The current energy guidelines requested by the European Community encourage the use of renewable resources as a potential alternative supply to traditional fossil fuels [1] [2] [3] [4] . By supporting sustainable development, energy needs can be met through the conversion of agroforestry biomass into biofuels [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] . Therefore, a requirement for establishing sustainable production and consumption chains at the local level emerges [11, 12] . Accurate planning becomes crucial to ensure the planning and establishment of agroenergy districts [2, [13] [14] [15] . Such a procedure requires a careful analysis of potential energy capitals that can be obtained in each territorial area [9, 16] . It should be reminisced that the primary sector in Europe (and more specifically in Italy) has suffered a severe decline in recent decades, e.g., the loss of employment and an increase of abandoned rural areas [16] [17] [18] [19] . By re-establishing rural landscapes and promoting multifunctional agriculture, agroenergy districts arise as competitive and sustainable certainties for agricultural contexts [2, 9, 20] .

The current energy guidelines requested by the European Community encourage the use of renewable resources as a potential alternative supply to traditional fossil fuels.

By supporting sustainable development, energy needs can be met through the conversion of agroforestry biomass into biofuels.

Therefore, a requirement for establishing sustainable production and consumption chains at the local level emerges.

Accurate planning becomes crucial to ensure the planning and establishment of agroenergy districts.

Such a procedure requires a careful analysis of potential energy capitals that can be obtained in each territorial area.

It should be reminisced that the primary sector in Europe (and more specifically in Italy) has suffered a severe decline in recent decades, e.g., the loss of employment and an increase of abandoned rural areas.

By re-establishing rural landscapes and promoting multifunctional agriculture, agroenergy districts arise as competitive and sustainable certainties for agricultural contexts.


Environmentally, the impact of the proposed plant was measured exclusively on atmospheric emissions, as the plant is placed in industrial areas without landscape or naturalistic value [61, 62] . The emissions levels of the plant are well below those required by law (the Legislative Decree of March 2006 sets out provisions concerning biomass combustion plants and the relative atmospheric emissions), representing a further positive element for obtaining the production authorization. Generally, the laws on renewable energy reward these kinds of plants; they provide energy efficiency rewards. From the environmental point of view, the plant is fully consistent with local and national laws, since emissions that concern the present plant are largely under legal thresholds thanks to the use of forest biomass as energy fuel, the enhanced combustion capacity of modern boilers, and the gas treatment that it envisages.

Environmentally, the impact of the proposed plant was measured exclusively on atmospheric emissions, as the plant is placed in industrial areas without landscape or naturalistic value.


On the whole, the treatment of batterers had a positive but non statistically significant effect. As for some specific treatments, it may also have had considerably negative effects both in ORs and CRs. Nevertheless, this does not imply that the batterers' treatment efficacy rate is null, given that the probability of an effect being null is equal to a 38% efficacy rate which is quite a respectable efficacy. Hence, the evidence remains inconclusive and sharp conclusions cannot be drawn (Eckhardt et al., 2013; Smedslund, Dalsbo, Steiro, Winsvold, & Clench-Aas, 2011) .

Hence, the evidence remains inconclusive and sharp conclusions cannot be drawn.


In conclusion, overall, the treatment of batterers is not efficacious, though some programmes were (k = 16 for the positive effect of a small effect size or larger than ≥ 0.20) or had negative effects (k = 7). Of the moderators, only the type of intervention (i.e., OTIs) and the duration of the intervention (long-term) were significant, i.e., interventions adapted to the batterers' needs (OTI: psychologicalpsychiatric programme for batterers with psychopathology) and long-term interventions, which would indicate that (toxic) cognition that sanctions domestic violence is highly resistant to treatment. Nonetheless, the results remain inconsistent and further studies are required to assess the efficacy of batterer treatment programmes, i.e., to examine moderators that may explain why some batterers respond to treatment yet others fail to do so under similar treatment programmes. This calls for authors, reviewers, and editors to provide explicit details regarding the treatment contents, techniques, and methods. This study has focused on certain variables that are crucial for the assessment of treatment, but have often been neglected in the literature, since initially they have been considered of minor importance though the results of this meta-analysis have shown they are robust, e.g., the techniques and methods applied that involve active, focused, collaborative learning (the principle of responsibility), the implementation of treatment programmes by specialized and trained staff, and the implementation of additional judicial measures (Lila, García, & Lorenzo, 2010; McGuire et al., 2000) .

This study has focused on certain variables that are crucial for the assessment of treatment, but have often been neglected in the literature, since initially they have been considered of minor importance though the results of this meta-analysis have shown they are robust, e.g., the techniques and methods applied that involve active, focused, collaborative learning (the principle of responsibility), the implementation of treatment programmes by specialized and trained staff, and the implementation of additional judicial measures.


In this study, 13 PR varieties were compared from South Sulawesi, Indonesia (Fig. 1) , those have different grain dimension and shape (Table 1) . Based on IRRI categorization, the length of PR varieties in this study ranges from extra long (H), long (A, C, D and I) and medium (B, E, F, G, J, K, L and M). For the grain shape, almost all of PR varieties are grouped as medium and only one PR variety that have slender grain shape (H). Grain dimension and shape indicate the quality and appearance of rice which are important considerations in rice preferences. In tropical area, such as in Indonesia, it is reported that the long to medium rice is generally preferred by the consumers (Unnevehr et al., 1992) . Therefore, the PR varieties used in this study are mostly preferred by the consumers in Indonesia.

In tropical area, such as in Indonesia, it is reported that the long to medium rice is generally preferred by the consumers.


In order to detect viruses in the air, such as those existing in the droplet of a sneeze, we focused on using optical disk technology originally used for playing music and videos. Signals recorded on an optical disk are pits of various lengths. The shortest pit length is 150 nm in the 25 GB Blu-ray Disc (BD). This length is close to the diameter of the influenza virus, expected to be about 100 nm. Therefore, we expect that optical disk technology can "read" signals from such a virus [1] .

Therefore, we expect that optical disk technology can "read" signals from such a virus.


This study is intended to detect the target "one by one" using optical disk technology without major modifications to the system. In the present report, the detection of polystyrene beads with a diameter of 100 nm and influenza viruses is demonstrated. The results are compared with actual images obtained by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Although the proposed method is simple, the number of targets becomes countable, and one may return to the position of the detected target for further analyses [5] .

Although the proposed method is simple, the number of targets becomes countable, and one may return to the position of the detected target for further analyses.


We note that the salts observed in the upper part of Figure 5 (a) could also be detected by the optical disk drive tester. In future work, one needs to understand how to distinguish viruses from other substances when using the optical disk technology as a virus detector. We believe that there are at least three possible ways to distinguish viruses from other substances. First, a more quantitative analysis on the reflectance change, such as the intensity and the width of the signals, should be performed. If the refractive index and shape of a target is known and optical reflectance taking its three-dimensional structure into account is feasible to be calculated, it becomes easier to differentiate the target signal from that of other materials. Second, additional structures on the disk should be fabricated for selective adsorption of the target, e.g. introduction of antibodies using surface modification. In this case, it is important that such a structure functions in the environment that the optical disk sensor is used, such as dry conditions. Third, further analyses of the target after the first detection should be performed. Raman scattering may be a powerful tool to distinguish the various detected target materials [13] . Although much work remains in order to realize the practical use of the proposed sensor, this method has the potential of detecting 100 nm scale substances at high speed, owing partly to present optical disk information technology.

Raman scattering may be a powerful tool to distinguish the various detected target materials.


We first created marks on the disks by high-power laser irradiation. The marks that can be recognized by the optical disk system and SEM observation were necessary to specify the position on the disks. For example, various length marks, centered at either 2 μm or 100 μm, were recorded at 12 mW with the disk rotation speed of 1.1 m/s for Disk A, and at 8.5 mW with 2.2 m/s for Disk B. The mark recording mechanism is not well studied, but is presumably due to volume expansion and/or desorption of disk materials during a local increase in temperature by laser irradiation [8, 9] . Thus the reflectance of the mark may rise (or fall) with no uniformity; however, it is still sufficient in this study as far as its position on the disk can be identified.

The mark recording mechanism is not well studied, but is presumably due to volume expansion and/or desorption of disk materials during a local increase in temperature by laser irradiation.


Curves (a) and (b) in Figure 1 show the calculated reflectance using the Fresnel equations simulating materials with refractive indices of 1.63 and 1.45 attached to Disk A and Disk B, respectively. In the calculations, the materials are assumed as films of thickness d. As mentioned in the previous section, the thicknesses of the (ZnS) 85 (SiO 2 ) 15 and the SiO 2 films for Disk A and that of ITO for Disk B were adjusted in order to obtain nearly the highest reflectance when nothing is attached on the disk surface, i.e., d = 0. As shown in Figure 1 , the reflectance changes sinusoidally with a change in d. The refractive index of polystyrene is 1.63 at a wavelength of 405 nm [10] . The exact refractive index of the virus is not known, but it was assumed as 1.45, similar to the one of a protein [11] . The diameter of the bead is 100 nm, a similar size as that expected for the virus. According to these values and the results shown in Figure 1 , the reflectance should decrease when the targets are attached to the disk surface for detection. Figure 2 shows a SEM image of the polystyrene beads attached to Disk A. White spots that correspond to the beads can be seen on the grooved structure of the disk. In certain areas, the beads are rather aggregated (not shown in Figure 2 ), and we here selected an area where the beads are dispersed near the mark formed. The laser light of the tester was irradiated along the scanning direction shown in the figure. There were three beads labelled A1, A2 and A3, and the mark labelled Mark in this order on the laser-scanned groove. The distances between A1 and A2, and, A2 and A3 are 1.8 μm and 3.0 μm, respectively, according to the length scale of the SEM. Figure 3 shows the reflected light intensity when the laser light scanned the groove in Figure 2 . The data is shown in units of voltage since an oscilloscope was used.

As shown in Figure 1 , the reflectance changes sinusoidally with a change in d. The refractive index of polystyrene is 1.63 at a wavelength of 405 nm.

The exact refractive index of the virus is not known, but it was assumed as 1.45, similar to the one of a protein.


It should be noted that these model category structures on Segal precategories fit into a chain of Quillen equivalences between various model structures. The two are Quillen equivalent to one another, as well as to a model structure on the category of simplicial categories and to Rezk's complete Segal space model structure on simplicial spaces, which Joyal and Tierney prove to be Quillen equivalent to their model structure on quasi-categories [9] . In doing so, they actually obtain an alternate proof of Theorem 3.3. The author's interest in comparing these model structures arose from finding models for the homotopy theory of homotopy theories, a project begun by Rezk [11] .

The two are Quillen equivalent to one another, as well as to a model structure on the category of simplicial categories and to Rezk's complete Segal space model structure on simplicial spaces, which Joyal and Tierney prove to be Quillen equivalent to their model structure on quasi-categories.

The author's interest in comparing these model structures arose from finding models for the homotopy theory of homotopy theories, a project begun by Rezk.


The 10-year survival rates for spindle and botryoid variants of ERMS, ERMS, and ARMS are 80-86%, 55%, and 9%, respectively [20] . The overall survival of small number of pediatric cases of SRMS (16 patients with available follow-up details) with a short follow-up of <2 years is 87.5%. It is very difficult to arrive at any conclusion with such a small number of patients and very short follow-up period; however, longer follow-up studies may reveal true aggressiveness and malignant potential of SRMS. Since the review lacked treatment details, based on what is known about RMS, all such patients should be treated like other types of RMSs with aggressive chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgical resection, keeping in mind that treatment failure rate for pediatric SRMS is high (43.75%).

The 10-year survival rates for spindle and botryoid variants of ERMS, ERMS, and ARMS are 80-86%, 55%, and 9%, respectively.


There are various other checks one could imagine performing directly in the k = 1 theory. A strong check should come from the fact that there is an alternate field theory description of the DLCQ of Type IIB string theory in the plane-wave in terms of a BMN limit of a large quiver gauge theory [20] . In this alternate description, there are perturbative calculations that can be performed despite the large 't Hooft coupling since the results of such calculations obey BMN-type scaling at least at low loop order. These results should somehow be reproduced if we calculate the corresponding quantities in the ABJM theory on T 2 , so optimistically one should be able to directly match perturbative calculations in the two theories, providing a detailed check of the proposal. It is not immediately clear how such a perturbative expansion would arise in the ABJM model, though.

A strong check should come from the fact that there is an alternate field theory description of the DLCQ of Type IIB string theory in the plane-wave in terms of a BMN limit of a large quiver gauge theory.


In 1943, the slot array was invented at McGill University in Montreal by Watson. One of the best features of this antenna is horizontal polarization and omnidirectional gain around the azimuth. A slot along the length is cut into the wall of a waveguide that disrupts the transverse current flowing in the wall, which enforces the current to travel at border of the slot and induces an electric field in the slot [11, 12] . The location of the slot in the rectangular waveguide decides the current flow. Thus, the pose determines the impedance introduced to the transmission line and the amount of energy coupled and radiated from the slot. Slotted waveguide arrays (SWA) have some advantages over microstrip antennas such as having low loss, high isolation, and high power handling [11] . Due to these advantages, SWA antennas are widely used in communication and radar systems particularly at microwave wave frequencies. Regarding conformal array applications, microstrip antennas are easier to implement compared to SWA antennas; however, excitation of antenna elements by a waveguide feed network is advantageous compared to microstrip feed network in terms of eliminating radiation losses and cross coupling problems. Moreover, complex feed network structure is not needed in SWA to excite the slots in the same waveguide. Furthermore, the array of waveguides can be formed without cross coupling problems.

A slot along the length is cut into the wall of a waveguide that disrupts the transverse current flowing in the wall, which enforces the current to travel at border of the slot and induces an electric field in the slot.

Slotted waveguide arrays (SWA) have some advantages over microstrip antennas such as having low loss, high isolation, and high power handling.


A very promising candidate to fill this gap and to provide widespread commercial solutions is the SIW technology or, more in general, the Substrate Integrated Circuit (SIC) architecture [18] . This technology allows building high performance, low cost, and reliable waveguide-like components using planar processing techniques, such as the PCB or the Low-Temperature Cofired Ceramic (LTCC) [19] . It has also unique features such as compact size in comparison with waveguide antennas and also simpler structure in comparison with reflector antennas [1] .

A very promising candidate to fill this gap and to provide widespread commercial solutions is the SIW technology or, more in general, the Substrate Integrated Circuit (SIC) architecture.

This technology allows building high performance, low cost, and reliable waveguide-like components using planar processing techniques, such as the PCB or the Low-Temperature Cofired Ceramic (LTCC).

It has also unique features such as compact size in comparison with waveguide antennas and also simpler structure in comparison with reflector antennas.


However, the manufacturing of these waveguides needs to be accomplished with sufficient accuracy so as to allow for operation at millimeter wave frequencies. On the other hand, antennas and microwave components used at lower frequencies typically rely on planar designs which are mostly realized with the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) processing technique [13, 14] . Moreover, conformal arrays have a specific shape determined by the parameters other than radiation pattern and input match requirements and they can easily 2 International Journal of Microwave Science and Technology be implemented using microstrip technology using a flexible substrate or multifaceted surfaces [15] .

On the other hand, antennas and microwave components used at lower frequencies typically rely on planar designs which are mostly realized with the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) processing technique.

Moreover, conformal arrays have a specific shape determined by the parameters other than radiation pattern and input match requirements and they can easily 2 International Journal of Microwave Science and Technology be implemented using microstrip technology using a flexible substrate or multifaceted surfaces.


The need for the sustainable development of tourism has become a current issue due to the rapid growth of the tourism industry worldwide and the adverse effects of tourism on the social structure, natural resources, and cultural values. As a matter of fact, sustainable tourism allows us to minimize the environmental impact and to maximize the socio-economic advantages of tourist destinations [102] . In other words, sustainability is meant to consider both the development and preservation of the tourism industry [103] . For this reason, tourism activities need to be planned, managed, and monitored carefully using a long-term sustainable approach [104] . In this study, a strategic approach for the sustainable tourism development of destinations was presented by means of the application of the A'WOT method. The primary advantages of this study's method are to present an integrated perspective that can help in the design of a strategic planning process and to strengthen the quantitative side of strategic planning. The province of Zonguldak, located in the West Black Sea Region of Turkey, was chosen as the research area to propose sustainable tourism strategies. Zonguldak province has the potential to be a suitable destination for the development of special interest tourism types with its cultural richness, forests, plateaus, caves, and natural beauties created by a combination of blue and green colors. Besides this, it can be concluded that, despite its many weaknesses and environmental threats, Zonguldak bears a tourism potential that should be managed in a sustainable way with strategic approaches. It should be considered that, on the one hand, the "support product diversification and event management" strategies proposed in this study would particularly help to develop tourism as an economic diversification tool by breaking the dependent structure of the province. On the other hand, it would "ensure a sustainable visitor management system that minimizes environmental impacts" and "enhance the image of the destination", which would increase in the number of tourists and indirectly help to solve the problem of overtourism in popular tourist destinations.

As a matter of fact, sustainable tourism allows us to minimize the environmental impact and to maximize the socio-economic advantages of tourist destinations.

In other words, sustainability is meant to consider both the development and preservation of the tourism industry.

For this reason, tourism activities need to be planned, managed, and monitored carefully using a long-term sustainable approach.


Strength and content of the commitments and the amount of exploration were assessed by means of the Groningen Identity Development Scale (Bosma 1985) . The GIDS consists of a semi-structured identity interview. This interview is organized by domain and covers the domains: philosophy of life, parents, friends, studies, self, and intimate relationships. In each domain a short interview was first administered, meant to stimulate the subject to think about what was important to her/him in that specific domain. Next, the subject was asked to write on a card what was most important in this domain: the commitment. Next, a questionnaire was administered about this commitment. This resulted in a score for the strength of the commitment (range 0-36), and for the amount of exploration (range 0-24) in that domain. The commitment scales in all domains had an alpha score above 0.80. The alpha of the exploration scale in the domain study work leisure was 0.65, the exploration scales of all other domains had an alpha above 0. Both the commitment scale and the exploration scale consist of two factors: commitments consist of the factor ''direction,'' expressing a sense of support, strength, and direction, and the factor ''identification,'' expressing involvement in and identification with the commitment. The exploration scale consists of the factor ''orientation'' expressing an active orientation toward other people, and the factor ''change,'' expressing active attempts to come to a new commitment (Bosma 1985) . However, in our research the correlation between both factors within each scale turned out to be very high (above 0.90) and we used only the total scores for each scale.

Strength and content of the commitments and the amount of exploration were assessed by means of the Groningen Identity Development Scale.

The exploration scale consists of the factor ''orientation'' expressing an active orientation toward other people, and the factor ''change,'' expressing active attempts to come to a new commitment.


The level of ego-development was administered by the ZALC (Zinnen AanvulLijst Curium, in English Sentence Completion List Curium), a Dutch version of Loevinger's sentence completion test (Westenberg et al. 2000) . In this instrument, the level of ego-development is assessed by means of the categorization of 32 completed sentences. The first author has received a training to be able to assign the sentences to the various categories. The categorizations are based on Loevinger's descriptions of the different levels of ego-development, and the measurements result in one indication of the subject's level of ego-development. Level (score) 3 indicates the self-protecting stage, level 4 the conformist stage, level 5 the self-aware stage, and 6 the conscientious stage.

The level of ego-development was administered by the ZALC (Zinnen AanvulLijst Curium, in English Sentence Completion List Curium), a Dutch version of Loevinger's sentence completion test.


A considerable proportion of human communication takes place in narrative formats (Bruner 1991) . Not only fictional stories, but also personal tales and news reports typically take on a narrative form with one or more characters moving through time and space while experiencing one or more events. Processing such narratives requires readers to construct a mental model of the story world in which these aspectscharacters, time, space, eventsare represented (Zwaan and Radvansky 1998) . This model can be conceptualized as a network of mental spaces "through which we move as discourse unfolds" (Sweetser and Fauconnier 1996: 11) . A mental space is understood as a conceptual domain with unique coordinates in terms of both time and space as well as subjective viewpoint, which anchor the validity of the represented information to that specific domain (Sanders and Redeker 1996) . Mental space networks typically consist of multiple interconnected spaces, each filled with information that is bound to a specific subject and that may therefore be hypothetical, counterfactual, or contrastive with information anchored in other spaces; all spaces are at least related to each other by their connection to the "ground" of commonly shared knowledge about the world and the discourse context (Sweetser and Fauconnier 1996; Oakley and Coulson 2008) .

A considerable proportion of human communication takes place in narrative formats.

Processing such narratives requires readers to construct a mental model of the story world in which these aspectscharacters, time, space, eventsare represented.

A mental space is understood as a conceptual domain with unique coordinates in terms of both time and space as well as subjective viewpoint, which anchor the validity of the represented information to that specific domain.

Mental space networks typically consist of multiple interconnected spaces, each filled with information that is bound to a specific subject and that may therefore be hypothetical, counterfactual, or contrastive with information anchored in other spaces; all spaces are at least related to each other by their connection to the "ground" of commonly shared knowledge about the world and the discourse context.


When brittle materials such as ceramics are subjected to erosion, radial and lateral cracks will form on the surface [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] . If corrosion interacts with erosion, there are many possible effects, i.e. additive, synergistic or antagonistic effects [10] . In such cases, the wear rate may be significantly greater or less than the pure erosion or corrosion effects [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] .

When brittle materials such as ceramics are subjected to erosion, radial and lateral cracks will form on the surface.

If corrosion interacts with erosion, there are many possible effects, i.e. additive, synergistic or antagonistic effects.

In such cases, the wear rate may be significantly greater or less than the pure erosion or corrosion effects.


Tribology and Tribo-Corrosion in Dentistry is becoming of increasing international research interest as it is widely observed that human teeth are exposed to several tribological processes inside the oral cavity [1] . These effects can be characterized into five types: attrition (the impact between enamel surfaces), abrasion (wear induced by friction with food or toothpaste particles), abfraction (loss of dental material induced by cracks in tooth enamel), corrosion (chemical reactions inside the oral cavity) and erosion (slurries containing particles that impact enamel surfaces) [1] . Due to these effects, human teeth will always be susceptible to both mechanical and chemical degradation.

Tribology and Tribo-Corrosion in Dentistry is becoming of increasing international research interest as it is widely observed that human teeth are exposed to several tribological processes inside the oral cavity.

These effects can be characterized into five types: attrition (the impact between enamel surfaces), abrasion (wear induced by friction with food or toothpaste particles), abfraction (loss of dental material induced by cracks in tooth enamel), corrosion (chemical reactions inside the oral cavity) and erosion (slurries containing particles that impact enamel surfaces).


As candidate replacement dental materials, ceramic materials have disadvantages due to their brittle nature. Once cracks form inside the materials, propagation of damage cannot be suppressed [17] [18] [19] . However, it has been found that Y-TZP possesses enhanced ductility compared to many conventional ceramics as cracks propagation tends to less in the latter case [20] . These properties are due to the Martensitic phase transformation of Y-TZP material from tetragonal to monoclinic. The phase transformation can induce a 3% -5% change in volume that effectively suppresses crack propagation [20] . This example of phase transformation of Y-TZP material can be induced not only by erosion and corrosion, but also by various physical, thermal and chemical effects [21, 22] .

Once cracks form inside the materials, propagation of damage cannot be suppressed.

However, it has been found that Y-TZP possesses enhanced ductility compared to many conventional ceramics as cracks propagation tends to less in the latter case.

The phase transformation can induce a 3% -5% change in volume that effectively suppresses crack propagation.

This example of phase transformation of Y-TZP material can be induced not only by erosion and corrosion, but also by various physical, thermal and chemical effects.


Corrosion is also a very significant issue within the oral cavity, as the pH value of human saliva is approximately 6.2 [2] . Furthermore, it can be significantly decreased to 2 on consumption of acidic food or drinks. Sometimes, it may be mixed with backflow hydrochloric acid present in gastric juices, causing pH values to be reduced to 1.2 [2] . On the other hand, food such as fruit or kelp can induce an increase in pH value up to 10 [2] .

Corrosion is also a very significant issue within the oral cavity, as the pH value of human saliva is approximately 6.2.

Sometimes, it may be mixed with backflow hydrochloric acid present in gastric juices, causing pH values to be reduced to 1.2.

On the other hand, food such as fruit or kelp can induce an increase in pH value up to 10.


The transapical technique has been developed in order to avoid and overcome some of the transfemoral shortcomings, mostly related to small access femoral vessels as well as a rather long and sometimes cumbersome retrograde implantation technique. Initial development of the transapical approach benefited from transfemoral experiences but has further developed more independently during the past 2 years. Our early results demonstrated proof of concept and have enabled the refinement of our technique to their current iteration [15] .

Our early results demonstrated proof of concept and have enabled the refinement of our technique to their current iteration.


Above 100 A, there is an almost linear increase of the voltage with the current. Going from 50 to 100 A, the total voltage shows only small changes or obeys even a minimum at 100 A. This result is in agreement with recent findings for other cathode geometries [12, 17] . Except for the current 50 A, the voltage drop changes by about 0.7 V when changing the electrode distance by 1 mm. This relatively small value corresponds qualitatively to the range of the axial field strength from 0.2 to 1 V/mm in the main parts of the arc, as illustrated in Fig. 7 . The voltage drop U S over the space-charge sheath at the cathode is around 7 V and almost independent of current and electrode distance. The error bars indicate small changes of this voltage along the cathode tip. The voltage drop over the rod cathode is also included but not separately plotted in Fig. 8 . The model yields values between about 0.2 Vat a current of 50 A and 0.5 V at a current of 250 A. The main contribution to this voltage drop results from the hot part (above 2,000 K) of the cathode.

Going from 50 to 100 A, the total voltage shows only small changes or obeys even a minimum at 100 A. This result is in agreement with recent findings for other cathode geometries.


Individual differences among students have significant effects on their learning outcomes (Rukanuddin, Hafiz, & Asfia, 2016) . Previous studies examined these effects and indicated that providing the same learning materials and delivering the same instructional conditions to all students may lead to a reduction in learning performance without considering their different background characteristics, prior knowledge, experiences, and learning aptitudes (Smith-Jentsch et al., 1996; Ford & Chen, 2000) . For ensuring effective learning for all students, adapting teaching strategies and content to meet individual student needs has long been regarded as a central and persistent issue in education.

Individual differences among students have significant effects on their learning outcomes.

Previous studies examined these effects and indicated that providing the same learning materials and delivering the same instructional conditions to all students may lead to a reduction in learning performance without considering their different background characteristics, prior knowledge, experiences, and learning aptitudes.


In a complex disorder it is unlikely that an individual molecule may serve as a clinically useful biomarker. Therefore, proteomic approaches and multiple measurements are likely to be necessary to identify ALS subjects with a worthwhile degree of accuracy. In fact, the most promising candidate biomarkers have been so far combinations of proteins identified in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) [13] [14] [15] . However, when the same proteins were searched in plasma either were not present or were not significantly different in comparison with controls [13, 16] . Whereas CSF is considered the ideal source for identifying biomarkers in neurological diseases because of its proximity to the affected tissue, it involves an invasive sampling, that limits large-scale validation studies and thus introduction into clinical practice. PBMC are readily accessible clinical samples and offer a series of advantages over serum/plasma and CSF. Bio-fluids have wide inter-individual variability and a broad range of protein abundance, which make them difficult to analyze by proteomic approaches [17, 18] . The cellular proteome is relatively stable, less complex to analyze and gives direct information on alterations of cellular pathways, hence insights into possible pathogenic mechanisms.

In fact, the most promising candidate biomarkers have been so far combinations of proteins identified in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

However, when the same proteins were searched in plasma either were not present or were not significantly different in comparison with controls.

Bio-fluids have wide inter-individual variability and a broad range of protein abundance, which make them difficult to analyze by proteomic approaches.


Transportation cyber-physical systems (T-CPS) aim to achieve full coordination and optimization of transportation systems, via the increased interaction and feedback between the transportation cyber systems and transportation physical systems [1] [2] [3] . For example, in the vehicle platoon, the desired control objective is that all vehicles in that platoon move with a safe space headway and a safe speed. Once an accident occurs in front of the platoon, the leading car must take an emergency brake to avoid collision, and then the following vehicles will respond to the front vehicles correspondingly. In this context, the V2V-based communication of information on the opening angle of the electronic throttle (ET) of the preceding vehicles in a lane enables a following vehicle to react as fast as possible to avoid a collision by adaptively adjusting its ET. On the other hand, an elegantly designed controller could be applied for the throttle to track the desired valve opening angle, which can improve the fuel economy, emissions, and vehicle drivability [4] .

Transportation cyber-physical systems (T-CPS) aim to achieve full coordination and optimization of transportation systems, via the increased interaction and feedback between the transportation cyber systems and transportation physical systems.

On the other hand, an elegantly designed controller could be applied for the throttle to track the desired valve opening angle, which can improve the fuel economy, emissions, and vehicle drivability.


The applicability of both Acoustic Emission and Vibration methods was studied in relation to defect identification of a naturally damaged bearing. From the observation it was evident that AE was more sensitive in detecting incipient damage than vibration, reinforcing other investigators [19] . Furthermore, the application of SK analysis and Kurtogram was investigated and it showed the effectiveness in denoising both AE and vibration signals. The use of the Kurtogram for AE bearing analysis is encouraging and it is hoped future researchers explore its full potential.

From the observation it was evident that AE was more sensitive in detecting incipient damage than vibration, reinforcing other investigators.


The development of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) has increased steadily worldwide and is becoming a leading cause of death. Epidemiological studies have demonstrated that unhealthy dietary behaviour and sedentary lifestyle predominantly contribute to the occurrence of NCDs (Meyer et al., 2000) . Evidences established from previous studies show that the consumption of whole grains and their products contribute to the reduction of a number of NCDs such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes and certain types of cancers associated with oxidative stress (McKeown, 2002) . Millets are a group of cereals with small grain size and possess varied level of phenolics and antioxidant activities depending on the variety and location of production (Kumari et al., 2017) .

Epidemiological studies have demonstrated that unhealthy dietary behaviour and sedentary lifestyle predominantly contribute to the occurrence of NCDs.

Evidences established from previous studies show that the consumption of whole grains and their products contribute to the reduction of a number of NCDs such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes and certain types of cancers associated with oxidative stress.

Millets are a group of cereals with small grain size and possess varied level of phenolics and antioxidant activities depending on the variety and location of production.


T-test comparisons of each group were made with the population norms (Rust, 1989) . The overall mean on 1866 subjects collected to date is 36.16 (SD = 8.12) and values in normal groups do not deviate from this to any great extent. Thus, the mean for 365 US students in New York was 36.21 (SD = 9.16), and 262 somewhat older British students had a mean score of 35.38 (SD = 8.39). The norming group conservatively chosen as the control for the present comparison was a 61 subject general population sample in London with a mean RISC score of 35.98 (SD = 7.06). This group was sampled through a general practice clinic. The analysis showed that three occult groups were significantly above the control group with means of 42.59 (SD = 8.68 , N = 17, t = 2.95, p < .005), 56.00 (SD = 5.76, N = 11, t = 3.6, p < .001), and 39.20 (SD = 6.92, N = 36, t = 2.18, p < .05), while three occult groups were significantly below the control group in their RISC score with means of 24.13 (SD = 6.91, N = 15, t = 6.14, p < .0001), 26.75 (SD = 12.15, N = 4, t = 2.42, p < .02) and 31.35 (SD = 5.45, N = 17, t = 2.81, p < .01). The remaining three groups did not differ significantly from the control, having group RISC means of 37.36, 39.00 and 39.00. However the sample size was small for these groups; 11, 10 and 5 respectively. There was no significant correlation between age and RISC scores in the occult groups data (r = -0.03), and analysis of covariance for age effects made no significant difference to the results. Social class and education level were not assessed on the occult group members, however RISC scores have been shown to be generally unrelated to these variables (Rust, 1989) .

T-test comparisons of each group were made with the population norms.

Social class and education level were not assessed on the occult group members, however RISC scores have been shown to be generally unrelated to these variables.


In addition to the extreme beam parameters, a new feature of the HL-LHC may impact the emittance. The HL-LHC layout is based on Crab Cavities (CCs) to compensate the geometric luminosity loss due to large crossing angles. Large crossing angles are required to mitigate long-range beam-beam effects. Noise in the phase of the CCs' field imparts a transverse offset on to the colliding bunches. Hence noise in the CCs may accelerate the emittance growth [1] . A prediction of the emittance growth, depending on the noise, is of considerable interest for HL-LHC planning.

Hence noise in the CCs may accelerate the emittance growth.


Recurred or metastatic gastric cancer has a very poor prognosis, but chemotherapy can improve survival and possibly provide significant palliation of symptoms. Despite the recently reported benefits of chemotherapy, the 5-year survival rate for recurred or metastatic gastric cancer remains at~5-20% [1] [2] [3] . Despite an often short and poor overall survival, there is marked heterogeneity in the duration of survival among patients. Therefore, there have been continuing efforts to investigate the prognostic factors related to survival [4, 5] .

Despite the recently reported benefits of chemotherapy, the 5-year survival rate for recurred or metastatic gastric cancer remains at~5-20%.

Therefore, there have been continuing efforts to investigate the prognostic factors related to survival.


Public support creates quick and tangible success as measured by the increasing number of newly established POs. However, the symptomatic solution is not costless. Focusing on the symptom of the problem-the insufficient number of POs-led to public policy incentives for the easy creation of farmer groups. An extremely low barrier for entry, as measured by the five member threshold, and the chance to access public funds can provoke amoral familism behavior-many POs were created just for receiving public money instead of looking for ways to achieve sustainable benefits from cooperation. This perpetuates the improper (too small) size of the groups. Furthermore, amoral familism in the long term is destructive for trust and for the attitude towards fair and longstanding cooperation. These conclusions are in line with the general observations of Forrester, the founder of system dynamics thinking. He claims that public regulation results often fall far short of expectations and government programs often prove to be ineffective, since the dynamic behavior of the social systems is not understood. System dynamics explains how the contrary results of intervention can occur. Social systems exhibit conflict between the short-term and the long-term consequences of public support programs. A policy that improves the situation in the short run is often one that destroys the system in the long run [82] .

A policy that improves the situation in the short run is often one that destroys the system in the long run.


Thus, following this line of reasoning, we suggest changes to public support for farmers' cooperation, which are depicted in Figure 8 . The corporate strategy literature distinguishes between short-wave (quick benefits) and long-wave (delayed but more important and sustainable benefits) programs [83] . With this in mind, we suggest a twofold policy of public support. For the short-wave program, the funds should be redirected from only supporting the establishment of new entities into supporting the increase of the membership base of already established entities, as well as of start-ups. This should help to trigger reinforcing loops based on achieving sustainable gains and, in the long term, indirectly improve the stock and structure of social capital. For the long-wave program, public policy should focus on rebuilding social capital, particularly bridging social capital.

The corporate strategy literature distinguishes between short-wave (quick benefits) and long-wave (delayed but more important and sustainable benefits) programs.


Like other European Union countries, Poland has also provided support from public funds for the setup and operation of producers' organizations (POs). The fact that such measures have been consistently included in agricultural policy measures indicates that cooperation among farmers in Poland, although very much desired, is still insufficient [11] . Investigations show that the effects of support for the setting up of agricultural producer organizations are at best moderate when we take into account the number of farmers that are members of POs and their share in the marketing of agricultural products. After about 20 years of implementing measures aimed at setting up POs in Poland, many still operate. However, data from public registers of POs show that a significant number of them closed despite receiving support from public funds.

The fact that such measures have been consistently included in agricultural policy measures indicates that cooperation among farmers in Poland, although very much desired, is still insufficient.


There are also other tangible benefits brought by producer groups. Those most often mentioned are an increase in the income of producers in the groups, improvement of the quality of commodities produced, and a greater diversity of products placed on the market [6] . However, one should not forget that cooperation and the related benefits require farmers to relinquish their independence in marketing and production activities. From an individual producer's perspective, they also imply a slower decision-making process or the need to incur the costs of additional investment [10] .

Those most often mentioned are an increase in the income of producers in the groups, improvement of the quality of commodities produced, and a greater diversity of products placed on the market.

From an individual producer's perspective, they also imply a slower decision-making process or the need to incur the costs of additional investment.


Cooperation in producers' organizations (POs) may be justified by the advantages of the economies of scale and the willingness to minimize transaction costs accompanying the processes of producing and selling agri-food products [7, 8] . It should enable the concentration of the supply of agricultural products, thereby facilitating negotiations relating to the conditions of their sale. Similarly, by creating the possibility for planning joint production and concentrating demand for agricultural inputs, it ought to reinforce the farmers' negotiation position vis-a-vis the suppliers of agricultural inputs. Finally, by making it possible to take advantage of economies of scale, such cooperation may also enable farmers to cover the costs of investment projects aimed at capturing new markets, improving the quality of the commodities produced, or creating and promoting their own brands. Furthermore, it is worthwhile mentioning that a side effect of the producer groups' existence might be the links between producers, processors, and commercial agents; these links could be important for the efficient functioning of the market, resulting in market and price stabilization [6, 9] .

Cooperation in producers' organizations (POs) may be justified by the advantages of the economies of scale and the willingness to minimize transaction costs accompanying the processes of producing and selling agri-food products.

Furthermore, it is worthwhile mentioning that a side effect of the producer groups' existence might be the links between producers, processors, and commercial agents; these links could be important for the efficient functioning of the market, resulting in market and price stabilization.


At engine start the exhaust gas temperature and therefore the SCR temperature in under-floor position is low and the light-off of the SCR catalyst becomes a limiting factor even though the start-up unit is already ready to dose. As the exhaust gas temperature increases, and the NO x sensor upstream of the SCR catalyst reaches the light-off temperature of the catalyst (140 • C), ammonia dosing commences and the NO x emissions decrease [15] . For DPF equipped vehicles as the exhaust gas temperature increases, the NO to NO 2 conversion increases at the DOC in order to assist the passive DPF regeneration with NO 2 at lower temperatures. At these exhaust gas temperatures the reduction efficiency of the SCR is optimal including the effect of the fast SCR reaction involving NO and NO 2 resulting in very low NO 2 emissions. The dosing strategy of the specific retrofit does not take into account the stored NH 3 with storage model; it uses the NO x concentration measured by the NO x sensors upstream and downstream of the SCR to adjust the dosing. Overdosing (over-release) of NH 3 that cannot be stored can result in excess NH 3 emissions. At high speeds the catalyst reaches temperatures that can maximize the production of N 2 O from NO 2 or NH 3 .

As the exhaust gas temperature increases, and the NO x sensor upstream of the SCR catalyst reaches the light-off temperature of the catalyst (140 • C), ammonia dosing commences and the NO x emissions decrease.


The epidemiology of mycobacterial infections had changed drastically in the past few decades and in-turn changing the treatment regimen and management practices, especially after AIDS epidemic [18] . In the terminal stages of AIDS, where CD 4 + lymphocyte counts falls below 100, not only M. tuberculosis but several NTM also cause infection and can be isolated from blood, tissue, sputum and fecal samples [19] . The NTM disease not necessarily remains localized, but cause disseminated infection such as M. avium-intracellulare complex (MAC) [20] . The prognosis for the MAC infected AIDS patient is usually poor, largely due to the inherent resistance of these organisms to most of the available anti-tubercular drugs and have high toxicity.

The epidemiology of mycobacterial infections had changed drastically in the past few decades and in-turn changing the treatment regimen and management practices, especially after AIDS epidemic.

In the terminal stages of AIDS, where CD 4 + lymphocyte counts falls below 100, not only M. tuberculosis but several NTM also cause infection and can be isolated from blood, tissue, sputum and fecal samples.

The NTM disease not necessarily remains localized, but cause disseminated infection such as M. avium-intracellulare complex (MAC).


The global warming problem has been recognized as a result of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Electricity sector accounts for 29% of the GHG emission in the UK in 2015. It is therefore important to regulate energy generation and consumption [1] . For generators, they need to consider the emission allowances while minimizing their operational costs. For customers, they can adjust their behaviors to save payment bills, consequently reducing the emissions [2] . In the UK, for example, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is responsible for scheduling primary energy sources and providing monetary incentives from funded schemes for carbon reductions, such as the Green Deal [3] . Meanwhile, Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), serving as a government regulator, takes the consumer's interests as a whole responsibility, including their interests in the reduction of GHG [4] . The Big Six Energy Suppliers, serving as a retailer, buys the electricity from wholesale market and pays the policy costs before charging customers electricity bills [5] . For simplicity, this paper takes generators and retailers as a whole so that the operational costs and emission constraints can be considered at the same time.

It is therefore important to regulate energy generation and consumption.

For customers, they can adjust their behaviors to save payment bills, consequently reducing the emissions.

In the UK, for example, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is responsible for scheduling primary energy sources and providing monetary incentives from funded schemes for carbon reductions, such as the Green Deal.

Meanwhile, Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), serving as a government regulator, takes the consumer's interests as a whole responsibility, including their interests in the reduction of GHG.

The Big Six Energy Suppliers, serving as a retailer, buys the electricity from wholesale market and pays the policy costs before charging customers electricity bills.


For the electricity generation and demand, uncertainties such as the variations of fuel prices and climate conditions should be considered. There are a number of studies in literature focused on the short-term and long-term forecasting of electricity generation and demand [6, 7] . However, the analysis of fuel uses in electricity generation by major producers that can elementally mitigate the emissions from the very beginning of carbon cycles is rarely seen. Therefore, it could be useful to apply this approach to the behavior learning and optimization. A more dedicated study for behavior learning, multiobjective optimization, and allocating carbon emission targets for each participant in energy market should be proposed to address the carbon market scheduling problem. The contributions of this paper can be summarized as follows: 1) The carbon market scheduling is involved in the hierarchical model, and the responsibility of each participant can be identified; 2) The behavior learning approach takes the uncertainties into account to support a prediction for carbon market scheduling.

There are a number of studies in literature focused on the short-term and long-term forecasting of electricity generation and demand.


Further, the diversity measures are based on the fact that the number of species was fixed and equal to the same as that which has been observed. There are methods which estimate the number of species using the sample data on the abundances of observed species [30] [31] . Therefore, it would be more realistic to allow for random distribution of not only the proportion or abundance of a given species, but also of the number of species in a given geographical region during a given period of time.

There are methods which estimate the number of species using the sample data on the abundances of observed species.


Existing methods in skin wound treatment have shown steady progress, with increasing survival rate in large-scale burn injuries. There are broadly two types of treatment methods for skin wounds. The first is the medication method, in which coating medicines are applied onto wounded area and covered with bandages. Frequent dressing changes are required to clear body discharges and replace medicines. However, such frequent changes cause severe pains and increase the rate of inflammation. The second method is skin transplantation, which is more effective in both improving healing and decreasing infections. However, this method is associated with several limitations such as the shortage of donor skin tissues and high cost [10] . As such, skin dressing is still the most widely used treatment in clinical practice and will remain so in the foreseeable future. There is an unmet need for novel materials for better functionality, availability, and effectiveness in skin wound dressing.

However, this method is associated with several limitations such as the shortage of donor skin tissues and high cost.


In this study, we explored new nanofibres-based dressing materials with better clinical properties to address the problems associated with existing woven and nonwoven materials currently used in skin wound treatment. The advantages of nanofibres network over the traditional dressing materials come from its large surface/volume ratio [11] . This helps to promote permeation of water molecules through the dressing to regulate the moisture level at the wound surface, an important factor to promote cell growth and reduce inflammation. The large surface/volume ratio system also allows drugs, for example, antibacterial drugs or cell growth promoters, to be retained within the structure to control The electrospinning system. The electrospinning setup is composed of a syringe and blunt-end needle, a ground electrode as a collector, and a high-voltage supply with a low-current output (limited to a few mA) to generate a static electric field.

The advantages of nanofibres network over the traditional dressing materials come from its large surface/volume ratio.


Colonization of surfaces by marine organisms, commonly referred to as biofouling, happens as soon as surfaces are immersed into open waters. Adherent organisms on ship hulls, static structures, sensors and desalination plants are associated with huge costs for cleaning and maintenance (Townsin 2003) . While the majority of coatings rely on the release of biocides, the most promising environmentally friendly antifouling strategies use weakening of adhesion strength (fouling release coatings), active interference with the adhesives, or inhibition of the adhesion process by rendering surfaces inhospitable (Callow and Callow 2011) . As the latter approaches target the most important step in biofouling -surface colonization -understanding exploration and selection of interfaces is of central relevance to guide coating development.

Adherent organisms on ship hulls, static structures, sensors and desalination plants are associated with huge costs for cleaning and maintenance.

While the majority of coatings rely on the release of biocides, the most promising environmentally friendly antifouling strategies use weakening of adhesion strength (fouling release coatings), active interference with the adhesives, or inhibition of the adhesion process by rendering surfaces inhospitable.


Questions about the recruitment of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in North America remain enigmatic, especially in regard to the relationship between events in fresh water and in the sea. Although there are concerns about the impact that climate can ultimately have on recruitment, there are few data to link recruitment of these stocks to broad-scale climate forcing. Thus, the dramatic decline in stocks reproducing at the southern end of the range in North America, as evidenced by the recent endangered listings of salmon populations in Maine, U.S.A., and the Bay of Fundy, Canada, re-mains largely unexplained (Anderson et al. 2000) . And though not as severe, there is also evidence of a decline in salmon in the core distribution areas of the North American stock complex, which is also largely unexplained and which complicates the imposition of management restrictions (Chaput et al. 1998) . Where climate-impact studies are typically a search for prediction models of the survival rates within populations, analyzing the impact of climate on Atlantic salmon is evolving into a search for survival rates among populations.

Thus, the dramatic decline in stocks reproducing at the southern end of the range in North America, as evidenced by the recent endangered listings of salmon populations in Maine, U.S.A., and the Bay of Fundy, Canada, re-mains largely unexplained.

And though not as severe, there is also evidence of a decline in salmon in the core distribution areas of the North American stock complex, which is also largely unexplained and which complicates the imposition of management restrictions.


The timing of ocean entry has been recognized as a critical trait for locally adapted salmon populations. Our results suggest that emigrational cues are not in synchronization with target ocean conditions favorable to post-smolts in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, which is the core area of the distribution of salmon in North America. However, we might expect a different response for populations from other parts of the range. For Norwegian rivers, it has been shown that the timing of smolt migration is a population-specific characteristic that changes with latitude (Hvidsten et al. 1998) . It is believed that the specific timing of the migration is to provide optimal feeding conditions outside the river of origin during the early marine phase. Genetic evidence suggests that the local adaptations go beyond simple migrational cues and include adaptations related to growth and development as well (Nielsen et al. 2001) . Smolt migration timing has been characterized for a group of Icelandic rivers, where despite wide variation in the timing of smolt runs, post-smolts enter the ocean within a relatively narrow range of ocean temperatures (Antonsson and Gudjonsson 2002) . However, the Northwest Atlantic is far more dynamic than either the central or northeastern regions of the Atlantic Ocean. Responding to primarily a temperature-related cue, migration timing of stocks into the Gulf of St. Lawrence would appear to have changed little over the past century. However, there have been dramatic changes in the thermal conditions in the ocean and, by supposition, ecosystem conditions impacting post-smolts. A related effect may be at work in the Gulf of Maine and Nova Scotia areas where air temperatures in spring have increased suggesting that migrations may have shifted to earlier dates.

For Norwegian rivers, it has been shown that the timing of smolt migration is a population-specific characteristic that changes with latitude.

Genetic evidence suggests that the local adaptations go beyond simple migrational cues and include adaptations related to growth and development as well.

Smolt migration timing has been characterized for a group of Icelandic rivers, where despite wide variation in the timing of smolt runs, post-smolts enter the ocean within a relatively narrow range of ocean temperatures.


The main purpose of this paper is not to provide another definition; rather, it is to define the key characteristics of a BPM system, based on a review of the definitions found in the literature. To define a concept, it is crucial to identify the necessary and sufficient 3 conditions for its existence (Brennan, 2003) . This article, therefore, seeks to encourage a debate in the academic and practitioner communities regarding the main elements of business performance measurement systems. This reflective dialogue will hopefully lead to a shared and comprehensive definition of a BPM system.

To define a concept, it is crucial to identify the necessary and sufficient 3 conditions for its existence.


The field of Business 1 Performance Measurement (BPM) lacks a cohesive body of knowledge (Marr and Schiuma, 2003) . Management researchers in areas as diverse as strategy management, operations management, human resources, organisational behaviour, information systems, marketing, and management accounting and control are contributing to the field of performance measurement (Neely, 2002; Marr and Schiuma, 2003; Franco-Santos and Bourne, 2005) . While diverse and multi-disciplinary research is appealing, it can also foster complications. These different approaches towards performance measurement have led to numerous definitions of a BPM system 2 , and there is little consensus regarding its main components and characteristics (Dumond, 1994) .

The field of Business 1 Performance Measurement (BPM) lacks a cohesive body of knowledge.

Management researchers in areas as diverse as strategy management, operations management, human resources, organisational behaviour, information systems, marketing, and management accounting and control are contributing to the field of performance measurement.

These different approaches towards performance measurement have led to numerous definitions of a BPM system 2 , and there is little consensus regarding its main components and characteristics.


Handedness or chirality is a symmetry property: an object is chiral if it cannot be superimposed on its mirror image [1] . The two mirror images are called enantiomers. Chirality at the molecular scale plays a fundamental role in living systems for which many mechanisms are based on the selective interaction between chiral active species and chiral receptors. The biological and physiological effects of such enantio-specific interactions can be dramatically affected by the handedness of the enantiomer. Thus, chiral recognition/detection is of prime importance in key areas such as chemical synthesis, catalysis, pharmaceutics and biomedical work.

Handedness or chirality is a symmetry property: an object is chiral if it cannot be superimposed on its mirror image.


The concept of a solid miniaturized chiral sensor opens exciting perspectives in process monitoring. Recently, the differential detection of isomers was demonstrated using an organic thin-film transistor gas sensor [2] . The chiral discrimination arises from in-diffusion and the subsequent capture of target molecules in the outermost chiral layer. This capture-based sensing depends on finding a good receptor-analyze association.

Recently, the differential detection of isomers was demonstrated using an organic thin-film transistor gas sensor.


Field data on large-scale effluent treatment systems are scarce for land-based intensive turbot production (Hussenot et al. 1998; Borges and Soares 2001; Blancheton et al. 2002) . Moreover, references to marine fish farms working under different cycles of fresh/recirculated water and using outdoor large-scale treatment systems involving biological and non-biological processes are rare. The present work aimed at contributing to the evaluation of the effluent characteristics and the performance of an outdoor biological and non-biological treatment system in a Portuguese intensive turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) fish farm, operating under different hydraulic regimes. In order to achieve future improvements in the biofiltration system, a preliminary study on the bacterial populations of the biofilter was undertaken.

Field data on large-scale effluent treatment systems are scarce for land-based intensive turbot production.


Ethnicity clearly provides an important and often overlooked context for understanding the more immediate environments in which people live, and the factors that could influence their appraisal of and attitudes toward events. Cultural views of pregnancy could also be a factor. Among Mexican women, for example, the word for labor (dolor) means sorrow or pain, and the expectation of giving birth can produce a great deal of fear (Keinan, 1998) . Some ethnic differences have been also found in levels of perceived and received social support, which could influence attitudes toward the pregnancy (Sagrestano et al., 1999) . Further investigation of stress processes in pregnancy within specific ethnic and cultural groups is needed to examine these issues.

Among Mexican women, for example, the word for labor (dolor) means sorrow or pain, and the expectation of giving birth can produce a great deal of fear.

Some ethnic differences have been also found in levels of perceived and received social support, which could influence attitudes toward the pregnancy.


There is evidence of large differences in mammographyuse between the population groups. The age adjusted rate of self-reported mammography-use among Arab women was much lower compared to Jewish women. In 2003-4, self-reported mammography-use during the preceding two years, in the general population, was 71% among all Jewish women and 47% among Arab women (age 50-74) [25] . Another study estimated the rate of mammographyuse among Arab women aged 50-74 as only 20% [26] . Immigrant women from the former Soviet Union (fSU) also reported lower levels of mammography-use compared to non-immigrant Jewish women. In the same survey run during 2003-4, 59.8% of immigrant women (aged 50-74) arriving in Israel during the years 1990-1998 from the fSU reported having a mammogram during the past two years. This number was even lower for immigrant women arriving in Israel from the fSU during the years 1999-2004 (49.3%), compared to 71% among nonimmigrant Jewish women living in Israel from before 1989 [27] . No published data on mammography-use is available for ultraorthodox women.

In 2003-4, self-reported mammography-use during the preceding two years, in the general population, was 71% among all Jewish women and 47% among Arab women (age 50-74).

Another study estimated the rate of mammographyuse among Arab women aged 50-74 as only 20%.

This number was even lower for immigrant women arriving in Israel from the fSU during the years 1999-2004 (49.3%), compared to 71% among nonimmigrant Jewish women living in Israel from before 1989.


The TLR4 gene is mapped on chromosome 9 and consists of three exons. Two common non-synonymous SNPs (+896A/G rs4986790 and +1196C/T rs4986791) have been found in exon 3 of gene which induce substitution of amino acids Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile, respectively. The substitution of Asp299Gly disrupts the normal structure of the extracellular region of the TLR4, which may cause decreased ligand recognition or protein interaction and decreased responsiveness to lipopolysaccharide [8] . Consequently, such change can affect the transport of TLR4 to the cell membrane and lead to an exaggerated inflammatory response with severe tissue destruction [9] . TLR4 Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile are known to co-segregate in 10% of the Caucasian populations and are reported to have positive correlation with susceptibility to several diseases. However, neither SNP is present in Asian populations [10] .

The substitution of Asp299Gly disrupts the normal structure of the extracellular region of the TLR4, which may cause decreased ligand recognition or protein interaction and decreased responsiveness to lipopolysaccharide.

Consequently, such change can affect the transport of TLR4 to the cell membrane and lead to an exaggerated inflammatory response with severe tissue destruction.

However, neither SNP is present in Asian populations.


Plant knowledge is still firsthand for the older generations, but a shift to a sedentary lifestyle and modern medicine means that most youth have little knowledge of traditional plants. This is especially difficult to acquire given the language barrier between youth and elders, as is the case in Nain. But even in Kangiqsualujjuaq where Inuktitut is spoken by all generations, botanical terms are lacking, with the exception perhaps of the edible berries and other important plants, such as those used for fuel. Reintegrating these traditions (e.g., by including plants among other more well-known and still used traditional foods) could have positive effects for health as well as Inuit cultural identity (Turner and Turner 2008; Mead et al. 2010; Downing and Cuerrier 2011) .

Reintegrating these traditions (e.g., by including plants among other more well-known and still used traditional foods) could have positive effects for health as well as Inuit cultural identity.


In this paper we consider the problem whether (HS) has nonconstant periodic solutions in a domain Ω = C. This is, of course, a basic question about any Hamiltonian system, which however has not been addressed for the N-vortex problem in a general domain. The difficulty is that the Hamiltonian is singular, not integrable, and energy levels are not compact and not known to be of contact type, so standard methods do not apply. It is even difficult to prove the existence of stationary points of (HS). The only exception is the case N = 2 and Γ 1 Γ 2 < 0 when H Ω is bounded above and H Ω (z 1 , z 2 ) → −∞ if z k → ∂Ω or z 1 − z 2 → 0. Thus energy surfaces are compact, and periodic solutions abound according to a result of Struwe [36] . In all other cases energy surfaces are not compact, and H Ω is not bounded from above or below, in fact H Ω (z) may approach any value in R ∪ {±∞} if some of the z k 's approach the boundary ∂Ω. Therefore it is not surprising that there are no results on the existence of nonconstant periodic solutions except when the domain is radial. In that case, and when Γ k = Γ 1 for all k, it is not difficult to find periodic solutions where the N vortices are arranged symmetrically.

Thus energy surfaces are compact, and periodic solutions abound according to a result of Struwe.


In GNSS, the transmitter utilizes a pseudo random noise (PRN) sequence to expand a narrow-band signal over a wider spectrum. The PRN codes repeat with the period of T c , and the codes used by different satellites are quasi-orthogonal [1] . This means that the crosscorrelation function between two different codes or the auto-correlation between a specific code and a shifted version of it takes a small value. A correlation peak is observed when taking a correlation between the received signal and a code which is present in the received signal, and the two codes are aligned with each other [2, 3] .

The PRN codes repeat with the period of T c , and the codes used by different satellites are quasi-orthogonal.

A correlation peak is observed when taking a correlation between the received signal and a code which is present in the received signal, and the two codes are aligned with each other.


Another parameter which must be extracted by the receiver is the Doppler frequency shift caused by the satellite's and the user's motion. The Doppler frequency shift is also a random variable with uniform distribution over the interval of [−10, 10] kHz. The state of the art to estimate the Doppler frequency shift is that the receiver fulfills a sequential search over the interval of [−10, 10] kHz with a step size of α. The combination of search in the two dimensions for the code phase and the Doppler shift is called acquisition. The acquisition is performed either in the time domain, frequency domain, or combination of both [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] .

The acquisition is performed either in the time domain, frequency domain, or combination of both.


The Kuiper Belt holds a large population of small objects which are thought to be remnants of the protosolar nebula (Jewitt & Luu 1993) . The Belt is also the most likely origin of other outer solar system objects such as Pluto-Charon, Triton, and the short-period comets; its study should therefore provide clues to the understanding of the processes that shaped our solar system. More than 650 Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) are known to date and a total of about 10 5 objects larger than 50 km are thought to orbit the Sun beyond Neptune (Jewitt & Luu 2000) .

The Kuiper Belt holds a large population of small objects which are thought to be remnants of the protosolar nebula.

More than 650 Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) are known to date and a total of about 10 5 objects larger than 50 km are thought to orbit the Sun beyond Neptune.


Furthermore, firms listed at a stock market have an option of obtaining long term financing by issuing additional shares (equity financing) or taking loans from commercial banks (debt financing). However, firms often seek to minimize the cost of funds and maximize existing shareholders' wealth. Therefore, lower lending rates could induce firms to use more loans from banks and issue fewer additional shares with a view to reducing the cost of capital while minimizing the chances of diluting existing shares. Thus, lower lending rates are expected to translate into rising stock market returns (Kganyago & Gumbo, 2015) . On the other hand, high lending rates might force firms to issue more shares in order to raise investment finances. This could in turn drive down share prices and lead to a decline in stock market returns. Rising lending rates could also increase interest expenses and reduce cash flows and stock market returns.

Thus, lower lending rates are expected to translate into rising stock market returns.


For the pump power in the rather small range of 9.5-10.0 W, the temporal trace in the oscilloscope revealed the laser to be in an intermittent mode-locked state and there were several peaks which appeared in the RF spectrum. The peak frequencies corresponded to the harmonics of the longitudinal mode spacing f L = 1.8 GHz, as shown in figure 2(b) . Since the mode-locked pulse train was discontinuous, the peak values in the RF spectrum were generally less than 20 dBm, considerably smaller than the standard value of well-behaved modelocked lasers. For the pump power greater than 10.0 W, the temporal trace in the oscilloscope displayed the laser to be in a continuous mode-locked state and the structure of the pulse train was spatially dependent. Meanwhile, there were two beat peaks which accompanied the harmonics of the longitudinal mode spacing in the RF spectrum, as shown in figure 2(c) for the result measured at a pump power of 11.5 W. The beat frequency was measured to be 375 MHz which exactly corresponded to the transverse mode spacing f T . When the pump power was up to 15 W, the overall temporal behaviour was found to be unchanged, as shown in figure 2(d) . The spatial dependence of the mode-locked pulse train and the appearance of the beat peaks at the frequencies of f = mf L ± f T with m =1, 2, 3 in the RF spectrum clearly indicated that the first high-order transverse mode had been generated. Experimental results imply that the presence of the high-order transverse modes is intimately associated with the emergence of a longlasting SML operation. It is worthwhile to mention that this association is absent from the SML solid-state lasers [7] [8] [9] . Figure 4 shows overall performances for the laser operated in the mode-locked state. The transverse pattern became elliptical and the temporal trace in the centre of the transverse pattern displayed full modulation without any CW background, as shown in figures 4(a) and (b), respectively. Note that the temporal traces in the position out of the beam center were generally found to be modulated with the transverse beat frequency. This spatiotemporal dynamics is attributed to the simultaneous longitudinal and transverse mode locking [18] . The full width at half maximum (FWHM) in the optical spectrum was found to be as wide as 1.8 nm, as shown in figure 4(c) . The pulse width for the mode-locked pulse train was measured with an autocorrelator (APE pulse check, Angewandte Physik & Elektronik GmbH). Assuming the Gaussian-shaped temporal profile, the FWHM of the pulse was approximately 935 fs, as shown in the inset of figure 4(c). As a result, the time-bandwidth product was approximately 0.446, which was close to the Fourier-limited value.

It is worthwhile to mention that this association is absent from the SML solid-state lasers.

This spatiotemporal dynamics is attributed to the simultaneous longitudinal and transverse mode locking.


Many of the concrete structures used in nuclear facilities have this residual radioactive contamination [2, 6, 7] . But often, the radionucleotide material is only contained in the concrete surface layer and typically comprises: strontium; caesium; cobalt; and uranium [8] . While this material is considered relatively low level waste, there is a need for an efficient system to remove the contaminated surface when decommissioning a site, so the remainder of the structure can be processed through a more conventional waste processing stream. By segregating the contaminated surface from the bulk concrete, reductions in the volume of radioactive material can be achieved leading to greater efficiencies in the downstream waste treatment process i.e. recycling; densification and disposal.

Many of the concrete structures used in nuclear facilities have this residual radioactive contamination.

But often, the radionucleotide material is only contained in the concrete surface layer and typically comprises: strontium; caesium; cobalt; and uranium.


Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) include autistic disorder (or classic autism), Asperger syndrome, pervasive developmental disorders-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), and childhood disintegrative disorder. As a childhood disease, autism is characterized by three core symptoms with impaired reciprocal social interaction and communication, a pattern of repetitive behavior and/or restricted interests [1] [2] [3] [4] . Clinical diagnosis of ASD is based on behavioral history and behavioral assessments of the clinical features by child psychiatrists. Clinicians usually use validated diagnostics tools. Much more attention has been given to the significant increase in the reported incidence of ASDs in the world today [5] . The rise of autism has been attributed to the changes in diagnostic tools, professional awareness of the disease, and broader diagnostic definition [5, 6] . Today, the prevalence of the disease is reported to be approximately 1/80-100 [4, 5, 7] .

As a childhood disease, autism is characterized by three core symptoms with impaired reciprocal social interaction and communication, a pattern of repetitive behavior and/or restricted interests.

Much more attention has been given to the significant increase in the reported incidence of ASDs in the world today.

The rise of autism has been attributed to the changes in diagnostic tools, professional awareness of the disease, and broader diagnostic definition.

Today, the prevalence of the disease is reported to be approximately 1/80-100.


There are other potential explanations that may explain these findings as well. For example, perhaps some other aspect of being a sexual minority (other than stress incurred as a result of social forces) is related to risk-taking, risk-seeking, or the desire for novelty or sensory stimulation that might be associated with health risks in the long term. This might be especially likely for those who identify as heterosexual but engage in sex with the same gender. Sensation-seeking is a personality trait that may predispose an individual toward substance use and mental health problems [35] . Heterosexual-identified individuals who exhibit higher levels of this personality trait may also be predisposed to same-sex sexual behaviors [36] .

Sensation-seeking is a personality trait that may predispose an individual toward substance use and mental health problems.

Heterosexual-identified individuals who exhibit higher levels of this personality trait may also be predisposed to same-sex sexual behaviors.


Studies from regions with more tolerant and progressive political and social environments also identify compromised health for self-identified lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) young adults [22] . An example of a "socially progressive" society where LGB young adults face compromised health is Norway [6] . Norway has led the U.S. in multiple legislative actions aimed at ensuring equal protection and decreasing discrimination of sexual minority populations, including anti-discrimination laws, open service in the armed forces, domestic partnerships, and ultimately marriage rights. Norway was the first country in the world to enact a law in 1981 that prohibited discrimination against LGB people, and in 1993 became the second nation in the world to recognize to same-sex relationships [23] . In addition, disapproval of homosexuality has been historically low in Norway among the general population and lower than in many other European nations [24] . Though the U.S. is much more racially heterogeneous and larger (in terms of population and geographic size) than Norway, the sexual minority-specific policy differences between the two countries are vast. Because of the differing social environments between North America and Scandinavia, Norway is well positioned as a contrast to the U.S. for investigating the ecological implications of sociocultural context to the experiences of sexual minority individuals.

Studies from regions with more tolerant and progressive political and social environments also identify compromised health for self-identified lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) young adults.

An example of a "socially progressive" society where LGB young adults face compromised health is Norway.

Norway was the first country in the world to enact a law in 1981 that prohibited discrimination against LGB people, and in 1993 became the second nation in the world to recognize to same-sex relationships.

In addition, disapproval of homosexuality has been historically low in Norway among the general population and lower than in many other European nations.


Population studies in the United States (U.S.) have identified patterns of multiple mental health problems experienced by those identified as sexual minorities (e.g., lesbians, gays, bisexuals), such as higher rates of depression, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and self-harm, compared to heterosexuals [1] . Experiences of discrimination among sexual minorities have been explored as explanations for these disparities [2, 3] . A parallel body of research identified similar patterns of mental health outcomes experienced by sexual minorities across Europe [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] .

Population studies in the United States (U.S.) have identified patterns of multiple mental health problems experienced by those identified as sexual minorities (e.g., lesbians, gays, bisexuals), such as higher rates of depression, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and self-harm, compared to heterosexuals.

Experiences of discrimination among sexual minorities have been explored as explanations for these disparities.

A parallel body of research identified similar patterns of mental health outcomes experienced by sexual minorities across Europe.


Developmentally, adolescence is a meaningful time to capture the experiences of sexual minorities, as it is a time when many disclose their sexual identities to others and move away from the communities and relationships that served as the contexts for their early development. Research suggests that this is a particularly vulnerable developmental period for sexual minority youth [9] [10] [11] [12] . The continual process of disclosure and concealment of one's sexual identity can be a source of significant stress to sexual minority youth and may explain observed mental health disparities [13, 14] .

Research suggests that this is a particularly vulnerable developmental period for sexual minority youth.

The continual process of disclosure and concealment of one's sexual identity can be a source of significant stress to sexual minority youth and may explain observed mental health disparities.


Glass is characterized by a viscosity that decreases rapidly with increasing temperature; for a typical glass used in the redraw process, the required temperature change of approximately 250 K corresponds to a viscosity change of three orders of magnitude. For this reason, most of the stretching takes place in the region where the glass temperature is maximized. The fully coupled flow-temperature problem may in principle be tackled using finite-element software, but leaves little scope for mathematical analysis. In this paper, we instead suppose that the temperature (and hence viscosity) profile in the sheet is prescribed, and focus our attention on the fluid mechanical processes that underlie edge thickening. This approach is valid when the transfer of heat to the sheet due to radiation and air convection is large compared with convection of heat in the direction of drawing (Taroni et al. 2012) .

This approach is valid when the transfer of heat to the sheet due to radiation and air convection is large compared with convection of heat in the direction of drawing.


The emergence of the PLA/PET mixture from the injection moulding nozzle over time is shown in figure 6 , which is a plot of the conformity index (CI) against spectrum number for the trial conducted with 0.09% PLA. The conformity index was calculated for the unprocessed spectra by calculations given elsewhere [11] . It can be clearly seen that the emergence of the new mixture is detected after about twenty shots and that the conformity index increases until it reaches a steady state, at which point the spectra can be considered to be representative of the test mixture and can be used for the chemometric modelling. The plot also shows how sensitive the in-line spectroscopy system is to small changes in the composition of the polymer melt, as all other conditions, such as temperature, hold time and injection pressure were kept constant during the injection moulding run. Figure 7 shows the cross-validation plots for the chemometric models (a)A, (b)B, (c)C and (d)E and the output parameters are given in Table 3 , which lists the method of spectral region selection (software default or PLA specific); the optimisation algorithm (NIR or GenB); the spectral preprocessing (none or 1 st derivative); the rank (equivalent to the number of factors used in the PLS); the Root-Mean Square Error of Covariance (RMSECV) and the coefficient of determination (r 2 ) which approaches 100% as the predicted concentrations approach the true values. The validation plots are shown in preference to the calibration plots because the latter show the fitted values for PLA% and, as a result, the calibration plot tends to suggest a good fit, whereas the cross-validation plot is a more stringent visual representation of the fit of the predicted values. Thus, the cross-validation plot for model A shows good correspondence between predicted and true values for PLA% in PET, and this is supported by an r 2 value of 98.2% and a REMSECV value of 0.0035, both of which indicate a low error in prediction. This model, which was generated using the NIR algorithm of the Quant2 tool, used predefined spectral regions which are not necessarily specific to the spectrum of PLA (Table 3 ). The region 9750-7500cm -1 contains the second overtone vibrations of C-H stretches as well as first overtone vibrations of C-H combination bands, while the region 5450-4600cm -1 contains the second overtones of carbonyl stretches as well as first overtones of O-H stretches, including those due to water, although this was not expected to be present as all materials were dried prior to running the injection moulding trials.

The conformity index was calculated for the unprocessed spectra by calculations given elsewhere.


The European Packaging and Waste Directive (94/62/EC), revised in 2004 to (2004/12/EC), required that between 55 and 80% by weight of packaging waste be recycled by December 2008 and that the minimum proportion of plastic waste be 22.5%. In the case of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) this latter target has driven the reprocessing of recycled PET (rPET) into food grade material, where its price can match that of virgin PET. Food grade rPET must conform to criteria set out in Commission Regulation EC 282/2008, which means that recyclers need to reduce all contaminants to below prescribed levels. Despite constant advances in plastics sorting technology, there remain several threats to the quality of rPET. One such threat is from bioplastics such as poly(lactic acid) (PLA) which represent a relatively new type of thermoplastic material derived from renewable biomass sources. Driven by the industry need to develop bio-based materials to replace the petroleum based plastics, production of PLA has been estimated to expand from £6.6billion to £10billion of PLA annually [1] .

Driven by the industry need to develop bio-based materials to replace the petroleum based plastics, production of PLA has been estimated to expand from £6.6billion to £10billion of PLA annually.


To date, only one previous study investigated the separation of PET and PLA [12] . The authors used a hyperspectral imaging (HSI) technique to discriminate between the two polymers. This method combined the spatial information characteristic of imaging techniques and the spectral details. Spectral data was recorded from every pixel across the image and it was suggested that this provided a more comprehensive measure of the chemical composition as derived from spectral data. Several chemometric methods: Principle Component Analysis (PCA); Partial Least Squares-Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) and Multivariate Curve Resolution (MCR) were used to analyse the collected data. The PLS-DA model identified the region 1600-1650nm (6250-6060cm -1 ), corresponding to first overtone of the C-H stretching vibration, as the most significant one. This is in agreement with the current study, which also identified the C-H stretching region as being significant for the model prediction. However, in order to eliminate any further errors derived from baseline shifts the second overtone of the C-H stretching region, 9000-8000cm -1 , has been considered as most appropriate here.

To date, only one previous study investigated the separation of PET and PLA.


The importance of China reducing its global emissions has attracted the attention of many researchers as they attempt to identify factors that may determine the country's transition towards a low-carbon economy. This research has benefited from the development of spatial econometrics, which allows for analyses of China's trends and drivers of carbon emissions that permit variation both in the patterns and drivers across regions. Some impressive studies have applied spatial panel models to analyze China's regional or industrial environmental Kuznets curve [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] . However, most of these studies tend to focus on the impact of economic growth and foreign direct investment (FDI) on carbon emission, while the impacts of other factors, such as population size, urbanization, and energy price, are often ignored. Secondly, most of the researchers opt for either a fixed-effects model or a spatial lag and spatial error model, which usually give different empirical results and thus lead to some discrepancies. Although studies have used spatial econometric techniques to analyze carbon emissions, most of the models used generally face selection bias problems associated with the choice of a spatial lag model or spatial error model, fixed-effects or random-effects model, spatial heterogeneity model, and the construction of a spatial weight matrix.

Some impressive studies have applied spatial panel models to analyze China's regional or industrial environmental Kuznets curve.


Because GH secretion is pulsatile, elevated serum IGF-1 levels are a useful screening tool for acromegaly. However, IGF-1 levels vary according to age, gender, and estrogen therapy and are suppressed in some conditions, such as hepatic disease, malnutrition, and poorly controlled diabetes mellitus [3, 4] . When serum IGF-1 levels are normal, it is easy to misdiagnose acromegaly without a GH suppression test. We recently encountered an unusual case of an acromegalic patient who had normal IGF-1 levels and severe CHF as the first clinical manifestation. Therefore, we report this case with a literature review.

However, IGF-1 levels vary according to age, gender, and estrogen therapy and are suppressed in some conditions, such as hepatic disease, malnutrition, and poorly controlled diabetes mellitus.


To overcome high computational demand to generate highfrequency data for MOM and to avoid late-time oscillations for a MOT method, the hybrid TD (time domain) and FD (frequency domain) method has been proposed to interpolate and extrapolate both domain data simultaneously using only early-time and low-frequency data [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] . The MOM approach can efficiently generate low-frequency data, while the MOT algorithm can be used to obtain stable early-time data quickly. The basic principle is that the early-time and low-frequency data provide the missing high-frequency response and the missing latetime response, respectively.

To overcome high computational demand to generate highfrequency data for MOM and to avoid late-time oscillations for a MOT method, the hybrid TD (time domain) and FD (frequency domain) method has been proposed to interpolate and extrapolate both domain data simultaneously using only early-time and low-frequency data.


Given that guanaco and huemul numbers have increased in the presence of exotic prey and a very high density puma population, that huemul have shown plasticity through predator-avoidance behavior, that they are persisting in puma territory even in presence of exotic prey despite very reduced herd sizes, and that past local extinctions occurred in absence of exotic prey, indicate that apparent competition via puma is an unlikely explanation for this species' failure to recover. Supporting data certainly is nonexistent. On the other hand, I believe that puma predation, even if only occasional as an incidental catch, is a stochastic event which could result in local extinctions of severely reduced herds. Unfortunately, 60% of the herds consist of only 10-20 huemul, which are often isolates such as the last population in central Chile is over 400 km from the next herd (Jiménez et al. 2008) .

Unfortunately, 60% of the herds consist of only 10-20 huemul, which are often isolates such as the last population in central Chile is over 400 km from the next herd.