Bruun in her PhD thesis developed a 1D distributed model of a tubular SOFC for use in marine power plants [13] . The author first created a lumped parameter section of the cell, which was later used to create a model consisting of six identical sections. Each section incorporates thermal, fluid dynamics and electrochemical phenomena. The model also features auxiliary components such as ejectors, fuel reformers, valves, afterburners and heat exchangers. The author presented the results of simulating several model configurations to compare the performance of a lumped and distributed models, however, no experimental validation was presented.

Bruun in her PhD thesis developed a 1D distributed model of a tubular SOFC for use in marine power plants.


Fuel cells (FCs) are a technology for electricity generation that promises to play an important role in the future energy landscape. These devices convert chemical energy stored within fuel directly into electricity through an electrochemical process. The principal fuel consumed in such conversion is pure hydrogen gas, although certain types of fuel cells can operate on hydrocarbons. Because the by-product of such energy generation is only water and heat, fuel cells are more environmentally friendly. The overall CO 2 emissions generated as a result of fuel cell operation can be minimised or even cut down to zero when the fuel is obtained with renewable electricity via water electrolysis. In addition to that, due to the absence of mechanical parts, fuel cells can be easily scaled to satisfy multiple applications including portable, automotive and stationary power generation [1] .

In addition to that, due to the absence of mechanical parts, fuel cells can be easily scaled to satisfy multiple applications including portable, automotive and stationary power generation.


McCain and Stefanopoulou created a distributed model of a GDL consisting of 3 identical sections [12] . Liquid water condensation, evaporation and transport are implemented within the model and its effect on the lumped current density during flooding is considered. The model was experimentally validated using a 24-cell PEMFC stack. The authors emphasise that even though the model is not too complex it still contains 25 states, which is too high for control applications. This is why the authors employ a special model order reduction algorithm in order to eliminate model components that do not bear significant effect on model performance. As a result, the authors reduced the number of states to 19.

McCain and Stefanopoulou created a distributed model of a GDL consisting of 3 identical sections.


The variations in the mean values of the water quality parameters were minimal throughout the period of study. Dissolved oxygen was observed to decrease with increase in the concentration of dichlovos. This was not surprising as Oxygen had been reported to be depressed in polluted and contaminated water bodies (Ogamba et al; 2005) . Nevertheless, all the values of the water quality parameter were within the suggested tolerance range of warm water species (Adeniyi et al; 1989) . The parameters therefore, could not have caused the abnormal behavioural changes exhibited by the Clarias gariepinus species exposed to dichlorvos.

This was not surprising as Oxygen had been reported to be depressed in polluted and contaminated water bodies.

Nevertheless, all the values of the water quality parameter were within the suggested tolerance range of warm water species.


We hypothesize that infanticide among wolves is not as rare as previously believed, just hard to detect, and is one of the driving forces behind wolf territoriality (Wolff 1997; Mech and Boitani 2003) . For example, in 18 years of close monitoring, we have discovered 6 such events, all in northern Yellowstone where our monitoring is most intense (ground and air), and had our monitoring not been intensive, we would have missed several of the interactions. For example, on one radiotracking flight, we radiotracked both breeding Slough Creek females to the den and visually observed 6 wolves bedded around the den. The ground crews had identified these wolves as intruding Unknown pack wolves, whereas the air crew did not, which underscores the point that without detailed and continuous monitoring from the ground, the events we report herein might have gone unnoticed. Possibly additional attacks on dens throughout Yellowstone, particularly in the interior Yellowstone wolf population, were missed.

We hypothesize that infanticide among wolves is not as rare as previously believed, just hard to detect, and is one of the driving forces behind wolf territoriality.


In-process monitoring is an important next step in AM methods due to user, machine and material induced errors affecting the success of manufacture from a geometrical and material point of view [4] . The study presented here investigates generic parameters of NDE tools and their influence on the productivity on the rapidly advancing AM process when incorporated in-situ. Analysing the spatial opportunity and temporal penalty associated with it, that the AM process presents for a measurement system, is a key concern when designing and selecting instruments. An NDE capability analysis approach is demonstrated in two case studies and simulated defect data is used to outline the effects of low NDE spatial capabilities.

In-process monitoring is an important next step in AM methods due to user, machine and material induced errors affecting the success of manufacture from a geometrical and material point of view.


Quality is understood as a measure of excellence or a synonym of zero defects, zero deficiencies or absence of variations in the product by many industries. In order to achieve the desired product quality, the quality system performance is continuously monitored and evaluated for the sake of constant improvements of customer satisfaction, morale and reliability. The adoption of the Lean-Kaizen approach improves the organization output by solving problems through identifying and implementing small improvements in process, product, and system [1] [2] . So, the Lean-Kaizen approach is required to be implemented in order to produce quality products by eliminating waste (Muda) in the entire system of the organization [3] .

The adoption of the Lean-Kaizen approach improves the organization output by solving problems through identifying and implementing small improvements in process, product, and system.

So, the Lean-Kaizen approach is required to be implemented in order to produce quality products by eliminating waste (Muda) in the entire system of the organization.


In all cases, we suppose that dim P < dim M , and this is the only restriction we make on dimensions: for instance, any point is a spine of the sphere S n for all n ≥ 1. The polyhedron P may also have strata of varying dimensions: for instance a natural spine of S 2 × S 1 is the union of the sphere S 2 × q and the circle p × S 1 . A compact manifold M has many different spines: as an example, one may give M a Riemannian structure and construct P as the cut locus of a point [8] . The manifold M has typically infinitely many pairwise non-homeomorphic spines, with portions of varying dimension.

A compact manifold M has many different spines: as an example, one may give M a Riemannian structure and construct P as the cut locus of a point.


The seroprevalence of HCV infection has been reported in 1.5 to 3.5% in Mexico and Latin America [14, 17] . Therefore, the frequency of HCV coinfection in dengue patients found here clearly indicates an increase over the current estimation, as it was almost 13%. This suggests that some conditions may contribute to an increased susceptibility of hepatic damage in coinfected patients, complicating the symptoms of either dengue or hepatitis C infection.

The seroprevalence of HCV infection has been reported in 1.5 to 3.5% in Mexico and Latin America.


The wavelength range of 2 m is of broad interest for LIDAR, gas sensing systems, freespace communications and medical applications [1] [2] [3] . Semiconductor lasers and Thuliumdoped fibers provide gain in the wavelength range of 2 m, thus providing access to compact laser sources [4] [5] [6] . The operation of a 2 μm laser depends on the availability of a variety of components compatible with this wavelength range. Of most importance, a nonlinear medium enables the laser to be operated in a pulsed regime [7, 8] . As well as it could be used for wavelength conversion [9] [10] [11] .

The wavelength range of 2 m is of broad interest for LIDAR, gas sensing systems, freespace communications and medical applications.

Semiconductor lasers and Thuliumdoped fibers provide gain in the wavelength range of 2 m, thus providing access to compact laser sources.

Of most importance, a nonlinear medium enables the laser to be operated in a pulsed regime.

As well as it could be used for wavelength conversion.


We used this procedure to systematically investigate the long-term effects of shocks due to microseparation. Both shock and hydrothermal alteration may contribute to wear and to a phase transition from tetragonal to monoclinic in zirconia [12] . We studied the combined effects of shock and hydrothermal ageing by alternatively submitting implants to shock and alteration cycles. We produced in vitro simulated explants having undergone up to 1.5 millions shocks and hydrothermal alteration corresponding to about 15 years of human activity. Wear is quantified using 3D profilometry and phase transformation is characterized with Raman spectroscopy. Results are used to discuss the relative influence of shock, hydrothermal alteration and friction on wear of ceramic hip implants. Clinically retrieved implants were also analyzed with a view to investigating correlations between in vitro and in vivo behavior and further adjusting in vitro testing procedures.

Both shock and hydrothermal alteration may contribute to wear and to a phase transition from tetragonal to monoclinic in zirconia.


In Chinese medicine, coronary disease belongs to "chest bi syndrome and heart pain". There are lots of prescriptions for curing "chest bi syndrome" in books of traditional Chinese medicine from past dynasties [3] . Salvianic acid A and tea catechins have been shown to have neuroprotective actions [4] [5] [6] . Many experiments have demonstrated that Sal B might be able to inhibit platelet aggregation, prevent oxidation of low-density lipoprotein, possess strong antioxidant action in rats, and reduce the initimal thickness in the air-injured carotid artery [7] [8] [9] [10] .

There are lots of prescriptions for curing "chest bi syndrome" in books of traditional Chinese medicine from past dynasties.

Salvianic acid A and tea catechins have been shown to have neuroprotective actions.

Many experiments have demonstrated that Sal B might be able to inhibit platelet aggregation, prevent oxidation of low-density lipoprotein, possess strong antioxidant action in rats, and reduce the initimal thickness in the air-injured carotid artery.


One of the first studies on the use of LE serration to control aerofoil noise was by Soderman [3] . The noise characteristics of serrations mounted at the LE of two different size rotors were investigated. The studies were conducted for various rotor speeds, blade angle as well as the geometry/location of serrations. He observed that high frequency noise was reduced with negligible effect on the low frequency noise. Further, it was noticed that the overall noise reductions varies from 4 to 8 dB for 1.52 m diameter rotor whereas it is up to 4 dB were for 2.59 m diameter rotor.

One of the first studies on the use of LE serration to control aerofoil noise was by Soderman.


The sample preparation procedure and its impact on the experiment is a key concern in all forms of microscopy. Here, AFM has distinct advantages over radiative-based alternatives, as it does not require the labeling or modification of delicate biological structures. However, AFM employs a physical probe and therefore requires the deposition of the sample on a solid support surface [14] . Muscovite mica surfaces are typically used as the substrate owing to their perfect cleavage along a <001> plane, yielding large atomically flat areas. Mica consists of layers of an aluminum phyllosilicate lattice ionically bonded through interstitial K + ions.

However, AFM employs a physical probe and therefore requires the deposition of the sample on a solid support surface.


In contrast, Mg 2+ cannot form directional bonds because it is continually exchanging with residual K + and H + ions on the mica surface and in the imaging buffer. As a consequence, Mg 2+ only mediates a relatively weak and diffuse adhesion between DNA and the mica surface, allowing DNA molecules to adopt an equilibrated form [22, [31] [32] [33] . This complex spatial distribution has been rationalized by others [31, 33] . Previous work has taken advantage of this difference in binding capacities by adjusting the ratio between different monovalent and monovalent-to-divalent ion concentrations in the deposition buffer to alter the surface adhesion of DNA in air [20, 34, 35] .

As a consequence, Mg 2+ only mediates a relatively weak and diffuse adhesion between DNA and the mica surface, allowing DNA molecules to adopt an equilibrated form.

This complex spatial distribution has been rationalized by others.

Previous work has taken advantage of this difference in binding capacities by adjusting the ratio between different monovalent and monovalent-to-divalent ion concentrations in the deposition buffer to alter the surface adhesion of DNA in air.


Direct feedback was provided in the form of reformulation and involved rewriting the learners' text, attending to grammatical and lexical errors but preserving the original meaning as much as possible (Thornbury, 1997 ) . Editing, the indirect form of feedback, involved marking the text with codes that corresponded to certain types of errors and that were explained and exemplifi ed in a handout (see Appendix B). Both forms of feedback were provided by the same native speaker who was an experienced ESL teacher. Feedback focused on errors in grammar (morphology and syntax), lexis (word choice), and mechanics (spelling and punctuation).

Direct feedback was provided in the form of reformulation and involved rewriting the learners' text, attending to grammatical and lexical errors but preserving the original meaning as much as possible.


The effect of potentiostatic polarization treatments on the pitting corrosion resistance of commercial 316L stainless steel was examined by measuring the anodic polarization curves in 0.5 M NaCl. Figure 4 exhibits three anodic polarization curves after the same polarization treatment at 0.5 V for 30 min in 1 M Na 2 SO 4 . Compared with the as-polished specimen shown in Figure 1 , fewer current spikes due to metastable pitting were noted and the onset potential of stable pitting was higher. However, the characteristics of the parameters of pitting varied from experiment to experiment, as can be seen in Figure 4 . This indicates that the pitting had a randomness or a probabilistic property [21] [22] [23] . In order to statistically treat the pitting properties, we repeated the anodic polarization measurement at least eight times for each treatment condition. The following three electrochemical parameters were evaluated from each of the polarization curves: the onset potential of metastable pitting, E r , the onset potential of stable pitting, E pit , and the number of metastable pits, N msp , which is assumed to be equal to the number of current spikes in the potential region between E r and E pit . The distribution of each of these parameters was examined using a normal probability paper.

This indicates that the pitting had a randomness or a probabilistic property.


Angiogenesis is the formation of new capillary blood vessels by a process of sprouting from pre-existing vessels and occurs during development as well as in a number of physiological and pathological settings. It plays a key role in chronic human diseases such as ocular disorders, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer [1] . In solid tumors, induction of angiogenesis is a necessary precondition for tumor growth beyond the size of a pinhead [2] . Mounting evidence suggests an important role for angiogenesis in hematologic malignancies as well [3] . In cardiovascular disease, the role of angiogenesis is much less clear. Angiogenic therapy is considered to be a promising approach to treat cardiovascular disease [4] . On the other hand, angiogenesis within the vessel wall is positively correlated with the development of atherosclerosis, because microvessels are abundant in atherosclerotic lesions and contribute significantly to disease progression and plaque instability [5, 6] .

It plays a key role in chronic human diseases such as ocular disorders, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer.

In solid tumors, induction of angiogenesis is a necessary precondition for tumor growth beyond the size of a pinhead.

Mounting evidence suggests an important role for angiogenesis in hematologic malignancies as well.

Angiogenic therapy is considered to be a promising approach to treat cardiovascular disease.

On the other hand, angiogenesis within the vessel wall is positively correlated with the development of atherosclerosis, because microvessels are abundant in atherosclerotic lesions and contribute significantly to disease progression and plaque instability.


In the landscape maintenance industry, it is common to apply herbicide-treated mulch to landscape beds to provide long-term and broad spectrum weed control (Case & Mathers 2006) . However, no researches have been conducted to evaluate the herbicide-treated mulch prospect for weed management in plantation crops like coconut. In Malaysia, this is the first study designed to address interaction between herbicide and organic mulch. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate phytotoxic effects of oil palm frond mulch treated with imazethapyr for weed control in coconut plantation. Oil palm frond residue was selected as organic mulch based on its availability of material resources throughout the year and potential to inhibit weed emergence and growth up to 85-100% (Dilipkumar et al. 2015; Khalid et al. 1999) . Furthermore, utilization of pruned oil palm fronds are only limited by stacking around the base of the oil palm trees and across the slope as mulching material to improve soil fertility and reduce soil erosion (Moraidi et al. 2012) . While imazethapyr was selected because its synergistic combination effect with oil palm frond residue was proven in our preliminary study (unpublished data).

In the landscape maintenance industry, it is common to apply herbicide-treated mulch to landscape beds to provide long-term and broad spectrum weed control.

Oil palm frond residue was selected as organic mulch based on its availability of material resources throughout the year and potential to inhibit weed emergence and growth up to 85-100%.

Furthermore, utilization of pruned oil palm fronds are only limited by stacking around the base of the oil palm trees and across the slope as mulching material to improve soil fertility and reduce soil erosion.


In terms of baseline characteristics, the mean age, ovarian reserve as well as etiology of infertility appeared fairly representative of the patients seen at our center. The cause of infertility was male factor, tubal factor or unexplained in the majority of couples with fewer than 11 % undergoing IVF for anovulatory infertility. This is likely due to the fact that anovulatory patients are treated with ovulation induction, Metformin and/or in-vitro maturation (IVM), prior to undergoing IVF. Given that the mean age of subjects was 37, the mean baseline FSH of 8.4 IU/L and mean baseline E2 of 220 pmol/L appear appropriate. The mean serum TSH in our cohort was 1.8 mIU/L at first ultrasound, which corresponds to mean normal serum levels of 1.5-2.5 mIU/L reported in the literature [2] . In the terms of the applicability of these findings to a general infertility population, the mean age, ovarian reserve tests and etiology of infertility appear to be consistent. However, 16 % of our subjects tested positive for anti-thyroid antibodies. This is higher than the 5-10 % prevalence quoted in the literature for women of reproductive age [24, 28] . This finding might be explained by the fact that infertile women are proposed to have a higher prevalence of thyroid autoimmunity [24] .

The mean serum TSH in our cohort was 1.8 mIU/L at first ultrasound, which corresponds to mean normal serum levels of 1.5-2.5 mIU/L reported in the literature.

This is higher than the 5-10 % prevalence quoted in the literature for women of reproductive age.

This finding might be explained by the fact that infertile women are proposed to have a higher prevalence of thyroid autoimmunity.


Calcination temperature plays a crucial role in the activity of synthesized titania. Accordingly, temperature governs the elimination rate of organics used in the synthesis process and the distribution of the rutile and anatase phases. At macroscopic scale, the transformation of anatase to rutile reaches a measurable speed for bulk TiO 2 at T [ 600°C. Figure 4 shows the results obtained. As seen in this figure, once again none of the photocatalysts manufactured at different calcination temperatures could enhance the results obtained with P-25. Low temperatures (i.e. 200°C) seem to be insufficient to remove the organic template used in the synthesis process while high temperatures (i.e. 700°C) seem to favour the formation of the less active rutile phase in contraposition to the anatase phase. In any case, according to the literature, the presence of both phases (anatase and rutile) shows a better photocatalytic activity than the use of single anatase (Sun and Xu 2010) . Also, the sintering process into larger particles may be favoured at high temperatures decreasing the photocatalyst activity.

Figure 4 shows the results obtained.

In any case, according to the literature, the presence of both phases (anatase and rutile) shows a better photocatalytic activity than the use of single anatase.


The N 1 s peak showed a bonding energy of 400.2 eV m, typical of interstitial positions in the environment O-Ti-N (Chen and Burda 2004) . Formation of NTi-N structures is ruled out due to the lower binding Experiments carried out with commercial MCPA: influence of calcination temperature Following the results obtained previously, it was decided to assess the influence of the photocatalyst calcination temperature. Hence, the ratio N:Ti of 1:0.4 was thereafter used to photodegrade an aqueous solution of the commercial MCPA.

The N 1 s peak showed a bonding energy of 400.2 eV m, typical of interstitial positions in the environment O-Ti-N.


I provide some evidence that the difference between the DDK analysis and my own is caused by differential churning of ability ranks induced by tracking. If treatment induces rank change, then the QTE at the 95th percentile does not identify the effect on a person who was in the 95th percentile at the beginning of the program. In the case of test scores in this experiment, the strict rank preservation assumption is not applicable -there are clear changes in test score ranks across rounds. However, since test scores are noisy measures of underlying ability, a more useful thought experiment is to consider rank-similarity. Rank similarity is an assumption about the equal distribution of potential ranks, not realized ranks, across treatment groups ( Dong & Shen, 2016 ) .

Rank similarity is an assumption about the equal distribution of potential ranks, not realized ranks, across treatment groups.


In the absence of this additional intervention, my analysis suggests that tracking in Kenyan primary schools reduced the test scores of a fraction of initially low-ability students with high potential to learn in a mixed-peers environment. The generalizability of this result is unclear and my contribution to the literature is modest. I argue only that the Kenyan experiment does not provide compelling evidence that tracking is likely to generate Pareto improvements in test scores in contexts where teacher effort is low and incentives are misaligned to produce learning for low-ability students, a common but not universal feature of educational systems in developing countries ( Chaudhury, Hammer, Kremer, Muralidharan, & Rogers, 2006 ) . Policymakers with competing preferences over the outcome distribution of test scores are thus not freed from considering potential tradeoffs, with increased scores for many students potentially coming at the cost of decreased scores for a few.

I argue only that the Kenyan experiment does not provide compelling evidence that tracking is likely to generate Pareto improvements in test scores in contexts where teacher effort is low and incentives are misaligned to produce learning for low-ability students, a common but not universal feature of educational systems in developing countries.


The traditional method for damage recovery is to first diagnose the failure, then update the plans to bypass it [4, 5, 6] . Nevertheless, conceptually, the probability of failing grows exponentially with the complexity of the robot (e.g., a Roomba vs a humanoid) and the environment (e.g., an empty arena vs a post-earthquake building); We are interested in generic algorithms for robot damage recovery. For instance, here, a hexapod robot is missing a leg. B. Thanks to the Reset-free Trial-and-Error (RTE) algorithm, the damaged robot is able to learn to compensate while completing its task. As the robot moves, it improves its performance, that is, it needs fewer episodes to reach the next target.

The traditional method for damage recovery is to first diagnose the failure, then update the plans to bypass it.


Deer initially feed mainly on the most preferred foods, but become far less selective as deer density increases. Therefore, a reduction of deer population would reduce browsing pressure on forest vegetation in consecutive steps, firstly on avoided woody species, later on preferred ones (Nugent 1990) . Therefore, when ungulates show selectivity to species generally avoided, we can suppose that ungulate population is actually ''overabundant'' and/or understory food supply is scarce, generally preferred woody species are not available. Although there were great differences in the reported ungulate densities among our study areas (red deer density ranged between 3.48 and 13.62 estimated or 2.24 and 5.59 shot individuals/100 ha), a clear browsing preference to Fagus sylvatica or Quercus petraea and Q. robur was never revealed. It suggests that ungulate density in our study areas still has not reached the level where browsing selection is entirely suppressed by feeding competition. However, it does not necessarily mean that it would not cause a regeneration failure of those woody species, which actually become less resistant to herbivory, e.g. the abovementioned target tree species suffering from increasing aridity. Although the reported density data are not reliable enough for a scientific analysis, we note that some of the model simulations conclude that there are relatively small differences in the effects of the ungulates on natural forest regeneration at very low to very high densities (Kramer et al. 2006) .

Therefore, a reduction of deer population would reduce browsing pressure on forest vegetation in consecutive steps, firstly on avoided woody species, later on preferred ones.

Although the reported density data are not reliable enough for a scientific analysis, we note that some of the model simulations conclude that there are relatively small differences in the effects of the ungulates on natural forest regeneration at very low to very high densities.


Area expansion of Robinia pseudoacacia will presumably be accompanied by the spreading of red deer. Because of the expanding ungulate populations, the amount of compensation paid for forest and agricultural game damage will probably increase, but at the same time increasing hunting incomes to game management units will be also ensured. Consequently, the management goal is to keep population density at acceptable and damage at tolerable levels (Csányi and Lehoczki 2010) . In any case, the maintained ungulate density will influence the joint effects of climate change and large herbivores on the vegetation. Selective browsing pressure on tree or shrub species at a given ungulate density will depend on the actual species composition of the understory, which will be determined by climate change impacts and forest management practices.

Consequently, the management goal is to keep population density at acceptable and damage at tolerable levels.


With regard to gender and time dedicated to video games, men are the ones who play the most on weekdays as well as at the weekend (Sierra-Daza & Fernández-Sánchez, 2017; Giancotti et al., 2018) . Men are also those who consider that video games in the primary stage permit knowing and using the Castilian language and that of the corresponding autonomous community, besides they think that they allow the acquisition of fundamental aspects of Nature Sciences and of behaviors that foster their care. Regarding the attitude that they have towards videogames, it should be noted that they present a more favorable attitude towards the communication of the types of videogames they play, their participation in forums or conferences on the subject, imitating the characters of the videogames they play. It is striking that in addition, men claim to play video games that are not recommended for their age more than women.

With regard to gender and time dedicated to video games, men are the ones who play the most on weekdays as well as at the weekend.


Simplicity, global superiority, rapidity, shadowing property and robustness. The individual of artificial fish hunt object by bunching behavior, rear-end behavior, foraging behavior and random behavior (Li and Qian, 2003) . According to these four behaviors, artificial fishswarm can transfer fish-swarm unconsciously to achieve more high-efficiency swarm search. But the fish-swarm algorithm is also has disadvantages with low convergence precision and low hunt efficient. The study enhances convergence precision and hunt efficiencies by improving foraging behavior. Meanwhile, it offers a technical to resolve the problem of robot path planning. The operating environment of following code is: program run environment is AMD Sulong dikaryon 2.91 Ghz, OS is Windows XP, program executive software is Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0. It just searches randomly one time in tradition fish-swarm algorithm foraging behavior. The visual scope visual = 3, step length step = 0.3, crowding factor δ = 0.618, iterations is 50, 10 artificial fishes. Mapping result with MATLAB 6.5 is followed Fig. 1 .

The individual of artificial fish hunt object by bunching behavior, rear-end behavior, foraging behavior and random behavior.


Some scholars have researched the robot global path planning based on artificial fish-swarm algorithm, such as the based on artificial fish-swarm algorithm. The study is provided a way which the artificial fish-swarm optimizes robot path planning to Free Space (Nie and Zhou, 2008) . Particle swarm optimization work in the aspect of robot global path planning is also to be researched by some scholars, such as the based on the mobile robot path planning of particle swarm algorithm. The study offered a particle swarm algorithm path planning based on Free Space (Huang et al., 2006; Wei, 2012) . However, these two papers are searched with low precision, inefficient and other disadvantages. In order to improve the precision and efficient, it has to be the necessary improvement.

The study is provided a way which the artificial fish-swarm optimizes robot path planning to Free Space.

The study offered a particle swarm algorithm path planning based on Free Space.


Primary variables accounted for 13% of the variance in Grades, R 2 (2, 195) = .13, F = 14.14, p < .001, and the overall model accounted for 32% of the variance in Grades, R 2 (7, 188) = .32, F = 12.77, p < .001, R 2 -change = .19, F (5, 188) = 10.78, p < .001, see Table 2 and Figure 1 . At the total effect level, both primary variables were related to Grades: Conscientiousness (β = .30) and Sex (β = .17), such that females had higher Grades. After accounting for the mediator variables, the direct relationship between Sex and Grades remained consistent with the total effect (β = .20), but the direct relationship between Conscientiousness and Grades was diminished to nonsignificance (β = .06). Thus, the relationship between Conscientiousness and Grades was indirect (β = .24). Analysis of this indirect effect indicates that the relationship between Conscientiousness and Grades was mediated by Academic Self-Efficacy (Sobel's z = 4.05, p < .001), and Test Anxiety (Sobel's z = 2.80, p < .001). Academic self-efficacy had a large positive relationship with Grades (β = .37), and Test Anxiety was negatively related to Grades (β = -.23) (Baron & Kenny, 1986; Sobel, 1982) .

Academic self-efficacy had a large positive relationship with Grades (β = .37), and Test Anxiety was negatively related to Grades (β = -.23).


The most dominant model of personality structure in current literature examining personality traits and academic achievement is the Five-Factor model (Costa & McCrae, 1992; McCrae & Costa, 1997) . Within this model, the Big Five personality factors of Extraversion, Neuroticism, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness are thought to encompass all the more narrow personality traits existing at lower levels of the personality hierarchy. For example, individuals scoring high on the Extraversion scale possess the narrower traits of sociability and assertiveness. Individuals high on the Neuroticism scale tend to experience negative emotions such as guilt and pessimism, and are characterized by low self-esteem. Individuals with high scores on Openness to Experience tend to be open-minded, less conservative, and posses active imaginations. High scores on Agreeableness reflect tendencies to be sympathetic, altruistic, and helpful, whereas high scores on Conscientiousness are associated with responsibility, persistence, trustworthiness, and being purposeful.

The most dominant model of personality structure in current literature examining personality traits and academic achievement is the Five-Factor model.


The finding that females in the present study tended to have higher grades was unpredicted but consistent with previous work. This relationship was evident when controlling for year of study, Conscientiousness, and all of the mediator variables. However, this relationship is not as simple as females being "smarter" than males in the academic arena. Previous research suggests that females may engage in more behaviours that are conducive to academic success, including attending classes more regularly (Zusman, Knox, & Lieberman, 2005) . Further complicating the interpretation of this relationship is that discipline or subject choice tends to differ between males and females, and different types of learning strategies are more prevalent in some disciplines than others (Smith & Miller, 2005) . Future research should address these issues.

Previous research suggests that females may engage in more behaviours that are conducive to academic success, including attending classes more regularly.

Further complicating the interpretation of this relationship is that discipline or subject choice tends to differ between males and females, and different types of learning strategies are more prevalent in some disciplines than others.


The effects of a target's micro motions are manifested as the time variant modulations of the frequency content of the received Doppler signal [1] . Representing the Doppler signal in the joint time-frequency domain can therefore be useful when analysing micro-Doppler signatures. Each of the algorithms which will be described in this section rely on time-frequency analysis, and specifically the short time Fourier transform (STFT), as a first step in extracting features from micro-Doppler signatures. Figure 1 gives an example spectrogram showing micro-Doppler of a walking human with could be used as the basis for the algorithms which will be described in this section. The modulated micro-Doppler component can be seen at around 150Hz (the strong signal at zero Doppler is static ground clutter). One shortcoming of the SFP algorithm is that it does not exploit the time varying information about the instantaneous frequency contained in the time-frequency distribution. The cadence velocity diagram frequency profile (CVDFP) algorithm was therefore developed in an attempt to create an algorithm that would generate features which benefit from the localisation in time property of the STFT.

The effects of a target's micro motions are manifested as the time variant modulations of the frequency content of the received Doppler signal.


The application of natural fiber reinforced composites increases with a very high rate in all areas of the economy. They are based mostly on commodity polymers and used mainly in the building and the automotive industry [1] . However, with increasing environmental awareness of the public, biopolymers are preferred in all possible areas [2] .

They are based mostly on commodity polymers and used mainly in the building and the automotive industry.

However, with increasing environmental awareness of the public, biopolymers are preferred in all possible areas.


The rhizosphere is the zone of soil surrounding a plant root where the biology and chemistry of the soil are significantly influenced by living roots. This zone is about 1-2 mm wide, but has no distinct edge (Bertin et al. 2003) . Rather, it is an area of intense biological and chemical activity influenced by compounds exuded by the root, and by microorganisms feeding on the compounds. The chemical components of rhizosphere can be very different from that of bulk soil due to root exudation, nutrient uptake and microorganism activity (Wang and Zabowski 1998) . Soil salinity and tree species might affect the physio-chemical characteristics and biological properties of rhizopshere soils of different trees in the same mixed forest. However, less information is available on rhizopshere soil characteristics of black locust and velvet ash in saline soil.

This zone is about 1-2 mm wide, but has no distinct edge.

The chemical components of rhizosphere can be very different from that of bulk soil due to root exudation, nutrient uptake and microorganism activity.


There is a canonical matroid associated to any finite graph G, whose circuits are the (edge sets of) cycles in G and whose cocircuits are the bonds of G (the minimal nonempty cuts). However, when G is infinite there is no longer a canoncical choice of matroid. Instead, there are at least two very natural choices. The first is the finite cycle matroid M F C (G), defined as above, which is always finitary (all its circuits are finite). The second is the topological cycle matroid M C (G) whose circuits are (edge sets of) topological circles in a suitable compactification |G| of G and whose cocircuits are the finite bonds of G [13] . These topological circles arise naturally in the generalisations of some fundamental theorems from finite to infinite graphs [12] . The topological cycle matroid is always cofinitary (all its cocircuits are finite).

The second is the topological cycle matroid M C (G) whose circuits are (edge sets of) topological circles in a suitable compactification |G| of G and whose cocircuits are the finite bonds of G.

These topological circles arise naturally in the generalisations of some fundamental theorems from finite to infinite graphs.


Third, the various child, mother, and caregiver characteristics we find to be related to children's receipt of mental health services should be viewed as the products of larger social processes. Put simply, children are embedded in a broader social-structural context (Leventhal & Brooks-Gunn, 2000) . As such, their receipt of mental health services will be influenced by the kinds of ecological processes (e.g., chronic resource deprivation and weakened institutions of social support) that set the stage for both the causes and consequences of maternal imprisonment (Sampson, 2012; Triplett, Randy, & Ivan, 2003; Wright, Pratt, Lowenkamp, & Latessa, 2012) . Our finding that the children of Native American mothers are less likely to receive mental health services, for instance, may reflect these broader social processes. Native Americans are among the poorest ethnic groups in the United States, and their poverty is known to be closely linked to mental health crises (Grossman, Krieger, Sugarman, & Forquera, 1994) . Indian reservations in particular are plagued by widespread disadvantage where quality health services are virtually nonexistent (Mihesuah, 1996) . Mental illness is also highly stigmatized among certain tribes, and Native Americans are often discouraged from seeking help from Westernized treatment providers who are not attune to their cultural traditions (Grandbois, 2005) . The daunting-and yet critically importanttask for future research will be to measure directly these various social and cultural processes to determine the ways in which they influence the receipt of mental health treatment among children of incarcerated mothers.

Put simply, children are embedded in a broader social-structural context.

As such, their receipt of mental health services will be influenced by the kinds of ecological processes (e.g., chronic resource deprivation and weakened institutions of social support) that set the stage for both the causes and consequences of maternal imprisonment.

Native Americans are among the poorest ethnic groups in the United States, and their poverty is known to be closely linked to mental health crises.

Indian reservations in particular are plagued by widespread disadvantage where quality health services are virtually nonexistent.

Mental illness is also highly stigmatized among certain tribes, and Native Americans are often discouraged from seeking help from Westernized treatment providers who are not attune to their cultural traditions.


Second, children involved in CPS are significantly more likely to receive mental health services, thus highlighting the importance of state intervention in facilitating treatment to the children of incarcerated women. Such children face a multitude of family risks, and their involvement in CPS likely reflects histories of abuse and in-home maltreatment (Dettlaff & Cardoso, 2010; Mennen & Trickett, 2007) . Despite the apparent advantages of CPS contact for children with mental health needs, we do not know how well this agency addresses the specific emotional and behavioral needs of these children, or how well CPS is able to facilitate access to specialized treatment. Limited financial resources and overburdened CPS staff may contribute to decisions to intervene in only the most severe instances (Cicchetti & Toth, 2005) . Furthermore, CPS involvement may signify a response that is too late in terms of effectively treating children's ongoing mental health problems, and some caregivers may fear CPS workers or view CPS as a potentially repressive government agency (Kriz, Slayter, Iannicelli, & Lourie, 2012) . Subsequent research that can assess how children of incarcerated mothers come to the attention of CPS and that can evaluate how effective CPS is in facilitating children's mental health treatment will certainly help enrich these findings.

Such children face a multitude of family risks, and their involvement in CPS likely reflects histories of abuse and in-home maltreatment.

Limited financial resources and overburdened CPS staff may contribute to decisions to intervene in only the most severe instances.

Furthermore, CPS involvement may signify a response that is too late in terms of effectively treating children's ongoing mental health problems, and some caregivers may fear CPS workers or view CPS as a potentially repressive government agency.


The counter-propagating light waves inside the saturable absorber formed a transient grating with a reflection bandwidth of 20 MHz. The transient grating acted as a tracking filter, where the central frequency tracked the lasing mode and thus eliminated mode hopping. The transient grating was capable of adjusting itself, within a few milliseconds, to any sudden changes in the laser cavity, such as changes in temperature or other environmental fluctuations [26] . The effective cavity length of the laser was ∼19 m, which corresponds to a longitudinal-mode spacing of ∼10 MHz. Though the longer cavity length decreased the longitudinalmode spacing of the cavity, the presence of the FabryPerot filter increased the longitudinal-mode spacing to 514 MHz. Figure 7 shows the input-output characteristics of the laser with and without the SA, which shows the effect of SA on the output of the laser. The laser was oscillating in single-longitudinal-mode when more than 300 mW of output power was produced.

The transient grating was capable of adjusting itself, within a few milliseconds, to any sudden changes in the laser cavity, such as changes in temperature or other environmental fluctuations.


The 3-dB linewidth of the laser at lower power (∼100 mW) was ∼8.75 MHz as measured by the SFPSA and NuView software. The linewidth of the laser at high pump power was larger when compared to the theoretical value based on the Schawlow-Townes formula [27] . We found that the linewidth of the laser increased with increasing pump power. It was reported that the wider linewidth in the erbium-ytterbium-co-doped fiber laser is due to the temperature fluctuations induced by the pump intensity noise inside the core of the fiber or due to four-wave mixing between various longitudinal modes in the laser cavities [28] [29] [30] [31] .

The linewidth of the laser at high pump power was larger when compared to the theoretical value based on the Schawlow-Townes formula.

It was reported that the wider linewidth in the erbium-ytterbium-co-doped fiber laser is due to the temperature fluctuations induced by the pump intensity noise inside the core of the fiber or due to four-wave mixing between various longitudinal modes in the laser cavities.


Standard practice in the designing of safe aircraft constructions is the assumption that the construction should be resistant to damage at a certain level (damage tolerant design) as well as have a degree of redundancy that will prevent the catastrophe in the case of total dysfunction of any part (fail-safe design) [1] [2] [3] [4] . In particular, in cases in which must be considered resistance on the changing impacts, accidental or resulting from the essence of functioning of the specific mechanisms, generally are produced composite surface layers on components exposed to such actions. It is also important to have knowledge about the service life of parts, on which were deposited composite layers, operating additionally at high temperatures [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] .

Standard practice in the designing of safe aircraft constructions is the assumption that the construction should be resistant to damage at a certain level (damage tolerant design) as well as have a degree of redundancy that will prevent the catastrophe in the case of total dysfunction of any part (fail-safe design).

It is also important to have knowledge about the service life of parts, on which were deposited composite layers, operating additionally at high temperatures.


Regardless of the enhancement of load-bearing capacity of the substrate and development of the particular stress state as a result of nitriding process, a question also raises, whether produced nitrided layer will be characterized by further specific viscoelastic (rheological) properties [19] . This is particularly important in cases where the dissipation of deformation energy and relaxation of accompanying stresses is desirable (high ability of crack accommodation). Research shown in this paper was focused on obtaining answer to this question. The only difference is that tests consist in measurement of differences in dilatometric responses of nitrided substrate under sinusoidally changing, non-mechanical, but thermal loads.

Regardless of the enhancement of load-bearing capacity of the substrate and development of the particular stress state as a result of nitriding process, a question also raises, whether produced nitrided layer will be characterized by further specific viscoelastic (rheological) properties.


The most commonly known and widely used technology of surface treatment which enables manufacturing of composite layers is combination of gas or plasma nitriding process with deposition of hard antiwear coatings via physical vapour deposition (PVD) methods-duplex technology [12] [13] [14] [15] . The result of such configured technology is a possibility of production composite layer, consisting of nitrided layer and PVD coating formed directly on its surface. The main cause for combination of these processes is to increase load-bearing capacity of a substrate by applying nitriding before deposition of thin (in a range of few microns) hard coating.

The most commonly known and widely used technology of surface treatment which enables manufacturing of composite layers is combination of gas or plasma nitriding process with deposition of hard antiwear coatings via physical vapour deposition (PVD) methods-duplex technology.


Thermoplastic resins contain very high melt viscosities, which make in-process melt impregnation of the reinforcement difficult. For this reason, various intermediate materials have been developed to overcome these problems such as micro-braided yarn, commingled yarn and parallel configuration yarn as shown in Figure 1 . The schematic of tubular braiding fabric are showed in Figure 2 , all fiber bundles are diagonally oriented, and the angle of the fiber bundle to the longitudinal direction can be adjusted freely. Also, the fiber bundle called the middle-end-yarn (MEY) can be inserted into the braiding yarns along the longitudinal direction. For this reason, the braiding technique can control the anisotropic of pultrusion molding. Continuous jute spun yarns reinforced polylactic acid (PLA) resin has been made the unidirectional composite with good impregnation quality and mechanical properties using compression of micro-braided yarns as intermediate materials [10] [11] . In the early stage of thermoplastic braided composite by pultrusion molding with various form of materials have been widely studied [12, [13] [14] . The objective of this study was to establish a development of pultrusion system for jute spun yarn/PLA tubular composite with braiding technique and investigate the effect of configuration of intermediate material and the molding temperature on mechanical properties. Figure 3 shows the schematic of pultrusion process of braided composite in this study. The commingled yarns were used as intermediate materials to prepare the pultrusion preform by braiding technique. The fabrication quality of pultrusion process was evaluated by cross-section observation and mechanical properties evaluated by four-points bending test.

Continuous jute spun yarns reinforced polylactic acid (PLA) resin has been made the unidirectional composite with good impregnation quality and mechanical properties using compression of micro-braided yarns as intermediate materials.

In the early stage of thermoplastic braided composite by pultrusion molding with various form of materials have been widely studied.


Biodegradable polymers can potentially be combine with plant fibers to produce biodegradable composites materials. The rising concern towards environmental issues has led to increasing interest about polymer composites filled with natural fibers. The use of natural fibers derived from annually renewable resource as reinforcement in thermoplastic matrix composite provide the positive environment benefit with respect to ultimate disposability and raw materials utilization. Polylactic acic (PLA) is produced from renewable resources as well as it is good mechanical properties. After used, PLA can be recycled or alternatively disposed of by incineration or by landfilling [1] . The bio-composites, using natural fibers compounded with polymer matrices, could diminish the impact of plastic waste on the environment [2] [3] [4] . Jute fibers are natural fiber superior on light weight, low cost and environmental friendly corresponding to the bio-composite materials. While common composite production methods are unsuitable for mass production. One exception is the pultrusion process, it is possible to maintain a continuous production of straight profile with constant cross-sections. Pultrusion is a manufacturing process in which reinforcing fibers impregnation with matrix are pulled through a die to form composites of a constant cross-section. Generally, the unidirectional fibers are impregnated with low viscosity thermosetting resins before passing through a series of die for shaping and curing during pultrusion process [5] [6] . Although thermoset pultrusion is a well known and commercially established manufacturing method, there is less knowledge about the thermoplastic pultrusion. In contrast to thermosets, thermoplastic matrix are generally polymerized, no further chemical reaction are necessary, therefore the processing is reduced to first melting the matrix, then shaping the composite under pressure and finally cooling it to preserve the new shape [7] [8] [9] .

After used, PLA can be recycled or alternatively disposed of by incineration or by landfilling.

The bio-composites, using natural fibers compounded with polymer matrices, could diminish the impact of plastic waste on the environment.

Generally, the unidirectional fibers are impregnated with low viscosity thermosetting resins before passing through a series of die for shaping and curing during pultrusion process.

In contrast to thermosets, thermoplastic matrix are generally polymerized, no further chemical reaction are necessary, therefore the processing is reduced to first melting the matrix, then shaping the composite under pressure and finally cooling it to preserve the new shape.


The sliding-mode (SM) controller is well known for its robustness, stability and good regulation properties in a wide range of operating conditions. It is also deemed to be a better candidate than other nonlinear controllers for its relative ease of implementation [1] [2] [3] [4] . In particular, the fixedfrequency pulsewidth-modulation (PWM)-based SM controllers, which are basically pulsewidth modulators that employ control signals derived from SM control technique, are found to be more suited for practical implementation in power converters [1, [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] . However, the results presented in these papers are only valid for converters in CCM operation. As with conventional hysteresis modulation (HM)-based SM controllers, the proposed PWM-based SM controllers are not applicable to DC-DC converters operating in DCM because of the fundamental difference in the dynamic properties between the two operations. Thus, if PWM-based SM controllers are to be adopted for DC-DC converters in DCM operation, the system models and control laws have to be redeveloped with consideration of these properties.

It is also deemed to be a better candidate than other nonlinear controllers for its relative ease of implementation.

In particular, the fixedfrequency pulsewidth-modulation (PWM)-based SM controllers, which are basically pulsewidth modulators that employ control signals derived from SM control technique, are found to be more suited for practical implementation in power converters.


Control systems in typical modern chemical plants are built in a hierarchical structure, where a large number of digital PI, PID and other simple controllers enable stable operation of most unit operations. These controllers are then connected to multivariate systems spanning several unit operations to control the important quality variables or to achieve more sophisticated tasks such as waste minimization, economic optimization or production scheduling as shown in figure 1 (Skogestad, 2004) . The information flow in these hierarchical structures is in a vertical direction and the systems at the same level are not aware of the existence of their neighbors even though they may be interacting.

These controllers are then connected to multivariate systems spanning several unit operations to control the important quality variables or to achieve more sophisticated tasks such as waste minimization, economic optimization or production scheduling as shown in figure 1.


Tropical cyclones threatening the United States and the Caribbean receive significant international media attention. While this raises the awareness level of the Canadian public, there can be some confusion as to the exact nature of the threat that these storms might later pose to Canada, and subsequently to the North Atlantic and to Europe (Walmsley 1993) . The strong winds, heavy rains, storm surge, and large waves are seldom at the same intensities as when the tropical cyclone was farther south. However, there remains a problem unique to the middle latitudes-that of a potential rapid reintensification of the cyclone interacting with a preexisting weather system-an explosive extratropical transition (ET) .

While this raises the awareness level of the Canadian public, there can be some confusion as to the exact nature of the threat that these storms might later pose to Canada, and subsequently to the North Atlantic and to Europe.


Under physiological conditions, from the moment of recruitment of the primary follicle until the moment of ovulation, the process of oocyte maturation occurs. It involves the synthesis and accumulation of appropriate compounds and redistribution of cell organelles inside the oocyte, necessary for the process of fertilization and early embryo development [3] . During the aforementioned cytoplasmic maturation of the oocyte, it increases its volume (about 300 times) and the diameter (from 15µ m to 100 µm). In this time, the oocyte is very active. It is subject to the transcription and translation process, thanks to which it contains about 200 times more RNA and 20 times more proteins than the somatic cell. During the resumption of the meiosis process, the transcription stops and the translation process is continued [4] .

It involves the synthesis and accumulation of appropriate compounds and redistribution of cell organelles inside the oocyte, necessary for the process of fertilization and early embryo development.

During the resumption of the meiosis process, the transcription stops and the translation process is continued.


The literature provides clear evidence that in vitro matured oocytes are significantly reduced in quality compared to oocytes maturing under physiological conditions. The reduced quality of acquired oocytes results in reduced survival and the ability to undergo fertilization. This result is a reduced number of embryos obtained [2] .

This result is a reduced number of embryos obtained.


Although amoxicillin-clavulanate, ceftazidime, ceftriaxone and cefotaxime showed in vitro activity against some ESBL-producing isolates, ESBL enzymes have been reported to confer resistance to all penicillins and cephalosporins [23] . ESBL-mediated resistance is not obvious in disc or dilution susceptibility testing but is associated with clinical failure [12, 13] . This may explain the result of their disc susceptibility testing results. Susceptibility profiles of non-ESBL-producing isolates reveal poor to high activity while Imipenem was the most active antibacterial agent. The finding confirms that ESBL-producing Gram negative bacteria are more resistant than their non-ESBL-producing counter parts.

Although amoxicillin-clavulanate, ceftazidime, ceftriaxone and cefotaxime showed in vitro activity against some ESBL-producing isolates, ESBL enzymes have been reported to confer resistance to all penicillins and cephalosporins.

ESBL-mediated resistance is not obvious in disc or dilution susceptibility testing but is associated with clinical failure.


This study confirms the importance of the multi-model approach in quantifying uncertainties for impact studies adopted throughout the ENSEMBLES project and in the ongoing coordinated regional climate downscaling experiment (CORDEX) which fosters an international coordinated effort to produce improved multi-model high resolution climate change information over regions worldwide for input to impact/adaptation work and to the IPCC AR5. Results also stress the benefits of combining both regional and statistical downscaling techniques. Finally, this study points out the urgent need to address the main uncertainties in atmospheric processes controlling the monsoon system and to contribute to the evaluation and improvement of climate and weather forecast models in that respect. The African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis-Models Intercomparison Project (AMMA-MIP) provides a highly relevant framework to address those issues (Hourdin et al 2009) .

The African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis-Models Intercomparison Project (AMMA-MIP) provides a highly relevant framework to address those issues.


Climate has a strong influence on agriculture which is considered the most weather-dependent of all human activities (Oram 1989) . Improved climate prediction therefore offers interesting potential benefits to agriculture. On the one hand, numerous studies have tried to link seasonal prediction outputs from global climate models (GCMs) to crop models, thus translating climate forecasts into seasonal crop predictions (Hansen et al 2006) . On the other hand, combining GCMs and crop models also provides a tool to assess the impacts of future climate change on crop production (Jones and Thornton 2003) . This is particularly important for Sub-Saharan Africa where climate variability and drought threaten food security.

Climate has a strong influence on agriculture which is considered the most weather-dependent of all human activities.

On the one hand, numerous studies have tried to link seasonal prediction outputs from global climate models (GCMs) to crop models, thus translating climate forecasts into seasonal crop predictions.

On the other hand, combining GCMs and crop models also provides a tool to assess the impacts of future climate change on crop production.


Furthermore, the nearly perfect absorption by the PlCS in Fig. 6(a) has quite a wide range in energy; the absorption of A Ͼ 0.9 holds at 1.5-2.2 eV under the incident angle of −40°. The range is more than ten times wider than the energy range of A Ͼ 0.9 in mesoporous gold, which exhibits omnidirectional perfect absorption [27] . As a light absorber, the 1D PlCS in Fig. 6(a) thus has the advantage in the broadband features of both energy and incident angles.

The range is more than ten times wider than the energy range of A Ͼ 0.9 in mesoporous gold, which exhibits omnidirectional perfect absorption.


Total absorption by diffraction gratings is a rather wellknown phenomenon [26] . However, the total absorption has a very narrow linewidth; the width of A Ͼ 0.9 is less than 0.5°in incident angle. In contrast, absorption of over 90% takes place at the broad angles from −45°to − 5°in Fig. 6(b) .

Total absorption by diffraction gratings is a rather wellknown phenomenon.


Prior work dealing with oxide surface modification of titanium alloys has focused mainly on the use of phosphonic acid molecules [10, [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] . Phosphonic acid SAMs are well known and characterized, but the commercial availability of phosphonic acid molecules is limited compared to carboxylic acids, specifically pertaining to tail group functionality and various alkyl chain lengths [21] [22] [23] [24] . There has been work studying the mechanism and kinetics of carboxylic acid film formation on TiO 2 which has not yet been extrapolated to the alloy [25] [26] [27] . Therefore, developing routes for functionalizing Ti alloys with stable SAMs of carboxylic acid molecules, resulting in altered interfacial characteristics would be advantageous [28] .

Prior work dealing with oxide surface modification of titanium alloys has focused mainly on the use of phosphonic acid molecules.

Phosphonic acid SAMs are well known and characterized, but the commercial availability of phosphonic acid molecules is limited compared to carboxylic acids, specifically pertaining to tail group functionality and various alkyl chain lengths.

There has been work studying the mechanism and kinetics of carboxylic acid film formation on TiO 2 which has not yet been extrapolated to the alloy.

Therefore, developing routes for functionalizing Ti alloys with stable SAMs of carboxylic acid molecules, resulting in altered interfacial characteristics would be advantageous.


Titanium based alloys are widely used in engineering applications due to their high strength to weight ratio and corrosion resistance [1] [2] [3] [4] . These mechanical characteristics have led to the widespread implementation of titanium alloys in applications ranging from biomedical devices to the aerospace industry [5] [6] [7] [8] . Applications could be expanded if the properties of the oxide surface were changed through reaction with organic acid molecules to form self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) [6, 9, 10] . SAMs can be used to provide a chemically flexible interface. Changes to the chemistry of the interface include altered hydrophobicity, leading to improved corrosion resistance, and presentation of organic functional groups at the interface, which can be used in subsequent reactions resulting in immobilization of target compounds [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] .

Titanium based alloys are widely used in engineering applications due to their high strength to weight ratio and corrosion resistance.

These mechanical characteristics have led to the widespread implementation of titanium alloys in applications ranging from biomedical devices to the aerospace industry.

Applications could be expanded if the properties of the oxide surface were changed through reaction with organic acid molecules to form self-assembled monolayers (SAMs).

Changes to the chemistry of the interface include altered hydrophobicity, leading to improved corrosion resistance, and presentation of organic functional groups at the interface, which can be used in subsequent reactions resulting in immobilization of target compounds.


In the present study, the cohort is 100% AAR-DHCA, but aprotinin, just as in the aforementioned trial, was not randomized. In multivariate analysis, aprotinin exposure was not associated with PMV. However, aprotinin exposure was significantly more common in the emergency cases which were significantly more likely to have prolonged stay in the intensive care unit, and require tracheostomy. Clearly, on the basis of these results confounded by association, further study is required to conclusively answer this question. Ideally, it would be a randomized trial of aprotinin in AAR-DHCA, adequately powered to detect a clinically meaningful reduction in PMV. Given the withdrawal of aprotinin from the world market recently due to safety concerns, this further evaluation of aprotinin in adult AAR-DHCA is on hold till the safety issues are resolved [26, 27] .

Given the withdrawal of aprotinin from the world market recently due to safety concerns, this further evaluation of aprotinin in adult AAR-DHCA is on hold till the safety issues are resolved.


Characteristic features of many geophysical flows, on a wide variety of length and time scales, are sloping interfaces that separate zones of less dense and more dense fluid. Because long waves on stable layers of fluid tend to travel faster the deeper the layer, it means that fluid far from the deep part of the zone tends to move towards the shallower leading-edge of the zone. This process tends to increase or maintain high gradients of density near the boundary, which becomes a sharply defined interface. The higher hydrostatic pressure at the base of the zone of dense fluid forces it to move into the lower part of the zone of less dense fluid, producing the well-known phenomena of gravity currents (Simpson 1997) .

The higher hydrostatic pressure at the base of the zone of dense fluid forces it to move into the lower part of the zone of less dense fluid, producing the well-known phenomena of gravity currents.


Elementary functions such as sin(x), cos(x), 1/x, √ x and exp(x) play a key role in a wide variety of applications. These applications include scientific computing, computer graphics, 3D graphics applications and computer aided design (CAD) [1] [2] [3] [4] . Although software routines can approximate elementary functions accurately, they are often too slow for numerically intensive and real-time applications. Hardware implementations have a significant speed advantage per computation as well as the potential to further increase throughput by using multiple units operating in parallel. Continuously increasing latency and throughput requirements for many scientific applications motivate the development of hardware methods for high-speed function approximation. Furthermore, correct and efficient hardware computation of elementary functions is necessary in platforms such as graphics processing units (GPUs), digital signal processors (DSPs), floating-point units (FPUs) in general-purpose processors, and application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) [5] [6] [7] .

These applications include scientific computing, computer graphics, 3D graphics applications and computer aided design (CAD).

Furthermore, correct and efficient hardware computation of elementary functions is necessary in platforms such as graphics processing units (GPUs), digital signal processors (DSPs), floating-point units (FPUs) in general-purpose processors, and application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs).


Trastuzumab therapy has increased response rates and survival times in the metastatic setting [15] . We can report a complete remission rate of 38.7% in HER2 positive patients receiving trastuzumab treatment for advanced breast cancer. To our knowledge, we are the first to describe a clinical cohort of patients with advanced breast cancer disease who benefit from trastuzumab treatment for several years.

Trastuzumab therapy has increased response rates and survival times in the metastatic setting.


Across speeds, most to all subjects increased their affected side maximum stance phase hip flexion moment (Fig. 4) . This is consistent with the reduced forward torso lean observed in most subjects (Fig. 5) . While not a direct assessor of overall gait performance itself, it is a result of walking with a more upright posture [34] . Increased terminal stance hip flexion moment is a result of needing to balance the ground reaction force which shifts posteriorly with less forward torso lean such that the line of action is more behind the hip. This allows the walker to maintain the center of pressure under the forefoot prior to weight transfer to the other foot. Comparing Figs. 4 and 6, those subjects who showed more reduced forward torso lean while using the VI Knee also exhibited more increased terminal stance hip flexion moment.

While not a direct assessor of overall gait performance itself, it is a result of walking with a more upright posture.


In engineering structural optimization, model reanalysis is an indispensable step. It greatly affects the overall efficiency. In traditional FEM based optimization framework, the fixing of CAD model and creating FEM model account for 80% of overall analysis time cost [11] . With IGA analysis, large saving can be expected in this part, since the mesh refinements no longer need tracing back to the CAD model and are easy to implement [2] .

In traditional FEM based optimization framework, the fixing of CAD model and creating FEM model account for 80% of overall analysis time cost.

With IGA analysis, large saving can be expected in this part, since the mesh refinements no longer need tracing back to the CAD model and are easy to implement.


On the other hand, MPC can handle both linear and nonlinear systems [1] . Comparisons between the nonlinear system and its corresponding linear model can easily be made with very little modification. Compared to PID, tuning MPC is easier even for complex MIMO systems.

On the other hand, MPC can handle both linear and nonlinear systems.


This paper has presented a solution to stability and trajectory tracking of quadrotor systems using a model predictive controller designed by using a special type of orthonormal functions called Laguerre functions. A quadratic cost function similar to that used in linear quadratic regulator (LQR) has been used. In stability analysis LMPC has been compared to the optimal DLQR system whereas in trajectory tracking LMPC has been compared to a popular linear statespace MPC desgin technique in which plant constraints are modeled using linear equalities and inequalities. The results from the simulations indicate that the controller performs very well and is considered feasible. With this perceived feasibility LMPC offers the added advantage that it can handle systems where rapid sampling and more complicated process dynamics are required [5, 10] . By selecting appropriate values of and LMPC reduces the number of parameters required for accurate prediction when using the traditional (MPC) approach. This is a big advantage in that, with the reduced number of parameters, online implementation might be possible where the traditional MPC would have failed.

With this perceived feasibility LMPC offers the added advantage that it can handle systems where rapid sampling and more complicated process dynamics are required.


CPGs are systematically developed to assist practitioners and patients in making decisions about appropriate healthcare in specific clinical circumstances [8] . In contrast with previous approaches that were often based on tradition or authority, modern CPGs are based on an examination of current evidence within the paradigm of evidence-based medicine [9] . SR-MAs are literature reviews focused on a research question that attempts to identify, appraise, select, and synthesize all high-quality research evidence relevant to that question. SR-MAs of high-quality randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are crucial for evidencebased medicine [10] . Although it seems easy to write an SR-MA, good SR-MAs take time, and they frequently encounter delays but do not update the literature review. The additional typical delays for peer review and publishing add extra time, and SR-MAs may be printed two to four years after the end of the information retrieval. Finally, most SR-MAs are published worldwide without an accompanying CPG [11] .

CPGs are systematically developed to assist practitioners and patients in making decisions about appropriate healthcare in specific clinical circumstances.

In contrast with previous approaches that were often based on tradition or authority, modern CPGs are based on an examination of current evidence within the paradigm of evidence-based medicine.

SR-MAs of high-quality randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are crucial for evidencebased medicine.

Finally, most SR-MAs are published worldwide without an accompanying CPG.


Electricity markets in many European countries are subject to rapid changes due to government measures to promote the supply from renewable energy sources. In particular in Germany the share of wind and solar electricity in the total supply has reached historically unprecedented levels. During off-peak hours, this share is often more than 50% (Fraunhofer Institut, 2014) . This strong increase in the supply from the intermittent generation sources with very low marginal costs reduces electricity prices, which is good news for electricity consumers. However, it also depresses incentives for investments in conventional power plants which may still be needed in case of insufficient supply from the renewable sources.

During off-peak hours, this share is often more than 50%.


Recently, the systemic inflammatory response was shown to be associated with worse prognosis in multiple tumors [4] . One previous study showed that tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) derived from peripheral blood mononuclear cells play a key role in promoting tumor progression and metastasis in the tumor [5] . Recently, it was reported that the preoperative blood lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) seems to be used as a prognostic indicator for solid tumors [6] . However, evidence for the predictive value of the blood LMR in GC remains poor and sufficiently large sample sizes are lacking [7] . The aims of this study were to investigate the predictive value of the preoperative blood LMR for the long-term prognosis of patients with GC after radical-intent surgery and to construct a novel predictive model.

Recently, the systemic inflammatory response was shown to be associated with worse prognosis in multiple tumors.

One previous study showed that tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) derived from peripheral blood mononuclear cells play a key role in promoting tumor progression and metastasis in the tumor.

Recently, it was reported that the preoperative blood lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) seems to be used as a prognostic indicator for solid tumors.

However, evidence for the predictive value of the blood LMR in GC remains poor and sufficiently large sample sizes are lacking.


On contrast, in Japan, authors and colleagues have started LCD and developed clinical research related with LCD [9, 10] . We reported the significant role of ketone bodies in LCD and in physiological role of pregnant female and fetus-newborn axis [11] . We also continued medical and social development of LCD through Japan LCD promotion association, we proposed 3 types of actual LCD meal in daily life, which are petit, standard and super LCD [12] .

On contrast, in Japan, authors and colleagues have started LCD and developed clinical research related with LCD.

We reported the significant role of ketone bodies in LCD and in physiological role of pregnant female and fetus-newborn axis.

We also continued medical and social development of LCD through Japan LCD promotion association, we proposed 3 types of actual LCD meal in daily life, which are petit, standard and super LCD.


Two main types of perovskite based solar cell configurations have been widely used in research and development stage; the conventional structure based on mesoporous structure and the inverted structure based on phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) planar heterojunction [11] . In spite of the noteworthy attempts which have been exerted on enhancing stability issue of the perovskite solar cells, both structures of perovskite solar cells are still inadequate for commercial applications. There are real challenges of solving long-term stability and toxic nature of this device. This needs deep understanding of working of this device. This paper focuses only on the inverted structure PCBM based perovskite solar cells.

Two main types of perovskite based solar cell configurations have been widely used in research and development stage; the conventional structure based on mesoporous structure and the inverted structure based on phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) planar heterojunction.


These vibration signals are analyzed in time domain, frequency domain, and time-frequency domain [6, 7] . The time-domain analysis determines numerous characteristics from a signal waveform, such as the root mean square (RMS), skewness, kurtosis, and crest factor, and applies these parameters in the diagnosis of inductions motors [8] . Although the scalar descriptors extracted from time signals are robust in terms of fluctuating load, they are not consistently effective, particularly in the presence of increased defects [9] . In contrast, frequency analysis considers only the frequency components, neglecting amplitude, where the frequency patterns are closed to the rotation properties of the machine. A number of time-frequency techniques have been proposed as a trade-off between the time and frequency domain techniques.

These vibration signals are analyzed in time domain, frequency domain, and time-frequency domain.

The time-domain analysis determines numerous characteristics from a signal waveform, such as the root mean square (RMS), skewness, kurtosis, and crest factor, and applies these parameters in the diagnosis of inductions motors.

Although the scalar descriptors extracted from time signals are robust in terms of fluctuating load, they are not consistently effective, particularly in the presence of increased defects.


In general, feature extraction can be performed by matching similarities between different signals [2, 3] . In order to extract the features of numerous faults, current, voltage, vibration, infrared thermography, and acoustic emission signals were utilized as sources to monitor fault states [4] . Among the signals, vibration analysis has been the most frequently employed methodology for identifying induction motor faults due to its ability to represent intrinsic information of them [5] .

In general, feature extraction can be performed by matching similarities between different signals.

In order to extract the features of numerous faults, current, voltage, vibration, infrared thermography, and acoustic emission signals were utilized as sources to monitor fault states.

Among the signals, vibration analysis has been the most frequently employed methodology for identifying induction motor faults due to its ability to represent intrinsic information of them.


To tackle the problem when more training data is available, we expand the LDC's feature-to-class distance mining framework to a mid-level food parts-to-class distance mining framework to learn food parts based on superpixels segmentations. Our proposed framework achieves state-of-the-art performance in the single feature tests. When combining with multiple features, the proposed food image recognition framework can achieve significant performance improvement on the UEC Food 100 database with 10,000 images [33] .

When combining with multiple features, the proposed food image recognition framework can achieve significant performance improvement on the UEC Food 100 database with 10,000 images.


It is worth mentioning that rapid cooling or removal of solvent water during drying can result in the production of amorphous materials. Powdered food products, containing amorphous materials, such as disaccharides are prone to sticking, caking, collapse and crystallization, which are undesirable physical changes that can impact on quality and functionality of the final product [8] . Physical changes in food powders are related to the glass transition phenomenon. The most important change in the amorphous state occurs over the glass transition temperature (T g ), which is the temperature at which polymeric materials change from an amorphous solid (glass) to an amorphous rubber [9] . The glass transition temperature affects the texture of foods as well as storage stability of dried foods [10] . Understanding the glass transition phenomenon provides an insight into the causes of the cohesiveness of many important powders influencing the wettability or solubility of the powder, which is important for new product development. Food products are expected to be fairly stable below the T g , but when the temperature rises above T g , a solid structure is transformed to a supercooled liquid state with time-dependent flow. The glass transition behavior of disaccharides (lactose, trehalose) is well known, but higher T g may be observed for carbohydrateprotein systems than for carbohydrates alone [11, 12] . Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is the most widely used thermal analysis technique to measure the temperature and heat flows associated with phase transitions in materials, as a function of time and temperature. Such measurements can provide both quantitative information and qualitative information concerning physical and chemical changes that involve endothermic and exothermic processes, or changes in heat capacity. DSC is particularly suitable for analysis of food systems because they are often subject to heating or cooling during processing. The calorimetric information from DSC can be directly used to understand the thermal transitions that the food system undergoes during processing or storage [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] . Modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC) which is an enhancement to conventional DSC and involves the application of a sinusoidal heating or cooling signal to a sample and the subsequent measurement of the reversing and non-reversing components of the heat flow response is widely used technique for studying the glass transition [18] [19] [20] [21] .

Powdered food products, containing amorphous materials, such as disaccharides are prone to sticking, caking, collapse and crystallization, which are undesirable physical changes that can impact on quality and functionality of the final product.

The most important change in the amorphous state occurs over the glass transition temperature (T g ), which is the temperature at which polymeric materials change from an amorphous solid (glass) to an amorphous rubber.

The glass transition temperature affects the texture of foods as well as storage stability of dried foods.

The glass transition behavior of disaccharides (lactose, trehalose) is well known, but higher T g may be observed for carbohydrateprotein systems than for carbohydrates alone.

The calorimetric information from DSC can be directly used to understand the thermal transitions that the food system undergoes during processing or storage.

Modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC) which is an enhancement to conventional DSC and involves the application of a sinusoidal heating or cooling signal to a sample and the subsequent measurement of the reversing and non-reversing components of the heat flow response is widely used technique for studying the glass transition.


Energy consumption is one of fundamental design constraint when designing distributed sensor networks. The energy consumption of the collaborative distributed sensors networks can be minimized using several techniques [17] . In this paper, we propose passive localization technique based on the development of an efficient algorithm that can reduce intersensor and internetwork communication. Main purpose of the analyzed distributed sensor network is localization and tracking of passive seismic source. Using the flipped parameter technique (FPT), the intersensor communication is minimized with direct effects on the energy consumption of communication modules in the fusion center or in a local processor.

The energy consumption of the collaborative distributed sensors networks can be minimized using several techniques.


Depending on assumptions about productivity, 50-70% of the stocks examined could be rebuilt to levels consistent with the production of MSY by 2015 if fishing is reduced to levels consistent with rebuilding (including some fishery closures). Note that for these results average productivity of the stocks was assumed. This productivity is most strongly influenced by recruitment, i.e., successful reproduction leading to high numbers of young fish joining the exploited part of the stock. However, many European stocks are so strongly depleted that recruitment has fallen below the long-term average. For these stocks, the assumption of average productivity may be unrealistic and thus they may need longer to rebuild to MSY-level stock sizes. A widely accepted reference point below which reproductive capacity may be compromised is half of the MSY-level stock size [8] . If stocks below this threshold will indeed have lowerthan-average productivity, than a further 11 stocks will not be able to recover by 2015, i.e., only 50% of the stocks would reach the Rioþ20 goal.

A widely accepted reference point below which reproductive capacity may be compromised is half of the MSY-level stock size.


Cold germination: four replicates with four subsamples of 50 seeds per treatment were used. The seeds were placed on germitest paper rolls, moistened with distilled moisture at a ratio of 2.5 times the weight of the dry paper and kept in a refrigerator at a set temperature of 10˚C for seven days. After this, the germitest paper rolls were placed in the germination chamber set at 25˚C. The evaluations were performed according to the Rules for Seed Testing [10] . The count for normal seedlings was performed after five days in the germination chamber and the results expressed as percentage of normal seedlings.

After this, the germitest paper rolls were placed in the germination chamber set at 25˚C. The evaluations were performed according to the Rules for Seed Testing.


Jones and Vrijmoed in 1993 gave a presentation on the biodiversity marine fungi in South China Sea at a conference on "Perspective on marine environment change in Hong Kong and Southern China 1977-2001". Since then considerable progress has been made to document the fungal biodiversity of this region, as documented above. Marine fungi can be grouped according to their geographical distribution temperate, tropical/subtropical and Arctic/Antarctic, while some are cosmopolitan. Some 50 % of the described marine fungi are tropical and most of these have been recorded from the South China Sea, with 69 new fungi described from this region. New fungi continue to be described from the South China Sea, such as Kitesporella keelungensis and Pileomyces formosanus (64) (63) .

New fungi continue to be described from the South China Sea, such as Kitesporella keelungensis and Pileomyces formosanus.


In order to solve the above problems, the logic variables are introduced to describe the switch of different linear submodels in this paper. By using this method, the piecewise linear system can be transformed into a hybrid logic dynamical system [28, 29] . For the hybrid logic dynamical system, the model switch can be described by changing the logical variables. Then the hybrid model predictive control (MPC) can be utilized to generate the control inputs based on the constructed mixed logic dynamical system.

By using this method, the piecewise linear system can be transformed into a hybrid logic dynamical system.


With rapid development of high-speed railway, the operation safety, punctuality, and energy consumption of train have received more and more attentions. Nowadays, in China, the high-speed railway generally adopts distributed traction power to improve speed and traction efficiency, where locomotives and wagons are marshalled together to form a high-speed train [1] . For distributed traction power trains, there are some critical issues that need to be solved, such as vehicle traction and brake force allocation, operation safety, punctuality, and energy consumption [2] .

Nowadays, in China, the high-speed railway generally adopts distributed traction power to improve speed and traction efficiency, where locomotives and wagons are marshalled together to form a high-speed train.

For distributed traction power trains, there are some critical issues that need to be solved, such as vehicle traction and brake force allocation, operation safety, punctuality, and energy consumption.


The first assessment in DEOLD was eight weeks after admission to long-term care, and future work may focus on establishing physician-family contact in the first weeks. Such work may be qualitative or quantitative observational or experimental and provide more detailed clues as to how to facilitate (spiritual) caregiving at the end of life. We did not relate spiritual caregiving to patient outcomes such as quality of life or comfort because these were also assessed after death. In cancer patients, others found that being visited by a pastor at the end of life as well as being treated as a whole person and with respect, and trusting and respecting their physician predicted quality of life at the end of life [4] .

In cancer patients, others found that being visited by a pastor at the end of life as well as being treated as a whole person and with respect, and trusting and respecting their physician predicted quality of life at the end of life.


Aligned CNT fibers with a uniform diameter of ~30 μm were continuously dry-spun from a spinnable CNT array (Fig. S1 ). As widely explored, the CNT bundles were highly aligned with each other with voids of typically tens of nanometers (Fig. S2) . The aligned structure in the fiber is important to extend the remarkable properties of the individual CNTs to the macroscopic scale [12−15] , while the voids are critical to incorporate a second phase, e.g., a wide variety of polymers were incorporated into the voids through a solution process or electrochemical deposition [16] .

The aligned structure in the fiber is important to extend the remarkable properties of the individual CNTs to the macroscopic scale [12−15] , while the voids are critical to incorporate a second phase, e.g., a wide variety of polymers were incorporated into the voids through a solution process or electrochemical deposition.


Platinum nanoparticles were then electrochemically deposited on the aligned CNT fibers via a double potential step method [17] . The aqueous electrolyte was composed of 1 mM K 2 PtCl 6 and 0.1 M KCl, with a platinum wire and Ag/AgCl/KCl electrode used as counter and reference electrodes, respectively. The first potential at 0.5 V was maintained for 10 s and the second step at −0.7 V was maintained for 10 s. By repeating 2, 5, 10 and 20 times of the double potential steps, platinum/CNT hybrid fibers with increasing platinum weight percentages of 3.8%, 9.5%, 20.6% and 44.6% were synthesized (Fig. S3) . The weight percentages were calculated from the consumed charge during the electrochemical deposition [18, 19] . With the increasing platinum weight percentage from 3.8% to 44.6%, the nanoparticles became more uniform in size but with increasing diameters (Figs 1 and S4 ). Beyond the critical point at 44.6%, no obvious distribution variations were observed, although the nanoparticle diameters were continuously increased to form larger aggregates. The microstructure of the deposited platinum nanoparticles was further verified by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and the fringe spacing was measured to be 0.23 nm, corresponding to the interplanar separation between the {111} planes of platinum (Fig. S5) . It should be noted that the aligned structure of CNTs is well retained after the electrochemical deposition of platinum nanoparticles. In other words, the high mechanical and electrical properties were maintained , respectively, which are necessary for their electronic applications and would be essential for the fiber-shaped DSSC.

Platinum nanoparticles were then electrochemically deposited on the aligned CNT fibers via a double potential step method.

The weight percentages were calculated from the consumed charge during the electrochemical deposition.


The catalytic activities of the bare CNT and the platinum/CNT hybrid fibers with increasing platinum weight percentages in the redox reaction of I 3 − /I − were compared by cyclic voltammetry (Fig. 2a) . Two pairs of oxidation/reduction peaks are observed in every cyclic voltammogram, in which the left one is corresponding to the redox reaction of I 3 − /I − . As generally accepted, a lower peak-to-peak voltage (V pp ) separation indicates a higher catalytic activity for the counter electrode [20, 21] . The V pp reduces monotonically from 0.62 to 0.40 V, indicating continuously enhanced catalytic activities of the hybrid fibers with the increasing platinum contents (inset in Fig. 2a) .

As generally accepted, a lower peak-to-peak voltage (V pp ) separation indicates a higher catalytic activity for the counter electrode.


During the last decade, smartphones have gained popularity all over the world. In July of 2013, over 50% of mobile subscribers in the US and over 65% of mobile subscribers in South Korea are using smartphones, and these percentages keep increasing [1] . The key differences between smartphones and previous mobile phones are full-featured Internet access and easy installation of new applications through modern OS platforms and app stores. Hence, smartphones are now considered handheld computers rather than traditional phones [2] .

In July of 2013, over 50% of mobile subscribers in the US and over 65% of mobile subscribers in South Korea are using smartphones, and these percentages keep increasing.

Hence, smartphones are now considered handheld computers rather than traditional phones.


Chrysotile is a member of the serpentine group, a 1:1 layer silicate (constituted by a tetrahedral and a trioctahedral sheet) whose layers are rolled so to assume a characteristic fibrous habit [3, 4] . Amphiboles are double-chain silicates which may display a fibrous habit being structurally elongated in one preferred crystal direction. Finally, erionite is a common asbestiform/acicular zeolite with an hexagonal, cage-like structure composed of a framework of linked tetrahedral [5, 6] .

Chrysotile is a member of the serpentine group, a 1:1 layer silicate (constituted by a tetrahedral and a trioctahedral sheet) whose layers are rolled so to assume a characteristic fibrous habit.

Finally, erionite is a common asbestiform/acicular zeolite with an hexagonal, cage-like structure composed of a framework of linked tetrahedral.