Sintering is often described as occurring in three stagesinitial, intermediate, and final. The initial stage begins with a loose powder compact with particles in point contact with one another. Interparticle connections begin to form as material diffuses to the neck region from the rest of the surface, and the pores begin to round and start becoming circular. In the intermediate stage, pore-rounding continues, and the distinction between individual particles begins to fade. In this stage, the pores are still largely connected with each other [12] . In the final stage, the pore spaces become disconnected, and start to collapse if there are no interstitial trapped gases. Significant shrinkage and density change occurs and the individual grains (particles) are no longer distinguishable. Different diffusion mechanisms are dominant at these different stages; however, it must be noted that sintering is a continuous process and multiple diffusion mechanisms are active at any instant of time. Discrete stage distinctions have been made in the literature for the purpose of describing the sintering physics and modeling the microstructure evolution [12] . Figure 1 shows a typical sintered copper powder wick. The main distinguishing features of these realistic wicks that are not captured by a simple spherical packed bed are the interparticle neck shapes and the varied particle size distribution.

In this stage, the pores are still largely connected with each other.

Discrete stage distinctions have been made in the literature for the purpose of describing the sintering physics and modeling the microstructure evolution.


The domain consists of only two phases, the material phase and the void (air) phase. In each iteration of the algorithm, curvature is estimated for interface pixels on the material side, and the pixels are ordered in decreasing order of these curvature values. From these, a prescribed number, n, of the highest curvature pixels are selected and removed (reassigned the void phase). If there are multiple pixels with the same curvature cutoff value, selection for movement is randomized. In the next step, the curvature value is estimated for the void-side interface pixels. These pixels are then arranged in increasing order of curvature values, and now, n lowest curvature-valued pixels are selected and assigned the material phase [20] . At the end of an iteration, n highest-curvature solid pixels have thus been selected and moved to n lowestcurvature void spaces. The procedure is repeated for the desired number of iterations, or until an equilibrium shape is obtained. This algorithm removes mass in a conserved fashion, i.e., the total number of solid pixels remains constant throughout in the direction of the curvature gradient. Furthermore, the algorithm is easy to implement, readily extensible to three dimensions, and can model random configurations easily.

These pixels are then arranged in increasing order of curvature values, and now, n lowest curvature-valued pixels are selected and assigned the material phase.


We introduced the democratic-type neutrino mass matrix by extending the democratic mass matrix and found that one angle θ 23 and the CP violation phase intrinsic to the Dirac system are predicted to be θ 23 = −π/4 and δ = π/2. As a consequence, the mixing matrix is expressed by two angles, θ 12 and θ 13 , as shown in Eq. (15) . If the solar neutrino problem turns out to be solved by the large angle solutions, the large CP violation effect is expected. In this situation, our model predicts that the Jarlskog parameter is about half of the maximal value, J CP = −0.047 with sin 2 2θ solar = 0.8. This could be explored by the future long-baseline experiments.

As a consequence, the mixing matrix is expressed by two angles, θ 12 and θ 13 , as shown in Eq..


The current implementation of the framework is designed to run on Google's Android [4] platform. The motivation behind that is that the operating system is accessible, i.e., open-source network stack to implement our framework, and the operating system is Linux based. The latter allows us to run framework on any Linux based device. Android also provides a useful set of tools to manage handheld devices recourse's. Applications in Android run inside a Dalvik virtual machine which is based on Java technology. To deploy our framework inside a virtual machine is however not desirable because this would introduce unnecessary process delays and be disadvantageous for the seamlessness of handovers. Therefore we opt to implement the framework mostly in kernel. This approach minimizes changes to the original path that data would take when traversing the network stack and optimizes computational requirements.

The current implementation of the framework is designed to run on Google's Android platform.


The objective of this paper was to determine how reliable the MWRP was when mounted on board a mobile ship in the High Arctic. Although the MWRP had difficulty with forced convection along an advancing front and with near-surface humidity, as seen in the case study, the data retrieved from the MWRP appear suitable for measuring lower-level boundary layer temperature and absolute humidity profiles. Based on the comparison of the MWRP with the raobs and the case study we conclude that the MWRP generally gives reliable measurements of both parameters. The bias and RMS difference of the lower 4 km, for both temperature and absolute humidity, were of the same order of magnitude as those found in Alaska (Liljegren et al. 2001) . When comparing the RMS difference and bias from the same time period, the shipborne MWRP was statistically similar to the Barrow MWRP. This study indicates that MWRP data collected in future studies of the boundary layer in the Beaufort Sea and Amundsen Gulf region will reliably measure the temperature and humidity profiles, and the profiles will capture both seasonal variations, as well as trends over short time scales, such as those found in case studies.

The bias and RMS difference of the lower 4 km, for both temperature and absolute humidity, were of the same order of magnitude as those found in Alaska.


The architecture of motion planning for a team of robots can be centralised or decentralised [11] . A centralised architecture uses a single decision maker to plan the motions of all robots. In theory, it is easy to implement, and it can produce optimal solutions by gathering all relevant information. In practice, however, it suffers obvious limitations. A large amount of resources are required for the central controller to handle all the computation tasks as well as frequent communications with all robots, which often incur sluggish response of individual robots to constantly changing local environments. Furthermore, the whole team will become paralytic if the central controller fails. Thus, centralised control tends to suit applications involving small number of robots in static environments with easily available global information. A decentralised architecture, on the other hand, lets each robot make its own decisions based only on its local information, without any communication with and intervention from a central controller. Therefore, immediate and flexible response to dynamic local changes can be achieved. This type of architecture is more fault-tolerant, for it is affected by possible failures of a central controller and even if some robots fail, the rest of the team can still function normally. Moreover, a decentralised system is well scalable for a large number of robots, because the decision-making of each robot concerns only with its own local environment which is independent of the total number of robots in a team [7] [19] . Nevertheless, optimal decentralised solution of each robot may not necessarily aggregate to an optimal global solution of the team. Hence, the challenge of decentralised motion planning is to predict the collective performance based on individual decision making, and vice versa [9] . This paper adopts a decentralised architecture to plan the motions of a robot team in dynamic environments.

The architecture of motion planning for a team of robots can be centralised or decentralised.

Moreover, a decentralised system is well scalable for a large number of robots, because the decision-making of each robot concerns only with its own local environment which is independent of the total number of robots in a team.

Hence, the challenge of decentralised motion planning is to predict the collective performance based on individual decision making, and vice versa.


A number of open issues in multi-robot motion planning remain. Dynamic re-planning of motion is important in stochastic environments, and most of the current techniques still have difficulty in handling environment uncertainties, such as stochastic task requests and unexpected traffic conditions. Secondly, existing techniques typically cannot scale well to handle a large number of robots, and there are limitations for extensions to three-dimension applications like aerial robots. Thirdly, developing motion planning techniques that incorporate practical motion, sensing, and communication constraints of physical robots is also desirable [10] .

Thirdly, developing motion planning techniques that incorporate practical motion, sensing, and communication constraints of physical robots is also desirable.


The European Union has sponsored several swarm robot projects. The I-SWARM project, for instance, aimed to develop a swarm of robots to perform cooperative tasks, such as foraging. An inter-university SWARMS initiative in the United States tried to develop a new system framework for controlling a swarm of mobile robots, synthesizing emergent behaviours for reactive response, and developing algorithms for decentralised transport [10] .

An inter-university SWARMS initiative in the United States tried to develop a new system framework for controlling a swarm of mobile robots, synthesizing emergent behaviours for reactive response, and developing algorithms for decentralised transport.


Switch actuators for V.C.B.s typically use spring, solenoid, or permanent magnetic actuator (P.M.A.) mechanisms, and medium-voltage-class V.C.B.s have been using springdriven mechanism for decades. Such mechanisms, however, have drawbacks including complicated structures, reliance on periodic maintenance, and proneness to oil leaks. P.M.A.s, by contrast, have advantages in terms of simpler structure, improved operating time, easy motion control, and high reliability. Accordingly, manufacturers seeking to reduce the V.C.B. size and to improve the operating time have begun to prefer P.M.A. over spring-driven mechanism [4, 5] . Fig. 1 shows the structure of the P.M.A. developed for use in a V.C.B. It has four important electromechanical components: the permanent magnets (P.M.s), a movable plunger, trip coils, and static yokes. When an excitation current is supplied through the trip coil, the plunger moves upwards or downwards. The mechanical energy generated due to movement of plunger is transmitted to a vacuum interrupter (V.I.). When the plunger reaches fully open or closed position, it stops to be held still by P.M.s only. The P.M.s, which together with the trip coil compose the P.M.A., are able to generate rapid continuous motion with more efficiency than a spring-type actuator [6] [7] [8] .

Accordingly, manufacturers seeking to reduce the V.C.B. size and to improve the operating time have begun to prefer P.M.A. over spring-driven mechanism.

The P.M.s, which together with the trip coil compose the P.M.A., are able to generate rapid continuous motion with more efficiency than a spring-type actuator.


We therefore propose a new method for simplifying deforming meshes based on feature preservation. Our method is a better tradeoff between the temporal coherence and mesh distortion, i.e. we try to maximize the temporal coherence while minimizing the visual distortion during the simplification process. Our idea is to first calculate the aggregated QEM error for each edge as DSD [26] method. We use the collapsing cost variation to measure the deformation degree of the deforming mesh. We calculate the sharp features the first and last frame according to the classification of the edges. By adding the deformation and sharp feature weight to the collapsing cost, we finally get the unified edge collapse sequence. For each of the frame we first do a majority of edge collapse operations based on this sequence to maintain the temporal coherence, and do the remainder operations based on the independent QEM sequence to minimize mesh distortion. We demonstrate that this provides an efficient means of multiresolution representation of deforming meshes over all frame of an animation.

Our idea is to first calculate the aggregated QEM error for each edge as DSD method.


This phase I study showed that matuzumab at a biologically effective dose of 800 mg week -1 may be given safely with standard gemcitabine therapy to patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. Grade 3 treatment-related cases (total 5), including leucopenia (n ¼ 1), neutropenia (n ¼ 3), and decreased WBC count (n ¼ 1), occurred in the study, but their occurrence was unrelated to the matuzumab dose. There were 13 incidents at all dose levels of grade 1 or 2 skin toxicities. Adverse events in this study were consistent with those seen in other single-agent matuzumab studies (Vanhoefer et al, 2004) . No DLTs were observed, which is also in agreement with previous work that established the MTD of single-agent matuzumab as 1600 mg on a weekly schedule (Vanhoefer et al, 2004) .

Adverse events in this study were consistent with those seen in other single-agent matuzumab studies.

No DLTs were observed, which is also in agreement with previous work that established the MTD of single-agent matuzumab as 1600 mg on a weekly schedule.


The difference of filter materials may cause the measurement difference. Teflon filter has been used for GMM while glass fiber filter has been used for BAM. The glass fiber filter has high particle collection efficiency, but might contain positive sampling difference by converting gaseous SO 2 and HNO 3 into particulate SO 4 2-and NO 3 -, respectively (Lipfert, 1994) . Although Teflon filter has low background concentration and is inert to the reactive ambient trace species, it is possible that volatile components such as NH 4 NO 3 might evaporate (Kim, 2000) . Since the exposure time at BAM (1 hr) is shorter than GMM (24 hr), the measurement difference caused by filter material difference, if any, could occur predominantly at GMM.

The glass fiber filter has high particle collection efficiency, but might contain positive sampling difference by converting gaseous SO 2 and HNO 3 into particulate SO 4 2-and NO 3 -, respectively.

Although Teflon filter has low background concentration and is inert to the reactive ambient trace species, it is possible that volatile components such as NH 4 NO 3 might evaporate.


A great variety of natural fibers obtained from cellulose rich plants, from now on referred as lignocellulosic fibers, have been, in recent years, not only investigated but effectively applied in engineering composites [1, 4, 9] . Among theses the piassava fiber extracted from a palm tree (Attalea Funifera) native of Brazil and extensively used in simple items like brooms, is presently investigated as a possible composite reinforcement owing to its stiffer characteristic [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] . The mechanical behavior of polymer composites reinforced with continuous and aligned piassava fibers has been restricted to flexural and impact tests [14] [15] . These tests have shown that the incorporation of up to 40% in volume of fibers into both epoxy and polyester matrices increases the composite resistance. Since tensile constraints are important for the structural response of the material, the present work investigated the tensile properties of post-cured epoxy matrix composites reinforced with continuous and aligned piassava fibers.

A great variety of natural fibers obtained from cellulose rich plants, from now on referred as lignocellulosic fibers, have been, in recent years, not only investigated but effectively applied in engineering composites.

Among theses the piassava fiber extracted from a palm tree (Attalea Funifera) native of Brazil and extensively used in simple items like brooms, is presently investigated as a possible composite reinforcement owing to its stiffer characteristic.

The mechanical behavior of polymer composites reinforced with continuous and aligned piassava fibers has been restricted to flexural and impact tests.


Maize (Zea mays L.) is the third major cereal crop in the world after wheat and rice. It is the main staple food for hundred millions of people in developing countries especially in Sub Saharan Africa. It is an important source of protein and energy for human and animal and a source of raw materialfor the industry. Maize is a C4 crop with a great photosynthetic activity. It is grown on 161,765,388 hectares with an annual production of 840,308,214 tons worldwide. In the DR-Congo, maize is grown on 1484 780 hectares with an annual production of 11,564,410 tons [1] .

In the DR-Congo, maize is grown on 1484 780 hectares with an annual production of 11,564,410 tons.


Maize grown in the lowlands need at least 500 mm of precipitation well distributed throughout the season. The optimum temperature for its development in lowlands in tropical regions ranges from 30˚C to 34˚C and approximately 21˚C for the highlands [2] . Crop phenology that includes the main developmental stages (tillering, heading, flowering, maturity) depends on the temperature. An increase in temperature usually results in accelerated plant growth [3, 4] .

The optimum temperature for its development in lowlands in tropical regions ranges from 30˚C to 34˚C and approximately 21˚C for the highlands.

An increase in temperature usually results in accelerated plant growth.


The leaf area index is a factor that plays an important role in plant production for both quantitative and qualitative traits [31] . It was noted that K, T i , b, a, and Tm values vary with the simulation model, the maize variety and the field trial location used in the study. In all cases, the model underestimates the LAI based on observed values. CERES-Maize and STICS models also under estimate LAI in some studies. Despite this underestimation of leaf area index, dry matter production can be largely overestimated due to errors in the choice of input varieties.

The leaf area index is a factor that plays an important role in plant production for both quantitative and qualitative traits.


Predicting maize yield productions based on climate conditions and forecasting potential food shortage during a particular period are of great interest to maize producers and governments. But, information on yield forecast is very sketchy [5, 6] . Moreover, physiological models are rarely used to forecast maize production either at farm, regional or national scales [7] .

But, information on yield forecast is very sketchy.

Moreover, physiological models are rarely used to forecast maize production either at farm, regional or national scales.


Our study employed an ecologic design using group level exposure data. It was presumed that individuals residing in the municipalities of higher levels of PM 2.5 experienced a greater exposure to PAH from motor vehicles. Nonetheless, PAHs concentrations may differ substantially within a municipality and therefore group exposure levels may not necessarily correspond to individual exposure levels (Reynolds et al., 2003) . Further, potential exposure misclassification may also have resulted from differing individual time-activity and personal exposure from indoor sources (such as environmental tobacco smoke) (Elliott et al., 2000) . However, this misclassification is likely to be non-differential. Our results thus probably underestimate the true estimates of the relative risk of death from breast cancer associated with exposure to PM 2.5 .

Nonetheless, PAHs concentrations may differ substantially within a municipality and therefore group exposure levels may not necessarily correspond to individual exposure levels.

Further, potential exposure misclassification may also have resulted from differing individual time-activity and personal exposure from indoor sources (such as environmental tobacco smoke).


PM 2.5 is considered to be the most relevant measure for biological effects of air pollution because these fine particles are respired into the lower respiratory tract (Pope and Dockery, 2006) . Our findings should not be interpreted as meaning that PM 2.5 is a causal factor; it is more likely a marker of the complex mixture that is derived from motor vehicle exhaust (Crouse et al., 2010) . We speculated that PAHs physically associated with PM 2.5 may be the agent responsible for the association between PM 2.5 and risk of death from breast cancer risk. However, it is important to note that there are numerous other potential carcinogens in traffic emissions as well as PAHs (Nie et al., 2007) . We cannot rule out the possibility that other compounds present in PM 2.5 are affecting breast cancer risk or are acting synergistically with PAHs (Bonner et al., 2005) .

PM 2.5 is considered to be the most relevant measure for biological effects of air pollution because these fine particles are respired into the lower respiratory tract.

Our findings should not be interpreted as meaning that PM 2.5 is a causal factor; it is more likely a marker of the complex mixture that is derived from motor vehicle exhaust.

However, it is important to note that there are numerous other potential carcinogens in traffic emissions as well as PAHs.

We cannot rule out the possibility that other compounds present in PM 2.5 are affecting breast cancer risk or are acting synergistically with PAHs.


Screening has been shown to be effective in reducing breast cancer mortality (Nelson et al., 2009) . Unfortunately, there is no information available on the prevalence of screening utilization for individual municipality studied and therefore it could not be adjusted for directly in the analysis. If breast cancer screening is correlated with the levels of PM 2.5 , a spurious association between PM 2.5 and breast cancer death could result. However, there is no reason to believe that there would be any correlation between the habits of undergoing breast cancer screening and the levels of PM 2.5 . Nonetheless, this is a limitation that should be considered.

Screening has been shown to be effective in reducing breast cancer mortality.


Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) based on deep learning has been demonstrated to achieve a performance similar to that of human experts in classification tasks in medical imaging [2] . A recent study established a diagnostic classifier based on convo- prediction correlates with high prediction uncertainty. In this scan, the disease characteristics are only weakly present (white arrow), which makes the diagnosis challenging [9] .

Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) based on deep learning has been demonstrated to achieve a performance similar to that of human experts in classification tasks in medical imaging.

In this scan, the disease characteristics are only weakly present (white arrow), which makes the diagnosis challenging.


The main contributions of the work are the integration of uncertainty estimation with Bayesian inference into diagnostic classifiers with an exemplary dataset of retinal OCT scans and extensive experiments regarding the effect of uncertainty estimation to classification accuracy. We show that the prediction uncertainty correlates with accuracy, thus enabling the identification of false predictions or unknown cases, which were not covered during training (see Fig. 1 ). This paper extends our previous work published at Medical Imaging with Deep Learning (MIDL) 2019 with formal background and more experiments [11] .

This paper extends our previous work published at Medical Imaging with Deep Learning (MIDL) 2019 with formal background and more experiments.


Approaches for uncertainty estimation in deep learning try to place distributions over the parameters of a model. This results in Bayesian neural networks (BNN) and instead of finding a point estimate for the parameters, averaging over all possible parameters is done [4, 12] . BNNs provide the mathematical tool to model uncertainty, but are computationally intractable. Different approaches to approximate BNNs exist, that do not increase complexity or decrease the performance of the model [4, 8] . This idea has attracted attention in medical segmentation on MRI scans or endoscopic images [10, 14] . More recent approaches exploit model uncertainty for weaklysupervised anomaly detection in retinal OCT [15] .

This results in Bayesian neural networks (BNN) and instead of finding a point estimate for the parameters, averaging over all possible parameters is done.

Different approaches to approximate BNNs exist, that do not increase complexity or decrease the performance of the model.

This idea has attracted attention in medical segmentation on MRI scans or endoscopic images.

More recent approaches exploit model uncertainty for weaklysupervised anomaly detection in retinal OCT.


Our study suggests that CUEPD is a functional evaluation method for peripheral displays that captures context of real use through scenario building, enactment, and reflection. Rosson & Carroll describe the use of scenarios as a basis for usability evaluation [16] . We take this approach further, allowing for potential individual differences and preferences by customizing the scenarios to each user. This 'participatory' evaluation advances traditional scenario-based methods as the designer and user collaboratively construct the scenario. If recorded, as we did in our study, a repository of scenarios is produced, facilitating the understanding of typical uses, as well as unintended ones. Under CUEPD, there is a possibility that each participant might receive a different scenario, which we believe would produce a set of valuable information for the designer. In particular, the different scenarios would qualify the numeric ratings, and illustrate the importance of the qualitative responses in evaluating a display within its context of use. In that sense, CUEPD is in the direction of evaluation methods that go beyond usability and attempt to measure experience.

Rosson & Carroll describe the use of scenarios as a basis for usability evaluation.


For an interpretation of the results, it is important to be aware of possible limitations of the meta-analysis. First, one third of the studies had lower quality, whereas these studies also showed larger effects. However, the quality might have been underestimated, as it was scored conservatively: not reporting on the randomization procedures for example was rated as absence. Lower quality might also be attributed to the fact that new interventions were tested with pilot studies with a small number of participants. The larger effects of studies with lower quality might also contaminated with the finding that individual face-to-face interventions had higher effects. Future research needs RCTs with better quality, such as a larger number of participants based on a priori power analyses and longer follow-ups. Second, there are some limitations due to the search strategy. There was not sufficient data for six studies which met the inclusion criteria, limiting the completeness of the meta-analysis. The search strategy also may have been imperfect, as additional information sources revealed another six studies which were not found with the database search. Still, this possible limitation has been compensated by asking experts in the field and searching through reference lists of relevant articles and meta-analyses. We also excluded grey literature articles that were not peer-reviewed, which might have led to biased results. However, we did not find any indication of a publication bias. Another limitation is that the meta-analysis included highly heterogeneous studies; different outcomes may be due to factors such as different patient populations, protocol characteristics, and enrollment procedures [68, 69] .

Another limitation is that the meta-analysis included highly heterogeneous studies; different outcomes may be due to factors such as different patient populations, protocol characteristics, and enrollment procedures.


The raison d'être of teacher education is to qualify student teachers for their working life as teachers [21] . The value added by a teacher education programme is related to the quality of its campus-based courses, the student teachers' talent for carrying out the tasks associated with the teaching profession, the quality of the mentoring received by the student teachers during their school-based practicum and the student teachers' learning activities [55] . The interrelationships among these factors are complex, and it is difficult to isolate the significance of any one individual factor in such a way as to provide unambiguous information about the quality of a teacher education programme [56] . Nevertheless, in this article, we restrict the scope to focus solely on the antecedents of student teachers' instructional efficacy.

The raison d'être of teacher education is to qualify student teachers for their working life as teachers.

The value added by a teacher education programme is related to the quality of its campus-based courses, the student teachers' talent for carrying out the tasks associated with the teaching profession, the quality of the mentoring received by the student teachers during their school-based practicum and the student teachers' learning activities.

The interrelationships among these factors are complex, and it is difficult to isolate the significance of any one individual factor in such a way as to provide unambiguous information about the quality of a teacher education programme.


We observe a strong empirical relationship between student teachers' perceptions of digital competency and their self-efficacy for maintaining discipline. A moderately strong relationship exists between student teachers' perceptions of digital competency and their self-efficacy for influencing students' use of ICT in the service of learning. We can say that it is beneficial for a student teacher to experience teacher collaboration in the effort to solve ICT-related challenges within a practice school. This finding is supported by a long line of research that highlights the importance of the collective dimension of the teaching profession [57] . The first practice period might begin with a sheltered introduction to teaching practice; however, student teachers will find it easier to grow into their roles as leaders of learning processes if a reasonable balance exists between challenges and opportunities [58] . Viewed in light of its importance in reinforcing teacher efficacy, socialisation within school teaching staff is also an important factor [59] . We also argue that perceptions of digital competency among student teachers represent an under-recognised dimension of good teacher education. Teacher educators may stimulate perceptions of digital competency among student teachers by deliberately gathering small groups of students who have initially good relations during practice periods.

This finding is supported by a long line of research that highlights the importance of the collective dimension of the teaching profession.

The first practice period might begin with a sheltered introduction to teaching practice; however, student teachers will find it easier to grow into their roles as leaders of learning processes if a reasonable balance exists between challenges and opportunities.

Viewed in light of its importance in reinforcing teacher efficacy, socialisation within school teaching staff is also an important factor.


Despite its shortcomings, this study may contribute to our understanding of the antecedents of student teachers' instructional self-efficacy. The most important finding concerns the strong association between student teachers' perceptions of digital competency and their instructional efficacy. The path coefficients were quite large for the associations between (1) student teachers' perceptions of digital competency and their self-efficacy for maintaining discipline and (2) student teachers' perceptions of digital competency and their self-efficacy for influencing students' use of ICT in the service of learning. This finding has implications for teacher education programmes. Perceptions of digital competency among student teachers may be important for nurturing student teachers' instructional self-efficacy in technology-rich classrooms via, for instance, sustained institutional arrangements. A typical student teacher will experience demanding teaching situations in a technology-rich school environment. In such situations, perceptions of regular teachers' ability to manage the technology use of their students may be important for ensuring that experiences gained during the teaching practice contribute constructively to student teachers' personal growth as teachers. Human support from other student teachers can also bridge a gap that can be only partially filled by practice mentors, who are engaged in assessing students' practice periods [9] .

Human support from other student teachers can also bridge a gap that can be only partially filled by practice mentors, who are engaged in assessing students' practice periods.


No empirical association was found between enactive attainment and self-efficacy for maintaining discipline or between enactive attainment and self-efficacy for influencing students' use of ICT in the service of learning. More research is required to understand the reason for this outcome; however, it could be suggested that student teachers lack an adequate foundation of knowledge to didactically interpret their academic subjects in teaching situations involving digital teaching resources. Another possible interpretation is that the main challenges for the student teacher lies less in using digital teaching resources and more in entirely different challenges, such as dealing with unruly students [60] .

Another possible interpretation is that the main challenges for the student teacher lies less in using digital teaching resources and more in entirely different challenges, such as dealing with unruly students.


It is well known in economics that in environments where capacity can be observed, firms may install excess capacity to deter entry by competitors (e.g., Dixit [10] ). However, this result assumes that competitors have full knowledge of each other's available capacity. As indicated above, in many environments, the actual capacity of a competitor may be unobservable to a firm except through production levels of the competitor. Thus, our research contributes to this literature by exploring if firms may want to signal their capacity through overproduction to potentially decrease the intensity of future competition.

It is well known in economics that in environments where capacity can be observed, firms may install excess capacity to deter entry by competitors (e.g., Dixit).


The potential of TRPV6 as a marker to predict the clinical outcome of cancers has been well-established [9, 14, 27] . Substantial expression of TRPV6 mRNA increases with the degree of aggressiveness of the cancer and the degree of metastasis outside the prostate in patients with prostate cancer [9, 27] . Additionally, breast cancer patients with high expression of TRPV6 have a worse survival when compared to those with low or intermediate TRPV6 expression [14] . Although patients with downregulation of TRPV6 trend to have a poorer 3-year DSS, no significant association is observed between TRPV6 expression and survival of ESCC patients. Interestingly, stratified survival analysis based on the gender in two cohorts showed that downregulation of TRPV6 is significantly associated with an unfavorable 3-year DSS in male patients, while downregulation of TRPV6 is significantly related with favorable 3-year DSS in female patients. This result is the first time to suggest that TRPV6 plays a Janus-like role in predicting survival of male and female patients with ESCC. Epidemiological studies have revealed that male patients has a worse prognosis than female patients with esophageal cancer [27, 28] . More attentions should be paid to focusing on prognostic predictor for tailoring more effective therapies in male patients with ESCC. Our result found that male patients with downregulation of TRPV6 have a worse survival than those with normal level of TRPV6. This finding exhibits important clinical significance in determining TRPV6 expression status and identifying patients subpopulation at high risk of cancer-specific mortality, indicating that male patients with downregulation of TRPV6 are likely to benefit from adjuvant treatment.

The potential of TRPV6 as a marker to predict the clinical outcome of cancers has been well-established.

Substantial expression of TRPV6 mRNA increases with the degree of aggressiveness of the cancer and the degree of metastasis outside the prostate in patients with prostate cancer.

Additionally, breast cancer patients with high expression of TRPV6 have a worse survival when compared to those with low or intermediate TRPV6 expression.

Epidemiological studies have revealed that male patients has a worse prognosis than female patients with esophageal cancer.


Survival rates of the embryos gradually declined during the course of development (Fig. 1A) ; there were no significant differences in the survival rates between the controls and the treated groups for each developmental period. Moreover, no significant differences in the hatching rates were found (Fig. 1B) . The numbers of PGCs at 5.5 days after spawning in embryos treated with 10 or 50 µg ml −1 AtRA were significantly higher than those of the controls (P < 0.05, Fig. 1C ). Similarly, survival rates of larvae gradually declined during the course of development (Fig. 2) . Within 5 days after hatching, no significant differences in the survival rates between the controls and the treated groups were found. But after 5 days post-hatch, survival rates were significantly lower (P < 0.05) in larvae treated with 0.5 and 1 µg ml −1 AtRA (Fig. 2) . Upon microscopic observation, the PGCs of early stage embryos, 5.5 day old, could easily be distinguished (Damrongphol et al., 2000) . The cells were remarkably large and spherical in shape, each containing a large nucleus with conspicuous nucleoli (Fig. 3A) . A large cluster of PGCs in 5.5 day old embryos was observed (Fig. 3B ). Histological study of 5.5 day old embryos revealed that the PGCs were large, lightly stained with hematoxylin/eosin and were located in the lower layers of the embryonic cells (Fig. 3C ). Prior to hatching, approximately 18.5 days after spawning, all larval structures were well developed (Fig. 3D) . The eyes were large; the heart was located on the dorsal side of the thorax above the hepatopancreas; the tail muscle extended posteriorly; and the PGCs were scattered at the posterior region of the yolk (Fig. 3D) . But the PGCs of embryos treated with 10 µg ml −1 AtRA had started to be incorporated into the developing gonads, forming a row of PGCs at the posterior region of the yolk.

Upon microscopic observation, the PGCs of early stage embryos, 5.5 day old, could easily be distinguished.


In this paper, we present an energy-efficient secure path algorithm (ESPA) for wireless sensor networks which aims to achieve authenticity and integrity on the actual sensed data within an energy-efficient network infrastructure. Due to inherent deployment nature and energy limitation constraint of the sensors, ensuring energy efficiency together with the security of the sensed data becomes a foremost task [8] . Our scheme ensures the secure transmission of data from the source sensors to the base station in a way that it can consume the available amount of energy in a balanced manner after selecting an optimal path within the whole network. We use one-way hash function and shared secret keys for ensuring security service on the sensed data. In ESPA, a routing architecture is created as the topology of the network. The key contribution in this paper is to ensure secure transmission 2 International Journal of Distributed Sensor Networks which results prolonging network lifetime via a suboptimal energy-efficient and balancing routing algorithm. Below a list of achievement is shown.

Due to inherent deployment nature and energy limitation constraint of the sensors, ensuring energy efficiency together with the security of the sensed data becomes a foremost task.

Below a list of achievement is shown.


Since the electron is relativistic, and the nucleons not, it is convenient to use a chiral basis for the lepton current, but not for the nucleons. This basis of nucleon operators is chosen because it represents the minimal set onto which two-lepton-two-quark, and two-lepton-two-gluon operators can be matched at the leading order in χPT. This explains the presence of the derivative operators O (N N ) Der,X , which only contribute at finite momentum transfer, and have coefficients of dimension 1/mass, but represent a minimal attempt to include pion exchange diagrams for the quark axial current at finite momentum transfer [11] . At higher order in χPT, additional operators can appear, sometimes involving more than two nucleons [18] .

This explains the presence of the derivative operators O (N N ) Der,X , which only contribute at finite momentum transfer, and have coefficients of dimension 1/mass, but represent a minimal attempt to include pion exchange diagrams for the quark axial current at finite momentum transfer.

At higher order in χPT, additional operators can appear, sometimes involving more than two nucleons.


We construct infinite words and consider the dynamical systems which are generated by the orbits of them. Their topological entropies are obtained by using the complexity function of an infinite word [7] . We say that a dynamical system has intermediate complexity if its orbit has a subexponential but bigger than polynomial growth rate. It is clear that if the order of the complexity function of an infinite word is polynomial or subexponential, the topological entropy is zero. The notions of intermediate complexity and entropy dimension were introduced to help analyse the zero entropy systems. Entropy dimension classifies the different levels of intermediate complexity [8] .

Their topological entropies are obtained by using the complexity function of an infinite word.

Entropy dimension classifies the different levels of intermediate complexity.


The problem of real-time quality estimation of VoIP is of significant interest. This paper has shown an approach for solving this problem by employing GP. One of the main objectives of this research was to estimate the effect of burstiness on speech quality. It turned out that burst length was least used by the best individuals of various runs. This is due to the fact that the PESQ algorithm does not model the effect of burstiness on speech quality [10] [11] . Hence, the effect of burstiness can be mapped only by conducting suitably designed formal subjective tests [22] . Despite this limitation, PESQ is the best objective quality estimation model and has been used to model the effect of packet loss by various studies. The proposed models are good approximations to PESQ and computationally more efficient. Hence, they are useful for real-time call quality evaluation. For the codecs considered in this study, we have also proposed a model (equation (5)) that is a function of mlr V AD only with performance comparable to the other models. This is considerable since such a model can be deployed conveniently on a wide variety of platforms.

This is due to the fact that the PESQ algorithm does not model the effect of burstiness on speech quality.

Hence, the effect of burstiness can be mapped only by conducting suitably designed formal subjective tests.


Recently, we have proposed a highly integrated and sensitive SPR interferometer sensor based on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology [3] , [4] . The basic element of the sensor is a surface plasmon based modal interferometer consisting of a thin layer of gold embedded in a silicon slab. Surface modes propagate both at the gold-analyte interface (the sensing arm) and at the gold-silicon interface (the reference arm), and they recombine and interfere at the end of the gold layer. It was demonstrated that the device could achieve a sensitivity of 463.5 nm/ refractive index units (RIUs) and a resolution of 1 Â 10 À6 RIU with regard to wavelength interrogation [3] . The refractive index of the sensed sample is 1.33. However, the sensitivity of the sensor is relatively low, and thus, an improvement to be competitive to the-state-of-the-art devices is needed.

Recently, we have proposed a highly integrated and sensitive SPR interferometer sensor based on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology.

It was demonstrated that the device could achieve a sensitivity of 463.5 nm/ refractive index units (RIUs) and a resolution of 1 Â 10 À6 RIU with regard to wavelength interrogation.


In many cases those requirements call for higher insulation performance for all envelope building surfaces and the most effective thermal insulating glazing systems, characterized by low solar transmittance [13] . However, increasing a building's thermal energy efficiency can be achieved not only by increasing insulation thickness and installing high performance windows. Several other design parameters have a significant effect on heating and cooling thermal loads of buildings, such as a building shape and orientation, wall and roof construction, window sizes and shading, as well as the authors also analyzed the building in several locations. The objective function of the studies was to minimize the life cycle costs.

In many cases those requirements call for higher insulation performance for all envelope building surfaces and the most effective thermal insulating glazing systems, characterized by low solar transmittance.


Optimization of building energy performance is more complex in the case of temperate climates (Mediterranean or continental). While in some cold regions only heating energy consumption is usually considered, the temperate climate makes it essential to consider both heating and cooling energy uses. Varying some parameters of the building over their ranges of practical values can have counterproductive effects on heating and cooling energy consumptions. It is evident, for example, that an insulated building envelope helps in reducing heating demand. But in summer, the outdoor night temperature being lower than the required indoor temperature, uninsulated walls allow leading to the reduction of air-conditioning need [29] . Therefore, in climates where both heating and cooling throughout the year are required, the optimization of the design parameters in buildings should take into account the cost of both heating and cooling.

But in summer, the outdoor night temperature being lower than the required indoor temperature, uninsulated walls allow leading to the reduction of air-conditioning need.


Energy consumption in buildings accounts for a considerable part of the total worldwide energy consumption. According to the literature, in developed and developing countries it constitutes about 40% of the total energy consumption [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] . Residential buildings are responsible for a major part of the energy consumption of the building sector [9] .

According to the literature, in developed and developing countries it constitutes about 40% of the total energy consumption.

Residential buildings are responsible for a major part of the energy consumption of the building sector.


Protective relays were often operated in the early days of the Sihwa wind power system, Korea. The phenomenon and operation of these protective relays was discussed generally [34] . In this paper, the problem and solution of the operation of protective relays is analyzed in detail using the measured line voltages, line currents, and wind speeds. Based on this analysis, the re-coordination of the overcurrent relay (OCR), considering the wind speed, is proposed to avoid the frequent operation of relays. This proposed procedure is tested practically at a real site. Through this study, it is verified that the OCR operates without any electrical faults in a power grid system or a wind power system, and this problem can be solved by the appropriate re-coordination of OCR. The cause of the relay operation is analyzed in Section 2, the OCR is re-coordinated to solve the problem in Section 3, and it is applied to the field and the four-month test results are illustrated as verification of the applied technology in Section 4.

The phenomenon and operation of these protective relays was discussed generally.


The delay in responding to congestion determines the performance of TCP-DCR and the choice of is a critical aspect for the TCP-DCR modifications. In this section, we look at the behavior of TCP-DCR under different types of losses, the choice of , the implementation details, assumptions about the link-level retransmission scheme, and the analysis of the steady state bandwidth for TCP-DCR. Fig. 1 shows the graphical representation of TCP-DCR when a) the loss of a packet is due to transmission errors and b) the loss of a packet is due to congestion. The TCP-DCR sender sends packets 1 through 5. However, due to channel error, say, packet 2 is lost. This is communicated by the link layer to the base station, say, by a negative acknowledgement (NACK). The base station immediately retransmits packet 2. But, before packet 2 is recovered by link-level retransmission, the TCP receiver sends dupacks for packet 2. In the case of the traditional implementations of TCP, three dupacks would trigger an immediate retransmission of packet 2 at the TCP sender, followed by an unnecessary window reduction. However, in the case of TCP-DCR, a delayed response timer of one RTT is started at the sender when the first dupack is received. During this delay period, packet 2 is recovered via link-level retransmission causing the TCP receiver to generate a cumulative acknowledgement acknowledging packet 2. On the receipt of this acknowledgement, the TCP-DCR sender cancels the delayed response timer, and the unnecessary retransmission of packet 2 and reduction in congestion window is avoided. Also, TCP-DCR sends one new packet on the receipt of each dupack, if allowed by the congestion window, similar to the proposed standard "Limited Transmit Algorithm" [25] . This ensures that, during the delay , the sending rate of the TCP-DCR is the same as it was when the first dupack arrived.

Also, TCP-DCR sends one new packet on the receipt of each dupack, if allowed by the congestion window, similar to the proposed standard "Limited Transmit Algorithm".


Harpagophytum procumbens (Devil's Claw or the grapple plant), is a xerophyte that occurs mainly in the arid, sandy areas of the Northern Cape of South Africa as well as Namibia and Botswana. Fruits of H. procumbens have rows of horny arms with recurved spines. Fruits like these with hooks, prickles, or other emergences are typical of members of the Pedaliaceae (Roth, 1977) . Ripe fruit on the ground is trampled upon by animals and then the hooked arms adhere so tightly to the feet of animals that it is difficult to dislodge. Animals may stamp the fruits to pieces, whereby the seeds get out of the indehiscent fruit. The mature fruit has 4 locules, and splits longitudinally to release the seeds.

Fruits like these with hooks, prickles, or other emergences are typical of members of the Pedaliaceae.


Although the relationship between birth order and educational attainment has been observed consistently, the long-term advantages attributable to spending longer in the education system are not necessarily clear without a consideration of college major. College major is important for future earnings: in the United States, natural science and business majors earn higher salaries, even after adjusting for individual ability (Arcidiacono 2004) . In Norway, the earnings gap between the most and least lucrative college majors is roughly equivalent to the college wage premium (Kirkeboen, Leuven, and Mogstad 2016) . Although past research suggests that college major is likely to vary by birth order, this has not been tested empirically before. In this study, we use a unique data resource to examine the relationship between birth order and both college applications and graduation. With data on both applications and graduation, we have information on initial preferences as well as the eventual pathway taken, the latter of which will be influenced by experience and academic performance within the tertiary education system. We also examine whether first-borns are more likely to choose college majors with higher expected earnings and higher occupational prestige and whether later-borns are more likely to choose majors that carry greater risks in terms of future career progression, as measured by variance in expected earnings. Finally, we also examine the extent to which college major mediates longterm differences in earnings by birth order between siblings.

College major is important for future earnings: in the United States, natural science and business majors earn higher salaries, even after adjusting for individual ability.

In Norway, the earnings gap between the most and least lucrative college majors is roughly equivalent to the college wage premium.


Although these early life advantages are likely to have a positive effect on academic achievement, we find that grades in high school do not fully mediate the relationship between birth order and applications to arts, engineering, medicine, journalism, or business programs. Recent research using a within-family comparison design has reported that first-borns have greater educational aspirations than laterborn siblings (Bu 2016) . If first-borns are more ambitious than later-borns, this could contribute to the explanation for why they tend to apply to college majors with greater expected earnings and college majors that lead to professional careers. This greater ambition could also explain why birth order effects are generally stronger for first choice applications than they are for the last admitted program, as first-borns might overestimate their abilities or have parents who overestimate their abilities. This higher level of ambition might be a consequence of greater parental investment and support, which might be particularly true in high-SES families (Grätz and Torche 2016) . Parents and later-born siblings are also likely to learn from observing the first application of the first-born, and to adjust their own expectations accordingly, leading birth order effects to be weaker for the last admitted program.

Recent research using a within-family comparison design has reported that first-borns have greater educational aspirations than laterborn siblings.

This higher level of ambition might be a consequence of greater parental investment and support, which might be particularly true in high-SES families.


Catalytic hydrotreating as the most efficient approach to remove heteroatomic compounds prior to further upgrading has also been applied to shale oils [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] . However, many papers show that HDN of shale oil is more difficult than HDS. The concentrations of heteroatomic compounds in shale oils can be reduced to a level which is still too high to use oils transportation fuels. Many factors, such as catalysts, operation parameters, and feedstock quality can have a significant influence on the removal of heteroatomic compounds [11] [12] . In order to deepen the degree of heteroatoms' removal and to get a high-quality product, the diesel distillate (200-360 °C) of Fushun shale oil was chosen for catalytic hydrotreating in this work. Two types of catalysts were used to compare their activities at heteroatom removal.

Catalytic hydrotreating as the most efficient approach to remove heteroatomic compounds prior to further upgrading has also been applied to shale oils.

Many factors, such as catalysts, operation parameters, and feedstock quality can have a significant influence on the removal of heteroatomic compounds.


Inquiry based instruction aims at making students experience the researching process of a scientist [29] . In this study, different problem situations are given to the experimental group, where Inquiry based instruction approach was applied and they were asked to determine research questions, hypothesize and obtain results by designing experiments. In addition to developing scientific process skills of the pre-service science teachers, the treatment aimed to make positive contribution to self-efficacy perception levels of them considering their laboratory usage.

Inquiry based instruction aims at making students experience the researching process of a scientist.


In many science curricula developed recent years, it has been underlined that acquisition of the scientific process skills should be one of the major goals of science instruction. It is specified that teachers and pre-service science teachers are aware about scientific processes but they are insufficient in terms of their applications [1] . The fact that pre-service science teachers did not have sufficient and effective application-oriented education is specified as one of the reasons for this in the studies [2] , [3] , [4] , [5] , [6] . For this reason, firstly pre-service science teachers are expected to have scientific process skills and it is necessary for them to have vocational education with effective applications to acquire such skills [7] .

It is specified that teachers and pre-service science teachers are aware about scientific processes but they are insufficient in terms of their applications.

The fact that pre-service science teachers did not have sufficient and effective application-oriented education is specified as one of the reasons for this in the studies.

For this reason, firstly pre-service science teachers are expected to have scientific process skills and it is necessary for them to have vocational education with effective applications to acquire such skills.


C. coimbrai was recently described from five specimens collected in the Sergipe State between the Rio São Franscisco and Rio Real (Kobayashi and Langguth 1999) . This species is considered typical from the Atlantic coastal forest not occurring in the inland areas of caatinga. Additional sightings in Sergipe and Bahia States enlarged the area of C. coimbrai and showed its distributional limits (Sousa 2000; .

C. coimbrai was recently described from five specimens collected in the Sergipe State between the Rio São Franscisco and Rio Real.


Biogeochemistry is dominated by redox reactions initiated between cells and the environment [15] . Bioelectrochemical techniques that have been widely used in MFCs study are able to easily characterize redox reactions that happen during cell EET [16] . Such bioelectrochemical techniques can therefore provide important information about biogeochemical processes in nature [1] . Pachysolen tannophilus is a model yeast that has been extensively studied in biological sciences. In this study bioelectrochemical techniques have been used to study the EET mechanism for P. tannophilus. The role of riboflavin secreted by the yeast on EET has been explored with a solid electrode and with soluble Cr(VI) as electron acceptors. The effect of different pHs on the efficiency of riboflavin secretion has also been studied.

Biogeochemistry is dominated by redox reactions initiated between cells and the environment.

Bioelectrochemical techniques that have been widely used in MFCs study are able to easily characterize redox reactions that happen during cell EET.

Such bioelectrochemical techniques can therefore provide important information about biogeochemical processes in nature.


Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) achieve a longer all-electric range (AER) with a higher battery capacity compared to conventional hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). Hence, the PHEV has improved fuel economy, as it replaces more fossil fuel with cheaper grid electricity [1] . The fuel economy and power battery are two important PHEV research fields.

Hence, the PHEV has improved fuel economy, as it replaces more fossil fuel with cheaper grid electricity.


Within the Eulerian approach, particles are represented by the Vlasov distribution function, which is treated as one of the dynamical fields of the theory. This leads to a direct derivation of conservation laws by Noether's method and does not require any external moments calculation [6] . This approach allows one to proceed with a systematic derivation of the reduced MaxwellVlasov model by truncating the action functional corresponding to the gyrokinetic system at the desirable order. At the same time, the Eulerian formulation is well suited to handle the splitting between the background and the fluctuating quantities. Such a manipulation on the Vlasov distribution function is used for the description of instabilities and could be particularly useful in order to keep ordering consistency within the reduced Vlasov equation.

This leads to a direct derivation of conservation laws by Noether's method and does not require any external moments calculation.


In the Lagrangian formulation, the dynamics of particles is represented by the characteristics, from which the Vlasov equation is reconstructed a posteriori. It allows one to choose a reduced model for the dynamics of the particles (e.g., linear polarization approach) and to systematically couple this reduced model to the dynamical electromagnetic fields. However additional calculations are required to reconstruct the energy and momentum densities allowing for the derivation of conservation laws through Noether's theorem [18] . The Lagrangian formulation is the natural framework for Particle-in-Cell (PIC) code discretization [14] , [1] .

However additional calculations are required to reconstruct the energy and momentum densities allowing for the derivation of conservation laws through Noether's theorem.

The Lagrangian formulation is the natural framework for Particle-in-Cell (PIC) code discretization.


We cannot exclude that this gene has a minor role in susceptibility to diabetic nephropathy which was not demonstrable in this daraset of over 400 Type I diabetic patients. Given a reference genotype frequency (CC genotype) of 0.5 in the control Type I di- We therefore consider that this gene is unlikely to be clinically significant in the predisposition to diabetic nephropathy. The design of this study allows us to investigate the role of candidate genes involved in diabetic nephropathy susceptibility within these families without the effects of confounding due to population stratification. The use of families with a Type I diabetic offspring without nephropathy allows us to exclude excess transmission that may be seen at a Type I diabetes susceptibility locus [16] . Since we have observed no significant deviation in either families with or without diabetic nephropathy, we are confident that transmission of alleles at this polymorphism do not contribute substantially to nephropathy risk. In work with other candidate genes we have found that this TDT based analysis is very sensitive in detecting excess transmission at various other candidate loci studied [16, 25, 26] .

The use of families with a Type I diabetic offspring without nephropathy allows us to exclude excess transmission that may be seen at a Type I diabetes susceptibility locus.

In work with other candidate genes we have found that this TDT based analysis is very sensitive in detecting excess transmission at various other candidate loci studied.


SPOT's generated emulation code mimics key power-consuming aspects of a proposed software architecture. Key power consumptive components of mobile application software architectures include GPS, acceleration, orientation, sensor data consumers, and network bandwidth consumers [21] . Focusing SPOT on these components allows developers to model the most significant power expenditures of their applications. Moreover, as applications are constructed, the generated emulation code can be replaced incrementally with actual application components, allowing developers to refine the accuracy of the analysis continuously throughout the software lifecycle.

Key power consumptive components of mobile application software architectures include GPS, acceleration, orientation, sensor data consumers, and network bandwidth consumers.


High risks and costs and the lack of available knowledge induce firms to seek external partners, thereby developing innovations in collaboration with suppliers, customers, competitors and academic institutions. The importance of cooperation has risen steadily alongside the complexity, risk and cost of innovation activities. Innovation cooperation influences innovation activities through the pattern of collaborative relationships and partner type involved (Vinding 2002) . This relationship is mutually reinforcing -external linkages facilitate innovation, and at the same time innovative outputs attract further collaborative ties (Powell and Grodal 2005, p. 67-68) .

Innovation cooperation influences innovation activities through the pattern of collaborative relationships and partner type involved.


Participants were tested individually in a quiet light room in their school during normal school hours. Instructions were provided orally in their first language by the researcher. All participants saw the same series of 37 words on the computer screen in the same order, including the eight silent letter words described above, the two words subsequently eliminated from analysis, 24 words from study 4 below, and three filler words. The order of words in the list was randomly determined, and all participants saw the words in the same order in both tasks. Stimulus presentation was controlled by the PsyScope X software (Cohen, MacWhinney, Flatt, & Provost, 1993) . Participants interacted with the PowerBook MacIntosh laptop computer using a mouse. They heard stimuli on closed-cup headphones, and their responses were recorded using a Shure SM58 microphone connected to a digital recorder (Micro BR, Boss Corp.).

Stimulus presentation was controlled by the PsyScope X software.


Second language learners with more than ten years of English language instruction produced high numbers of phone additions caused by the orthographic form of L2 words containing silent (zero-correspondence) letters. Results are in line with previous evidence from primary school children reading aloud the word walk (Browning, 2004) . In the present study of experienced learners, the percentage of participants who added [l] when reading walk was lower that among Browning's children (100%), but still very high (86%). It appears that the pronunciation of silent letters is a common phenomenon not only among beginning L2 learners, but also among experienced instructed learners.

Results are in line with previous evidence from primary school children reading aloud the word walk.


Understanding the factors behind the decision to leave land fallow has always been of great interest to policy makers, in particular in countries with a high dependency on agriculture as a source of income for the rural population. While most of the previous studies have concentrated on developing countries, only a few papers have dealt with this issue in the countries in transition from a centrally planned to a market system. In the context of transition and the restoration of private property rights in land, some land plots have been left unutilized. This is also the case for the Western Balkans, a region that has not only been affected by the privatization of the land of socially-owned enterprises, but also by ethnic conflicts. The focus on the decision to leave land fallow is therefore particularly interesting in the case of the Western Balkans owing to the exacerbation of typical problems of development by three simultaneous processes: first, the economic and social effects of the military conflict at the end of 1990s; second, the rapid transfer to private ownership of the land of the formerly socially-owned agricultural enterprises by the Kosovo Privatization Agency; and third, the political objective set by the Kosovo government to join the European Union (EU), requiring EU alignment and the creation of institutions able to deliver EU policies. This article investigates the determinants behind farmers' decisions to leave land fallow in the Western Balkans, taking Kosovo as the case study area. The underlying question is why Kosovo farmers leave land fallow when the total agricultural land of their farms is small and farm households, who almost fully depend on farming, are large. Is land left fallow due to the post-conflict insecurity; for the sake of soil fertility improvement; or are Kosovo farmers' production decisions constrained by underdeveloped markets and market institutions? Kosovo is a small, landlocked country with a total area of 1.1 million hectares (ha), of which 53% is agricultural land. In 1998/99 there was a military conflict with Serbia, as a result of which Kosovo was placed under United Nations (UN) administration. Kosovo has a high population density, and consequently a small amount of agricultural land area per inhabitant (0.24 ha), and little arable area per household (Riinvest 2005) . Following the privatization of the socially-owned enterprises in the 2000s, 86% of the agricultural land is privately owned and operated by family farms; the remainder is under the ownership of producer cooperatives (1%) or is in the socially-owned enterprises (13%) leftover from the Yugoslav system (UNMIK 2003) .

Kosovo has a high population density, and consequently a small amount of agricultural land area per inhabitant (0.24 ha), and little arable area per household.

Following the privatization of the socially-owned enterprises in the 2000s, 86% of the agricultural land is privately owned and operated by family farms; the remainder is under the ownership of producer cooperatives (1%) or is in the socially-owned enterprises (13%) leftover from the Yugoslav system.


A different approach formulates the phase unwrapping problem in terms of the Chinese remainder theorem, where the absolute phase ϕ is reconstructed from the remainders ψ s , given the frequencies μ s . This formulation assumes that all variables known and unknown are scaled to be integral. An accurate theory and results, in particular concerning the existence of a unique solution, is a strong side of this approach [18] .

An accurate theory and results, in particular concerning the existence of a unique solution, is a strong side of this approach.


Our data suggest that a primary driver of student intentions to attend law school is whether or not they feel the work of a lawyer would be enjoyable. Therefore, we recommend that law faculty include candid discussions of the actual work of a lawyer in their business law classes. Guest speakers with law degrees who talk about their work would be particularly helpful. Evidence from accounting classes suggests that having practitioners speak to a class can have a strong, positive impact on students' attitudes toward a career (Fedoryshyn & Tyson, 2003) . Thoughtful advisors could also discuss the actual work of a lawyer with their advisees who show an interest in law school or even arrange a meeting or job shadowing experience with a practicing lawyer for the student.

Evidence from accounting classes suggests that having practitioners speak to a class can have a strong, positive impact on students' attitudes toward a career.


While not the main goal of our study, the information reported in Table 1 does give us interesting information regarding students' general attitudes about getting a law degree. The average response to the question regarding law school intentions was 2.08, which is less than the midpoint on the five-point scale (3) . The average responses were, however, at or above the midpoint for all of the other items. The average response for whether students would find the work of a lawyer enjoyable (2.99) was not significantly different from the midpoint. Responses for whether a law degree would result in a lot of job opportunities (3.82), a career that contributed to society (3.92), and a financially rewarding career (3.93) were all significantly above the midpoint response. These results support positive behavioral beliefs in that students tend to think that getting a law degree is not a bad thing and, on some dimensions, is a good thing.

The average response to the question regarding law school intentions was 2.08, which is less than the midpoint on the five-point scale.


Some researchers took into account, with slightly more accuracy, the effects of changing surrounding conditions (Sheibany and Ghaemian 2006) . The difference was that, compared to similar previous studies, they also took into account the changes which occurred due to the share of solar radiation on the exposed surface of the dam, as well as the actual water temperature in the reservoir. However, it seems that no detailed measurement data are available in the literature about the changes which occur, in the years after such dams have been built, in temperature fields inside the dam due to seasonal and daily temperature changes.

Some researchers took into account, with slightly more accuracy, the effects of changing surrounding conditions.


Once a simulation has been run, one must select another nine parameters when comparing the results to observational data: a time t since pericenter, a viewing direction given, for example, by angles (θ X , θ Y , θ Z ), scale factors L and V for length and velocity 2 , and a center-of-mass position on the plane of the sky (X cm ,Y cm ) and velocity V cm . All told, a minimum of sixteen parameters are needed to completely specify the initial conditions, time, point of view, and scale of a merger model. This plethora of parameters has long posed a challenge for systematic surveys of galactic collisions (Toomre & Toomre 1972; Farouki & Shapiro 1982; Wallin & Stuart 1992; Howard et al. 1993; Barnes 1998; Naab & Burkert 2003) . The problem we address here is slightly different -instead of trying to survey the entire parameter space, we want to navigate toward a solution matching the morphology and kinematics of a given interacting system. Intuition and prior experience can guide this process by narrowing the range of parameter space explored. Nonetheless, given the size and complexity of this parameter space, it's not surprising that many simulations must be run to attempt a match, or that detailed models of galactic collisions are not easy to produce.

This plethora of parameters has long posed a challenge for systematic surveys of galactic collisions.


First, as noted above, Identikit simulations are not completely self-consistent. Halos and bulges are treated selfconsistently, but disks -of necessity -must be modeled with test particles. Disk structures requiring self-gravity, including bars and swing-amplified spirals, will not be reproduced. Consequently, these features can't be used to match models to observations. Moreover, orbital decay of Identikit models is independent of disk orientation, whereas direct passages are expected to decay faster than retrograde ones (White 1979; Barnes 1992) . For a pair of galaxies approaching their second passage, the estimated time t fit since first pericenter may be off by as much as ∼ 20%; in applications requiring an accurate estimate of t fit , Identikit models should be followed up with self-consistent simulations.

Moreover, orbital decay of Identikit models is independent of disk orientation, whereas direct passages are expected to decay faster than retrograde ones.


Biomass can play an important role in both centralised (large scale) and decentralised or distributed (small scale) energy systems. Each scale evolves into different challenges in the use of biomass. As immediate solutions, where technology is already well developed, biomass at large scale can be co-used properly with fossil fuels. Biomass systems at small scale are appropriate for residential uses and rural electrification in emerging countries [3] . Bioenergy or energy from biomass is a promising contributor in the upcoming energy mix. In order to become a key actor, technological, economic, environmental and social aspects need to be advantageous if compared to conventional fuels. As one of the main points to improve, biomass needs to be densified to increase its calorific value, while easing its transportation and stabilising moisture and dry matter contents. That is the reason why biomass pre-treatment becomes crucial for the development of sustainable supply chains.

Biomass systems at small scale are appropriate for residential uses and rural electrification in emerging countries.


A greener and more sustainable society needs renewable energy under all its forms, higher efficiency systems and a change of habits. Oil, chemicals and related industries, are nowadays evolving considerably due to market demands, unprecedented globalisation and the arising limitations from environmental concerns and security. Moreover, sustainable considerations combined with tools such as stakeholder analysis, key performance indicators (KPIs) and life cycle assessment (LCA) approach may cover the supply chain from cradle-to-the grave, being powerful approaches in a pre-design step [1] .

Moreover, sustainable considerations combined with tools such as stakeholder analysis, key performance indicators (KPIs) and life cycle assessment (LCA) approach may cover the supply chain from cradle-to-the grave, being powerful approaches in a pre-design step.


The use of coal can be reduced if appropriately mixed with biomass. Around the world, requirements for energy and electricity are largely met by fossil fuels, and coal is widely selected as it is a secure, low-cost and high energy density source; coal resources are abundant and broadly distributed geographically [4] . Coal is also relatively easy to mine, ship, and store. It is expected to contribute significantly in the future energy needs in many nations, especially in fast-developing countries such as China and India [5] . These qualities make coal-fuelled power plants important electricity price stabilisers and reliable power producers, especially in electricity systems with price-volatility or intermittently available resources.

Around the world, requirements for energy and electricity are largely met by fossil fuels, and coal is widely selected as it is a secure, low-cost and high energy density source; coal resources are abundant and broadly distributed geographically.

It is expected to contribute significantly in the future energy needs in many nations, especially in fast-developing countries such as China and India.


The energy sector is moving towards a new energy paradigm, which favours more efficient conversion processes (due to more scarce and expensive fossil fuels), renewable sources and micro-generation (i.e., smart grids), through tailor-made approaches, adapted to the needs and resources of each area. Decentralisation ideally involves more population participation and supply security. There will not be a unique technology or renewable source massive implementation, but a combination of various conversion technologies to meet the energy demand [2] . The alternatives to centralised and conventional sources of energy should be sustainable in the time, which implies a responsible resource exploitation, by balancing source availability with electricity demand, and therefore with the capacity of the plant.

There will not be a unique technology or renewable source massive implementation, but a combination of various conversion technologies to meet the energy demand.


Lifestyle, the Mediterranean diet, the social network and the constant occupation with activities, even after years of retirement could contribute to these findings. The majority of the subjects are farmers and fishermen, who continue their activities several times per week for some years after retirement helping themselves being active. Indeed, several studies highlight the neuroprotective impact of physical activity, which could probably delay the onset of dementia [34] [35] . Also, the important role of family which takes care of their relatives and helps them to remain active is of great value. Attending a day center for elderly as well as attending church services is popular habits for the elderly in Greek countryside indicating that people passing from midlife to late life may have also a rather high social engagement.

Indeed, several studies highlight the neuroprotective impact of physical activity, which could probably delay the onset of dementia.


The third survey carried out in Greece, estimated the prevalence of dementia in Greek Orthodox monasteries [28] . The monks and nuns who live in these monasteries live far from the community, most of them are not married, their mind is always active as they are constantly praying and their diet is poor in lipids. The study reports that dementia is not present in ages between 60 to 75 years in monasteries. The prevalence of dementia is 9% over 80 years old while in Pylea is 9% over 70 years old. Also the prevalence rate in 80 -84 ages in monasteries is half of the rate in the community. Diet was suggested as a contributor factor to these special findings indicating that nutritional habits could be a keystone. Lifestyle holds a great role as well.

The third survey carried out in Greece, estimated the prevalence of dementia in Greek Orthodox monasteries.

Lifestyle holds a great role as well.


Despite the fact that the European grayling is listed in the Red Book of Ukraine that implies a strict prohibition on catching them, this species is a common object of recreational and sport fi shing in many rivers of the Transcarpathian region composing up to 8.0% of the total recreational catch (Velykopolskiy, Didenko, 2011) . Th is is because the European grayling is very abundant and dominant species at some locations where local people traditionally fi shed them. Moreover, this fi sh is one of the target species for fl y-fi shing, which is increasingly gaining popularity in Ukraine. Fly-fi shermen create their clubs and organize offi cial fl y-fi shing competitions such as the "Cup of Ukraine" and "Cup of Carpathians", which are held on piedmont rivers and are targeted at fi shes inhabiting them, including the European grayling. Such a situation is due to the fact that almost one third of the Transcarpathian fi sh fauna is listed in the Red Book of Ukraine including species, which are typical for this region and are abundant here. As for mountain and piedmont rivers and streams, the majority of their fi sh species are offi cially protected, especially those, which represent an interest for sport fi shing; however, it is very hard to avoid them by anglers that results in the involuntary violation of environmental legislation.

Despite the fact that the European grayling is listed in the Red Book of Ukraine that implies a strict prohibition on catching them, this species is a common object of recreational and sport fi shing in many rivers of the Transcarpathian region composing up to 8.0% of the total recreational catch.


This official treatment was in sharp contrast to the warm, heart-felt reception given to us by the ordinary Texans. We saw one airline worker give her shoes to someone who was barefoot. Strangers on the street offered us money and toiletries with words of welcome. Throughout, the official relief effort was callous, inept, and racist (Sheppard, 2007) .

Throughout, the official relief effort was callous, inept, and racist.


Design optimization of MEMS sensors and actuators is critical due to high cost lengthy fabrication processes. Vagueness in the fabrication and etching processes used to manufacture MEMS devices can lead to certain uncertainties in the performance of final product consequently obtaining low yield and poor reliability [23] . The reliability study of MEMS devices is therefore essential. Due to complex nature of MEMS devices, the reliability must be considered as a separate field of research. The research on reliability will grow as the MEMS technology attains its height. Temperature and humidity are reported as two major reliability issues of MEMS devices [24] . The reason is that there are many sensors and actuators that are exposed to the harsh environments, such as accelerometers, gyroscopes, thermal actuators, and chemical sensors. This paper mainly discusses fatigue generation and the operational and environmental effects on the performances of cantilever-based MEMS devices. Particularly, fatigue being a material reliability issue that hinders the performance of cantilevers-based MEMS is focused on. Fatigue induced due to the crack growth rate, and the lifetime of MEMS devices can be modeled through statistical distribution functions and Paris' law.

Vagueness in the fabrication and etching processes used to manufacture MEMS devices can lead to certain uncertainties in the performance of final product consequently obtaining low yield and poor reliability.

Temperature and humidity are reported as two major reliability issues of MEMS devices.


MEMS, by virtue of its nature, corresponds to a distinctive technology that has transformed the entire MEMS industry. Bulky sensors and actuators can be replaced by miniaturized MEMS devices. MEMS accelerometers are frequently used in automobiles for air bag deployment; blood pressure sensors, microsyringes, and implantable biosensors in the medical and life sciences; inkjet printer heads, computer disks, projection displays; and microvalves used in electronics, communication, and defense [4] [5] [6] [7] . Apart from these, many other MEMS products are manufactured for various industrial and consumer applications.

MEMS accelerometers are frequently used in automobiles for air bag deployment; blood pressure sensors, microsyringes, and implantable biosensors in the medical and life sciences; inkjet printer heads, computer disks, projection displays; and microvalves used in electronics, communication, and defense.


The challenges of wind energy project development in West Africa may however be linked to inadequate measurements, incomplete assessment studies and/or improper wind classification of the countries in the region. This is partly due to the fact that wind resources are site specific. Therefore, in order to properly classify a country's wind profile, assessment of as many sites will be required. Nigeria's wind profile assessment has gone through various developmental stages. Various policy issues have been generated with the government demonstrating the intention to generate electricity from wind [3, 4] .

Various policy issues have been generated with the government demonstrating the intention to generate electricity from wind.


Adopting renewable energy resources for electricity production and other energy needs has become a notable objective globally. While countries have started to look at ways of harnessing the abundant environmentally friendly renewable resources, some others have already proved it and are extending their generation capacities. China, United States, Germany, Spain, India are some examples of countries who have annual installed wind power capacities in the regions of some Giga-Watt (GW) of electricity [2, 3] .

China, United States, Germany, Spain, India are some examples of countries who have annual installed wind power capacities in the regions of some Giga-Watt (GW) of electricity.


The African continent, though improving in generation capacities, represents the least developed in terms of installed wind power and wind electricity adoption. North Africa, with Egypt (550 MW) and Morocco (286 MW) leads the way. Tunisia (54 MW), South Africa (10 MW) and Kenya are other promising countries. Moreover, projections reveal that in the near future wind power capacities up to few GW will be achieved in places like Egypt, Morocco and South Africa. In sub-Saharan Africa, particularly the West African region, no country has yet generated grid electricity from wind despite the identified opportunities [4] .

In sub-Saharan Africa, particularly the West African region, no country has yet generated grid electricity from wind despite the identified opportunities.


The eight crucibles remaining were conditioned in 120-mL polyethylene pots, and 100 mL of acid detergent were added (Van Soest & Robertson, 1985) . After sealing, the pots were autoclaved at 105 ºC for 1 h (Pell & Schofield, 1993) . The acid-detergent-insoluble residue was retained by vacuum filtration in the filter crucibles, washed sequentially with hot distilled water and acetone, and oven-dried and weighed as described before. Similarly, four aliquots (two with sodium sulfite and two without sodium sulfite) were separated and analyzed regarding acid detergent insoluble protein (ADIP) contents (Licitra et al., 1996) .

The eight crucibles remaining were conditioned in 120-mL polyethylene pots, and 100 mL of acid detergent were added.

After sealing, the pots were autoclaved at 105 ºC for 1 h.

Similarly, four aliquots (two with sodium sulfite and two without sodium sulfite) were separated and analyzed regarding acid detergent insoluble protein (ADIP) contents.


Sodium sulfite has been suggested as a component of the solution used to analyze the neutral detergent insoluble fiber (NDF). The addition of sodium sulfite to neutral detergent solution was proposed aiming at the decrease of the contamination with protein in the gravimetrically measured residue (Mertens, 2002) . However, its utilization was also associated with the undesirable solubilization of fibrous compounds, such as lignin (Hartley, 1972; Van Soest et al., 1991; Dorleans et al., 1996) . From this, it could be assumed that sodium sulfite utilization in NDF analysis is controversial.

The addition of sodium sulfite to neutral detergent solution was proposed aiming at the decrease of the contamination with protein in the gravimetrically measured residue.

However, its utilization was also associated with the undesirable solubilization of fibrous compounds, such as lignin.


However, using sodium sulfite caused higher precision only on lignin contents (Figure 3) . It probably occurred due to decrease in the contaminant protein of lignin residue. The lignin estimated by solubilization of cellulose in sulfuric acid presents significant contamination by nitrogenous compounds (Henriques et al., 2007; Gomes et al., 2011) . Nonetheless, the increased precision (Figure 3 ) may be associated with decreased accuracy (Table 2) , which would not be a good analytical advantage.

The lignin estimated by solubilization of cellulose in sulfuric acid presents significant contamination by nitrogenous compounds.


For the NDF analysis, twelve aliquots of each forage (1 g) were put in 120-mL polyethylene pots, and 100 mL of neutral detergent were added (Mertens, 2002) . Sodium sulfite was added in six pots (0.5 g/100 mL). Heat-stable alpha amylase was used in all aliquots (Termamyl 2X, Novozymes). After sealing, pots were autoclaved at 105 ºC for 1 h (Pell & Schofield, 1993) . The neutral-detergent-insoluble residue was retained by vacuum filtration in filter crucibles, washed sequentially with hot distilled water and acetone, ovendried at 105 ºC for 16 h, put in a dissecator and weighed. Four aliquots (two with sodium sulfite and two without sodium sulfite) were separated and analyzed for neutral detergent insoluble protein (NDIP) contents (Licitra et al., 1996) .

For the NDF analysis, twelve aliquots of each forage (1 g) were put in 120-mL polyethylene pots, and 100 mL of neutral detergent were added.

After sealing, pots were autoclaved at 105 ºC for 1 h.

Four aliquots (two with sodium sulfite and two without sodium sulfite) were separated and analyzed for neutral detergent insoluble protein (NDIP) contents.


Part of the protein contamination could be attributed to the formation of artifacts by the non-enzymatic reactions. However, their formation occurs mainly during drying at temperatures of at least 65 ºC, which were avoided in this study (samples were dried at 60 ºC). The use of adequate temperatures and ventilated ovens reduces the formation of these artifacts by accelerating the removal of humidity from the material, which is necessary for non-enzymatic reactions to occur (Van Soest, 1994) .

The use of adequate temperatures and ventilated ovens reduces the formation of these artifacts by accelerating the removal of humidity from the material, which is necessary for non-enzymatic reactions to occur.


The content and the diversity of insoluble fibrous compounds present a main role in the evaluation of tropical forages in ruminant nutrition because they directly influence several characteristics of the diets, such as the rumen fill effect and the energy and nitrogenous compounds availability (Detmann et al., 2008) . Nevertheless, the concepts of fiber applied in animal nutrition are essentially defined by the analytical method. Thereby, any variation in the analytical procedures may potentially produce results that will differ from the original proposition. As a consequence, this can compromise the rusticity and accuracy of the method and the comparison of results obtained in different experimental or productive conditions (Detmann, 2010) .

The content and the diversity of insoluble fibrous compounds present a main role in the evaluation of tropical forages in ruminant nutrition because they directly influence several characteristics of the diets, such as the rumen fill effect and the energy and nitrogenous compounds availability.

As a consequence, this can compromise the rusticity and accuracy of the method and the comparison of results obtained in different experimental or productive conditions.


The recommendation for using sulfite in neutral detergent solution is based on its ability to decrease contaminant protein in the insoluble residue (Mertens, 2002) . Those contaminant nitrogenous compounds can be originated from four potential sources: nitrogen that is naturally associated with the cell wall, nitrogen attached to artifacts (non-enzymatic products), nitrogen linked to tannins (proanthocyanidins), and keratins of animal origin (Van Soest, 1994) . The last source is not applicable to the results of this study.

The recommendation for using sulfite in neutral detergent solution is based on its ability to decrease contaminant protein in the insoluble residue.

Those contaminant nitrogenous compounds can be originated from four potential sources: nitrogen that is naturally associated with the cell wall, nitrogen attached to artifacts (non-enzymatic products), nitrogen linked to tannins (proanthocyanidins), and keratins of animal origin.


The average ambient temperature was 23.3°C ± 2.2°C. The temperature histories at three locations in the compost are shown in Figure 3 . Temperature histories in the middle of the compost followed a form typical of aerobic composting, increasing exponentially to more than 55ºC and then gradually declining to about 40ºC. The vertical temperature gradient in the compost (Figure 3 ) was the result of heat and mass transfer processes, which are strongly related to the local microbial activity in the substrate (Yu et al. 2005) . As described previously, the temperature of the air in the compost was assumed to be the same as measured substrate temperature (Figure 3 ).

Temperature histories in the middle of the compost followed a form typical of aerobic composting, increasing exponentially to more than 55ºC and then gradually declining to about 40ºC. The vertical temperature gradient in the compost (Figure 3 ) was the result of heat and mass transfer processes, which are strongly related to the local microbial activity in the substrate.


Mathematical descriptions of passively aerated compost systems, however, are very limited, probably due to the focus of the research interest. Actively aerated systems, however, have been well described mathematically (Haug 1993) . The lack of an adequate mathematical description of heat and mass transfer in passively aerated compost makes such systems difficult to predict and control. Effective system design and optimization is also difficult, which is a barrier to the adoption of passively aerated composting. One critical obstacle to modeling passively aerated systems is a mathematical description of airflow. In actively aerated systems, airflow rate is prescribed by pumps or fans. As a result, the supply of oxygen to the compost and the removal of carbon dioxide, ammonia, heat, and moisture can be estimated with reasonable accuracy. In passively aerated systems, however, the airflow rate is driven by natural convection. Natural convective airflow is difficult to estimate accurately without an appropriate mathematical model because it is often relatively small and highly variable (Yu et al. 2005) .

Actively aerated systems, however, have been well described mathematically.

Natural convective airflow is difficult to estimate accurately without an appropriate mathematical model because it is often relatively small and highly variable.


Composting is generally defined as the aerobic degradation of organic matter by microorganisms under controlled conditions. Aeration is critical in composting because it supplies oxygen, and removes carbon dioxide, excess heat and moisture from the compost (Haug 1993, p261) . The benefits of composting, e.g. high degradation rate, low odour generation, and efficient space utilization, cannot be achieved without appropriate aeration. Composting systems can be categorized into two types according to the aeration strategies employed: actively aerated systems and passively aerated systems. In actively aerated systems, mechanical means are used to draw or blow air through the compost, while in passively aerated systems the driving force is natural convection resulting from temperature differences (Fogiel et al. 1999) .

In actively aerated systems, mechanical means are used to draw or blow air through the compost, while in passively aerated systems the driving force is natural convection resulting from temperature differences.