These examples underscore the importance of Indian rice varieties as valuable gene sources. Establishment of the genetic identity of high yielding varieties/donor sources through development of cultivar specific molecular profiles is important for their registration under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Act, so as to assert plant breeders' right as well as to prevent unauthorized use on commercial scale. Traditionally, morphological traits and isozyme markers were used to establish the identity of a variety (Glaszmann 1987; Patra and Chawla 2010) . Such traits and markers are, due to their limited numbers, stage specificity and environmental influence of expression, not efficient enough in nature to characterize reliably and precisely the germplasm. On the other hand, the highly heritable, abundant and polymorphic DNA markers are powerful enough to discriminate not only distantly related but also closely related genotypes. For this reasons, DNA fingerprinting is considered and widely used as potential for establishing genetic identity and relatedness of genotypes in crop breeding research and germplasm management.

Traditionally, morphological traits and isozyme markers were used to establish the identity of a variety.


In the Mediterranean region, olive trees have traditionally been grown under rainfed conditions. Over the last two or three decades, however, many olive orchards have begun to adopt irrigation practices (Eris and Barut, 1995) . In southern Spain, as in many other countries where olive has traditionally been a rainfed crop, irrigation is now being applied via microirrigation techniques, using drippers, minisprinklers, or Iocalised flooding in small basins. The increasing use of irrigation has prompted research to determine exactly what are the water requirements of the sclerophylIous olive tree.

Over the last two or three decades, however, many olive orchards have begun to adopt irrigation practices.


The high charge density in the bunches will induce strong electromagnetic fields causing deflection of the beam particles and the radiation of beamstrahlung. In addition, the beamstrahlung photons will interact with the beam particles and produce electron-positron and quark-anti-quark pairs. While the photonic component will be radiated practically along the outgoing beam axis, a noticeable fraction of leptonic and hadronic pairs will hit the BeamCal calorimeter in the forward region. The distribution of energy depositions from incoherent pairs depends on the beam parameters and shape and strength of the detector magnetic field. Electron tagging at low angles is thus complicated by the high occupancy in the BeamCal [6] . The reconstruction software for the forward region must include a background-adaptive algorithm in order to provide maximum tagging efficiency for high energy final state electrons produced in the collisions.

Electron tagging at low angles is thus complicated by the high occupancy in the BeamCal.


For the equimolar alloy AlCoCrFeNiTi, the suitability of different powder production routes for atmospheric plasma spray (APS) was investigated. The production route of inert gas atomisation proved to be most suitable for the fabrication of spherical and homogeneous alloyed powder. Relatively homogeneous and wear-resistant coatings can be produced by applying this powder for APS. However, APS coatings produced with atomised powder showed distinct porosity and oxide lamella. Furthermore, brittle coating behaviour occurred under abrasive load in scratch tests, where spallation and secondary cracks appeared [19] .

Furthermore, brittle coating behaviour occurred under abrasive load in scratch tests, where spallation and secondary cracks appeared.


Due to their high strength and wear resistance, HEAs and CCAs are promising candidates to be applied for surface technologies (e.g., thermal spray), to achieve a functional division between substrate and surface. This approach can help to save costs and resources, as HEAs and CCAs usually contain expensive and rare alloying elements such as cobalt. First investigations to produce HEA/CCA coatings by thermal spray have already been carried out [19] [20] [21] .

First investigations to produce HEA/CCA coatings by thermal spray have already been carried out.


One approach to improving coating properties is the application of other thermal spray processes. The high-velocity-oxygen-fuel (HVOF) spray process is characterised by high particle velocity (supersonic particle jet) and a comparatively low process temperature. These process characteristics result in coatings with a high bonding strength, as well as a low porosity and oxide content [22] .

These process characteristics result in coatings with a high bonding strength, as well as a low porosity and oxide content.


Inflammatory mechanisms are known to play a central role in the pathogenesis and progression of atherosclerosis, plaque rupture, thrombosis, and stroke. Inflammatory biomarkers, such as hs-CRP, IL-6, E-selectin, ICAM-1, and VCAM-1, have been previously identified [20] [21] [22] [23] . IL-6 has been reported to be higher in local samples from patients with carotid artery plaques, increasing further after CAS with periprocedural new ischemic lesions [24] . In present study, serum IL-6, VCAM-1, E-selectin and PTX3 levels were significantly higher in the post-procedural local samples as compared to the systemic samples. This suggests an association between carotid atherosclerosis and the local production of not only IL-6 but also E-selectin, VCAM-1 and PTX3 ( Figure 6 ).

Inflammatory biomarkers, such as hs-CRP, IL-6, E-selectin, ICAM-1, and VCAM-1, have been previously identified.

IL-6 has been reported to be higher in local samples from patients with carotid artery plaques, increasing further after CAS with periprocedural new ischemic lesions.


Several strategies have been adopted to resolve the issues related to global warming, CO 2 emissions, depleting fossil fuel reserves which are gaining serious concern in the current global energy scenario. The existing renewable technologies which are based on solar energy are considered the most promising for saving energy and reducing carbon emissions. Among all the renewable sources the most abundant energy source available is solar energy which is found both in direct as well as indirect forms [1] . The solar energy can suitably be used for Solar Thermal Collectors (STC) and Photo Voltaic (PV) panels, which today are the most practical options for building applications [2] . Sustainable solar technologies like PV and STC provide greater opportunity for integration into the building roof or wall structure [3] .

Among all the renewable sources the most abundant energy source available is solar energy which is found both in direct as well as indirect forms.

The solar energy can suitably be used for Solar Thermal Collectors (STC) and Photo Voltaic (PV) panels, which today are the most practical options for building applications.

Sustainable solar technologies like PV and STC provide greater opportunity for integration into the building roof or wall structure.


In this paper, we propose a novel SIW front-end system for monopulse tracking applications which not only uses fewer components in comparison with other systems, but also is compact, easy to fabricate, provides good performance over its operating bandwidth and, most importantly, possesses inherent bandpass selectivity which makes filtering within the RF receiver chain obsolete. A monopulse amplitude comparison technique is usually preferred to other monopulse techniques since its implementation is much easier and also has a good performance [14] . Since both amplitude and phase are analysed for tracking signals and calculating the field of view, we use a combination of both techniques, thus amplitude and phase comparison is employed. By analysing the sum and difference radiation patterns, the angular field of view is determined. Substrate integrated waveguide technology is used for all components to obtain minimum loss and ease of fabrication. All components are designed and fabricated on a single layer of the substrate.

A monopulse amplitude comparison technique is usually preferred to other monopulse techniques since its implementation is much easier and also has a good performance.


We say that a sequence of intervals (J n ) n∈ω covers the set A ⊂ R if A ⊂ n∈ω J n . Definition 1.1 (J. Appell, [1] ). A set M ⊂ R is called microscopic if for each ε > 0 there exists a sequence of intervals (J n ) n∈ω covering M and such that |J n | ≤ ε n+1 for each n ∈ ω. The family of all microscopic sets will be denoted by M.

Definition 1.1 (J. Appell,).


PDMS are organo-mineral polymers, characterized by the following molecular formula: (C2H6OSi)n, n being the repetition number of the monomer (Scheme 1b) [19, 20] . The covalent bonds which the silicon creates with the oxygen, to form the backbone of the macromolecules are exceptionally stable [21] [22] [23] [24] . The simultaneous presence of organic groups attached to an inorganic backbone gives the PDMS; a unique combination of properties, and allows them to be used in a wide range of fields such as aerospace (performance at high and low temperatures), electronics (electrical insulation), healthcare (excellent biocompatibility) or in the construction industry (outstanding weatherability) [25] [26] [27] [28] , etc.

PDMS are organo-mineral polymers, characterized by the following molecular formula: (C2H6OSi)n, n being the repetition number of the monomer (Scheme 1b).

The covalent bonds which the silicon creates with the oxygen, to form the backbone of the macromolecules are exceptionally stable.

The simultaneous presence of organic groups attached to an inorganic backbone gives the PDMS; a unique combination of properties, and allows them to be used in a wide range of fields such as aerospace (performance at high and low temperatures), electronics (electrical insulation), healthcare (excellent biocompatibility) or in the construction industry (outstanding weatherability), etc.


Green chemistry provides a framework for the prevention of pollution from chemical activities. The purpose of this environmentally beneficial chemistry is to design chemical products and processes to reduce, or eliminate the use and synthesis of hazardous substances. It also applies to the preparation of new products or greener processes through the search for alter-native solutions, or the improvement of already existing approaches. This recent concept has been made popular, with the scientific community by the American chemists Paul Anastas, director of the Green Chemistry Institute in Washington, and John Warner, through publication in 1998 of the 12 principles of green chemistry which advocate the reduction, recycling or disposal of hazardous substances harmful for both man and the environment [2, 3] .

This recent concept has been made popular, with the scientific community by the American chemists Paul Anastas, director of the Green Chemistry Institute in Washington, and John Warner, through publication in 1998 of the 12 principles of green chemistry which advocate the reduction, recycling or disposal of hazardous substances harmful for both man and the environment.


Over the last two decades, the superannuation industry in Australia has undergone dramatic growth. Projections indicate that assets held in superannuation funds will reach a trillion dollars by mid-2010 (Nicholson 2000) . The industry has been boosted by government initiatives which have made superannuation contributions compulsory and encouraged voluntary savings above the mandatory level.

Projections indicate that assets held in superannuation funds will reach a trillion dollars by mid-2010.


Recent guidelines by the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) have recommended pathways of care for children and adults with ADHD in the UK [20, 21] . In particular, NICE recommends the use of pharmacological treatments that have been shown to be effective in adults with ADHD, mainly the stimulants methylphenidate, dexamphetamine and atomoxetine [1, 22] . In addition, NICE guidelines state that drug treatment should always be part of a comprehensive treatment program addressing psychological, behavioural and educational/employment needs [20, 21] . However, no research to date has investigated patients' experiences of accessing the range of ADHD treatments in England or patients' attitudes and experiences regarding both pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment. This is needed as it may suggest ways of promoting optimal functioning in adult patients with ADHD.

Recent guidelines by the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) have recommended pathways of care for children and adults with ADHD in the UK.

In particular, NICE recommends the use of pharmacological treatments that have been shown to be effective in adults with ADHD, mainly the stimulants methylphenidate, dexamphetamine and atomoxetine.

In addition, NICE guidelines state that drug treatment should always be part of a comprehensive treatment program addressing psychological, behavioural and educational/employment needs.


Yet, the uncertainties that affect LO predictions can be very large for rates, and smaller but still discernible for differential distributions. This is the reason why parton-level NLO and, when possible, NNLO computations of infrared safe observables are used. Alternatively, and if the statistics is sufficient, control data samples are employed. For example, a theoretical analysis based on the NLO computation of the SM yield for ℓ + 2 jets + missing transverse energy (which with the cuts used by CDF and D0 gets contributions from, in order of importance, W jj, Zjj, W W , tt, single-t and W Z production) has recently appeared [6] . It has been shown that indeed the W jj process gives by far the dominant contribution, and that the NLO QCD corrections are small. Unfortunately, even though more accurate from the theoretical point of view, such small-multiplicity, parton-level calculations cannot be directly compared to experimental analyses, since this would require events with high-multiplicity, fully-fledged hadronic final states.

For example, a theoretical analysis based on the NLO computation of the SM yield for ℓ + 2 jets + missing transverse energy (which with the cuts used by CDF and D0 gets contributions from, in order of importance, W jj, Zjj, W W , tt, single-t and W Z production) has recently appeared.


Moreover, the results indicate that the users' perceived connectedness with their network affects their usage intention of social media both directly and indirectly through each of the mediating variables; perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. That's why the main motivator to use social media websites include social interaction (Shin & Kim, 2008) . Thus people finding social media helpful in network building have more positive attitude toward its continuous usage.

That's why the main motivator to use social media websites include social interaction.


Followed by PV adoption is grid integration. With high amount of PV installed, the variable PV outputs bring issues on the supply security. In addition, a large part of the installation takes place in the low voltage (LV) residential areas, where the grids are not initially prepared for interconnecting generation units. Issues such as voltage quality, congestion, efficiency, are emerging. Two main alternatives are available for those issues, network reinforcement and smart grid technologies. The solution of network reinforcement may involve large change of the network including the LV substations and lines, which is not a favored solution currently by the utilities as to its cost and inflexibility. Instead, the recent development in smart grid technologies, featured by the application of information and communications technology (ICT), advanced metering infrastructure, demand side management and virtual power plants, provides other possibilities to mitigate the solar PV impact. Several projects have been launched in EU in recent years to investigate these opportunities [6] [7] [8] .

Several projects have been launched in EU in recent years to investigate these opportunities.


In the selection of DB operational variations, the multi-criteria decision-making model (MCDM) may serve as the most appropriate technique. It is a mathematical tool for evaluating and comparing alternatives, which assist in selecting the optimal choice (Triantaphyllou, 2000) . This enables a client to evaluate the performance of each operational variation with regard to the selection criteria. The MCDM also allows the client to assign different weightings to the selection criteria to reflect their relative importance in the decision-making process. Finally, the MCDM can be successfully applied to the context of DB operational variation selections.

It is a mathematical tool for evaluating and comparing alternatives, which assist in selecting the optimal choice.


Human skin contains melanocytes (cells located at the base of the epidermis), which produce melanin (a dark macromolecular vital pigment) by a combination of enzymatically catalyzed chemical reactions. This process is named melanogenesis and it intensifies after exposure to UVB radiation, causing the skin to visibly tan. The aim of the melanogenesis is to protect the hypodermis from the DNA photodamage. The first step consists of tyrosine oxidation to dopaquinone catalyzed by tyrosinase [1] . The abnormal accumulation of melanin induces melasma, a chronic skin disorder that results in brownish facial pigmentation. Taking into account that tyrosinase is the enzyme responsible for the melanin synthesis tyrosinase inhibitors are used as whitening or antihyperpigment agents due to their ability to suppress dermalmelanin production [2] .

The first step consists of tyrosine oxidation to dopaquinone catalyzed by tyrosinase.

Taking into account that tyrosinase is the enzyme responsible for the melanin synthesis tyrosinase inhibitors are used as whitening or antihyperpigment agents due to their ability to suppress dermalmelanin production.


The specificity of a 1 -AR subtype selective antagonists towards their intended target is a crucial issue due to similarity in receptor structure within the biogenic amine GPCRs [9] . Consequently, many non-subtype selective a 1 -AR antagonist therapeutics used for the treatment of hypertension and benign prostatic hypertension (BPH) are associated with side effects such as increased incidence of heart failure, orthostatic hypotension, erectile dysfunction and dizziness [10] . The development of ligands with enhanced subtype selectivity therefore holds promise for therapeutics with decreased incidence of side effects.

The specificity of a 1 -AR subtype selective antagonists towards their intended target is a crucial issue due to similarity in receptor structure within the biogenic amine GPCRs.

Consequently, many non-subtype selective a 1 -AR antagonist therapeutics used for the treatment of hypertension and benign prostatic hypertension (BPH) are associated with side effects such as increased incidence of heart failure, orthostatic hypotension, erectile dysfunction and dizziness.


Intracranial pressure distribution in the brain at different times for all three models is shown in Fig. 4 . It shows that complex wave patterns are generated within the brain. This complex wave pattern is attributed to reflection of waves from finite boundaries , presence of helmet and skull which posses significant shear strength and wave mode conversion at material boundaries and interfaces. The intracranial pressure shows typical coup and countercoup pattern throughout the brain on early time scale ( time = 0.15 and 0.25 msec). Once the early waves pass through the brain , a mixed intracranial pressure pattern develops at later time ( time > 0.25 msec). This pressure distribution (qualitatively) is consistent with results observed in direct impact events [25] . This coup countercoup mechanism can cause contusion at early time and can widely spread throughout the brain at later time when mixed intracranial pressure patterns are dominant. We can also see from this figure that overall pressure level is highest in model 1 and lowest in model 3. Figure 5 shows time history plots at locations of the brain for which maximum value of pressure is observed for model 1, model 2 and model 3. Difference in peak pressure timing and difference in location of peak pressure shows the complexity of wave motion inside the brain for all the three models. As depicted in Fig. 5-7 the maximum values of pressure, volumetric tension and deviatoric stress in the brain reduces by 58.43 %, 60.25 % and 79.57 % respectively from model 1 to model 2. This can be attributed to volumetric and shear strength of the helmet and impedance mismatch between helmet and skull. Furthermore helmet delays the time over which load is applied on the skull. The reduction in maximum values of pressure, volumetric tension and deviatoric stress in the brain from model 2 to model 3 i.e. by adding foam layer of 2 mm thickness between helmet and skull is 61.72 % , 61.53 % and 32.80 % respectively. This can be attributed to energy dissipated in plastic deformation of foam ( see Fig. 8 ) and impedance mismatch between helmet & foam and foam & skull. Foam being soft ( low density, low Young's modulus) material reflects most of the incident pressure pulse allowing very little to transmit to skull. This in turn delays time over which load is applied on the skull and hence reducing the stresses incurred in the brain.

This pressure distribution (qualitatively) is consistent with results observed in direct impact events.


TBI has been often linked to traumatic axonal injury, most often referred to as diffuse axonal injury (DAI) [5] [6] . The role of brain accelerations in development of diffuse axonal injury have been studied for many years [7] [8] [9] [10] . Recently few researchers have shown the role of early time intracranial wave motion in generation of mild TBI [11, 12] . They have shown that early time intracranial wave motion can generate significant intracranial pressure, volumetric tension (negative pressure) and shear stresses in the brain which can cause brain disturbance leading to TBI. The effectiveness of protective devices like helmet in reducing pressure, volumetric tension and shear stresses in the brain have been questioned by several researchers [11, 13] .

TBI has been often linked to traumatic axonal injury, most often referred to as diffuse axonal injury (DAI).

The role of brain accelerations in development of diffuse axonal injury have been studied for many years.

Recently few researchers have shown the role of early time intracranial wave motion in generation of mild TBI.

The effectiveness of protective devices like helmet in reducing pressure, volumetric tension and shear stresses in the brain have been questioned by several researchers.


The yearly incidence of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in the United States has been estimated at 1.4 million people, including 50,000 deaths and 235,000 hospitalizations [1] . The incidence of TBI injuries on the military personnel and civilians have been recently increased due to the tactics of asymmetric warfare, where enemy combatants detonate improvised explosive devices. Recent statistics from the conflict in Iraq shows that several thousand US soldiers have sustained TBI, 69% as a result of blasts [2, 3] . The injuries from blast can be broadly divided into primary, secondary and tertiary injuries the details of which can be found elsewhere [4] .

The yearly incidence of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in the United States has been estimated at 1.4 million people, including 50,000 deaths and 235,000 hospitalizations.

Recent statistics from the conflict in Iraq shows that several thousand US soldiers have sustained TBI, 69% as a result of blasts.

The injuries from blast can be broadly divided into primary, secondary and tertiary injuries the details of which can be found elsewhere.


No correlation was found between vigor or yield measurements recorded in the initial seedling population with the corresponding measurements obtained in the comparative field trial orchard. Previous results in our breeding program indicate the complexity of evaluation for yield in the initial seedling populations and, therefore, the difficulties of selection for this characteristic (León et al., 2004b) . Therefore, selection for yield in breeding progenies should be attempted only in advanced, or at least in intermediate, stages of selection using several plants per genotype. Productivity is probably the main goal for any plant breeder, but the problem of evaluation has discouraged a systematic or deliberated effort to breed for yield. For instance, in other fruit species, many of the highest yielding cultivars (e.g., 'Bartlett' pear or 'Golden Delicious' apple) arose as chance seedlings, which reflects how far fruit breeding for yield has yet to come (Way et al., 1983) . In olive, the difficulties of assessing the relative yielding ability of the new genotypes, which is expensive and time-consuming, results in the fact that most olive breeding programs have simply not attempted to evaluate productivity in the seedling stage.

Previous results in our breeding program indicate the complexity of evaluation for yield in the initial seedling populations and, therefore, the difficulties of selection for this characteristic.

For instance, in other fruit species, many of the highest yielding cultivars (e.g., 'Bartlett' pear or 'Golden Delicious' apple) arose as chance seedlings, which reflects how far fruit breeding for yield has yet to come.


The resulting mass matrix M and stiffness matrix K are symmetric positive definite (M > 0, K > 0) by construction and D is symmetric positive semidefinite (D ≥ 0). As a consequence, the roots of the quadratic equation x * Q(λ)x = 0 have nonpositive real parts for all vectors x. This implies that all the eigenvalues of (3) lie in the closed left half plane and the beam problem is (weakly) stable [13] . The finite element discretization that we use preserves the property of the continuous problem of having all the modes either symmetric or anti-symmetric (see the proof of Theorem I.1 in Appendix I.1).

This implies that all the eigenvalues of (3) lie in the closed left half plane and the beam problem is (weakly) stable.


Another difficulty specific to the power asymmetry is that initial anisotropies generically affect both the fluctuations and the background itself [10] . Naively, one could consider an initial-state gradient in the inflaton itself, or in a field that couples to the inflaton and modulates the amplitude of its fluctuations. The hemispherical power asymmetry can be described as a modulation of the power in fluctuations ∼ 10%. On the other hand δT /T ∼ 10 −5 for all l > 1, so any modulation of the background by the initial anisotropy must be much smaller than 10%.

Another difficulty specific to the power asymmetry is that initial anisotropies generically affect both the fluctuations and the background itself.


It is important to note that these anomalies have most of their weight at low l, 1 and are therefore subject to a relatively large degree of uncertainty from cosmic variance. Furthermore, they were discovered in data by a posteriori analysis rather than as a prediction of a pre-existing model. As such their true statistical significance is very difficult to estimate, and it remains possible -perhaps even probable -that these features are simply random fluctuations [8] .

As such their true statistical significance is very difficult to estimate, and it remains possible -perhaps even probable -that these features are simply random fluctuations.


Order picking is a process of retrieving items or stock-keeping units (SKU) from warehouse storage locations to satisfy customer orders and this process plays an important part in reducing warehousing and supply chain costs. Order picking constitutes 50% -75% of the total operating costs for a typical warehouse [1] [2] . Today's warehouse managers are under a lot of pressures due to the global competition and supply chain integration initiatives to decrease order picking time in order to increase the throughput rate and lower operating costs of their operations [3] .

Order picking constitutes 50% -75% of the total operating costs for a typical warehouse.

Today's warehouse managers are under a lot of pressures due to the global competition and supply chain integration initiatives to decrease order picking time in order to increase the throughput rate and lower operating costs of their operations.


The desire to deflect, absorb or redirect waves is ubiquitous across many fields: electromagnetics, optics, hydrodynamics, acoustics and elasticity. Various techniques have been developed, often in one field but not in the others, and we are going to draw upon advances in optics and electromagnetic wave systems to develop a methodology for reflecting long-wavelength seismic waves in sedimentary basins. The motivations to do so are clear: According to the US Geological Survey there are millions of earthquakes every year worldwide, the vast majority are magnitude 3.9 or lower but more than 1000 measure 5.0 or higher on the Richter scale [1] . Ground vibrations, caused by even minor earthquakes, have an impact upon the structural integrity of buildings and similarly intrusive ground vibrations from urban train systems, subways, machinery such as piledrivers and roads often affect property values or land usage. These vibrations are not simply a nuisance, but small magnitude vibration due to machinery, or nearby railway lines, can cause significant damage to buildings, especially over time [2] . Furthermore, for buildings such as nuclear power plants and oil refineries, even a small level of damage can have disastrous consequences. Seismic waves consist of surface waves (elliptically polarized Rayleigh waves and horizontally polarized Love waves), pressure bulk waves and shear bulk waves; surface waves cause the majority of any damage and travel farthest, but bulk pressure, and shear, waves also cause damage, especially where wave trapping occurs in sedimentary basins (so-called seismic site effects). Designing a defence structure to prevent seismic waves from reaching buildings is therefore of substantial interest particularly for long waves with frequency in the range 1 to 10 Hz as this corresponds to the resonant fundamental frequency of many man-made structures [3] . It is, of course, these long, low frequency, waves that are the hardest to develop protection measures against and it is an open problem to develop such devices.

The motivations to do so are clear: According to the US Geological Survey there are millions of earthquakes every year worldwide, the vast majority are magnitude 3.9 or lower but more than 1000 measure 5.0 or higher on the Richter scale.

These vibrations are not simply a nuisance, but small magnitude vibration due to machinery, or nearby railway lines, can cause significant damage to buildings, especially over time.

Designing a defence structure to prevent seismic waves from reaching buildings is therefore of substantial interest particularly for long waves with frequency in the range 1 to 10 Hz as this corresponds to the resonant fundamental frequency of many man-made structures.


Having successfully identified a scenario, all be it in a different situation of thin elastic plates far removed from the seismic application of thick elastic substrates, giving a zero-frequency band gap we use this to design a seismic metamaterial to have these characteristics [54] . The aim of this article is to investigate structuring soil, as shown in Fig. 2 , to protect a building or portion of the surface. The structuration consists of columns, in a layer of soil, that are clamped to underlying bedrock; the columns are arranged in a periodic fashion. The key difference from all previous studies is that, motivated by thin plate calculations of Fig. 1 and the resultant zero frequency band gap, we consider the influence of clamping columns to the bedrock.

Having successfully identified a scenario, all be it in a different situation of thin elastic plates far removed from the seismic application of thick elastic substrates, giving a zero-frequency band gap we use this to design a seismic metamaterial to have these characteristics.


In 1961 the first case of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was documented (Barber., 1961) . Over the last three decades Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has caused major problems in hospitals throughout the world (Waldvogel., 1995) . Detection of MRSA in clinical samples continues to be important, since infection due to MRSA have high morbidity and mortality rates (Wertheim et al., 2001) . Approximately 75% of hospital strains are resistant to methicillin (York et al., 1996) . Mechanisms of methicillin resistant in S. aureus is based on the production of an additional low affinity penicillin binding protein (PBP; PBP2a), which is encoded by the mecA gene (Chambers., 1997) . Accurate and quick identification of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in clinical specimen is essential for timely decision on isolation procedures and effective antimicrobial chemotherapy (Jonas et al., 1999) .

In 1961 the first case of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was documented.

Over the last three decades Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has caused major problems in hospitals throughout the world.

Detection of MRSA in clinical samples continues to be important, since infection due to MRSA have high morbidity and mortality rates.

Approximately 75% of hospital strains are resistant to methicillin.

Mechanisms of methicillin resistant in S. aureus is based on the production of an additional low affinity penicillin binding protein (PBP; PBP2a), which is encoded by the mecA gene.

Accurate and quick identification of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in clinical specimen is essential for timely decision on isolation procedures and effective antimicrobial chemotherapy.


DIM concentrations found in the human body are dependent on the diet. Our first experiments were carried out using a concentration of 50 μM, which is probably much higher than what can realistically be reached in the body [35] . We then compared 50 μM DIM with a more physiological concentration of DIM (10 μM) and observed that the high concentration of the compound induces the expression of AhR target genes (CYP1A1 and CYP1B1), while the low concentration shows significant effects on the expression of ERα target genes (GREB1 and TFF1) in the absence of E2. These observations indicate that at physiological concentrations, DIM principally mediates estrogenic effects. It can also explain why oral administration of DIM in rodents has no hepatic toxicity due to the weak induction of the CYP1A1 gene at this low concentration. ERα activation can be mediated by direct binding of its main ligand (E2), but it can also be induced by the activation of the PKA signaling pathway. The phosphorylation of ERα increases its capacity to interact with the transcription machinery and triggers the expression of ERα target genes [41] [42] [43] [44] . Accordingly, we were able to demonstrate that the effect of DIM treatment on CYP1A1 and GREB1 expression is mediated by ERα, which, in this case, is activated mostly by the PKA signaling pathway.

Our first experiments were carried out using a concentration of 50 μM, which is probably much higher than what can realistically be reached in the body.

The phosphorylation of ERα increases its capacity to interact with the transcription machinery and triggers the expression of ERα target genes.


Other markers have been used to study the relationship between apoptosis and survival. Thus, the prognostic significance of cleaved caspase 3 has been evaluated with varying conflicting results [14, 32, 33] . Alternatively, when apoptosis was measured by M30 antibody, an association between elevated AI and reduced survival was observed [34, 35] .

Thus, the prognostic significance of cleaved caspase 3 has been evaluated with varying conflicting results.

Alternatively, when apoptosis was measured by M30 antibody, an association between elevated AI and reduced survival was observed.


Another aspect of this model is that, in contrast to CDT, the pure gravity path integral does not exhibit any critical behavior. This means that there is no way to take the usual sort of continuum limit of the model which could be compared to other approaches. This same aspect is found in the Euclidean version of the model, and this is resolved in that model by introducing higher derivative terms into the action [14] . The exact same procedure can be done in this model by using the angle formulas given in equations (2.9)-(2.11). This modified model will most likely need to be studied numerically through Monte Carlo simulations, as analytical work will run into the same obstacles found in the preceding sections. On the other hand, the lack of phase transition could be interpreted as a plus: A potential polymerized phase is excluded kinematically, while in 1+1 dimensions the occurrence of a rough/ fractal/ crumpled phase seems unlikely given the exact result R = 0 and the well-behaved nature of the causal diamond truncation. This strongly suggests the theory is always in a smooth phase. Large universes (with spatial size controlled by the number N s of triangles in the spatial direction, and temporal size controlled by the number N t of triangles in the temporal direction) seem to be the norm rather than the exception.

This same aspect is found in the Euclidean version of the model, and this is resolved in that model by introducing higher derivative terms into the action.


Support of Quality-of-Service (QoS) guarantees for real-time transport of stored video over high-speed networks is crucial for the success of many distributed digital multimedia applications, including video on-demand server systems, digital libraries, distance learning, and interactive virtual environments. Video, which is typically stored and transmitted in compressed format, can exhibit significant rate variability, often spanning multiple time scales and in some cases demonstrating self-similar behavior [9] . The highly bursty nature of VBR compressed video makes network call admission control and resource management a particularly difficult and complicated task. Hence techniques for reducing the burstiness (rate variability) of video are of significant interest.

Video, which is typically stored and transmitted in compressed format, can exhibit significant rate variability, often spanning multiple time scales and in some cases demonstrating self-similar behavior.


In this paper, we study several aspects of the problem of supporting stored video with variable-bit-rate (VBR) service and statistical QoS guarantees. First, we investigate the extent to which video smoothing reduces the amount of potential statistical multiplexing gain. Statistical multiplexing is an important feature that distinguishes packetswitched networks from their circuit-switched counterparts. VBR network service allows the network to exploit statistical multiplexing gain, since bandwidth is shared dynamically among all traffic streams within a service class. This is in contrast to constant-bit-rate (CBR) service, which provides the abstraction of a fixed-bandwidth pipe to each network user. CBR service is a natural choice for supporting hard, deterministic guarantees, but may result in low network utilization since the network must allocate sufficient bandwidth to accommodate the user's peak traffic rate. Because of the significant peak rate reduction, video smoothing can clearly improve the network utilization under CBR service [24, 20, 27] . In this paper, we explore the possibility of improving network utilization by exploiting statistical multiplexing gain with VBR service.

Because of the significant peak rate reduction, video smoothing can clearly improve the network utilization under CBR service.


A number of researchers have considered using video smoothing algorithms to reduce the variability in transmitting stored video from a server to a client across a high-speed network [23, 24, 8, 20, 19, 27] . These algorithms exploit client buffering capabilities to determine a "smooth" rate transmission schedule, while ensuring that a client This work was supported by NSF under grant CCR-9119922 and NCR 9508274. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. The authors can be contacted at fzhzhang,kurose,salehi,towsleyg@cs.umass.edu.

A number of researchers have considered using video smoothing algorithms to reduce the variability in transmitting stored video from a server to a client across a high-speed network.


Problems were detected with two SF-36 scales -RP and RE -both of which had significant floor and ceiling effects. This may have considerable implications for the interpretation of treatment effects because floor and ceiling effects represent cohorts of people whose scale scores may not be accurate measurements of their true level of functioning [22] . An alternative explanation is that the floor-ceiling effects on the two scales represent a cohort of people whose functioning could not be improved [22] .

This may have considerable implications for the interpretation of treatment effects because floor and ceiling effects represent cohorts of people whose scale scores may not be accurate measurements of their true level of functioning.

An alternative explanation is that the floor-ceiling effects on the two scales represent a cohort of people whose functioning could not be improved.


The results of the presented study indicate that the Polish version of the SF-36 demonstrates good agreement with the original questionnaire and other language versions [4, 17, 18] . The findings described in this study show and confirm that the SF-36 has adequate levels of cross-cultural validity, and might also be applicable to other languages and cultures. However, it has to be borne in mind that such cultural aspects may influence the relationship between overall HRQoL and its sub-dimensions [19] .

The results of the presented study indicate that the Polish version of the SF-36 demonstrates good agreement with the original questionnaire and other language versions.

However, it has to be borne in mind that such cultural aspects may influence the relationship between overall HRQoL and its sub-dimensions.


Keyword extraction is an important task in the domain of the Semantic Web development. It is a problem of automatic identification of the important terms or phrases in text documents. It has numerous applications: information retrieval, automatic indexing, text summarization, semantic description and classification, etc. In the case of web documents it is a very demanding task: it requires extraction of keywords from web pages that are typically noisy, overburden with information irrelevant to the main topic (navigational information, comments, future announcements, etc.) and they usually contain several topics [3] . Therefore, in keyword extraction from web pages we are dealing with noisy and multitopic datasets.

In the case of web documents it is a very demanding task: it requires extraction of keywords from web pages that are typically noisy, overburden with information irrelevant to the main topic (navigational information, comments, future announcements, etc.) and they usually contain several topics.


Age is a major predictor of bone health in women. Women experience two phases of bone loss characterized by an accelerated phase immediately after menopause, and a gradual phase at a later stage of life [23] . The initial rapid bone loss can be attributed to cessation of ovarian oestrogen production at the onset of menopause, whereas the gradual phase is regarded as senile bone loss common to both sexes [24] . The linear age trend of QUS indices in this study reflected the gradual bone loss in elderly women. Since younger women were not recruited, the accelerated bone loss during menopause cannot be depicted due to the lack of a comparison group. The negative relationship between age and bone health indicated by BMD or QUS indices was shown in other epidemiological studies as well [25] [26] [27] .

Women experience two phases of bone loss characterized by an accelerated phase immediately after menopause, and a gradual phase at a later stage of life.

The initial rapid bone loss can be attributed to cessation of ovarian oestrogen production at the onset of menopause, whereas the gradual phase is regarded as senile bone loss common to both sexes.

The negative relationship between age and bone health indicated by BMD or QUS indices was shown in other epidemiological studies as well.


Inventory systems where units which fail are repaired at a repair shop, rather than discarded, are called repairable-item inventory systems. A repairable spare part network implies the existence of locations where spare parts are stocked as well as facilities to repair failed items. Many organizations extensively use multi-echelon repairable-item inventory systems to support advanced computer systems and sophisticated medical and military equipment [1] [2] [3] [4] .

Many organizations extensively use multi-echelon repairable-item inventory systems to support advanced computer systems and sophisticated medical and military equipment.


The photosynthetic rate in rice grown under low nitrogen supply may be limited only by the amount of RuBisCO protein (Makino et al., 1984; Ishii, 1995; Nurul Amin et al., 2002) . A linear correlation was observed between maximum photosynthetic rate and RuBisCO content less than approximately 2.0 to 3.0 g m -2 in various rice cultivars at different nitrogen supply levels (Uchida et al., 1980; Makino et al., 1994; Fukayama et al., 1996; Nurul Amin et al., 2002) . The slope of the relationship decreased significantly above 4 g m -2 of RuBisCO content (Makino et al., 1994) . In this study, the RuBisCO content of Koshihikari was in the 1.4-2.2 g m -2 range (data not shown) under the 6 g N m -2 basal dressing condition. The QTLs for RuBisCO content detected here might be attractive for enhancing the photosynthetic rate under a low nitrogen condition, which may lead to environmentally-friendly agriculture, although it is necessary to examine the response of this QTL to different nitrogen conditions. In this study, QTLs for RuBisCO content were detected not only at heading but also at 14 d after heading. In addition, the regions of qRCAH-10-1 and qRCAH-10-2 for RuBisCO content at 14 d after heading were different from the region of qRCH-10, in particular, the qRCAH-10-2 showed recessiveness by the Kasalath allele (Table 2 , d/a = -1.37). These genetic effects were weaker than that of qRCH-10. This study suggested that the genetic factor(s) determining the RuBisCO content at heading are different from those that at 14 d after heading. These QTLs (RM258-RM8020, 17.8−20.0 Mbps) completely overlapped with a digenic epistatic QTL rrgf10 (RM304-RM147, 18.4−20.7 Mbps) for stay-green (index for the relative retention of greenness) of the flag leaf at 30 d after heading detected in doubled haploid population derived from Zhenshan 97/Wuyujing 2 cross (Jiang et al., 2004) . Delayed leaf-senescence, or stay-green, is regarded as desirable characteristics for high yielding rice (Jiang et al., 2004) . The maintenance of source activity (i.e. the apparent photosynthetic rate per unit leaf area or RuBisCO content) for 14 d after heading is also considered important since the most recent highyielding cultivars possess high source activity for 14 d after heading and the assimilate produced during the ripening period heavily influenced the percentage of filled grains (Weng et al., 1982; Kusutani, 1988; Ohsugi, 2003) .

The photosynthetic rate in rice grown under low nitrogen supply may be limited only by the amount of RuBisCO protein.

A linear correlation was observed between maximum photosynthetic rate and RuBisCO content less than approximately 2.0 to 3.0 g m -2 in various rice cultivars at different nitrogen supply levels.

The slope of the relationship decreased significantly above 4 g m -2 of RuBisCO content.

These QTLs (RM258-RM8020, 17.8−20.0 Mbps) completely overlapped with a digenic epistatic QTL rrgf10 (RM304-RM147, 18.4−20.7 Mbps) for stay-green (index for the relative retention of greenness) of the flag leaf at 30 d after heading detected in doubled haploid population derived from Zhenshan 97/Wuyujing 2 cross.

Delayed leaf-senescence, or stay-green, is regarded as desirable characteristics for high yielding rice.

The maintenance of source activity (i.e. the apparent photosynthetic rate per unit leaf area or RuBisCO content) for 14 d after heading is also considered important since the most recent highyielding cultivars possess high source activity for 14 d after heading and the assimilate produced during the ripening period heavily influenced the percentage of filled grains.


Building-integrated solar thermal (BIST) technologies can be a potential solution towards enhanced energy efficiency and reduced operational costs in contemporary buildings [4] . Solar thermal is the most mature technology among all currently available solar technologies, proving to have solar conversion efficiencies two to four times higher than solar photovoltaic systems [2] . Furthermore, solar thermal technologies are of widespread use due to their wide range of applications and large-scale production at global level, assuring cheaper costs and shorter payback periods compared to its lifetime [5] . Double-skin facades (DSF) are a popular architectural trend, both for their attractive aesthetics and the improvement in internal comfort and building efficiency that can be achieved when used as a building envelope (by acting both as noise and thermal insulation) [6] . A DSF consists of two skins (a glazed outer layer and either a glazed or mixed inner layer) separated by an air cavity. The cavity can be ventilated (by either atmospheric openings or mechanical ventilation), and in some cases, shading devices might be installed into the cavity to reduce the solar heat gaining inside the building. In mild to cold climates (i.e., Northern Europe), it has been proven that the use of DSF reduces the heating loads during winter and increases the cooling loads of the building during summer [7] . However, in Mediterranean climates, where large solar gains and moderate to warm temperatures are a permanent condition throughout the year, DSF can lead to indoor overheating even during winter [8] .

Building-integrated solar thermal (BIST) technologies can be a potential solution towards enhanced energy efficiency and reduced operational costs in contemporary buildings.

Solar thermal is the most mature technology among all currently available solar technologies, proving to have solar conversion efficiencies two to four times higher than solar photovoltaic systems.

Furthermore, solar thermal technologies are of widespread use due to their wide range of applications and large-scale production at global level, assuring cheaper costs and shorter payback periods compared to its lifetime.

Double-skin facades (DSF) are a popular architectural trend, both for their attractive aesthetics and the improvement in internal comfort and building efficiency that can be achieved when used as a building envelope (by acting both as noise and thermal insulation).

In mild to cold climates (i.e., Northern Europe), it has been proven that the use of DSF reduces the heating loads during winter and increases the cooling loads of the building during summer.

However, in Mediterranean climates, where large solar gains and moderate to warm temperatures are a permanent condition throughout the year, DSF can lead to indoor overheating even during winter.


Thus, the use of cryomechanodestruction (cryogenic freezing and fine-dispersed comminution) allows get the qualitatively new feed additives in the form of topinambour nanopowders with record BAS and biopolymers content in easily assimilated nanoform that are impossible to be gotten using traditional methods (convective, convective-vacuum, convective-impulse, conductive, vacuum, spraying and other) of the raw material drying. According to the chemical composition, new feed additives (nanopowders) of topinambour have potential perbiotic, immune-modeling, anti-tumor and detoxifying effects [30] . It is knows, that inulin, pectin substances, cellulose, protein are the indigestive food components, contained in topinambour nanopowders and have prebiotic properties [30] . They stimulate in human organism development and metabolic and biological activity of one or several groups of own bacteria that form intestinal human micriflora, have a positive influence on composition of microbiocenosis. It is also known, that phenol compounds (by chlorogenic acid), flavonol glycosides (by rutin) and tanning substances, contained in topinambour nanopowreds, have potential immune-modeling, antioxidant, detoxifying and anti-tumor effect [28, 30] . In this connection there are reasons to think that nanopowders have the same properties because of containing significant part of these substances.

According to the chemical composition, new feed additives (nanopowders) of topinambour have potential perbiotic, immune-modeling, anti-tumor and detoxifying effects.

It is knows, that inulin, pectin substances, cellulose, protein are the indigestive food components, contained in topinambour nanopowders and have prebiotic properties.

It is also known, that phenol compounds (by chlorogenic acid), flavonol glycosides (by rutin) and tanning substances, contained in topinambour nanopowreds, have potential immune-modeling, antioxidant, detoxifying and anti-tumor effect.


To test the predictive accuracy of the different models and, in turn, to highlight the predictive power of the different groups of factors the paper shows goodness of fit measures based on the Rsquare and the median error (Armstrong, 2012) . For each model, Table 2 provides the Median Absolute Percentage Error (MdAPE) along with the Median Absolute Deviation (MAD). In the anonymous case, a clear preference towards one model does not emerge. Moreover, none of the models proposed improves the performance of the naïve predictor (the average price of the sequence), which would produce the best fit of the reference price (MdAPE = 9.091, MAD = 6.039). On the contrary, the social case presents a vastly different picture. Here, the magnitude and the mixed models perform much better than the timeline model and also perform better with respect to the naïve predictor, whose results are quite poor (MdAPE = 17.647, MAD = 10.793).

To test the predictive accuracy of the different models and, in turn, to highlight the predictive power of the different groups of factors the paper shows goodness of fit measures based on the Rsquare and the median error.


We propose to use empirical models based on real-time equipment data to predict the outcome of each wafer immediately after processing by each piece of equipment [1] . This will reduce the need for costly and time-consuming wafer measurements. The prediction ability allows the quality of the wafer to be known immediately after processing, thereby obtaining important wafer yield information to ensure that only wafers worth processing continue down the line. By predicting the wafer characteristics, significant cost reduction is possible, thus lowering the overall cost of equipment ownership [2] .

We propose to use empirical models based on real-time equipment data to predict the outcome of each wafer immediately after processing by each piece of equipment.

By predicting the wafer characteristics, significant cost reduction is possible, thus lowering the overall cost of equipment ownership.


Visual information relayed from the retina to the primary visual cortex (V1) is encoded in real time via the joint firing of multiple neurons. Although much has been learned about the properties of single neuronal units, the rules by which neurons coordinate their activity in cortical networks to represent information about the visual stimulus remains one of the fundamental unanswered questions in neuroscience [3] . To understand why, one needs only to consider that responses of single units are both noisy and ambiguous, that is responses to the same stimulus vary considerably and responses to multiple different stimuli can be the same.

Although much has been learned about the properties of single neuronal units, the rules by which neurons coordinate their activity in cortical networks to represent information about the visual stimulus remains one of the fundamental unanswered questions in neuroscience.


Neurons are the elementary processing units in the central nervous system and are connected to each other in intricate patterns. Neuronal signals consist of short electrical pulses, termed action potentials or spikes, which form the elementary signals for transmission [1] . A chain of action potentials, generated by a single neuron is called a spike train and is a time sequence of firing events, which occur at regular or irregular intervals. Thus, these pulse-coded signals that represent the information encoded by a neuron, employ both binary and temporal coding mechanisms, which expand the signals into higher dimensional spaces [2] .

Neuronal signals consist of short electrical pulses, termed action potentials or spikes, which form the elementary signals for transmission.

Thus, these pulse-coded signals that represent the information encoded by a neuron, employ both binary and temporal coding mechanisms, which expand the signals into higher dimensional spaces.


However, compared to the pre-independence period, the economy has taken some major strides. For instance, in the period from 1901 to 1947, India's GDP grew at 0.9% per annum and per capita GDP by only 0.1% (Siddiqui, 2009 (Dreze and Sen, 2013) . In short, the economic growth rate of the Indian economy was dismal and its economy was insignificant in the world both in terms of global GDP and in the production of industrial goods. GDP growth rates then were an average 0.9% and per capita income grew only at 0.1% per annum. Globally India was regarded as a marginal country with the occurrence of famine and existence of mass poverty and illiteracy (Dreze and Sen, 2013) .

For instance, in the period from 1901 to 1947, India's GDP grew at 0.9% per annum and per capita GDP by only 0.1%.

Globally India was regarded as a marginal country with the occurrence of famine and existence of mass poverty and illiteracy.


Since 2011 growth is slowing down dramatically to less than half that rate of previous years. From the launching of reforms until 2011, they did manifest some vivid and impressive signs of India moving towards greater consumer capitalism. Consumer demand was boosted by the availability of cheap credits and imported brand goods finally became accessible to the rich who were long starved of them by an inward looking economic regime that substituted Indian products for imports (Siddiqui, 2010; Kohli, 2012) .

Consumer demand was boosted by the availability of cheap credits and imported brand goods finally became accessible to the rich who were long starved of them by an inward looking economic regime that substituted Indian products for imports.


The neglect of the social sector is very visible both in pre and post reform periods and here the market failed to resolve this problem and long-term investments in education and public health were needed. However, in these primary tasks, the government failed miserably. As Dreze and Sen has called, "the elitist character of Indian society and politics". Every year, more children die in India than anywhere else in the world: 1.7 million children under the age of five die largely from easily preventable illnesses such as diarrhoea. Of those who do survive until the age of five, 48% are stunted as a result of a lack of nutrients: child malnutrition in India is higher than in Eritrea. Similarly, the most basic health measure that any government can provide for its people is to immunise very young children but, in India, only 43.5% of children are completely immunised, compared to 73.1% in Bangladesh (Dreze and Sen, 2013) .

Similarly, the most basic health measure that any government can provide for its people is to immunise very young children but, in India, only 43.5% of children are completely immunised, compared to 73.1% in Bangladesh.


At present the Indian economy shows more serious obstacles to sustainable growth than any of the other emerging economies. It appears that the decline in growth rates is not mainly due to the global recession and also not due to "inadequacy" of economic reforms. India's growth has been led by the services sector, which includes real estates, IT, telecommunications, and banking and contributes nearly 50% to the GDP in 2013. Manufacturing, which experienced a remarkable growth and transformation of the East Asian economies, had rather grown much slower in India (Siddiqui, 2011) . The agriculture sector, which still employs nearly two-third of India's workforce, remains stagnant. We find a small percentage of well-educated workforce that enjoys rising wages, while there has been hardly any noticeable improvements in real wages and productivity for people trapped in the bottom half of the dual economy: agriculture and the so-called informal sector, which provides livelihoods for two-third of India's workforce (Byres, 1994) .

Manufacturing, which experienced a remarkable growth and transformation of the East Asian economies, had rather grown much slower in India.

We find a small percentage of well-educated workforce that enjoys rising wages, while there has been hardly any noticeable improvements in real wages and productivity for people trapped in the bottom half of the dual economy: agriculture and the so-called informal sector, which provides livelihoods for two-third of India's workforce.


Since early 1980s, India has been implementing economic reforms to liberalise the economy by reducing state ownership and by greater reliance on trade, foreign capital flows and technology imports. It was suggested that these reforms would free the economy from government control and would move away from its earlier sluggish 'Hindu rate of growth' (Bhagwati, 2013) . Those in favour of the neoliberal reforms India initiated in early 1980s argue that largely due to such policies India witnessed unprecedented growth rates for the last three decades. Growth was accompanied by improvements in living conditions and the proportion of people whose incomes are below the official poverty line declined from 45% in 1982 to 28% in 2005 (Bhagwati and Panagariya, 2013) .

It was suggested that these reforms would free the economy from government control and would move away from its earlier sluggish 'Hindu rate of growth'.

Growth was accompanied by improvements in living conditions and the proportion of people whose incomes are below the official poverty line declined from 45% in 1982 to 28% in 2005.


A ray method was applied to demonstrate the function of the FP antenna [1] . Both the EBG and the PRS are described by complex reflection coefficients exp( j 1 ) and ρexp( j 2 ), respectively. Both the surfaces can be assumed to be homogeneous, and edge effects can be neglected.

A ray method was applied to demonstrate the function of the FP antenna.


We argue that such an approach, consistent with the analysis of innovation diffusion in evolving systems-such as diffusion of communication standards among regions or countries-analogically applies to the evolution and diffusion of democracy on a world scale [18] . The susceptible "host" in this case is the nation-state that may or may not adopt a democratic standard for political communication [10, 14] . The unit of selection is the package of institutions that are essential for democratic political communication. Our proposed approach therefore motivates a study of transition periods, in which contracts on new political communication standards are made, marking institutional pathways intended to sustaining democracy in the longer run. In this article, we therefore primarily consider (1) time and (2) institutional paths in their relation to democratic revolutions, transitions and survival. Our central questions are formulated in a way that may help us in assessing the validity of innovation diffusion models: Is duration of transitions positively related to the survivability of democracy in the longer run? Are specific institutional paths more common or more conducive as routes to democracy?

We argue that such an approach, consistent with the analysis of innovation diffusion in evolving systems-such as diffusion of communication standards among regions or countries-analogically applies to the evolution and diffusion of democracy on a world scale.

The susceptible "host" in this case is the nation-state that may or may not adopt a democratic standard for political communication.


Having demonstrated that people enjoy tasting quality wines more while listening to matching music, one further question to be addressed by future research will be to determine whether the crossmodal influences documented here also operate in the opposite direction -that is, can people's appreciation of classical music also be enhanced by drinking wine? It may perhaps be that the influence is bidirectional, so it would be interesting to see whether the wines may also enhance the appreciation of these pieces of music [25] . In addition, further research is needed in order to clarify the potential mechanisms that explain these matchings.

It may perhaps be that the influence is bidirectional, so it would be interesting to see whether the wines may also enhance the appreciation of these pieces of music.


Evaluating the proposed technology extrapolation domain framework Estimating the number of zones required to achieve a desired coverage of crop area is essential for efficient evaluation of a new technology to ensure that field experiments are located in the most important production environments, as determined by climate and soil type. The challenge is to achieve maximum coverage of total crop production area with a minimum number of locations, which reduces costs and increases the extrapolation potential from investment in field research. For example, comparing two TED schemes that differ in degree of detail in class intervals used for PAWHC (figures 1(c) and (d)), either 50 mm for a 'moderate resolution' scheme or 25 mm for a 'high resolution' scheme, gives a total of 620 (moderate resolution) and 1140 (high resolution) TEDs within the central-eastern US, respectively. As a point of reference, an increase in crop water supply of 25 mm in PAWHC can support a cereal yield increase of about 0.5 Mg ha −1 in regions like the Corn Belt where pre-plant rainfall is sufficient to fully recharge soil water holding capacity in most years but rainfall during the growing season does not meet crop water requirements (Grassini et al 2015) . A 0.5 Mg ha −1 yield increase is equivalent to about 5% of current average Corn Belt maize yields. Whilst the finer class intervals would be more effective at detecting variation in yield response to management practices across different soil types, a trade-off emerges in the number of field studies located in unique TEDs required to achieve a desired coverage of crop area. Using rainfed maize and soybean as examples, the high resolution TED scheme requires field studies in 27 and 30 unique TEDs for US maize and soybean, respectively, to reach 50% coverage of total production area for both crops, versus field experiments in only 16 and 18 unique TEDs for the moderate resolution scheme (figure 2). Achieving a level of coverage above 50% of total maize or soybean area requires an increasingly greater number of field studies in additional TEDs because the relative contribution of each additional TED follows a strong diminishing return, especially with the high resolution scheme.

As a point of reference, an increase in crop water supply of 25 mm in PAWHC can support a cereal yield increase of about 0.5 Mg ha −1 in regions like the Corn Belt where pre-plant rainfall is sufficient to fully recharge soil water holding capacity in most years but rainfall during the growing season does not meet crop water requirements.


Generally, priors are combined with the retrieval model either using heuristics or handtuned parameters [3] . In this work, we combine our proposed priors with the LM in two different ways: using a standard logarithmic combination, and proposing a novel combination that considers the prior as a measure of the risk of accepting the score given by the query likelihood estimation of the LM. A thorough experimentation on four TREC collections of different size and domain, and 450 short and long queries show that our proposed prior benefits retrieval performance significantly, and in a robust way. Specifically, we find that it is possible to boost the performance of a retrieval model based on JM smoothing up to values comparable to state of the art retrieval models, and further outperform retrieval models traditionally considered to be more effective in previous literature [16] . This paper is organised as follows: section 2 describes in detail the formulation used for the document priors in the rest of the paper and related work; section 3 presents a simple well-known linear document prior and a novel way of approximating document length in a probabilistic fashion; section 4 explores new ways for combining the document prior with the query likelihood, and section 5 describes our experimental findings.

Generally, priors are combined with the retrieval model either using heuristics or handtuned parameters.

Specifically, we find that it is possible to boost the performance of a retrieval model based on JM smoothing up to values comparable to state of the art retrieval models, and further outperform retrieval models traditionally considered to be more effective in previous literature.


Protein structure classification databases such as the Structural Classification of Proteins (SCOP) enable us to explore the characteristics of proteins that adopt the same global structures [16] . SCOP is a hierarchical categorisation in which a structural domain is classified according to class (secondary structure content), fold (broadly the spatial arrangement of the secondary structural elements), superfamily and family. Proteins at the superfamily level are believed to be related although this may not be apparent from consideration of sequences alone. Some folds are associated with a wide range of functions, while others seem less functionally versatile. For example, the TIM barrel fold contains 28 superfamilies and is associated with 4 of the 6 possible enzyme commission numbers [10] . Knowledge that a hypothetical protein adopts a functionally diverse fold such as a TIM barrel will not immediately narrow down the functional space. In contrast, the globins show a very specific repertoire of function despite large sequence diversity [3] .

Protein structure classification databases such as the Structural Classification of Proteins (SCOP) enable us to explore the characteristics of proteins that adopt the same global structures.

For example, the TIM barrel fold contains 28 superfamilies and is associated with 4 of the 6 possible enzyme commission numbers.

In contrast, the globins show a very specific repertoire of function despite large sequence diversity.


The proof of this theorem is based on the fact that on radial functions the Dunkl harmonic oscillator H d,κ coincides with the Hermite operator H d+2γ , when 2γ is an integer. More generally, using an analogue of Funk-Hecke formula for h-harmonics we can show that the mixed norm estimates for the Riesz transforms R κ j are equivalent to a vector valued inequality for a sequence of Laguerre Riesz transforms. When 2γ is an integer these inequalities can be deduced from the weighted norm inequalities satisfied by Hermite Riesz transforms. In the general case when 2γ is not an integer, we can appeal to a recent result of Ciaurri and Roncal [6] .

In the general case when 2γ is not an integer, we can appeal to a recent result of Ciaurri and Roncal.


The relation between LPO and antioxidant enzymes activities was best described by the prooxidant (P)/antioxidant (A) ratio as shown in Table 2 . The ratio in the rat brain was increased in the carbofuran treated animals. The extent of enhancement in the ratio was dose dependent (Table 2 ). This trend showed that the free radical generation in the rat brain depends on the dose of carbofuran. The data indicated that brain is highly susceptible to oxidative stress due to the presence of the large amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), poor availability of antioxidants, and consumption of large amount of oxygen per unit weight (about 20% of the total amount used in humans) [6] . The prooxidant (P)/antioxidant (A) ratio was restored near to control group upon the pretreatment of curcumin in the experimental animals treated with carbofuran ( Table 2 ). The restoration of this ratio was due to antioxidant potential of curcumin which restored the level of TBARS and activities of antioxidant enzymes.

The data indicated that brain is highly susceptible to oxidative stress due to the presence of the large amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), poor availability of antioxidants, and consumption of large amount of oxygen per unit weight (about 20% of the total amount used in humans).


Under normal physiological conditions, generation of free radicals and concomitant damage in the cells and tissues can be controlled by the cellular antioxidant defense system which comprises enzymatic and nonenzymatic constituents [10] . The enzymatic antioxidants comprise superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione-S-transferase (GST), whereas the nonenzymatic antioxidants include vitamins C and E as well as the reduced form of glutathione (GSH). Oxidative stress is the consequence of the imbalance between the reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and antioxidant defense system of the cells or tissues [11] .

Under normal physiological conditions, generation of free radicals and concomitant damage in the cells and tissues can be controlled by the cellular antioxidant defense system which comprises enzymatic and nonenzymatic constituents.

Oxidative stress is the consequence of the imbalance between the reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and antioxidant defense system of the cells or tissues.


To address this issue, later studies shifted their focus to explore fewer number of physicochemical-based attributes and instead, use more efficient feature extraction methods [5, 12] . Recent studies shifted the focus to increase the number of attributes being explored as well as providing adequate local discriminatory information by categorizing amino acids into several subgroups based on the concept of alphabet reduction [8] . However, due to use of alphabet reduction, they discarded important information and could not appropriately enhance PFR. Furthermore, similar to their previous works, they tried to extract local information from the whole protein sequence as a single building block which failed to work properly, specially for large proteins.

To address this issue, later studies shifted their focus to explore fewer number of physicochemical-based attributes and instead, use more efficient feature extraction methods.

Recent studies shifted the focus to increase the number of attributes being explored as well as providing adequate local discriminatory information by categorizing amino acids into several subgroups based on the concept of alphabet reduction.


The Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) is a mesoscopic scale technique, which lies between microscopic and macroscopic scale analyses, and is utilized by investigating the behavior of a collection of particles as a unit [3] [4] [5] . A distribution function represents any property of these units. LBM can be used to simulate single and multiphase flows with a wide range of behaviors including condensation, cavitation, phase separation, surface interaction, etc. In this study, LBM was utilized to simulate mass and momentum flow in randomly generated porous media.

The Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) is a mesoscopic scale technique, which lies between microscopic and macroscopic scale analyses, and is utilized by investigating the behavior of a collection of particles as a unit.


Percolation theory describes a probabilistic model that includes a phase transition [1] . This theory can be used to simulate an inhomogeneous medium, which must be constituted by at least two phases. As an example, a virtual, square porous medium can be constructed with randomly assigned void and solid constituents. Let us assign the probability of generating a void (pore) as p, hence the solid generation probability becomes 1 À p. Two-dimensional percolation theory dictates that the fluid particles can only move in four directions; up, down, left, and right, and they cannot move to cross nodes. The probability of an open path from the center of the porous domain to any of the sides is called the percolation probability and denoted by h(p) [2] . Percolation probability becomes unity if the whole domain is void (that is, h(1) = 1). As p decreases, percolation probability decreases, and below a critical point called the percolation threshold, p c , becomes zero.

Percolation theory describes a probabilistic model that includes a phase transition.

The probability of an open path from the center of the porous domain to any of the sides is called the percolation probability and denoted by h(p).


The structural features of carbon coatings were also studied by Raman spectroscopy. The Raman spectra of all studied samples are shown in Supplementary Data (Figures S24-S41) . The selected Raman spectra are shown in Fig. 9 . The spectra contain three major bands, i.e., the G-band (1582 cm -1 ), the D-band (1350 cm -1 ), and the 2D band (2700 cm -1 ). The G/D ratio is a convenient and commonly used indicator of structural ordering in carbon materials. The G/D ratio for the pristine p-CEINs was found to be 1.8. The G/D ratio in the samples in which the RAI parameter was lower than 5% varied between 1.6 and 1.9. The ratio was found to be lower for samples treated with hot nitric acid, only (Fig. 9b, c) . This parameter diminished to 1.3 and 0.7 for CEINs subjected to corrosion test in hot 1 and 5 M HNO 3 , respectively. This finding supports the above observations related to lowered thermal stability. Carbon materials with lower degree of structural ordering have smaller thermal resistance to oxidation [24, 25] .

Carbon materials with lower degree of structural ordering have smaller thermal resistance to oxidation.


Recently, a novel plastic MR material consisted of magnetic particles and soft polymer matrixes has been developed [43] [44] [45] [46] [47] . For this type of material, the magnetic particles are highly mobile due to the low cross-linking density of the carrying matrix and the aggregated structures can thus be changed by applying the external magnetic field. Therefore, it exhibits much higher MR effects than the MREs. Similar to the plasticine, this kind of MR material named as MR plastomer (MRP) has the plastic characteristic that enables it to be molded into various shapes [48] . The carrying matrix is critical for the MRP. In the case of highly cross-linking matrix, the magnetic particles were ''deadly'' anchored in the elastomer (MRE); thus, the high starting shear modulus and low magnetoinduced modulus lead to the weak MR effects [49] . If the magnetic particles are highly mobile within the cross-linking polymer matrix, the obtained elastic MR material would exhibit strong MR effects [50] . The MRP is resulted with the further decrease in crosslinking density of polymer matrix. In this case, the magnetic particles could form chainlike structures under the magnetic field, resulting in a very high storage modulus of the material. In comparison with the traditional MR materials, the MRPs are multifunctional. The thermosensitive MRPs can be stored in solid state while working as MRFs under the fluid model [51] . These novel features of the MRPs will find promising applications in vibration dissipation, damping, artificial muscles, drug delivery, valves, and actuators [52] [53] [54] [55] .

Recently, a novel plastic MR material consisted of magnetic particles and soft polymer matrixes has been developed.

Similar to the plasticine, this kind of MR material named as MR plastomer (MRP) has the plastic characteristic that enables it to be molded into various shapes.

In the case of highly cross-linking matrix, the magnetic particles were ''deadly'' anchored in the elastomer (MRE); thus, the high starting shear modulus and low magnetoinduced modulus lead to the weak MR effects.

If the magnetic particles are highly mobile within the cross-linking polymer matrix, the obtained elastic MR material would exhibit strong MR effects.

The thermosensitive MRPs can be stored in solid state while working as MRFs under the fluid model.

These novel features of the MRPs will find promising applications in vibration dissipation, damping, artificial muscles, drug delivery, valves, and actuators.


Bivariate correlations in Table 2 show that parental attachment significantly correlated with religiosity; however, in the final regression analysis (Table 4) , parental attachment loses its predictive relation to religiosity, whereas the predictive effect of parental religious socialization remains high. Existing research has shown that the most important pathway to religiousness in the case of relatively secure parental attachment goes via socialization (Granqvist, 2002) . Thus, presumably parental religious socialization acts as a kind of statistical mediator, and in fact, security is not expected to have any effects on these aspects of religiosity independent of socialization. This does not, however, mean that the affective quality of the relationship with parents or peers is unimportant to understand religious development. To the contrary, a "positive" affective quality makes the offspring receptive to positive socialization. High parental monitoring along with the significant influence of both schools and mosques also lend support for a possible channeling effect, where parents "channel" their kids into social institutions and peer networks that are like-minded; in this case, those that share a similar "worldview" or system of belief (Martin et al., 2003) .

Existing research has shown that the most important pathway to religiousness in the case of relatively secure parental attachment goes via socialization.

High parental monitoring along with the significant influence of both schools and mosques also lend support for a possible channeling effect, where parents "channel" their kids into social institutions and peer networks that are like-minded; in this case, those that share a similar "worldview" or system of belief.


The findings showing parental religious socialization and mosque involvement as the strongest predictors of RP suggest the importance of social learning in the Malaysian context. The parental attachment scale used in the current study, the SBRS, was designed to measure perceived shared religious standards, behaviors, and level of commitment (Granqvist & Hagekull, 1999) . By following the practices and values of parents and the religious community, as reflected by the predictive effect of mosque involvement, the findings suggest a social learning effect; residing in a religious family and being regularly involved in both the school and mosque may lead youth to receive a more consistent message about religion by being more enmeshed within the religious community (Petts, 2009) .

The parental attachment scale used in the current study, the SBRS, was designed to measure perceived shared religious standards, behaviors, and level of commitment.

By following the practices and values of parents and the religious community, as reflected by the predictive effect of mosque involvement, the findings suggest a social learning effect; residing in a religious family and being regularly involved in both the school and mosque may lead youth to receive a more consistent message about religion by being more enmeshed within the religious community.


The major challenge for question retrieval, as for most information retrieval tasks, is the lexical gap between the queried questions and the historical questions in the archives. For example, if a queried question contains the word "company" but a relevant historical question instead contains the word "firm", then there is a mismatch and the historical question may not be easily distinguished from an irrelevant one. To solve the lexical gap problem, most researchers focused on translation-based approaches since the relationships between words (or phrases) can be explicitly modeled through word-to-word (or phrases) translation probabilities (Jeon et al., 2005; Riezler et al., 2007; Xue et al., 2008; Lee et al., 2008; Bernhard and Gurevych, 2009; Singh, 2012) . However, these existing methods model the relevance ranking without considering the category-specific and shared topics with natural categories, it is not clear whether this information is useful for question retrieval.

To solve the lexical gap problem, most researchers focused on translation-based approaches since the relationships between words (or phrases) can be explicitly modeled through word-to-word (or phrases) translation probabilities.


Service users with diabetes in our study received equitable health care regardless of the presence of schizophrenia and ethnic-national filiation. People with schizophrenia had lower frequency of annual Hemoglobin-A1C tests, but similar rate of people did A1C test throughout the followup period. Furthermore, people with schizophrenia had lower Hemoglobin-A1C level than their counterparts. Similar to previous findings no differences between Jewish-and Arab-Israelis in the frequency of annual Hemoglobin-A1C tests were noted [21] .

Similar to previous findings no differences between Jewish-and Arab-Israelis in the frequency of annual Hemoglobin-A1C tests were noted.


In lieu of such theoretical advances, we can use the observational data to try and better understand how the patterns' coherence scale depends upon its dynamical environment. Both γ Crucis occultations indicate that the azimuthal coherence length of the periodic patterns in the inner A ring is substantial, of order 3000 km. However, such long coherence scales may not be a universal feature of these periodic patterns. For example, UVIS detected periodic structures with a typical wavelength of 160 meters in an occultation with a turnaround radius around 114,150 km in the outer B ring (Colwell et al. 2007) . Unlike the VIMS occultations, the ingress and egress profiles derived from these UVIS observations are not obviously correlated with each other close to the turnaround point. This suggests the patterns observed by UVIS have a much shorter azimuthal coherence length, perhaps less than 100 km. This reduced coherence length might reflect the particular environment probed by the UVIS occultation. The outer B ring exhibits strong stochastic optical depth variations on a broad range of scales which make the opacity profiles obtained during different occultations very poorly correlated, and the weak correlation between the ingress and egress profiles in the UVIS data could be just another expression of this general behavior. However, it is also possible that the weak correlations in the UVIS data are due to the much higher optical depth in the outer B ring (τ n ∼ 3) compared to the inner A ring (τ n ∼ 1). One potential bit of supporting evidence for this second option is that the periodic patterns seen near the turnaround in the Rev 106 VIMS occultation, where τ n ∼ 1.2, are less well correlated than the patterns seen in the Rev 104 data, where τ n ∼ 0.9. Thus it might be that increasing the opacity of the rings tends to reduce the azimuthal coherence length of the overstable patterns. Probably the best way to confirm or refute this idea would be with additional data from other occultations that turn around at different locations within regions possessing periodic patterns.

For example, UVIS detected periodic structures with a typical wavelength of 160 meters in an occultation with a turnaround radius around 114,150 km in the outer B ring.


Quadrotor is a rotary-wing aircraft that makes use of four rotors in which movement is performed by accelerating and decelerating them. This kind of helicopter tries to achieve flight stability using equilibrium forces produced by its four rotors (Raffo et al., 2010) . Despite all the advantages that quadrotors present, there are some limiting factors in their application: the high energy consumption and difficulty in controlling them, since they have highly nonlinear behaviour, high degree of coupling, underactuated and unstable dynamics, and are constantly affected by external disturbances.

This kind of helicopter tries to achieve flight stability using equilibrium forces produced by its four rotors.


In recent years, a great deal of efforts has been focused on the development of nanocarriers for diagnosis and treatment of diseases. One of the nanocarriers is magnetic nanoparticles under control of an external magnetic field. Magnetic nanoparticles are superparamagnetic materials with high saturation magnetization, nontoxic, and highly biocompatible which have great potential for biomedical applications such as efficient bioseparation, sensitive biosensing, and specific drug delivery as well as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast enhancement [25, 26] . Various sizes of superparamagnetic nanoparticles offer potential application in biomedicine with various elements including cell (around 100 μm), proteins (around 10 nm), and virus (around 100 nm) [27] [28] [29] . However, the change in size of magnetic nanoparticles is associated with the change in saturation moment, which is an important property to demonstrate the resonant responsibility to an external magnetic field of the particles. Additionally, the promising biomedical applications of magnetic nanoparticles basically require the particles to monodisperse. So the magnetic nanoparticles are required to be covered by nonmagnetic materials to prevent oxidation and agglomeration. Consequently, each nanoparticle has identical chemical and physical properties for controlled bioelimination and biodistribution [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] .

Magnetic nanoparticles are superparamagnetic materials with high saturation magnetization, nontoxic, and highly biocompatible which have great potential for biomedical applications such as efficient bioseparation, sensitive biosensing, and specific drug delivery as well as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast enhancement.

Various sizes of superparamagnetic nanoparticles offer potential application in biomedicine with various elements including cell (around 100 μm), proteins (around 10 nm), and virus (around 100 nm).

Consequently, each nanoparticle has identical chemical and physical properties for controlled bioelimination and biodistribution.


Motivation Increasingly, software systems are subjected to adaptation at runtime due to changes in the operational environments and user requirements. Adaptation is classified into two broad categories: structural adaptation and behavioral adaptation [21] . While structural adaptation aims to adapt the behavior by changing the system's architecture, behavioral adaptation focuses on modifying the functionalities of the computational entities.

Adaptation is classified into two broad categories: structural adaptation and behavioral adaptation.


PobSAM has a formal foundation that employs an integration of algebraic formalisms and Actor-based models. The computational (functional) model of PobSAM is actor-based while the multi-sorted algebra CA (Configuration Algebra) is proposed to specify the configurations of managers. The sub-algebra CA a is used to specify actions of simple governing policies which is built on the process algebra PA cc δ [10] . The common set theoretic operators are employed to specify governing policy sets. We formalize adaptation policies using CA p . The operational semantics of PobSAM is described with labeled transition systems.

The sub-algebra CA a is used to specify actions of simple governing policies which is built on the process algebra PA cc δ.


With the growing world population and increasing standard of living, global demand for energy is increasing substantially. The energy storage system is, therefore crucial in supplying huge amount of energy whenever it is needed. In this context, supercapacitors emerge as the promising energy storage device as they could deliver high energy density (≥ 5 Wh kg -1 ) at fast rate (≥ 10 kW kg -1 ) [1] . Credit to nanotechnology, supercapacitors technology advances remarkably by utilizing nanostructured electrodes, which possess exceptionally high surface area and other superior physicochemical properties. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is one of the nanomaterials emerges from this technology revolution and used in supercapacitors electrode.

In this context, supercapacitors emerge as the promising energy storage device as they could deliver high energy density (≥ 5 Wh kg -1 ) at fast rate (≥ 10 kW kg -1 ).


STS predominantly occurs in women. Only one case of a male patient with STS due to a postmastectomy lymphedema is reported [7] . The mean age of patients with STS ranges between the fifth and seventh decade [8] . The age correlates with the highest incidence of breast cancer.

STS predominantly occurs in women.

Only one case of a male patient with STS due to a postmastectomy lymphedema is reported.

The mean age of patients with STS ranges between the fifth and seventh decade.


In this article, a multivariable extraction filter (MVF) is studied. Many voltage perturbations are applied to the new filter (MVF), and the conventional detection of the direct component of the voltage Phase Locked Loop (PLL). Simulation results are compared for two methods and interpreted [5] [6] [7] [8] .

Simulation results are compared for two methods and interpreted.


Previous studies with nitric oxide (NO) donors have demonstrated that the activity of the GGT enzyme in colon carcinoma cells is induced after exposure to NO and that the increase in GGT helped maintain intracellular GSH levels in cells grown in cystine-depleted medium by increasing substrate available for uptake into the cells [21] . Increased GGT activity thus acted to protect these cells against nitrosative stress. Earlier studies in the GGT enu1 mouse demonstrated that GGT deficiency has a dramatic impact on glutathione homeostasis. Genetic GGT deficiency in the GGT enu1 mouse impairs intracellular glutathione metabolism and results in systemic glutathionemia and oxidant stress in the kidney [22] . Previous studies with lung epithelial cells also demonstrated that when cells were exposed to quinones as an oxidantinduced stress, GGT would be increased as part of the adaptation of cells to oxidative stress by enhancing the utilization of extracellular GSH [23] .

Previous studies with nitric oxide (NO) donors have demonstrated that the activity of the GGT enzyme in colon carcinoma cells is induced after exposure to NO and that the increase in GGT helped maintain intracellular GSH levels in cells grown in cystine-depleted medium by increasing substrate available for uptake into the cells.

Genetic GGT deficiency in the GGT enu1 mouse impairs intracellular glutathione metabolism and results in systemic glutathionemia and oxidant stress in the kidney.

Previous studies with lung epithelial cells also demonstrated that when cells were exposed to quinones as an oxidantinduced stress, GGT would be increased as part of the adaptation of cells to oxidative stress by enhancing the utilization of extracellular GSH.


A marked increase in the activity of γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT, EC 2.3.2.2), a membranebound enzyme that is responsible for extracellular cleavage of the γ-glutamyl bond in the GSH molecule, has been reported in the post-mortem PD SN [8] . GGT hydrolyzes extracellular GSH into cysteinyl-glycine, which is further broken down by membrane-bounded dipeptidases to cysteine and glycine. These amino acids can be taken up into cells by specific amino acid transporters and used as substrates for de novo intracellular glutathione synthesis via GCL. GGT can also transfer the γ-glutamyl moiety of GSH to extracellular cystine to form γ-glutamylcystine which can also be taken up into cells, reduced to γ-glutamylcysteine, and used, for scavenger glutathione synthesis via GS. GGT has, therefore, a role in cellular GSH homeostasis and may be of significant importance when the level of cyst(e)ine is reduced [9] . Increased GGT levels have been hypothesized to contribute to dopaminergic neurodegeneration associated with PD by increasing the amount of cysteine available for transport into dopaminergic neurons where it can interact with dopaminergic quinones formed during dopamine oxidation. The presence of such dopaminergic-cysteine (5-S-cysDAQ) conjugates has been reported in the PD SN [10] . Furthermore, metabolites of these conjugates have been reported to inhibit mitochondrial CI activity [11] .

A marked increase in the activity of γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT, EC 2.3.2.2), a membranebound enzyme that is responsible for extracellular cleavage of the γ-glutamyl bond in the GSH molecule, has been reported in the post-mortem PD SN.

GGT has, therefore, a role in cellular GSH homeostasis and may be of significant importance when the level of cyst(e)ine is reduced.

The presence of such dopaminergic-cysteine (5-S-cysDAQ) conjugates has been reported in the PD SN.

Furthermore, metabolites of these conjugates have been reported to inhibit mitochondrial CI activity.