The modal amplitudes are better estimated as the number of actuators is increased, and the resulting contrast ratio tends to √ BT c . When the number of actuators is sufficiently large, Q 1, the loss of information becomes negligible and the contrast ratio becomes a function of the product QT only. This result embodies the principle of equivalence between the time reversal window duration, T , and the number of actuators, Q [23] . When T is small in comparison to T c and τ, the expression for contrast ration simplifies to C √ 2BQT , which is consistent with expressions previously found in the literature.

This result embodies the principle of equivalence between the time reversal window duration, T , and the number of actuators, Q.


The actual contrast ratio is thus smaller than the ideal one, even for large time T . This effect is due to the loss of information, even in the absence of significant damping. It is also responsible for the limit of channel-time reversal focusing [8] . The loss of information comes from the fact that the transducers observe modal amplitudes from a given position. The observed amplitudes are smaller than the actual modal amplitude or can even be zero if a transducer happens to be located on a nodal line, where Φ n (b q ) = 0.

It is also responsible for the limit of channel-time reversal focusing.


Some of the key properties of the focusing technique by time reversal of waves propagating in a cavity are captured by (3.5) and (13) . When the effects of modal decay can be neglected, from (13), the relationship 2(Q + 1)T + T c < 2QT must hold since T and T c are positive quantities. The contrast ratio is thus bounded above by C max = √ BT c and there is saturation regime when Q and T verify QT T +T c /2. For a lightly damped cavity and transducers of a given bandwidth, the maximum contrast is thus achieved by verifying the latter condition.

Some of the key properties of the focusing technique by time reversal of waves propagating in a cavity are captured by (3.5) and.


Magnetostriction-a spontaneous change in length induced by the application of a magnetic field-is a phenomenon typically associated with ferromagnetic materials. In most such materials, the field-induced strains are extremely small (from 10 −6 to 10 −5 ). However, in rare-earth alloys (e.g. Terfenol-D) relatively large magnetostrictive strains of the order of 0.2% have been observed [1] . Larger still strains of almost 10% have been achieved in single crystals of Ni-Mn-Ga shape-memory alloys [2] . Such 'giant' strains are produced by the motion of twin boundaries, which can be controlled by reorientation of the applied magnetic field [3] . A severe shortcoming of the Ni-Mn-Ga alloys is that the strains in easier-to-manufacture polycrystalline specimens are much smaller (of the order of 1%). Similar phenomena and field-induced strains have been observed in ferroelectric ceramics [4, 5] .

However, in rare-earth alloys (e.g. Terfenol-D) relatively large magnetostrictive strains of the order of 0.2% have been observed.

Larger still strains of almost 10% have been achieved in single crystals of Ni-Mn-Ga shape-memory alloys.

Such 'giant' strains are produced by the motion of twin boundaries, which can be controlled by reorientation of the applied magnetic field.

Similar phenomena and field-induced strains have been observed in ferroelectric ceramics.


After the screening procedure is complete, the diagnostic mammography stage will be carried out by the radiologist. In this stage, the radiologist will diagnose either the cancer is classified as a benign or malignant. Similarly, human error also occurs during this stage. There are numerous of studied have been done to overcome this error. The Computer Aided Diagnosis (CAD) has been proved to reduce the error rate as well as to increase the performance of the breast cancer detection and classification [5] .

The Computer Aided Diagnosis (CAD) has been proved to reduce the error rate as well as to increase the performance of the breast cancer detection and classification.


This crisis of water management has driven jurisdictions around the world to initiate community and industry demand management programs. In many situations the need arises to explore the feasibility of augmenting existing supplies (for example, surface water dams and ground water) through the production of alternative sources of water such as recycled waste water and desalinated sea water. However such augmentation can have significant costs both financially, socially, and to the environment (Hurlimann, 2007a) .

However such augmentation can have significant costs both financially, socially, and to the environment.


It has been reported that 20-25% of ALL/LBL patients experience relapse [6] . Relapse in these two diseases is often early and reflects an aggressive disease. In ALL, early relapse is often defined as occurring in the first 1.5 years from diagnosis whereas late relapse is defined as occurring after 3 years from diagnosis and these patients may represent a subset of patients with a distinct biology that follows a more quiescent course [3, 7] . In one long-term follow-up study of 505 children with relapsed ALL, 74% of relapses were observed within the first 3 years and 4% after 5 years. Only 1% of cases relapsed after 10 years and none of them were T-ALL [6] . Similarly, early relapse is much more common in T-LBL than B-LBL [6] [7] [8] . It is difficult to ascertain the overall rates of relapse in T-LBL, in particular late relapse, because of the limited data on this subset of patients.

It has been reported that 20-25% of ALL/LBL patients experience relapse.

In ALL, early relapse is often defined as occurring in the first 1.5 years from diagnosis whereas late relapse is defined as occurring after 3 years from diagnosis and these patients may represent a subset of patients with a distinct biology that follows a more quiescent course.

Only 1% of cases relapsed after 10 years and none of them were T-ALL.

Similarly, early relapse is much more common in T-LBL than B-LBL.


Source: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean À Estimates based on official sources À http://estadisticas.cepal.org/cepalstat/WEB_CEPALSTAT/Portada.asp sector, which is characterised by individual landlords, often living in the same property, and by informal letting practices, despite state controls on rents and tenants' rights in the formal sector. Colombia stands out in that a third of households are in the rented sector, with much smaller proportions in the other three countries. In all four, the incidence of renting tends to rise with income. In other words there are fewer low-income households renting and there is a tail-off amongst the highest income groups, with the highest incidence being amongst those in the middle range of incomes (Blanco, Cibils, & Muñoz, 2014) . Home ownership is the predominant tenure in all four countries. Colombia has the lowest rate of ownership with 50 per cent and Brazil the highest with 75 per cent. Argentina and Chile have between 65 and 70 per cent (Blanco et al., 2014) . Home ownership has been encouraged by governments in all the countries, with state subsidies being primarily directed towards this tenure, both in new build and in the upgrading of existing (often informal) slum properties. Even directly provided state housing is usually sold to the new occupants through the provision of state subsidies and loans in addition to those provided by the private sector. In all countries there have been problems of the affordability of housing not just in the lowest income sectors and as we shall see, much state aid has been aimed at allowing middle-income groups to afford the ownership of new housing (Blanco et al., 2014) .

In other words there are fewer low-income households renting and there is a tail-off amongst the highest income groups, with the highest incidence being amongst those in the middle range of incomes.

Argentina and Chile have between 65 and 70 per cent.

In all countries there have been problems of the affordability of housing not just in the lowest income sectors and as we shall see, much state aid has been aimed at allowing middle-income groups to afford the ownership of new housing.


It has been proposed that Lf is involved in various biological functions, such as antimicrobial activity, iron absorption and immunoregulation (Lönnerdal 2009; Steijns and van Hooijdonk 2000; Wakabayashi et al. 2006) . However, the thermal treatment of Lf reduces some of its biological activities (Kussendrager 1994; Oria et al. 1993; Paulsson et al. 1993) . The thermal denaturation of Lf has been well studied under many experimental conditions, including different pH values, buffers and concentrations of buffer salts (Abe et al. 1991; Kawakami et al. 1992) . When Lf was heated near its isoelectric point (Table 3) , the denaturation temperature (about 65°C) was consistent with that in the literature (Hu et al. 2008) . We also only observed an iron solubilization capacity in native Lf, which was lost after its thermal denaturation ( Fig. 1 and Table 1 ). These results suggest that iron solubilization by Lf is also one of the functional characteristics of native Lf. Once Lf is thermally denatured during food processing, as during pasteurization, it cannot solubilize iron. Therefore, we consider that the preparation of FeLf requires native Lf. Successfully manufactured FeLf should also be "native," that is, containing biologically active Lf. The multifunctional benefits of Lf can also be delivered to the consumer as FeLf.

It has been proposed that Lf is involved in various biological functions, such as antimicrobial activity, iron absorption and immunoregulation.

However, the thermal treatment of Lf reduces some of its biological activities.

The thermal denaturation of Lf has been well studied under many experimental conditions, including different pH values, buffers and concentrations of buffer salts.

When Lf was heated near its isoelectric point (Table 3) , the denaturation temperature (about 65°C) was consistent with that in the literature.


We consider the case when the false positive is not taken into account. The primary reason is that the selection of the appropriate string similarity measure can enable us to discover most of the potential correspondences (Cheatham and Hitzler 2013) . If the right similarity metric is chosen, then the unreliable correspondences could be omitted by applying more strict thresholds.

The primary reason is that the selection of the appropriate string similarity measure can enable us to discover most of the potential correspondences.


The quality of finished noodles is generally based on appearance and texture (Chang & Wu, 2008) . These properties are used as desirable yardstick for rating of noodles on all markets. The color could be white or yellow, depending on the presence of alkali salts. In all cases however, noodles required good brightness and smooth appearance. Good quality noodles should generally be firm, less sticky and less soggy after cooking. Product texture is principally affected by the structural matrix of starches, gluten, additional proteins (depending on the source of starch) and other ingredients (Chang & Wu, 2008) .

The quality of finished noodles is generally based on appearance and texture.

Product texture is principally affected by the structural matrix of starches, gluten, additional proteins (depending on the source of starch) and other ingredients.


The concept of Systems as Services (SaS) is ambitious and emerging, as it aims to expand the existing "cloud" concepts to any type of system (Ardagna et al., 2015) . In fact, it is a natural system evolution to start at different locations, and then slowly move to a utility service. In recent years, cloud computing entitled computational resources to be distributed as a utility service, and this concept has encouraged to provide any system as a service. Arguably, augmenting a system with a cloud/web interface might enable it to become a SaS. Nevertheless, there exist several issues, such as interoperability, system/service composition, trustworthiness, etc., that need to be considered. In order to rely on such SaS from a user or a provider point of view, the trustworthy level of SaS needs to be guaranteed.

The concept of Systems as Services (SaS) is ambitious and emerging, as it aims to expand the existing "cloud" concepts to any type of system.


Aluminum phosphate sealed NiCr alloy coatings have been widely applied for corrosion protection at high temperatures [11] [12] [13] [14] . However, the effect of heat treated temperature on the adhesive strength, phase composition, and microstructures of coatings has been reported mostly for the NiCr20 alloy coatings. There was a lack of information about the effect of heat treatment on property and structure of the aluminum phosphate sealed NiCr20 coatings.

Aluminum phosphate sealed NiCr alloy coatings have been widely applied for corrosion protection at high temperatures.


With the release of the 2015 DHHS Guidelines came significant changes to first-line HIV treatment recommendations: Atripla and Complera lost their position among preferred regimens and were replaced by newer, more expensive options including dolutegravir, raltegravir, Triumeq, and Stribild. Newly recommended regimens range from $100 to $900 more per patient per month when compared with Atripla and Complera [6] . The price differences are challenging to reconcile; these same guidelines include a section on cost considerations, which states that providers should incorporate costs into decision-making and prescribing practices.

Newly recommended regimens range from $100 to $900 more per patient per month when compared with Atripla and Complera.


Inspired by traditional styling services, researches on smart apparel recommendation systems mostly aim at recommending appropriate apparel to specific individuals based on rules mined from design knowledge and experts' experiences with computer intelligence methods. A recommendation technology vendor, ExpertMaker's CEO also indicated that some vendors added encoded knowledge into their systems to reflect the expertise of a skilled salesperson (Leavitt, 2006) . This paper will review both traditional style similarity based apparel searching systems and style knowledge learning based intelligent apparel recommendation/ advisor systems.

A recommendation technology vendor, ExpertMaker's CEO also indicated that some vendors added encoded knowledge into their systems to reflect the expertise of a skilled salesperson.


The length of the oestrous cycle in cattle is commonly 18-24 days with 21 days considered the average (Rioux and Rajotte 2004) . Nevertheless, the intensity and duration of oestrous behaviours during the oestrous cycle is highly variable among individuals. Social interactions, housing and management factors, the physical environment impinging on the animal, nutritional status age and physiological state, genetic factors and presence of the bull can influence oestrus in cattle (Orihuela 2000) . The oestrous cycle length in the cows in this experiment was probably influenced by the frequent interventions of a veterinarian (three times a week in the collecting period). Frequent rectal examinations could cause congestion of the endometrium and consequent shortening of the oestrous cycle in the cows.

The length of the oestrous cycle in cattle is commonly 18-24 days with 21 days considered the average.

Social interactions, housing and management factors, the physical environment impinging on the animal, nutritional status age and physiological state, genetic factors and presence of the bull can influence oestrus in cattle.


T H I S A RT I C L E D E S C R I B E S some of the findings of a clinical research project taking place at the Child and Family Department of the Tavistock Clinic. Many of the families we see as part of our clinical service are families in transition, either single-parent families, step-families, or families who are currently going through the process of separation and divorce. Families come to us with concerns about their children, either in terms of their behaviour, their learning at school or because they have made a connection between the difficulties experienced at the time of the divorce and the present state of mind of the children. We became interested in finding a way of enabling the children to describe how it was for them in the process and aftermath of divorce. As family therapists, we work mostly with the family together, focusing on the relationships between them, trying to help families find their own way to communicate and relate to one another. However, it has become apparent in our clinical work with families, following the decision to divorce, that it is very difficult for the children to be heard (Dowling, 1993) . It is also evident that children are often in a loyalty bind, which makes it impossible for them to talk about their pain and concerns resulting from the experience of their parents' separation.

However, it has become apparent in our clinical work with families, following the decision to divorce, that it is very difficult for the children to be heard.


We know from research in the field of adult attachment that the ability to put together a coherent story of one's life is connected to the capacity to make secure attachments in future life (Main, Kaplan, & Cassidy, 1985) . It is our intention, as part of the clinical service of this project, to enable the children to create a coherent story about this particular life transition. We are working with a clinical population of families who have been referred to a child and family mental health service, or who seek help themselves because they are troubled about their children.

We know from research in the field of adult attachment that the ability to put together a coherent story of one's life is connected to the capacity to make secure attachments in future life.


Long-period and sungrazing comets also deliver material to the terrestrial planets. About 80% of all known comets are long-period comets, more than 80 members of the family being sungrazing comets. More than half of the close (up to 0.102 AU) encounters of comets with the Earth belong to long-period comets (http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/lists/ClosestComets.htm). Thus, the number of collisions of active longperiod comets with the terrestrial planets may be of the same order of magnitude as that for active shortperiod comets, but short-period comets supply a larger number of extinct comets. Some long-period comets are as large as the Hale-Bopp comet, which had diameter of about 30 km, perihelion distance q = 0.914 AU and moved almost perpendicular to the plane of the Earth's orbit. The mean impact probability of a long-period comet with the Earth per revolution is estimated as (2 − 3) · 10 −9 (Marsden and Steel, 1994) .

The mean impact probability of a long-period comet with the Earth per revolution is estimated as (2 − 3) · 10 −9.


An abundance of research has commented on the impact of event marketing sponsorship (Sneath, Finney & Close, 2005; Chien, Cornwell & Pappu, 2011; Florek & Insch, 2011) . This study is interested in the impact of different tactics employed by sponsors at events to engage consumers and bring attention to their brand. This festival provided an opportunity to assess two different levels of consumer engagement with a brand. Low engagement tactics typically involved simply providing marketing collateral in a booth branded with a banner bearing sponsor's logo, sometimes accompanied by representatives available to answer questions. Higher engagement tactics involved participatory opportunities, such as inviting attendees inside the booth for one-on-one experiences with the sponsor's product.

An abundance of research has commented on the impact of event marketing sponsorship.


Importantly, two main reasons made the estimation of sheet length quite complicated. Firstly, on the micrograph images of the nanocomposites, only the projections of the particle transect were seen. Therefore, the real dimensions could not be estimated. Secondly, the features appearing on the micrograph images were not straight; therefore, a computer assisted analysis method was required [41] . Unfortunately, a fully automated image analysis was excluded, because of the poor visibility of the particles on the image. However, a semiautomated image analysis was used to estimate the sheet length of the clay particles as given in Figure 5 . The volume fractions of the sheets in the nanocomposites were calculated from the weight fraction using the density (1980 kg/m 3 ) of C30BX.

Secondly, the features appearing on the micrograph images were not straight; therefore, a computer assisted analysis method was required.


Polymer/organically modified layered silicate nanocomposites have attracted much attention in the past few decades because of their demonstrated significant enhancement of a large number of the properties including barrier, thermal, mechanical, rheological, flammability resistance, and other physical properties relative to an unmodified silicate or neat polymer resin. These improvements are mainly achieved at lower silicate loadings (≤5 wt%), which result in a high aspect ratio along with a large surface area. The concentration of silicate loading required for the preparation of nanocomposites is a fraction of what is typically required with conventional composites. Moreover, the improvement in these nanocomposites is matchable or higher than those for the conventional composites regarding the filler content. Till now, various nanocomposites have been developed and are being developed using layered silicate clay minerals as a reinforcing phase due to its easy and abundant availability, low cost, and, more importantly, environmental friendliness [1] .

Till now, various nanocomposites have been developed and are being developed using layered silicate clay minerals as a reinforcing phase due to its easy and abundant availability, low cost, and, more importantly, environmental friendliness.


We found that over one-third of a sample of IDU in Bangkok reported having ever been beaten by police. Reports of police beating were independently associated with study enrolment in 2011, male gender, younger age among those who never injected methamphetamine, a history of incarceration, compulsory drug detention and syringe sharing, and reporting barriers to accessing healthcare. Participants most commonly experienced police beating during the interrogation process. To our knowledge, the present study is the first to quantitatively examine the prevalence and correlates of experiencing physical violence at the hands of police among IDU in Thailand. The findings that the overall prevalence was as high as 37.6% in 2009-2011, and the majority of the victims (68.1%) experienced it during the interrogation process raise serious concern about widespread police-perpetrated abuses against this population. Our findings are consistent with previous reports during the 2003 "war on drugs" campaign indicating that police beating was used as a tactic to extract confessions of drug-related crimes from suspected drug users [13] . We also found persistent reports of recent experiences with police beatings during the two-year study period. Furthermore, in a multivariate analysis, after extensive adjustment for social, demographic and behavioural factors, study enrolment in 2011 remained independently associated with reports of police beatings. Although the present study did not set out to assess the incidence of police beatings, these findings suggest that this form of police violence has continued in recent years.

Our findings are consistent with previous reports during the 2003 "war on drugs" campaign indicating that police beating was used as a tactic to extract confessions of drug-related crimes from suspected drug users.


Small bowel obstruction can occur due to extramural, mural or intraluminal causes, and adhesions account for more than 60%, followed by Crohn's disease and malignancy. Foreign bodies in the gastrointestinal tract can get obstructed depending on their shape and consistency. Frequent sites of obstruction include the pylorus, 'C' loop of the duodenum and the ileocaecal junction [1] .

Frequent sites of obstruction include the pylorus, 'C' loop of the duodenum and the ileocaecal junction.


Computed tomography (CT scan) is emerging as a valuable tool in the management of bowel obstruction. Sensitivity for diagnosis is high as 95%. It confirms the diagnosis, differentiates between mechanical and functional obstruction, and provides information about cause and site of obstruction. In this particular case the mango seed was clearly seen on the NCCT (non-contrast computerized tomography) abdomen at terminal ileum [6] .

In this particular case the mango seed was clearly seen on the NCCT (non-contrast computerized tomography) abdomen at terminal ileum.


A surface of flat steel products may be defined in terms of shape and reflectance, a defect may be described as a local aberration in shape and/or reflectance. The key is the ability to determine a deviation in the expected shape and reflectance of the surface. Among the approaches that the system uses to detect defects, we have included the twodimensional Gabor filters (Fig. 5) . A twodimensional Gabor filter consists of a sinusoidal wave modulated by a gaussian envelope. It performs a localized and oriented frequency analysis of a twodimensional signal (Kamarainen, 2003) . Experimental results show that a number of defects can be readily detected using the proposed approach.

It performs a localized and oriented frequency analysis of a twodimensional signal.


An action of a group G by isometries on a metric space X is acylindrical if for all d ≥ 0 there exist constants M, N ≥ 0 such that for all x, y ∈ X with d(x, y) ≥ M , the number of elements g ∈ G satisfying d(x, gx) ≤ d and d(y, gy) ≤ d is at most N . An element g of a group G is generalized loxodromic if there is an acylindrical action of G on a hyperbolic space X such that g acts loxodromically. A non-virtually cyclic group is acylindrically hyperbolic if and only if it contains a generalized loxodromic element [15] .

A non-virtually cyclic group is acylindrically hyperbolic if and only if it contains a generalized loxodromic element.


According to literature survey, among the aromatic esters the most valuable and important fragrance and flavor substances are the monoesters which are obtained during esterification process of aromatic alcohols e.g., benzyl alcohol, 2-phenylethyl alcohol, 1-phenylethyl alcohol, 3-phenylpropanol, 1-phenyl-2-methyl-2-propanol, or cinnamic alcohol with the suitable aliphatic monoacid or acid anhydride [24] [25] [26] [27] . However, rare information is available on the preparation and thermal characterization of cycloaromatic diesters derivatives of 3-phenylprop-2-en-1-ol. The main objective of the present paper is to study the thermal stability and the degradation mechanism of aromatic and cyclo-aromatic diesters derivatives of naturally occurring alcohol: 3-phenylprop-2-en-1-ol. The information regarding the thermal stability and degradation mechanism of those compounds can help to evaluate their possible practical applications. Due to the pleasant, balsamic odor they can find their place as flavor and fragrance ingredients added to many products, e.g., for polymers, plastics, and their commercial products particularly manufactured at high-temperature processing.

According to literature survey, among the aromatic esters the most valuable and important fragrance and flavor substances are the monoesters which are obtained during esterification process of aromatic alcohols e.g., benzyl alcohol, 2-phenylethyl alcohol, 1-phenylethyl alcohol, 3-phenylpropanol, 1-phenyl-2-methyl-2-propanol, or cinnamic alcohol with the suitable aliphatic monoacid or acid anhydride.


In simulations with a 2-km-high mountain, the differences between the waves in the northern and southern cross sections, 200 km apart, can be pronounced. While some of this difference is linked to the gradual north-south shifts in the jet above the topography, a persistent difference develops in the low-level updrafts at the terminus of the region of strong downslope winds. The leeward extent of the downslope winds is much shorter in the south, and they end at a jumplike feature with a much stronger low-level updraft than that found in the north. One unique aspect of the waves forced by the 2-km-high mountain is that the horizontal distribution of the vertical velocity field in the upper troposphere shows several linear features angling downstream of the topography in a pattern roughly reminiscent of features observed downstream of the Colorado Front Range. These linear features were not reproduced in steady 3D simulations with north-south (and vertical) shear in the largescale flow matching the conditions in the evolving flow just upstream of the mountain. Early and late in the simulation, when the north-south gradients in the large-scale flow encountering the topography are smallest, most of the low-level blocked flow is diverted around the northern end of the ridge in a manner similar to that identified in previous studies of horizontally uniform flows interacting with long ridges when Coriolis forces are nontrivial (Ólafsson and Bougeault 1997; Zängl 2004) . In contrast, the blocked flow splits much closer to the north-south center of the ridge at 5.5 and 6.5 days, when the local values of the nonlinearity parameterÑh 0 /Ũ are lower in the north than in the south. In the immediate lee of the ridge, the penetration of the cold front southward around the northern end of the ridge is delayed by the presence of warm downslope winds. The warm air at the base of the lee slope is eventually pinched off by cold air that traverses the ridge from the west and a second push of cold air that arrives from the east.

Early and late in the simulation, when the north-south gradients in the large-scale flow encountering the topography are smallest, most of the low-level blocked flow is diverted around the northern end of the ridge in a manner similar to that identified in previous studies of horizontally uniform flows interacting with long ridges when Coriolis forces are nontrivial.


For IoT/cellular network systems, mobile data offloading appears as one of the most attractive data delivering solutions. Data offloading mechanism has been developed to offload traffic from cellular networks to high capacity and free device-to-device networks. Recently, a growing number of studies have been devoted to the potential performance benefits of mobile data offloading and the technologies to support it. However, the existing researches only focused on the technical aspect of data offloading without considering the economic incentive for access point owners (APOs) to admit cellular network traffic. This incentive issue is particularly important for the scenario where APOs are privately owned by third-party entities who are expected to be reluctant to admit non-registered users' traffic without proper incentives [2] .

This incentive issue is particularly important for the scenario where APOs are privately owned by third-party entities who are expected to be reluctant to admit non-registered users' traffic without proper incentives.


The problem's objective was to determine the best way to accommodate a demand volume, with which the composite radio infrastructure was faced. They found the QoS levels that can be offered and the networks that can support the demand at the selected QoS levels. In addition, they included a first approach to the definition, mathematical formulation, and solution of a version of the SCD-CRE problem. Results indicating some of the capabilities of the SCD-CRE were also presented [18] .

Results indicating some of the capabilities of the SCD-CRE were also presented.


Al Qur'an is implemented by the Prophet Muhammad in his daily life. In Islam, the Prophet Muhammad behavior is recorded in Hadith as the second knowledge of Islam. The holy Qur'an and Hadith are continuously generated into world's system which occurs into the life of human being's through learning process called shuratic process. Shuratic process shows an interactive, integrative and evolutionary learning process that interrelated with Islamic law in the world system and tends to be consultative and dynamic process that will go on until hereafter (Harahap, 2008) . So it is clear that Islam as a way of life always relates world with hereafter life. Therefore, religious behavior in this research is divided into hablumminallah behavior and hablumminannas behavior.

Shuratic process shows an interactive, integrative and evolutionary learning process that interrelated with Islamic law in the world system and tends to be consultative and dynamic process that will go on until hereafter.


There are more than thirty verses of the holy Qur'an that mention about Moslem obligation to keep and pay attention on what to consume which also supported by hadiths that are explaining many things about halal (lawful) and haram (unlawful) products, as related to its substantials, materials, and processing procedures (Thobieb, 2002) . Such as the following hadith narrated by Moslem ra: "The halal (lawful) is obvious and the haram (unlawful) is also obvious; and in between there are things that musyta-bihat/syubhat (doubtful, vague, not clearly lawful illegitimate), most people do not know the law. Who ever cautious about doubtful cases, indeed he had saved his religion and pride". This hadith explains that everything that is syubhat (doubtful) should be abandoned because whoever is keeping himself away from these,then his life and religion will survive (Amin, 2013) .

There are more than thirty verses of the holy Qur'an that mention about Moslem obligation to keep and pay attention on what to consume which also supported by hadiths that are explaining many things about halal (lawful) and haram (unlawful) products, as related to its substantials, materials, and processing procedures.

This hadith explains that everything that is syubhat (doubtful) should be abandoned because whoever is keeping himself away from these,then his life and religion will survive.


In laser surface treatments, obtaining required hardness while minimizing thermal deformation is critical because structural components require high precision. Unfortunately, satisfying both the aforementioned requirements is a challenging task, and a good predictive model can significantly reduce time and costs in finding optimal process conditions. For this reason, extensive research has been carried out to either develop predictive models or uncover relationships between process parameters and process outcomes [23, 24] . To have the possibility to carry out a full analysis of thermal treatment, it is necessary to have proper mathematical and numerical models that can provide information about instantaneous temperature fields, the change in time of fractions of particular phase proportions of the material, instantaneous stress distributions, and residual stresses. Currently, numerical methods are leading in the modelling of technological processes, allowing us to analyse complex shapes with any initial and boundary conditions. Moreover, numerical modelling is characterized by high elasticity with respect to numerical algorithm development and the possibility to consider variable thermo-physical parameters of the analysed problem [25] [26] [27] [28] .

For this reason, extensive research has been carried out to either develop predictive models or uncover relationships between process parameters and process outcomes.

Moreover, numerical modelling is characterized by high elasticity with respect to numerical algorithm development and the possibility to consider variable thermo-physical parameters of the analysed problem.


Communication traffic on an optical transmission system has been growing and the continuous expansion of transmission capacity has been required. Disruptive technologies have been expected to break the limit of incremental technology of the optical transmission system. In Japan, discussions regarding the issue have been initiated. Space division multiplexing employing a multi-core fiber (MCF) has been proposed as one of the key solutions to this issue [1] .

Space division multiplexing employing a multi-core fiber (MCF) has been proposed as one of the key solutions to this issue.


The melaleuca tree is an aggressive weed threatening the biodiversity of the south Florida everglades ecosystem (Turner et al., 1998) . Originally from eastern Australia, this tree was introduced to south Florida around the turn of the century by horticulturists (Morton, 1966) . Following its introduction, the tree has spread through the natural areas of south Florida that include, and are adjacent to, the Everglades National Park and the Big Cypress Preserve. With the dramatic decreases in water flows of south Florida for flood control to protect agriculture and urban areas, this species and many other exotic weeds have flourished. The tree now occupies more than 200,000 ha in the region and, because of its ability to resprout from periodic freezes, has the potential to invade coastal wetlands of southern Louisiana and eastern Texas (Turner et al., 1998) .

The melaleuca tree is an aggressive weed threatening the biodiversity of the south Florida everglades ecosystem.

Originally from eastern Australia, this tree was introduced to south Florida around the turn of the century by horticulturists.

The tree now occupies more than 200,000 ha in the region and, because of its ability to resprout from periodic freezes, has the potential to invade coastal wetlands of southern Louisiana and eastern Texas.


Here, we probe the mass transport properties and polarization of stoichiometric TiN(111) surfaces. CMD simulations, benchmarked by DFT results, are used to evaluate Tiad and Nad diffusion coefficients as a function of temperature. We find that on TiN(111), Tiad mobilities are greatly reduced compared to those on TiN(001) [44] . In contrast, Nad species are considerably more mobile on TiN(111) than on TiN(001); in the latter case, nitrogen diffusivities at typical film growth temperatures are limited by N2 desorption, in which the desorbing molecules are primarily composed of N adatoms and N surface atoms [42] . Our CMD results also show that lattice vibrations at temperatures between 600 and 1800 K yield reduced adatom jump activation energies compared to 0 K MEAM and DFT values, confirming the importance of including thermal effects in modeling adatom transport.

We find that on TiN(111), Tiad mobilities are greatly reduced compared to those on TiN(001).

In contrast, Nad species are considerably more mobile on TiN(111) than on TiN(001); in the latter case, nitrogen diffusivities at typical film growth temperatures are limited by N2 desorption, in which the desorbing molecules are primarily composed of N adatoms and N surface atoms.


We also propose a more comprehensive preliminary screening compared to the IMPACT study. In our study the initial screening will include: DRE, PSA free to total PSA, a multi-parametric prostate MRI and a trans-rectal ultra-sound guided prostate biopsy. Thus, we will be able to determine the value of MRI screening, and determine the best screening modality. In breast cancer for instance, female BRCA carriers are advised to complete both mammography and MRI [32] . Each of these screening tests provides valuable information and both are needed. The same may be true in male carriers.

In breast cancer for instance, female BRCA carriers are advised to complete both mammography and MRI.

The same may be true in male carriers.


The lowest part of the planetary boundary layer (PBL) wherein the turbulent fluxes vary less than 10% of their magnitude is known as the atmospheric surface layer (Stull 1988) . Meteorological variables experience a sharp variation with height within this layer that exhibits the most significant exchanges of momentum, heat, and moisture (Arya 1988) . The surface layer state determines the land-atmosphere interaction and, thus, its accurate formulation is crucial to provide an adequate atmospheric evolution by numerical models.

The lowest part of the planetary boundary layer (PBL) wherein the turbulent fluxes vary less than 10% of their magnitude is known as the atmospheric surface layer.

Meteorological variables experience a sharp variation with height within this layer that exhibits the most significant exchanges of momentum, heat, and moisture.


Solar cells are powered by the photoelectric conversion of solar light. Thus, it is desirable that the light reflectance of the cell surface be as low as possible to enable complete absorption of the solar energy. Current antireflection approaches can be categorized into two categories. The first approach is to coat an antireflection layer on the cell surface to reduce light reflection. Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) of a thin layer of hydrogenated silicon nitride (SiNx:H) on the cell surface is a commonly adopted method [1] . Solar light within a specific wave range can thus be effectively absorbed. Wider spectrum absorption requires multiple antireflection coatings. Hence, the antireflection coating approach is relatively costly, complicated, and difficult to mass produce. The other approach is to texturize the cell surface so that different wavelengths of light can be efficiently absorbed through multiple reflections. This approach enables a wider spectrum of solar light to reach the P-N junction of the solar cell, thus enhancing its short circuit current and photoelectric conversion efficiency.

Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) of a thin layer of hydrogenated silicon nitride (SiNx:H) on the cell surface is a commonly adopted method.


In this context, sports activities can play a fundamental role in the way the adolescent perceives his body. In fact, confrontation with others can trigger an unhealthy process of internalisation that only through adequate support from coaches, teammates and family members can lead to the development of a positive image of one's body (Keery, Boutelle, van den Berg, & Thompson, 2005; McCabe, & Ricciardelli, 2005) . Through sports, the adolescent can improve his sense of effectiveness, self-determination, satisfaction, motivation and personal acceptance, developing a new feeling of self-acceptance (Branco, Hilario, & Cintra, 2006; Cash, & Pruzinsky, 2004) . The scholastic context, through the curricular physical education, is able to offer the adolescent a privileged space for the expression of one's own corporeity. Motor, physical and sports education thus become essential moments for the harmonious development of the person as a whole, where the young are able to live his body serenely, acquiring and experiencing greater satisfaction with the perception he has of himself and his own body (Storch et al., 2004) . In fact, a good image of oneself is often the important result of adopting a healthy lifestyle associated with sports practice. It is by now unanimously proven that those who constantly practice physical activity demonstrate greater cognitive vivacity, good levels of self-esteem, and are less exposed to behavioural disorders (Levine, & Smolak, 2006; Strauss, 1999) .

In fact, confrontation with others can trigger an unhealthy process of internalisation that only through adequate support from coaches, teammates and family members can lead to the development of a positive image of one's body.

Through sports, the adolescent can improve his sense of effectiveness, self-determination, satisfaction, motivation and personal acceptance, developing a new feeling of self-acceptance.

Motor, physical and sports education thus become essential moments for the harmonious development of the person as a whole, where the young are able to live his body serenely, acquiring and experiencing greater satisfaction with the perception he has of himself and his own body.

It is by now unanimously proven that those who constantly practice physical activity demonstrate greater cognitive vivacity, good levels of self-esteem, and are less exposed to behavioural disorders.


This study has some limitations that need to be acknowledged. A major limitation of the present study is related to use of a causal-comparative study design providing weaker evidence for causation as there is no manipulation of the independent variables. Also, the sensitivity of the adolescent towards themes concerning the representation/perception of one's own body that could be amplified or, in some cases, diminished (Hall, Hogue, & Guo, 2010) . However, the results obtained could provide important indications for future studies conducted with experimental design that aims to know the role played by the Sport and Motor Sciences in the process of internalization and positive development of the mental representation that the adolescent has of himself and his corporeity.

Also, the sensitivity of the adolescent towards themes concerning the representation/perception of one's own body that could be amplified or, in some cases, diminished.


It is well known that participating in physical activities helps adolescent girls and boys focus on and appreciate the functionality of their bodies, and their positive views about their bodies facilitate their engagement in sports for reasons related to self-care, enjoyment, and challenge (Frisén & Holmqvist, 2010) . Body appreciation was linked positively to participation in regular exercise among adolescent women when exercise motives were not mainly for appearance and weight loss (Homan & Tylka, 2014) . However, previous researches suggest that women and adolescent girls experience higher levels of body dissatisfaction than do their male counterparts (Ata, Ludden, & Lally, 2007; Tiggemann, 2005) . It is estimated that approximately 50% of adolescent girls report being unhappy with their bodies (Bearman, Presnell, Martinez, & Stice 2006) . This dissatisfaction can develop from as early as six years of age and research has shown that the issue VOLUME --| ISSUE -| 2019 | 3 exists amongst individuals of varying body shape and cultural background (Dohnt & Tiggemann, 2006; Grabe & Hyde, 2006) . Therefore, the aim of the present research was to investigate on gender differences in relation to the sense of dissatisfaction developed by adolescents with regard to their body in a period of the development of the person universally recognized as particularly critical. Moreover, the present study aimed to examine the role played by the Sport and Motor Sciences in the process of recovery of a body alienated from continuous and unrealistic distortions of the perception of self, through the experimentation of limits and conquests in a context of global and harmonious growth. It was hypothesized that practicing Sports and Motor Activities plays a fundamental role in the process of internalization and positive development of the mental representation that the adolescent has of himself and his corporeity and in the construction of the personal identity of the individual.

It is well known that participating in physical activities helps adolescent girls and boys focus on and appreciate the functionality of their bodies, and their positive views about their bodies facilitate their engagement in sports for reasons related to self-care, enjoyment, and challenge.

Body appreciation was linked positively to participation in regular exercise among adolescent women when exercise motives were not mainly for appearance and weight loss.

However, previous researches suggest that women and adolescent girls experience higher levels of body dissatisfaction than do their male counterparts.

It is estimated that approximately 50% of adolescent girls report being unhappy with their bodies.

This dissatisfaction can develop from as early as six years of age and research has shown that the issue VOLUME --| ISSUE -| 2019 | 3 exists amongst individuals of varying body shape and cultural background.


Conveyance of slurries through pipelines is common throughout the worlds. Over the decades, the flow of slurries through pipelines had been a common practice for various industries such as the oil and gas, food, pharmaceutical, solid handling, tailing, and even power generation. Many factors affect slurry flow behaviour in pipelines. These include particle size, velocity profile, frictional pressure loss, and concentration profile [1] [2] [3] [4] . Past studies have suggested many empirical correlations to predict slurry flow behaviour; nonetheless, the capability of these correlations is limited to some data range and experimental setup.

These include particle size, velocity profile, frictional pressure loss, and concentration profile.


Ibuprofen has been applied as a model compound in all known resolution methods utilizing supercritical fluids: using supercritical extraction after vacuum evaporation, a selectivity of 0.427 has been achieved, while slow in situ crystallization yielded a diastereomeric purity of 60.4% and a selectivity of 0.422 [16] . The analytical scale separation of ibuprofen enantiomers can also be realized using supercritical chromatography [17] . The possibility of resolving ibuprofen using a gas antisolvent process was presented by West [18] . In our work, we utilized a batch variant of supercritical antisolvent methods, the gas antisolvent (GAS) technique, for the resolution of ibuprofen with (R)-phenylethylamine (PhEA). The aim of our research was a detailed investigation of the GAS method for crystallization and resolution using the IBU-PhEA system, as well as identifying and investigating the effects influencing selectivity.

Ibuprofen has been applied as a model compound in all known resolution methods utilizing supercritical fluids: using supercritical extraction after vacuum evaporation, a selectivity of 0.427 has been achieved, while slow in situ crystallization yielded a diastereomeric purity of 60.4% and a selectivity of 0.422.

The analytical scale separation of ibuprofen enantiomers can also be realized using supercritical chromatography.

The possibility of resolving ibuprofen using a gas antisolvent process was presented by West.


Poor countries are relatively resource dependent (Barbier, 2005) . Understanding the relationship between resource wealth and growth is therefore a necessary step towards understanding the growth performance of poor countries. Surprisingly, a large literature documents a negative relationship between resource dependence and economic growth. This remarkably robust phenomenon is commonly attributed to the so-called resource curse the systematic tendency for resource dependence to impede economic growth and development by creating market or institutional failures (Sachs and Warner 1995 , 1999 Papyrakis and Gerlagh, 2007; James and Aadland, 2010) . According to this theory, developing countries like Brunei are poor not in spite of resource endowments but rather, because of resource endowments.

Poor countries are relatively resource dependent.

This remarkably robust phenomenon is commonly attributed to the so-called resource curse the systematic tendency for resource dependence to impede economic growth and development by creating market or institutional failures.


Pain is a common complaint among patients cared for by paramedics [1] . Cases attended by paramedics involve patients who report pain as their chief complaint and symptom that instigated an ambulance call for assistance. In other cases, the sensation of pain will be a component of a constellation of symptoms, and the patient's report of pain will be an important diagnostic cue that guides the clinical examination. Paramedics will also encounter patients who report persistent pain, but where the pain is unrelated to their current health crisis.

Pain is a common complaint among patients cared for by paramedics.


The core inverse and the dual core inverse for a complex matrix were introduced by Baksalary and Trenkler [1] . Let A ∈ M n (C), where M n (C) denotes the ring of all n × n complex matrices. A matrix X ∈ M n (C) is called a core inverse of A, if it satisfies AX = P A and R(X) ⊆ R(A), where R(A) denotes the column space of A, and P A is the orthogonal projector onto R(A). And if such a matrix exists, then it is unique (and denoted by A # ). Baksalary and Trenkler gave several characterizations of the core inverse by using the decomposition of Hartwig and Spindelböck.

The core inverse and the dual core inverse for a complex matrix were introduced by Baksalary and Trenkler.


We also simplified the analysis by neglecting the effects of baryon degrees of freedom altogether. It follows from our discussion in section 4 that in the region of parameter space of interest to us, there are no baryons in the QCD ground state. However, for the highest values of the chemical potential µ, shown in figure 5 , the free energy of nucleons becomes small, and one might therefore wonder if they affect our conclusions through virtual corrections. Yet, thanks to the derivative coupling of pions to nucleons, the latter only contribute to pion dynamics at the next-to-leading order of the derivative expansion, and can therefore be consistently omitted from our setup. Some nonuniform states with one-dimensional modulation are known to be unstable under transverse fluctuations at any nonzero temperature [21, 22] . Here we assumed zero temperature throughout the text, yet we do not expect such an instability to appear even at nonzero temperature in the situation considered here. Namely, the instability arises from a quadratic dispersion relation of the transverse fluctuations and in turn from rotational invariance of the system. In our setup, the dispersion relation of low-energy excitations is linear, see eq. (5.4), and rotational invariance is broken by the magnetic field. The linear dispersion relation in turn justifies the usual power counting rules which dictate that the effects of fluctuations are suppressed by the loop factor p 2 CSL /(4πf π ) 2 [6, 7] . Finally, we note that our analysis applies to QCD in an external magnetic field. In presence of a dynamical electromagnetic field, the situation changes in several aspects. On the one hand, the anomalous coupling of neutral pions to the electromagnetic field leads to a modification of the photon dispersion relation; in the chiral limit, it exhibits a nonrelativistic behavior [23] . On the other hand, the requirement of charge neutrality may require that BEC of charged pions localized to the nodes of the soliton lattice accompanies the CSL state [3] .

Some nonuniform states with one-dimensional modulation are known to be unstable under transverse fluctuations at any nonzero temperature.

The linear dispersion relation in turn justifies the usual power counting rules which dictate that the effects of fluctuations are suppressed by the loop factor p 2 CSL /(4πf π ) 2.

On the one hand, the anomalous coupling of neutral pions to the electromagnetic field leads to a modification of the photon dispersion relation; in the chiral limit, it exhibits a nonrelativistic behavior.

On the other hand, the requirement of charge neutrality may require that BEC of charged pions localized to the nodes of the soliton lattice accompanies the CSL state.


The single factor that distinguished most clearly between continued and non-continued initiatives in this study, according to participants in the initiatives, was the availability of ongoing financial support. This finding is not in itself surprising: it makes common sense, and it reflects the concerns of the literature (Gunn, 2010) . But, availability of financial support was still low when compared to the extent that other conditions that made the difference between continuing and non-continuing initiatives were met. Continued initiatives are, it seems, able to overcome apparent shortcomings in financial support.

This finding is not in itself surprising: it makes common sense, and it reflects the concerns of the literature.


Nowadays, a new trend of GDM is that individuals rely on the opinions and social appraisal support from their close friends or people with similar interests [2] . An example is the community review website Ciao (www.ciao.com) where users can write reviews about consumer products and assign a rating to the products and the reviews written by others. In essence, Ciao is a social network, i.e. an association of people drawn together by family, work or hobby, that allows for the relationships between social entities like members of a group, corporations or nations to be studied [16, 27, 32] . By reviewing and talking, consumers can build a trust relationship between them by trust or distrust.

Nowadays, a new trend of GDM is that individuals rely on the opinions and social appraisal support from their close friends or people with similar interests.

In essence, Ciao is a social network, i.e. an association of people drawn together by family, work or hobby, that allows for the relationships between social entities like members of a group, corporations or nations to be studied.


For MG, an offset quadratic function for Area was used and the four-term QSAR equation was reduced to three terms, as follows: Thus, only three descriptors are needed for MPmg. The molecular surface area descriptor (Area) describes the van der Waals area of a molecule. On average its value for the 29 compounds was 323.4018 and all values were smaller than 363.117. This implies that the smaller the value of Area, the higher the mutagenic potency. Mutagenic potency is decreased by a high charge at position 7 on BA and therefore, Q7 is an important descriptor in compensating for the electrostatic contribution. The major difference in this equation is that charges are no longer included. The average Area value for the 29 compounds is 323.4018 and all values are less than 363.1170. Thus, it appears that a smaller value of Area correlates to a higher mutagenic potency. The desolvation free energy for waterA (F h2o ) descriptor appears to be discriminating in this strain. This term is not based on conformation, but on the connectivity of the atoms and it is derived from the hydration shell model developed by Hopfinger [48] . Since F h2o is negative and is included in the QSAR equation as a quadratic, increasingly negative values of this descriptor correspond to increased mutagenic potency. There are five outliers for this strain but only compounds 4 and 16 exhibit large residuals. Area and F h2o demonstrate collinearity (r = 0.840, Fig. 4 ) indicating that molecular surface area is a major factor for determining mutagenicity in the MF strain.

This term is not based on conformation, but on the connectivity of the atoms and it is derived from the hydration shell model developed by Hopfinger.


The conventional purpose of recommender systems is to provide users with personalized recommendations, such as movies and music [1] . However, the availability of contextual information in recommender systems has pushed forward new challenges in the community. Thanks to the rich knowledge of the context about users and products, various Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. To copy otherwise, to republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. CAMRa '11 Chicago, IL, USA Copyright 2011 ACM 978-1-4503-0825-0 ...$10.00.

The conventional purpose of recommender systems is to provide users with personalized recommendations, such as movies and music.


In this paper, the multiple timescale method is applied to analyze a general dynamic system undergoing a resonant double-Hopf bifurcation of codimension three. Two different resonances are studied, namely the 1:2 and 1:3 type. The relevant complex bifurcation equations are recast in real form by performing a nonstandard change of variables based on the definition of generalized amplitudes of motion [14] . The procedure is applied to investigate the post-critical scenario of a simple mechanical system subjected to aerodynamic excitation.

The relevant complex bifurcation equations are recast in real form by performing a nonstandard change of variables based on the definition of generalized amplitudes of motion.


Finding linguistic structure in raw text is not easy. The classical forward-backward and inside-outside algorithms try to guide probabilistic models to discover structure in text, but they tend to get stuck in local maxima (Charniak, 1993) . Even when they avoid local maxima (e.g., through clever initialization) they typically deviate from human ideas of what the "right" structure is (Merialdo, 1994) .

The classical forward-backward and inside-outside algorithms try to guide probabilistic models to discover structure in text, but they tend to get stuck in local maxima.

Even when they avoid local maxima (e.g., through clever initialization) they typically deviate from human ideas of what the "right" structure is.


We have presented contrastive estimation, a new probabilistic estimation criterion that forces a model to explain why the given training data were better than bad data implied by the positive examples. We have shown that for unsupervised sequence modeling, this technique is efficient and drastically outperforms EM; for POS tagging, the gain in accuracy over EM is twice what we would get from ten times as much data and improved search, sticking with EM's criterion (Smith and Eisner, 2004) . On this task, with certain neighborhoods, contrastive estimation suffers less than EM does from diminished prior knowledge and is able to exploit new features-that EM can't-to largely recover from the loss of knowledge.

We have shown that for unsupervised sequence modeling, this technique is efficient and drastically outperforms EM; for POS tagging, the gain in accuracy over EM is twice what we would get from ten times as much data and improved search, sticking with EM's criterion.


In recent years, satellite communication systems have been widely applied, such as broadcasting satellite communication system and GPS (global positioning system) [1] . CP antennas are very suitable for these applications because of flexibility in orientation angle between transmitter and receiver antennas. For global positioning systems, uniform pattern coverage over the entire upper hemisphere is required. It is known that signal at low elevation angle has a great contribution to precision of the positioning based on the positioning principle, but the satellites in this direction are farther from the ground than the satellites in the zenith direction. In order to enhance the positioning precision, antennas with high gain at low elevation angle are needed, and especially for the CNSS, strict requirement for the gain at low elevation angle is set. Sometimes CP gain more than −0.5 dB at 5 • elevation angle is required. However, for most CP antennas the gain at low elevation angle is generally low. In addition, CP antennas with 3 dB beamwidth greater than 220 • is required for some applications such as ship because of severe shaking. But most CP antennas do not have such wide beamwidth.

In recent years, satellite communication systems have been widely applied, such as broadcasting satellite communication system and GPS (global positioning system).


In terms of duration of dalbavancin therapy, patients in our hospital received prolonged therapy using different regimens. The rationale of regimen 2 over regimen 1 is to minimize the frequency of intravenous therapy, while maximizing the initial exposure. Initial dose (loading dose) 1500 mg is an approved dose and due to the long half-life > 14 days, a single maintenance dose of 1000 mg every 2 weeks is sufficient to exceed the MIC90 for target gram-positive pathogens. However, if a treatment duration ≥ 6 weeks is planned, then regime 3 is the better option [17, 18] . Our case series has some limitations as other similar studies based on reallife experience due to the retrospective analysis. First of all, the study conclusions are limited due to small number of patients. Second, long-term follow-up was not available in all cases. The decision to start with dalbavancin therapy or to switch to other drugs was mainly taken by physicians; therefore, there were no uniform criteria for using the drug.

However, if a treatment duration ≥ 6 weeks is planned, then regime 3 is the better option.


Considering the modularity index in the same condition (RS or LT), but for different preprocessing pipelines, it was shown an increase on its value when GSR was applied. Considering the same preprocessing pipelines but in different conditions, in RS the modularity index was higher than in LT. This means that the community structure is stronger in the RS condition. The values of modularity found in this work fall in the range of typical modularity values for brain networks, reported in previous works [43] .

The values of modularity found in this work fall in the range of typical modularity values for brain networks, reported in previous works.


It is important to acknowledge that other climate parameters may affect the timing of NPP and GPP and thus alter the periodicity of tissue NSC accumulation and depletion. For example, photoperiod controls the timing of growth and C assimilation initiation and cessation in some woody species [54] [55] [56] . Additionally, water stress is implicated in early cessation of growth and C assimilation, the latter of which is prompted by accelerated leaf senescence [57] . A reduction in future precipitation could alter seasonal NSC dynamics by truncating the end of the growing season. Additional investigation is required to elucidate the suite of environmental controls on seasonal NSC dynamics, and to determine how future climate change will alter the allocation of assimilated C to growth or storage pools.

For example, photoperiod controls the timing of growth and C assimilation initiation and cessation in some woody species.

Additionally, water stress is implicated in early cessation of growth and C assimilation, the latter of which is prompted by accelerated leaf senescence.


Plant non-structural carbohydrates (NSC), comprised of starch and sugars, are primary intermediate products of carbon assimilation (C) that can be stored and used to meet future demands for growth and metabolism [1] [2] [3] . Stored NSC is fundamental to sustaining plant growth and metabolism during periods of high physiological stress and through dormancy, when photosynthetic C supply is low [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] . Because of a shifting balance between plant metabolic C demands and photosynthetic C supply, NSC concentrations in plant tissues can change on hourly to seasonal timescales [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] .

Plant non-structural carbohydrates (NSC), comprised of starch and sugars, are primary intermediate products of carbon assimilation (C) that can be stored and used to meet future demands for growth and metabolism.

Stored NSC is fundamental to sustaining plant growth and metabolism during periods of high physiological stress and through dormancy, when photosynthetic C supply is low.

Because of a shifting balance between plant metabolic C demands and photosynthetic C supply, NSC concentrations in plant tissues can change on hourly to seasonal timescales.


A need for rankings by subject appeared after the evidence shown that there are differences between citation patterns (Ziman, 2000) . Namely, the scientific field to which the paper belongs to highly influences its later citation pattern (Bornmann & Marx, 2014) . Therefore, when ranking universities using citation counts it is recommended to consider different citation behaviours (Zornic et al., 2015) . This conclusion leads to the question of validity of university rankings that use total citation counts, which have not been normalized, across scientific fields.

A need for rankings by subject appeared after the evidence shown that there are differences between citation patterns.

Namely, the scientific field to which the paper belongs to highly influences its later citation pattern.

Therefore, when ranking universities using citation counts it is recommended to consider different citation behaviours.


Although specific rankings by subject aim to overcome some pitfalls of the overall university rankings, they have been criticized for several reasons. One of the main critiques is related to the reputation indicators, which are based on survey results (Rauhvargers, 2014) . The validity of the conducted surveys can be questioned, as there have been universities, which are ranked on specific subject lists even though they do not offer courses, programmes or research in the observed topic (Rauhvargers, 2013) . In addition, rankings, both subject specific and overall, have been criticized because of their subjective and often unelaborated weighting schemes (Jeremic et al., 2011; Dobrota et al., 2016) . Finally, the main question is how to define field specific characteristics and chose the appropriate indicators, which will reflect the observed differences (Siwinski, 2015) .

One of the main critiques is related to the reputation indicators, which are based on survey results.

The validity of the conducted surveys can be questioned, as there have been universities, which are ranked on specific subject lists even though they do not offer courses, programmes or research in the observed topic.

In addition, rankings, both subject specific and overall, have been criticized because of their subjective and often unelaborated weighting schemes.

Finally, the main question is how to define field specific characteristics and chose the appropriate indicators, which will reflect the observed differences.


Mathematical modeling of fluvial flows and flooding has been a routine work in support of flood risk management and river management. Nevertheless, efforts to improve the quality of mathematical modeling for fluvial flows and flooding have never stopped due to their complexities: hydraulic jump/drop, wet/drying, sediment transport, bed deformation and heterogeneous sediment sizes, and so forth. This work is motivated by the general recognition that physically meaningful results in agreement with observations depend on not only accurate numerical algorithms, but also physically wellgrounded model formulations [1] .

This work is motivated by the general recognition that physically meaningful results in agreement with observations depend on not only accurate numerical algorithms, but also physically wellgrounded model formulations.


The shallow-water Kelvin wave solution features alternating westerlies and easterlies centered on the equator (Matsuno 1966; Lindzen 1967) . The zonal winds produce shear vorticity in both hemispheres despite the lack of meridional winds in the linear solution. These waves do not perturb potential vorticity (PV), however, because the shear vorticity is exactly balanced by geopotential anomalies (Pedlosky 2003, p. 133) . The cyclonic westerlies are associated with geopotential highs and the anticyclonic easterlies with lows.

The shallow-water Kelvin wave solution features alternating westerlies and easterlies centered on the equator.


Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) is the basis for a wide ranging and rapidly evolving field of research and industrial applications. MEMS technology is incorporated into a large number of different areas, from sensors and actuators to active RF components, from optics to energy generation [1] . Despite being still an emerging field the market for MEMS devices is huge with hundreds of millions of MEMS devices already shipped and being used in applications such as automotive sensing, computer games and smart phones, to name but a few. The combination of increasingly complex devices and industrial mass production makes it important to have a full understanding of the properties of the materials that are used to fabricate MEMS devices and determine their behaviour. Many of the materials used in MEMS devices have also been used in the microelectronics industry, and their electronic properties are well understood. However, the mechanical properties which are key in predicting the behaviour of MEMS devices have been less extensively studied. In the same way that the successful fabrication of integrated circuits requires the electronic properties for CMOS integrated circuits to be monitored and controlled, so must the mechanical properties of advanced MEMS structures. As with the electronic properties, the mechanical properties will vary with processing conditions [2] . It is therefore important to develop methods for accurately measuring the mechanical properties of MEMS materials during industrial fabrication.

MEMS technology is incorporated into a large number of different areas, from sensors and actuators to active RF components, from optics to energy generation.

As with the electronic properties, the mechanical properties will vary with processing conditions.


On the other hand, fly ash, a byproduct from coal combustion, can provide plant-available Fe and other micronutrients [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] . Fly ash exits the combustion chamber with the flue gas and is captured by electrostatic precipitators, wet scrubbers, or other mechanical/chemical trap [8] . Particle sizes range from 0.01 to 100 μm allowing a large amount of surface area to mass [9] . Nearly 3.9 million Mg of coal combustion products (ash + flue gas desulfurization products) are produced in San Juan County each year by two coal fired generating plants, and both power plants are actively seeking recycling options (Salisbury, 2003 , personal communication).

On the other hand, fly ash, a byproduct from coal combustion, can provide plant-available Fe and other micronutrients.

Fly ash exits the combustion chamber with the flue gas and is captured by electrostatic precipitators, wet scrubbers, or other mechanical/chemical trap.

Particle sizes range from 0.01 to 100 μm allowing a large amount of surface area to mass.


Lastly, we performed technical and biological validations of the methylation status of 3 dmCpGs located on the HOXB7, the SOCS3 and the ZFPM2 gene using bisulfite pyrosequencing. As expected, we observed a high correlation between the results of the Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChip analysis and the pyrosequencing, albeit the DNA methylation values detected by the array were slightly higher, a fact which has been noted before [57] . Subsequently we examined the methylation of these CpGs in two independent longitudinal cohorts spanning the first and second lustra of life, and found that the DNA methylation changes found in the previous experiments were robust and reproducible in independent subjects.

As expected, we observed a high correlation between the results of the Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChip analysis and the pyrosequencing, albeit the DNA methylation values detected by the array were slightly higher, a fact which has been noted before.


The non-destructive testing of transfer neutron radiography is performed on nuclear irradiated fuels. The basic difference between neutron radiography and X-ray (or gamma-ray radiography) is their attenuation characteristics inside the object. In the former, it is from a neutron-nucleus interaction, while in the latter the beam attenuation is caused by X-ray-orbital electron interaction in the object, which provides striking difference in their mass attenuation coefficient of the objects. Different isotopes may have a very different neutron cross sections and thus neutron radiography(NR) may reveal the distribution of a particular isotope in a sample [1] . One of the main fields of NR application is the nuclear industry. For example, radiography tests can be conducted for the location of pellets of 235 U in fuel elements intended to contain only 238 U as well as on the crack, swelling, gap size of plug [2] . Using a transfer exposure method, in which the build-up radioactivity of dysprosium(Dy), indium(In) and gold(Au) screens can be subsequently exposed on a film in a dark room, allowing testing of highly radioactive objects, such as irradiated nuclear fuel. Due to the high radioactivity of a nuclear fuel, a direct method of NR can not be used [1] .

Different isotopes may have a very different neutron cross sections and thus neutron radiography(NR) may reveal the distribution of a particular isotope in a sample.

For example, radiography tests can be conducted for the location of pellets of 235 U in fuel elements intended to contain only 238 U as well as on the crack, swelling, gap size of plug.

Due to the high radioactivity of a nuclear fuel, a direct method of NR can not be used.


This pilot and evaluation provided valuable insight related to the appropriateness and usability of the MHM toolkit during a humanitarian emergency. The findings indicated that the toolkit covered a useful range of content, was appropriately designed for the audience, and was valued by humanitarian staff as an important new resource. The critical importance of the trainings at both the onset and throughout the duration of the toolkit pilot was one of the most critical areas of learning, including the trainings' importance as a tool for enhancing staff comfort in discussing the topic and for improving basic understanding, technical capacity, and promoting multi-sectoral coordination from the outset. Promotion efforts across the various levels of a given response also identified the need to mitigate the potential for MHM to be perceived as a standalone activity requiring additional work or new ownership. The pilot demonstrated that like any new concept, there needs to be a longer-term plan for (1) training staff across levels, (2) internalizing the concept within humanitarian organizations, (3) and engagement and advocacy for higher-level coordination. Without these efforts, the likelihood of meaningful utilization of the toolkit for improved MHM practice is low. Therefore, uptake at the global and organizational levels would be interesting to explore further. As with other guidelines, like the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) for reproductive health in emergencies, a longer-term dissemination process that can foster strong buy-in across sectoral actors and humanitarian leadership can help to ensure that MHM is framed as an integrated and essential component of a routine response (Foster et al. 2017) .

As with other guidelines, like the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) for reproductive health in emergencies, a longer-term dissemination process that can foster strong buy-in across sectoral actors and humanitarian leadership can help to ensure that MHM is framed as an integrated and essential component of a routine response.


The impact of forest residue removal on SOC had been demonstrated earlier but was not considered an issue as long as these removal practices enable forests to continue functioning as carbon sinks [65] [66] [67] . However, the intensified removal of forest residues may decrease the sink potential of forests. Likewise, the increased removal of agricultural residues may increase the size of the source, export nutrients from sites, and expose agricultural lands to erosion and soil compaction [68] . Consequently, if the removal of agricultural and forest residues in Belgium intensifies, criteria addressing nutrient management as well as regarding other environmental impacts are required. This might include setting limits to the extraction of residues and the need to balance nutrient extractions according to specific site conditions. The adoption of forest management practices such as prolonged rotation, continuous forest cover, increased thinning, and crop management like no-till plus cover crops, animal manure, and biochar could replace SOC loss after the removal of forest and agricultural residues. Further investigations on effects of these management options under different residue removal practices need to ensure SOC stocks are maintained where forest and agricultural residues are removed.

The impact of forest residue removal on SOC had been demonstrated earlier but was not considered an issue as long as these removal practices enable forests to continue functioning as carbon sinks.

Likewise, the increased removal of agricultural residues may increase the size of the source, export nutrients from sites, and expose agricultural lands to erosion and soil compaction.


The removal of residues and the conversion of land to the production of energy crops influence the soil organic carbon (SOC) stock [23, 24] . Residues remaining in the forest or on the agricultural soils are direct inputs into the SOC stocks [25, 26] . The removal of these residues diminishes the carbon flow to the soil, thus decreasing SOC stocks [26, 27] . In contrast, the conversion of croplands to perennial crop plantations increases the SOC [28, 29] . But in that case, the displaced food crops need to be produced elsewhere: either by converting uncultivated lands to new croplands or by intensifying the food production on existing croplands [30] . Both scenarios have major implications for GHG savings. Worldwide, the sustainable intensification of agriculture is seen as an important solution to iLUC of bioenergy [31] . Until now, only the iLUC GHG emissions due to land conversion (i.e., expansion) have been studied [21] . The iLUC GHG emissions due to intensification of existing croplands as result of devoting a piece of cropland to energy crops production has never been assessed. In this study, we couple multiple biomass feedstocks to CHP technologies to: (i) assess impacts of SOC, dLUC and iLUC on energy and GHG performance of bioenergy systems, (ii) identify the CHP technology that optimizes the energy and GHG balances, and (iii) compare the sustainability of land and non-land based bioenergy production.

The removal of residues and the conversion of land to the production of energy crops influence the soil organic carbon (SOC) stock.

Residues remaining in the forest or on the agricultural soils are direct inputs into the SOC stocks.

The removal of these residues diminishes the carbon flow to the soil, thus decreasing SOC stocks.

In contrast, the conversion of croplands to perennial crop plantations increases the SOC.

But in that case, the displaced food crops need to be produced elsewhere: either by converting uncultivated lands to new croplands or by intensifying the food production on existing croplands.

Worldwide, the sustainable intensification of agriculture is seen as an important solution to iLUC of bioenergy.

Until now, only the iLUC GHG emissions due to land conversion (i.e., expansion) have been studied.


All leaf samples were obtained from specimens deposited at the herbarium of South China Botanical Garden (IBSC). A list of investigated materials is given in Table 1 . Samples were taken from fully expanded, sun-exposed leaves of about 0.5 ¥ 0.5 cm water for about 10 min, followed by maceration in Jeffery's solution (Zheng, 1978) . The materials were kept at a temperature of 30-40°C. After maceration, the adaxial and abaxial epidermal tissue was separated from the leaf tissue; the epidermal tissue was washed with distilled water and stained in a solution of 1% methyl green before mounting in glycerine gel. To check the consistency of the epidermal structure under the light microscope (Olympus Vanox), at least five slides were prepared from different parts of a single leaf or from different leaves of each species; more than ten slides, with materials obtained from different locations, were prepared for C. chingii. Stomata of different types on each slide were counted, and the ratio of the types was calculated. Materials for scanning electron microscopy observation were mounted directly on the stubs without treatment. After gold sputtering using a JEOL JFC-1100 apparatus, the specimens were examined and imaged using a JEOL JSM-T300.

Samples were taken from fully expanded, sun-exposed leaves of about 0.5 ¥ 0.5 cm water for about 10 min, followed by maceration in Jeffery's solution.


Daqing is experiencing both an EROI decline and an associated MROI decrease, which shows a risk of unsustainable fossil resource use. Therefore, Daqing must be able to foresee, understand, and plan for changes in its broad energy landscape, particularly during what researchers have characterized as post-peak oil production. Furthermore, sustainability can be effectively addressed by the emergence of a new field: Transition Engineering, which guides humans to a different thinking and good solutions to climate change, peak oil, and other environmental risks. It emerges as the way by which society reduces both fossil fuel use and the detrimental social and environmental impacts of industrialization [42, 43] . Though it is still in its infancy, it should be investigated as a good direction for governments, scientists, scholars and even ordinary people.

It emerges as the way by which society reduces both fossil fuel use and the detrimental social and environmental impacts of industrialization.


It appears critical to obtain the highest quality scientific information in a format useful to coastal managers for decision-making. Strong scientific support is required to evolve policies and legal framework. The NOAA Coastal Ocean Program (COP) has already considered this need as a critical step in developing a management plan (Scavia 1995) .

The NOAA Coastal Ocean Program (COP) has already considered this need as a critical step in developing a management plan.


We argue that the recent efforts to develop national and export markets for traditional rices are transforming these varieties from anti-commodities into commodities. Commodification bestows the traditional highland rices with new characteristics and entails the adoption of new cultivation, harvesting and processing methods. It also connects the rices to a greatly extended network of stakeholders, much larger than the one that sustained them previously. Commodification for export has been adopted by social entrepreneurs as a deliberate strategy to preserve the landscapes, rice varieties, farming practices and ways of life that were maintained for several centuries by Cordilleran peoples. At the same time, the commodification of heirloom varieties as a strategy to create new, economically sustainable livelihoods for Cordillera farmers necessarily entails changes in the rice production system, meaning that there is an inherent tension between conservationist and innovative aspects of the trade in heirloom rice. To help make sense of this tension, we interpret the emerging trade in heirloom rice varieties as an attempt to commodify native rice in a socially and ethically responsible way, which seeks to maintain the rice varieties' connection to a specific community of producers even while putting the rice into long-distance networks of trade. We employ the concept of commoditisation potential to help explain how this balancing act is attempted (Manno 2012) .

We employ the concept of commoditisation potential to help explain how this balancing act is attempted.


The flow models of interest are typically formulated as systems of hyperbolic partial differential equations. It is well-known that artifical numerical diffusion, needed to stabilize the solution of such equations, may lead to severe loss of accuracy. To demonstrate how the choice of numerical method affects the solution, we compare an upwind high-resolution scheme with a centred first-order scheme, namely the MUSTA (multi-stage) scheme previously investigated for the current model [2] . The model is a drift-flux two-phase flow model, in which each chemical component is explicitly tracked.

To demonstrate how the choice of numerical method affects the solution, we compare an upwind high-resolution scheme with a centred first-order scheme, namely the MUSTA (multi-stage) scheme previously investigated for the current model.


Total forage mass and green leaves mass on pasture were estimated at the beginning of each experimental period through the visual double sampling method (Mannetje, 2000) . Twenty 0.0625-m 2 quadrats were used for visual estimative of forage mass in each paddock. In five of these quadrats all above ground biomass was cut, weighed and sampled. These samples were pooled by paddock and two sub-samples were taken. One sub-sample was oven-dried (55 °C) and used to calculate total DM biomass and other sub-sample was separated in leaves, stems and senescent fractions, which were also oven-dried (55 °C).

Total forage mass and green leaves mass on pasture were estimated at the beginning of each experimental period through the visual double sampling method.


Despite weaker Ekman pumping than Ekman suction, the frictionally driven circulation causes cyclonic vorticity to spin down faster than anticyclonic vorticity because of lateral momentum advection (Zavala Sansón & van Heijst 2000; Zavala Sansón 2001; Benthuysen & Thomas 2012a) . These aspects of nonlinear spindown are complicated in a stratified fluid, in which diffusion and buoyancy advection are active. Furthermore, over a slope, the frictionally driven circulation couples with the buoyancy field. The purpose of this work is to show how buoyancy advection can modify the asymmetry in Ekman pumping and suction as well as anticyclonic and cyclonic vorticity during stratified spindown over a slope.

Despite weaker Ekman pumping than Ekman suction, the frictionally driven circulation causes cyclonic vorticity to spin down faster than anticyclonic vorticity because of lateral momentum advection.


In terms of observational consequences at colliders, the NUHM actually appears rather similar to the CMSSM, which will make it difficult to experimentally distinguish the two models. Again, the best prospects may be provided by finding in direct detection searches a ∼ 1 TeV dark matter WIMP, since such a case in the CMSSM is highly unlikely [18, 19] . Fermi's prospects for probing the model strongly depend on the cuspiness of the dark matter profile in the Galactic center while positrons produced in dark matter annihilation remain well below the Pamela result.

Again, the best prospects may be provided by finding in direct detection searches a ∼ 1 TeV dark matter WIMP, since such a case in the CMSSM is highly unlikely.


Our objective is to examine the impact that replacing gold with bitcoin would have on investment portfolio characteristics and returns. Eliminating a safe haven asset such as gold from an investment portfolio will have implications for risk and return trade-offs, because it reduces diversification. In fact, there is a large literature showing the effectiveness of gold in diversifying portfolio risk (Baur and Lucey 2010; Hillier et al. 2006; Jaffe 1989; Reboredo 2013a Reboredo , 2013b Baur and McDermott 2010; Ciner et al. 2013; Beckmann et al. 2015) . Gold divestment, therefore, may reduce returns and increase risk. Substituting bitcoin for gold, however, may increase returns and reduce risk. To address whether this is the case, a rigorous empirical analysis using modern portfolio theory is required.

In fact, there is a large literature showing the effectiveness of gold in diversifying portfolio risk.


High performance control and estimation techniques for induction machines (IMs) have been finding more and more applications with Blaschke's well-known field oriented control (FOC) method [1] . To improve the dynamic response of instantaneous electromagnetic torque and simplicity in control structure, one such technique for induction machine control is that the direct torque control (DTC) method can provide accurate fast torque control [2] . This method has become increasingly popular for industrial applications due to the simplified control strategy and lower parameter dependence, in comparison with the FOC methods [3, 4] .

High performance control and estimation techniques for induction machines (IMs) have been finding more and more applications with Blaschke's well-known field oriented control (FOC) method.

To improve the dynamic response of instantaneous electromagnetic torque and simplicity in control structure, one such technique for induction machine control is that the direct torque control (DTC) method can provide accurate fast torque control.

This method has become increasingly popular for industrial applications due to the simplified control strategy and lower parameter dependence, in comparison with the FOC methods.


For DTC of IMs, the method requires information on the position and amplitude of the controlled stator flux for speed control applications. In the conventional approach, the stator flux is obtained utilizing a search coil or through Hall effect sensors, whilst speed sensors like incremental encoders or resolvers are used to monitor rotor velocity [2] . These unnecessarily increase hardware costs and the size of the control systems and degrade the reliability of the systems when encountering defective environments. So, sensorless DTC strategy has become the hot issue in research and drawn many researchers and engineers' attention.

In the conventional approach, the stator flux is obtained utilizing a search coil or through Hall effect sensors, whilst speed sensors like incremental encoders or resolvers are used to monitor rotor velocity.


This paper presents an experimental comparison of different approaches to learning from multi-labeled video data. We compare state-of-the-art multi-label methods on the Mediamill Challenge dataset [5] . MPEG-7 and SIFTbased global image descriptors are independently employed. Subsequently, the classifiers are fused using variations of the stacking [6] approach. The evaluation of all possible combinations of classifiers and descriptors, as well as their fusion, is performed with a wide collection of multi-label measures. This thorough investigation gave some insight on the strong and weak points of the examined classifiers and their fusion technique.

We compare state-of-the-art multi-label methods on the Mediamill Challenge dataset.

Subsequently, the classifiers are fused using variations of the stacking approach.


Here we examine the less studied kinetic undercooling type boundary effect. Kinetic undercooling is a condition of physical meaning in Stefan meltingfreezing problems, where the melting temperature is not constant but instead weakly dependent on the speed of the moving front between the two phases. The equations for Hele-Shaw flow can be considered a leading order approximation to the Stefan problem for small specific heat, and in this context the kinetic undercooling condition translates to a relationship between the pressure on the interface and the normal interface velocity [7] . This problem is characterised by a nondimensional kinetic undercooling parameter which, as with σ for surface tension, goes to zero as finger speed increases.

The equations for Hele-Shaw flow can be considered a leading order approximation to the Stefan problem for small specific heat, and in this context the kinetic undercooling condition translates to a relationship between the pressure on the interface and the normal interface velocity.


While this paper has focused on the association between the row, column and tube variables, the two predictor variables, and the response with one predictor variable, other partitions can be generated. They can also be extended to not only provide a detailed numerical summary of the association between the variables, but one may obtain graphical summaries of these measures. For example, the partitions above may be considered for a multivariate extension of the correspondence analysis approach of Beh [3] . However, this issue will be investigated later.

For example, the partitions above may be considered for a multivariate extension of the correspondence analysis approach of Beh.


After observing the US economic slowdown, in the last years of the nineties the EU was confident of becoming the major engine of growth in the world. These optimistic expectations were supported by the good fundamentals characterizing the European economy at the time. However, the slowdown following 2001 has been more marked for Europe than for the US, leading many to question whether Europe has in fact found the recipe for endogenous self-sustained growth. The poor growth performance has in fact prompted new concerns about Europe's long term economic prospects. One particular reason for worry is that in Europe the productivity growth has been quite stagnant and therefore many of the objectives of the Lisbon agenda would be difficult to attain. Insufficient productivity growth may also be pivotal to Europe's competitiveness problem, witnessed also by the continual erosion of the world export market shares and its rather limited ability to attract foreign investments (Faini et al., 2005) .

Insufficient productivity growth may also be pivotal to Europe's competitiveness problem, witnessed also by the continual erosion of the world export market shares and its rather limited ability to attract foreign investments.