Occurrence of disease conditions particularly due to parasites has become a major constraint in aquaculture (Bondad-Reantaso et al., 2005) . Besides the direct losses caused by mortality, parasites have considerable impact on growth, resistance to other stressing factors, susceptibility to predation, marketability and pave way for secondary infections (Scholz, 1999; Lom and Dyková, 1992; Woo, 2006) . Parasitic infections in fishes are common, especially in wild populations where ecological requirements for intermediate hosts and parasite transmission are met (Feist and Longshaw, 2008) . Management of parasitic problems is the major limiting factor in finfish aquaculture in terms of profitability and environmental health (Mustafa et al., 2001; Costello, 2009; Burridge et al., 2010) .

Occurrence of disease conditions particularly due to parasites has become a major constraint in aquaculture.

Besides the direct losses caused by mortality, parasites have considerable impact on growth, resistance to other stressing factors, susceptibility to predation, marketability and pave way for secondary infections.

Parasitic infections in fishes are common, especially in wild populations where ecological requirements for intermediate hosts and parasite transmission are met.

Management of parasitic problems is the major limiting factor in finfish aquaculture in terms of profitability and environmental health.


The mangrove red snapper (Lutjanus argentimaculatus) is a highly valued food fish in the tropical and sub-tropical countries (Liao et al., 1995) . Though a common inhabitant of estuaries and coastal waters, it is never found in sufficient quantities to meet the commercial demand and the culture still depends on wild fry, the supply of which is limited, seasonal and unpredictable. Despite these constraints, in recent years, aquaculture of the mangrove red snapper has become immensely popular in Southeast Asia and Australia due to its high market price (Emata and Borlongan, 2003) . L. argentimaculatus is considered as a euryhaline, hardy and fast growing fish capable of tolerating stress and crowding (Leu et al., 2003) . These attributes make it an ideal species for aquaculture. Most of the aquaculture production of L. argentimaculatus comes from Southeast Asia where they are reared in marine cages and brackish water ponds. In 2008, world production of L. argentimaculatus from capture fisheries was more than 17,563 tons while aquaculture production was recorded at 3502 tons (FAO, http://www.fao.org/fishery/species/3134/en).

The mangrove red snapper (Lutjanus argentimaculatus) is a highly valued food fish in the tropical and sub-tropical countries.

Despite these constraints, in recent years, aquaculture of the mangrove red snapper has become immensely popular in Southeast Asia and Australia due to its high market price.

L. argentimaculatus is considered as a euryhaline, hardy and fast growing fish capable of tolerating stress and crowding.


The advent of nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) has made it possible to screen people in homes with self-collected specimens. Home-based screening, with urine or self-collected vaginal specimens, has been shown to be acceptable and has the potential to reach people who do not get tested otherwise [18] . A recent review reported that home-based STI screening resulted in up to 11 times higher testing rates compared to the clinic-based screening [19] . A randomized control trial (RCT) showed that 83% of women in a home-based CT screening arm indicated a preference for future homescreening compared to 49% in the clinic arm who preferred future screening in clinics [20] . We conducted a systematic review of published literature on home-based CT and NG screening to explore the strategies used for screening and the key outcomes of screening programs including participation rates, testing rates, treatment rates and the positivity.

Home-based screening, with urine or self-collected vaginal specimens, has been shown to be acceptable and has the potential to reach people who do not get tested otherwise.

A recent review reported that home-based STI screening resulted in up to 11 times higher testing rates compared to the clinic-based screening.

A randomized control trial (RCT) showed that 83% of women in a home-based CT screening arm indicated a preference for future homescreening compared to 49% in the clinic arm who preferred future screening in clinics.


We have previously shown that journaling alone did not impact IBS symptoms, at least in the short-term [12, 17] . This was a surprising finding given that journaling promotes the self-management of IBS. In both of these studies, participants stressed the need for more guidance and "answers" from their journaling efforts.

We have previously shown that journaling alone did not impact IBS symptoms, at least in the short-term.


Regardless the instrumental technique used to characterize food texture, the puncture test is one of the most widely applied for texture evaluation and its application in food texture measurement has been comprehensively studied (Georget et al. 1995; Van Hecke et al. 1998; Cheng et al. 2007; Arimi et al. 2010; Altamirano-Fortoul and Rosell 2011) . Considering that the textural properties of a food depend on its structural elements, the puncture test has been used for defining the texture in cellular foods (Van Hecke et al. 1998; Valles Pamies et al. 2000) . From the recorded force-displacement plots, obtained after fracture, it can be calculated the average of the so-called puncturing force (integral of force-time), the number of spatial ruptures, the average specific force of structural ruptures and the crispness work (Van Hecke et al. 1998; Valles Pamies et al. 2000) . The puncture test measures the force required to push a punch or probe into a food. The test is characterized by (a) the force measuring instrument, (b) penetration of 4 the probe into the food causing irreversible damage or failure results, and (c) the depth of penetration (Bourne 2002 (Mandala 2005) . Despite the wide use of puncturing for assessing crust features, there is no information about the incidence of punching settings on the bread crust mechanical parameters and neither the impact of the crust microstructure on those measurements.

Regardless the instrumental technique used to characterize food texture, the puncture test is one of the most widely applied for texture evaluation and its application in food texture measurement has been comprehensively studied.

Considering that the textural properties of a food depend on its structural elements, the puncture test has been used for defining the texture in cellular foods.

From the recorded force-displacement plots, obtained after fracture, it can be calculated the average of the so-called puncturing force (integral of force-time), the number of spatial ruptures, the average specific force of structural ruptures and the crispness work.

The test is characterized by (a) the force measuring instrument, (b) penetration of 4 the probe into the food causing irreversible damage or failure results, and (c) the depth of penetration.


Many viewpoints illustrate the phenomenon that lymphocytes internalize in the lymphoid organs is via the CCL21-CCR7 axis [42, 46, 47] . Recent studies illustrated an interesting phenomenon. Collagen expression was negatively regulated by S1PR1 and S1PR3 in human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) [48] . The new focus may well be on collagen. One study found that S1PR1 and integrin ß4 (ITGB4) were essential for hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)-mediated EC barrier enhancement [49] . In brief, S1P and its receptors function on the macro-environment and microenvironment in the body via an "inside-out signaling" mechanism [4] . These cumulative findings proved that S1P is a major regulator of innate and adaptive immunity. At the same time, more questions arose, including whether S1P signaling contributes to inborn or acquired immune diseases, and its longterm effects on thymic education and peripheral lymphoid organ functions.

Many viewpoints illustrate the phenomenon that lymphocytes internalize in the lymphoid organs is via the CCL21-CCR7 axis.

Collagen expression was negatively regulated by S1PR1 and S1PR3 in human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs).

The new focus may well be on collagen.

One study found that S1PR1 and integrin ß4 (ITGB4) were essential for hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)-mediated EC barrier enhancement.

In brief, S1P and its receptors function on the macro-environment and microenvironment in the body via an "inside-out signaling" mechanism.


Nevertheless, it should be also pointed out that Brazilian disc test and ring test are relatively simple compared to other direct or indirect testing methods. The measured ITS either by BTS or ring test is still a very useful index for evaluating quality of rock especially the intact rock, and tensile strength is also an important parameter for estimating breakdown pressure in hydraulic fracturing (Jo et al., 2013) . Understanding of rock failure process under different testing conditions can also help to know more about the rock. In this study, we mainly focused on ITS of Pocheon granite considering cleavage anisotropy. A large number of Brazilian disc tests and ring tests were performed to compare measured ITS and to address the influence factors. Moreover, 2D DEM (Discrete Element Method) simulation was used to help understand the failure process of rock and the mechanism behind.

The measured ITS either by BTS or ring test is still a very useful index for evaluating quality of rock especially the intact rock, and tensile strength is also an important parameter for estimating breakdown pressure in hydraulic fracturing.


In concluding, we note that the physical arrangement we have studied corresponds to vertical Couette flow between parallel plates (Dauchot & Daviaud 1995) . The analysis predicts that for a 10 cm-wide system, a vertical temperature gradient as small as 0.05 o C/m would have a critical Peclet number of P e c ≈ 1000. The corresponding Reynolds number, v b L/ν = Re ≈ 150, would then be below the threshold for nonlinear instabilities associated with the transition to turbulence. The very small scale of the instability may mean it would go unnoticed, but still provide finite-amplitude perturbations capable of triggering nonlinear instabilities.

In concluding, we note that the physical arrangement we have studied corresponds to vertical Couette flow between parallel plates.


In recent past the researchers working on electromagnetic optimization problems paid great attention on the design of uniformly and non-uniformly spaced linear arrays. Nowadays metaheuristic algorithms are used to solve antenna design problems. The reason for the use of these metaheuristic algorithms based on simulations of some natural phenomena lies in the computational drawbacks of existing numerical methods. Also the classical derivativebased optimization techniques are prone to getting trapped in local optima and are strongly sensitive to initialization, for complex optimization problems the gradient based methods fail to obtain significant solution. Due to these inherent shortcomings of the classical methods, many modern metaheuristics were tried to achieve optimized Side Lobe Level (SLL) and null control from the designed arrays [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] . The researches are now going on the design of antenna arrays with other geometrical shapes that help to obtain desired radiation pattern.

Due to these inherent shortcomings of the classical methods, many modern metaheuristics were tried to achieve optimized Side Lobe Level (SLL) and null control from the designed arrays.


While designing an antenna array the primary objective is to determine the positions of array elements that jointly produce a radiation pattern that resembles the desired pattern as nearly as possible [4] . As the number of applications grow in wireless communications, the demand for new antenna design increases. Alongside, various features and performance metrics are desired like miniaturization, null control, pattern control, multifunction capabilities, etc..

While designing an antenna array the primary objective is to determine the positions of array elements that jointly produce a radiation pattern that resembles the desired pattern as nearly as possible.


HSC is considered as a relatively brittle material and the post-peak portion of its stress-strain diagram almost vanishes and descends steeply with the increase in compressive strength. This inverse relation between strength and ductility is a serious drawback in the use of high strength concrete, a compromise between strength and ductility can be obtained by using discontinuous fibers. Addition of fibers to concrete makes it a homogeneous and isotropic materials and converts brittleness into a ductile behavior. When concrete cracks, the randomly oriented fibers start functioning, arresting both the randomly oriented micro-cracking and its propagation and thus improving strength and ductility (Ashour and Wafa, 1992) .

When concrete cracks, the randomly oriented fibers start functioning, arresting both the randomly oriented micro-cracking and its propagation and thus improving strength and ductility.


Multifarious definitions of CT were attempted in the literature to emphasize different dimensions of the concept; however, the authors were not able to reach a consensus. It was considered that the abovementioned lack of consensus prevented the comprehension of the concept and its prevalence as a skill among the public. In this context, various literature reviews were conducted to make CT more comprehensible (Demir & Seferoğlu, 2017; Özçınar, 2017) . However, in these studies, it was determined that the concept was discussed at the level of a few basic definitions and analyzed on a national basis or only descriptive statistics were used based on the study title, summary and keywords. To create a better understanding on the subject, the present study aimed to reveal the concepts that were included in the definitions developed for CT and trends in the identified concepts throughout the years.

In this context, various literature reviews were conducted to make CT more comprehensible.


It was considered that the social specifications included in the definitions were highly inadequate considering that CT could be actively used in all areas of life and is a skill that is relevant to all individuals (Martinez & Echeveste, 2015; Wing, Henderson, Hazzan, & Cortina, 2005) . Similarly, the lack of specifications in the dimensions of ethics, the impact of environmental factors, collaborative problem solving, benefiting from the experiences of others, creating social values under the social dimension was noteworthy. Conversely, it could be stated that these characteristics were not adequately emphasized in CT definitions, considering that humankind is a social being who exists within the society and could make conscientious decisions (Cooley, 1992; Dewey, 2002; Hume, 2012) . Thus, it was considered that further studies should be conducted to examine the share of abovementioned factors in CT and these factors should be included in future definitions.

It was considered that the social specifications included in the definitions were highly inadequate considering that CT could be actively used in all areas of life and is a skill that is relevant to all individuals.

Conversely, it could be stated that these characteristics were not adequately emphasized in CT definitions, considering that humankind is a social being who exists within the society and could make conscientious decisions.


Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a chronic cholestatic liver disease of unknown etiology, characterized by inflammation and fibrosis of the biliary tree [8] . It is normally associated with inflammatory bowel disease especially ulcerative colitis, but less frequently with other autoimmune diseases such as celiac disease, diabetes mellitus, and rheumatoid arthritis. The etiology and pathogenesis of this disease are still unknown but an immune mediated basis is commonly admitted [9] . The combination of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and PSC is extremely uncommon; only rare cases were reported in an extensive search in the medical literature, but to our knowledge none had simultaneous occurrence of PSC and EATL as presented in this case. We suggest that this intriguing association may possibly be mediated by immunogenetic factors.

Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a chronic cholestatic liver disease of unknown etiology, characterized by inflammation and fibrosis of the biliary tree.

The etiology and pathogenesis of this disease are still unknown but an immune mediated basis is commonly admitted.


The graph isomorphism problem has been studied by many researchers, owing to its theoretical interest and from its possible applications, such as pattern recognition, De Piero & Krout [10] . Let G 1 = (V 1 , E 1 ) and G 2 = (V 2 , E 2 ) be two simple graphs with independent labelings of their vertex sets. Then G 1 and G 2 are isomorphic if and only if there is a bijection ϕ : V 1 ↔ V 2 that preserves their adjacency relations. The general problem arises when G 1 is a graph and G 2 is a subgraph of another graph with at least the same order n and size m of G 1 . A particular case, which the present work addresses, is the restricted problem, which we will abbreviate as GIP.

The graph isomorphism problem has been studied by many researchers, owing to its theoretical interest and from its possible applications, such as pattern recognition, De Piero & Krout.


Third, that the students gave anonymous feedback before receiving their feedback may have influenced the perceptions of the anonymous peer feedback. Receiving feedback has benefits for learning, but so does providing feedback to another on one's own learning (Lundstrom and Baker 2009) . However, providing feedback may also influence the way students perceive the feedback from peers by making the students more critical reviewers of their own work and better writers, which may lead to a different view of their own work and therefore also a more critical view on the peer feedback received on their own work. Experimental research could further investigate the added value of giving feedback on the perceptions of anonymous peer feedback and the effect of expertise in this relationship.

Receiving feedback has benefits for learning, but so does providing feedback to another on one's own learning.


Analysing the mean train and test error in Fig. 2 -(b), we first notice that all models have good generalization capability, which is a characteristic already identified for deep networks that use piecewise linear activation units [1, 11] . Looking at the curves for the networks with 2 and 3 layers, where all models seem to be trained properly (i.e., they are pre-conditioned), the models containing batch normalisation units (denoted by "with normalisation") produce the smallest train and test errors, indicating the higher capacity of these models. Beyond 3 layers, the models that do not use the batch normalisation units become ill-conditioned, producing errors of 0.39, which effectively means that all points are classified as one of the binary classes. In general, batch normalisation allows the use of maxout in deeper MLPs that contain more nodes per layer, and the maxout function contains more regions (i.e., larger k). The best result (in terms of mean test and train error) is achieved with an MLP of 5 or more layers, where each layer contains 4 nodes and maxout has 4 regions (test error saturates at 0.07). The best results with ReLU are also achieved with batch normalisation, using a large number of layers (5 or more), and 4 nodes per layer, but notice that the smallest ReLU errors (around 0.19 on test set) are significantly higher than the maxout ones, indicating that maxout has larger capacity. The images in Fig. 2-(a) show the division of the input space (into linear regions) used to train the subnetworks within the MLP model (we show the best performing models of ReLU with and without normalisation and maxout with and without normalisation), where it is worth noticing that the best maxout model (bottom-right image) produces a very large number of linear regions, which generate class regions that are similar to the original classification problem. The input space division, used to train the subnetworks, are generated by clustering the training points that produce the same activation pattern from all nodes and layers of the MLP. We also run these same experiments using dropout (of 0.2), and the relative results are similar to the ones presented in Fig. 2-(b) , but the test errors with dropout are around 2× larger, which indicate that dropout does not pre-condition the model (i.e., the models that do not have the batch normalisation units still become ill-conditioned when having 3 or more layers), nor does it balance the input data for the activation units (i.e., the capacity of the model does not increase with dropout).

Analysing the mean train and test error in Fig. 2 -(b), we first notice that all models have good generalization capability, which is a characteristic already identified for deep networks that use piecewise linear activation units.


Natural and anthropogenic aerosols are highly variable in space and time and play a significant role in the earth's radiation budget and climate change (Wild, 2009) . Precipitation frequency and rain rate are altered by aerosols (Li et al., 2011) . Black-carbon aerosols absorb solar radiation, and thus warm the surface while sulfate and organic aerosols reflect solar radiation and cool the surface. Climate-changemitigation policies are aimed at reducing fossil-fuel blackcarbon emissions, together with the atmospheric ratio of black carbon to sulfate (Ramana et al., 2010) . The high extinction values observed in the Indian subcontinent and surrounding regions have a strong impact on regional climate (Franke et al., 2003) . Both the aerosol optical depth and angstrom exponent depend on the wavelength; hence both these parameters can be used for the characterization of aerosol optical properties . This lead to a discrimination of the different aerosol types occurring in various locations over the globe into four main types: namely biomass-burning aerosols produced by forest and grassland fires, urban/industrial aerosols from fossil-fuel combustion in populated urban/industrial regions, desert dust blown into the atmosphere by the wind and aerosol of maritime origin . Efforts have been made by Indian scientists to carry out annual and inter annual variability of aerosol parameters using multi-wavelength radiometer (MWR) since 1980 under the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Geosphere Biosphere Program (Murthy et al., 1999) . Even so, in view of the strong spatial and temporal variability of aerosols, the existing groundbased aerosol-monitoring networks in India are not sufficient to establish aerosol climatology of the whole country (Tripathi et al, 2005) . Aerosol measurements were reported from several places within the country, but such data and results are sparse in a dry tropical region in the central India.

Natural and anthropogenic aerosols are highly variable in space and time and play a significant role in the earth's radiation budget and climate change.

Precipitation frequency and rain rate are altered by aerosols.

Climate-changemitigation policies are aimed at reducing fossil-fuel blackcarbon emissions, together with the atmospheric ratio of black carbon to sulfate.

The high extinction values observed in the Indian subcontinent and surrounding regions have a strong impact on regional climate.

Efforts have been made by Indian scientists to carry out annual and inter annual variability of aerosol parameters using multi-wavelength radiometer (MWR) since 1980 under the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Geosphere Biosphere Program.

Even so, in view of the strong spatial and temporal variability of aerosols, the existing groundbased aerosol-monitoring networks in India are not sufficient to establish aerosol climatology of the whole country.


With the current trend of wireless technology innovation there is a vast array of wireless applications, ranging from space to shipboard applications, which require antennas that are low cost, compact, and broadband. Spiral antennas have characteristics that are essential to wireless communications in many applications. Their wide-band characteristics combined with their low profile as well as their low cost make these antennas prime candidates for use in sensors and some mobile applications [5] .

Their wide-band characteristics combined with their low profile as well as their low cost make these antennas prime candidates for use in sensors and some mobile applications.


The anomalous behaviour of the Schumann resonance signal was observed in Japan, which seems to be associated with the earthquakes in Taiwan. The Schmann resonance (SR) is a natural global electromagnetic phenomenon excited by lightning discharges mainly in the tropical region (Nickolaenko and Hayakawa, 2002) . Natural oscillations are used in this paper as a radio probe of the lower ionosphere, just like the sub-ionospheric VLF/LF transmitter signals.

The Schmann resonance (SR) is a natural global electromagnetic phenomenon excited by lightning discharges mainly in the tropical region.


AVC is realized with actuators, sensors and electronic control to reduce vibration without necessarily adding damping to the system. Due to the broadband nature of the disturbances, it is required that the control strategy realizes suitable frequencydependent characteristics so that cancellation over a broad range of frequencies is achieved [8] . Remarkable advances in smart materials, such as piezoelectric transducers which are used extensively as distributed sensors and actuators, and computing technology have lead AVC to provide cost-effective solutions to most sound-and vibration-control problems [10] . However, careful consideration must be taken in positioning the sensors and actuators to ensure good control [11] . This means that the locations of these transducers have significant influence on the performance of the control system as well as the controlled response. Many techniques have been reported to find optimal locations of sensors and actuators. Methods for optimal placement of sensors and actuators have been investigated by many researchers [12] [13] [14] [15] . All the research works have shown the importance of optimal placement of sensor and actuator for achieving a significant level of vibration suppression.

Due to the broadband nature of the disturbances, it is required that the control strategy realizes suitable frequencydependent characteristics so that cancellation over a broad range of frequencies is achieved.

Remarkable advances in smart materials, such as piezoelectric transducers which are used extensively as distributed sensors and actuators, and computing technology have lead AVC to provide cost-effective solutions to most sound-and vibration-control problems.

However, careful consideration must be taken in positioning the sensors and actuators to ensure good control.

Methods for optimal placement of sensors and actuators have been investigated by many researchers.


Active vibration control (AVC) consists of artificially generating cancelling sources to interfere destructively with the unwanted source and thus result in a reduction in the level of vibration (disturbance) at desired location(s). This unwanted source can be either from one excitation source or a number of excitation sources that can be modelled as a set of point sources distributed around the surface of the structure. To suppress the vibration from one excitation source, a single detector is generally sufficient to obtain the required signal information needed to generate the cancelling signal. In the case where the vibration is from distributed sources, a multiple set of detectors is required to obtain sufficient signal information in either single-output or multiple-output control configuration. This will lead to the realization of a multiple-input single-output (MISO) or multiple-input multipleoutput (MIMO) control system [8] [9] .

This will lead to the realization of a multiple-input single-output (MISO) or multiple-input multipleoutput (MIMO) control system.


Volumetric methods usually reconstruct 3D models of external anatomical structures from 2D images. They represent the final volume using a finite set of 3D geometric primitives. Then, from an image sequence acquired around the object to reconstruct, the images are calibrated and the 3D models of the referred object are built using different approaches of volumetric methods. These methods work in the object volumetric space and do not require a matching process between the images used. Thus, typically, the 3D models are built from a sequence of images, acquired using a turntable device and an off-the-shelf camera [2, 3] . However, in some real applications, we do not need to reconstruct the 3D model of objects, because depth is enough to understand the 3D relationship of scenes.

Thus, typically, the 3D models are built from a sequence of images, acquired using a turntable device and an off-the-shelf camera.


All the existing DFD algorithms can be divided into two kinds: local DFD algorithm and global DFD algorithm. In local DFD, a window around every pixel point is predefined, and the point's blurring is defined as that of the window [7, 13] . However, the difficulty in selecting proper size of window is a well-known disadvantage of DFD algorithm, because there is a trade-off between having a window that is as large as possible to average out noise, but as small as possible to guarantee that within it [14, 15] . As far as global DFD is concerned, its main idea is completely different from the local DFD algorithm, since it works on the entire image without information of its radiance, or the appearance of the surfaces, and depth. Therefore it is necessary to construct the depth model and the radiance model simultaneously [14, [16] [17] [18] . This, however, will bring the problem of huge computation cost. A general method to solve this problem is to simplify the imaging model, for example, assuming the scene contains 'sharp edges', that is, there are discontinuities in the scene [19] . Another way is to use a cubic function or structure light to approach the radiance [20, 21] . Unfortunately, both local DFD and global DFD are on the basis of attaining two defocused images with different camera parameters which may destroy the camera drastically if the camera's amplification level is high.

In local DFD, a window around every pixel point is predefined, and the point's blurring is defined as that of the window.

However, the difficulty in selecting proper size of window is a well-known disadvantage of DFD algorithm, because there is a trade-off between having a window that is as large as possible to average out noise, but as small as possible to guarantee that within it.

Therefore it is necessary to construct the depth model and the radiance model simultaneously.

A general method to solve this problem is to simplify the imaging model, for example, assuming the scene contains 'sharp edges', that is, there are discontinuities in the scene.

Another way is to use a cubic function or structure light to approach the radiance.


According to the long-term ground lightning observation and results from the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) database, the Pearl River Delta (PRD) area (113 • -114.5 • E, 21.5 • -23.5 • N) with a cluster of large cities including Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macau, exhibits frequent lightning strikes and has a lightning density of 31.4 flashes km −2 yr −1 , the largest value observed in China (Ma, 2005) . Statistical studies revealed that lightning in the PRD area occurs mainly in the spring and summer with dominant negative strikes, consisting of 96.7 % of the total cloud-ground lightning (Yi et al., 2006) . The thermodynamic and dynamical conditions in this area are favorable for cloud electrification and lightning formation, since the region is located in the subtropical and coastal area with abundant solar heating and moisture sources. In addition, urbanization in this area forms a cluster of large cities with the urban land surface characteristics such as increased roughness, decreased moisture availability, and decreased thermal inertia, leading to a prominent urban heat island effect. From the perspective of the large-scale dynamics, frequent intrusions of frontal systems from the northwest during the transition seasons between summer and winter and tropical cyclones (typhoons) developed over the western Pacific in the summertime foster strong vertical motion and development of intensive convective systems for heavy precipitation and lightning formation.

According to the long-term ground lightning observation and results from the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) database, the Pearl River Delta (PRD) area (113 • -114.5 • E, 21.5 • -23.5 • N) with a cluster of large cities including Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macau, exhibits frequent lightning strikes and has a lightning density of 31.4 flashes km −2 yr −1 , the largest value observed in China.

Statistical studies revealed that lightning in the PRD area occurs mainly in the spring and summer with dominant negative strikes, consisting of 96.7 % of the total cloud-ground lightning.


Clusters are a well known type of pattern: they correspond to similarity-based groupings of the data. A set of clusters, called clustering, is thus a concise description of a dataset. Cluster analysis in comparison to global approaches for data analysis, e.g. Principal Component Analysis, has the benefit that it can detect more local phenomena that only occur in a subset of the data. For analyzing the temporal behavior of clusters, i.e. their evolutions, cluster tracing algorithms have been introduced (Kalnis et al. 2005; Rosswog and Ghose 2008; Spiliopoulou et al. 2006) . They find mappings between clusterings of consecutive time steps corresponding to similar clusters. These mappings describe the cluster evolutions over time. Understanding of cluster evolution in climate data can be used in the development of methods to prevent further climate change.

For analyzing the temporal behavior of clusters, i.e. their evolutions, cluster tracing algorithms have been introduced.


Two recent studies among different populations support the association of HIV-1 infection with a lack of male circumcision. A study among men in rural Uganda found that determinants of HIV-1 seropositivity were noncircumcision, an increased number of sexual partners, and a prior history of STDs [19] . In contrast to the present study, in which 78% of men were circumcised, only 16% of the 593 Ugandan men in that study were circumcised.

A study among men in rural Uganda found that determinants of HIV-1 seropositivity were noncircumcision, an increased number of sexual partners, and a prior history of STDs.


Coherent systems using polarization division multiplexed quadrature phase shift keying (PDM-QPSK) at 56-Gbaud had been demonstrated by lab recirculating loop experiment [4, 5] . PDM-QPSK system experiment at 80-Gbaud was also demonstrated by transmission over a lab recirculating loop using ultra-large area fiber (ULAF) with Raman amplification [6] . The 80-Gbaud PDM-QPSK system was implemented by using electrical time division multiplexing (ETDM) technique, where bit-error-rate (BER) was actually measured at the original pseudo random bit sequence (PRBS) tributary data rate of 40-Gbit/s [6] . Moreover, in these experiments, signal equalization and BER measurement were carried out using off-line DSP, and the PRBS pattern length was limited to 2 15 -1 [4] [5] [6] . In this paper, we report, to the best of our knowledge, the first time quasi real-time PDM-QPSK coherent transmission at up to 57.5-Gbaud symbol rate over a 820 km field-installed standard single mode fiber (SSMF) link with only in-line Erbium doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs), without using ETDM technique. The tributary PRBS data at 57.5-Gbit/s had a pattern length of 2 31 -1, amounting to a single channel bit rate of 230-Gbit/s. Transmitted signal data recovery and BER measurement in the receiver were carried out using quasi real-time DSP. BER performance well below standard forward error correction (FEC) error-free threshold (2×10 -3 ) was achieved.

Coherent systems using polarization division multiplexed quadrature phase shift keying (PDM-QPSK) at 56-Gbaud had been demonstrated by lab recirculating loop experiment.

PDM-QPSK system experiment at 80-Gbaud was also demonstrated by transmission over a lab recirculating loop using ultra-large area fiber (ULAF) with Raman amplification.

The 80-Gbaud PDM-QPSK system was implemented by using electrical time division multiplexing (ETDM) technique, where bit-error-rate (BER) was actually measured at the original pseudo random bit sequence (PRBS) tributary data rate of 40-Gbit/s.

Moreover, in these experiments, signal equalization and BER measurement were carried out using off-line DSP, and the PRBS pattern length was limited to 2 15 -1.


Coherent detection employing digital signal processing (DSP) allows multi-level modulation formats in optical transmission systems that increase the spectral efficiency and enhance the transmission capacity. Meanwhile, impairments such as chromatic dispersion (CD), polarization mode dispersion (PMD), laser phase noise (PN), and fiber nonlinearities (FNLs) can also be compensated or mitigated by using DSP in the electrical domain [1] . Coherent detection has become one of the most promising solutions for high speed optical transmission systems. Indeed, with the commercialization of the first generation 100G coherent transmission systems, research has now moved to investigate various solutions to enhance the transmission capacity beyond 100-Gbit/s. One track is to use phase-locked optical sub-carriers to form the so-called 'super-channel' [2] . However, this requires multiple transmitter and receiver setups in real systems and may not be energy efficient. Compared to multi-carrier solutions, single carrier coherent systems allow simpler structures of transmitter, receiver and DSP hardware [3] . For the single carrier systems, the bit rate can be increased by either raising the signal symbol rate or by employing higher-order modulation formats. The latter method is more dispersion tolerant but requires higher optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) and is therefore more susceptible to fiber nonlinearities. Hence, increasing the symbol rate may be a better alternative since faster analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) and DSP processors makes it more straightforward to compensate chromatic dispersion at high baud rate than to compensate for fiber nonlinearities.

Meanwhile, impairments such as chromatic dispersion (CD), polarization mode dispersion (PMD), laser phase noise (PN), and fiber nonlinearities (FNLs) can also be compensated or mitigated by using DSP in the electrical domain.

One track is to use phase-locked optical sub-carriers to form the so-called 'super-channel'.

Compared to multi-carrier solutions, single carrier coherent systems allow simpler structures of transmitter, receiver and DSP hardware.


Accompanying the evolution of integrated circuits (ICs) chips toward miniaturization and complicated functionality, the demand on the development of high compaction probe card for quality assurance has posed a difficult engineering challenge. During the IC testing, the probe tip must have enough sharpness and hardness to penetrate the surface oxide layer of the solder pad or connection bump and conduct the electric circuit. On the other hand, the probe structure also needs to have high flexibility and strength to provide the acceptable contact force and fatigue life. Therefore, the development of the probe structure with high dimensional accuracy and high strength is crucial for the IC industry [1] [2] [3] .

Therefore, the development of the probe structure with high dimensional accuracy and high strength is crucial for the IC industry.


The emotional experiences of mostly North American, British, and European child sexual abuse workers have been captured in literature which seeks to understand such experiences in terms of vicarious traumatisation. These can also be appreciated by exploring defences employed to manage anxiety elicited by thoughts and feelings about child sexual abuse work, and the influence these may have on workers (Follette et al. 1994; Jenkins an Baird 2002; Mills 2012) . In light of the lack of an equivalent South African literature, this research contributes to knowledge of engaging therapeutically with sexually abused children in South Africa by exploring the emotional experiences of their therapists and by investigating the psychological impact such work might have on them.

These can also be appreciated by exploring defences employed to manage anxiety elicited by thoughts and feelings about child sexual abuse work, and the influence these may have on workers.


This study employed an explorative inductive research method, and followed a critical realist and contextual constructionist approach in an attempt to capture and describe some of the psychodynamics involved in child sexual abuse work (Burman 1997; Madill et al. 2000) . Its multiple-case study design enabled the provision of ''a broader array of evidence'' and a more intense coverage of issues (Yin 2012, p. 131) . Themes that emerged as participants reflected on their work were investigated, and the study's descriptive nature engages the reader with illustrated situations (Parker 2005) . Critical realism admits to inherent subjectivity in producing knowledge, contending that the way we perceive truths depends on our beliefs and the social context in which these truths are observed. Contextual constructionism notes subjective meanings, and does not assume one true analysis that can only be revealed by using the ''correct'' methodology. Contextualism posits that knowledge is local, provisional, and situation dependent, and results vary according to the circumstances in which data are collected and analysed.

This study employed an explorative inductive research method, and followed a critical realist and contextual constructionist approach in an attempt to capture and describe some of the psychodynamics involved in child sexual abuse work.

Themes that emerged as participants reflected on their work were investigated, and the study's descriptive nature engages the reader with illustrated situations.


Theoretically, shear banding is thought to arise from a non-monotonicity in the underlying constitutive relation between the shear stress and shear rate for homogeneous flow [16, 17, 6, 18] . The simplest constitutive model to mimic this dependence (apart from "toy" models that do not obey the principle of material frame indifference) is the Johnson-Segalman (JS) model [19] . A sample plot of shear stress against shear rate in simple shear flow for this fluid is given in figure 1. Homogeneous flow with a shear rate on the decreasing part of the curve (e.g.γ M ) is unstable to one-dimensional perturbations with wavevector in the flow-gradient direction [20] . The fluid therefore separates into a structure comprising bands of differing shear ratesγ L andγ H , one on each of the stable, upward-sloping parts of the curve. The interface between the bands has its normal in the flow-gradient direction. The shear stress T is uniform across the whole flow, as required by a force balance.

Theoretically, shear banding is thought to arise from a non-monotonicity in the underlying constitutive relation between the shear stress and shear rate for homogeneous flow.

The simplest constitutive model to mimic this dependence (apart from "toy" models that do not obey the principle of material frame indifference) is the Johnson-Segalman (JS) model.

Homogeneous flow with a shear rate on the decreasing part of the curve (e.g.γ M ) is unstable to one-dimensional perturbations with wavevector in the flow-gradient direction.


The initial fusion pore is believed to be a neck-like connection with an initial size of about 10 nm. The corresponding time scale has not been measured directly, but experimental evidence suggests that the fusion pore can be formed in less than 100 ms [2, 3] . Since it is currently not possible to resolve these length and time scales experimentally, theoretical or computational models are employed to gain insight into the process of fusion pore formation.

The corresponding time scale has not been measured directly, but experimental evidence suggests that the fusion pore can be formed in less than 100 ms.


In this research, pure Cu and pure Al were used as the two-layer composite material for MDD experiments. In order to improve the drawability of the formed part, heat treatment was conducted before experiments. A combined blanking-drawing process was adopted in MDD experiment. Further, a finite element (FE) model of MDD process with Al-Cu material was developed by applying continuum shell element to simulate the deep drawing process. In the FE model, Voronoi diagram was introduced to represent the grains of the composite materials in order to address the size effects of blank in microforming. Voronoi structures can characterise material properties in microscale owing to the similarity between their geometrical features and material's microstructures. In microforming simulation, each Voronoi tessellation represents one grain with its own properties, and accurate results can be obtained [7] [8] [9] .

In microforming simulation, each Voronoi tessellation represents one grain with its own properties, and accurate results can be obtained.


Our preliminary neuroimaging results suggest that the payoff matrix biased emotionally decision making. Indeed, the change in decision-making criterion entailed by the financial incentive was subserved by a shift from a cerebral region dedicated to reasoning, the DLPFC, to a region involved in emotional processing, the VMPFC. It should be noted that an additional analysis that focused on financial incentive effect during high uncertainty stimuli only, gave coherent results with even larger bilateral VMPFC activations than the analysis that considered overall financial incentive effect (both type of uncertainty included). These outcomes confirmed the hypothesized emotional and cognitive subdivisions within the prefrontal cortex (Goel and Dolan, 2003) . Cold decision-making appeared to be more analytic and safety oriented whereas hot decision-making was associated with a search for reward at the expense of safety. Taken together, our results are coherent with the neuroscientific literature that shows that the reciprocal influence of cognition and emotion are meditated by specialized brain subdivisions (Mitchell and Phillips, 2007; Simpson et al., 2001) . We are aware that our simplified landing situation, due to fMRI requirements, was far from a real flight situation. Moreover a strong limitation of this study is the limited sample of non-pilots participants. However, a similar experiment, where physiological measurements were performed in 19 pilots, demonstrated the same response pattern: an increased number of landing acceptance during the financially motivated condition when uncertainty was high (Causse et al., 2011a) . Moreover, the physiological results showed that heart rate was higher during the financially motivated condition in comparison to the neutral condition, demonstrating that the financial incentive provoked a substantial emotional arousal. Eventually, though the human and economical consequences of our simplified landing task had nothing to compare with real flight issues, the payoff matrix designed to reproduce the negative emotional consequences linked with the decision to go-around was efficient enough to provoke risky behavior such as PCE. The gap between reality and laboratory exists in every fMRI experiment that examines the relationship between emotion and cognition. Nevertheless such an approach with simplified situations was initiated by neuroeconomics and has provided new theoretical issues for behavioral economy. Whereas neuroimaging results can be more conclusive (and extrapolated to real-life situation) in less context-dependant neural processes, for instance like those involved in reading, emotional related neural processes are more difficult to apprehend and generalization to everyday life is sometime quite questionable. However we assume that this controlled laboratory experiment involved quite generic processes related to emotional influence on decision making and brings a part of explanation concerning risky decision-making observed in pilots when facing uncertainty and emotional pressures.

These outcomes confirmed the hypothesized emotional and cognitive subdivisions within the prefrontal cortex.

Taken together, our results are coherent with the neuroscientific literature that shows that the reciprocal influence of cognition and emotion are meditated by specialized brain subdivisions.

However, a similar experiment, where physiological measurements were performed in 19 pilots, demonstrated the same response pattern: an increased number of landing acceptance during the financially motivated condition when uncertainty was high.


Remanufacturing can be undertaken by either OEM or remanufacturer; different remanufacturing modes impact consumers' perceived value of new products in different directions and then affect remanufacturing decisions. Therefore, this paper brings in the "consumers' perceived value effect" and analyzes the optimal decisions in different remanufacturing modes: in closed-loop supply chain in which OEM is dominant, when OEM remanufactures products, its remanufacturing decisions are controlled by direct pricing; when TPR remanufactures products, OEM influences the remanufacturing decisions by charging "patent licensing fees" from TPR [15] . Then we compare the profits of each member in the closed-loop supply chain in different remanufacturing modes. This paper has some important implications for improving remanufacturing decision-making based on nonrational behavior of consumers.

Therefore, this paper brings in the "consumers' perceived value effect" and analyzes the optimal decisions in different remanufacturing modes: in closed-loop supply chain in which OEM is dominant, when OEM remanufactures products, its remanufacturing decisions are controlled by direct pricing; when TPR remanufactures products, OEM influences the remanufacturing decisions by charging "patent licensing fees" from TPR.


UML is now widely accepted in the software engineering community as a common notational framework. It supports object-oriented designs which in turn encourage component-reuse. It can be used to provide multiple views of the system under design with the help of a variety of structural and behavioral diagrams. It allows standard ways of extending the language to meet the demands of specific application domains. Though it was originally created to serve the software engineering community, UML is also becoming an attractive basis for developing system descriptions in the (real time) embedded systems domain [13] . In fact, many of the enhancements to the UML 2.0, the new emerging standard, are geared towards easing the task of specifying complex real time embedded applications.

Though it was originally created to serve the software engineering community, UML is also becoming an attractive basis for developing system descriptions in the (real time) embedded systems domain.


Unsupervised network anomaly detector exploits unsupervised MLTs to identify ows which have rare patterns and are thus anomalous. However, detecting anomalies may then be time-consuming as these systems need to dive deeply in the ows' features to identify their patterns, therefore they can hardly meet IDS's real time requirements. To solve this issue, existing detectors may process only sampled data which implies that harmful trac may be not processed and so not detected [4] . To overcome this limitation,we propose in this paper to take advantage of a new distributed computing system to deploy an unsupervised network anomaly detector on a large cluster of servers.

To solve this issue, existing detectors may process only sampled data which implies that harmful trac may be not processed and so not detected.


Vegetables, fruits and grains are a very significant part of food consumption for human beings and cattle. Food of agricultural origin and most especially animal fat account for the majority of the exposure of most Europeans and North Americans to a range of persistent, toxic, environmental contaminants (Mclachlan 1996) . On the other hand, vegetation is the link between the atmosphere, soil and human food supply; therefore, contamination of plants will have a great influence on the total daily intake of a substance (Gonzalez et al. 2003) .

Food of agricultural origin and most especially animal fat account for the majority of the exposure of most Europeans and North Americans to a range of persistent, toxic, environmental contaminants.

On the other hand, vegetation is the link between the atmosphere, soil and human food supply; therefore, contamination of plants will have a great influence on the total daily intake of a substance.


Two different amounts of homogenized carrots were tested, 5 and 10 g (original method) (Anastassiades et al. 2003) . Table 3 shows the recoveries obtained with 5 and 10 g of the sample. The best results were obtained with 5 g. The original ratio 1:1 (ACN/weight of matrix) was modified, therefore, to 1 mL extraction solvent to 0.5 g of carrot. This ratio probably enhanced the contact between the matrix and the solvent, improving the recoveries. As far as the authors know, this ratio was never considered regarding QuEChERS application for pesticide extraction from carrots. Nonetheless, the results (Table 3) show that better recoveries can be achieved with this sample mass reduction. The optimised procedure for OCPs extraction is summarized in the experimental section.

Two different amounts of homogenized carrots were tested, 5 and 10 g (original method).


There have been conducted some studies using carrots and QuEChERS (Mezcua et al. 2009; Santilio et al. 2009; Wang and Leung 2009; Guan et al. 2010; Lehotay et al. 2010; Wang et al. 2010; Wong et al. 2010; Sack et al. 2011; Snopczynski et al. 2011; Srivastava et al. 2011) . Only four of these studies refer to OCP extraction from carrots (Mezcua et al. 2009; Guan et al. 2010; Wong et al. 2010; Srivastava et al. 2011) . Furthermore, of the four studies, only one presents the validation data for the carrot matrix (Guan et al. 2010) .

There have been conducted some studies using carrots and QuEChERS.

Only four of these studies refer to OCP extraction from carrots.

Furthermore, of the four studies, only one presents the validation data for the carrot matrix.


Nevertheless, low recoveries of HCB were obtained as mentioned by other authors (Wiilkowska and Biziuk 2011) . Mean recovery values for this pesticide were of 5 %. With the introduction of a sonication step, we were able to increase this value to 19 %. Thus, it was observed that when sonication was used before the centrifugation step, better sensitivities and recoveries were obtained for all pesticides. The sonication causes an effect known as cavitation which provides a better contact between the matrix and the solvent extraction (Tadeo et al. 2010) . Furthermore, in the case of very sorptive samples, enhanced solvent extraction techniques can easily result in higher recoveries. For pesticides, ultrasonic energy has been reported to speed and improve the extraction efficiency (Ramos et al. 2008) . Therefore, the introduction of the sonication step was determinant to improve the recoveries.

Nevertheless, low recoveries of HCB were obtained as mentioned by other authors.

The sonication causes an effect known as cavitation which provides a better contact between the matrix and the solvent extraction.

For pesticides, ultrasonic energy has been reported to speed and improve the extraction efficiency.


The source of the heating is the electric field as well as the physical properties (e.g., conductivity, relative permittivity, mass density, heat capacity) of the copper wire and the surrounding phantom [13] [14] [15] . The electric field is composed of conservative electric field (primarily originating with the scalar electric potential in the coil), and the magnetically-induced electric fields (caused by the time-varying magnetic field) [14] [27] . The two components may affect unevenly to the heating. However, it is difficult to separate these two components in our study because of a significant wavelength effect (200 MHz, 150 cm wavelength in air, ~19 cm wavelength in the phantom, RF coil diameter = 10 cm) [27] .

The source of the heating is the electric field as well as the physical properties (e.g., conductivity, relative permittivity, mass density, heat capacity) of the copper wire and the surrounding phantom.

The electric field is composed of conservative electric field (primarily originating with the scalar electric potential in the coil), and the magnetically-induced electric fields (caused by the time-varying magnetic field).

However, it is difficult to separate these two components in our study because of a significant wavelength effect (200 MHz, 150 cm wavelength in air, ~19 cm wavelength in the phantom, RF coil diameter = 10 cm).


The experiment performed by heating the gel with the RF pulse used for imaging ( Figure 5) -instead of the prescans-exploited one of the key strengths of Tm-DOTMA, namely the ability of using minimum TR and high flip angle due to the short T 1 of the methyl resonance of Tm-DOTMA (~5.3ms at 9.4 T [21] ). The TR/TE used here is MRI scanner limited and can be shortened by a factor of two or three in modern clinical scanners. Shortening the TE further also has the potential to minimize susceptibility effects. The measured temperature changes from these near real time acquired images (red and green asterisk in Figure 5 (c) and Figure 5(d) ) matches well with that of the optic probes (blue rectangle in Figure 5 (c) and Figure 5(d) ).

The experiment performed by heating the gel with the RF pulse used for imaging ( Figure 5) -instead of the prescans-exploited one of the key strengths of Tm-DOTMA, namely the ability of using minimum TR and high flip angle due to the short T 1 of the methyl resonance of Tm-DOTMA (~5.3ms at 9.4 T).


We stress both the continuity of the operator in this setting, its rate of contiunuity, i.e. the first power of the characteristic Q 2 (ω) as well as the fact that implied constants do not depend upon the dimension. The linear estimate (in terms of the classical characteristic that induces a dimensional growth) is very recent in the case of general X with bounded geometry and ϕ = 0 [5] . This present result has therefore the following novelties: a) A weighted estimate holds even in the case ϕ ≡ 0 (and in the presence of non-homogeneity).

The linear estimate (in terms of the classical characteristic that induces a dimensional growth) is very recent in the case of general X with bounded geometry and ϕ = 0.


The Poisson A 2 characteristic arises naturally from the viewpoint of martingales driven by space-time Brownian motion as in the representation formulae for Riesz transforms. The Poisson A 2 class is adapted to the stochastic process considered. Random walks and Poisson flows on manifolds are a delicate matter and we refer the reader to the excellent text by Emery [12] .

Random walks and Poisson flows on manifolds are a delicate matter and we refer the reader to the excellent text by Emery.


In the mathematical models of discrete flow systems, which are realistic and effective tools for performance analysis of a wide class of systems such as computer systems and networks, telecommunication networks, transportation networks, production lines, or flexible manufacturing systems, queuing network models (QNM) with finite capacity queues and blocking are often used [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] . Finite capacity queuing network models are of great value towards effective congestion control and quality of service (QoS) protection of modern discrete flow networks. Blocking in such networks arises because the traffic of jobs through one queue may be momentarily halted if the destination queue has reached its capacity. Over the years, many publications related to the analysis and application of QNMs with finite capacity queues and blocking in the field of computer science, operations research, traffic engineering or industrial engineering have been written [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] .

In the mathematical models of discrete flow systems, which are realistic and effective tools for performance analysis of a wide class of systems such as computer systems and networks, telecommunication networks, transportation networks, production lines, or flexible manufacturing systems, queuing network models (QNM) with finite capacity queues and blocking are often used.

Over the years, many publications related to the analysis and application of QNMs with finite capacity queues and blocking in the field of computer science, operations research, traffic engineering or industrial engineering have been written.


An interagency working group of law enforcement officials and academics collaborated on problem-oriented research to understand the workings of illegal gun markets in Los Angeles (Ridgeway et al. 2008) . Participants included the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), California Department of Justice (CalDOJ), Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles City Attorney's Office, and others. The research suggested that one important flow of illegal guns to criminals in targeted areas involved legal purchasers who engaged in one or two "straw purchases" to provide guns to someone with a disqualifying criminal record. The interagency working group then developed a plan to deter legal purchasers from acquiring guns for criminals in the targeted areas.

An interagency working group of law enforcement officials and academics collaborated on problem-oriented research to understand the workings of illegal gun markets in Los Angeles.


Adrenal incidentalomas larger than 5 cm in diameter must be excised since the risk of adrenal cancer ranges from 35% to 98%. For lesions measuring 4 cm-5 cm, other imaging features, history of extra adrenal malignancy, patient's preference, age and comorbidities should be taken into consideration [10] . Adrenalectomy and follow-up with imaging are both acceptable in such cases.

For lesions measuring 4 cm-5 cm, other imaging features, history of extra adrenal malignancy, patient's preference, age and comorbidities should be taken into consideration.


Since the introduction of the first commercial products in 1995, Internet video streaming has experienced phenomenal growth. Over a million hours of streaming media contents are being produced every month and served from hundreds of thousands of streaming media servers. Second only to the number-one Web browser, the leading streaming media player has more than 250 million registered users, with more than 200,000 new installations every day. This is happening despite the notorious difficulties of transmitting data packets with a deadline over the Internet, due to variability in throughput, delay and loss. It is not surprising that these challenges, in conjunction with the commercial promise of the technology, has attracted considerable research efforts, particularly directed towards efficient, robust and scalable video coding and transmission [1] [2] .

It is not surprising that these challenges, in conjunction with the commercial promise of the technology, has attracted considerable research efforts, particularly directed towards efficient, robust and scalable video coding and transmission.


Primary liver cancer is the �h most common cancer worldwide and the third most common cause of cancer mortality [1] . Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for 85% to 90% of primary liver cancers. HCC has several interesting epidemiologic features including dynamic temporal trends; marked variations among geographic regions, racial and ethnic groups, and between men and women; and the presence of several well-documented environmental potentially preventable risk factors. Most HCC cases (80%) occur in either sub-Saharan Africa or in Eastern Asia. China alone accounts for more than 50% of the world's cases. Other highrate areas include Senegal, Gambia, and South Korea [2] .

Primary liver cancer is the �h most common cancer worldwide and the third most common cause of cancer mortality.

Other highrate areas include Senegal, Gambia, and South Korea.


Our GFEM approximation for polycrystals, whose formulation and implementation are described in Sections 5 and 6, can also be used for branched and intersecting cohesive cracks in two or three dimensions. In Section 4, we show that our approach in 2-D produces the same approximation spaces as a technique making use of the XFEM [7] . However, the choice [gfem0 - December 12, 2005] of enrichment functions is simplified, thus making it an appealing alternative to the XFEM.

In Section 4, we show that our approach in 2-D produces the same approximation spaces as a technique making use of the XFEM.


The HM are a group of cancers that arise from a malignant transformation of cells of the bone marrow or the lymphatic system [1] . Several classification systems have been developed over the past several years to subdivide the HM by relevant clinical and biological means. These classifications facilitate the recognition of HM and therefore refine our ability to diagnose and treat these cancers. Moreover, they enable the use of the same definition of a specific hematopoietic neoplasm, so that data comparison between studies is possible [2] . These classifications have been updated since the early 1970s, and in 2001 the World Health Organization (WHO) published a classification of tumours of the hematopoietic and lymphoid tissues. This 2001 WHO classification was the first worldwide consensus classification on hematological tumours and was based on multiple information, such as clinical, morphologic, biologic, immunophenotypic and genetic features [3, 4] . In 2008, the WHO published a new classification for hematopoietic and lymphoid neoplasms in conjunction with the Society for Hematopathology and the European Association of Hematopathology [3, 5] . This 4th edition of the WHO classification has refined the 2001 classification on the basis of new and cumulative experimental evidence [2, [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] . It includes new criteria for the recognition of some previously described neoplasms and information about new entities that have been defined mainly by genetic mutations that have been characterized only recently [5, 6, 11] .

The HM are a group of cancers that arise from a malignant transformation of cells of the bone marrow or the lymphatic system.

Moreover, they enable the use of the same definition of a specific hematopoietic neoplasm, so that data comparison between studies is possible.

This 2001 WHO classification was the first worldwide consensus classification on hematological tumours and was based on multiple information, such as clinical, morphologic, biologic, immunophenotypic and genetic features.

In 2008, the WHO published a new classification for hematopoietic and lymphoid neoplasms in conjunction with the Society for Hematopathology and the European Association of Hematopathology.

This 4th edition of the WHO classification has refined the 2001 classification on the basis of new and cumulative experimental evidence.

It includes new criteria for the recognition of some previously described neoplasms and information about new entities that have been defined mainly by genetic mutations that have been characterized only recently.


The prevalence of diabetes among United States (US) youth has risen rapidly in recent years; in 2009, more than 190,000 American youths had the condition [1] . Healthy People 2020, which sets national objectives for improving health in the US, states that the main diabetes-related goal is to reduce economic burden and improve quality of life [2] . In 2012, the monetary burden of diabetes in the US for children and adults was estimated at nearly $245 billion including medical costs and the costs of disability, work loss, and premature death [3] . However, few studies have considered the time burden associated with diabetes-another important dimension of its overall economic burden.

The prevalence of diabetes among United States (US) youth has risen rapidly in recent years; in 2009, more than 190,000 American youths had the condition.

Healthy People 2020, which sets national objectives for improving health in the US, states that the main diabetes-related goal is to reduce economic burden and improve quality of life.

In 2012, the monetary burden of diabetes in the US for children and adults was estimated at nearly $245 billion including medical costs and the costs of disability, work loss, and premature death.


To demonstrate the stability of the few-layer grapheneencapsulated Ag nanoparticles for SERS measurements, Raman spectra of R6G, a probing molecule, on the Ag nanoparticles with and without few-layer graphene were measured. In Figure 6 (a), the spectra exhibit the SERS spectra of the R6G with the concentration of 10 −6 M on the Ag nanoparticles without any protective layer. Clear peaks described in the graph can be characterized by C-C-C ring in-plane bending (612 cm Journal of Nanomaterials (1650, 1575, 1511, and 1363 cm −1 ) [26] . Although the main Raman peaks of R6G on the Ag nanoparticles were clear, their intensities were drastically decreased according to the increase of the annealing temperature in air. However, Figure 6 (b) shows that the Raman intensities of R6G on the few-layer graphene-encapsulated Ag nanoparticles were maintained in spite of the annealing process in ambient conditions. As quantitatively analyzed in Figure 6(c) , when the bare Ag nanoparticles were used as the SERS substrates, the Raman intensity of the particular peak (1363 cm −1 ) of R6G remarkably decreased by a factor of 0.003 (36304 to 113) under the extensive annealing process in air. However, there was no considerable decrease in the Raman intensity of the same peak (36304 to 24436) despite the annealing process in the case that the few-layer graphene-encapsulated Ag nanoparticles were used, which indicates that the fewlayer graphene effectively prevents the oxidation of the Ag nanoparticles during the annealing process. Regarding the reproducibility of the few-layer graphene-encapsulated Ag nanoparticles as the SERS substrate, enhancement factor (EF), calculated by intensity ratio ( / 0 ) between the Raman peak at 1183 cm −1 of the R6G on the few-layer grapheneencapsulated Ag nanoparticles ( ) and bare silicon substrates ( 0 ), for three samples was measured to be 682, 902, and 697 without considerable difference, indicating that the SERS substrates provide comparable reproducibility. From these results, it can be expected that the few-layer graphene can be effectively used to fabricate highly stable SERS substrates, which is sufficiently resistant to oxidation of the Ag nanoparticles for various bioanalysis and biosensor applications.

Clear peaks described in the graph can be characterized by C-C-C ring in-plane bending (612 cm Journal of Nanomaterials (1650, 1575, 1511, and 1363 cm −1 ).


Recently, several methods have been proposed to realize dynamic strain measurement [8] - [13] . In these methods, two undisturbed fiber sections on both sides of the disturbed region are selected as reference sections. By measuring the VPD between the scatterings from the two reference sections, the fiber length variation induced by the dynamic strain could then be reconstructed. However, for in-field application, the reference section itself is not so easily isolated from external disturbance, which will degrade the performance of the measurement results. Meanwhile, the fading phenomenon of highly coherent scattering in an optical fiber may also make the RBS signal from some fiber sections fall into the destructive interference area, namely the dead zone [14] . Within the dead zone, the amplitude of noise could be comparable to or even stronger than that of RBS signal, leading to the failure of dynamic strain reconstruction.

Recently, several methods have been proposed to realize dynamic strain measurement.

Meanwhile, the fading phenomenon of highly coherent scattering in an optical fiber may also make the RBS signal from some fiber sections fall into the destructive interference area, namely the dead zone.


Researchers have also made progress in high-precise measurement of dynamic strain based on fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) [7] , [15] - [18] . In these literatures, fluctuant and weak RBS signals are replaced by stable and strong reflected lights generated by FBGs, where nε level accuracy has been successfully achieved. However, strain change could only be monitored at these positions where FBGs are installed, resulting in limited sensing points [15] , [16] . Distributed sensing could be realized if the probe pulse covers two or more consecutive ultra-weak fiber Bragg gratings (UWFBGs) to generate the interference signal. However, in this case, spatial resolution would be equal to or greater than the interval of UWFBGs [7] , [17] . If the UWFBGs are distributed with high density for high spatial resolution, the transmission loss will be high and the sensing length will be restricted [19] . Meanwhile, active laser frequency sweeping procedure consumes too much time for VPD demodulation, limiting the maximum detectable frequency of vibration events [7] , [18] .

Researchers have also made progress in high-precise measurement of dynamic strain based on fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs).

However, strain change could only be monitored at these positions where FBGs are installed, resulting in limited sensing points.

However, in this case, spatial resolution would be equal to or greater than the interval of UWFBGs.

If the UWFBGs are distributed with high density for high spatial resolution, the transmission loss will be high and the sensing length will be restricted.

Meanwhile, active laser frequency sweeping procedure consumes too much time for VPD demodulation, limiting the maximum detectable frequency of vibration events.


Phase-sensitive optical time-domain reflectometry ( -OTDR) has been proved to be an efficient way to interrogate multi-point vibration events along the entire length of sensing fiber for fast response and high sensitivity [1] - [3] . Therefore, it has been widely used in many applications, such as railway health monitoring, pipelines leak detection and intruder detection [4] - [6] . Vibration events around the sensing fiber can induce dynamic strain to the fiber, resulting in the changes of refractive index and fiber length. Therefore, the variation of the phase difference (VPD) between the scattered lights will occur and the amplitudes of Rayleigh back-scattering (RBS) traces will fluctuate at the corresponding position. By measuring the fluctuation, the location and the frequency of the dynamic strain can be obtained by an -OTDR system. However, due to the randomly distributed reflectivity and position of the Rayleigh scattering points in the fiber, there is no definite relationship between the strain value and the amplitude variation of RBS light [7] . Therefore, traditional -OTDR sensing systems intrinsically suffer from the inability to reconstruct the dynamic strain.

Phase-sensitive optical time-domain reflectometry ( -OTDR) has been proved to be an efficient way to interrogate multi-point vibration events along the entire length of sensing fiber for fast response and high sensitivity.

Therefore, it has been widely used in many applications, such as railway health monitoring, pipelines leak detection and intruder detection.

However, due to the randomly distributed reflectivity and position of the Rayleigh scattering points in the fiber, there is no definite relationship between the strain value and the amplitude variation of RBS light.


Our goal here is to understand how maternal strategies can evolve in a fluctuating environment when there is little opportunity for developmental plasticity. It is generally understood that developmental plasticity can evolve when individuals have access to reliable information early in development that can predict their future environment, and when the future environment is relatively constant for the adult lifespan (Uller, 2008) . However, in many cases the timing of development and environmental exposure makes it difficult for a developing offspring to independently acquire and utilize this sort of information. This would be the case, for instance, if juvenile survivorship depends on phenotypes that must be present before the developing individual is able to express them. We recently showed this to be the case for survivorship of C. elegans when embryos are exposed to anoxia (Dey et al., 2015) .

It is generally understood that developmental plasticity can evolve when individuals have access to reliable information early in development that can predict their future environment, and when the future environment is relatively constant for the adult lifespan.

We recently showed this to be the case for survivorship of C. elegans when embryos are exposed to anoxia.


According to the World Health Organization (WHO), falls are defined as "inadvertently coming to rest on the ground, floor or other lower level, excluding intentional change in position to rest in furniture, wall or other objects" [1] . Falls have been reported to be a common problem among older people and can be the cause of morbidity and mortality among the later [2] . Incidence of falls of older people is increasing with increasing age and with increasing frailty and dependency. Elderly residents staying in the old age home are approximately three times more prone to falling in comparison with those staying in the community; such falls might even result in bone fracture or hospital admission [3] .

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), falls are defined as "inadvertently coming to rest on the ground, floor or other lower level, excluding intentional change in position to rest in furniture, wall or other objects".

Falls have been reported to be a common problem among older people and can be the cause of morbidity and mortality among the later.

Elderly residents staying in the old age home are approximately three times more prone to falling in comparison with those staying in the community; such falls might even result in bone fracture or hospital admission.


In designing an international study of children around the start of their school career, an important question arises as to whether the study should be age or stage based. Figure  4 makes it clear that a purely aged-based study could produce data which are very difficult to interpret because of the major impact of schooling. Consider a survey conducted with children who had finished their first year at school in England and Scotland but had yet to start in Russia; the surveyors would conclude that the English and Scottish children were, on age-corrected scores, ahead of children from Russia. But, if the survey focused on a time before all children had started school, extrapolation of the data in Figure 4 suggests that the researchers would reach a very different conclusion. It therefore makes sense to collect data at the start and end of the first year of school in each country and estimates can then be made of attainment at different ages with and without a year at school, and the link between age and attainment can be established. Slopes can in themselves be seen as measures worthy of study (Burstein, Kim, & Delandshere, 1989) .

Slopes can in themselves be seen as measures worthy of study.


Even though daily PrEP with Truvada may show efficacy in preventing HIV infection in MSM, we do not know whether daily intake of these drugs is required to prevent infection. Given the long intracellular half-life of TDF, antiretroviral activity may last for several days. Recent animal studies have shown that intermittent preand post-exposure prophylaxis with Truvada was efficacious in preventing SHIV infection following rectal exposure [10] . Promising iPrEP regimens tested in these studies included doses at two hours before and 22 hours after exposure, 22 hours before and two hours after, and 72 hours before and two hours after [10] .

Recent animal studies have shown that intermittent preand post-exposure prophylaxis with Truvada was efficacious in preventing SHIV infection following rectal exposure.

Promising iPrEP regimens tested in these studies included doses at two hours before and 22 hours after exposure, 22 hours before and two hours after, and 72 hours before and two hours after.


Other prevention modalities for MSM, such as condom use and post-exposure prophylaxis, are exposure driven and intermittent. Anecdotal information suggests that some high-risk MSM are using PrEP intermittently, sometimes provided by their physicians. The available literature, however, suggests that this is an extremely rare phenomenon [12, 13] .

The available literature, however, suggests that this is an extremely rare phenomenon.


One of the major factors limiting yield of agricultural crops is the ability of soil to supply nitrogen (N) in available forms for plant uptake. Observation of nitrogen fixation in the roots of grasses and non leguminous crops in the 1970s and observation of plant growth-promoting capabilities of Azospirillum initiated a wave of field experiments (Francisco and Akao, 1993) . It is now well known that the use of different diazotrophic bacteria (Agrobacterium radiobacter, Azosprillum lipoferum, Azosprillum brasilense, Azotobacter chroocaccum, Bacillus sp., etc.), which were isolated from the rhizosphere of wheat plant can improve plant growth (Kennedy *Corresponding author. E-mail: abs346@yahoo.com.

Observation of nitrogen fixation in the roots of grasses and non leguminous crops in the 1970s and observation of plant growth-promoting capabilities of Azospirillum initiated a wave of field experiments.

E-mail: abs346@yahoo.com.


Oil price have a statistically significant impact on energy consumption and energy consumption have impact on CO2 emissions and environment quality as documented in the literature. Therefore, oil price might have indirect effects on the levels of CO2 emission. Against this backdrop, the present article investigates the role of oil price in the conventional EKC in the case of Turkey. Turkey has been selected because it is one of the important developing countries, and is one of the huge poles of the energy industry. Sectoral developments are catalyst for energy consumption. For example, tourism growth leads to a growth in energy capacity and leads to increase in the level of pollution (Katircioglu, 2009) . Oil price might influence economy wide patterns of resource use, and global environmental quality. In particular, the indirect and direct energy requirements of oil price are through to contribute significantly to the adverse environmental impacts from urbanization (Liu, 2009) . Therefore, this study contributes to the existing literature by integrating oil prices into the conventional EKC framework in order to test the role of oil price movements for the changes in energy consumption and carbon emissions. To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first of its kind as well as its modeling technique and country case are concerned in the relevant literature till the moment.

For example, tourism growth leads to a growth in energy capacity and leads to increase in the level of pollution.

In particular, the indirect and direct energy requirements of oil price are through to contribute significantly to the adverse environmental impacts from urbanization.


It has been confirmed that temperature has an impact on the survival of predatory fish. Increases of temperature from 22 to 24°C caused substantial decreases in survival among juvenile pikeperch reared in ponds on commercial feed (Zakêoe 1999b) . The high survival of northern pike at the temperature of 28°C in the current study could have resulted from its quick return to feeding following manipulations (stocking the fish into tanks). The low level of cannibalism in this group might be confirmation of this. Faster weight gain at the highest temperature tested also contributed to decreased losses since increased weight lowers cannibalism significantly.

Increases of temperature from 22 to 24°C caused substantial decreases in survival among juvenile pikeperch reared in ponds on commercial feed.


Regarding the evaluation of the driver's performance, there is more uniformity. Most companies check the evolution of consumption as the evaluation metric. Nevertheless, it has been shown that this is not a good way to assess the driver's performance, as fuel consumption depends on too many aspects that are beyond the control of the driver such as the weather or the density of traffic and not only on his or her driving skills [4] .

Nevertheless, it has been shown that this is not a good way to assess the driver's performance, as fuel consumption depends on too many aspects that are beyond the control of the driver such as the weather or the density of traffic and not only on his or her driving skills.


Our process dismisses fuel consumption as an evaluation method. Thus, in our previous research we developed an evaluation method based on some efficient driving patterns [5] . This method allows us to perform an objective evaluation of the skills of the drivers because it is based on real driving data. Furthermore, it is also able to facilitate adaptive training as we can see the evolution of the performance of the driver in each pattern and focus the reinforcement sessions on his or her mistakes [6] . All the real data of our studies are obtained by a system called Cated Box, which receives information directly from the vehicle's engine control unit (ECU) [7] . This is already under application in 16 professional fleets in Spain and Morocco, involving 880 professional drivers.

Thus, in our previous research we developed an evaluation method based on some efficient driving patterns.

Furthermore, it is also able to facilitate adaptive training as we can see the evolution of the performance of the driver in each pattern and focus the reinforcement sessions on his or her mistakes.

All the real data of our studies are obtained by a system called Cated Box, which receives information directly from the vehicle's engine control unit (ECU).


SPTs with cornstarch were negative. Airborne cornstarch evidently caused mucosal irritation. We do not know whether exposure to cornstarch powder increased the symptoms due to gum arabic like airborne cornstarch seems to increase symptoms of latex allergy [14] .

SPTs with cornstarch were negative.

We do not know whether exposure to cornstarch powder increased the symptoms due to gum arabic like airborne cornstarch seems to increase symptoms of latex allergy.


In the tests performed, the subjects were asked to breathe naturally and also to stop breathing. In order to have a reference signal, a commercial device able to measure both the respiratory and cardiac components (e.g. the commercial device Zephyr BioHarness) was employed in the tests. Figure 3 shows a block diagram of the complete FBG acquisition system prototype, where a filtering system was implemented for separating the respiratory and cardiac frequencies from the acquired FBG raw signals. A band-pass filter tuned in the range 0.1-0.4 Hz allows the measurement of the respiratory frequency, while a second band-pass filter with a band pass in the range 0.5-1.3 Hz was used to retrieve the cardiac frequency. This second band-pass filter was used to discriminate the frequency set of interest around 1 Hz, by cutting the respiratory components below 0.5 Hz, and likewise, the high frequencies (the high-frequency noise) above 1.3 Hz. Both band-pass filters were implemented in the digital domain using the bilinear technique with the sampling frequency of 36 Hz for approximating their analog transfer function [16] . Figure 4 shows the raw data obtained from the FBG sensor with the subjects breathing naturally. External interferences do not appear to degrade the quality of the acquired signals. The main perturbations are detected at the transition between the inhale and the exhale.

Both band-pass filters were implemented in the digital domain using the bilinear technique with the sampling frequency of 36 Hz for approximating their analog transfer function.


The ILDM method identifies the fast processes using an eigenvalue analysis of the local Jacobian of the chemical source term. The processes represented by the eigenvectors associated with small time scales are assumed to be in steady state. The eigenvectors which represent the slow chemical processes are used to construct a low-dimensional manifold in composition space. This manifold is parametrized by a small number of variables which evolve slowly during the combustion process. For application in flame calculations the manifold is tabulated in a look-up table as a function of the parametrizing (or controlling) variables. This is done once in a pre-processing step for a given mixture and, subsequently, the look-up table can be used in a series of combustion calculations. The dimension of the look-up table is determined by the number of controlling variables which is needed to describe the slow chemical processes. For simple fuels like CO/H 2 mixtures, two controlling variables are sufficient [13, 14] . However, for an accurate reproduction of the burning velocity of premixed methane/air flames at least three degrees of freedom are needed [15] . Together with variations in enthalpy, pressure and element composition which can occur in combustion systems, this results in a high-dimensional look-up table. Therefore, the application of the ILDM method seems to be very difficult for higher hydrocarbon fuels, especially in case of premixed flames where the burning velocity plays an important role.

For simple fuels like CO/H 2 mixtures, two controlling variables are sufficient.

However, for an accurate reproduction of the burning velocity of premixed methane/air flames at least three degrees of freedom are needed.


To the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first to provide quantitative evidence on the productivity effect of social connections across tiers of the firm hierarchy. The paper builds on our earlier findings on the effects of the introduction of high powered managerial incentives in the same setting (Bandiera, Barankay, and Rasul (2007) ). The earlier paper focuses on the allocation of managerial effort under performance pay, irrespective of the social connections within the firm. The current paper provides novel evidence on the importance of social connections in a firm setting, a previously unexplored determinant of managers' behavior.

The paper builds on our earlier findings on the effects of the introduction of high powered managerial incentives in the same setting).


Nowadays, lubricating greases are of utmost importance for both a wide variety of industrial applications and everyday lubrication challenges as they are designed to maximize efficiency and prolong the useful service life of all moving equipment [1] . In general, the design and development of lubricants require ample experience and knowledge to obtain an appropriate behaviour for specific applications. In the particular case of lubricating greases, further adequate microstructure and related physical properties must be reached from an appropriate sequence selection of both grease ingredients and manufacturing process [2, 3] .

Nowadays, lubricating greases are of utmost importance for both a wide variety of industrial applications and everyday lubrication challenges as they are designed to maximize efficiency and prolong the useful service life of all moving equipment.

In the particular case of lubricating greases, further adequate microstructure and related physical properties must be reached from an appropriate sequence selection of both grease ingredients and manufacturing process.


Microscopy methods such as atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) or transmission electron microscopy (TEM) reveal micro-and nanoscale structural details and therefore are powerful and effective tools for visualizing the lubricating grease morphology [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] . However, in spite of the continual development and great diversity of microscopy techniques, microstructure determination of lubricating greases remains a current challenge. This is because most electron microscopy methods are based on observations of thin sections or surfaces that show a cross section of the structure. Besides that, some surface topographies of soft specimens could be affected by the sample preparation/ treatment method [19] .

Microscopy methods such as atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) or transmission electron microscopy (TEM) reveal micro-and nanoscale structural details and therefore are powerful and effective tools for visualizing the lubricating grease morphology.

Besides that, some surface topographies of soft specimens could be affected by the sample preparation/ treatment method.


There are prior cross-sectional population-based point prevalence studies on GI co-morbidity [18] [19] [20] . However, there is a lack of knowledge of the co-morbidity of subjects with proven chronic/long lasting/persistent FGID and its impact on health care seeking behaviour due to GI symptoms. The aim of this study was to compare the comorbidity and its relation to health care seeking behaviour among non-patients with persistent FGID with those who are persistently GI symptom free, in a randomlyselected adult Swedish population.

There are prior cross-sectional population-based point prevalence studies on GI co-morbidity.


Transformation optics (TO) is a systematic approach to constructing extreme photonic devices. This approach has already been used to optimize imaging devices and, when transferred to a ray optics framework, as a tool for designing omnidirectional light concentrators and absorbers [26] . A hyperlens with an impedance-matched single interface for super-resolution imaging has already been demonstrated [14] . However, it is not obvious whether this approach for imaging could be (i) successfully applied to a nanofocusing device, and (ii) further improved to enhance the throughput by matching impedances at both the input and output interfaces.

This approach has already been used to optimize imaging devices and, when transferred to a ray optics framework, as a tool for designing omnidirectional light concentrators and absorbers.

A hyperlens with an impedance-matched single interface for super-resolution imaging has already been demonstrated.


The revision of ISO 15712 and EN12354 led by CEN TC126 WG2 (Chairman: Michel Villot) began in 2013, and at the meeting in 2014 the working group proposed that based on their recent research, the authors of the present paper should collaborate to use prediction models to produce new K ij relationships for the informative annex. This gave the authors an opportunity to consider whether it might be advantageous to determine relationships between transmission loss (rather than K ij ) and the ratio of characteristic moment impedances, from which K ij could subsequently be calculated. There was an additional impetus to introduce relationships for K ij that were relevant to the low-frequency range (particularly below 100 Hz) because of recent changes to European and International standards on field sound insulation measurement which introduced a new low-frequency procedure in order to allow more repeatable and reproducible measurements [19] .

There was an additional impetus to introduce relationships for K ij that were relevant to the low-frequency range (particularly below 100 Hz) because of recent changes to European and International standards on field sound insulation measurement which introduced a new low-frequency procedure in order to allow more repeatable and reproducible measurements.


In this paper, numerical experiments with FEM, Spectral Finite Element Methods (SFEM) and wave theory were used to (a) optimise the choice of variables to determine K ij where the prime candidate for the independent variable is the ratio of characteristic moment impedances, and (b) develop new relationships to determine K ij for the low-, mid-and high frequency ranges. The focus was on solid, heavyweight walls and floors which were rigidly connected to form L-, T-and X-junctions (see Fig. 1 ). FEM and SFEM calculations were able to account for the finite size of typical walls and floors and captured modal features of K ij , particularly in the low-frequency range. However, the FEM and SFEM results were specific to the damping that was assumed for the plates in the FEM or SFEM model [18] . Diffuse field wave theory was used to calculate the diffuse field transmission loss for junctions of semi-infinite plates and gives a generic result which is independent of wall and floor dimensions and damping. This approach not only applies to walls and floors with diffuse vibration fields, but it has been shown that it gives a reasonable estimate for the average of many junctions of heavyweight walls and floors with low mode counts and low modal overlap [20] . The final stage was to assess the implications of using the new K ij relationships when estimating the sound insulation by inserting them in the prediction model in the European and International Standards.

However, the FEM and SFEM results were specific to the damping that was assumed for the plates in the FEM or SFEM model.

This approach not only applies to walls and floors with diffuse vibration fields, but it has been shown that it gives a reasonable estimate for the average of many junctions of heavyweight walls and floors with low mode counts and low modal overlap.