The uterus provides an environment that supports embryonic development by synthesizing and secreting a variety of products, termed histotroph (Roberts and Bazer, 1988) . Uterine secretory activity is regulated by the ovarian steroids, estrogen and progesterone, and also influenced by local growth factors and epithelial-mesenchymal interactions (Cooke et al., 1998) . We have shown that KGF is a component of porcine histotroph (Ka et al., 2000; 2001) . KGF is expressed in the uterine endometrial epithelia in the pig. In particular, KGF expression was higher on Day 12 of pregnancy, which coincides with maternal recognition of pregnancy in the pig, than on Day 12 of the estrous cycle (Ka et al., 2000) . Expression of KGF in the porcine uterine endometrium is up-regulated by estrogens (E2), which is the maternal recognition signal in pigs , and KGF functions in proliferation and differentiation of conceptus trophectoderm (Ka et al., 2001) . These findings suggested that in the pig, which is the only species possessing a true epitheliochorial type of placentation, KGF plays a crucial role in epithelial-epithelial interactions between conceptus and uterus during early pregnancy. In addition to E2 of conceptus origin, other factors may induce KGF expression in the endometrial epithelial cells, because KGF gene expression is up-regulated by various factors, including steroid hormones, cytokines and other growth factors (Rubin et al., 1995) .

The uterus provides an environment that supports embryonic development by synthesizing and secreting a variety of products, termed histotroph.

Uterine secretory activity is regulated by the ovarian steroids, estrogen and progesterone, and also influenced by local growth factors and epithelial-mesenchymal interactions.

We have shown that KGF is a component of porcine histotroph.

In particular, KGF expression was higher on Day 12 of pregnancy, which coincides with maternal recognition of pregnancy in the pig, than on Day 12 of the estrous cycle.

Expression of KGF in the porcine uterine endometrium is up-regulated by estrogens (E2), which is the maternal recognition signal in pigs , and KGF functions in proliferation and differentiation of conceptus trophectoderm.

In addition to E2 of conceptus origin, other factors may induce KGF expression in the endometrial epithelial cells, because KGF gene expression is up-regulated by various factors, including steroid hormones, cytokines and other growth factors.


In early 2012, we set about a formidable task: to survey Facebook users from around the world about their concerns regarding privacy on Facebook (the degree to which users are concerned about unwanted third party accesses to their personal information on Facebook). The task was formidable in the sense that we planned to conduct analyses on the data using multilevel modeling techniques; in order to assure statistical power in such techniques, an absolute bare minimum of 20 countries and 30 participants per country, preferably up to 100 participants per country, are required [22] . For a relatively small graduate school in Japan, and lacking a suitably diverse network of possible collaborators, it would be no small feat to achieve these numbers.

The task was formidable in the sense that we planned to conduct analyses on the data using multilevel modeling techniques; in order to assure statistical power in such techniques, an absolute bare minimum of 20 countries and 30 participants per country, preferably up to 100 participants per country, are required.


In this work, the coordinating unit is called the central controller (CC), for simplicity. The role of the CC is to optimise energy generation, storage and consumption. Therefore, throughout this paper, VPP controller and CC are used interchangeably. PEVs are gaining acceptance as sources of dispatchable energy [7] [8] [9] . Their ability to release stored energy to the grid empowers end users hitherto considered as mere consumers to become active stakeholders as producers and consumers (prosumers) of electricity. This paradigm shift allows bi-directional power flow between the grid and prosumers. This study is carried out within the Triangulum; one of the lighthouse projects funded by the European Union (EU) aimed at transforming designated European cities into smart quarters. The test bed comprises Manchester, Eindhoven and Stavanger with Prague, Leipzig and Sabadell as the follower cities. The project has been organised into mobility, energy and information and communications technology (ICT). Within the mobility work stream, this paper investigates the economic benefits of smart decentralised coordination of PEV power flow by optimising the grid-to-vehicle (G2V) and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) operations in the VPP. As a deviation from most existing work in the area, this paper focuses on optimal power flow from the prosumer's point of view to maximise the economic benefits using price as the main driver. Therefore, issues such as voltage and loading constraints are not addressed here.

PEVs are gaining acceptance as sources of dispatchable energy.


These approaches can be even improved by using weighted means where the weights are automatically computed by means of heuristic and meta-heuristic algorithms. In that case, most promising measures receive better weights. This means that all the efforts are focused on getting more complex weighted means that after some training are able to recognize the most important atomic measures for solving a given problem [23] . There are two major problems that make these approaches not very appropriate in real environments: First problem is that these techniques require a lot of training efforts.

This means that all the efforts are focused on getting more complex weighted means that after some training are able to recognize the most important atomic measures for solving a given problem.


On the other hand, the more general notion of relational similarity considers relations between terms [31] . For example, nurse and hospital are related (since they belong to the healthcare domain) but they are far from represent the same real idea or concept. Due to its importance in many computer-related fields, we are going to focus on semantic similarity for the rest of this paper.

On the other hand, the more general notion of relational similarity considers relations between terms.


Textual semantic similarity measurement is a field of research whereby two terms or text expressions are assigned a score based on the likeness of their meaning [30] . Being able to accurately measure semantic similarity is considered of great relevance in many computer related fields since this notion fits well enough in a number of particular scenarios. The reason is that textual semantic similarity measures can be used for understanding beyond the literal lexical representation of words and phrases. For example, it is possible to automatically identify that specific terms (e.g., Finance) yields matches on similar terms (e.g., Economics, Economic Affairs, Financial Affairs, etc.) or an expert on the treatment of cancer could also be considered as an expert on oncology or tumor treatment.

Textual semantic similarity measurement is a field of research whereby two terms or text expressions are assigned a score based on the likeness of their meaning.


People with these and related disorders, like the rest of the population, are increasingly using computers. Unfortunately, these disorders often make it difficult for them to move their arms, wrists and fingers, and therefore conventional keyboards and mice become difficult or impossible for them to use. We are investigating how a handheld computer, such as the Palm, can be used to enable people with disabilities to access their PCs (see Figure 1 ). This paper reports on how we have adapted our Pebbles software for the Palm to facilitate its use by people with motor impairments. In particular, we adapted the Pebbles Remote Commander program, which allows the Palm to be used as if it was the PC's keyboard and mouse. In general, the Pebbles project is studying many ways that handheld computers can interoperate with PCs, with each other, and with smart appliances [11] . These applications are aimed at business meetings, offices, classrooms, military command posts, and homes. The Pebbles software is available for downloading from: http://www.pebbles.hcii.cmu.edu/. Pebbles stands for PDAs for the Entry of Both Bytes and Locations from External Sources.

In general, the Pebbles project is studying many ways that handheld computers can interoperate with PCs, with each other, and with smart appliances.


Siparuna (formerly Monimiaceae) contains about 72 species of shrubs, straggling shrubs, and trees (Renner et al. 1997) . S. guianensis Aubl., Siparunaceae, is a small tree found in various parts of Brazilian forests, popularly known as "capituí", "negramena", "erva-santa", "limão-bravo" and others (Zoghbi et al., 1998) . Several species of this genus are used in traditional medicine to handling stomach disorders and skin diseases (Leitão et al., 1999) . Literature reports the use of S. guianensis leaves in popular medicine to cure various diseases, including, sinusitis, fever, rheumatism, migraine, body aches and as anti-infl ammatory (Valentini et al., 2010; Rodrigues, 2006) . In state of Rondônia, Brazil (an oriental Amazonian state), there are some reports of using leaves tea in treatment of malaria and against rheumatic pains. Chemical studies had revealed presence of volatile compounds, alkaloids and fl avonoids (Braz-Filho et al., 1976; Chiu et al., 1982; Machado et al., 1994) .

Siparuna (formerly Monimiaceae) contains about 72 species of shrubs, straggling shrubs, and trees.

S. guianensis Aubl., Siparunaceae, is a small tree found in various parts of Brazilian forests, popularly known as "capituí", "negramena", "erva-santa", "limão-bravo" and others.

Several species of this genus are used in traditional medicine to handling stomach disorders and skin diseases.

Literature reports the use of S. guianensis leaves in popular medicine to cure various diseases, including, sinusitis, fever, rheumatism, migraine, body aches and as anti-infl ammatory.

Chemical studies had revealed presence of volatile compounds, alkaloids and fl avonoids.


Compounds 6-8 were isolated from the flowers of A. brasiliana and were identified as three flavones. These compounds show positive test for flavonoids using AlCl 3 /EtOH in TLC plate. The IR spectra of compounds 6-8 displayed absorption bands indicating hydroxyl and conjugated carbonyl groups at 3387 and 1673 cm -1 , respectively (Silva et al., 2006) . The HMBC spectra of compounds 6 and 8 exhibited correlations between the hydrogen signal at δ H 6.91 (s, H-3) for 6, 6.90 (s, H-3) for 7 and 6.90 (s, H-3) for 8, and the three quaternary carbon resonances at δ C 122.1 (C-1'), 111.1 (C-2) and 182.2 (C-4) for 6, 120.9 (C-1'), 105.4 (C-2) and 182.2 (C-4) for 7 and 122.8 (C-1'), 111.2 (C-2) and 182,4 (C-4) for 8, respectively, which allowed us to unequivocally assign this hydrogen at position 3 of the flavone nucleous (Fossen & Andersen, 2006) .

The IR spectra of compounds 6-8 displayed absorption bands indicating hydroxyl and conjugated carbonyl groups at 3387 and 1673 cm -1 , respectively.

The HMBC spectra of compounds 6 and 8 exhibited correlations between the hydrogen signal at δ H 6.91 (s, H-3) for 6, 6.90 (s, H-3) for 7 and 6.90 (s, H-3) for 8, and the three quaternary carbon resonances at δ C 122.1 (C-1'), 111.1 (C-2) and 182.2 (C-4) for 6, 120.9 (C-1'), 105.4 (C-2) and 182.2 (C-4) for 7 and 122.8 (C-1'), 111.2 (C-2) and 182,4 (C-4) for 8, respectively, which allowed us to unequivocally assign this hydrogen at position 3 of the flavone nucleous.


The 1ipase:protease ratio may be indicative of the food source among the polychaetes. Lipases are esterases that function well only at a lipid-water interface. If the major function of digestive lipases is hydrolysis of esters found in hydrophobic lipid aggregates such as lipid bilayers and storage triglycerides, then a high 1ipase:protease ratio may signal a focus on cellular lipids. These highly esterified lipids are in greatest relative abundance in living biomass or relatively fresh cellular detritus. For carnivorous polychaetes the lipase: protease ratio is generally ~1, while for detritivorous polychaetes (e.g., Arenicola, the terebellids, the sabellid) the ratio is generally CO.04 (Fig. 9) . Sedimentary extracellular lipase was undetectable, so that the 1ipase:protease ratio is zero and hence most similar to detritivorous polychaetes. We suggest that this trend results from the higher relative abundance of esterified and nonpolar lipid aggregates in biomass, relative to more polar, de-esterified, degradation products such as monoglycerides in detritus. Such progression in lipid types can be seen in the transition from spring bloom biomass peaks to post-bloom detrital lipids (Parrish, 1987; Parrish et al., 1995) . The more polar degradation products are presumably less aggregated into hydrophobic phases and can be attacked with non-lipase esterases.

Such progression in lipid types can be seen in the transition from spring bloom biomass peaks to post-bloom detrital lipids.


Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) possess various cellular biological behavior. For instance, lncRNAs regulate the expression of target genes by competitively binding to them and negatively regulating the activity and expression of microRNAs(miRNAs) [3] . LncRNAs also act as endogenous miRNA sponges to regulate the malignant biological behavior of tumor cells [4] . Colorectal neoplasia differentially expressed (CRNDE) was initially identified as an LncRNA in colorectal cancer and was found to be located on chromosome 16, which is of important significance in the proliferation, migration and invasion of colorectal tumor cells [5] . In addition, CRNDE is also overexpressed in a variety of other tumor cells such as melanoma and lymphocytic leukemia cells [6] . In the central nervous system, CRNDE has a specific expression pattern and contributes to neuronal differentiation; CRNDE is also the most highly expressed lncRNA in glioma, suggesting that CRNDE may be involved in the development and biological behavior of glioma [7] .

For instance, lncRNAs regulate the expression of target genes by competitively binding to them and negatively regulating the activity and expression of microRNAs(miRNAs).

LncRNAs also act as endogenous miRNA sponges to regulate the malignant biological behavior of tumor cells.

Colorectal neoplasia differentially expressed (CRNDE) was initially identified as an LncRNA in colorectal cancer and was found to be located on chromosome 16, which is of important significance in the proliferation, migration and invasion of colorectal tumor cells.

In addition, CRNDE is also overexpressed in a variety of other tumor cells such as melanoma and lymphocytic leukemia cells.

In the central nervous system, CRNDE has a specific expression pattern and contributes to neuronal differentiation; CRNDE is also the most highly expressed lncRNA in glioma, suggesting that CRNDE may be involved in the development and biological behavior of glioma.


Mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.), Wilczek) is an important source of protein and has been grown in the Indo-Pak subcontinent since ancient times, where the diet is mostly cereal-based [1] . It is grown mainly for its edible seeds, which are cooked, fermented, roasted, sprouted, or milled. Mungbean seeds, like other pulses, are split and then cooked as a curry called "Dal". Mungbean is also used in making soups, noodles, bread, and sweets; the seeds roasted with spices are also very popular [2] . In South Asia, improved varieties of mungbean are grown on an area of 3 million hectares with a total annual production of 3.1 million tones both under rainfed and irrigated conditions. As a result, mungbean consumption in most of the low income countries has increased from 22% -66% [3] . Despite all these achievements, yields for the rainfed area are generally low and variable due to sparse, erratic rainfall and marginal soils.

Mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.), Wilczek) is an important source of protein and has been grown in the Indo-Pak subcontinent since ancient times, where the diet is mostly cereal-based.

Mungbean is also used in making soups, noodles, bread, and sweets; the seeds roasted with spices are also very popular.

As a result, mungbean consumption in most of the low income countries has increased from 22% -66%.


In this sense, Jatropha curcas L. oil can be considered as a potential cheap feedstock for biodiesel production in comparison with refined and edible oils such as those obtained from rapeseed, soybean and sunflower that are commonly used in Europe and USA [2] . However, jatropha oil is prone to gradual deterioration due to unsuitable handling and improper storage conditions. Furthermore, increasing free fatty acid (FFA) concentration has been found in this oil when exposed to atmospheric air and sunlight for long time [5, 6] . It has been reported that jatropha oil may contain up to 14% FFA, which is well above the limit of 1% FFA required for a satisfactory conversion into biodiesel by base catalyzed transesterification [7] .

In this sense, Jatropha curcas L. oil can be considered as a potential cheap feedstock for biodiesel production in comparison with refined and edible oils such as those obtained from rapeseed, soybean and sunflower that are commonly used in Europe and USA.

Furthermore, increasing free fatty acid (FFA) concentration has been found in this oil when exposed to atmospheric air and sunlight for long time.

It has been reported that jatropha oil may contain up to 14% FFA, which is well above the limit of 1% FFA required for a satisfactory conversion into biodiesel by base catalyzed transesterification.


High levels of FFA have significant effects on the transesterification of triglycerides as FFA reacts with the alkali catalyst to form soaps, resulting in serious emulsification and separation problems. Thus, the additional washing step required to remove the soap from the biodiesel to maintain its quality leads to lower yields of product formation [8] . Hence, a suitable procedure must be developed in order to reduce the content of FFA [9] .

Thus, the additional washing step required to remove the soap from the biodiesel to maintain its quality leads to lower yields of product formation.

Hence, a suitable procedure must be developed in order to reduce the content of FFA.


As an example, we applied the described equations to one of the sites we visited during our first eddy correlation measurements (Berg et al. 2003) . These measurements were made in the Wü mme River near Bremen, Germany, where three 10-min time series of u x , u y , and u z were sampled at a frequency of 25 Hz for h 5 0.15 m and at H 5 1 m. After coordinate rotation, which was practically the same for all three time series, the mean current velocity (ū x ) averaged 0.143 6 0.002 m s 21 . The calculated values of u Ã and z 0 are shown in Fig. 10 , as is the length of the footprint (l) estimated from Eqs. 8 and 11. For comparison, estimates of u Ã , z 0 , and l based on linear detrending and filtering through running averaging of the same data are also shown. In all three cases, the relative standard error of l is ,10%. It should be noted that the term u 0 y u 0 z in Eq. 13 only contributed 0.5% to u Ã , revealing that this river site, at least in some sense, can be classified as an ideal channel flow.

As an example, we applied the described equations to one of the sites we visited during our first eddy correlation measurements.


Ketchup is a vegetable sauce produced from tomato concentrate and sugar, vinegar, salt, and different spices. Poland is the third largest market of consumption of ketchup in Europe, after Germany and Great Britain (Ochmańska 2006) . Ketchup is a popular product that is used with different foods because it improves their taste. Moreover, it is easy to use and a low-calorie product. Ketchup is also a source of valuable carotenoids, of which the most abundant is lycopene.

Poland is the third largest market of consumption of ketchup in Europe, after Germany and Great Britain.


The nominal protection levels are influenced by the satellite geometry and the expected residual errors on the corrected pseudorange measurements. The largest contributors to the residual errors at shorter distances to the reference GBAS station are the air σ and gnd σ terms that overbound the airborne and ground multipath and noise. In our evaluations we used preliminary airborne multipath ( air σ ) and ground multipath ( gnd σ ) curves for Galileo E1 and E5a signals and GPS L5 signals that we derived in our previous work using measurements from our ground station and flight data from different aircraft and different receiver parameters [8] , [9] .

In our evaluations we used preliminary airborne multipath ( air σ ) and ground multipath ( gnd σ ) curves for Galileo E1 and E5a signals and GPS L5 signals that we derived in our previous work using measurements from our ground station and flight data from different aircraft and different receiver parameters.


The choice for conceptual graphs as a uniform representation formalism was made because of its expressiveness, its pattern matching and advanced graph generalisation facilities. The knowledge definitions and the conversation processes in which they are changed have a strict formal semantics. Via these semantics, the resultant deontic effect of the composition norms applicable to a user in a particular specification process stage can be computed, using norm and state definitions and precedence rules to resolve conflicts between norms. Based on this information, authorisations for users to get involved in conversation acts are derived. Since the purpose of the current paper is to discuss the role of legitimate user-driven specification in workflow modelling, the algorithms are not included here, although they are described at length in de Moor [4] .

Since the purpose of the current paper is to discuss the role of legitimate user-driven specification in workflow modelling, the algorithms are not included here, although they are described at length in de Moor.


This involution was considered by Baraglia-Schaposnik [4] . It preserves the hyperkähler metric, is anti-holomorphic with respect to I, J and is holomorphic with respect to K. Consequently, the fixed point sets of the involutions M(r, d) τ and M(r, D) τ are real and Lagrangian with respect to I, J and are complex and symplectic with respect to K. Such a submanifold is called an (A, A, B)-brane, and plays a role in the Kapustin-Witten approach to geometric Langlands [22, 19, 5] . In this paper, we derive formulas computing the mod 2 Betti numbers of M(r, d) τ and M(r, D) τ in case rank r = 2 and degree d is odd.

This involution was considered by Baraglia-Schaposnik.

It preserves the hyperkähler metric, is anti-holomorphic with respect to I, J and is holomorphic with respect to K. Consequently, the fixed point sets of the involutions M(r, d) τ and M(r, D) τ are real and Lagrangian with respect to I, J and are complex and symplectic with respect to K. Such a submanifold is called an (A, A, B)-brane, and plays a role in the Kapustin-Witten approach to geometric Langlands.


More generally, for any θ ∈ [0, 2π) we may consider the involution τ θ defined by τ θ (E, Φ) = (τ (E), e iθ τ (Φ)). This involution is anti-holomorphic with respect to I and cos(θ/2)J − sin(θ/2)K and holomorphic with respect to sin(θ/2)J + cos(θ/2)K. In particular, the τ π fixed point set is an (A,B,A)-brane in the sense of Kapustin-Witten [22] . Since τ θ := e iθ τ = e iθ/2 τ e −iθ/2 , the diffeomorphism type of the fixed point set of τ θ is independent of θ and it suffices for our purposes to work with τ 0 = τ .

This involution is anti-holomorphic with respect to I and cos(θ/2)J − sin(θ/2)K and holomorphic with respect to sin(θ/2)J + cos(θ/2)K. In particular, the τ π fixed point set is an (A,B,A)-brane in the sense of Kapustin-Witten.


The optimum C/N ratio for rotary drum composting is in the range of 20-25 (Kalamdhad et al. 2008) . Even though low C/N ratio is recommended for drum composting (in-vessel) , the production of leachate from organic waste with high moisture content during decentralized composting has been reported (Tchobanoglous et al. 2000) . Furthermore, treatment facilities and reuse of leachate related to the reduction and harmless treatment of decentralized solid waste management should be carried out (Zhou et al. 2010) . Hence, the present study involved the optimization of vegetable waste composting using rotary drum with different waste combinations, i.e., vegetable waste, cow dung and saw dust in 6:3:1 ratio for five different trials. Trial 1 (50 kg), trial 2 (70 kg), trial 3 (90 kg), trial 4 (120 kg) and trial 5 (150 kg) were carried out by adding 10 kg of dried tree leaves in each of the trials as bulking agent (Table 2) . Stability of compost and microbial succession during the composting have been studied extensively during the 20 days of process.

The optimum C/N ratio for rotary drum composting is in the range of 20-25.

Even though low C/N ratio is recommended for drum composting (in-vessel) , the production of leachate from organic waste with high moisture content during decentralized composting has been reported.

Furthermore, treatment facilities and reuse of leachate related to the reduction and harmless treatment of decentralized solid waste management should be carried out.


The major problem associated with the disposal of vegetable waste is mainly due to high moisture content and readily degradable organic matter. Disposal of vegetable waste along with municipal solid waste (MSW) leads to byproducts such as CO 2 , NH 3 and leachate production thereby hindering the natural degradation process. India produces 150 million tons of fruits and vegetables with an annual generation of 50 million tons of wastes (Gautam and Guleria 2007) . Hence, disposing vegetable waste along with MSW can lead to esthetic problems and could also pollute water and their burning could lead to air pollution. Furthermore, the municipal solid waste (management and handling) Rules, 2000, recommend composting of biodegradable wastes for its stabilization and further processing.

India produces 150 million tons of fruits and vegetables with an annual generation of 50 million tons of wastes.


The present study found that more than every fifth woman and every sixth man experiencing violence qualified for PTSD. Thus, violence is a trauma type connected with a relatively high prevalence of PTSD but at the same time no gender difference was found in the prevalence rates for violence unlike what previous studies have suggested [2, 27] . Every fifth to sixth woman experiencing non-malignant disease qualified for PTSD but here only every eleventh to twelfth man showed qualification for PTSD. The prevalence of PTSD for the trauma type non-malignant disease was 13.9% showing an increased risk of PTSD when exposed to non-malignant disease.

Thus, violence is a trauma type connected with a relatively high prevalence of PTSD but at the same time no gender difference was found in the prevalence rates for violence unlike what previous studies have suggested.


The majority of males' HIV risk behavior was related to unprotected sex with multiple partners. Educational efforts for men may be more beneficial if they focus on increasing knowledge and intentions for the use of condoms. Studies of non-incarcerated individuals have pointed to condom efficacy-the knowledge and ability to request and use of a condom during sexual activity-as a potentially effective intervention for increasing the likelihood of condom use [22] . Outcome research with incarcerated populations has found success with psychoeducational approaches to behavioral change [23] .

Studies of non-incarcerated individuals have pointed to condom efficacy-the knowledge and ability to request and use of a condom during sexual activity-as a potentially effective intervention for increasing the likelihood of condom use.

Outcome research with incarcerated populations has found success with psychoeducational approaches to behavioral change.


Developing economies face many challenges when constructing national inventories of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, such as lack of activity data, insufficient measurements for deriving country-specific emission factors, and a limited basis for estimating GHG mitigation options [26] . For European developing economies, the results of our study can be useful for the implementation of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recommendations for GHG inventory [27] . Namely, the majority of developing economies implement the method Tier 1 (which imply the inventory of default average value of emissions factors). However, the recommendation is to use the method Tier 2 (which imply the inventory of country-specific emissions factors for the largest sources of emissions). The results of this study will contribute to identification of such sources, by estimating the intensity of some agro factors impact.

Developing economies face many challenges when constructing national inventories of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, such as lack of activity data, insufficient measurements for deriving country-specific emission factors, and a limited basis for estimating GHG mitigation options.

For European developing economies, the results of our study can be useful for the implementation of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recommendations for GHG inventory.


The principal objective of this investigation is to conduct a comparative analysis of economic and agro factors impact on GHG emissions in developing European economies with a focus on Southeastern Europe, in comparison with advanced European economies. In accordance with previously mentioned studies, we have considered as economic factors the economic growth and indicators that reflect the impact of individual sectors, specifically industrial, service and agricultural sectors. We have also tested EKC hypothesis for both groups of economies. Complementary to former investigations, in addition to economic, the analysis has also included indicators that cover the main sources of agricultural GHG emissions (including forestry). The suggestion for GHG census in developing economies (which is in preparation or in the process of realization) is to take into consideration the country-specific emissions factors [16] . For this purpose, this study will identify these factors as well as the intensity of the impact on GHG emissions. The measures for GHG emissions mitigation following the advanced economies have also been considered, aimed at more successful implementation of environmental protection strategies in these countries where it has not been fully implemented. To the best of our knowledge, the impact of agro-economic factors on GHG emission as well as the implementation of mitigation practices in European developing economies, has not been investigated yet.

The suggestion for GHG census in developing economies (which is in preparation or in the process of realization) is to take into consideration the country-specific emissions factors.


In the existing literature, the connection between GHG emissions and economic development has already been established [4, 6, [17] [18] [19] . The analysis of this type is very complex and it depends on a number of factors, like: size of the economy, sectorial structure, development of technology, etc. Most of the investigations relate either to a specific country or to an entire geographic region.

In the existing literature, the connection between GHG emissions and economic development has already been established.


There exist various techniques to conduct a MCDA. Among the methods, the most popular ones used in the field of transport are multi-attribute theory variants (AHP, MAUT, MAVT, SMART, SMARTER, VISA), outranking methods (PROMETHEE, ELECTRE) and regime analysis (Macharis and Geudens, 2009) . In this paper, an integrated approach is used that combines the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluations (PROMETHEE). AHP is used to structure the decision problem and to attribute weights to the criteria, whereas PROMETHEE is used to obtain a final ranking of the proposed alternatives and to perform sensitivity analyses by changing the weights. Section 2 introduces AHP, PROMETHEE and the integrated AHP-PROMETHEE approach, and section 3 applies the steps of the combined approach to rank the multi-instrumentality packages to stimulate a clean vehicle fleet. Conclusions and policy recommendations are formulated in section 4.

Among the methods, the most popular ones used in the field of transport are multi-attribute theory variants (AHP, MAUT, MAVT, SMART, SMARTER, VISA), outranking methods (PROMETHEE, ELECTRE) and regime analysis.


According to the observed phenomena in current distribution and frequency response of | 11 | in different cases, some vital parameters are analyzed on resonant frequency bands. Figure 6 presents the tuning effect of length 1 on the | 11 | curves of the resonant mode at 2.44 GHz. As the length 1 is increased, the center resonant frequency of 2.44 GHz band is shifted towards lower frequency, and as the length 1 is decreased, the center resonant frequency of 2.44 GHz band is shifted towards higher frequency. The reason for this is that the longer 1 is, the longer wavelength at relevant resonant frequency is, and vice versa, which conforms to theoretical formula (1) . Similarly, the changing of 2 and 3 has the same impact on the resonant point of 3.5 GHz band and 5.8 GHz band, respectively, as shown in Figures 7 and 8 .

The reason for this is that the longer 1 is, the longer wavelength at relevant resonant frequency is, and vice versa, which conforms to theoretical formula.


Five different data series of real time heave, namely MBheave-1, MBheave-2, MBheave-3, MBheave-4, and MBheave-4, were used to validate the neural network model. The structure of the neural network was built using the Matlab [8] . Several tests were conducted to optimize the structure of the neural network for each of the five data series. As mentioned before, we have investigated two neural network-based models. First, we used the feedforward neural network structure. In this approach, immediate past values of the heave records are used as input to the network, while future values of the tidal records are used as the desired output. Then, we followed another neural network structure, which is recurrent neural network. In this approach, the immediate past values of the heave records and the immediate past of value of the residuals are used as input to the network, while future values of the heave records are used as the desired output. Each of the data series was divided into three datasets: training, testing and validation datasets. The first 10% heave records were assigned to the testing dataset, while the last 10% heave records were assigned to the validation dataset. The training dataset was Table 1 ).

The structure of the neural network was built using the Matlab.

The training dataset was Table 1 ).


Higher bit rates and larger numbers of closely spaced wavelengths are common ways to meet ever-increasing demands for higher capacity in optical transmission. Future optical communication systems will also require longer amplifier distance, and flexible wavelength management. The deployment of transmission systems based on high bit rates, such as 100-Gb/s and above, is advantageous for many reasons. From a transmission system point of view, smaller number of high-speed channels for a given bandwidth results in better spectral efficiency because no bandwidth is wasted on separating the channels. At the same time, a single high-speed transponder may replace many low-speed ones resulting in reduced number of optoelectronic devices and easier monitoring. From a network application point of view, reduced number of channels allows us to employ simpler optical switching devices and simpler routing algorithms. The technology that can directly benefit from beyond 100-Gb/s transmission is Ethernet [1] , [2] . Ethernet was initially introduced as a communication standard for short-distance connection of hosts in local area networks (LANs) [2] . Thanks to its simplicity with respect to other protocols, low-cost and high speed it has rapidly evolved, and has already been used to establish campus-size distance connections, and beyond, in metropolitan area networks. Moreover, the Network Interface Cards (NICs) for 1-Gb/s and 10-Gb/s Ethernet are already commercially available [1] . Because so far the Ethernet has grown in 10 fold increments, the 100-Gb/s is being envisioned as the speed of the next generation of Ethernet [1] - [11] .

The technology that can directly benefit from beyond 100-Gb/s transmission is Ethernet.

Ethernet was initially introduced as a communication standard for short-distance connection of hosts in local area networks (LANs).

Moreover, the Network Interface Cards (NICs) for 1-Gb/s and 10-Gb/s Ethernet are already commercially available.

Because so far the Ethernet has grown in 10 fold increments, the 100-Gb/s is being envisioned as the speed of the next generation of Ethernet.


Distributed systems replicate their state over different nodes in order to satisfy several non-functional requirements, such as performance, availability, and reliability. It then becomes crucial to keep a consistent view of the replicated data. However, this is a challenging task because consistency is in conflict with two common requirements of distributed applications: availability (every request is eventually executed) and tolerance to network partitions (the system operates even in the presence of failures that prevent communication among components). In fact, it is impossible for a system to simultaneously achieve strong Consistency, Availability and Partition tolerance [6] . Since many domains cannot renounce to availability and network partitions, developers need to cope with weaker notions of consistency by allowing, e.g., replicas to (temporarily) exhibit some discrepancies, as long as they eventually converge to the same state.

In fact, it is impossible for a system to simultaneously achieve strong Consistency, Availability and Partition tolerance.


Cotton seed oil is a cooking oil extracted from the seeds of cotton plant of various species, mainly Gossypium hirsutum and Gossypium herbaceum. Cotton grown for oil extraction is one of the big four genetically modified crops grown around the world, next to soy, corn, and rapeseed (canola) (Anonymous, 2009) . The cotton seed has a similar structure to those of other oilseed such as sunflower seed, having an oil bearing kernel surrounded by a hard outer hull; in processing, the oil is extracted from the kernel. Cotton seed oil is used for salad oil, mayonnaise, salad dressing, and similar products because of its flavor stability (Richard et al., 2005) . The cotton seed oil undergoes intensive treatment after extraction to reduce the level of gossypol found in untreated cotton seed oil, the consumption of which may produce undesirable side-effects (Coutinho, 2002) . Its fatty acid profile generally consists of 70% unsaturated fatty acids including 18% (13% -44%) monounsaturated (oleic) and 52% (33.1%-60.1%) polyunsaturated (linoleic and linolenic) (Darla, 2003) .

Cotton grown for oil extraction is one of the big four genetically modified crops grown around the world, next to soy, corn, and rapeseed (canola).

Cotton seed oil is used for salad oil, mayonnaise, salad dressing, and similar products because of its flavor stability.

The cotton seed oil undergoes intensive treatment after extraction to reduce the level of gossypol found in untreated cotton seed oil, the consumption of which may produce undesirable side-effects.

Its fatty acid profile generally consists of 70% unsaturated fatty acids including 18% (13% -44%) monounsaturated (oleic) and 52% (33.1%-60.1%) polyunsaturated (linoleic and linolenic).


Assessment has the potential to increase the depth of learning [35] . The purpose of assessed reflective work during training is to prepare students for reflective practice [36, 37] . Although students were given guidance on the reflective assignment (Additional file 1) and assessment criteria (Additional file 2), ownership of the criteria could have been enhanced by development of an agreed marking matrix in class. Also, it is not certain that students will apply reflective practice after graduation, or whether they become more effective over time or will revert back to offering solutions not owned by their clients.

Assessment has the potential to increase the depth of learning.

The purpose of assessed reflective work during training is to prepare students for reflective practice.


Universities are obliged, on behalf of their stakeholders, to run their operations efficiently, effectively, and responsibly. A university may aspire to social or environmental objectives rather than the profit motive, but they still share the obligation to be efficient, effective, and well-governed [38] [39] [40] . Many of the interviewees also shared an individual commitment to mitigating climate change and felt a community spirit in conducting their roles, sometimes collaborating across institutional boundaries in spaces that would otherwise be strategically competitive. Networks, industry organizations, and conferencing opportunities were all mentioned as ways to voluntarily collaborate on environment-preserving objectives perceived to bigger than individuals or single universities. Talloires was also noted as a voluntary signification of intent, however, mandated institutional projects, reporting, systems, and procedures were seen as more effective for achieving sustainability objectives at the micro level.

A university may aspire to social or environmental objectives rather than the profit motive, but they still share the obligation to be efficient, effective, and well-governed.


In this study, we examine the rationale and bring to light environmental initiatives implemented by TD signatory Australian higher education (HE) institutions (HEI). This declaration has been signed by over 500 university presidents in more than 50 of the world's 196 countries [2, 3] . In Australia, there are 24 Talloires signatories, which is more than half of their established universities [4] . Therefore, Australia provides an opportunity for relatively rich exploration of the actions, agency, and structures that enable Talloires principles to be promoted and followed. The Australian context can serve as an important example for other developed economies and establish a benchmark for expansion of the sustainability declarations in the future. The reasons for Talloires Declaration adoption in Australia, and how its principles and actions are communicated, should be of interest to those recommending wider global uptake of this declaration and related creeds in support of sustainable practices in HE.

This declaration has been signed by over 500 university presidents in more than 50 of the world's 196 countries.

In Australia, there are 24 Talloires signatories, which is more than half of their established universities.


The scalability analysis of parallel computing is important and useful for different purposes. For an application programmer or a scientific library designer, scalability analysis can help him/her to identify algorithm and implementation bottlenecks, and to select an optimal algorithm and architecture combination for best utilizing an increment of the number of processors. For an architecture designer, a scalability study investigates overhead sources inherent in interconnection networks. It provides a better understanding of the nature of scientific computations so as to facilitate the building of scalable parallel architectures. The scalability study also plays an important role in parallel computing performance evaluation and prediction, because it can predict the performance of large problems on large systems based on the performance of small problems on small systems if we understand well the scaling behavior of programs [12] .

The scalability study also plays an important role in parallel computing performance evaluation and prediction, because it can predict the performance of large problems on large systems based on the performance of small problems on small systems if we understand well the scaling behavior of programs.


Finally, herbicide application and time since herbicide treatments can also help predict herbaceous species richness. Herbicide applications for the control of undesirable woody and herbaceous plants during the first 3-5 years of stand establishment suppressed floristic diversity, even 15 years after treatment [19] . In Georgia and South Carolina, US, five years following herbicide treatment, pineland herbaceous species richness was lower than pre-treatment levels [19, 20] . On the other hand, a study on a Pinus taeda plantation in Georgia, US, found no differences in either herbaceous richness or diversity between six herbicide treatments and control 11 years after initial treatment, suggesting a return to pre-treatment levels after a finite period of time [21] .

Herbicide applications for the control of undesirable woody and herbaceous plants during the first 3-5 years of stand establishment suppressed floristic diversity, even 15 years after treatment.

In Georgia and South Carolina, US, five years following herbicide treatment, pineland herbaceous species richness was lower than pre-treatment levels.

On the other hand, a study on a Pinus taeda plantation in Georgia, US, found no differences in either herbaceous richness or diversity between six herbicide treatments and control 11 years after initial treatment, suggesting a return to pre-treatment levels after a finite period of time.


Several factors influence the dynamic response of axle tyres, including vehicle speed, road irregularities, suspension type, loading conditions, etc. Vehicle speed has a very close relation with the roughness level of the road. The dynamic behaviour of a heavy vehicle axle fitted with wheel mounted instrumentation showed that dynamic loading patterns on road surfaces are very similar for the same vehicle at the same speed [1] . At low vehicle speeds, the vibration is slight, but at high vehicle speeds, the motion leads to significant vehicle vibrations, which not only reduce the ride quality of the occupants, but also generate additional inertia forces. The increase in dynamic load with speed is compensated for by the shorter duration of an applied axle load at an increased speed. Therefore, rutting may be diminished by the decreasing loading time at high speed. Also, as agreed by Cebon, road materials and structural responses are sensitive to vehicle speed and to the frequency content of the applied loads [2] .

The dynamic behaviour of a heavy vehicle axle fitted with wheel mounted instrumentation showed that dynamic loading patterns on road surfaces are very similar for the same vehicle at the same speed.

Also, as agreed by Cebon, road materials and structural responses are sensitive to vehicle speed and to the frequency content of the applied loads.


Rubber walking beam suspension caused 17 to 22% additional theoretical damage, because dynamic and air suspensions contributed an additional 6 to 8% [14] . This is in agreement with other studies, that centrally-pivoted tandem drive axle suspension, as well as walking-beam and single point suspensions, were always found to generate the highest dynamic loads, because of their lightly damped pitching modes of around 8 to 10Hz. Furthermore, four-spring tandem suspensions were generally found to generate smaller dynamic loads than walking beams. Torsion bar and air suspensions generated the lowest loads [3, 4, 5, 6, and 15] . Additionally, more damage was reported when loads were applied to the road surface by a heavy vehicle fleet [9] .

Rubber walking beam suspension caused 17 to 22% additional theoretical damage, because dynamic and air suspensions contributed an additional 6 to 8%.

Additionally, more damage was reported when loads were applied to the road surface by a heavy vehicle fleet.


Axle loads applied at lower speeds can caused higher damage than loads applied at higher speeds; particularly on asphalt concrete pavement and at higher speeds, which produce higher dynamic loads. As speed increases, the peak strain (under a constant moving load) diminishes in amplitude, and occurs behind the point of load application. He also noted that the dynamic tyre forces applied to road surfaces by heavy vehicles caused a premature road failure. Moreover, Root Mean Square (RMS) dynamic wheel loads for various suspensions, tyres, and operating conditions, generally have broadly similar conclusions about the effect of suspension and tyre types on dynamic wheel loads [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] . According to Sun and Kennedy, in their research investigating the quantitative influence of surface roughness, speed, and vehicle parameters, vehicle speed was shown to have a significant effect on the power spectral density of loads, which got worse for rougher surfaces [7] . Rough pavement, with a Pavement Serviceability Index (PSI) of 2.5 (note: smooth roads have a PSI above 4) experienced damage approximately 50% more than that of a smooth road, for most typical truck suspensions [9] . Over the typical range of International Roughness Index (IRI), of about 126 to 380 cm/km, the dynamic load coefficient will vary by a factor of 3, and relative damage will increase by 20% of Equivalent Single Axle Loads (ESALs).Soft suspension springs and tyres of a low vertical stiffness are desirable for minimising dynamic loads [3,10, and11 ]. For very low tyre stiffness's, low frequency force components are possible; and hence, the root mean square of force levels increase. The optimal level of viscous damping usually depends on suspension conditions and any dry friction in the suspension usually increases dynamic tyre forces. However, it is usually better to have too much suspension damping than too little [11] .

Moreover, Root Mean Square (RMS) dynamic wheel loads for various suspensions, tyres, and operating conditions, generally have broadly similar conclusions about the effect of suspension and tyre types on dynamic wheel loads.

According to Sun and Kennedy, in their research investigating the quantitative influence of surface roughness, speed, and vehicle parameters, vehicle speed was shown to have a significant effect on the power spectral density of loads, which got worse for rougher surfaces.

Rough pavement, with a Pavement Serviceability Index (PSI) of 2.5 (note: smooth roads have a PSI above 4) experienced damage approximately 50% more than that of a smooth road, for most typical truck suspensions.

However, it is usually better to have too much suspension damping than too little.


Hydrogen production via the splitting of the water molecule using solar energy can generally be classified into three types: thermochemical, photobiological, and photocatalytic. The principle of the water splitting is thermochemically achieved using concentrators to collect heat from the sun, which can normally reach about 2000 ∘ C, and using the collected heat to carry out the dissociation reaction of the water molecule in the presence of a catalyst such as ZnO [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] . Although this technique seems to be unsophisticated, the management/heat control and the quest for heat resistant materials have become a major challenge. In addition, high concentration solar systems are essential to achieve the requirement of high temperature, which makes this technique often expensive.

The principle of the water splitting is thermochemically achieved using concentrators to collect heat from the sun, which can normally reach about 2000 ∘ C, and using the collected heat to carry out the dissociation reaction of the water molecule in the presence of a catalyst such as ZnO.


One of the synthetic methods used for the preparation of photocatalysts is the coprecipitation technique, as it helps in obtaining a powder precursor of high homogeneity, by precipitation of intermediates (typically hydroxides or oxalates), so it is an economical synthesis technique. Another easy access and low cost synthesis method is by mechanical milling, which uses more available raw materials, and cheaper than other methods [9, 10] . Mechanical milling processes not only can produce an alloy but also can cause chemical reactions, besides obtaining nanometric size particles [11] .

Another easy access and low cost synthesis method is by mechanical milling, which uses more available raw materials, and cheaper than other methods.

Mechanical milling processes not only can produce an alloy but also can cause chemical reactions, besides obtaining nanometric size particles.


This low current characteristic is the main consideration of the current study. Hence, modifications of the existing marine current turbines are needed to overcome low current speed in Malaysian ocean [6] . Thus, this study is mainly focusing on developing ocean energy device for harnessing and utilization of Malaysian ocean current characteristic. A duct diffuser has been proposedexperimentally to enhance the flow velocity through turbine runner, which is suitable for utilizing at Malaysian Ocean of low speed current.

Hence, modifications of the existing marine current turbines are needed to overcome low current speed in Malaysian ocean.


The efficiency of polymer photovoltaic devices is mainly limited by the low carrier mobility and short exciton diffusion lengths of polymers. However, significant advances in PCE can be attained by understanding the fundamental electronic interaction between the polymeric donors and the fullerene acceptors as well as complex interplay of device architecture, morphology, processing and electronic processes. Recent advances such as thermal annealing of BHJ-OSCs can help improve the photo-active morphology and charge carrier mobility, thereby increasing the quantum efficiency of devices [13] . In addition the sequence of thermal treatment is critical for the device performance and result in some unique properties of P3HT over other polymers, including high degree of crystallinity at nanoscale, high hole mobility in regioregular state (10-4 to 10-2 cm 2 /Vs), extended absorption in the red region (to 650 nm) and environmental stability [14] . Furthermore, thermal annealing condition is found to be very important for improving short circuit current, fill factor and therefore the efficiency of the device [14] .

Recent advances such as thermal annealing of BHJ-OSCs can help improve the photo-active morphology and charge carrier mobility, thereby increasing the quantum efficiency of devices.

In addition the sequence of thermal treatment is critical for the device performance and result in some unique properties of P3HT over other polymers, including high degree of crystallinity at nanoscale, high hole mobility in regioregular state (10-4 to 10-2 cm 2 /Vs), extended absorption in the red region (to 650 nm) and environmental stability.

Furthermore, thermal annealing condition is found to be very important for improving short circuit current, fill factor and therefore the efficiency of the device.


Thermal annealing can be done either before cathode deposition or after cathode deposition. It is reported that, thermal annealing before cathode deposition induces change in crystal structure of active layer, while thermal annealing after cathode deposition induces the variation in crystal structure and variation in the contact between active layer and cathode as well. In this study, we report recent advances directed towards the optimization of organic polymer-fullerene BHJ solar cells, also employing ZnO nanoparticles as electron transporting layer in the context of how they have redefined the fundamental understanding of energy conversion to improve performance [14] . We also discuss the inverted geometry of organic solar cells to compare the performance to the normal/conventional geometry.

In this study, we report recent advances directed towards the optimization of organic polymer-fullerene BHJ solar cells, also employing ZnO nanoparticles as electron transporting layer in the context of how they have redefined the fundamental understanding of energy conversion to improve performance.


With the rapid adoption of Web-based social media, asynchronous online conversations are becoming extremely common for supporting communication and collaboration. An asynchronous conversation such as a blog may start with a news article or an editorial opinion, and later generate a long and complex thread as comments are added by the participants (Carenini et al., 2011) . Consider a scenario, where a reader opens a blog conversation about Obama's healthcare policy. The reader wants to know why people are supporting or opposing ObamaCare. However, since some related discussion topics like student loan and job recession are introduced, the reader finds it hard to keep track of the comments about ObamaCare, which end up being buried in the long discussion. This may lead to an information overload problem, where the reader gets overwhelmed, starts to skip comments, and eventually leaves the conversation without satisfying her information needs (Jones et al., 2004) .

An asynchronous conversation such as a blog may start with a news article or an editorial opinion, and later generate a long and complex thread as comments are added by the participants.

This may lead to an information overload problem, where the reader gets overwhelmed, starts to skip comments, and eventually leaves the conversation without satisfying her information needs.


Taking advantages of the multi-paradigm approaches, this paper proposes a new methodology based on the utilization of the SWT fused with GA to identify natural frequencies and damping ratios of civil structures. In general, it uses two steps to estimate the modal parameters of civil structures. In Step 1, the mode extraction is performed by using the NExT and SWT algorithms, where NExT converts the measured response into a free-decay one and SWT decomposes the converted signal into its fundamental components. In Step 2, the natural frequencies and damping ratios of every mode are calculated using a GA-based approach, where a fusion of novel objective functions for the estimation of natural frequencies and damping ratios is proposed. It is worth noting that the appropriate selection of the search space and the utilization of the micropopulation concept will reduce the required time to estimate the optimal solution, allowing its obtaining in a practical way. In order to validate the efficacy and performance of the proposed methodology, two study cases are carried out. For the first one, the benchmark of the International Association for Structural Control American Society of Civil Engineers Structural Health Monitoring (IASC-ASCE SHM) Task Group, which consists of a four-story 2 × 2 bay 3D steel frame structure is used, where the simulated response obtained from a finite element analysis (FEA) model is processed to obtain its modal parameters. The obtained results are compared with other methodologies [11, 34, 35] . Regarding the second study case, the real measurements obtained from an eight-story steel frame subjected to white noise input in a shaking table test are also processed to estimate its modal parameters. Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of the proposal to perform the MPI of civil structures. The proposal is based on two steps. In Step 1, the measured vibration signal is converted in a free-decay response and separated into individual mono-components using the NExT and SWT methods, respectively. In Step 2, the natural frequency (NF) and damping ratio (DR) of each individual component is calculated in an automatic manner using an optimization scheme solved by a GA-based approach. The fundamental concepts of the aforementioned techniques and their use in the proposal are described in the following subsections.

The obtained results are compared with other methodologies.

The proposal is based on two steps.


On the other hand, only few studies have been devoted to the CFD prediction of the flow in channels to be devoted to RED applications [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] . Such channels are so thin, compared to those for RO and MD, that the Reynolds number is much lower and thus different flow fields are typically obtained. Only a very few studies have investigated spacers made of woven filaments, despite the fact that many of these are commercially available. All these aspects are addressed by the present work that can be considered as an attempt to simulate both the flow and the concentration (passive scalar) field in spacer filled channels at the RED scale. This work focuses on how the spacer type can affect the concentration distribution aiming at finding the best compromise between pressure drop and concentration polarization at RED scale.

On the other hand, only few studies have been devoted to the CFD prediction of the flow in channels to be devoted to RED applications.


Definitive surgical management of patients with distal ureteral pathologies may involve ureteroneocystostomy (UNC), which is the reimplantation of the ureter into the bladder. Traditionally, UNC is performed via an open lower abdominal incision [1] . Because a tension-free anastomosis between the ureter and the bladder is critical for a successful UNC, patients with ureteral strictures that are extensive or involve more proximal segments of the distal ureter are typically managed with a concomitant psoas hitch or Boari flap or both during UNC [2, 3] .

Traditionally, UNC is performed via an open lower abdominal incision.

Because a tension-free anastomosis between the ureter and the bladder is critical for a successful UNC, patients with ureteral strictures that are extensive or involve more proximal segments of the distal ureter are typically managed with a concomitant psoas hitch or Boari flap or both during UNC.


In this paper, we studied the use of a multivariate Cauchy distribution in black-box continuous optimization by EDA. Our MCEDA blends together the advantages of multivariate modelling with the Cauchy sampling's ability of escaping early convergence and efficiently explore the search space. We conducted extensive experiments on 16 benchmark functions and found that MCEDA outperformed MGEDA when the population is far from the global optimum and is able to work even with small population sizes. We also demonstrated the superiority of multivariate Cauchy EDA against univariate Cauchy EDA. Future work is to extend this study to high dimensional search spaces, possibly leveraging recent techniques of random projection for optimization [1] .

Future work is to extend this study to high dimensional search spaces, possibly leveraging recent techniques of random projection for optimization.


Software has become so intrinsic in the fabric of modern society that its value cannot be ignored. This has opened a window for many businesses wanting a 'slice' of the software 'pie'. Moreover, because software engineering is not (yet) a protected profession, anybody with money for investment can hire a few programmers and start his own 'software business' -in contrast to, for example, an accounting firm which is required by law to be operated by state-certified and chartered acEmail: Stefan Gruner sg@cs.up.ac.za, Johan van Zyl johanvanzyl80@gmail.com countants. Opportunities like these have given birth to thousands of small software companies (SSC) across the world. Small software companies, with between one and fifty employees, constitute the majority of the global software industry [57] .

Small software companies, with between one and fifty employees, constitute the majority of the global software industry.


In healthy donors, naïve and resting memory B cells are the most common in the blood [11] . In chronic HIV infection, mature activated memory B cells (CD21 -/lo CD27 + ) show decreased proliferative capacity and enhanced CD86 expression [12, 13] . In HCV infection with cryoglobulinemia, CD21 lo CD27 + B cells have decreased mobilization of calcium after BCR stimulation [14, 15] . Decreased BCR signaling has also been observed in CD21 + CD27 + B cells of HCV donors with cryoglobulinemia [16] . Further characterization is required to asses which B cell subset (CD21 -/lo CD27 + or CD21 + CD27 + ) is dysregulated during HCV infection. We have shown that in HCV infection there are increased proportions of mature activated B cells, and this is associated with lower cell cycling (ki-67 expression) [17] . Whether these observations are linked to RF status was unknown. Our results here indicate that RF positivity is the dominant factor associated with enhanced proportions of mature activated memory B cells and these cells have a phenotype associated with a state of unresponsiveness. In spite of over 4 weeks of viral clearance, this overrepresentation of hypo-responsive mature activated memory B cells remains in HCV RF+ donors but not HCV RF-donors.

In healthy donors, naïve and resting memory B cells are the most common in the blood.

In chronic HIV infection, mature activated memory B cells (CD21 -/lo CD27 + ) show decreased proliferative capacity and enhanced CD86 expression.

In HCV infection with cryoglobulinemia, CD21 lo CD27 + B cells have decreased mobilization of calcium after BCR stimulation.

Decreased BCR signaling has also been observed in CD21 + CD27 + B cells of HCV donors with cryoglobulinemia.

We have shown that in HCV infection there are increased proportions of mature activated B cells, and this is associated with lower cell cycling (ki-67 expression).


Significantly more work is required to fully understand droplet dynamics upon collision in confined microflows. The literature contains ample theoretical, numerical, and experimental work on droplet interactions in unconfined scenarios [12, 13, 14, 15, 16] . Results show specific regimes of coalescence based on the ratio of droplet inertia to surface tension. The presence of microchannel walls changes the physics of the collision process but parallelisms must be present. Since the inertial droplet micromixer requires coalescence for mixing to proceed, there is an upper limit on the relative kinetic energy of interacting droplets for mixing to occur. The experimental results do show that mixing rates are proportional to the relative velocity raised to some power. The droplet detachment results show that droplet volume, and hence characteristic length, is inversely proportional to the continuous phase velocity. Droplet velocity upon collision is also directly proportional to the continuous phase velocity. The interrelation of these variables needs to be clarified. More mixing experiments at higher and lower droplet Reynolds numbers are required to fully predict the expected rate of mixing versus both discrete and continuous phase velocity.

The literature contains ample theoretical, numerical, and experimental work on droplet interactions in unconfined scenarios.


Finally, fraudulent actions may be denounced also by whistleblowers. However, the lack of a sufficient legislative and economic protection for the whistleblowers makes this figure persecuted even if it contributes to the common welfare (Sawyer et al., 2006) . This literature review, although not exhaustive, indicates that too little sociological knowledge is available to understand behaviours and attitudes regarding organisations risk management and internal control approaches. In this study, we intend to discover some social patterns associated with these topics in a wealthy, dynamic and international city, Geneva.

However, the lack of a sufficient legislative and economic protection for the whistleblowers makes this figure persecuted even if it contributes to the common welfare.


In general, internal auditors can be considered as risk management consultants. They can thus share their expertise with the management in order to comply with corporate goals (Fadzil et al., 2005) . Additionally, the role of internal auditors as professional corporate controllers can also be very useful to track illegal actions that might affect enterprise assets. Their role allows them to anticipate and even deter dishonest employees (at all hierarchical levels) from frauds such as cheating financial reports and stealing corporate properties (Hillison et al., 1999) .

They can thus share their expertise with the management in order to comply with corporate goals.

Their role allows them to anticipate and even deter dishonest employees (at all hierarchical levels) from frauds such as cheating financial reports and stealing corporate properties.


The use and the implementation of an Internal Control System differ among countries. In Europe, each country has its own corporate regulation. Empirical studies made in France, Belgium, Italy and in UK show the different roles and uses of internal audit across countries whose origin lies in cultural factors and national regulations (Allegrini et al., 2006) .

Empirical studies made in France, Belgium, Italy and in UK show the different roles and uses of internal audit across countries whose origin lies in cultural factors and national regulations.


Yet, most of these models were designed to cater for a single medium only. The terrain in the Antarctic can be more complex, for example the presence of snow cover on top of the sea ice. Therefore, a model that caters for multiple layers may be able to more accurately represent the sea ice terrain [13] [14] [15] . Besides this, the sea ice had previously been treated as a sparse medium in the models developed. The scattering from the scatterers within the medium is assumed to be independent. This assumption is not accurate since sea ice is an electrically dense medium, where the spacing between the scatterers is comparable to the wavelength [16, 17] .

Therefore, a model that caters for multiple layers may be able to more accurately represent the sea ice terrain.

This assumption is not accurate since sea ice is an electrically dense medium, where the spacing between the scatterers is comparable to the wavelength.


Remote sensing technology is a good tool to use in monitoring the large sea ice area and also for data collection. Over the past 30 years, polar-orbiting satellites have revolutionized our ability to monitor the vast and data-sparse terrains. Both active and passive remote sensing satellites are used extensively for observing sea ice terrains and obtaining sea ice information such as sea ice cover extent, sea ice age, sea ice thickness and surface roughness [1] . However, the data collected through the use of satellites or radars will be meaningless without the proper understanding of the interaction and scattering mechanisms between the electromagnetic waves and the snow and sea ice.

Both active and passive remote sensing satellites are used extensively for observing sea ice terrains and obtaining sea ice information such as sea ice cover extent, sea ice age, sea ice thickness and surface roughness.


In this paper, a multilayer model for sea ice terrain developed based on the Radiative Transfer equation is presented. The Radiative Transfer equation is solved iteratively to include up to second order solutions so that the contributions of the major scattering mechanisms are obtained. Next, a Dense Medium Phase and Amplitude Correction Theory (DM-PACT) is included in the phase matrix of the Radiative Transfer equation to take into account the close spacing effect among the scatterers [17] . Then, the backscattering from the surfaces (airsnow interface, snow-sea ice interface and sea ice-ocean interface) is modelled using the Integral Equation Method (IEM) [18] .

Next, a Dense Medium Phase and Amplitude Correction Theory (DM-PACT) is included in the phase matrix of the Radiative Transfer equation to take into account the close spacing effect among the scatterers.

Then, the backscattering from the surfaces (airsnow interface, snow-sea ice interface and sea ice-ocean interface) is modelled using the Integral Equation Method (IEM).


As a result, the critical load margin obtained is one of the optimization problems which is computed by optimization technique. The optimal load shedding problem formulation has also been growing with shedding constraints. At a particular site, it is providing an appropriate framework for restricting the maximum amount of load to be shed. An early version declared the problem as a minimum load shedding problem. In this approach, the objective was to find the minimum amount of load to shed while gratifying load flow equations and static constraints such as line flows, voltage, angular limits and shedding constraints. Over conventional load flow, the formulation has numerous benefits. One of its strongest points is that it offers an optimization frame for distributing the slack among generation and load throughout the accessible nodes. This is mainly constructive, particularly after disturbances or equipment outages, when corrective action, other than rescheduling, might be required. Transmission limits could get the form of transfer limits or angle differences [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] .

Transmission limits could get the form of transfer limits or angle differences.


The process of tripping certain amount of load with lower priority is Load shedding which is to keep up the constancy of the remaining portion of the system [8] . Successful load shedding scheme is required to uphold the power system stability [9] . Lacking of load shedding will cause serious system frequency decay and a stability problem [10] . Conversely, too much load shedding will trip the load too much to cause an unnecessary power outage problem [11] . It is a general practice for utility companies to carry out load shedding by applying under-frequency relays to trip the predetermined load with several shedding steps when the frequency drops lower than set values. The transient stability investigates for all the potential fault cases of the external utility power system have to be executed to get an efficient load shedding scheme [12] [13] [14] .

The process of tripping certain amount of load with lower priority is Load shedding which is to keep up the constancy of the remaining portion of the system.

Successful load shedding scheme is required to uphold the power system stability.

Lacking of load shedding will cause serious system frequency decay and a stability problem.

Conversely, too much load shedding will trip the load too much to cause an unnecessary power outage problem.

The transient stability investigates for all the potential fault cases of the external utility power system have to be executed to get an efficient load shedding scheme.


Our study should be interpreted in light of its limitations. The cross-sectional nature limits its generalizability wherein concordance with secular changes cannot be assumed. Longitudinal studies that concurrently examine degenerative features of the spinal column and paravertebral musculature would offer improvement but are unrealistic in determining rate of decline over the wide age-range described here. Examining normative imaging datasets derived using advanced sequencing like proton density fatfraction and Dixon fat/water MRI would be warranted in enabling concurrent visualization of both spinal column and adjacent musculature [16] [17] [18] . While we consider our simulation design to be statistically sound, drawing comparisons between prevalence rates for spinal degenerative features and actual paravertebral muscle FI is a new approach in determining rate of decline. The robustness of this method might be best tested with comparisons to longitudinal studies that employ methods able to reliably detect serial yearly changes of the small magnitude defined by our study. This is not limited to the lumbar spine region.

Examining normative imaging datasets derived using advanced sequencing like proton density fatfraction and Dixon fat/water MRI would be warranted in enabling concurrent visualization of both spinal column and adjacent musculature.


One of the most important challenges that occur worldwide is the rapid increase in water consumption due to population growth, urbanization and industrialization. Daily, the water resources are contaminated by industrial effluents, and this affect both the quality of ecosystems and the health of all living forms [1] . One of the most relevant categories of environmental pollutants is the one caused by dyes, which are present in large amount in the wastewater from various industrial activities such as textile, dying, tanner, pulp and paper, paint and pigments [2] . Nowadays, there are N100,000 commercial dyes (anionic, cationic or non-ionic) with a rough estimated production of 10 6 tons per year [3] . However, recent studies reported that over 15% from total quantity of dyes produced annually are lost during the production processes and reach industrial wastewater, becoming contaminants of the environment [4, 5] .

Daily, the water resources are contaminated by industrial effluents, and this affect both the quality of ecosystems and the health of all living forms.

One of the most relevant categories of environmental pollutants is the one caused by dyes, which are present in large amount in the wastewater from various industrial activities such as textile, dying, tanner, pulp and paper, paint and pigments.

Nowadays, there are N100,000 commercial dyes (anionic, cationic or non-ionic) with a rough estimated production of 10 6 tons per year.

However, recent studies reported that over 15% from total quantity of dyes produced annually are lost during the production processes and reach industrial wastewater, becoming contaminants of the environment.


The best solution is to bind all authenticators (passwords and encryption keys) to the owner's identity. Such binding is integral to a person so it reliably precludes the possibility of forgery in practice. Biometrical characteristics (including dynamic) are inherent and allow for a solution to the above-mentioned human factor prospectively [4, 5] .

Biometrical characteristics (including dynamic) are inherent and allow for a solution to the above-mentioned human factor prospectively.


Photonic crystals (PCs) represent a novel class of optical materials which facilitate the realization of such an integrated photonics. In these periodic dielectric structures, a carefully engineered combination of microscopic scattering resonances from individual elements of the periodic array and Bragg scattering from the corresponding lattice leads to the formation of a photonic band structure. In particular, the flexibility in material composition, lattice periodicity, symmetry, and topology allows one to tailor the photonic dispersion relations to almost any application need. The most dramatic modification of the photonic dispersion in these systems occurs when suitably engineered PCs exhibit frequency ranges over which the propagation of light is forbidden regardless of direction [1] [2] [3] . The existence of these so-called complete photonic band gaps (PBGs) allows one to eliminate the problem of light leakage from sharply bent optical fibres. Indeed, using a PC with a complete PBG as a background material and embedding into this PC a circuit of properly engineered waveguiding channels permits the creation of an optical micro-circuit inside a perfect optical insulator, i.e. a close analogue of customary electronic circuits.

The most dramatic modification of the photonic dispersion in these systems occurs when suitably engineered PCs exhibit frequency ranges over which the propagation of light is forbidden regardless of direction.


The findings that both mental and physical disorders can impede functioning as measured by productive employment and participation in other social roles, have several implications for policy. First, there is a need for early interventions in integrated health services to address Additional to those estimated for the average individual without the disorder multiple comorbid conditions, including the growing burden of mental disorders. Secondly, provision of disability grants for people with physical or mental disorder is essential to provide financial protection against the disabling consequences of mental and physical illness [31] . We note that there are limitations to this analysis. First, the prevalence of categories of physical disorders is based on self-report. However, methodological studies in both the USA and the United Kingdom have documented good concordance between self-report of these conditions and corresponding medical records [17, 21] . Second, data were drawn from a cross-sectional study which gives a sense of the strength of the relationship between mental and physical disorders and days out of role as well as the odds of comorbid conditions, but does not allow causality to be determined. We note also that although HIV/AIDS status was included in the questionnaire, few respondents were willing to admit that they were HIV positive. Therefore, HIV status has not been included in this analysis. Given the high prevalence of HIV in South Africa, and the physical and social consequences of the illness, days out of role could well be a consequence of HIV/AIDS. As noted in previous publications from the SASH dataset, psychosis, dementia and child and adolescent mental disorders have also not been included in this analysis.

Secondly, provision of disability grants for people with physical or mental disorder is essential to provide financial protection against the disabling consequences of mental and physical illness.

However, methodological studies in both the USA and the United Kingdom have documented good concordance between self-report of these conditions and corresponding medical records.


As one of the most widely used herbicides in the world, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) continues to be one of the most studied pesticides, both in animals and in humans. Yet 4-chloro-2-methylphenoxyacetic acid (MCPA) and 2-(4-chloro-2-methylphenoxy)propanoic acid (mecoprop, MCPP) continue to be commercially important herbicides with widespread use, particularly in western Europe. In fact, MCPA and mecoprop (Scheme 1) are powerful, selective, and extensively used chlorophenoxy herbicides usually applied against broad-leaf weeds primarily in cereal and grass seed crops. In Portugal, MCPA still remain one of the most often used herbicides for rice crops [7] . Like the other phenoxy compounds, they are widespread in the environment and have been detected in agricultural drainage water, ground water, and sometimes even in water supplies intended for human use [8] [9] [10] [11] . Former studies have shown that MCPA and mecoprop are photodegradable substances in groundwater and drinking water. Moreover, one MCPA Scheme 1: Chemical structures of (a) MCPA, (b) mecoprop, and its main photodegradation product (c) 4-chloro-2-methylphenol.

In Portugal, MCPA still remain one of the most often used herbicides for rice crops.

Like the other phenoxy compounds, they are widespread in the environment and have been detected in agricultural drainage water, ground water, and sometimes even in water supplies intended for human use.


Unlike the situation with Gauss-Bonnet term, where one can obtain unique black hole solutions, with f (R) gravity theories obtaining new black hole solutions are difficult, modulo no-hair theorems. However the no-hair theorems depend crucially on the fall-off behavior of the scalar field, i.e., the scalar field must vanish at infinity. When this is not the case one can have non-trivial solutions even in the context of f (R) gravity (or, equivalently scalar-tensor theories) as well [68] [69] [70] [71] [72] . We will consider precisely such a situation in which the scalar field does not vanish at infinity vis-á-vis in the context of brane world and shall obtain spherically symmetric solutions to the effective field equations derived in this work.

When this is not the case one can have non-trivial solutions even in the context of f (R) gravity (or, equivalently scalar-tensor theories) as well.


Besides athletes' training at sea level, iron deficiency could also affect athletes training at altitude. Staying at high altitude causes an increase in erythropoiesis in the bone marrow, stimulated by hypoxia. This increase in erythropoiesis is followed by an elevation in red blood cells volume and Hb concentration [30, 31] . Iron deficiency could negatively affect the above mechanism by limiting the rate of erythropoiesis and consequently aerobic performance. It has been demonstrated that athletes with low ferritin levels do not increase total red blood cell volume after 4 weeks at altitude, despite an acute increase in erythropoietin [32] . In contrast, a significant increase in erythropoietin but also in reticulocytes occurred in non-iron-deficient athletes during training at moderate altitude [30] . Such data suggests that iron sufficiency is critical for the favorable response of the athletes training to altitude, in an attempt to enhance their performance.

This increase in erythropoiesis is followed by an elevation in red blood cells volume and Hb concentration.

It has been demonstrated that athletes with low ferritin levels do not increase total red blood cell volume after 4 weeks at altitude, despite an acute increase in erythropoietin.

In contrast, a significant increase in erythropoietin but also in reticulocytes occurred in non-iron-deficient athletes during training at moderate altitude.


Recently, several investigators studied the elimination of PACs from contaminated urine using Fenton's reagents. The overall conclusion is that Fenton's treatment can be rated as uneconomical method for larger volumes of urine (Abdel-Shafy and Mansour, 2013b) . However, this Fenton's oxidation is considered an effective pre-treatment method for the non-biodegradable portions, which could render them to be ready for biodegradation by the following biological processes. If the Fenton's oxidation is employed as a pre-treatment method, lower dose of such reagents can be used. Thus, purified urine can be used safely for agricultural purpose without any hazard of pharmaceutical contamination (Abdel-Shafy and Mansour, 2013a) .

The overall conclusion is that Fenton's treatment can be rated as uneconomical method for larger volumes of urine.

Thus, purified urine can be used safely for agricultural purpose without any hazard of pharmaceutical contamination.


In the 1990s and beyond, various researchers worked on the same concept by separating urine at source for the purpose of promoting the sustainability of wastewater management (Larsen and Gujer, 1996; Regelsberger et al., 2007; Masi et al., 2010) . All these researches are based on the fact that urine contains most of chemical nutrient elements in domestic wastewater. However, it makes up less than 1% of the total wastewater volume. Adequate separation of urine at source would, therefore, allow nutrient recycling. Meanwhile, it would minimize advanced nutrient removal, including nitrification, denitrification and phosphorus elimination (Wilsenach and Van Loosdrecht, 2004) . Separation of urine presents several advantages. Besides the above mentioned advantages, it offers better ways of removing organic micro-pollutants resulted from the human metabolism (Wilsenach and Van Loosdrecht, 2004; Abdel-Shafy and Mansour, 2013b) . This leads to more efficient wastewater management (Larsen and Gujer, 2001) .

In the 1990s and beyond, various researchers worked on the same concept by separating urine at source for the purpose of promoting the sustainability of wastewater management.

Meanwhile, it would minimize advanced nutrient removal, including nitrification, denitrification and phosphorus elimination.

Besides the above mentioned advantages, it offers better ways of removing organic micro-pollutants resulted from the human metabolism.

This leads to more efficient wastewater management.


The absence of HFCs suggested that the small effective population size and the observed, occasional incestuous matings had not yet occurred at sufficient frequencies to create a signature of reduced genome-wide heterozygosity detectable by our markers and sample size. The weak correlation among subsets of loci also suggested that heterozygosity averaged across markers (stMLH) did not indicate major loss of diversity due to inbreeding (Balloux et al. 2004) . Additionally, the lack of significant HFCs suggested that any linkage among our microsatellites and quantitative loci did not enhance these relationships caused by inbreeding, at least sufficiently so to be clearly detected (Szulkin et al. 2010) . Lastly, although the number of individuals included in our study comprised a significant proportion (circa 65%) of the entire wild dog population of South Africa, the sample size possible with these endangered animals may not provide sufficient power to detect these relationships (Coltman and Slate 2003) . This was demonstrated by the wide confidence intervals observed in our results. This issue is common in most studies where (1) inbreeding is not evenly distributed throughout the pedigree, (2) few founders initiated the population and (3) big sample sizes are impossible to secure due to limited numbers of extant or captive animals (Kalinowski and Hedrick 1999) .

The weak correlation among subsets of loci also suggested that heterozygosity averaged across markers (stMLH) did not indicate major loss of diversity due to inbreeding.

Additionally, the lack of significant HFCs suggested that any linkage among our microsatellites and quantitative loci did not enhance these relationships caused by inbreeding, at least sufficiently so to be clearly detected.

Lastly, although the number of individuals included in our study comprised a significant proportion (circa 65%) of the entire wild dog population of South Africa, the sample size possible with these endangered animals may not provide sufficient power to detect these relationships.

This issue is common in most studies where (1) inbreeding is not evenly distributed throughout the pedigree, (2) few founders initiated the population and (3) big sample sizes are impossible to secure due to limited numbers of extant or captive animals.


If for example an electromagnetic absorber consisting of single/multiple layers of different materials is applied to a scatterer under test, the computational requirements increase even further, resulting in even higher memory requirements and longer simulation times [4] . A different approach to further reduce the computational requirements is to utilize high frequency approximation methods. This type of methods are commonly utilized when simulating very large objects, but can be useful for smaller scatterers as well. A high frequency approximation method used in many applications such as optics, electrical engineering and applied physics is physical optics (PO) [14] . It is an intermediate method between geometrical optics, which treats electromagnetic waves as rays, and full wave electromagnetism [6, 15] . The approximation consists of estimating the field on a surface using ray optics and then integrating the field over the surface to calculate the transmitted or scattered field. This resembles the Born approximation from the fact that details of the problem are treated as a perturbation [16] . A strong advantage of this method is the fact that the simulation complexity and computation time do not significantly increase with frequency as in the previous methods [17] [18] [19] . Some drawbacks with PO are that it does not consider edge diffraction and that the accuracy of the method is decreased for scattering in directions other than the specular direction [17] . Modified versions of PO have been presented throughout the years where these problem have been successfully addressed, utilizing physical theory of diffraction (PTD) or other techniques [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] .

If for example an electromagnetic absorber consisting of single/multiple layers of different materials is applied to a scatterer under test, the computational requirements increase even further, resulting in even higher memory requirements and longer simulation times.

A high frequency approximation method used in many applications such as optics, electrical engineering and applied physics is physical optics (PO).

It is an intermediate method between geometrical optics, which treats electromagnetic waves as rays, and full wave electromagnetism.

This resembles the Born approximation from the fact that details of the problem are treated as a perturbation.

A strong advantage of this method is the fact that the simulation complexity and computation time do not significantly increase with frequency as in the previous methods.

Some drawbacks with PO are that it does not consider edge diffraction and that the accuracy of the method is decreased for scattering in directions other than the specular direction.

Modified versions of PO have been presented throughout the years where these problem have been successfully addressed, utilizing physical theory of diffraction (PTD) or other techniques.


One result I had not expected was that pine vole pups did not call at peak rates from day of birth as prairie voles do (Blake 2002) . In this respect the developmental profile of pine voles resembled that of other muroids, with less calling in their 1st few days followed by a peak of calling, not the early peak seen in prairie voles. It also is not clear why age of peak calling differs in prairie and pine voles.

One result I had not expected was that pine vole pups did not call at peak rates from day of birth as prairie voles do.


OCT provided continuous imaging of trauma and healing and could provide information about the regenerating tissue structure in the wound area. Furthermore, OCT could be used as a feasible tool to monitor the structural characteristics of wound healing by detecting the presence of the epidermal layer and could provide non-invasive tracking of the re-epithelialization of wounds. From the OCT images of the wounds of healing days 3, 5, 7, 14, 21 and 28 and normal skin, the light attenuation coefficients were extracted using the single-scattering OCT model [18] . The light attenuation coefficient of normal skin was approximately 4.14 mm-1, and for the wound tissue on day 3, this value increased to 7.17 ± 0.29 mm-1. It is likely that the increased reflectivity of the scab and dehydrated wound tissue led to the increase in the scattering coefficient and the resulting increase in the light attenuation coefficient. Similar attenuation coefficients were found on days 5 and 7. The light attenuation coefficient decreased on days 14, 21 and 28. The scab fell off, the wound was gradually repaired, the newly formed collagen fibre reorganized, and the original arrangement of the collagen fibers was restored; all of these events led to changes in the light attenuation coefficient.

From the OCT images of the wounds of healing days 3, 5, 7, 14, 21 and 28 and normal skin, the light attenuation coefficients were extracted using the single-scattering OCT model.


In recent years, with the rapid development of biomedical imaging technology, some commonly used optical imaging methods have been applied for the detection of biological tissue, such as two-photon fluorescence imaging, X ray imaging technology, computed tomography (CT) imaging technology and optical coherence tomography. Second harmonic generation (SHG) is a promising method for the microscopic imaging of skin regeneration, which can visually show the morphology of newly formed collagen [9] - [13] . Moreover, OCT can be used to observe the process of skin wound healing in vivo and to obtain high-resolution images at various tissue depths, thereby realizing the real-time monitoring and fast imaging of tissue [14] - [19] . The change in the optical signal in skin samples can be detected by the OCT system when the samples are irradiated with the laser beam [20] , [21] . Additionally, the main process in wound repair is collagen remodelling and vascular regeneration during the healing process, and the accumulation of collagen in the wound site gradually changes the optical properties of healing tissue. In this study, we used SHG and OCT to monitor the changes in the light attenuation coefficient of wounds during the wound healing period, thus evaluating the progress of wound repair [18] . We observed the regeneration process of wound repair through the SHG and the optical signal changes in the wounds by OCT. The combination of two types of optical technology in our study can provide the basis for clinical trauma monitoring.

Second harmonic generation (SHG) is a promising method for the microscopic imaging of skin regeneration, which can visually show the morphology of newly formed collagen.

Moreover, OCT can be used to observe the process of skin wound healing in vivo and to obtain high-resolution images at various tissue depths, thereby realizing the real-time monitoring and fast imaging of tissue.

The change in the optical signal in skin samples can be detected by the OCT system when the samples are irradiated with the laser beam.

In this study, we used SHG and OCT to monitor the changes in the light attenuation coefficient of wounds during the wound healing period, thus evaluating the progress of wound repair.