The interaction of intense laser pulses with the solid zinc target in the CTBA environment causes target ablation and plasma plume expanding. The liquid suppresses plume expansion resulting in high pressure and temperature which is indicated by the liquid splashing during the process [31] . Vaporization of the solid target and liquid leads to grey col-loidal solution formation which is clearly visible to the naked eye as seen in Fig. 2 . Color changes give an indication for the stuck nanoparticles with the liquid. The shapes, sizes and distribution of zinc oxide nanoparticles were characterized through the UV/VIS, FTIR and SEM analyses. Materials may have peculiar electronic and optical properties when their nanoparticles sizes are near or below their exciting Bohr radius, this is related to the quantum confinement phenomena [32] . Observation of the optical properties of quantum size produced nanoparticles can be done efficiently with the UV/VIS absorption spectroscopy [33] . Fig. 3 displays the absorption spectra of the produced nanoparticles for the three values of pulse energies. As can be seen, the absorption spectra have peaks centered at 210 nm, 211 nm and 213 nm for the pulse energies 0.05 mJ, 1.11 mJ and 1.15 Mj, respectively. This indicates the production of zinc oxide nanoparticles inside the solution.

The liquid suppresses plume expansion resulting in high pressure and temperature which is indicated by the liquid splashing during the process.

Materials may have peculiar electronic and optical properties when their nanoparticles sizes are near or below their exciting Bohr radius, this is related to the quantum confinement phenomena.

Observation of the optical properties of quantum size produced nanoparticles can be done efficiently with the UV/VIS absorption spectroscopy.


Due to their size-dependent features, nanoparticles preparations and their technological applications have promising fields in science and technology in term of unpredictable properties and behavior [1] [2] [3] [4] . Peculiar and magnificent changes occur in the physical, chemical, optical, electrical, as well as magnetic properties when materials sizes are reduced to the nanoscale [5] [6] [7] . Many methods have been concerning the synthesis of nanoparticles such as chemical and physical vapor deposition, wet chemistry, sol-gel, and flame synthesis [8] [9] [10] [11] . These methods were developed to meet the desired composition, size distribution, and form for generated nanoparticles.

Due to their size-dependent features, nanoparticles preparations and their technological applications have promising fields in science and technology in term of unpredictable properties and behavior.

Peculiar and magnificent changes occur in the physical, chemical, optical, electrical, as well as magnetic properties when materials sizes are reduced to the nanoscale.

Many methods have been concerning the synthesis of nanoparticles such as chemical and physical vapor deposition, wet chemistry, sol-gel, and flame synthesis.


Recently, laser ablation of materials has shown itself as the most common and efficient method for that purpose. This is related to its simplicity, effectiveness, effortless experimental setup, high purity represented by freeness from surface contaminations, and minimum required chemical species for production [12, 13] . The process of generating nanoparticles inside an aqueous environment, through laser ablation, is called "Liquid phase pulsed laser ablation (LP-PLA)". This route is one of the most efficient methods where the nanoparticles generated through laser ablation when the laser beam is focused on a solid target surface immersed in a liquid environment [14] .

This is related to its simplicity, effectiveness, effortless experimental setup, high purity represented by freeness from surface contaminations, and minimum required chemical species for production.

This route is one of the most efficient methods where the nanoparticles generated through laser ablation when the laser beam is focused on a solid target surface immersed in a liquid environment.


In this work, CZTGSe absorber material for photovoltaic devices was prepared by an electrodeposition-annealing approach. The electrochemical approach enabled the fabrication of uniform, dense, closed brass/tin/germanium stacks without the use of hazardous compounds, such as hydrazine. The composition of the brass coating was independent of the charge density. The thickness and the composition of the complete stack could easily be tuned by control of the deposition charge of each coating and with special attention for exchange reactions. The selenized coatings consisted of closely packed micrometer-sized grains together with smaller grains. XRD and photocurrent spectroscopy showed that germanium was successfully incorporated in the kesterite structure. The CZTGSe photovoltaic device with the best performance showed a solar power conversion efficiency of 0.6 % with a band gap near 1.2 eV, which is consistent with Ge/(Sn + Ge) % 0.40 [18] . It is therefore concluded that the proposed electrodeposition-annealing approach leads to the successful incorporation of germanium in the crystal structure of the absorber material, enabling the production of CZTGSe absorber material with the desired copper-poor and zinc-rich composition for photovoltaic devices. In further studies of the selenization procedure, the presence of the secondary phases copper selenide, tin selenide, zinc selenide and germanium selenide, together with a molybdenum selenide layer between the kesterite and the molybdenum back contact, should be minimized in order to increase the efficiency. Measurements were performed on the 0.25 cm 2 CZTGSe photovoltaic device with the best performance (selenized for 40 min at 500 C).

The CZTGSe photovoltaic device with the best performance showed a solar power conversion efficiency of 0.6 % with a band gap near 1.2 eV, which is consistent with Ge/(Sn + Ge) % 0.40.


Two types of analyses were performed. First, simple ordinary-least-squares (OLS) regressions were run for each journal with year of publication predicting either raw percentages or arcsine-transformed proportions (Table 1) . Second, a series of multilevel random coefficient models (MRCMs) were run using restricted maximum likelihood (RML) estimation. RML methods provide more stable and accurate parameter estimates than weighted OLS methods (Nezlek, 2001; Raudenbush and Bryk, 2002) . Detailed examples of the MRCMs used in the present study are discussed below.

Two types of analyses were performed.

RML methods provide more stable and accurate parameter estimates than weighted OLS methods.


The present findings add to a growing literature that suggests that evolutionary psychology is gaining in stature and influence. In addition to making inroads into social psychology and cognitive neuroscience, evolutionary psychology is also becoming a more empirical science, as evidenced by a recent survey of publication trends over the first 25 years of its flagship journal, Evolution and Human Behavior (Webster, 2007c) . With its increased empirical focus, evolutionary psychology stands to gain further acceptance, both as a viable sub-discipline in psychology and neuroscience, and as an interdisciplinary field that helps foster and promote evolutionary perspectives in several sciences. It is hoped that the present study will not only inform readers on the current state of evolution's influence in neuroscience and cognitive neuroscience, but also inspire readers to pursue research in the emerging field of evolutionary cognitive neuroscience.

In addition to making inroads into social psychology and cognitive neuroscience, evolutionary psychology is also becoming a more empirical science, as evidenced by a recent survey of publication trends over the first 25 years of its flagship journal, Evolution and Human Behavior.


Green house gas reduction has been one of the crucial and inevitable global challenges, especially for the last two decades as more evidences on global warming have been reported. This has drawn increasing attention to renewable energies including wind energy, which is regarded as a relatively mature technology [1] . It recorded 159 GW for the total wind energy capacities in 2009, which is the highest capacity among the existing renewable energy sources with excluding large-scale hydro power generators as shown in Figure 1 [2] .

This has drawn increasing attention to renewable energies including wind energy, which is regarded as a relatively mature technology.

It recorded 159 GW for the total wind energy capacities in 2009, which is the highest capacity among the existing renewable energy sources with excluding large-scale hydro power generators as shown in Figure 1.


Also, its annual installation growth rate marked 31.7% in 2009 with its growth rate having been increasing for the last few years, which indicates that wind energy is one of the fastest growing and attractive renewable energy sources [3] . The increasing price-competitiveness of wind energy against other conventional fossil fuel energy sources such as coal and natural gas is another positive indication on wind energy [4] . Therefore, a vast amount of researches on WECS have been and is being undertaken intensively.

Also, its annual installation growth rate marked 31.7% in 2009 with its growth rate having been increasing for the last few years, which indicates that wind energy is one of the fastest growing and attractive renewable energy sources.

The increasing price-competitiveness of wind energy against other conventional fossil fuel energy sources such as coal and natural gas is another positive indication on wind energy.


The objective of this article is to study the large time asymptotic behavior of the nonnegative weak solution of the nonlinear parabolic equation with the following type . Equation (1.1) appears in a number of different physical situations [1] . For example, in the study of water infiltration through porous media, Darcy's linear relation V = −K(θ )∇φ, (1:3) satisfactorily describes flow conditions provided the velocities are small. Here V represents the seepage velocity of water, θ is the volumetric moisture content, K(θ) is the hydraulic conductivity and j is the total potential, which can be expressed as the sum of a hydrostatic potential ψ(θ) and a gravitational potential z φ = ψ(θ ) + z.

Equation (1.1) appears in a number of different physical situations.


One of the questions we want to address here concerns what effects the ionospheric conductivity and solar coupling parameters may have on the substorm onset, and how they are related to the large-scale FACs and ionospheric current systems. The substorm onset is known as a transient and localized phenomenon. Sparsely distributed all-sky cameras and low temporal resolution spaceborne imagers cannot easily identify the details. However, the systematic detection of the substorm onset by global imagers provides better indications of the initial phase leading to the development of a substorm (Liou et al., 1999) . Combining ACE, IMAGE and CHAMP satellite measurements we have studied statistically the possible correlation between the solar coupling parameters, field-aligned and ionospheric horizontal currents and the optical substorm onset characteristics in the auroral region.

However, the systematic detection of the substorm onset by global imagers provides better indications of the initial phase leading to the development of a substorm.


It is important to analyse the impact of EMU on bank equity risk because the banks play a key role in the allocation of resources, mobilisation of savings, diversification of risk. These institutions have an important impact on the profitability of investment and productivity of an economy (Francis and Hunter, 2004) . Further, financial intermediaries such as banks are a major part of an economy in their own right. They influence the securities markets and promote economic growth by providing liquid financial markets. Banks also encourage diversification and specialization (Diamond and Dybvig, 1983) . Further, change in bank equity risk with the EMU is important because changes in equity risk can have repercussions for investors, borrowers and regulators. While decreases in the systematic risk of equity may be associated with increased market value, an increase in idiosyncratic equity risk is also of importance to regulators who are very much concerned with the performance of individual banks.

These institutions have an important impact on the profitability of investment and productivity of an economy.

Banks also encourage diversification and specialization.


This paper provides an empirical analysis of the impact on bank equity risk of Economic Monetary Union (EMU) and the accompanying deregulation and integration. The literature dealing with European banks provides little guidance concerning the impact of EMU on listed banks yet some fundamental economic changes accompanied EMU (Allen and Song, 2005) . In particular, they find that euro-zone banks, compared with banks in Asia or the USA, exhibit greater levels of financial integration with the formation of EMU.

The literature dealing with European banks provides little guidance concerning the impact of EMU on listed banks yet some fundamental economic changes accompanied EMU.


As in the case of Sichuan (China), the government in L'Aquila was focused on solving the housing problem quickly, without a holistic approach which considered the urban history (Guo, 2012) . The housing solution in L'Aquila was decided 22 days after the earthquake during the relief phase (Contreras, 2016) . This decision addressed the problem of quantity, but negatively impacted quality of life and closed the door to any mechanism of community participation (Alexander, 2010a; Özerdem and Rufini, 2013; Guo, 2012) . The great paradox in L'Aquila lies on the fact that the C.A.S.E. project, conceived as "temporary housing"; eventually resulted in a permanent housing solution characterized with a series of unchangeable facts (Forino, 2014; Özerdem and Rufini, 2013; Alexander, 2012) .

As in the case of Sichuan (China), the government in L'Aquila was focused on solving the housing problem quickly, without a holistic approach which considered the urban history.

The housing solution in L'Aquila was decided 22 days after the earthquake during the relief phase.

This decision addressed the problem of quantity, but negatively impacted quality of life and closed the door to any mechanism of community participation.

The great paradox in L'Aquila lies on the fact that the C.A.S.E. project, conceived as "temporary housing"; eventually resulted in a permanent housing solution characterized with a series of unchangeable facts.


Referential integrity is the database-related practice of ensuring that implied relationships between tables are enforced. Most modern Database Management Systems (DBMSs), especially relational DBMSs have built in mechanisms for defining and ensuring basic data constraints [24] . However, in practice far from all constraints are defined in the database management system itself, but many are rather encoded in the application using the data. For example, an application supporting an internet shop would impose a relation between a customer willing to make a purchase and the credit balance of that customer. In a purely relational database, one could hard code that the credit must at least be the purchase amount, but this is hardly ever done, since this constraint is based on a business strategy that may well change or is different for different customers.

Most modern Database Management Systems (DBMSs), especially relational DBMSs have built in mechanisms for defining and ensuring basic data constraints.


Undoubtedly, application of modern control theory to design optimal controllers for power systems has been the main subject of many publications over the past decades. It has been established that the dynamic performance of the system with greater stability margins can be achieved with optimal control strategies [10, 11] . The application of modern control techniques for the design of optimal regulators depends on the availability of all the system states directly or using an observer or filter. However, in real situations, it is really difficult or sometimes impossible to measure all the system states. To circumvent these, the design of optimal regulators using easily available output states as feedback, which are easily accessible and available for measurement, is preferred. Researchers have issued a number of articles dealing with the design of optimal system controllers/regulators using the output vector feedback control concept [12] [13] [14] . However, attention is paid to propose the suboptimal controllers using feedback of output variables, and therefore, the controller designs do not offer the optimal and desired system dynamic performance.

It has been established that the dynamic performance of the system with greater stability margins can be achieved with optimal control strategies.

Researchers have issued a number of articles dealing with the design of optimal system controllers/regulators using the output vector feedback control concept.


Due to the fact that the puerarin products belong to healthy organic food, the research of kudzu root is meaningful. Recently, it is known that kudzu root has a lot of nutritional values. And kudzu root contains 14∼35% starch content [3] . Puerarin and daidzein are two major bioactive isoflavones constituents of kudzu root [4] . Most studies have shown that isoflavones can cure hypertension, angina pectoris, cardiovascular diseases, anoxia, and cerebral ischemia and control alcoholism and alcohol abuse [5] [6] [7] .

And kudzu root contains 14∼35% starch content.

Puerarin and daidzein are two major bioactive isoflavones constituents of kudzu root.

Most studies have shown that isoflavones can cure hypertension, angina pectoris, cardiovascular diseases, anoxia, and cerebral ischemia and control alcoholism and alcohol abuse.


The results obtained in our study apply to the specific conditions tested. As such, our data are specific to implants with neck-shaft angles of 155°and may not apply to other angles commercially available, such as 145°or 135°configurations. We also used 20°humeral component retroversion, but the optimal version in RTSA is still unknown [5, 20, 28] . Additionally, our experimental protocol involved testing the shoulder in various angles of rotation and abduction, some of which cannot be achieved by patients after RTSA, such as the limits of shoulder rotation at 60°or abduction at 90°. However, we tested our model in these shoulder positions because we aimed to detect any changes and trends in torque under the conditions of an in vitro biomechanical study design.

We also used 20°humeral component retroversion, but the optimal version in RTSA is still unknown.


Nowadays, the NMR technique is also well known as an analytical technique for qualitative and quantitative study, at molecular level, of complex mixtures. Compared to the conventional analysis, NMR spectroscopy does not need the pre-treatment of samples that could considerably reduce the time consuming process of their preparation. In addition, since the amount of solvent that is used and the waste generation is minimum, the technique is considered environmentally friendly [13] . The superiority of this technique is the ability to simultaneously investigate several components of the mixture with a single 1 H-NMR spectrum and to evaluate the relative amount of the aliphatic and aromatic hydrogens portion in the mixture [8, 14, 15] .

In addition, since the amount of solvent that is used and the waste generation is minimum, the technique is considered environmentally friendly.

The superiority of this technique is the ability to simultaneously investigate several components of the mixture with a single 1 H-NMR spectrum and to evaluate the relative amount of the aliphatic and aromatic hydrogens portion in the mixture.


Since the bitumen fractions obviously determine the bitumen mechanical properties and characteristics, several attempts have been made to analyze the bitumen composition and to fractionate the bitumen compounds. Beside Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) images and Fourier Transform-Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis, recently Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has been found to be a practically efficient and reliable technique for complex material characterization such as bitumen [7, 8] . It is worth underlining that the NMR has become one of the most powerful tools for probing in all states of matter. The technique in isotropic solution is commonly used for the characterization of synthetic or natural compounds, while structural and conformational information on even large-sized molecules can be obtained in anisotropic media through the anisotropic NMR observables, such as the residual dipolar couplings (RDCs) [9] [10] [11] [12] .

Beside Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) images and Fourier Transform-Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis, recently Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has been found to be a practically efficient and reliable technique for complex material characterization such as bitumen.

The technique in isotropic solution is commonly used for the characterization of synthetic or natural compounds, while structural and conformational information on even large-sized molecules can be obtained in anisotropic media through the anisotropic NMR observables, such as the residual dipolar couplings (RDCs).


The pupil dilation started 1.5s before tooltip-start and continued 2s afterwards ( Figure 9 ) and clearly reveals the task requirement during the preparation and execution of the movement. Our data is consistent with the finding of previous works [21, 23, 24] . The time that the pupil starts to dilate (1.5s before tooltip-start) in this study is same as that of Richer and Beatty's finding, while the peak duration (2s after tooltip-start) is longer than that of Richer and Beatty's (0.5s). The likely reason is that we have a tool movement time around 1s, while Richer and Beatty's is only a simple finger flexion.

Our data is consistent with the finding of previous works.


The process of web service composition is usually an error-prone pratice.If the process definition without being verified becomes operational,it often results in runtime errors, which causes software maintenance costly.To solve this problem,many researchers propose a lot of solutions.For example,using SPIN modeling tools verify web service composition whose language is WSFL.Using PAC and CWB-IN tools model and verify web service composition whose language is BPEL4WS based on BPE calculus. However these solutions are usually dependent on the concrete flow description language [5] [15] .

However these solutions are usually dependent on the concrete flow description language.


Both predictions, however, are hard to test as there are many other determinants of capital structure that are correlated with changes in concentration of the financial markets. In particular, the cross-country test of our hypothesis is problematic as legal protection of outside shareholders in the US results in a widespread use of equity even though the US financial markets are very competitive (La Porta et al., 1998) . As for the within-US experience over time, it is rather consistent with our results: the consolidation of financial industry in 1990s was accompanied by a growth in equity finance and in higher stock market volatility. In any case, finding appropriate instruments or locating a suitable natural experiment is a subject for future empirical work.

In particular, the cross-country test of our hypothesis is problematic as legal protection of outside shareholders in the US results in a widespread use of equity even though the US financial markets are very competitive.


Elastic anisotropy means that the elastic stiffness of a crystal is dependent on its orientation relative to the applied load. The yield stress may also depend on the orientation of the crystal, which makes the material plastically anisotropic. Because of elastic and plastic anisotropy, austenitic stainless steel has a highly complex stressstrain response [15] .

Because of elastic and plastic anisotropy, austenitic stainless steel has a highly complex stressstrain response.


The prevalence of cervicogenic headache in the general population is estimated to be 4.1%, but is as high as 20% of patients with chronic headache [3, 8] . The most general cause of cervicogenic headache (CGH) is the alteration of structure in the neck due to bad posture [8] . It is noted that CGHs can often be related to forward neck and head posture, which is accompanied by a high muscular tone of the supporting extensors to keep the head from gravity [9, 10] . Such unstable state causes overstrain of the cervical muscles, and induces headache and neck pain [11] . Office workers of being sedentary for prolonged periods are liable to adopt forward head posture and thus generating neck strain, sprain and pain. Moreover, forward head posture is commonly found in people spending long periods on computers, mobile phones and game consoles. A study conducted in 369 subjects of different occupations, researchers observed that straightening of the normal cervical lordosis is the commonest alteration in individuals with forward head posture, which predisposes them to various neck pains and even to compression of cervical nerve roots [12] .

The prevalence of cervicogenic headache in the general population is estimated to be 4.1%, but is as high as 20% of patients with chronic headache.

The most general cause of cervicogenic headache (CGH) is the alteration of structure in the neck due to bad posture.

It is noted that CGHs can often be related to forward neck and head posture, which is accompanied by a high muscular tone of the supporting extensors to keep the head from gravity.

Such unstable state causes overstrain of the cervical muscles, and induces headache and neck pain.

A study conducted in 369 subjects of different occupations, researchers observed that straightening of the normal cervical lordosis is the commonest alteration in individuals with forward head posture, which predisposes them to various neck pains and even to compression of cervical nerve roots.


Both the FRAX website and the NOGG website are monitored using Google Analytics software that enables exploration and documentation of website activity, patterns and sources. For this study, we assessed usage of the FRAX and NOGG websites by undertaking an analysis of the number of sessions of website activity, and the geographical source of that activity, using Google Analytics. We have used a similar approach in a previous study of global FRAX usage [17] . Briefly, Google Analytics determines locations from a visitor's IP address and counts each visit as a session number. The data are based not on risk calculation count, but on the number of sessions (the latter captures a single user interaction with the website); it is important to note that the session rate is lower than the calculation rate, as more than one calculation may be conducted by the same user during one session. Data at the country level are described as accurate worldwide; it is believed that access via mobile devices or VPN can lead to inaccuracies in tracking the source, but usually within the country of origin (e.g. assigned to the wrong city). FRAX and NOGG usage was computed as the number of sessions originating from within the UK as a whole and also examined at nation and city level. NHS users were classified by the finding of 'nhs' in the IP address assigned to the source accessing the websites.

We have used a similar approach in a previous study of global FRAX usage.


Gini mean difference (GMD) was introduced by Corrado Gini in 1914 as an alternative measure of variability. Since then, GMD and its derivatives such as Gini index have been widely used in a variety of research fields especially in finance, economics and social welfare (Yitzhaki and Schechtman, 2013) . Rather than the assumption on the finite second moment, the GMD only requires existence of the finite mean of the distribution (Yitzhaki, 2003) . Hence GMD is more robust than the variance and it is often used for heavy-tailed asymmetric distributions, although it is less robust than some scale measures without any moment conditions. On the other hand, GMD is highly efficient. The relative efficiencies (RE) of the sample GMD with respect to sample standard deviation are about 0.98 under the normal distributions, 1.21 under the Laplace distribution and 1.86 under the t(5) distribution (Nair, 1936; Gerstenberger and Vogel, 2015) . With a little loss on efficiency, GMD gains robustness against departures from normal distributions.

Since then, GMD and its derivatives such as Gini index have been widely used in a variety of research fields especially in finance, economics and social welfare.

Rather than the assumption on the finite second moment, the GMD only requires existence of the finite mean of the distribution.

The relative efficiencies (RE) of the sample GMD with respect to sample standard deviation are about 0.98 under the normal distributions, 1.21 under the Laplace distribution and 1.86 under the t(5) distribution.


Mostly, violence by parents and other close family members is a serious problem that happens in every country and society and across all social groups (Pinheiro, 2006) . Witnessing violence can include hearing violent acts, witnessing actual violent behaviors toward a parent or guardian, or being used as a shield against violence in the midst of a quarrel, among other experiences (Pinheiro, 2006) . There are also a clear connection between children's experience of violence (as victims or witnesses) and their likelihood as adults to perpetrate or experience intimate partner violence (Contreras et al., 2012) . This dynamic, where children from violent homes enact or experience violent acts themselves as adults, is known as the "intergenerational transmission of violence" according to the Social Learning Theory (Contreras et al., 2012) .

Mostly, violence by parents and other close family members is a serious problem that happens in every country and society and across all social groups.

Witnessing violence can include hearing violent acts, witnessing actual violent behaviors toward a parent or guardian, or being used as a shield against violence in the midst of a quarrel, among other experiences.

There are also a clear connection between children's experience of violence (as victims or witnesses) and their likelihood as adults to perpetrate or experience intimate partner violence.

This dynamic, where children from violent homes enact or experience violent acts themselves as adults, is known as the "intergenerational transmission of violence" according to the Social Learning Theory.


The childhood experiences of any form of violence were witnessed by 87.6% of men. The majorities (71.7%) experienced emotional violence and about 76.4% experienced physical abuse during their childhood. Moreover, a remarkable proportion (13.8%) experienced any form of sexual abuse during childhood. These findings goes with the findings from recent analysis indicating adult men who were victims or witnesses of domestic violence as children were more likely to accept violence as a conflict resolving tactic not only in intimate partnerships but also in their wider lives (Contreras et al., 2012) . During childhood, violence can take different forms and can occur in different settings.

These findings goes with the findings from recent analysis indicating adult men who were victims or witnesses of domestic violence as children were more likely to accept violence as a conflict resolving tactic not only in intimate partnerships but also in their wider lives.


In this study, none of the respondents reported for not disagreeing to at least one of the gender equitable statements and they almost universally supporting at least one gender inequitable statement. These findings are in agreement with previous studies elsewhere as the proportion of men with gender inequitable attitudes related to decision making, violence against women and traditional gender roles was higher among those who suffered violence than among those who did not (Contreras et al., 2012) . Corroborating this idea, study from Mexico showed 28% of men who witnessed violence during childhood agreed on the statement of "man should have a final say about the decision in his home" compared to 21% who did not experience it as a child agreed with the same statement (Contreras et al., 2012) .

These findings are in agreement with previous studies elsewhere as the proportion of men with gender inequitable attitudes related to decision making, violence against women and traditional gender roles was higher among those who suffered violence than among those who did not.

Corroborating this idea, study from Mexico showed 28% of men who witnessed violence during childhood agreed on the statement of "man should have a final say about the decision in his home" compared to 21% who did not experience it as a child agreed with the same statement.


Moreover, there was an overwhelming agreement with all of the statements of gender inequality and intimate violence among men. Only, (34.0%) of men disagreed on a statement of " a woman should tolerate violence in order to keep her family together" which is far below the findings from another country showed over 70% of younger men did not agree on the same statement (Wigglesworth et al., 2015) . Also, insignificant number (28.8%) of men disagreed on the statement of "a man should have a final say in all family matters" in contrast to 80% of young men from another study (Wigglesworth et al., 2015) . It is important to note that nearly half (44.5%) of men had opinion on wife obligation to have sex with her husband at every time. The fact that Ethiopia is a patriarchal society in which most men believes to have a power and control within their marital relationship that are strongly linked to levels of gender based violence and gender inequality (Abeya et al., 2011) .

Only, (34.0%) of men disagreed on a statement of " a woman should tolerate violence in order to keep her family together" which is far below the findings from another country showed over 70% of younger men did not agree on the same statement.

Also, insignificant number (28.8%) of men disagreed on the statement of "a man should have a final say in all family matters" in contrast to 80% of young men from another study.

The fact that Ethiopia is a patriarchal society in which most men believes to have a power and control within their marital relationship that are strongly linked to levels of gender based violence and gender inequality.


Similarly, in the present study nearly all (98.8%) men ever perpetrated any form of violence against their wife indicating the universal nature of violence against intimate partner in the study area. The vast majorities (95.2%) ever perpetrated emotional intimate partner violence against their spouses, and 97.4% perpetrated any form of physical violence on their wife at one point in their lifetime. About nine in ten (90.5%) ever perpetrated some forms of sexual violence. These findings are much higher than the previous studies indicated the proportion of ever partnered men who reported physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence in their lifetime varied from 26% in rural Indonesia to 80% in Papua New Guinea (Fulu et al., 2013) . Also, the same study indicated the lifetime prevalence of physical partner violence ranged from 12% to 62%. Indeed, these findings are also much higher than the findings from the women's report in Ethiopia showed the lifetime experience of emotional, physical and sexual violence at 66.9%, 62% and 59%, respectively (Abeya et al., 2011) . The variations might be attributed to the culture of silence for women to disclose this sensitive family issues and the tendency of lower reporting of intimate partner violence compared to men.

These findings are much higher than the previous studies indicated the proportion of ever partnered men who reported physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence in their lifetime varied from 26% in rural Indonesia to 80% in Papua New Guinea.

Indeed, these findings are also much higher than the findings from the women's report in Ethiopia showed the lifetime experience of emotional, physical and sexual violence at 66.9%, 62% and 59%, respectively.


There are several potential mechanisms for of the increasing lipid peroxidation and protein carbonyl in hepatic, cardiac and renal tissues. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lipid peroxidation products impaired the respiratory chain in hepatocytes either directly or indirectly through oxidative damage to the mitochondrial genome. These features, in turn, lead to the generation of more ROS, and a vicious cycle ensues. Mitochondrial dysfunction can also lead to apoptosis or necrosis depending on the energy status of the cell. Finally, ROS and lipid peroxidation products also activate stellate cells, thus resulting in fibrosis [50, 51] .

Finally, ROS and lipid peroxidation products also activate stellate cells, thus resulting in fibrosis.


RTs were calculated by subtracting the registered RTs from the target word onsets to determine the actual reaction to the target item in the recording. The obtained RTs were trimmed to reject responses below 100 ms and above 1000 ms. Such trimming excluded false alarms and hesitations that resulted from conditions uncontrolled in the experiment (Bissiri et al., 2011) .

Such trimming excluded false alarms and hesitations that resulted from conditions uncontrolled in the experiment.


It has been generally acknowledged that efficiency improvements in a factory can only occur when holistic understanding of energy and resource usages is understood (Alvandi et al., 2016) . There exists vast energy reducing opportunities on the system-level that advantageously do not require large capital investment. Operational method such as optimised shop floor scheduling is one examp le of such methods. Implementation of optimised shop floor scheduling is normally less costly and can easily be applied to existing systems (Fang et al., 2011) .

It has been generally acknowledged that efficiency improvements in a factory can only occur when holistic understanding of energy and resource usages is understood.

Implementation of optimised shop floor scheduling is normally less costly and can easily be applied to existing systems.


Holographic interferometry (HI) techniques have been applied in two basic modes: continuous and transient. In the continuous mode, a hologram recorded with the specimen at rest is then reconstructed while an ultrasonic wave burst is periodically applied to the specimen at the same rate that a video camera integrates and reads the resulting interferograms (usually tens of milliseconds per frame). As the ultrasonic period is typically in the range of microseconds, stroboscopic illumination or detection must be used to avoid the time averaging of the signal within each frame. This approach has been successfully used to detect the displacement fields of Rayleigh waves in real time [4] .

This approach has been successfully used to detect the displacement fields of Rayleigh waves in real time.


In the transient mode, on the other hand, the mechanical state of the specimen is frozen by pulsed laser illumination at two very close instants, generally separated by just a few microseconds, and recorded in the same hologram. The relative displacement of each surface point between the two selected states is then measured by reconstructing both together from the hologram. Some authors have used this method to detect Rayleigh wave displacement fields [5] . The short acquisition time involved in the transient mode presents several advantages with respect to the continuous one: a high immunity to environmental perturbations, a very fine temporal resolution, and the possibility to select the recorded states close enough to the starting time of the excitation to avoid the presence of waves reflected at the edges of the inspected part. This last advantage should not be underestimated, as such reflected waves could interfere with the incident waves hiding the effects produced by the defects. Hence, operating in the transient mode makes unnecessary to arrange acoustic absorbers in the inspected part. On the other hand, the main hindrance of the transient mode is the experimental complexity associated to the use of a pulsed laser and fast electronics.

Some authors have used this method to detect Rayleigh wave displacement fields.


Shorter relaxation times have traditionally been aimed at by applying smaller particles. However, the minimum particle size is limited by scattered light as it declines with the power 2 of the particle diameter for micron-sized particles (Mie scattering regime) and with the power 6 for sub-micron particles (Rayleigh scattering regime) [6] . A solution to this problem can be the use of non-compact particles such as porous, hollow or chain-type, which have a low effective density.

However, the minimum particle size is limited by scattered light as it declines with the power 2 of the particle diameter for micron-sized particles (Mie scattering regime) and with the power 6 for sub-micron particles (Rayleigh scattering regime).


Measurement techniques such as particle image velocimetry (PIV), laser Doppler anemometry (LDA) and Doppler global velocimetry (DGV) are extensively used for non-intrusive diagnostics in flow fields. These techniques provide indirect characterization of the fluid velocity through measurement of the velocity of the suspended tracer particles. As a result, the applicability and accuracy of the tracer-based measurement techniques depend on the time response of the tracer particles, which becomes critical in extreme situations such as highspeed flows [1] .

As a result, the applicability and accuracy of the tracer-based measurement techniques depend on the time response of the tracer particles, which becomes critical in extreme situations such as highspeed flows.


In this paper, we go beyond such studies and disentangle the specific effects of bargaining power and scale economies by using customized accounting measures from the retail industry (Kumar, Kerin, and Pereira, 1991; Pellegrini, 1994) . We focus in this study on how opting for M&A rather than for organic growth influences these size-related performance effects and disentangle these sources of performance in a sample of 83 firms from the global retail sector over a 20 year period. Our empirical analysis has two unique features. First, using accounting-based data rather than financial or managerial data, we develop specific measures of firm scale-related efficiency and bargaining power vis-à-vis its customers and suppliers. In order to achieve this, we test our predictions in the global retail industry, a setting in which the two focal effects can be observed by developing distinct and customized accounting measures corresponding to these theoretical mechanisms. Second, we correct for the endogeneity bias in the mode choice between M&A and organic growth. It is important to note that our focus is limited to the study of the performance outcomes of horizontal growth and we do not address the motives of firms to undertake different modes of expansion such as the motives to learn, innovate, or expand into new markets or concepts.

In this paper, we go beyond such studies and disentangle the specific effects of bargaining power and scale economies by using customized accounting measures from the retail industry.


Federated search is the task of retrieving documents from multiple (possibly non-overlapping) collections in response to a query [1] . The task is typically composed of three steps: attaining resource (collection) description, selecting resources (collections), and merging the results retrieved from the selected collections [1] . We focus on the resultsmerging step; specifically, we study the merits of using information induced from inter-document similarities.

Federated search is the task of retrieving documents from multiple (possibly non-overlapping) collections in response to a query.

The task is typically composed of three steps: attaining resource (collection) description, selecting resources (collections), and merging the results retrieved from the selected collections.


When supporting business processes there is a difficult trade-off to be made. On the one hand, there is a desire to control processes and to avoid incorrect or undesirable executions of these processes. On the other hand, workers want flexible processes that do not constrain them in their actions. This apparent paradox has limited the application of workflow management systems thus far since, as indicated by many authors, workflow management systems are too restrictive and have problems concerning dealing with change [3] .

This apparent paradox has limited the application of workflow management systems thus far since, as indicated by many authors, workflow management systems are too restrictive and have problems concerning dealing with change.


Our framework is supported by the ConDec language [16] . ConDec is a graphical declarative process modeling language supported by the Declare tool, which also supports related languages such as DecSerFlow [4] . The Declare workflow management system is open in the sense that it can support multiple constraint-based languages and each of the languages is extendible and can be changed without changing the engine. This is achieved by a flexible mechanism mapping graphical constraints onto LTL (Linear Temporal Logic) [14] . Note that the semantics are expressed in a temporal logic but the end user only sees the graphical notation when modeling. The Declare system fully supports the approach presented in this paper and the software can be downloaded from http://is.tm.tue.nl/staff/mpesic/declare.htm.

Our framework is supported by the ConDec language.

ConDec is a graphical declarative process modeling language supported by the Declare tool, which also supports related languages such as DecSerFlow.

This is achieved by a flexible mechanism mapping graphical constraints onto LTL (Linear Temporal Logic).


The theory for the turbulence distortion is strictly valid as a small time expansion when t 6 T L = L ∞ /v ∞ ; but, as with other calculations of rapid distortion theory, when the distortion leads to slow changes of turbulence with time, the theory has been found to describe the main features of the flow even when t T L (Hunt & Carruthers 1990) . A nonlinear analysis supports this conjecture when there is no mean flow (Magnaudet 2003) . For both the particular inhomogeneous turbulent velocity fields considered here, the curl of the gradients of the mean Reynolds stress is non-zero causing the mean vorticity Ω z (x, y, t) to grow with time, but the form of the mean vorticity profile varies slowly because the turbulence structure is slowly varying. Thence the weak secondary mean velocity field with components U 1 (x, y, t), U 2 (x, y, t) is calculated. When the mean vorticity becomes comparable with v ∞ /L ∞ , nonlinear effects are significant and the linear analysis becomes invalid.

The theory for the turbulence distortion is strictly valid as a small time expansion when t 6 T L = L ∞ /v ∞ ; but, as with other calculations of rapid distortion theory, when the distortion leads to slow changes of turbulence with time, the theory has been found to describe the main features of the flow even when t T L.

A nonlinear analysis supports this conjecture when there is no mean flow.


All of these applications require researchers to study the distribution or the moments of a random distance between a given vertex and a random point that is uniformly distributed within an arbitrary triangle. Statistical properties such as the cumulative distribution function (CDF) and probability density function (PDF) of such random distance have been actively studied in recent years [15] [16] [17] . One drawback of 2 Mathematical Problems in Engineering these prior works is that the resulting CDF and PDF formulae depend on the geometric properties of the triangle, such as whether the altitude from the fixed vertex of the triangle to the opposite side is inside or outside the triangle. It makes the use of CDF/PDF in studying moments (e.g., the mean, variance, and skewness) of this random distance difficult. In this paper, we use a parametrization tactic to reformulate the CDF and PDF of this random distance so that they share a consistent form for all cases, which enables us to provide a general formula for moments of arbitrary order. We conducted Monte Carlo simulations with various configurations and found that the empirical results match the theoretical results well.

Statistical properties such as the cumulative distribution function (CDF) and probability density function (PDF) of such random distance have been actively studied in recent years.


The design of distributed systems presents many challenges both at the theoretical and the implementation level [23] . At the theoretical level the designer has to tackle the fundamental problems of asynchrony (events take place at times that cannot be known in advance), limited local knowledge (each computing entity is only aware of information that it acquires and has no global view of the whole environment), and failures. At the implementation level the difficulties stem from the fact that it is almost impossible to achieve scalability, that is, to create a testbed that resembles the enviroment where the application is going to be deployed (e.g., a network of hundreds of computers). This critical issue of scalability can only be addressed via simulations. Simulation environments play a crucial role in the development of distributed algorithms and their practical assessment, provided that they model accurately the application environment and they are easily usable by the end-user. However, it is not at all obvious how to achieve these goals.

The design of distributed systems presents many challenges both at the theoretical and the implementation level.


Protein fractions contained considerable TKI levels that changed markedly over time. This could be demonstrated by using the ProteoExtractR Subcellular Proteome Extraction kit. In addition, it can be concluded that the distribution of the six TKIs differs a lot and also changed over time. This may be related to the different physio-chemical properties of the various TKIs, favouring either a lysosomal accumulation or a rapid efflux from the cell [10] . Nevertheless, sunitinib and crizotinib distribution show comparable patterns, probably due to the lysosomal accumulation.

This may be related to the different physio-chemical properties of the various TKIs, favouring either a lysosomal accumulation or a rapid efflux from the cell.


Interestingly the total accumulation of the drugs was quite different both in the amount and the timecourse ( Table 2 ). The absolute amount of sunitinib accumulated in the cells decreased by 3.9-fold from 2 to 24 hours which is in agreement with the decline of sunitinib accumulation in the temperature dependent accumulation study after 24 hours [14] . In contrast to sunitinib, crizotinib demonstrated a 4.5-fold increase after 24 hours. Accumulation of erlotinib was very low and even decreased after 24 hours to 5.3 % of that after 2 hours. Also, total sorafenib accumulation decreased considerably from 2 to 24 hours. In contrast to the five other TKIs, the total absolute amount of dasatinib accumulation in the cell hardly changed after 24 hours compared to 2 hours.

The absolute amount of sunitinib accumulated in the cells decreased by 3.9-fold from 2 to 24 hours which is in agreement with the decline of sunitinib accumulation in the temperature dependent accumulation study after 24 hours.


Treatment of type 2 diabetes should aim at improving vascular structure and function in the micro-and macrocirculation besides metabolic control [1] . Arterial stiffness, a key parameter of vascular changes, is characterized by an increased pulse wave velocity along the arterial tree of both the forward and backward (reflected) pulse wave leading to increased central systolic blood pressure and elevated central pulse pressure [2, 3] . Central systolic blood pressure is the integral of various components of arterial stiffness, an important surrogate parameter of afterload, and strongly linked to future cardiovascular outcome [4, 5] . Likewise, central pulse pressure has been shown to be superior in the prediction of cardiovascular events compared to measurements of pulse pressure at the brachial level, and there is evidence for an association between both forward and backward wave amplitudes and increased risk for incident cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality [5] [6] [7] .

Treatment of type 2 diabetes should aim at improving vascular structure and function in the micro-and macrocirculation besides metabolic control.

Arterial stiffness, a key parameter of vascular changes, is characterized by an increased pulse wave velocity along the arterial tree of both the forward and backward (reflected) pulse wave leading to increased central systolic blood pressure and elevated central pulse pressure.

Central systolic blood pressure is the integral of various components of arterial stiffness, an important surrogate parameter of afterload, and strongly linked to future cardiovascular outcome.

Likewise, central pulse pressure has been shown to be superior in the prediction of cardiovascular events compared to measurements of pulse pressure at the brachial level, and there is evidence for an association between both forward and backward wave amplitudes and increased risk for incident cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality.


Understanding seasonal trends in the incidence of nosocomial infections will help in improving surveillance and evaluation of infection prevention guidelines. Several reports claim that bacterial infections always peak during summers and winters (Eber et al., 2011; Anderson et al., 2008) . Table 3 depicts the percentage of Klebsiella infections during the four different seasons. It was observed that the percentage of infections was the highest during summers (46.4%) followed by winters (27.2%). During autumn and spring, the percentages are not too high being 13.9% during autumn and 12.5% during spring. Winters are known for the outbreaks of bacterial infections especially related to the respiratory systems (Anderson et al., 2008; Eber et al., 2011) . The autumn season incidentally coincides with the major pilgrimage period when a large number of pilgrims visit Madinah during Haj. But interestingly, the percentage of Klebsiella infections was not very high in this period in comparison to summers and winters. This can be attributed to the efforts of the health authorities who take special care to control the outbreak of bacterial and other infections. We have reported a similar pattern in case of Proteus infection during the same period of study (Bahashwan and Shafey, 2013) . Although Madinah, just like Makkah, expects a large population all year around, it is during the Haj season that there are dangers of an outbreak of epidemic.

Several reports claim that bacterial infections always peak during summers and winters.

Winters are known for the outbreaks of bacterial infections especially related to the respiratory systems.

We have reported a similar pattern in case of Proteus infection during the same period of study.


Antimicrobial drug sensitivity was performed by disc diffusion assay using discs impregnated with seventeen antibiotics belonging to different families. These were ampicillin, augmentin, gentamycin, cefoxitin, cephalothin, cotrimoxazole, amikacin, ceftazidime, aztreonam, piperacilline, imipenem, ciprofloxacin, cefpiramide, meropenem, tazobactam, colistin, and nitrofurantoin. As shown in Table 2 , Imipenem was the most effective antibiotic against Klebsiella species with 99.5% sensitivity followed by CAZ with 98.6% sensitivity for Klebsiella. The high sensitivity of Imipenem has been shown by others as well (Namratha et al., 2015; Gupta et al., 2012; Shiju et al., 2010) . AZT was the third most sensitive antibiotic (96.6%) used in the present study showing high sensitivity against Klebsiella species. Amikacin is a fourth generation aminoglycoside which showed fairly good sensitivity, results being consistent with the previous studies (Ali and Ali, 2014; Namratha et al., 2015) .

The high sensitivity of Imipenem has been shown by others as well.

Amikacin is a fourth generation aminoglycoside which showed fairly good sensitivity, results being consistent with the previous studies.


We demonstrate the efficacy of our new corpora by building novel deep learning models for reading comprehension. These models draw on recent developments for incorporating attention mechanisms into recurrent neural network architectures [6, 7, 8] . This allows a model to focus on the aspects of a document that it believes will help it answer a question, and also allows us to visualises its inference process. We compare these neural models to a range of baselines and heuristic benchmarks based upon a traditional frame semantic analysis provided by a state-of-the-art natural language processing (NLP) pipeline. Our results indicate the that the neural models achieve a higher accuracy, and do so without any specific encoding of the document or query structure.

These models draw on recent developments for incorporating attention mechanisms into recurrent neural network architectures.


In the past, the flame retardant (FR) market was dominated by the highly-efficient halogenated compounds. However, the formation of highly toxic compounds during their thermal decomposition, such as halogenated dioxins and furans, has restricted their use in the recent years [2] . For example, established halogenated FRs belonging to the polybrominated diphenyl ethers have been already banned in the European Union (EU), China, and several U.S. states, due to their persistence, long-range transport, and potential toxicity to wildlife and human populations [3] . In this context, there is an increasing demand for the development of non-halogenated FRs which is stimulated by the environmental concerns aroused by their halogenated analogues [4] .

However, the formation of highly toxic compounds during their thermal decomposition, such as halogenated dioxins and furans, has restricted their use in the recent years.

For example, established halogenated FRs belonging to the polybrominated diphenyl ethers have been already banned in the European Union (EU), China, and several U.S. states, due to their persistence, long-range transport, and potential toxicity to wildlife and human populations.

In this context, there is an increasing demand for the development of non-halogenated FRs which is stimulated by the environmental concerns aroused by their halogenated analogues.


In a DSM, an architectural violation manifests as a violation of a design rule, which is a programmer-specified assertion about the legality of dependence between two modules. To remedy such a violation, DSM theory provides modular operations, one of which, called splitting, aims to decouple two dependent design parameters (e.g., modules) by introducing a new parameter that constrains how the original parameters may interact [17] . Splitting typically involves the invention of a new interface and the subsequent refactoring of the two dependent modules to communicate with one another only through this interface. To support splitting, we developed a tool that computes a representation, called a proto-interface, that codifies the essential dependency between two modules. This representation serves as a starting point in the design of the interface that is to be invented to effect the split, and we developed a tool, called Slick, to generate proto-interfaces automatically by analyzing compiled code.

To remedy such a violation, DSM theory provides modular operations, one of which, called splitting, aims to decouple two dependent design parameters (e.g., modules) by introducing a new parameter that constrains how the original parameters may interact.


In general, both DPM and EE-SVM do benefit from large training sets. The key to continued growth for both meth- ods is control of capacity. EE-SVM automatically increases its capacity, by adding a new component with each training sample. For DPM, the best results are achieved through selecting the right capacity manually, which also corresponds to a rather large number of components (compared to the 2+2 traditionally used on Pascal VOC [8] ). Using such large models comes at the cost of longer runtime, as all components have to be applied to a test image. This is especially problematic for EE-SVMs, as running ten thousand components takes about 10 minutes for a single image. In the next section we demonstrate how ConF substantially reduces this computational burden by selecting only a small subset of components most relevant to a particular test image and run only those.

For DPM, the best results are achieved through selecting the right capacity manually, which also corresponds to a rather large number of components (compared to the 2+2 traditionally used on Pascal VOC).


For these reasons it is essential that resorts develop and implement practices that can demonstrate their ''duty of care'' while decreasing the number of injuries in general and SCIs in particular. An engineering approach to the design and construction of snow park jumps is perhaps the best way to accomplish this. To this end, the F27 Committee on Snow Skiing of the ASTM International is in the process of developing standards for snow park jumps [28] . The design philosophy discussed here is an attempt to support this process.

To this end, the F27 Committee on Snow Skiing of the ASTM International is in the process of developing standards for snow park jumps.


The birational model Y is called the canonical model of X. It depends only on the birational class of X and it has a canonical polarization, but it has singularities in general. For example, Y may have some Du Val singularities in dimension two. The singularities that may appear on Y were coined canonical singularities by Reid [50] .

The singularities that may appear on Y were coined canonical singularities by Reid.


Wafer warpage can affect device performance, reliability and linewidth or critical dimension (CD) control in various microelectronic manufacturing processes. The drive toward smaller device geometries has placed much tighter control limits on the various semiconductor manufacturing processes. The reduction in exposure wavelength to create smaller features comes at a higher cost of lower depth of focus. Figure 1 shows a typical microlithography sequence. In the exposure step a warped wafer results in a non-uniform gap between wafer and mask for a contact aligner and different depth-of-focus at different parts of the wafer for a projection exposure system. The significance of having a wafer of minimal warpage is that it makes possible the reduction of the depth-of-focus to achieve a higher pattern resolution [1] . Hence, any knowledge of the wafer warpage profile could act as a source for active compensation during the exposure step in lithography.

The significance of having a wafer of minimal warpage is that it makes possible the reduction of the depth-of-focus to achieve a higher pattern resolution.


Self − regulated thermal process, discovered by the author, was used for developing intensive technologies called IQ-2 and intensive austempering processes [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] . The new technologies were developed and patented in Ukraine and are used in US [7, 21] . Especially, excellent results are obtained in the heat treating industry for rolls made of Ductile Irons [16, 21, 22] . The proposed technologies are improved by creating an insulating layer on the surface of quenched steel parts that decreases initial heat flux density. It eliminates local and full film boiling completely during hardening.

Self − regulated thermal process, discovered by the author, was used for developing intensive technologies called IQ-2 and intensive austempering processes.

The new technologies were developed and patented in Ukraine and are used in US.

Especially, excellent results are obtained in the heat treating industry for rolls made of Ductile Irons.


Therefore, in this fi rst step of investigation we focused on tolerability of MCP, life quality and clinical benefi t response, which measures the symptomatic improvement based on the level of pain, consumption of analgesics, ability to perform daily activities and weight change. The design of our trial was inspired by previously published data describing the impact of gemcitabine versus 5-fl oururacil on clinical benefi t response (23,8% versus 4,8%) leading to the approval of gemcitabine for the fi rst-line treatment of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer [27] . In this context, it is remarkable, that in our study the treatment with MCP over a period of 8 weeks was associated with an overall clinical benefi t response of 20,7% (6 patients out of 29) as well as an improvement of quality of life. However, the high drop out rate of 20 patients already 8 weeks after the start of treatment has to be considered, refl ecting the poor clinical condition of most patients entering our trial and compliance issues in advanced disease.

The design of our trial was inspired by previously published data describing the impact of gemcitabine versus 5-fl oururacil on clinical benefi t response (23,8% versus 4,8%) leading to the approval of gemcitabine for the fi rst-line treatment of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.


The world today is in need of human capital that is more competitive. A competitive individual is known to be innovative, creative, proactive, motivated, highly skilled, flexible, available, and most important to have complex and critical thinking (Rivas, 2013) . It is said that these traits of human capital can be shaped by the practice of learner autonomy (Bullock, 2011; Camilleri, 1999; Yoshiyuki, 2011) . However, fostering learner autonomy requires appropriate cooperation between teachers and learners. In the process of language learning, active learners reflect on how they learn and analyse their learning methods. Learners should decide and reflect themselves whether they need improvements or not to remain stagnant. In many cases, students are not expected to reflect upon, analyse and evaluate their learning process in the current situation of language learning.

A competitive individual is known to be innovative, creative, proactive, motivated, highly skilled, flexible, available, and most important to have complex and critical thinking.

It is said that these traits of human capital can be shaped by the practice of learner autonomy.


Previous works on event cameras are still at an early stage of development since event cameras have become commercially available only since 2008 [2] . How to exploit the advantages of event cameras (i.e., high speed, low latency, and high dynamic range) is still an open research problem. The challenges we address in this paper are two: i) event-based 6-DOF pose tracking in natural scenes; ii) tracking the pose during very fast motions, e.g., where standard cameras suffer from motion blur, as shown in Fig. 1 .

Previous works on event cameras are still at an early stage of development since event cameras have become commercially available only since 2008.


Principal component analysis (PCA) is a method of data reduction that transforms the original variables into a limited number of uncorrelated new variables. The techniques is thus a useful device for representing a set of variables by a much smaller set of composite variables that account for much of the variance among the set of original variables. It allows visualization of the differences among the individuals, identification of possible groups and relationships among individuals and variables (Rakonjac et al., 2010) . Results obtained from such analyses are very important for developing and recommending best cultivar for production in a specific area, as a selection criteria for further genetic improvements and can enable objective estimation of experimental genotypes, hence, developing best possible varieties for official testing by national registration authorities (Marjanović-Jeromela et al., 2008) .

It allows visualization of the differences among the individuals, identification of possible groups and relationships among individuals and variables.

Results obtained from such analyses are very important for developing and recommending best cultivar for production in a specific area, as a selection criteria for further genetic improvements and can enable objective estimation of experimental genotypes, hence, developing best possible varieties for official testing by national registration authorities.


Richness index value (D) is 17.31. Based on the criteria, when the value of richness index is above 8.57, it will be categorized as high (Mason et al., 2005) . So the value of Mollusks species richness index is high. Generally, Mollusks species richness is affected by many factors connected to each other, particularly by environmental quality factor, either physically or chemically. Environmental quality is influenced by the pressure level undergone by the environment and its surrounding (Arbi, 2011) . The high level of Mollusk species richness in the seagrass bed at Ela Ela Beach is also influenced by ecosystem condition around, such as seagrass bed, mangrove forest, and coral reef which are still in a good shape, hence they are important in providing foods, shelter, and any other kinds of life.

Richness index value (D) is 17.31.

Based on the criteria, when the value of richness index is above 8.57, it will be categorized as high.

Environmental quality is influenced by the pressure level undergone by the environment and its surrounding.


This study was undertaken to determine pomological and phenological characteristics of a cultivar sub-set of the strawberry germplasm collection belonging to the Fruit Genebank of the Julius Kühn-Institute, Institute for Breeding Research on Horticultural and Fruit Crops in Dresden. The correlation analysis (Table 2 ) and the PCA (Table 4) suggest that a relatively high number of descriptors are necessary for further comprehensive evaluation projects. The morphological analysis marked out the most useful characters for further accession description and core collection development [9, 12, 13] . Discrimination between cultivars could be assigned to the following primary descriptors: (1) for plant morphology -habit, leaf color upper side and glossiness, time of appearance of first stolons; (2) for the flower -sex and time of flowering; (3) for the fruit -shape, color, coloration type, band without achenes, insertion of calyx, size of calyx, firmness, color of flesh, hollow center and time of ripening. All descriptors that are very strongly influenced by environmental conditions (yield and correlated characters and fruit size) should be investigated as secondary descriptors in a more detailed experiment. Phenological data, time of flowering and ripening which are characterized by high eigenvectors (Table 4) are of great importance especially in the context of climate change [36] . Use of these suggested descriptors will improve the evaluation of strawberries for plants in many growth conditions as in the permanent germplasm collection, orchard, and greenhouse and box system in the orchard. Bottlenecks for study such as having enough plants per cultivar of the same quality for a field trial, could be reduced and perennial evaluation of the same plant material would be possible. The same classification of descriptors was proposed as appropriate primary and secondary descriptors for the European GENBERRY project of the cultivated octoploid strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.).

The morphological analysis marked out the most useful characters for further accession description and core collection development.

Phenological data, time of flowering and ripening which are characterized by high eigenvectors (Table 4) are of great importance especially in the context of climate change.


The fi rst very interesting experience of radon in-fi eld intercomparison was done in Spain in 2011 [5] . Following the good results obtained in this previous event, it was planned to hold a similar exercise in Italy. Therefore, the Italian Radiation Protection Association (AIRP), together with other national and international institutions, organized in 2014 the international intercomparison of passive radon detectors under fi eld conditions' in the Marie Curie's tunnel, in Lurisia, a spa location in the A detailed description of logistical arrangements, metrological aspects and all results were presented in the international conference held in Lurisia in May 2015, during which the report of the intercomparison exercise was provided to each participant. In the present paper, a synthesis of main results is given.

The fi rst very interesting experience of radon in-fi eld intercomparison was done in Spain in 2011.


In the learning stage, rail profiles that taken from laser camera are used with "healty" and "faulty" tags. First two attributes from every method of dimension reduction (Principal Component Analysis) are used in learning algorithms [18] [19] . The data of these two classes are educated in compliance with the Random Forest (RF) machine learning algorithm and a decision forest is created. RF method works fast and with high accuracy on big data and that is the main reason this method was selected. Thus, the learned model build in the training stage.

First two attributes from every method of dimension reduction (Principal Component Analysis) are used in learning algorithms.


In the next step, the eigenvalue was obtained on the rail profiles by feature extraction methods, and it was labeled as faulty and healthy to be used in training algorithm. The system was trained by using Random Forest (RF) which is a classification method using multiple decision trees [20] . It is one of the most suitable classification algorithms to be used in fault diagnosis since it functions rapidly even in large data sets, provides good results on lost data and generates high accuracy results.

The system was trained by using Random Forest (RF) which is a classification method using multiple decision trees.


However, the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization reports a 31% survival in patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) undergoing stage I Norwood repair who require mechanical support [7] . Moreover, the survival statistics after ECMO support following cardiac surgery (approximately 50% for infants and 15% for adults) have not been very encouraging and have remained static since its inception in 1973 [8] [9] [10] . It has become a major topic in the study of improving the survival rate of patients who need ECMO support after cardiac surgery with postoperative heart failure. There have been reports of higher survival rate comparing patients undergoing cardiac surgery whose ECMO support was initiated in the operating room with those initiated in an emergency situation in the postoperative period [11, 12] . However, the optimal time and indications of ECMO initiation in the operating room are not yet clear.

However, the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization reports a 31% survival in patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) undergoing stage I Norwood repair who require mechanical support.

Moreover, the survival statistics after ECMO support following cardiac surgery (approximately 50% for infants and 15% for adults) have not been very encouraging and have remained static since its inception in 1973.

There have been reports of higher survival rate comparing patients undergoing cardiac surgery whose ECMO support was initiated in the operating room with those initiated in an emergency situation in the postoperative period.


Several publications deal with the kinematic viscosity of certain wines (Košmerl et al., 2000; Havlíček et al., 2007) . Only one publication has been found for partially fermented wine must (López et al., 1989) . As it is a little researched topic, every publication which deals with this issue is very benefi cial.

Several publications deal with the kinematic viscosity of certain wines.

Only one publication has been found for partially fermented wine must.


Systemic risk is defined as "the risk associated with the whole financial system, as opposed to any individual entity or component". It can also be defined as "any set of circumstance that threatens the stability of financial system, and so potentially initiates financial crisis" (Zheng et al. 2012) . For an investor seeking to manage a portfolio, rather than a regulator seeking to ensure financial system stablility, systemic risk can be thought of as the ratio of systematic risk to idiosyncratic risk. An increase in the systemic risk suggests that the systematic risk as a proportion of the total risk increases. Put another way, if the systemic risk increases, the amount of idiosyncratic risk, the diversifiable risk, as a proportion of total risk decreases, leaving the investor poorly prepared for any negative shocks to the financial markets.

It can also be defined as "any set of circumstance that threatens the stability of financial system, and so potentially initiates financial crisis".


Few attempts, however, have been made to analyse networks of polling servers; one of the rare examples is a heavy-traffic study [7] . We study a discrete-time polling network with unit service times and show that this network can be reduced to a single node. This reduction allows for an analysis of the network via a simpler analysis of the single-node system.

Few attempts, however, have been made to analyse networks of polling servers; one of the rare examples is a heavy-traffic study.


To begin the discussion, we first need to characterize in more detail the models adopted in weather and climate applications. A numerical weather or climate model is constituted by a set of prognostic partial differential equations (PDEs) governing the fluid motion in the atmosphere (i.e., the geophysical flow) and by all those physical processes acting at a subgrid scale, whose statistical effects on the mean flow are expressed as a function of resolvedscale quantities [64] . The former is known as the dynamical core and represents the scale-resolved part of the model, whereas the latter are referred to as the physical parameterizations and include the under-resolved processes. The dynamical core is usually described by the laws of thermodynamics and Newton's law of motion for the fluid air (e.g., compressible Navier-Stokes or Euler equations). Typical examples of physical parameterizations are convective processes, cloud microphysics, solar radiation, boundary layer turbulence and drag processes, which are handled by vertically-columnar submodels. The overall model is then discretized in space and time via suitable algorithmic blocks to approximate the continuous system of equations, thereby providing a solution otherwise not readily achievable.

A numerical weather or climate model is constituted by a set of prognostic partial differential equations (PDEs) governing the fluid motion in the atmosphere (i.e., the geophysical flow) and by all those physical processes acting at a subgrid scale, whose statistical effects on the mean flow are expressed as a function of resolvedscale quantities.


For the MPFs based on multiwavelength lasers, laser arrays, or optical frequency comb, the main drawbacks are related to the high cost of their configuration and the electrical filtering response with an undesired periodic spectral characteristic, which impose limitations in some specific applications. A cost-effective way to realize single-bandpass MPFs is using a sliced WBOS. In this case, the taps are not a discrete distribution as the former case, then the free spectral range (FSR) goes to infinity, which is able to contribute a single-band response [9] , [10] .

In this case, the taps are not a discrete distribution as the former case, then the free spectral range (FSR) goes to infinity, which is able to contribute a single-band response.


Fashion is a billion-dollar industry and fast evolving in many economies. It reflects society and a country's culture and how consumers define themselves. Consumers generally tend to equate fashion with clothing and accessories which is an essential part of an individual's well-being (Holmberg & Öhnfeldt, 2010) . When consumers buy clothes, they buy an identity (Tungate, 2008) . Fashion is constituted like a pyramid. At the top of the pyramid, high fashion (haute couture) literally stands out. These are very exclusive garments manufactured by famous designers. Below this high-end fashion clothing is the ready-to-wear clothing that are not bespoke but still occupies an upper echelon associated with a high price tag (Holmberg & Öhnfeldt, 2010) . These designs are not necessary unique but rather produced in limited numbers. In the next level of the pyramid lie the challenger brands; the brands of clothing that are very fashionable but not as expensive as the well-known designer's ready-to-wear brands (Easey, 2009) . Finally, at the bottom of the pyramid comprise mass retailing which are relatively cheap but still remain very trendy and savvy, where majority of consumers buy their clothes as they are seen as value for money (Tungate, 2008) .

Consumers generally tend to equate fashion with clothing and accessories which is an essential part of an individual's well-being.

When consumers buy clothes, they buy an identity.

Fashion is constituted like a pyramid.

Below this high-end fashion clothing is the ready-to-wear clothing that are not bespoke but still occupies an upper echelon associated with a high price tag.

In the next level of the pyramid lie the challenger brands; the brands of clothing that are very fashionable but not as expensive as the well-known designer's ready-to-wear brands.

Finally, at the bottom of the pyramid comprise mass retailing which are relatively cheap but still remain very trendy and savvy, where majority of consumers buy their clothes as they are seen as value for money.


Impulsive human behaviour has been an area of study by psychologist, economist and consumer behaviour scholars since the 1950s (Burroughs, 1996; Piron, 1991; Rook, 1987; Youn, 2000) . This phenomenon since then has become a distinct area of research and a panacea for management and marketers of businesses to accomplish commercial success through a strategic fit with the demand from consumers (Kotler & Caslione, 2009) . It is also acknowledged that in today's post-modern era, shopping has emerged as a social and leisure activity, reducing the number of cognitively planned purchases made by consumers (Banerjee & Saha, 2012) . Impulsive buying whilst intriguing; is an attractive and fascinating area of research. It has been an object of study for more than half a century in different fields of study, making it a common practice and socially acceptable in developed and developing countries. It is further an enigma in the marketing world as retailers and marketers grapple with innovative ways to increase sales and profits.

Impulsive human behaviour has been an area of study by psychologist, economist and consumer behaviour scholars since the 1950s.

This phenomenon since then has become a distinct area of research and a panacea for management and marketers of businesses to accomplish commercial success through a strategic fit with the demand from consumers.

It is also acknowledged that in today's post-modern era, shopping has emerged as a social and leisure activity, reducing the number of cognitively planned purchases made by consumers.


The study of hedonism, fashion orientation and emotional gratification has been spurred as an area of research because of its apparent importance especially among university students as they are big spenders on fashion apparel especially among black consumers in South Africa. There is a rapid rise and distinctive demands of black consumers who are claiming the market space previously denied to them with marketers contending with this seismic shift (Chase, Legoete & van Wamelen, 2010) . In South very little research has been conducted on these constructs and particularly their influence on impulsive buying behaviour is still unknown. Hence, a gap remains in this area of research.

There is a rapid rise and distinctive demands of black consumers who are claiming the market space previously denied to them with marketers contending with this seismic shift.


Human resource, as the most strategic element of organization, has been specially paid attention by management scientists. Justice and its administration is one of the basic and intrinsic needs of human, whose existence has always provided a proper bed to develop human societies throughout the history. Opinions concerning justice have evolved in parallel with development and progress of human society. Administration of justice in society is dependent on paying attention to justice in organizations. The first investigations on justice in organization go back to the early 1960s. After 1990, a new stage of empirical studies on organizational justice started whose yields are three kinds of justice distributive, procedural, and interactional justice (Lapidot & et al, 2007) .

After 1990, a new stage of empirical studies on organizational justice started whose yields are three kinds of justice distributive, procedural, and interactional justice.


In the case where graphs with an existing layout must be redrawn, the layouts can have clusters of nodes that are close together, making the labels of the nodes and the interactions between the nodes hard to read and understand. The reapplication of a layout creation algorithm is not useful for layout adjustment, because a new layout that is drastically different from the existing one destroys the user's mental picture of the layout [4, 11, 25] . Given a combinatorial description of a graph G along with an existing drawing D of G, the goal of layout adjustment algorithms is to produce a new drawing D of G such that the layout can be easily read and such that the user's mental picture of D is not destroyed.

The reapplication of a layout creation algorithm is not useful for layout adjustment, because a new layout that is drastically different from the existing one destroys the user's mental picture of the layout.


Titanium is a strong carbide-forming element, and its ability to combine with carbon is higher than that of chromium [26] . Formation of TiC could partially substitute M 7 C 3 in high-carbon high-Cr tool steel, consequently improving the crack resistance of the steel [14] . In this study, the effect of titanium on the carbides and mechanical properties of martensitic stainless steel 8Cr13MoV was studied. The transformation of microstructure and carbides in the steel after electroslag remelting (ESR), forging and spheroidizing annealing were analyzed. The effect of titanium on the microstructure and mechanical properties of high-carbon martensitic steel 8Cr13MoV was revealed.

Titanium is a strong carbide-forming element, and its ability to combine with carbon is higher than that of chromium.

Formation of TiC could partially substitute M 7 C 3 in high-carbon high-Cr tool steel, consequently improving the crack resistance of the steel.


High-carbon martensitic stainless steels have high hardness, high strength, and good corrosion and wear resistance. They have been widely used to produce knives and scissors, valves, structural components [1] [2] [3] [4] . The high-carbon martensitic stainless steel 8Cr13MoV is currently used to produce high-grade knives and scissors [4] .

They have been widely used to produce knives and scissors, valves, structural components.

The high-carbon martensitic stainless steel 8Cr13MoV is currently used to produce high-grade knives and scissors.


Two major problems of global agriculture require immediate attention and have resulted in intensified search for underutilized crops with potential to enhance global food security: (1) price instability of agricultural produce, especially since 2007, due to crop failures, rising demands and increased production for bioenergy, exacerbated by a growing population and improved income in some developing countries, and (2) the globalization of agricultural markets and the concentration of food supply within a few, large international corporations, resulting in worldwide dominance of a very limited number of crops. In this process, underutilized crops with unique advantages for global food security have been ignored, despite increased interest in these crops due to new consumer demands (Ahmad and Javed 2007; Mba et al. 2012; Padulosi et al. 2006) . Almost all agricultural research and development have been focussed on the few, dominant crop species.

In this process, underutilized crops with unique advantages for global food security have been ignored, despite increased interest in these crops due to new consumer demands.


It has been well documented that a one-stage combined surgical method is an effective treatment modality for bilateral DDH diagnosed after walking age [1, 9] . The most important advantage of this method is the simultaneous correction of acetabular dysplasia while helping a concentric reduction of femoral head by releasing periacetabular muscles and soft tissues after femoral shortening and derotation osteotomy [2, 9] . An increased rate of complications from simultaneous procedures has been a potential concern. However, potential economic and logistical benefits from simultaneous rather than staged procedures have been described and there is a trend towards performing major surgeries simultaneously in recent years [15] .

It has been well documented that a one-stage combined surgical method is an effective treatment modality for bilateral DDH diagnosed after walking age.

The most important advantage of this method is the simultaneous correction of acetabular dysplasia while helping a concentric reduction of femoral head by releasing periacetabular muscles and soft tissues after femoral shortening and derotation osteotomy.

However, potential economic and logistical benefits from simultaneous rather than staged procedures have been described and there is a trend towards performing major surgeries simultaneously in recent years.


We demonstrate that pooled LCDM distances are a powerful tool to detect various types of morphometric differences. For the illustrative example we used in the article, the analysis on LCDM distances indicate that VMPFC left and right distances tend to decrease due to the depressive disorders or being at high risk for depression, possibly due to a thinning in left and right VMPFCs; the morphometric variation reduces in left and right VMPFCs due to suffering from or being at high risk for depressive disorders compared to Ctrl subjects and is smallest for the HR subjects for both left and right VMPFCs; there is significant left-right asymmetry in LCDM distances in the sense that, the cortical mantle in left VMPFC is thinner for MDD and Ctrl subjects and thicker for HR subjects compared to their right counterparts. Moreover, the analysis of LCDM distances yield a stochastic ordering as HR < ST MDD < ST Ctrl for both left and right VMPFCs; i.e., it is more likely for HR-left distances to be smaller compared to MDD-left and Ctrl-left distances, and more likely for MDD-left distances to be smaller than Ctrl-left distances. That is, it is more likely for left VMPFC of HR subjects to be thinner compared to those of MDD subjects, and more likely for VMPFC of MDD subjects to be thinner compared to those of Ctrl subjects. The same holds for right VMPFCs. The corresponding clinical findings, together with the interpretations, have been described elsewhere [44] . Note that, pooled distances are only suggestive of morphometric differences, but do not provide information on the location of these differences. This aspect of LCDM analysis is a topic of ongoing research.

The same holds for right VMPFCs.

The corresponding clinical findings, together with the interpretations, have been described elsewhere.


As an illustrative example, we investigate GM tissue in VMPFCs in a study of early onset depression in twins. Previously, we analyzed various morphometric measures (i.e., volume, descriptive statistics based on LCDM distances such as median, mode, range, and variance) and demonstrated that except for left-right asymmetry and correlation between left and right measures, these variables usually failed to discriminate the healthy subjects from depressed ones [33] . One reason for this is the fact that the subjects in our data set are age-matched female twins, who potentially have VMPFCs similar in size. Moreover, this might be partly due to the size of groups; i.e., if we had more participants in the study, these measures would have been more likely to yield significant differences between the groups. On the other hand, by only using a descriptive summary statistic of numerous of distances for each person, we essentially lose most of the information provided by LCDM measures. In this article we provide a strategy to avoid this information loss by pooling the LCDM distances. We use the pooled (by condition or group) distances to detect morphometric differences such as differences in shape, size, thickness variation, and left-right asymmetry. However there is a downside to pooling, the pooled distances do not have within sample independence, as the distances of neighboring voxels for each voxel at a particular hemisphere of a person are dependent. Moreover, there is also dependence between distances from left and right VMPFCs of each subject. We demonstrate that within sample dependence does not affect the tests in terms of empirical significance levels (or Type I errors) or power; and left-right dependence only makes the asymmetry tests less powerful than they could have been.

Previously, we analyzed various morphometric measures (i.e., volume, descriptive statistics based on LCDM distances such as median, mode, range, and variance) and demonstrated that except for left-right asymmetry and correlation between left and right measures, these variables usually failed to discriminate the healthy subjects from depressed ones.


The present application of the theory considers homogeneous twin nucleation in an otherwise defect-free single crystal subjected to far-field stress [30] [31] [32] [33] . For given far-field boundary conditions, the minimum stable size and equilibrium shape of a twin embryo are dictated by competition between elastic strain energy and surface energy associated with the twin-parent boundary. The theory is implemented in a finite element code that seeks minima of a free energy functional that depends on deformation gradient and order parameter fields. When the surface energy is idealized as isotropic, the only material parameters required are the characteristic twinning shear and geometry (known from the crystal structure), the elastic constants, the twin boundary energy, and a characteristic length associated with the equilibrium twin boundary thickness. Numerical simulations are used to investigate criteria for twin nucleation and growth depending on critical resolved shear stress, twin boundary energy, and far-field boundary constraints. Specifically considered in this paper are ⟨1011⟩{1012} twins in magnesium (Mg) single crystals [13, 14, 34, 23] .

The present application of the theory considers homogeneous twin nucleation in an otherwise defect-free single crystal subjected to far-field stress.

Specifically considered in this paper are ⟨1011⟩{1012} twins in magnesium (Mg) single crystals.


In the present work, phase field theory is used to describe deformation twinning, also known as mechanical twinning, defined as twinning induced by mechanical stresses [9] [10] [11] . Hereafter deformation twinning is simply referred to as ''twinning''. The transformation strain associated with twinning is a simple shear. Across the habit plane, the orientation of the Bravais lattice differs by a reflection or rotation depending on the kind of twin under consideration. The sheared and re-oriented crystal is termed the ''twin'', while the region of crystal that maintains its original orientation is termed the ''parent'' or the ''matrix''. Twinning often takes place by coordinated movement of partial dislocations (i.e., twinning dislocations) and/or shuffles of some but not all atoms comprising the twin. A finite energy can be associated with the twin boundary, typically estimated on the order of the appropriate stacking fault energy [12] . More generally, the interfacial energy of a growing or shrinking twin also includes elastic and core energies of twinning dislocations comprising such interfaces [9, 13, 14] .

In the present work, phase field theory is used to describe deformation twinning, also known as mechanical twinning, defined as twinning induced by mechanical stresses.

A finite energy can be associated with the twin boundary, typically estimated on the order of the appropriate stacking fault energy.

More generally, the interfacial energy of a growing or shrinking twin also includes elastic and core energies of twinning dislocations comprising such interfaces.


Conjugated nitroalkenes (CNAs) have proved to be a valuable group of reactants in organic chemistry. Their strong electrophilic character makes them important precursors towards a wide variety of target molecules. They are useful compounds applied, e.g. in syntheses of many four-, fiveand six-membered compounds in cycloaddition reactions [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] . Applications of nitroalkenes in organic synthesis are largely due to their ease of conversion into a variety of functionalities. Moreover, a considerable number of nitroalkenes exhibits remarkable biological activity [12] [13] [14] [15] .

They are useful compounds applied, e.g. in syntheses of many four-, fiveand six-membered compounds in cycloaddition reactions.

Moreover, a considerable number of nitroalkenes exhibits remarkable biological activity.