Ligaments can be described as dense connective tissues that connect bones to other bones to form joints. Th e knee joint is held together by four very important ligaments: the ACL, the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), the medial collateral ligament (MCL) and the lateral collateral ligament (LCL). Th ese ligaments connect the femur and the tibia and play a key role in normal knee kinematics and maintaining joint stability [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] .

Th ese ligaments connect the femur and the tibia and play a key role in normal knee kinematics and maintaining joint stability.


The aim of this prospective clinical quality assessment was to analyse the therapeutic effect of low dose irradiation immediately after completion of RT and during follow-up and to identify possible prognostic factors in patients with calcaneodynia, achillodynia, painful gonarthrosis, painful shoulder syndrome and painful bursitis trochanterica. It is a well-known observation, that the pain relief after RT often occurs after a longer period of time, generally 6 to 12 weeks [1] [2] [3] . However, this phenomenon is not well described and possible implication are not known. Therefore, we examined with this prospective clinical quality assessment, whether a delayed onset of analgesic effects of RT leads to a significantly improved long-term success in comparison to the results immediately after RT.

It is a well-known observation, that the pain relief after RT often occurs after a longer period of time, generally 6 to 12 weeks.


One of the biggest competitive advantages a cargo bicycle has over a delivery truck is its ability to spend little time searching for parking. A recent study conducted by INRIX in 2017 indicates that vehicles spend 9 min on average looking for on-street parking and this significantly adds to traffic congestion and emissions. In Los Angeles or New York, it takes 12 and 15 min on average respectively, to look for on-street parking. In Seattle, where this research was conducted, it takes 9 min on average to find on-street parking. Trucks circling street blocks until parking is found, adds to congestion and increases air pollution. In addition to time spent looking for parking, on street parking require hourly parking payments. In Seattle, two-hour on-street parking costs an average of $9 [12] . Though this research does not focus specifically on delivery trucks, it serves as a telling proxy for the parking challenges that delivery trucks experience.

In Seattle, two-hour on-street parking costs an average of $9.


Understanding the complexity of freight deliveries in dense urban areas is increasingly important. Many cities in the United States are recognizing the impact of urban population growth and e-commerce on freight volumes and the number of freight vehicles on the road. To combat the growing pressures of freight in major urban areas, cities across the U.S. are responding by deploying alternative transportation modes for delivering goods, such as cargo bikes. It is worthwhile to explore the capabilities of EA cargo bicycles in dense urban areas because it is feasible that this technology could play a role in how cities respond to an increased need for goods movement. The European Cycle Logistics Federation reported that, "50% of all light goods, and 25% of all goods could be moved by cycle" [1] . The capabilities and limitations of EA cargo bikes are poorly understood, and increased knowledge about EA cargo bikes could empower and reform the freight industry.

The European Cycle Logistics Federation reported that, "50% of all light goods, and 25% of all goods could be moved by cycle".


UPS, FedEx, and other courier companies have commented on the challenges of operating in dense cities and choosing to illegally park and risk receiving a ticket to meet delivery windows [14] . In 2006, UPS spokeswoman Diane Hatcher said, "We receive by far more parking fines in New York City than anywhere else in the world … Simply stated, we do not have the same level of difficulty with finding available parking spaces or loading zones anywhere else" [14] . Parking tickets are one of the major costs for courier companies. In 2006, couriers large and small, together, owed New York City $102 million in parking fines [15] . In the first quarter of 2013, FedEx and UPS owed NYC $2.8 million total in parking fines [16] . The administrative costs for processing or challenging tickets is immense for both New York City and the courier company. Therefore, New York City cultivated the Stipulated Fine and Commercial Abatement Programs to manage the flow of parking fines associated with delivery trucks [15] . Cargo bicycles do not face the same challenges while operating in a dense urban city because they do not need to park illegally.

UPS, FedEx, and other courier companies have commented on the challenges of operating in dense cities and choosing to illegally park and risk receiving a ticket to meet delivery windows.

In 2006, UPS spokeswoman Diane Hatcher said, "We receive by far more parking fines in New York City than anywhere else in the world … Simply stated, we do not have the same level of difficulty with finding available parking spaces or loading zones anywhere else".

In 2006, couriers large and small, together, owed New York City $102 million in parking fines.

In the first quarter of 2013, FedEx and UPS owed NYC $2.8 million total in parking fines.

Therefore, New York City cultivated the Stipulated Fine and Commercial Abatement Programs to manage the flow of parking fines associated with delivery trucks.


FedEx had a cargo bicycle pilot program in 2009 through their EarthSmart initiative. A small fleet of electric-assist bicycles were deployed in Paris in anticipation of Paris' expansion of its bike lane network. The electric-assist cargo bicycles had a capacity of 53 cubic feet (1.5 cubic meters), operated at 12 mph (20 km/ hour), and had a range of 25 miles (40 km) or 6 h. The bikes were an economic and environmental success [11] .

The electric-assist cargo bicycles had a capacity of 53 cubic feet (1.5 cubic meters), operated at 12 mph (20 km/ hour), and had a range of 25 miles (40 km) or 6 h. The bikes were an economic and environmental success.


As discussed above, particles suspended in shear flows tend to agglomerate and chain resulting in extremely small inter-particle separations. In these situations, the over-prediction of the relative particle velocities can result in non-physical particle overlap. Further, the numerical problems are so severe that even adaptive mesh refinement does not provide an adequate convergence rate to overcome these problems (Mammoli 2005) . Thus, a number of researchers have developed methods of incorporating lubrication approximations based on two-body interactions into their numerical formulations.

Further, the numerical problems are so severe that even adaptive mesh refinement does not provide an adequate convergence rate to overcome these problems.


Higher levels of expression of several genes putatively involved in stress responses is induced by drought in plants colonized by P. indica. Our findings showed that P. indica promotes expression of drought-related genes in maize after 24 h of PEG-6000 treatment, in agreement with a previous study in which a large number of drought-induced genes were more quickly and strongly upregulated in drought-exposed Arabidopsis and Chinese cabbage leaves when the roots were colonized by P. indica [11, 12] . Taking these results together, P. indica may confer drought tolerance to maize by increased antioxidative enzyme activity and proline accumulation, reduced membrane damage and enhanced expression of drought-related genes.

Our findings showed that P. indica promotes expression of drought-related genes in maize after 24 h of PEG-6000 treatment, in agreement with a previous study in which a large number of drought-induced genes were more quickly and strongly upregulated in drought-exposed Arabidopsis and Chinese cabbage leaves when the roots were colonized by P. indica.


Piriformospora indica, a basidiomycete of the Sebacinaceae family, was first isolated from bush rhizosphere zones of the Thar Desert in India [3] . P. indica, which is easily cultivated in axenic culture, is an endophytic fungus that colonizes the roots of a broad range of hosts, promoting host plant growth and increasing plant tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses by affecting physiological properties [3] [4] [5] . Drought can induce the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which cause damage to lipids, carbohydrates, proteins, and DNA [6] [7] [8] [9] . Plants possess a collection of antioxidant enzymes such as catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and peroxidase (POD) that alleviate oxidative stress [10] .

Piriformospora indica, a basidiomycete of the Sebacinaceae family, was first isolated from bush rhizosphere zones of the Thar Desert in India.

P. indica, which is easily cultivated in axenic culture, is an endophytic fungus that colonizes the roots of a broad range of hosts, promoting host plant growth and increasing plant tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses by affecting physiological properties.

Drought can induce the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which cause damage to lipids, carbohydrates, proteins, and DNA.

Plants possess a collection of antioxidant enzymes such as catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and peroxidase (POD) that alleviate oxidative stress.


In a number of applications there is a growing need to power devices or systems, which do not require the physical connection of wires or the inconvenience of batteries. Structural or condition-based health monitoring is one such application that utilizes embedded wireless sensors to provide continuous health monitoring of such assets as turbine engines or complex mechanical systems. There are several advantages to using wireless devices, such as flexibility, ease of implementation, and the ability to facilitate the placement of sensors in previously inaccessible locations [1] . In applications such as condition-based / structural health monitoring these requirements are often essential.

There are several advantages to using wireless devices, such as flexibility, ease of implementation, and the ability to facilitate the placement of sensors in previously inaccessible locations.


In India, indigenous people who live in geographically isolated habitats such as hilly and forest areas, and have distinctive cultures, are recognized as tribes [4] . The tribal population in India is Most health services are provided free of charge by the government through ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist), primary health centers and community hospitals [21] . There are private physicians in nearby towns, which the villagers may consult. In addition, tribal people frequently seek services from traditional healers called "Bhagat". School education as well as the "mid-day meal" in schools is provided by the government free of charge as a part of national policy. Pre-school (Anganwadi) education is provided in each village and a child nutrition scheme is also implemented by the government at the anganwadi centers. The various development activities implemented by district and block level administration in the villages are healthcare, education, agriculture, employment schemes and rural development. There is involvement of NGOs in many development schemes such as health, education, agriculture, formation of self-help groups. Most health services are provided free of charge by the government through ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist), primary health centers and community hospitals [21] . There are private physicians in nearby towns, which the villagers may consult. In addition, tribal people frequently seek services from traditional healers called "Bhagat". School education as well as the "mid-day meal" in schools is provided by the government free of charge as a part of national policy. Pre-school (Anganwadi) education is provided in each village and a child nutrition scheme is also implemented by the government at the anganwadi centers. The various development activities implemented by district and block level administration in the villages are healthcare, education, agriculture, employment schemes and rural development. There is involvement of NGOs in many development schemes such as health, education, agriculture, formation of self-help groups.

In India, indigenous people who live in geographically isolated habitats such as hilly and forest areas, and have distinctive cultures, are recognized as tribes.

The tribal population in India is Most health services are provided free of charge by the government through ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist), primary health centers and community hospitals.


This selective deuteration of inner-surface and inner hydroxyls suggests the following OH-OD shift assignments: 3695 cm-i to 2725 cm-i 3670 cm-i to 2710 cm-i 3650 cm-i to 2698 cm-i 3620 cm-i to 2675 cm-i A rotation of 45° of the deuterated kaolinite film in the infrared beam produces considerable increase in the intensity of all the absorption bands, except the 3620 cm~^ (Fig. 10) . The differences between the background line absorption and the minimum transmittance (Table 2) indicate no change at all in the intensity of the 3620 cm.~^ absorption band. The pleochroic effect observed for the oriented kaolinite film indicates that the direction of the dipole change of OH groups absorbing at 3695 and 3670 cm~i and of OD groups absorbing at 2725 and 2698 cm~^ is nearly at right angles to the basal plane (001); for the 3650 and 2675 cm-^ the angle is large but less than 90°. The direction in dipole moment change of the OH groups absorbing at 3620 cm~i makes an angle of 16° with the " ab " cleavage plane; this conclusion is based on an analogy with muscovite in which the OH occupy positions comparable with inner OH in kaolinite (Vedder and McDonald, 1963) .

The direction in dipole moment change of the OH groups absorbing at 3620 cm~i makes an angle of 16° with the " ab " cleavage plane; this conclusion is based on an analogy with muscovite in which the OH occupy positions comparable with inner OH in kaolinite.


Although the anatase is considered a more superior photocatalyst than rutile, the better photocatalytic performance of these composites can be related to possible synergistic effect between the two titania phases. Below is given a simple interpretation of this effect. Because of the higher position of the anatase's conduction band edge relative to that of rutile, transfer of the photogenerated electrons from the anatase to rutile takes place. This leads to reduction of the electronhole recombination rate and as a result to enhancement of the photocatalytic activity of the composite material. Furthermore, the observed enhanced photoactivity of the TiO 2 /perlite system can be also attributed to the presence of semitransparent porous perlite substrate that facilitates the dispersion of the TiO 2 particles as well as the penetration of UV-irradiation into the depth of the material [52, 57] .

Furthermore, the observed enhanced photoactivity of the TiO 2 /perlite system can be also attributed to the presence of semitransparent porous perlite substrate that facilitates the dispersion of the TiO 2 particles as well as the penetration of UV-irradiation into the depth of the material.


Model A' with can be converted to an INP file as a building description for the DOE-2.2 engine. In the INP format, several representation data of a wall are necessary for BEA, such as height, width, and the coordinates of the location (i.e. X, Y, and Z axes) (Kim, Yu 2012) . To convert the representation data of model A', the required data must be filled by SSWPA n and SSW n using the units of ft-lb. The height data were filled by the attributes of the original curved wall: in this case, the height was 2,800 mm (9.186 ft). To solve this problem, we proposed a process to divide curved walls in IFC into segmented straight walls for BEA. To that end, we first, defined the extracted data for the proposed process. Then, a trimmed point was rotated by a specific angle to create the new location coordinates using a trigonometric function. After that, the straight walls were created between the calculated points as a building element. Finally the attributes of the original curved wall were applied to the created SSW n . To verify the proposed process, two sample models were used to evaluate the proposed process, i.e. model A, which included a curved wall, and model B, which did not. The results indicated that the coordinates of the created SSWPA n in model A' were almost the same as the location coordinates of the element in model B.

In the INP format, several representation data of a wall are necessary for BEA, such as height, width, and the coordinates of the location (i.e. X, Y, and Z axes).


There are a few approaches to analysing the energy consumption of a building model that include curved walls. The first approach is to rebuild a building model for the purpose of energy analysis into a BEA program (e.g. ECOTECT or eQUEST). In this case, an engineer must segment a curved wall into a series of straight walls, because most of the BEA programs cannot process curved wall data (Miller 2010) . The second approach is to use an add-on program (e.g. AUTODESK 360 Energy analysis or EcoDesigner) on a BIM authorizing program (e.g. Revit or ArchiCAD). This is a very simple and succinct approach, but it has limitations in regard to the interoperability of the building model. The third approach is to use the gbXML file of a building model. As the gbXML file format is designed only for BEA, it is widely known that using a gbXML file is a de-facto standard for BEA; however, if we can extract all the required data for BEA from an IFC file, it is much more effective to use an IFC file than to handle other formats, such as gbXML.

In this case, an engineer must segment a curved wall into a series of straight walls, because most of the BEA programs cannot process curved wall data.


There is then a well-established body of literature on monetary values for water services to support the case for sustaining tropical forest ecosystems. This might give the impression that there is a good understanding of the welfare benefits that forest conservation provides in relation to the water services and, as a corollary, the welfare loss associated with ecosystem status decline. However, this literature is very heterogeneous in purpose and approaches and has not been carefully compared, providing a very fragmented view of the value of forest water services (Lele, 2009; Ojea et al., 2012) .

However, this literature is very heterogeneous in purpose and approaches and has not been carefully compared, providing a very fragmented view of the value of forest water services.


There is an urgent need for a much clearer and more comprehensive understanding of the monetary values of the full suite of water-related ecosystem services associated with forests. In this paper we explore whether it is possible to identify key determinants that, according to existing evidence, systematically influence the monetary value of tropical forests' water services at regional level. We focus in Central-South America which, together with South-East Asia, is where the majority of water valuation studies and PES schemes of tropical forests are concentrated (Lele, 2009; Ojea et al., 2012; Brouwer et al., 2011) .

We focus in Central-South America which, together with South-East Asia, is where the majority of water valuation studies and PES schemes of tropical forests are concentrated.


Corrosion of rebars in concrete is crucial to the durability of reinforced concrete structure, especially in an aggressive environment. Investigations of the corrosion of rebars in concrete structures are being intensively pursued, because such corrosion can cause serious damage to concrete, and eventually failure of the structure [1] . Carbonation induced corrosion is a major cause of decay of reinforced concrete structures in the fields of buildings, civil engineering bridges, or historical monuments [2, 3] . The process of carbonation causes a pH decrease (from around 13 to around 8) in the solution that presents in the concrete pores [4] . As long as the rebars are in a high alkalinity environment concrete, they remain passive. The consumption of portlandite that the natural ageing carbonation process leads to induces the decrease of the pH of the concrete cover. If the pH of SPSs reaches a low value, the active corrosion of rebars can take place [2] .

Investigations of the corrosion of rebars in concrete structures are being intensively pursued, because such corrosion can cause serious damage to concrete, and eventually failure of the structure.

Carbonation induced corrosion is a major cause of decay of reinforced concrete structures in the fields of buildings, civil engineering bridges, or historical monuments.

The process of carbonation causes a pH decrease (from around 13 to around 8) in the solution that presents in the concrete pores.

If the pH of SPSs reaches a low value, the active corrosion of rebars can take place.


Myofibroblasts are contractile cells. They are involved in morphogenesis, inflammation, wound healing, fibrosis and oncogenesis in many tissues and organs. These cells are found in normal tissues and they increase in number during the process of wound healing. They also play a role in creating granulation tissue. Myofibroblasts help in ECM reorganization by the production of numerous inflammatory mediators, growth factors and proteins of the extracellular matrix, like collagen, fibronectin, etc. The mediators which are produced by the mast cells play a role in the regulation of myofibroblast differentiation and function. The myofibroblasts cause contraction of ECM due to their component of (alpha)-SMA and aid in tissue contraction.They disappear by apoptosis after completion of the repair process, but their sustained presence stimulates dysfunctional repair mechanisms, causing excess contraction, extracellular matrix secretion, and thus, fibrosis. This has been implicated in scleroderma, hypertrophic scars, heart, lung and liver fibrosis and Dupytren's disease [1] . TGF-β, which is a potent proinflammatory and pro-fibrotic cytokine, is the main trigger for increased collagen production and decreased degradation pathways, as is seen in OSMF [2] . Increased expression of αvβ6 integrin in OSMF promotes myofibroblast differentiation by activation of TGF-β1 [3] . TGF-β is thus intimately involved in the differentiation of fibroblasts to myofibroblasts, which is characterized by the presence of (alpha)-SMA containing stress fibres. Cell culture experiments show a direct cell-cell contact between fibroblasts and keratinocytes, which is important for TGF-β activation and initiation [4] . Increased expression of myofibroblasts in OSMF may suggest dentistry Section that myofibroblast production and persistence could be one of the mechanisms by which TGF-β induces a fibrotic response in OSMF [5] . Cytoskeleton proteins, ECM molecules, Cytokines and Nucleus proteins which are elements of Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition (EMT), which are commonly associated with OSMF, lead to the possibility of EMT being a part of fibrosis of oral mucous, which is triggered by betel quid chewing habit in OSMF [6] . Extensive myofibroblast differentiation requires close contact between keratinocytes and fibroblasts, which suggests their role in cellular signaling in dermal wounds [7] .

Myofibroblasts are contractile cells.

This has been implicated in scleroderma, hypertrophic scars, heart, lung and liver fibrosis and Dupytren's disease.

TGF-β, which is a potent proinflammatory and pro-fibrotic cytokine, is the main trigger for increased collagen production and decreased degradation pathways, as is seen in OSMF.

Increased expression of αvβ6 integrin in OSMF promotes myofibroblast differentiation by activation of TGF-β1.

Cell culture experiments show a direct cell-cell contact between fibroblasts and keratinocytes, which is important for TGF-β activation and initiation.

Increased expression of myofibroblasts in OSMF may suggest dentistry Section that myofibroblast production and persistence could be one of the mechanisms by which TGF-β induces a fibrotic response in OSMF.

Cytoskeleton proteins, ECM molecules, Cytokines and Nucleus proteins which are elements of Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition (EMT), which are commonly associated with OSMF, lead to the possibility of EMT being a part of fibrosis of oral mucous, which is triggered by betel quid chewing habit in OSMF.

Extensive myofibroblast differentiation requires close contact between keratinocytes and fibroblasts, which suggests their role in cellular signaling in dermal wounds.


Boron (B) which is widely distributed in the lithosphere and hydrosphere is an essential plant micronutrient that can be phytotoxic to plants when it is present in soils and waters at high concentrations (Nable et al., 1997) . Boron is an important constituent of the cell walls and has been reported to be involved in enzyme activation, membrane maintenance, nucleic acid metabolism and sugar translocation (Dordas and Brown, 2000) . Boron toxicity symptoms were identified, usually in grains, in many countries of West Asia-North Africa; for example, *Corresponding author. E-mail: debtepoglu@hotmail.com.

Boron (B) which is widely distributed in the lithosphere and hydrosphere is an essential plant micronutrient that can be phytotoxic to plants when it is present in soils and waters at high concentrations.

Boron is an important constituent of the cell walls and has been reported to be involved in enzyme activation, membrane maintenance, nucleic acid metabolism and sugar translocation.

E-mail: debtepoglu@hotmail.com.


Our second speed-up comes from a more fundamental change to the language modeling interface. Where classic LMs take word tuples and produce counts or probabilities, we propose an LM that takes a word-and-context encoding (so the context need not be re-looked up) and returns both the probability and also the context encoding for the suffix of the original query. This setup substantially accelerates the scrolling queries issued by decoders, and also exploits language model state equivalence (Li and Khudanpur, 2008) .

This setup substantially accelerates the scrolling queries issued by decoders, and also exploits language model state equivalence.


Kaolin is a subgroup of the clay family of mineral which contains polytypes such as kaolinite, dickite, nacrite and halloysite [1] . Mineral compositions of the tropical residual soils in Malaysia are mostly dominated by kaolinite which occurs from weathering or hydrothermal processes. Kaolinite is the principal mineral element in Kaolin which is used in various industries and has a natural moisture content between 16 to 49% [2] , [3] .

Kaolin is a subgroup of the clay family of mineral which contains polytypes such as kaolinite, dickite, nacrite and halloysite.

Kaolinite is the principal mineral element in Kaolin which is used in various industries and has a natural moisture content between 16 to 49%.


A number of researchers recently studied the replacement of the synthetics products for ground improvement by more natural additive such as fly ash, coal ash, lime slurry, bentonite, recycled gypsum and waste plastic trays [7] . In fact, naturally occurring weak soils are the types of soil that need more attention to improve their engineering properties. The term 'weak soil' mentioned in this study refers to an organic soil that has high compressibility but low permeability, bearing capacity and shear strength.

A number of researchers recently studied the replacement of the synthetics products for ground improvement by more natural additive such as fly ash, coal ash, lime slurry, bentonite, recycled gypsum and waste plastic trays.


In contrast to the lipid bilayer membranes, the man-made structures (artificial-synthetic nanomembranes) theoretically can be fabricated from a much wider range of materials, both inorganic and organic. They do include as a subgroup the materials found in living organisms, however they are by no means limited only to them and many materials never found in living structures and actually sometimes even incompatible with them may be used. For instance, one could readily imagine structures containing e.g., nanoparticles of isotopes emitting ionizing radiation, even at lethal doses. In addition to that, the artificial nanomembrane material toolbox does not even have to be limited to structures and properties found in Nature, an example to this being the electromagnetic metamaterials with negative refractive index [6] . However, in spite of the much wider material toolbox and high potential, the applicability of the currently produced synthetic nanomembranes is very poor. The absence of complex functionalities in these structures, even at a rudimentary level, is striking. The versatility and complexity of biological structures surpasses by far anything man has ever produced.

In addition to that, the artificial nanomembrane material toolbox does not even have to be limited to structures and properties found in Nature, an example to this being the electromagnetic metamaterials with negative refractive index.


The welding can consider a higher skilled profession and need many years of experience and training to become an expert. It is also a very dangerous profession but has high demand. Nowadays, most of the welding robot applications are programmed through 'teach and play' type by humans. It need some time and expense to programme paths and refined welding parameter in each new part. To bring the benefit of welding robot, the mass production from low to medium volume manufacturing or repair and maintenance work must be quicker to weld parts manually. Because of robotics welding systems are rigid and cannot adjust to the variation in the weld seam positions therefore the welders may not meet the high requirements of the welding process. The recognition and positioning of start welding position (SWP) is implemented to realize autonomous robot welding (Chen et al., 2010) . The system have two step methods namely coarse to fine which is solve the curve functions of seam and work pieces boundaries by fitting and establish a small window that takes the initial value of SWP as centre. In this method a charge coupled device (CCD) cameras in a relative large range is used without additional light. A robust algorithm for weld seam extraction based on the prior knowledge shows the characteristics of the weld seam to recognize the seam edges and calculate the seam representation (Ye et al., 2013) . The aim of the algorithm is to develop a method to extract the weld seam from the welding image.

The recognition and positioning of start welding position (SWP) is implemented to realize autonomous robot welding.

A robust algorithm for weld seam extraction based on the prior knowledge shows the characteristics of the weld seam to recognize the seam edges and calculate the seam representation.


The Concrete is the most common material used in the construction industry. The use of concrete structural elements can be easily found in buildings, highways/bridges, runways, jetties, etc. Many experimental and theoretical studies have been carried out to determine the tensile strength of concrete [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] . Direct tensile test is first method for determination of tensile strength.

Many experimental and theoretical studies have been carried out to determine the tensile strength of concrete.


The Internet and networking system in general plays an essential role in changing our life style through producing various type of technologies that get involved in our daily activities such as social media, economics and business. Networking devices exchange data in a variety networks (e.g. wireless sensor networks, the Internet-of-Things and Cloud networks) where currently there are about 9 billion devices connected to the Internet and this number is expected to more than double by 2020. However, the today's IP network infrastructures do not have the ability to accommodate such a huge number of devices, hence the Internet ossification is highly expected [1] . One effective solution to tackle the ossification issue is via replace the complex and rigid networking systems by a programmable networking instead.

However, the today's IP network infrastructures do not have the ability to accommodate such a huge number of devices, hence the Internet ossification is highly expected.


Volterra integral equations of first kind are important in theory and application, for example solving an exterior homogeneous wave equation with Dirichlet boundary condition leads to a time dependent single layer boundary integral equation which can be seen as a Volterra integral equation of the first kind [15] . They could be categorized according to their kernels in two types. The first equations are those with well-behaved kernels and the second types have unbounded kernels at s = t, like Abel's integral equation [21] . This paper deals with the numerical solution of nonlinear Volterra integral equation of first kind Ku(t) := t 0 κ(s, t)ψ(s, u(s))ds = f (s), 0 ≤ t ≤ T < ∞.

Volterra integral equations of first kind are important in theory and application, for example solving an exterior homogeneous wave equation with Dirichlet boundary condition leads to a time dependent single layer boundary integral equation which can be seen as a Volterra integral equation of the first kind.

The first equations are those with well-behaved kernels and the second types have unbounded kernels at s = t, like Abel's integral equation.


The continued advance of circuit fabrication technology that persisted over the last 30 years now allows the integration of more than 1 billion transistors in System-on-Chip (SoC) designs. The development of SoCs of such complexity leads to enormous challenges in Computer-Aided Design (CAD), especially in the area of design verification, which needs to ensure the functional correctness of a design. Because the capacity of formal verification is limited, simulation is still the most frequently used verification technique [22] .

Because the capacity of formal verification is limited, simulation is still the most frequently used verification technique.


For the purposes of this study, selecting small entrepreneurial startups offered several empirical advantages. Surveying four companies improves the generalizability of the results. Choosing small companies made it easier to survey the entire organization, reducing potential error in sociometric measures (Holland & Leinhardt, 1973; Walker, 1985) . More importantly, I wanted to choose companies for which organizational entry was a clear event. Many larger companies have experienced mergers, acquisitions, or frequent restructurings that might have made it more difficult for members to evaluate the newness of their employees. For example, after an acquisition some co-workers might be seen as "new" to the acquiring company but not "new" to the acquired company. Firms that have lots of departments and divisions and frequent transfers between them might also have similar reference group issues. The four firms I selected had grown entirely through direct hiring and were small enough that the organizations had not yet split into several highly independent departments.

Choosing small companies made it easier to survey the entire organization, reducing potential error in sociometric measures.


For the case where g can be unbounded, we mention [3] , [15] , [20] , [22] , [31] , [32] , [33] . To our knowledge, all papers concerning the case where g is unbounded rely on degree theory. Also, many of them considered only the case λ m = λ 1 .

For the case where g can be unbounded, we mention.


ATGL and HSL in adipose tissue are key enzymes involved in intracellular degradation of triacylglycerol. Overexpression of ATGL in adipose tissue increased thermogenesis, resulting in higher energy expenditure and resistance to obesity [44] . Moreover, ablation of ATGL in BAT led to transformation of BAT into white adipose tissue (WAT)-like tissues and deceased the expression of BAT-related molecules, resulting in suppressed thermogenesis [45] . HSL is activated by phosphorylation at Ser563, leading to lipolysis [46, 47] . However, HSL phosphorylation at Ser565 suppresses HSL phosphorylation at Ser563 and inhibits HSL activity [47, 48] . In our study, the expression of ATGL, pHSL563 and pHSL565 in cells from Il18 −/− mice was significantly increased compared with that in cells from Il18 +/+ mice (Fig. 1d) . These results suggest that lipolysis in BAs from Il18 −/− mice was more robustly promoted than in BAs from Il18 +/+ mice through HSL activation. Further examination of other molecules related to BA differentiation and thermogenesis such as Elovl3 and Adrb3 was performed by qRT-PCR. Elovl3 is a specific marker of BAT, CD36 is indispensable for thermogenesis under low temperatures, and thermogenesis is promoted by Adrb3 signaling [49] . Dio2 is a prohormone that converts tyrosine into triiodothyronine (T3) [50] . Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is phosphorylated by Leptin [51] . The expression of all of these molecules, except for Dio2, was increased under IL-18 deficiency, whereas Dio2 was decreased (Fig. 1e) . These results suggest that differentiation and thermogenesis in BAs from Il18 −/− mice were accelerated though decreased expression of Dio2, which may stem from a negative feedback due to T3-induced differentiation.

Overexpression of ATGL in adipose tissue increased thermogenesis, resulting in higher energy expenditure and resistance to obesity.

Moreover, ablation of ATGL in BAT led to transformation of BAT into white adipose tissue (WAT)-like tissues and deceased the expression of BAT-related molecules, resulting in suppressed thermogenesis.

HSL is activated by phosphorylation at Ser563, leading to lipolysis.

However, HSL phosphorylation at Ser565 suppresses HSL phosphorylation at Ser563 and inhibits HSL activity.

Elovl3 is a specific marker of BAT, CD36 is indispensable for thermogenesis under low temperatures, and thermogenesis is promoted by Adrb3 signaling.

Dio2 is a prohormone that converts tyrosine into triiodothyronine (T3).

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is phosphorylated by Leptin.


URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10125/41560 ISBN: 978-0-9981331-0-2 CC-BY-NC-ND One of the most prominent fields where gamification and other gameful approaches have been implemented is the health and exercise field [7] , [3] . Digital games and gameful systems for exercise, commonly shortened as exergames, have been developed extensively during the past few decades [8] . However, due to the technological advancements allowing for more widespread and affordable use of various sensor technologies, the exergaming field has been proliferating in recent years. As the ultimate goal of implementing the game elements to any nonentertainment context is most often to induce motivation towards the given behavior, similarly the goal of the exergaming approaches is supporting the user to engage in various physical activities and promoting health benefits via the system use.

URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10125/41560 ISBN: 978-0-9981331-0-2 CC-BY-NC-ND One of the most prominent fields where gamification and other gameful approaches have been implemented is the health and exercise field.

Digital games and gameful systems for exercise, commonly shortened as exergames, have been developed extensively during the past few decades.


Folic acid (FA) is a major component of leafy green vegetables and citrus fruit, and its deficiency has been implicated in the development of a variety of cancers, including ESCC. FA is thought to play an important role in DNA synthesis and gene activation by influencing DNA methylation and promoting de novo deoxynucleoside synthesis (Choi and Mason, 2000) . Several mechanisms could underlie FA deficiency-associated cancers, including aberrant DNA methylation, DNA strand breaks, and impaired DNA repair. MTHFR is the key enzyme involved in FA metabolism and works by modulating the levels of the circulating form of MTHFR, 5-methyl-tetrahydrofolate (5MTHF). The precursor of 5-MTHF(5,10MTHF) is crucial for DNA repair because it provides a supply of the precursors for DNA synthesis (Keld et al., 2014) . There are two well-studied polymorphisms of the MTHFR gene: C677T and A1298C (Weisberg et al., 1998) . In this study, we found that individuals with MTHFR rs114673809 AA genotypes showed significantly increased ESCC risk compared with the GG genotype carriers. Several studies have demonstrated that individuals with the MTHFR 677TT genotype have higher plasma homocysteine levels compared with the wild-type MTHFR 677CC, and are therefore associated with diminished genomic DNA methylation, especially when FA intake is insufficient (Li et al., 2005; Wang et al., 2005) . In the present study, we observed a significant increase in plasma homocysteine levels in ESCC cases carrying the AA genotype relative to the ESCC cases carrying the GG genotype. Our findings indicate that the MTHFR rs114673809 functional SNP might influence homocysteine levels.

FA is thought to play an important role in DNA synthesis and gene activation by influencing DNA methylation and promoting de novo deoxynucleoside synthesis.

The precursor of 5-MTHF(5,10MTHF) is crucial for DNA repair because it provides a supply of the precursors for DNA synthesis.

There are two well-studied polymorphisms of the MTHFR gene: C677T and A1298C.

Several studies have demonstrated that individuals with the MTHFR 677TT genotype have higher plasma homocysteine levels compared with the wild-type MTHFR 677CC, and are therefore associated with diminished genomic DNA methylation, especially when FA intake is insufficient.


Currently, a current differential relay is used as the main protection for generator windings. The relay detects a phase-to-ground fault and a line-to-line fault successfully because the differential current becomes very large. The relay, however, maloperates for a turn-to-turn fault because the magnitude of the differential current is minimal [8] , [9] .

The relay, however, maloperates for a turn-to-turn fault because the magnitude of the differential current is minimal.


As the capacity and penetration of wind power increases, a reliable wind turbine protection scheme becomes very important. In particular, for machines which use a converter like a DFIG system, special attention should be paid to a turn-to-turn fault. This is because stator insulation is easy to expose increased thermal and electrical stresses resulting from high switching voltages and high-order harmonics of the converter. When a fault occurs in the windings of a generator, the high current in the short circuit may cause a subsequent fault in normal windings. Thus, the windings might be burned due to the increased high thermal stress [6] , [7] . In addition, for a single phase fault in the windings, the unbalanced currents and voltages negatively influence the grid. Therefore, a protection scheme for a DFIG should detect the fault as quickly as possible.

Thus, the windings might be burned due to the increased high thermal stress.


Wind power using a doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) is becoming prevalent because of reliability and economic efficiency [3] . The DFIG uses a wound rotor induction machine so that the magnetizing current of the generator can be fed from the rotor as well as the stator. The stator of a DFIG is connected to the grid directly whilst the rotor is connected to the grid through back-toback converters [4] , [5] . The construction of a DFIG system is complicated, because output power is controlled by the rotor currents from the converter. However, the converter deals with relatively small power, approximately 10-25 % of nominal turbine power, so that the size of the converter can be minimized. Thus, the DFIG is a cost-efficient solution for variable speed wind generation.

Wind power using a doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) is becoming prevalent because of reliability and economic efficiency.

The stator of a DFIG is connected to the grid directly whilst the rotor is connected to the grid through back-toback converters.


The JAERI AVF cyclotron, which has been operating since 1991, is of the model 930 of Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd. The cyclotron has a K-number of 110, an extraction radius of 923 mm and a sector number of 4. The cyclotron has a pair of quarter-wavelength (λ/4) coaxial type resonators with a movable-short [2] . A maximum acceleration voltage is 60 kV in a CW mode. The diameters of inner and outer tubes of the coaxial cavity are 300 mm and 1000 mm, respectively. A final amplifier, a grounded-cathode tetrode (EIMAC 4CW50,000E), is inductively coupled to the resonator through a tunable loop. The range of the fundamental frequency is 11 to 22 MHz. Harmonic modes of 1, 2 and 3 are used to cover a wide range of energy.

The cyclotron has a pair of quarter-wavelength (λ/4) coaxial type resonators with a movable-short.


Secondly, we did not know the Mg intake of the patients in the present study. Serum Mg concentrations are reported to be affected by Mg intake [19] . In future studies, it will be necessary to examine Mg intake, possibly by using a nutritional questionnaire. Thirdly, our study was limited to a Japanese population, which may limit extrapolation of our findings to other ethnic groups. Finally, although in our study, muscle quality was assessed by hand grip strength divided by the lean mass, as measured by DXA, more precise methods to assess muscle quality will be necessary in future investigations.

Serum Mg concentrations are reported to be affected by Mg intake.


Esophageal cancer is the third leading gastrointestinal malignancy worldwide with greater incidence in males than in females. Patients with esophageal cancer (EC) show limited response to multimodal treatments with an overall five-year survival rate of only about 20% [1] . Due to lack of effective screening for early detection, EC is usually diagnosed at an advanced stage or when metastasis has already occurred. Consistently reliable molecular markers to monitor outcomes remain to be developed [2] .

Patients with esophageal cancer (EC) show limited response to multimodal treatments with an overall five-year survival rate of only about 20%.

Consistently reliable molecular markers to monitor outcomes remain to be developed.


A previous study shows that to derive a more accurate sampled-data model is required when the relative degree of a continuous-time nonlinear plant is two (Ishitobi and Nishi (2008) ). The reason is that the closed-loop system becomes unstable when the more accurate sampled-data model has unstable sampling zero dynamics and a controller design method based on cancellation of the zero dynamics is applied. This paper derives the sampling zero dynamics of the more accurate sampled-data model than that of Yuz and Goodwin, and shows a condition which assures the stability of the sampling zero dynamics of the model. Further, the relationship between the result of this paper and that for linear systems is discussed.

A previous study shows that to derive a more accurate sampled-data model is required when the relative degree of a continuous-time nonlinear plant is two).


There are two distinct approaches to sampled-data controller design for nonlinear systems (Laila et al. (2006) ). The first one, so-called controller emulation, involves digital implementation of a continuous-time stabilizing control law at a sufficient high sampling rate. The second approach consists of obtaining a sampled-data model and then proceeding to design a controller for the model. Emulation is regarded as the simple method, whereas it is typically inferior to the second in terms of stability and achievable performance. On the other hand, the second approach requires a good approximate sampled-data model because the exact sampled-data model for nonlinear systems is often unavailable to the controller designers.

There are two distinct approaches to sampled-data controller design for nonlinear systems).


The height of the plant differed from plant samples to another of the same type. As shown in Table 1 , the specimens from the Dirab and Al-kharj areas had the highest height, reaching 60 cm, followed by by Dir'iya and Rumah reaching 40 and 35 cm, respectively. A connection was noticed in this study between the growth of the plant, its size, the length of its inflorescences and the speed of its development, on one hand, and the amount of rainfall in its habitat and the type of soil, on the other. The plant was on its optimal in sandy soil (Rajendra et al., 2011) .

The plant was on its optimal in sandy soil.


Regarding electrically enhanced combustion, so-called ionic wind effects, i.e., a result of a body force acting on charged particles through electric field, is a well-known phenomenon. The electric field force generates the mass transfer of ions in the field direction and produces an acceleration of neutral molecules with which the ions collide. The ionic wind effect is mainly used to illuminate the interaction between a weak electric field and flame propagation behavior at low electric power consumption. Another different way of applying electricity to flames involves the operation of corona discharges. In this case, the electrical discharging atmosphere contains high-energy electrons, such as plasmas, and can have great effect on combustion characteristics. However, the operation in a corona mode will require up 500 times more electric power than exploiting the ionic wind mechanism [22] .

However, the operation in a corona mode will require up 500 times more electric power than exploiting the ionic wind mechanism.


To investigate the effect of core-shell precursor on the morphology of the resultant Sr 2 SiO 4 :Eu phosphor, Figure 3 and Figure 4 demonstrate the SEM images of the precursor and phosphor sample, respectively. In this precursor (Figure 3) , most of SiO 2 are induced to coat on the surface of (Sr,Eu)CO 3 core to form (Sr,Eu)CO 3 @SiO 2 core-shell structure with SiO 2 shell layer about 100 ~ 200 nm thickness; however, a few nucleate directly into SiO 2 nano-particles (100 ~ 200 nm) and locate onto the surface of core-shell structure. The formation mechanism and the composition of this precursor have been disclosed in our previous work [15] . It can be noted that this precursor has imperfect core-shell structure, and there appears an apparent gap without coated by SiO 2 on every core-shell particle. However, the existence of the gap accesses us to clearly understand the reaction mechanism between core and shell by morphology observation and comparison. After the precursor was fired at 1000˚C for 2 h, the obtained Sr 2 SiO 4 :Eu phosphor sample seems to inherit the external contour of the precursor. Overall, the particles of the phosphor still appear uniform and nearspherical morphology, as shown in Figure 4(a) , and the particle size is about 2 μm, slightly less than that of the precursor, which results from the condensation reaction between (Sr,Eu)CO 3 core and amorphous SiO 2 shell at the high temperature. Observed from the enlargement figure (Figure 4(b) ), the condensation reaction also leads to slight aggregation and adhesion among particles, but the profile of the single particle can be clearly recognized, which indicates that every (Sr,Eu)CO 3 @SiO 2 particle in the core-shell precursor would act as a separate reaction unit, and it is of the suitable stoichiometrical ratio to situ produce an isolated Sr 2 SiO 4 :Eu micrometer particle. More noticeably, all the particles of the Sr 2 SiO 4 :Eu phosphor exhibit hollow morphology with an opening, and the wall thickness is slightly thicker than that of SiO 2 shell layer of the precursor. Combined with the results of XRD analysis, it seems that the shell of the precursor has transformed into thicker Sr 2 SiO 4 :Eu layer, while the core has disappeared past the chemical reaction at the high temperature. That is to say, the fact that the phosphor particles still maintain near single and hollow spherical shape suggests that (Sr,Eu)CO 3 would diffuse into SiO 2 shell and react into hollow Sr 2 SiO 4 :Eu phosphor until the exhaust of (Sr,Eu)CO 3 core. It can be deduced intuitively that this reaction mechanism can be regarded as (Sr,Eu)CO 3 diffusion controlled process, which is consistent with the theoretical inference in Lu and Wu' work [24] .

The formation mechanism and the composition of this precursor have been disclosed in our previous work.

It can be deduced intuitively that this reaction mechanism can be regarded as (Sr,Eu)CO 3 diffusion controlled process, which is consistent with the theoretical inference in Lu and Wu' work.


The isolate of F acunjinatum in this study is from Oregon. The previously reported pathogenic F acuininatuin isolate was from Colorado (Ruppel 1991) . This demonstrates that isolates of this species that are pathogenic on sugarbeet can be found in different geographic regions.

The previously reported pathogenic F acuininatuin isolate was from Colorado.


As described above, the cause of Stickler syndrome is considered to be abnormality of the collagen gene. However, in recent years, it has been classified as three types, based on the phenotype of the eye [9, 10] . Type I is accompanied by a vitreous membrane-like structure, type II is accompanied by a vitreous bead-like structure, and type III is not associated with ocular findings. In this current case series, we did not investigate the gene diagnosis; however, all 3 cases were considered to be type I due to the presence of a vitreous membrane-like structure.

However, in recent years, it has been classified as three types, based on the phenotype of the eye.


Mouse models of prostate cancer have tended to involve young mice approximately 8-12 weeks old. This investigation demonstrated that there are significant imaging and histological differences between young and older mice. This suggests that the age of the animal should be taken into account when selecting animal models of prostate biology and disease, and when analyzing prostate images. Older mice had decreased prostate size compared to younger animals in both nude and SCID mice. This is in contradistinction to humans in whom prostate size tends to increase with age, commonly due to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). In humans, the increased size due to BPH can lead to obstructive symptoms and imaging findings such as an enlarged central gland (the anatomic transition and central zones) with heterogeneous but primarily low T1 and T2 signal [19] . With long standing obstruction, bladder trabeculation can be seen in humans. In comparison, the peripheral zone in humans tends to have low T1 and high T2 signal [19] .

In humans, the increased size due to BPH can lead to obstructive symptoms and imaging findings such as an enlarged central gland (the anatomic transition and central zones) with heterogeneous but primarily low T1 and T2 signal.

In comparison, the peripheral zone in humans tends to have low T1 and high T2 signal.


The atmosphere has a negative effect on the transmission of information in the form of optical beams. Phenomena such as wind turbulence, absorption, aerosol, mist, insects or birds can cause a decline or disappearance of the signal level or change of the beam spatial coherence. For this reason is necessary thoroughly study of location where is wireless optical link installed to prevent or reduce the degrading influence of the environment on the optical beam [1] , [2] , [3] . This paper deals possibility of using simulation software ANSYS Fluent 14, which is used for simulating fluid dynamics by using finite volume method (FVM) for numerical modeling of turbulent flow.

For this reason is necessary thoroughly study of location where is wireless optical link installed to prevent or reduce the degrading influence of the environment on the optical beam.


The distortion of the lattice caused by an enormous amount of interstitial elements on the expanded austenite layer generates compressive residual stresses that enhance diffusion and also contributes to the production of stacking faults. Another consequence from the nitrogen and/or carbon super-saturation relates to the crystallography of the S-phase which shows an anomalous behavior when probed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) [9] [10] [11] [12] . XRD spectra attained for this phase present a low-angle anisotropic shift of the Bragg reflections when compared to expected ones obtained for a hypothetically uniformly expanded austenite. Thus {1 0 0} peaks indicate larger lattice parameters than those calculated for the {1 1 1}. The elastic distortion of the austenite lattice plus the impressive amount of stacking faults promote broadening on the diffracted peaks which makes the identification of phases with low volumetric fraction (such as chromium and iron nitrides) more complex. Analyzing thin foils by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) allows the identification of phases with small size and quantity. Besides that it enables a crystallographic analysis of nanometric regions of a sample. In the present work PN and PNC treatments were performed on specimens from a superaustenitic stainless steel under different temperatures. XRD analyses confirmed the presence of the expanded austenite on the produced layers although only the TEM technique was able to identify the fine precipitation of chromium nitrides. The appearance of such particles is attributed to a local decomposition of the expanded austenite during the thermochemical treatments.

Another consequence from the nitrogen and/or carbon super-saturation relates to the crystallography of the S-phase which shows an anomalous behavior when probed by X-ray diffraction (XRD).


The observation of thin foils by TEM has showed the presence of dislocations and stacking faults in both nitrided and nitrocarburized layers produced on SASS treated at 400 • C. Such crystalline defects improve nitrogen and carbon mobility, favoring its introduction and diffusion in austenite [11] . The nitrided layers have usually shown a uniform microstructure, as depicted in Fig. 5a . The ring-type SAED pattern obtained suggests the presence of a large number of fine particles where the selected area diffraction aperture was positioned. In fact, Fig. 5b shows a dark field contrast of a large number of fine rounded particles (10-15 nm) found in the nitrided SASS layer whose diffracted reflection are consistent with {2 0 0} of cubic chromium nitride (CrN). These particles were not identified by XRD due to its very small volume fraction. Similar results were obtained by TEM observation of thin foil samples prepared from nitrocarburized layer, Fig. 6a , where chromium and iron nitrides have presented some preferential orientation with expanded austenite matrix, as SAED pattern suggests in Fig. 6b .

The observation of thin foils by TEM has showed the presence of dislocations and stacking faults in both nitrided and nitrocarburized layers produced on SASS treated at 400 • C. Such crystalline defects improve nitrogen and carbon mobility, favoring its introduction and diffusion in austenite.


Prior to initiate models to assess entrepreneurial intention, number of studies conducted based on two approaches. The first approach focused on psychological characteristics, general dispositions, and personality traits, (Singh, Prasad, & Raut, 2012) . The other approach focused on demographic factors such as gender, ethnic groups, age, etc., (Singh, Prasad, & Raut, 2012) .

The first approach focused on psychological characteristics, general dispositions, and personality traits.

The other approach focused on demographic factors such as gender, ethnic groups, age, etc..


The addition of glycerol after the final purification step both for natural and recombinant proteins has the purpose to prevent these molecules from denaturation [14] . However, in spite the stabilizing effect over protein molecules, high level of glycerol influences strongly the mass spectrometric performance under this experimental condition. Generally, in the absence of glycerol the basic and/or acid side chain of the amino acid residues get ionized in presence of water, depending on the pH of the protein solution (Fig. 3a) . When the proteins are analyzed under these conditions by using ESI interface, the typical envelope of peaks can be observed. However in presence of glycerol, this compound displaces the water molecules from the protein surface, and establishes itself interactions with side chain groups of amino acid residues, preventing their ionization and suppressing the protein signal (Figs 3b and 3c ), resulting in a flat and noisy base line, like the result showed in the Figs 1c and 2c. Other authors also described that protein samples containing high glycerol concentrations are not amenable to ESI interfaces [14] .

The addition of glycerol after the final purification step both for natural and recombinant proteins has the purpose to prevent these molecules from denaturation.

Other authors also described that protein samples containing high glycerol concentrations are not amenable to ESI interfaces.


In liner shipping, the efficiency of production processes mainly concerns with economies of scale of fleets (Imai et al., 2006) . The oversupply of transport capacity and the consequent pressures on freights undermine the profit margins of carriers. In fact, the dramatic rise of economic and financial risks due to the deployment of new cellular vessels has progressively compelled ocean carriers to cooperate with each other in order to share their transport capacity and aggregate demand flows (Panayides and Cullinane, 2002) . The rapid growth of the containerised industry and the globalisation of markets have widened the interests of shippers in new markets also from a geographic point of view. Thus cooperation represents the quickest and cheapest way to meet increasing requests for diversified, fast, reliable and affordable container services (Yoshida et al., 2005) . In trying to avoid additional investment in new ships, small firms find some advantages in cooperating with market leader carriers, whereas market leaders can in this way cover market niches through the cooperation with (small) partners. Some carriers, specialised on home markets, may cooperate with competitors in order to enlarge their market areas (Ferrari et al., 2008) .

In liner shipping, the efficiency of production processes mainly concerns with economies of scale of fleets.

In fact, the dramatic rise of economic and financial risks due to the deployment of new cellular vessels has progressively compelled ocean carriers to cooperate with each other in order to share their transport capacity and aggregate demand flows.

Thus cooperation represents the quickest and cheapest way to meet increasing requests for diversified, fast, reliable and affordable container services.

Some carriers, specialised on home markets, may cooperate with competitors in order to enlarge their market areas.


We introduce in this paper a new equivalence relation for isolated singularity subset germs, called blow-spherical equivalence, in order to investigate local inner metric properties of the set germ (such as for instance the Thick-Thin decomposition). The blow-spherical equivalence consists of a homeomorphism between the respective spherical modifications and also mapping homeomorphically the tangent link to the tangent link. Occurrences of such blow-spherical homeomorphisms are for instance Bi-Lipschitz maps and also homeomorphisms differentiable at the singular points [13] . We prove here that the topology of the thin-thick decomposition is a blow-spherical invariant (Theorem 2.12 and Theorem 3.5). Birbrair, Neumann and Pichon, while working on Lipschitz Geometry of complex singularities, came up with the notion of locally conical sets. An isolated singular point of a closed semialgebraic subset is called locally metrically conical, if for any direction of the tangent cone one can find a semialgebraic bi-Lipschitz embedding of a small straight cone to the set, such that the image of the center line of the cone will be tangent to this direction. A natural question to ask is whether a locally metrically conical singularity is metrically conical, i.e. bi-Lipschitz equivalent to a cone. This question remains open. In the paper we show that blow-spherical geometry is simpler than the Lipschitz geometry in the following sense: If all tangent directions at the singular point of an isolated singular definable subset germ are simple, then the singularity germ is blow-spherically equivalent to a cone. In particular, we prove that locally metrically conical singularities are blow-spherically conical.

Occurrences of such blow-spherical homeomorphisms are for instance Bi-Lipschitz maps and also homeomorphisms differentiable at the singular points.

This question remains open.


It has been demonstrated that feticide before induction may reduce uteroplacental blood flow and thus reduce the risk of maternal hemorrhage associated with this procedure. A French group reported that of the 15 women in their study with complete placenta previa at an average of 22.4 weeks (range, 18-33 weeks) of gestation who underwent labor induction 9 underwent labor induction without previous feticide. Of these 9 women, 4 required blood transfusions and 1 had a hemostat hysterectomy. Only 1 of the remaining 6 patients with preinduction feticide required a transfusion. They suggested that feticide before inducing labor may reduce Case Reports in Obstetrics and Gynecology 3 maternal blood loss; however, they could not substantiate this with objective evidence [2] .

They suggested that feticide before inducing labor may reduce Case Reports in Obstetrics and Gynecology 3 maternal blood loss; however, they could not substantiate this with objective evidence.


Flood preparedness skills include territory awareness, knowledge of the flood prevention and preparedness procedures, collaboration and soft skills [3] . A branch of serious gaming that has in the past proven to be effective in enhancing community capacity in disaster preparedness is location based gaming. Location based games are "games in which the players' immediate surroundings and the locations they visit result in a direct influence on the outcome of the game" [4] . Location based gaming is considered more effective in building capacity on flood preparedness because the physical and virtual realities are merged in the game. This results in increased territorial and situation awareness, since real places are directly connected to the virtual space. Playing the game involves exploring ones environment. As a consequence, the game increases location awareness of the players with their environment and other community members who are playing the collaborative game. Since the virtual world is merged with the physical world, the reputation you gain in the game translates to the reputation gained in real world, resulting to higher levels of motivation to play the game and the creation of stronger horizontal social networks.

Flood preparedness skills include territory awareness, knowledge of the flood prevention and preparedness procedures, collaboration and soft skills.

Location based games are "games in which the players' immediate surroundings and the locations they visit result in a direct influence on the outcome of the game".


According to Government estimates, flood incidence will increase, in the near future. It is estimated that there will be an increase in annual rainfall until 2030 [7, 8] . The areas that will receive the highest rainfall are the flood prone areas in western Kenya around Mount Elgon, Elgeyo Escarpment and Cherangani Hills (this flood prone region is the drainage basin for River Nzoia, which drains into Lake Victoria in Budalangi District) [7, 9] . It is estimated that in the period 2016 to 2018, El-Niño floods will affect over 1,500,000 people. One-third of these people will be refugees in two refugee camps, Dadaab and Kakuma (mainly Dadaab). These floods will not only affect lives; learning will be interrupted as schools get flooded and roads will be damaged, cutting off some communities from the rest of Kenya. There will also be crop damage in some areas and water-borne diseases will escalate [9] .

It is estimated that there will be an increase in annual rainfall until 2030.

The areas that will receive the highest rainfall are the flood prone areas in western Kenya around Mount Elgon, Elgeyo Escarpment and Cherangani Hills (this flood prone region is the drainage basin for River Nzoia, which drains into Lake Victoria in Budalangi District).

There will also be crop damage in some areas and water-borne diseases will escalate.


Floods are a very common disaster in Kenya that occurs every two to seven years. The most recent occurrence was in October 2015 to January 2016, where 112 person's died and more than 100,000 were internally displaced [5] . Before this flood, there have been many floods, but the most significant flood was the 1997/98 El-Niño flood. The 1997/98 El-Niño flood affected approximately 1.5 million people in Kenya and there was loss of lives and immense damage to property. In addition, there was an estimated 1.2 billion damage of roads, dykes, water supply structures, buildings, communication systems and other infrastructures. The damage to the agricultural sector was estimated at USD 236 million and USD 9 million on other losses (property, soil erosion, pollution) [6, 7] .

The most recent occurrence was in October 2015 to January 2016, where 112 person's died and more than 100,000 were internally displaced.

The damage to the agricultural sector was estimated at USD 236 million and USD 9 million on other losses (property, soil erosion, pollution).


Driven by the rapid development of cloud computing and multimedia services, the ever increasing bandwidth requirement of short reach optical communication grows pretty fast [1] . The intensity modulation and direct detection (IM/DD) systems have been widely investigated and demonstrated to fulfill the requirement of low cost and simple implementation. Low cost optical components are used to reduce system complexity, such as directly modulated laser (DML), electro-absorption laser (EML), and vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) [2] - [7] . Meantime, several advanced modulation formats have been used to increase the baud rate of the signals, for instance, pulse amplitude modulation (PAM), discrete multi-tone (DMT) and carrier-less amplitude modulation (CAP) [8] - [12] . In general, PAM is more promising due to its simpler architecture and lower power consumption especially for short reach optical transmission systems [8] . For DML, the driving current can influence the optical density at its active region, hence the intrinsic chirp affects the generated optical carrier and results in distortions of the signal [13] . The nonlinearity impairments of the IM/DD systems induced by the electro-optical modulator, square-law detection as well as the fiber transmission limit the system performance.

Driven by the rapid development of cloud computing and multimedia services, the ever increasing bandwidth requirement of short reach optical communication grows pretty fast.

Low cost optical components are used to reduce system complexity, such as directly modulated laser (DML), electro-absorption laser (EML), and vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL).

Meantime, several advanced modulation formats have been used to increase the baud rate of the signals, for instance, pulse amplitude modulation (PAM), discrete multi-tone (DMT) and carrier-less amplitude modulation (CAP).

In general, PAM is more promising due to its simpler architecture and lower power consumption especially for short reach optical transmission systems.

For DML, the driving current can influence the optical density at its active region, hence the intrinsic chirp affects the generated optical carrier and results in distortions of the signal.


The present study reports results of simulations of the nonslender BWB UCAV configuration with one fully turbulent model (Menter SST model) and two transition models (the γ-Re θ and γ models). The predictive capabilities of the two transition models were assessed from comparisons of aerodynamic coefficients, pressure contours, skin friction lines, and the vortical structures with experimental results [16] . In the comparisons of aerodynamic coefficients, the two transitional models were better than the fully turbulent model before and after the peak of the pitching moment. In the plot of lift-to-drag ratio, the prediction of the γ model, considering crossflow instability, was the best at low angles of attack. This confirmed the crossflow instability by the pressure gradient toward the span in the swept wing plays a more important role in enhancing the transition than Tollmien-Schlichting instability [19] .

The predictive capabilities of the two transition models were assessed from comparisons of aerodynamic coefficients, pressure contours, skin friction lines, and the vortical structures with experimental results.

This confirmed the crossflow instability by the pressure gradient toward the span in the swept wing plays a more important role in enhancing the transition than Tollmien-Schlichting instability.


Zeolites are an important class of crystalline aluminosilicates materials with open-framework structures, and they have been widely used as separations, ion exchange, and acidic catalysts for size and shape selective catalytic reactions by molecular-sized microporosity [1] [2] [3] . The synthetic zeolites microporous crystalline solids have been produced in number of industrial scale processes for many years, and the zeolite Y is highly versatile molecular sieve from the Faujasite family with the three-dimensional pore structure and the pore diameter is about 0.74 nm [4, 5] . Although many other porous materials have emerged, the zeolite Y continues to keep the most popular pyrolysis catalyst in the international field because of the inherent surface acidity and good hydrothermal stability.

Zeolites are an important class of crystalline aluminosilicates materials with open-framework structures, and they have been widely used as separations, ion exchange, and acidic catalysts for size and shape selective catalytic reactions by molecular-sized microporosity.

The synthetic zeolites microporous crystalline solids have been produced in number of industrial scale processes for many years, and the zeolite Y is highly versatile molecular sieve from the Faujasite family with the three-dimensional pore structure and the pore diameter is about 0.74 nm.


Faujasite zeolites are commonly separated into two classes: (1) zeolite X, which has a silicon to aluminum Si/Al ratio between 1 and 1.5, and (2) zeolite Y which has a silicon to aluminum Si/Al ratio above 1.5. The large pore openings and large cavities of zeolite X make it an attractive material for ion exchange, adsorption, and drying processes [6, 7] . Notably, the thermal and hydrothermal stabilities of zeolite Y are strongly related to its Si/Al ratio, which plays a very important role in materials intended for application as fluidized catalytic cracking (FCC) catalysts.

The large pore openings and large cavities of zeolite X make it an attractive material for ion exchange, adsorption, and drying processes.


The sport of golf has an extremely rich tradition, with origins dating back to at least the 15 th century (Cornish, 1993) . Other popular sports, such as baseball, basketball, and American football, have developed loyal followings of fans who pore over statistics on a regular basis. But, statistical analysis of the game of golf has lagged.

The sport of golf has an extremely rich tradition, with origins dating back to at least the 15 th century.


The international consensus on the taxation of multinational corporations (MNCs) subjects the profits of each foreign subsidiary to corporate income taxation in the host country. Taxable profits are determined by separate accounting for each subsidiary. In this setting, international tax-rate differences provide an incentive to alter the profit allocation between the parent company and all subsidiaries of an MNC. This tax planning has adverse consequences for tax revenues in high-tax countries, and enhanced opportunities to reduce taxes may give multinationals an advantage over companies operating only at a domestic level (Bucovetsky and Haufler, 2008) . As a consequence, tax policy is under pressure to restrict multinational tax planning.

This tax planning has adverse consequences for tax revenues in high-tax countries, and enhanced opportunities to reduce taxes may give multinationals an advantage over companies operating only at a domestic level.


Nowadays, the maintenance efficiency of systems is an important economical and commercial issue. Maintaining a system basically consists in replacing components that are unable to perform their functions by new ones. In order to optimize the maintenance cost, it is necessary to perform preventive maintenance to prevent failure occurrence. Preventive maintenance actions consist in replacing components during a scheduled maintenance phase that are not faulty yet but that will probably become faulty before the date of the next scheduled maintenance phase. In the classical case, preventive maintenance is only based on reliability analyses that do not take into account the stress factors really influencing each component of the system during its own life. Among stress factors are included the system operational conditions, faults and their consequences that can occur on a component or on any components in its neighborhood. In order to take into account real stress factors that occur on a component it is required to perform dynamic preventive maintenance (also called predictive maintenance). This maintenance must be decided relying on an efficient and complete analysis of the health of the system when it is operating, which requires a diagnostic and prognostic analysis (Byington et al. (2004) ). With the help of new technologies, it is now possible to embed within the system an on-line supervision architecture that is in charge of monitoring the system, detecting any problems, faults which require some maintenance actions and performing prognostics.

This maintenance must be decided relying on an efficient and complete analysis of the health of the system when it is operating, which requires a diagnostic and prognostic analysis).


Descriptive instruments summarize multiple domains of health status and are based on classical test theory [6] . A small set of related items covers the content of various health domains and a score for each dimension is generated. One such frequently used generic descriptive instrument is the SF-36 [7] . Examples of descriptive instruments that are used in dementia include the Quality of Life in Alzheimer's Disease (QOL-AD) and the Dementia Quality of Life Instrument (D-QOL) [8, 9] .

Descriptive instruments summarize multiple domains of health status and are based on classical test theory.

One such frequently used generic descriptive instrument is the SF-36.

Examples of descriptive instruments that are used in dementia include the Quality of Life in Alzheimer's Disease (QOL-AD) and the Dementia Quality of Life Instrument (D-QOL).


As we know, in many practical dynamic systems, physical actuators saturation on hardware indicates an inevitable constraint of the magnitude and rate limitations of the control signal. For example, due to physical limitation, momentum exchange devices or thrusters as actuator for the satellite attitude control system fail to render infinite control torque and thus the actuator can only provide limited control torques within a limited rate [22] . Control saturation is one of the most common nonsmooth nonlinearity that should be explicitly considered in the control design. The controllers that ignore actuator limitations may give rise to undesirable inaccuracy, severely degrade the performance of system, or even damage the stability of system [23] . Hence, the controller design subjected to the control saturation while simultaneously achieving higher performance is a very practical problem.

For example, due to physical limitation, momentum exchange devices or thrusters as actuator for the satellite attitude control system fail to render infinite control torque and thus the actuator can only provide limited control torques within a limited rate.

The controllers that ignore actuator limitations may give rise to undesirable inaccuracy, severely degrade the performance of system, or even damage the stability of system.


Development of essentially new base station antennas has become one of the most important tasks in contemporary antenna engineering. Along with rapid wireless communication development, the number of base station antennas has also been increased. In coming years, the new generation of wireless communication systems will demand new and improved base station antennas. These new base station antennas will need to operate in both 2G and 3G frequency bands, being either dual-band or multi-band, and would replace current sectored antennas by a single antenna to reduce the overall number of antennas on cellular base stations. In Europe, this means that there is a demand for antenna elements capable of handling GSM (880-960 MHz), DCS (1710-1880 MHz), and UMTS (1920-2170 MHz) bands [1] .

In Europe, this means that there is a demand for antenna elements capable of handling GSM (880-960 MHz), DCS (1710-1880 MHz), and UMTS (1920-2170 MHz) bands.


In the past two decades, many techniques for the design of patch antenna with multiple-frequency operation have been investigated and proposed [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] . On the other hand, polarization diversity technique is popular due to increase of the system capacity. This promotes research on dual-polarized patch antennas, which can transmit and receive two orthogonally polarized signals simultaneously with a single antenna system. Patch antennas with dual-polarized operation capabilities are very appropriate for applications in modern mobile communication systems to combat the multipath fading problem, which usually causes layer degradation in the system performance [8] . For such applications, a variety of dual-polarized patch antennas with single band operation have been reported [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] .

In the past two decades, many techniques for the design of patch antenna with multiple-frequency operation have been investigated and proposed.

Patch antennas with dual-polarized operation capabilities are very appropriate for applications in modern mobile communication systems to combat the multipath fading problem, which usually causes layer degradation in the system performance.

For such applications, a variety of dual-polarized patch antennas with single band operation have been reported.


In this paper, we presented the ab initio calculation of the electronic structure of a model of a complex collagen molecule. Analysis of the DOS, PDOS, and effective charges revealed many pertinent details. The quantitative evaluation of H-bonding and partial charges for long range electrostatic interactions are important issues in the fundamental study of collagen as well as for other proteins. Quantitative evaluation of bond order values for H-bonding reveals that the strength of H-bonding does not necessarily scale with the H-O or H-N separations. Based on the calculated electronic structures, it is possible to extend the calculation to optical absorption spectra of collagen molecules and those involving solvents. Such calculations will provide the dielectric response function which, so far, is only approximated by using the polarizable continuum model (PCM) [90, 91] . The dielectric response function can be used as an input for the calculation of long-range van der Waals interactions between proteins in aqueous solution along the similar lines as recently successfully implemented for the single walled carbon nano-tubes of different chirality [92] . We believe that such an endeavor, which is now well within our current computational capability, can push collagen research to a much higher level of accuracy and sophistication. Of particular significance is the implementation and validation of a simpler AAPM that can be applied to much larger proteins at a modest cost. The present work represents the modeling at the lowest structural level (amino acids) and the next lowest structural level (collagen molecules) in the hierarchical levels of collagen. It provides the basis for the next level of modeling collagen such as microfibrils, larger collagen models, interfaces with bioceramics, etc. The success of the AAPM provides us with the confidence to apply it at the next higher level of complexity. We are tempted to speculate about similar calculations on other bio-related systems. A particularly attractive system is the viral nanoparticle or coated proteins such as the plant viruses BMV, CCMV, CMV (Cytomegalovirus), or TMV found either in dry form or in solution. The fundamental long range interactions among them can be related to their self-assembly abilities. This is an area where quantum mechanical treatment is completely lacking. Future work should include other models for collagen including replacement of Gly by other amino acids, and the addition of water with ions to represent physiological conditions in aqueous solution.

Such calculations will provide the dielectric response function which, so far, is only approximated by using the polarizable continuum model (PCM).

The dielectric response function can be used as an input for the calculation of long-range van der Waals interactions between proteins in aqueous solution along the similar lines as recently successfully implemented for the single walled carbon nano-tubes of different chirality.


Remittance inflows covered 1.3% of gross domestic product (GDP) of Ethiopia in 2009. However, despite its large migrant population, Ethiopia has not fully tapped its potential. The remittance flows to this country is only onesixth of its potential; covering just eight percent of the nation"s budget deficit (World Bank, 2011) . If the potential level of remittance were to materialize, it would exceed the level of Official Development Assistance, which reached 3.3 billion US dollar in 2008. Informal remittance flows to the country also appear to be significant and remittance inflow data for Ethiopia vary by source. The major source countries for remittances to Ethiopia in 2008 were the United States, and the Gulf cooperation countries and in 2010, the United States, Israel, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait (World Bank, 2011) .

The remittance flows to this country is only onesixth of its potential; covering just eight percent of the nation"s budget deficit.

The major source countries for remittances to Ethiopia in 2008 were the United States, and the Gulf cooperation countries and in 2010, the United States, Israel, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.


A large part of the soils of Bangladesh in the southern coastal areas are afflicted with the problem of salinity. The impact of climate change has aggravated the severity of salinity in soils. During the last 40 years it has been increased by 26% [6] . Sulphate ( 2 4 SO − ) is one of the principal soluble anions in saline soil and sulphur (S) is an essential nutrient element for plant. It is one of the components of sulphur amino acids (cysteine and methionine) and many other compounds, e.g. glutathione or ferredoxin, which play important physiological functions [7] . But excessive S in soil, which is associated with salinity, might have impact on plant function. With the increase in Sulphate ion accumulation in the nutrient solution, their uptake by plants increases. Having reached a certain level, varying with plant species, further increase of concentration does not affect the uptake any longer. However, high Sulphate concentrations may affect plant development and crop yield [8] . High content of S in soil causes soil contamination and acidification too. Besides, it is indirectly responsible for mobilization of phytotoxic chemicals, such as aluminum and some trace elements [9] .

During the last 40 years it has been increased by 26%.

It is one of the components of sulphur amino acids (cysteine and methionine) and many other compounds, e.g. glutathione or ferredoxin, which play important physiological functions.

However, high Sulphate concentrations may affect plant development and crop yield.

Besides, it is indirectly responsible for mobilization of phytotoxic chemicals, such as aluminum and some trace elements.


Fracture and failure are common problems with industry equipment. In modern materials science, fracture mechanics is an important tool in improving the mechanical performance of mechanical components. The stress intensity factor (SIF) is an important parameter for estimating the life of the cracked structure. In reality the stress intensity factor is a complicated function of applied loading, boundary conditions, crack growth, geometry, and material properties. By using the SIF and Paris law, the fatigue crack growth at the plate is measured. In fact, the Paris model describes the rate of crack growth in terms of material properties and the stress intensity factor. The stress intensity factor is performed using theoretical or numerical techniques. There are several numerical methods for calculating SIF like displacement extrapolation method, jintegral technique and extended finite element method [1] .

There are several numerical methods for calculating SIF like displacement extrapolation method, jintegral technique and extended finite element method.


The sural nerve is located on the back of the lower leg. It is formed by joining the medial sural cutaneous nerve with the peroneal branch of the lateral sural cutaneous nerve where after it runs down along the leg. It pierces the fascia in the middle of the leg and is located superficially in the fat together with the lesser saphenous vein behind the lateral malleolus. The nerve innervates the skin mainly around the heel, but in some individuals it innervates also the lateral side of the foot, including the little toe [1] .

The nerve innervates the skin mainly around the heel, but in some individuals it innervates also the lateral side of the foot, including the little toe.


In the era of the knowledge economy, the importance of organizational value cocreation behavior, especially knowledge sharing, cannot be overemphasized. In fact, knowledge is of limited value if it is not updated and shared [58] . Traditional research has used large sample surveys to validate hypotheses that generally emphasize the antecedents of organizational value cocreation behavior. Instead, this study applies an MCDM approach with the following features.

In fact, knowledge is of limited value if it is not updated and shared.


In the second line of (1.2), there are three functions depending on the parameter χ. These functions are essentially the boundary entropy or g-function which measure the boundary and defect degrees of freedom [13] . The functions g L (χ) and g R (χ) are the boundary g-functions and g(χ) is the defect g-function.

These functions are essentially the boundary entropy or g-function which measure the boundary and defect degrees of freedom.


In the meantime, it is possible to conclude that both methods can be used for general monitoring of air contamination, such as routine surveillance programs. However, the choice must be made between one or the other to obtain specific information. In particular, if the air sampling performed during surgery is carried out to monitor the risk of microbial wound contamination, passive measurement is better than volumetric sampling at predicting the likely contamination rate at the surgical site, as it allows a direct measure of the number of microorganism settling on surfaces [19, 40, 41] . On the contrary, if the sampling is performed to obtain information on the concentration of all inhalable viable particles, the active method should be preferred [19] .

In particular, if the air sampling performed during surgery is carried out to monitor the risk of microbial wound contamination, passive measurement is better than volumetric sampling at predicting the likely contamination rate at the surgical site, as it allows a direct measure of the number of microorganism settling on surfaces.

On the contrary, if the sampling is performed to obtain information on the concentration of all inhalable viable particles, the active method should be preferred.


In this article we provide such a description of limits, extending work by Stokman and the authors [1] . This description provides some extra insight into elliptic hypergeometric functions, as it indicates what relations for elliptic hypergeometric functions correspond to what kinds of relations for basic hypergeometric functions. Conversely we can now more easily tell for what kind of relations there have not yet been found proper elliptic hypergeometric analogues.

In this article we provide such a description of limits, extending work by Stokman and the authors.


As stated the theorem is rather abstract, but for each point in this polytope we have an explicit expression of the limit as either a basic hypergeometric integral, or a basic hypergeometric series, or a product of q-shifted factorials (and sometimes several of these options). A graph containing all these functions is presented in Appendix A. We also obtain geometrical descriptions of various relations between these limits B 1 α . Note that the vertices of the polytope are given by the roots satisfying ρ · u = 1 of the root system R(E 8 ) = {u ∈ Z 8 ∪ (Z 8 + ρ) | u · u = 2}, where ρ = {1/2} 8 . In particular, the Weyl group W (E 7 ) = Stab W (E 8 ) (ρ) acts on the polytope in a natural way, which is consistent with the W (E 7 )-symmetry of E 1 . As an immediate corollary of this W (E 7 ) invariance we obtain both the symmetries of the limit B 1 α (determined by the stabilizer in W (E 7 ) of the face containing α) and transformations relating different limits (determined by the orbits of the face α). Special cases of these include many formulas found in Appendix III of Gasper and Rahman [6] . For example, they include Bailey's four term transformation of very-well-poised 10 φ 9 's (as a symmetry of the sum of two 10 φ 9 's), the Nassrallah-Rahman integral representation of a very-well-poised 8 φ 7 (as a transformation between two different limits) and the expression of a very-well-poised 8 φ 7 in terms of the sum of two 4 φ 3 's. Three term relations involving the different basic hypergeometric functions can be obtained as limits of p-contiguous relations satisfied by E 1 (and geometrically correspond to triples of points in P differing by roots of E 7 ), while the q-contiguous relations satisfied by E 1 reduce to the (q-)contiguous relations satisfied by its basic hypergeometric limits. In particular, we see that these two qualitatively different kinds of formulas for basic hypergeometric functions are closely related: indeed, they are different limits of essentially the same elliptic identity! A similar statement can be made for E 0 , which leads to evaluation formulas of its basic hypergeometric limits. Special cases of these include Bailey's sum for a very-well-poised 8 φ 7 and the Askey-Wilson integral evaluation.

Special cases of these include many formulas found in Appendix III of Gasper and Rahman.


For many years, the control of phosphorus and their species in surface water was directed to point sources related to phosphate detergents and domestic wastewater. Currently, the impact of diffuse sources has been questioned. The large annual input caused by the introduction of phosphate fertilizers and no removal of this leached phosphate to water sources causes a high environmental impact (Manahan and Manahan 2009) . For this reason, the use of substances that interact with the different phosphorus species, including natural fertilizers, is the most appropriate to reduce environmental impact (Winarso et al. 2011) .

The large annual input caused by the introduction of phosphate fertilizers and no removal of this leached phosphate to water sources causes a high environmental impact.

For this reason, the use of substances that interact with the different phosphorus species, including natural fertilizers, is the most appropriate to reduce environmental impact.


Phosphate substances are found widely in industrial, domestic, and agricultural sectors. The final destination of these substances is the water sources, which could cause serious water pollution problems. Although phosphate and other phosphorus species are not considered toxic, as a nutrient, they may be responsible for nutritional enrichment of water sources, promoting excessive algae growth and causing eutrophication (Millier and Hooda 2011) .

Although phosphate and other phosphorus species are not considered toxic, as a nutrient, they may be responsible for nutritional enrichment of water sources, promoting excessive algae growth and causing eutrophication.


Humic substances (HS) are promising to fulfill this dual function, due to diversity of functional groups present in its structure (Botero et al. 2010; Rocha et al. 2009; Sargentini et al. 2001; Winarso et al. 2011) . The humin, an insoluble fraction of HS, is the most resistant fraction to microbial degradation and considered the last product of the humidification process. This fraction of HS presents different functional groups in their structure such as esters, methoxy alkanes, polar aromatic groups, and sugar derivatives (De La Rosa et al. 2003) . Also, by presenting high porosity with large surface areas, it becomes a potential adsorbent for applications in retention processes (Contreras et al. 2006) .

Humic substances (HS) are promising to fulfill this dual function, due to diversity of functional groups present in its structure.

This fraction of HS presents different functional groups in their structure such as esters, methoxy alkanes, polar aromatic groups, and sugar derivatives.

Also, by presenting high porosity with large surface areas, it becomes a potential adsorbent for applications in retention processes.