There is no doubt in the fact that writing is a tool for the creation of ideas and the consolidation of the linguistic system by using it for communicative objectives in an interactive way. Thus it implies the successful transmission of ideas from an addresser to an addressee through a text, and this exchange of information becomes a powerful means to motivate and encourage the development of writing skills. Writing is often a challenge for EFL learners as it is considered to be the most painstaking and challenging language skill. The researchers, with experience of several years of teaching EFL in Saudi Arabia, have been witnesses to this challenging task. It has been a challenging task for EFL teachers because students, as observed in their writing samples do not take much interest in writing either for academic, professional or personal purposes. Moreover, writing requires an in-depth understanding of target language. In a way, it is an amalgam of different other skills like reading, listening etc. That's why students hardly feel motivated for writing. Motivation plays a very important role in developing any skill. Lack of motivation is one of the most important factors for the poor performance of Arab learners in writing assignments. Bacha (2002, p. 161) suggested that it might be due to the fact that the students are not motivated to develop their writing and that "L2 writers are known to face problems in developing their writing skills at the university level. These problems are even more accentuated with L1 Arabic non-native speakers of English in required English composition courses". The students who always try their best to compose an impressive paragraph feel demotivated when they cannot achieve what is expected of them. They are likely in a need of receiving proper instruction on how to compose an effective text. When they have to write on different non-interesting topics in their exams in English, their performance hardly reaches satisfactory level (Murshidi, 2014) .

When they have to write on different non-interesting topics in their exams in English, their performance hardly reaches satisfactory level.


The alternative solution is to use a high-density en-semble of NV centres. Collecting the signal from an ensemble of N NV centers should result in a signal to noise enhancement in √ N with respect to a single NV center. Several devices exploiting that property have been demonstrated [24] [25] [26] . They make use of an active layer of NV centers located close to the surface of a bulk diamond plate. The magnetic object is located close to this surface, and the magnetic field modifies the luminescence emitted by the NV centers. A microscope objective forms a diffraction limited image of the luminescence on a camera. This gives rise to a complete data acquisition over the whole object in one shot.

Several devices exploiting that property have been demonstrated.


A particularly attractive technique is to develop magnetometers based on Nitrogen Vacancy centers (NV) inserted in ultrapure diamond. The NV center is a point defect in diamond. It consists of a substitutional nitrogen atom (N) associated with a vacancy (V) located in an adjacent lattice site of the diamond matrix ( Fig. 1 a) ). It behaves as a color center that allows for optical detection of the magnetic field [6] .

It behaves as a color center that allows for optical detection of the magnetic field.


The objective of the paper is to present a minimal fuzzy model on a unit square that generalises the extended H 3 -model and, similar to quantum-mechanical models, preserves smoothness of membership functions and operators. The suggested model applies a parametric system of the fuzzy not and phase operators, such that their compositions provide a complete system of fuzzy operators and implement operators of quantum information theory for real amplitudes. The fuzzy not and phase operators are based on the uninorms [12] .

The fuzzy not and phase operators are based on the uninorms.


In recent years, a biologically artificial intelligence technique known as artificial neural network (ANN) has emerged as a candidate for the feature identification problems. The basic conception of ANN is intended to model the behavior of biological neural functions. An ANN is generally modeled as a massively parallel interconnected network of elementary neurons. The original desire for the development of ANN is intended to take advantage of parallel processors computing than traditional serial computation. In our previous efforts, an ANN-based pattern recognition approach has been proposed [5] .

In our previous efforts, an ANN-based pattern recognition approach has been proposed.


SDB is common among individuals with severe CKD, affecting 30-80% of those on dialysis and over 50% of patients with severe CKD not-requiring dialysis [6] [7] [8] [9] . However, most of these previous investigations are limited by small sample sizes with no comparison group and lack of applicability to patients with mild renal disease [7, 10] . We recently examined the association between mild reductions in renal function and SDB in a cohort of 508 communitydwelling men over 65 years old and found that the presence of CKD as defined by eGFR <60 by the Mayo Clinic (MAYO) formula, but not the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) formula, was associated with a twofold greater odds of prevalent SDB despite adjustment for demographics, body mass index (BMI) and comorbidities [11] . However, conclusions from this study were limited by low power to detect associations within subgroups and across multiple measures of renal function. Thus, the association between mild CKD and SDB remains uncertain.

SDB is common among individuals with severe CKD, affecting 30-80% of those on dialysis and over 50% of patients with severe CKD not-requiring dialysis.

However, most of these previous investigations are limited by small sample sizes with no comparison group and lack of applicability to patients with mild renal disease.

We recently examined the association between mild reductions in renal function and SDB in a cohort of 508 communitydwelling men over 65 years old and found that the presence of CKD as defined by eGFR <60 by the Mayo Clinic (MAYO) formula, but not the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) formula, was associated with a twofold greater odds of prevalent SDB despite adjustment for demographics, body mass index (BMI) and comorbidities.


In both studies, higher BMI among men with reduced renal function at least partially explained the associations we observed between renal function and SDB. In our analyses, BMI was viewed as a confounder. However, the true role of BMI in the pathway between renal function and SDB is likely more complex due to the possible bidirectional nature of the association between renal function and SDB. It is plausible that SDB, through its vasculotoxic nature, may lead to development or progression of renal disease [21, 22] . Obesity, for which BMI is a measure, has been linked in large epidemiological studies to development or progression of renal dysfunction [23, 24] . Therefore, because SDB may be on the causal pathway between obesity and renal disease, our inclusion of BMI as a confounder may have resulted in over-adjustment, biasing our results toward the null hypothesis of no association.

It is plausible that SDB, through its vasculotoxic nature, may lead to development or progression of renal disease.

Obesity, for which BMI is a measure, has been linked in large epidemiological studies to development or progression of renal dysfunction.


We have previously demonstrated a pressure-driven device for isolation of concentration gradients in a rigid, allglass microchip [18] . The technique, called microfluidic diffusion dilution (µDD), works by combining two flowing streams at a Y-junction into a main channel, which is subsequently divided into a parallel array of microchannels (figure 1). Each channel contains a successively higher concentration of a given analyte, and the shape and distribution of the gradient formed is a function of the flow rate. Numerical simulations were successfully used to predict how the concentrations would be distributed in the microchannels. It would be convenient to extend this methodology to PDMS/glass hybrid systems, but due to the elastic nature of PDMS, the channel geometry changes as a function of flow rate. This, in turn, affects the convective/diffusive transport of analytes in the µDD. Figure 2 (a) shows a cartoon representing the main channel under conditions of pressure-driven flow. The channel would be a rectangular duct under no-flow conditions (blue rectangle in figure 2(a)); however, the cross-section takes on a hemicylindrical shape at high flow rates. This cross-section 'deflates' as the fluid moves downstream. Not only does the channel geometry change as a function of position, but also the channel-averaged velocity of the fluid is affected. In figure 2 (a), the last segment, shown in green, represents the end of the main channel just before the microchannel entrance. When fluorescence intensities are measured here in an actual device as a function of flow rate, dramatic geometric changes can be seen. Epifluorescent data of Alexa 594 dye in buffer solution inside the main channel and channel array clearly show that the channel cross-sectional area expanded with increasing of flow rate ( figure 2(b) ). The bulging effect on the microchannels was not as pronounced as in the main channel because the microchannels have a higher combined cross-sectional area and lower aspect (width to height) ratios.

We have previously demonstrated a pressure-driven device for isolation of concentration gradients in a rigid, allglass microchip.


Since the bulging of the PDMS channels changed the pathlength through the dye solution, it was possible to directly determine the channel height as a function of flow rate with a constant concentration of solution. This was achieved by infusing identical concentrations of fluorophore into both inlets to the main channel. Figure 2(b) shows the fluorescence profile taken across the main and microchannels at various flow rates. The fluorescence intensity observed was approximately twice as high in the main channel at 1500 nl min −1 as at 15 nl min −1 despite the fact that the dye concentration remained the same everywhere in the fluid. This was a direct indication of the path length increase and, hence, channel bulging. Note that the effect of flow rate on bulging is much stronger for the main channel than the microchannels. This was due to the fact that the microchannels taken in aggregate have a greater cross-sectional area than the main channel and, therefore, the pressure was lower. Due to the constant drop in pressure as the fluid moves downstream, the force 'inflating' the microchannels is also lower than that of the main channel. Furthermore, the aspect ratio of the microchannels is significantly lower, thereby enhancing the mechanical rigidity of microchannels. For each flow rate, numerical simulations were performed. The concentration distribution for the 1500, 150 and 15 nl min −1 flow rates, as obtained both experimentally and numerically, is shown in figure 4 . At 1500 nl min −1 , the first two microchannels had a concentration value of = 0. However, the last three microchannels had values around = 1. This demonstrates that the concentration values were not symmetric about the center microchannel, even though it was symmetric in the main channel. The asymmetry arose from the difference in convective paths of fluid particles traveling from the main channel toward the first and the last microchannels, respectively. This difference has been described previously [18] . Overall, the numerical results matched experimental results very well for all three cases.

This difference has been described previously.


The unchecked quality of the wool, the increasing use of synthetic fibers, and high competition from key wool-producing nations may result in wool going from a resource for income generation to a problem to solve. The wool produced in tons yearly will be considered and handled as a waste if the industry is neglected and the wool is not destined to profitable applications due to a weakened supply chain and the poor quality of the fibers. This situation may force farmers to get rid of their wool as quickly as possible in ways that may not be environmentally and economically acceptable. Therefore there is a need for research and development to offer solutions to problems in sheep farming, wool production, the innovation of novel wool products and the introduction of highquality fibers such as super-fine wool. Sheep farming in Kenya is a part of the socio-economic setup for large and smallholders in many regions. It is an important resource of mutton and wool production, while in some areas it is also considered a source of milk. There has been a significant increase in the sheep population over the past years; this was also the trend for livestock in general. In addition to this increase in sheep population, the trend of wool exports per year from Kenya has also been increasing [6] . For instance, in the year 2007, 1973 tons of wool was exported, but this increased to 2288 and 2279 in the years 2013 and 2014, respectively. Kenya has a good climate and ecological conditions that favor wool sheep rearing, especially over 5000 m in the highlands [7] . The mean annual rainfall in the high potential areas nourishes a species of grass that is in abundance for feeding the animals.

In addition to this increase in sheep population, the trend of wool exports per year from Kenya has also been increasing.

Kenya has a good climate and ecological conditions that favor wool sheep rearing, especially over 5000 m in the highlands.


The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. Section 2 describes the problem we are addressing and the notation used. Section 3 provides background on interval analysis and a brief introduction to the use of Taylor models, based on the Taylor model arithmetic (remainder differential algebra) described by Makino and Berz [20, 23] . Section 4 presents the new interval method for obtaining guaranteed enclosures of the solutions of parametric ODEs. Then, in Section 5 we present the results of several numerical experiments that demonstrate the effectiveness of the new method.

Section 3 provides background on interval analysis and a brief introduction to the use of Taylor models, based on the Taylor model arithmetic (remainder differential algebra) described by Makino and Berz.


Generalist species predominated in both communities. This is probably related to the ecological plasticity of many species in relation to the variable conditions of luminosity (ABREU et al., 2011) . The predominance of typical savanna species, which are generally heliophilous, was probably related to the disappearance of individuals of pioneer species, such as Tachigalli vulgaris . The forest habitats of the Cerrado/Amazon transition zone appear to be characterized by their highly dynamic nature, provoking certain imbalances in the vegetation structure .

This is probably related to the ecological plasticity of many species in relation to the variable conditions of luminosity.


These are only some of the major and complex processes that impact on the global climate and have been discussed in a number of studies (Innes et al., 2000) . Also, climate variability and change itself can influence fire frequency (Westerling et al., 2006) . Finally, let us note that recent publications have pointed out that fires can be a source of extremely toxic products such as mercury (Friedli et al., 2009) .

These are only some of the major and complex processes that impact on the global climate and have been discussed in a number of studies.

Also, climate variability and change itself can influence fire frequency.

Finally, let us note that recent publications have pointed out that fires can be a source of extremely toxic products such as mercury.


Investigating the role of AHA in determining clinical outcomes of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) has recently gained interest. Although the objective of HSCT is to select a complete HLA matched donor, currently more transplants are being performed with partially matched donors with the availability of cell sources from umbilical cord blood, unrelated donors from the worldwide registry and haploidentical donors. In adults, the presence of AHA directed against HLA-mismatched donors has been associated with graft failure, delayed neutrophil, platelet recoveries, and graft versus host disease (GVHD), leading to reduced overall survival (OS) [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] . In children, cord blood unit transplantations became more frequent and are preferred in situations of HLA mismatch. To the best of our knowledge clinical relevance of preformed AHA in pediatric transplantations with cord blood as the only source has not been reported until now.

In adults, the presence of AHA directed against HLA-mismatched donors has been associated with graft failure, delayed neutrophil, platelet recoveries, and graft versus host disease (GVHD), leading to reduced overall survival (OS).


Patients either detected for AHA which are not donor specific or not detected for AHA had similar OS, whereas patients detected for AHA which are donor specific had lower OS, but this observed difference is not statistically significant. As mentioned above, this could be explained by the limited number of patients in the cohort, but is also due to the fact that some of the DSA have a low antibody titer (MFI,2'000). Of note, DSA against HLA-Cw, HLA-DQ and HLA-DP were not taken into consideration because HLA typing for these loci were not available for every patient. This observation is of importance, because it is likely that our ability to assess DSA is not completely accurate and some antibodies deemed DSA-negative in fact might have had reactivity against the donor. This is also consistent with the observation of multiple epitope sharing among HLA-II molecules [37] .

This is also consistent with the observation of multiple epitope sharing among HLA-II molecules.


Recently the availability of high power SiC power devices has allowed the operating frequency of hard-switched high power, 600 V DC-DC converters to be increased up to 75 kHz [2, 3] . This allows the bulky passive components to be reduced in size. However, even with power switching devices using new technologies, SiC and GaN for example, switching losses still limit the practical frequency of higher power converters.

Recently the availability of high power SiC power devices has allowed the operating frequency of hard-switched high power, 600 V DC-DC converters to be increased up to 75 kHz.


In recent years, interest in surface plasmons has grown, largely as a result of the increased control that is available in the fabrication of nano-structures. The increased control opens up possibilities to design components such as waveguides, mirrors and beamsplitters to manipulate surface plasmons on a chip on a scale much smaller than is possible for optical circuits [3] . Another important aspect of surface plasmons is the concentration of the electromagnetic wave, which leads to a higher field compared to a free-space electromagnetic wave. This field intensity enhancement, which can be up to a factor of 1000, is used in a variety of sensing applications of which surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is the best-known example [4] . Nowadays, SERS is even possible at the single molecule level [5] .

The increased control opens up possibilities to design components such as waveguides, mirrors and beamsplitters to manipulate surface plasmons on a chip on a scale much smaller than is possible for optical circuits.

This field intensity enhancement, which can be up to a factor of 1000, is used in a variety of sensing applications of which surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is the best-known example.

Nowadays, SERS is even possible at the single molecule level.


This article seeks to address this shortcoming in the literature by asking how formal political institutions might affect the outbreak of internal violence in countries with abundant natural resources of their own. In particular, it analyses whether the joint presence of multiple political parties and natural resources affects the risk of civil conflict occurring. As has been pointed out by several authors already, political parties may co-opt broad segments of society into the political system, 'encapsulating' potential oppositional forces and thereby ensuring regime stability and peace (Lijphart, 1977; Linz, 1973; O'Donnell, 1973) . Absorbed into an institutional framework, possible dissidents opt for legal and parliamentary means in order to articulate their interests and pursue their political goals, rather than resorting to violence.

As has been pointed out by several authors already, political parties may co-opt broad segments of society into the political system, 'encapsulating' potential oppositional forces and thereby ensuring regime stability and peace.


Historically, management of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) required extensive open surgical resection followed by adjuvant therapy. This approach resulted in considerable functional morbidity and poor cosmetic outcomes. However, recently there has been a paradigm shift in management of HNSCC with increasing focus on organ preservation strategies like chemoradiation. Chemoradiation is becoming more prevalent and provides survival benefit comparable to surgery. Gradually, surgery is being reserved for salvage treatment in case of recurrence after primary therapy based on radiotherapy (Chen et al., 2007) .

Gradually, surgery is being reserved for salvage treatment in case of recurrence after primary therapy based on radiotherapy.


Another interesting property of the acoustic intensity and the energy density is their usefulness for sound field characterization [10, 11] . The ratio of the active intensity to the timeaveraged energy-density can reveal if the field is close to an ideal diffuse field or close to a plane-wave field [12] [13] [14] . This property has been also exploited in spatial audio coding for assessing the diffuseness of a recorded sound scene or impulse response [6, 15, 16] .

Another interesting property of the acoustic intensity and the energy density is their usefulness for sound field characterization.

The ratio of the active intensity to the timeaveraged energy-density can reveal if the field is close to an ideal diffuse field or close to a plane-wave field.

This property has been also exploited in spatial audio coding for assessing the diffuseness of a recorded sound scene or impulse response.


Due to environmental considerations, research activity in the area of biodegradable and biocompatible polymers is still increasing. Among these polymers, proteins extracted from vegetables (pea, soy, wheat, sunflower, rice, barley, oat) have demonstrated good functional and amphiphilic properties such as water solubility, gelling properties, emulsifying and foaming capacity (Nunes, Batista, Raymundo, Alves, & Sousa, 2003) . Vegetable proteins represent an excellent wall-forming material due to their good film-forming and barrier properties, capability for adhesion and resistance to oils and organic solvents (De Graaf, Harmsen, Vereijken, & Monikes, 2001; Nesterenko, Alric, Silvestre, & Durrieu, 2013) . Thus, these relatively inexpensive, biocompatible and biodegradable biopolymers offer an interesting alternative to animalbased proteins and petroleum-derived polymers, especially for use as wall materials for microencapsulation in the food industry, cosmetics, pharmaceutics or in biodegradable material formulations.

Among these polymers, proteins extracted from vegetables (pea, soy, wheat, sunflower, rice, barley, oat) have demonstrated good functional and amphiphilic properties such as water solubility, gelling properties, emulsifying and foaming capacity.

Vegetable proteins represent an excellent wall-forming material due to their good film-forming and barrier properties, capability for adhesion and resistance to oils and organic solvents.


The aim of the present work was to propose a new application for sunflower proteins (SP) as wall material for microencapsulation, more specifically for α-tocopherol (T, used as a hydrophobic molecule model) microparticle preparation. The effect of SP modifications on their microencapsulation properties compared to native proteins was evaluated. Proteinic chains were modified by enzymatic hydrolysis (from 6% to 24%) and/or N-acylation (fatty acid chain length of 8, 12 or 16 carbon atoms). Modified and native proteins were then used for T encapsulation with the spray-drying technique. In the context of "green" chemistry, all preparations and modifications were carried out without use of chemical catalysts, surfactants or organic solvents (Aider, 2010; Vilkhu, Mawson, Simons, & Bates, 2008) . Influence of SP structural modifications on emulsion properties (viscosity, oil droplet size), microencapsulation efficiency, size and morphology of microparticles obtained, was particularly investigated. In order to increase the T proportion in microparticles, different wall material/ active core ratios were also tested.

In the context of "green" chemistry, all preparations and modifications were carried out without use of chemical catalysts, surfactants or organic solvents.


Sunflower proteins represent the major component of oil cake after sunflower oil extraction. The defatted sunflower flour consists of about 20-40% crude protein, this value being highly dependent on sunflower variety and extraction conditions. In proteins extracted from sunflower seeds, four fractions are mainly present: globulins range from 40 to 90%, albumins account for about 10-30% of total proteins and the two fractions glutelins and prolamins are present in minor quantities (Gonzalez-Perez & Vereijken, 2007) . In contrast to soybean proteins, which are widely used in food and non-food applications, sunflower proteins are mainly used for animal feed. The principal limitation of sunflower extracts for food applications is the presence of relatively high amounts of phenolic compounds, especially chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid, which affect protein quality. Nevertheless, in recent years, interest in improving the production of phenolic free sunflower protein compounds has increased significantly (Pickardt et al., 2009; Salgado et al., 2012) . This agricultural by-product with reduced phenolic component content could be useful for food applications because sunflower proteins, like soybean proteins, possess interesting functional and physico-chemical properties such as solubility, emulsifying, foaming and gelling capacities (Gonzalez-Perez & Vereijken, 2007; Gonzalez-Perez, Vereijken, Koningsveld, Gruppen, & Voragen, 2005; Molina, Petruccelli, & Anon, 2004; Patino et al., 2007) .

In proteins extracted from sunflower seeds, four fractions are mainly present: globulins range from 40 to 90%, albumins account for about 10-30% of total proteins and the two fractions glutelins and prolamins are present in minor quantities.

Nevertheless, in recent years, interest in improving the production of phenolic free sunflower protein compounds has increased significantly.

This agricultural by-product with reduced phenolic component content could be useful for food applications because sunflower proteins, like soybean proteins, possess interesting functional and physico-chemical properties such as solubility, emulsifying, foaming and gelling capacities.


From our perspective, it would be particularly interesting to investigate how narcissists' envious reactions develop over time and how they affect their social life in the long term. An interesting question for future research can be derived from the NARC . According to this model, the social outcomes of narcissism-social potency and conflict-feed back into narcissists' motivational dynamics as an ego boost or an ego threat. If benign and malicious envy are emotional processes contributing to the social consequences of narcissistic admiration and rivalry as suggested here, they should also have longitudinal boosting or threatening effects themselves. Even though equally frustrating in the situation, benign envy prompts upward directed action aimed at improving the personal outcome (Lange & Crusius, 2015a , 2015b Van de Ven et al., 2011) . Thus, if successful, it might lead to overall higher status and possibly more positive affect over time. In contrast, even if malicious envy is a functional response in the sense that it may reduce frustration immediately after a confrontation with an upward comparison standard, it might be disadvantageous over longer periods of time. Therefore, the continuing status decrement might foster negative affect in the long run and therefore pose a more continuous ego threat.

Even though equally frustrating in the situation, benign envy prompts upward directed action aimed at improving the personal outcome.


We proceeded by testing the effects on self-and peerrated social perception with structural equation modelling. To control for dyadic non-independence of our data, we ran two mediated actor partner interdependence models, one for the predictions of the self perceptions of social potency and conflict and one for the predictions of the peer perceptions (Kenny, Kashy, & Cook, 2006; Ledermann & Bodenmann, 2006) . As we tested almost the same initial model for self and peer perceptions, we first describe the general structure of these models and subsequently proceed to the results of each model separately.

To control for dyadic non-independence of our data, we ran two mediated actor partner interdependence models, one for the predictions of the self perceptions of social potency and conflict and one for the predictions of the peer perceptions.


Participants Two hundred and thirty workers from MTurk participated in the first part of Study 3, in which we measured only their narcissistic propensities. Approximately one week later, we invited the same group of participants to the second part of Study 3, in which we presented them with an upward comparison standard. Of the original sample, 209 participants followed the invitation which amounts to a response rate of 91%. One of these participants indicated in the first part that we should not use the data and was therefore excluded (Meade & Craig, 2012) . Thus, the final sample included 208 participants with a mean age of 31.75 years (SD = 9.55; range: 19-67). One hundred twenty-three participants were male.

One of these participants indicated in the first part that we should not use the data and was therefore excluded.


We included indirect effects from narcissistic admiration via dispositional benign envy to social potency and from narcissistic rivalry via dispositional malicious envy to social conflict. In a first very strict model, we did not include direct effects from narcissistic admiration to social potency and from narcissistic rivalry to social conflict as our predictions pertained to indirect effects. However, as argued above, we added paths from narcissistic rivalry to social potency and from dispositional benign envy to social conflict. All corresponding means, intercepts, and (co)variances were set equal between partners to specify the model for indistinguishable partners (Kenny et al., 2006) . In addition, we allowed for actor and partner effects in both models. Although, we only hypothesized actor effects in the model for self perceptions and partner effects in the model for peer perceptions, we specified the full actor-partner pattern, to control for potential confounds of intrapersonal effects with interpersonal effects and vice versa. There were only two additional paths in the peer perception model. We added paths from narcissistic admiration and rivalry from one partner to peer-rated social potency and conflict of the other partner, although, as stated above, we did not include the direct effects of the partner's own narcissism facets on the corresponding social outcome. This was reasonable as the other partner rated the social outcome whereby his or her personality might have biased this judgment (Table 5) . Thus, even in the absence of direct effects, this potential bias needed to be controlled. The full model that we initially tested for self and peer perceptions can be found in the APPENDIX ( Figure A6 ).

All corresponding means, intercepts, and (co)variances were set equal between partners to specify the model for indistinguishable partners.


To test our focal predictions, we used structural equation modelling. In a first strict path model, we tested only the paths from narcissistic admiration via personal control to benign envy and from narcissistic rivalry via deservingness to malicious envy, representing our essential hypotheses. The model fit was insufficient, χ 2 (8) = 59.22, p < .001, CFI = .83, and RMSEA = .166, CI 95% [.128; .207] . However, it is reasonable to expect direct effects of narcissistic admiration and rivalry on benign and malicious envy as appraisals of personal control and deservingness are not necessarily the only possible mechanisms. For instance, the needs for prestige and for dominance underlying narcissistic admiration and rivalry could also directly contribute to envy, as these are connected to the envy forms (Lange & Crusius, 2015b) . Furthermore, based on the reasoning above and in line with the zero-order correlations, we expected small relations between appraisals of personal control and deservingness with malicious and benign envy, respectively. Therefore, in a more lenient model, we added direct paths from narcissistic admiration to benign envy and narcissistic rivalry to malicious envy. Additionally, we added paths from personal control to malicious envy and from deservingness to benign envy.

For instance, the needs for prestige and for dominance underlying narcissistic admiration and rivalry could also directly contribute to envy, as these are connected to the envy forms.


In fish farming, rearing constraints were shown to affect the economic impact of selective breeding for growth because the management strategy must be adapted to fit the change in fish performances (Besson et al., 2014) . In case of sea cage farming, increasing growth will change the oxygen requirement at both individual and cage level which would imply changes in stocking management. Similarly to pasture growth in sheep farming, temperature conditions might affect the economic value of traits differently according to the location, with potential implications on the definition of breeding objectives. To our knowledge, the impact of temperature profiles on the economic impact of genetic improvement in cage farming has never been studied.

In fish farming, rearing constraints were shown to affect the economic impact of selective breeding for growth because the management strategy must be adapted to fit the change in fish performances.


Evolved spiking neural networks have been used in the last few years for the control of simulated or real robots, but more rarely than other types of neural networks [8, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 9, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 10, 11, 25, 26, 27] . Among previous evolutionary studies, only one explored the properties of a plastic spiking neural network [18, 9, 19] . Very few studies used spiking neural controllers for embodied agents that were not evolved, but were taught using other learning methods [28, 29, 30, 31, 32] .

Evolved spiking neural networks have been used in the last few years for the control of simulated or real robots, but more rarely than other types of neural networks.

Among previous evolutionary studies, only one explored the properties of a plastic spiking neural network.

Very few studies used spiking neural controllers for embodied agents that were not evolved, but were taught using other learning methods.


Genuine, creative artificial intelligence can emerge only in embodied agents, capable of cognitive development and learning by interacting with their environment [1] . Before the start of the learning process, the agents need to have some innate (predefined) drives or reflexes that can induce the exploration of the environment. Otherwise, the agents might not do anything once emerged in their environment, and learning would not be possible. In the experiments presented in this paper, we evolve a basic drive for a simple simulated agent that is able to interact with the objects in its environment. This drive could be used in future research to bootstrap the ontogenetic cognitive development of the agent.

Genuine, creative artificial intelligence can emerge only in embodied agents, capable of cognitive development and learning by interacting with their environment.


Artificial neural network (ANN) models were shown to closely match performance of array models in PV systems (Riley and Venayagamoorthy, 2011) . This learning technique is requiring only basic system monitoring hardware. Advantages of using the ANN in PV health monitoring system are: no need for a priori information of the system components or topology to accurately model the output power, it can monitor the degradation of the system over its lifetime, it can indicate catastrophic failures by monitoring the degradation rate.

Artificial neural network (ANN) models were shown to closely match performance of array models in PV systems.


Knowledge on the abundance of fish stocks and exploited ecosystems is obtained primarily by analysing commercial catch data and from research vessel surveys, the second source providing a wider scope of biological data. Neverteheless, the results of bottom trawl surveys are also inherent variables. Some of the variability is associated with the natural patterns in distribution and behaviour of the population sampled by the trawl gear (Godø, 1994) .

Some of the variability is associated with the natural patterns in distribution and behaviour of the population sampled by the trawl gear.


Additional variability is introduced by survey protocols (Byrne et al., 1981) . An important part of the measurement variability is due to the performances of the gear. Indeed, the trawl is a very complex tool, sensitive to a lot of factors linked with the vessel, the operating procedure and the environment of the gear (bottom sediment, current, depth, etc.) .

Additional variability is introduced by survey protocols.


The purpose of the study was to manufacture PLA-based nanofibrous nonwovens that were modified using two types of modifiers, namely, GEL-based nanofibres and CNT. We wanted to verify if the GEL fibrous component affects the biocompatibility and hydrophobicity of the resulting PLA/GEL hybrid structure obtained by means of co-ES technique. So far, such a research related to the hybrid structure consisting of two fibrous components has not yet been made. Most of studies investigated PLA/GEL composite fibrous structures in the form of blends [18, 19] . Unlike so far manufactured PLA and GEL scaffolds, either sequentially or from blends, our mats (nonwovens) were cospun and consisted of two independent fibrous components. The sequential method produces a layered structure, while fibres electrospun from the blends create mats composed of one type of composite fibres/nanofibres. The purpose of the work was also to investigate whether the co-ES process involves the interaction of both polymers during nanofibres forming, which may alter the properties of the base component, that is, PLA. The CNT component was used as a nanomodifier of the PLA nanofibres, to determine its impact on the biological and mechanical properties of the hybrid substrate. Two kinds of hybrid mats were manufactured, namely, PLA/GEL and PLA + CNT/GEL and for comparison one-component-(PLA-) based mats and PLA + CNT-based mats. The potential of such hybrid fibrous materials was discussed in terms of their use as scaffolds in tissue engineering.

Most of studies investigated PLA/GEL composite fibrous structures in the form of blends.


Two different sources of polymer solutions enabled using a larger number of potential modifiers and can also be obtained in the further gradient structure with a controlled phase system. The 3-dimensional hybrid structures manufactured by electroforming developed here may provide scaffolds for repair of cartilage defects, able to replace the natural extracellular matrix, for bone tissue regeneration and for nerve tissue regeneration. It was found that by adding 1% wt CNT significant change in electrical properties can be obtained, that is, from dielectric properties of pure PLA to semiconducting material PLA + CNT [24] . Such fibrous 3D structures can also assure integrity and stability between a newly formed tissue and the host tissue. The results presented here also encourage further investigation of the combination of nanofibrous components, that is, by using PLA nanofibres modified with functionalised CNTs and GEL-based fibrous components.

It was found that by adding 1% wt CNT significant change in electrical properties can be obtained, that is, from dielectric properties of pure PLA to semiconducting material PLA + CNT.


The aim to modify the structure of the polymer nanofibre using the CNTs was to develop a substrate comprising the active substance in chondrogenesis. Several results confirm the hypothesis that the carbon component may act as chondrogenic material [51, 52] . Carbon materials, including carbon fibres and carbon nanotubes, have been successfully used in the treatment of cartilage defects. In the experiments Journal of Nanomaterials conducted here, the CNT were added to functionalise polymer nanofibres and to modify their mechanical and biological properties. Comparative results of pure PLA and modified nanofibres have confirmed that the presence of CNT changes their mechanical characteristics and improves the strength and Young's modulus. PLA nanofibres are degraded in a biological environment and over time can be expected to expose the surface of CNT that can participate in the process of regeneration of tissue. The exposed CNT can induce regenerative processes, depending on the intended use, in bone, nervous, or cartilage tissue. In addition, polymeric fibrous scaffolds with a specific orientation of nanofibres may favour directional cell growth [24, 46] . The biological test showed that the nanofibres containing the carbon nanotubes were not toxic. Their presence in PLA nanofibres also modifies the electrical properties. Electrical conductivity is an important property in tissue regeneration, that is, for nerve tissue engineering by stimulating neurite growth [42, 43] . Various polymer nanofibres including PLA can be functionalised to make them electrically conductive to stimulate neurite elongation. For this purpose, PLA modified with CNTs and gelatin results in obtaining conductive hybrid nanofibres, supporting the proliferation and differentiation of NHOst.

Several results confirm the hypothesis that the carbon component may act as chondrogenic material.

In addition, polymeric fibrous scaffolds with a specific orientation of nanofibres may favour directional cell growth.

Electrical conductivity is an important property in tissue regeneration, that is, for nerve tissue engineering by stimulating neurite growth.


Experiments conducted by numerous workers have shown that the degree and type of functionalisation strongly affects CNT cytotoxicity [45, 46, 48] . Here, the cells were incubated on electrospun nonwoven mats for a relatively short time; hence, some effects could not have been visible. It is probable that, during a longer cell culture, the PLA matrix could begin to degrade and release CNT, affecting the results of the tests performed.

Experiments conducted by numerous workers have shown that the degree and type of functionalisation strongly affects CNT cytotoxicity.


From measurements, it was established a characteristic function to demonstrate the behavior of the speed of sound in soybean oil as a function of temperature (4) . The temperature measurement uncertainty was also calculated and depicted in Table 2 . By analyzing the measurement uncertainty values it is possible to verify that the relative uncertainty of the temperature is higher than the relative uncertainty of the velocity of propagation. However, this uncertainty does not influence significantly the temperature measurement efficiency. Table 3 shows the linear regression parameters of the characteristic function that relates the speed of sound in soybean oil and temperature, with respective standard deviation. Assessing the variation coefficient values, one can suggest that the data set is homogeneous.

From measurements, it was established a characteristic function to demonstrate the behavior of the speed of sound in soybean oil as a function of temperature.


Cadmium is a known carcinogen and is one of the components of tobacco [7] . It has been proved quantitatively that exposure to cigarette smoke is harmful to both active and passive smokers. It can cause alterations in the enzymatic, renal, respiratory and digestive systems, with a very long half-life. Smokers may absorb amounts comparable to normal daily intake in the diet, i.e. from 0.1 to 0.2 mg inhaled cadmium per cigarette, with absorption of approximately 50%.

Cadmium is a known carcinogen and is one of the components of tobacco.


Although the principal purpose of filters is to absorb some of the harmful chemicals of tobacco smoke, a filter has its own chemicals that affect smokers and the environment. Nowadays, butts or cigarette filters are the main source of waste in the world, discarding on average 4.5 trillion cigarette butts each year [6] . Due to they are made of acetate, a non-biodegradable material, they remain long time in the environment being a potential source of contamination. When smokers do not discard cigarette butts properly, the butts can end up in water systems, where they pollute the water by leaking out the toxically substances they were designed to retain and preconcentrate.

Nowadays, butts or cigarette filters are the main source of waste in the world, discarding on average 4.5 trillion cigarette butts each year.


This problem is related to some classical problems of set-valued analysis. First, it is a special case of the selection problem which is sufficiently common for various applications [11] . In particular it is quite close to the celebrated problem of parametrization of set-valued mappings [2, 6, 8] .

First, it is a special case of the selection problem which is sufficiently common for various applications.

In particular it is quite close to the celebrated problem of parametrization of set-valued mappings.


There is a lot of interest in the search of gravitational waves produced during inflation. Discovery of such gravitational waves would be tremendously important not only as an additional confirmation of inflationary theory, but also as a direct confirmation of predictions of quantum gravity at enormous energies. But even a non-discovery of inflationary gravitational waves would be very important since it would rule out large families of inflationary models. It already played this role by ruling out the simplest model with the quadratic potential m 2 2 ϕ 2 , and by ruling out or placing under pressure many other popular inflationary models [1] .

It already played this role by ruling out the simplest model with the quadratic potential m 2 2 ϕ 2 , and by ruling out or placing under pressure many other popular inflationary models.


Even though the definitions A, B and C are related to each other, they have very different meaning. For example, the definition A is most important for investigation of general problems of inflationary cosmology, such as the problem of initial conditions for inflation. Indeed, it is much easier to solve this problem if inflation may occur at ϕ 1 [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] . But one can have ϕ 1 at the beginning of inflation, and ϕ 1 during the last 60 e-foldings. This means that the same theory can describe large field inflation according to A, and small field inflation according to B.

Indeed, it is much easier to solve this problem if inflation may occur at ϕ 1.


One can analyze these issues using various phenomenological parametrizations of energy density or slow roll parameters in terms of the number of e-foldings N [12] [13] [14] [15] . But any parametrization is good only if the corresponding inflationary theory is well motivated [16] . Therefore one may prefer to start directly with the theories, trying to find compelling models describing tensor modes with r 10 −2 under the Planck constraints on n s , and avoiding models requiring lots of fine-tuning.

One can analyze these issues using various phenomenological parametrizations of energy density or slow roll parameters in terms of the number of e-foldings N.

But any parametrization is good only if the corresponding inflationary theory is well motivated.


As for the characteristic scale of inflation M , we found that for a broad class of α-attractors it is directly related to r and also to the geometry of the moduli space of α-attractors. It is super-Planckian, M > 1, if r > 8/N 2 ∼ 2.6 × 10 −3 . An important property of this scale is that the coupling constants of the canonically normalized inflaton field ϕ to all other fields are exponentially suppressed by the factor of e −ϕ/M for ϕ M [27] . Therefore instead of the strong coupling regime with the UV cutoff M , one has asymptotic freedom at φ M .

An important property of this scale is that the coupling constants of the canonically normalized inflaton field ϕ to all other fields are exponentially suppressed by the factor of e −ϕ/M for ϕ M.


Nonetheless, detecting an ultrahigh-energy (UHE) neutrino does not guarantee the identification of an UHECR "accelerator". Since there is no horizon for high-energy neutrino propagation (unlike for gamma-rays or cosmic-rays), it is likely that a range of astrophysical objects will lie within the solid angle associated with a detected neutrino, making it difficult to determine the actual source. Source catalogs obtained by electromagnetic observations could be helpful, but high-energy catalogs are usually incomplete due to flux limitations. It is also uncertain that all the events are from the same type of source. A more robust way of finding the UHE sources would be to identify the bright sources on top of a diffuse background. As in traditional astronomy, implications of a point-source search have been studied in the literature of neutrino astronomy [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] . Importantly, in the UHE range, the atmospheric neutrino background can be safely neglected. Thus, the success of such a search depends on the angular resolution and sensitivity of the detectors, but also on the source population luminosity density (or energy budget) and emissivity history.

As in traditional astronomy, implications of a point-source search have been studied in the literature of neutrino astronomy.


In addition, the driver's resulting acceleration after the TOR is a useful measure of the take-over control quality, reflecting the force that the car tyre has to transfer to the ground. If this reaches the physical limit, where the maximum values of the braking manoeuvres centred on the car tyre are around 11m/s², the driving is considered to be unstable and dangerous [25] . The parameter is calculated as according to the maximum longitudinal acceleration and lateral acceleration, as equation (2) indicates.

If this reaches the physical limit, where the maximum values of the braking manoeuvres centred on the car tyre are around 11m/s², the driving is considered to be unstable and dangerous.


Moreover, the number of collisions and critical encounters (CCE) were used to assess the effectiveness of the take-over behaviour. The total number of collisions that a participant had in each test was recorded, including colliding to the stationary car as well as driving off the road. The critical encounter is defined as any take-over behaviour with the threshold value of a minimum TTC less than 1.5s [24] .

The critical encounter is defined as any take-over behaviour with the threshold value of a minimum TTC less than 1.5s.


This research adopted a 2 × 2 × 4 between-and withinsubjects mixed factor experimental design. The betweensubjects independent variables are age (younger, older) and road type (city road, motorway). The within-subjects independent variables is weather (clear weather, rain, snow and fog). An overview of the experimental design is shown in Table 2 . The following dependent variables (see Table 3 ) have been adopted. Participants' take-over performance is measured by the time aspects of take-over and take-over quality. Firstly, the time aspects of take-over include reaction time, take-over time and indicator time. Reaction time refers to the time between the take-over control request (TOR) and the point when drivers change back to the manual driving position. The manual driving position is the position when subjects' eyes on the road, hands on the steering wheel and feet on the pedals. It measures how fast subjects respond to the TOR from conducting the reading task. Take-over time is the time between the TOR and the driver's conscious input to the vehicle. The latter has been previously defined as a manoeuvre of the steering wheel angle of 2 degrees and/or 10% movement of accelerator or brake pedal positions [23] . Indicator time refers to the time between the TOR and driver's input of indicator signal for lane change. It measures how fast subjects begin to change lane to avoid the stationary car.

The latter has been previously defined as a manoeuvre of the steering wheel angle of 2 degrees and/or 10% movement of accelerator or brake pedal positions.


In the cases of the non-magnetic material stator core or the coreless stator, the hysteresis and eddy current stator losses, the cogging torque is eliminated and the rotor core losses and acoustic noise are reduced [13, 14] . Furthermore, the weight of the machine is reduced and the axial magnetic attractive forces between stator and rotor, at no load are non-existent. The aforementioned forces can cause problems at the construction and when the air gap length is not equal between each rotor and the stator in the multiple air-gap machine topologies. On the other hand, with the use of a coreless stator, the winding inductances become smaller and stronger or larger permanent magnets are needed to produce the same magnetic field.

In the cases of the non-magnetic material stator core or the coreless stator, the hysteresis and eddy current stator losses, the cogging torque is eliminated and the rotor core losses and acoustic noise are reduced.


Compared to the Radial Flux Synchronous Machines, the AFPMSMs offer advantages in certain applications. They have a compact and robust structure, the length of the air-gap is small, their volume is limited and their efficiency and power-to-weight ratio are high. They consist of several modules, which can be adjusted to power or torque requirements [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] . The number of permanent magnets can be large, making these machines suitable for high frequency or low speed applications such as electric vehicle traction or ship propulsion drives and wind power generation. They can also be directly coupled to low-speed turbines, wind, or hydro turbines, thus the use of gear-boxes, which is maintenance demanding is avoided and the system becomes lighter, less noisy, and more efficient [12] .

They consist of several modules, which can be adjusted to power or torque requirements.

They can also be directly coupled to low-speed turbines, wind, or hydro turbines, thus the use of gear-boxes, which is maintenance demanding is avoided and the system becomes lighter, less noisy, and more efficient.


The terminal velocities of seeds were measured using a cylindrical air column (Yalçın, 2007; Üçer et al., 2010) . For each experiment, the sample was dropped into the air stream from the top of the air column, up which air was blown to suspend the material in the air stream. The air velocity near the location of the seed suspension was measured by a hot wire anemometer having a least count of 0.01 m s -1 .

The terminal velocities of seeds were measured using a cylindrical air column.


In our opinion, the continuity of / is not indispensable for designing an algorithm to solve the equation (1) . A more reasonable concept for numerical analysis should be the approximation. In fact, many discontinuous mappings are "approximatable". We consider the following examples: Example 1.1. X = T = R, y = 0 and (3) /(x) = {x ifx>0. In Example 1.1, / is only right-continuous at x = 0 ; in Example 1.2, / is not even one-sidedly continuous at x = 0. Nevertheless, for these two functions, the approximation to x is possible, because there always exists a sequence {xk} of points of continuity of / such that lim xk = x and lim f(xk) = f(x) k-*oo k-*oo and it is possible to approximate points of continuity of /. It is natural to define an approximatable mapping /: X -> Y by the approximatability of all the points (x, f(x)) in the graph of /. The first aim of this paper is to prove that any approximatable mapping is robust, and that under some mild hypotheses, the converse is also valid. This amounts to saying that in a suitable setting the concept of robust mappings is actually equivalent to that of approximatable mappings. This affirmation greatly justifies the notion of robustness.

In our opinion, the continuity of / is not indispensable for designing an algorithm to solve the equation.


The separate question, which remained outside our discussion, is the account of direst Coulomb repulsion. In standard Eliashberg -McMillan theory, in adiabatic approximation, when the frequency of phonons is orders of magnitude smaller, than Fermi energy, this repulsion enters via Coulomb pseudopotential µ ⋆ , which is significantly suppressed by Tolmachev logarithm [2] . In antiadiabatic situation this mechanism of suppression does not operate, which creates additional difficulties for realization of superconductivity. In general, the problem of the possible role of Coulomb repulsion in antiadiabatic regime of electron -phonon coupling deserves serious further studies.

In standard Eliashberg -McMillan theory, in adiabatic approximation, when the frequency of phonons is orders of magnitude smaller, than Fermi energy, this repulsion enters via Coulomb pseudopotential µ ⋆ , which is significantly suppressed by Tolmachev logarithm.


Tamoxifen, an antagonist of the estrogen receptor (ER), is a therapeutic agent currently used for the breast cancer patients with ER positive tumors [1] [2] [3] . During the past decades, the use of tamoxifen has significantly improved disease free survival and overall survival of breast cancer patients [1] [2] [3] [4] . However, intrinsic or acquired tamoxifen resistance is still a major cause of therapeutic failure, leading to cancer recurrence and cancer related death [1, 5, 6] . Therefore, investigation into the molecular mechanism of tamoxifen resistance is warranted.

Tamoxifen, an antagonist of the estrogen receptor (ER), is a therapeutic agent currently used for the breast cancer patients with ER positive tumors.

During the past decades, the use of tamoxifen has significantly improved disease free survival and overall survival of breast cancer patients.

However, intrinsic or acquired tamoxifen resistance is still a major cause of therapeutic failure, leading to cancer recurrence and cancer related death.


Landfills constitute a potential risk to the quality of receiving water bodies, such as surface water or groundwater [2] [3] [4] 9] . For this reason, MSW landfills have been identified as one of the major threats to groundwater resources [10] . The impact of landfill leachate on the surface and groundwater has given rise to a number of studies in recent years [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] .

Landfills constitute a potential risk to the quality of receiving water bodies, such as surface water or groundwater.

For this reason, MSW landfills have been identified as one of the major threats to groundwater resources.

The impact of landfill leachate on the surface and groundwater has given rise to a number of studies in recent years.


Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is one of the most widely used tumor markers in medicine and has been intensively studied in clinical analysis. Serum from individuals with gastrointestinal cancers often has higher levels of CEA than healthy individuals [1] [2] [3] . CEA levels may also be raised in pancreatic carcinoma, lung carcinoma, breast carcinoma and ovarian carcinoma [4] [5] [6] [7] . CEA levels over 20 ng/ml are usually associated with patients having cancer in the metastatic state [8] . Therefore, the detection of CEA has great significance for the diagnosis and prognosis of cancer, especially at an early stage of the disease. Currently, chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent immunoassay (ELISA) have been generally used for the detection of CEA in the clinical field. Both of them are laboratory-based techniques and inevitably suffer from some shortcomings, such as sample labeling, large volume, high expense, and complicated configurations. With regards to this, a rapid, label-free, low-cost, and sensitive diagnostic tool is quite in demand for CEA detection.

Serum from individuals with gastrointestinal cancers often has higher levels of CEA than healthy individuals.

CEA levels may also be raised in pancreatic carcinoma, lung carcinoma, breast carcinoma and ovarian carcinoma.

CEA levels over 20 ng/ml are usually associated with patients having cancer in the metastatic state.


The serum hormone levels of FSH were significantly higher on cycle days 7 and 9 in the CD4 group compared with the CD2 group. A possible explanation is that the peak FSH concentration is reached 2 days after administration of corifollitropin alfa (Fauser et al., 2010) . Accordingly, the peak FSH concentration in the CD4 group will be reached on cycle day 6 when compared with cycle day 4 in the CD2 group. By combining the rise in endogenous FSH and the administration of exogenous FSH only 2 days later in the follicular phase, FSH levels will remain above the threshold, keeping the FSH window open and will rescue a supplementary cohort of follicles from atresia (Fauser and Van Heusden, 1997) .

A possible explanation is that the peak FSH concentration is reached 2 days after administration of corifollitropin alfa.

By combining the rise in endogenous FSH and the administration of exogenous FSH only 2 days later in the follicular phase, FSH levels will remain above the threshold, keeping the FSH window open and will rescue a supplementary cohort of follicles from atresia.


Historical aerial photographs from archives offer a valuable, but less exploited, source of information about how landscapes have developed. The fact that aerial photography has been used for more than a hundred years resulting in repeated coverage of entire regions provides an ideal basis for investigations on landscape changes [14] . Even though this is a fairly disregarded approach to landscape studies, good examples exist to indicate the potential information that multi-temporal studies of aerial photographs offer [15] , [16] , [17] .

The fact that aerial photography has been used for more than a hundred years resulting in repeated coverage of entire regions provides an ideal basis for investigations on landscape changes.

Even though this is a fairly disregarded approach to landscape studies, good examples exist to indicate the potential information that multi-temporal studies of aerial photographs offer.


It was not possible to determine σ d . The minimum resolvable current in our apparatus, 10 fA, exceeded the dark currents in both CLN and MgOLN, so it was not possible to measure the dark conductivities with the maximum bias voltages available. The upper limit for σ d in our measurements was σ d ≤ 5 × 10 −16 ðΩ cmÞ −1 . This observation is consistent with other determinations of σ d for the dark conductivities for MgO:LN [30] .

It was not possible to determine σ d .

This observation is consistent with other determinations of σ d for the dark conductivities for MgO:LN.


This led us to the question if pyroelectrically induced PRD can be observed in MgO:LN, even though it is known to show no conventional bulk-photovoltaic PRD, by choosing a suitable light intensity and creating a pyroelectric field [9] [10] [11] [12] . Another open question was why damage was not observed in CLN under similar conditions. In this paper we will first explore theoretically if pyroelectrically induced PRD is possible in MgO:LN. Therefore, we will examine the problem in one dimension and then extend the model to two dimensions in order to simulate more realistic experimental conditions. Second, we will also discuss the impact of our model on nonlinear optical applications, such as beam self-heating and inhibition of pyroelectrically induced PRD in MgO:LN. Finally, we will present experimental data in order to test our theoretical model.

This led us to the question if pyroelectrically induced PRD can be observed in MgO:LN, even though it is known to show no conventional bulk-photovoltaic PRD, by choosing a suitable light intensity and creating a pyroelectric field.


Structured patterns are patterns represented in terms of simple parts, often called primitives, and relations among them [1] . They are generally represented by means of Attributed Relational Graphs (ARG's), e.g. associating the nodes and the edges respectively to the primitives and to the relations among them. If necessary, their properties are represented by attributes both of the nodes and of the edges.

Structured patterns are patterns represented in terms of simple parts, often called primitives, and relations among them.


The HPA (high power amplifiers) based on GaN reliabilities are directly dependent on the maximum operating channel temperature. Therefore, self-heating is a severe problem and is still a limiting factor for device reliability. As such, an accurate estimate for the channel temperature is needed [13, 14] . In addition to the self-heating effect which occurs in the single finger HEMT, a considered thermal-coupling effect among the neighboring fingers appears in multi-fingers transistors, therefore the thermal analysis becomes more accurate.

As such, an accurate estimate for the channel temperature is needed.


AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors grown on SiC substrate have recently been reported and have developed microwave applications with revealed power densities as high power dissipated exceeding 40 W/mm [5] [6] [7] . SiC have the best physical and electrical properties such as a thermal conductivity of (330-490 W/m·K), high electron saturation velocity (2.7 × 10 7 cm/s) and high breakdown electric field (up to 3 × 10 6 V/cm). Its wide band-gap makes it a more suitable substrate to be used for very high temperature operations (up to 600 • C) than Silicon (200 • C). Its high thermal conductivity allows these high-power densities to be efficiently dissipated for realistic drain efficiencies to prevent the extreme channel temperatures that would occur due to self-heating with other substrates technologies [8, 9] . Moreover, TBR (thermal boundary resistance) at the GaN-substrate interface has an important role in self-heating effects. It is better to have low value, but also to have a realistic temperature-dependent thermal boundary resistance (TBR) between the GaN layer and SiC substrate [10] . TBR accounts for a large portion of the channel temperature, which may cause about a 100 K rise in the vertical temperature distribution of the device [11] . Furthermore, as any semiconductor component when GaN HEMTs operate at high power density negative factor appears; localized self-heating in the conducting channel with 2DEG limits the output highest power density and decreases its reliability. The mobility reduces while increasing the temperature as (1/T) 2/3 , resulting in DC and RF performance and creating small high temperature regions called hotspots which can significantly worsen the output characteristic of the HEMT [12] .

AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors grown on SiC substrate have recently been reported and have developed microwave applications with revealed power densities as high power dissipated exceeding 40 W/mm.

Its high thermal conductivity allows these high-power densities to be efficiently dissipated for realistic drain efficiencies to prevent the extreme channel temperatures that would occur due to self-heating with other substrates technologies.

It is better to have low value, but also to have a realistic temperature-dependent thermal boundary resistance (TBR) between the GaN layer and SiC substrate.

TBR accounts for a large portion of the channel temperature, which may cause about a 100 K rise in the vertical temperature distribution of the device.

The mobility reduces while increasing the temperature as (1/T) 2/3 , resulting in DC and RF performance and creating small high temperature regions called hotspots which can significantly worsen the output characteristic of the HEMT.


The DSM-IV-TR criteria for a diagnosis of RD requires that an individual's reading achievement scores must be significantly lower than their overall level of intelligence as measured by an individually administered intelligence test [8] . However, the criteria used to classify a child for special education services based on a reading disability vary from state to state. Ideally, when assessing for RD an individual should be tested on the following skills: sight identification of letters and words, nonsense word decoding, spelling, reading comprehension, and reading fluency [6] . However, at the present time there are no individual tests or battery of tests designed specifically to evaluate for RD. Instead, examiners are required to develop their own assessment battery that includes measures of the necessary reading related skills [6] . Although examiners can diagnose RD by integrating the results of several measures, there is a need to develop a more comprehensive, valid, and objective method of diagnosing RD [9] .

The DSM-IV-TR criteria for a diagnosis of RD requires that an individual's reading achievement scores must be significantly lower than their overall level of intelligence as measured by an individually administered intelligence test.

Ideally, when assessing for RD an individual should be tested on the following skills: sight identification of letters and words, nonsense word decoding, spelling, reading comprehension, and reading fluency.

Instead, examiners are required to develop their own assessment battery that includes measures of the necessary reading related skills.

Although examiners can diagnose RD by integrating the results of several measures, there is a need to develop a more comprehensive, valid, and objective method of diagnosing RD.


RD is a biologically based learning disorder that frequently runs in families and interferes with reading, writing, and spelling performance [6] . RD is characterized by difficulties in several areas of reading including decoding and spelling difficulties, comprehension problems, and deficits in phonological processing [7] . RD often affects a child's academic achievement and performance on other activities that require reading skills. Children with RD also exhibit distortions, substitutions, and omissions when reading aloud and silently [1] . Although symptoms of RD may be evident as early as kindergarten, it is rarely diagnosed before the first grade due to variations in when children begin acquiring reading skills.

RD is a biologically based learning disorder that frequently runs in families and interferes with reading, writing, and spelling performance.

RD is characterized by difficulties in several areas of reading including decoding and spelling difficulties, comprehension problems, and deficits in phonological processing.

Children with RD also exhibit distortions, substitutions, and omissions when reading aloud and silently.


Consistent with previous research, children with RD displayed longer fixations and slower reading speed as compared to Controls [18] . Examining the eye movement patterns of children with ADHD on reading tasks is a relatively new area of study. Therefore, it is difficult to determine whether the results of the current study suggest- ing a significantly lower proportion of left to right saccades in ADHD children compared to children in a Control group is characteristic of all children with ADHD or whether this finding is specific to the current study.

Consistent with previous research, children with RD displayed longer fixations and slower reading speed as compared to Controls.


EndoREZ is a methacrylate resin-based sealer with adhesive properties. Since it is hydrophilic and flowable, it can penetrate into the dentinal tubules [19] . The highly unfavorable cavity configuration of the root canal, however, results in excessive polymerization stresses within the material. This could lead to the formation of gaps, caused by the detachment of the sealer from dentin or from the obturation cone [20] . The distribution and dimensional patterns of these gaps are yet unknown. Their discontinuity along the root canal could provide an explanation for the similar performance of the methacrylate resin-based sealer specimens in comparison to the [21] . They present good dimensional stability and undergo limited polymerization shrinkage [9] . This could be attributed to their molecular structure as well as to their pattern of polymerization. The lower crosslink density in the epoxy molecules compared to the UDMA limits the number of crosslink network formation and thus polymerization shrinkage [22] . Also, epoxy molecules contain an oxirane ring. The ring opening during polymerization lowers shrinkage, while the delayed consumption of the reactive species could provide stress relaxation [23] . They are, therefore, often used as a gold standard to which other sealers could be compared.

Since it is hydrophilic and flowable, it can penetrate into the dentinal tubules.

This could lead to the formation of gaps, caused by the detachment of the sealer from dentin or from the obturation cone.

Their discontinuity along the root canal could provide an explanation for the similar performance of the methacrylate resin-based sealer specimens in comparison to the.

They present good dimensional stability and undergo limited polymerization shrinkage.

The lower crosslink density in the epoxy molecules compared to the UDMA limits the number of crosslink network formation and thus polymerization shrinkage.

The ring opening during polymerization lowers shrinkage, while the delayed consumption of the reactive species could provide stress relaxation.


Hydroxyapatite ceramics are found various application areas such as implant coatings and filler for defects in the bone [3, 13] . Thus the changing demands can require HA products in different forms like particular form, spherical form powder and foam/preform. In addition to these, the most new application of porous ceramics is preform for polymer -matrix composites.

Hydroxyapatite ceramics are found various application areas such as implant coatings and filler for defects in the bone.


In the Mediterranean Sea, fisheries management must cope with the particularly high complexity and heterogeneity of fish habitats and a high number of commercial fish species and by-catches (Bianchi & Morri 2000) . Fisheries are dominated by small and medium-sized vessels dissipated along the coasts and operating with a wide array of fishing gears (Lleonart 2005) . Almost all management strategies in this context are limited to the control of fishing capacity or to the application of technical measures, like mesh size regulation, establishment of a minimum landing size and closures of areas and seasons for fishing.

In the Mediterranean Sea, fisheries management must cope with the particularly high complexity and heterogeneity of fish habitats and a high number of commercial fish species and by-catches.

Fisheries are dominated by small and medium-sized vessels dissipated along the coasts and operating with a wide array of fishing gears.


As a practically feasible alternative we suggest that the spatial abundance of juvenile fish and the persistence over time of density hot-spots can be used to identify nursery areas. Our approach is based on the assumption that the average contribution to the adult population can be expected to be higher for nurseries with higher juvenile density and higher spatio-temporal stability. In fact, maintenance of a population depends on successful recruitment of young fish to nursery areas and from nursery areas back to the parent population (Hinckley et al. 2001) . The location of nursery areas is therefore an integral component of the adaptation of marine fish life cycles to their environments. In this context, the stability of a density hot-spot of fish juveniles in a given area can be assumed to be indirect evidence of the importance of that area to the recruitment success of the population. Furthermore, the temporal persistence of the characteristics of an area is a fundamental prerequisite for its inclusion in a conservation network, as commonly considered in terrestrial ecosystems (Early et al. 2008) .

In fact, maintenance of a population depends on successful recruitment of young fish to nursery areas and from nursery areas back to the parent population.

Furthermore, the temporal persistence of the characteristics of an area is a fundamental prerequisite for its inclusion in a conservation network, as commonly considered in terrestrial ecosystems.


Finally, it is no accident that our directive-rich material comes from family mealtimes where we have examples of parents interacting with young children at mealtimes. Here the purpose of the interaction, 'eating the meal', is highly task oriented and therefore more likely to generate directive formulations (Vine, 2009) . From this preliminary work it is possible to identify at least three important avenues of future work.

Here the purpose of the interaction, 'eating the meal', is highly task oriented and therefore more likely to generate directive formulations.


Much of the existing research literature into request types has tended to organize them along a spectrum according to how direct they are (Curl and Drew, 2008) . The directness of a request has most commonly been judged by analysts according to its level of politeness (Aronsson and Thorell, 1999) . Such an approach tends to treat requests and directives as versions, of varying politeness, of the same action. In Searle's terms, the difference between a request and a directive may not involve a difference in illocutionary point; rather it will be a function of a difference in the 'style of performance of the illocutionary act ' (1979: 8, original emphasis) .

Much of the existing research literature into request types has tended to organize them along a spectrum according to how direct they are.

The directness of a request has most commonly been judged by analysts according to its level of politeness.


It is important to note that, although hearable as re-doings of the same thing, second sayings take place in a different environment to first sayings (Schegloff, 2004) . Many of the features that we argue show heightened entitlement do so because they draw on the 'not done' nature of the directive that exists upon its second saying where it did not during the first. This makes producing a second directive hearable as a repeat a useful resource for speakers. In terms of entitlement to direct another person's actions, the very fact of asserting that right for a second time when it has already been refused could be taken as a heightened sense of entitlement: to tell someone to do something once is presumptuous enough, but to tell someone to do something when they have just refused to comply raises the implied sense of entitlement still further.

It is important to note that, although hearable as re-doings of the same thing, second sayings take place in a different environment to first sayings.


A much larger study, the NARCOMS study, containing information from over 35 000 people with MS, examined cognition as one of 11 domains commonly affected in MS [28] . They used a self-reported tool similar to the MSQOL-54, assessing PCI by disease duration; at one end of the spectrum (disease duration ≤1 year), the prevalence estimate of PCI was approximately 25-30% and, at the other end of the spectrum (disease duration 29-30 years), PCI prevalence was approximately 50%. In our sample, although our participants had a lower mean disease duration (8.7 years), we estimated similar PCI prevalence estimates, about 22.5% and 32% using the second-and third-most specific definitions. This provides some external support for our mode of assessing PCI, realizing similar proportions using analogous methods.

A much larger study, the NARCOMS study, containing information from over 35 000 people with MS, examined cognition as one of 11 domains commonly affected in MS.


With the physical parameterization processes being included in variational data assimilation (VDA) systems, two problems have become apparently significant. The first is to find out how physical "on-off" switches influence the VDA. The second is how to deal with the problems caused by parameterization on-off switches in VDA using the adjoint method. The objective of VDA is to find the solution to the constraining forecast model that will best fit the observations. A cost function (CF) is used to measure the fit and an unconstrained minimization scheme is used to iteratively produce the minimum of the CF, in which the values of the CF and the gradient of the CF with respect to the initial condition (IC) are required. Adjoint methods are often adopted to obtain the gradient of the CF in practice, but there is a problem that should be solved to guarantee that the adjoint approach can be applied. That is the determination of the validity of this method, since adjoint models are initially derived from differentiable systems of equations (Le Dimet and Talagrand 1986) .

That is the determination of the validity of this method, since adjoint models are initially derived from differentiable systems of equations.


Ovarian metastases from cervical carcinoma occur in 5.3-8.2% cases of endocervical adenocarcinoma and 0.4-1.3% of squamous cell carcinoma [2, 6, 7] . The possible routes of cervical cancer spread to the ovary include direct extension, lymphatic and hematogenous spread, and trans-tubal migration. A few factors increase the risk for ovarian metastases. These include two independent factors, cancer type (adenocarcinoma greater than squamous cell carcinoma) and involvement of the uterine corpus. Additional factors increasing metastatic potential are vaginal involvement, lymphovascular invasion and lymph node metastases [6, 8] .

Ovarian metastases from cervical carcinoma occur in 5.3-8.2% cases of endocervical adenocarcinoma and 0.4-1.3% of squamous cell carcinoma.

Additional factors increasing metastatic potential are vaginal involvement, lymphovascular invasion and lymph node metastases.


The approach taken in this work is to use standard fourth-order differencing using a wider difference stencil than needed for second-order accuracy. We call these wide methods to distinguish them from compact methods. For periodic problems this approach is very natural, but for problems with boundaries, these methods require values on more grid points outside the boundary than can be eliminated using the boundary conditions of the problem. The authors propose below a method of "extrapolating" the values outside the grid using values inside the grid based on their earlier work in vorticity boundary conditions for second-order schemes [12] . The values at grid points outside the boundary are related to the values inside the boundary in such a way that they satisfy the boundary conditions to fourth-order accuracy. For streamfunction methods, it is the no-slip condition that is matched to fourth-order to give velocities that are fourth-order accurate.

The authors propose below a method of "extrapolating" the values outside the grid using values inside the grid based on their earlier work in vorticity boundary conditions for second-order schemes.


SMPS (switch mode power supply) is used in the application of industrial control systems, namely OA, FA, robotics, Information machines, and LCD backlights. How it is designed is very important, particularly in the case of transformer design considering power loss at magnetic components. The transformer in this case is the flyback transformer that is able to store energy using a turn off switch. The purpose of this is to transfer power efficiently and instantaneously from an external electrical source to an external load [1] [2] [3] .

The purpose of this is to transfer power efficiently and instantaneously from an external electrical source to an external load.


Due to the rapidly increasing number of vehicles worldwide every year, waste tyres has become a critical environmental problem in many urban cities, and in Australia alone, 500,000 tons of tyres are replaced every year (Mashiri et al., 2015) . Recycled tyres are typically granulated or shredded and exhibit low shear strength, low unit weight of solids (the specific gravity generally ranges from 1.00 to 1.36), high compressibility, high hydraulic conductivity, and high energy absorbing capacity (Senetakis et al., 2012; Zheng & Kevin, 2000; Edil & Bosscher, 1994) . However, as the low shear strength and high deformation properties, granulated rubber materials cannot be use alone in civil engineering, but their geotechnical properties boost their usage in rubber-soil mixtures.

Due to the rapidly increasing number of vehicles worldwide every year, waste tyres has become a critical environmental problem in many urban cities, and in Australia alone, 500,000 tons of tyres are replaced every year.

Recycled tyres are typically granulated or shredded and exhibit low shear strength, low unit weight of solids (the specific gravity generally ranges from 1.00 to 1.36), high compressibility, high hydraulic conductivity, and high energy absorbing capacity.


Our study also has some limitations. First, there exists inaccuracy of land-use classification based on remote sensing images, which will result in bias of the landscape and planning indexes. Second, our study did to assess the impacts of detailed urban planning system and planning permit system. Third, we did not consider the influence of topography in landscape indexes in Hangzhou. Further investigation of natural features should be conducted. Finally, with the rapid development of the remote sensing and satellite sensor technology, high spatial resolution data resources will be more accessible, low-cost, and generated quickly [66] [67] [68] [69] . We will adopt these data resources to study urban sprawl, urban growth and other related issues for improving the accuracy and reliability of the results in our further researches. If interviews or social investigations can be conducted with the residents or business entities outside the non-planning area, this study will help to provide a better understanding of the failure of urban planning from a top-down perspective.

Our study also has some limitations.

Finally, with the rapid development of the remote sensing and satellite sensor technology, high spatial resolution data resources will be more accessible, low-cost, and generated quickly.


Considering that the SPS system is installed in 2013, the results obtained from the TIMES model indicate that the use of this technology is at its peak in the first year of its introduction to the local energy system, as shown in Figure 7 . Moreover, there is a slightly higher use of the storage system when there are no EDVs (Scenario 4) compared to the case of deploying EDVs in the local vehicle fleet (Scenario 6). The electricity supply from the SPS system is gradually decreasing in both cases, yet with different slopes (and thus percentages) as denoted by the different trends observed in Figure  7 until 2017. The use of the storage system is at a minimum level in 2017, after which it starts rising again. The reason is that, in this year, there is a shutdown of one of the fuel power plants, resulting in less excess electricity to be fed in the SPS system, while there is a necessity to use the storage system once again to a greater extent in the following years. Once this power plant is off, the use of energy storage in both scenarios fluctuates to a lesser extent and finally converges to the same value with that of the year 2020. Then, a comparison between the six scenarios is performed, in order to evaluate the most favorable conditions for the use of SPS. At this point, it is noted that all scenarios in this work assume a constant fuel price, even though previous studies have shown the significance of this factor [18] .

At this point, it is noted that all scenarios in this work assume a constant fuel price, even though previous studies have shown the significance of this factor.


On the other hand, escitalopram has the ability to diminish the activation of hypothalamic neurons containing melanin concentrating hormone (MCH) and to suppress REM sleep rebound [30] . The potential interplay between SPX and MCH signalling is so far unknown, however it is worth noting that escitalopram may inhibit the action of another regulatory neuropeptide in the hypothalamus. Interestingly, a recent study reports that long-term treatment with escitalopram increased the serum level of other orexigenic factor; neuropeptide Y (NPY) in the patients with depression [31] .

On the other hand, escitalopram has the ability to diminish the activation of hypothalamic neurons containing melanin concentrating hormone (MCH) and to suppress REM sleep rebound.

Interestingly, a recent study reports that long-term treatment with escitalopram increased the serum level of other orexigenic factor; neuropeptide Y (NPY) in the patients with depression.


One of the celebrated problems in physics and astrophysics is the generation of magnetic field in planets, stars, and galaxies [1] . The most popular theory for this phenomenon is the dynamo mechanism in which the magnetic field is amplified due to the nonlinear energy transfer from the velocity field to the magnetic field. The magnetic energy first grows and then saturates if the energy supply to the magnetic field could overcome the Joule dissipation. In this paper we will report the energy spectra and fluxes during the steady-state using a popular model called shell model.

One of the celebrated problems in physics and astrophysics is the generation of magnetic field in planets, stars, and galaxies.


Increased expression of these virulence factors in Candida isolated from diabetic group may be attributed to the process strain selection. This phenomenon has been reported as a reason for increased proteinase secretion in isolates from HIV seropositive individuals [40] . Due to strain selection original commensal strains get replaced by Candida populations that have more ability to cause disease. These strains can cause overt infection depending on the degree of immunosuppression of the patient.

This phenomenon has been reported as a reason for increased proteinase secretion in isolates from HIV seropositive individuals.


One of the most distinctive features of the Great Recession was that the drop in household consumption expenditures was sharper, broader and more persistent than in other recent downturns. Virtually all components of consumption expenditures, not just durables, dropped substantially (Petev, Pistaferri, and Eksten, 2012) . The leading explanation for these aggregate dynamics is the extraordinary decline in housing net worth that occurred during this period: aggregate real house price indexes fell by around 30 percent. However, there are other factors that could have simultaneously affected expenditures over that same period, including a depressed labor market, a spike in economic uncertainty, and a tightening of consumer credit.

Virtually all components of consumption expenditures, not just durables, dropped substantially.


We recently presented a novel perspective together with a model that describes the relationship between sus-tainability and service within the framework of service science [16] . The new perspective defines sustainable service not just as a service that fulfills customer demands and that can be perpetuated for long periods of time without having a negative impact on either the natural or the social environment, but also as a basic value and as an essential part of each service, and in fact, as a "superservice" in and of itself. More specifically, the new model describes sustainable service as the integration of tangible and intangible resources together with manufacturing and agriculture. Service customers comprising the current generation simultaneously evolve into active suppliers who deliver sustainable values to the next generation, as illustrated in the "S 3 Sustainability as Service Science" Model (Figure 1) . Additionally, sustainable service should also generate new and alternative values for supplying customer demands more sustainable.

We recently presented a novel perspective together with a model that describes the relationship between sus-tainability and service within the framework of service science.


Environmental issues have become an integral factor in any decision-making process and in the design and implementation of manufacturing and agricultural production systems. Sustainability, defined as the capacity of an ecosystem to bear the stress of processes while maintaining them into the future and preserving enough space for subsequent generations, is currently the leading paradigm [9, 10] . It integrates economic, social, and environmental elements into different measures and indicators, ecological and carbon footprints among them. Recently, the concept of life cycle assessment (LCA), which is an analysis of the sum of materials and energy involved in the production, distribution, use, and disposal steps of a tangible product, was also adopted to optimize the environmental performance of processes [11, 12] .

Sustainability, defined as the capacity of an ecosystem to bear the stress of processes while maintaining them into the future and preserving enough space for subsequent generations, is currently the leading paradigm.

Recently, the concept of life cycle assessment (LCA), which is an analysis of the sum of materials and energy involved in the production, distribution, use, and disposal steps of a tangible product, was also adopted to optimize the environmental performance of processes.


In the subnational politics of leadership turnovers in China, former leaders of a jurisdiction may continue to influence local politics through their personal networks in the government because of the prevalence of informal politics (Huang, 2000) . This political legacy can hinder the incumbents' power consolidation and political advancement. In response, the incumbents may investigate previous incidents of corruption to uproot predecessors' networks.

In the subnational politics of leadership turnovers in China, former leaders of a jurisdiction may continue to influence local politics through their personal networks in the government because of the prevalence of informal politics.


Our research contributes to the understanding of both authoritarian regimes in general and corruption control in China. Several scholars have observed that although corruption is serious in China, periodic anticorruption campaigns have managed to restrain it (Manion, 2004; Wedeman, 2012) . However, little research has systematically investigated the mechanism encouraging the Chinese government to combat corruption. Without assuming the benevolence of either central or provincial government officials, we show that elite power competition along factional lines can periodically stimulate intensive corruption investigations. Although such anticorruption campaigns tend to be political and selective, they nevertheless maintain corruption under a certain level.

Several scholars have observed that although corruption is serious in China, periodic anticorruption campaigns have managed to restrain it.


Very often seniors are overweight, unfortunately, their weight concerns are not sufficiently reflected by a higher level of health-seeking behaviours [42] . The aim of this study was to verify the effect of priming a stimulus endangering, and consistent with, the higher-priority goal (i.e., losing weight) in obese elderly attempting to lose weight. We verified whether the strategies of self-control acquired during the slimming program, as well as the involvement of our participants in the realization of their goals, proved strong enough to develop an asymmetrically facilitating association between the higher-priority goal and temptation, as well as strengthening the association between the stimulus consistent with the realization of the plan and the plan itself. The presence of such relationships between external stimuli, both consistent and inconsistent with the higher-priority goal, significantly modulates the effectiveness of dietary self-control [35, 43] .

Very often seniors are overweight, unfortunately, their weight concerns are not sufficiently reflected by a higher level of health-seeking behaviours.

The presence of such relationships between external stimuli, both consistent and inconsistent with the higher-priority goal, significantly modulates the effectiveness of dietary self-control.