of human society (Leitner, 2005; Helbing, 2013; May, Levin, & Sugihara, 2008) . Thus, responding to systemic risk in current finance new tools should be developed that can quickly identify and discover risk clues and objectives using information technology methods by means of automatically detecting abnormal risk behaviour and promptly handling largescale financial data from financial markets. For example, the interconnected network is broadly distributed in bank systems, and risk can be spread in financial networks since risk exposure to one of them is induced (Giudici, Sarlin, & Spelta, 2017) . Therefore, lots of machine learning methods have been implemented to try to analyse financial systemic risk and many improvements for real-world financial regulation have been acquired. In this regard, surveying these methods combined with financial fields and proposing directions for further research is urgently required.

Modern finance, similar to interdependent economies, is already composed of an interdependent system with a broad and interconnected network, which follows the increasingly global nature of human society.

For example, the interconnected network is broadly distributed in bank systems, and risk can be spread in financial networks since risk exposure to one of them is induced.


Generally, risk and its related research is to perform a generic process of theoretical and applied developments including concepts, frameworks, approaches and models to understand, assess, characterise and manage/govern risk (Aven, 2016) . Therefore, risk assessment and management are the main tasks found in risk research. The topics of systemic financial risk are concerned with how we can understand, assess and manage the systemic issues focusing on risk identification and regulation. Therefore, to a large extent, assessment for systemic financial risk naturally forms a basis of responding financial crisis, and becomes the building blocks for financial institution, central bank and finance stability committee or other government organization practices.

Generally, risk and its related research is to perform a generic process of theoretical and applied developments including concepts, frameworks, approaches and models to understand, assess, characterise and manage/govern risk.


The reaction of the supports is equal to the half of the impact force. In this case the stresses and strains can be determined using a classical method. The fracture stress can then be obtained from the force or displacement measurements. Most toughness tests designed to determine the stress intensity factor are interpreted under the assumption that the quasi-static state of equilibrium is valid, taking the analytically determined stress field in a notched specimen [15] , [17] .

Most toughness tests designed to determine the stress intensity factor are interpreted under the assumption that the quasi-static state of equilibrium is valid, taking the analytically determined stress field in a notched specimen.


The present study is concentrating on the impulsive response of specimens of quasi-brittle materials with no notches [27] . To be able to analyse the results properly, it is necessary to perform a transient dynamic analysis on the structure. The approach proposed in this paper for analysing and interpreting these tests takes into account the fact that no information is transmitted back from the support to the impact point before complete fracture occurs.

The present study is concentrating on the impulsive response of specimens of quasi-brittle materials with no notches.


The dynamic three-point bending test is widely used to determine the tensile strength of materials such as quasibrittle materials, because it is often easier to apply than direct tensile tests. The idea of performing three-point bending tests with Hopkinson bar has been mainly applied so far to determine the toughness of notched specimens [12] , [13] , [14] , [15] . Hopkinson bar tests yield more information than Charpy tests, and the interpretation of the measurements is simplified [15] [16] . The three-point bending test can be used to closely analyse experimental measurements in order to obtain as much information as possible about the various phases of the response, including the rupture phase in particular.

The idea of performing three-point bending tests with Hopkinson bar has been mainly applied so far to determine the toughness of notched specimens.

Hopkinson bar tests yield more information than Charpy tests, and the interpretation of the measurements is simplified.


Over the past three decades, consumer involvement concept has become an important study in marketing world (Warrington and Shim, 2000; in Pillossof and Nickel [3] . This is because the concept of consumer engagement is highly related to consumer behavior in finding and deciding the purchase / use of the product. So the concept of consumer engagement is often used as a reference for marketers to classify products and advertising messages that correspond to the level of consumer involvement and has been used as an alternative in determining market segmentation strategy [4] .

Over the past three decades, consumer involvement concept has become an important study in marketing world (Warrington and Shim, 2000; in Pillossof and Nickel.

So the concept of consumer engagement is often used as a reference for marketers to classify products and advertising messages that correspond to the level of consumer involvement and has been used as an alternative in determining market segmentation strategy.


The concept of consumer involvement is highly related to consumer behavior in finding and deciding the purchase / use of the product, so many researchers are trying to examine various phenomenon relate to the impact of consumer involvement, including that related to loyalty [3, [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] . Loyalty can be formed from the level of consumer involvement. It is because consumer involvement is a form of consumer evaluations before deciding to consume the product. Various studies have been conducted to identify and examine the role of consumer involvement in the formation of loyalty. However, from studies that has been done, there still the inconsistency of the results. One of them is the results of the study that revealed that consumer involvement as a mediator and moderator of the relationship between customer satisfaction on loyalty [8, 13] .

The concept of consumer involvement is highly related to consumer behavior in finding and deciding the purchase / use of the product, so many researchers are trying to examine various phenomenon relate to the impact of consumer involvement, including that related to loyalty.

One of them is the results of the study that revealed that consumer involvement as a mediator and moderator of the relationship between customer satisfaction on loyalty.


There are so many things can be evaluated by the consumer associated with the product attribute to be consumed, such as brand, brand image, corporate image, packaging, advertising, satisfaction, service quality, distribution channels, risk, price, and others. However, consumer evaluation towards the service product is more difficult to conduct compared with consumer evaluation toward the goods [8, 14] . This is because of the fundamental differences between the characteristics of goods and services, i.e, between the tangible goods and intangible services products [15] .

However, consumer evaluation towards the service product is more difficult to conduct compared with consumer evaluation toward the goods.

This is because of the fundamental differences between the characteristics of goods and services, i.e, between the tangible goods and intangible services products.


Unfortunately, not all teachers earnestly educate the students. There are still who show low level of commitment in their work and refuse to accept changes, advises or ideas (Richardson, 2011) . This impedes the school principals' effort to develop their schools. Lack of commitment among teachers such as disobeying rules and regulations, late to class, showing boredom and uncreative in teaching, refusing to teach in rural areas, lazy to check students' work, focusing more on giving tuition for extra income and doing side business, are occasionally being reported in the mass media.

There are still who show low level of commitment in their work and refuse to accept changes, advises or ideas.


As an example, we consider the family of genus 2 curves (1) X = X a : y 2 = x 6 + ax 4 + ax 2 + 1, which was previously studied by Kulesz, Matera, and Schost [28] . We prove results controlling the set of K-rational points of X a for a ∈ K 0 , where K 0 = Q or a real quadratic field and K is a totally real extension of K 0 . We consider the case where the Mordell-Weil rank over K of the associated elliptic curve (2) E = E a : y 2 = x 3 + ax 2 + ax + 1 is two. Consider the maps X → E given by f 1 : (x, y) → (x 2 , y) and f 2 : (x, y) → (x −2 , yx −3 ). As the rank of E t over Q(t) is 1, generated by the point b = (0, 1) [28, Prop. 1], for all but finitely many values of a, the elliptic curve E a over K 0 has the point b of infinite order. By the conjectured equidistribution of parity, one expects to find many values of a for which E a (Q) has rank 2.

As an example, we consider the family of genus 2 curves (1) X = X a : y 2 = x 6 + ax 4 + ax 2 + 1, which was previously studied by Kulesz, Matera, and Schost.


A wireless mesh network (WMN), as depicted in Fig. 1 , consists of a number of wireless stations (nodes) that cover an area. The nodes communicate with each other in a multi-hop via the wireless links [3] . In our work, we propose an efficient routing protocol to transport multimedia traffic in wireless mesh network and we improve MAC layer to support a real time application on WMN.

The nodes communicate with each other in a multi-hop via the wireless links.


Finally, we note that in the case S → 1, the interchange between the two fluids decreases and the flows become weak. Although it may seem that this limit is of little practical relevance as everything evolves very slowly relative to the smaller values of S, one should be cautious before disregarding it. In certain practical cases it has been shown that slow exchange flows are the source of unexpected coastal pollutants (Bolster, Tartakovsky & Dentz 2007) .

In certain practical cases it has been shown that slow exchange flows are the source of unexpected coastal pollutants.


If the covariate (x j ) is not a variable of time, h j (t) has a value proportional to h 0 (t), where the Cox proportional hazards model can be applied. This study, however, applies the value of covariates that change according to time to acquire actual exit events. In addition, this study used Cox regression with competing risks to increase the reliability of the analysis results. Competing events occur competitively with interest events. A situation in which no other event occurs when one of the events occurs is called a competing risk situation. In a competing risk situation, failure to consider the occurrence of a competing event may hinder the identification of the apparent effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable, survival rate. This study divided the exit of a firm into exit by bankruptcy and exit by M&A, which is a competitive risk situation. Therefore, we used the competing risk model to correct errors caused by competing events [79] . In existing studies that explore the factors influencing firm survival, variables for all factors are generally assumed to be covariates. This study aims to find the factors for survival in the biotechnology industry and thus uses (1) origins from other firm; (2) platform-based firm; (3) government R&D funding and (4) strategic alliances as independent variables and the firm size, age, R&D intensity, business diversification and industrial growth potential as control variables, which have been largely utilized in previous studies.

Therefore, we used the competing risk model to correct errors caused by competing events.


Previous studies on government R&D funding have considered two indicators: (1) whether a firm is receiving government R&D funding; and (2) the amount of government R&D funding [63, 81] . Although both of these indicators have been used in previous studies, it can be assumed that the amount of funding actually received is more closely related to the survival of a firm. Therefore, this study uses the log-transformed ratio of the total amount of government R&D funding provided for each firm through government R&D support projects in a given year as a proxy of government R&D funding. In this case, a very small value of '0.00001' was used when these values were '0' to ensure these values would not be excluded from analysis as missing values.

Previous studies on government R&D funding have considered two indicators: (1) whether a firm is receiving government R&D funding; and (2) the amount of government R&D funding.


The Cox proportional hazards model is a non-parametric model, assuming that a hazard function for an individual presented according to its unique characteristics is proportional to a baseline hazard function, as described in Equation (2) . In this equation, h(t) is a hazard function for an individual with time (t), individual firm (j) and covariate (x j ), and h 0 (t) is a baseline hazard function at time (t), which represents the value of the hazard function where all of the values of covariates (x j ) equal 0. In this way, the Cox model can analyze whether the changes in these covariates bring about proportional changes in the hazard rate within the model. In this sense, the Cox model is called a proportional hazard model.

The Cox proportional hazards model is a non-parametric model, assuming that a hazard function for an individual presented according to its unique characteristics is proportional to a baseline hazard function, as described in Equation.


The present research contributes to identifying entry, exit and survival situations and to finding internal and external factors for survival of SMEs in the biotechnology industry, in South Korea. This study showed that firm exit due to bankruptcy is more active than exit due to M&A. This is different from the biotechnology industries of advanced countries, such as Canada, where firm exit due to M&A is more active than exit due to bankruptcy [93] . This study employed the Cox hazard model with stepwise time-varying covariates and demonstrated that origins from other firms, platform-based firm and government R&D funding all have a positive impact on the survival of biotechnology firms. Further, the origin from other firms and strategic alliances help to prevent bankruptcy and activate M&A.

This study showed that firm exit due to bankruptcy is more active than exit due to M&A. This is different from the biotechnology industries of advanced countries, such as Canada, where firm exit due to M&A is more active than exit due to bankruptcy.


The strategic alliances of biotechnology firms can be categorized into two categories based on their strategic alliance motivation: (1) upstream alliance (R&D alliances); and (2) downstream alliance (manufacturing and marketing alliance) [82] [83] [84] . To verify the effects of these types of strategic alliances, previous studies have analyzed both the outcome of having a strategic alliance or not and the number of strategic alliances [85, 86] . In this study, the number of strategic alliances in the pertinent year is used as a proxy of alliance effects. This assumes that cooperation is more closely related to the survival of a firm based on the premise that larger strategic alliances lead to the availability of more resources and capabilities [18] . Additionally, we examined the effects of strategic alliance according to motivation because it may operate differently for firm survival [87] .

The strategic alliances of biotechnology firms can be categorized into two categories based on their strategic alliance motivation: (1) upstream alliance (R&D alliances); and (2) downstream alliance (manufacturing and marketing alliance).

To verify the effects of these types of strategic alliances, previous studies have analyzed both the outcome of having a strategic alliance or not and the number of strategic alliances.

This assumes that cooperation is more closely related to the survival of a firm based on the premise that larger strategic alliances lead to the availability of more resources and capabilities.

Additionally, we examined the effects of strategic alliance according to motivation because it may operate differently for firm survival.


The present research provides five implications. First, the industrial structure of a virtuous cycle should be formed for M&A in the South Korean biotechnology industry. Bankruptcy is generally more active than M&A in the exit period of this study, indicating that the South Korean biotechnology industry is less mature than its counterparts in advanced countries, such as the USA and Canada. After SMEs with promising technologies and knowledge accept an investment, the investors should withdraw them through IPOs and M&A. Countries with advanced biotechnology industries already enjoy such a virtuous cycle [6] . However, in the South Korean biotechnology industry, an Asian latecomer, firms must make an effort to activate M&A as an exit strategy by acquiring and developing their promising technologies and products and ultimately enhancing their firm value.

After SMEs with promising technologies and knowledge accept an investment, the investors should withdraw them through IPOs and M&A. Countries with advanced biotechnology industries already enjoy such a virtuous cycle.


In the contemporary context, Brazil is a well known example of an upper middle income country with a high level of property insecurity for marginalized groups but also strong property rights protections for elites and foreign investors. Brazil's GDP per capita in 2005 was US$8,505 (PPP), while its ICRG property rights score (1985-95) was 7.9-higher than the world mean of 7.06-while its Property Insecurity Mean and Property Insecurity Max scores for the same period also both fell in the upper fiftieth percentile. Brazil currently obtains between 75 and 90 per cent of its energy from hydroelectric power (PBS n.d.)-a production structure that requires the construction and operation of hydroelectric dams for continued growth. Since 1985, over 50,000 indigenous and local residents have been displaced and resettled due to dam construction, with a majority of resettled households left worse-off than they had been prior to dam construction (Scudder and Gay 2005) . The process of aggregate economic growth and simultaneous property insecurity for marginalized minorities in Brazil is ongoing. In 2010 the government approved construction of the world's third largest hydroelectric power plant on the Xingu River, a large tributary of the Amazon. Projected to generate 11,000 megawatts, the Belo Monte dam will provide power for Brazil's fast-growing economy while displacing approximately 20,000-40,000 indigenous Amazonian Indians (PBS n.d.).

Since 1985, over 50,000 indigenous and local residents have been displaced and resettled due to dam construction, with a majority of resettled households left worse-off than they had been prior to dam construction.


The MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging) spacecraft was launched in August 2004 and achieved Mercury orbit on 18 March 2011 (Solomon et al., 2007) . The orbital mission at Mercury lasted four years, before the spacecraft impacted the planetary surface on 30 April 2015. During this time, significant advances have been made in our understanding of Mercury's environment.

The MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging) spacecraft was launched in August 2004 and achieved Mercury orbit on 18 March 2011.


Along with the booming of GPS-based navigation, attackers have more incentives to launch GPS spoofing attacks. For example, through manipulating locations in navigation systems, attackers can divert valuable vehicles or target persons to unsafe areas [2, 3] . In 2012, Australian police rescued tourists who were directed by erroneous Apple Maps navigation application to a life-threatening desert with no water supply and extremely high temperature [4] .

For example, through manipulating locations in navigation systems, attackers can divert valuable vehicles or target persons to unsafe areas.

In 2012, Australian police rescued tourists who were directed by erroneous Apple Maps navigation application to a life-threatening desert with no water supply and extremely high temperature.


It is important to offer a range of interventions that appeal to different individual needs and preferences [44] . Computer tailored personal feedback, adapted to reading levels and motivation to quit, is a simple and inexpensive intervention which could be widely replicated and delivered cost effectively to a large proportion of the smoking population. The current portfolio of NHS services does not include a highly tailored approach for smokers who do not wish to attend clinics or have face-to-face counselling.

It is important to offer a range of interventions that appeal to different individual needs and preferences.


There are a variety of proteins being developed as new biologic drugs beyond the traditional biologic class of monoclonal antibodies [12] . Adnectins are a new class of targeted biologics among the most advanced of such proteins. Adnectins are well-suited to pharmaceutical discovery and development, based on preclinical data [13, 14] . These small proteins are derived from the 10th type III domain of human fibronectin, an extracellular protein that is abundant in human serum and the extracellular matrix, and naturally binds to other proteins [13, 14] . By changing the amino acid sequence of three targeting loops clustered at one end of the protein, an Adnectin can be designed to bind to a specific disease target, such as a receptor, ligand or protein with nanomolar or picomolar affinity, and potency and specificity comparable to or better than antibodies. One such Adnectin has been developed that binds to VEGFR2. This construct, CT-322, has been shown previously to block the activity of murine and human VEGFR2 in vitro [13] .

There are a variety of proteins being developed as new biologic drugs beyond the traditional biologic class of monoclonal antibodies.

Adnectins are well-suited to pharmaceutical discovery and development, based on preclinical data.

These small proteins are derived from the 10th type III domain of human fibronectin, an extracellular protein that is abundant in human serum and the extracellular matrix, and naturally binds to other proteins.

This construct, CT-322, has been shown previously to block the activity of murine and human VEGFR2 in vitro.


Shared memory multiprocessors, including multicore processors, have many caches, and these caches must be kept coherent. For caches that hold instructions or data, coherence is almost invariably maintained with an all-hardware cache coherence protocol. Hardware controllers at the caches coordinate amongst themselves-using snooping or directories-to ensure that instructions and data are kept coherent, and this coherence is not software-visible. However, for caches that hold address translations (i.e., translation lookaside buffers), coherence is almost always maintained by an OS-managed software coherence protocol. Even for architectures with hardware control of TLB fills and evictions, when an event occurs that affects the coherence of TLB entries (e.g., eviction of a page of virtual memory), the OS ensures translation coherence through a software routine called TLB shootdown [6] .

Even for architectures with hardware control of TLB fills and evictions, when an event occurs that affects the coherence of TLB entries (e.g., eviction of a page of virtual memory), the OS ensures translation coherence through a software routine called TLB shootdown.


We are motivated in our research by the hypothesis that, since pre-trained CNNs generalise so well to a large number of tasks, they should contain meaningful representations of the data. For example, there exists evidence that CNNs trained for image classification learn proxies to objects and objects parts [37] . Remarkably, these concepts are acquired implicitly, without ever providing the network with information about the location of such structures in images. Hence, CNNs trained for image classification may already contain implicitly most of the information required to perform object detection.

For example, there exists evidence that CNNs trained for image classification learn proxies to objects and objects parts.


From a governance perspective, the implementation of an adaptation governance standard will require significant political capacity and political will. The implementation of complex policies to protect the environment requires technical expertise and financial resources (Nelson 2012) . These resources are distributed unevenly across subnational jurisdictions even in the developed world, to say nothing of the situation among developing countries. The forecasting of downscaled climate change impacts will be a significant hurdle for many jurisdictions and will likely require substantial analytical capacity building.

The implementation of complex policies to protect the environment requires technical expertise and financial resources.


Electric vehicles with multiple and individually controlled drivetrains can achieve superior handling qualities through direct control of the yaw moment, also called torque-vectoring. For example, torque-vectoring can increase the maximum lateral acceleration in quasi-static conditions, and augment vehicle yaw damping during extreme transients to provide stable vehicle response. These benefits, relevant to both human-driven and self-driven electric vehicles, have extensively been discussed and experimentally demonstrated in the literature [1] [2] [3] [4] .

These benefits, relevant to both human-driven and self-driven electric vehicles, have extensively been discussed and experimentally demonstrated in the literature.


In non destructive testing (NDT) by infrared thermography, a thermal contrast designates the difference of heat observed on the IR image between a defective area and a sound or non defective area of the specimen under inspection. A smaller contrast indicates a smaller defect or a defect that is buried deeper inside the specimen. From this definition, a simple raw IR image or thermogram can be seen as the simplest form of thermal contrast affected by a given offset. Although, when a quantitative or a better qualitative analysis is needed it is often required to further improve the thermal contrast. The absolute contrast, the running contrast, the normalized contrast and standard contrast are typical methods of computing a thermal contrast in IR thermography [1] . The drawback is that computing any of these contrasts requires knowing at least one point belonging to a sound area. It is not always possible to precisely locate such sound areas from the raw IR images in advance. This means that only reasonable assumptions can be made about the location of sound areas from the raw IR images to calculate any of the previous thermal contrast. The second issue that arises from contrast computations is the non-uniform initial heating which produces sound areas with different shifted temperature evolution. In 2001, the Differentiated Absolute Contrast or DAC solved both issues which propelled the limits of thermal contrasts in terms of quality and accuracy [2] [3] . The DAC belongs to a type of extrapolated contrast (EC) that is based on the extrapolation of the temperature measured at an early time through a transient heat transfer model. This paper recalls the fundamentals of the two existing EC methods that are in turn used to introduce a third EC model that slightly improves the limits of the EC.

The absolute contrast, the running contrast, the normalized contrast and standard contrast are typical methods of computing a thermal contrast in IR thermography.

In 2001, the Differentiated Absolute Contrast or DAC solved both issues which propelled the limits of thermal contrasts in terms of quality and accuracy.


The submonolayer coverage yielded during the exfoliation process can thus by far not explain the exceptional height measured for the water film underneath SLG. To explain this observation, we recall that after exfoliation, the sample is kept in ambient for approximately 36 h. We suggest the transport of adsorbed water by diffusion on the CaF 2 (111) surface towards the graphene flake during this time in ambient after exfoliation. Once a film is formed, water from the surface is driven underneath the graphene due to capillary forces as illustrated in figure 2(c). From figure 1(a) , it is clear that graphene sheets are not floating on a water film extending beyond the area of the graphene flake, what we would expect for hydrophobic graphene. The water film being confined underneath the graphene flake is rather indicative of the hydrophilic nature of the graphene sheet in our case, which is a plausible assumption according to recent findings in the literature [39] .

The water film being confined underneath the graphene flake is rather indicative of the hydrophilic nature of the graphene sheet in our case, which is a plausible assumption according to recent findings in the literature.


The flake at the bottom left shows a different behavior. Apart from one large 'water lake' in the center (mainly), small circular mounds can be observed. A detailed analysis reveals the small pits at the flakes edges to be about 1.5 Å in depth, in agreement with a second hydration layer, while the mounds are interpreted as agglomerations of water in the third layer, 1.9 Å above the water layer below in accordance with the prediction of water layers attaining a more bulk-like behavior for increased distance to the substrate surface [38] . The triple layer (F − -Ca + 2 -F − ) substrate step at the bottom left marked by the dotted line apparently influences the diffusion of water. Intralayer diffusion, which is anticipated to be slower than the diffusion across the terrace, combined with pinning at surface defects might be the cause of the 'water lake' pinned at the substrate step. This is confirmed by a zoom-out image of this area, shown in figure 3(b) , where the same and another substrate step are marked by dotted lines. At the bottom left region of figure 3(b) , the inverse droplet phase is found as well, while large agglomerates dominate the lower terrace between the two substrate steps.

A detailed analysis reveals the small pits at the flakes edges to be about 1.5 Å in depth, in agreement with a second hydration layer, while the mounds are interpreted as agglomerations of water in the third layer, 1.9 Å above the water layer below in accordance with the prediction of water layers attaining a more bulk-like behavior for increased distance to the substrate surface.


To determine the kinetics involved in the rearrangement, we measure the number and average size of water-free domains for three images at two temperatures, namely 400 K and 600 K. The mean area of water-free domain areas and the mean number of water-free domains per unit area are plotted in figure 4 . The domain mean area measured is described by a singleexponential (Arrhenius-like) behavior, where the domain area is set to vanish at 0 K in figure 4 . This describes a process where the water-free domains compete with the first hydration layer. In our kinetic model, initial vacancy creation in the first hydration layer is followed by two-dimensional Ostwald ripening, yielding a strong phase separation. The Ostwald ripening of water-free domains is driven by the minimization of the phase-boundary area as it is observed in a variety of similar systems [44] . For increasing temperature, the diffusion of water molecules results in the growth of larger water-free domains at the expense of smaller ones. The strain, resulting from elastic deformations at the border between the substrate and the confined first hydration layer, changes the elastic energy being minimized as the net contact boundary is decreasing and is thereby driving the ripening process [45] . The growth of the water-free domains is controlled by the diffusion barrier of the vacancies in the first hydration layer, resulting in an Arrhenius-like temperature dependence of the domain size as found in figure 4 . The NC-AFM images represent, therefore, snapshots of intermediate stages of Ostwald ripening, for a system that is not yet in thermodynamic equilibrium.

The Ostwald ripening of water-free domains is driven by the minimization of the phase-boundary area as it is observed in a variety of similar systems.

The strain, resulting from elastic deformations at the border between the substrate and the confined first hydration layer, changes the elastic energy being minimized as the net contact boundary is decreasing and is thereby driving the ripening process.


In all, the potential of silk-floss to be used as sorbent was evidenced by its rapid oil sorption and very high sorption capacity of approximately 85 g oil/g sorbent (in 24 h), high degree of hydrophobicity and buoyancy and low water uptake. The sorption capacity was around 8.5 -12 times that of two commercial products composed of peat sorb. The silk floss tree is abundant in various states of Brazil and the estimated cost of R$ 60.00/kg is approximately half that of the commercial product used for this aim. Mats and barriers produced with silk floss also showed a performance similar to those commercial products under controlled conditions and this has led the authors to deposit a patent [13] .

Mats and barriers produced with silk floss also showed a performance similar to those commercial products under controlled conditions and this has led the authors to deposit a patent.


Genetic Programming (GP) is an evolutionary algorithm that has received a lot of attention lately due to its success in solving hard real-world problems [11] . One of the most promising ideas to improve the performance of GP is to develop semantic genetic operators. The difference between semantic operators and traditional genetic operators is that the former uses the information of the phenotype to generate offspring, and, the later generates an offspring using only the syntax of the individual.

Genetic Programming (GP) is an evolutionary algorithm that has received a lot of attention lately due to its success in solving hard real-world problems.


The purpose of the present work is to characterize the hydrothermally-treated starch by a recent hydrothermal process: the Instantaneous Controlled Pressure Drop (DIC) developed for some years in our laboratory (Rezzoug, Maache-Rezzoug, Mazoyer & Allaf, 2000) . This technique is based on a hydro-thermo-mechanical effect induced by the abrupt transition from a high steam pressure level to a vacuum. We applied this process for starch heat treatment in order to obtain its gelatinization and to modify its functional properties. In this paper, a preliminary study was performed to optimise the thick layer of starch which leads to a homogeneous treatment. After this optimisation, the effect of the processing parameters (pressure and processing time) on the thermal properties of starch was evaluated.

The purpose of the present work is to characterize the hydrothermally-treated starch by a recent hydrothermal process: the Instantaneous Controlled Pressure Drop (DIC) developed for some years in our laboratory.


Although transportation and initial stimuli were stressful, elephants quickly acclimated, as evidenced by decreased FGM levels. Early experience of these animals and their prior translocations and interactions with one another might have further modified the stress response (Moberg 2000) . The acclimation time allowed also likely contributed to the response of these animals (Moberg 2000) .

Early experience of these animals and their prior translocations and interactions with one another might have further modified the stress response.

The acclimation time allowed also likely contributed to the response of these animals.


In CPI-X price-cap regulation, the regulated business is allowed to increase its prices over a particular period by the change in the consumer price index (CPI), minus (or plus) an X factor. This factor reflects the degree to which the regulator believes the business can improve their productivity; it is therefore known as productivity offset. Nevertheless, the X factor can also incorporate other factors, such as an allowance for the extra costs associated with required improvements in quality. The setting of the X-factor value is always the subject of considerable debate (Coelli and Walding, 2006) . It includes the measurement of industry-level annual productivity growth using historic data and firm-level relative efficiency using average-based and frontier-based methods (benchmark techniques). When companies are regulated under the same framework, the regulator can compare the performance of each company against the performance of the others in the industry.

The setting of the X-factor value is always the subject of considerable debate.


England and Wales, Colombia and some States in Australia) or for sunshine regulation (e.g. Portugal) (Marques et al., 2011) . Yardstick competition is used to update tariffs by the use of price-cap regulation (CPI-X). Sunshine regulation is based on comparing and displaying publicly the performance of the regulated companies. Hence, different stakeholders are able to gain knowledge about company performance.

England and Wales, Colombia and some States in Australia) or for sunshine regulation (e.g. Portugal).


In this context, this study focused on the English and Welsh water industry for two main reasons. First, since the English and Welsh water industry became privatised and regulated in 1989, this has become a paradigmatic case and several countries have implemented the same approach to regulating their water industries (Barrett and Wallace, 2011) . Hence, the methodological approach proposed here is broadly applicable. Second, Ofwat publishes each year at its webpage the most relevant information about the water industry in England and Wales at the company level. Hence, the availability of data allowed us to carry out the empirical analysis.

First, since the English and Welsh water industry became privatised and regulated in 1989, this has become a paradigmatic case and several countries have implemented the same approach to regulating their water industries.


CSNPs were prepared by ionic gelation method because it offers a simple and mild preparation procedure in aqueous environment [4] . Besides, the method has been proven to produce nontoxic nanoparticles and act as good drug carriers [4] . CSNPs are formed spontaneously after the addition of tripolyphosphate (TPP) into chitosan solution. TPP is considered as a safer agent compared to other chemical cross linkers such as glutaraldehyde which have higher possibility to exert toxic effects [14] .

CSNPs were prepared by ionic gelation method because it offers a simple and mild preparation procedure in aqueous environment.

Besides, the method has been proven to produce nontoxic nanoparticles and act as good drug carriers.

TPP is considered as a safer agent compared to other chemical cross linkers such as glutaraldehyde which have higher possibility to exert toxic effects.


These findings therefore revealed that CSNPs with high zeta potential values would not always be cytotoxic towards cells. The size and concentration of particles play more important role to determine the toxic effect of nanoparticles [3, 8] . The findings obtained also suggested that chitosan is nontoxic even though it was transformed into nanoparticles.

The size and concentration of particles play more important role to determine the toxic effect of nanoparticles.


Based on the results obtained, particle size of CSNPs increased as the chitosan concentration was increased for both molecular weights. Smaller particle size was produced with lower chitosan concentration and vice versa. The small particle size obtained was partly due to decreased viscosity of chitosan solution which had a better solubility for more efficient gelation process. The same finding was reported by others [4, 15, 16] . Large particle size was obtained for all concentrations except for 0.2% w/v chitosan. Larger particle size is commonly produced when MMW and HMW chitosans are used at a concentration higher than the limiting concentration. In case of chitosan concentration being more than the limiting concentration (0.25% and 0.15% w/v for MMW and HMW, resp.), the particles will start to aggregate and form large particles [16] . Other than concentration, molecular weight of chitosan may also affect the size of nanoparticles. HMW chitosan has a lower aqueous solubility and therefore tends to form larger particles compared to MMW. MMW chitosan is more efficient to interact with TPP compared to HMW. Low solubility of HMW chitosan promotes aggregation upon interaction with TPP and results in increased mean particle diameter of nanoparticles as revealed by others [4, 14, 16] . Therefore, particle size could be reduced by using lower molecular weight chitosan as it has shorter polymer chains that favor dissolution and interaction with TPP [3] .

The same finding was reported by others.

In case of chitosan concentration being more than the limiting concentration (0.25% and 0.15% w/v for MMW and HMW, resp.), the particles will start to aggregate and form large particles.

Low solubility of HMW chitosan promotes aggregation upon interaction with TPP and results in increased mean particle diameter of nanoparticles as revealed by others.

Therefore, particle size could be reduced by using lower molecular weight chitosan as it has shorter polymer chains that favor dissolution and interaction with TPP.


The aerosol concentration produced was controlled by a predilution system to provide different particle mass loads. Aerosol concentration, size distribution and average charge distribution were measured using an electrical low-pressure impactor (Dekati ELPI) [2, 6] . The sampled aerosol was diluted before entering the ELPI using an ejector diluter (Dekati Diluter). The entire test system was operated at room temperature. The aerosol flow rate was 0.02 m 3 /s. The test aerosol particle number distributions at different concentrations are presented in Fig. 3 . The average particle charge was measured with the ELPI in a two-phase measurement. First, the particle number distribution was measured using the ELPI in normal measurement mode. In the second phase, where the ELPI's own corona charger and ion trap were turned off, the measured current from the impactor states indicates the initial net charge of the particles. The average particle charge for different particle sizes was estimated [3, 7] .

Aerosol concentration, size distribution and average charge distribution were measured using an electrical low-pressure impactor (Dekati ELPI).

The aerosol flow rate was 0.02 m 3 /s.

The average particle charge for different particle sizes was estimated.


Flue gas temperature and pressure effect the voltage window of stable corona operation between corona initiation and sparkover. Increase in temperature and decrease in pressure both lead to narrower range of suitable corona voltages. In applications with high temperature and pressure these two counterbalance each other and stable corona can be obtained. Corona charger operating at atmospheric pressure levels need to be modified at temperatures above 500 C. With modification in electrode shape and electrification EPS's has been installed to work at temperatures up to 850 C [13] .

Corona charger operating at atmospheric pressure levels need to be modified at temperatures above 500 C. With modification in electrode shape and electrification EPS's has been installed to work at temperatures up to 850 C.


In traditional ESPs the discharge electrode is located in the flue gas flow path and the flue gas conditions have a direct effect in the discharge process. The chemical composition, temperature and particle load of the flue gas change the corona characteristic and can even prevent stable corona formation [12, 16] . In the ion generation process free electrons formed in the vicinity of the negative corona electrode are attached to the electronegative gas components. An extreme case is nitrogen gas with negative corona: as the electrons can't attach to nitrogen, there is no stable corona operation regime and the corona starting voltage is also the gas sparkover voltage. In practical flue gas cleaning there is always several electronegative gases presents for electron attachment and the gas composition effects the ion mobility and corona operation.

The chemical composition, temperature and particle load of the flue gas change the corona characteristic and can even prevent stable corona formation.


The steam thermolysis process has been developed in the RAPSODEE Laboratory, Albi, France. This process uses superheated steam, as an oxidant medium, under pyrolysis conditions to decompose the polymer matrix of the composite and reclaim the carbon fibers. The matrix degradation produces oil and gases, as well as in the pyrolysis process. The presence of steam as a soft oxidant produces a less oxidizing atmosphere than the thermal processes in the presence of air, leading to greater degradation of the resin and the removal of residual char on the fiber surface without an extensive reduction of mechanical properties of the remaining carbon fibers. The carbon fibers recovered from the optimized steam thermolysis process present a resin-free and uniform surface and retain over 80% of their original tensile strength (Ye et al. 2013; Nunes 2015) .

The carbon fibers recovered from the optimized steam thermolysis process present a resin-free and uniform surface and retain over 80% of their original tensile strength.


Solar radiation is an important parameter for research related to solar energy. The solar energy importance is that it can play a key role in the decarbonisation of the global economy along with improvements in energy efficiency and imposing costs on greenhouse gases emissions [1] . Furthermore, solar radiation is widely used for the applications development, such as photovoltaic systems, that convert solar energy directly into electrical energy without harming the environment, and development of crop growth models based mainly on processes photosynthetic [2] .

The solar energy importance is that it can play a key role in the decarbonisation of the global economy along with improvements in energy efficiency and imposing costs on greenhouse gases emissions.

Furthermore, solar radiation is widely used for the applications development, such as photovoltaic systems, that convert solar energy directly into electrical energy without harming the environment, and development of crop growth models based mainly on processes photosynthetic.


Unlike other climate variables such as ambient temperature and relative humidity, the solar radiation is barely measured [3] . Even if there exist some weather stations nearby, access to data is often limited. Also, it is common for weather data to have many missing values (from a few minutes to several days missing measurements), or they are out of range due to equipment malfunction [4] [5] . So, in those cases it is possible to obtain reasonably accurate estimates of their value using computational models.

Unlike other climate variables such as ambient temperature and relative humidity, the solar radiation is barely measured.

Also, it is common for weather data to have many missing values (from a few minutes to several days missing measurements), or they are out of range due to equipment malfunction.


Considering the facts that the governing equations for attitude motion are highly nonlinear and the spacecraft commonly operates in the presence of various external disturbances and parametric uncertainties, robust nonlinear control approaches are preferred over linear control methods to achieve the desired performance. Among prevalent nonlinear control techniques, sliding mode control (SMC) is recognized as a powerful but easy-to-implement design tool for uncertain nonlinear systems, owing to its excellent properties such as disturbance rejection, insensitivity to parameter variation, and finite-time response. Applying SMC to spacecraft attitude regulation and tracking problems has been thoroughly studied in the past two decades [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] .

Applying SMC to spacecraft attitude regulation and tracking problems has been thoroughly studied in the past two decades.


Differential equations with fractional order have recently proved to be valuable tools to the modeling of many physical phenomena [1] - [8] . This is because of the fact that realistic modeling of a physical phenomenon does not depend only on the instant time, but also on the history. This can be successfully achieved by using fractional calculus.

Differential equations with fractional order have recently proved to be valuable tools to the modeling of many physical phenomena.


In the past several years, polyphenols received considerable attention because of their contribution to the human health. Flavonoids are type of antioxidants and are member of polyphenols. They are also called as phenolic hydrogens because their hydrogen supplies electron to the free radicals resulting them to neutralize [1] . These bioactive compounds are capable of scavenging free radicals, avoiding lipid oxidation and reducing the formation and progression of certain types of cancers including breast, colon and prostate [2, 3] . Vegetables, fruits, herbs and cereals are main sources of polyphenols [4] [5] [6] . The essential oil of Nigella sativa was investigated and especially thymoquinone, carvacrol, t-anethole and 4-terpineol components were determined as capable of radical scavenging activity [7] . Due to this antioxidant property, the herb is supposed to be used in cancer treatments since the antioxidant molecules inside have ability to bind the free radicals damaging the cell. Antioxidants also prevent DNA damaging due to lipid peroxidation resulting from the oxygen production of free radicals [8] . The crude extracts of the seeds of Nigella sativa have been reported as pharmacologically active; they protect against nephrotoxicity and hepatoxicity induced by either disease or chemicals, they also have antiinflammatory, analgesic, antipyretic, antimicrobial activity [9] .

They are also called as phenolic hydrogens because their hydrogen supplies electron to the free radicals resulting them to neutralize.

These bioactive compounds are capable of scavenging free radicals, avoiding lipid oxidation and reducing the formation and progression of certain types of cancers including breast, colon and prostate.

Vegetables, fruits, herbs and cereals are main sources of polyphenols.

The essential oil of Nigella sativa was investigated and especially thymoquinone, carvacrol, t-anethole and 4-terpineol components were determined as capable of radical scavenging activity.

Antioxidants also prevent DNA damaging due to lipid peroxidation resulting from the oxygen production of free radicals.

The crude extracts of the seeds of Nigella sativa have been reported as pharmacologically active; they protect against nephrotoxicity and hepatoxicity induced by either disease or chemicals, they also have antiinflammatory, analgesic, antipyretic, antimicrobial activity.


Our analysis combines three large and previously unrelated strands of literature. Firstly, the allocation of financial assets is described by CAPM equations modified for subsoil oil wealth. This extends the continuous-time analysis of optimal consumption-saving and portfolio choice (Merton, 1990) .

This extends the continuous-time analysis of optimal consumption-saving and portfolio choice.


The organic Rankine cycle (ORC) is a technology, that can produce mechanical power from various heat sources. Compared Vapour quality, [-] several advantages when considering utilization of low temperature heat [1] . This makes the ORC suited for environmentally-friendly power conversion from geothermal heat sources, concentrated solar energy, waste heat streams and as bottoming cycles for power plants.

Compared Vapour quality, [-] several advantages when considering utilization of low temperature heat.


Although here we only study the case n ≥ 3, we recall some known results for general dimensions that highlight, in a certain way, the differences that arise when the nonlinearity is not smooth. It is known, for example, that the local and global theory for (1.1)-(1.2), if one considers general smooth data, depend on the smoothness of the nonlinearity in a crucial way. In the case when the nonlinearity is smooth enough (for example, for n = 1 and n = 2, when the nonlinearity is algebraic and thus C ∞ ) regularity properties of solutions to the above initial value problem are very well understood. However in the general case, certain restrictions on s are needed in order to answer the questions of local/global wellposedness, regularity and others, as clearly as in the algebraic case. For more information the reader should consult [4] .

For more information the reader should consult.


Hypothermic ischaemic storage at 4°C has been the most widely used technique for preserving retrieved hearts [1] . Reperfusion ventricular arrhythmia (RA) associated with hypothermia-ischaemia injury is increasingly recognized to substantially affect quality of life, morbidity, and survival after heart transplantation [2] . Alleviating RA induced by hypothermia-ischaemia has become the most important consideration for heart transplant patients.

Hypothermic ischaemic storage at 4°C has been the most widely used technique for preserving retrieved hearts.

Reperfusion ventricular arrhythmia (RA) associated with hypothermia-ischaemia injury is increasingly recognized to substantially affect quality of life, morbidity, and survival after heart transplantation.


Theorem 1.2 (Voiculescu's Theorem [7, 27] ). Suppose that ρ 1 and ρ 2 are representations of A such that ker(ρ 1 ) = ker(ρ 2 ). Suppose that neither ρ 1 (A) nor ρ 2 (A) contain a non-zero compact operator. Then ρ 1 and ρ 2 are approximately unitarily equivalent. In particular, any two representations of a simple, unital, infinite dimensional C*-algebra are approximately unitarily equivalent.

Theorem 1.2 (Voiculescu's Theorem).


Murray and von Neumann cite the study of unitary group representations as one of four key motivations for their development of operator algebra theory [20] . The last seventy-five years witnessed numerous intimate interactions between the theories, completely validating their motivation. The goal of this paper is to obtain yet another connection between representation theory and operator algebras. On one hand we use a natural approximation property of C*-algebras to obtain information about unitary representations of discrete nilpotent groups. On the other hand we employ classic results about nilpotent groups to produce some new examples of strongly quasidiagonal C*-algebras, and simple, nuclear quasidiagonal C*-algebras.

Murray and von Neumann cite the study of unitary group representations as one of four key motivations for their development of operator algebra theory.


In this paper we have presented a formalization of Component-Based Semantics in the theorem prover COQ. The formalization makes essential use of dependent types, and profits from COQ's support for type classes. Our formalization is based on the ideas of MSOS, and makes use of the idea of labels as arrows in categories, as proposed by Mosses [7] . Splitting the label category into a transparent part for the mentioned entities and an opaque part for the unmentioned entities enables modular proof. We have demonstrated this by crafting a proof of determinism of a mini-language from smaller local proofs provided by the components used.

Our formalization is based on the ideas of MSOS, and makes use of the idea of labels as arrows in categories, as proposed by Mosses.


The sharp decline in municipal and agricultural water deliveries at the end of the simulation is notable. This is largely an artifact of our climate scenario, as Priority 1 constraints including inter-state compacts, instream flow requirements, and power plant cooling force a reduction in delivery to lower priority demands including both indoor and outdoor municipal use. In practice, these reductions in water delivery are implemented as drought restrictions in most southwestern cities and towns (Yates et al 2013) . However, we did not model individual drought plans within the WEAP-SW model, rather we took advantage of WEAP's priority-based allocation algorithm to short lower priority users under water-constrained conditions. Because we have made power plant cooling a top priority, any reductions we see for cooling water are first due to reductions in demand due to a less water intensive electric mix and then under the most severe water shortage, reductions in available cooling water. In our future simulation, thermoelectric power plants are only shorted water near the end of the simulation period, when water shortage is severe and system wide. Otherwise, thermoelectric cooling uses are met.

In practice, these reductions in water delivery are implemented as drought restrictions in most southwestern cities and towns.


The intra-individual correlation rate was lower than expected but, interestingly, highest amongst saliva samples. This may partly be explained by the lower enrichment observed in the blood samples or differences in cell-type composition, which is known to vary substantially in buffy coat as a function of season, age, and sex [46] [47] [48] . However, a high correlation, per se, is still expected, even without correction for cell composition and sex, as methylation status at most CpGs is conserved across tissues [49] [50] [51] [52] [53] . This is also illustrated in a methylation array based pilot study where, at 70% of CpGs, methylation positively correlated between saliva and blood even when cell composition was uncorrected for [54] . Moreover, only a minority of CpGs were statistically differently methylated between the two tissues and the number did not change upon correction for cell heterogeneity.

This may partly be explained by the lower enrichment observed in the blood samples or differences in cell-type composition, which is known to vary substantially in buffy coat as a function of season, age, and sex.

However, a high correlation, per se, is still expected, even without correction for cell composition and sex, as methylation status at most CpGs is conserved across tissues.

This is also illustrated in a methylation array based pilot study where, at 70% of CpGs, methylation positively correlated between saliva and blood even when cell composition was uncorrected for.


CpG-site enrichment was visualized by the number of reads interrogated as a function of 500 bp genomic bins ranked by the number of reads contained within the bin. Furthermore, the enrichment was measured as the observed/expected ratio of CpGs within the reference genome (Supplementary Figure S7) . This verified that all sample libraries were indeed enriched for CpG sites (score > 1) but also that, in saliva samples, CpG-site enrichment was more pronounced than in blood samples (mean scores of 1.36 and 1.16, respectively). The enrichment score is somewhat lower than reported elsewhere for human embryonic stem cells (1.64), human dried blood spots (1.63) , and rodent hippocampus (1.4) [43] [44] [45] .

The enrichment score is somewhat lower than reported elsewhere for human embryonic stem cells (1.64), human dried blood spots (1.63) , and rodent hippocampus (1.4).


Evaluation of the efficacy of sacral neuromodulation in animal models is different. Subjective symptoms such as urgency are impossible to measure in animals. On the other hand, objective cystometric parameters are generally more reliable since experimental conditions can be controlled, and subject variability is lower. SN stimulation decreased voiding frequency from 10.9 to 6.2 per hr (~76% increase in bladder capacity) in rats with cyclophosphamide-induced cystitis [2] .

SN stimulation decreased voiding frequency from 10.9 to 6.2 per hr (~76% increase in bladder capacity) in rats with cyclophosphamide-induced cystitis.


Differences between the two antigens were also observed in the pattern of IgG4 antibody prevalence in children (Figure 2a &2b) . Using BmR1 dipstick, positivity of the test in children was first demonstrated at 3 years (2 of 35, 5.7%), followed by no positive child detected at year 4 (0 of 17), positive antibody prevalence at year 5 (3 of 8; 37.5%) which is significantly greater than at year 3 (p = 0.011). This is followed by a nonsignificant decrease (p = 0.589) in antibody prevalence by year 6 (6 of 22; 27.3%). IgG4 prevalence at year 6 and LLR (30 of 87; 34.5%) was also found to be not significantly different (p = 0.542). After year 4, the IgG4 prevalence in children seemed to achieve a stable level that was similar to the antibody prevalence in the LLR population children. In adults, infection was also initially detected at year 3 and there appeared to be a pattern of increasing antibody prevalence with increasing time of residence (9.1% at 3 years; 16.7% at year 4, 40% at year 5; 53.6 % at year 6). Furthermore, the detection rate at year 6 was not significantly different (p = 0.766) from that seen in the LLR population adults (50%). Thus using the BmR1 dipstick, the increasing total IgG4 prevalence with exposure to brugian filariasis was mostly due to the increasing positive cases in the adult population. It is tempting to speculate that the differences in the pattern observed in children and adults are due to the greater rate of aborted infections and/or spontaneous clearance of the infection in children than in adults. The overall lower worm burden in children, due to physiological differences, may enable higher rate of spontaneous clearance of infections in children than in adults. The difference in physiology between adults and children has been demonstrated by the greater number of natural killer cells, and T-and B-lymphocytes in children as compared to middle aged people [28] . In addition CD4/CD8 T-cells have also been reported to decline from a young age onwards [29, 30] . However, since this is a cross-sectional study in which data for each period of residence were obtained from different groups of individuals, this hypothesis could not be confirmed.

The difference in physiology between adults and children has been demonstrated by the greater number of natural killer cells, and T-and B-lymphocytes in children as compared to middle aged people.

In addition CD4/CD8 T-cells have also been reported to decline from a young age onwards.