Since the early days of email, researchers realized that this new medium of communication has new conventions that do not fully belong to spoken or written varieties of language. Shapiro and Anderson (1985, p. 10) , for example, pointed out that email is "a fundamentally new medium with significantly new characteristics that cannot be treated with the old rules alone". Researchers realized that this new medium of communication have affected cultural value, workplace environment, and language use. This is particularly tormenting, especially, in communications among employees who belong to different cultures and ethnic backgrounds. Previous research on politeness in workplace emails either focused on the strategies used by native speakers or compared them with those used by non-natives, however, very little work has been done concerning politeness strategies used by different types of non-native speakers using the lingua franca English (Swangboonsatic, 2006) . Having said that, this study investigates politeness strategies used in emails that are exchanged in a private Malaysian educational institute where the employees belong to different ethnic backgrounds.

Previous research on politeness in workplace emails either focused on the strategies used by native speakers or compared them with those used by non-natives, however, very little work has been done concerning politeness strategies used by different types of non-native speakers using the lingua franca English.


Various policy suggestions for gender equality have been implemented in most countries. While the policies have been effective in some countries, other countries have not yet "harvested the fruits" of their gender equality policies [1] [2] [3] [4] . Most of the researchers that have conducted related empirical analysis have placed South Korea in the latter category. Furthermore, the female employment rate has also been shown to be the lowest in OECD countries, which acts as a factor hindering the improvement in the overall employment rate. This study will evaluate the stratified structure of the labor market for the causes, analyze gender employment distribution and mobility in a time series, and then suggest policy directions suited to these ends.

While the policies have been effective in some countries, other countries have not yet "harvested the fruits" of their gender equality policies.


This study attempts to analyze how the mobility between labor markets varies between genders through analysis of the entire South Korean labor market including the unemployed and non-economically active populations. The study also investigates the gender gaps in employment and working conditions under the stratified labor market (Several attempts have been made to model labor mobility using transition matrices constructed from probabilities of actual movements by the same individuals across distinct labor market states [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] ). Prior studies have focused on the analysis of gender gaps in working conditions and employment or gaps in the working conditions of workers, rather than gender gaps under the stratified structure of the labor market. This study will comprehensively conduct an analysis by considering the gender gaps and the stratified structure of the labor market. More specifically, the study will classify the entire South Korean labor market into segments according to gender, firm size In other words, this study will classify the entire Korean labor market into the employed, the unemployed, and the non-economically active population. More specifically, the employed will be segmented into paid and non-paid workers and divided into four cohorts in terms of firm size (large/SMEs) and employment type (standard/non-standard) as follows: Large and Standard workers, Large and Non-standard workers, Small-medium and Standard workers, and Small-medium and Non-standard workers. The changes in gender distribution within the core and peripheral labor markets and the gaps in working conditions, such as wage, social insurance coverage, and fringe benefits, are also evaluated using a long-term time series. In addition, it is important to study how the economic activity state of individuals or labor mobility is changing over time to resolve the problems in the dual labor market structure. Therefore, this study will examine how the labor mobility of individuals is changing over time and the factors that determine the labor mobility are constructed using long-term panel data.

The study also investigates the gender gaps in employment and working conditions under the stratified labor market (Several attempts have been made to model labor mobility using transition matrices constructed from probabilities of actual movements by the same individuals across distinct labor market states).


After data entry, 20% of the data was randomly selected and checked for accuracy. As accuracy was virtually 100%, data omissions were examined. As aforementioned, the data from two participants were removed from the analysis since these participants missed or failed to complete one or more scales. The remaining missing data points (i.e., failure to respond to an item on a particular scale), which was less than 3% of the entire data set, was estimated using item means within each scale, and within each national subsample, accordingly. This is considered an acceptable method of imputation of missing data (Donders, van der Heijden, Stijnen, & Moons, 2006) .

This is considered an acceptable method of imputation of missing data.


The grounded theory analysis identified many similarities between the reported experiences of normal and problem gamblers. However, several of the proposed differences between the two groups were supported. There was, as anticipated, a clear differentiation between the reported strength and stability of control of gambling behaviour between the two groups. Only one of the normal gambling informants overlapped with the problem gamblers with regard to the issue of control. This would indicate that differences between the samples could be related to the experience and perception of control of gambling behaviour (Dickerson and Baron, 2000) .

This would indicate that differences between the samples could be related to the experience and perception of control of gambling behaviour.


This large, prospective international audit identified a pCR rate of 10.3% for patients with rectal cancer treated with preoperative chemoradiotherapy. This data was simultaneously collected from 262 units over a period of six weeks. It provides a unique and truly generalised 'snapshot' of the pathological response rate in current practice. Many regard a pathological response as a mixed blessing; on the one hand this reflects a favourable prognosis but on the other it may indicate an unnecessary operation with the sequelae that can follow. Consequently, there is increasing interest in trying to identify a complete response after chemoradiotherapy on clinical and radiological (cCR) grounds rather than by pathological assessment (pCR). However, this 'realworld' MRI staging data gives us an indication that if current basic staging tools are used in isolation, they will be inadequate for accurately identifying and safely monitoring 'deferral of surgery' patients. The pCR rate reported in this study is consistent with outcomes reported in large trials that used single agent concomitant chemotherapy and a radiotherapy dose of at least 45 Gy. The FFCD 9203, EORTC 22921 and the German Rectal Cancer Study (CAO/ ARO/AIO-94) trials have been described extensively elsewhere [24] [25] [26] . In summary these trials recruited cT3 or resectable cT4M0 adenocarcinoma of the rectum, located within 15, 15 and 16 cm from the anal verge respectively [24] [25] [26] . These trials reported pCR rates with pre-operative CRT of 11.4%, 14% and 8% respectively [24] [25] [26] . One review of phase II and III studies identified pCR rates ranging from 0-67% with an overall pCR rate of 13.5% [27] .

The FFCD 9203, EORTC 22921 and the German Rectal Cancer Study (CAO/ ARO/AIO-94) trials have been described extensively elsewhere.

In summary these trials recruited cT3 or resectable cT4M0 adenocarcinoma of the rectum, located within 15, 15 and 16 cm from the anal verge respectively.

These trials reported pCR rates with pre-operative CRT of 11.4%, 14% and 8% respectively.

One review of phase II and III studies identified pCR rates ranging from 0-67% with an overall pCR rate of 13.5%.


Saline lakes are estimated to constitute 85,000 km 3 of global water compared to 105,000 km 3 of freshwater lakes (Shiklomanov, 1990) . Varying in their size, salinity, ionic and biotic compositions, saline lakes have significant economic, ecological, biodiversity and cultural value (Williams, 2002) . Ecologically, salt lake ecosystems are considered as keystone habitats that offer refuge to various endemic and unique species adapted to the harsh hypersaline water conditions (Jellison et al., 2004) . Despite their ecological significance and their size that almost equals the freshwater resources, saline aquatic systems have received limited attention and data on the composition and distribution of their biota are often scarce.

Saline lakes are estimated to constitute 85,000 km 3 of global water compared to 105,000 km 3 of freshwater lakes.

Varying in their size, salinity, ionic and biotic compositions, saline lakes have significant economic, ecological, biodiversity and cultural value.

Ecologically, salt lake ecosystems are considered as keystone habitats that offer refuge to various endemic and unique species adapted to the harsh hypersaline water conditions.


The Institute for Technological Research (IPT) is interested in the development of the gasification process ( Figure 1 ). Gasification produces synthetic gas or syngas (H 2 + CO 2 + N 2 + CO 2 + H 2 O + C n H m ) which can then be converted into energy, Fischer Tropsch biodiesel or monomers. It has higher energy efficiency when compared to other uses of bagasse and can produce important base chemicals [1] . Gasification is very flexible to raw materials, allowing for local development. The greatest challenge is to overcome the initial investment barrier, and lowering the current evaluation of US$3/W to US$1.2/W that would make it commercially competitive [2] . A project involving the construction and operation of a gasification pilot plant, one of the questions raised is the melting temperature of the ashes from bagasse and/or straw used as a feedstock fuel.

It has higher energy efficiency when compared to other uses of bagasse and can produce important base chemicals.

The greatest challenge is to overcome the initial investment barrier, and lowering the current evaluation of US$3/W to US$1.2/W that would make it commercially competitive.


Debates about fairness in pricing are seemingly on the rise on many flanks in contemporary society (Elegido, 2009) . Many people are for example upset about how the current patent regime makes various life-saving drugs too costly for poor people, and most recently the debate has surfaced in the fair trade movement which lobbies for fair remunerations of lowincome workers (Schuler and Christmann, 2011) . However the concern for fair prices as such has a long history (Johnson, 1938) . It probably originates with Aristotle's (1946 [350 BC]) famous comments on how the "true" or natural price of various goods and services sometimes may differ from the market price. Aristotle's main object of concern was interest, i.e. the price of loans, which he famously denounced as the unnatural fruit of a barren parent.

Debates about fairness in pricing are seemingly on the rise on many flanks in contemporary society.

Many people are for example upset about how the current patent regime makes various life-saving drugs too costly for poor people, and most recently the debate has surfaced in the fair trade movement which lobbies for fair remunerations of lowincome workers.

However the concern for fair prices as such has a long history.


Growth of main crack leads to local delamination along the interlayer boundaries. The growth energy of the main of the crack is extinguished to zero. As a result, the mechanism of local lamination along the interlayer boundaries is realized enforce the crack to move in each individual layer. Previously, we have proved that the resistance to crack development increases sharply in multilayer steels, in which a layered structure is formed [25] . Thus, loss in cutting ability of a genuine Damascus steel compensates is increased the reliability ("survivability") of the blade knife with repeated fatigue loads.

Previously, we have proved that the resistance to crack development increases sharply in multilayer steels, in which a layered structure is formed.


The analysis of text, thus, requires understanding the components and elements of text, or the discoursal, textual, and structural elements of the text (Werth, 1997; Fairclough, 2003; Widdowson, 2004; Bloor and Bloor, 2007) . However, as seen before, identifying and understanding intertextual elements seem to be of crucial importance in text construction and text analysis, and thus effective and influential in reading and interpretation of the text. For these to be achieved, a practical model, or inventory of intertextuality is required. The results showed that the model developed here seems to be practical enough for research purposes of this type.

The analysis of text, thus, requires understanding the components and elements of text, or the discoursal, textual, and structural elements of the text.


Thus, at the time of patient's preparation to the surgery, paying attention to factors associated with the need for perioperative blood transfusion, like the ones emerged from our study, i.e., ASA class, expected operative time, and baseline HB level, may provide guidance to determine which patients will benefit from preoperative optimization of the RBC mass, and in the planning for perioperative invasive monitoring, intravenous access, blood product availability, and eventually administration of anti-fibrinolytics [14, 40] . Efforts to minimize perioperative administration of blood products might decrease the costs associated with blood transfusion that range between 700-1200 US dollars for administration of one RBC unit, plus additional costs up to 1000 US dollars for treatment of associated side effects [13, 41, 42] . Indeed, when high-risk patients were identified and an optimization protocol was initiated, a significant reduction in perioperative transfusions was reported, with a cost of approximately 850 US dollars, which represented a clearly favorable approach as it was still cheaper than one unit of RBC and its side effects [36, 40] . Another interventional cohort study demonstrated that within 1 year from the introduction of a program of patient blood management, transfusions of all allogeneic blood products per 1000 patients was reduced by 27% with a cost reduction of over 2 million US dollars on a hospital level [42] . In our O.U., the overall cost for RBC transfusion in the 54 patients over the three years of observation amounted to approximately 28,000 euros without considering other costs related to the longer LOS and treatment of complications.

Thus, at the time of patient's preparation to the surgery, paying attention to factors associated with the need for perioperative blood transfusion, like the ones emerged from our study, i.e., ASA class, expected operative time, and baseline HB level, may provide guidance to determine which patients will benefit from preoperative optimization of the RBC mass, and in the planning for perioperative invasive monitoring, intravenous access, blood product availability, and eventually administration of anti-fibrinolytics.

Efforts to minimize perioperative administration of blood products might decrease the costs associated with blood transfusion that range between 700-1200 US dollars for administration of one RBC unit, plus additional costs up to 1000 US dollars for treatment of associated side effects.

Indeed, when high-risk patients were identified and an optimization protocol was initiated, a significant reduction in perioperative transfusions was reported, with a cost of approximately 850 US dollars, which represented a clearly favorable approach as it was still cheaper than one unit of RBC and its side effects.

Another interventional cohort study demonstrated that within 1 year from the introduction of a program of patient blood management, transfusions of all allogeneic blood products per 1000 patients was reduced by 27% with a cost reduction of over 2 million US dollars on a hospital level.


In recent days, construction firms driven by information and knowledge have been incrementally facing kinds of challenges, such as high-cost pressure, shortened project cycles, and increasing competition. Within a business environment, how to fast and effectively access knowledge is a key success factor for contemporary organizations [1] . As the cooperation among project-based organizations lays the foundation of knowledge innovation, it is necessary to achieve sustainable organizational knowledge flow. The collaborative innovation of construction supply chain system is a management mode, in which all project participators balance interests of all parties, identify project objectives, establish perfect coordination and communication mechanisms, and finally realize reasonable risk sharing and amicable settlement of disputes [1] . As we know, constructing the nodes of supply chain, teams with different core knowledge usually are accompanied by the processes of establishing and disbanding. Furthermore, we know that these teams play different roles for improving interorganizational collaborative innovation of supply chain system; especially, the clients and general contractors also are particularly important for innovation [2] .

Within a business environment, how to fast and effectively access knowledge is a key success factor for contemporary organizations.

The collaborative innovation of construction supply chain system is a management mode, in which all project participators balance interests of all parties, identify project objectives, establish perfect coordination and communication mechanisms, and finally realize reasonable risk sharing and amicable settlement of disputes.

Furthermore, we know that these teams play different roles for improving interorganizational collaborative innovation of supply chain system; especially, the clients and general contractors also are particularly important for innovation.


Construction supply chain system provides such favorable environment which can improve the level of integration, trust, communication, and coordination among projectbased organizations. The flexibility of project-based organizations makes all factors, such as organization structure, project environment, social environment, and transaction cost, controlled in some extent to which the organizations can bear. Furthermore, these factors also play a key role in building stable partnership, thus making the participants of the projects consciously and willingly contribute their core knowledge in the projects process and boosting project value-adding [3] [4] [5] . As the original power for innovation, knowledge is an essential factor to keep core competence for construction supply chain system, which cannot be replaced in the appreciation of project value-adding [6] [7] [8] . Supply chains provide good environment for knowledge transferring, assimilation, conversion, and economization.

Furthermore, these factors also play a key role in building stable partnership, thus making the participants of the projects consciously and willingly contribute their core knowledge in the projects process and boosting project value-adding.

As the original power for innovation, knowledge is an essential factor to keep core competence for construction supply chain system, which cannot be replaced in the appreciation of project value-adding.


The main contribution of this paper is our analysis of sources of interruption -in particular our divisions between work-related and non-work-related interruptions. We inspect how this distinction relates to the technology of communication (Table 4 ) and the characteristics of the interruptor ( Table 5) . Our results provide a better understanding of social-informal communication in the workplace with regards to how common it is (10% of all), how much it fragments work activity (21% of all) and who initiates it (P2P). We can then see that social functions served by informal communication take a considerable proportion of workplace activity, being essential for effective collaboration [5] .

We can then see that social functions served by informal communication take a considerable proportion of workplace activity, being essential for effective collaboration.


The study presented here complements the series of previous studies analyzing the fragmented nature of information work by focusing on a different type of industry and country. Table 1 shows differences between our setting and those in related work, Tables 2 and 3 shows that, despite these differences, overall statistics about the fragmentation of work remain fairly similar. It is often said, but not always done, that comparative studies should be conducted to consolidate research results. We hope that these results serve to contribute to the consolidation of understanding of work fragmentation. Furthermore, previous studies have shed light on the nature of informal communication highlighting the importance of this for designing technology [6] . We extend those studies beyond face-to-face interactions and look at mediated forms of communication such as e-mail and phone when trying to understand work fragmentation and multitasking.

Furthermore, previous studies have shed light on the nature of informal communication highlighting the importance of this for designing technology.


The significance of the work presented here lies in the fact that social informal aspects cannot be ignored while understanding workplace behavior, and, as has been shown by previous studies, they can be very relevant to understanding the use and adoption of information technologies [6] . For instance, the study of adoption of Instant Messaging in the workplace reveals that a significant proportion of communication exchanges with these tools is about non-work content and even humor [11] . Consequently, our study provides an additional understanding of how those social aspects influence the work fragmentation by differentiating the effects of work related and non-work related informal interactions. With those analytical lenses we explore different types of sources of interruption and activity switching as well as the type of person creating the interruption (interruptor). The study also contributes to enhance our understanding of information work in general by exploring a retail outlet in the suburbs of Mumbai (the financial capital of India). Within this hectic and communication intensive environment our results indicate that people observed spent about 48% of the time in informal communication, and echo similar results in terms of brevity and multitasking as reported in previous studies in other parts of the world.

The significance of the work presented here lies in the fact that social informal aspects cannot be ignored while understanding workplace behavior, and, as has been shown by previous studies, they can be very relevant to understanding the use and adoption of information technologies.

For instance, the study of adoption of Instant Messaging in the workplace reveals that a significant proportion of communication exchanges with these tools is about non-work content and even humor.


We then focused on analyzing the sources of external interruptions as identified in our data -face-to-face, email and phone -with regards their work relatedness. We found that out of the total number of interruptions observed, almost 21% of them were triggered by non-work related topics (see Table 4 ). It was observed that apart from face-to-face interruptions, interruptions due to phone calls were also quite high in number. Clearly the main source of interruption is face-to-face but phone is a source of more non-work related interruptions. Our results confirm previous studies reporting face-to-face interactions as a main source of interruptions [3] .

Our results confirm previous studies reporting face-to-face interactions as a main source of interruptions.


The results further suggest that to improve operational performance, companies need to develop practices directly with suppliers and customers, and one option for this is the use of information systems to monitor whether parties are meeting agreed targets and agreements. In addition, the company can make use of specific environmental management systems, such as the Environmental Management Information System (EMIS), which has a relevant role in the processing of environmental information available in the company [66] . Green practices are also expected to be part of the company's business strategy as companies will be encouraged to adopt green practices due to PNRS, which obliges them to implement practices that guarantee environmental management in every productive process, but because it is a recently established policy, companies are still adapting to these practices.

In addition, the company can make use of specific environmental management systems, such as the Environmental Management Information System (EMIS), which has a relevant role in the processing of environmental information available in the company.


The results obtained in this study are consistent with previous studies that have found a positive relationship between green practices and performance [11, 52, 65] . However, this study has extended the literature by measuring green practices in a different context to most research: the Brazilian context, concluding that the practices described have a positive influence on performance. This is an important finding for managers who are considering implementing green practices or looking for ways to improve performance. The results reveal the importance of establishing environmental strategies with SC partners, as green practices are adopted to respond to regulatory or social pressures and may bring operational benefits to the manufacturing industries studied. It is also a means to achieve customer satisfaction with respect to delivery and quality by adapting to changes in demand, as well as reducing inventory levels [11] .

The results obtained in this study are consistent with previous studies that have found a positive relationship between green practices and performance.

It is also a means to achieve customer satisfaction with respect to delivery and quality by adapting to changes in demand, as well as reducing inventory levels.


The Romanian population is one of the fastest aging populations in Europe, whereas the total population is simultaneously decreasing. This number will increase by 5.4% in the coming decade, while the total population will decrease by 3.1% [22] . Long-term care facilities are lacking, which would necessitate interventions to prevent dependency. During the last decade, health policy has been directed to strengthening the role of primary health care, to reducing (unnecessary) hospitalization, and to encouraging preventive screening programs [22] . Simultaneously, the Romanian elderly population has been confronted with dramatic changes in social security (reductions in pension plans and in free access to health care) as well as in the quality of health care (waiting lists, a lack of personnel and facilities, copayments). Research showed that such measures have affected negatively the health status of old Romanians [22] . Because personal and environmental conditions may affect frailty self-assessment, considering these factors is needed also in studying the predictive value of self-assessed frailty instruments [23] .

This number will increase by 5.4% in the coming decade, while the total population will decrease by 3.1%.

During the last decade, health policy has been directed to strengthening the role of primary health care, to reducing (unnecessary) hospitalization, and to encouraging preventive screening programs.

Research showed that such measures have affected negatively the health status of old Romanians.

Because personal and environmental conditions may affect frailty self-assessment, considering these factors is needed also in studying the predictive value of self-assessed frailty instruments.


Finally, we studied the effect of time delay in the feedback control. We found that a controller based on the dynamic friction model is slightly more robust to time delay (critical delay of 0.1169 seconds vs 0.1069 seconds). Both are more robust than a controller based on a simple viscous friction model (critical delay of 0.062 seconds [16] ). Linear stability analysis of the model gave a poor prediction of the critical time delay observed in the experiment. A much better prediction was obtained from numerical simulations of the full nonlinear model.

Both are more robust than a controller based on a simple viscous friction model (critical delay of 0.062 seconds).


Our results demonstrated that colonization with S. aureus was significantly higher among MRSA patients' contacts (36%) compared to contacts of patients without S. aureus suspected infections (21%) (p = 0.032), but comparable to S. aureus nasal carriage in the US population (32.4%) reported in 2001-2002 survey [27] . The study also showed that the prevalence of MRSA colonization was significantly higher in the patients' contacts group (23%) than the control group (3%) (p < 0.001) during the same study period; and also higher than previously reported rate in the general population (0.8%) [27] . All together, these results suggest an increased prevalence of MRSA nasal colonization in the household contacts of patients with CA-MRSA infections. The prevalence of nasal colonization among all household contacts of children with CA-MRSA infections in the United States has not been previously reported. To our knowledge, the present study is the first age-matched simultaneous patient-control study done in the pediatric population.

Our results demonstrated that colonization with S. aureus was significantly higher among MRSA patients' contacts (36%) compared to contacts of patients without S. aureus suspected infections (21%) (p = 0.032), but comparable to S. aureus nasal carriage in the US population (32.4%) reported in 2001-2002 survey.

The study also showed that the prevalence of MRSA colonization was significantly higher in the patients' contacts group (23%) than the control group (3%) (p < 0.001) during the same study period; and also higher than previously reported rate in the general population (0.8%).


In these studies no test-item related effects were observed. In the cardiovascular safety study in beagle dogs, no evidence of QT prolongation was seen at any administered dose of AEZS-108. No adverse findings were observed in a local tolerability study in rabbits after intravenous and intra-arterial infusions of AEZS-108. Perivascular application of AEZS-108 induced moderate local inflammatory reactions. Superior tolerability of AEZS-108 as compared to DOX was further confirmed in acute and subchronic toxicity studies in mice, rats and dogs, respectively. In contrast to DOX, where lymphohistiocytic myocarditis with intramuscular fibrosis was observed, AEZS-108 did not induce any cardiotoxicity [22] . Accordingly, in the phase I and both phase II studies, there was no evidence of cardiotoxicity in serial controls of LVEF. As the pituitary has receptors for LHRH, pituitary toxicity of AEZS-108 was evaluated in the phase I study. No relevant effect of AEZS-108 on cortisol levels was observed in the ACTH stimulation test. Similarly, there was no effect of AEZS-108 on baseline serum levels of TSH, T3, and T4 and on the increase in TSH 30 min after stimulation with 200 μg TRH. Thus, at doses of 267 mg/m 2 AES 108 has a favorable safety profile with manageable toxicity [28] [29] [30] .

In contrast to DOX, where lymphohistiocytic myocarditis with intramuscular fibrosis was observed, AEZS-108 did not induce any cardiotoxicity.

Thus, at doses of 267 mg/m 2 AES 108 has a favorable safety profile with manageable toxicity.


The diversity of the workplace, in terms of both employee diversity and the diversity culture, was also positively associated with the adoption of diversity training. The influence of employee diversity could be a function of people who differ from the typical majority being more supportive of diversity and diversity initiatives than majority members (Martins & Parsons, 2007; Wiethoff, 2004) . Thus, in the case of the current study, as the proportion of persons who are LGBT and women increased, so too did the likelihood that the athletic department offered diversity training. Interestingly, though racial diversity held a significant bivariate association with the adoption of diversity training, it was not significant from a multivariate perspective. This finding is contrary to the conceptual framework and the reason for the lack of significance is not immediately clear. Future research is needed to further explore this association.

The influence of employee diversity could be a function of people who differ from the typical majority being more supportive of diversity and diversity initiatives than majority members.


The objectives of this study were to fill the gap in the analysis of climatic change within this region and to provide further insight into local weather conditions, as part of a greater effort toward the analysis of the changing weather patterns in Qatar (Singha and Sadr 2012) . Data from three weather stations were used to obtain greater spatial coverage for Qatar, gain a deeper understanding of the local climate, and supplement the long-term climate change analysis of extreme temperature events in the Middle East. This paper presents a detailed analysis of the trends of extreme temperature events in Qatar based on 12 selected ETCCDI using updated weather data. The obtained trends are discussed with respect to the trends in pollution generation due to the rapid urbanization/ industrial growth of Qatar.

The objectives of this study were to fill the gap in the analysis of climatic change within this region and to provide further insight into local weather conditions, as part of a greater effort toward the analysis of the changing weather patterns in Qatar.


Carbohydrates play an important role in diverse biological processes, including inflammation, immune response, cancer metastasis, as well as viral and bacterial infection and, in principle, offer immense opportunities for therapeutic drug development. However, the instability of glycosides toward chemical and enzymatic degradation due to the readily hydrolysable native glycosidic bond hampers the in vivo applications of carbohydrate-based molecules. Therefore, there has been a long-standing interest in the synthesis of hydrolytically stable carbohydrate mimetics that can be used as leads for new therapeutic agents and probes in biological studies (Ernst & Magnani, 2009) .

Therefore, there has been a long-standing interest in the synthesis of hydrolytically stable carbohydrate mimetics that can be used as leads for new therapeutic agents and probes in biological studies.


In the last two decades, new types of trajectories have been proposed to transfer a spacecraft from an Earth orbit to a Moon orbit which reduce the cost of the traditional Hohmann transfer based on the two-body dynamics 1 . The new trajectories are designed using more realistic models of the motion of the spacecraft such as the PCR3BP 2, 3 or the planar bicircular four body problem 4 . These models describing the motion of the spacecraft exhibit very complex dynamics that are used to design new Earth-to-Moon trajectories [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] . The most of the proposed approaches to calculate the new trajectories are based on the concept of the weak stability boundary introduced by Belbruno 11 , and, usually, involve large flight time. Only few works consider the minimization of the total cost or the time for two-impulse trajectories 8-10, 12, 13 . In this paper, the problem of transferring a space vehicle from a circular low Earth orbit LEO to a circular low Moon orbit LMO with minimum fuel consumption is considered.

These models describing the motion of the spacecraft exhibit very complex dynamics that are used to design new Earth-to-Moon trajectories.


Wavenumber /cm -1 Fig. 6 Infrared spectra of (from bottom to top): sepiolite, nMFI and nMFIsep4 after calcination at 600°C for 5 h. Absorbance given in absorbance units . V l and V T are micropore volumes determined by the t-plot method and total pore volume at the highest relative pressure, and are given in cm isomorphous substitution of Si by Al or Ti, respectively, for the efficient removal of contaminants. Thus, we have studied the properties of the heterostructures as adsorbents for organic molecules using methylene blue. The calcined sepiolite and nMFI adsorbed 14.7 and 3.8 moles MB per 100g, respectively, while the calcined nMFIsep4 heterostructure adsorbs 7.7 moles/100g. This is slightly above the expected value for a physical mixture of 75:25 g sepiolite:zeolite (6.5 moles/100g), which again may be due to the lack of zeolite sintering in the heterostructure. The loss of microporosity of calcined sepiolite is, in this case, not detrimental, since MB is too large to be adsorbed inside the sepiolite channels [20] .

The loss of microporosity of calcined sepiolite is, in this case, not detrimental, since MB is too large to be adsorbed inside the sepiolite channels.


The XRD patterns of untreated sepiolite, as-made nMFI, and the as-made nMFIsep heterostructures are shown in Fig. 1 . All the zeolite-containing samples showed the characteristic pattern of zeolite MFI and the heterostructures also showed the characteristic (110) reflection of sepiolite around 1.23 nm (JCPDS data No. 130595). This suggests the crystal structure of sepiolite is not substantially affected by the treatment, despite the high pH. To better ascertain this conclusion, sepiolite was treated in the same conditions but without addition of TEOS, to avoid zeolite crystallization. After the treatment, the XRD pattern of sepiolite was essentially unaltered (see Additional file 2), suggesting the sodium level in the reaction mixture is too low to afford the formation of a loughlinite-type derivative (for this, the first reflection should have moved some 0.5°to lower angles) [44] .

After the treatment, the XRD pattern of sepiolite was essentially unaltered (see Additional file 2), suggesting the sodium level in the reaction mixture is too low to afford the formation of a loughlinite-type derivative (for this, the first reflection should have moved some 0.5°to lower angles).


After calcination at 600°C, no signs of sepiolite were observed by XRD, even for the material with the highest sepiolite content (over 25% sepiolite in nMFIsep4, see Fig. 1, top) . This is not unexpected because sepiolite changes its structure upon heating above 400°C. The socalled ''zeolitic water'' is lost below 300°C without significant structural changes, while coordinated water is removed at 400-600°C, with crystal folding occurring near 500°C [20, [45] [46] [47] [48] . This folding results in a lost of microporosity and the disappearance of the intense (110) sepiolite reflection, with new reflections appearing with much lower intensity in the 8°-10°2h region, where they are masked by the very strong reflections of the calcined zeolite (see Additional file 3). Sepiolite folding, with the concomitant loss of microporosity, becomes irreversible after thermal treatments above 500°C [21] .

The socalled ''zeolitic water'' is lost below 300°C without significant structural changes, while coordinated water is removed at 400-600°C, with crystal folding occurring near 500°C.

Sepiolite folding, with the concomitant loss of microporosity, becomes irreversible after thermal treatments above 500°C.


The textural properties of the heterostructures, collected in Table 2 , have been investigated by N 2 adsorption/ desorption isotherms at -196°C. Before calcination (Fig. 7) , sepiolite and nMFI both show non-reversible type IIb isotherms, with a H3 hysteresis loop, characteristic of powders or aggregates, where the particles arrangement generates non-rigid porous in the inter-particle space [42] . By contrast, nMFIsep4 shows a much narrower hysteresis loop, being an isotherm almost reversible of type IIa [42] . This kind of isotherm is common for an open and stable surface that suffers a normal monolayer-mutilayer adsorption. The almost complete lack of hysteresis in nMFIsep4, despite its presence in its pure constituents, suggests that, on one hand, the dispersion of the zeolite in the heterostructure prevents the formation of inter-particle pores between zeolite particles. On the other hand, the intercrystal pore space inside sepiolite microfibers may be blocked by adsorption of TPA. Both nMFI and nMFIsep4 have poor textural properties, low N 2 volume adsorbed, low surface area, and no microporosity, because the zeolite pores are blocked by the organic structure-directing agent (TPA) still occluded in the pores. After calcination at 600°C, sepiolite looses its microporosity, as a consequence of crystal folding, as explained above, while nMFI and nMFIsep4 become microporous (Fig. 8) . Both calcined nMFI and nMFIsep4 show an isotherm close to Type I with a step typical of N 2 adsorption in high-silica MFI, which is ascribed to a phase transition in the adsorbate phase [59] . Interestingly, the step is similar in size for nMFI and nMFIsep4, while it starts at a lower relative pressure in nMFIsep4. In addition, nMFIsep4 now displays a small hysteresis loop likely associated to the loss of TPA adsorbed inside the sepiolite fibers. Also of interest, the total BET area, micropore area and volume, and external surface area of the calcined heterostructure are larger than expected for its 75:25 zeolite:sepiolite constituents weight ratio, considering the loss of microporosity of sepiolite calcined at 600°C. This may likely be due to the lack of sintering and structural damage in the heterostructure.

Before calcination (Fig. 7) , sepiolite and nMFI both show non-reversible type IIb isotherms, with a H3 hysteresis loop, characteristic of powders or aggregates, where the particles arrangement generates non-rigid porous in the inter-particle space.

By contrast, nMFIsep4 shows a much narrower hysteresis loop, being an isotherm almost reversible of type IIa.

Both calcined nMFI and nMFIsep4 show an isotherm close to Type I with a step typical of N 2 adsorption in high-silica MFI, which is ascribed to a phase transition in the adsorbate phase.


That X must be locally compact and not compact is clear: X * must be compact and nonempty. The assumption of σ-compactness is there to guarantee the Parovičenko properties (except possibly for zero-dimensionality); this is due to Fine and Gillman [3] . We also use the σ-compactness of X in our proof: at one point we need a perfect map from X into the real line.

The assumption of σ-compactness is there to guarantee the Parovičenko properties (except possibly for zero-dimensionality); this is due to Fine and Gillman.


These reports affirm the results of the present study where refugee and migrant women's health seeking behaviour, especially participation in cancer screening and health promotion services, were compromised by their previous experiences. According to the HCPs, women came from countries where Pap smears and other preventive health services provided in Australia were not available. Therefore, they do not know these services exist or reach out to access them. This suggests that women's country of origin experience impacts their SRH choices in Australia which may have negative consequences on their health and agency [10] . This could also be one of the possible explanations for the lower participation rate of women from refugee and migrant backgrounds in cervical screening programs compared to Australian born women [40] . HCPs could benefit from additional information concerning the health systems which refugee and migrant women used to access and the way their country of origin experiences shape their expectations of SRH care and health seeking behaviour in Australia [51] . In addition, migrant and refugee women would need education about how the health system functions and preventive services available to them in Australia [18] .

This suggests that women's country of origin experience impacts their SRH choices in Australia which may have negative consequences on their health and agency.

This could also be one of the possible explanations for the lower participation rate of women from refugee and migrant backgrounds in cervical screening programs compared to Australian born women.

HCPs could benefit from additional information concerning the health systems which refugee and migrant women used to access and the way their country of origin experiences shape their expectations of SRH care and health seeking behaviour in Australia.

In addition, migrant and refugee women would need education about how the health system functions and preventive services available to them in Australia.


Whether the cohesion-performance relationship in coactive sports is slightly stronger or equal to the magnitude of the relationship in interactive sports seems unimportant. What does seem to be of primary importance is the fact that cohesion is reliably associated with performance in coactive sports. This is another finding that has implications for applied sport psychology and the use of team-building interventions. Not surprisingly perhaps, the absolute level of group cohesion present in coactive sport teams is significantly less than in interactive sport teams (Carron et al., 1985; Widmeyer et al., 1985) . In interactive sports, coaches inevitably and explicitly introduce many of the team-building strategies associated with increased cohesiveness: ensuring role clarity and acceptance, establishing team performance goals, improving athlete-athlete and coach-athlete communication, and so on. On the other hand, the nature of coactive sports means there are fewer natural or inevitable opportunities for groupness or "entitativity" to develop. As a consequence, team-building interventions might have a greater impact on both team cohesion and team performance in that context.

Not surprisingly perhaps, the absolute level of group cohesion present in coactive sport teams is significantly less than in interactive sport teams.


The experimental feature descriptors, computed from a single vertex, e.g. DLP, SSR features and spin-images, are defined radially and a decrease in performance for particular facial landmarks is expected when computed from self occluded data, such as in pure profiles [5] . For instance, an SSR histogram at the pronasale landmark in a pure profile will be computed from the half of the nose in the best case, which suggests a reduction in effectiveness. In this respect, point-triplet descriptors are flexible and they can be computed from a set of distinctive landmarks, present within a wide range of pose variations, as observed in our preliminary experimentation.

The experimental feature descriptors, computed from a single vertex, e.g. DLP, SSR features and spin-images, are defined radially and a decrease in performance for particular facial landmarks is expected when computed from self occluded data, such as in pure profiles.


The human face is a huge source of information, and it plays an essential role in social interactions. Physically speaking, the face is a natural human way of identification, conveying race, age and gender; and for the people who frequently interact with each person (such as colleagues, friends, and family), the person's face is closely associated with all that he/she is. Behaviourally speaking, the face is a primary actor within interpersonal communication, essentially, because it is the means of expressing emotions [6] . Furthermore, it has been said that the effectiveness when a message is transmitted is 7% from spoken words, 38% from voice intonation, and 55% from facial expressions, which implies that facial expressions are the main modality in human communications [7] . These are some facts that motivate the research community to study the human face from different perspectives.

Behaviourally speaking, the face is a primary actor within interpersonal communication, essentially, because it is the means of expressing emotions.

Furthermore, it has been said that the effectiveness when a message is transmitted is 7% from spoken words, 38% from voice intonation, and 55% from facial expressions, which implies that facial expressions are the main modality in human communications.


Meanwhile, the grade level of the students was also found to have an impact on students' attitudes toward reading. Younger students from grade 5th showed more positive attitude towards reading than those of grade 6 th did. Our finding is consistent with that of earlier research which found that younger students usually had more positive attitudes as compared to older ones (McKenna, Kear, & Ellsworth, 1995) . Furthermore, they found that recreational and academic attitudes for young students began relatively at a positive point and ended in relative indifference by grade 6.

Our finding is consistent with that of earlier research which found that younger students usually had more positive attitudes as compared to older ones.


This study was made possible because of the peculiar conditions of the study area, where disturbances by the transit of sand waves maintain the seagrass arrested in a permanent state of recolonization (Marbà and Duarte 1995) . Hence, the conclusions reached may not be extrapolated to other seagrass ecosystems. Yet seagrass recolonization is expected to result from efforts worldwide to protect and recover seagrass ecosystems . Hence, assessing the generality of the results obtained in this study may help us understand how the ecosystems will respond to the recovery of these meadows.

This study was made possible because of the peculiar conditions of the study area, where disturbances by the transit of sand waves maintain the seagrass arrested in a permanent state of recolonization.


In this work, the influence of layer thickness and the number of layer interfaces on the mechanical properties of the LMCs was investigated after different numbers of ARB cycles N (N4, N8, N10, N12, N14 and N16). The aim of this work is to understand in detail how the particular layer interfaces, which can be designed in ARB-processed composited materials, affect the microstructure evolution and the monotonic mechanical properties. In a further study, the fatigue properties of these LMCs were investigated [13] .

In a further study, the fatigue properties of these LMCs were investigated.


In small-scale projects, implementation as well as implementation research are conducted by the same person, often an innovative enthusiast with a strong belief in the intervention. Methodological skills are therefore essential, especially the ability to establish an analytic distance from the field of action [44] . A pragmatic evaluation is not a casual and haphazard process but a science-informed strategy, in which transparency and systematic, critical reflection are supported by methodological skills. An important difference from a traditional research project is the meticulous priorities identified to assign resources for description and discussion of the processes according to contextual relevance.

Methodological skills are therefore essential, especially the ability to establish an analytic distance from the field of action.


Studies of particle production at high transverse momentum (p T ) are a well-established way to probe the properties of the medium formed in heavy-ion collisions. The yields and correlations of high momentum particles are modified through the "jet-quenching" effect, resulting from the energy loss suffered by hard-scattered partons passing through the medium [6] . Fast parton energy loss provides key information on the thermodynamic and transport properties of the medium traversed [7, 8] . Evidence for jet quenching was first observed in the suppression of inclusive high-p T hadron production and the modification of high-p T dihadron angular correlations in nucleus-nucleus collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, in comparison to proton-proton collisions [2] [3] [4] [5] .

The yields and correlations of high momentum particles are modified through the "jet-quenching" effect, resulting from the energy loss suffered by hard-scattered partons passing through the medium.

Fast parton energy loss provides key information on the thermodynamic and transport properties of the medium traversed.

Evidence for jet quenching was first observed in the suppression of inclusive high-p T hadron production and the modification of high-p T dihadron angular correlations in nucleus-nucleus collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, in comparison to proton-proton collisions.


Transformers are important equipment in power distribution system as well as in power electronic system. They can step down high voltages in transmission at substations or step up currents to the needed level of end-users. Additionally, many functions, like, isolation, noise decoupling or phase-shifting can be achieved through transformers. The traditional distribution transformer has many disadvantages including being heavy and bulky, secondary voltage varies with the load and input voltage, lack of self protection, having no ability of voltage and current control, not having an intelligent function and the expensive components in electrical power system (Ratanapanachote, 2004) .

The traditional distribution transformer has many disadvantages including being heavy and bulky, secondary voltage varies with the load and input voltage, lack of self protection, having no ability of voltage and current control, not having an intelligent function and the expensive components in electrical power system.


In this study, a new type of Power Electronics distribution Transformer (PET) is proposed, which realizes the voltage transformation, galvanic isolation and power quality improvements in one device. The proposed PET design is fundamentally different and more complete approach by using power electronics on the primary and secondary sides of the transformer. Several features such as instantaneous voltage regulation, voltage sags compensation and power factor correction can be combined into PET. In addition, the PET is environmentally friendly since no liquid dielectrics are used for cooling. PET can be equipped with advanced communication interface that includes smart metering, diagnostics and distance control features (Subramanya and Anjaneyulu, 2012) . The distribution transformer can be classified as shown in Fig. 1 .

PET can be equipped with advanced communication interface that includes smart metering, diagnostics and distance control features.


It is beneficial and necessary to understand the current research situation, research hotspots and future development trend in the field of low-carbon energy technology investment by sorting out and summarizing the existing literature [20] . However, to the authors' best knowledge that there is no previous work which focuses on trying to solve this issue comprehensively. To make a contribution to filling the gap in the existing studies, we conducted the work from the following aspects. To begin with, the bibliometric method is applied to investigate the latest research status and trend, including the quantity of articles, distributions of geography, journal and subject, productive authors and institutions, academic collation and article citations. In addition, the comprehensive strength between countries is also measured. Second, the frequency analysis of keywords is applied to discover the hottest research topics in this field. Finally, several suggestions regarding of future low-carbon energy technology investment research are given in the conclusion based on the above results.

It is beneficial and necessary to understand the current research situation, research hotspots and future development trend in the field of low-carbon energy technology investment by sorting out and summarizing the existing literature.


The rationale behind the choice of the study area lies in that the northwest region of China, which has long been characterized by water shortage, faces severe conflicts between water supply decrease and the demand increases under the increasing economic construction for urbanization. The economic development in arid regions is circumscribed by water resources [26] . In this status quo, it is necessary to understand the water resources allocation in each industry during the regional economic development and industrial transformation. And in order to facilitate the socioeconomic analysis, we defined the region with the administrative boundaries and selected the five provinces, including Shanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia and Xinjiang, as the study area.

The economic development in arid regions is circumscribed by water resources.


The optimization of the industrial structure and the transformation process directly influence the stability of national economic development [1] [2] [3] [4] . Industrial transformation is the essential demand for economic prosperity, especially for less developed countries [5] . Here the term industrial transformation in this paper refers to the industrial structure adjustment. At the end of the twentieth century, western developed countries actively altered their national industrial structure, vigorously developed high technology industry to boost sustainable economic development [6] . Now under the background of economic globalization, the optimization and upgrading of the industrial structure of developed countries would lead irresistibly to worldwide industrial structure changes. Therefore, China should seize the opportunity to promote regional socioeconomic development via industrial transformation, especially in the Northwest region, which is characterized by scarcity of natural resources, fragility of ecological environment and lagged socioeconomic condition [7] .

The optimization of the industrial structure and the transformation process directly influence the stability of national economic development.

Industrial transformation is the essential demand for economic prosperity, especially for less developed countries.

At the end of the twentieth century, western developed countries actively altered their national industrial structure, vigorously developed high technology industry to boost sustainable economic development.

Therefore, China should seize the opportunity to promote regional socioeconomic development via industrial transformation, especially in the Northwest region, which is characterized by scarcity of natural resources, fragility of ecological environment and lagged socioeconomic condition.


Researchers believed that socioeconomic development might affect water resources and water use [14, 15] . The issue of water scarcity under conflicting demands for water and potential solutions to sustain both ecological and economic development under future climate and global changes is an important issue in river basin management [12, [16] [17] [18] . Therefore, in this study we aim to analyze water use efficiency change brought by industrial transformation to provide reference for river basin water resources management. And in this research we use the marginal gross output value (thousand CNY/m 3 ) produced by one more cubic meter's water consumption in each sector to represent the water use efficiency.

Researchers believed that socioeconomic development might affect water resources and water use.

The issue of water scarcity under conflicting demands for water and potential solutions to sustain both ecological and economic development under future climate and global changes is an important issue in river basin management.


The paper is organized as follows. In section 2, we introduce the notations and state our main results. In Section 3, we review the mains results of existence and uniqueness of the elliptic problem (2) . Finally Section 4, is dedicated to the proof of our main results.

The paper is organized as follows.

In Section 3, we review the mains results of existence and uniqueness of the elliptic problem.


Recently, we reported the isolation of a mitogenic and immuno stimulatory lectin from the phyto pathogenic fungus Rizhoctonia bataticola (RBL) that exhibited complex sugar specificity. Glycan array analysis of RBL revealed its exclusive specificity towards N-glycans, primarily high mannose, tri-and tetra-antennary complex N-glycans, and tandem repeats of sialyl Lewis antigens. The various interactions of RBL have been studied using human ovarian cancer cells PA-1, which are known to express these glycans. The results showed that RBL has cytotoxic effects on PA-1 cells, which can be effectively blocked by the addition of competing glycoproteins [9] [10] [11] .

The results showed that RBL has cytotoxic effects on PA-1 cells, which can be effectively blocked by the addition of competing glycoproteins.


Cell surface expression of branched N-glycans, high mannose tri-and tetra-antennary, and bisecting N-glycans on glycoprotein is observed in many cancers, including ovarian cancer [13, 16, 17] . Some of these glycoproteins are considered to be cancer markers. Previously, we reported the cytotoxic effect of a mitogenic lectin RBL on PA-1 cells [9] [10] . In the present study, the mechanism of RBL-induced cytotoxicity was studied in detail. RBL-induced PA-1 cell death was observed in a dose-and time-dependent manner. RBL induced apoptosis in PA-1 cells as determined by cell cycle analysis. RBL affected the cells in all phases of the cell cycle; specifically, RBL treatment decreased S and G2/M phase cell number and increased the G0/G1 and hypodipliod population. These results suggest that RBL may arrest cell growth at the G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle followed by the induction of apoptosis. RBL treatment increased the number of Annexin V-positive cells (70%) along with an increase in the necrotic cell population (10%) after 6 h. This observation suggests that RBL is a potent inducer of apoptosis. Activation of caspase-9 and -3 was observed in a time-dependent manner, but there was no significant difference in the expression of procaspase-8 after RBL treatment. Further, caspase-9 and pan-caspase inhibitors, but not caspase-8 inhibitors, significantly prevented RBLinduced cell death, which suggests the lack of involvement of caspase-8 in RBL-induced apoptosis. A decrease in ΔΨm in RBL-treated PA-1 cells and the release of mitochondrial cytochrome-c were also observed. All these results support that RBL possibly induces apoptosis by activating the intrinsic apoptotic pathway.

Cell surface expression of branched N-glycans, high mannose tri-and tetra-antennary, and bisecting N-glycans on glycoprotein is observed in many cancers, including ovarian cancer.

Previously, we reported the cytotoxic effect of a mitogenic lectin RBL on PA-1 cells.


Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANETs) are the ultimate frontier in wireless communication. They allow network nodes to communicate directly with each other using wireless transceivers (possibly along multihop paths) without the need for a fixed infrastructure. Ad hoc networks are expected to revolutionize wireless communications in the next few years; by exploiting ad hoc wireless technology, various portable devices (cellular phones, PDAs, laptops, pagers, and so on) and fixed equipment (base stations, wireless Internet access points, etc.) can be connected together, forming a sort of global, or ubiquitous, network [17] .

Ad hoc networks are expected to revolutionize wireless communications in the next few years; by exploiting ad hoc wireless technology, various portable devices (cellular phones, PDAs, laptops, pagers, and so on) and fixed equipment (base stations, wireless Internet access points, etc.) can be connected together, forming a sort of global, or ubiquitous, network.


In this paper, we have recalled our main result developed recently in the framework of input-output linearization of nonlinear systems with time-varying delays appearing in the state, the input and the output [10] . It gives sufficient conditions guaranteeing the existence of a suitable linearizing coordinate transformation and of causal and bounded linearizing feedback. Through some examples, we have discussed and clarified each condition appearing in the statement of our main result. These examples give some insights permitting us to improve these conditions in a future work.

In this paper, we have recalled our main result developed recently in the framework of input-output linearization of nonlinear systems with time-varying delays appearing in the state, the input and the output.


Similarly, what is understood as innovating or innovation, differs according to the function of the sector as well as the type of company or type of organization (Arundel, O'Brien, & Torugsa, 2013) . There is a difference in the usage of the term "innovation" among academia, business and government, which tend to confuse the term to mean something new, a novelty, an invention, technology or improvement, among others. Whenever innovation surveys are conducted, it is assumed that respondents understand the characteristics of each category of innovationproduct, process, organizational and marketing -even though the interpretation that it is "new or significantly improved" to a company remains subjective (Arundel et al., 2013) . The differences in how companies interpret the concept of innovation can substantially affect comparability across countries (Arundel et al., 2013) . That is, countries where businesspeople do not understand what it means to innovate or the different innovation characteristics, they can overestimate or underestimate the level of innovation they have achieved. They can also think that their innovations are more technological -product and process, when they have actually achieved organizational or marketing forms of innovation.

Similarly, what is understood as innovating or innovation, differs according to the function of the sector as well as the type of company or type of organization.

Whenever innovation surveys are conducted, it is assumed that respondents understand the characteristics of each category of innovationproduct, process, organizational and marketing -even though the interpretation that it is "new or significantly improved" to a company remains subjective.

The differences in how companies interpret the concept of innovation can substantially affect comparability across countries.


Wood is a renewable material, and its physical-mechanical and anatomical properties allow its use in various purposes such as in construction, furniture industry and pulp and paper production. It is also an important raw material for energy production. When compared to concrete, plastic, steel and aluminum, wood has numerous advantages, such as appearance, high mechanical strength, easy workability, as well as being a good thermal insulator. To a lesser extent, some disadvantages may also be mentioned, especially regarding its low natural durability, cracks and warping (VIDAL et al., 2015) .

To a lesser extent, some disadvantages may also be mentioned, especially regarding its low natural durability, cracks and warping.


Content-based image retrieval (CBIR) is a technique that involves retrieving specific images from image databases primarily based on features that could be automatically derived [1] . Typically, primitive features such as colour, texture, object or shape are used, and could be combined with logical features such as the identity of the objects in the image, or even abstract attributes such as the significance or relevance of the image within a context [2] . With the rising popularity of social media and the prevalence of mobile image capturing devices, the amount of images available in the digital media and databases has grown at an exponential rate [3] [4] .

Content-based image retrieval (CBIR) is a technique that involves retrieving specific images from image databases primarily based on features that could be automatically derived.

Typically, primitive features such as colour, texture, object or shape are used, and could be combined with logical features such as the identity of the objects in the image, or even abstract attributes such as the significance or relevance of the image within a context.

With the rising popularity of social media and the prevalence of mobile image capturing devices, the amount of images available in the digital media and databases has grown at an exponential rate.


The paper is organized as follows. Section 2 briefly summarizes basic SAT and proof checking definitions, and presents a brief overview of the Coq theorem prover and its extraction mechanism. Section 3 provides an overview of the best known resolution proof formats proposed in the recent past. Section 4 introduces the novel resolution proof trace format and outlines the pseudo-code of a verification algorithm, which is then implemented in C. Section 4 also compares its performance to that of drat-trim [42] . Section 5 then describes a formalization of the SAT problem in Coq, which includes a specification of the pseudo-code in the previous section and a proof of its soundness. By applying the program extraction capabilities of Coq, we obtain a certified checker in OCaml, which we evaluate on the same test set as our uncertified C checker. Section 6 details the performance of the certified checker on the verification of the proof of the Pythagorean Boolean Triples conjecture. The paper concludes in Section 7.

The paper is organized as follows.

Section 4 introduces the novel resolution proof trace format and outlines the pseudo-code of a verification algorithm, which is then implemented in C. Section 4 also compares its performance to that of drat-trim.

The paper concludes in Section 7.


Terminology graphs that include explicitly defined properties and relationships developed for human-curated semantic networks, such as controlled ontologies, are used for organizing and communicating information. At the core of these terminologies are discrete elements of knowledge, or entities, which carry meaning. The way in which these entities are arranged and encoded in electronic format is a key concern in informatics [1] .

The way in which these entities are arranged and encoded in electronic format is a key concern in informatics.


The reaction wheel pendulum (RWP) was introduced by Spong [19] . It is a variant of the inverted pendulum, which has a bar which can spin freely around the support point (pivot) at one of its ends, as is depicted in Fig. 1 . The RWP has a motor coupled to the opposite end of the pivot, acting on a wheel of inertia with which the oscillations of the wheel are controlled, due to the reaction torque s. The angle u of the pendulum (from the vertical) and the angle a between the pendulum and the wheel are measured with sensors located on each of the axes of rotation.

The reaction wheel pendulum (RWP) was introduced by Spong.


Unlike the aforementioned papers, the present paper gives the design of a controller to operate an RWP system by applying Lyapunov theory in a direct way. The main advantage of this is the possibility of guaranteeing stable operation through the control input without requiring extra calculations. In addition, at least two different Lyapunov functions are presented in the controller design in conjunction with a swing up strategy to bring the position of the bar pendulum, starting from any location, closer to the desired operating point [1] .

In addition, at least two different Lyapunov functions are presented in the controller design in conjunction with a swing up strategy to bring the position of the bar pendulum, starting from any location, closer to the desired operating point.


While it is true that this system has been widely studied using linear and nonlinear techniques, it is important to mention that the use of linear techniques requires the application of linearization methods such as Taylor's series or trigonometric approximations [15] . These techniques can operate well around the operating point; nevertheless, they only guarantee local stability and their performance decreases speedily when the pendulum moves away from the operating point [3] . In the case of nonlinear methodologies, some of them are based on artificial intelligent like neural networks or fuzzy logic developments [21] . Although their implementation does not require a dynamical model of the system, it is hard to guarantee the stability properties in closed-loop. Additionally, these techniques can cause undesired oscillations around the operating point [14] . On the other hand, there are nonlinear strategies, such as exact or partial feedback linearizations or passivity-based approaches, that work well enough over the entire range of operation and also guarantee global stability conditions in the sense of Lyapunov [2] .

While it is true that this system has been widely studied using linear and nonlinear techniques, it is important to mention that the use of linear techniques requires the application of linearization methods such as Taylor's series or trigonometric approximations.

These techniques can operate well around the operating point; nevertheless, they only guarantee local stability and their performance decreases speedily when the pendulum moves away from the operating point.

In the case of nonlinear methodologies, some of them are based on artificial intelligent like neural networks or fuzzy logic developments.

Additionally, these techniques can cause undesired oscillations around the operating point.

On the other hand, there are nonlinear strategies, such as exact or partial feedback linearizations or passivity-based approaches, that work well enough over the entire range of operation and also guarantee global stability conditions in the sense of Lyapunov.


Early attempts to raise enough wild prey to maintain hatchery populations proved difficult so the focus of hatchery research quickly turned to developing artificial food sources (Embody & Gordon, 1924) . Today, nearly all hatchery fishes are routinely reared on manufactured pellet foods that require limited use of the fish's potentially extensive foraging repertoire. Food is routinely added to the surface of enclosures and there is no variation in the timing, location, abundance or type of food on offer. As a consequence, there is evidence that inappropriate search images or foraging strategies are conditioned during the early stages of development in the hatchery (Ware, 1971; Sosiak et al., 1979; Coughlin, 1991; Langley, 1996; Ellis & Nash, 1998; Reiriz et al., 1998) .

Early attempts to raise enough wild prey to maintain hatchery populations proved difficult so the focus of hatchery research quickly turned to developing artificial food sources.

As a consequence, there is evidence that inappropriate search images or foraging strategies are conditioned during the early stages of development in the hatchery.


In another study, ligno-cellulose nanofiber (LCNF) was made from wood flour, using a disk mill [19] . In this context, CNF refers to nanofibers made from cellulose alone. In terms of reinforcement of wood flour, cellulose nanofiber is better than LCNF. However, in terms of productivity, LCNF is better than CNF because CNF requires a lot of process including delignification. Thus, we employed LCNF. The fabrication of LCNF by disk milling is simple and effective, and its incorporation into wood flour board significantly enhances the physical and mechanical properties of the board. When CNF or LCNF were initially mixed with wood flour, both materials were mixed manually. It is difficult to uniformly mix LCNF into wood flour. CNF and LCNF were made by wet milling, resulting in a moisture content of the mixture (CNF or LCNF and wood flour) over 300 %. Hot pressing of raw materials with high moisture content often reduces the quality of fabricated board.

In another study, ligno-cellulose nanofiber (LCNF) was made from wood flour, using a disk mill.

Thus, we employed LCNF.


The morphology of the LCNF was studied with the SEM. Figure 2 shows SEM photographs of the wood flour before and after ball milling (100 rpm/4 h and 200 rpm/ 4 h). The surface of the untreated fiber was very smooth, while a rougher surface and pulverization were observed for the ball milled wood flour. Nanostructured fibers with nanoscale surface fibrils were formed on the surface of wood flour after ball milling. We have confirmed that the size of LCNF nanofibrils made by ball milling is the same CNF nanofibrils made by ball milling [18] .

We have confirmed that the size of LCNF nanofibrils made by ball milling is the same CNF nanofibrils made by ball milling.


In this study, we explored options involving nanofiber technology. Nanotechnology has been developing rapidly in many disciplines. In general, the term nanofiber refers to a nano-sized fiber and is defined as a fibrous material with a diameter of about 1-100 nm and a length more than 100 times the diameter. A fiber that has a surface and inner structure controlled at the nanoscale is called a nanostructured fiber [8] . This is true even for fibers that have diameters exceeding 100 nm.

A fiber that has a surface and inner structure controlled at the nanoscale is called a nanostructured fiber.


In a previous study, we investigated the effects of adding CNF to wood flour [18] . The resulting properties of the CNF/wood flour boards were evaluated, with a focus on the binding effects of CNF. We observed that wet ball milling of commercial cellulose powder led to the formation of nanostructured fibers with nano-sized surface fibrils. Moreover, the physical and mechanical properties of the wood flour boards were significantly enhanced by the addition of CNF, due to three-dimensional binding between CNF and wood flour.

In a previous study, we investigated the effects of adding CNF to wood flour.


The implementation of different bands of the SAR will certainly produce different images [3] . The higher frequency used, the higher accuracy of the image detail that obtained, while, the lower frequency has a better image penetration capabilities. To combine these two advantages of the image result characteristic, SAR is designed to operate in two bands (dual-band). Currently, SAR operates on a specific frequency band.

The implementation of different bands of the SAR will certainly produce different images.


Crohn's disease (CD) is an agnogenic, chronic, and nonspecific granulomatous inflammatory disease of the intestine [1] . The histological features of CD are characterized by transmural inflammation, lymphangiectasia, and lymphatic and fibrous tissue hyperplasia. CD is more common in Europe and the USA than in other countries. The annual incidence in Europe and the USA is 5-10 per 100,000 persons, and the prevalence is 50-100 per 100,000 persons [2] . The incidence of CD in Asia is lower than in Western countries, although the incidence in China has noticeably increased in recent years [3, 4] .

Crohn's disease (CD) is an agnogenic, chronic, and nonspecific granulomatous inflammatory disease of the intestine.

The annual incidence in Europe and the USA is 5-10 per 100,000 persons, and the prevalence is 50-100 per 100,000 persons.

The incidence of CD in Asia is lower than in Western countries, although the incidence in China has noticeably increased in recent years.


It is well known that internal gear pumps have lower noise than external gear pumps because gears of the former rotate along the same direction, yielding lower relative velocity, while that of the latter do along the inverse direction with higher relative velocity. Moreover, the overlap coefficient of internal gear pumps is greater than that of external gear pumps, therefore the former rotates much more smoothly than the latter. Gerotor pumps belong to a kind of internal gear pumps, which are positive displacement pumps. Compared with external or other internal gear pumps, they have advantages of less components, simple structure, compact size, low noise, and low pulsation of flow rate. Therefore they are widely used in applications of lubricating system or fuel supply system of on-road or off-road engines [1] . The main components of a gerotor pump include an inner rotor, an outer rotor, and a housing in which inlet (suction) and outlet (delivery) ports are machined. The inner rotor is placed inside the outer rotor and it positions itself at a fixed eccentricity from the outer rotor center. The inner rotor is driven by input torque, generally generated by a motor or engine, and the outer rotor rotates with it since they contact each other at less several points of their geometrical profiles. Thus the profiles of the inner and outer rotors are a pair of conjugate curves.

Therefore they are widely used in applications of lubricating system or fuel supply system of on-road or off-road engines.


Let us now illustrate the ACCI method presented above with negatively charged hydrogen-like ions (Z ϭ 1), neutral helium-like (Z ϭ 2) atoms, and positively charged lithium-like ions (Z ϭ 3). As only the ground states are considered here, the principal quantum numbers n 1 and n 2 are both set equal to one when building the wave functions (9) . Remains the choice of N i , N j , N k , and n 3 . To keep the approximated functions reasonably simple, and at the same time sufficiently accurate, we decided to perform all our calculations with n 3 up to 2.

As only the ground states are considered here, the principal quantum numbers n 1 and n 2 are both set equal to one when building the wave functions.


To our knowledge, there are no studies that evaluate sex differences for posterior condylar offset of the knee. Additionally, traditional methods for measuring posterior condylar offset relied on perfect lateral plain radiographs or CT scans of the knee and did not take into account articular cartilage thickness or imperfections in radiographic technique. In contrast, three-dimensional (3-D) MRI can show articular cartilage and eliminate imprecisions related to magnification and obliquity, allowing for more accurate measurements. We previously developed a protocol to determine the posterior condylar offset of the medial and lateral femoral condyles using 3-D MRI reconstruction sequences designed to coordinate axial, coronal, and sagittal MR images [22] . Therefore, the purpose of our study was to determine if sex differences exist in (1) absolute posterior condylar offset size, (2) relative posterior condylar offset size with relation to total condylar height, and (3) posterior condylar articular cartilage thickness.

We previously developed a protocol to determine the posterior condylar offset of the medial and lateral femoral condyles using 3-D MRI reconstruction sequences designed to coordinate axial, coronal, and sagittal MR images.


Because of the increased dependence on Internet services, data center availability assumes greater significance. For companies that depend heavily on the Internet for their operations, service outages can be very expensive, easily running into millions of dollars per hour [3] . A widely used design principle in faulttolerance is to introduce redundancy to enhance availability. This allows use of inexpensive commodity components -having low availability individually -to provide high availability as an aggregate. This principle is widely practiced in the industry by companies that use commodity hardware and redundant architectures with software control to mask failures and increase availability. However, since redundancy leads to additional use of materials and energy, it is expected to have a negative impact on sustainability.

For companies that depend heavily on the Internet for their operations, service outages can be very expensive, easily running into millions of dollars per hour.


In practice, due to warranty, repair return, end-of-use return, and end-of-life (EOL) return, customers may return their products during and after the product life cycles [5] . In this paper, we mainly address the problem of remanufacturing the EOL products. The steps of remanufacturing the EOL products are collecting the EOL items, disassembling those items into their parts, cleaning, reprocessing and inspecting each part, and finally reassembling the parts to be used again [6] .

In practice, due to warranty, repair return, end-of-use return, and end-of-life (EOL) return, customers may return their products during and after the product life cycles.

The steps of remanufacturing the EOL products are collecting the EOL items, disassembling those items into their parts, cleaning, reprocessing and inspecting each part, and finally reassembling the parts to be used again.


Various simplified schemes have been proposed in the literature to model the vertical profile of potential temperature in the situation illustrated in Fig. 1 . The latter reproduces the thermal structure of a convective boundary layer (CBL): the mixed layer (ML) below is connected to the stably stratified free atmosphere (FA) above through the entrainment layer (EL) or ''interfacial layer'' (Deardorff 1979) . Key parameters to describe this structure are the potential temperature in the ML m , inversion height h 0 , entrainment-layer depth ⌬h, inversion strength ⌬, and lapse rate in the free atmosphere ␥.

The latter reproduces the thermal structure of a convective boundary layer (CBL): the mixed layer (ML) below is connected to the stably stratified free atmosphere (FA) above through the entrainment layer (EL) or ''interfacial layer''.


At the University of Melbourne, high precision tests of quantum electrodynamics (QED) have been undertaken using a Johann-type curved crystal spectrometer coupled to an electron beam ion trap (EBIT) [2, 22] . The EBIT produces highly charged uncontaminated ions, and greatly limits thermal and Doppler broadening effects, through cooling and confinement. Increased efficiency is achieved by curved crystal focussing, and the use of gravity-referenced inclinometers allows measurement of the diffraction angle to arcsecond resolution. The backgammon-type MWPC is an integral part of this system with advantages due to its large active detection area, spatial linearity and efficiency with respect to energy. By contrast, other detector types have good resolution, but the large range of x-ray energies leads to limited efficiencies, and restricted detection area. Experimental measurements of atomic transition energies using this spectrometer result in uncertainties of 20-40 ppm [2] .

At the University of Melbourne, high precision tests of quantum electrodynamics (QED) have been undertaken using a Johann-type curved crystal spectrometer coupled to an electron beam ion trap (EBIT).

Experimental measurements of atomic transition energies using this spectrometer result in uncertainties of 20-40 ppm.


In this paper we apply this philosophy to the study of QCD at high energies. We are motivated by the existence of publicly available experimental measurements of both the dijet invariant mass distribution and the inclusive transverse momentum distribution performed by both ATLAS and CMS at 7 TeV center of mass energy [29] [30] [31] . Although other measurements of jet cross sections have been published by the experimental collaborations, even at higher collider energies, we found that only the aforementioned publications provide all the necessary statistical information, in particular the full set of correlated systematic uncertainties, which is needed to perform realistic fits to the data. Both inclusive jet and dijet cross sections have been studied as a probe of contact operators at the Tevatron [32] [33] [34] . By the previous argument, the LHC has a clear advantage over the Tevatron due to its higher center of mass energy.

We are motivated by the existence of publicly available experimental measurements of both the dijet invariant mass distribution and the inclusive transverse momentum distribution performed by both ATLAS and CMS at 7 TeV center of mass energy.

Both inclusive jet and dijet cross sections have been studied as a probe of contact operators at the Tevatron.


Mikroyannidis reported polyisothalamide with N-benzilidene pendent group, in that N-benzylidene pendent group enhances the solubility of the polymer [31] . Recently systematic studies on rigid polymers, mainly on aromatic polyesters containing side chain have shown that the melting temperature decreases as the length of the side chain increases and that these polymers are able to form a novel layered mesophase [32] . Krigbaum in DMF in moderate yields [34] . However, the reaction has never been applied to the preparation of polyesters with a pendent group from diacid and dihydroxy compounds. It was also found that the coupling reaction between carboxyl and amino or hydroxyl components are accomplished without oxidation when diphenylphosphate is used in pyridine [35] .

Mikroyannidis reported polyisothalamide with N-benzilidene pendent group, in that N-benzylidene pendent group enhances the solubility of the polymer.

Recently systematic studies on rigid polymers, mainly on aromatic polyesters containing side chain have shown that the melting temperature decreases as the length of the side chain increases and that these polymers are able to form a novel layered mesophase.

Krigbaum in DMF in moderate yields.

It was also found that the coupling reaction between carboxyl and amino or hydroxyl components are accomplished without oxidation when diphenylphosphate is used in pyridine.


Aromatic polymers containing both ester and azomethine units are a type of high-performance polymers with excellent thermal, physical and mechanical properties and are utilized in various fields such as electric, electronic, photonics and in industrial material field [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] . It has been reported that the ester group increases the electrical conductivity of copolymers in poly(azomethine-ester) via two manners i.e. by increasing the flexibility of the chain and making the charge carrier movement more along the chain [7] . It has also been reported that the presence of ether group in the aldehyde fragment of polymer causes increase of energy gap and increase of amorphous properties. Poly(azomethine) with oxygen atom in the backbone was found to be more amorphous and more luminescent properties [8] . But their poor solubility in organic solvents often restricts its use for many applications. Thus, it is clear that various structural changes should be made in the poly(azomethine ester)'s chain to obtain better solubility and its application in various fields [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] . Some of the reported methods to improve the processability of conjugated poly(azomethine)s are by incorporation of unsymmetrical or symmetrical substitutions in the main-chain aromatic benzene rings with flexible alkyl or alkoxy side chains and reversible Lewis acidbase complexation [16] [17] [18] [19] . Moreover, it has been already found that introduction of groups with sp 3 -hybridized atoms (-CR 2 -), ether linkage, and pendant phenyl groups can improve the solubility of polyesters [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] . It has been reported that the presence of oxygen atom contributes to increase in the basicity of the schiff base nitrogen atom in the polymer, resulting in the stronger interaction to the acid and increasing the solubility of poly(azomethine) [27] . Besides, the solubility of the conjugated polymers can be improved by incorporating relatively long and flexible side chains in the polymer backbone [28] [29] [30] .

Aromatic polymers containing both ester and azomethine units are a type of high-performance polymers with excellent thermal, physical and mechanical properties and are utilized in various fields such as electric, electronic, photonics and in industrial material field.

It has been reported that the ester group increases the electrical conductivity of copolymers in poly(azomethine-ester) via two manners i.e. by increasing the flexibility of the chain and making the charge carrier movement more along the chain.

Poly(azomethine) with oxygen atom in the backbone was found to be more amorphous and more luminescent properties.

Thus, it is clear that various structural changes should be made in the poly(azomethine ester)'s chain to obtain better solubility and its application in various fields.

Some of the reported methods to improve the processability of conjugated poly(azomethine)s are by incorporation of unsymmetrical or symmetrical substitutions in the main-chain aromatic benzene rings with flexible alkyl or alkoxy side chains and reversible Lewis acidbase complexation.

Moreover, it has been already found that introduction of groups with sp 3 -hybridized atoms (-CR 2 -), ether linkage, and pendant phenyl groups can improve the solubility of polyesters.

It has been reported that the presence of oxygen atom contributes to increase in the basicity of the schiff base nitrogen atom in the polymer, resulting in the stronger interaction to the acid and increasing the solubility of poly(azomethine).

Besides, the solubility of the conjugated polymers can be improved by incorporating relatively long and flexible side chains in the polymer backbone.


With the triumphant advance of mobile devices at the beginning of the 21st century, different sensor systems -especially GPS -came into the spotlight of research (Schönfelder et al., 2002; Schuessler & Axhausen, 2009; Stopher et al., 2007) . With former approaches, only specific points in time could be considered for analysis. Nowadays, time periods also can be recorded using GPS. The granularity and amount of data recorded with GPS offers new opportunities, so that it has become a lively research field in different disciplines, such as health or zoology (Handcock et al., 2009; Le Faucheur et al., 2008; Ungar et al., 2005; Wettstein et al., 2012) . One of these opportunities is the possibility of continuously analysing the movements of one or more individuals, and of being able to predict future movements.

With the triumphant advance of mobile devices at the beginning of the 21st century, different sensor systems -especially GPS -came into the spotlight of research.

The granularity and amount of data recorded with GPS offers new opportunities, so that it has become a lively research field in different disciplines, such as health or zoology.


Stochastic Lagrangian approaches are widely used in research (Smouse et al., 2010) . Some of these approaches are promising, but in practice they are computationally intensive. For example, as the amount of tracking data increases, mobile device memory and mobile connections reach their limits. Thus, complementary approaches have to be considered.

Stochastic Lagrangian approaches are widely used in research.


To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the relationship between fitness and female song. Future work should determine the mechanisms of this relationship and to examine how song rates relate to other fitness components, which would add critical insights regarding the costs and benefits of trait expression (Cain and Rosvall, 2014) . Finally, examining the relationship between female competitive traits and fitness in different contexts, such as when resource availability differs, will be essential to our understanding how selection shapes trait expression (Cain and Rosvall, 2014) .

Future work should determine the mechanisms of this relationship and to examine how song rates relate to other fitness components, which would add critical insights regarding the costs and benefits of trait expression.

Finally, examining the relationship between female competitive traits and fitness in different contexts, such as when resource availability differs, will be essential to our understanding how selection shapes trait expression.


In contrast to the positive relationships between response song rates to a playback of a novel female and reproductive success, we found no relationships between spontaneous song rates and fitness estimates. This lack of relationship may be a by-product of our experimental protocol; the observation period was 10 min, which may not be sufficient to capture important variation in spontaneous song rates. Alternatively, it may be that variation in spontaneous song rates is less important for defending a territory, or is unrelated to the quality of the territory or female. Support for this possibility comes from previous research on female fairywren song, which found that spontaneous song rates are highest when a female has recently established a new territory, suggesting song serves a territorial function, but is not maintained at a high level once ownership is established (Cooney and Cockburn, 1995) . A final possibility is that it is some aspect of the song itself, rather than the number of songs that is important. Research in female European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) has shown that song complexity and performance are repeatable, and that repertoire changes with age, suggesting that song traits may be quality indicators (Pavlova et al., 2010) . Similarly, older female alpine acceptors (Prunella collaris) sang more complex songs, and laid larger clutches (Langmore et al., 1996) .

Support for this possibility comes from previous research on female fairywren song, which found that spontaneous song rates are highest when a female has recently established a new territory, suggesting song serves a territorial function, but is not maintained at a high level once ownership is established.

Research in female European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) has shown that song complexity and performance are repeatable, and that repertoire changes with age, suggesting that song traits may be quality indicators.

Similarly, older female alpine acceptors (Prunella collaris) sang more complex songs, and laid larger clutches.