In this paper, we suggest the incorporation of fuzzy inference models to introduce the definition of failure in the degradation signal space using expert opinion and/or empirical data. With regard to forecasting the degradation signals into the immediate future for the purpose of prognostics, we propose the use of focused time-lagged feed-forward networks (focused-TLFNs). While classical methods of time-series forecasting (such as ARIMA modelling and state-space modelling) are equally appropriate, we employ focused-TLFNs for their universal approximation nature, non-parametric behaviour and tremendous success in the industry [6] . The paper is organised as follows: Section 2 briefly outlines the performance reliability theory that relates the degradation signal space to the health or well-being of the component. Section 3 presents an approach for developing failure definition models using fuzzy inference systems. Section 4 presents results from a drilling process case study. Finally, Section 5 offers some concluding remarks and identifies future research issues.

While classical methods of time-series forecasting (such as ARIMA modelling and state-space modelling) are equally appropriate, we employ focused-TLFNs for their universal approximation nature, non-parametric behaviour and tremendous success in the industry.


The participants were given training in the Simplex creative problem solving process for one day then assigned into their teams. The training was done in two separate groups of 96 and 100 participants each. The training is highly interactive and hands-on, and has been fully described elsewhere (Basadur et al., 1982) . The assignment was to apply the complete process on an innovative task. The task was to identify a problem or unsatisfied need in "society as a whole", define the problem or unsatisfied need, create a new product or service which would solve defined problem, and develop a plan for implementation. The complete assignment instructions are provided in Appendix I. On the second day, the teams received additional training and completed the assignment. This additional training was interspersed in small segments throughout the day to help the teams use the process as they moved through it step by step.

The training is highly interactive and hands-on, and has been fully described elsewhere.


As we have mentioned in Section 2.2, the number of possible solutions becomes 20, 922, 789, 888, 000 when = 4. In this paper, we adopt EDE to construct a near-optimal substitution matrix. It follows from the experiment results that EDE can construct a good substitution matrix within a few iterations. Considering the features of human eyes, we adopt an HVSbased measurement MSSIM, instead of PSNR, as the fitness function. We can see from the experimental results that adopting MSSIM as the fitness function indeed improves imperceptibility visually. Besides, the proposed embedding algorithm improves the stego-image quality largely; at the same time, the extraction is as simple as by the traditional LSB substitution method. Many researchers utilize different methods to solve the problem of constructing an optimal substitution matrix, so we believe that this is an interesting problem. So far as we know, no one has attempted to apply discrete DE to solve this problem until now. Therefore, this paper provides an efficient method to construct a substitution matrix and extends the applications of the DE algorithm successfully. In future work, we intend to address the issue of steganalysis [31] . We will design a sophisticated embedding strategy against statistical steganalysis. In addition, we may compare the results obtained from different bioinspired algorithms.

In future work, we intend to address the issue of steganalysis.


The internet provides an easy way to exchange information with others. However, information is also prone to eavesdropping from hackers. Several methods can be employed to protect secret information, such as cryptography, steganography, and secret sharing schemes. The spirit of these methods is basically varied. Cryptography scrambles the content with a private key. Without the appropriate key, unauthorized authors cannot decode the secret within limited time and resources. Unlike cryptography, steganography, also called information hiding, conceals the secret rather than scrambling it. That is, the secret is covered by innocent information that does not attract the attention of hackers, who thereby pass over it. Due to its simplicity and efficiency, steganography is still a popular method until now [1] [2] [3] [4] .

Due to its simplicity and efficiency, steganography is still a popular method until now.


Maximum set covers and maximum lifetime are two different problems in wireless sensor networks. In maximum set covers problem, every scheduling method try to schedule sensor nodes into set covers to increase network lifetime as each set cover can monitor all targets in network. In the past, most of the research focus was on dividing the sensor nodes into a number of disjoint subsets and at any given time, only one of the subsets is active to monitor the scattered targets [2, 4, 25] . The problem of how to find these disjoint subsets is referred to as disjoint set cover problem. The main objective on this type of problem was that how can we extend network`s lifetime.

In the past, most of the research focus was on dividing the sensor nodes into a number of disjoint subsets and at any given time, only one of the subsets is active to monitor the scattered targets.


Today's standard CFRP layups used in large aerospace structures are quasi-isotropic, such as [(45/90/−45/0) 2 ] s [5] . This choice is mainly tied to the easiness of manufacturing and to composite design rules used by industry (e.g. 10%-rule) [6] . However, latest developments in manufacturing techniques allow for a wider choice of CFRP layups. As an example, the fuselage of the A350 XWB is being built by Automated Fibre Placement (AFP) techniques. By changing the laminate stacking sequence, composite properties can be optimized towards the external loading. Research in the field of composites shows that certain stacking sequences can retard delamination [7] [8] [9] . Therefore making use of the composite's anisotropy could potentially counteract their poor out-ofplane strength, which can have a positive impact on the performance of composite adhesively bonded joints subject to peel stresses.

Today's standard CFRP layups used in large aerospace structures are quasi-isotropic, such as [(45/90/−45/0) 2 ] s.

This choice is mainly tied to the easiness of manufacturing and to composite design rules used by industry (e.g. 10%-rule).

Research in the field of composites shows that certain stacking sequences can retard delamination.


The diversity of the responses from different countries reflects the variability of conditions within the region (Ruiz Pérez et al. 2005) . The high scores in DRC are more an indication of fast changes in its logging industry after the stabilization of the political situation than a reflection of a dynamic and innovative industry. The high ranking in DRC indicates a very low starting point. Gabon and specially the CAR appeared to have the least responsive (not necessarily least advanced) logging concessions, which is probably linked to the fact that these two countries had large concessions, relatively little domestic processing and a fairly stable regulatory and institutional framework.

The diversity of the responses from different countries reflects the variability of conditions within the region.


At independence there were only a few scattered industrial logging operations in the region, mainly near the coast. However during the post-colonial period, log exports became significant contributors to the economies of all of the countries. The last two decades have seen rapid expansion of industrial logging and concessions have now been allocated throughout the more accessible forests of all countries. Only a few remote areas in the heart of Gabon and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are free of major logging activities (Minnemeyer 2002) . Over the past decade, the operating environment for logging companies (and other industrial sectors) has become more difficult. Economies are stagnant or declining, institutions and infrastructure are weak, armed conflict has destabilized several countries and corruption has become rampant (Baker et al. 2003; Muna 2004) . Illegal forestry operations have become such a problem that they are the subject of international conferences (Kabemba 2003) . In some locations, like East and Central Cameroon, established companies suffer increasing competition from an explosion of illegal activity (Fabing & Bakouma 2002; Djire 2004) .

Only a few remote areas in the heart of Gabon and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are free of major logging activities.

Economies are stagnant or declining, institutions and infrastructure are weak, armed conflict has destabilized several countries and corruption has become rampant.

Illegal forestry operations have become such a problem that they are the subject of international conferences.

In some locations, like East and Central Cameroon, established companies suffer increasing competition from an explosion of illegal activity.


The Congo Basin is home to the second largest area of tropical rainforest in the world. The forests of the region are very important because of their global biodiversity value, as the resource base for major export-oriented industries, and for the wide variety of products and services they provide to local communities. As early as 1912, during the German colonization period in Cameroon, those values were recognized through the adoption of legal prescriptions for granting of logging permits only to non-abusive forestry concerns (Hédin 1930) .

As early as 1912, during the German colonization period in Cameroon, those values were recognized through the adoption of legal prescriptions for granting of logging permits only to non-abusive forestry concerns.


A second point concerns the transmutation of instantons into classical couplings as we go towards strong coupling. As we argued in §5, the fact that D1-instantons can describe some classical couplings in F-theory is not too surprising, since both effects lift in M-theory to M2-branes wrapping appropriate chains [51] [52] [53] . But it would clearly be interesting to elucidate this point further via an explicit dualization of the D1 instantons into M2 branes, and an explicit matching of moduli in both pictures.

As we argued in §5, the fact that D1-instantons can describe some classical couplings in F-theory is not too surprising, since both effects lift in M-theory to M2-branes wrapping appropriate chains.


Provisional research indicates that consumers in emerging economies engage more with sustainable consumption buying behaviors than consumers in developed markets (Accenture, 2014) . However, little is known about what activates this consumption, and where curtailment fits. This is hampered by a lack of culturally-informed, conceptually-rich and multi-behavioral studies critically analyzing consumption behaviors of consumers in emerging markets (Sharma, 2011; Sheth, 2011; Steg, Bolderdijk, Keizer, & Perlaviciute, 2014) . Most notable in this research narrowness is Western concentration on the attitude-behavior gap. This limits appraisal of broader interconnected intra-personal and macro influences, including the cultural distinctiveness of emerging markets (Chabowski, Mena, & Gonzalez-Padron, 2011; Ertz, Karakas, & Sarigöllü, 2016; Prothero et al., 2011) . Thus researchers are calling for new conceptual approaches (Hassan, Shiu, & Shaw, 2016) .

Provisional research indicates that consumers in emerging economies engage more with sustainable consumption buying behaviors than consumers in developed markets.

This is hampered by a lack of culturally-informed, conceptually-rich and multi-behavioral studies critically analyzing consumption behaviors of consumers in emerging markets.

This limits appraisal of broader interconnected intra-personal and macro influences, including the cultural distinctiveness of emerging markets.

Thus researchers are calling for new conceptual approaches.


Imitation, which is critical for learning to communicate through gesture, to use tools, and to acquire complex skills, has been the subject of much speculation and investigation since the start of the 20 th century. What has become clear is that most non-human animals, including chimpanzees and other great apes, are very limited in their ability to copy gestures that are novel or meaningless (Whiten et al., 2004) . Humans, in contrast, appear to possess a unique imitationspecific specialization: from a very young age we are very good at copying meaningless gestures that have no goal, semantic meaning, or desired outcome other than the action itself (Subiaul, 2016) . The component processes that comprise this distinct imitation ability remain largely unknown.

What has become clear is that most non-human animals, including chimpanzees and other great apes, are very limited in their ability to copy gestures that are novel or meaningless.

Humans, in contrast, appear to possess a unique imitationspecific specialization: from a very young age we are very good at copying meaningless gestures that have no goal, semantic meaning, or desired outcome other than the action itself.


A minimum spanning tree was also determined. It reveals relationships between the European bison population and meteo variables. More explanation is given in discussion. All calculations were performed with the use of TYTAN 87 package (Batko and Moraczewski 1988) .

All calculations were performed with the use of TYTAN 87 package.


With regard to the possibility of the direct efficacy of magnetic field and its disturbances on the neuro-hormonal regulations in organisms -an influence on pineal gland functions was shown (Semm et al. 1980) . The pineal gland hormone, melatonin, is implicated in the temporal ordering of physiological variables. Melatonin affects most, if not all, physiological variables (among others TSH, FSH, LH, Gh, beta endorphin, serotonin) which influence many that regulate animal reproduction (Randall and Randall 1991) .

With regard to the possibility of the direct efficacy of magnetic field and its disturbances on the neuro-hormonal regulations in organisms -an influence on pineal gland functions was shown.

Melatonin affects most, if not all, physiological variables (among others TSH, FSH, LH, Gh, beta endorphin, serotonin) which influence many that regulate animal reproduction.


This led to the loss of the cyclicity of reproduction. The bison cows started slowly to exhibit estrus over the whole year and, as a consequence, they calved in all months of the year (Jaczewski 1958) . Therefore, the abundance of food rich in many compounds and more light resulted in breaking the natural ability of metabolism to react to seasonal changes.

The bison cows started slowly to exhibit estrus over the whole year and, as a consequence, they calved in all months of the year.


Propagation equations with saturable nonlinearities tend not to possess exact analytical solutions [22, 23] . This difficulty compels the theorist to look for other models that retain the essence of saturation, but that may instead permit exact analytical solutions to be found. The motivation is that exact solutions yield far more physical insight than computer simulations alone. Furthermore, the stability properties of solitons in saturable materials might reasonably be expected to be largely independent of the precise details of the function n NL ͑I͒.

Propagation equations with saturable nonlinearities tend not to possess exact analytical solutions.


Spatial solitons are robust self-localized optical beams that can evolve with a stationary intensity profile when diffractive spreading is exactly opposed by medium nonlinearity. In two-dimensional (2D) planar waveguides, where there is a longitudinal direction and effectively a single transverse direction, beams can be self-stabilizing. This innate stability against perturbations makes 2D spatial solitons ideal candidates for "building blocks" in future photonic devices [1] [2] [3] .

This innate stability against perturbations makes 2D spatial solitons ideal candidates for "building blocks" in future photonic devices.


Here, we present the first exact analytical solitons for a NLH equation with the saturable-nonlinearity model given in Eq. (1). These solutions are unconstrained by the slowly varying envelope approximation and describe optical propagation in generic saturable materials. Crucially, evolution may occur at any angle with respect to the reference direction [4, 5, 30] . These new solutions also retain a bistability characteristic, similar to their paraxial counterparts [26] .

Crucially, evolution may occur at any angle with respect to the reference direction.

These new solutions also retain a bistability characteristic, similar to their paraxial counterparts.


Excellent mechanical strength, electrical and chemical resistance, good thermal insulation and good adhesion to most fibers and fillers have made that epoxy resins are attracting as thermosetting resins. Nowadays it is possible to find epoxy resins in a wide variety of products: aerospace industry, automotive industry, adhesives, glues, paints, surface coatings, nautical materials, electrical and electronic components [1] . However the production of new polymer products focuses on new challenges: on one hand, the growing concern about the environment is leading to the development of new biobased and/or biodegradable materials. On the other hand, the competitiveness of markets requires products with best cost/performance balance. In this area is where the use of fillers is particularly interesting. The incorporation of fillers in a polymeric matrix is a faster and cost-effective way of achieving a desired set of properties [2] [3] [4] .

Nowadays it is possible to find epoxy resins in a wide variety of products: aerospace industry, automotive industry, adhesives, glues, paints, surface coatings, nautical materials, electrical and electronic components.

The incorporation of fillers in a polymeric matrix is a faster and cost-effective way of achieving a desired set of properties.


While pilots rely on the visible illumination to read aviation panels and display screens in cockpits, the light sources also produce some radiation in near-infrared (IR) regime [3] . Although the influence of visible light to AN/AVS-6 has been greatly reduced by employing Class A or B filters, the infrared radiation from the cockpit light sources often overlaps with the NVIS spectral response. The near-IR radiance entering the aperture of pilots' NVIS goggles will severely compromise the use of NVIS, making the goggles glaring, and sometimes even burning the image intensifier tube. It is therefore necessary to lower the degree of near-infrared radiation significantly using NVIS-compatible lighting technology.

While pilots rely on the visible illumination to read aviation panels and display screens in cockpits, the light sources also produce some radiation in near-infrared (IR) regime.


NVIS technology refers to the application of photoelectron systems that perform image information transformation, enhancement, processing, display, and other physical processes. At the heart of such a system is an image intensifier which enhances the infrared signals under low-levellight (LLL) conditions. The third generation NVIS uses Gallium Arsenide photocathode image enhancement tube. The maximum response falls in the near-infrared wavelength. A typical product is the AN/AVS-6 LLL night vision system [1] . The system needs to install filters to reduce the influence of visible light. The filters can be divided into two generic types, that is, Class A with the maximum response wavelengths between 625∼930 nm and Class B with the maximum response wavelengths between 665∼930 nm [2] .

A typical product is the AN/AVS-6 LLL night vision system.

The filters can be divided into two generic types, that is, Class A with the maximum response wavelengths between 625∼930 nm and Class B with the maximum response wavelengths between 665∼930 nm.


When QD phosphor-based LEDs are used as the light sources in the aircraft cockpit, it is important to make the LED output compatible with NVIS requirements. This sets rigorous limits on the emission spectra of the LEDs, especially on the reddish side of the band. For traditional white fluorescent lighting systems employed in the aircraft cockpit, the NVIS Radiance Class B (NRB) is measured ∼1 × 10 −6 (0.1 ft), which is much higher than the specified threshold (2.2E − 9) of NVIS white. The high NRB of the traditional lighting systems arises from the broadband emission of the UV-sensitive phosphors and can only be reduced via filters [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] . On the other hand, the NRB of the existing commercial white LEDs falls in the range of 1 × 10 doped nitridosilicates phosphors exhibits spectrally narrower band than the UV-sensitive phosphors in fluorescence lamps, there is still an appreciable near-IR portion (λ ≥ 650 nm) in the luminescence spectrum of the blue-sensitive phosphors. Hence it is still necessary to implement filtering techniques with conventional white LEDs in order to meet the NVIS requirement.

The high NRB of the traditional lighting systems arises from the broadband emission of the UV-sensitive phosphors and can only be reduced via filters.


Active research programs are carried out in worldwide LPDs to support the development of PFMs for ITER and future devices. Mixed Be-W material studies are performed in Plasma Interaction with Surface and Components Experimental Simulator-B (PISCES-B) in University of California San Diego (UCSD) to investigate the erosion, deposition, and H retention in Be-W [10, 11] . Helium (He)-induced fuzz formation at elevated temperatures and unipolar arcing are studied in Nagoya Divertor Simulator-II (NAGDIS-II) at Nagoya University [12, 13] . Synergetic effects of plasma, heat load, and impurities such as He, Ne, and Ar are characterized and studied in Plasma-surface interaction-2 (PSI-2) at Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ) [14, 15] . Magnum-PSI at Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research (DIFFER) is of the unique capability to produce a high-flux plasma up to 1 × 10 25 m −2 s −1 as expected at the strike point in the ITER divertor [16] . Moreover, transient events such as edge-localized modes (ELMs) could be well simulated by a pulsed plasma in Magnum-PSI using a capacitor bank, meaning not only the plasma irradiation effect but also the heat load effect could be studied simultaneously [17] . Further information about LPD devices could be found in the reported reviews [18] [19] [20] .

Mixed Be-W material studies are performed in Plasma Interaction with Surface and Components Experimental Simulator-B (PISCES-B) in University of California San Diego (UCSD) to investigate the erosion, deposition, and H retention in Be-W.

Helium (He)-induced fuzz formation at elevated temperatures and unipolar arcing are studied in Nagoya Divertor Simulator-II (NAGDIS-II) at Nagoya University.

Synergetic effects of plasma, heat load, and impurities such as He, Ne, and Ar are characterized and studied in Plasma-surface interaction-2 (PSI-2) at Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ).

Magnum-PSI at Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research (DIFFER) is of the unique capability to produce a high-flux plasma up to 1 × 10 25 m −2 s −1 as expected at the strike point in the ITER divertor.

Moreover, transient events such as edge-localized modes (ELMs) could be well simulated by a pulsed plasma in Magnum-PSI using a capacitor bank, meaning not only the plasma irradiation effect but also the heat load effect could be studied simultaneously.

Further information about LPD devices could be found in the reported reviews.


In this section, we quantify the benefits of using our proposed channel hopping technique through implementation based experiments over a testbed hotspot topology consisting of five indepen- dent hotspot networks. This testbed was designed to be representative of typical hotspot topologies found in urban environments. It was built from commodity 802.11 hardware commonly found in hotspots [1] . We have implemented channel hopping over this testbed using GNU/Linux and instrumented open-source drivers. All our experiment results take into account the channel switching overhead incurred at the hardware level 5 and reflect its impact on the network layers.

It was built from commodity 802.11 hardware commonly found in hotspots.


Diazinon is a very highly toxic organophosphate compound. Organophosphates are long known and widely applied active ingredients of different insecticides used in the plant protection practice. In animal production these compounds are used to control a variety of ectoparasites such as mites and lice. In the living organism, organophosphates inhibit the enzyme acetylcholinesterase, causing an accumulation of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter involved in impulse transmission, and leading to an over-stimulation of the parasympathetic nerves [1] . Poisoned animals show salivation, lachrymation, diarrhoea and convulsions followed by depression, prostration, ataxia and cyanosis, and then death usually ensues within a short time. Avian species are more susceptible to the toxic effects of diazinon than are mammals. Poisoned chickens often exhibit only respiratory distress, lachrymation and salivation before death, and therefore the suspicion of an acute respiratory infection may also arise [2] .

In the living organism, organophosphates inhibit the enzyme acetylcholinesterase, causing an accumulation of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter involved in impulse transmission, and leading to an over-stimulation of the parasympathetic nerves.

Poisoned chickens often exhibit only respiratory distress, lachrymation and salivation before death, and therefore the suspicion of an acute respiratory infection may also arise.


To validate the benefits and understand the limitations of the detection scheme in the actual ocean environment, a field test was conducted from a tower located approximately 1 mile from the shore of the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC) on Andros Island, Bahamas [8] [9] [10] . This test enhanced conventional measurements with moderate cost but was still faced with the problems associated with spatial and temporal variability and limitations including invariant water quality, shallow water depth, and a low platform altitude. These resulted in a deviation from the aerial system. Furthermore, the challenges in developing components capable of high-speed light modulation and detection limit our ability to fully investigate the potential of the modulated approach in various environments and scenarios. These are the reasons why we are currently designing and realizing computer simulations to evaluate the aerial modulated LIDAR system performance.

To validate the benefits and understand the limitations of the detection scheme in the actual ocean environment, a field test was conducted from a tower located approximately 1 mile from the shore of the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC) on Andros Island, Bahamas.


We present a detailed study of the mechanical properties of arc-grown MWCNTs by tensile loading inside an SEM. Individual MWCNTs were tensile loaded until fracture by using a piezo-actuated nanomanipulator [21] . The fracture strengths, failure strains and elastic moduli of the MWCNTs were obtained from the measured geometry, the load at failure, and the load-displacement (which with the measured geometry is converted to stress-strain) data. No slippage was observed at the clamps during or after the tensile loading process. Three MWCNTs were tensile loaded multiple times and an increase of the measured fracture strength was observed upon loading of the fragments resulting from prior fracture.

Individual MWCNTs were tensile loaded until fracture by using a piezo-actuated nanomanipulator.


The effects of some of these parameters on the onset of upscale energy transfer were evaluated and discussed in sections 3e and 4. Other possible factors that likely influence the energy transfer and interaction between the vortical mode and internal waves are variations in sizes and shapes of mixed patches. For instance, elliptical S vortices go unstable much faster than their circular counterparts (Jacobs 2012) . Whether or not a specific vortex field transfers energy upscale depends on any combination of the aforementioned factors.

For instance, elliptical S vortices go unstable much faster than their circular counterparts.


Community dynamics-Perhaps the most significant hurdles appear when considering the relationship between available N : P stoichiometry and whole community phytoplankton N : P stoichiometry. For example, Prochlorococcus does not have the ability to take up nitrate and relies on organically bound N and highly ephemeral ammonium (Moore et al. 2002b; Salihoglu and Hofmann 2007) . Thus, directly comparing W , N:P computed using Prochlorococcus N : P and DNO x : SRP to Ŵ N:P predicted from inorganic nutrient uptake parameters is inconsistent with phytoplankton biogeography. In this case, other members of the phytoplankton community, not the dominant group, are responsible for drawing down nitrate and nitrite concentrations. Prochlorococcus N : P may still be tied to inorganic N : P stoichiometry, but without explicitly incorporating other bioavailable pools into models, the discrepancy will persist. Further complicating the problem is that to our knowledge, N and uptake physiology for Prochlorococcus has not been characterized. Again, a more dynamic view of the relationship between N : P stoichiometry of the entire resource spectrum in the euphotic zone and guild-level variability in nutrient uptake physiology may be required to reconcile the inconsistencies presented here. Extending single-species models to communities remains a largely unexplored avenue for research and such a trait-based approach has recently been suggested .

For example, Prochlorococcus does not have the ability to take up nitrate and relies on organically bound N and highly ephemeral ammonium.


Nevertheless, it is important to consider whether the increased use of NOACs and associated expenditure that we have observed in practice is delivering value for money. While we have not measured health benefits, we note that a recent Australian Government Review of Anticoagulation Therapies in Atrial Fibrillation, recommended the restriction of NOACS to use in people unable to tolerate warfarin to mitigate uncertainties regarding the magnitude of any incremental clinical and cost-effectiveness benefit of NOACs over other therapies, and the total high unpredicted cost [25] . Neither Australian clinical guidelines, PBS listings nor, as shown by our findings, clinical practice presently adopted these recommendations. However, this is important to consider in the context of the potential for savings in terms of reductions in health service usage from preventing strokes given their significant burden.

While we have not measured health benefits, we note that a recent Australian Government Review of Anticoagulation Therapies in Atrial Fibrillation, recommended the restriction of NOACS to use in people unable to tolerate warfarin to mitigate uncertainties regarding the magnitude of any incremental clinical and cost-effectiveness benefit of NOACs over other therapies, and the total high unpredicted cost.


All of the participants were informed about the purpose of the research and they provided written informed consent. The study received ethical approval from the European Commission. For more information, see the general report from all seven countries (Chaudron et al., 2015) .

For more information, see the general report from all seven countries.


Learning by exporting has been advanced as one theoretical explanation for the empirically verified export premium. The rationales for such an effect focus on knowledge and information flows from foreign customers and competitors, incentives for innovation and reduction of inefficiency (Andersson and Lööf 2009) . The empirical literature, however, did not show systematic evidence that efficient firms may self-select into the export market (export by learning) or that exporting causes efficiency gains (learning by exporting).

The rationales for such an effect focus on knowledge and information flows from foreign customers and competitors, incentives for innovation and reduction of inefficiency.


The question remains of how the laparoscopic procedure itself may have affected the results of the present study. We have shown previously that total liver protein synthesis decreases in a continuous manner during the first hour of laparoscopic surgery, whereas albumin synthesis decreases promptly very early during the procedure, an alteration which seems to be non-progressive [8, 9] . Taken together, these results suggest that different populations of liver proteins react differently during a laparoscopic procedure, which in itself may have implications for other types of catabolic insults, as shown previously in animals [25, 26] . Regarding the results of the present study, it is possible that albumin synthesis rates were somewhat lower than they would have been had the patients not been subjected to laparoscopic surgery. This may also apply to the rate of total liver protein synthesis. However, by performing the synthesis measurements, including the acquisition of the liver biopsy specimen, as soon as possible during the procedure, the effects of anaesthesia and surgery were minimized [8, 9] . Also, since these effects are probably seen in both groups of patients, it should still be possible to make comparisons.

We have shown previously that total liver protein synthesis decreases in a continuous manner during the first hour of laparoscopic surgery, whereas albumin synthesis decreases promptly very early during the procedure, an alteration which seems to be non-progressive.

Taken together, these results suggest that different populations of liver proteins react differently during a laparoscopic procedure, which in itself may have implications for other types of catabolic insults, as shown previously in animals.

However, by performing the synthesis measurements, including the acquisition of the liver biopsy specimen, as soon as possible during the procedure, the effects of anaesthesia and surgery were minimized.


The blended approach made available to support SDL was perceived and valued by all students. Nevertheless, a difference was observed in how students perceive SDL: doctoral students seemed to prefer the approach and were more receptive to it than Masters students. Some students reported that the SDL activity helped them to achieve more independence compared with traditional approaches to teaching. Apparently, the new activities implemented in this module contributed to the creation of a learning environment that not all students had necessarily experienced before. Recognising this, different appreciation of the learning tools by students is only to be expected, as not all students welcome changes in their learning environment irrespective of their beneficial effect (Entwistle and Peterson 2004) .

Recognising this, different appreciation of the learning tools by students is only to be expected, as not all students welcome changes in their learning environment irrespective of their beneficial effect.


A further factor that has made breeding difficult for sucrose content in soybean seeds is the cost involved for quantifying this disaccharide (Maughan, Maroof, & Buss, 2000) . There are few methodologies available for this purpose in the literature. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) has been used in quantitative and qualitative analysis of sucrose (Kuo, Vanmiddlesworth, & Wolf, 1988; Lowell & Kuo, 1989) . In spite of the high reliability of this type of analysis, its costs are prohibitive for use in the breeding process that requires the analysis of a very large number of samples.

A further factor that has made breeding difficult for sucrose content in soybean seeds is the cost involved for quantifying this disaccharide.

High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) has been used in quantitative and qualitative analysis of sucrose.


This work presented a stabilizing multimodel predictive control algorithm which has a contractive constraint to guarantee closed-loop stability. Moreover, the stability of the closed-loop is analyzed by employing the Lyapunov functions approach. Depending on the system state (in the terminal region or outside) the corresponding Lyapunov functions are assigned. The use of multiple objective functions has enabled us to relax the monotonically decreasing condition of the Lyapunov function when the control algorithm switches from a quasi-infinite horizon to an infinite horizon strategy. We have developed a new controller design technique for MPC of piecewise affine systems with timedelay and input constraints. The two simulation examples proposed in Section 4 show that the driving moment (in example 1) and control voltage (in example 2) are limited in amplitude, which makes MPC approach a natural choice for the design of the controller with hard constraints. The technique in this paper leads to convex LMIs based online optimization problem when the local operating regions of the piecewise linear model family are described by ellipsoids. Perhaps the principal shortcoming of MPC proposed is their inability to explicitly incorporate plant model uncertainty. MPC involving data-driven technique is suitable to overcome the previous problem [7, 10, 11, 22, 23] . And it should also be noted that the controller proposed in this paper is developed with known order of regions. In the future work, efforts will be made to design the data-driven MPC controller with uncertain model parameters and switching order.

MPC involving data-driven technique is suitable to overcome the previous problem.


Time delay systems are very common in industry. However, few works on control algorithms development for time delay PWA system have been reported [17, 18] . Based on this concept, we propose a MPC control algorithms for the discrete polytopic time-delay PWA systems. The MPC controller of the considered systems is solved in terms of LMIs. The sufficient conditions of stability are derived for time-delay systems. The feedback control law is obtained by convex optimization involving LMIs. The simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.

However, few works on control algorithms development for time delay PWA system have been reported.


Adolescent women are considered high risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes. A recent population-based prospective study conducted from 2010 to 2013 in six low and middle-income countries including Pakistan, reported a higher rate of maternal, neonatal and perinatal mortality among women aged 15-19 years compared to women age ≥ 20 years [23] . This study does not include pregnant women aged < 18 years as the sample size would be insufficient for subgroup analyses, and extended consent would be required from parents and additional approval from research ethics committees.

A recent population-based prospective study conducted from 2010 to 2013 in six low and middle-income countries including Pakistan, reported a higher rate of maternal, neonatal and perinatal mortality among women aged 15-19 years compared to women age ≥ 20 years.


Yolk percentage was lower (p<0.05) in the AF+FU treatment, and no differences were observed between the treatments containing individual toxins, which suggests an additive effect on this parameter. Literature shows that aflatoxin, in addition of reducing egg production, also causes yolk size reduction due to its interference on the liver metabolism of proteins and lipids, which are the main yolk components (Huff et al., 1975; Vieira, 1995) . The intoxication of birds with aflatoxins causes fat deposition in the liver, impairing lipid mobilization to the ovarian follicles, and consequently, resulting in eggs with small yolk size.

Literature shows that aflatoxin, in addition of reducing egg production, also causes yolk size reduction due to its interference on the liver metabolism of proteins and lipids, which are the main yolk components.


Data were submitted to analysis of variance by the General Lineal Model procedure (GLM) with the aid of Statistical Analysis System software package (SAS, 2002) . When the F test yielded significant results (p<0.05), treatment means were compared by the tests of Tukey and Dunnett. The test of Tukey was applied to compare treatment means and the test of Dunnett was used to compare the mean of the control treatment with those of the other treatments.

Data were submitted to analysis of variance by the General Lineal Model procedure (GLM) with the aid of Statistical Analysis System software package.


A mature neem tree may produce 30-50 kg of fruit each year. Neem seeds yield 40-60% oil [8] . Presently, billions of neem seeds are wasted in India, because of the lack of a proper collec-demand for a lesser quantity of methanol, lesser reaction time, recovery of the extra methanol, proper sizing of the reactor tank, flexibility for further modifications, and research in terms of supplemental technologies, accessories and devices.

Neem seeds yield 40-60% oil.


Global climate change due to fossil fuel emissions is a great concern of the present day. The accumulation of polluted gases like SOx, CO and particulate matter in the atmosphere cause acid rain, global warming and health hazards. In its fourth assessment report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) confirmed that climate change was accelerating, and if current trends continue, energy-related emissions of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and other greenhouse gases will rise inexorably, pushing up average global temperature by as much as 6°C in the long term [1] . With 243.3 million tons of carbon released from the consumption and combustion of fossil fuels, India ranked fifth in the world behind the USA, China, Russia, and Japan.

In its fourth assessment report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) confirmed that climate change was accelerating, and if current trends continue, energy-related emissions of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and other greenhouse gases will rise inexorably, pushing up average global temperature by as much as 6°C in the long term.


Several methods have been investigated in case of vibration damping. These methods have the forms of passive, semiactive, and active treatments which can be used for sound/vibration cancellation. Active control involves the use of active elements (actuators) along with sensors and controllers (analogue or digital) to produce an out-ofphase actuation to cancel the disturbance causing the noise/vibration [1] . All other methods that do not include a real-time active algorithm can be grouped under the passive control option. Passive damping refers to energy dissipation within the structure by add-on damping devices. Viscous dampers (dashpots), viscoelastic damping, tunedmass dampers, dynamic absorbers, and shunted piezoelectric dampers are the mechanisms of passive vibration control. The most common types of passive damping treatments of viscoelastic materials were described by Rao [2] . Tuned dampers are the reactive devices which used to oscillation damping at a particular resonant frequency. It consists of an inertia element, a compliant/resilient element, and an energy dissipating element. The inertial, resilient, and dissipative elements in such devices are: mass, spring and dashpot. Depending on the application, these devices are sized from a few grams to many tons. They attract the vibration energy of the target mode and dissipate it as heat through the action of its dashpot.

Active control involves the use of active elements (actuators) along with sensors and controllers (analogue or digital) to produce an out-ofphase actuation to cancel the disturbance causing the noise/vibration.

The most common types of passive damping treatments of viscoelastic materials were described by Rao.


In particular, oxidized nanoparticles are able to reduce assay dyes, causing an underestimation of the cytotoxicity by overestimating cell viability [5] . Furthermore, a key challenge of in vitro nanoparticle safety testing is determining the stability of nanoparticles in biological media. For a plurality of nanoparticles, stable nanoparticle suspensions exhibit an acidic pH value and/or contain different stabilizing agents. Thus, adding nanoparticles for in vitro cytotoxicity assays directly to the physiological aqueous culture media often results in nanoparticle aggregation and agglomeration [2, 6, 7] .

In particular, oxidized nanoparticles are able to reduce assay dyes, causing an underestimation of the cytotoxicity by overestimating cell viability.

Thus, adding nanoparticles for in vitro cytotoxicity assays directly to the physiological aqueous culture media often results in nanoparticle aggregation and agglomeration.


Why was the decrease of RR benefits present only in the error rates? One possible reason is that excluding congruent stimuli from the design did not prevent speed-accuracy tradeoffs and strategic processing of incongruent stimuli in the way we hoped. As other experiments in our laboratory indicate, the occurrence of congruent stimuli moves the effects of response conflict from RT to the error rates. Consequently, evidence for ARC is also only present in the error rates (Grzyb & Hübner, 2012c) . This was the reason for not including congruent stimuli in the present experiment. Although our selection of stimuli had the intended effect that the investigated interaction between congruency and response transition was present in both error rates and RT on task-switch trials, it failed with respect to task-repetition trials. Accordingly, we think that despite the exclusion of congruent stimuli response conflict had no or a minor effect on RT on task-repetition trials. Consequently, this effect could not interact with the response-shift bias which explains the missing interaction in RT.

Consequently, evidence for ARC is also only present in the error rates.


Our results revealed that the interaction between congruency and the transition of responses is not restricted to task-switch trials. When the response repeated, congruency effects were larger irrespective of task transition, at least in the error rates. This also means that RR effects were modulated by congruency. Whereas on task-shift trials RR costs were larger for incongruent stimuli than for neutral stimuli, on task-repetition trials, RR benefits were reduced for incongruent stimuli, although this latter effect was present only in the error rates. Moreover, our results indicate that response conflict is reduced if the response shifts. This is supported by our finding that on task-repetition trials the congruency effect was practically absent in error rates (0.39%) when the response shifted. Our results can easily be interpreted by the ARC account if one assumes that there is a general response-shift bias on task-switch and on task-repetition trials alike due to the inhibition of the previous response. In contrast, our results cannot be fully explained by hierarchical switching or the strengthening theories. Whereas hierarchical switching predicts no modulation at all of RR benefits on task-repetition trials by congruency, 2 the strengthening theories would assume that RR benefits should be larger for incongruent stimuli. However, we found smaller RR benefits on task-repetition trials for incongruent stimuli compared to neutral stimuli in the error rates. Nevertheless, RR effects in task switching seem to be a complex phenomenon that presumably involves several processes (Grzyb & Hübner, 2012a) . Thus, although the present results clearly support the existence of a general response-shift bias in task switching, they do not falsify the existence of other mechanisms contributing to RR effects.

Nevertheless, RR effects in task switching seem to be a complex phenomenon that presumably involves several processes.


Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are a recent technology and have received huge attention among researchers. Normally, the WSN environment comprises low power, low cost, and a huge number of sensors that are distributed arbitrarily over the target location or are redeployed manually. Wireless sensor networks have become a powerful and familiar technology due to their potential features and applications such as healthcare, monitoring, domestic applications, surveillance systems, and disaster management [1] . Wireless sensor nodes have poor capacities in terms of communication, computation, and energy. In wireless sensor networks, broadcast message is an effective and a popular prototype that permits multiple users to combine and distribute message packets throughout the network effectively in order to get data of their interest. An example diagram of WSN is demonstrated in Figure 1 .

Wireless sensor networks have become a powerful and familiar technology due to their potential features and applications such as healthcare, monitoring, domestic applications, surveillance systems, and disaster management.


In "Using Collaborative Filtering to Weave an Information Tapestry," Goldberg, Nichols, Oki, and Terry describe an experimental system that manages an in-coming stream of electronic documents, including email, newswire stories and Netnews articles. The system implements a novel mechanism for collaborative filtering in which users annotate documents before the documents are filtered. Because annotations are not available at the time a new document arrives, the system supports continuous queries that examine the entire database of documents and take into account newly introduced annotations during the filtering process [5] .

Because annotations are not available at the time a new document arrives, the system supports continuous queries that examine the entire database of documents and take into account newly introduced annotations during the filtering process.


This study has important implications for breeding and selection programmes for resistance to P. cinnamomi, and provides a basis for improving resistance-screening procedures. Further work is in progress to assess the ability of 3 -6-year-old clonal lines growing in rehabilitated forest sites to survive underbark inoculations with the pathogen (Hüberli, 2001) . Currently, RR1 is showing promising results in these trials which commenced in November 1997.

Further work is in progress to assess the ability of 3 -6-year-old clonal lines growing in rehabilitated forest sites to survive underbark inoculations with the pathogen.


The values of the gas exchange variables registered in the present study for X. sericea and S. guianensis are situated within the parameters observed for other tropical tree species (Baker et al., 1997; Eschenbach et al., 1998; Marenco et al., 2001; Costa and Marenco, 2007; Gonçalves et al., 2009; Silva et al., 2010) . The species X. sericea and S. guianensis exhibited high values of correlation between A and g s in the dry season, suggesting that their stomata respond significantly to the variations in light and water availability. Nevertheless, in the rainy season, only X. sericea presented positive correlation between A and g s . The absence or low correlation between A and g s demonstrate that both the g s and photosynthesis are parameters that respond concomitantly to a series of factors that interact in a coordinated yet highly complex manner (Costa and Marenco, 2007) . The high irradiance and low CO 2 concentration stimulate the opening of stomata, while the excessive E and low humidity cause a reduction in leaf water potential that can lead to the closing of stomata (Hsiao, 1973; Marenco et al., 2006) . Because of this, it is common to register an absence or low correlation between A and g s in natural lighting and air humidity conditions.

The values of the gas exchange variables registered in the present study for X. sericea and S. guianensis are situated within the parameters observed for other tropical tree species.

The absence or low correlation between A and g s demonstrate that both the g s and photosynthesis are parameters that respond concomitantly to a series of factors that interact in a coordinated yet highly complex manner.

The high irradiance and low CO 2 concentration stimulate the opening of stomata, while the excessive E and low humidity cause a reduction in leaf water potential that can lead to the closing of stomata.


Cognitive improvement by both types of treatment was also observed using two experimental tests, confirming that improvements were not limited to parent's opinion. Treatment effect size was larger in the RT-variability and omissions, especially in the CPT-II. These behavioral, neuropsychological and experimental findings accord with those of previous studies demonstrating that NFT can significantly improve several behavioral and cognitive functions in ADHD children [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] .

These behavioral, neuropsychological and experimental findings accord with those of previous studies demonstrating that NFT can significantly improve several behavioral and cognitive functions in ADHD children.


Here, we trained a deep learning based NER model by repurposing the vast amount of BioSample metadata in NCBI, available as entityfree-text pairs. We first showed that the word embeddings were able to group the free-text annotations at various resolutions, i.e. word, sentence and entity level. This allowed us to utilize entity embeddings to merge synonymous entity labels to increase sample coverage for short phrase entity classifier training. The short phrase entity classification model was effectively able to extract entities from phrases in the validation set. We then used this model to extract named entities from long sentences. We were able to achieve a higher accuracy using our NER model when compared with existing method MetaMap (Aronson, 2001) .

We were able to achieve a higher accuracy using our NER model when compared with existing method MetaMap.


Healthcare expenditure is one of the biggest concerns for the American economy, and the bulk of the healthcare expenses are driven by patients with chronic diseases (Gerteis et al., 2014) . In an attempt to stem costs, healthcare providers are increasingly focusing on preventive care that can lead to a reduction in the population of those at risk for chronic diseases. Obesity is one of the leading precursors to many chronic conditions like cardiovascular, kidney and liver problems. Hence, healthcare providers have been emphasizing to patients the importance of healthy eating and leading an active lifestyle. The emphasis on preventive care has gradually shifted the focus of care delivery from a traditional healthcare settings, where patients are seeking care, to home settings, where consumers are managing some of their own care, often enabled by IT. However, it is unclear what strategies are e↵ective in promoting healthy behavior, and better designs of health information technologies are needed (Agarwal et al., 2010) . Since a healthy diet continues to be one of the most important factors in long-term health and well-being, our study focuses on how healthy eating can be promoted in the general population via the usage of mobile devices. As discussed in the previous sections, we propose a few innovative interventions delivered through a mobile app, and empirically test the e↵ectiveness of these interventions.

Healthcare expenditure is one of the biggest concerns for the American economy, and the bulk of the healthcare expenses are driven by patients with chronic diseases.

However, it is unclear what strategies are e↵ective in promoting healthy behavior, and better designs of health information technologies are needed.


Globally, unemployment has caused negative long-run social and economic impacts affecting most developing and emerging nations (ILO, 2016) . The effect of unemployment on the society and the corporate environment is such that the premise of the functioning of firms is dependent on aggregate demand assumed by the labour market and consumer demand for goods and services (Michaillat & Saez, 2015) . Thus, the displacement of workers or shocks to the labour market, particularly by price or exchange rate shocks, and any hostile changes in economic growth, may restrict consumption and cause business failures due to consumption being positively related to disposable income (Liu et al., 2015) .

Globally, unemployment has caused negative long-run social and economic impacts affecting most developing and emerging nations.

The effect of unemployment on the society and the corporate environment is such that the premise of the functioning of firms is dependent on aggregate demand assumed by the labour market and consumer demand for goods and services.

Thus, the displacement of workers or shocks to the labour market, particularly by price or exchange rate shocks, and any hostile changes in economic growth, may restrict consumption and cause business failures due to consumption being positively related to disposable income.


A quarterly trend analysis of the growth movements of South Africa's employment, exchange rate and gross domestic product (GDP) shows highly fluctuating trends in the country's exchange rate. Recent performance of the currency (Rand -ZAR) indicates an ongoing depreciation against the United States Dollar (USD) particularly during the 2015 to 2016 period, where the local currency depreciated to R15.98 per USD dollar in February 2016 (Deloitte, 2016) . This poor performance of the local currency was associated by sluggish economic growth where real GDP slowed to 1.3 percent in 2015 compared to 2014's growth of 1.5 percent (IDC, 2016) . The first quarter of 2016 reported South Africa's heightened unemployment rate of 26.7 percent (StatsSA, 2016) . This instability and highly fluctuating trend resulted in low levels of job creation or employment growth.

Recent performance of the currency (Rand -ZAR) indicates an ongoing depreciation against the United States Dollar (USD) particularly during the 2015 to 2016 period, where the local currency depreciated to R15.98 per USD dollar in February 2016.

This poor performance of the local currency was associated by sluggish economic growth where real GDP slowed to 1.3 percent in 2015 compared to 2014's growth of 1.5 percent.

The first quarter of 2016 reported South Africa's heightened unemployment rate of 26.7 percent.


Parallelizing SAT solvers have been proposed by many researchers [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] . Most of them target performance improvement of the SAT solver. These algorithms are based on partitioning the search space on different processors using partial assignments on the variables. Each processor works on the assigned space and communicates with other processors only after it is done searching its portion of the search space. Such algorithms are not scalable memory-wise because of high data redundancy, as each processor keeps the entire problem data (all clauses and variables).

Parallelizing SAT solvers have been proposed by many researchers.


One possible explanation for why the sawtooth waveform gave rise to the strongest illusions of self-movement is that this signal provided a more discernible stimulation of the feet. Several participants reported experiencing a tingling sensation during expose to the noise condition, but many added that it barely was noticeable. It seems likely that the combination of white noise and the sawtooth waveform similarly have been experienced as less discernible. That is, the ramps and drops of the sawtooth wave may have been experienced as less noticeable. Alternatively, it does seem possible that the haptic feedback produced from the sawtooth wave felt more like a real elevator. Here it should be stressed that one interpretation does not preclude the other. The differences in experience may both have been influenced by the discernibility and familiarity of the stimuli. The results related to the AV condition experienced did as suggested indicate that few participants experienced illusory self-motion when no haptic feedback was presented and the ones that did found the illusion less compelling and less intense. Despite hereof, it is interesting to note that this condition was able to elicit self-motion illusions in the first place. This can presumably be ascribed the influence of top-down effects, that is, self-motion illusions may be influenced by "expectations as well as the interpretation or associated meaning of the stimuli" [9] . Last, but not least it is worth mentioning that the experience of the virtual elevator entailed an unexpected perceptual illusion on behalf of a small number of participants. Four participants explained that the sensation of movement at times had been accompanied by the sight of moving lights in the narrow slit between the elevators doors, similar to those one might see when passing a series of floors without coming to a halt.

This can presumably be ascribed the influence of top-down effects, that is, self-motion illusions may be influenced by "expectations as well as the interpretation or associated meaning of the stimuli".


While visually and auditorily induced illusory self-motion are studied extensively, the influence of the haptic modality remains relatively unexplored territory. The limited attention assigned to self-motion illusions induced purely through haptic stimulation may presumably be ascribed to the nature of the motion cues provided by haptic stimuli. It seems meaningful to distinguish between stimuli providing explicit and implicit motion cues. Explicit motion cues provide information about the relative position and movement of the perceiver and objects in the surrounding environment. In the visual modality, optic flow is responsible for providing this information which can be used to estimate both the velocity and direction of the self-motion [3] . Contrarily, implicit motion cues do not provide any information regarding the relative position and movement of the perceiver and the surrounding environment, but still suggest that movement may be occurring. Commonly experienced implicit motion clues include engine sounds or the subtle vibrations experienced during commute with a motorized vehicle. Notable, it would seem that explicit motion cues relies on bottom-up factors while explicit motion cues largely achieve their significance do to the perceivers expectations to, and interpretation of, the stimuli, that is, top-down factors [8] . With that being said, it does seem plausible that haptic stimuli also may qualify as a bottom-up factor. For example, haptic stimulation of the feet might be perceived as the ground being unsteady and possibly moving, rather than simply bring about associations of a running engine.

In the visual modality, optic flow is responsible for providing this information which can be used to estimate both the velocity and direction of the self-motion.

Notable, it would seem that explicit motion cues relies on bottom-up factors while explicit motion cues largely achieve their significance do to the perceivers expectations to, and interpretation of, the stimuli, that is, top-down factors.


A and A 0 hold the same meanings as in Equation (3). The overlap could also be determined by coinciding the centroids of the shape and the reference shape (Zhao and Stough 2005) . Both the Bottema measure and the elongation index are capable of measuring compactness of a shape with holes; however, like the DCM method, they are sensitive to size changes in computation. Moreover, the circle can be overlaid on the shape in many different positions, so a search must be invoked to determine the position of maximum overlap, making this type of method less competitive from a computational perspective.

The overlap could also be determined by coinciding the centroids of the shape and the reference shape.


Syk, initially found in hematopoietic cells and recognized for its role in adaptive immune responses, has emerged recently as a major effector in TLR4-mediated inflammatory reaction to LPS [18] . This 72 kDa non-receptor tyrosine kinase comprises of two tandem N-terminal Src homology 2 (SH2) domains, a linker region, and a C-terminal kinase domain [17] [18] . The first step in Syk activation is its binding through SH2 domains to the intracellular Toll-IL-1 receptor (TIR) domain of TLR4 or signaling proteins containing phosphorylated immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motifs (ITAMs) in their cytoplasmic regions [19] . This results in conformational changes in Syk and its activation through Journal of Biosciences and Medicines phosphorylation on several tyrosine residues, which leads to the activation of the PLC, PI3K, MAPK and ERK signaling cascades, and amplification in the induction of inflammatory response [19] [20] .

Syk, initially found in hematopoietic cells and recognized for its role in adaptive immune responses, has emerged recently as a major effector in TLR4-mediated inflammatory reaction to LPS.

This 72 kDa non-receptor tyrosine kinase comprises of two tandem N-terminal Src homology 2 (SH2) domains, a linker region, and a C-terminal kinase domain.

The first step in Syk activation is its binding through SH2 domains to the intracellular Toll-IL-1 receptor (TIR) domain of TLR4 or signaling proteins containing phosphorylated immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motifs (ITAMs) in their cytoplasmic regions.

This results in conformational changes in Syk and its activation through Journal of Biosciences and Medicines phosphorylation on several tyrosine residues, which leads to the activation of the PLC, PI3K, MAPK and ERK signaling cascades, and amplification in the induction of inflammatory response.


The motion errors due to the aforementioned two reasons are structural error and random error, respectively [6] . The total motion error is the sum of the two. For brevity, we refer to the total motion error as the motion error.

The motion errors due to the aforementioned two reasons are structural error and random error, respectively.


The tolerances of the dimension variables are small, so are the standard deviations of the dimension variables. The motion error is therefore near linear with respect to the dimension variables in the vicinity of the means of the dimension variables. As a result, the accuracy of FOSM is satisfactory. It is the reason why FOSM is widely used for mechanism reliability analysis and synthesis [9, 18, 19, 21] .

It is the reason why FOSM is widely used for mechanism reliability analysis and synthesis.


The most popular time-dependent reliability method, the Rice's formula, has been recently introduced into mechanism reliability analysis [29] . The method is based on the concept of upcrossing, which is an event that the motion error exceeds the failure threshold at a time instant. The method assumes that all the upcrossings during the period of time under consideration are independent. The method is efficient and is also accurate when the upcrossings are close to independent or the upcrossings are rare. When there are multiple dependent upcrossings during the period of time, the error is large and usually much larger than the true value.

The most popular time-dependent reliability method, the Rice's formula, has been recently introduced into mechanism reliability analysis.


In this paper, we study the execution of multi-operation queries. The ultimate goal of this study is the design of a query optimizer for a parallel DBMS. As we chose to study the execution of large complex queries, this query optimizer should aim at reducing the response time of these complex queries, rather than optimizing the throughput for some workload. Relational multi-join queries are used as an example, because the join is an important, and expensive relational operation. An outline of the path, we want to follow for this research is as follows: Query optimization comes down to selecting an execution strategy with low costs [14] . Because searching the entire space of possible strategies is not feasible, most query optimizers are heuristic [4, 12] . Heuristics are based on insight in the essentials of query execution. So, to design a heuristic query optimizer for a parallel DBMS, it is essential to understand the behavior of execution strategies for a query on a parallel DBMS. Modeling is a way to gain insight in the essentials of parallel query execution. Two approaches to modeling were used in our study: simulation and analytical modeling. Both approaches allow studying the response time of different execution strategies, and the utilization of participating processors. The resulting knowledge, should eventually lead to formulation of query optimization heuristics. It should be emphasized that we do not aim at a detailed quantitative model for a parallel DBMS, but rather at a simple, understandable framework that, by its nature, yields insight in the modeled phenomenon. However,. neither intuition, nor the sort of model that is presented here can validate the heuristics that they yield, and so, these heuristics have to be validated against a real dataflow DBMS, or a detailed simulation if the former is not available. The methodology described in this paragraph, is similar to the methodology that is common in science: Scientists try to understand natural phenomena by modeling them. Subsequently, hypotheses are formulated, that are based on the model, and these hypotheses are validated against reality by experimentation.

An outline of the path, we want to follow for this research is as follows: Query optimization comes down to selecting an execution strategy with low costs.

Because searching the entire space of possible strategies is not feasible, most query optimizers are heuristic.


Consider a typical experiment focused on decision-making, in which a subject chooses a stimulus amongst a set of possibilities and obtains a reward if the choice was correct (Carandini and Churchland, 2013) . The software set-up for this experiment may seem simple: ostensibly, all that is required is software to run the behavioral task, and software to handle the experimental data. However, when considering implementation details for these two types of software, the set-up can grow quite complex. For example, in a typical variant of the Burgess Steering Wheel Task, a mouse must move a steering wheel left or right to choose between two different visual stimuli (Figure 1) (Burgess et al., 2017; Steinmetz et al., 2018) . For each trial, if the mouse chooses the correct stimulus, it receives a water reward from a spout. During the experiment, the mouse's actions are recorded with a body camera and lick detector, and brain activity is recorded with electrodes and manipulated with a laser. Running the task requires software for starting, stopping, and transitioning between task states, presenting the stimuli, and triggering the reward spout and laser. Handling experimental data requires software for acquiring, processing, and logging stimulus history, response history (from the wheel and a lick detector), and subject physiology (from the body camera and the electrodes), and transferring data between servers and databases.

Consider a typical experiment focused on decision-making, in which a subject chooses a stimulus amongst a set of possibilities and obtains a reward if the choice was correct.

For example, in a typical variant of the Burgess Steering Wheel Task, a mouse must move a steering wheel left or right to choose between two different visual stimuli (Figure 1).


The rapid development of information technology and the Internet has provided good conditions and development space for the establishment of online channel. The dual-channel sales model is conducive to expanding market share and increasing profits, as well as exacerbating channel competition [1] . Scholars have extensively studied the contract and coordination of dual-channel supply chain based on behavioral factors.

The dual-channel sales model is conducive to expanding market share and increasing profits, as well as exacerbating channel competition.


Defining the degree of heterogeneity as the difference between fundamental values we show, mainly, that an increasing degree leads firstly (i) to the insurgence of a pitchfork bifurcation and, secondly (ii) generate, together with a larger reaction to misalignment of both market makers and agents, the appearance of a periodic, or even, chaotic, price fluctuation (trough an homoclinic bifurcation, [1] ). After presenting the model, we will discuss in section three the conditions necessary for existence, the stability of fixed points when there is homogeneity and, in section four, how a positive degree of heterogeneity affects the insurgence of a pitchfork bifurcation and the transition to a homoclinic bifurcation. Finally last section provides brief concluding remarks ad suggestions for further research.

Defining the degree of heterogeneity as the difference between fundamental values we show, mainly, that an increasing degree leads firstly (i) to the insurgence of a pitchfork bifurcation and, secondly (ii) generate, together with a larger reaction to misalignment of both market makers and agents, the appearance of a periodic, or even, chaotic, price fluctuation (trough an homoclinic bifurcation,).


In this paper we will consider the case where (V, E people ) and (V, E puzzle ) are Erdös-Rényi random graphs with probabilities p ppl and p puz respectively. The roles of the puzzle graph and people graph are symmetric so without loss of generality we may assume p puz ≤ p ppl . For E people to solve E puzzle we need that both (V, E people ) and (V, E puzzle ) to be connected. Hence for simplicity we will assume for some c 1 > 1, p puz ≥ c 1 log n/n, guaranteeing connectivity with high probability for both graphs [5] .

Hence for simplicity we will assume for some c 1 > 1, p puz ≥ c 1 log n/n, guaranteeing connectivity with high probability for both graphs.


From the attacker's point of view, a drawback of hardware backdoors is the fact that they are highly hardware dependent, requiring customization for each targeted device. This has made hardware backdoors less generic and less attractive than more traditional operating-system backdoors. However, the hard-drive market has now shrunk to only three major manufacturers, with Seagate and Western Digital accounting for almost 90% of all drives manufactured [4] . While drive firmwares may vary across product lines, porting a backdoor from one model to another of the same manufacturer should require only a limited amount of work, making backdoors on hard drives an attractive attack vector.

However, the hard-drive market has now shrunk to only three major manufacturers, with Seagate and Western Digital accounting for almost 90% of all drives manufactured.


Since the physical length of ZOR resonators is independent of wavelength, electrically small MTM applicators can be constructed from one or more ZOR resonators. This allows us to design applicators with dimensions matching the clinical requirement. In addition, these applicators can radiate efficiently without having their inner structure filled with high dielectric material (e.g., water) like many traditional microwave applicators [13, 14] . The reduction of total water amount in a hyperthermia system reduces applicator bulk, and facilitates compatibility with magnetic resonance imaging equipment, which is increasingly being used for 3D thermal imaging to monitor and control hyperthermia treatments [15] .

In addition, these applicators can radiate efficiently without having their inner structure filled with high dielectric material (e.g., water) like many traditional microwave applicators.

The reduction of total water amount in a hyperthermia system reduces applicator bulk, and facilitates compatibility with magnetic resonance imaging equipment, which is increasingly being used for 3D thermal imaging to monitor and control hyperthermia treatments.


Hyperthermia is a cancer treatment technique used in multimodal therapies that involves raising tumor temperature within a narrow range of 41-45 • C for about one hour. Numerous hyperthermia clinical studies have shown an effective thermal enhancement of both radiation and chemotherapy without undue normal tissue damage [2] [3] [4] . These studies concluded that for a successful hyperthermia treatment it is essential to heat the entire tumor volume and that current electromagnetic hyperthermia applicators are not well suited for heating large regions of tissue overlying contoured anatomy. Typical applicators consist of planar waveguide structures that generate an electric field (E-field) local maximum centrally in the guided wave structure which results in excessive heating under the middle of the aperture and reduced heating closer to the aperture perimeter These planar structures are usually poorly coupled to the irregular tissue surface reducing wave penetration and the ability to heat deeper than 3 cm. To overcome these limitations we present a new applicator based on a novel metamaterial zeroth order mode (MTM-ZOR) antenna. This antenna can be arranged in appropriately spaced array configurations that effectively heat large areas extending deep inside the body [5] .

Numerous hyperthermia clinical studies have shown an effective thermal enhancement of both radiation and chemotherapy without undue normal tissue damage.

This antenna can be arranged in appropriately spaced array configurations that effectively heat large areas extending deep inside the body.


Two water bolus temperatures were used to simulate different treatment scenarios. To treat superficial tumors involving the tissue surface, we used a bolus temperature of 41 • C which produced a therapeutic temperature range from the surface down to 2.5 cm depth for the larger 2 × 2 and 2 × 3 array applicators. To treat deeper tumors not involving the top 5-10 mm of tissue, it is appropriate to use a lower temperature -of the order 30 • C -to cool the surface and increase penetration of effective heating. In this case, therapeutic temperatures were achieved as deep as 3.5 cm. The effect of surface cooling is further depicted in Fig. 7 , which shows that the 41 • C temperature contour at 2 cm depth (red curve) covers a larger area than at 1 and 3 cm. Blood perfusion is dependent not only on temperature but also on heating time. The temperature dependence is not linear and blood perfusion can reach values as high as 5.0 kg/s/m 3 in muscle during hyperthermia treatments [22] . The purpose of this work is not to provide treatment planning for a specific patient but rather to characterize the performance of hyperthermia applicators possible over a typical range of blood perfusion. Thus, we present a study of heating patterns possible at the lower (0.75 kg/s/m 3 ) and upper limits (5 kg/s/m 3 ) of blood perfusion in muscle tissue.

The temperature dependence is not linear and blood perfusion can reach values as high as 5.0 kg/s/m 3 in muscle during hyperthermia treatments.


Fresh-cut commodities are gaining popularity in Korea for the last decade in response to an increased consumer demand for convenient food. However, fresh-cut produce has limited shelf-life due to rapid quality deterioration. Quality of fresh-cut produce depends mainly on the quality of the intact product and its maintenance between harvest and preparation of the fresh-cut products, processing method, and subsequent handling conditions [1] . Korean fresh-cut processors recognize the importance of postharvest handling of raw materials. Processors are aware that raw materials affect shelf-life of fresh-cut produce [2] .

Quality of fresh-cut produce depends mainly on the quality of the intact product and its maintenance between harvest and preparation of the fresh-cut products, processing method, and subsequent handling conditions.

Processors are aware that raw materials affect shelf-life of fresh-cut produce.


Green rind winter squashes commonly known as buttercup is a popular variety that has an appealing yellow orange flesh with high soluble solids content (SSC) of 13 to 17% [6, 7] . Cultivar Ajijimang is another green rind winter squash more appealing for its higher SSC of 17 to 19% [8] . Ajijimang is a potential variety as fresh-cut winter squash that may be used for ready-to-cook commodity. Oftentimes, the fruit is cut in halves or in quarter covered with a 15 μm polyvinyl chloride (PVC) wrap and displayed at 15˚C to 20˚C shelves in supermarkets in Korea. The cut squash fruits often last for 2 to 3 days. Optimum modified atmosphere (MA) packaging is effective in prolonging the shelf-life of fresh-cut produce by matching film permeability for O 2 and CO 2 to the respiration rate of the packaged commodity. The respiration rate of fresh-cut produce is influenced by storage temperature, cut size, etc. Little information exists on optimum packaging film for different sized fresh-cut winter squash. To date, vacuum packaging with Ny/PE film and PVC wrap are utilized for covering cut winter squash. In the present experiment, different films were assessed as packaging material for fresh-cut winter squash (var. Ajijimang) prepared in different cuts.

Green rind winter squashes commonly known as buttercup is a popular variety that has an appealing yellow orange flesh with high soluble solids content (SSC) of 13 to 17%.

Cultivar Ajijimang is another green rind winter squash more appealing for its higher SSC of 17 to 19%.

Ajijimang) prepared in different cuts.


The proposed framework is comprised of different information collection components, detection system module, risk assessment module, fuzzy classifier, and offline analysis module. The model is designed to work for windows environment. In this section only the short details of each component have been presented. For detailed reading see our previous work [5] .

For detailed reading see our previous work.


A number of initiatives have been launched in an effort to bridge the technological gap in the Brazilian Amazon using locally available resources (biomass, water sources and solar radiation) but they have not been systematically implemented [7] . A different model is required for the rural electrification initiative to be fully integrated in the development process of the Amazon region. Such a model should consider off-grid technologies for power generation and locally available resources [6, 8] . Previous experience has shown that the concept of Social Technology can provide a suitable framework to promote the required integration of agents, sources, and technology in the region [9] .

A number of initiatives have been launched in an effort to bridge the technological gap in the Brazilian Amazon using locally available resources (biomass, water sources and solar radiation) but they have not been systematically implemented.

Such a model should consider off-grid technologies for power generation and locally available resources.

Previous experience has shown that the concept of Social Technology can provide a suitable framework to promote the required integration of agents, sources, and technology in the region.


Inductive programming (IP) is concerned with the synthesis of programs or algorithms from incomplete specifications, such as input/output (I/O) examples. Focus is on the synthesis of declarative, i.e., logic, functional, or functional logic programs. Research in IP provides better insights in the cognitive skills of human programmers. Furthermore, powerful and efficient IP systems can enhance software systems in a variety of domains-such as automated theorem proving, planning-and offer novel approaches to knowledge based software engineering and end user programming support in the domain of XML/XSL [1] . Depending on the target language, IP systems can be classified as inductive logic programming (ILP), inductive functional programming (IFP) or inductive functional logic programming (IFLP).

Furthermore, powerful and efficient IP systems can enhance software systems in a variety of domains-such as automated theorem proving, planning-and offer novel approaches to knowledge based software engineering and end user programming support in the domain of XML/XSL.


The changing limb morphology and intensity observed over a 24-h period, combined with the spatial structure differences along the meridian, indicates that, in addition to the large-scale SSAS circulation, small-scale motions play a major role in the distribution of constituents. This control is present on a large fraction of the Venus nightside. It creates inhomogeneity in NO and O 2 airglow emissions, temperature, and CO mixing ratio (Stewart et al., 1980; Soret et al., 2012; Ohtsuki et al., 2008; Clancy et al., 2012b) . The sources of these local enhancements (gravity waves, downwelling, enhanced eddy mixing) are still largely unknown. Monitoring of the Venus nightside NO and O 2 emissions with dedicated airglow imagers in future space missions appears as a crucial next step to clarify the sources and characteristics of the spatial and temporal variability. It will be possible to simultaneously follow short timescale variations and wind regimes at two different altitudes.

It creates inhomogeneity in NO and O 2 airglow emissions, temperature, and CO mixing ratio.


Among them, product take-back legislation has been put forward based on the extended producer responsibility (EPR), requiring producers to hold physically or financially responsible for the proper treatment of end-of-life products [2] . Usually, product take-back legislation sets a minimum collection target for manufacturers. For example, the WEEE directive requires manufacturers to collect at least 45% of products sold by them. However, currently, a recent recast of the WEEE directive puts forward that a specific reuse target should be implemented to regulate the minimum quantity of used products that are required to be reused by the manufacturer [3] . Remanufacturing can restore the quality and function of used products to an as "new condition", which is regarded as the most effective method for reuse. Thus, we set a mandated remanufacturing target in this paper to reflect the reuse target, which is consistent with the literature [3] . Although remanufacturing is considered as the most energy-efficient method, there is still doubt that setting remanufacturing targets is always beneficial to the environment. Thus, the first research objective of this paper is to explore the impact of setting a mandated remanufacturing target on the environment.

Among them, product take-back legislation has been put forward based on the extended producer responsibility (EPR), requiring producers to hold physically or financially responsible for the proper treatment of end-of-life products.

However, currently, a recent recast of the WEEE directive puts forward that a specific reuse target should be implemented to regulate the minimum quantity of used products that are required to be reused by the manufacturer.

Thus, we set a mandated remanufacturing target in this paper to reflect the reuse target, which is consistent with the literature.


The leather industry as a whole is under critical review by environmentalists throughout the world. In Bangladesh, the leather tanning industry has been identified as one of the main causes of environmental pollution in the capital city of over 15 million people (Cox, 2012) . Hazaribagh is called a cancerous problem for Dhaka city (Huda, 2008) . The workers of leather tanning industries suffer from double-edged problem: as an inhabitant, they face surrounding environmental problem directly, and as a worker of tanning industry, they suffer from detrimental chemicals and wastes which are generated in the tannery itself (Biswas and Rahman, 2013) . The tannery workers are exposed to different corrosive chemicals during the processing of the raw hides to finished leather. They are also suffering from various physical health problems that are lowering their mental health condition (Muhammad and Haque, 2012) .

In Bangladesh, the leather tanning industry has been identified as one of the main causes of environmental pollution in the capital city of over 15 million people.

Hazaribagh is called a cancerous problem for Dhaka city.

The workers of leather tanning industries suffer from double-edged problem: as an inhabitant, they face surrounding environmental problem directly, and as a worker of tanning industry, they suffer from detrimental chemicals and wastes which are generated in the tannery itself.

They are also suffering from various physical health problems that are lowering their mental health condition.


In this work we have examined the effects of dark matter annihilations during the epoch of big bang nucleosynthesis. We emphasize that, in terms of the annihilation itself, the magnitude of these effects depend only on the rate of energy injection (i.e. the DM annihilation rate) and the type of energy injected (hadrons, charged leptons, etc.). With this procedure, we have explained how changes to primordial abundances of nuclei scale with the dark matter mass and annihilation cross-section. These scaling behaviors are robust and have been observed in precise numerical treatments of DM annihilation during BBN [16, 17, 18, 19] .

These scaling behaviors are robust and have been observed in precise numerical treatments of DM annihilation during BBN.


Mainstream research has mostly focussed on the predictive validity of cognitive abilities on academic achievement. IQ tests remain a prominent predictor of academic achievement (Grosman & Johnson, 1982; Neisser et al., 1996) . Yet, despite its supremacy, IQ only accounts for roughly 25% of the variance in academic success (Neisser et al., 1996) . Even more surprising is that students with higher cognitive ability do not always excel after school as expected, whilst those with more moderate intellectual abilities sometimes achieve greater success (Stein & Book, 2011) . This suggests that other factors may play an important role in determining student success.

IQ tests remain a prominent predictor of academic achievement.

Yet, despite its supremacy, IQ only accounts for roughly 25% of the variance in academic success.

Even more surprising is that students with higher cognitive ability do not always excel after school as expected, whilst those with more moderate intellectual abilities sometimes achieve greater success.


The Dutch State Forestry Service is a public enterprise commissioned by the Dutch government to strengthen the position of the natural environment in the Netherlands. They are manager and owner of 265,000 ha of forest and national parks across the Netherlands. Their main goal is to conserve, develop and sustain the natural environment, but also to contribute to the realisation of national priorities, which include wood and biomass production and water safety strategies along the coast and large river systems [28] . The State Forestry Service is responsible for the vegetation management on their grounds in the floodplains.

Their main goal is to conserve, develop and sustain the natural environment, but also to contribute to the realisation of national priorities, which include wood and biomass production and water safety strategies along the coast and large river systems.


In preliminary studies we found that the oxidized cobra neurotoxin inhibited the replication of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) both in vivo and in vitro (Yourist et al., 1979) . HSV-1 was investigated because of its clinical significance and its pathogenesis which involves neurotropic mechanisms. The present work was undertaken to characterize further the antiviral activity of the oxidatively detoxified cobra c~-neurotoxin against HSV-1.

In preliminary studies we found that the oxidized cobra neurotoxin inhibited the replication of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) both in vivo and in vitro.


E. faecium MMRA was shown to be not haemolytic when grown on sheep blood agar (data not shown) and was susceptible to several β-lactams, aminoglycosides and other broad-spectrum antibiotics (Table 1 ). Of note is that E. faecium MMRA was susceptible to the glycopeptide vancomycin. This is of special interest as it is used as a last resort antibiotic against multiple antibiotic-resistant enterococci (Klein 2003; Franz et al. 2003; Ogier and Serror 2008) . The strain displayed intermediate resistance to some cephalosporins and resistance to oxacillin (Table 1) . Thus, the antibiotic susceptibility profile of E. faecium MMRA is in agreement with previous reports concerning strains of enterococci that are commonly found in foods (Valenzuela et al. 2008; Barbosa et al. 2009; Ben Belgacem et al. 2010) .

This is of special interest as it is used as a last resort antibiotic against multiple antibiotic-resistant enterococci.

Thus, the antibiotic susceptibility profile of E. faecium MMRA is in agreement with previous reports concerning strains of enterococci that are commonly found in foods.


For centuries, fermented products have played an important role in human nutrition. Traditional fermented dairy products vary considerably in composition, flavour and texture depending on the properties of the fermenting organisms, type of milk, region of production and method of manufacture. These products have always proved very popular with consumers. Rayeb is one such popular indigenous dairy drink consumed in Tunisia, mostly in the summer as a dessert or refreshing beverage, and plays a major role in the diet of rural communities, as occurs with similar dairy products from other North African countries (Benkerroum and Tamime 2004) . Rayeb is traditionally made from the raw milk of cows, ewes or goats, placed in earthenware pots and kept undisturbed without temperature control for 24 h. It is produced through spontaneous fermentation of the milk and is sometimes started via backslopping (inoculation of raw milk with a small quantity of the previous successful fermentation). On an industrial scale, it is produced from pasteurised cows' milk, with the addition of starter cultures and rennet.

Rayeb is one such popular indigenous dairy drink consumed in Tunisia, mostly in the summer as a dessert or refreshing beverage, and plays a major role in the diet of rural communities, as occurs with similar dairy products from other North African countries.


Recently, several advancements in measuring insulin using microfluidic devices coupled with novel detection techniques were demonstrated. A carbon nanotube/dihydropyran (MWCNT/DHP) composite sensor in a microfluidic device has been reported to have a detection limit of 1ȝM [8] . A SlipChip based approach was demonstrated to perform bead-based heterogeneous immunoassays with multiple nanoliter-volume samples. An insulin immunoenzymatic assay showed a detection of limit of about 13pM [9] . Another approach used a microfluidic local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) chip operated with a simple collinear optical system to interrogate specific insulin and anti-insulin antibody reaction in real-time and demonstrated a detection limit of 100ng/ml insulin [10] . Furthermore, by conjugating with a continuous-flow immunosensor, the detection limit of the SPR method can be improved to 1 ng/ml (ppb) with a response time of less than 5 minutes [11] . However, these methods still require labor-intensive processing, large equipment, and trained expert to provide accurate insulin measurements.

A carbon nanotube/dihydropyran (MWCNT/DHP) composite sensor in a microfluidic device has been reported to have a detection limit of 1ȝM.

An insulin immunoenzymatic assay showed a detection of limit of about 13pM.

Another approach used a microfluidic local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) chip operated with a simple collinear optical system to interrogate specific insulin and anti-insulin antibody reaction in real-time and demonstrated a detection limit of 100ng/ml insulin.

Furthermore, by conjugating with a continuous-flow immunosensor, the detection limit of the SPR method can be improved to 1 ng/ml (ppb) with a response time of less than 5 minutes.


Understanding the underground ventilation system by field monitoring is a traditional but most effective and practical method. Instruments that could be used to measure the airflow velocity have been developed, from the traditional vane anemometers to the more modern digital anemometers which can be used for point velocity measurement with acceptable accuracy. In addition to the vane anemometers, pitot-static tube, which is primarily used for pressure measurement (i.e., the total, static and velocity pressure), constitutes another indirect method for airflow velocity determination using the measured velocity pressure and the density of air [9] . In routine ventilation management, these ventilation parameters are measured regularly, through which the general distributions of airflow and pressure can be obtained, and more recently, there is also a demand to conduct real time velocity monitoring practice in underground coal mines [10] . However, it is worth noting that a detailed airflow field is not achievable or is labour intensive by means of field monitoring. Meanwhile, these instruments are not able to capture the turbulence characteristics of flow field on a longwall face, and some areas are not accessible to conduct ventilation measurement due to the complex operation conditions of the longwall face and the employment of large mining equipment in the confined underground space.

In addition to the vane anemometers, pitot-static tube, which is primarily used for pressure measurement (i.e., the total, static and velocity pressure), constitutes another indirect method for airflow velocity determination using the measured velocity pressure and the density of air.

In routine ventilation management, these ventilation parameters are measured regularly, through which the general distributions of airflow and pressure can be obtained, and more recently, there is also a demand to conduct real time velocity monitoring practice in underground coal mines.