Our analysis involved two major steps. First, we conducted exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to establish the dimensionality of the dependent variables and verify the threefactor measurement model. Second, we employed hierarchical multiple regression to examine the hypothesized relationships (Cohen et al., 2003) .

Our analysis involved two major steps.

Second, we employed hierarchical multiple regression to examine the hypothesized relationships.


Implementing DC grids having enhanced controllability and lower energy losses could be a solution for integrating renewable energy sources that have an inherently intermittent nature. In particular, voltage source converter (VSC) technology has been identified as the best candidate for realizing DC grids due to its ability to control the AC voltage magnitude, phase angle, and output frequency. With the application of pulse width modulation (PWM) control, VSCs can offer higher response time and lower harmonic content [1] [2] [3] . However, due to the absence of current zero and high di/dt resulting from DC faults, fault handling is a serious issue faced by DC transmission lines and its solution is urgently required to further the implementation of DC grids [4, 5] .

With the application of pulse width modulation (PWM) control, VSCs can offer higher response time and lower harmonic content.

However, due to the absence of current zero and high di/dt resulting from DC faults, fault handling is a serious issue faced by DC transmission lines and its solution is urgently required to further the implementation of DC grids.


The paper is organized as follows. In Section 2 we give some preliminaries. In Section 3, we prove the existence and the uniqueness of the solution of problem (1, 5) . In Section 4, we prove the exponential decay of the energy of this problem in the case µ 1 = 0.

The paper is organized as follows.

In Section 3, we prove the existence and the uniqueness of the solution of problem.


In this paper, we go a step further, considering how a developer interacts with the code in a development environment as they produce changes to the code. We build on earlier work from our research group that introduced degree-ofinterest (DOI) values to represent which program elements a developer has interacted with significantly [8] . The more frequently and recently a developer has interacted with a particular program element, the higher the DOI value; as a developer moves to work on other program elements, the DOI value of the initial element decays. Our initial applications of this concept computed DOIs across all of a developer's workday [7] . Subsequent work scopes the DOI computation per task [8] . In this paper, we return to the computation of DOI across all of a developer's work to capture a developer's familiarity in the source across tasks.

We build on earlier work from our research group that introduced degree-ofinterest (DOI) values to represent which program elements a developer has interacted with significantly.

Our initial applications of this concept computed DOIs across all of a developer's workday.

Subsequent work scopes the DOI computation per task.


In order to conduct an assessment of status, and to determine the effectiveness of any implemented remedial measures, we need a clear definition of biodiversity and a unified approach for its assessment. In the marine assessments like MSFD, biodiversity is defined on the level of species, communities, habitats, and ecosystems, as well as in the genetic level (Cochrane et al., 2010) . Indicators that show the ecosystem response to human pressures form the basis of the tool kit with which we can describe environmental status (Borja et al., 2016) . Based on qualitative environmental objectives, targets are set for each indicator which allow policy makers to implement management measures should these not be reached .

In the marine assessments like MSFD, biodiversity is defined on the level of species, communities, habitats, and ecosystems, as well as in the genetic level.

Indicators that show the ecosystem response to human pressures form the basis of the tool kit with which we can describe environmental status.


One of the challenges faced during the first round of MSFD initial assessments is the diverging data availability for biodiversity across highly variable systems, but yet an overarching need to conduct compatible assessments across European regional seas (Hummel et al., 2015) . European marine ecosystems comprise a complexity and variability both in space and time, ranging from fully saline systems such as in Mediterranean and Atlantic waters to the brackish Baltic Sea, and exposed open water systems such as in the northern Norwegian and Barents seas to fully enclosed systems such as the Black Sea. The levels of available knowledge and data within these systems vary, as well as the biological parameters and indicators used for assessments (Hummel et al., 2015) .

One of the challenges faced during the first round of MSFD initial assessments is the diverging data availability for biodiversity across highly variable systems, but yet an overarching need to conduct compatible assessments across European regional seas.

The levels of available knowledge and data within these systems vary, as well as the biological parameters and indicators used for assessments.


These data suggest that concentrations of soluble sugars, soluble phenolic acids, and free amino acids in the soil of forests exposed to elevated CO 2 and O 3 are linked to changes seen in plant and microbial biomass at this study site. All the compounds studied are low molecular weight compounds. However, sugars and amino acids are much more labile than phenolic acids, and as a result were influenced by increases in biological activity in the soil throughout the growing season. The aspen and aspenbirch forest communities are both dominated by early successional tree species. These communities exhibited the highest concentrations of sugars and phenolic acids. The data suggest that plant community type and time of sampling have a greater effect than changes in atmospheric concentrations of CO 2 or O 3 . Changes in atmospheric concentrations of CO 2 or O 3 may play a more indirect role in altering soil chemistry by shifting the composition of plant communities over time, which could ultimately influence pools of soluble compounds in the soil (Bradley and Pregitzer, 2007) .

Changes in atmospheric concentrations of CO 2 or O 3 may play a more indirect role in altering soil chemistry by shifting the composition of plant communities over time, which could ultimately influence pools of soluble compounds in the soil.


The quantitative analysis commenced with multivariate statistics to analyse the data using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 software. To clean the data and decrease systematic errors, missing values, outliers, and distribution of all measured variables were examined. This data screening was conducted to ensure there would be no corrupted data which could affect the accuracy of the estimation in the subsequent analysis [11] .

This data screening was conducted to ensure there would be no corrupted data which could affect the accuracy of the estimation in the subsequent analysis.


In contrast to the effects of physiology and effort on performance, learning, by definition, implies a relatively low initial success. Specifically, a variety of environmental features are unique to a certain time and place and thus must be learned by each forager (Dukas, 2008a) . That is, unlike physiology, which can peak before the start of foraging, learning would result in a gradual increase in performance with forager age. Indeed other studies within my long-term project examining lifetime performance suggest that much of the observed increase in performance with forager age can be attributed to learning (Dukas, 2008b; Schippers et al., 2006) . To some extent, learning could reduce bee mortality because experience can decrease disorientation and exposure to inclement weather and predators. Bees indeed can learn to avoid locations with increased predation risk (Dukas, 2001a; Dukas and Morse, 2003; Reader et al., 2006) . Although it is likely that learning contributes to some decrease in age specific mortality rate, the overall lifetime pattern in bees and other animals is ultimately dominated by senescence.

Specifically, a variety of environmental features are unique to a certain time and place and thus must be learned by each forager.

Indeed other studies within my long-term project examining lifetime performance suggest that much of the observed increase in performance with forager age can be attributed to learning.

Bees indeed can learn to avoid locations with increased predation risk.


The interviews were semi-structured. That is, the interviewer had a number of core issues to address and which they would introduce if the interviewee did not spontaneously address them. The interviews otherwise took the form of a focused conversation which allowed the students' views to emerge (Gillham 2005) . The core issues included their experiences of different assessment methods, their impressions of the one-to-one tutorial and their views of the advantages and disadvantages of the assessment method. The focused nature of the interviews meant they lasted around 20 min; they were audio recorded and subsequently fully transcribed.

The interviews were semi-structured.

The interviews otherwise took the form of a focused conversation which allowed the students' views to emerge.


In addition to this there is an inverse relationship between dietary intake of antioxidant rich foods and incidence of a number of diseases. Therefore search into the determination of antioxidant capacity of different compounds become important. Theoretically, the ageing process pertains to single individual; therefore studies concerned with the effect of ageing on physiological function should ideally be conduct on the same individual during its entire lifespan. Accepting the universality of ageing process in multi cellular animals, it is easier to use insects as experimental animals. Since larvae are the representatives of juvenile form they exhibit maximum protection against ageing activities [7] .

Since larvae are the representatives of juvenile form they exhibit maximum protection against ageing activities.


The super-resolution imaging of the microsphere can be expected from the focal position and the maximum intensity. The focal position is decided by the relationship between the size and refractive index of dielectric materials [15, 16] . The high refractive index of dielectric materials can increase the maximum intensity but the focal position may be located inside the dielectric materials. In figure 7 , the inside focus from the high refractive index of the microsphere can create scatterings around the microsphere so the imaging of transforming evanescent waves into propagating waves may be disturbed by such optical interruptions. Furthermore, from the super-resolution strength, the super-resolution imaging of the microsphere in air can be restricted by the refractive index n >2.0, or the over 10 µm diameter of the microsphere with the refractive index n = 1.46 [12] . For increasing maximum intensity, the curvature of the microsphere can generate higher maximum intensity than the solid immersion lens. For example, the maximum intensity of a fused silica microsphere (I max = 107) is higher than the same diameter solid immersion lens (I max = 90) [12] .

The focal position is decided by the relationship between the size and refractive index of dielectric materials.

Furthermore, from the super-resolution strength, the super-resolution imaging of the microsphere in air can be restricted by the refractive index n >2.0, or the over 10 µm diameter of the microsphere with the refractive index n = 1.46.

For example, the maximum intensity of a fused silica microsphere (I max = 107) is higher than the same diameter solid immersion lens (I max = 90).


A Markov Chain, a stochastic method, was then used for LUC simulation. A stochastic approach is recommended against others to account for the uncertainty and variability associated with future conditions (see for example MacDonald [67] ). However, as with all futuring methods, the Markov Chain has its limitations [68] . The probability distribution of the next period's state depends on the current state and does not depend on the states the chain had previously passed through. That means the variation of the probability of change between two states is not a part of the Markov Chain model and is not reflected in the simulation of future. Also, as the transition probability determination plays an important role in Markov Chain modeling, the accuracy of the input data needs careful consideration. In terms of the current study, the probability matrix was calculated from the area transition matrix, based on RS change analysis of the study region, with an overall accuracy of 92.4% for 1985, 93.6% for 2006, and 92.0% for 2011, and Khat coefficients 0.884, 0.903, and 0.878, respectively [49] . If feasible, the quality assessment of the Markov Chain model should be performed for the area of application. For the study area, the MC1985-2011 model was evaluated with a good overall average and median accuracy of 66.3% and 69.1%, respectively. Another assumption of the Markov Chain technique is that the probability law relating the next period's state to the current state does not change. That means the change remains stationary over time after the evaluated states. In the current study, this feature of the Markov Chain was used for the zero alternative of LUC change, i.e., for the historic trend description; while the planned change of the LUC condition, i.e., planned urban development, was used for the CDP alternative.

A stochastic approach is recommended against others to account for the uncertainty and variability associated with future conditions (see for example MacDonald).

However, as with all futuring methods, the Markov Chain has its limitations.

In terms of the current study, the probability matrix was calculated from the area transition matrix, based on RS change analysis of the study region, with an overall accuracy of 92.4% for 1985, 93.6% for 2006, and 92.0% for 2011, and Khat coefficients 0.884, 0.903, and 0.878, respectively.


Wear debris, which is caused by interactions with the lubricant, happens inevitably and the shape of wear debris is directly related to the lubricous face and its damage. In other words, this lubricous surface is accompanied by various lubrication problems according to its quality, form of contact, lubricous particles, and it is complicated by and directly related to the lubricous surface [1] - [4] . For this reason, in the case of a defect in a particular part, heat is produced and this can cause distortion in sounds or vibration. In addition, wear debris out of the defective or heat-derived elements will be represented in lubricating oil or discharge sludge and discovering disorders by examining them is an important theme for the diagnosis and maintenance of machinery [5] - [7] .

In other words, this lubricous surface is accompanied by various lubrication problems according to its quality, form of contact, lubricous particles, and it is complicated by and directly related to the lubricous surface.

In addition, wear debris out of the defective or heat-derived elements will be represented in lubricating oil or discharge sludge and discovering disorders by examining them is an important theme for the diagnosis and maintenance of machinery.


The lightning performance of high-voltage substations is primarily concerned with the distribution and transmission network operators, since lightning surges contribute to the dielectric stress and the ageing of the insulation. This can lead to failures of the various components of the substations, may result in interruption of the power supply, and are related to dangerous repercussions for the safety of the equipment as well as the personnel [1] . Thus, for the above reasons as well as for reliability issues, it is becoming an increasingly common requirement the improvement of the lightning performance of high-voltage substations and the reduction of the lightning failure rate.

This can lead to failures of the various components of the substations, may result in interruption of the power supply, and are related to dangerous repercussions for the safety of the equipment as well as the personnel.


We now review a few facts that facilitate reading the topology of a Lagrangian fibered symplectic 4-manifold π : (M, ω) → U from the base U when U coincides with a moment map image. The reader interested in more detail on the topology of a toric symplectic manifold should consult [1] . Throughout our discussion, neighborhood refers to a tubular neighborhood, (p 1 , p 2 ) are Euclidean coordinates on R 2 and (q 1 , q 2 ) are circular coordinates on T 2 .

The reader interested in more detail on the topology of a toric symplectic manifold should consult.


Research on neural networks showed that the standard fully connected multi-layer networks can be used as outstanding classifiers if there are good features. Nevertheless, DCNN could complete feature extraction and classification in an integrated architecture and performs excellently, as DCNN learns the types of shift-invariant local features and increases robustness to irrelevant variability of the inputs. The network takes the raw pixels of the image as input to make best use of texture context information, and learns low-level features and high-level representation in an integrated fashion. The global high-level features at higher layers of the deep structures could effectively work on challenging images, for example, when low-level features from local regions are ambiguous or corrupted (Sun et al., 2013) . Thus, convolutional networks will be a better way to estimate the head pose. Through training the network, the feature extraction filters are optimized together with the weights of the classification components, to obtain a satisfactory classification accuracy.

The global high-level features at higher layers of the deep structures could effectively work on challenging images, for example, when low-level features from local regions are ambiguous or corrupted.


In this paper, it has been argued that, although MPC has a significant drawback in terms of the potentially large computational burden in adaptive and constrained situations, it is still possible to create a computationally efficient self-tuning/adaptive MPC scheme for simple industrial plant on a small microcontroller platform. A control approach that handles rate and amplitude constraints on the plant input by employing a short (2-step) control horizon and by automatically tuning the move suppression (regularization) parameter to achieve well-conditioned and robust control has been developed. Preliminary hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) test results indicate that the resulting scheme performs well, robustly tracks changes in the process parameters whilst respecting the input constraints, and has a low implementation overhead. Future work will consider the extension of the proposed approach to longer control horizons, incorporating elements of the extension to the basic Hildreth algorithm to accelerate convergence [6] .

Future work will consider the extension of the proposed approach to longer control horizons, incorporating elements of the extension to the basic Hildreth algorithm to accelerate convergence.


In recent years it has become more and more clear that in order for businesses to have a good performance they need to master both strategy design and strategy implementation. This means that an organisation needs to equally master the business and IT domains and find an alignment between the two. Business scholars have been trying to adapt the existing strategy models and methods to accommodate for the needs of the IT domain. An example of this is the Balanced Scorecard which has been adapted to use IT measurements [1] , [2] .

An example of this is the Balanced Scorecard which has been adapted to use IT measurements.


We define the optimal flapping to be the one which produces the maximum thrust per unit power input. Among the three parameters, we expect the Re dependence to be relatively weak for sufficiently high Re, e.g. Re > 10 3 , and fix Re in our studies. In addition, the parameter St a was shown experimentally to be a scaling variable (Triantafyllou et al. 1991) . We will first fix St a and study the dependence of the thrust on various combinations of frequency and amplitude, and later vary St a .

In addition, the parameter St a was shown experimentally to be a scaling variable.


Previous studies that examined associations between the built environment and active travel have a number of limitations. First, many studies focused on the built environment only within the residential neighbourhood [20] . However, especially for commuter trips, environmental characteristics at both the starting and finishing areas of the commuter trip may be important as well [21] . Further understanding of the influence of urban land-use and public transport facilities at journey origin and destination is thus warranted. As cross-sectional and quasi-experimental studies often give limited insights in the effect of changes in the built environment over time, they do not allow for the exploration of different policy scenarios. Forecasting models allow for more insight into the consequences of changing certain urban characteristics, without exposing individuals to a potentially adverse environment or having to invest in major urban environmental changes. Examples of such models are the Leeds Integrated Land-Use/Transport model (LILT), the California Urban Futures Model (CUFM) and the Integrated Transportation and Land Use Package (ITLUP) [22] . The effects of land-use and transport policies can be considered using specific policy scenarios, and the outcomes generated can assist in evaluating different policy options.

First, many studies focused on the built environment only within the residential neighbourhood.

However, especially for commuter trips, environmental characteristics at both the starting and finishing areas of the commuter trip may be important as well.

Examples of such models are the Leeds Integrated Land-Use/Transport model (LILT), the California Urban Futures Model (CUFM) and the Integrated Transportation and Land Use Package (ITLUP).


The findings of this study emphasize the importance of greater context-specificity in the study of environmental factors and physical activity [52] [53] [54] . This was evident in the present study, as several factors (earlier related to more general physical activity behaviours, such as population density) were not related to active commuting in the Wellington region. It also indicates that access to, and frequency of, public transport in the neighbourhood can act as a facilitator for a more active lifestyle among its residents. It should be noted though, that environmental changes could have a differential impact on high and low income individuals.

The findings of this study emphasize the importance of greater context-specificity in the study of environmental factors and physical activity.


Lastly, we need to acknowledge that many environmental factors were interrelated, and that some of the more "favorable" factors (higher job accessibility, housing density, land-use mix and transit options) clustered around the WCBD. This corresponds to the notion that the built environment is multidimensional, with many factors interacting [51] . Further, the findings are embedded in the specific and complex social and geographic context of the Wellington region. This limits the interpretation of scenario modelling with a specific focus on urban design and transport features.

This corresponds to the notion that the built environment is multidimensional, with many factors interacting.


Hence, as a public resource, radio spectrum is being managed by governments to ensure that it is shared equitably to promote the public interest, convenience, or necessity [2] . It is therefore being tightly regulated around the world by both the international and national regulators. The primary tool of spectrum management by government is a licensing system. This involves spectrum being apportioned into blocks for specific uses, and assigned licenses for these blocks to specific users. This "divide and set aside" policy grants exclusive right to use the assigned spectrum to licensed users on a long-term basis.

Hence, as a public resource, radio spectrum is being managed by governments to ensure that it is shared equitably to promote the public interest, convenience, or necessity.


The radio spectrum is a valuable natural resource, which is an indispensable component in wireless communications. Unlike other natural resources, radio spectrum is not consumed by use, which implies that the resource is infinitely renewable. Since it is renewable, radio spectrum cannot be hoarded for later use but must be properly managed. These factors therefore necessitate an efficient process for making radio spectrum available for purposes which are useful to society [1] .

These factors therefore necessitate an efficient process for making radio spectrum available for purposes which are useful to society.


Immunologically confirmed abacavir HSR only occurs in individuals with the HLA-BÃ57:01 allele and this 100% negative predictive value has been crucial to the success and implementation of HLA-BÃ57:01 as a routine screening tool to prevent abacavir HSR. However, only 55% of individuals with HLA-BÃ57:01 exposed to the drug will develop hypersensitivity [3] . We and others have shown that abacavir reactive CD8+ T cells can be consistently expanded following culture from 100% of HLA-BÃ57:01 positive unexposed donors but never from HLA-BÃ57:01 negative donors. The in vitro findings are therefore compatible with the 100% negative predictive value of the test but not the 55% positive predictive value. Furthermore, the onset of abacavir HSR symptoms can occur as early as 36 hours after first exposure, characteristic of re-activation of pre-existing memory T cells but also as late as 3 weeks, which is more characteristic of either a delayed expansion of pre-existing memory CD8+ T cells or with the in vivo expansion of naïve CD8+ T-cell responses. Here we report findings that support the contribution of both mechanisms; we detect abacavir responsive CD8+ T cells ex vivo within PBMC from HLA-BÃ57:01 positive abacavir-unexposed donors and also demonstrate that abacavir can drive the expansion of CD8+ T-cell responses from both sorted naïve or memory T cells from HLA-BÃ57:01 positive donors. We therefore propose a model in which an HLA-BÃ57:01 restricted CD8+ memory T-cell response to a currently unknown pathogen specific epitope cross-recognizes an endogenous peptide that is only presented by HLA-BÃ57:01 in the presence of pharmacological levels of abacavir. Exploiting the fact that vaccination and immunity to yellow fever is not prevalent in the developed world, we demonstrate that within the yellow fever vaccine response of a HLA BÃ57:01 positive individual we can detect a breadth of hypersensitivity. The other authors declare no competing financial interests. GlaxoSmithKline sponsored the PREDICT-1 study, previously unpublished data from which was used exclusively for the data generated and shown in Figure 1 and S1 Table. None of the authors received any payment from GlaxoSmithKline and the analyzed work and written manuscript were original without contribution from third parties. None of these potential conflicts of interest alter the authors' adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

However, only 55% of individuals with HLA-BÃ57:01 exposed to the drug will develop hypersensitivity.


The stimulation of cell membrane scrambling by Baicalein is similarly in part due to increase of [Ca 2+ ] i . Accordingly, the effect of Baicalein on phosphatidylserine translocation is in part dependent on entry of extracellular Ca 2+ . However, even in the absence of extracellular Ca 2+ , Baicalein treatment is still followed by a significant increase of phosphatidylserine exposure. The residual effect is in part due to stimulation of ceramide formation. Ceramide is a well-known stimulator of eryptosis [22] .

Ceramide is a well-known stimulator of eryptosis.


The closest approach to ours takes advantage of Web 2.0 social annotations (tags) for query expansion [7] . It uses a ranking approach to select terms for query expansion. First, a co-occurrence based method is used to choose a number of candidate terms for expansion. These terms are extracted from various fields (including tags) of pages collected from Delicious 1 . Candidate terms that most often co-occur with terms in the query are considered as the most likely for using in the expansion. Next, it runs expanded queries using each candidate term and the original query to check whether it improves the average precision of the results. If so, the candidate term is considered relevant for expansion.

The closest approach to ours takes advantage of Web 2.0 social annotations (tags) for query expansion.


Once such source is Wikipedia. Indeed, Wikipedia has been exploited for automatic query expansion, mainly for queries related to specific entities or narrow and defined concepts [9] . In general, a defined entity is described in Wikipedia with an article with information and references of relevance. For the task of query expansion, entity related queries can be associated with one or more related articles in Wikipedia, which act as source of terms for expansion. One issue that must be addressed is how to select the best terms for query expansion from a Wikipedia article, considering that some of these articles are very lengthy and structured in complex ways (with abstract, sections, infoboxes, etc).

Once such source is Wikipedia.

Indeed, Wikipedia has been exploited for automatic query expansion, mainly for queries related to specific entities or narrow and defined concepts.


Vector field singularities (also called critical points), i.e. zeros in the vector field, are a central ingredient to the analysis of vector field topology [10] . In two-dimensional as well as three-dimensional vector fields they are the locations at which separatrices (lines in 2D, surfaces in 3D) originate or end. These separatrices partition the field into areas with streamlines that have the same origin and destination (α and ω limit sets) and thus allow to divide the fields into areas with similar behavior. Unfortunately, this partition is only useful for time-independent vector fields or instantaneous snapshots of time-dependent vector fields. When considering complete time-dependent vector fields the critical points lose their importance concerning a partition of the space. Still, for time-dependent fields, they are important in the development of certain flow features. The usefulness of their tracking and visualization has for example been shown in the context of vortex breakdown [7] .

Vector field singularities (also called critical points), i.e. zeros in the vector field, are a central ingredient to the analysis of vector field topology.

The usefulness of their tracking and visualization has for example been shown in the context of vortex breakdown.


Recently glyphs have become very popular to illustrate results from diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging [12, 4] . In this context a large number of different glyph types that show the diffusion strengths in the different directions as deformed sphere surfaces has been developed [1, 5, 17] . Our approach is inspired by this type of visualization.

Recently glyphs have become very popular to illustrate results from diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging.

In this context a large number of different glyph types that show the diffusion strengths in the different directions as deformed sphere surfaces has been developed.


The equations for the DIM are derived from individual continuum equations for each phase, called the local instant formulation; and then applying an averaging procedure [1] . The result is 6 equations: continuity, momentum and total energy equations for each phase. This two-fluid system is incomplete due to more 1 1. The stratified-flow model has to be applied to "split" the flux into the FVS and exact-Riemann parts, which is complicated to visualize and implement in multi dimensions.

The equations for the DIM are derived from individual continuum equations for each phase, called the local instant formulation; and then applying an averaging procedure.


The methodology used to build the diagram is based on the preparation of biphasic mixtures of the three components, stirring for 20 minutes followed by separation of the upper phase from the lower phase, determination of the mass and composition (via GC analysis) of the upper phase, and finally, the determination of the mass and composition of the lower phase by component mass balance. The IL content in the upper phase (raffinate) was found to be negligible, in such a way that the raffinate composition line is located over the triangle diagonal, where the IL fraction is zero. The upper phase composition line is indicated in the main chart ( Figure 5, right side chart) . The left chart shown in Figure 6 indicates the relation between the benzene fractions in the lower and upper phases, and the chart-auxiliary diagonal. Dramatic steric effects are also observed in the extraction process of mono and dialkyl substituted benzenes dissolved in n-octane by BMI.N(Tf) 2 ( Figure 6 ). Therefore the extraction of benzene derivatives decreases with the increase of the size of the benzene alkyl side chains (from 24 wt% for benzene to 4 wt% for iso-butylbenzene) under the same extraction conditions. The extraction of sulfur containing aromatic compounds such as 2,5-dimethylthiophene, thiophene, benzothiophene and dibenzothiophene (1 wt %) present in n-octane follows the same trend observed by benzene derivatives (Figure 7a ). The interaction of these sulfur compounds with the ionic liquid is through CH---π bonds and the quantity of sulfur compounds extraction increases with the increase of the π-density and decreases with the degree of alkyl substituents as already observed in the extraction procedures by 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium n-octylsulfate and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethylsulfate Ils [16] .

The interaction of these sulfur compounds with the ionic liquid is through CH---π bonds and the quantity of sulfur compounds extraction increases with the increase of the π-density and decreases with the degree of alkyl substituents as already observed in the extraction procedures by 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium n-octylsulfate and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethylsulfate Ils.


The vast majority of the studies reported so far are concentrated on the extraction properties displayed by various imidazolium or pyridinium ionic liquids on mixtures of benzene or toluene and hydrocarbons (heptane, n-octane and cyclohexane) [22] [23] [24] . Moreover, the tie line compositions between different imidazolium-based ionic liquids, aromatic hydrocarbons (benzene, toluene) and alkanes (heptane, dodecane, hexadecane) have been determined [25, 26] . Alternative methods of deep desulfurization, including oxidative desulfurization in liquid-liquid systems using ionic liquids, have been investigated [27] .

The vast majority of the studies reported so far are concentrated on the extraction properties displayed by various imidazolium or pyridinium ionic liquids on mixtures of benzene or toluene and hydrocarbons (heptane, n-octane and cyclohexane).

Moreover, the tie line compositions between different imidazolium-based ionic liquids, aromatic hydrocarbons (benzene, toluene) and alkanes (heptane, dodecane, hexadecane) have been determined.

Alternative methods of deep desulfurization, including oxidative desulfurization in liquid-liquid systems using ionic liquids, have been investigated.


Annual standardized student testing is a pervasive, and probably permanent, piece of the U.S. K-12 education system. But this has not resolved the ageold issue about whether and how policy makers should use the test results in accountability systems. During the 1970s, many states expanded student testing and adopted minimum competency exams that students had to pass to graduate from high school. In the 1980s, they added school report cards to the accountability mix, reporting point-in-time snapshots of average school achievement. This trend toward test-based school-level accountability accelerated in the 1990s with state policies such as school grades, reconstitution, takeovers, and other incentives (Harris and Herrington 2006) . The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act appears to have cemented school-level, test-based accountability as a key lever in the national education strategy, but this is a broad strategy and leaves the door open for a wide variety of policies regarding the use of standardized test scores. One new policy option that has intrigued players on all sides of the education debate is accountability based on how much "value added" teachers and schools contribute to student achievement.

This trend toward test-based school-level accountability accelerated in the 1990s with state policies such as school grades, reconstitution, takeovers, and other incentives.


Pakistan is located on the high insulation belt which gives it the comparative advantage in the creation of solar energy. This source of energy is much cheaper than the fossil fuels because neither it needs refining nor it requires any transportation cost. It is the most attractive substitute of fossil fuels because it adds no pollution in the environment. It is employed in rural telephone exchanges, emergency telephones at high ways, vaccine and medicine refrigeration utilized in the hospitals etc. In Pakistan, Sindh and Balochistan provinces are the ideal locations for the production and utilization of solar energy. In Balochistan, 77 percent of the population lives in villages and 90 percent of them live without electrification facilities. These villages are located far away from each other; resultantly, there is no scope of the grid stations and solar energy networks are more suitable sources of energy for these location. Recently, a 100 solar energy homes' project has been completed in 9 villages of these provinces which have the potential to enlighten the 26000 homes (Sheikh, 2010) .

Recently, a 100 solar energy homes' project has been completed in 9 villages of these provinces which have the potential to enlighten the 26000 homes.


Forced degradation tests of fourth-generation cephalosporins showed that the β-lactam ring is an instable configuration [6, 7, 8, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22] . The standard sterilizing dose (25 kGy) ensured sterility of CZH samples, but the antibacterial activity of such sterilized cefozopran hydrochloride was changed for two Gram-negative strains (Enterobacter aerogenes ATCC 13048 and Acinetobacter baumannii ATCC 19606) ( Table 1) . On the other, hand HPLC and UV analysis confirmed that after exposure to a standard sterilizing dose CZH was not degraded, as no significant differences were observed in chromatograms or UV spectra of non-irradiated and 25 kGy irradiated CZH samples. The microbiological method is more sensitive than HPLC or UV analysis and it should be included for quality control of antibiotics.

Forced degradation tests of fourth-generation cephalosporins showed that the β-lactam ring is an instable configuration.


The CZH instability was correlated with the applied radiation dose (Table 2) . UV spectra of samples irradiated with higher doses showed a slight reduction of absorbance (Fig. 4) . Chromatographic analysis showed that the degradation of CZH is correlated with increasing radiation and one degradation product was observed applying that method (Table 2, Table 3 , Fig. 5 ). HPLC-MS/MS was used to identify the degradation product of radiosterilized CZH (Table 3, Fig. 6 ). It was an isomer of the parent compound -CZH (Fig. 7) . Isomerization of CZH was previously described [8] . The antibacterial activity of trans-CZH was lower than that of cis-CZH (parent compound) [8] . Microbiological activity of 400 kGy irradiated CZH was substantially reduced for 7 strains (Table 1) .

Isomerization of CZH was previously described.

The antibacterial activity of trans-CZH was lower than that of cis-CZH (parent compound).


Molecular analysis of the ITS rDNA sequences clearly placed all investigated photobionts in three distinct lineages within Asterochloris. Strains LEP10 and LEP 36 formed a lineage that was separate from all described species as well as from published Asterochloris sequences. Therefore, they very probably represent a new species of Asterochloris (Fig. 1) . Trebouxia italiana, the last described species of Asterochloris, with no published sequence, has a very different chloroplast morphology and cell dimensions compared to both investigated strains (Gärtner 1985) . These results indicate the presence of obvious cryptic species diversity in Asterochloris, as has been recently shown in other trebouxiophycean clades (Kroken & Taylor 2000; Neustupa et al. 2007) .

Trebouxia italiana, the last described species of Asterochloris, with no published sequence, has a very different chloroplast morphology and cell dimensions compared to both investigated strains.

These results indicate the presence of obvious cryptic species diversity in Asterochloris, as has been recently shown in other trebouxiophycean clades.


Leaf toughness of four randomly selected young (terminal) and old (at least two leaves away from terminus) leaves was measured using a Chatillon penetrometer (Schultz & Baldwin 1982) . Because of substantial differences in toughness between young and old leaves, we stopped after measuring four leaves of each age class. Three to five readings were taken per leaf, and a one-way analysis of variance was used to determine the significance of differences in toughness between the leaf age classes.

Leaf toughness of four randomly selected young (terminal) and old (at least two leaves away from terminus) leaves was measured using a Chatillon penetrometer.


Our results confirm that one should not rely solely on leaf disk pickup assay results to determine the cause of apparent leaf cutter ant "preferences" and differential harvesting rates (Waller 1982a) . The pickup assay is useful, but does not take into account all factors associated with cutting. Although herbivory by A. cephalotes on this tree appeared to be a function primarily of leaf toughness, other leaf age differences (e.g., chemical) could be important in other species. Failure to harvest tender leaves, young and old, in nonlactiferous species would indicate the need to investigate chemical and ecological criteria for host choice by Atta.

Our results confirm that one should not rely solely on leaf disk pickup assay results to determine the cause of apparent leaf cutter ant "preferences" and differential harvesting rates.


CD was thought to be a rare disease, with a prevalence of about 0.02%, however using serology and biopsy, recent studies carried out in Europe, India, South America, Australasia and USA indicate that the prevalence may be between 0.33 and 1.06% in children and between 0.18% -1.2% in adults [13] [14] [15] [16] . The highest prevalence (5.66%) in childhood has been observed in Sahrawi [17] . In other African countries, CD is rarely diagnosed, this reflects in a much lower prevalence.

CD was thought to be a rare disease, with a prevalence of about 0.02%, however using serology and biopsy, recent studies carried out in Europe, India, South America, Australasia and USA indicate that the prevalence may be between 0.33 and 1.06% in children and between 0.18% -1.2% in adults.

The highest prevalence (5.66%) in childhood has been observed in Sahrawi.


The applied heat current is given by Q, the heat conductivity of the fluid is λ, and A is the cross sectional area of the cell. Significant progress has been made in understanding how heat is transported by the flow and thus, how the Nusselt number depends on Ra and Pr (Ahlers et al. 2009b) . Nonetheless there remain unanswered questions.

Significant progress has been made in understanding how heat is transported by the flow and thus, how the Nusselt number depends on Ra and Pr.


Most of the current studies are devoted to the mechanical behavior of jointed rock masses with unfilled cracks under uniaxial compression. However, the filled cracks and non-persistent joints commonly exist in underground rock masses, and the jointed rock masses are in a complex geological environment, in which the rock mass is subjected to biaxial and/or triaxial compressions [26] . In this study, uniaxial and biaxial compression tests for infilled jointed rock masses are carried out. The evolutions of stress-strain behavior, the uniaxial and biaxial compressive stresses, and the elasticity modulus of the specimen with different joint dip angles have been estimated. Finally, we examine the effect of joint dip angle on the failure mode with the aid of acoustic emission and a high-resolution camera.

However, the filled cracks and non-persistent joints commonly exist in underground rock masses, and the jointed rock masses are in a complex geological environment, in which the rock mass is subjected to biaxial and/or triaxial compressions.


We performed an experiment in which fifteen subjects carried, for seven days each, a portable sensor that continuously measured and recorded their local air temperature (T a ), relative humidity (RH) and carbon dioxide concentration (CO 2 ). Detailed information about the experimental design and results for carbon dioxide exposures were previously reported [32] . Here, we focus on the instantaneous assessments by participants of the thermal and perceived air quality acceptability of the spaces they occupied. Several factors may affect acceptability beside air temperature, humidity, and CO 2 . We analyzed the influence on acceptability of short-term changes in the physical environmental parameters, subject's daily temperature, humidity and CO 2 exposure, locations (home, outdoor, restaurant, transport, workplace), presence of air conditioning and occupant's sleeping ventilation habits at home. The advantages of a longitudinal design include the ability to trace the history of individual exposure to environmental parameters and the possibility to study the influence of personal expectations in various environments, which is a novel step towards identifying important confounding factors that influence a subject's TA and PAQA responses.

Detailed information about the experimental design and results for carbon dioxide exposures were previously reported.


If a biosensor contains an enzyme that starts analyte conversion followed by cyclic product conversion, the scheme of the biosensor action can be called a "triggering". An example of this type of conversion is the amperometric detection of alkaline phosphatase based on hydroquinone recycling [17] . The substrate of the alkaline phosphatase, i.e. p-hydroxyphenyl phosphate, is hydrolysed by alkaline phosphatase to hydroquinone. The hydroquinone, instead of being detected directly, enters an amplification cycle where it is oxidized to quinone at the electrode surface and then reduced back to hydroquinone by glucose oxidase in the presence of glucose. The consumption-regeneration cycle of hydroquinone results in an amplification factor of about 8. Another example utilizing trigger scheme is the highly sensitive determination of β-galactosidase used as a label in a heterogeneous immunoassay [18] . As a substrate, p-aminophenyl-β-galactopyranoside was used. The produced p-aminophenol, which is an electrochemically active compound, can be detected directly [19] . To increase the sensitivity of the determination, p-aminophenol is entered into a bioelectrocatalytic amplification cycle by using glucose dehydrogenase (GDH). Both schemes presented include enzymatic trigger reactions together with electrochemical and enzymatic amplification steps. Therefore, by analogy with an electrochemical nomenclature, they may be abbreviated as acting by the CEC mechanism.

An example of this type of conversion is the amperometric detection of alkaline phosphatase based on hydroquinone recycling.

Another example utilizing trigger scheme is the highly sensitive determination of β-galactosidase used as a label in a heterogeneous immunoassay.

The produced p-aminophenol, which is an electrochemically active compound, can be detected directly.


The paper focuses on the simplification of the pose estimation and the geometrical condition of the ID devices using pose estimation. Several pose estimation method of the construction materials. Furlani has been proposed pose estimation using at least not aligned three RFID devices based on the device position with respect to the object coordination frame [7] . Umetani has been proposed pose estimation using at least two ID devices attached to the different sides of the object based on the device position and orientation with respect to the object coordination frame [8] .

Furlani has been proposed pose estimation using at least not aligned three RFID devices based on the device position with respect to the object coordination frame.

Umetani has been proposed pose estimation using at least two ID devices attached to the different sides of the object based on the device position and orientation with respect to the object coordination frame.


As illustrated by the examples in Figure 1 , relevant information for determining TMV is given by syntactic dependencies and partially by partof-speech (POS) tags output by analyzers such as Mate (Bohnet and Nivre, 2012) . However, the parser's output is not sufficient for determining TMV features; morphological features and lexical information needs to be taken into account as well. Learning TMV features from an annotated corpus would be an alternative; however, to the best of our knowledge, no such large-scale corpora exist.

As illustrated by the examples in Figure 1 , relevant information for determining TMV is given by syntactic dependencies and partially by partof-speech (POS) tags output by analyzers such as Mate.


AMR in pathogenic bacteria, including those associated with diarrhea, is a global public health problem [21, 22] . Data from Vietnam highlight the increasing trend in diarrheagenic bacteria of AMR to the current first-line antimicrobials, such as fluoroquinolones and third-generation cephalosporins. Moreover, despite recent increases in fluoroquinolone resistance in Asia and beyond, current guidelines still endorse the use of this class of antimicrobials to treat bloody diarrhea [23] [24] [25] . Many of the organisms isolated during this investigation were also nonsusceptible to other (nonfluoroquinolone) antimicrobials, including some "last resort" choices, such as imipenem.

AMR in pathogenic bacteria, including those associated with diarrhea, is a global public health problem.

Moreover, despite recent increases in fluoroquinolone resistance in Asia and beyond, current guidelines still endorse the use of this class of antimicrobials to treat bloody diarrhea.


Clinoptilolite sorbed 10 -20 times more Pb than the same mass of soil, and only a small portion of Pb was released while the treated sample was exposed to fresh Pb-free background solution. Lead sorption by zeolite was accompanied by the release of mainly Ca 2 + and minor amounts of Na + and K + . The process was irreversible or with a very strongly emphasized hysteresis (Fig. 2a-c) . Cation exchange capacity of clinoptilolite is about 16 times larger than that of the soil (Table 1) . However, not only the quantity of the element sorbed but the sorption mechanism is very different: zeolite strongly binds Pb 2 + ions within the crystal (Barrer, 1978; Tarasevich et al., 1997) .

However, not only the quantity of the element sorbed but the sorption mechanism is very different: zeolite strongly binds Pb 2 + ions within the crystal.


To our knowledge, this is the first report that addresses the presence of maternal influences in anomuran crabs. We have shown that in the coconut crab there are maternal influences. Although our experiments were not designed to separate the effects of non-genetic and genetic factors on larval phenotypes, even without separating the maternal genetic component, identification of maternal influence has a great value for fisheries resource management. Recognizing the presence of maternal influences will make a great contribution to establishing measures that optimize resource management and minimize potential impacts of fishing and thus minimize fluctuations in the abundance of resources. Traditionally, fisheries managers have tended to assess population dynamics without regard to variation among individuals and have focused largely on maximizing the yield from the resource. However, recent studies suggest that the removal of larger and/or older females from a breeding population might have disproportionately detrimental consequences for total survival and subsequent recruitment through maternal influences on various larval qualities (Marteinsdottir and Thorarinsson, 1998; Berkeley et al., 2004; Hsieh et al., 2006; Sogard et al., 2008) . The importance of maternal influences must be considered in management efforts to achieve sustainable harvesting from biological resources, including the coconut crab.

However, recent studies suggest that the removal of larger and/or older females from a breeding population might have disproportionately detrimental consequences for total survival and subsequent recruitment through maternal influences on various larval qualities.


Experiment 2: Larval Survival Period.-Larval survival period was examined for 18 zoeae taken randomly from those collected from each female (n 5 26; Mean 6 SD, 30.9 6 3.8 mm TL). Each zoeae was then placed individually in a well of a 6-well microplate that was filled with 10 ml seawater that had been filtered and irradiated with ultraviolet light. Sodium niflustyrenate (Ueno Fine Chemicals Industry) was added to the water used for cultivation at 2 ppm to prevent bacterial attachment to the zoeae. The microplates containing zoeae were placed in a temperaturecontrolled incubator (Hitachi Corporation, CR-320) preset to 28uC. Water temperatures ranging from 27.0 to 29.8uC are appropriate for coconut crab larval survival (Hamasaki et al., 2009) . Larval survival was monitored daily and the mean larval survival period was calculated for each female. The relationship between maternal size (female TL) and mean larval survival period (days) was analyzed by linear regression.

The microplates containing zoeae were placed in a temperaturecontrolled incubator (Hitachi Corporation, CR-320) preset to 28uC. Water temperatures ranging from 27.0 to 29.8uC are appropriate for coconut crab larval survival.


In both industry and academia, electrophoretic deposition (EPD) has received a great deal of attention as a promising predominant surface modification technique for the processing of advanced ceramic materials using the electrophoresis concept [35] [36] [37] [38] . The increasing interest of the application of EPD is not only because of its high versatility to be used with different materials, but also due to its cost effectiveness requiring simple apparatus set-up [39] . In common, EPD is performed in a two electrode cell as illustrated schematically in Figure 1 . Essentially, EPD is a two-step process [38, 40] . In the first step, particles suspended in a liquid medium are forced to migrate towards an electrode under the effect of an electric field applied to the suspension (electrophoresis). In the second or deposition step, the particles are collected at one of the electrode and formed a relatively dense and homogeneous compact film via precipitation and coagulation.

In both industry and academia, electrophoretic deposition (EPD) has received a great deal of attention as a promising predominant surface modification technique for the processing of advanced ceramic materials using the electrophoresis concept.

The increasing interest of the application of EPD is not only because of its high versatility to be used with different materials, but also due to its cost effectiveness requiring simple apparatus set-up.

Essentially, EPD is a two-step process.


This paper mainly studies the evolution process of the policies from FIT to RPS, and takes China's wind power industry as an example to simulate the model. The model and case study proposed in this paper are in good agreement with the Chinese government's decisions. On the one hand, the external influences considered in our study are all mechanisms that the Chinese government is implementing or will implement. On the other hand, by comparing the simulation data of our study with the planning data of the Chinese government, it is found that the simulation results are in line with the development trend of China's wind power in the future. The results show that, on the one hand, the power generation enterprises judge whether they are willing to implement RPS and communicate with each other by observing the fluctuation of TGC price, which forms the internal influence in the process of policy evolution. On the other hand, the government has an external influence on the evolution process by reducing FIT subsidies and setting RPS fine. Both of the internal and external influences affect the degree and speed of knowledge flow, thereby promoting policies' evolution. The results of the evolution is that FIT can effectively and quickly evolve to RPS, and all the power generation enterprises will implement RPS, and the amount of green power enterprises eventually grows steadily and slowly. In addition, increasing the decline rate of FIT subsidy and RPS unit fine can effectively promote the evolution of RPS policy, and also improve the amount of green power enterprises and the activity of the TGC trading market. This paper notes some limitations that are still to be improved upon. Many existing literature have studied the impact of FIT and RPS on the profits and risks of the renewable energy industry and produced different perspectives [30] [31] [32] . However, our study does not consider the role of profits and risks in the process of policies' evolution. Future studies can comprehensively consider these factors, so that the research results will be more consistent with the actual situations.

Many existing literature have studied the impact of FIT and RPS on the profits and risks of the renewable energy industry and produced different perspectives.


To enforce the physical location, the operating system or driver pins buffers down in physical memory so that no freeing, swapping or migration may occur. This strategy is used for many DMA-based I/Os, such as disk access, networking, or hardware copy offload with the I/OAT technology (I/O Acceleration Technology [9] ). High-speed networking extends this model further by enabling permanent storage in the NIC of translations from virtual into physical addresses (Memory Registration). Once memory buffers are pinned and registered, the application may submit communication requests from user-space and let the NIC process them in the background with zero-copy.

This strategy is used for many DMA-based I/Os, such as disk access, networking, or hardware copy offload with the I/OAT technology (I/O Acceleration Technology).


Companies frequently misunderstand the supplier selection problem as a single-criterion decision-making problem, taking into account only cost factors when making decisions. This approach is inefficient, since there are other quantitative and qualitative factors that should be considered. Tradeoffs between multiple and conflicting objectives have to be made in order to select the best supplier [3] .

Tradeoffs between multiple and conflicting objectives have to be made in order to select the best supplier.


One of the main decision-making problems faced by organizations is the supplier selection problem. How to select supply sources is a strategic decision for companies, since doing so successfully enables them to reduce their costs and improve profits [1] . Choosing a source of supply is one of the most critical activities of supply chain management, because a wrong choice can lead the supply chain as a whole to suffer losses and thus this would directly affect the performance of the organizations involved. On the other hand, appropriate decisions can reduce purchasing costs, decrease production lead time, increase customer satisfaction, and strengthen the competitiveness of organizations [2] .

How to select supply sources is a strategic decision for companies, since doing so successfully enables them to reduce their costs and improve profits.

On the other hand, appropriate decisions can reduce purchasing costs, decrease production lead time, increase customer satisfaction, and strengthen the competitiveness of organizations.


The elicitation process in FITradeoff was conducted with the DM by means of a Decision Support System, in which the DM interactively answers questions, and then potentially optimal alternatives are sought by solving linear programming problems. FITradeoff DSS also provides graphical visualization for the DM at each step in a flexible way, so that the DM can holistically analyze the performance of the potentially optimal alternatives. This method has been supported by studies based on neuroscience [34] .

This method has been supported by studies based on neuroscience.


It is important to recognize that, the 1997 Asian financial crisis first began with the floating of the Thai baht in July 1997 and soon after spread rapidly to the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Korea. Following this crisis relatively small depreciations also engulfed Singapore and Japan (Barro, 2001) . Therefore, Thailand can be considered as an important case among other emerging markets. In 2004, market turnover, number of listed domestic companies and value traded on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) was 93.8 per cent, 465 companies and US$109949 million, respectively. The SET was classified as the 9th highest among emerging markets in terms of all above three measures, and the 19th, 20th and 24th on a global scale, respectively. In terms of market capitalization, the SET reached a record high US$115400 million which ranked 12th highest among all emerging markets and 31st in the world (Standard and Poor's, 2005) .

Following this crisis relatively small depreciations also engulfed Singapore and Japan.

In terms of market capitalization, the SET reached a record high US$115400 million which ranked 12th highest among all emerging markets and 31st in the world.


It is interesting to find cases where we may improve over the trivial bound by a power, i.e. give results of the form m(π, Γ(a)) ≪ V (a) 1−δ for some δ > 0. Such bounds follow easily from the trace formula in the case when π is nontempered, although the subject of exactly what δ may be achieved is interesting, and the subject of a conjecture of Sarnak and Xue [16] . Our main result is a conditional power saving for families of tempered cohomological forms on SL(2, C) as the weight varies.

Such bounds follow easily from the trace formula in the case when π is nontempered, although the subject of exactly what δ may be achieved is interesting, and the subject of a conjecture of Sarnak and Xue.


The passenger train was based on the Amtrak Cascades service in the Pacific Northwest and the expected consist that was used in the planning of the 110 mph service between Madison and Milwaukee Wisconsin. The passenger train stops were spaced at 32.4 mile intervals based on the current Amtrak station spacing on routes in California, Illinois, Washington State, and Wisconsin [9] . The speeds tested were 79 mph and 110 mph. Trains are limited to a maximum speed of 79 mph without advanced signaling and highway crossing technologies. Illinois and Michigan have proposed increase the track speed to 110 mph. Train starts were balanced between the east and west end of the network with all train starts spaced evenly. The headways for all trains were held constant throughout the simulation. At 64 trains per day, there are 32 eastbound and 32 westbound with a train departing each origination yard every 45 minutes. Each simulation includes the performance of all the trains that operate within a 5-day period. Each particular traffic mix was repeated four times. Passenger trains were scheduled to start during daylight hours between 7:00 am and 8:00 pm. This process was repeated for different passenger speeds tested: 79 mph, and 110 mph.

The passenger train stops were spaced at 32.4 mile intervals based on the current Amtrak station spacing on routes in California, Illinois, Washington State, and Wisconsin.


Double track lines can move more traffic than single track by removing the need for trains to start and stop at sidings to allow the other train to clear the bottleneck section. The largest component of delays for train interaction in single track is the meet delays at these sidings [5] . Subsequently, double track lines should have very small meet delays. Because of these inherent efficiencies, double track lines can be utilized to run more trains at higher average speeds than single track configuration.

The largest component of delays for train interaction in single track is the meet delays at these sidings.


This metric was used to analyze the freight train performance because the track speed of the freight trains was held constant over all of the simulation models. An increase in passenger train speed increases the cost of a delay inducing event to the passenger trains. A 10 minute delay for a 79 mph train costs 13.2 miles of travel, and a 10 minute delay for a 110 mph train costa 18.3 miles of travel. Instead of delay per 100 train miles, passenger train performance is analyzed as the time to travel 100 miles [10] .

Instead of delay per 100 train miles, passenger train performance is analyzed as the time to travel 100 miles.


The interannual variability in the wintertime atmospheric circulation is dominated by a number of modes that stand out above the background continuum (Kushnir and Wallace 1989) . These modes are also known as teleconnections because they exhibit in-phase or out-of-phase correlations between regions (often called "centers of action") separated by large distances. Each teleconnection pattern is characterized by an index that is most commonly calculated as a combination of 500/700-hPa geopotential height anomalies in the centers of action or as principal component scores of the corresponding empirical orthogonal function.

The interannual variability in the wintertime atmospheric circulation is dominated by a number of modes that stand out above the background continuum.


Long term sediment burial signiWcantly reduces biomass on some macroalgal species but the thalli remain viable. Crustose coralline and Wlamentous turf algae, as well as Sargassum C. Agardh species were found to be more resilient to sedimentation compared to Codium Stackhouse, Ulva Linnaeus and Gracilariopsis E. Y. Dawson (Airoldi 2003 and references therein) . Survival of brown macroalgal spores and zygotes can, however, be negatively aVected under the inXuence of sediment burial (Devinny and Volse 1978; Chapman and Fletcher 2002) . More studies in this Weld are urgently needed.

Survival of brown macroalgal spores and zygotes can, however, be negatively aVected under the inXuence of sediment burial.


In very clear water, biologically relevant UV-B radiation penetrates the water column down to about 5-8 m depths (Hanelt et al. 2001) . A decrease in 1% UV-B depth from 6.87 to 3.57 m was reported with melt water inXow and sediment resuspension . Daily average vertical particle Xux across nine sampling stations in Kolhamna Bay was spatially variable at 2.94 § 3.17 mg cm ¡2 day ¡1 while a cumulative mean sediment load of 36.16 § 12.92 mg cm ¡2 was observed deposited on kelp blade surfaces (DethleV unpublished data). Relative to the Xux, the sediment coating artiWcially introduced onto the algal discs represented 2-3 days particle deposition and only 20% of the naturally occurring load accumulated over a longer period of time. The long-term negative impact of sediment load, such as the onset of tissue decay due to the absence of light and by hypoxia, on macroalgal blades remains to be studied.

In very clear water, biologically relevant UV-B radiation penetrates the water column down to about 5-8 m depths.


Degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis is one of the disorders most responsive to lumbar fusion. Because of the ability of the interbody fusion technique to correct the listhesis through realignment and stabilization, high rates of improvement on multiple clinical outcome measures after surgery for degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis have been reported [10] . Recent reports have indicated the effectiveness of XLIF as a surgical treatment for adult spinal deformity, which included greater coronal and sagittal balance correction, and minimized reoperation rate and blood loss [16] [17] [18] . By contrast, the benefits of XLIF as a minimally invasive lumbar spinal fusion technique for degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis remained unclear. Most studies have used comparative approaches focusing simply on complication rates, blood loss, and length of hospital stay as surgical outcomes [11] . Additionally, recent reviews concluded there was insufficient evidence for the effectiveness of XLIF in minimally invasive lumbar spinal fusion and that further studies in support of XLIF in comparison with traditional Fig. 3 Postoperative a VAS score, b numerical rating scale (NRS) score, and c performance score (PS).*P < 0.05, **P < 0.005, ****P < 0.0001, NS = not significant. Data were analyzed using the unpaired T test for (a). Data were analyzed using Mann-Whitney U test for (b) and (c) lumbar interbody fusion approaches are warranted [10, 11] . Therefore, the present study sought to compare XLIF/PPS with traditional open PLIF surgery using multiple outcomes including muscle damage, surgical blood loss, markers of postoperative inflammation, surgical site pain, and postoperative recovery of activities of daily living. Open PLIF with instrumentation requires extensive soft tissue and back muscle dissection, which is considered to be problematic in the procedure for conventional lumbar fusion [19, 20] . Indeed, a study demonstrated that PPS fixation caused less paraspinal muscle damage than open pedicle screw fixation and had positive effects on postoperative trunk muscle performance [21] . Because it is difficult to quantify blood loss precisely in a minimally invasive procedure, we estimated blood loss as the total of the intraoperative record and drainage output, and found that the XLIF/PPS procedure is extremely advantageous to minimize blood loss. The use of serum markers for inflammation and muscle damage offers objective measures of the invasiveness of the procedure. A postoperative rise in serum CK should indicate the level of muscle damage, and a rise in WBC count and serum CRP levels should indicate the level of inflammation [22] . Our findings showed that WBC counts, and serum CRP and CK levels decreased more quickly in patients in the XLIF/PPS group than in patients in the PLIF group. In accordance with this finding, ODI and VAS score (lumbar) 1 year after surgery were significantly lower in the XLIF/PPS group than in the PLIF group. By contrast, there was no significant difference in the RDQ or L-JOA scores between the groups 1 year after surgery. This finding indicates that although both procedures improved multiple clinical outcome measures compared with PLIF, XLIF/PPS can significantly reduce paraspinal muscle injury which was indicated as less blood loss and lower serum CK level and the incidence of low back pain after surgery.

Because of the ability of the interbody fusion technique to correct the listhesis through realignment and stabilization, high rates of improvement on multiple clinical outcome measures after surgery for degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis have been reported.

Recent reports have indicated the effectiveness of XLIF as a surgical treatment for adult spinal deformity, which included greater coronal and sagittal balance correction, and minimized reoperation rate and blood loss.

Most studies have used comparative approaches focusing simply on complication rates, blood loss, and length of hospital stay as surgical outcomes.

Data were analyzed using Mann-Whitney U test for (b) and (c) lumbar interbody fusion approaches are warranted.

Open PLIF with instrumentation requires extensive soft tissue and back muscle dissection, which is considered to be problematic in the procedure for conventional lumbar fusion.

Indeed, a study demonstrated that PPS fixation caused less paraspinal muscle damage than open pedicle screw fixation and had positive effects on postoperative trunk muscle performance.

A postoperative rise in serum CK should indicate the level of muscle damage, and a rise in WBC count and serum CRP levels should indicate the level of inflammation.


Polyurethane (PUR) foams are produced based on the basis of exothermic addition polymerization between two or more isocyanate groups and polyhydroxy compounds (polyols) to form urethane linkage. This reaction will occur under room temperature by adding a small amount of suitable catalysts such as tertiary amine and tin compounds. The cell structure of foam is formed by stabilizing gas bubble generation in polymer matrix. Hence, the blowing agent and silicone surfactant are essentially required [1] . Within this requirement, water is used as a blowing agent for many researches and industrial processes and carbon dioxide gas evolves out via the highly exothermic reaction between water and isocyanates [2] . Based on the simple basic chemistry and processing of PUR foams, the world of PUR foam production is recently increasing with the versatile applications especially in automotive industry, footwear, furnishing, packaging, insulation, construction, and so forth. The wide variety of PUR foam grades can be manufactured by modifying and controlling the nature of the main starting components (isocyanates and polyols) and the properties of end used products [1] .

Hence, the blowing agent and silicone surfactant are essentially required.

Within this requirement, water is used as a blowing agent for many researches and industrial processes and carbon dioxide gas evolves out via the highly exothermic reaction between water and isocyanates.

The wide variety of PUR foam grades can be manufactured by modifying and controlling the nature of the main starting components (isocyanates and polyols) and the properties of end used products.


Commercially, both starting materials for PUR production are mainly derived from petrochemical precursors which are exhausted rapidly and are not in consonance with environmental friendly requirements. In seeking for an alternative renewable resource, plant oils are available in abundance with cost effectiveness and have the potential to replace the petroleum based PUR. Vegetable oils are reactive triglyceride molecules containing a variation of fatty acids proportion which can be modified by chemical reaction to obtain polyalcohol compounds. Recently, the ongoing use of plant oils for polyols synthesis has been intensively investigated by many researchers. Although seed oils from agricultural harvests including castor oil, soybean oil, linseed oil, canola oil, rapeseed oil, and palm oil are widely used as the raw materials for polyols production, new alternative feedstock has been progressively discovered and developed [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] . In this study, the utilization of highly polyunsaturated 2 International Journal of Polymer Science seed oils, namely, sesame seed oil and pumpkin seed oil, was investigated.

Although seed oils from agricultural harvests including castor oil, soybean oil, linseed oil, canola oil, rapeseed oil, and palm oil are widely used as the raw materials for polyols production, new alternative feedstock has been progressively discovered and developed.


Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are known to play a crucial role in the innate immune response in mammals. TLRs are involved in the recognition of pathogenic molecules like lipopolysaccharide (LPS), lipoteichoic acid (LTA), bacterial DNA and others [1] . Furthermore, there is good evidence for the involvement of TLRs in the crosstalk of immune system and the hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal (HPA) axis [2] [3] [4] [5] . In TLR2 deficient mice, adrenal glands are significantly larger compared to wild-type mice. However, the corticosterone plasma levels are significantly lower in the deficient mice. Inducing a systemic inflammation with bacterial wall components in TLR2 deficient mice leads to an impaired release of both corticosterone and pro-inflammatory cytokines compared to wild-type animals [6] . A similar difference of physiology and pathophysiology of the HPA axis exists between wild-type and TLR4 deficient mice. Under physiological conditions the cortex of the adrenal glands is significantly enlarged and plasma concentrations of corticosterone and the pro-inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-12 are significantly higher when compared to wild-type animals. Systemic inflammation induces an increase of corticosterone plasma concentration in wildtype, but a decrease in TLR4 deficient mice [7] .

TLRs are involved in the recognition of pathogenic molecules like lipopolysaccharide (LPS), lipoteichoic acid (LTA), bacterial DNA and others.

Furthermore, there is good evidence for the involvement of TLRs in the crosstalk of immune system and the hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal (HPA) axis.

Inducing a systemic inflammation with bacterial wall components in TLR2 deficient mice leads to an impaired release of both corticosterone and pro-inflammatory cytokines compared to wild-type animals.

Systemic inflammation induces an increase of corticosterone plasma concentration in wildtype, but a decrease in TLR4 deficient mice.


We selected the aforementioned protocols to compare their performance against ZCG, for the reasons outlined below: (i) they are the most popular protocols used in mobile ad hoc networks. These protocols are standardized by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), and are the most surveyed protocols in the literature; (ii) they are widely used and well tested for real world applications. For example, Microsoft mesh networks use dynamic source routing (DSR) [28] . Also, AODV routing protocol is already available for the Linux and Microsoft Windows operating systems [12] .

For example, Microsoft mesh networks use dynamic source routing (DSR).

Also, AODV routing protocol is already available for the Linux and Microsoft Windows operating systems.


Routing protocols for a MANET can be categorised into three groups: reactive, proactive and hybrid [40] . In reactive routing, nodes have no prior location knowledge of the destination nodes and routes are determined on request, typically by flooding, such as in the Ad-hoc On-Demand Distance Vector (AODV) protocol [38] . The drawbacks of reactive protocols are the high cost of broadcast to establish routes and the latency inherent in the process of finding a route to the destination. In proactive routing, each node in the network continuously checks and evaluates paths to every node in the network to establish a complete or partial view of the network, such as in the destination-sequenced distance-vector (DSDV) routing protocol [39] . Consequently, routing latency is low, because paths to destinations can be calculated locally and quickly. The costs in a proactive approach are the high channel usage overheads for route update control messages and the time to convergence of the network path data. Thus, hybrid techniques have been conceived, using zone and cluster-based routing, that aim to exploit the strengths and minimise the weaknesses of reactive and proactive approaches [2, 24, 44] .

Routing protocols for a MANET can be categorised into three groups: reactive, proactive and hybrid.

In reactive routing, nodes have no prior location knowledge of the destination nodes and routes are determined on request, typically by flooding, such as in the Ad-hoc On-Demand Distance Vector (AODV) protocol.

In proactive routing, each node in the network continuously checks and evaluates paths to every node in the network to establish a complete or partial view of the network, such as in the destination-sequenced distance-vector (DSDV) routing protocol.

Thus, hybrid techniques have been conceived, using zone and cluster-based routing, that aim to exploit the strengths and minimise the weaknesses of reactive and proactive approaches.


Recent studies have identified endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndoMT) as a potential mechanistic pathway that is involved in fibrosis [10, [20] [21] [22] [23] . In this process, endothelial cells lose their apical-basal polarity along with endothelial cell markers such as CD31. These endothelial cells transform into mesenchymal cells and take on fibroblastic markers such as S100A4. EndoMT has been demonstrated in several organ systems including cardiac and kidney fibrosis [24, 25] . Furthermore, ET-1 has been suggested to be a mediator in EndoMT in disease processes such as systemic sclerosis [26] .

Recent studies have identified endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndoMT) as a potential mechanistic pathway that is involved in fibrosis.

EndoMT has been demonstrated in several organ systems including cardiac and kidney fibrosis.

Furthermore, ET-1 has been suggested to be a mediator in EndoMT in disease processes such as systemic sclerosis.


Biodegradable or environmentally acceptable materials have attained increasing interest over the past decades due to environmental pressure derived from the consumption of the petroleum-based materials [1] [2] [3] . The use of natural fibers, derived from annually renewable resources, as reinforcing fibers in both thermoplastic and thermoset matrix composites provides positive environmental benefits with respect to ultimate disposability and raw material utilization. Other benefits are also seen as the natural fibers absorb nitrogen and phosphorus included in the soil [4] [5] [6] [7] . Kenaf, Hibiscus cannabinus, L. family Malvaceae, is an herbaceous annual plant that can be grown under a wide range of weather condition, especially in Asia and Central America and finds application as a cordage and sack fiber. The excellent cellulose in the kenaf fiber (KF) source also made the kenaf as a source for a large range of paper products. Recently, researches have further increased the diversity of uses for kenaf by demonstrating its suitability in building materials, textiles, adsorbents, and fibers in new and recycled plastics [8] . KF shows low density, high impact resistance, and high modulus. In addition, KF is available in large amounts, easy to get, low cost, non-abrasive during processing, it exhibits high specific mechanical properties and biodegradability [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] . However the hydrophilicity of natural fibers results in high moisture absorption and weak adhesion to hydrophobic matrix resin. And there also have been other challenges presented by natural fibers such as large variability of mechanical properties, low ultimate strength, lower elongation, problems with nozzle flow in injection molding machines, bubbles in the product, and poor resistance to weathering [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] . To increase the interaction between the fibers and the resin is the way to tackle with the low adhesion. Normally, there are two ways to treat KF to make it compatible with resin matrix: one is alkaline treatment, by using an alkaline solution, which can dissolve unwanted microscopic pits on the fibers resulting in better fiber matrix adhesion. The other way is using coupling agent. The coupling agent has two functions: to react with -OH groups of the cellulose and to react with the functional groups of the matrix with the goal of facilitating stress transfer between the fibers and the matrix. The commonly used coupling agent includes maleic andydride, silane coupling agent, etc [19] [20] [21] [22] . The effect of the coupling agent was only concluded form the phenomenon of the improvement of the mechanical properties of the composite. Little research is available for the quantitative effect of the coupling agent on the mechanical properties [23] [24] [25] . Recently we have synthesized a novel coupling agent composed of methacryloxypropyltriethoxysilane by means of photo-graft polymerization. In this paper, the effect of the coupling agent is studied through quantitative analysis of the reactivity of KF with coupling agent.

Biodegradable or environmentally acceptable materials have attained increasing interest over the past decades due to environmental pressure derived from the consumption of the petroleum-based materials.

Other benefits are also seen as the natural fibers absorb nitrogen and phosphorus included in the soil.

Recently, researches have further increased the diversity of uses for kenaf by demonstrating its suitability in building materials, textiles, adsorbents, and fibers in new and recycled plastics.

In addition, KF is available in large amounts, easy to get, low cost, non-abrasive during processing, it exhibits high specific mechanical properties and biodegradability.

And there also have been other challenges presented by natural fibers such as large variability of mechanical properties, low ultimate strength, lower elongation, problems with nozzle flow in injection molding machines, bubbles in the product, and poor resistance to weathering.

The other way is using coupling agent.

The commonly used coupling agent includes maleic andydride, silane coupling agent, etc.

Little research is available for the quantitative effect of the coupling agent on the mechanical properties.


Based on the aforementioned definition, we consider two problems: (1) object captioning and (2) object retrieval using natural language. Our goal in the first problem is to simultaneously detect the object and generate its description. In this way, we have a new object detector that can localize the object while providing more meaningful information. In the second problem, the goal is to localize an object given an input query. This is particularly useful in the human-robot interaction applications since it allows humans to use natural language to communicate with the robot [7] . We show that both problems can be solved effectively with the deep networks, providing a detailed understanding of the object while achieving the state-of-the-art performance.

This is particularly useful in the human-robot interaction applications since it allows humans to use natural language to communicate with the robot.


Our datasets, shown in Table 1 , include one real (Ms) and two semi-synthetic (M1, and M2) datasets. Ms is recorded by the Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System (SCATS) from the Melbourne road network provided to us by VicRoads 2 . M1, and M2 are synthetically generated on the real road network of Melbourne using a web-based 3 random road traffic generator MNTG [6] . The incremental partitioning results are evaluated by using the metric ANS (derived from Silhouette) that looks into the inter-partition heterogeneity and intra-partition homogeneity to quantify the overall quality of the obtained partitions [4, 2] . A value less than 1 for this measure indicates a good partitioning, and lower values indicate better partitioning.

M1, and M2 are synthetically generated on the real road network of Melbourne using a web-based 3 random road traffic generator MNTG.

The incremental partitioning results are evaluated by using the metric ANS (derived from Silhouette) that looks into the inter-partition heterogeneity and intra-partition homogeneity to quantify the overall quality of the obtained partitions.


Quality of incremental results: We start the experiments by firstly mining a set of blocks that are to be main- tained in the physical layer. For this, we partition the road network into a relatively large number of small sized partitions and consider them as the blocks for the beginning time point. As a preprocessing step, all the short road cycles are computed and indexed in SCI. We evaluate the quality of our results by comparing them with the partitions obtained by directly applying the α-Cut algorithm [2] . Figure 2 shows this comparison on Ms, M1 and M2 datasets in terms of ANS.

We evaluate the quality of our results by comparing them with the partitions obtained by directly applying the α-Cut algorithm.


In order to protect the substructure of a hypersonic flight vehicle, a multilayer structure using high temperature 2 Advances in Mechanical Engineering resistant 2D plain-woven C/SiC ceramic composite panel adhesively bonded to a thick Si-C-O aerogel composite thermal insulator is used as a representative thermal protection system structure. However the high temperature C/SiC ceramic composite panel at the top face sheet (TFS) of the typical TPS structure is structurally weak with low fatigue resistance and can fail easily. In order to ensure structural integrity, it is always desired to have an accurate and computationally efficient methodology to investigate the structural response to a combined loading and its thermalacoustic fatigue in an extreme environment [1] .

In order to ensure structural integrity, it is always desired to have an accurate and computationally efficient methodology to investigate the structural response to a combined loading and its thermalacoustic fatigue in an extreme environment.


Smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) is a warm-water fish species native to central and eastern North America (Scott and Crossman 1973) . Since the mid-1800s, the range of the smallmouth bass has expanded across North America and throughout Europe, Russia, and Africa as a result of introductions to provide angling opportunities (Scott and Crossman 1973) . Lake stocking, unauthorized introduction by anglers, and dispersal through drainage networks has facilitated the range expansion of the smallmouth bass (Jackson 2002; Vander Zanden et al. 2004a; Dunlop and Shuter 2006) . Although smallmouth bass is a popular angling species, the introduction of smallmouth bass has had negative consequences on native fish communities. For example, the presence of smallmouth bass has been associated with re-duced numbers of cyprinids (MacRae and Jackson 2001; Jackson 2002) . The presence of smallmouth bass has been shown to cause lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) to experience reduced growth, survival, and fecundity because of a diet shift from cyprinids to energetically inefficient prey items such as zooplankton in the absence of pelagic forage fish (Vander Zanden et al. 1999) .

Smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) is a warm-water fish species native to central and eastern North America.

Since the mid-1800s, the range of the smallmouth bass has expanded across North America and throughout Europe, Russia, and Africa as a result of introductions to provide angling opportunities.

Lake stocking, unauthorized introduction by anglers, and dispersal through drainage networks has facilitated the range expansion of the smallmouth bass.

For example, the presence of smallmouth bass has been associated with re-duced numbers of cyprinids.

The presence of smallmouth bass has been shown to cause lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) to experience reduced growth, survival, and fecundity because of a diet shift from cyprinids to energetically inefficient prey items such as zooplankton in the absence of pelagic forage fish.


The symmetries of the supergravity theories are important to understand the symmetries and the duality transformations of the string theories. Especially the global symmetries of the supergravities give the non-perturbative U-duality symmetries of the string theories and the M-theory [15, 16] . An appropriate restriction of the global symmetry group G of the supergravity theory to the integers Z, namely G(Z), is conjectured to be the U-duality symmetry of the relative string theory which unifies the T-duality and the S-duality [14, 15] .

Especially the global symmetries of the supergravities give the non-perturbative U-duality symmetries of the string theories and the M-theory.

An appropriate restriction of the global symmetry group G of the supergravity theory to the integers Z, namely G(Z), is conjectured to be the U-duality symmetry of the relative string theory which unifies the T-duality and the S-duality.


The second central trend has been characterized by the increasingly intense interchange of people, goods, information, and money across national borders. This phenomenon is commonly referred to as economic globalization, and a number of commentators have christened the contemporary period as "the era of economic globalization" (Friedman 1999) . Although "economic globalization" is used to describe phenomena as diverse as trade and financial liberalization, immigration flows, cultural globalization, and the revolution in information technology, scholars often focus on two aspects of globalization: the adoption of free trade policies, namely trade liberalization, and the move toward greater financial openness, i.e., capital account liberalization.

This phenomenon is commonly referred to as economic globalization, and a number of commentators have christened the contemporary period as "the era of economic globalization".


In 1994, a survey was conducted with 1500 software professional in North America. The survey analyzed software product installations and purchase plans for the feature/function requirements. The objective of the research was to aid software vendors to better understand user requirements and the decision process buyers undergo when selecting software products. Respondent to the survey cited purchasing off-the-shelf applications as the most suitable and most popular choice. The survey has also found that product features and functions and ease of use have been rated respectively as the number one and two buying criteria for the past eleven years. However, in 1994 user support, that is service and training, overtook the number one and two positions. Different methods are used by different people to select project management software. One approach is studying the experience of others, validating their experience and relating that to your situation. Another approach is to conduct trials on small problems, which will help to understand and use the software. Some project management experts prefer to apply the package or tool on real projects. This has one disadvantage that it is a lengthy process and this is only practical as a means of evaluating few products [5] .

This has one disadvantage that it is a lengthy process and this is only practical as a means of evaluating few products.


We suggest that the difference in knowledge between younger and older pupils could be explained by the Slovak biology curriculum, as many of the knowledge questions are dealt with in this curriculum. This means that pupils aged 10/11 years (Grade 2) who are learning zoology are exposed to more factual knowledge about birds than older pupils. Older pupils may have forgotten some of the information they learned when younger. This process is not surprising considering that semantic memory is suppressed by the increasing number of competing concepts that students acquire over time (Johnson and Anderson 2004) . Several other knowledge items reflected information that could be obtained through the media, for example, by watching natural history films about birds.

This process is not surprising considering that semantic memory is suppressed by the increasing number of competing concepts that students acquire over time.


Pupils' responses to the knowledge questions revealed several misunderstandings. For example, it is quite surprising that about one-third of all pupils believed that an owl's eyes light up at night. This supports previous research which showed that almost all 7-15-year-old children (94%) thought that owls see better at night than in the day (Prokop, Kubiatko and Fančovičová 2007) .

This supports previous research which showed that almost all 7-15-year-old children (94%) thought that owls see better at night than in the day.


Real-life-oriented learning has proven to be very helpful and valuable in the context of students' daily life (Borko and Putnam, 1998) . Meanwhile, the new concept that students learn in the classroom will be more easily accepted by students if it is related to the knowledge scheme they have, so there is assimilation or association process. If the new conception adds or enriches the thinking schemes that students have previously possessed, this can be said to have assimilated; while the association process occurs if the new conception turns or modifies a previously existing scheme.

Real-life-oriented learning has proven to be very helpful and valuable in the context of students' daily life.


Discovery Learning is an attempt to understand concepts, meanings, and relationships, through an intuitive process to finally come to a conclusion (Winarni, 2012) . Discovery using local cultural sources like Tabot is an annual event that occurs in the environment around students so that makes observation, classification, prediction, and determination more contextual. Discovery learning resources are not presented in final concept information, students are required to perform various activities to collect information, compare, categorize, analyze, integrate, reorganize materials, and make conclusions.

Discovery Learning is an attempt to understand concepts, meanings, and relationships, through an intuitive process to finally come to a conclusion.