The field of quantum information relies on the attractive possibility of exploiting the quantum realm to accomplish tasks not accessible to traditional information processing and communication systems [1] . This prospect has, over the two last decades, attracted wide interest among scientists from a wide range of disciplines including physics, mathematics, information theory, and engineering [2] . Quantum superpositions of states and entanglement are now seen as resources to treat quantum bits (qubits) of information [3] . From the fundamental side, entanglement permitted, for instance, testing non-locality over long distances [4, 5, 6, 7] . From the more applied side, quantum key distribution offers a secure means to establish secret keys between distant partners, useful for one-time-pad encryption, with a security level unattainable with classical methods [8, 9] . Despite encouraging results, no actual breakthrough, in terms of maximal distance separating the partners, has been achieved so far. Basically, inherent losses in fibre channels and dark-counts in the detectors prevent extending the distance to more than 200 km [10] . A viable possibility for extending the distance is based on quantum relay schemes, where the basic idea is to break the overall channel into several shorter sub-sections [11] . Here another quantum communication protocol, known as quantum teleportation, lies at the heart of quantum relays [12] .

The field of quantum information relies on the attractive possibility of exploiting the quantum realm to accomplish tasks not accessible to traditional information processing and communication systems.

This prospect has, over the two last decades, attracted wide interest among scientists from a wide range of disciplines including physics, mathematics, information theory, and engineering.

Quantum superpositions of states and entanglement are now seen as resources to treat quantum bits (qubits) of information.

From the fundamental side, entanglement permitted, for instance, testing non-locality over long distances.

From the more applied side, quantum key distribution offers a secure means to establish secret keys between distant partners, useful for one-time-pad encryption, with a security level unattainable with classical methods.

Basically, inherent losses in fibre channels and dark-counts in the detectors prevent extending the distance to more than 200 km.

A viable possibility for extending the distance is based on quantum relay schemes, where the basic idea is to break the overall channel into several shorter sub-sections.

Here another quantum communication protocol, known as quantum teleportation, lies at the heart of quantum relays.


Pupal recovery from larvae reared in diets 224065W, 224065RW, and 224065GW showed no signiÞcant differences from those reared in the control diet. However, 224065W recovered the most pupae, followed by 224065RW, 224065GW, 224065RGW, and 2240W diets (Table 4) . Both RDA and GSH did not seem to have any effect and their combination, 224065RGW diet, had instead a reverse effect on pupal recovery. This may be because of an overdose of B-complex and glutamine, because RDA is an inactivated dried whole cell yeast containing elevated levels of B-complex vi-tamins, and GSH is an enriched yeast with glutamine (Cohen 2004) . Therefore, GSH and RDA were deleted from subsequent tests.

This may be because of an overdose of B-complex and glutamine, because RDA is an inactivated dried whole cell yeast containing elevated levels of B-complex vi-tamins, and GSH is an enriched yeast with glutamine.


Egg hatch from adults that were obtained from larvae reared in the 1:3, 1:1, or 3:1 diets with WGO did not differ signiÞcantly from each other or from those reared in the control diet. However, egg hatch from adults whose larvae were reared in the 1:1 diet without WGO was signiÞcantly lower than that of individuals reared in the same diet with WGO and the control diet. These Þndings agree with our previous results with regard to the beneÞcial effect of WGO in liquid diet (Chang and Vargas 2007) . As mentioned, there were too few adults emerging from pupae whose larvae were reared in the 1:3 diet without WGO to evaluate egg hatch (Table 5) . Wheat germ oil contains a lot of saturated and unsaturated fatty acid, and we speculate that these fatty acids may play an important role in insect development and thus may cause the discrepancies between diets with and without WGO. Further study is underway using a proteomic approach to search for the enzyme/protein/genome that triggers all of these functions.

These Þndings agree with our previous results with regard to the beneÞcial effect of WGO in liquid diet.


Several experiments have been performed in order to assess the validity of the proposed method. For these tests, the main database used was the Brodatz set of textures [5] . Furthermore, heat has been tested in an extensive case study where texture is significant enough that it can be tentatively used alone for indexing. A database containing over 2500 mammographies has been queried in two different modes: a full automatic mode that uses texture information alone, and a semiautomatic mode that requires some user interaction and integrates both contour and texture information.

For these tests, the main database used was the Brodatz set of textures.


The current problem is a multi-objective nonlinear constrained optimization problem. The difficulty in optimization of engineering problems causes various optimization solutions. As a solution to these problems several heuristic algorithms have been developed for optimization of parameters. Among these one important group is evolutionary algorithms (EA) [16] . Genetic Algorithms (GA), Evolution Strategy (ES), Evolutionary Programming (EP) and Differential Evolution (DE) are some of the evolutionary algorithms. The most commonly used evolutionary optimization technique is the Genetic Algorithm (GA). Though, the GA provides a near optimal solution for complex problems, it requires a number of parameters in advance such as population size, crossover rate and mutation rate, which affect the effectiveness of the solution. Determining the optimum values for these controlling parameters is very difficult in practice [20] . Differential evolution (DE) is one of the most powerful stochastic real-parameter optimization algorithms in current use [6] [7] [8] . DE follows similar computational steps as in a standard evolutionary algorithm. Compared to other Evolutionary Algorithms DE is very simple to code. The recent studies on DE have shown that DE provides a better performance in terms of accuracy, robustness and convergence speed with its simplicity [9] [10] [11] . The number of control parameters in DE is very few compared to other algorithms [20] .

Among these one important group is evolutionary algorithms (EA).

Determining the optimum values for these controlling parameters is very difficult in practice.

Differential evolution (DE) is one of the most powerful stochastic real-parameter optimization algorithms in current use.

The recent studies on DE have shown that DE provides a better performance in terms of accuracy, robustness and convergence speed with its simplicity.

The number of control parameters in DE is very few compared to other algorithms.


Various studies have since then been proposed to promote the development of this field. In general, the past studies have three main characteristics. First, algorithm about the signal processing was mainly studied, such as neural network algorithm, genetic algorithm, Hilbert-Huang algorithm, and EMA method [3] [4] [5] [6] . Second, device for the damage detection was developed, such as fiber optic sensors and wireless sensors [7, 8] . In addition, the application in major engineering was also conducted in recent years [9, 10] .

First, algorithm about the signal processing was mainly studied, such as neural network algorithm, genetic algorithm, Hilbert-Huang algorithm, and EMA method.

Second, device for the damage detection was developed, such as fiber optic sensors and wireless sensors.

In addition, the application in major engineering was also conducted in recent years.


Because of the known limitations of analytical and FDM based analyses, which cannot be efficiently used for present day complex designs, a lot of research has been conducted in the last few decades to develop finite element based formulations for the determination of interlaminar stresses in laminates. However, the calculation of interlaminar stresses in laminates using finite element analysis is not an easy task, because the structure needs to be modeled in great detail for the regions with high stress gradients, exhausting quickly the computational resources. For this reason a global-local finite element approach can be very useful, where the global response of the multilayer structure is combined with a detailed stress analysis in a particular region of interest [7] . The shell elements available in nowadays commercial codes are based on classical lamination theory (CLT), which even do not provide interlaminar stresses at all, rendering them only appropriate for the global structural analysis of laminates. The need of the development of an element that can be readily used in the local detailed stress analysis of laminates is becoming great.

For this reason a global-local finite element approach can be very useful, where the global response of the multilayer structure is combined with a detailed stress analysis in a particular region of interest.


TOA data from two base stations will narrow a position to a circle; data from third base station is required to resolve the precise position to a single point [4] . A constant difference in the arrival time at two stations defines a hyperbola, and multiple stations provide multiple hyperbolas whose intersections define a source location. In order to take the advantage of both MDF and TOA technique, IMPACT (improved accuracy using TOA/MDF combined Technology) system has been developed and used world-widely [5] .

TOA data from two base stations will narrow a position to a circle; data from third base station is required to resolve the precise position to a single point.

In order to take the advantage of both MDF and TOA technique, IMPACT (improved accuracy using TOA/MDF combined Technology) system has been developed and used world-widely.


The thrombin time (TT) assesses the common pathway of coagulation; therefore, it is an indirect test of plasma fibrinogen levels [24] . It is not widely used in studies involving hypercoagulability and administration of corticosteroids, probably because most of these studies preferred to evaluate fibrinogen levels in order to assess this pathway. There was no statistical difference in TT after treatment completion in both groups.

The thrombin time (TT) assesses the common pathway of coagulation; therefore, it is an indirect test of plasma fibrinogen levels.


Here, we report the occurrence and crystal structure of Ti-rich oxykinoshitalite, a new species of mica from Fernando de Noronha Island, Brazil. The name oxykinoshitalite was assigned as dictated by the IMAapproved nomenclature of the mica-group minerals (Rieder et al. 1998) . The species and name have been approved by the International Mineralogical Association Commission on New Minerals and Mineral Names (IMA 2004-013) . Holotype material is deposited at the Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Canada.

The name oxykinoshitalite was assigned as dictated by the IMAapproved nomenclature of the mica-group minerals.


Consumers of common bean take nutritional, industrial and commercial traits into consideration, and the most important traits are grain size, seed coat color, mechanical damage and cooking time (Peña-Valdivia et al., 2011) . Cooking time should be considered by common bean breeding programs since cooking is required for consumption of these grains. It also contributes to characterization of the sensory properties of color, taste and texture, which consumers consider appealing (Wang et al., 2003; Shimelis and Rakshit, 2005) .

Consumers of common bean take nutritional, industrial and commercial traits into consideration, and the most important traits are grain size, seed coat color, mechanical damage and cooking time.

It also contributes to characterization of the sensory properties of color, taste and texture, which consumers consider appealing.


Evaluations of cooking time (CT) carried out for the genotypes (Table 2) in the rainy season indicated that the lines Gen C2-1-6-1, Gen C2-3-1-1-2 and LP04-03 lines and the BRS-Cometa cultivar were superior in relation to the control, IAC Alvorada, in shorter cooking time. With regard to the dry season, the Gen C2-1-6-1, Gen P5-4-4-1 and IAC Imperador lines showed CT lower than that of the control, BRS Pérola. In the winter season, the Gen P5-4-4-1line stood out, with CT lower than that of the controls. Among the genotypes evaluated, the CT ranged from 26'51" to 32'10" for the combination of the three crop seasons. This variation is due to the genetic differences present in the genotypes, environmental influence and genotype by environment interaction (Dalla Corte et al., 2003; Perina et al., 2014) . The results for CT indicated that the Gen C2-1-6-1, Gen C2-3-1-1-2, BRS Cometa, LP 0403, IAC Imperador, and Gen P5-4-4-1 genotypes stood out in relation to the standard control for the carioca group, and the Gen Pr11-6-4-1-2 line stood out among the genotypes in the black group.

This variation is due to the genetic differences present in the genotypes, environmental influence and genotype by environment interaction.


In supersymmetric (SUSY) theories, the Higgs sector is extended to contain at least two isodoublets of scalar fields. In the minimal version, the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM), this leads to the existence of five Higgs particles: two CP-even Higgs bosons h and H, a CP-odd or pseudoscalar Higgs boson A, and two charged Higgs particles H ± [1] . Besides the four masses, two additional parameters are needed to describe the Higgs sector at tree-level: tan β the ratio of the two vacuum expectation values and a mixing angle α in the CP-even sector. However, only two of these parameters are independent, and choosing the pseudoscalar mass M A and tan β as inputs, the structure of the MSSM Higgs sector is entirely determined.

In the minimal version, the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM), this leads to the existence of five Higgs particles: two CP-even Higgs bosons h and H, a CP-odd or pseudoscalar Higgs boson A, and two charged Higgs particles H ±.


There is an obvious commonality between the computational problem of text-to-speech (TTS) conversion in speech synthesis and the psychological process of reading aloud (Sullivan & Damper, 1989) . Given this, it is perhaps surprising that there has been so little synergy between the two fields of speech technology and experimental psychology. From one point of view, psychological evidence and theories can give fresh insights into the kind of 'hard' computational mapping problems encountered in TTS conversion, as well as offering promise for more human-like output from the machine. From the other point of view, the success (or otherwise) of a computational implementation represents an acid test of sufficiency for any psychological model of language processing.

There is an obvious commonality between the computational problem of text-to-speech (TTS) conversion in speech synthesis and the psychological process of reading aloud.


Whilst the traditional simulations using a manikin are very good for members of the rescue team to practice their response actions, such simulators are not as useful for trainers who wish to design and test the actual intervention protocols that the team will use; for example testing a new communication protocol. Since practicing with rescue teams is time-consuming and difficult to organize, the trainers would like a tool to assess and test new protocols before they are suggested as replacements to existing ones. One area that has been identified for improvement in CPR response is the communication between resuscitation team members. Intra team communication has been frequently identified as being sub-optimal and badly structured [11] [1] . Information may be misheard, lost, or may need to be repeated, wasting valuable seconds during a resuscitation. This coupled with other factors such as stress, tiredness, lack of individual experience and lack of experience in working together as a team may have potentially harmful consequences for the victim [27] .

Intra team communication has been frequently identified as being sub-optimal and badly structured.

This coupled with other factors such as stress, tiredness, lack of individual experience and lack of experience in working together as a team may have potentially harmful consequences for the victim.


For the past 10 years, we have analysed genes associated with the virulence of the footrot pathogen D. nodosus. Several genes have been identified and characterised, some of which may have a role in virulence (Bloomfield et al. 1997) . Southern blot analysis of DNA prepared from isolates of D. nodosus from the Cicerone footrot trial was carried out. Using one of the potential virulence-associated genes, intA, we found that DNA from the field benign gel stable strains did not hybridise, so there were no bands on the Southern blot. By contrast, DNA from all virulent strains tested hybridised to the intA probe.

Several genes have been identified and characterised, some of which may have a role in virulence.


Another approach is to consider shifted barriers (e.g., log-barriers) as augmentation in the inequality case (Conn et al., 1997; Noll et al., 2004; Noll, 2007) . We find these approaches very interesting and at first sight very different to our [λ > 0 ∨ g > 0]g 2 augmentation we will discuss below. Again, we are not aware of any-time updates having been proposed for such types of augmentations. We believe our approach to any-time updates could be generalized also to the case of shifted barrier augmentations.

Another approach is to consider shifted barriers (e.g., log-barriers) as augmentation in the inequality case.


Laminated composite materials are increasingly being used in the aerospace, marine, automobile and other engineering industries. This is due to their high strength-to-weight and stiffness-to-weight ratios. However, due to the lack of through-the-thickness reinforcement, structures made from these materials are highly liable to failures caused by delamination. Therefore, within a design process, a structure's resistance to delamination should be addressed to maximize its durability and damage tolerance. Delaminations in composite cylinders may be due to manufacturing defects, transportation impacts and environmental effects during their service life. The presence of delaminations leads to a reduction in the overall buckling strength of the laminated composite cylindrical shells [3] [4] [5] [6] .

The presence of delaminations leads to a reduction in the overall buckling strength of the laminated composite cylindrical shells.


Prof. B. S. Guan proposed a calculation method for impact forces and penetration depth based on experiments. Further, he considered the effect on the thickness of the soil cushion layer (hereinafter referred to as the B. S. Guan method) [37] . Using the theory of momentum, the impact force and penetration depth are given in the Technical Manual for Railway Engineering Design Tunnel (Revised Edition) (hereinafter referred to as the tunnel manual method). In addition, in Code for Design of Highway Subgrade of China, the rockfall impact force and penetration depth are given based on the work-energy principle (hereinafter referred to as the subgrade method).

Further, he considered the effect on the thickness of the soil cushion layer (hereinafter referred to as the B. S. Guan method).


Apart from the increasing complexity and variety of products, we also see that the pressure on performance of supply chains increases. Delivery times need to be compressed to stay competitive in modern markets that behave increasingly in a real-time fashion. Increasing competition and the advent of 'green' chains increase the pressure on waste reduction, for example to decrease the carbon footprint of a chain (Hoen et al., 2012) . This requires tight integration of a complex chain, e.g., in multimodal logistics (Jansen et al., 2004) .

Increasing competition and the advent of 'green' chains increase the pressure on waste reduction, for example to decrease the carbon footprint of a chain.

This requires tight integration of a complex chain, e.g., in multimodal logistics.


In the modern economy, we see the development of ever more complex products. A good example can be found in the automotive domain. Here, we see that the complexity of automobiles has increased in a dramatic way: the inclusion of new features like safety systems, driver guidance and support systems, mobile entertainment systems, and air conditioning systems has increased the number of components in an average car significantly (Maxton and Wormald, 2004) . Similar developments can be observed in many high-tech industries, like the airplane industry and the computer industry.

Here, we see that the complexity of automobiles has increased in a dramatic way: the inclusion of new features like safety systems, driver guidance and support systems, mobile entertainment systems, and air conditioning systems has increased the number of components in an average car significantly.


As far as we know, a model considering the deformations of a bouncing object and their effects in the motion is still lacking. Such effects have already been observed in bouncing droplets as reported in the articles [12, [16] [17] [18] . Indeed, drop deformations store potential energy thanks to surface tension effects. Thus, we propose to investigate the role of deformations by using a spring and a damper and studying the bounce of the compound object on a rigid and oscillating plate. In our model, the spring, at impact, stores potential energy that must be taken into account in the dynamics. Simultaneously, the damper dissipates this energy during the oscillations of the spring. Thus, those components aim to model the elastic and viscous effects of a bouncing object. Unlike the bouncing ball, this bouncing spring is not a point particle and its length varies during its motion. Furthermore, since the spring is characterized by its natural frequency, its dynamics may change with the plate frequency. In particular, the bouncing spring may resonate. This model gives us a handy way to understand the dynamics of the bouncing droplets, as explained above.

Such effects have already been observed in bouncing droplets as reported in the articles.


The purpose of the guidelines is to educate and make the designer aware of the consequences a design choice could have on manufacturability. The designer also needs to be aware that some of these rules may be contradictious, and in these cases must argue for and choose the best option on other terms. Trade-offs are one of the biggest challenges in product development, and need to be carefully considered [10] . The guidelines and rules need to be used in a wider context with e.g. final product assembly aspects in mind as well. The production process is much larger than only the manufacturing of the individual component itself, and it is therefore essential that the entire manufacturing process is considered to avoid suboptimization. DFM/A is one way to import knowledge from the manufacturing process and raise the designers' understanding [21] .

Trade-offs are one of the biggest challenges in product development, and need to be carefully considered.

DFM/A is one way to import knowledge from the manufacturing process and raise the designers' understanding.


Manufacturers have changed the way they operate. They have decreased their in-house manufacturing, and instead created a tiered system of suppliers that develop and manufacture the parts or systems that are then assembled by for example Boeing or Airbus [2] . One of these suppliers, SAAB Aerostructures in Linköping, develops and manufactures several parts for both companies, for example the ailerons for the Airbus A320 family and the cargo doors for the Boeing 787 family [3] .

They have decreased their in-house manufacturing, and instead created a tiered system of suppliers that develop and manufacture the parts or systems that are then assembled by for example Boeing or Airbus.

One of these suppliers, SAAB Aerostructures in Linköping, develops and manufactures several parts for both companies, for example the ailerons for the Airbus A320 family and the cargo doors for the Boeing 787 family.


The development and manufacturing of modern commercial aircraft are large and expensive commitments. This is especially true in the larger categories, where Boeing and Airbus together have effectively created a monopoly. At the same time, the demand for commercial aircraft has increased steadily during the 2010s, and is expected to continue to do so during the next 20 years [1] .

At the same time, the demand for commercial aircraft has increased steadily during the 2010s, and is expected to continue to do so during the next 20 years.


These guidelines and rules have been developed as a part of a wider DFM/A strategy at Saab Aerostructures. They are meant to be worked with as a part of a structured work process with other traditional DFM/A tools to complement the above-stated rules and guidelines. This paper only presents a part of the process (concerning CRFP component manufacturing), but it is an essential part in an overall DFM/A suggested strategy. A structured development process could be beneficial in many ways [10] . These guidelines and rules should help to create an explicit decision process by reducing the risk of making unsupported decisions. By following the overall work process, important activities are not forgotten, and by applying suggested tools, the process becomes largely self-documented.

A structured development process could be beneficial in many ways.


We have used standard on-line IRMS techniques to calibrate pure CH4 for δ 2 H and δ 13 C on international isotope reference scales. The pure methane gases were injected into the same isotope analysis system as water and carbonate reference materials and, thus, subjected to the same analytical conditions. The oxidation of CH4 to CO2 (and H2O) is usually accepted to produce no artefact. However, chemically CH4 is rather stable; 5 it requires high temperatures and a surplus of oxygen in order to drive the combustion reaction to completion. A major complication arises when yields are lower than 100 % (Merritt et al., 1995) . This would allow for unreacted CH4, which is a potent source of protonation in the IRMS ion source (Anicich, 1993) . With CO2 present, this results in the formation of CO2H + , an important isobaric interference on the m/z 45 mass position, where δ 13 C is measured. This source of analytical error is important especially for analytical systems that don't separate CO2 and CH4 after the combustion on a chromatographic column 10 or by cryogenic means. In the MPI-BGC systems, we use post-combustion chromatographic column to separate N2 and CO2 peaks, which also separates any residual methane from CO2. In addition, we carefully checked for traces of methane left over from the reaction by monitoring the m/z 15 ion current carefully for un-converted CH4 and found the combustion to be quantitative.

A major complication arises when yields are lower than 100 %.

This would allow for unreacted CH4, which is a potent source of protonation in the IRMS ion source.


Reservations could be presented about the use of self-reported questionnaires. The self-reported questionnaire is the most common instrument in physical activity records, because it is easy-to-use, short to perform, inexpensive, and suitable for epidemiological purposes. An important issue of self reported questionnaires is the respondent's ability to make an accurate assessment of physical activity. Indeed, the LSI is an established validated instrument for general and clinical setting, and ensures accurate assessment of physical activity on a quantitative basis. Recently, it has been demonstrated that social desirability and social approval may influence self-reported physical activity on some survey instruments [32] .

Recently, it has been demonstrated that social desirability and social approval may influence self-reported physical activity on some survey instruments.


Formulation of the experimental adhesive systems Two-step self-etch adhesive systems were prepared in the present study. The experimental self-etching primer was formulated by mixing the components described in Table 1 , which was the unique primer used in the study. Methacryloyloxyethyl dihydrogen phosphate plus bis(methacryloyloxyethyl) hydrogen phosphate (HEMA-P) was synthesized as previously described [11] . It was mixed with distilled water, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and ethanol. On the other hand, the resin bonds were formulated using the Exothane monomers, which were Exothane 8 (E 8 ), Exothane 9 (E 9 ), Exothane 10 (E 10 ), Exothane 24 (E 24 ), and Exothane 32 (E 32 ). They were all purchased from Esstech (Esstech Inc, Essington, PA, USA) and used without further processing. UDMA was used as control (Table 1) . Also, the two-step self-etch adhesive system Clearfil SE Bond (Kuraray, Tokyo, Japan) was used as the commercial control. For the experimental resin bonds formulation, each resin matrix was constituted by one type of the Exothanes (75 wt%) and 25 wt% of triethyleneglycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA); 0.5 wt% of camphorquinone (CQ), 1 wt% of ethyl-4-dimethylaminobenzoate (EDAB), and 1 wt% of diphenyliodonium hexafluorphosphate (DPIHFP) were added as photo-initiators (Table 1 ). All the primers and the resin bonds were ultrasonicated for 15 minutes.

Methacryloyloxyethyl dihydrogen phosphate plus bis(methacryloyloxyethyl) hydrogen phosphate (HEMA-P) was synthesized as previously described.

UDMA was used as control (Table 1) .


Dental adhesive systems are commonly used for bonding the restorative material to the tooth structure. The bonding mechanism is basically characterized by the substitution of superficial tooth minerals for resin monomers, which polymerize in situ, creating a micro-mechanical interlocking between the tooth and the bonding substance. This process is known as hybridization, where a hybrid layer is formed between the tooth substrates and the restorative material [1] . The bonding mechanism starts with the application of an acidic substance, which enables the superficial tooth demineralization; then, another substance is used to prepare the demineralized substrate (primer), followed by the application of a resinous substance (resin bond), which links the tooth to the restorative material. Depending on the mode of using or combining these adhesive substances (acid, primer, and resin bond), different adhesive systems are present in the dentistry field.

This process is known as hybridization, where a hybrid layer is formed between the tooth substrates and the restorative material.


This study showed that chronic conditions are poorly addressed in Greece and integrated care is in embryonic stage. Taking this into account and considering the increasing health care expenditure and tight health budget, this the right time to introduce reforms in the Greek health care system to integrate care for chronic diseases [62] . Optimists would argue that Greece should see the crisis as a blessing to reform care rather than as disaster of health care [14] . However, even they would agree that this is not an easy task.

Taking this into account and considering the increasing health care expenditure and tight health budget, this the right time to introduce reforms in the Greek health care system to integrate care for chronic diseases.

Optimists would argue that Greece should see the crisis as a blessing to reform care rather than as disaster of health care.


As cancer results from deregulation of the cell's signaling network, clinical tissue research has a special interest in investigating the phosphorylation state of proteins. The vast majority of clinical tissue samples, however, are routinely fixed with formalin and embedded into paraffin (FFPE) to be conserved for histophathological examinations. This procedure causes alterations in cellular macromolecules, including protein cross-linking, and thus impedes extraction-based biochemical characterization. Recently, we developed a protocol allowing isolation of high amounts of full-length, nondegraded, and immunoreactive proteins from routinely formalin-fixed tissue specimen for Western blot and reverse phase protein microarray analyses [11] . Thus, the objective of this translational study was to clarify whether phosphorylated proteins can be extracted and quantified from formalinfixed tissues.

Recently, we developed a protocol allowing isolation of high amounts of full-length, nondegraded, and immunoreactive proteins from routinely formalin-fixed tissue specimen for Western blot and reverse phase protein microarray analyses.


Reverse phase protein microarrays are the method of choice for the quantification of diagnostic and therapeutic protein targets because they use internal standard curves, have a low detection limit, are economical, and are highly multiplex [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] . This form of protein microarray has often been used for the quantification of phosphorylated proteins extracted from cell lines or frozen tissues. However, direct clinical applications for profiling signaling molecules are still at a very early stage.

Reverse phase protein microarrays are the method of choice for the quantification of diagnostic and therapeutic protein targets because they use internal standard curves, have a low detection limit, are economical, and are highly multiplex.


Subsequently, this novel method for analyzing phosphorylated proteins in formalin-fixed samples was applied in a first clinically relevant study investigating a central protein kinase in 20 breast cancers that had been selected based on HER2 status. HER2 is a receptor tyrosine kinase, the biological and clinical role of which has been extensively studied in breast cancer. There are two major signaling pathways downstream of the HER-family of receptors: the Raf-MEK-ERK pathway and the PI3K-Akt pathway [22, 23] . Here we focused on the activation (phosphorylation) of ERK1/2. In a previous report it was shown, that expression of the phosphorylated ERK1/2 proteins as determined by Western blot corresponded to the activity levels of the enzymes, as determined by a protein kinase assay [24] . We did not find a correlation between HER2 over-expression and activation of ERK1/2. These results are in line with immunohistochemical studies reported previously, using a total of 245 breast tumour samples [24, 25] . In our study, we did not compare immunohistochemistry with protein microarray analysis because there is no standardized evaluation score available for ERK1/2 and phospho-ERK1/2.

There are two major signaling pathways downstream of the HER-family of receptors: the Raf-MEK-ERK pathway and the PI3K-Akt pathway.

In a previous report it was shown, that expression of the phosphorylated ERK1/2 proteins as determined by Western blot corresponded to the activity levels of the enzymes, as determined by a protein kinase assay.

These results are in line with immunohistochemical studies reported previously, using a total of 245 breast tumour samples.


During the past decades, many attempts have been made to unravel possible connections between activated receptor tyrosine kinases and other intracellular oncogenes and pathways in order to identify potential therapeutic target structures [7] . Herceptin and Gleevec, targeting HER2 (ERBB2) and BCR/ABL (and c-KIT, PDGFR) respectively, are examples for the success of these tasks. It is estimated that tumor therapy can be markedly improved in the near future by inhibiting specific deregulated signaling proteins. Unfortunately, there is often a lack of correlation between laboratory studies using cell lines or animal models and clinical studies [8] . The percentage of patients responding to the new inhibitors is often less than 30% [9] . One of the reasons for this rather low percentage of responders may be that the diagnostic markers currently in use for predicting response are not optimal. In addition, the low predictive value of published preclinical data may be due to the limited number of cell line-based models; these cannot reflect the molecular heterogeneity of tumors defined by histology or stage of disease found among patients.

During the past decades, many attempts have been made to unravel possible connections between activated receptor tyrosine kinases and other intracellular oncogenes and pathways in order to identify potential therapeutic target structures.

Unfortunately, there is often a lack of correlation between laboratory studies using cell lines or animal models and clinical studies.

The percentage of patients responding to the new inhibitors is often less than 30%.


There are two main classes of auto-scaling systems in the Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) layer of the cloud computing: reactive and predictive. Reactive auto-scaling systems are the most widely used auto-scaling systems in the commercial clouds. The reactive systems scale out or in a cloud service according to its current performance condition [2] . Although the reactive auto-scaling systems are easy to understand and use, they suffer from neglecting the virtual machine (VM) boot-up time which is reported to be between 5 and 15 min [3] . Neglecting the VM boot-up time results in the under-provisioning condition which causes SLAs violation. Predictive auto-scaling systems try to solve this problem by forecasting the cloud service's future workload and adjusting the compute and the storage capacity in advance to meet the future needs.

The reactive systems scale out or in a cloud service according to its current performance condition.

Although the reactive auto-scaling systems are easy to understand and use, they suffer from neglecting the virtual machine (VM) boot-up time which is reported to be between 5 and 15 min.


IR is a complex disorder that has recently been proposed to be important in the pathogenesis of a number of conditions other than metabolic syndrome, including hypovitaminosis D [35] . Data from the Framingham Offspring Study show an inverse association of 25(OH)D with HOMA-IR index in non-diabetic adults [38] . In our study, subjects in the vitamin D deficient group had a significantly higher prevalence of IR than the vitamin D sufficient group (p < 0.05). Thus, hypovitaminosis D may be linked to IR and the variables that can integrate the abnormalities of the metabolic syndrome and cardiometabolic function. The McAuley index was the only IR measure showing positive correlation with serum vitamin D. However, this association lost significance in the multiple regression analysis, suggesting either the absence of an association between these two variables or insufficient power of our study to detect an existing association.

IR is a complex disorder that has recently been proposed to be important in the pathogenesis of a number of conditions other than metabolic syndrome, including hypovitaminosis D.

Data from the Framingham Offspring Study show an inverse association of 25(OH)D with HOMA-IR index in non-diabetic adults.


Qualitative analysis of interview transcripts for people who had experienced an ankle fracture was undertaken using thematic analysis [70, 71] . Each phrase was coded and sorted into categories by two independent researchers. The categories were then grouped together with other related or similar categories. These emerging groups of related categories were then considered as an overarching theme that was subsequently described (based on the content of the categories and nature of the relationship between them). To support the rigour of this process, each of the two coders completed this task independently for each participant before meeting to compare their coding and emerging framework. A third independent researcher was available to mediate any unresolved coding disagreement between the two primary coders (for categories or emerging themes); however, no such disagreement occurred.

Qualitative analysis of interview transcripts for people who had experienced an ankle fracture was undertaken using thematic analysis.


We have studied the null geodesics of the static charged black hole in heterotic string theory. The equations for the geodesics were solved exactly for various values of energy and angular momentum of the photons. In the Einstein frame, all possible motions were presented. The circular orbits were shown to be unstable. In comparison, the circular orbits of the Reissner-Nordström black hole which is the charged black hole in general relativity is also shown to be unstable as worked out by Chandrasekhar [8] .

In comparison, the circular orbits of the Reissner-Nordström black hole which is the charged black hole in general relativity is also shown to be unstable as worked out by Chandrasekhar.


We did not find support for any benefits to males from harming their mates in our study. It has been suggested that females may reduce their remating propensity in response to maleinduced harm to avoid sustaining further injuries (Johnstone and Keller, 2000) . This would benefit males through a decreased risk of having to compete with sperm from other males. Results from our first experiment show that leg ablation does not result in a delayed remating. Apparently, male C. maculatus cannot extend the refractory period of their mates by prolonging matings and inflicting more severe injuries.

It has been suggested that females may reduce their remating propensity in response to maleinduced harm to avoid sustaining further injuries.


Males have been suggested to benefit from harming their mates as a consequence of females perceiving the injuries as a threat to their survival and responding by increasing their current reproductive effort in order to maximize offspring production before they die (Lessells, 1999; Michiels, 1998) . In neither of our two experiments did ablation of female hind legs prior to mating result in an increased rate of offspring production. This outcome suggests that male C. maculatus cannot manipulate the reproductive effort of their mates to their advantage by prolonging copulations and inflicting more severe injuries.

Males have been suggested to benefit from harming their mates as a consequence of females perceiving the injuries as a threat to their survival and responding by increasing their current reproductive effort in order to maximize offspring production before they die.


With the development of the distributed processing technology, the existing theory in the face of larger and more flexible application show significant shortcomings. Web service solves the heterogeneous distributed computing, as well as code and data reuse, which has a high degree of interoperability, crossplatform and loose coupling characteristics. For the Internet, software and integration between the re-use provides the technical basis which can reduce the duplication in the software industry, and increase utilization of the software [1] . Therefore, more and more academic as well as industrial communities pay attention to the research of Web services technology [2] .

For the Internet, software and integration between the re-use provides the technical basis which can reduce the duplication in the software industry, and increase utilization of the software.

Therefore, more and more academic as well as industrial communities pay attention to the research of Web services technology.


Among other conditions, the sustainable commercial exploitation of these species depends on their biological knowledge. To explore and conserve, it is necessary to increase efforts on genetic resources, biodiversity and conservation, associated to bio-prospection and management of plant genetic resources at first. Furthermore, this will permit the valuation and selection of ornamental promising germoplasm and development of production system (ROMÃO et al., 2015) .

Furthermore, this will permit the valuation and selection of ornamental promising germoplasm and development of production system.


The postharvest durability has high standard deviation (Table 3) , with exception of A. affine. It is pondered that the leaves cutting point that has been set, based on maturity stage (fully expanded leaves), is highly variable. Apparently, the cutting point influenced the durability of the leaves. A. plowmanii leaves, as an example, has a variable postharvest life, but the most recentlymature, fully-expanded A. plowmanii leaf has the longer postharvest life among others older fully-expanded leaves (ALBUQUERQUE et al., 2013) .

A. plowmanii leaves, as an example, has a variable postharvest life, but the most recentlymature, fully-expanded A. plowmanii leaf has the longer postharvest life among others older fully-expanded leaves.


In the present study, we have used the high-resolution and better-accuracy temperature and humidity profile data obtained from the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) onboard the MetOp satellite. These data have higher vertical resolution, i.e. ∼ 400 m below 700 hPa, which is much better than those of TIROS-N of the MONEX 1979 period. Further, ERA-Interim data have been used to compare the MI features seen in the data with those from the satellite data. In order to explain the relative contribution of subsidence and convection on MI, wind observations from ERA-Interim reanalysis data have been used. The temperature-humidity profile data are also available from the NOAA Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) since 2002, all of which have also been analysed in the same way as the IASI data. However, we have not presented those results here, because of some inconsistencies (i.e. sometimes ERAInterim data show MI but AIRS has different features such as no presence of MI; profile-to-profile matches between AIRS and ERA-Interim data sets are not seen, i.e. inversion type changes or level of inversion changes) observed between the IASI and AIRS data in studying the MI features. Thus, we have confined the present study to data only from one instrument, viz., IASI, which had been reported as having better performance (Smith et al., 2015) . This is expected to also ensure that the results of temporal and spatial gradients of T presented here (featuring MI) will be mutually consistent, even if the absolute values of temperature-humidity may have some errors. We have, however, included one section comparing the results of these two instruments for studying the MI features. We have also shown, to a limited extent, the potential of the GPS RO measured refractivity profiles in delineating inversion regions. For this, we have also used the MONEX in situ temperature-humidity profiles of 1979.

Thus, we have confined the present study to data only from one instrument, viz., IASI, which had been reported as having better performance.


In the past decade, control and synchronization of nonlinear system in industry have attracted much attention. Some effective methods for nonlinear system control and synchronization are proposed and applied in engineering [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] . However, most of these methods are based on hypothesis that the parameters of system are known. They are generally inapplicable if system parameters are unknown. However, in practice, parameters of system are difficult to be known or measured due to complexity and unobservability of system. Therefore, parameter estimation is needed in modeling and control of these nonlinear systems.

Some effective methods for nonlinear system control and synchronization are proposed and applied in engineering.


Improved high-throughput technologies are providing feasible tools for analyzing the mutation antigen profile, the gene signature and epigenetic modification of tumor and immune cells, the breadth of antibody responses, as well as the magnitude, homing capacity, cytotoxic function and T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire of T lymphocytes. These novel technologies will help advance precision medicine [23] . New technological approaches will enable us to identify predictive biomarkers such as immunologic signatures or profiles for the patients who will most likely benefit from current immunotherapies. In addition, they will help patients avoid immune-related adverse events or adverse events of special interest and reduce treatment costs for those unlikely to respond [17] . Furthermore, they will enhance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying cancer immunotherapies and aid in the development of more appropriate therapies for specific patient populations. In this paper, we will discuss the current progress to identify biomarkers for immune checkpoint blockade therapies as well as novel technologies and their potential application for future cancer immunotherapy biomarker discoveries, as illustrated in Fig. 1 .

These novel technologies will help advance precision medicine.

In addition, they will help patients avoid immune-related adverse events or adverse events of special interest and reduce treatment costs for those unlikely to respond.


To understand academic adaptation, Portuguese researchers used a psychosocial perspective and made questionnaires that measured three big domains: Student which is related to autonomy, competence and well-being. Course, which is related to academic achievement and how the person is succeeding in their academic career. Context which describes the institutional adaptation of the student with the academic environment (Almeida, Ferreira Soares, 2001;  have found out that late adolescents that perceive a better health also feel they have a better academic achievement in comparison to the ones that have a lower self-perceived health (Ansari & Stock, 2010) . Furthermore, late adolescents that have less physical health, less well-being and little social support and lower satisfaction towards their courses tend to consider school dropout (Hixenbaugh, Dewart & Towell, 2012) .

Context which describes the institutional adaptation of the student with the academic environment (Almeida, Ferreira Soares, 2001;  have found out that late adolescents that perceive a better health also feel they have a better academic achievement in comparison to the ones that have a lower self-perceived health.

Furthermore, late adolescents that have less physical health, less well-being and little social support and lower satisfaction towards their courses tend to consider school dropout.


Second, more fundamentally, there is a real need to develop and apply density functional approximations which incorporate the correct packing constraints for hard bodies, such as the Rosenfeld fundamental measure functional [38] [39] [40] . The external field can be used formally to cross over from the orientable case to the fully aligned case and to achieve self-consistency; this is similar to the dimensional crossover discussed recently for hard spheres [40] . This problem is a great challenge for future studies.

Second, more fundamentally, there is a real need to develop and apply density functional approximations which incorporate the correct packing constraints for hard bodies, such as the Rosenfeld fundamental measure functional.

The external field can be used formally to cross over from the orientable case to the fully aligned case and to achieve self-consistency; this is similar to the dimensional crossover discussed recently for hard spheres.


An aliquot of 120 μL of X-CELL medium (IMV, L'Aigle, France), previously warmed to 37 o C, was added slowly to 5 μL of pos-thawed semen (2 X 10 6 spermatozoa) from the different experimental groups (final concentration of 16.0 x 10 6 spermatozoa /mL) and kept at this temperature for five minutes. This X-CELL protocol was used for its proven effectiveness as a clarifying medium for the thawed ram semen evaluation (Azevedo et al., 2006; Maia et al., 2009; Sicherle et al., 2011) . Then 10 μL of this mix were transferred to a Makler's chamber (Sefi-Medical Instruments, Haifa, Israel) and the spermatic kinetics was assessed through the semen analyzer model IVOS 12 (Hamilton Thorn Biosciences, Beverly, MA, USA), with at least four different counting fields and 300 cells. The characteristics evaluated were: percentage of total motility (TM), progressive motility (PM), and rapid spermatozoa (RAP) as well as straight line velocity (VSL, µm/s), track velocity (VCL, µm/s), smoothed path velocity (VAP, µm/s), amplitude of lateral head displacement (ALH, µm), beat cross frequency (BCF, Hz), linearity (ratio VSL/VCL), and straightness (ratio VSL/VAP).

This X-CELL protocol was used for its proven effectiveness as a clarifying medium for the thawed ram semen evaluation.


The cryopreservation of semen promotes elevated intracellular calcium levels, resulting in cell dysfunction and death (Amann and Pickett, 1987) . To minimize the calcium deleterious effect during the semen freezing process from different species, the use of ethylenediamine-tetra-acetate-disodium (EDTANa) in freezing extender media has been tested since 1970's (Martin et al., 1979; Bittencourt et al., 2004; Aisen et al., 2005) . The EDTA main function is to chelate the extracellular calcium, reducing its influx to the intracellular environment, which minimizes the deleterious effect of calcium on the sperm (Amann and Pickett, 1987) .

The cryopreservation of semen promotes elevated intracellular calcium levels, resulting in cell dysfunction and death.

To minimize the calcium deleterious effect during the semen freezing process from different species, the use of ethylenediamine-tetra-acetate-disodium (EDTANa) in freezing extender media has been tested since 1970's.

The EDTA main function is to chelate the extracellular calcium, reducing its influx to the intracellular environment, which minimizes the deleterious effect of calcium on the sperm.


Two different muon reconstruction algorithms are considered [23] . The first one provides highquality and high-purity muon reconstruction for tracks with p T 4 GeV/c in the central pseudorapidity region (|η| 1.3) and p T 1 GeV/c in the forward region; these muons are referred to as Global Muons. The second muon reconstruction algorithm achieves a better reconstruction efficiency at lower momenta; these muons are referred to as Tracker Muons. There is an overlap between these two reconstruction methods. If a muon is reconstructed by both algorithms, it is assigned to the Global Muon category alone, making the two categories exclusive. Global Muons have a higher reconstruction purity. In both cases, the track momentum is determined by the fit in the silicon tracker.

Two different muon reconstruction algorithms are considered.


Characterization of the study area: the trial was conducted at nursery Flora Sinop, from May to July 2013. The nursery is located in Sinop, Mato Grosso, 500 km far from the state capital Cuiabá, with 384 m above sea level and geographic location of 11°52′23″ South, 55°29′54″ West. The annual average temperature is 24 °C, annual rainfall of 1.900 mm and relative humidity ranging between 80 and 35% during the year (Souza et al., 2012) .

The annual average temperature is 24 °C, annual rainfall of 1.900 mm and relative humidity ranging between 80 and 35% during the year.


The formation of biofilms is a major virulence phenotype which is associated with over half of all bacterial infections. Biofilms function to protect bacterial communities from environmental factors, e.g. serum proteases, antibodies and antibiotics, and help to anchor these communities to substrates ranging from industrial plastics and tubing to mucosal surfaces [1] [2] [3] . Polysaccharide capsule participates in both the protective and anchoring functions essential for biofilm stability. Biofilm formation and stability is dependent on the environment. Promotion, or inhibition, of biofilm formation occurs in response to available nutrients including pathway metabolites and quorum-signaling compounds. Bacterial growth conditions can affect the levels of biofilm formed. A flaw that can arise when interpreting the data is the assumption that the rate and maximum level of growth achieved is congruent for all growth conditions tested. Unfortunately, such bias can only be eliminated experimentally. To be able to compare biofilm formation in response to various growth conditions all measurements should be performed on cells grown under identical conditions which can be difficult and labor intensive to achieve. The focus of this study is to determine if a high-throughput semi-automated system for measuring growth kinetics (Bioscreen C) could be multi-purposed to accommodate measurement of biofilm formation and capsule production. This was tested by measurement of growth kinetics followed by assessment of biofilm and capsule formation in the same honeycomb microtiter plate wells. Initial measurements were done using a gram positive organism, Staphylococcus aureus. We then examined how alteration in growth affected biofilm and capsule formation in a model for E. coli colonization in response to the interkingdom quorum signal, insulin [4, 5] .

Biofilms function to protect bacterial communities from environmental factors, e.g. serum proteases, antibodies and antibiotics, and help to anchor these communities to substrates ranging from industrial plastics and tubing to mucosal surfaces.

We then examined how alteration in growth affected biofilm and capsule formation in a model for E. coli colonization in response to the interkingdom quorum signal, insulin.


The core test of VFM for PFI project is determined through a comparative analysis of the benefits, risks and costs by using both quantitative and qualitative analysis (Grimsey & Lewis, 2005) . According to them, there are four main alternative approaches to provide the core test of VFM. These could be done by using full cost benefit analysis, Public Sector Comparator-Public Private Partnership (PSC-PPP) comparison, UK style PSC -PPP, and competitive bidding. Among others, the UK style PSC-PPP comparison has been adopted by many countries such as Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, and Canada. Nevertheless, the method has come under growing criticism, in terms of whether PSC calculation is the most appropriate way to evaluate VFM due to the ambiguity and complexity problems.

The core test of VFM for PFI project is determined through a comparative analysis of the benefits, risks and costs by using both quantitative and qualitative analysis.


FRP materials present higher unit price when compared with conventional materials. However, due to the lower costs of transportation, installation, maintenance, and life cycle, constructive systems based on FRP materials become very competitive [7] . Due to superior durability of FRP materials, in many cases composite structures can last much longer than the ones made of conventional materials, yielding lower life-cycle cost [8] .

However, due to the lower costs of transportation, installation, maintenance, and life cycle, constructive systems based on FRP materials become very competitive.

Due to superior durability of FRP materials, in many cases composite structures can last much longer than the ones made of conventional materials, yielding lower life-cycle cost.


Self-efficacy can be defined as the beliefs of individuals on their capabilities to perform certain specific aims (Bandura, 1997) . The theoreticians of social cognitive approach define self-efficacy as the belief of individuals on their capacities in order to carry out and organize the activities which are necessary to fulfill a task (Bandura, 1997; Pajares and Kranzler, 1995) . Therefore, the evaluation of self-efficacy refers to the difficulty levels which individuals believe to overcome (Bandura, 2006) .

Self-efficacy can be defined as the beliefs of individuals on their capabilities to perform certain specific aims.

The theoreticians of social cognitive approach define self-efficacy as the belief of individuals on their capacities in order to carry out and organize the activities which are necessary to fulfill a task.

Therefore, the evaluation of self-efficacy refers to the difficulty levels which individuals believe to overcome.


The EU published Energy-using Product Directive (EuP Directive, 2005/32/EC ) demonstrates the concern regarding the scope of a product's environmental impact, expanded from disposal to all phases of the life cycle. This includes the product's design, production, packaging, transportation, usage, and disposal. It is hoped that focusing on a product's entire life cycle will reduce resource consumption and emission of pollutants [1] . The EuP Directive is subsequently replaced by the Energy-related Products ( ErP) Directive 2009/125/EC published on 31 October 2009, with an extended scope covering all energyrelated products. The ErP Directive has taken effect since 20 November 2009 [2] .

It is hoped that focusing on a product's entire life cycle will reduce resource consumption and emission of pollutants.

The ErP Directive has taken effect since 20 November 2009.


Greater fuels consumption has attracted political attention because of its importance to the balance of payments and to the fiscal outlooks for federal, state, and local governments. Refinery capacity in Mexico is insufficient to meet gasoline demand (Ruiz Flores et al., 2012) . Between 1990 and 2002, energy imports increased 124 percent from 108 thousand barrels per day (kbpd) to 243 kbpd. In recent years and during the sample period under consideration, gasoline imports are required to meet more than 40 percent of total gasoline demand (SENER, 2008) .

Refinery capacity in Mexico is insufficient to meet gasoline demand.

In recent years and during the sample period under consideration, gasoline imports are required to meet more than 40 percent of total gasoline demand.


The objective of this research is to develop an econometric model that analyzes the behavior of gasoline consumption in Mexico between 1997 and 2007. January 1997 is the earliest period for which complete monthly data can be assembled and December 2007 still precedes most of the economic and financial difficulties that emanated out of the United States and affected Mexico during the most recent global recession. Income and price elasticities will be measured for the different product categories employed. Time series estimation techniques are utilized to obtain these estimates. Previous studies of gasoline demand for Mexico have focused on estimating demand and price elasticities for the Northern Border Region (Haro and Ibarrola, 1999; Ayala and Gutiérrez, 2004; Ibarra Salazar and Sotres Cervantes, 2008) . Time series approaches have been shown to uncover interesting empirical aspects of gasoline demand in Mexico (Reyes et al., 2010) .

Previous studies of gasoline demand for Mexico have focused on estimating demand and price elasticities for the Northern Border Region.

Time series approaches have been shown to uncover interesting empirical aspects of gasoline demand in Mexico.


We speculate that the interactive effects of biophysical factors and land use can lead to complex population dynamics for some species. Subpopulations of a species within a reserve may suffer increased risk of extinction if population source areas outside the reserve are degraded by human activities (Sinclair 1998) . Population sources are areas where births exceed deaths and the finite rate of population increase ( ) exceeds the replacement level of 1 (Pulliam 1988) . Subpopulations may persist in sink habitats ( Ͻ 1) if they receive sufficient immigration from source habitats ( Ͼ 1) (Pulliam & Danielson 1991) . We suggest that the harshness of physical factors in reserves may result in populations within nature reserves being dependent upon population source areas in more-favorable settings outside of reserves. As the more-favorable landscapes surrounding nature reserves are altered by human activities, population source areas may be converted to population sinks, thereby increasing the risk of extinction within reserves.

Subpopulations of a species within a reserve may suffer increased risk of extinction if population source areas outside the reserve are degraded by human activities.

Population sources are areas where births exceed deaths and the finite rate of population increase ( ) exceeds the replacement level of 1.

Subpopulations may persist in sink habitats ( Ͻ 1) if they receive sufficient immigration from source habitats ( Ͼ 1).


A further advantage of non-hydraulic lime is its long shelf life. It is common for manufacturers to recommend that, once opened, bags of lime are used within a specified time or discarded. In practice, practitioners may keep lime from a few days to one year depending on the storage conditions and risk of excessive hydration and carbonation within the bag. Non-hydraulic lime putty, however, can be stored for significantly longer due to the effectiveness of the milk-of-lime layer on the surface of the putty at preventing carbonation. The carbonation rate and plasticity of lime putty have been found to be still improving after periods in excess of five years [17] .

The carbonation rate and plasticity of lime putty have been found to be still improving after periods in excess of five years.


Despite the use of cement and mineral aggregate, it still claims to achieve a thermal conductivity value of 0.028 W/mK [5] . These new plasters have significantly better thermal insulation performance than traditional cement or gypsum plasters with sand aggregate, which typically have thermal conductivity values of between 0.22 and 0.72 W/mK [6] . Interestingly, though, there appears to be no published information relating to strength or flexibility for any of these new insulating lime plaster materials. Two studies, involving cementitious mortars incorporating aerogel, which did investigate strength, reported compressive strength, flexural strength and thermal conductivity all reducing with increased aerogel content [7] [8] .

Despite the use of cement and mineral aggregate, it still claims to achieve a thermal conductivity value of 0.028 W/mK.

These new plasters have significantly better thermal insulation performance than traditional cement or gypsum plasters with sand aggregate, which typically have thermal conductivity values of between 0.22 and 0.72 W/mK.

Two studies, involving cementitious mortars incorporating aerogel, which did investigate strength, reported compressive strength, flexural strength and thermal conductivity all reducing with increased aerogel content.


An important property of aerogel for use in construction materials is its behaviour in the presence of water. There are several methods of manufacturing an aerogel, and the method used determines whether the finished product is hydrophilic or hydrophobic. Hydrophilic aerogels possess a large number of surface hydroxyl groups, making them extremely hygroscopic. When liquid water enters the pore structure, the surface tension of the water exerts strong capillary forces on the pore walls, causing collapse. This problem can be easily solved, however, by converting the surface hydroxyl groups (-OH) to non-polar (-OR) groups, where R is typically a methyl group [10] .

This problem can be easily solved, however, by converting the surface hydroxyl groups (-OH) to non-polar (-OR) groups, where R is typically a methyl group.


Policy formation driven by engagement with diverse stakeholders from the outset is perhaps the ideal, and yet this has rarely taken place. This paper suggests that, where biofuel policies have already been enacted, understanding the nature of existing equity issues can help re-shape and re-define practices to help rebalance the associated social and environmental inequities. Even with the biofuel certification schemes approved by the EU, standards vary greatly in their scope and coverage of environmental and social issues [12] . For those schemes that have incorporated multiple stakeholders, how these actors have been identified is unclear, meaning that it is difficult to assess diversity, inclusivity, and whether stakeholders are given the opportunity to state how they are affected by biofuels. Furthermore, while some attention has been paid to the recognition of multiple voices in standard setting, this is yet to be enjoyed within the assessment processes themselves. This would help to provide a more informed view of whether and how levels of poverty and social inequalities are affected by biofuel developments. In practice this would require multiple actors to be part of the assessment process, and would most likely draw on qualitative data to support more quantitative indicators and documentary evidence. Furthermore, dissemination of results to stakeholders along the biofuel supply chain would be important for enabling learning about the nature of the issues raised. This could also help to facilitate the adoption and strengthening of those practices that led to more sustainable and equitable outcomes. It will require skilled practitioners who can facilitate meaningful engagement with diverse actors along the supply chain, and who are supported to go against the prevailing power dynamics if required. Such practices would allow essential contextual factors to be understood and taken into account in sustainability assessment processes.

Even with the biofuel certification schemes approved by the EU, standards vary greatly in their scope and coverage of environmental and social issues.


The villous:crypt ratio is an indicator of the likely digestive capacity of the small intestine. The broilers fed with antibiotic plus anticoccidial agent in the diet had the highest ratio of villous height to crypt depth while that nonmedicated group had the lowest villous:crypt ratio (P<0.05). An increase in this ratio corresponds to an increase in digestion and absorption (MONTAGNE et al., 2003) . On the other hand, a decrease in villus:crypt ratio is indicative of a higher rate of enterocyte-cell migration from the crypt to the villous. It has suggested that reduced microbial activity in digesta or microbial activity at the level of the brush border would reduce both damage to enterocytes and the need for cell renewal in the gut (HUGHES, 2003) .

An increase in this ratio corresponds to an increase in digestion and absorption.

It has suggested that reduced microbial activity in digesta or microbial activity at the level of the brush border would reduce both damage to enterocytes and the need for cell renewal in the gut.


Computer technology plays an important role in the treatment of ailments, illness and disabilities. We continually seek and explore new ways of improving the health to empower those with disabilities to lead a life close to the normal. Multimedia Game or computer aided game helps in increasing Empathy Spectrum Quotient, Systemizing spectrum Quotient [5] , [6] .

Multimedia Game or computer aided game helps in increasing Empathy Spectrum Quotient, Systemizing spectrum Quotient.


Data collected on each patient included age, gender, weight, height, serum creatinine, drug, dose, serum drug concentrations, and timing of sample collection. In addition, serum creatinine was documented for five days after the start of therapy, if available, to identify fluctuations in renal function. An IBW and an adjusted body weight (ABW), using a DWCF of 40%, were calculated for each patient. To calculate an estimated CrCl, the Salazar-Corcoran formula was utilized [23] [24] [25] [26] . Drug concentrations were drawn after the first dose of aminoglycosides.

To calculate an estimated CrCl, the Salazar-Corcoran formula was utilized.


With increasing use of data aging 1 configurations and applications which are agnostic to how the data is stored, managed, and aged, there is a need to internally create and use special integrity constraints which capture the movement of data from hot to cold partitions, from column store to extended store in SAP HANA. These transient integrity constraints describe a snapshot of the database state such as data location and system topology. Such constraints can be extremely useful for efficient query processing by helping in restricting the access to cold data irrelevant to a query [10] . However, these dynamic integrity constraints can be extremely expensive to discover and maintain. Comparing the building and the maintenance of traditional data statistics to dynamic discovery of transient integrity constraints, we make the observation that the two are very similar in how the base data is processed for these objects, how they have to be built, maintained and stored in a compact way, and how they can be used in query processing.

Such constraints can be extremely useful for efficient query processing by helping in restricting the access to cold data irrelevant to a query.


There are number of studies that have been conducted dealing with the use of Webquest as an effective instructional tool which can facilitate learning language skills (Shan, 2011; Tuan, 2011; Laborda, 2009; Chuo, 2007) . However, only a few studies focused on discussing about using Webquest for supporting learning language aspects especially grammar. Therefore, the writer conducted a research entitled "Using Webquest in Learning Grammar: Students' Perceptions in Higher Education" which its purpose was to find out students' perceptions toward the use of Webquest for facilitating learning grammar in Higher Education.

There are number of studies that have been conducted dealing with the use of Webquest as an effective instructional tool which can facilitate learning language skills.


Webquest is one of internet based learning tools that can be used for mastering language. The use of it has been growing rapidly in recent years. Webquest can be considered as an instructional aid and a tool for facilitating language teaching and learning (Sen & Neufeld, 2006) . In teaching and learning English, Webquest is used not only for supporting learning language skills such as: listening, speaking, reading, and writing, but also for studying language aspects such as: grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary.

Webquest can be considered as an instructional aid and a tool for facilitating language teaching and learning.


In recent years, a large number of different clinical applications of magnetic microspheres have been proposed, mainly connected to disease treatments. On the contrary, only few others have proposed to use nanoparticles for the reliable detection and localization of tumors. Magnetic drug delivery by particulate carriers is a very efficient method of delivering a drug to a localized disease site. In magnetic targeting, a drug or therapeutic radioisotope is bound to a magnetic compound, injected into a patient's blood stream, and then stopped with a powerful magnetic field in the targeted area [3] .

In magnetic targeting, a drug or therapeutic radioisotope is bound to a magnetic compound, injected into a patient's blood stream, and then stopped with a powerful magnetic field in the targeted area.


Magnetic nanoparticles offer some attractive possibilities in biomedicine. First, they have controllable sizes ranging from a few nanometers, which places them at dimensions that are smaller than or comparable to those of a cell (10 -100 μm), a virus (20 -450 nm), a protein (5 -50 nm) or a gene (2 nm wide and 10 -100 nm Iong). This means that can 'get close' to a biological entity of interest. Indeed, they can be coated with biological molecules to make them interact with or bind to a biological entity, thereby providing a controllable means of "tagging" or addressing it. Second, the nanoparticles are magnetic, which means that they obey Coulomb's law, and can be manipulated by an external magnetic field gradient. This 'action at a distance', combined with the intrinsic penetrability of magnetic fields into human tissue, opens up many applications involving the transport and/or immobilization of magnetic nanoparticles, or of magnetically tagged biological entities. In this way they can be made to deliver a package, such as an anticancer drug, or a coherent of radionuclide atoms, to a targeted region of the body, such as a tumor. Third, the magnetic nanoparticles can be made to resonantly respond to a time-varying magnetic field, with advantageous results related to the transfer of energy from the exciting field to the nanoparticles [2] .

Third, the magnetic nanoparticles can be made to resonantly respond to a time-varying magnetic field, with advantageous results related to the transfer of energy from the exciting field to the nanoparticles.


There is a considerable interest in preparation of magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ) due to its strong magnetic properties, which were used first in biology and then in medicine for the magnetic separation of biochemical products and cells as well as the magnetic guidance of particle systems for site-specific drug delivery. However, the size, charge, and surface chemistry of magnetic particles could strongly influence their magnetic properties and distribution in biological systems. The most common method for the synthesis of magnetite is by co-precipitation from a solution of Fe (III) and Fe (II) salts in presence of base. Preparation of size-controllable magnetite nano-particles was performed in presence of different water-soluble polymers such as lignosulfonate, mesoporous sulfonated styrene-divinylbenzene, polypeptide [4, 5] etc.

Preparation of size-controllable magnetite nano-particles was performed in presence of different water-soluble polymers such as lignosulfonate, mesoporous sulfonated styrene-divinylbenzene, polypeptide etc.


Monodispersed nano/micrometer scale magnetic particles have drawn considerable attention because of both fundamental physics involved and technical applications in high-density magnetic storage media, ferrofluids and catalysts. The nano/micrometer spinel ferrite particles have great potential applications since they are relatively inert and their magnetic properties can be finely tuned by chemical manipulations. Especially, in recent years, the interests in monodispersed spinel ferrite nano/micrometer particles are growing based on their potential applications in biomedicine and biotechnology for contrast enhancement of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and as drug carriers for magnetically guided site-specific drug delivery [1] .

Especially, in recent years, the interests in monodispersed spinel ferrite nano/micrometer particles are growing based on their potential applications in biomedicine and biotechnology for contrast enhancement of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and as drug carriers for magnetically guided site-specific drug delivery.


An area of growing interest in research in developing countries is that of job opportunities for the underprivileged [8, 13] . Browsing such jobs by voice navigation only is cumbersome and time-consuming, eventually reducing effectiveness and success of such applications. Not only does this make such services more useful, the visualization might also contribute to the understanding of the hierarchical structure of voice systems.

An area of growing interest in research in developing countries is that of job opportunities for the underprivileged.


FIGO recommends endometrial tissue testing as a firstline management in women of perimenopausal age group who have AUB [7, 8] . Histology clinches the diagnosis and guides the management plan. When planning hormone therapy, it is mandatory to rule out a precancerous neoplasia like suspicious hyperplasia or sub-clinical endometrial cancer. A histological assessment therefore remains the cornerstone in the current practice as it puts the clinical diagnosis in the accurate perspective and allows standardization of treatment.

FIGO recommends endometrial tissue testing as a firstline management in women of perimenopausal age group who have AUB.


MPAs have increased in popularity as an alternate management strategy because of the poor state of global fisheries resources and the failure of traditional fisheries management to stem the flow of overcapitalised and overexploited fisheries (Roberts and Polunin 1991; Fogarty et al. 2000; Russ 2002) . Traditional fisheries management typically has been based on single-species and stock-specific strategies that have failed to encompass the diversity of multispecies and metastock assemblages, leading to the depletion, extirpation, and collapse of fish stocks throughout the world. Management problems are exacerbated in coral reef fisheries, which tend to be data-limited, community-based, and inherently complex as the result of multispecies and multigear interactions (Crowder et al. 2000) . MPAs, however, potentially provide an expedient and efficient ecosystem-based management strategy that embodies the directives of the precautionary approach, fulfilling the dual functionality of biodiversity conservation and, potentially, sustainable utilisation of selected resources (Agardy 1997; Bohnsack 2000) .

MPAs have increased in popularity as an alternate management strategy because of the poor state of global fisheries resources and the failure of traditional fisheries management to stem the flow of overcapitalised and overexploited fisheries.

Management problems are exacerbated in coral reef fisheries, which tend to be data-limited, community-based, and inherently complex as the result of multispecies and multigear interactions.

MPAs, however, potentially provide an expedient and efficient ecosystem-based management strategy that embodies the directives of the precautionary approach, fulfilling the dual functionality of biodiversity conservation and, potentially, sustainable utilisation of selected resources.


No-take zones have been advocated as a management strategy that embodies the precautionary approach by providing an insurance against the uncertainty that pervades traditional fisheries management (Agardy 1997; Bohnsack 2000) . Although no-take zones most likely provide an array of conservation benefits within their boundaries, we should be cautious in extrapolating these results to direct fisheries benefits. The extent to which fisheries benefits will be realised is as dependent on what happens outside the no-take zone (i.e., the nature of the fisheries management regime in the area open to fishing) as what happens inside (Beverton and Holt 1957; Polacheck 1990; Mapstone et al. 2004) . Notably, when designing MPAs and particularly no-take zones, we need to incorporate a routine monitoring and assessment program to evaluate the performance of the areas to determine if they are indeed achieving the objectives for which they were established (Mapstone et al. 1999; Agardy 2000; Russ 2002) . If an MPA is not fulfilling such objectives, then management needs to be able to adapt accordingly. If these objectives are related to sustaining fisheries production outside the no-take zones or MPAs, then examining a multivariate suite of life-history parameters as part of a routine monitoring program should provide a holistic performance indicator to measure the performance of MPAs in relation to exploited fish species.

No-take zones have been advocated as a management strategy that embodies the precautionary approach by providing an insurance against the uncertainty that pervades traditional fisheries management.

The extent to which fisheries benefits will be realised is as dependent on what happens outside the no-take zone (i.e., the nature of the fisheries management regime in the area open to fishing) as what happens inside.

Notably, when designing MPAs and particularly no-take zones, we need to incorporate a routine monitoring and assessment program to evaluate the performance of the areas to determine if they are indeed achieving the objectives for which they were established.


Contact mechanics is of high interest in many engineering systems. For many of them, if two solids are in contact, then real contact area is much smaller than the apparent one due to surface roughness. The interface behavior and the contact area has a great effect on system performance [1] .

The interface behavior and the contact area has a great effect on system performance.


As an example, a two-layered solid with a rough surface has been studied. Results show that the sub-layer properties strongly affect the contact interface stiffness but much less the load-area evolution. The latter depends essentially on surface roughness and the first layer properties. With regard to stiffness, the sub-layers properties have a great influence on interaction terms which affects the load-separation evolution. Indeed, it has been shown that in some cases, the interactions between asperities can be neglected, while in the homogeneous case, interactions must be considered even in the case of small loads and contact areas. Moreover, the effect of the surface bandwidth has been investigated over many surface realizations. The obtained results highlight the role of interactions which increase if the surface is a Finally, this model can be used to embed large-scale numerical models with the aim to consider the effect of roughness and a normal gradient of properties using the approach presented in our work [11] .

The obtained results highlight the role of interactions which increase if the surface is a Finally, this model can be used to embed large-scale numerical models with the aim to consider the effect of roughness and a normal gradient of properties using the approach presented in our work.


Many authors and teacher educators have explored the introduction and use of information and communication technologies in the school classroom from a variety of international perspectives (Baskin & Williams, 2006; Kangro & Kangro, 2004; Lim et al., 2003; Misra, 2006; Vavouraki, 2004) . What is clear from this body of work is that technologies cannot be introduced in an ad hoc or top-down manner. Nor should there be an emphasis on the technology itself promoting physical engagement at the expense of cognitive engagement (Foo, Ho, & Hedberg, 2005) .

Many authors and teacher educators have explored the introduction and use of information and communication technologies in the school classroom from a variety of international perspectives.

Nor should there be an emphasis on the technology itself promoting physical engagement at the expense of cognitive engagement.


We might ask what simple algebras B arise as the endomorphism algebra End 0 L (A) of an abelian variety A of GL 2 -type over Q for some field extension L/Q. As modular computations show, it might be predicted that these should not constitute a very large class of algebras (cf. also [9] ). This is gathered in the following conjecture. On the other hand, the case g ≥ 2 is completely open. It is known that if A is an abelian surface of GL 2 -type over Q then, for any number field L, the endomorphism algebra End 0 L (A) is either a quadratic field, M 2 (Q), M 2 (K) for an imaginary Key words and phrases. Shimura curves, Hilbert surfaces, Chabauty methods using elliptic curves, Heegner points.

We might ask what simple algebras B arise as the endomorphism algebra End 0 L (A) of an abelian variety A of GL 2 -type over Q for some field extension L/Q. As modular computations show, it might be predicted that these should not constitute a very large class of algebras (cf. also).


During recombination, the Cosmic Mircowave Background (CMB) undergoes Thomson scattering that leaves it with ∼ 5 percent linear polarization. The polarization signal contains information about the plasma velocity and provides cosmological constraints independent from the signal in temperature anisotropies [1] . Standard CMB analysis techniques involve translating the Stokes parameters of polarization into scalar (E) and pseudo-scalar (B) modes, since the statistics of these coordinate independent scalar fields are predicted by theory.

The polarization signal contains information about the plasma velocity and provides cosmological constraints independent from the signal in temperature anisotropies.


The formalism for converting the Stokes parameters to scalar quantities is well established [24, 25] . The spin-0 scalar E/B modes relate to the spin-2 complex Stokes parameters via the spin-raising and -lowering operators (ð 2 ,ð 2 ), which are derivatives evaluated locally and filtered. In practice the E/B modes are computed to some specified band limit, and the filtering and band limit make them non-local functions of the polarization field. In other words, E/B modes evaluated at a point receive contributions from all over the sky. In this work we aim to gain real space insights into the non-locality of the E/B fields compared to the Stokes parameters. With renewed focus on foreground contamination to the B-mode signal we aim to gain an intuition for E/B mode patterns resulting from physical polarized structures in the galaxy. These real space insights may yield new ideas for minimizing foreground contamination that are not obvious using conventional approaches.

The formalism for converting the Stokes parameters to scalar quantities is well established.


As code transmission in PCC scenarios typically targets low-level code, we intend to transfer our findings to program logics for (virtual) machine code. Previous work concerned with information flow security for low-level languages includes [27, 8, 14] . We also intend to generalise our approach to languages with more general method invocation mechanisms.

Previous work concerned with information flow security for low-level languages includes.


Strongly interacting cold fermions with an infinite scattering length exhibit universal bulk and transport properties. In particular, the ground state energy per particle was found to asymptote E/NE F ≈ 0.5 independently of the details of the interaction [2] . In the long wavelength limit, strongly interacting fermions behave hydrodynamically for a broad range of temperatures above the superfluid temperature [3] .

In particular, the ground state energy per particle was found to asymptote E/NE F ≈ 0.5 independently of the details of the interaction.

In the long wavelength limit, strongly interacting fermions behave hydrodynamically for a broad range of temperatures above the superfluid temperature.


Primary leptomeningeal lymphoma (PLML) is a known, exceedingly rare subtype of Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma (PCNSL), and it represents less than 0.1% of all Non-Hodgkin's Lymphomas (NHL) [1] . PLML is primarily a disease that originates from the meninges without any brain or systemic extension and/or involvement. It usually presents with nonspecific neurologic symptoms and signs such as headache, meningeal signs, and cranial nerve involvement with poor prognosis [2] .

Primary leptomeningeal lymphoma (PLML) is a known, exceedingly rare subtype of Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma (PCNSL), and it represents less than 0.1% of all Non-Hodgkin's Lymphomas (NHL).

It usually presents with nonspecific neurologic symptoms and signs such as headache, meningeal signs, and cranial nerve involvement with poor prognosis.


Single or multiple dural-based extraaxial lesions that diffusely enhance after gadolinium injection are the typical radiologic feature on MRI. The presence of vasogenic edema and parenchymal brain invasion with a fuzzy tumorbrain interface is in favor of PDL more than meningiomas [20] . The involvement of leptomeningeal space makes the evaluation of CSF critical [20] .

The presence of vasogenic edema and parenchymal brain invasion with a fuzzy tumorbrain interface is in favor of PDL more than meningiomas.

The involvement of leptomeningeal space makes the evaluation of CSF critical.


Riparian forests have many functions that are crucial to sustaining the ecosystem, such as protecting water resources; balancing the local flora and fauna; regulating the hydrological cycle of watersheds; maintaining water quality; preventing erosion of the banks and siltation of the bed of the watercourse; and acting as a natural filter for possible contaminants such as chemical residues, pesticides and fertilizers. Bodies of water that are surrounded by preserved riparian forest are less affected by such contaminants and help maintain the stability of ecosystems (Noffs et al. 2000; Primo & Vaz 2006) . For these and other reasons, it is necessary to preserve the remaining riparian forests and to restore riparian zones that have been degraded.

Bodies of water that are surrounded by preserved riparian forest are less affected by such contaminants and help maintain the stability of ecosystems.


As a novel machine learning method, SVR which is proposed by Vapnik based on statistical learning theory adopts structural risk minimization principle instead of empirical risk minimization principle used in neural network, so that it has simpler structure and better generalization ability with small sample [23] . Besides, SVR has the advantages of the global optimum, handling high dimensional nonlinear data efficiently, and so on. For these reasons, it has been an effective method for modeling time series and widely applied in nonlinear time series prediction [24, 25] . In recent years, SVR has been also used successfully in the field of fault prediction [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] . However, some problems arise from the application of SVR techniques. The training of SVR must solve the problem of convex quadratic programming. Although the obtained solution is an optimal solution, the more the sample data is, the slower the computing speed will be and the bigger the spaces it takes, because the complexity of the algorithm relies on the number of the sample data.

As a novel machine learning method, SVR which is proposed by Vapnik based on statistical learning theory adopts structural risk minimization principle instead of empirical risk minimization principle used in neural network, so that it has simpler structure and better generalization ability with small sample.

For these reasons, it has been an effective method for modeling time series and widely applied in nonlinear time series prediction.

In recent years, SVR has been also used successfully in the field of fault prediction.


The use of herbal medicine has become increasingly popular worldwide and medicinal plants are believed to be an important source of new chemical substances with potential therapeutic effects (Estakhr et al., 2011) . Plant secondary metabolites play an important role in health care for about 80% of the world's population (Wohlmuth et al., 2002) . Approximately, half of the world's 25 best-selling pharmaceutical agents are derived from natural products (Baker et al., 1995) . Thus, emphasis is now given on the standardization of herbal medication by screening of biological activities of medicinal plants and isolating active principles from them (Abelson, 1990) .

The use of herbal medicine has become increasingly popular worldwide and medicinal plants are believed to be an important source of new chemical substances with potential therapeutic effects.

Plant secondary metabolites play an important role in health care for about 80% of the world's population.

Approximately, half of the world's 25 best-selling pharmaceutical agents are derived from natural products.

Thus, emphasis is now given on the standardization of herbal medication by screening of biological activities of medicinal plants and isolating active principles from them.


At this point, the nature of the given data, in other words the nature of the sought function, and the construction features of the data set affect the behavior of the interpolation problem and the structure of the high dimensional model representation method. To this end, HDMR or Generalized HDMR (GHDMR) can be used to partition the multivariate data and to determine an approximate analytical structure for the sought function. These methods work well for the sought functions having additive nature as a result of the additive structure of the HDMR expansion. For the sought functions having dominantly or entirely multiplicative nature Factorized HDMR (FHDMR) is used [9, 10] . Hybrid HDMR (HHDMR) method is used when the sought function has intermediate nature, that is, it has neither a dominantly additive nor a dominantly multiplicative nature [11] .

For the sought functions having dominantly or entirely multiplicative nature Factorized HDMR (FHDMR) is used.

Hybrid HDMR (HHDMR) method is used when the sought function has intermediate nature, that is, it has neither a dominantly additive nor a dominantly multiplicative nature.


On the other hand, data need not to be given at all nodes of hyperprismatic regular grid. Instead, it can be given at certain randomly chosen nodes. Hence, certain level of incompleteness may be encountered in HDMR method for such data sets. This time Generalized High Dimensional Model Representation (GHDMR), which is based on the HDMR expansion, is used as a data partitioning technique [8] .

This time Generalized High Dimensional Model Representation (GHDMR), which is based on the HDMR expansion, is used as a data partitioning technique.


A multivariate function can be given by its values at a finite number of nodes of a hyperprismatic regular grid. These nodes can be represented by N tuples which are the elements of a cartesian product of the given individual sets of values for each independent variable. High Dimensional Model Representation is used to approximately partition this given multivariate data into low-variate data [7] .

High Dimensional Model Representation is used to approximately partition this given multivariate data into low-variate data.