Interaction between members of a team enables them to divergently explore a design space and later convergently focuses their efforts on a diminishing set of alternatives [7] . In order to accomplish the divergent stage, members of a team must be capable of independently tailoring their approach as they search for solutions-a behavior accounted for by the locally sensitive search characteristic in CISAT [5] . This specifically reflects the ability of expert designers to use a mixture of depth-and breadthfirst solution strategies [8] . To accomplish the convergent stage, the members of the team must have some mechanism for interacting and sharing solutions-a behavior accounted for by the quality-informed solution sharing characteristic of CISAT [5] . This reflects the fact that members of a design team factor design quality into decisions, but are also able to pursue designs that may currently display lower quality [9] .

Interaction between members of a team enables them to divergently explore a design space and later convergently focuses their efforts on a diminishing set of alternatives.

In order to accomplish the divergent stage, members of a team must be capable of independently tailoring their approach as they search for solutions-a behavior accounted for by the locally sensitive search characteristic in CISAT.

This specifically reflects the ability of expert designers to use a mixture of depth-and breadthfirst solution strategies.

To accomplish the convergent stage, the members of the team must have some mechanism for interacting and sharing solutions-a behavior accounted for by the quality-informed solution sharing characteristic of CISAT.

This reflects the fact that members of a design team factor design quality into decisions, but are also able to pursue designs that may currently display lower quality.


For the construct validity study, KIPS scores correlated significantly with the FSW's rating of caregiver engagement in services, SRCE M = 4.08, SD =.83, minimum 1.5 to maximum 5.0, r = .22, p < .0001, but not with other service factors, including months enrolled in the program, frequency of visits, and home visit completion rate. These findings are consistent with the results of previous studies of KIPS in other home visiting programs (Comfort, Gordon, & Unger, 2006; Comfort, et al., 2010) . Further analysis using one-way ANOVAs showed a significantly lower rate of home visits completed for families receiving services for 1 to 12 months, M = 87 %, SD = 17, than each of the other categories listed in Table 2 , F(3,396) = 11.31, p < .0001, Tukey's HSD, p < .01. However, no significant differences were found in KIPS mean scores by the four time periods of enrollment in services. Significant correlations of KIPS mean scores also were found with parent knowledge of child development and behavioral expectations, KCDS M = 20.3, SD = 2.3, minimum 10 to maximum 24, r =.18, p < .0001.

These findings are consistent with the results of previous studies of KIPS in other home visiting programs.


To examine criterion validity, KIPS was compared with the well-established NCATS and HOME scales. The NCATS scores for the families in this study were generally lower than those reported in the NCATS manual (Sumner & Spietz, 1994) . This may be due to differences in family demographics for the samples studied. Unlike the sample described in the NCATS manual, this study included primarily single parents, with high school or less education, enrolled in child abuse/neglect prevention services. Like the present study, NCATS validation studies reported significant correlations between NCATS caregiver subscales and HOME Total scores, ranging from .17 to .59, with few significant correlations for NCATS child subscales (Sumner & Spietz, 1994) . Similar to this criterion validity study, the NCATS Caregiver Social-Emotional and Cognitive Growth subscales showed the highest associations with the HOME Total score.

The NCATS scores for the families in this study were generally lower than those reported in the NCATS manual.

Like the present study, NCATS validation studies reported significant correlations between NCATS caregiver subscales and HOME Total scores, ranging from .17 to .59, with few significant correlations for NCATS child subscales.


Nondopaminergic and nonmotor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD), which include psychiatric, autonomic, and gastrointestinal symptoms, are sometimes present before a diagnosis of PD and almost inevitably emerge with the disease progression [1] . In contrast to motor symptoms of PD, nonmotor symptoms have been poorly recognized and inadequately treated. However, methods for recognizing and quantifying the nonmotor symptoms of PD have become a new focus of research that will form the basis for improved treatments [1] .

Nondopaminergic and nonmotor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD), which include psychiatric, autonomic, and gastrointestinal symptoms, are sometimes present before a diagnosis of PD and almost inevitably emerge with the disease progression.

However, methods for recognizing and quantifying the nonmotor symptoms of PD have become a new focus of research that will form the basis for improved treatments.


Staphylococcus aureus is a major cause of hospitally-acquired infections, with b-Lactam antibiotics often considered as a first line of treatment. However, widespread use of this class of antibiotics has led to an increasing prevalence of bacterial resistance. The main mechanisms of b-lactams resistance consist in (a) the production of b-lactamases inactivating the antibiotics and (b) the production of PBP2a, an additional penicillin-binding protein with decreased affinity for methicillin and most other b-lactam drugs, the production of which is associated to the so-call MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) phenotype (Tenover 2006) . MRSA is one of the most prominent pathogens known to induce a severe threat to human health (Lowy 1998) . Recent epidemiological studies indicate that the prevalence of MRSA is high over the world posing a significant public health challenge (Hadler et al. 2012; Johnson 2011) .

The main mechanisms of b-lactams resistance consist in (a) the production of b-lactamases inactivating the antibiotics and (b) the production of PBP2a, an additional penicillin-binding protein with decreased affinity for methicillin and most other b-lactam drugs, the production of which is associated to the so-call MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) phenotype.

MRSA is one of the most prominent pathogens known to induce a severe threat to human health.

Recent epidemiological studies indicate that the prevalence of MRSA is high over the world posing a significant public health challenge.


Reaction conditions are milder for the fermentative process, with temperatures ranging from ambient to 40 °C and atmospheric pressure. The processing time, however, is very long, with processing times over 8 h (Göksungur et al., 2005; Hugenholtz and Kleerebezem, 1999; Schepers et al., 2006; Zhang and Vadlani, 2013) . The hydrothermal process requires higher temperatures and pressure, but has a very short reaction time. This time difference leads to a higher productivity of the hydrothermal process. The fermentative process requires the separation of the lactic acid from a more complex mixture that contains microorganisms, fermentation broth, residual sugars, lactic acid and other organic acids in lower concentration (Guilherme et al., 2011; Silveira et al., 2010) . This complexity may lead to higher costs in the separation process, while the hydrothermal process requires a less complex separation system.

The processing time, however, is very long, with processing times over 8 h.

The fermentative process requires the separation of the lactic acid from a more complex mixture that contains microorganisms, fermentation broth, residual sugars, lactic acid and other organic acids in lower concentration.


The production of lactic acid through the hydrothermal process results in the formation of a racemic mixture of L-lactic acid and D-lactic acid. The racemic mixture can be used to produce several chemicals, such as ethyl lactate, propylene glycol, propylene oxide, acrylic acid and other green-labelled chemicals. The use of the racemic mixture in the production of poly(lactic acid) provides a polymer with a low degree of crystallinity and low tensile strength. The pure L-isomer is preferred to produce poly(lactic acid) because it provides a polymer with higher tensile strength and crystallinity and, in this case, the product derived from the fermentative process is preferred (Van Wouve et al., 2013) . The racemic mixture, however, has been added to the pure Lisomer during polymerization to change the properties of poly(lactic acid), producing a wide range of physical properties (Datta and Henry, 2006) .

The pure L-isomer is preferred to produce poly(lactic acid) because it provides a polymer with higher tensile strength and crystallinity and, in this case, the product derived from the fermentative process is preferred.

The racemic mixture, however, has been added to the pure Lisomer during polymerization to change the properties of poly(lactic acid), producing a wide range of physical properties.


Several studies have reported high yields of lactic acid (> 90%) from many carbon sources (glycerol, sorbitol, mannitol) (Kishida et al., 2005; Ramírez-López et al., 2010; Shen et al., 2009; Zhou et al., 2010) . These studies, however, started from low concentrations of the carbon source (< 0.05 v/v) . Under this condition, the final concentrations of lactic acid and the productivities of the process are much lower than the concentrations and productivities observed in the fermentative process. To compete with the fermentative process, the hydrothermal process needs to be equivalent or better than the fermentative process.

Several studies have reported high yields of lactic acid (> 90%) from many carbon sources (glycerol, sorbitol, mannitol).


One of the advantages of the fermentative process for the production of lactic acid is the possibility to start with several sources, such as sucrose, glucose, mannitol, fruit residues, glycerol and other sources (Gao et al., 2006; Göksungur et al., 2005; Marques et al., 2008; Silveira et al., 2010; Zhang and Vadlani, 2013) . The hydrothermal process, in this sense, is limited to the use of glycerol, and its production should be linked to processes that generate large quantities of glycerol. Nowadays, biodiesel plants are the main sources of glycerol and produce large quantities of this chemical. The availability of glycerol at low prices can boost the production of lactic acid by the hydrothermal process.

One of the advantages of the fermentative process for the production of lactic acid is the possibility to start with several sources, such as sucrose, glucose, mannitol, fruit residues, glycerol and other sources.


Lactic acid is one of the products that can be obtained from glycerol. Currently, it is used as a precursor for green solvents such as ethyl lactate and in the synthesis of poly(lactic acid), which is a biodegradable polymer. Lactic acid has many applications in the food, textile, leather, cosmetic, chemical and pharmaceutical industries (Ramírez-López et al., 2011) .

Lactic acid has many applications in the food, textile, leather, cosmetic, chemical and pharmaceutical industries.


The use and development of renewable energy sources is growing. Biodiesel, one of the alternatives to petroleum-derived diesel fuels, has been developed and is being produced in large industrial scale in several countries. As the production of biodiesel grows, the production of its main by-product (glycerol) also grows. The production of 10 tons of biodiesel generates about 1 ton of glycerol (~10 wt%), which has begun to be considered an unwanted byproduct since it cannot be simply dumped into rivers or landfills (Dasari et al., 2005) . In recent years, the availability of glycerol increased and new markets and uses for glycerol are required and desired.

The production of 10 tons of biodiesel generates about 1 ton of glycerol (~10 wt%), which has begun to be considered an unwanted byproduct since it cannot be simply dumped into rivers or landfills.


Notwithstanding the limitations of this modelling, there are some clear synergies in recommendations which advocate a reduction in non-core food consumption and realignment of dietary choices to better conform to Australian Dietary Guidelines. The urgency of climate change, and concern for the environmental sustainability of our food supply, demands informed behaviour changes to reduce diet-related GHGe [36] . This paper takes the first steps in quantifying the GHGe associated with the average Australian diet. The ability to measure GHGe associated with the diet will enable comparisons between changes in dietary intake and GHGe over time. In turn, this data will be useful to inform nutrition and agricultural policy to ensure Australia maintains its quality food supply into the future.

The urgency of climate change, and concern for the environmental sustainability of our food supply, demands informed behaviour changes to reduce diet-related GHGe.


This variation highlights the potential to reduce diet-related GHGe through improvements in the upstream agricultural sectors [3] . There is some evidence to suggest that the adoption of more efficient production practices has reduced GHGe intensity, and that eliminating food wastage pre and post purchase can also reduce GHGe [4] . Therefore strategies to reduce the environmental impact of our diet do not necessarily have to rely on changes in diet composition and patterns of eating.

This variation highlights the potential to reduce diet-related GHGe through improvements in the upstream agricultural sectors.

There is some evidence to suggest that the adoption of more efficient production practices has reduced GHGe intensity, and that eliminating food wastage pre and post purchase can also reduce GHGe.


In the recent years, ferroelectric materials are of great interest with the development of electrical tunable microwave devices and components. All the devices are designed and made on ferroelectric thin films, deposited on dielectric substrates, which produce internal electric polarization changes with externally applied electric field. In addition, the high dielectric constant of ferroelectric materials can greatly reduce the size of components. In order to efficiently guide such research, it is essential to be able to characterize, in a reliable and reproducible way, the parameter-related dielectric properties of ferroelectric films [1] . A number of techniques, which have potential to be applied for the permittivity measurement of ferroelectric materials, have been developed [2, 3] . Among these methods, the CPW structure is widely applied [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] . By measuring the S-parameter of the CPW, the characteristic impedance and propagation constant can be obtained, by which the effective permittivity determined. Then, the filling factor of each layer can be calculated combining CM with PCA. At last, the relationship between the effective permittivity of multiplayer CPW and the permittivity of each layer can be obtained. However, if the thickness of the thin film is very small, the results calculated directly by CM will lead to fail because of the crowding phenomenon [13] .

In order to efficiently guide such research, it is essential to be able to characterize, in a reliable and reproducible way, the parameter-related dielectric properties of ferroelectric films.

A number of techniques, which have potential to be applied for the permittivity measurement of ferroelectric materials, have been developed.

Among these methods, the CPW structure is widely applied.

However, if the thickness of the thin film is very small, the results calculated directly by CM will lead to fail because of the crowding phenomenon.


The oxidation of Cu(I) at nanomolar concentration in air saturated solutions followed a pseudo first order kinetic. In Table 1 , the half-live times (t 1/2 ) for the oxidation kinetics of Cu(I) in 0.7 M NaCl -2 mM NaHCO 3 and seawater solutions at nanomolar and micromolar concentrations are shown. As pH decrease, an increase in t 1/2 is obtained being similar in both media. The t 1/2 comparison between the studies done at nanomolar and micromolar Cu(I) concentration shown differences as can be observed in Table 1 . These differences have also been found for the iron kinetic studies (Santana-Casiano et al. 2005) .

These differences have also been found for the iron kinetic studies.


Perhaps surprisingly, the template system in C++ has been found to be a fairly effective, if crude, mechanism for performing compile-time meta-programming [36, 11] . Essentially the template system can be seen as an ad-hoc functional language which is interpreted at compile-time. However this approach is inherently limited compared to the other approaches described in this section.

Perhaps surprisingly, the template system in C++ has been found to be a fairly effective, if crude, mechanism for performing compile-time meta-programming.


The testis comprises two distinct compartments, the seminiferous tubules (the spermatogenesis site) and the Leydig cells (the testosterone source). Spermatogenesis is a highly complex process regulated by testicular cells such as various stage germ cells, Sertoli cells, Leydig cells and peritubular cells [17] . The testis is one of the most radiosensitive organs, which can be significantly functionally impaired by even very low doses of radiation [18] . In this study, testicular atrophy associated with distorted architecture of seminiferous tubules was observed in ionizing radiation mice at 21 days post-radiation. Meanwhile, the sperm count and motility were significantly decreased, and abnormal sperm rate was significantly increased. These results are consistent with previous reports [19, 20] . Administrated of WZYZP restrained the decrease in testis weight, improved the distorted architecture of seminiferous tubules, and reversed the decline of sperm quantity and quality but had no effect on the frequency of abnormal sperm.

Spermatogenesis is a highly complex process regulated by testicular cells such as various stage germ cells, Sertoli cells, Leydig cells and peritubular cells.

The testis is one of the most radiosensitive organs, which can be significantly functionally impaired by even very low doses of radiation.

These results are consistent with previous reports.


The integration of large solar farms into the power grid is not an easy task, as the output of solar farms varies with every season. It also depends on various other factors, like cloud cover, wind speed, humidity, etc. One critical phenomenon to consider is the ramp event, which occurs when the solar power generation suddenly drops when there is cloud cover and ramps up again when the cloud cover lifts [5] . With all of these factors in consideration, solar power forecasting comes to play an important role. Forecasting the solar power several hours ahead could facilitate balancing the grid's supply and demand by helping the stakeholders make informed decisions regarding backup power generation using fossil fuel, demand response, peak load shifting, etc.

One critical phenomenon to consider is the ramp event, which occurs when the solar power generation suddenly drops when there is cloud cover and ramps up again when the cloud cover lifts.


In addition, concerns have been raised about the asymmetric algorithm's integrity. Research indicates that with the method using both primary and secret keys, computation of the asymmetric key requires that it be longer than that of the private key to ensure equilibrium between the two. Without the two keys being in balance, the entire system remains vulnerable to attack. Also, public-key cryptography tends to be more vulnerable to severe attacks, especially in cases involving an intermediary that can subject the system to malware infections (Rass and Slamanig, 2013) .

Also, public-key cryptography tends to be more vulnerable to severe attacks, especially in cases involving an intermediary that can subject the system to malware infections.


With the increase in the implementation and employment of cloud services, most providers lack a proper security system to protect data from threats and attacks. At the same time, most companies employ cryptographic algorithms to help preserve the ciphertext (Mantri et al., 2011) . During the cyphering or encrypting of the version, it is advisable to use extended algorithms because of its complexity and capability to be un-hackable or attacked. When the algorithm is extended, then the system becomes more effective and efficient. Cloud cryptography uses algorithms to create a defense mechanism to protect the data from being hacked by any person. To ensure that the data and database retain confidentiality, cryptography enhances the implementation of symmetric, asymmetric, and hashing algorithms. On the other hand, it manages the integrity element by using hashing algorithms (Bhardwaj et al., 2016) .

At the same time, most companies employ cryptographic algorithms to help preserve the ciphertext.

On the other hand, it manages the integrity element by using hashing algorithms.


Targeted attacks related to cloud computing include insufficient identity, credentials, and account management. For example, hackers can create fake identifications and pretend to be legit users, and operators and service providers can gain access to, modify, or manipulate data (Violino, 2018) . Furthermore, this group has advanced management schemes, such as creating control panels and management user interfaces, which can track and access data. Moreover, these individuals can release malware software to that can later affect the entire cloud network, thus causing problems within the discourse (Singh and Supriya, 2013) .

For example, hackers can create fake identifications and pretend to be legit users, and operators and service providers can gain access to, modify, or manipulate data.

Moreover, these individuals can release malware software to that can later affect the entire cloud network, thus causing problems within the discourse.


The security goals of cloud cryptography are authentication, confidentiality, non-repudiation, and integrity of the moved and stored information on the remote servers (Hashizume et al., 2013) . First, authentication is the process of identifying whether something or someone is what and who it is supposed to be. Second, confidentiality defines the method that is directly linked to lack of privacy and database access through hacking. Third, non-repudiation confirms why an individual or company cannot decline their agreement and originality of a seal, signature, and information they created. Lastly, integrity assures the value, accuracy, and consistency of data stored in a database.

The security goals of cloud cryptography are authentication, confidentiality, non-repudiation, and integrity of the moved and stored information on the remote servers.


On the other hand, Symmetric Algorithm involves one shared private key used to encrypt and decrypt information. Also, it can process significant data from a computing standpoint. Moreover, the key has limited authority and lower overhead on the method, and it is efficient and effective for encrypting and decrypting messages (Buchanan, 2017) . Symmetric algorithms encrypt plaintexts as a group or block of 64-bit units of fixed numbers. However, despite its extensive use, the symmetric system has problems (Rass and Slamanig, 2013) .

Moreover, the key has limited authority and lower overhead on the method, and it is efficient and effective for encrypting and decrypting messages.

However, despite its extensive use, the symmetric system has problems.


With the adjustments in technology, many users and companies have begun implementing cloud services for personal or business purposes. In addition, the Y-generation is addicted to the use of technology, which provides cloud service providers with a stable market. The invention and innovation of cloud services created a dynamic change in the global political, social, and economic system (Hashizume et al., 2013) . With the increase of providers, various policy issues arose. First, as stated earlier, cloud security is one of the major faults of the entire system. Although much research has been carried out to understand the source of the problems, it is difficult to focus on one cause alone.

The invention and innovation of cloud services created a dynamic change in the global political, social, and economic system.


This literature review has expanded on some of the significant problems facing cloud computing security. Many of these vulnerabilities occur due to a faulty system, human error, and, at times, cyberbullying (McAndrew, 2016) . Cryptography remains the most frequently implemented method used to enhance security measures but with the numerous defaults in symmetric and asymmetric algorithms (Yan, 2012) . The methodology section outlines the author's study of asymmetric and symmetric algorithm patterns and proposes a better system that can ensure maximum cloud computing security.

Many of these vulnerabilities occur due to a faulty system, human error, and, at times, cyberbullying.

Cryptography remains the most frequently implemented method used to enhance security measures but with the numerous defaults in symmetric and asymmetric algorithms.


This study aims to understand why the two models of algorithms are vulnerable to threats, such as malware attacks, cyber-attacks, hacking, and changes in the security protocol. This paper draws on advanced qualitative research by gathering information from various peer-reviewed articles, books, and other publications to understand why asymmetric and symmetric algorithms are vulnerable (Mantri et al., 2011) . In addition, the methodology uses three different examples of algorithms to explain why the hash algorithm is different from the other two.

This paper draws on advanced qualitative research by gathering information from various peer-reviewed articles, books, and other publications to understand why asymmetric and symmetric algorithms are vulnerable.


The cost-efficient nature of these services has led to an increase of registered members in a single cloud. With the rise in the numbers of users comes congestion within a specific protocol; at the same time, counterfeit providers use the same information they gather from these individuals to intercept their messages or manipulate them (Mantri et al., 2011) . To protect the data from falling into the wrong hands, scientists and software programmers have developed various ways of cryptography in information, thus the introduction of cryptosystems.

With the rise in the numbers of users comes congestion within a specific protocol; at the same time, counterfeit providers use the same information they gather from these individuals to intercept their messages or manipulate them.


Since the invention and implementation of cloud computing, the majority of cloud providers have tried to implement better security measures to ensure customer satisfaction, effective and efficient data movement, and high levels of security. For these reasons, the most brilliant minds in the technology discipline developed numerous security measures (Bhardwaj et al., 2016) . These measures were developed through the implementation of symmetric, asymmetric, and hash algorithms. Among the three, symmetric and asymmetric were used on a large scale, but hashing was implemented on a small scale. With the increasing use of symmetric and asymmetric algorithms, human beings deduced better ways of intercepting, manipulating, and changing information; therefore, the security of cloud computing became an area of increasingly intense concern (Khan and Tuteja, 2015) .

For these reasons, the most brilliant minds in the technology discipline developed numerous security measures.

With the increasing use of symmetric and asymmetric algorithms, human beings deduced better ways of intercepting, manipulating, and changing information; therefore, the security of cloud computing became an area of increasingly intense concern.


One problem relates to the exchange of crucial shared function over the unsecured network is that the sender and receiver share the same private key during the decryption and encryption process. In such cases, a third party can gain access to the critical algorithm in the event that an unsecured network is used for data movement between the service providers and the client. Also, to ensure the data is secure the sender needs to change the original word (Dhivakar, 2014) .

Also, to ensure the data is secure the sender needs to change the original word.


By the way, notice that congruence distributivity is equivalent also to α(β • γ) ⊆ αβ • h αγ, for some h and for congruences α, β, γ, by a classical paper by Jónsson [5] . On the other hand, both identity (2) and Werner's identity R•R = R become trivially true in every algebra, if we let R be a congruence rather than a reflexive and admissible relation. This shows that many (but not all) relation identities become trivial when relations are replaced by congruences. In particular, considering relation identities for their own sake seems to give a new perspective to the subject.

By the way, notice that congruence distributivity is equivalent also to α(β • γ) ⊆ αβ • h αγ, for some h and for congruences α, β, γ, by a classical paper by Jónsson.


Dealing with general results, we show, among other, that a variety V satisfies σ(τ • υ) ⊆ στ • h συ, for some h, if and only if V satisfies σ ⊛ τ ⊛ = (στ ) ⊛ . When expressed in terms of tolerances, the latter identity is equivalent to congruence modularity and has found many applications. See, e.g., Czédli, Horváth and Lipparini [3] . We also show that we get equivalent conditions if we consider the identity σ(τ • υ) ⊆ στ • h συ for U -admissible relations and for admissible relations. Here the value of h remains the same in both cases. This is quite surprising; in this paper we shall find many equivalences of this kind, starting from Theorem 2.1 below, but usually the parameters are not constant.

See, e.g., Czédli, Horváth and Lipparini.


Producing many products such as clothes, leather accessories, and furniture, needs synthetic dyes. Most of these dyes are toxic and potentially carcinogenic in nature. The discharge of their effluents into the environment is harmful for human and all living beings. Therefore, their removal from industrial effluents is considered as a major concern and responsibility [1] [2] [3] [4] . Azo dyes are the largest group of commercial dyes [5] . Among the various treatment methods, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have been reported as a promising and practical method [2, 6, 7] . Heterogeneous photocatalysis is one of the AOPs and has attracted extensive attention of many researchers. This method is based on producing photoexcited electrons (e − ) in the conduction band and positive-charged holes (h + ) in the valence band of an oxide semiconductor like TiO 2 under ultraviolet (UV) light. The valence band holes are powerful oxidants, and the conduction band electrons are great reductants. Reactions include oxidation of organic pollutants by photogenerated positive holes (h + ) or by reactive oxygen species (HO • , HOO • , and O 2 •− ) formed on the TiO 2 surface under UV light irradiation [8] [9] [10] .

Therefore, their removal from industrial effluents is considered as a major concern and responsibility.

Azo dyes are the largest group of commercial dyes.

Among the various treatment methods, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have been reported as a promising and practical method.

Reactions include oxidation of organic pollutants by photogenerated positive holes (h + ) or by reactive oxygen species (HO • , HOO • , and O 2 •− ) formed on the TiO 2 surface under UV light irradiation.


Cordyceps militaris (CM) is a caterpillar-grown traditional medicinal mushroom, and has been used as a natural invigorant for longevity, endurance, and vitality for thousands of years in China. Some purified extracts from CM has recently shown to have beneficial effects on various diseases, possibly through adjust immunity [20, 21] . Recently, effects of CM in inhibiting carcinogenesis in several types of malignant tumors have been reported, and these effects have been proposed to be conducted through reducing cancer metastatic potential and enhancing cytokine induction. Nevertheless, a role of CM in ALI as well as the underlying mechanisms has not been examined previously.

Some purified extracts from CM has recently shown to have beneficial effects on various diseases, possibly through adjust immunity.


As Emdin addressed in his book, some practitioners are resistant to using hip-hop as a pedagogical tool [46] . One misconception is that teachers have to be masters of the art to utilize it effectively. However, this directly contradicts the need to use this alternative form of pedagogy, for which the intent is to privilege the knowledge that students bring into mathematics classrooms. In seeing that the expert role no longer belongs exclusively to the teacher, students begin to view the classroom as a place in which they are valued and seen as competent. Still, others view hip-hop pedagogy as a waste of time and disparage its utility, yet no strategy that motivates greater populations of children to achieve in mathematics should be regarded as a waste of time or effort. Here are some of the common challenges to the use of hip-hop pedagogy in mathematics classrooms. First, many teachers may struggle to garner administrator support for implementing hip-hop pedagogy. Principals are charged with ensuring that instructional materials are research-based, age-appropriate, and free of bias. If the principal cannot appreciate the value of hip-hop in the classroom, the teacher will find it very difficult to obtain its approval.

As Emdin addressed in his book, some practitioners are resistant to using hip-hop as a pedagogical tool.


Many critics of culturally informed pedagogies cite that many of the proposed approaches lack practicality. The translation of culturally responsive teaching from theory to practice is difficult for the majority of classroom teachers. This perspective is substantiated by self-efficacy data that suggest that both in-service and pre-service teachers lack the culturally responsive teaching self-efficacy (CRTSE) to execute culturally responsive practices in their classrooms [10, 11] . Appropriately, it is important to build connections between practices that are familiar or well established within the discipline. Concept mapping represents a pedagogical practice that has documented success across multiple STEM content areas and is relatively commonplace in most teacher education and professional development activities. The substantial uptake and acceptance of concept mapping provides an ideal pedagogical strategy to bridge connections between traditional STEM teaching approaches and hip-hop pedagogies.

This perspective is substantiated by self-efficacy data that suggest that both in-service and pre-service teachers lack the culturally responsive teaching self-efficacy (CRTSE) to execute culturally responsive practices in their classrooms.


Hip-hop pedagogy is one means to increase access and equity in the mathematics classroom by leveraging hip-hop identities to foster mathematics identities. For the purpose of this discussion, we argue that many mathematically disenfranchised youth are rich in hip-hop cultural capital that can be harnessed as a transformational instructional tool. However, this transformation requires more pedagogically specific "high expectations and strong support for all students" [12] (p. 8). The guiding principles for school mathematics state "[a]n excellent mathematics program requires that all students have access to a high-quality mathematics curriculum, effective teaching and learning, high expectations, and support and resources needed to maximize their learning potential" [13] (p. 5). This suggests that to be considered excellent, a mathematics program must meet the instructional needs of all students by providing the support and resources necessary to build their mathematics capacity.

However, this transformation requires more pedagogically specific "high expectations and strong support for all students"(p. 8).

The guiding principles for school mathematics state "[a]n excellent mathematics program requires that all students have access to a high-quality mathematics curriculum, effective teaching and learning, high expectations, and support and resources needed to maximize their learning potential"(p. 5).


Meeting the needs of current and future STEM learners remains a challenge for educators and researchers. Appropriately, many argue that developing effective STEM education is one of the most significant challenges facing educators [47] . Here we have urged educators and researchers to consider diversifying their pedagogical approaches to reach a more diverse population of STEM learners. Specifically, we have argued for hip-hop pedagogy and culture to be employed to engage underrepresented students in mathematics and other STEM content areas. This shift, however, requires a focus on hip-hop in mathematics curricula that requires educators to recognize that both mathematics and hip-hop have shared elements. For example, mathematicians search for patterns to solve problems and create models. For example, hip-hop artists create patterns in their music to generate new and unique sounds, while mathematicians utilized numerical patterns to solve complex problems. Finding authentic ways to spark student interest in mathematics requires educators to stay current with youth culture and recognize hip-hop pedagogy as a viable instructional resource. Here we present one pedagogical connection; however, hip-hop pedagogy should not be limited to this one example. We hope that teachers and teacher educators will embrace hip-hop pedagogy as a culturally responsive instructional tool for the hip-hop generation and beyond.

Appropriately, many argue that developing effective STEM education is one of the most significant challenges facing educators.


The built environment evidently has the highest energy demand in the world, which is a contemporary problem of consideration. The connection between the energy demand and the increased CO 2 discharge to the atmosphere is a great motive to render a more efficient energy usage [1] . Therefore, the goal is finding an alternative solution in order to reduce the energy demand and losses. Numerous researches have been devoted in order to investigate the energy performance of buildings in the commercial sector [2] [3] [4] . Building energy efficiency and building performance topics were elaborated via investigations of existing office buildings and computational building models, respectively [5] . Simulation-based building performance allows de-tailed assessment of energy consumption in buildings. Current energy consumption in the building sector is approximated to 40% of the total energy consumption in the world. Therefore, the primary parameters that mostly affect the commercial buildings energy performance are the heating and cooling requirements during the working hours. This paper elaborates the performance of four heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system types and arguments the efficiency and importance of the heat recovery (HR) unit's application.

The connection between the energy demand and the increased CO 2 discharge to the atmosphere is a great motive to render a more efficient energy usage.

Numerous researches have been devoted in order to investigate the energy performance of buildings in the commercial sector.

Building energy efficiency and building performance topics were elaborated via investigations of existing office buildings and computational building models, respectively.


Uncertainty about the nature and epidemiology of new and recently-arrived pests and diseases is typical (Sims, Finnoff, & Shogren, 2016) . We included such scientific uncertainty as a design attribute for our choice experiment, using uncertainty over speed of spread, likelihood of jumping to other species, and effectiveness of control measures as the levels of attribute for the choice programmes. However, none of these scientific uncertainty elements had a significant effect on choices, meaning we can say nothing about whether the public prioritizes actions in terms of which aspects of an invasive pest or disease scientists are most unsure about.

Uncertainty about the nature and epidemiology of new and recently-arrived pests and diseases is typical.


The production of secondary metabolites of a species can be influenced by several factors, including the physiological demand of the plant (growth, defense and reproduction), as well as genetic and environmental factors (soil composition, rainfall and climate). Thus, minor quantitative and qualitative variations in the chemical composition of the EOs of C. viminalis may occur [18] - [20] . Nevertheless, most studies indicate that 1,8-cineole, α-pinene and α-terpineol are the principal components, so the results of this study corroborate those described in the literature.

Thus, minor quantitative and qualitative variations in the chemical composition of the EOs of C. viminalis may occur.


In recent years, essential oils (EOs) have been widely investigated for their various activities because they contain a wide variety of chemical components [4] - [6] . Studies have shown that many of the components in EOs may be useful in cancer therapy. In this context, this study sought to describe the chemical composition of the essential oils from the leaves and flowers of Callistemon viminalis and their antitumor activities against various cell lines of human cancer.

In recent years, essential oils (EOs) have been widely investigated for their various activities because they contain a wide variety of chemical components.


Therefore, HA may be suitable as a scaffold for regeneration of a missing or partially defective tooth. It has been reported that porous HA is suitable as a scaffold for bone regeneration [4] [5] . The HA, with excellent histocompatibility, is valid as a scaffold because its constitution is similar to bone and tooth. Therefore, HA may be suitable as a scaffold for regeneration of a missing or partially defective tooth.

It has been reported that porous HA is suitable as a scaffold for bone regeneration.


The attributes of the desserts based on chemosensory qualities of the food stimuli (that is, flavor intensity and sweetness) were affected mainly by the type of dessert served, but the extent to which these attributes were affected depended on the plate (background color) as well. Figures 2-6 demonstrate that Desserts A and C always received higher scores when presented on the white plate, while the opposite was observed for Dessert B. This consistency across the attributes suggests that, by itself, the color of the plate has the potential to elicit a positive appraisal, and even enhance certain sensory qualities of foods. However, this effect depends to a great extent on the food presented, together with many other parameters, such as the context, material of the plate, and congruity between these factors and the food itself [7, 31] . Once again, the similarity in the response patterns among the attributes could have been due to a halo effect between the attributes rated. In this study, given the complexity of the visual appearance of the desserts (that is, with layers and decorations of different colors and tastes), the results cannot be explained solely in terms of color contrast between the dessert and the plate, since it was Dessert B, the dessert with darker brown-colored tones, that received higher scores when served on the black plate. This result highlights the complex reasons why consumers prefer certain food products and even perceive some attributes as enhanced when served from one container, or background, rather than another [17] . The reason for the Dessert B result could be that the black background elicited a more intense flavor (that is, it evoked this expectation), which resulted in higher attractiveness and appetizing ratings. However, flavor intensity was not significantly affected.

However, this effect depends to a great extent on the food presented, together with many other parameters, such as the context, material of the plate, and congruity between these factors and the food itself.

This result highlights the complex reasons why consumers prefer certain food products and even perceive some attributes as enhanced when served from one container, or background, rather than another.


Many authors have already demonstrated the effects of the physical testing environment on food acceptability and choice [26] [27] [28] [29] . In addition, a great deal of research has been carried out recently on the context effect [30] [31] [32] . While the majority of these studies have focused on the effect of the context on hedonic ratings and food choice, demonstrating in many cases that the food is liked more in a 'real life' context (although the results are not consistent across all of the studies that have been published), the focus of this study is slightly different.

Many authors have already demonstrated the effects of the physical testing environment on food acceptability and choice.

In addition, a great deal of research has been carried out recently on the context effect.


Under more realistic conditions, such as that represented by dining in a restaurant setting, diners do not try the same food served from different plates; and, in addition, diners may consume different drinks in the meantime (such as soft drinks, wine or water), consume the meal at a variable pace and converse. Consequently, less attention may be paid to elements, such as where the food is presented. Moreover, in restaurants and bars, food is not presented in exactly the same way to all of the diners, as happens in the majority of controlled laboratory studies. Therefore, the previous effects obtained might not be as evident (if present at all) when assessed in a real life situation. On the other hand, consumers are often not aware of the environmental factors that may greatly influence their food choices or consumption behaviors [25] .

On the other hand, consumers are often not aware of the environmental factors that may greatly influence their food choices or consumption behaviors.


The present study was designed to investigate the influence of the color of the plate on the visual and gustatory experiences of different foods, as observed in previous research [24] . However, in contrast to previous research, the study reported here was conducted in a real restaurant (and eating situation) with three different desserts (made from various elements of different colors, flavors and textures) in order to assess the extent to which the crossmodal perceptual effects found in laboratory settings can be generalized to naturalistic testing conditions. Specifically, our research questions were: Which color of plate will make each dessert seem more appetizing? Which color of plate will the color intensity of the desserts appear enhanced? Will the perception of certain sensory attributes (for example, flavor intensity) be affected by the visual perception (for example, color intensity)? Will flavorliking ratings be affected by the appearance-liking ratings? Additionally, will there be a consistent pattern of results between the different color of plates used, and between the visual and taste-related attributes assessed?

The present study was designed to investigate the influence of the color of the plate on the visual and gustatory experiences of different foods, as observed in previous research.


Brick is one of the most accommodating masonry units due to its properties. The firing process of clay bricks generates a range of gas emissions into the atmosphere. These gases include water vapour (H 2 O), oxygen (O 2 ), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ), ammonia (NH 3 ), chlorine (Cl 2 ) and fluorine (F). At high concentrations, these volatile emissions can be serious sources of environmental pollutions (Morgan, 1993) . Therefore, innovation in the firing process is essential to prevent the environmental impact of the brick manufacturing process.

At high concentrations, these volatile emissions can be serious sources of environmental pollutions.


The paper is organized as follows. In Section 2 we investigate the measure of non-compactness of multilinear operators among Banach spaces. The main results of this section states that, up to universal constants, the measure of non-compactness of every multilinear operator T is equivalent to the measure of non-compactness of its generalized adjoint (adjoint for short) operator T × of T . As a consequence we obtain a variant of Schauder's theorem for multilinear operators, which was first proved for the bilinear case by Ramanujan and Schock [15] .

The paper is organized as follows.

As a consequence we obtain a variant of Schauder's theorem for multilinear operators, which was first proved for the bilinear case by Ramanujan and Schock.


Second, Hypothesis 2 predicted that the effects of CSR on firm performance would increase in organizations with a strong adhocracy culture. However, the actual result proved the opposite. When adhocracy culture was weak, CSR activities were positively associated with performance. However, when adhocracy culture was strong, there was no significant relationship between CSR and firm To test the robustness of the interaction effect, we conducted a post hoc analysis using a squared term [82, 83] . We inserted the squared terms of CSR and the cultural variables in the model equation. Despite all the squared terms and in view of the fact that there was a significant effect of interaction, the interaction effect of organizational culture was confirmed, and it was not a spurious effect arising from the nonlinear effect of independent variables.

However, when adhocracy culture was strong, there was no significant relationship between CSR and firm To test the robustness of the interaction effect, we conducted a post hoc analysis using a squared term.


Second, Hypothesis 2 predicted that the effects of CSR on firm performance would increase in organizations with a strong adhocracy culture. However, the actual result proved the opposite. When adhocracy culture was weak, CSR activities were positively associated with performance. However, when adhocracy culture was strong, there was no significant relationship between CSR and firm performance. These results could be generated from the relationship between adhocracy culture, slack resources, and performance. Organizations with a strong adhocracy culture adapt flexibly to environmental changes and invest lots of resources to obtain novel information and knowledge and use it in order to develop new products. It is important that such organizations maintain slack resources to foster innovation [85] . Slack resources that firms use to implement their strategies that improve their efficiency and effectiveness could have positive effects on firm performance [86] [87] [88] . However, CSR activities also lead to the consumption of slack resources. Organizations that are strongly committed to CSR activities may not be able to allocate resources more efficiently; hence, CSR activities are not likely to improve firm performance.

It is important that such organizations maintain slack resources to foster innovation.

Slack resources that firms use to implement their strategies that improve their efficiency and effectiveness could have positive effects on firm performance.


A previous study performed to determine the inflammatory cytokine expression pattern in children with a severe Streptococcus pyogenes infection demonstrated that patients with invasive infections have significantly higher concentrations of IFN-γ, IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and IL-18 when compared both to children who have non-invasive infections and healthy children. In children with massive infections, T1 and T2 cytokines were observed, in addition to those for innate immunity [14] . These results are comparable to those reported in the present study for children with respiratory infections.

In children with massive infections, T1 and T2 cytokines were observed, in addition to those for innate immunity.


To advance in our understanding of the upstream influence of the Andes on midlatitude weather systems and hence on precipitation distribution, in this study we examine the structural evolution of a cold front that passed over central Chile in May (late fall) 2008. As shown later, the event had typical features and produced 30-50 mm of rainfall in central Chile. Our analysis is based on in situ and satellite data as well as on the results from two mesoscale numerical simulations (one control simulation and one with reduced topography) performed with the Weather and Research Forecast (WRF) model (Skamarock et al. 2005) . The remainder of the article is organized as follows: Synoptic and mesoscale observations of the event are presented in section 2. Section 3 describes the model control and sensitivity experiments, and model output is analyzed in section 4. Our conclusions are presented in section 5.

Our analysis is based on in situ and satellite data as well as on the results from two mesoscale numerical simulations (one control simulation and one with reduced topography) performed with the Weather and Research Forecast (WRF) model.


The photocatalytic activity of the ZnSe nanorod film (following 12 h of ultrasonic-assisted thermal treatment) and the ZnSe film was examined through the degradation of methyl orange (MO) dye in aqueous solution (5 × 10 Figure 6 (c). The control experiments indicated that the degradation of the MO dye was negligible without UV light irradiation or without photocatalysts. It was found that the degradation efficiency in the presence of the ZnSe film was low. On the contrary, the ZnSe nanorod film showed strong adsorptive capacities and comparable photocatalytic activities. This high photocatalytic activity of ZnSe nanorod film might be the result of the larger specific surface area, which allows more MO dye molecules to attach to the surface and may help to increase the charge-transfer rate [25] . The reusability of the ZnSe nanorod film was also studied. The absorbance spectra of the MO dye solution in the presence of the ZnSe nanorod film with irradiation for 1.5 h and 3.0 h were recorded. After each examination, the ZnSe nanorod film was immersed into a fresh MO dye solution of the same concentration for another cycle of the photocatalytic experiments. This process was repeated 5 times. The results are given in Figure 6 (d) and demonstrate that ZnSe nanorod films can be used as a very effective, environmentally safe, and convenient recyclable photocatalyst. A slight decrease in the Journal of Nanomaterials degradation rate was observed and may be attributed to the unavoidable loss of ZnSe nanorods into solution during the experiment.

This high photocatalytic activity of ZnSe nanorod film might be the result of the larger specific surface area, which allows more MO dye molecules to attach to the surface and may help to increase the charge-transfer rate.

This process was repeated 5 times.


Difference-in-differences models assumptions regarding parallel trends can in theory be evaluated to the extent that all confounders' distributions are available in both time periods. A review of the current literature suggests that the parallel trend assumption was likely met as hurricanes are thought of as an exogenous occurrence likely uncorrelated with changes in determinants of birth rates [30] . However, like many environmental studies, our exposure was defined by county of residence and therefore secular trends influencing birth rate may differ by county. Researchers should consider these assumptions in the application of the difference-in-differences method.

A review of the current literature suggests that the parallel trend assumption was likely met as hurricanes are thought of as an exogenous occurrence likely uncorrelated with changes in determinants of birth rates.


Electric power system load forecasting plays an important role in the electric energy management system, which has great influence on the operation, controlling and planning of electric power system [1] . Unexpected variations of the load may increase operating costs for the electricity system because the increased operation and maintain costs associated with cycling existing generation. Load forecasting is important in the allocation of balancing power. Besides, load forecasting is used for the hour-ahead scheduling of conventional power plants and trading of electricity on the spot market.

Electric power system load forecasting plays an important role in the electric energy management system, which has great influence on the operation, controlling and planning of electric power system.


Teff (Eragrostisistef (Zucc) Trotter) is one of the major and indigenous cereal crops in Ethiopia, where it is believed to have originated and has the largest share of area under cereal crop production. This cereal is considered high in nutritional quality, but limited information is available about its usefulness in snack blends formulation and manufacturing. Teff flour is primarily used to make a fermented, sour dough type, flat bread called Injera. The crop is also an excellent source of fiber and iron and has high amount of calcium, potassium and other essential minerals. Teff flour blending in all extruded food product can enrich the products with iron and other essential minerals (Melese, 2013) . The maize grain contains, on average, about 61.50 to 77.40% starch (dry basis). This high starch quantity provides a good ingredient for the production of expanded extruded product (Zehr et al., 1995; Radosavljević, 2002) . Lentils (Lens culinaris) are a member of the legume family and have been an (Combe et al., 2004; Miller et al., 2009) . The low levels of phytonutrients like tannins, together with higher protein and iron levels and shorter cooking time than most other pulses (faba bean, pea) make lentils very suitable for human consumption (Savage, 1988) . Wheat bran and other fiber-rich cereal ingredients are generally used to increase the fiber content in snacks and breakfast cereal products. However, these ingredients contain gluten, which represents a physiological problem for people who suffer of the celiac disease.

Teff flour blending in all extruded food product can enrich the products with iron and other essential minerals.

This high starch quantity provides a good ingredient for the production of expanded extruded product.

Lentils (Lens culinaris) are a member of the legume family and have been an.

The low levels of phytonutrients like tannins, together with higher protein and iron levels and shorter cooking time than most other pulses (faba bean, pea) make lentils very suitable for human consumption.


Extrusion cooking is a process of forcing a material to flow under a different temperature, pressure and feed moisture content through a shaped hole (die) at a predetermined rate to achieve different extruded products. Extrusion technology has led to production of a wide variety of cereal based foods, protein supplements and sausage products. Several products are developed by extrusion i.e., pasta, breakfast cereals, bread crumbs, biscuits, crackers, baby foods, snack foods, confectionery items, texturized vegetable protein, modified starch, pet foods, dried soups and dry beverage mixes (Chang and Ng, 2009) . The extruded products which are high in fiber content could be improved in its overall nutritional content and taste by incorporation of protein rich ingredients. Among other materials, incorporation of legume flour has positive impact on levels of proteins and dietary fiber of extruded snacks (Berrios, 2006) . In developing countries such as Ethiopia, where many people can hardly afford high protein foods due to their relative expensive costs. There is urgent need for cheaper foods rich in protein for individuals, taking into consideration their age, sex, physical activity and physiological needs.

Several products are developed by extrusion i.e., pasta, breakfast cereals, bread crumbs, biscuits, crackers, baby foods, snack foods, confectionery items, texturized vegetable protein, modified starch, pet foods, dried soups and dry beverage mixes.

Among other materials, incorporation of legume flour has positive impact on levels of proteins and dietary fiber of extruded snacks.


Expansion of the extrudates: The maximum expansion ratio 4.85 was obtained at coded point (0, 1, 0). With increasing the barrel temperature, the expansion ratio was increased till maximum value was achieved and slightly decreased with further increasing in temperature beyond its optimum value. As temperature increased from 120°C to 140°C, expansion ratio was increased from 3.04 to 4.85 and decreased to slightlyat and beyond 160°C. Extrudate expansion is a complex phenomenon which occurs usually during high temperature and low moisture extrusion cooking. It is the consequence of several events such as phase transition, nucleation, extrudate swell, bubble growth and bubble collapse with bubble dynamics dominantly contributing to the expansion phenomenon (Chang, 1992) .

It is the consequence of several events such as phase transition, nucleation, extrudate swell, bubble growth and bubble collapse with bubble dynamics dominantly contributing to the expansion phenomenon.


Seed size is correlated with many other important plant traits, including relative growth rate, growth form, height and dispersal syndrome. Large-seeded species generally have lower relative growth rates than do small-seeded species (Maran oH n & Grubb, 1993; . This is important in situations where speed of establishment is critical, such as recently disturbed sites. Woody and taller species tend to produce larger seeds (Salisbury, 1942; Baker, 1972; Foster & Janson, 1985; Michaels et al., 1988; Mazer, 1989; Jurado et al., 1991; Hammond & Brown, 1995; Leishman et al., 1995; Lord et al., 1995; Metcalfe & Grubb, 1995) . Small-seeded species are more likely to have unassisted seed dispersal, and larger seeded species are more likely to be animal dispersed (Jurado et al., 1991; Hughes et al., 1994; Leishman et al., 1995) .

Woody and taller species tend to produce larger seeds.

Small-seeded species are more likely to have unassisted seed dispersal, and larger seeded species are more likely to be animal dispersed.


A market is considered to be efficient if it fully and correctly reflects all available information in determining stock prices which is referred to as the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) (Fama, 1970) . Random walks in stock returns are crucial to the formulation of rational expectation models and testing of the weak form market efficiency (where the current price is assumed to reflect all information included in the past prices). Since the stock prices in an efficient market incorporate all relevant information, the stock returns should display an unpredictable behaviour. On the contrary, if stock returns are predictable, there will be distortions in the pricing of capital and risk, which will ultimately curtail the economic development of the country (Worthington and Higgs, 2003) .

A market is considered to be efficient if it fully and correctly reflects all available information in determining stock prices which is referred to as the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH).

On the contrary, if stock returns are predictable, there will be distortions in the pricing of capital and risk, which will ultimately curtail the economic development of the country.


In the global scenario, the deregulation and liberalisation of financial markets have led the investors to pay more attention to the international securities markets. If assets of identical risk in different countries lead to a similar level of expected return, then markets are said to be integrated. In modern portfolio theory, the main theme advocates investors to diversify their assets across national borders, as long as returns to stock in the other markets are less than perfectly correlated with the domestic market (Lim, Lee and Liew, 2003) . This implies that when the markets are cointegrated, the benefits of international diversifications are not maximised and thus arbitrage profits could be explored.

In modern portfolio theory, the main theme advocates investors to diversify their assets across national borders, as long as returns to stock in the other markets are less than perfectly correlated with the domestic market.


Nowadays, DC power generation is increasing due to renewable energy sources (RES) such as solar energy and wind farms. Also, DC is showing its presence in consumer load side with modern appliances such as personal computers, laptops, cell phones, LED lighting, data centres, etc. In recent times, this area has witnessed a number of research efforts and DC distribution has been compared with the AC counterpart [7] - [10] .

In recent times, this area has witnessed a number of research efforts and DC distribution has been compared with the AC counterpart.


The beginning of electrical energy transmission was using DC transmission systems. It was generated by dynamos or by Volta's batteries to supply energy to arc-lighting and motors. In 1882, Thomas Alva Edison installed his low voltage DC (LVDC) system in the famous Pearl Street Station, in New York, U.S.A., to supply energy to the incandescent bulbs that he invented in 1879 [3] . In 1891, the -war of currents‖, starring by T.A. Edison with John Pierpont supporting DC and George Westinghouse with Nikola Tesla supporting alternating current (AC) systems, was finished concluding AC system as the winner due to less losses and less costs in transmission. This was due to an easy way to step up voltage allowing less current transmission and the use of less copper, making the system cheaper (AC costs: $399,000 vs. DC costs: $554,000) [3] - [5] . In this context, the DC system was only used in special applications.

In 1882, Thomas Alva Edison installed his low voltage DC (LVDC) system in the famous Pearl Street Station, in New York, U.S.A., to supply energy to the incandescent bulbs that he invented in 1879.

This was due to an easy way to step up voltage allowing less current transmission and the use of less copper, making the system cheaper (AC costs: $399,000 vs. DC costs: $554,000).


The co-occurrence of PTSD and cognitive disorder in 42 percent of these combat returnees deserves special attention. Indeed, many more patients had these two diagnoses together than PTSD alone (29%) or cognitive disorder alone (13%) (Figure 3) . In people who have a history of mild TBI, the presence of PTSD has been shown to increase the risk for persistent postconcussion symptoms [16] . Conversely, among people exposed to life-threatening events, comorbid TBI may alter the profile of PTSD symptoms [17] . We are currently conducting analyses to further delineate the complex relationship among these syndromes in combat returnees.

In people who have a history of mild TBI, the presence of PTSD has been shown to increase the risk for persistent postconcussion symptoms.

Conversely, among people exposed to life-threatening events, comorbid TBI may alter the profile of PTSD symptoms.


A different solution to the same problem is suggested by recent work of De Commer and Yamashita [4] . Complementing the results of Pinzari and Roberts, they showed that ergodic actions of G can also be described in terms of semisimple (Rep G)-module C * -categories with a fixed simple generating object. In fact, a significant part of their arguments does not involve ergodicity/semisimplicity in any way, and we show that indeed by discarding these assumptions we get a characterization of general actions in terms of module categories. The relation between two categorical pictures can be described as follows. Given a right (Rep G)-module C * -category and an object M in it, the functor Mor(M, M ⊗ ·) has a canonical structure of a weak unitary tensor functor. Therefore, using the analogy with representation theory, we can say that the relation between two pictures is as between a cyclic representation and its matrix coefficient defined by the cyclic vector. From this point of view weak unitary tensor functors are categorifications of positive definite functions. It is interesting that the module category approach, being less economical than the approach via weak tensor functors, seems, nevertheless, more suitable for classification of actions, at least for representation categories described by simple universal properties [5] .

A different solution to the same problem is suggested by recent work of De Commer and Yamashita.

It is interesting that the module category approach, being less economical than the approach via weak tensor functors, seems, nevertheless, more suitable for classification of actions, at least for representation categories described by simple universal properties.


We remark that this is the first time that systematic hyperasymptotic expansions have been developed and applied numerically to an individual eigenvalue problem. A brief account was given at the 1998 Kyoto University RIMS Symposium, 'Algebraic Analysis of Singular Perturbations' [28] . We also note that the anharmonic oscillator introduces previously unseen logarithmic terms into the hyperasymptotics.

A brief account was given at the 1998 Kyoto University RIMS Symposium, 'Algebraic Analysis of Singular Perturbations'.


In recent years, with the development of computer technology, a new generation of digital photogrammetry based on cluster computer system has emerged, and the efficiency of photogrammetry has been greatly improved (ZHANG Jian-qing, KE Tao, etc., 2008) . However, such systems are bulky and with high power consumption, it's difficult to equip them online. As a new technology, real-time photogrammetry has a broad development prospects in dealing with emergencies. When disasters and other unexpected events arise, accessing to spatial data in real time is necessary, i.e. while the aircraft is flying, the photogrammetric data of the area that the aircraft covered can be captured and processed in real time and the results can be submitted once the aircraft landed. However, up to now there is still no effective means to achieve it. Currently, the difficulties of ground systems for online data processing mainly lie in the following aspects: (a) space of aircraft is small (b) the load is restricted (c) power supply is limited and unstable (d) no manual interaction is acceptable. To overcome these difficulties, a system with low power consumption, small size and high integration based on embedded computing technology is essential for online processing. Therefore, combining embedded computer system with photogrammetry is one of the developing directions of real-time photogrammetry.

In recent years, with the development of computer technology, a new generation of digital photogrammetry based on cluster computer system has emerged, and the efficiency of photogrammetry has been greatly improved.


There is some evidence to suggest that cognitive processing biases are apparent in smokers ever after attempts to stop smoking. The first study to explore this found that ex-smokers, who were enrolled in a smoking cessation programme and had been abstinent from smoking for at least 1 week, had an intermediate bias for smoking-related stimuli, in-between that of smokers and non-smokers [19] . In another study, smokers who were attempting to quit and smokers without such plans had similar levels of attentional bias [24] . In contrast to these studies, two studies found that ex-smokers showed a similar level of processing bias as never-smokers, while smokers exhibited more bias than both other groups [23, 25] . In both of these studies, ex-smokers had been abstinent for at least 6 months rather than recently abstinent from smoking. Thus, data are conflicting but it is possible that attentional bias persists early in a quit attempt and resolves with increased duration of abstinence although no study has examined this. However, if attentional bias persists for many months, we might speculate that if there are enduring effects of smoking cues after cessation as suggested in previous research, abstinence could be undermined in initially successful quitters.

The first study to explore this found that ex-smokers, who were enrolled in a smoking cessation programme and had been abstinent from smoking for at least 1 week, had an intermediate bias for smoking-related stimuli, in-between that of smokers and non-smokers.

In another study, smokers who were attempting to quit and smokers without such plans had similar levels of attentional bias.

In contrast to these studies, two studies found that ex-smokers showed a similar level of processing bias as never-smokers, while smokers exhibited more bias than both other groups.


Numerous plants are capable of producing bioactive compounds, perhaps as a chemical defense mechanism against predation or infection. The recent interest in larvicidal compounds from higher plants is largely a result of the many problems associated with the extensive use of synthetic insecticides which are an increasing hazard to human health and the environment. Yellow fever is an arbovirus disease common in West Africa and South America. It is transmitted by mosquitoes of several genera, most frequently Aedes aegypti. This mosquito of the subfamily Culicinae is also the vector of dengue hemorrhagic fever, which is endemic to SouthEast Asia, the Pacific area, Africa and the Americas (Maillard et al., 1993) .

This mosquito of the subfamily Culicinae is also the vector of dengue hemorrhagic fever, which is endemic to SouthEast Asia, the Pacific area, Africa and the Americas.


Our results raise the possibility that the lactoferrin K47 variant introgressed into humans from Neanderthals at some point after the out-of-Africa expansion roughly 60,000 years ago [46] . An alternative explanation could be convergent evolution of lactoferrin in distinct lineages of early hominins for enhanced immune function, as well as long term balancing selection. Future analysis of lactoferrin sequence in archaic humans could provide additional insight on the history of this variant. Together these studies provide a direct link between variation in the lactoferrin N lobe and protection against pathogenic bacteria, consistent with adaptive evolution of lactoferrin in humans and other primates.

Our results raise the possibility that the lactoferrin K47 variant introgressed into humans from Neanderthals at some point after the out-of-Africa expansion roughly 60,000 years ago.


The best proof of the usefulness of a software package is usage in real applications. The TCP/IP stack ejIP is part of the distribution of JOP and in use in several industrial applications [17] . In the following section we describe some projects that we are aware of that use ejIP.

The TCP/IP stack ejIP is part of the distribution of JOP and in use in several industrial applications.


Aquarium fish keeping is one of the most eager hobbies in the world today hence aquarium fish rearing and culture practice is increasing day by day. Hapa system is one of the most important techniques for fry rearing of gold fish. Stocking density management measures practiced in Bangladesh are not based on scientific knowledge, thus resulting the poor growth and survival of gold fish. Carassius auratus is one of the most indispensable fish species of freshwater ornamental fishery. It is a kind of fish that vastly chosen by artistic minded people because of variety of colors, species diversity, attractive and, and high tolerance to environmental demands (Gumus et al., 2016) . At present, this practice is growing day by day in our country and used as a symbol of status. There are some recurrent ornamental fishes such as Platy (Xiphophorous maculatus), Sword tail (Xiphophorous helleri), Zebra fish (Danio rerio), Tiger barb (Puntias tetrazona), Glass fishes (Chanda ranga), and colisa (Colisa fasciatus), Gold fish (Carassius auratus), Guppy (Poecilia reticulata), Molly (Poecilia spp.) etc. Among these fishes gold fish C. auratus is the most diversely kept aquarium fish species. It is a freshwater fish under the family Cyprinidae belongs to order Cypriniformes (Habib et al., 2014) . The present experiment has been designed to know the effects of stocking density on the growth performance, survival rate at different stocking densities and determine the suitable stocking density for rearing of gold fish fry in hapa.

It is a kind of fish that vastly chosen by artistic minded people because of variety of colors, species diversity, attractive and, and high tolerance to environmental demands.

It is a freshwater fish under the family Cyprinidae belongs to order Cypriniformes.


Successful return to work (RTW) is a major challenge after traumatic brain injury (TBI) [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] . Personal factors such as educational level and occupational status, as well as injury-related characteristics, may predict vocational outcome [7] [8] [9] . The person's own perceptions and motivations regarding RTW, as well as aspects of the workplace environment, also have been associated with RTW and work participation after sickness-related absence [10, 11] . Existing literature suggests that the proportion of individuals with TBI who return to work varies from 13 to 85% [7, 8, 12] . Many TBI survivors return to work prematurely and fail to cope with work demands over time once the full impact of the injury is realized. This is probably due to insufficiently coordinated and managed RTW processes and results in low work stability [13] .

Successful return to work (RTW) is a major challenge after traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Personal factors such as educational level and occupational status, as well as injury-related characteristics, may predict vocational outcome.

The person's own perceptions and motivations regarding RTW, as well as aspects of the workplace environment, also have been associated with RTW and work participation after sickness-related absence.

Existing literature suggests that the proportion of individuals with TBI who return to work varies from 13 to 85%.

This is probably due to insufficiently coordinated and managed RTW processes and results in low work stability.


PSO has a population of random solution, called particle, and is given a random velocity and is flown through the problem space. The particles have memory and each particle keeps track of previous best position and corresponding fitness. The previous best value is called as 'pbest'. Thus pbest is related only to a particular particle. It also has another value called 'gbest', which is the best value of all the particles pbest in the swarm. The basic concept of PSO technique lies in accelerating each particle towards its pbest and the gbest location at each time step. Acceleration has random weights for both pbest and gbest locations. The number of particles in the swarm affects the run-time significantly, thus a balance between variety (more particles) and speed (fewer particles) must be sought [7] . PSO with wellselected parameter set can have good performance [6] .

The number of particles in the swarm affects the run-time significantly, thus a balance between variety (more particles) and speed (fewer particles) must be sought.

PSO with wellselected parameter set can have good performance.


If Vmax is too big, particles may flurry too far at once and miss good solutions. If Vmax is too small, particles may be limited to a local area. However, the choice of Vmax value is problem dependent. Based on the researches' experience, Vmax can be set at 10 to 20% of the range of each variable or proportion to the range of the problem [16] .

Based on the researches' experience, Vmax can be set at 10 to 20% of the range of each variable or proportion to the range of the problem.


The ability to implement associative memory is another important feature of recurrent neural network [2] . Other associative memory only store patterns but SRN store dynamics which can be stimulated by excitations of similar dynamic. Based on the limitations of the RNN network from previous studies, an enhancement of Elman Recurrent Neural Network was developed and it was successfully integrated with PSO for better classification performance. In this paper, Quantum approach is implemented in PSO to enhance the searching capability for the particles on the Elman Recurrent Neural Network algorithm.

The ability to implement associative memory is another important feature of recurrent neural network.


Simultaneous recurrent neural networks are class of neural network architetctures where the recurrence is instantaneous [1] . A simple recurrent network (SRN) is sometimes called an "Elman network" created by Jeff Elman and it is avariation on the multi-layer perceptron. A three-layer network is used, added with a set of "context units" in the input layer. There are connections from the hidden layer to the context units fixed with a weight of one. At each time step, the input is propagated in a standard feed-forward fashion, and then a learning rule called backpropagation is applied. The fixed back connections result in the context units always maintaining a copy of the previous values of the hidden units. Thus the network can maintain a sort of state, allowing it to perform such tasks as sequence-prediction that is beyond the power of a standard multi-layer perceptron.

Simultaneous recurrent neural networks are class of neural network architetctures where the recurrence is instantaneous.


Some authors even developed test models in order to simulate the tribological mechanisms involved inside the injection machine barrel, but without complete success, because only some of the main wear mechanisms were effectively tested [14] . However, there are other subjects that deserve our attention, namely the heat insulation and/or heat transfer phenomena that cannot be neglected with the coating application, constituting a new concern in the coating selection process [15] . Effectively, the coating must help to improve the wear resistance but it must also help to maintain or even decrease the injection cycle time, leading to a productivity improvement by keeping or improving the part cooling process after injection.

Some authors even developed test models in order to simulate the tribological mechanisms involved inside the injection machine barrel, but without complete success, because only some of the main wear mechanisms were effectively tested.

However, there are other subjects that deserve our attention, namely the heat insulation and/or heat transfer phenomena that cannot be neglected with the coating application, constituting a new concern in the coating selection process.


However, despite some other important issues related to mould cavity degradation, such as adhesion and fatigue, abrasion plays an important role, severely affecting the surface quality of the mould and, subsequently, the quality and brightness of the injected part's surface. Indeed, the natural motion of the fibre tips during the injection flow induces small scratches both in the screw and barrels of the injection machine as well as in the mould cavity, leading to bright degradation of the mould cavity surface. Tribological problems associated with the plastics moulding process can often be solved by an appropriate surface modification. Several techniques can be efficient to increase the wear behaviour of the mould cavity surface or other mechanical tools, such as ion implantation, physical vapour deposition (PVD), chemical vapour deposition (CVD), and standard diffusion processes, namely plasma nitriding [10] [11] [12] [13] .

Several techniques can be efficient to increase the wear behaviour of the mould cavity surface or other mechanical tools, such as ion implantation, physical vapour deposition (PVD), chemical vapour deposition (CVD), and standard diffusion processes, namely plasma nitriding.


Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are attractive materials as the adsorbent material of alkanes owing to their chemical and thermal stability, a high surface-to-volume ratio, and a large affinity to the nonpolar compounds [17] . The chemical and thermal stability is required for CNTs to adsorb and desorb various organic compounds. High surface-to-volume ratio yields high adsorption capacity. Previous studies have demonstrated that CNTs have higher adsorption capacity than Carbopack, which is a graphitized carbon [18] [19] [20] . Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) in a conventional steel column have shown good adsorption capacity [18, 19] . SWNTs are more suitable as adsorbent material than MWNTs, because SWNTs exhibit a larger aspect ratio and higher effective surface area [18, 19] . SWNTs have been also used as an adsorbent material in a micro gas preconcentrators, however the concentration factor was not quantitatively evaluated [21] . Therefore, the potential of SWNTs as an adsorbent material for use in micro gas preconcentrator is far from being demonstrated.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are attractive materials as the adsorbent material of alkanes owing to their chemical and thermal stability, a high surface-to-volume ratio, and a large affinity to the nonpolar compounds.

Previous studies have demonstrated that CNTs have higher adsorption capacity than Carbopack, which is a graphitized carbon.

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) in a conventional steel column have shown good adsorption capacity.

SWNTs are more suitable as adsorbent material than MWNTs, because SWNTs exhibit a larger aspect ratio and higher effective surface area.

SWNTs have been also used as an adsorbent material in a micro gas preconcentrators, however the concentration factor was not quantitatively evaluated.


Several attempts reported in the literature to fabricate micro gas preconcentrators by MEMS technology have resulted in low values of the concentration factor, the conventional figure of merit for preconcentration [11] [12] [13] . These micro gas preconcentrators having small inner volumes in the order of μL could not be packed with enough sorbent materials to reach sufficiently high concentration factors [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] . In order to enhance the concentration factor, the preconcentrator requires sorbent materials having higher sorption capacity than those of conventional sorbent materials such as Tenax TA and Carbopack. Therefore, one of the major challenges in developing microfabricated preconcentrators is the synthesis of new sorbent materials with high enough sorption capacity for use in microfabricated preconcentrators.

Several attempts reported in the literature to fabricate micro gas preconcentrators by MEMS technology have resulted in low values of the concentration factor, the conventional figure of merit for preconcentration.

These micro gas preconcentrators having small inner volumes in the order of μL could not be packed with enough sorbent materials to reach sufficiently high concentration factors.


The level and distribution of genetic variability within and between populations of plant pathogens provide an indication of the adaptability of a pathogen in overcoming the effects of artificial and natural stresses on the population. Such genetic changes can neutralize the measures employed to control the pathogen, such as application of fungicides and use of genetically resistant cultivars (McDonald et al., 1989; Adachi et al., 1993; McDonald and Linde, 2002) . We affirm the difficulties incurred in achieving long-term resistance against anthracnose in the common bean and emphasize the need for studies to elucidate the population structure of this pathogen in agro-ecosystems.

Such genetic changes can neutralize the measures employed to control the pathogen, such as application of fungicides and use of genetically resistant cultivars.


The desire for replacement of fossil fuels with biofuels such as ethanol emanates from the latter's production efficiency, environmental friendliness (GHG benefits), and high octane rating when blended with gasoline (Klass 1985) . However, substituting fossil fuels with biofuels has encountered criticisms worldwide. For example, although the US contribution to global ethanol production is high, it has been reported that about 41% of corn (the 1st generation feedstock) produced annually is used as feedstock for bioethanol production (Maurice 2011) . Moreover, over-reliance on 1st generation sources in the production of bioethanol has stimulated much debate among researchers and policy-makers since it creates competition with food for human consumption (Heyne and Harvey 2013) .

The desire for replacement of fossil fuels with biofuels such as ethanol emanates from the latter's production efficiency, environmental friendliness (GHG benefits), and high octane rating when blended with gasoline.

For example, although the US contribution to global ethanol production is high, it has been reported that about 41% of corn (the 1st generation feedstock) produced annually is used as feedstock for bioethanol production.

Moreover, over-reliance on 1st generation sources in the production of bioethanol has stimulated much debate among researchers and policy-makers since it creates competition with food for human consumption.


Etidronate content affects the drug release profile and release is acting in a linear manner between first and seventh day, but after 21 days the release profile is not linear. As it was shown, within the used concentration range, 50%-70% Etidronate was released over 21 days of soaking in SBF that suggests to use this composite as a sustained release substrate, while drug release from a CPC matrix is a diffusion-controlled process [17] . Figure 3 shows the fraction of released Etidronate against time for the studied samples. All samples showed a linear trend within the 21 days, except for W5. A linear model is compatible with the Tung model for drug release [18] . At this stage, the degradation of CPC matrix plays an important role in the release process.

As it was shown, within the used concentration range, 50%-70% Etidronate was released over 21 days of soaking in SBF that suggests to use this composite as a sustained release substrate, while drug release from a CPC matrix is a diffusion-controlled process.

A linear model is compatible with the Tung model for drug release.


Increasing Etidronate causes a constant increase in initial setting time until it reaches a maximum and the reason is behind the Ca 2+ chelation by Etidronate that causes a delay in the initial setting. It makes the initial setting profile split into two zones. In low concentration of Etidronate, chelation is governing the reaction. However, the ability to chelate Ca 2+ will be reduced at an acidic pH [16] . Increasing the Etidronate concentration decreases the pH and then acid base reaction is governing the initial setting time that is shown as a negative slope region (second zone). Based on the XRD results, in W50 D1, less apatite is formed compared to the W10 D1. However, after 14 days, apatite content in W50 is higher than W10. Etidronate occupies the active sites so that high Etidronate content samples in early stages show less apatite formation, while in long term, Etidronate release facilitates the apatite formation.

However, the ability to chelate Ca 2+ will be reduced at an acidic pH.


The optical image of the cross-section of a fabricated MSR/GrF/Ecoflex device is displayed in Fig. 1d . The MSR layer is on the top of the GrF/Ecoflex layer, and there is a thin layer (100 μm in thickness) of Ecoflex formed by seepage in the middle. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis was used to characterize the morphology and microstructure of the integrated system. As shown in Fig. 1e and Fig. S3 , the highly interconnected 3D graphene network consists of a lot of 200-500 µm macropores and the skeletons are wrinkled surface. After assembled with the Ecoflex component, which is shown in Fig. S4b , these holes are filled with liquid epoxy resin precursors to maintain recovery under large deformation. As shown in Fig. 1f , the thermochromic particles in the silicone rubber are spherical with regular shape and uniform size (diameters ≤ 10 μm). In addition, the particles uniformly disperse in the silicone rubber. Fig. S4a shows that the interface between MSR layer and GrF/ Ecoflex layer is neat and seamless. The thermochromic particles are organic compounds, and the molecular structure of the organic compound can be changed at a certain temperature due to the electron transfer, so that the color change can be realized. Therefore a visualized color change will appear when the strain causes exceeding a the temperature exceeding a particular value. Fig. S5 indicates the mechanical properties of the MSR layer with different mass ratio of TM, pure Ecoflex and the composite. The tensile limit of MSR layer is the highest when the mass ratio of TM is 10%. And this MSR shows an ultimate stress of 86.2 kPa at a stretch of 709.8%, whereas the Ecoflex ruptures at a stress of 268.9 kPa and a stretch of 528.2%. As a result, the MSR/ GrF/Ecoflex composite ruptures at a stress of 186.8 kPa and a stretch of 601.7%. It is reported that the GrF aids in load-bearing, increasing the ultimate tensile strength and ductility while composited with the elastic polymer [27] . Therefore, the stretchability and strength of the assembled device are combination of the two elastomer and closer to Ecoflex.

It is reported that the GrF aids in load-bearing, increasing the ultimate tensile strength and ductility while composited with the elastic polymer.


The models in the literature focus on a large number of potential determinants. Theoretically, these determinants can be distinguished into demand and supply variables. Demand variables are characteristics of parents which indicate the degree to which parents 'need' support from their children, such as a parent's health status, and whether the parent is living with a partner (Grundy, 2005; Klein Ikkink et al., 1999; Silverstein, 1995; Spitze and Logan, 1989) .

Demand variables are characteristics of parents which indicate the degree to which parents 'need' support from their children, such as a parent's health status, and whether the parent is living with a partner.


However, more recent studies do not support the bequest motive (Sloan et al., 1997; Perozek, 1998; Callegaro and Pasini, 2008) . It has been found that siblings are each other's substitutes. The more siblings a child has, the less often the child visits the parent and the less often he or she gives support to the parent (Kalmijn, 2007; Kalmijn and Saraceno, 2008; Spitze and Logan, 1991) . In addition to the number of siblings, the nature of the interactions between siblings play a role in informal care decisions. In the literature we do not find evidence about whether siblings behave cooperatively or noncooperatively. This study tries to establish the behavior of siblings using the preference parameters of only children which are obtained in a structural model.

However, more recent studies do not support the bequest motive.

The more siblings a child has, the less often the child visits the parent and the less often he or she gives support to the parent.


An important supply variable is time costs. Giving support and paying a visit are time intensive, especially if support also requires traveling, which usually is the case. There are also financial costs involved, but there is little evidence that the child's income situation affects contact or support (Klein Ikkink et al., 1999; Waite and Harrison, 1992) . There are social status gradients in contact and support, but these have more to do with education and less with financial aspects of social status (Kalmijn and Dykstra, 2006) .

There are also financial costs involved, but there is little evidence that the child's income situation affects contact or support.

There are social status gradients in contact and support, but these have more to do with education and less with financial aspects of social status.


In the economic, demographic, sociological, and psychological literature on the elderly, considerable attention has been paid to the degree to which children support their (elderly) parents. Support itself is usually distinguished into instrumental support on the one hand, and social and emotional support on the other hand (Hogan and Eggebeen, 1995; Silverstein and Bengtson, 1997) . This study focuses on instrumental support, which includes practical help to parents (e.g., running errands, doing household work), help with personal care (e.g., washing, bathing, caring for when sick) and help with paperwork. Research shows that children often provide practical help to their parents. Even at later ages, however, parents in Europe more often help children than children help parents (Kohli, 1999) . Hence, there hardly is a reversal of the flow of practical support exchange as parents age.

Support itself is usually distinguished into instrumental support on the one hand, and social and emotional support on the other hand.

Even at later ages, however, parents in Europe more often help children than children help parents.


Supply variables have to do with the child's costs and benefits of giving support. Research shows that there is variation among societies in the degree to which children respond to the need of their parents, with children in individualistic countries like Sweden and the Netherlands being less responsive (Kalmijn and Saraceno, 2008) . We will therefore include country specific dummy variables to allow the preferences for informal care to differ across countries.

Research shows that there is variation among societies in the degree to which children respond to the need of their parents, with children in individualistic countries like Sweden and the Netherlands being less responsive.