Financial turmoil has huge influences on varieties of industries, like the black swan theorem which produces a great deviation and causes adverse reactions [1] . In Taiwan, semiconductor production capacity accounts for more than half of the global semiconductor manufacturing market, and the IC packaging and testing accounts for the global foundry capacity of over 60%. The speed and environment of new products replacing older market create the competitiveness of related industries in Taiwan. The black swan theorem will produce outliers. This study found that the way to remove the deviation would be more difficult to predict regression or other methods of forecasting future trends accurately.

Financial turmoil has huge influences on varieties of industries, like the black swan theorem which produces a great deviation and causes adverse reactions.


Markov (Markov-chain) is generally used in the forecasting model on a random time series, and it is a dynamic system which is based on the transition between the states and all the random factors to reflect the impact [7] . Although it is very suitable for handling random variation problems, it still needs enough raw data to determine the probability of state transitions. Hence, this study uses Markov theory to improve GM(1,1) and reduce the variation when historical data increase and financial crisis happens. By evaluating accuracy, the prediction effect of Markov model can be improved [3] .

Markov (Markov-chain) is generally used in the forecasting model on a random time series, and it is a dynamic system which is based on the transition between the states and all the random factors to reflect the impact.

By evaluating accuracy, the prediction effect of Markov model can be improved.


If Mach's contentions were correct, then his principle should be evident at macro-as well as micro-levels of space *Address correspondence to this author at the Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, P3E 2C6, Canada; Tel: 01-705-675-4824; Fax: 01-705-671-3844; E-mail: mpersinger@laurentian.ca and matter. This is relevant to astronomers and physical cosmologists, particularly if even a subset of Eddington's approach to conceptualizing the universe has application [4] . The inspiration for this research began when pairs of human subjects displayed excess correlations when separated by distance (~10 m) if they shared the same circular, angularly accelerating magnetic fields around their heads. A schematic of this experimental paradigm is shown in Fig. (1) . Presentation of light flashes to one person (e.g., "local stimulus) sitting in one room resulted in the emissions of photons as measured by a photomultiplier tube (PMT) from the head of the other person (e.g., "non-local response") sitting blindfolded in another darkened room [5] . The increased output was in the order of 10 -11 W·m -2 .

This is relevant to astronomers and physical cosmologists, particularly if even a subset of Eddington's approach to conceptualizing the universe has application.

Presentation of light flashes to one person (e.g., "local stimulus) sitting in one room resulted in the emissions of photons as measured by a photomultiplier tube (PMT) from the head of the other person (e.g., "non-local response") sitting blindfolded in another darkened room.


The principle of immanence of the universe developed by the late 19 th century physicist Ernst Mach indicated that the properties of local matter depend on the presence of the remainder of the universe. Stated alternatively the behavior of any portion of the universe is determined by all of its parts [1] . The corollary to Mach's principle indicates that the natural laws governing the largest scale of space-time should be intrinsically related to the laws governing the smallest scale of space-time. Although experimental support for this interesting assumption has often eluded empirical verification we report here an experiment that may support the basic proposition.

Stated alternatively the behavior of any portion of the universe is determined by all of its parts.


Then, we fixed the DC current at 55 A. With the same steps as previously, we got the results as Figures 6 and 7 showed. We can see that the AC losses slightly increased with the frequency when the total current was 60 A. And the amplitude of the AC current had more effect on the AC losses. In order to research the effect of the DC current and the AC ripple current, we changed the different component of the total current while keeping the total current fixed. Figure 8 showed the experimental result. It showed that, at the same total current of 65 A, the AC loss at which the DC current was 45 A and the AC current was 20 A was larger than that at which the DC current was 55 A and the AC current was 10 A. It signified that the component of the AC current had much more effect on the AC losses. Why did it happen like that? The current distribution was the starting point. With "ripples" of larger amplitudes, it is the edges of the HTS tape that make the predominant contribution to the loss [14] . Figure 9 showed the result of the AC losses of the 0.3 m HTS cable. The DC current was 200 A and the AC ripple current ranged from 5 A to 25 A. The AC losses were also insensitive to the frequency and increased with the AC ripple currents.

Why did it happen like that?

With "ripples" of larger amplitudes, it is the edges of the HTS tape that make the predominant contribution to the loss.


Micropollutants are ubiquitous, and are often used to improve human life. This makes it difficult to control the source of these compounds in the water environment. Many researches on monitoring contamination by pharmaceuticals and EDCs in a variety of environments, such as surface water, groundwater, drinking water and wastewater, have reported significant levels of micropollutants in the water environment [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] .

Many researches on monitoring contamination by pharmaceuticals and EDCs in a variety of environments, such as surface water, groundwater, drinking water and wastewater, have reported significant levels of micropollutants in the water environment.


Because conventional processes used in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are not designed to remove micropollutants, these can persist in the treated wastewater effluent. As a result, many of these micropollutants can be present in aquatic environments, including surface waters, and surface waters are a threat to the ecosystem and human health. The occurrence of micropollutants in the aquatic environment is associated with a variety of negative effects including short-and long-term toxicity, EDC and antibiotic resistance in microorganisms [10] [11] [12] .

The occurrence of micropollutants in the aquatic environment is associated with a variety of negative effects including short-and long-term toxicity, EDC and antibiotic resistance in microorganisms.


Micropollutants are compounds that are detected in the environment at trace concentrations ranging from μg/L to below ng/L [1] . Micropollutants can be composed of various materials and can contain various compounds such as pesticides, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, flame retardants, perfumes, waterproofing agents, plasticizers and insulating foams [2] . Pharmaceuticals and personal hygiene products (PPCPs) and endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are among the most frequently detected anthropogenic contaminants in water.

Micropollutants are compounds that are detected in the environment at trace concentrations ranging from μg/L to below ng/L.

Micropollutants can be composed of various materials and can contain various compounds such as pesticides, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, flame retardants, perfumes, waterproofing agents, plasticizers and insulating foams.


In contrast, oedema disease is caused by oedema disease E. coli (EDEC) and usually occurs in postweaning piglets one to two weeks after weaning. The determining factor to classify an EDEC strain is the production of shigatoxin 2e (Stx2e), often associated with the occurrence of the fimbrial adhesin F18 [2, 4, 5] . Unlike enterotoxins, Stx2e can affect endothelial cells, leading to strong vascular damage [2] .

The determining factor to classify an EDEC strain is the production of shigatoxin 2e (Stx2e), often associated with the occurrence of the fimbrial adhesin F18.

Unlike enterotoxins, Stx2e can affect endothelial cells, leading to strong vascular damage.


More definite information could be obtained from the chromatographic data about the humate molecular mass. It is known that the accuracy of determination of the humate molecular mass depends on the ionic strength of the solution (Murphy et al., 1994) . Therefore, to suppress the dissociation of acidic groups and to promote the disintegration of the humate particles into the molecular state, during the preparation of HNa for the MMD analysis, high concentrations of electrolytes containing univalent cations were added to the solution. The chromatogram shown in Figure 3 exhibits a peak at 1 kDa, a sequence of small peaks at 3 to 6 kDa and a peak at 15 kDa. The sizes of these molecules are relatively small; these results also agree with the data obtained by electron microscopy as discussed above.

It is known that the accuracy of determination of the humate molecular mass depends on the ionic strength of the solution.


In inoculated leaves MeSA accumulation always paralleled the accumulation of endogenous SA (Figs. 2-4) , consistent with the proposed synthesis of MeSA from SA. However, in the postinoculation period SA concentration increased continually and MeSA concentration decreased as HR lesions developed (Figs. 2-4) . This observation agrees with our previously published observation that the highest production of gaseous MeSA is reached at the onset of tissue desiccation (Shulaev et al., 1997) . Here we suggest that the differences in the kinetics of MeSA and SA accumulation can be at least partially explained by the increased volatilization of MeSA facilitated by tissue desiccation during HR-associated necrosis.

This observation agrees with our previously published observation that the highest production of gaseous MeSA is reached at the onset of tissue desiccation.


Diabetes is a disorder of the metabolism whereby insufficient insulin is produced by the beta cells, and as such, blood glucose cannot be transported out of the blood. Lack of insulin results in blood glucose levels remaining dangerously high, which untreated over time leads to costly complications, including kidney failure, blindness, nerve damage, heart attack and stroke. Over 120 million people are affected by diabetes worldwide, and this number is expected to rise to 300 million by the year 2025 (Thomson et al., 2001) .

Over 120 million people are affected by diabetes worldwide, and this number is expected to rise to 300 million by the year 2025.


We have always been engaged in investigating the effective recommender design factors that may positively impact the promotion of users' trust and furthermore their behavioral intentions. Previously, we have conceptualized a competence-based trust model for recommender systems [4] . We have primarily studied trust-building by the different design dimensions of explanation interfaces, given explanations' potential benefits to improve users' confidence about recommendations and their acceptance of the system [10, 18] .

Previously, we have conceptualized a competence-based trust model for recommender systems.

We have primarily studied trust-building by the different design dimensions of explanation interfaces, given explanations' potential benefits to improve users' confidence about recommendations and their acceptance of the system.


In order to accelerate users' decision process by saving their information-searching effort in reviewing all recommended items, we have proposed a so called preference-based organization technique. The main idea is that, rather than explaining each item one by one, a group of products can be explained together by a category title, provided that they have shared tradeoff characteristics compared to a reference product (e.g., the top candidate) [17] . In the following, we first summarize previous studies on the organization method and then give the contribution of our current work.

The main idea is that, rather than explaining each item one by one, a group of products can be explained together by a category title, provided that they have shared tradeoff characteristics compared to a reference product (e.g., the top candidate).


Research in interactive storytelling focuses on ways to incorporate the user as an active element of the story. This raises many technical challenges, such as the need to maintain a coherent story that conveys an author-idealized message while accommodating the user's actions, even when these do not resonate with the intended story path. This has been described as the boundary problem [18] .

This has been described as the boundary problem.


In recent years, catalytic technologies have been described as an efficient means of eliminating organic pollutants. The technique generally uses a combination of oxidation (O 3 , H 2 O 2 ), irradiation, electron and catalyst as a means of generating hydroxyl radicals ( Á OH), superoxide radicals (O 2 Á-), hydroperoxyl (HO 2 Á ) radicals, etc., at ambient temperature and pressure. The development of the electrocatalytic oxidation process is emerging as a strong alternative for conventional wastewater treatment. Recently, the importance of rare earth oxides as a catalyst is rapidly growing with new applications in different fields [6] . Since nanoparticles have uniform size and sharp size distribution, they are easily prepared as a result of recent developments in nanoscience and nanotechnology. Cerium possesses good oxidizing behavior due to its high redox potential (E 0 = 1.62 V) [7] . Gadolinium (Gd 3? ), neodymium (Nd 3? ) and samarium (Sm 3? ) are considered as the most effective dopants for ceria in terms of maximization of ionic conductivity [8] .

Recently, the importance of rare earth oxides as a catalyst is rapidly growing with new applications in different fields.

Cerium possesses good oxidizing behavior due to its high redox potential (E 0 = 1.62 V).

Gadolinium (Gd 3? ), neodymium (Nd 3? ) and samarium (Sm 3? ) are considered as the most effective dopants for ceria in terms of maximization of ionic conductivity.


The growth of industries and day-to-day changes in human activities have resulted in an increase in the volume and complexity of wastewater to the environment. The textile industry is one of the most polluting industries in terms of discharge volume and effluent composition [1] . Reactive dyes are extensively used in the textile industry due to the presence of reactive groups in their molecules which bind to fibers through covalent bonds. The main problem associated with the use of reactive dyes is their low affinity for fabrics resulting in relatively high dye concentrations in textile wastewater [2] . Reactive dyes exhibit a wide range of different chemical structures, primarily based on substituted aromatic and heterocyclic groups. Since reactive dyes are highly soluble in water, their removal from wastewater is difficult by conventional treatment processes [3] [4] [5] .

The textile industry is one of the most polluting industries in terms of discharge volume and effluent composition.

The main problem associated with the use of reactive dyes is their low affinity for fabrics resulting in relatively high dye concentrations in textile wastewater.

Since reactive dyes are highly soluble in water, their removal from wastewater is difficult by conventional treatment processes.


There are two general approaches to multiple-objective optimization. One approach to solve multi-objective optimization problems is by combining the multiple objectives into a scalar cost function, ultimately making the problem singleobjective prior to optimization. However, in practice, it can be very difficult to precisely and accurately select these weights as small perturbations in the weights can lead to very different solutions. Further, if the final solution found cannot be accepted as a good compromise, new runs of the optimizer on modified objective function using different weights may be needed, until a suitable solution is found. This method also has the disadvantage of requiring new runs of the optimizer every time the preferences or weights of the objectives in the multi-objective function change [1] . The second general approach is to determine an entire Pareto optimal set of solutions or a representative subset. Pareto optimal set of solutions are often preferred to single solutions because they can be more feasible since the final solution of the decision maker is always a trade of between crucial parameters in real-life [2] . Problems of control systems involving the optimization of multiple objective functions require high computational time and effort [3] . As conventional techniques are difficult to apply, Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques are preferred to obtain Pareto optimal set [4] [5] [6] . AI techniques such as Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Fuzzy Logic (FL) and modern heuristic optimization techniques have emerged in recent years in power systems as competent tools to solve various power system problems. ANN and FL suffer from the requirement of expert user in their design and implementation, a lack of the formal model theory and mathematical rigors and so are vulnerable to the experts' depth of knowledge in problem definition. Modern heuristic optimization techniques, by contrast, are more powerful as they exhibit a deeper comprehension of the system problems by well established models and hence have much more potential.

This method also has the disadvantage of requiring new runs of the optimizer every time the preferences or weights of the objectives in the multi-objective function change.

Pareto optimal set of solutions are often preferred to single solutions because they can be more feasible since the final solution of the decision maker is always a trade of between crucial parameters in real-life.

Problems of control systems involving the optimization of multiple objective functions require high computational time and effort.

As conventional techniques are difficult to apply, Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques are preferred to obtain Pareto optimal set.


In this paper, we show that, from the perspective of feature transformation, discriminative dimensionality reduction is closely related to some common operations of modern CNNs. Specifically, the transformation in discriminative dimensionality reduction is in fact equivalent to the 1 × 1 convolution. In addition, the constraints on the norm of the transformation weights (i.e., the weights of the 1 × 1 convolutional layer) and input feature vectors can be represented by weight decay and batch normalization [17] , respectively. We refer to the combination of these operations as Neural Discriminative Dimensionality Reduction (NDDR). Therefore, we are able to link the original singletask networks from different tasks by the NDDR layers. Desirably, the proposed network structure can be trained endto-end in the CNN without any extraordinary operations.

In addition, the constraints on the norm of the transformation weights (i.e., the weights of the 1 × 1 convolutional layer) and input feature vectors can be represented by weight decay and batch normalization, respectively.


One of the main factors that can further boost the CNN performance is multi-task learning (MTL), which is engaged in learning multiple related tasks simultaneously. This is because related tasks can benefit from each other by jointly learning certain shared, or more precisely, mutually related representations [13, 19] . The multiple supervision signals originating from different tasks in MTL can be viewed as implicit data augmentation (on labels) or additional regularization (among different tasks) [39] . This enables to learn mutually related representations that work well for multiple tasks, thus avoiding overfitting and leading to better generalizability.

This is because related tasks can benefit from each other by jointly learning certain shared, or more precisely, mutually related representations.

The multiple supervision signals originating from different tasks in MTL can be viewed as implicit data augmentation (on labels) or additional regularization (among different tasks).


International entrepreneurship is a substantial contributor to economic sustainability, which is one of the three dimensions of sustainability [1] . The close relationships between economic, social and environmental sustainability, and economic development, are emphasized by economic development theorists [2] [3] [4] [5] . International entrepreneurship is primarily facilitated by small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), which are key employers and contributors to the economic outputs of modern economies [6] . They also drive the development and use of human capital and R&D [7] . These SMEs are especially important in small and open economies, in order to maintain sustainable development [8, 9] . To reap benefits of market integration and economic globalization, foreign market entry of SMEs has become an important government policy issue as well [10] . We aim to review the body of international entrepreneurship knowledge, to contribute to the capacity of scholars and practitioners, to foster sustainable economic development, through better understanding and influencing SME internationalization and other key aspects of international entrepreneurship. Furthermore, it is our aim to better understand the process of the development of the body of knowledge through review articles and special issues, and to articulate implications in terms of further research to be pursued.

International entrepreneurship is a substantial contributor to economic sustainability, which is one of the three dimensions of sustainability.

The close relationships between economic, social and environmental sustainability, and economic development, are emphasized by economic development theorists.

International entrepreneurship is primarily facilitated by small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), which are key employers and contributors to the economic outputs of modern economies.

They also drive the development and use of human capital and R&D.

These SMEs are especially important in small and open economies, in order to maintain sustainable development.

To reap benefits of market integration and economic globalization, foreign market entry of SMEs has become an important government policy issue as well.


Special issues play a particularly important role in disseminating knowledge of management and organizational scholarship. Special issues augment the citation numbers of articles in less prominent journals, enabling these studies to be more impactful [17] . These articles get more citations generally than regular issue ones [18] . Special issues seek novelty and breadth of published research, and have higher potential to interact with the world of practitioners through their ability to capture novelty [17] . They often encourage researchers to submit articles that otherwise would not be devoted to publication, thereby extending the frontiers of research and the dissemination of the results [18] . Special issues also have a positive impact on the acceleration of knowledge development and reduce the time required to publish papers [18] . Therefore, we seek the validation of trends and analytical dimensions extracted from the surveyed studies by systematically reviewing special issue articles in international entrepreneurship.

Special issues augment the citation numbers of articles in less prominent journals, enabling these studies to be more impactful.

These articles get more citations generally than regular issue ones.

Special issues seek novelty and breadth of published research, and have higher potential to interact with the world of practitioners through their ability to capture novelty.

They often encourage researchers to submit articles that otherwise would not be devoted to publication, thereby extending the frontiers of research and the dissemination of the results.

Special issues also have a positive impact on the acceleration of knowledge development and reduce the time required to publish papers.


The important role of business process modeling in software intensive information systems explains the resurgent interests in this field. Business process modeling will become even more crucial as these systems grow in scale and complexity. Today many of these complex software systems are even driven by models [4] . This tendency is noticeable with the growth in research on business process modeling that attracts more and more attention year after year.

Today many of these complex software systems are even driven by models.


With the clear trend of urban sprawl worldwide, more than half of the world's population today has crowded into cities [1] . Complex transport systems are developed or under development to meet the growing traffic demand in many metropolises [2] . As the road network becomes more and more congested, a lot of citizens begin to choose public transit for commuting [3] . Unfortunately, urban traffic resources are insufficient, so it is impossible for public transport to service any two points in the cities by a direct and efficient line. Many commuters may need to combine several modes at a transport node [4] . This is called transfer. Numerous citizens tend to choose transfer commuting in public transport systems for efficiency, convenience, comfort, or maybe safety [5] . Moreover, comparing with commuting by car, using transfer in public transit system can also reduce the traffic emissions and help protect the environment. Thus, it is a sustainable choice for commuters to take. However, transfer disutility always makes it less competitive compared to a direct way [6, 7] .

With the clear trend of urban sprawl worldwide, more than half of the world's population today has crowded into cities.

Complex transport systems are developed or under development to meet the growing traffic demand in many metropolises.

As the road network becomes more and more congested, a lot of citizens begin to choose public transit for commuting.

Many commuters may need to combine several modes at a transport node.

This is called transfer.

Numerous citizens tend to choose transfer commuting in public transport systems for efficiency, convenience, comfort, or maybe safety.

However, transfer disutility always makes it less competitive compared to a direct way.


We have also tested the ability of these multimeric complexes to recognize different integrin receptors. Our former work established that these complexes associate more readily with αvβ3 and αIIbβ3 integrins compared to monomeric vitronectin alone [1] . In the current study, we expanded this observation to show that PAI-1 present in the multimeric complexes also did not block vitronectin binding to integrins αvβ5 and α5β1. Though the interaction with α5β1was weaker compared to αvβ3 and αvβ5, the multimeric complexes showed an increased association with α5β1 compared to monomeric vitronectin. To confirm this result, we probed αvβ5 binding to vitronectin and or vitronectin/PAI-1 complexes and observed similar increases in binding to the complexes. Curiously, binding of αvβ5 to either monomeric or multimeric vitronectin could not be detected when these proteins were bound to the ECM components. It appears that the antibody probe has low affinity for the integrin when it is bound to vitronectin or the complex associated with the matrix components like Col-IV and HSPG.

Our former work established that these complexes associate more readily with αvβ3 and αIIbβ3 integrins compared to monomeric vitronectin alone.


The role of PAI-1 in complex with vitronectin on cell adhesion and migration varies with cell type and environment. The effect of PAI-1 on the regulation of cellular adhesion and migration on vitronectin is hotly debated. There is no consensus regarding the influence of these two proteins on the regulation of cell-matrix interactions. Although most studies indicate that PAI-1 inhibits cell adhesion to vitronectin, published work contains opposing claims regarding migration. Some studies indicate that PAI-1 inhibits cell binding and in effect promotes migration, while others suggest that PAI-1 inhibits vitronectin-dependent migration [31, 33, 74, 81] . The majority of these studies addressed the role of exogenously added PAI-1 in regulating cellular adhesion and migration mediated by multimeric vitronectin as a substratum. Instead, our approach tests PAI-1 in complex with vitronectin, as it will be found in vivo. Furthermore, we utilize higher-order complexes of vitronectin and PAI-1 that more closely mimic the forms found in the ECM. Also, we have tested a limited number of ways in which the pericellular microenvironments may be modulated; the tests on ECM components and stimulation that induces different patterns of cell-surface expression of receptors on two cell types focuses on a small subset of the variability that will be found in nature.

Some studies indicate that PAI-1 inhibits cell binding and in effect promotes migration, while others suggest that PAI-1 inhibits vitronectin-dependent migration.


Though some increase in cell binding could be observed with monomeric vitronectin attached to the HSPG substratum, the higher-order complexes did not facilitate additional cell binding. The results from our direct matrix-binding assay established that these vitronectin/ PAI-1 complexes exhibit increased binding to HSPG, leading us to anticipate a concomitant increase in cell binding under these conditions. Since no effect on binding to the preformed vitronectin/PAI-1 complexes was observed, it appears that the situation is more complicated than simple protein abundance leading to individual binding sites in the substratum. This is perhaps not surprising, since cells maintain multiple points of contact with the substratum that are not uniform. For example, integrin clustering at focal adhesions at the leading edge of cells is a phenomenon thought to add to the strength of cell binding at these locations [97] . A multimeric higherorder form of vitronectin could, in turn, provide multiple contacts for integrins clustered in such foci and could result in a greater avidity for binding without increasing total cell numbers bound to the matrix. Alternatively, there may be a steric effect where the binding of one cell masks multivalent complexes so that they are inaccessible to other cells. Regardless, the association of PAI-1 with vitronectin did not inhibit cellular attachment relative to isolated monomeric vitronectin in the substratum, which contrasts with results using exogenous PAI-1.

For example, integrin clustering at focal adhesions at the leading edge of cells is a phenomenon thought to add to the strength of cell binding at these locations.


The second possible answer to the question of how they got there is that they have been there all along, or at least since the continental and montane glaciers began to recede. At the end of the Pleistocene it is estimated that 90% of the Northern Great Plains was under water or very wet, and areas that were not submerged supported a boreal forest vegetation interspersed with muskeg (Pielou 1991) . This was before the region became drier and warm enough to support grasslands. Just west of the Great Plains, in the Northern Rockies, recently scoured lake basins provided the physical container and a cool, wet climate provided the right conditions for the development of peatlands. At that time, habitats for boreal diatoms that require cold, oligotrophic, and circumneutral waters were much more abundant and more closely spaced than they are today. Many of the meadows or grassy "parks" at lower elevations in the Northern Rockies began as small, shallow lakes, which progressed to fens and wet meadows and finally to dry meadows. Local dispersal and interchanges of peatland diatom taxa may have occurred at first, until most of the habitats dried up and the few remaining populations became widely separated. This geographic separation of habitats and populations, along with a local progression to more dystrophic conditions, may have driven the genetic divergence and speciation noted above.

At the end of the Pleistocene it is estimated that 90% of the Northern Great Plains was under water or very wet, and areas that were not submerged supported a boreal forest vegetation interspersed with muskeg.


In this paper, an extended Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology (STIRPAT)1F model is adopted to unravel the drivers of China's cement consumption volatility in the process of urbanization. Though there are applications with structural decomposition analysis (SDA)2F and Logarithmic-Mean Divisia Index (LMDI)3F to examine the social and economic driving factors of the deteriorating environment issues occurred in China's urbanization process (Ang and Zhang, 2000; Guan et al., 2008; Liu et al., 2007; Xu et al., 2012; Zha et al., 2010) . Instead, with the application of STIRPAT model, more detailed influence factors, even a non-monotonic or nonproportional function form, can be integrated into the regression model (Wang et al., 2013a) . Moreover, with an adaption of quadratic terms of urbanization and affluence, this paper attempts to reveal the linear and nonlinear nexus between cement consumption and driving forces. On the basis of the empirical results, conclusions and policy implications are drawn.

Though there are applications with structural decomposition analysis (SDA)2F and Logarithmic-Mean Divisia Index (LMDI)3F to examine the social and economic driving factors of the deteriorating environment issues occurred in China's urbanization process.

Instead, with the application of STIRPAT model, more detailed influence factors, even a non-monotonic or nonproportional function form, can be integrated into the regression model.


We conducted a thematic analysis to identify themes from a realist perspective. Thematic analysis is a widely used qualitative analytic method for identifying, analysing and reporting patterns (themes) within data [20] . By taking a Realist viewpoint, we reject the dichotomy between positivism and relativism, and instead maintain that there are facts about the world that can be studied and assessed. A realist acknowledges that the nature of a 'fact' is shaped by both researcher and respondent. Our role as researchers is not so much to uncover 'facts' or 'truths' but to represent them accurately [21] .

Thematic analysis is a widely used qualitative analytic method for identifying, analysing and reporting patterns (themes) within data.

Our role as researchers is not so much to uncover 'facts' or 'truths' but to represent them accurately.


Previous studies have shown sporting participation to be associated with changes in the spino-pelvic sagittal alignment of athletes [28] [29] [30] . However, the quality of these studies is limited as sagittal alignment was evaluated with non-radiological methods. Poor levels of validity have been shown for correlation of nonradiological and radiological evaluation of spinal sagittal alignment [31, 32] . Therefore, further research for evaluation of the radiological spino-pelvic parameters between athletes and non-athletes appears reasonable.

Previous studies have shown sporting participation to be associated with changes in the spino-pelvic sagittal alignment of athletes.

Poor levels of validity have been shown for correlation of nonradiological and radiological evaluation of spinal sagittal alignment.


Furthermore, the developments of organic-iorganic nanocomposites are expected to play an important role as gas sensing materials. Efforts are continuing to engineer organic-inorganic materials with enhanced physical and optical properties for gas sensing applications. Nanocomposite thin films of polymer -inorganic nanoparticles are reported to have porous morphology caused by solid-state polymerization [17] . This porous morphology has added advantage for sensing application due to enhanced penetration of bio-molecules into the polymer matrix.

Nanocomposite thin films of polymer -inorganic nanoparticles are reported to have porous morphology caused by solid-state polymerization.


The conventional method for enhancing heat transfer in a thermal system consists of increasing the heat transfer surface area as well as the flow velocity of the working fluid [1] . The dispersion of solid nanoparticles in heat transfer fluids is a relatively new method. Extended surfaces such as fins and microchannels (width <100 μm) have already been used to increase the heat transfer surface area. Their performance in effectively removing as much as 1000 W/cm 2 has shown a great improvement in the area of cooling. However, further development of this technology is at a standstill because it has already been pushed to its achievable limits. Thus, attention is now turning towards the dispersion of solid particles in fluids.

The conventional method for enhancing heat transfer in a thermal system consists of increasing the heat transfer surface area as well as the flow velocity of the working fluid.


The cognitive theory views learning as involving the acquisition or reorganisation of the cognitive structures used by human beings to process and store information. Mental processes transform the information received into knowledge and skills within human memory. The influence of cognitive science on instructional design is evidenced by the use of advanced organisers, metaphors, chunking into meaningful parts, and the careful organisation of instructional materials from simple to complex (Anderson, 1996) .

The influence of cognitive science on instructional design is evidenced by the use of advanced organisers, metaphors, chunking into meaningful parts, and the careful organisation of instructional materials from simple to complex.


Later, e-learning systems addressed the issue of educational e-content reusability, by means of which the same educational content could be used across different courses that are accessible over the Internet (Muzio, Heins, & Mundell, 2002) . Thanks to this potential, an e-learning management system can select different learning objects for different learners (Sampson, 2002) . Nowadays, these e-learning systems are able to generate adaptive e-learning content on demand, that is, produce a 'made-to-measure' course depending on what a learner already knows (Alonso, López, Manrique, & Fernández, 2004; Atif, Benlamri, & Berri, 2003) .

Later, e-learning systems addressed the issue of educational e-content reusability, by means of which the same educational content could be used across different courses that are accessible over the Internet.

Thanks to this potential, an e-learning management system can select different learning objects for different learners.

Nowadays, these e-learning systems are able to generate adaptive e-learning content on demand, that is, produce a 'made-to-measure' course depending on what a learner already knows.


Another interesting finding in this study was that HIVseropositive women who used condoms had a lower risk of HSIL than non-users (table 2): PR = 0.7 95% CI (0.5-0.9). A study of HIV-seronegative women (n = 82) also found a lower risk of cervical neoplasia among women who reported consistent condom use compared with those who did not [41] . There is also evidence in HIV-seronegative women that the consistent use of condoms was associated with a higher clearance rate of HPV and of cervical neoplasia [42] . In our present study, a protective effect was not found with ASCUS or LSIL with condom use.

A study of HIV-seronegative women (n = 82) also found a lower risk of cervical neoplasia among women who reported consistent condom use compared with those who did not.

There is also evidence in HIV-seronegative women that the consistent use of condoms was associated with a higher clearance rate of HPV and of cervical neoplasia.


A conventional CVD growth method consists of a continuous flow of carbon gas precursor/H 2 /Ar mixture in order to generate the graphene growth [16] . In the present work we have examined how the variation of the CH 4 /H 2 ratio during the growth affects the etching mechanism that the hydrogen performs. We present the optimum results which allowed the growth of large, up to 30 × 30 m 2 , graphene crystals with the lowest number of defects.

A conventional CVD growth method consists of a continuous flow of carbon gas precursor/H 2 /Ar mixture in order to generate the graphene growth.


A new model to estimate the circulating time in a 2 D bubbling fluidized bed has been proposed. This expression is based on the con cept of the turnover time [1] . The estimation only depends on the op erating conditions and the bubble phase properties (bubble diameter, D b , bubble velocity, U b , and bed expansion).

This expression is based on the con cept of the turnover time.


Three poplar clones (Nanlin-895, NL-80351 and 75), one type of alder (Alnus trabeculosa) and one type of willow (Salix × jiangsuensis cv. J799) were planted on the ridge in March 2008 using 1-year-old rooted seedlings with 3 × 5 m planting spacing (Liu et al. 2012) . Three planting patterns were established, including poplar-willow mixture (1:1 ratio), poplaralder mixture (1:1), and poplar-willow-alder mixture (1:0.5:0.5). A randomized block design was used with three replications for the three planting patterns. After one year following the planting, the average survival of the plantations was more than 97%.

J799) were planted on the ridge in March 2008 using 1-year-old rooted seedlings with 3 × 5 m planting spacing.


Twenty trees for each poplar clone, alder and willow were selected for installing the rhizoboxes between 40 cm and 60 cm from the tree trunk. All the rhizoboxes were buried at 20-30 cm depth with a 30 degree angle to mimic typical root growth habit (Liu et al. 2012) . The rhizoboxes were installed in early April 2010, and retrieved in late October 2010.

All the rhizoboxes were buried at 20-30 cm depth with a 30 degree angle to mimic typical root growth habit.


Care of patients with advanced cancer in the ED environment is clearly challenging. Clinicians perceive that environmental barriers negatively affect the care they can provide, specifically overcrowding, noise, lack of time and privacy. A one-size-fits-all approach to care in the ED is not appropriate for the advanced cancer patient and indeed unlikely to suffice for the predictions of increasing elderly and multicomorbid patients attending ED in the future. The delivery of sensitive, person-centred care is critical for these vulnerable patients, and our learnings elsewhere suggest that such work is perceived as both desirable and satisfying by clinicians [21] . Yet, this care does require flexible models of care with capacity for greater time to be spent with patients and families to avoid frustration and dissatisfaction. Consideration should be given to the better integration of PC services in the ED and to better matching ED design to its various functions.

The delivery of sensitive, person-centred care is critical for these vulnerable patients, and our learnings elsewhere suggest that such work is perceived as both desirable and satisfying by clinicians.


These lung function measurements offer complementary information but cannot be used individually to accurately predict exercise performance, dyspnea, mood and health status in individual patients with COPD [5] . Taking into account the heterogeneity of the disease and in an attempt to improve the organization of care for patients with COPD, identifying patient profiles or COPD subtypes by means of clustering analysis has received growing attention [15] [16] [17] . Whether and to what extent a combination of the abovementioned lung function attributes correlates better with patient-related outcomes and clinical traits such as comorbidities was part of our hypothesis. Therefore, we aimed to cluster patients with COPD based on solely lung function attributes, derived from post-bronchodilator spirometry, TLCO, wholebody plethysmography, mouth pressures and resting arterial blood gases. A priori, we hypothesized that distinct clusters will be identified showing a large heterogeneity in the combination of lung function attributes in patients with COPD. Moreover, it is hypothesized that significant differences in exercise performance, health status and clinical traits as dyspnea and exacerbations will be found between these pathophysiological clusters, with still a substantial degree of heterogeneity within each of these clusters.

These lung function measurements offer complementary information but cannot be used individually to accurately predict exercise performance, dyspnea, mood and health status in individual patients with COPD.

Taking into account the heterogeneity of the disease and in an attempt to improve the organization of care for patients with COPD, identifying patient profiles or COPD subtypes by means of clustering analysis has received growing attention.


It is estimated that 10-20 million people are infected by the virus worldwide. In endemic areas (southern Japan, the Caribbean, South America, the Melanesian islands, Papua New Guinea, the Middle East and central and southern Africa) seroprevalence ranges from 3% to 30%. In non-endemic areas, such as Greece, seroprevalence is less than 1%. Seropositivity among blood donors in Greece was reported to be 0.009% in a large multicenter study [30] .

Seropositivity among blood donors in Greece was reported to be 0.009% in a large multicenter study.


Th e results of the PCA showed the divergence between old cultivars and improved cultivars, most of them carrying dwarfi ng genes. Several traits helped to diff erentiate the two groups, but the most important were DSA and grain yield. Days from sowing to anthesis, the contribution of fl ag leaf assimilates to grain yield and stem weight, were greater in old cultivars, while yield per unit area, the contribution to grain yield of assimilates accumulated in the main spike and stem, reached higher values in cultivars carrying dwarfi ng genes. Main stem biomass was better than leaf blade biomass in discriminating between tall and dwarf genotypes because dwarfi ng genes have been reported to aff ect internode growth more than leaf blade expansion (Calderini et al., 1996; Miralles et al., 1998) . Th e traits most positively associated with yield per unit area were the contribution of preanthesis assimilates from the spike, other leaves apart from the fl ag leaf and the stem. Principal component analysis confi rmed that the role of the fl ag leaf on the remobilization of assimilates to grain has largely decreased as a result of empirical yield improvement.

Main stem biomass was better than leaf blade biomass in discriminating between tall and dwarf genotypes because dwarfi ng genes have been reported to aff ect internode growth more than leaf blade expansion.


Th e greatest changes in DMT and related traits occurred between old and intermediate genotypes, thus coinciding with the introduction of dwarfi ng genes in the germplasm of both countries. Th is could lead to the conclusion that it was a pleiotropic eff ect of dwarfi ng genes. However, Rht alleles have not been found to confer the ability to increase DMT, while DMT effi ciency of the stem has proved to be higher in Rht-B1 lines (Borrell et al., 1993) . Th erefore, greater DMT capacity may have been unconsciously increased when empirical breeding for yield led to the selection of genotypes able to fi ll the large number of grains per unit area typical of modern cultivars (Royo et al., 2007) . Studies conducted on bread wheat have demonstrated that reductions in sink size by degraining reduced the amount of assimilates remobilized from the stem, thus suggesting that increased sink demand determined stem reserve mobilization (Kühbauch and Th ome, 1989) . Th e improved DMT capacity and effi ciency of modern released cultivars may also account for the higher yields of high-responsive genotypes, even when they are grown in mildly to moderately drought-stressed Mediterranean environments (Richards, 2000; Richards et al., 2002) .

However, Rht alleles have not been found to confer the ability to increase DMT, while DMT effi ciency of the stem has proved to be higher in Rht-B1 lines.

Th erefore, greater DMT capacity may have been unconsciously increased when empirical breeding for yield led to the selection of genotypes able to fi ll the large number of grains per unit area typical of modern cultivars.

Studies conducted on bread wheat have demonstrated that reductions in sink size by degraining reduced the amount of assimilates remobilized from the stem, thus suggesting that increased sink demand determined stem reserve mobilization.

Th e improved DMT capacity and effi ciency of modern released cultivars may also account for the higher yields of high-responsive genotypes, even when they are grown in mildly to moderately drought-stressed Mediterranean environments.


The medical image analysis community is facing a revolution brought by the fast development of deep networks [15] [29] . Deep Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) based methods have dominated the research area of volumetric medical image segmentation in the last few years. Generally speaking, CNN-based methods for volumetric medical image segmentation can be divided into two major categories: 2D CNNs based and 3D CNNs based.

The medical image analysis community is facing a revolution brought by the fast development of deep networks.


Though our findings on engagement are tantalizing, several methodological factors qualify the generality of our findings and must be considered before attempting to translate them into specific applications. Subjects were not assigned randomly across conditions -the face-to-face condition was run separately and after the other conditions. Thus, we cannot strictly rule out the impact of other incidental factors that might have systematically changed in this condition (e.g., weather, time of year). Additionally, subjects in the responsive and unresponsive conditions were led to believe they were speaking to a human controlled avatar, whereas the behaviors were, in fact, controlled by an intelligent agent. Several studies suggest that people will show similar social effects even if they are aware they are interacting with an agent, although the effects tend to be attenuated (Nass & Moon, 2000) . Findings on self report did not reach significance, perhaps do to the lack of precision of our questionnaire (subsequent studies are using a licker scale), however several authors have noted that virtual characters often produces measurable behavioral effects even though subjects may not register awareness of these influences through self-report . Finally, the unresponsive condition varied both the contingency and the frequency of behaviors (e.g., the unresponsive agent did not nod). As the absence of behavior also communicates information, we cannot say definitively if it is the presence or contingency that promotes engagement. A larger study is currently underway that should address these methodological concerns and tease apart the factors that contributed to the observed effect.

Several studies suggest that people will show similar social effects even if they are aware they are interacting with an agent, although the effects tend to be attenuated.


All fertilized plants exhibited higher number of vines per plant, thicker vines and longer vines resulting in higher number of leaves and LAI. As a consequence, high amount of radiation was intercepted contributing to an increase in tuber yield over unfertilized plant. The unfertilized plants had lower LAI due to lower number of leaves resulting from less number of vines per plants, thinner vines and shorter vines leading to reduction in tuber yield in comparison to fertilized plants. The present study revealed tuber yield of the fertilized plants was accounted for significantly by nutrient availability (Udo et al., 2005) . Low yield observed among the unfertilized plants could probably be due to poor availability of soil nutrients for the crop to utilize.

The present study revealed tuber yield of the fertilized plants was accounted for significantly by nutrient availability.


Although the wind power technology is simple and extraction of power from wind is easy, there are some challenges such as maximizing the output from the wind turbines and maintaining uninterrupted power due to intermittent and fluctuating nature of the wind. The wind speed is highly site dependent, and changes with time of the day, day of the year, height above ground level (AGL), and topography. Usually, the wind speed measurements are made at 8 to 12 m AGL, whereas the hub heights of the modern wind turbines of multi megawatt capacities vary from 80 to 120 m. Hub height refers to the height of the tower at which the turbine rotor is installed to harness the wind which can then be converted to energy. The hub height cannot exceed a threshold value due to technical, installation, economical, and maintenance issues. Hence, it is important to have an accurate knowledge of the suitable hub height for a particular location and for a particular type of wind turbine for maximum energy output from wind turbines [6] .

Hence, it is important to have an accurate knowledge of the suitable hub height for a particular location and for a particular type of wind turbine for maximum energy output from wind turbines.


As mentioned earlier, the economic and social development level, population size, and geographical location factor of the provinces may be important factors of travel or migration network [29] . Therefore, we further discuss the influences of socio-economic and geographic location factors on the network node strength. The socio-economic factor is measured using a composite index consisting of provinces' GDP, proportion of nonagricultural industry, population size, urbanization rate, and administrative level. The geographical location factor is measured using the average distance from one province to the others. Then, it can be seen that the network node strength of the four travel and migration data has a strong correlation with the socio-economic factor, but it has a weak correlation with the geographical location factor (Figure 7a-h ). This finding indicates that the socio-economic factor has a stronger effect than the geographical location factor. However, the significant correlation between the network edge strength and its geographical distance proves that the geographical location factor remains an important factor to the travel or migration network (Figure 7i-l) . Furthermore, the fitting degrees of the regression curves of Baidu and Tencent were higher than those of the census and Qihoo. This scenario may result from the long-distance trends of the census and Qihoo, as mentioned in the preceding section. We use the reverse gravity model to estimate the geographical distance resistance coefficients of the four travel and migration networks. The coefficients are 1.32, 3.55, 3.01, and 1.02 for the census, Baidu, Tencent, and Qihoo, respectively [30, 31] . This observation further validates our inference. According to the preceding network analysis, the travel and migration networks of the census, Baidu, and Tencent have high consistencies with one another, whereas the travel network of Qihoo had a deviation with the others. The travel network showed a multicenter characteristic, that is, the eastern coastal developed provinces and the central and western populous provinces behaved as network centers, and a characteristic that some travel path chains played a leading role. Furthermore, the travel network presented a significant geographic clustering characteristic, which validated the geographic effect to the network.

As mentioned earlier, the economic and social development level, population size, and geographical location factor of the provinces may be important factors of travel or migration network.

The coefficients are 1.32, 3.55, 3.01, and 1.02 for the census, Baidu, Tencent, and Qihoo, respectively.


Zooplankton was sampled during four Antarctic expeditions by the research vessels John Biscoe to 750 m. Towing speed was about 2.5 knots. Filtered water volumes were calculated, considering net speed, net angle, and flow data (Pommeranz et al. 1982) . Only samples from RMT 8 catches (mesh size 4.5 mm) were analysed for the present study.

Filtered water volumes were calculated, considering net speed, net angle, and flow data.


Beside commercial precursors, silica may be extracted from rice husk ash, fly and bottom ash, bagasse ash, among others. Rice husk ash contains silica for about 87-97%, and can be used as a precursor to produce silica gel, sodium silicate, and amorphous silica [13] . Many authors have reported the use of rice husk ash in many applications [14] [15] [16] . In the present research, we prepared two types of silane compounds modified silica, SiO2-HDTMS and SiO2-TMCS, coated on glass surfaces. In this work, HDTMS and TMCS were evaluated to study the influence of long chain silane. Some of researches stated that the longer chain silane increase the hydrophobicity [6] . However, another study stated that short chain silane demonstrated higher water contact angle than longer one. It is probably due to the type of polymerization of short chain silane that was intermolecular silane coupling [17] . The characteristics of SiO2 from rice husk ash, the influence of mole ratio of SiO2 to silanes, the type of deposition and the number of layers coated were investigated and evaluated as well. Additionally, the characteristics of hydrophobic glasses were investigated through water contact angle, transparency, and their stability toward ethanol and hexane.

Rice husk ash contains silica for about 87-97%, and can be used as a precursor to produce silica gel, sodium silicate, and amorphous silica.

Many authors have reported the use of rice husk ash in many applications.

Some of researches stated that the longer chain silane increase the hydrophobicity.

It is probably due to the type of polymerization of short chain silane that was intermolecular silane coupling.


Self-cleaning glasses have attracted great interest because the glass is able to keep the surface free from dirt. Many companies have commercialized those products of technology to be used for daily life. Basically, self-cleaning can occur in hydrophilic and hydrophobic surface of glasses. Both may clean the surface by different behavior toward water [1] . The mechanism of hydrophilic self-cleaning is based on the photocatalytic effects, in which photocatalyst chemically breaks down the dirt under sunlight exposure. Hydrophobic self-cleaning, however, creates the spherical water droplets thereby they are easy to roll over the surfaces and carry the dirt away. In fact, hydrophobic surface shows more advantageous than hydrophilic surface because the cleaning performance of hydrophilic surface depends on sunlight exposure, while the hydrophobic surface is independent of sunlight exposure, so it can clean anytime.

Both may clean the surface by different behavior toward water.


Many articles reporting preparation of hydrophobic glass have been published [1] [2] [3] . Polymer, surfactant, long chain organic and silane compounds are commonly used to produce hydrophobic surfaces. Among various materials, silane compounds have been widely applied to coat glass surfaces because of its coupling agent properties. The compounds react with -OH groups on the silica surfaces. The type of silanes and the effect of hydrolyzed group amount on hydrophobicity have been studied [4] [5] [6] . Many authors reported that coating glass surface using hexadecyltrimethoxysilane (HDTMS) and trimethylchlorosilane (TMCS) increase the hydrophobicity [6] [7] [8] [9] .

Many articles reporting preparation of hydrophobic glass have been published.

The type of silanes and the effect of hydrolyzed group amount on hydrophobicity have been studied.

Many authors reported that coating glass surface using hexadecyltrimethoxysilane (HDTMS) and trimethylchlorosilane (TMCS) increase the hydrophobicity.


Our focus here will be physics cases relevant to the LHC. Attempts at generalizing traditional new physics searches based on specific models have already been made in this context. They typically follow the binned histogram technique, in which one selects a set of bins (i.e. search regions) in the space of observables and compares the amount of data observed in each bin with the reference model prediction [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] . However it is fair to conclude that the main challenge inherent to the problem has not yet been overcome. Namely, any program for a modelindependent new physics search at the LHC has to deal with the Poisson fluctuations of the bulk of the dataset, which is in agreement with the reference model. These fluctuations easily swamp any potential signal of new physics that is not explicitly targeted by a search. Typically this can be mitigated only by paying a high price in flexibility [2, 15] .

They typically follow the binned histogram technique, in which one selects a set of bins (i.e. search regions) in the space of observables and compares the amount of data observed in each bin with the reference model prediction.

Typically this can be mitigated only by paying a high price in flexibility.


In an earlier paper we proposed a mechanism to solve this problem that we called structuredependent attachment kinetics (abbreviated SDAK ) [8] . In essence, we proposed that α prism depends strongly on the structure of the prism facet surface, such that α prism increases when the width of the prism facet decreases, becoming near unity when the width approaches atomic dimensions. For the case of a thin plate, the width of the facet surface on the edge of the plate is approximately w ≈ √ aR, where a is the molecular step height and R is the effective radius of curvature of the edge of the growing plate [8] . Taking R ≈ 0.5 µm for a typical thin plate yields w ≈ 40a in the case of ice. We proposed that the SDAK mechanism leads to an edge-enhancing growth instability that promotes the formation of thin plates.

In an earlier paper we proposed a mechanism to solve this problem that we called structuredependent attachment kinetics (abbreviated SDAK ).

For the case of a thin plate, the width of the facet surface on the edge of the plate is approximately w ≈ √ aR, where a is the molecular step height and R is the effective radius of curvature of the edge of the growing plate.


Polyurethanes are block copolymers composed of alternating soft and hard blocks or segment. The soft segment provides elastomeric character to the polymer while the hard segment forms dimensional stability. The soft segment with a low T g are formed from polyether or polyester, generally of mol.wt 400-5000. The rigid polar hard segments with a high T g are based on diisocyanate and low molecular weight chain extender. At room temperature, the polyol segment are above their T g, so they are denoted as soft segment and the aromatic diisocyanate which are below their T g act as hard segment [1] . Because there exist a degree of thermodynamic immiscibility between the hard urethane segments and the soft polyol segments, polyurethane elastomers exhibit microphase separation, which could result in a structure that can be considered as hard segment domains dispersed in soft segment matrix. Due to the presence of two phase micro domain structure, the molecular structure of polyurethane can be tailored to meet specific property requirement by varying the hard and soft segment length and concentration [2] .

At room temperature, the polyol segment are above their T g, so they are denoted as soft segment and the aromatic diisocyanate which are below their T g act as hard segment.

Due to the presence of two phase micro domain structure, the molecular structure of polyurethane can be tailored to meet specific property requirement by varying the hard and soft segment length and concentration.


The urethane linkage (-NH-COO-) in the polyurethane is a result of the reaction between the diisocyanate (-NCO) groups and polyol hydroxyl groups (-OH). If a stoichiometric excess of diisocyanate is used, NCO terminated urethane chains are produced and the product is called isocyanate terminated prepolymer. The formation of isocyanate terminated polyurethane prepolymer and its subsequent curing reaction are represented schematically in scheme I. The curing of the prepolymer takes place by coming in contact with water to form a network of poly (urethane urea). Many studies have been done in the past to observe the structure property relationship of polyurethane. It was reported in the literature that by varying the type and amount of polyol, diisocyanate, catalyst, reaction time and temperature, polyurethanes with a wide range of physico-mechanical properties can be obtained [3] . It was also mentioned in the literature that the prepolymer formation depends upon a number of chemical factors. Among these, the degree of branching (Mc) of polyol system and the equivalent weight of the polyether or polyester greatly influence the formation of the prepolymer [4] .

It was reported in the literature that by varying the type and amount of polyol, diisocyanate, catalyst, reaction time and temperature, polyurethanes with a wide range of physico-mechanical properties can be obtained.

Among these, the degree of branching (Mc) of polyol system and the equivalent weight of the polyether or polyester greatly influence the formation of the prepolymer.


Within the context of these limitations, the current research makes a contribution to knowledge of the incidence of burnout in Spain, a country in which previous research is scarce. Perhaps the most noteworthy element of the results obtained relates to the importance of informal social support. Given this importance, it would be worth designing prevention and intervention strategies concerning burnout among social workers taking the aforementioned trend into account. Taking part in informal social activities represents one possible approach to prevent burnout and psychological distress and offers an example of the aforementioned space for well-being (Yukelson, 1997) . This strategy would be even more effective if complemented by effective social support within the workplace environment, such as peer-support groups (Schaufeli and Enzmann, 1998) .

Taking part in informal social activities represents one possible approach to prevent burnout and psychological distress and offers an example of the aforementioned space for well-being.

This strategy would be even more effective if complemented by effective social support within the workplace environment, such as peer-support groups.


As regards psychological distress, the average for social workers for the global GHQ-28 score is slightly higher than that indicated in the cut-off points. That is, as may be observed from Table 3 , the total average obtained was 23.37 + 12.01, and thus the average was above the cut-off points established in the Spanish adaptation of the questionnaire (Lobo et al., 1986) . Although most of the professionals (56.6 per cent) did not present a possible case of psychological distress, 41.8 per cent did obtain scores above the cut-offs. The high percentages for scale C (social dysfunction) stand out.

That is, as may be observed from Table 3 , the total average obtained was 23.37 + 12.01, and thus the average was above the cut-off points established in the Spanish adaptation of the questionnaire.


Nevertheless, the strong association found between burnout and psychological distress does render these levels of distress particularly important. Our results reinforce the findings of previous research (Bennet et al., 1993; Lloyd et al., 2002) . Furthermore, it is the emotional exhaustion dimension that shows greater correlations with lack of health or well-being, which again indicates the fundamental role of emotions within professions such as social work, with managing emotions forming an integral part of daily professional life.

Our results reinforce the findings of previous research.


In any case, it is noteworthy that organisational variables did not play an important role in our study. In fact, in the hierarchical regression analyses undertaken, the contribution of the variables considered (size of organisation, workload, experience in position) did not satisfy the statistical significance conditions for incorporation into the psychological distress explicatory model. These results are inconsistent with the previous literature on this issue (Pines et al., 1981; Drory and Shamir, 1988; Burke and Richardsen, 1996; Maslach and Leiter, 1997; Hamama, 2012a) . A possible explanation may lie in the variables selected, which in the case of social workers may not be those of greatest importance in the development of burnout and psychological distress. Specifically, it appears necessary to determine the organisational variables that relate to the emotional exhaustion dimension, as this is the dimension of greatest importance in the explanation of burnout among professionals according to the results obtained.

These results are inconsistent with the previous literature on this issue.


Regarding organisational variables, certain studies have shown that professional experience and current position decrease psychological distress (Furnham, 2001) . After years of experience, social workers acquire a greater mastery of the activities, tasks and emotions associated with the job and develop strategies to cope with stress, which they modulate based on their experiences in previous situations. However, our results are contrary to previous findings in this respect. One possible explanation for this is that, despite the knowledge acquired through experience, constant and prolonged contact with the problems of clients and the institutional framework could cause the professional to feel progressively overwhelmed, increasing distress and feelings of burnout due to the emotional overload generated by many years of professional practice. For our sample, the effects of the Great Recession (during which time the field research for this study was carried out) may have exacerbated this process. There has been radical growth in inequality and an increasing proportion of the population have ever-greater socio-economic needs. Together with falling levels of resources available for social intervention, these factors have created a context in which it is the professionals with greater experience who may be better equipped to appreciate the significance of this growing inequality, experiencing higher levels of professional frustration, workplace stress and burnout.

Regarding organisational variables, certain studies have shown that professional experience and current position decrease psychological distress.


Two approaches are chiefly used to obtain porous microstructures, and the choice of which is selected depends on the objectives associated with the problem of interest. The first method consists of imaging a given physical sample of a porous medium using X-ray tomography or corresponding techniques to obtain an explicit rendition of the detailed geometry of the sample pore space. Twodimensional slices of microstructures are obtained with these techniques, reconstructed into a three-dimensional gray scale volume, and then segmented into a binary representation of the pore space that is comprised of a solid and a void phase [33, 44] . While this approach provides high-resolution images of an actual rock sample, its usefulness in characterizing effective properties driving flow and transport at a continuum scale is somewhat limited. This is primarily because the number of realizations that can be obtained and studied is constrained by the availability of rock samples, the costs of imaging, and errors that arise in image processing [18, 23] . An approach that can be employed to quantify the way the uncertainty associated with pore-scale geometry propagates to estimates of such effective continuum scale properties and their associated uncertainty relies on the generation of multiple random pore spaces that are drawn from populations with specified geometrical and topological properties. In contrast to the imaging of a real rock sample where only a single geometry is obtained, stochastic generation produces numerous pore-structures which are statistically equivalent and can be used in conjunction with efficient flow solvers to determine the effect of particular geometric observables on effective flow and transport properties.

Twodimensional slices of microstructures are obtained with these techniques, reconstructed into a three-dimensional gray scale volume, and then segmented into a binary representation of the pore space that is comprised of a solid and a void phase.

This is primarily because the number of realizations that can be obtained and studied is constrained by the availability of rock samples, the costs of imaging, and errors that arise in image processing.


Another project distributed e-bikes to Kaiser employees in the Portland, Oregon region, and asked participants to fill out surveys regarding their e-bike usage [21] [22] [23] . Their findings coincided with other studies in that e-bikes lower mobility barriers and lead to more frequent and longer trips. However, they did not obtain conclusive results regarding first/last mile commuting because not enough participants used their e-bikes in that way.

Another project distributed e-bikes to Kaiser employees in the Portland, Oregon region, and asked participants to fill out surveys regarding their e-bike usage.


Holes can be found in many thin walled structures. For example, holes are found in buildings' steel structural studs to enable installation of plumbing, electrical and heating conduits in the walls or ceilings, flange or web of steel box girders in bridges is equipped with holes to ease inspection duties, and ribs attached to the main spar of an airplane's wing are often come with holes. These holes or discontinuities within the domain (thin plate) cause changes in elastic stiffness [1] . Conventional finite element method (FEM) requires meshing strategies to track these discontinuities and capture singularities within the domain. For these cases, the element edges need to be aligned with the boundary discontinuities, and mesh refinement is needed near singularities. These are accomplished in conventional FEM by utilizing abrupt re-meshing strategies.

These holes or discontinuities within the domain (thin plate) cause changes in elastic stiffness.


Finally, the dynamics between the participants in court proceedings has also been extensively studied. Most relevant for this paper are findings that Justices and lawyers during Supreme Court oral arguments coordinate in terms of various function word usage, and that this coordination reflects the power-relationship (lawyers coordinate to Justices more than vice-versa and more so to unfavourable Justices, i.e. those that end up voting against them) [9] . This and other findings, however, rely on the textual features extracted from the transcripts while studies of acoustic and prosodic features of speech are scarce in this domain.

Most relevant for this paper are findings that Justices and lawyers during Supreme Court oral arguments coordinate in terms of various function word usage, and that this coordination reflects the power-relationship (lawyers coordinate to Justices more than vice-versa and more so to unfavourable Justices, i.e. those that end up voting against them).


Constructivist psychologists advocate the use of collaborative tools such as discussion forums in e-learning as they support the argument that cognitive development is a result of social interaction (Vygotsky, 1978; Siemens, 2005) . Other researchers have also explored how constructivism and connectivism learning theories can be adequately used in education technology for the digital age (Mattar, 2010) . A commonly used collaborative learning technique is the use of group work to learn a task and researchers have demonstrated that learning is more effective if peers collaborate and share ideas when solving a task as a group rather than as individuals (Johnson and Johnson, 1989) .

Constructivist psychologists advocate the use of collaborative tools such as discussion forums in e-learning as they support the argument that cognitive development is a result of social interaction.

Other researchers have also explored how constructivism and connectivism learning theories can be adequately used in education technology for the digital age.

A commonly used collaborative learning technique is the use of group work to learn a task and researchers have demonstrated that learning is more effective if peers collaborate and share ideas when solving a task as a group rather than as individuals.


Therefore, there is a need to empirically investigate the students' perceived challenges in an online collaborative learning environment in HLIs in Kenya. This will provide further insights to online instructors in HLIs in Kenya who would like to include constructivist pedagogy in e-learning on the status in the use of computer-mediated communication tools for collaborative learning and the same time inform them of the existing challenges. This also provides an opportunity to researchers to find relevant solutions to these challenges when paying particular attention to Kenya. This study comes at a time when HLIs in Kenya have witnessed increased enrollment within constrained physical resources; consequently, they have adopted blended e-learning through ODeL programs to complement the scarce physical resources (Nyerere et al., 2012) . Status on collaborative learning in HLIs in Kenya is yet to be established definitely; this research provides an opportunity to inform instructors and learners with concrete data on the status and the associated key challenges in an online collaborative learning environment in HLIs in Kenya.

This study comes at a time when HLIs in Kenya have witnessed increased enrollment within constrained physical resources; consequently, they have adopted blended e-learning through ODeL programs to complement the scarce physical resources.


Hence, new technologies and tools to be developed should have the ability to resolve the problems in: knowledge representation, updating, communication, and retrieval. The effects of reusing lessons learnt not only rely on the representation format of knowledge, but also relate to a series of organisational networked elements such as individual learning, culture, social, technology, process and infrastructure [11] . Process based method and social based methods are two of the many methods used to disseminate lessons learnt. Process based methods allow explicit knowledge to be reflected in organisations' policies, processes and procedures; while social based methodologies are used for tacit knowledge that is transferred from one person to another [11] . Human factors have impact on the success of the lessons learnt process. Communication is regarded as the most efficient way to enhance learning and reusing knowledge, while most technologies for communicating such as Blogs, Emails or Video conferencing are usually separated from projects where the knowledge comes from, and the same as technologies for project management with communication tools.

The effects of reusing lessons learnt not only rely on the representation format of knowledge, but also relate to a series of organisational networked elements such as individual learning, culture, social, technology, process and infrastructure.

Process based methods allow explicit knowledge to be reflected in organisations' policies, processes and procedures; while social based methodologies are used for tacit knowledge that is transferred from one person to another.


The purpose of this paper is to find the S duality property of all Argyres-Douglas theories engineered using 6d A N −1 type (2, 0) theories [15] . We first classify AD theories with exact marginal deformations; and for AD theories without exact marginal deformations, we call them AD matter. We found that it is natural to organize the theory space by a (p, q) label with q > 0, p ≥ −q + 1, here (p, q) is co-prime and class S theory defined on sphere corresponds to class (0, 1) theory.

The purpose of this paper is to find the S duality property of all Argyres-Douglas theories engineered using 6d A N −1 type (2, 0) theories.


Our initial goal is to understand S duality of theories engineered using Type IIB string theory on a 3-fold singularity [43, 45, 48, 49] . We only solved S duality for a very small subset of these theories: theories engineered using following singularities: x 2 1 +x 2 2 +x N 3 +z k = 0 and x 2 1 + x 2 2 + x N 3 + x 3 z k = 0. It seems that new methods are needed to understand S duality of these general class of theories.

Our initial goal is to understand S duality of theories engineered using Type IIB string theory on a 3-fold singularity.


Artificial water conveyance systems may be considered as intermediate media between laboratory flumes and natural streams as they generally have a regular shape (similar to laboratory flumes) but also present some of the complexity of natural stream, with the presence of natural and non-uniform vegetation. This vegetation may be composed of macrophytes, but smaller-size colonies present in open channels, such as algal biofilms, may also affect velocity profiles, as studied in laboratory flumes [7, 14] . Field observations show that the development of such vegetation induced very large variations of roughness coefficients within short periods, causing serious management problems and large deviations of rating curves [16] . Vegetation can also alter velocity distributions, which may cause errors to flow measurements as a result of fitting standard velocity distributions to velocity measurements.

This vegetation may be composed of macrophytes, but smaller-size colonies present in open channels, such as algal biofilms, may also affect velocity profiles, as studied in laboratory flumes.

Field observations show that the development of such vegetation induced very large variations of roughness coefficients within short periods, causing serious management problems and large deviations of rating curves.


Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are used to detect events and/or collect data in physical observation areas. They have been rapidly increasing in their scale and complexity as their application domains expand, from environment monitoring to precision agriculture, from perishable food transportation to disaster response, as just a few examples. The increase in scale and complexity make WSN application development complicated, time consuming and error prone [1] .

The increase in scale and complexity make WSN application development complicated, time consuming and error prone.


Indoor localization is a fast-growing field of research that is attracting both academia and industry worldwide. With the recent advances in this field, new application areas demanding high accurate indoor positioning systems (IPSs) are emerging. Examples of such applications are positioning of employees in industrial environments and emergency responders' operations, 3D motion detection, patient monitoring, and logistics. Among these, emergency responders' positioning is regarded as one of the most difficult and challenging application scenarios. The surrounding environment is harsh, highly dynamic, covers vast operative areas, and is unstructured [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] .

The surrounding environment is harsh, highly dynamic, covers vast operative areas, and is unstructured.


As far as future work is concerned, we plan to assess the performance of the proposed data fusion algorithm with different movement patterns (e.g., walking hunched, knee-dragging motion, running, and crawling). Furthermore, we plan to develop an algorithm for assisted deployment of waypoints as this is an indispensable asset for localization in unstructured environments as it is the case of the emergency responders [1] . With the placement of the waypoints on the fly, new geometric configurations of the anchor nodes will arise, and some will likely degrade the performance of the data fusion algorithm. A new decision-making algorithm may be necessary to deal with these situations.

Furthermore, we plan to develop an algorithm for assisted deployment of waypoints as this is an indispensable asset for localization in unstructured environments as it is the case of the emergency responders.


In this study, the retention of As in two semiarid soils, originating from Al-Ghat and Al-Qatif, is investigated to evaluate their suitability as barrier materials. Further, the effects of amending these soils with lime on enhanced arsenic retention are explored. The amount of lime was standardized at 6% by dry weight of soil. This percentage was determined based on initial lime consumption and optimum lime content requirements [24] [25] . Several series of batch equilibrium tests are conducted to systematically investigate the effects of initial concentration, solution pH, temperature, and time dependent kinetics on arsenic retention in the soils with and without lime amendment.

This percentage was determined based on initial lime consumption and optimum lime content requirements.


Diagnoses of the Cold-Heat Pattern had been performed with various factors including the ordinary symptoms, the color of face and urine, and pulse characteristics. Recently several studies about diagnostic factors of the Cold-Heat Pattern for each constitutional type had been performed [11] [12] [13] . However, the relationship between body temperature and the Cold-Heat Pattern has not been studied so far.

Recently several studies about diagnostic factors of the Cold-Heat Pattern for each constitutional type had been performed.


Over algebraically closed fields, Lie bialgebra structures on simple Lie algebras have been classified by Belavin and Drinfeld [1] . Over non-closed fields, results have been obtained by Stolin and co-authors, upon introducing a cohomology theory known as Belavin-Drinfeld cohomology. This descent-type method resembles that of Galois cohomology, and has been applied to various split Lie algebras over fields which are not algebraically closed. The aim of this paper is to extend it to non-split Lie algebras. We investigate the situation for such algebras of type A.

Over algebraically closed fields, Lie bialgebra structures on simple Lie algebras have been classified by Belavin and Drinfeld.


Gesture can serve as a barrier symbol between the expression of words, the attitude towards other actions. Gesture explains literally the purpose of mind and reinforces the meaning of the utterance. The functions of gesture are described as Table 1 Gesture consists of a variety of body movements and verbal symbols which is the process of thought and ideas exchange, information submitted may be gestures, facial expressions, eyes gaze, touch, or artifacts/symbols used (Kumar, 2009; Turafanany, 2012; Sumarna, 2013) . So it can be concluded that the gesture is a nonverbal communication (gestures or face expressions) that represent the mind.

The functions of gesture are described as Table 1 Gesture consists of a variety of body movements and verbal symbols which is the process of thought and ideas exchange, information submitted may be gestures, facial expressions, eyes gaze, touch, or artifacts/symbols used.


Mechanical actuations of pneumatic artificial muscle (PAM) are widely applied in many industrial applications, especially robotic fields such as humanoid, robotic hand [1] [2] [3] [4] . PAM actuation system continues to be developed for a better actuator. Basically, a PAM actuator can perform mechanical work in different kinds of motions by consuming pneumatic energy, which is supplied by compressed air, stored in a tank, and/or supplied from a compressor [5, 6] . However, those actuators cannot operate in the task, which requires compactness including high force/weight ratio, such as a rehabilitation application [7] .

Mechanical actuations of pneumatic artificial muscle (PAM) are widely applied in many industrial applications, especially robotic fields such as humanoid, robotic hand.

Basically, a PAM actuator can perform mechanical work in different kinds of motions by consuming pneumatic energy, which is supplied by compressed air, stored in a tank, and/or supplied from a compressor.

However, those actuators cannot operate in the task, which requires compactness including high force/weight ratio, such as a rehabilitation application.


To obtain desired performances on dynamic behaviors, conventional control laws are developed to manipulate the electrical voltage of TEM to alter operating conditions of typical thermal systems in many researches [21, 22] . Due to strong nonlinearities of the MH reactor coupled with TEM, it is difficult to apply a conventional proportional integral derivative (PID) control law in order to satisfy requirements of hydrogen absorption/desorption in both dynamic and steady state responses. Therefore, a fuzzy adaptive PID control is proposed to control the thermal MH reaction system in real-time implementation at various operating conditions. The basic concept and technique underline implementations on tuning capability, knowledge representation, and reasoning in fuzzy logic to PID control law [23] [24] [25] [26] .

To obtain desired performances on dynamic behaviors, conventional control laws are developed to manipulate the electrical voltage of TEM to alter operating conditions of typical thermal systems in many researches.

The basic concept and technique underline implementations on tuning capability, knowledge representation, and reasoning in fuzzy logic to PID control law.


One of important issues in superhydrophobicity is the wetting transition from the Cassie-Baxter state to the Wenzel state according to time and an external pressure [43, 44] . When the wetting state on the superhydrophobic surface is not stable, the remarkable contact angle change can be observed according to time and an external pressure. In Figure 12a (Video S2), the external pressure was applied to the water droplet by the nozzle, and it did not show a wetting transition. In addition, the apparent contact angle change was observed for 20 min. Every 5 min the apparent contact angle was measured, and the apparent contact angle was slightly decreased. However, there was no remarkable contact angle change or the transition of wetting state. The slightly decreased apparent contact angle can be explained with the evaporation of water droplet and the receding contact angle from contact angle hysteresis. As shown in Figure 13 , the volume of water droplet and the contact angles were slightly decreased according to time, but clear wetting transition could not be observed.

One of important issues in superhydrophobicity is the wetting transition from the Cassie-Baxter state to the Wenzel state according to time and an external pressure.


A good clinical response is usually seen with the GFD; however, a number of authors have reported evidence of persisting nutritional deficiencies (Bardella et al., 1985; Collins et al., 1986; Bode et al., 1991; Varkonyi et al., 1992; McFarlane et al., 1995; Thompson, 1997 Thompson, , 2000 Grehn et al., 2001; Hallert et al., 2002) . Often the continued ingestion of small amounts of gluten is held responsible for this. However, lower body weight and body mass index, and poor vitamin status could not be attributed to malabsorption as normal intestinal permeability has been found (Bardella et al., 2000; Hallert et al., 2002) . Therefore, it is possible that it is the GFD itself that could be causing these deficiencies by not providing adequate nutrition.

A good clinical response is usually seen with the GFD; however, a number of authors have reported evidence of persisting nutritional deficiencies.

However, lower body weight and body mass index, and poor vitamin status could not be attributed to malabsorption as normal intestinal permeability has been found.


A major reason for differences in communication styles between Gen Xers and Millennials is their experience with technology (Nwosu et al., 2016) . Xennials are impressed with technology advances (Garvey, 2015) . They are comfortable with computers in the workplace, but remember school days without them and are therefore able to appreciate the perspectives of both Gen X and Millennial employees (Fluck and Dowden, 2011) . Xennials adapt easily to technological changes and can assist Gen Xers with transitions (Stankorb and Oelbaum, 2014) .

A major reason for differences in communication styles between Gen Xers and Millennials is their experience with technology.

Xennials are impressed with technology advances.

They are comfortable with computers in the workplace, but remember school days without them and are therefore able to appreciate the perspectives of both Gen X and Millennial employees.

Xennials adapt easily to technological changes and can assist Gen Xers with transitions.


An alternative to the hollow waveguide is present in SIW waveguide antennas that have been successfully applied at mmwave frequencies [6] . The SIW slot arrays with multilayer corporate feed have been demonstrating wideband and high-gain performance. However, the use of subsequent interlayer slot couplers can lead to a complicated design and increases cost. In this paper, we propose a dielectric loaded SIW slot antenna that employs only two dielectric layers and designed on LTCC substrate. The antenna can be subsequently used as an antenna element in larger arrays or as a standalone component.

An alternative to the hollow waveguide is present in SIW waveguide antennas that have been successfully applied at mmwave frequencies.


Our results show that subjects' gender matters for honesty, i.e., we confirm previous findings of gender differences (Rosenbaum et al. 2014) . Interestingly, we report a novel result: individual SVO plays an important role for the decision to behave honestly. The data show that prosocial subjects behave more honest, than individualisitic subjects. We find that the percentage of prosocial women is significantly higher as compared to men. The combination of more honest behavior among prosocials and the highest occurrence of this SVO type among women, can explain the gender difference in cheating. The finding that honest behavior is correlated with SVO does not only help to understand gender differences in this domain, but it may also spur research on the motives of individual honesty.

Our results show that subjects' gender matters for honesty, i.e., we confirm previous findings of gender differences.


In this study, we run a laboratory experiment to elicit subjects' SVO and test its impact on dishonest behavior. The paper aims at better understanding the determinants of dishonest behavior and the common gender effect observed in cheating games (Rosenbaum et al. 2014) . In the beginning of the experiment we measure SVO in a task where subjects have to choose a money allocation between them and a matched partner. We map individual SVO to subjects' honesty in a subsequent die-roll game where they have to report the rolled number (Fischbacher and Föllmi-Heusi, 2013) . In our simple setup, dishonest behavior has no externality on colleagues, but yields an individual benefit. Thus, we capture motives such as social norms in form of honesty to comply to a dictated rule (Gneezy et al. 2013) . Importantly, we rule out that honest behavior is motivated by concerns of other-regarding behavior. Instead, in its negative sense, people violate the norm if they are less concerned to break a rule for an individual benefit.

The paper aims at better understanding the determinants of dishonest behavior and the common gender effect observed in cheating games.

We map individual SVO to subjects' honesty in a subsequent die-roll game where they have to report the rolled number.

Thus, we capture motives such as social norms in form of honesty to comply to a dictated rule.


Dishonest behavior can incorporate a social component when the act of lying benefits somebody else. For such a white lie, prosocials are willing to violate the norm of being honest and lie to a higher extent than more individualistic types (Cappelen et al., 2013) . The decision to behave dishonestly is a rational calculation in which the individual weighs the personal payoff against the expected costs and is dishonest if the net payoff is positive (Okeke and Godlonton, 2014) . Our way of measuring dishonesty inheres no such social component. Hence, we can rule out that prosocials act more honest in our setup because of their social preference to care more about other's payoff than individualists. As discussed, prosocials might be more honest as they see the lying situation as a choice between moral and immoral and suffer higher moral costs from being dishonest than individualists. The finding that SVO is correlated with individual honesty is an interesting starting point for further research. First, it enables us to better understand gender differences in honest behavior. Second, it may spur research aiming at the motivations of individual cheating behavior. In this respect we leave the question open which additional factors may play a role for the more pronounced effect of social value orientation for male subjects.

For such a white lie, prosocials are willing to violate the norm of being honest and lie to a higher extent than more individualistic types.

The decision to behave dishonestly is a rational calculation in which the individual weighs the personal payoff against the expected costs and is dishonest if the net payoff is positive.


The experiment was conducted at the University of Göttingen and programmed using z-Tree (Fischbacher, 2007) . Subjects from various fields were recruited with ORSEE (Greiner, 2004) . We ran 14 sessions with 268 subjects (129 male and 139 female subjects).

The experiment was conducted at the University of Göttingen and programmed using z-Tree.

Subjects from various fields were recruited with ORSEE.