It is possible that the accelerated particles could have a composition significantly different than coronal material with enhanced helium that we have assumed. For example the γ-ray spectrum from the flare on 1981 April 27 was best fit by an accelerated-particle composition that was similar to impulsive solar energetic particles [Murphy et al., 1991] . The dotted black curves in Figure 1 show the total angleaveraged spectra for this composition. The additional concentration of heavy ions such as Si and Fe increases the numbers of neutrons at high energies, especially for lowenergy interacting ions. We note that we have chosen to use a coronal ambient composition that is sometimes required to fit γ-ray data rather than a photospheric composition. This choice provides a moderately increased yield of neutrons due to the enhancement of low-FIP (First Ionization Potential) ions, e.g., Mg, Si, and Fe .

For example the γ-ray spectrum from the flare on 1981 April 27 was best fit by an accelerated-particle composition that was similar to impulsive solar energetic particles.


Surface grafting was assessed by FTIR and XPS. Figure 3 shows the FTIR spectra of CNC and CNC/2-EHA which present a band in the region of 3500 to 3400 cm −1 corresponding to the -OH groups of the cellulose; the intensity of this band decreased upon 2-EHA grafting. An intense band is observed in~2897 cm −1 attributable to stretching vibrations of the C-H bonds for both CNC and CNC/2-EHA. In addition, CNC/2-EHA presented a band at 2930 cm −1 corresponding to the characteristic stretching of the C-H bonds of the pendant groups [18] .

In addition, CNC/2-EHA presented a band at 2930 cm −1 corresponding to the characteristic stretching of the C-H bonds of the pendant groups.


The change in the surface energy of CNC due to poly(2-EHA) grafting was evaluated through the Owens-Wendt approximation using the average of six measurements of the contact angles of sessile drops of various liquids on the surface of CNC samples at room temperature. The average values of the contact angles and the calculated surface energies are shown in Table 1 . It was observed that the contact angle of diiodomethane was lower in the CNC/2-EHA compared to the CNC; in the case of ethylene glycol and water, an opposite behavior was observed. The droplet of water exhibited a larger contact angle when deposited on CNC/2-EHA which is consistent with the literature related International Journal of Polymer Science to the surface-modified CNC [14, 15] . The R 2 values for the linear regression for Owens-Wendt model were 0.94 and 0.84 for CNC and CNC/2-EHA, respectively; low R 2 value for CNC/2-EHA could be attributed to the roughness effect of sample surface [47] . The roughness of samples was determined through AFM analysis (AFM Bruker model Innova SPM in tapping mode) to be 23.8 and 31.8 nm for CNC and CNC/2-EHA, respectively.

The droplet of water exhibited a larger contact angle when deposited on CNC/2-EHA which is consistent with the literature related International Journal of Polymer Science to the surface-modified CNC.

The R 2 values for the linear regression for Owens-Wendt model were 0.94 and 0.84 for CNC and CNC/2-EHA, respectively; low R 2 value for CNC/2-EHA could be attributed to the roughness effect of sample surface.


On the other hand, TGA was used to estimate the grafting content and thermal stability of samples. Figure 5 shows the TGA thermograms (a) and DTGA (b) for CNC and CNC/2-EHA. Figure 5 (a) shows three major mass loss events attributable to the elimination of adsorbed water (~50-120°C), cellulose degradation (~269-384°C), and the generation of carbonized residues (~450°C). The thermal degradation of the cellulose occurs in two stages: (a) the reduction of the chain size due to the rupture of bonds by the generation of free radicals, carboxyl groups, and carbonyls and (b) the depolymerization of the cellulose by the rupture of the glycosidic units and the formation of levoglucosan [40] . Figure 5(b) shows the derivative TGA traces for CNC exhibiting two decomposition events associated to the decomposition of sulfonated CNC and CNC (~125-180°C and 398-448°C, resp.). CNC/2-EHA exhibited two decomposition events related to thermal decomposition of CNC and grafted polymer (270-395°C and 396-448°C, resp.), as reported by others [38] . The grafting of poly(2-EHA) on the CNC surface improved the thermal stability of CNC because the poly(alkyl acrylates) exhibit higher degradation temperature (405-415°C) [46] . The TGA results suggested that the 2-EHA grafted corresponded to 5 wt.%.

The thermal degradation of the cellulose occurs in two stages: (a) the reduction of the chain size due to the rupture of bonds by the generation of free radicals, carboxyl groups, and carbonyls and (b) the depolymerization of the cellulose by the rupture of the glycosidic units and the formation of levoglucosan.

CNC/2-EHA exhibited two decomposition events related to thermal decomposition of CNC and grafted polymer (270-395°C and 396-448°C, resp.), as reported by others.

The grafting of poly(2-EHA) on the CNC surface improved the thermal stability of CNC because the poly(alkyl acrylates) exhibit higher degradation temperature (405-415°C).


Our application of Q methodology helps to highlight the diversity of perspectives surrounding "sustainable universities" among faculty members at the university. Our findings show that while some tensions are specifically related to sustainability, others are the result of divergent normative beliefs concerning the nature of education and the role of the university in society. Moreover, we demonstrate that tensions are not static and well bounded; rather they are dynamic and shift with respect to the particular dimension of sustainability being considered. We contend that if so much diversity and tension is present within a cohort of academics, the prospect of developing a university-wide consensus based vision of transformation for sustainability without engaging in a deeply collaborative process would be impossible. Research suggests that in loosely-coupled, pluralistic organizations such as universities, strategies for planned change that do not adequately reflect or make reference to the cultural realities in which they are being deployed generally tend to fail [45] [46] [47] [48] . In this study, many of the normative/cultural tensions are rooted in values and beliefs that in many instances (e.g., values regarding forms of pedagogy, as we note below) are represented in the broader literature in the form of sound philosophical debate. Therefore, the challenge we see with respect to transformation for sustainability at the university is two-pronged. Firstly, given the cultural realities of change for sustainability highlighted by this study, practitioners and scholars seeking to organize change for sustainability must come to understand the cultures of their institutions and embed change strategies in those cultures. Secondly, where normative and cultural tensions relate to sound philosophical positions, such as questions of mission or pedagogy, collaborative approaches to visioning change need to be employed. The former may be resolved by finding novel ways of framing sustainability related change that has cultural resonance to help dissolve tensions regarding divergent conceptualizations of sustainability; the latter entails re-envisioning the way in which change for sustainability in higher education is being approached.

Research suggests that in loosely-coupled, pluralistic organizations such as universities, strategies for planned change that do not adequately reflect or make reference to the cultural realities in which they are being deployed generally tend to fail.


Nevertheless, as the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development draws to a close, questions of its ultimate relevance for tertiary education arise as universities have proved somewhat resistant to fully engaging with the concept of sustainability in an institutionally holistic fashion [14] [15] [16] [17] . Universities have been much more successful at incorporating the principles of sustainability into their physical operations than they have been at incorporating them into their curricular, pedagogical, and management structures [14, 18, 19] . This is likely owing to the straightforward nature of implementing technical fixes to problems of inefficient use of resources and the concomitant economic benefits these present. By contrast, deep structural changes are far more challenging to accomplish in that they require profound deliberative efforts to have such a change effort reflect the various needs and desires of institutional stakeholders in a context of paramount academic freedom [14, 20] . In higher education institutions, competing needs and desires complicate change efforts for sustainability since stakeholders often hold divergent, even conflicting conceptualizations of not only sustainability but of how to educate with sustainability in mind, and the role of the university with respect to sustainability in general [21, 22] .

Nevertheless, as the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development draws to a close, questions of its ultimate relevance for tertiary education arise as universities have proved somewhat resistant to fully engaging with the concept of sustainability in an institutionally holistic fashion.

Universities have been much more successful at incorporating the principles of sustainability into their physical operations than they have been at incorporating them into their curricular, pedagogical, and management structures.

By contrast, deep structural changes are far more challenging to accomplish in that they require profound deliberative efforts to have such a change effort reflect the various needs and desires of institutional stakeholders in a context of paramount academic freedom.

In higher education institutions, competing needs and desires complicate change efforts for sustainability since stakeholders often hold divergent, even conflicting conceptualizations of not only sustainability but of how to educate with sustainability in mind, and the role of the university with respect to sustainability in general.


The Sustainability in Higher Education (SHE) literature is awash with statements to the effect that universities bear a profound moral obligation to promote ideals of sustainability by incorporating them throughout their institutional dimensions [1] [2] [3] [4] . As one of the dominant producers of both social and intellectual capital in the Western world, institutions of higher education see many of our future political, cultural, and technological leaders pass through their turnstiles [5, 6] . As such, it is difficult to imagine a more effective venue for the development and dissemination of a vision (or visions) of what it is to be a sustainable society, and what courses of action we should pursue to set us on a sustainable path.

The Sustainability in Higher Education (SHE) literature is awash with statements to the effect that universities bear a profound moral obligation to promote ideals of sustainability by incorporating them throughout their institutional dimensions.

As one of the dominant producers of both social and intellectual capital in the Western world, institutions of higher education see many of our future political, cultural, and technological leaders pass through their turnstiles.


The travelling salesman problem (TSP) is one of the most popular combinatorial optimization problems in complexity theory [1] . TSP for minimizing the tour length is quite difficult to solve and classified as NP-Hard, it will be time consuming to solve larger instances. However, TSP is used in many theoretical and practical applications such as manufacturing planning, logistics, and electronics manufacturing. Due to the nature of TSP, obtaining the optimal solution is not possible in polynomial time if solved via integer programming. Also, it is known that the solution time extends exponentially as the problem size grows. Therefore, as an alternative solution approach, the meta-heuristics are commonly used to determine near optimal solutions in acceptable solution times [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] .

The travelling salesman problem (TSP) is one of the most popular combinatorial optimization problems in complexity theory.

Therefore, as an alternative solution approach, the meta-heuristics are commonly used to determine near optimal solutions in acceptable solution times.


The HS algorithm, a special case of evolution strategy which is called (µ+1) evolution strategy, is a meta-heuristic optimization method that inspired by the mimics of the improvisation ability of musicians. Using HS algorithm, the musical instruments are played with discrete notes under the musicians' experience and their improvisation ability randomly. The musical harmony, aesthetic standard, pitches of instruments and the improvisation process are design parameters of HS algorithm. HS works with the harmony size (HMS), the harmony considering rate and the pitch adjusting rate as optimization operators [5, 31] .

HS works with the harmony size (HMS), the harmony considering rate and the pitch adjusting rate as optimization operators.


The attractive idea behind these studies is economic growth concept, which in time generates employments and also a rise in wages average. Above this idea, importance of developing countries FDI is major, since resources for investment are scarce, and these kind of resources are augmenting supply of investment funds (Bellumi, 2014) . In fact, FDI in developing countries has increased 12-fold since 1980 to the present, but also represents 60% of the private capital (Herzer, Klasen & Norwak-Lehmann, 2008) . From these arguments, FDI constitutes a real option of development for millions of workers, families and communities in the developing world (Dutta & Osei-Yeboah, 2013) .

Above this idea, importance of developing countries FDI is major, since resources for investment are scarce, and these kind of resources are augmenting supply of investment funds.

In fact, FDI in developing countries has increased 12-fold since 1980 to the present, but also represents 60% of the private capital.

From these arguments, FDI constitutes a real option of development for millions of workers, families and communities in the developing world.


A handful of longitudinal studies comparing homeless families and their poor-but-housed counterparts who receive public assistance have also been conducted (Bassuk et al. 1997; Shinn et al. 1998) . Multivariate analyses have found relatively few behavioral health differences between the two groups. Homeless mothers are no more likely to have mental health or substance use disorders or symptoms than poor mothers who are not homeless. No strong or consistent differences between homeless and housed mothers with respect to educational attainment, work history, or criminal history have been found. It could be argued that the differences that have been found are confounded with the selection effects of the homelessness process, including a greater degree of residential instability among homeless mothers, comparable but more strained social networks, more common separations of mothers from children and other family members, and higher rates of domestic violence. Other differences seem to suggest that homeless families have fewer instrumental resources than other poor families, including lower income, lower rates of housing assistance (public or other subsidized housing), and lower rates of welfare receipt.

A handful of longitudinal studies comparing homeless families and their poor-but-housed counterparts who receive public assistance have also been conducted.


Epidemiological and survey research has consistently pointed out fundamental differences in characteristics between unaccompanied (single adult) homeless individuals and homeless family households, consisting of one or more adults and dependent children. Next to the presence of children, the most readily apparent differences between adults from individual and family households are demographic. Heads of homeless families are overwhelmingly female, while homeless individuals are predominantly male. And looking just at women, the heads of homeless families are substantially younger than their unaccompanied counterparts (Burt and Cohen 1989; Metraux and Culhane 1999) . Further, compared with their single counterparts, adults in homeless families are much less likely to have mental health and substance abuse problems, more likely to have completed high school, more likely to have recently worked, and more likely to have regular contact with members of their social network (Burt and Cohen 1989; Burt et al. 2001; Fischer and Breakey 1991; North and Smith 1993; Shinn and Weitzman 1996) .

And looking just at women, the heads of homeless families are substantially younger than their unaccompanied counterparts.

Further, compared with their single counterparts, adults in homeless families are much less likely to have mental health and substance abuse problems, more likely to have completed high school, more likely to have recently worked, and more likely to have regular contact with members of their social network.


At least two policies have likely contributed to longer stays in shelters for families. As families joined the ranks of the urban homeless in the 1980s, public shelter was generally provided to them in sparse, congregate facilities much like the model prevailing (then, as now) for unaccompanied single adults, or in hotels and motels. As federal policy shifted in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and as federal spending on homelessness increased significantly, especially during the early years of the Clinton administration, local advocates and providers sought to reform the objectionable conditions in which homeless children were forced to sleep. In 1990, advocates won a legal challenge that mandated New York City to provide single units with private bath and kitchen facilities as the minimum standard of "emergency shelter" for families (Culhane, Metraux, and Wachter 1999) .

In 1990, advocates won a legal challenge that mandated New York City to provide single units with private bath and kitchen facilities as the minimum standard of "emergency shelter" for families.


Research on typologies of homelessness among unaccompanied or single adults has identified distinct patterns of shelter utilization that are associated with theoretically consistent population characteristics (Kuhn and Culhane 1998) . The identification of a pattern of chronic homelessness, in particular, has shown that a small subset (10 percent) of single adults who become homeless stay in shelters over extended periods. Nearly all of them have some disability or significant behavioral health problem that limits their ability to make a stable exit from homelessness without subsidized housing and social supports. Another group (10 percent) uses shelters episodically over several years, and half of that group also has potentially disabling behavioral health problems. Alternatively, most adults (80 percent) experience short-term, temporary homelessness and would appear to be candidates for prevention or rapid relocation programs. Most of them make sustained and independent exits from homelessness without formal rental assistance, and most do not have significant behavioral health treatment histories.

Research on typologies of homelessness among unaccompanied or single adults has identified distinct patterns of shelter utilization that are associated with theoretically consistent population characteristics.


Obesity is associated with a low-grade systemic chronic inflammation that is linked to insulin resistance, cardiovascular diseases and type-2 diabetes [1] [2] [3] . Obesityinduced inflammation is characterized by the abnormal production of pro-and anti-inflammatory adipocytokines. It has been found that resident macrophages in adipose tissue are mainly responsible for the production of inflammatory cytokines. The dynamic regulation of inflammatory activity and associated impaired production of cytokines/chemokines by PBMCs and adipocytes from obese individuals remain poorly understood. Changes in the expression profile of different receptors, ligands and adhesion molecules on PBMCs may lead to the development of different immunological diseases.

Obesity is associated with a low-grade systemic chronic inflammation that is linked to insulin resistance, cardiovascular diseases and type-2 diabetes.


Load-balancing is the process of distributing parallel application tasks on a set of processors while improving the performance and reducing the application response time. The decisions of when, where and which tasks have to be transferred are critical, and therefore the load information has to be accurate and up to date [18] . In dynamic load balance, decisions depend on the information collected from the system. Load information can be shared among processors periodically or "on demand", using Centralized or Distributed information collectors [21] . When dealing with communication-intensive applications (parallel applications which transfer a large amount of data among processors), the information sharing policy influences not only the load-balancing decisions but also the communication itself. We studied this problem, because our results can be applied in the context of load-balancing on peer-to-peer networks [7] .

The decisions of when, where and which tasks have to be transferred are critical, and therefore the load information has to be accurate and up to date.

Load information can be shared among processors periodically or "on demand", using Centralized or Distributed information collectors.

We studied this problem, because our results can be applied in the context of load-balancing on peer-to-peer networks.


The reservoir of plant species possessing insecticidal properties is enormous. More than 2000 species are known to possess some insecticidal properties [5] . Though pyrethrin, nicotine and rotenone were recognized as effective insect control agents, the widely accepted pyrethrins obtained from the flower heads of Tanacetum cinerariaefolium which are still used in insect control. Despite the relative safety of some well-known botanical insecticides, most of these substances have their drawbacks, hindering largescale application. Pyrethrins are unstable in the sunlight and are rapidly metabolized thus limiting their potency and application [6] . These limitations gave an impetus for the synthesis of active analogues, termed pyrethroids. Nicotine isolated from a number of Nicotiana species is insecticidal, but its use in insect control has dropped steadily because of the high cost of production, disagreeable odour, extreme mammalian toxicity, instability in the environment and limited insecticidal activity [6] .

More than 2000 species are known to possess some insecticidal properties.

Pyrethrins are unstable in the sunlight and are rapidly metabolized thus limiting their potency and application.

Nicotine isolated from a number of Nicotiana species is insecticidal, but its use in insect control has dropped steadily because of the high cost of production, disagreeable odour, extreme mammalian toxicity, instability in the environment and limited insecticidal activity.


The focal point of these discussions was the Eurocentric historiography. The dramatic experiences of all mankind during the First and Second World Wars also influenced Eurocentric historiography. Along with these bad experiences, new approaches to civilizations emerged both in the work of Spengler and Toynbee and in the Annales school. Speaking of Spengler and Toynbee, Spengler denied the interaction of different cultures by seeing their own unique organism (Spengler, 1997) . Toynbee, on the other hand, assessed the relationship between civilizations to a more limited extent (Toynbee, 1978) . In particular, the distinction between Helen and Western civilization was criticized by Collingwood (Collingwood, 1996, p. 202) .

Speaking of Spengler and Toynbee, Spengler denied the interaction of different cultures by seeing their own unique organism.

Toynbee, on the other hand, assessed the relationship between civilizations to a more limited extent.


The students stated the reasons of success in the civilization history lesson in qualitative data as teaching method and technique, interest and curiosity, repetition and studying in class. All the indicated reasons are supported by quantitative data. The reasons for failure in the civilization history lesson are stated by the students as teaching method and technique, interest and curiosity, excessive number of topics, inability to create chronology, lack of previous information and no repetition in qualitative data. All the reasons presented by the students in qualitative data are supported by quantitative data. In the research, students have expressed mostly reason of success and failure as the teaching methods and techniques. Harris and Haydn (2006, p.329) emphasized the importance of the curriculum and the teaching method and technique for students in history lessons. On the other hand, the role of the teacher as well as the teaching method and technique is also an important factor (Köse, 2017) . When the subject matter of the civilization history lesson, is considered, it is a fact that the subject of this course is much more than the other history courses. So in order to be successful in this lesson and to enjoy it, it is understood that the themes and interactive teaching methods to be formed in the direction of the students' interests are much more important than the emphasis of the students on the events and chronology. Students stated that one of the reasons for success in the civilization history lesson is "to study the lesson". In a study by Booth (1993, p.234 ) supporting the conclusion of this research, university students have largely attributed their success and failure to their efforts in their research.

On the other hand, the role of the teacher as well as the teaching method and technique is also an important factor.


Civilization and culture issues are also used as a complementary activity teaching to foreign students of a country in teaching own language of the country. This facilitates adaptation of foreign students to the cultural and world perception of the host country (Gafu and Trifan, 2015) . In addition, if the diachronic approach (handling in the historical development of language) is adopted in language learning, teaching the historical development of civilization is recommended, and if the synchronic approach (taking into account the current view of language) is adopted, teaching modern civilization is recommended (Ketchum, 1978, p.4) .

This facilitates adaptation of foreign students to the cultural and world perception of the host country.


Students in this research think that the civilization history lesson provides general cultural and multidisciplinary knowledge, provides professional field knowledge, develops new information and different perspectives, enables them to learn from civilizations and proud of them by introducing their own civilization. The data obtained here are fully supported by quantitative data. These findings obtained in the research are generally evaluated among the aims of the new history teaching (Demircioğlu, 2006) . In this context, it can be considered that the civilization history lesson is aimed at the purposes of teaching new history. In addition, Akbaba, Demirtaş, Birbudak and Kılcan (2014, p.220) have found that most of the students are interested in this lesson in their research on university students' attitudes toward revolutionary history. This result supports the findings obtained in the research.

These findings obtained in the research are generally evaluated among the aims of the new history teaching.


A voice parallel to the expectations expressed in this political and social atmosphere in the first half of the 21st century has risen from the United Nations, a national organization. In 1945, UNESCO enacted a "history of mankind" project that would cover all humanity and would not be Eurocentric. The series of books to be prepared was planned to be written by multinational authors, just like the structure of the organization. But reflection of the cold war winds and different expectations has caused this well-intentioned project to delay until 1976. When it comes to the end, although the project has been subject to well-intentioned criticism, it has pioneered other well-intentioned projects. On the other hand, McNeill's work, published in 1963, which deals with cultures interactively and regards them as appreciated values (Duedahl, 2011) . While the outlines of the developments in the historiography of civilization were in this way, teaching and teaching in universities as a lesson has become a separate subject.

On the other hand, McNeill's work, published in 1963, which deals with cultures interactively and regards them as appreciated values.


Different aspects of IFSs have been used for pattern recognition and decision making, where imperfect facts and imprecise knowledge exist. In the context of pattern recognition, scholars applied similarity measures for IFSs, in order to perform classification ( [4] , [6] ). Intuitionistic fuzzy relations and correlation measures were defined to classification too ( [3] , [7] ).

In the context of pattern recognition, scholars applied similarity measures for IFSs, in order to perform classification (,).

Intuitionistic fuzzy relations and correlation measures were defined to classification too (,).


An additional complication for implanted devices is exposure to a complex biochemical environment composed of blood or interstitial fluid along with a transient chemical profile due to wound healing [10] . The biological response to any implanted medical device is a function of the physical characteristics of the device, the properties of the fabrication materials, the location of the implant, and the skill of the surgeon. The normal tissue response to an injury follows a wellestablished series of cellular and biochemical pathways, beginning with infiltration of polymorphonuclear leukocytes into the site, followed by the appearance of macrophages and fibroblasts. In the subcutaneous space, a fibrous capsule consisting primarily of collagen eventually forms around the device.

An additional complication for implanted devices is exposure to a complex biochemical environment composed of blood or interstitial fluid along with a transient chemical profile due to wound healing.


The next two decades will mark the age of thirty-meter scale telescopes [5, 6] . However, the volume, mass, and cost of conventional optical instruments grow as D 2 -D 3 (where D is the diameter Figure 1 . Total number of new citations to papers in the field of astronomical spectroscopy using photonics. The publication data was obtained from the Web of Science interface (http://apps. webofknowledge.com).

The next two decades will mark the age of thirty-meter scale telescopes.


A promising HWC intervention that could be part of an effective 'HWC mitigation toolbox' and which does not involve extremely invasive procedures, such as killing or trans-locating animals, is 'animal conditioning' [35] . The key component of conditioning is associative learning. Associative learning involves memory, making it in essence effective after, not just during, the intervention. Learned associations also have the potential to be generalized over locations, possibly making the intervention effective over larger areas or from ex situ (captivity) to in situ (wild) [36] . Conditioning has therefore been flagged as a potentially useful tool for reducing HWC [37] [38] [39] . Conditioning interventions in HWC specifically aim to change the behaviour of an animal in the long-term.

A promising HWC intervention that could be part of an effective 'HWC mitigation toolbox' and which does not involve extremely invasive procedures, such as killing or trans-locating animals, is 'animal conditioning'.

Learned associations also have the potential to be generalized over locations, possibly making the intervention effective over larger areas or from ex situ (captivity) to in situ (wild).

Conditioning has therefore been flagged as a potentially useful tool for reducing HWC.


Biologically compatible materials have been engineered into a variety of medical devices and implants to assist in healing, replace diseased tissues and in some drastic cases completely replace damaged tissues. The repair and replacement of diseased or damaged hard tissues presents a major challenge to patient health, wellbeing and quality of life. A major consequence of tissue damage or loss resulting from accidents or diseases is the psychological impact on patient wellbeing. For example, even minor injuries to fingers or toes that interfere with function and usually heal without much trouble can have a significant impact. While severe bone diseases and injuries that result in the loss of a limb creates functional problems for patients for many years. In many cases the device or implant is temporary and only needs to remain in the body during the healing process. Once the healing process is complete, a second surgical procedure is required to remove the device or implant which significantly increases patient site morbidity and associated health costs [1] [2] [3] . Alternatively, when an implant needs to remain in the body permanently, as in the case of a total joint replacement, long-term biocompatibility, mechanical strength and structural stability become important factors that must be addressed.

Once the healing process is complete, a second surgical procedure is required to remove the device or implant which significantly increases patient site morbidity and associated health costs.


LMS presents a better fitting due to the use of a geometric cost function that minimizes the transfer error. However, one disadvantage of this model is that it requires an additional phase in the homography estimation that consists of an initialization with the linearly estimated homography matrix. Besides, LMS assumes that the entire data can be interpreted by only one parameter vector of a given model and even when the data contain only one bad datum, LMS estimates may be completely perturbed [27] . This limitation was also confirmed by the experiments on perturbations generated by a Gaussian noise introduced on the control points location (see Table 2 ).

Besides, LMS assumes that the entire data can be interpreted by only one parameter vector of a given model and even when the data contain only one bad datum, LMS estimates may be completely perturbed.


One of the limitations of 3DP construction is the number of materials available for structural AM [31] . In terms of concrete building structures, there are commonly two main ways to build: one involves pouring concrete on site; the other involves precast concrete slabs/beams being delivered to the site. For pouring concrete on site, curing under typical site conditions can only achieve about 65% of the concrete's compressive strength in seven days, attaining in excess of 90% of its compressive strength after 28 days [38] . Precast concrete requires intensive transport and labour costs and offers limited design flexibility because the concrete is cast in a factory. Regardless of which method is used, intensive labour and time are required. With the increasing cost of labour and time needed to finish construction work by hand, conventional house construction methods would become only more expensive over time. Therefore, it is a major challenge to produce a stable, printable material with properties such as consistent or predictable setting times, stability during construction and effective bonding between layers. Particularly for in-situ manufacturing, material behaviors must be thoroughly investigated under a range of conditions to achieve a robust product that will not only withstand the structural load upon completion but also during the fabrication process.

One of the limitations of 3DP construction is the number of materials available for structural AM.

For pouring concrete on site, curing under typical site conditions can only achieve about 65% of the concrete's compressive strength in seven days, attaining in excess of 90% of its compressive strength after 28 days.


Recent studies have tended to develop and apply frameworks to test the performance of fresh printing mixtures in the laboratory [12] . Such studies have tended to create small prototypes of building designs to understand potential challenges and deficiencies associated with RBP. This project aims to analyse the structural feasibility of a 3D-printed building prototype by using the finite element software Strand7. It also investigates the feasibility of building a 3D-printed house prototype.

Recent studies have tended to develop and apply frameworks to test the performance of fresh printing mixtures in the laboratory.


The key design concept here was the use of an arch roof as the main spanning slab for the entire 3D-printed house. Such arch-like structures have long been known to reduce tensile stress over long spans [32] . The arch shape allows roof loadings to be transferred with a curved load path down to the supporting edges, and hence effectively transfers most of the loadings as a compressive stress. The structural response of the arch-roof building was found to fall within an acceptable range. As shown by hand calculations, the use of a flat-slab roof would not be feasible because the maximum tensile stress that the concrete can withstand is beyond the acceptable limits of the concrete tensile strength. However, the physical property of arch elements successfully reduces the maximum tensile stress for the concrete so it can withstand the tensile stress without the aid of reinforcements. The Strand7 results show clearly that the structure would sustain different load combinations without failing. Gravity load alone causes the maximum deflection on the structure. The maximum compressive and tensile stresses resulting from different load combinations would also not exceed the ultimate strength. This suggests that the material choice and structural orientation of the model were appropriate. There are several ways to construct house models with 3D printing at present. However, all of them have limiting factors that render the use of 3D-printing technology in house construction impractical. Further investigation and the development of 3D printing technology in future is bound to provide society with a better and faster method of building houses.

Such arch-like structures have long been known to reduce tensile stress over long spans.


The specific roof design presented in this paper for a 3D-printed building was also used to manufacture a prototype for further laboratory testing of shape stability. Shape stability was a major criterion suggested by a recent publication for the laboratory testing of fresh printing mixtures [12] . Initial experiments have shown that 3D printing technology is highly customisable for various sites, terrains and to meet the aesthetic requirements of design, even though the efficiency of the method, including the production time and logistics, should be investigated in future studies. Using this technology, a formwork system is not required for layer-by-layer deposition. The size of a building or modular item is therefore not restricted, and any material dimensions and almost infinite geometric shapes are achievable. Furthermore, individualised design that does not incur the costs of traditional construction variations can lead to cost reductions and higher customer satisfaction. However, the benefits of AM in construction have largely been studied from the viewpoint of the end-user even though the benefits of these technologies and processes present an opportunity to rethink decisions made in the design process [29] .

Shape stability was a major criterion suggested by a recent publication for the laboratory testing of fresh printing mixtures.

However, the benefits of AM in construction have largely been studied from the viewpoint of the end-user even though the benefits of these technologies and processes present an opportunity to rethink decisions made in the design process.


Self-avoiding random walks are now much in vogue as they model polymers and much else. While for both random walks and their self-avoiding cousins, it is often the case that we should like to allow variable step lengths, it is only for two or three steps that we can give a closed form to the general density [25] . Thence, as often in mathematics we simplify, and in simplifying hope that we also abstract, refine, and enhance.

While for both random walks and their self-avoiding cousins, it is often the case that we should like to allow variable step lengths, it is only for two or three steps that we can give a closed form to the general density.


We present Web Service Automata as a formal semantics for web services, and identify anti-patterns for web service interactions. The web service automaton is more general than the existing automata-based semantics because we include multiple-event transitions, data, and internal events. We use message-passing as the uniform mechanism for machine communications. The anti-pattern pre-checking has the advantage that it needs less computation effort to identify incompatible behaviours, and the corresponding properties can be reused. A tool is developed to implement the mapping from BPEL to WSAs, and from WSAs to SMV language [5] . Work is in hand to apply model checking tools to realize our anti-pattern pre-checking.

A tool is developed to implement the mapping from BPEL to WSAs, and from WSAs to SMV language.


The high biocompatibility of titanium derives partially from the stable and protective oxide layer, which apparently aids in connecting extracellular matrix to the implant surface [1] . The knowledge of the biomaterial-bone tissue interface is extremely important to define which material would promote a better tissue response and which kind of surface would be more adequate for the proliferation of bone cells [8] . After placement of an implant in the surgical cavity, several cellular events take place. Ideally, these events should lead to wound healing by intimate apposition of the bone to the biomaterial, i.e., osseointegration [9] .

The high biocompatibility of titanium derives partially from the stable and protective oxide layer, which apparently aids in connecting extracellular matrix to the implant surface.

The knowledge of the biomaterial-bone tissue interface is extremely important to define which material would promote a better tissue response and which kind of surface would be more adequate for the proliferation of bone cells.

Ideally, these events should lead to wound healing by intimate apposition of the bone to the biomaterial, i.e., osseointegration.


Interestingly, there were no variations in the linkage of everyday discrimination to BP by race/ethnicity. This suggests that the relation of this particular form of interpersonal discrimination to BP is not more pronounced among certain racial/ethnic minorities compared with others including racial/ethnic nonminority groups. Prior studies have reported similar findings using this particular measure [77, 78] . Although this is plausible, we caution in making the argument that race/ethnicity not be considered as an important source of stress and of greater exposure to bias in the form of racism specifically and in experiences of interpersonal discrimination overall. Indeed, racial/ethnic minorities carry a significantly higher burden of chronic health diseases, which has not been fully accounted for by traditional risk factors [9] . Future work should consider the various channels through which race/ethnicity-related bias may operate. For instance, considering the implications of intergenerational transmission and structural discrimination (e.g., residential segregation) as well as more general indices of interpersonal discrimination such as everyday discrimination alongside race/ethnicity-specific one-on-one experiences (e.g., racial discrimination) may be warranted. Such studies may also benefit from assessments of vicarious exposures to race/ethnicity-related bias as well [79] .

Prior studies have reported similar findings using this particular measure.

Indeed, racial/ethnic minorities carry a significantly higher burden of chronic health diseases, which has not been fully accounted for by traditional risk factors.

Such studies may also benefit from assessments of vicarious exposures to race/ethnicity-related bias as well.


Localization techniques are essential for increasingly popular location-based services in pervasive computing and Internet of Things. In indoor environments, GPS signals cannot penetrate, so Wi-Fi based localization methods become the dominant positioning technique. Fingerprinting based on received signal strength (RSS) is the most popular method of indoor positioning that was first proposed in the radar system [1] . This technique includes an offline training phase and an online location estimation phase. The offline phase detects Wi-Fi signal strength from surrounding APs and collects location fingerprints to create a radio map. In the online phase, a Wi-Fi enabled mobile device obtains a vector of signal strengths in real time. These signal measurements are then compared to the fingerprints in the radio map. The location of the best matching fingerprint is used as the estimated location.

Fingerprinting based on received signal strength (RSS) is the most popular method of indoor positioning that was first proposed in the radar system.


Cross-domain truth discovery. Our experiments show that event detection tasks in some domains are intrinsically more difficult than those in other domains. Difficult tasks and limited number of reports can deteriorate the performance of truth discovery. Leveraging tasks in different domains may help since it can balance the varied difficulties and increase the number of reports. To achieve this goal, we may need to leverage transfer learning techniques [18] .

Cross-domain truth discovery.

To achieve this goal, we may need to leverage transfer learning techniques.


In this paper we establish various methods to simulate the electromagnetic radiation generated by axion-induced fields in 3D settings of open axion haloscopes. Previous work for resonant cavities typically focuses on simulating cavity modes to predict their matching with the axion field, just assuming the driving of the resonance and its power loss implicitly [29, 42, 48] . In order to generalize this to open resonators, we explicitly include the axion source term in our simulations and calculate the out-propagation of power from the system in this work. We do so by directly including the axion as a current density term in the electromagnetic wave equation and by simulating for open situations the power propagating out of the simulation domain. We evaluate different implementations of Finite Element Methods (FEM) in COMSOL and Elmer. Furthermore, we reduce the full 3D FEM problem for a radial geometry to a 2D simulation even in the case where the external B-field is linearly polarized and breaks the rotational symmetry (2D3D approach). We validate the FEM results with analytically well understood cases in free space and for a dish antenna, i.e., a single perfectly electrically conducting (PEC) mirror. In addition, we gather analytical formalisms to describe diffraction and near fields in simple cases. This allows us to analytically investigate the far field behaviour of the radiation pattern for a dish antenna, also in the presence of velocity corrections. Moreover, approximating diffraction effects by decomposing into plane waves recursively (Recursive Fourier Propagation approach) and neglecting near field effects, we obtain a second fast method for the calculation of diffraction effects inside dielectric haloscopes. The validation and the comparison of our methods allows for a fundamental understanding of the physics effects at play. Furthermore, the 2D3D FEM and the Fourier propagation approaches are efficient numerical tools allowing for parameter sweeps like frequency scans in reasonable times. They pave the way to describe full size open axion haloscopes in 3D in the future. Our results have direct implications on the design of dish antennas and dielectric haloscopes such as MADMAX. First of all, our studies for dish antennas confirm that diffraction effects are getting important for small diameter-to-wavelength ratios. This shows explicitly that the dish antenna and dielectric haloscope approaches are limited towards lower axion masses due to diffraction, i.e., they need to be at least several photon wavelengths in diameter. To prepare the 3D description of a dielectric haloscope, we show for a single dielectric disk with a diameter of 4 wavelengths that the results obtained with the 1D model essentially stay valid, i.e., stay within deviations of smaller than ∼ 10% in 3D.

Previous work for resonant cavities typically focuses on simulating cavity modes to predict their matching with the axion field, just assuming the driving of the resonance and its power loss implicitly.


For a minimal dielectric haloscope setup consisting of a single dielectric disk and single PEC mirror both with a diameter of approximately 7 wavelengths, we show that diffraction losses are a main limitation to the power boost factor β 2 . However, even in the most resonant configuration with a sapphire disk in front of the PEC, the diffraction loss is less than 25%. Such a reduced power boost factor would still allow for an axion search with reasonable sensitivity. In addition, we again expect this effect to be smaller for larger disks and higher frequencies. Also note that the idea of a dielectric haloscope is explicitly not to operate in the most resonant configuration [38, 39] . Moreover, the comparison of the FEM solutions with the result from the Fourier propagation approach shows the important fact that near field and boundary charge effects are negligible. A pure scalar diffraction calculation can predict all relevant effects on the emitted power for the minimal dielectric haloscope.

Also note that the idea of a dielectric haloscope is explicitly not to operate in the most resonant configuration.


String theory is considered as the best candidate for a quantum theory of gravity or a unified theory of all interactions. Much attention has been given to noncommutative geometry because it is expected to capture some aspects of the quantum gravity. Over the past few years several papers have been devoted to the study of a relationship between noncommutative geometry and string theory. The need of noncommutative geometry in string theory is easily understood by considering a world-volume action of D-branes. D-branes are defined as the endpoints of open strings. Since gauge fields appear in the ground state of open strings, the low energy dynamics of D-branes is described by gauge fields. One of the most interesting aspects is the appearance of nonabelian gauge symmetry from the world-volume theory of some coincident D-branes. A low energy effective action of N D-branes is provided by the dimensional reduction of the tendimensional U (N ) Yang-Mills theory, and transverse coordinates of N D-branes are expressed by U (N ) adjoint scalars [1] . The appearance of this matrix-valued coordinate indicates relationships between string theory and noncommutative geometry.

A low energy effective action of N D-branes is provided by the dimensional reduction of the tendimensional U (N ) Yang-Mills theory, and transverse coordinates of N D-branes are expressed by U (N ) adjoint scalars.


Monosaccharide-based chiral crown ethers 22 and 23, respectively. These compounds were then cyclized with two kinds of primary amines, such as 3-aminopropanol and 3-methoxypropylamine, in boiling acetonitrile, in the presence of dry Na 2 CO 3 to furnish azacrown ethers 4a-b and 4c-d, respectively. It is interesting to note that the yields of 2,6-dideoxy-ribohexopyranoside-based lariat ethers (4a and 4b) were relatively low (46 % and 30 %, respectively), while those of the macrocycles having p-methoxyphenyl substituent (4c and 4d) were much higher (79 % and 84 %, respectively) [10] .

It is interesting to note that the yields of 2,6-dideoxy-ribohexopyranoside-based lariat ethers (4a and 4b) were relatively low (46 % and 30 %, respectively), while those of the macrocycles having p-methoxyphenyl substituent (4c and 4d) were much higher (79 % and 84 %, respectively).


The synthesis and investigation of sugar-based crown ethers was an interesting and up to date topic in the last decades at our department. The basis of our research is the finding that the chiral crown ethers incorporating monosaccharide moiety in their ring, are able to generate asymmetric induction as chiral phase transfer (PT) catalysts in certain reactions. Phase transfer catalysis has been recognized as a versatile methodology for organic synthesis, based on its simple experimental operations, mild reaction conditions using inexpensive and environmentally benign reagents and solvents (very often water). A few of chiral PT catalysts have been successfully used in asymmetric reactions. Chiral phase transfer catalysis has become an attractive area in the "green" chemical discipline, and many types of chiral catalysts have been developed and applied over the past few decades [1] [2] [3] .

Chiral phase transfer catalysis has become an attractive area in the "green" chemical discipline, and many types of chiral catalysts have been developed and applied over the past few decades.


Visceral larva migrans (VLM) is a clinical form of human toxocariasis caused by larvae of the nematode Toxocara canis. Other forms of human toxocariasis are covert toxocariasis, ocular larva migrans (OLM) and neural larva migrans. Covert toxocariasis is the most common form of human toxocariasis (Despommier, 2003) . The eggs of T. canis can be found in environments contaminated with dog feces. Human infection can occur by ingesting viable embryonated eggs from contaminated sources (e.g., soil). Humans are paratenic hosts and after ingestion, the eggs hatch to release larvae that penetrate the small intestine, enter the circulation with the possibility of invading different organs and encyst in tissues. Wandering of the second-stage larvae through the tissues produces hemorrhage, necrosis and infiltration of lymphocytes and eosinophils (Despommier, 2003) . Granulomatous foci are produced around dead larvae.

Covert toxocariasis is the most common form of human toxocariasis.

Wandering of the second-stage larvae through the tissues produces hemorrhage, necrosis and infiltration of lymphocytes and eosinophils.


Plants as source of remedies are widely used for the treatment of almost 87% human diseases including bacterial and fungal infections, cancer and different disorders [1] . Most of the drugs commercially available currently for the treatment of curable and incurable diseases derive from plants [2] . About 3000 species reported worldwide have some medicinal use for curable and incurable diseases [3] . More than 80% of people in developed and undeveloped countries depend on herbal remedies for primary health care [3] . The Arabian Gulf is considered as the land of huge traditional medicine, and until recently herbal remedies have been the primary source of health care in urban areas in the Gulf region [4] . In Oman, there are about 1204 terrestrial plants, a large number of which is reported to be used in traditional medicine [5] . Terrestrial plants have been recognized since ancient times as potential sources of human pharmacopoeia and until today compounds derived from botanicals play an important role as a source of new chemical entities entering the market or clinical trials annually [1] . There is now an urgent need for novel and effective ingredient to remedy incurable diseases without any side effect.

Plants as source of remedies are widely used for the treatment of almost 87% human diseases including bacterial and fungal infections, cancer and different disorders.

Most of the drugs commercially available currently for the treatment of curable and incurable diseases derive from plants.

About 3000 species reported worldwide have some medicinal use for curable and incurable diseases.

More than 80% of people in developed and undeveloped countries depend on herbal remedies for primary health care.

The Arabian Gulf is considered as the land of huge traditional medicine, and until recently herbal remedies have been the primary source of health care in urban areas in the Gulf region.

In Oman, there are about 1204 terrestrial plants, a large number of which is reported to be used in traditional medicine.

Terrestrial plants have been recognized since ancient times as potential sources of human pharmacopoeia and until today compounds derived from botanicals play an important role as a source of new chemical entities entering the market or clinical trials annually.


Indirection attack, however, refers to a stealthy change in the DNS resolver address on a stub resolver. The change in the DNS resolver address directs all recursive DNS queries to a malicious resolver. The malicious resolver then provides the victim with false domain information, subsequently leading to the victim's confidential data being compromised. Indirection can be achieved by malware installation [21] .

Indirection can be achieved by malware installation.


Traditionally, the justification problem is the problem of explaining missing or unexpected answer [11, 12] . Justification is made more complex by several features of Rulelog. First, Rulelog inferencing is based on the well-founded semantics, leading to the task of explaining answers whose truth value is undefined. In addition, the use of defeasible reasoning and of Hilog can lead to unexpected inferences. Furthermore, transformations are used to implement omni rules, Hilog, and defeasibility. Together, these transformations can make the compiled rules look substantially different than the source.

Traditionally, the justification problem is the problem of explaining missing or unexpected answer.


The residual stress state of the SiC x N y H z cap appears to play a small role on the increase in stress near the surface of blanket Cu films. The Cu film with a residual tensile SiC x N y H z cap exhibited an increase of 159 MPa, as compared to 182 MPa in the case of a compressively stressed SiC x N y H z capping layer, indicating that the net force of the capping layer is primarily accommodated by the underlying Si substrate. Cu films only experience a small temperature increase during CoWP deposition (80 0 C), resulting in predominantly elastic deformation. Exposing these films to the same temperature as that associated with SiC x N y H z deposition induces a larger tensile stress at room temperature, which is expected due to microstructural changes such as grain growth (Vinci et al., 1995; Flinn, 1991; Shen and Ramamurty, 2003) . The introduction of a stress gradient in the CoWP-capped Cu films confirms that the capping layer suppresses Cu diffusion near the Cu / cap interface as the sample cools. It is the thermal history and not the composition of the cap that produces the stress gradient, assuming that the capping layer possesses sufficient adhesion to mitigate diffusion in the underlying Cu.

Exposing these films to the same temperature as that associated with SiC x N y H z deposition induces a larger tensile stress at room temperature, which is expected due to microstructural changes such as grain growth.


The ITS is formed of six concentric cylindrical layers of silicon detectors: two layers each of Silicon Pixel (SPD), Silicon Drift (SDD) and Silicon Strip Detectors (SSD). The SDD and the SSD provide a read-out of the signal amplitude, and thus contribute to the PID by measuring the specific energy loss (dE/dx) of the traversing particle. A truncated mean of the (up to) four signals is calculated, resulting in a relative dE/dx resolution of approximately 12% [1] .

A truncated mean of the (up to) four signals is calculated, resulting in a relative dE/dx resolution of approximately 12%.


Controlled drug delivery systems are nowadays extensively studied in order to develop more effective therapeutic agents. Both the protection of protein drugs against enzymatic digestion and their controlled release can be achieved by encapsulation into composite nano-or microparticles [1] . Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) is one of the most promising FDA-approved encapsulating compounds because of its good biodegradability, biocompatibility and low toxicity [2] . As more and more new protein drugs are being invented, there is an increasing demand to find suitable methods and preparation conditions for the formation of composites, whose properties (e.g., particle size distribution, encapsulation efficiency, release profile) fulfil the strict requirements of drug formulation.

Both the protection of protein drugs against enzymatic digestion and their controlled release can be achieved by encapsulation into composite nano-or microparticles.

Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) is one of the most promising FDA-approved encapsulating compounds because of its good biodegradability, biocompatibility and low toxicity.


Character consistency within each marker was calculated using the consistency and retention indices (CI and RI, respectively; Table 3 ) based on the Bayesian topologies in PAUP*v4.0b10 (Swofford 2002) . This showed that the RI within EMB2765 is comparable to that found in ITS, whereas the CI is more favourable in EMB2765 than in ITS. Within PHYC, the two indices have scores that are considerably better than those found in ITS (Table 3) .

Character consistency within each marker was calculated using the consistency and retention indices (CI and RI, respectively; Table 3 ) based on the Bayesian topologies in PAUP*v4.0b10.


The paper is organized as follows. In Section 1 we set up notations. In Section 2 we compute H 2n−k (X) (k ≤ 2) for the quotient space X = (Q × T )/∼ using the idea in Yeroshkin's paper [17] . Namely, we delete a small neighborhood of the singular set in X to obtain a smooth manifold and investigate the relation of the cohomology groups between X and the smooth manifold. In Section 3 we show that the quotient map X → Q induces an isomorphism on their fundamental groups when Q has a vertex.

The paper is organized as follows.

In Section 1 we set up notations.

In Section 2 we compute H 2n−k (X) (k ≤ 2) for the quotient space X = (Q × T )/∼ using the idea in Yeroshkin's paper.


Fierce global competition has made the requirements of manufacturing quality and the complexity of product improved increasingly. Due to the detection technology and time and cost constraints, censored characteristics that contain incomplete information are widely present in the manufacturing process, which constitutes the overall product quality data together with the normal (uncensored) characteristics [7, 8] . Deviation of both types of characteristics transfers and restricts the produced quality and reliability in the manufacturing process. Censored characteristics are ambiguous and dubious, which has a natural connection with product reliability, and reliability oriented censored control chart studies are a considerable potential research area for statistical process monitoring [9] .

Due to the detection technology and time and cost constraints, censored characteristics that contain incomplete information are widely present in the manufacturing process, which constitutes the overall product quality data together with the normal (uncensored) characteristics.

Censored characteristics are ambiguous and dubious, which has a natural connection with product reliability, and reliability oriented censored control chart studies are a considerable potential research area for statistical process monitoring.


To meet the demand of high reliability and long life of the product, targeted analysis, assurance, and optimization for reliability are required to be carried out in the lifecycle of design, manufacture, and usage. But, for a long time, traditional reliability studies only focused on the design and usage stages, and the reliability technologies applicable to the manufacturing process have always been ignored, and they have not drawn the attention it deserves [1] [2] [3] [4] . The manufacturing process is the bridge to transfer the reliability from design to usage, and it is the key process to achieve lossless evolution of product reliability. Those uncertainties, mainly reflected as quality variations of key quality characteristics in manufacturing process, are the root causes of high infant failure rate of product [5] . Infant mortality failures are generally the result of manufacturing errors that are not caught in inspection prior to burn-in or placing into service [6] .

But, for a long time, traditional reliability studies only focused on the design and usage stages, and the reliability technologies applicable to the manufacturing process have always been ignored, and they have not drawn the attention it deserves.

Those uncertainties, mainly reflected as quality variations of key quality characteristics in manufacturing process, are the root causes of high infant failure rate of product.

Infant mortality failures are generally the result of manufacturing errors that are not caught in inspection prior to burn-in or placing into service.


It should be noted also that the binding energy of chromium in chromium nitrate differs from that of chromium adsorbed on the clays. The chromium species in chromium nitrate can be represented as the hexaaqua chromium ion, Cr(H20), 3 § Thus, while the adsorbed chromium species on the clay surface may be Cr(H20)~; 3 § the binding energy for the adsorbed species is lower than for chromium in Cr(NO3):~-9H20 because of the additional bonding with the surface. Evidently the surface site is a better electron donor than the coordinated H.,O ligand. The results indicate that the donation of negative charge to the adsorbed chromium species from the surface site lowers the binding energy for chromium in the adsorbed chromium species relative to Cr(NO3)3" 9H._,O. It would be informative to examine the oxygen:chromium ratio for each sample to specify the approximate stoichiometry of the adsorbed chromium species. This is not possible with these materials, because the clays contain large stoichiometric quantities of oxygen compared to the quantity of oxygen in the adsorbed complex chromium ion. The binding energy for chromium measured at pH 4 is slightly greater than that determined at lower or at higher pH values. The dominant chemical species for chromium at pH 4 include the polymeric chromium ion, Cr3(OH4) 5+ (Baes and Mesmer, 1976) . If this ion was adsorbed at the clay surface, the binding energy data or the Cr/A1 or Cr/Si ratios should have been indicative of the adsorption of polymeric chromium species (vide infra). The binding energy measurements at pH 4 on chlorite and kaolinite are not significantly different from those measured at pH 2 and 3. Thus, from the XPS binding energy data it is not possible to demonstrate that polymeric species are indeed adsorbed. It is clear, however, that at pH 4, chromium is not present as a hydroxide or oxide.

The dominant chemical species for chromium at pH 4 include the polymeric chromium ion, Cr3(OH4) 5+.


The enhanced dissipation that we see in Figs. 14 and 15 is consistent with work using numerical fractal forcings, studied in the fluid mechanics literature, although the proportion of dissipation observed here in what notionally looks to be the "inertial regime" is less (although still double that for non-fractal fences). The manner in which energy transfer takes place in the wakes of fractal and non-fractal forced flows is clearly different and is currently the focus of significant research efforts in fluid mechanics [50] . It would seem that the term "inertial regime" may be inappropriate to describe the region of power-law spectral decay in fractal-forced wakes, even though the structure functions for fractal-forced flow appear to be more similar to isotropic turbulence. This is because significant dissipation is taking place within this scaling region compared to the wakes from fences that are forced in a more traditional manner. Enhanced dissipation (Fig. 14) coupled to a reduced rate of energy decay over wavenumbers corresponding to the forced scales (Fig. 13) implies that turbulence production must be higher for the multi-scale forced flow and hints at the potential for optimising fence design to control for production or dissipation depending on the application. The immediate conclusion from our work is that specifying a height, porosity and bottom gap size for a fence is not sufficient to determine the wake structure of turbulence: the arrangement of the fence struts also has an effect, although porosity effects clearly dominate the primary turbulence variables such as the mean flow and turbulence intensity. More generally, the high dissipation that was seen to occur in a realm that looked like an inertial regime may be a property of many other types of environmental boundary-layer flows owing to the complexity of the forcing that often occurs, such as flows through a forest forced at scales from leaf to trunk Finnigan [12] . This property of environmentally forced turbulence means that it is debateable if an "inertial regime" sensu strictu exists in multi-scale forced flows, and this and other conclusions from the emerging literature on fractal and broadband forcing are deserving of greater attention.

The manner in which energy transfer takes place in the wakes of fractal and non-fractal forced flows is clearly different and is currently the focus of significant research efforts in fluid mechanics.

More generally, the high dissipation that was seen to occur in a realm that looked like an inertial regime may be a property of many other types of environmental boundary-layer flows owing to the complexity of the forcing that often occurs, such as flows through a forest forced at scales from leaf to trunk Finnigan.


However, the main issue with current approaches is that they are not taking into consideration all safety angles. We believe safety must be observed in all software production phases. Therefore, we propose a formal approach which takes into account all software production phases including planning, requirements specification, designing, and implementation [9] . We explain the proposed approach step by step using continuous infusion insulin pump (CIIP) which is a familiar safety-critical system. The paper is organized as follows: In Section 2, we explain briefly CIIP. In Section 3, we explain the steps that must be taken for achieving safety in CIIP based on the proposed approach. Finally, Section 4 concludes the paper.

Therefore, we propose a formal approach which takes into account all software production phases including planning, requirements specification, designing, and implementation.

Finally, Section 4 concludes the paper.


On the other hand, modelling is simplified by absence of evidence for lengthy movements to breed (R. E. Kenward, A. B. South, S. P. Rushton, S. S. Walls & K. H. Hodder, unpublished) . In their second spring, movements made by buzzards immediately prior to pairing did not differ in length or associated factors from those of buzzards that did not pair. Moreover, movements that resulted in pairing after the second spring were shorter than for unpaired birds (Fig. 6) . Thus, we have no grounds other than potential sexual maturity for separating a category of prenuptial movements from other extra-natal transition movements. This suggests that buzzards changed home range for reasons other than mating, and then sometimes found a mate coincidentally. Alternatively, movements specifically to mate were too rare to be detectable, representing another problem of analysing movements, in the tail of a dispersal distribution, which may be rare, but nonetheless important for genetic or colonization processes (Turchin 1998) .

Alternatively, movements specifically to mate were too rare to be detectable, representing another problem of analysing movements, in the tail of a dispersal distribution, which may be rare, but nonetheless important for genetic or colonization processes.


One test was conducted that yielded several data. Firstly, the mean number of eggs laid per day by the control group (not deprived of host) was compared with the experimental groups which were deprived of host for periods ranging from 1 to 10 days after emergence. Secondly, the longevity and duration of oviposition period of non-deprived and deprived females were measured. Eleven groups were formed, each group containing one recently emerged Z. subfasciatus couple and 5 rosinha bean grains. This quantity of beans was chosen since it was found to be ideal for one female (TEIXEIRA & ZUCOLOTO, 2003) . Only the control groups received host every day, whereas the experimental groups were deprived of host for 1 to 10 days, respectively. Each period of deprivation was denominated level 1 to 10, respectively, and 15 replicates were carried out for each group. The grains were changed daily until the death of all females. The beans were kept in smaller glass flasks. The eggs were counted after the 5th day of oviposition when they were opaque and easily visible to the observer naked eye (CARVALHO & ROSSETTO, 1968) .

This quantity of beans was chosen since it was found to be ideal for one female.

The eggs were counted after the 5th day of oviposition when they were opaque and easily visible to the observer naked eye.


The scenario of shadowing which is depicted in Figure 22 is considered for evaluating the performance of the proposed algorithm under different irradiations which the results are shown in Figure 23 . As obviously seen the result for the scenario of Figure 22a which is shown in Figure 23a , the GMPP is detected with a value of 429.9 W and the TGMPP and Pripp_PSC values are equal to 5.46 s and 2.8 W, respectively, for an irradiation of 1000 W/m 2 . By changing the irradiation under PSCs, the short-circuit current and open-circuit voltage values used in Equation (13) are updated with Equations (14) and (15), respectively. So, the new reference voltage should be calculated with updated Equation (18) . In Figure 23b , the experimental result for the scenario of shadowing depicted in Figure 2b for an irradiation of 800 W/m 2 is shown. Thus, the proposed method is successful in finding the GMPP with a value of 349.4 W, and the TGMPP and Pripp_PSC values are equal to 4.34 s and 3.2 W, respectively. The proposed method is also verified by changing the irradiation to 600 W/m 2 , as shown in Figures 22c and 23c , and it is successful in detecting the GMPP with a value of 265.8 W with an updated open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current by Equations (14) and (15) . The TGMPP and Pripp_PSC values are equal to 6 s and 4.2 W, respectively. According to simulation and experimental results for different shadowing scenarios, the proposed method can find a GMPP that is faster than other methods with less oscillation. To investigate the operation of the proposed algorithm during a change in irradiation conditions, more scenarios of shadowing are considered to verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

So, the new reference voltage should be calculated with updated Equation.

The proposed method is also verified by changing the irradiation to 600 W/m 2 , as shown in Figures 22c and 23c , and it is successful in detecting the GMPP with a value of 265.8 W with an updated open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current by Equations (14) and.


Rituximab (RTX) is a chimeric monoclonal antibody directed against CD20 surface antigens expressed on pre B cells and B cells before their differentiation into plasma cells. RTX causes a selective depletion of CD20 positive B cells but does not affect mature plasma cells and thus does not have an immediate effect on immunoglobulin (Ig) levels [2] . Several studies have shown that RTX improves the signs and symptoms of disease and also retards the structural joint damage in patients with active RA [2, [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] .

RTX causes a selective depletion of CD20 positive B cells but does not affect mature plasma cells and thus does not have an immediate effect on immunoglobulin (Ig) levels.

Several studies have shown that RTX improves the signs and symptoms of disease and also retards the structural joint damage in patients with active RA.


The optimal dosing for RTX in RA has been debated over the years, and the evidence from dose finding studies in RA are still limited. In the present study, we report that in daily clinical practice, RTX starting dose or cumulative dose over 2 years did not seem to influence long term adherence to therapy. Our results are in accordance with previous studies and recent meta-analyses of randomized clinical trials, showing good response to the lower dose and to repeated treatment [7, 9, 13] . These findings are of importance since our study population comprises consecutive patients starting RTX treatment in clinical practice. Many of these patients would not be eligible for a randomized clinical trial.

Our results are in accordance with previous studies and recent meta-analyses of randomized clinical trials, showing good response to the lower dose and to repeated treatment.


Biomolecules with amphiphillic nature are called as biosurfactant. Biosurfactant are produced by microorganisms, mostly by bacterial cells, as an extracellular metabolite which contains hydrophilic and hydrophobic moieties (Lin et al., 1998) . There are various types of biosurfactants produced by microbial cells, e.g. rhamnolipids from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, surfactin from Bacillus subtilis, emulsan from Acinetobacter calcoaceticus and sophorolipids from Candida bombicola (Rodrigues et al., 2006) . Biosurfactants have a special advantage over the chemical surfactants, such as lower toxicity, higher biodegradability, biocompatibility and digestibility, better environmental compatibility, higher foaming, high selectivity, effectiveness at extremes of pH, temperature, salinity and widespread applicability, and their unique structures which provide new properties that chemical surfactants may lack (Desai and Banat, 1997; Kosaric, 1992) . The research on production of . . Email: irrfansaifi@gmail.com biosurfactant and their applications have steadily increased during the past decade due to their broad range of functional properties and diverse synthetic capabilities of microbes. Biosurfactants has many applications in the areas such as food and food related industries (as emulsifiers, foaming, wetting, solubilizers, antiadhesive agents), biomedicine and therapeutics (Banat et al., 2000) . Some biosurfactants are a suitable alternative to synthesized medicines and may be used as safe and effective therapeutic agents (Singh and Cameotra, 2004) . The antimicrobial activity of several biosurfactants has been reported against bacteria, fungi, algae and viruses (Cameotra and Makkar, 2004) .

Biosurfactant are produced by microorganisms, mostly by bacterial cells, as an extracellular metabolite which contains hydrophilic and hydrophobic moieties.

There are various types of biosurfactants produced by microbial cells, e.g. rhamnolipids from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, surfactin from Bacillus subtilis, emulsan from Acinetobacter calcoaceticus and sophorolipids from Candida bombicola.

Biosurfactants have a special advantage over the chemical surfactants, such as lower toxicity, higher biodegradability, biocompatibility and digestibility, better environmental compatibility, higher foaming, high selectivity, effectiveness at extremes of pH, temperature, salinity and widespread applicability, and their unique structures which provide new properties that chemical surfactants may lack.

The research on production of . .

Biosurfactants has many applications in the areas such as food and food related industries (as emulsifiers, foaming, wetting, solubilizers, antiadhesive agents), biomedicine and therapeutics.

Some biosurfactants are a suitable alternative to synthesized medicines and may be used as safe and effective therapeutic agents.

The antimicrobial activity of several biosurfactants has been reported against bacteria, fungi, algae and viruses.


Lipid-based chemicals and biofuels are of great interest in the current context of petroleum resource rarefaction. At present, the lipids used for green chemistry and energy are mostly triacylglycerols (TAG) extracted from crop seeds or animal fats (Octave and Thomas, 2009) . Because of the competition with food usage, the use of these lipid sources is quesCorrespondence: marine.froissard@versailles.inra.fr tionable. Scientists and industries are working collaboratively to identify and develop alternative renewable sources of lipids for non-food use. In the past decade, oleaginous single-cell microorganisms have reached the forefront of this research because of their high efficiency for TAG production or storage (Garay et al., 2014; Liu et al. 2013) . For most, their lipid metabolic and biochemical pathways have been identified and their growth on refined simple carbon sources is well-described (Blazeck et al., 2014; Comba et al., 2013) . However, their optimal valorization in cost-effective processes necessitates the optimization of their growth on less expensive substrates, such as wastes or lignocellulosic residues.

At present, the lipids used for green chemistry and energy are mostly triacylglycerols (TAG) extracted from crop seeds or animal fats.

In the past decade, oleaginous single-cell microorganisms have reached the forefront of this research because of their high efficiency for TAG production or storage.

For most, their lipid metabolic and biochemical pathways have been identified and their growth on refined simple carbon sources is well-described.


The flow conditions have been chosen measuring the superficial liquid and air velocities and the average void fraction at position z/D = 56 for each run condition. All the run conditions (Tab. 1) are in the bubbly flow regime, and only for the highest void fractions appear some large cups, near the transition from bubbly to cap/slug regime. For each liquid velocity conditions we have performed the experiments with at least five gas conditions ranging from 5 to up 25%, except in the case when the superficial liquid velocity j f = 0.5 m/s where an extra case was tested near the transition from bubbly to cap/slug regime. At the setup of each run the void fraction was also measured by a pressure sensor at z/D = 56. Details about the experiments and the facility can be found in Mendez thesis [29] .

Details about the experiments and the facility can be found in Mendez thesis.


The velocity and turbulence fields of the liquid phase were computed by solving the time dependent mass, energy, and momentum conservation equations in its Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS)equations form . The turbulent kinetic energy k, and the dissipation rate ε transport equations were simultaneously solved by using the k-model in a (r,z) grid using the finite volume method using the SIMPLER algorithm [34] . Both Lagrangian and Eulerian calculations were performed in parallel taking into account the turbulence induced by the bubbles on the liquid phase. Also the Lagrangian and 3D random walk models were coupled to a 3D Eulerian solver in order to study the differences produced by considering the simplifying assumption of considering an axisymmetric Eulerian model for the continuous phase.

The turbulent kinetic energy k, and the dissipation rate ε transport equations were simultaneously solved by using the k-model in a (r,z) grid using the finite volume method using the SIMPLER algorithm.


Undoubtedly, during the last decade we have witnessed a rapid and intense advancement of the information and communication technologies (ICTs), which has had a significant impact on the continuous transformation of the digital media landscape [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] . Newfangled digital journalism genres appear and continually evolve, extending the news-reporting and informing capabilities of all users, citizen, and professional journalists, while also requiring different skill sets and know-how on the use of digital media. The need for constant and on-demand support in these technologies and generally for the cultivation of digital literacy is among the contemporary priorities of the society. Furthermore, the proliferation of mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) and their communicative capabilities have intensified their role in technology-enhanced learning and everyday informatory services [1, [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] . In this direction, mobile journalism (mojo) forms a representative example, in which both new tools (i.e., mojo apps for journalists and targeted audience) and learning resources have to be produced, shaped, and adapted to the users' needs and preferences [14] [15] [16] .

Undoubtedly, during the last decade we have witnessed a rapid and intense advancement of the information and communication technologies (ICTs), which has had a significant impact on the continuous transformation of the digital media landscape.

Furthermore, the proliferation of mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) and their communicative capabilities have intensified their role in technology-enhanced learning and everyday informatory services.

In this direction, mobile journalism (mojo) forms a representative example, in which both new tools (i.e., mojo apps for journalists and targeted audience) and learning resources have to be produced, shaped, and adapted to the users' needs and preferences.


As mentioned, we adopted typical software/system development models, utilizing logical usercentered design (LUCID) [51] . The LUCID model proposes iterations between the stages of envision, analyze, design, refine, implement, and support. Specifically, starting with the basic idea, a thorough analysis was conducted as a part of a "rapid interactive prototyping" procedure which featured intense user engagement. Evaluation metrics (prior and after the design) were employed to validate the constructed model, providing assessment results in qualitative and quantitative terms. The current research corresponds to the stages of analyzing user needs and requirements, refining the For all of the aforementioned reasons, a big part of the iterated evaluation stages is about testing and improving the MoJo-MATE terminal side implemented versions in terms of ease of use and learning by inexperienced users. It is important to ensure that the target users are capable of using the application on their own, without the help of a technological expert. This way, we can be sure that they are immediately able to start benefiting from the procedure in terms of media literacy and digital skills development.

As mentioned, we adopted typical software/system development models, utilizing logical usercentered design (LUCID).


Media literacy is considered crucial, especially among students and professionals of journalism, media, and communication. It is not surprising that the rise of information and communications technologies (ICTs) has had a major effect on the curricula of universities. The efficient integration of new media education and technologies is still a topic under investigation. While the use of available systems and platforms is very widespread, it does not always optimally address the new pedagogical needs. The most common academic approach in schools of journalism and media worldwide is to include discrete courses of theoretical background and practical laboratory training in the curriculum. Moreover, dedicated environments for technology enhanced learning (TEL) make use of new technological advances in order to support students individually [17] .

Moreover, dedicated environments for technology enhanced learning (TEL) make use of new technological advances in order to support students individually.


Mobile journalism or mojo refers to the explicit use of mobile phones for the creation of news reporting content. It can include the contributions of professionals, as well as user generated content (UGC) provided by amateur users. The only prerequisite are the use of commonly available mobile devices and their functionality. Mojo has been considered an opportunity along with the rapid spread of mobile devices and the rise of UGC and citizen participation during the last decade [30, 31] . This new mobile technology potential caused both skepticism and excitement, but it was immediately embraced by the first mobile journalists (mojos) or solo journalists (sojos) [31] . However, the capabilities of that generation of smartphones still caused major quality drawbacks and often a disappointment to the professionals who used them for content creation [30] .

Mojo has been considered an opportunity along with the rapid spread of mobile devices and the rise of UGC and citizen participation during the last decade.

This new mobile technology potential caused both skepticism and excitement, but it was immediately embraced by the first mobile journalists (mojos) or solo journalists (sojos).

However, the capabilities of that generation of smartphones still caused major quality drawbacks and often a disappointment to the professionals who used them for content creation.


As mentioned, we adopted typical software/system development models, utilizing logical user-centered design (LUCID) [52] . The LUCID model proposes iterations between the stages of envision, analyze, design, refine, implement, and support. Specifically, starting with the basic idea, a thorough analysis was conducted as a part of a "rapid interactive prototyping" procedure which featured intense user engagement. Evaluation metrics (prior and after the design) were employed to validate the constructed model, providing assessment results in qualitative and quantitative terms. The current research corresponds to the stages of analyzing user needs and requirements, refining the prototype that was proposed in the design stage, and implementing through public testing and evaluation, as described in the LUCID model.

As mentioned, we adopted typical software/system development models, utilizing logical user-centered design (LUCID).


To summarize, our inelastic neutron scattering experiments below 100 meV indicate that the spin excitations in FeS occur at the stripe AF wave vector (1, 0) with no observable signal at the checkerboard ordering wave vector (1, 1), and are much weaker than those of FeSe (Fig. 2) . The weaker correlations in FeS, established by our observation via quantum oscillation measurements of minute enhancement in the effective mass over its non-interacting counterpart, both reduce the low-energy spin spectral weight and push up the energy scale for the (1, 1) excitations. The weaker correlations also imply that FeS is much closer to a BCS superconductor, which allow us to understand why the lowenergy spin excitations do not directly respond to superconductivity (Fig. 3) . These results for the isostructural and stoichiometric FeS highlight the strongly correlated nature of FeSe. Indeed, the electron spectral weight in FeSe mainly resides in the incoherent part, which induces quasi-local moments. The ensuing physics of frustrated magnetism not only yields the nematic order but also is manifested in the co-existing spin excitations at (1, 0) and (1, 1) wave vectors [17, 18] . The strong correlations in FeSe also enhance the effective quasiparticle interactions in its superconducting state, giving rise to a resonance spin excitation in FeSe [14, 15] . As such, our findings elucidate both the origin of the nematic order and the nature of the superconductivity in FeSe.

The ensuing physics of frustrated magnetism not only yields the nematic order but also is manifested in the co-existing spin excitations at (1, 0) and (1, 1) wave vectors.

The strong correlations in FeSe also enhance the effective quasiparticle interactions in its superconducting state, giving rise to a resonance spin excitation in FeSe.


It is also instructive to compare the spin dynamics of the superconducting state in FeS with the results on FeSe and iron pnictide superconductors. For most iron-based superconductors, the appearance of superconductivity is coupled with changes in the spin excitations with the opening of a spin gap, and inducing a neutron spin resonance near the stripe AF wave vector [2] . The presence of a resonance has mostly been interpreted as due to quasiparticle excitations between the hole-Fermi surfaces near the Γ−point and the electron Fermi surfaces near (1, 0) as a consequence of Fermi surface nesting [2] . Given the hole and electron Fermi surfaces in FeS [ Fig. 1(e) ] and FeSe [ Fig. 1(f) ], one would expect the presence of spin fluctuations in both materials at the commensurate stripe AF wave vector (1, 0). Our finding that FeS is a weakly correlated analog of FeSe provides a natural understanding of the lack of a neutron resonance. More quantitatively, from magnetic and transport measurements, it was argued that FeSe is deep inside Bardeen-CooperSchrieffer (BCS) and Bose-Einstein-condensate (BCS-BES) cross-over regime, where the ratio of superconducting gap ∆ to Fermi energy F is of the order of unity [40, 41] . From the experimentally obtained values for the SdH frequencies F and the effective masses µ in FeS, we can estimate the Fermi energy F by using: F = 2 k 2 F /2µ, A = πk F 2 and F = A/2πe. Assuming that the superconducting gap ∆ can be estimated by using the BCS formula for a weakly coupled superconductor for FeS: ∆(T → 0) = 1.764 k B T c = 0.65 meV with T c = 4.3 K, we can calculate the ratio of superconducting gap to Fermi energy as shown in the table below. It clearly shows that the electron pairing in FeS is much closer to a BCS superconductor, again in line with our finding of a correlation strength in FeS that is considerably reduced than that of FeSe.

For most iron-based superconductors, the appearance of superconductivity is coupled with changes in the spin excitations with the opening of a spin gap, and inducing a neutron spin resonance near the stripe AF wave vector.

The presence of a resonance has mostly been interpreted as due to quasiparticle excitations between the hole-Fermi surfaces near the Γ−point and the electron Fermi surfaces near (1, 0) as a consequence of Fermi surface nesting.

More quantitatively, from magnetic and transport measurements, it was argued that FeSe is deep inside Bardeen-CooperSchrieffer (BCS) and Bose-Einstein-condensate (BCS-BES) cross-over regime, where the ratio of superconducting gap ∆ to Fermi energy F is of the order of unity.


If the CRLH TL is open to free space and supports fast wave mode and leaky wave (LW) mode, it radiates and can be used as an antenna. CRLH LW antenna operates at its fundamental mode, so it has small size and simple feeder. The wave number of the structure has both negative and positive values, so it supports scanning from backfire to endfire directions [8] . In this paper, we present a novel CRLH LW antenna based on coupled microstrip lines with backfire (LH-lower frequencies) to endfire (RH-higher frequencies) scanning capability.

The wave number of the structure has both negative and positive values, so it supports scanning from backfire to endfire directions.


To proceed with calibration, a certain number of measurements of pressure at nodes and flow along pipes is always required. These have to be obtained on site and under various operating conditions to provide the most information needed for the calibration model [22] . To do this it is necessary to identify the optimal points where measurements are more sensitive to the variation of roughness and/or flow, so an optimal Sampling Design (SD) is required. The sampling design is used to determine: 1) the magnitude to observe (pressure or flow); 2) when to observe it; 3) where to observe it and 4) under what conditions [23] . Some authors proposed different types of SD, which can be classified under three different categories: D-optimality criteria, A-optimality criteria and V-optimality criteria.

These have to be obtained on site and under various operating conditions to provide the most information needed for the calibration model.

The sampling design is used to determine: 1) the magnitude to observe (pressure or flow); 2) when to observe it; 3) where to observe it and 4) under what conditions.


The largest population at risk of malaria, 1,320 million people, now lives in the South-Eastern WHO Region. India is one of 11 countries in that region with nearly 980 million people at risk. According to WHO's estimated number of cases, India also has the largest number of malaria cases occurring outside of Africa [2] . India's official statistics suggest that P. falciparum accounts for about 50% of the clinical cases in India.

According to WHO's estimated number of cases, India also has the largest number of malaria cases occurring outside of Africa.


The present study shows that attendance of hermit crabs at shell-supplying sites is a behavioral tactic increasing P. longicarpus' likelihood of access to new shells. Crabs may also crowd in aggregations to swap shells, an event that, although rare, could be highly beneficial to the usurper if made with the right conspecific (i.e., the conspecific inhabiting a high quality shell that the usurper is able to recognize in the crowd). The individuals taking advantage of shell-supplying sites are usually the first crabs arriving at the site and/or occupying the vacant shell. Therefore, in the short run, locomotion seems to be more efficient for the acquisition of new shells by P. longicarpus than either aggression or mutualism through negotiation (Hazlett 1981a) . From a behavioral point of view, the efficacy of exploitative, rather than direct, competition might explain why locomotion in this species is so intense in all size classes. From an ecological perspective, our results suggest that, in the long run, it is the density of nondestructive gastropod predators that regulates, through a top-down process, the entry of new shells of good quality in the pool available to P. longicarpus and, therefore, influences the structure and growth of its populations.

Therefore, in the short run, locomotion seems to be more efficient for the acquisition of new shells by P. longicarpus than either aggression or mutualism through negotiation.