Acetaminophen (APAP; N-acetyl-p-aminophenol) is a commonly used analgesic and antipyretic drug that is regarded as being safe at therapeutic doses. However, when taken in excess, it produces severe hepatotoxicity, which is termed centrilobular hepatic necrosis [1] . APAP is metabolically activated by cytochrome P450 2E1 to form a reactive metabolite, N-acetyl-p-benzoquinone imine (NAPQI), that covalently binds to proteins [2] . At therapeutic dosages, NAPQI is efficiently detoxified by glutathione (GSH) to form an APAP-GSH conjugate that is excreted by the kidney [3] . However, in APAP overdose, the sulfate and glucuronide conjugation pathways become saturated and the amount and the rate of formation of NAPQI are greatly increased [4] . NAPQI covalently binds to hepatic cellular proteins to form 3-(cysteine-S-yl)-acetaminophen (APAP-Cys) adducts [1, 5, 6] . Excessive NAPQI also peroxynitrites protein and oxidizes 2 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine macromolecules such as lipid, protein, and DNA causing hepatic cellular injury and necrosis [7, 8] .

However, when taken in excess, it produces severe hepatotoxicity, which is termed centrilobular hepatic necrosis.

APAP is metabolically activated by cytochrome P450 2E1 to form a reactive metabolite, N-acetyl-p-benzoquinone imine (NAPQI), that covalently binds to proteins.

At therapeutic dosages, NAPQI is efficiently detoxified by glutathione (GSH) to form an APAP-GSH conjugate that is excreted by the kidney.

However, in APAP overdose, the sulfate and glucuronide conjugation pathways become saturated and the amount and the rate of formation of NAPQI are greatly increased.

NAPQI covalently binds to hepatic cellular proteins to form 3-(cysteine-S-yl)-acetaminophen (APAP-Cys) adducts.

Excessive NAPQI also peroxynitrites protein and oxidizes 2 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine macromolecules such as lipid, protein, and DNA causing hepatic cellular injury and necrosis.


Today, despite deep cultural changes and changes in lifestyle, many people lack the essential ability in dealing with life issues. This makes them vulnerable in facing the problems of everyday life and its requirements. Many of the health problems as well as mental and emotional disorders have social origins. One way to enhance the psychosocial abilities of individuals is life skills training. The term "life skills" means stabilizing an appropriate and effective interpersonal relationship for doing social responsibility, making right decisions and solving the conflicts without resorting to actions that harm us or others (Rafiee et al., 2009) .

The term "life skills" means stabilizing an appropriate and effective interpersonal relationship for doing social responsibility, making right decisions and solving the conflicts without resorting to actions that harm us or others.


Volunteer health workers are the leaders of public assistance who help people voluntarily in health provision and promotion. Volunteer health workers consider themselves responsible for the problems in their neighborhood. They state the problems to administrate staff and their colleagues and try to solve them. They try to learn the basic facts required for the health of individual, family and community and to have active participation in the learning. Who is better than volunteer health workers for transferring this vital knowledge to the public? After learning the true and profounding health implications, they transfer them to their neighbors in their own language (Fatehi, 2009) .

After learning the true and profounding health implications, they transfer them to their neighbors in their own language.


Since our study revealed that the availability of P and CO 2 had a large effect on the production of karlotoxin, an important question is whether these results are relevant in the estuaries where harmful Karlodinium venificum blooms occur. In the Delaware Inland Bays where our culture was isolated, P limitation often occurs in the upper portion of Indian River Bay (IRB) due to elevated nitrogen inputs from the Indian River (Valdes 2003) . During recent summers, a series of harmful algal blooms, including both dinoflagellates and raphidophytes, have been observed in numerous localities throughout the bays. In the IRB, dissolved phosphate concentrations in these recent Karlodinium blooms were low (~0.3 µM) and dissolved inorganic N:P ratios were ~100:1 (data not shown). In these cases Karlodinium was apparently growing under severely P-limited conditions, so toxin production would be potentially stimulated and also subject to strong control by pCO 2 . K. veneficum is a mixotroph that is capable of feeding on cryptophyte species, which could potentially provide an alternate source of P in P-limited environments. It is known that nutrient conditions are an important aspect of K. veneficum bloom formation in eutrophic environments, and also that prey availability is another factor leading to toxic K. veneficum blooms . Future studies will be needed to determine the interactions of nutrient limitation, prey and CO 2 availability on Karlodinium toxin production.

In the Delaware Inland Bays where our culture was isolated, P limitation often occurs in the upper portion of Indian River Bay (IRB) due to elevated nitrogen inputs from the Indian River.


We are inspired by these efforts for Arabic sentiment lexicon creation. We extend them by comparing different methods for creating such a resource with implications for other languages. Our lexicon is not only large-scale with high coverage and high accuracy, but it is also publicly available. Finally, our lemma-based lexicon is linked to a morphological analyzer for ease of use in conjunction with Arabic lemmatizer such as MADA (Habash and Rambow, 2005) .

Finally, our lemma-based lexicon is linked to a morphological analyzer for ease of use in conjunction with Arabic lemmatizer such as MADA.


The following summarizes the evaluation of the devices. The slider device improved the workspace with and without the load, collision responsiveness (i.e., oscillatory convergence), and impact absorption. The only disadvantage was the increase in weight from the addition of the slider. However, this weight gain was a fraction of a percent of the weight for the whole arm system. In our previous study, we confirmed that any increase produced for the trunk load was paltry using a dynamic simulator [20] . The tension spring and viscous grease in the slider contributed to the oscillatory convergence and impact absorption of the arm. Therefore, the device can be further optimized by considering the spring and grease as parameters of the arm design.

In our previous study, we confirmed that any increase produced for the trunk load was paltry using a dynamic simulator.


Our results showed that NADH induced an increase in lymphocyte proliferation and in IL-2, INFγ and IL-4 secretion in obese patients and had no effect in the control group. Our findings revealed that NADH possessed cytokine-modulating effects. A previous study showed that NADH could influence monocyte/macrophage function in peripheral blood by modulating IL-12 and TNF-alpha production [63] . NADH might be the key to protecting against free radicals and act as a direct antioxidant. The presence of NADH induced a decrease in lymphocyte MDA and carbonyl protein amounts.

A previous study showed that NADH could influence monocyte/macrophage function in peripheral blood by modulating IL-12 and TNF-alpha production.


Obesity is associated with alterations in cellular immunity. Nutritional status has an important influence on the immune system and its function is very sensitive to nutritional changes [16] . Generally, most cases of obesity are thought to be caused by a combination of excessive food consumption and a sedentary life style [42] . The results of this study provided evidence that the presence of vitamins modulated lymphocyte proliferation, cytokine secretion and oxidant/antioxidant status in obesity.

Nutritional status has an important influence on the immune system and its function is very sensitive to nutritional changes.

Generally, most cases of obesity are thought to be caused by a combination of excessive food consumption and a sedentary life style.


Nowadays, science research capacity is the core of universities and an important indication of any powerful university, all the universities tend to pay attention to cultivate and enhance their capabilities, especially science research capability. It's necessary to analyze and evaluate science research capability elements of universities. A number of researches have already been conducted on evaluating competitive capabilities [2, 3, 4, 5, 6] . However, few researches have been taken on evaluating scientific research capacity in universities. To fill in this gap, the paper, first, investigates into the elements of university science research capability based on dynamic capability, and then, constructs BP Neural Network model of evaluation, in the end, introduces into a simulation evaluation, aiming at providing both theoretical and empirical perspectives in the cultivation of university science research capability.

A number of researches have already been conducted on evaluating competitive capabilities.


The Grothendieck-Riemann-Roch theorem provides an isomorphism between the rational Grothendieck group of coherent sheaves on a regular scheme and its rational Chow groups. It also shows that this isomorphism is covariant for proper morphisms between schemes. This result of Grothendieck was extended to the case of singular schemes by Baum, Fulton and MacPherson [4] . It was later generalized to the level of higher Ktheory and higher Chow groups of all quasi-projective (possibly singular) schemes by Bloch [6] .

This result of Grothendieck was extended to the case of singular schemes by Baum, Fulton and MacPherson.

It was later generalized to the level of higher Ktheory and higher Chow groups of all quasi-projective (possibly singular) schemes by Bloch.


A very crucial part of the proof of Theorem 1.3 is to show that the map f I * on the right side of (1.3) is defined. Existence of this map is in fact part of an old conjecture of Köck [27] . As part of the proof of Theorem 1.3 therefore, we also prove a version of Köck's conjecture for separated quotient stacks. We refer to Theorem 6.2 for a precise statement of our result. For a representable map of more general smooth quotient stacks, this was proven by Edidin and Graham [15] .

Existence of this map is in fact part of an old conjecture of Köck.

For a representable map of more general smooth quotient stacks, this was proven by Edidin and Graham.


It is obvious that the consumers' behavior is influenced by endogenous (such as preference for differentiated products) and exogenous (such as macro-economic) factors (Kopetz et al., 2012) . This model considered both categories within each dimension. In general, it is possible that in a certain period of time one dimension has greater influence over another regarding beef consumption, while in another scenario this relationship is reversed. For instance, in 2013 the economic dimension had greater influence on Brazilian beef consumption, while in Europe, at the same time, the environmental dimension presented greater importance than other dimensions.

It is obvious that the consumers' behavior is influenced by endogenous (such as preference for differentiated products) and exogenous (such as macro-economic) factors.


RFID systems were introduced as a solution for identification of large volume of objects in a shorter period of time. RFID systems provide an automatic means to identify physical objects without the need for line-of-sight communication [1] [2] [3] . The main components of a RFID system are tags, readers, and host computer. RFID tags are attached to physical objects as a means to identify them. RFID readers convert the radio waves sent from the tags to get the digital data and send the collected data to the host computer.

RFID systems provide an automatic means to identify physical objects without the need for line-of-sight communication.


The main clinical implications of the study findings primarily illustrate that antipsychotics of both classes have plausible mechanisms leading to pneumonia and/or lead to signs/symptoms that increase the risk of pneumonia. As a result, all APs should be used with caution and sparingly in persons at risk of pneumonia, especially the elderly. Indeed, the finding of similar risk of pneumonia across classes in the literature review conducted is consistent with a recently published systematic review and meta-analysis [44] . Nevertheless, the very diverse target binding among single APs, as highlighted by the analysis of experimentally-known AP target-binding, suggests that grouping antipsychotics into broad groups such as 'atypical' and 'conventional' may not be helpful or accurate. This method of classifying antipsychotics is based on the point in time when antipsychotics were marketed, with the older APs being termed conventional or first generation and newer ones being referred to as atypical or second generation. In vitro findings presented in this study confirm that such a classification is misleading, particularly concerning atypical APs, because there is a significant pharmacological heterogeneity among individual APs. Equally prone to being misleading are proposed mechanisms of action for pneumonia, or other adverse outcomes, that assumed all AP drugs to have the same or similar pharmacological action. The literature review conducted contains several such examples of mechanisms of action which related to all APs. Researchers should not be content with evaluating the risk of an outcome but should question the reason why such events occur, considering that biological feasibility is one of the key criteria for causality. The present study suggests that off-target pharmacology can play an important role in substantiating known signals. The novel mechanisms concerning TBXA2R and PTAFR as potential mediators of pneumonia symptoms constitute an important finding of this study.

Indeed, the finding of similar risk of pneumonia across classes in the literature review conducted is consistent with a recently published systematic review and meta-analysis.


The process of charge mix preparation requiring mechanical mixing of components (either dry or in aquatic medium), could be considered as a process of mechanochemical activation (MCA) of the charge. Usually, MCA is associated with distortions of the crystal lattice and development of various defects in its structure [8] . Table 1 shows the crystallinity index of Kyshtym deposit kaolin when activated, dry and in aqueous medium.

Usually, MCA is associated with distortions of the crystal lattice and development of various defects in its structure.


One may consider that, by controlling for employee P-S fit and dyadic tenure, we controlled to a certain extent for the quality and length of the dyadic relationship. We deliberately did not assess supervisors' P-S fit as to preclude the possibility that supervisors' P-S fit responses would bias their assessments of employee in-role performance. For a similar reason, we also did not assess supervisors' perceptions of employee P-O fit as to preclude the possibility that supervisors' report of these perceptions would inflate their performance evaluations. Note that there was no significant relationship between supervisors' P-O fit and supervisors' assessment of employee in-role performance. One might observe such a correlation due to common source or social desirability bias; thus, its absence suggests that the findings are not due to common source bias (Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Lee, & Podsakoff, 2003) .

One might observe such a correlation due to common source or social desirability bias; thus, its absence suggests that the findings are not due to common source bias.


To realize the above benefits, the root yield data of "individual fields" is necessary, but at present only the yield data of "each farmer" is available. It is time-consuming process to collect and unify such data for practical use, thus it is highly desirable to develop a new method for determining the crop status and the yield data of individual fields. Remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) may provide technologies needed for farmers to maximize the economic and environmental benefits of the precision farming (Santhosh et al. 2003) . Under these circumstances, this study on "Development of an efficient sugar beet cultivation support system using agricultural spatial information" was started with the aim at constructing a new method to collect field observation data using the remote sensing, GIS and meteorological data. The objective of this study is to assess the potential of developing an efficient sugar beet cultivation support system that can reduce the costs of beet crop cultivation, sugar production and sugar material distribution with use of the agricultural spatial information.

Remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) may provide technologies needed for farmers to maximize the economic and environmental benefits of the precision farming.


Considering our limitations, it is safe to conclude that the integrity of the right dACC and dlPFC might be of crucial importance not only for REAPPself ability, but also for affective and cognitive health. To the best of our knowledge, the current work is the first lesion study on cognitive reappraisal that targets circumscribed brain regions using imaging methods. It brings useful insights in the importance of specific right SFG areas for REAPPself. These findings might have important implications for studies using real-time fMRI techniques (Decharms et al., 2004) . It would be of great interest to investigate whether the conscious modulation of right SFG BOLD activity could influence limbic responses using neurofeedback methods. The development of evidence-based neurofeedback trainings would be of prime importance in patients suffering from emotional dysregulation, depression, and other types of psychopathology.

These findings might have important implications for studies using real-time fMRI techniques.


Nineteen patients with an acquired brain tumor and one patient with a cyst met the inclusion criterion. The diagnosis of patients with brain tumors has been histopathologically confirmed either by operation (n = 17) or by biopsy (n = 2) in agreement with the WHO staging system (Kleihues and Sobin, 2000) . Seven patients had to be excluded, due to non-corrected vision problems (n = 1), multifocal lesions (n = 5) and severe microangiopathy (n = 1). The remaining 20 patients took part in the analysis (11 women, M age = 45 ± 10.04 years; M lesion volume = 35.27 ± 32.19 cm 3 ). Of 19 brain tumor patients, 10 had single low-grade tumors (WHO • II) and 9 had single high-grade tumors (WHO • III-IV). Patients with brain tumors received radio-and/or chemotherapy. Brain tumor patients were tested at least 1 year after biopsy or maximum safe resection (M biopsy/resection = 3.95 ± 4.20 years, range = 1-16 years), and the whole group was tested at least 2 years since lesion onset (M onset = 5.00 ± 3.96 years, range = 2-15 years). Sixty-five percent of the 19 patients with brain tumors had no evidence for tumor recurrence and 35% had tumor recurrence in the same lesion site. Taking perifocal edemas into account, no lesion was bigger than 110 cm 3 (see Table 1 for more detailed information about etiology, lesion laterality and tumor location).

The diagnosis of patients with brain tumors has been histopathologically confirmed either by operation (n = 17) or by biopsy (n = 2) in agreement with the WHO staging system.


Zeolites and silicates have immense technological importance due to their unique structural properties, for instance as high-area catalysts, ion-exchangers and molecular sieves [1] [2] [3] . Such materials obey a universal building principle; an open -Al-Si-O-network encloses an array of nano-pores with rather homogenous diameter. These pores can accommodate single ions, molecules or atomic clusters that might conduct chemical reactions within the threedimensional (3D) matrix. The efficiency of such processes depends on the geometrical size of the species, which has to match the average pore size of the material. As pore diameters in zeolites and silicates are adjustable between 5 and 100 Å, size-selective adsorption and reaction schemes can be realized.

Zeolites and silicates have immense technological importance due to their unique structural properties, for instance as high-area catalysts, ion-exchangers and molecular sieves.


The localities sampled for the present study were not distributed evenly in space, since the data resulted from nature conservation surveys performed for different purposes and their spatial distribution only partially depended on the authors. Results of variance partitioning analyses indicate however that the relationships of both species with spatial factors (longitude and latitude) are of secondary importance. The vast majority of variance explained by these factors was shared with the group of geomorphological variables. Thus, ecological factors were more important than geometric constraints (Baur et al. 2014) . We therefore conclude that the uneven distribution of sampled localities does not influence the results substantially.

Thus, ecological factors were more important than geometric constraints.


In habitats where neither V. angustior nor V. moulinsiana were found, 2 l of the litter and topsoil were collected from ca 10 randomly chosen spots and processed in the laboratory. Each of the samples were dried and sieved using a 0.5 mm sieve. Particles passed through the sieve were examined using a stereo microscope. The > 0.5 mm fraction was checked using magnifying glass (Książkiewicz 2010) .

The > 0.5 mm fraction was checked using magnifying glass.


The major finding of our study is that the localities of V. angustior and V. moulinsiana are not distributed uniformly across wetlands in particular types of landforms and landscapes. Thus, the lack of these species does not indicate the lack of integrity of habitats located under certain geomorphological conditions. We suspect that such a situation is the result of differences in environmental conditions related to postglacial history as well as hydrogeological and climatic conditions related to this history which promoted formation of specific habitats (Price and Waddington 2000; Koralewska-Batura et al. 2010) . According to our CVA analysis, both species are associated with young moraine landscapes and prefer landforms of glacial and glacio-fluvial deposition. This is consistent with data found in the current literature as both species are considered to be glacial relicts (Preece 2010) . The studied vertiginids colonised areas of lowland fens, that are a succession stage of water bodies remaining after glacial retreat. Currently, such habitats still occur in the postglacial landscape, where alkaline fens and marshes are associated with lakes, as one of the final stages of lake succession (Richling and Ostaszewska 2005) .

We suspect that such a situation is the result of differences in environmental conditions related to postglacial history as well as hydrogeological and climatic conditions related to this history which promoted formation of specific habitats.

This is consistent with data found in the current literature as both species are considered to be glacial relicts.

Currently, such habitats still occur in the postglacial landscape, where alkaline fens and marshes are associated with lakes, as one of the final stages of lake succession.


For the surveys we selected wetlands that fitted the requirements of V. moulinsiana and/or V. angustior. We had focused on marshes covered with sedges and reed beds as well as alkaline fens located in lowland, highland, and mountainous areas (Pokryszko 1990; Killeen 2003; Cameron et al. 2003) . Potential habitats were chosen based on maps, aerial photographs, and interviews with naturalists and foresters.

We had focused on marshes covered with sedges and reed beds as well as alkaline fens located in lowland, highland, and mountainous areas.


Geomorphological landforms and landscape types as well as altitude are not distributed evenly in Poland. The southern part of the country is covered by highlands and mountains, whereas the northern and central parts are lowland plains dominated by postglacial forms. Thus, to evaluate whether morphology of terrain (landscape, landform, and character of the site) or its geographical location (altitude, latitude, and longitude) is more important, a variance-partitioning approach was conducted for each of the CVA models created (ter Braak 1996) .

Thus, to evaluate whether morphology of terrain (landscape, landform, and character of the site) or its geographical location (altitude, latitude, and longitude) is more important, a variance-partitioning approach was conducted for each of the CVA models created.


Studies on small invertebrate species are often challenging since such species are easy to overlook. The problem is even more pronounced when the target species are rare and/or protected-conservation plans tend to be based on incomplete distribution data. Many countries try to effectively protect such species simply by protection of their habitats (e.g. Natura 2000 network in Europe, Endangered Species Protection Program and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services in USA, National Conservation Plan in Canada). Not all of these habitats however will host the species and-on the other hand-not all of the localities hosting such species had been discovered and/or taken under the conservation schemes. The problem and, thus, reduction in extinction risk of isolated populations require a reliable methodology for surveys of such localities (Egoh et al. 2014) .

The problem and, thus, reduction in extinction risk of isolated populations require a reliable methodology for surveys of such localities.


The much harsher radiation and occupancy conditions of the HL-LHC requests a complete replacement of the present inner detector (ID). To withstand the HL-LHC environment, the new inner tracker (ITk) should have finer granularity, increased radiation hardness and improved material budget. Based on these requirements, an all-silicon-detector tracker is proposed, with pixel sensors at the inner radii and with microstrip sensors at larger radii [3] . The pixel sizes in the new pixel detector might be 25 × 150 µm 2 for the innermost two layers and 50 × 150 µm 2 for the two outer layers. The proposed all-silicon ITk would consist of a 192 m 2 of strip detector and a 10 m 2 pixel detector. These large areas have for consequences the need to reduce as much as possible the cost of construction.

Based on these requirements, an all-silicon-detector tracker is proposed, with pixel sensors at the inner radii and with microstrip sensors at larger radii.


In 1978, Friedland and Hutton suggested the use of a vibratory gyroscope for measuring rotation angles [2] . Their research showed that the precession angle of the proof mass trajectory, induced by the Coriolis force only, equals the rotation angle to be measured (see figure 2 ). This precession angle can be calculated by the instantaneous values of the proof mass position and velocity. Thus, there is no error accumulation problem in obtaining the rotation angle. Specifically, to achieve the precession induced by the Coriolis force only, the vibratory gyroscope must consistently oscillate along two axes at the same resonant frequency, no cross-axis dynamics coupling except the coupling induced by the Coriolis force.

In 1978, Friedland and Hutton suggested the use of a vibratory gyroscope for measuring rotation angles.


All these errors cause the fabricated gyroscope parameters (mass, spring constants, damping coefficients) to deviate from their designated values. Even worse, they induce cross-axis resilient force and crossaxis damping force, which lead to the serious 'quadrature error' in gyroscope systems [3] . Solutions to mechanical structure imperfections included advanced micromachining processes, complicated mechanical structure designs, postmicromachining [5] [6] [7] , etc. In a word, these imperfections were often minimized by expensive tooling processes. Using control techniques to compensate for undesired dynamics caused by mechanical imperfections is promising for MEMS gyroscopes because they can be of low cost. However, it is a much more challenging task for the direct angle measurement than for the angular rate measurement. This is because, for the direct angle measurement, it needs to achieve both 'mode matching' and 'consistent vibration,' while not interfering with the precession of the proof mass. This research field is relatively new. Very few control algorithms were reported to achieve that, and they were all verified by numerical simulations, none by experimental results yet. Besides, in those approaches, researchers made various assumptions on the type of imperfections: some assumed no cross-axis damping forces and/or resilient forces, some assumed unknown but matched spring stiffness and/or damping coefficients along two principal axes, etc. But, one thing in common, they all assumed that the mass of the proof mass was known, even in the research of angular rate sensing.

Even worse, they induce cross-axis resilient force and crossaxis damping force, which lead to the serious 'quadrature error' in gyroscope systems.

Solutions to mechanical structure imperfections included advanced micromachining processes, complicated mechanical structure designs, postmicromachining, etc.

This research field is relatively new.


The NDVI and its change attributed to climate change were investigated based on NDVI, temperature and precipitation time series data. Altogether, 814 NDVI images (24 image/year) for the periods of 34 years were downloaded, and raster images were analyzed. The monthly NDVI data were generated from bi-monthly data using the maximum value composite method [69] . In this study, the pixels with annual mean NDVI values less than 0.1 were removed [2] . The annual, seasonal and pixel-wise NDVI trends were computed. The seasons were mainly categorized as winter (December-February), pre-monsoon (March-May), Monsoon (June-September) and post-monsoon (October-November) based on temperature and precipitation patterns in Nepal. We downscaled CRU data from 0.5 degrees to the spatial resolution of 8 km to ensure similar resolution with NDVI data using Delta and Hermite Interpolating Polynomial (PCHIP) interpolation methods [70] . The NDVI trends in different ecological zones were calculated using the data layer of the ecological zone obtained from the Department of Survey and raster NDVI of the mean, RCR and slope using raster calculation tools in ArcGIS.

The monthly NDVI data were generated from bi-monthly data using the maximum value composite method.

In this study, the pixels with annual mean NDVI values less than 0.1 were removed.

We downscaled CRU data from 0.5 degrees to the spatial resolution of 8 km to ensure similar resolution with NDVI data using Delta and Hermite Interpolating Polynomial (PCHIP) interpolation methods.


There are mainly two methods of CNT yarn production: liquid-state spinning and solid-sate spinning. Most synthetic fibers are created from a concentrated, viscous liquid. In liquid based spinning, CNTs are dispersed into fluids and either extruded or coagulation spun into fibers [1] [2] [3] . The major issue with applying this approach to CNTs is that there is a relatively high fraction of remaining polymer and using of short CNTs, which limits the overall strength and electrical and thermal conductivity of the produced fiber [4] . The solidsate spinning can be done in two methods. One is spinning CNT yarns directly from a furnace using floating catalyst [5] . The second method is substrate base spinning. Spinning directly from a furnace is a very efficient approach for continuous production of yarn that has good properties [6, 7] . Limitations of this method are the nanotubes used relatively short and there are catalyst impurities deposited in the final product.

In liquid based spinning, CNTs are dispersed into fluids and either extruded or coagulation spun into fibers.

The major issue with applying this approach to CNTs is that there is a relatively high fraction of remaining polymer and using of short CNTs, which limits the overall strength and electrical and thermal conductivity of the produced fiber.

One is spinning CNT yarns directly from a furnace using floating catalyst.

Spinning directly from a furnace is a very efficient approach for continuous production of yarn that has good properties.


Many studies reported that multidrug resistance bacterial infections represented a growing public health problem in children, especially infant under 1-year-old [43] . Limited children with MDR infections were found in the retrospective study. It might be explained by a view that most of patients were from the regular ward. Generally, the patients from Intensive Care Units (ICUs) or Pediatric Intensive Care Units (PICU) were high risk population with MDR infections [43] .

Many studies reported that multidrug resistance bacterial infections represented a growing public health problem in children, especially infant under 1-year-old.

Generally, the patients from Intensive Care Units (ICUs) or Pediatric Intensive Care Units (PICU) were high risk population with MDR infections.


The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of reading an authentic novel on the acquisition of three aspects of word knowledge. The results show that the average number of acquired words was 16.52 or 25.54 % of the unknown target words, which is similar to other studies that examined vocabulary acquisition from reading (Dupuy and Krashen, 1993; Horst et al., 1998; Zahar et al, 2001) . Considering that the novel contains 66,938 words, and the number of target words was 100, of which the participants knew 35 words, we may assume that the participants gained some knowledge of many other words besides the target words. We have to take into account the fact that the participants recalled some of the target words while reading the novel and probably paid more attention to these words, which may have affected the learning gains. On the other hand, the insight that the participants remembered some of the words that they saw one week before reading the book indicates that combining explicit and implicit vocabulary learning may lead to a significant improvement of vocabulary knowledge.

The results show that the average number of acquired words was 16.52 or 25.54 % of the unknown target words, which is similar to other studies that examined vocabulary acquisition from reading.


Briefly, individuals interested in participating were contacted within 30 days of the visit and were scheduled an at home interview if they were French-speaking. Informed consent was obtained at the beginning of interviews, which were carried out in an isolated area of the home to limit any reporting bias if there was another person present. In order to minimise information bias associated with cognitive impairment, individuals in the 10th percentile of the Mini Mental State Examination (score < 26) were excluded from the analyses [22] . Among the 1627 remaining individuals who had given their consent to be contacted for a follow-up study, we were able to contact by telephone and schedule interviews for 967 individuals 3 years later. Interviews were led by research assistants who were trained to administer measures according to a standardised protocol and to recognise and implement a pace of questionnaire administration that was comfortable for participants. Participants were compensated $15CDN per visit with a check mailed to their home within a month of the interview. The study was approved by the University of Sherbrooke Institute of Geriatrics ethics committee.

In order to minimise information bias associated with cognitive impairment, individuals in the 10th percentile of the Mini Mental State Examination (score < 26) were excluded from the analyses.


There are two ways of dealing with process modeling. The first approach ("white box") is based on the assumption that the process can be fully described by mathematical equations representing the corresponding physical laws [1] . The second approach ("black box") is based on the idea that the process is completely unknown and there is no a priori knowledge of the model structure to reflect the process's physical behavior. The unknown model parameters are estimated using experimental data to obtain an input/output relationship. The main advantage of the "black box" approach when using accurately measured data is that it is possible to develop a model without requiring physical process knowledge [2] . The main drawbacks of this method lie in the structure of the model, which is unable to offer any physical meaning. In practice, the best way is to combine the two approaches, if possible, so that the more thoroughly-known parts can be modelled using physical knowledge and the less-known ones can be approximated through the "black box" approach. This is what is known as the "gray box" approach [3] .

The first approach ("white box") is based on the assumption that the process can be fully described by mathematical equations representing the corresponding physical laws.

The main advantage of the "black box" approach when using accurately measured data is that it is possible to develop a model without requiring physical process knowledge.

This is what is known as the "gray box" approach.


The embracing of VWs as a training setting by early adopters can be credited to two major advantages (Wyld, 2008) . First, the tools provided in most VWs enable a greater degree of interactivity and illustration than is easily accomplished in traditional training settings. Participants can direct their avatars to participate in role plays with greater realism than in a traditional workshop, and other complex activities and ideas can be simulated with great detail. For example, a real-life oil rig might be recreated in a VW so that trainees can explore it at zero risk to themselves or the functioning of the rig (Gronstedt, 2007) . Second, costs are much reduced. Participants do not need to travel, time away from the work desk is reduced, and the virtual facilities themselves are relatively inexpensive in comparison to traditional training facilities (Wyld, 2010) . If desired training outcomes are equally strong between traditional training and training in VWs, VWs emerge as the superior choice.

The embracing of VWs as a training setting by early adopters can be credited to two major advantages.

For example, a real-life oil rig might be recreated in a VW so that trainees can explore it at zero risk to themselves or the functioning of the rig.

Second, costs are much reduced.

Participants do not need to travel, time away from the work desk is reduced, and the virtual facilities themselves are relatively inexpensive in comparison to traditional training facilities.


With the ridged ground plane, an bandwidth improvement from approximately 40% to about 4:1 ultrawide bandwidth (3 to 12 GHz) has been demonstrated. Moreover, the radiation patterns of the printed PTMA with ridged ground plane still maintain the monopole-like omni-directional characteristics. Figure 1 (a) shows a typical geometry of a printed PTMA which consists of a triangular-shaped radiator on the top and a rectangular-shaped ground plane on the backside of the substrate. It is realized on a FR-4 substrate (ε r = 4.7) with a thickness of 1 mm. A 50-Ω center-fed microstrip line on the top layer of the substrate, with the width of 1.8 mm, is employed to excite the triangular radiator from its apex. The height and flare angle of the triangular radiator are denoted as h mono and α, respectively. The length of the feeding gap is denoted as h gap . The length h gap and the flare angle α exhibit a significant influence on the impedance bandwidth of the printed PTMA [13, 36] . Here, the flare angle is set to be 90 • and the optimum distance h gap is 0.9 mm. The dimension of the rectangular-shaped ground plane on the backside of the substrate is 30 mm × 15 mm. All parameters of the printed PTMA are summarized in Table 1 .

The length h gap and the flare angle α exhibit a significant influence on the impedance bandwidth of the printed PTMA.


A similar study has been conducted by us in UAE using multi cassette MD modules to analyze the performance of co-generation of pure water and heat using different integration strategies [32] . Novelty of present work is integration of a single cassette module for co-generation in a realistic application of DHW withdrawal especially direct solar combi MD configuration. In this approach, heat is directly used for DHW production after supplying MD module and heat from MD return line is not recovered. The multi cassette MD module system does not address real application of hot water generated and uses an external heat exchanger for recovering heat from MD module. This research paper provides detailed experimental campaign conducted on individual operation of SDHW, single cassette SMD systems and their integrated operation in two different configurations; solar thermal store integrated MD (STSMD) and direct solar combined MD (SCMD) for co-production of pure water and heat.

A similar study has been conducted by us in UAE using multi cassette MD modules to analyze the performance of co-generation of pure water and heat using different integration strategies.


In the future, we plan to apply this tool to a real life application where mobile police officers are assisted by their PDA's. One part of the effort will be to create ontologies that adequately address the information needs of the different parties involved [38] . These ontologies will be loaded in Ubismart, where agents use the communication strategies discussed in this paper to exchange information.

One part of the effort will be to create ontologies that adequately address the information needs of the different parties involved.


We are witnessing the emergence of a new class of applications in which the data is generated by data sources distributed over a large distributed network (often of the scale of WANs) [2] . Applications querying such data have become popular in diverse domains such as sensor networks, publish-subscribe systems, and financial services [16, 7, 1] . There are many applications in which the generated data is in relational form [11] . In this paper, we consider continuous versions of SQL queries over such distributed, relational, streaming data.

We are witnessing the emergence of a new class of applications in which the data is generated by data sources distributed over a large distributed network (often of the scale of WANs).

Applications querying such data have become popular in diverse domains such as sensor networks, publish-subscribe systems, and financial services.

There are many applications in which the generated data is in relational form.


The utilization of biomass to energies and functional materials is one of the most important challenges to establish a recycling society [1] - [4] . However, plant biomass wastes have not sufficiently been recycled yet, although a large number of plant biomass wastes have been discharged in the world. Moreover, the development in the high value-added function of plant biomass wastes has been desired.

The utilization of biomass to energies and functional materials is one of the most important challenges to establish a recycling society.


Native chicken breeds in Korea are characterized by poor commercial performance, including lower growth rate, feed efficiency, and lean muscle gaining ability than those of imported commercial synthetic breeds (CB) (Jeon et al., 2010) . Similarly, the indigenous chickens of Thailand generally have a slower growth rate than CB. However, Thai indigenous chicken is considered as a delicacy due to its unique quality (Wattanachant et al., 2004) . Usually, native chicken meats in different countries have a unique taste and texture that attract domestic consumers' preferences, thereby increasing the price about 2~3 times than that of CB (Ding et al., 1999) .

Native chicken breeds in Korea are characterized by poor commercial performance, including lower growth rate, feed efficiency, and lean muscle gaining ability than those of imported commercial synthetic breeds (CB).

However, Thai indigenous chicken is considered as a delicacy due to its unique quality.

Usually, native chicken meats in different countries have a unique taste and texture that attract domestic consumers' preferences, thereby increasing the price about 2~3 times than that of CB.


Hence, the discovery of novel therapeutics or molecular targeted therapies for RCC remains a priority. Previous reports show high frequency of increased STATs activation in RCC cells and patient specimens [4, 34, 35] . Because of the pivotal role of STATs in tumor cell survival, proliferation, and angiogenesis, we hypothesized that STAT3 and STAT5 could be a novel therapeutic target for RCC. Thus, in our study, we examined whether RES can exert its anticancer effects by negative regulation of STAT3/5 signaling cascade.

Previous reports show high frequency of increased STATs activation in RCC cells and patient specimens.


At the international level, research has highlighted the possibility of both a resource curse and a resource blessing with empirical evidence primarily pointing to the negative relationship between resource-dependence and economic growth, which is observable mostly in less developed countries (Gylfason, Herbertsson, & Zoega, 1999; Sachs & Warner, 2001; Sala-I-Martin, Doppelhofer, & Miller, 2004) . Theoretically, both these outcomes can co-exist with efficient allocation of production resources and sufficient human capital being the necessary conditions for avoiding the resource curse phenomenon (Shao & Yang, 2014) . It has been noted, mostly within the context of developing and transition countries, that resource abundance can shift economic resources from efficient entrepreneurship toward rent seeking (Kronenberg, 2004; Majbouri, 2016; Torvik, 2002; Van der Ploeg, 2011) . In mature economies, however, it is hoped that institutions guard against such a possibility. Even if opportunities for rentseeking in the US are minor and are not amplified by the recent shale revolution, there are several other mechanisms for an expanding energy sector to suppress entrepreneurship and self-employment in particular.

At the international level, research has highlighted the possibility of both a resource curse and a resource blessing with empirical evidence primarily pointing to the negative relationship between resource-dependence and economic growth, which is observable mostly in less developed countries.

Theoretically, both these outcomes can co-exist with efficient allocation of production resources and sufficient human capital being the necessary conditions for avoiding the resource curse phenomenon.

It has been noted, mostly within the context of developing and transition countries, that resource abundance can shift economic resources from efficient entrepreneurship toward rent seeking.


Existing research documents job-creating effects of the recent expansion in oil and gas industry in the US (Lee, 2015; Tsvetkova & Partridge, 2016; Weber, 2012; Weinstein, 2014) . To assess the distribution of these gains between self-employed and paid segments of the local economies, we separately estimate the effects of energy sector on self-employed (SE) and wage and salary (WS) job creation in nonmetro and metro counties after accounting for legacy effects. Finally, we compare self-employment generating effects of the (positive) shock in the energy sector to shocks in the rest of the economy. This allows us placing our findings in a broader perspective of selfemployment economic determinants and their relative importance.

Existing research documents job-creating effects of the recent expansion in oil and gas industry in the US.


To understand the observations of MSTID over Taiwan, extending beyond the EIA latitude, the location and strength of the crest during the years of the observations are examined. Figure 7 gives the latitudinal profiles of F-region peak electron density (NmF2) over Taiwan (121 • E), at 22:00 and 02:00 LT, respectively, in different seasons during the years of the imaging observations using the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI07) model (Bilitza, 2001) . It can be seen from Fig. 7 that the northern EIA crest shows an equatorward shift with the decrease in solar activity. The crest locations move closer to the equator by about 5 • from solar maximum to solar minimum. Moreover, the MSTIDs are imaged over Taiwan during 02:00-04:00 LT, a period when electron density is very less. The above conditions might favor the MSTID propagation, exerting minimum ion-drag.

Figure 7 gives the latitudinal profiles of F-region peak electron density (NmF2) over Taiwan (121 • E), at 22:00 and 02:00 LT, respectively, in different seasons during the years of the imaging observations using the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI07) model.


Correspondence to: J. Y. Liu (jyliu@jupiter.ss.ncu.edu.tw) bubbles (EPBs) associated with Equatorial Spread-F (ESF) irregularities (Mendillo and Baumgardner, 1982; Sahai et al., 2000; Fagundes et al., 1999; Taylor et al., 1997; Sinha et al., 2001; Kelley et al., 2002; Makela et al., 2004; Mendillo et al., 2005; Rajesh et al., 2007) . The irregularities are generated at the magnetic equator when suitable conditions exist at the F-region bottom-side in the post-sunset period, and manifest themselves as dark bands of intensity depletions in the airglow images taken from equatorial and low-latitude stations (Weber et al., 1978; Mendillo et al., 2005) . The depletions are aligned along magnetic field lines, and usually drift eastward with the ambient plasma velocity (Mendillo and Baumgardner, 1982; Sinha et al., 2001; Martinis et al., 2003; Pimenta et al., 2003) .

Correspondence to: J. Y. Liu (jyliu@jupiter.ss.ncu.edu.tw) bubbles (EPBs) associated with Equatorial Spread-F (ESF) irregularities.

The irregularities are generated at the magnetic equator when suitable conditions exist at the F-region bottom-side in the post-sunset period, and manifest themselves as dark bands of intensity depletions in the airglow images taken from equatorial and low-latitude stations.

The depletions are aligned along magnetic field lines, and usually drift eastward with the ambient plasma velocity.


Scalar special functions play a significant role in applied mathematics, Physics, engineering, economics, and industry. From a mathematical point of view, many special functions have been introduced for describing the solutions of certain second-order differential equations [1] . They also appear in connection with orthogonal polynomials and their fruitful applications in Physics, particularly in the theory of Lie groups and Lie algebras [2, 3] . During the last few decades numerous contributions have focused on generalizing the well-developed scalar theory on special functions to their matrix analogous counterpart and this extension continues being an active area under research [4] [5] [6] .

From a mathematical point of view, many special functions have been introduced for describing the solutions of certain second-order differential equations.

They also appear in connection with orthogonal polynomials and their fruitful applications in Physics, particularly in the theory of Lie groups and Lie algebras.

During the last few decades numerous contributions have focused on generalizing the well-developed scalar theory on special functions to their matrix analogous counterpart and this extension continues being an active area under research.


The research site for this study was a private teacher education in Bandung, West Java. This teacher education was selected due to the importance of introducing CP as a teaching EFL approach to tertiary level education in Indonesian context (Hayati, 2010) . Furthermore, by implementing CP principles to teacher students, it is expected that the participants will practice and develop dialogic education and democratic classroom after they become teachers in the future. The group of participants was one of Reading in Professional Context classes consisted of 59 fourth semester students (13 male and 46 female) in English Education Department. The participants were 19-21 years of age. The research was conducted in the form of teaching program which consisted of eight meetings from March 2015 to May 2015.

This teacher education was selected due to the importance of introducing CP as a teaching EFL approach to tertiary level education in Indonesian context.


To contribute to model formulation, experimental studies of spray/wall impact must capture a number of fundamental quantities, including a characterisation of secondary (post-impingement) to primary (pre-impingement) spray in terms of drop diameters, wall-normal and wall-tangential velocity components, and either drop mass or number density/flux. Almost without alternative, the phase Doppler measurement technique is the only means to obtain this data. The phase Doppler technique is a point-wise measurement technique, extendable to up to three velocity components and valid for the measurement of spherical particles/droplets [14] . In contrast to its usage in free sprays, employing the phase Doppler technique for spray/wall impact studies demands a discrimination between the primary and secondary sprays contributions, hence a conditional sampling of the results, at least in the post-processing stage. However a further aspect must also be considered, which to date has not been explicitly identified or studied. The difficulty arises due to the finite distance between the measurement volume and the impact surface. Whereas models for simulations are applied at the surface, measurements are taken a small distance from the surface. Therefore, depending on the trajectory of the in-going (primary) or out-going (secondary) droplets, the data collected by the phase Doppler instrument may correspond to droplets associated with different positions on the surface. In the present study this effect is demonstrated to be substantial, and careful consideration of the drop trajectory must be made in the processing stage.

The phase Doppler technique is a point-wise measurement technique, extendable to up to three velocity components and valid for the measurement of spherical particles/droplets.


Many papers are published each year reporting promising microwave experiments in a plethora of applications, and yet the conversion of these to industrial scale microwave processes is low [1] . A lack of data from pilot and demonstration systems often prevents successful scale-up because the technical risks have not been fully evaluated and mitigated. In recent years, a number of pilot-scale and commercial prototype systems have been developed for applications that exploit the selective and volumetric heating benefits offered by microwave heating [2] [3] [4] . These processes are continuous, and have been developed via multidisciplinary collaboration between experts in solids handling, process engineering and electromagnetics. There are numerous engineering challenges that need to be overcome in order to successfully implement the scale-up of microwave heating processes, in part because the 'engineering science' within this field is not fully established. One such challenge relates to electric field breakdown, or arcing, which can result in very high localised temperatures and damage to the microwave and materials handling systems. Arcing occurs in gases as they can only sustain an electric field of relatively low intensity compared to liquids and solids. For example, the breakdown voltage in air is 33 kV/cm at ambient conditions, compared to 30,000 kV/cm for water [5] . The breakdown voltage reduces significantly at higher temperatures and when droplets/particulates are present within the gas [6] . The physics of arcing is well understood, but the mitigation of this effect in continuous processing systems often presents the final barrier in moving from prototype to full scale commercial implementation.

Many papers are published each year reporting promising microwave experiments in a plethora of applications, and yet the conversion of these to industrial scale microwave processes is low.

In recent years, a number of pilot-scale and commercial prototype systems have been developed for applications that exploit the selective and volumetric heating benefits offered by microwave heating.

For example, the breakdown voltage in air is 33 kV/cm at ambient conditions, compared to 30,000 kV/cm for water.

The breakdown voltage reduces significantly at higher temperatures and when droplets/particulates are present within the gas.


Green facades and green walls act basically as passive system through four mechanisms; the shadow produced by the vegetation, the insulation provided by vegetation and substrate, the evaporative cooling through evapotranspiration, and finally the barrier effect to the wind [2] . In some previous experimental studies it was proved that the shadow effect has the greatest impact over the building wall temperature reduction and consequently over the energy consumption reduction [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] . Moreover, other studies have reached similar conclusions using simulations [8] [9] [10] .

Green facades and green walls act basically as passive system through four mechanisms; the shadow produced by the vegetation, the insulation provided by vegetation and substrate, the evaporative cooling through evapotranspiration, and finally the barrier effect to the wind.

In some previous experimental studies it was proved that the shadow effect has the greatest impact over the building wall temperature reduction and consequently over the energy consumption reduction.

Moreover, other studies have reached similar conclusions using simulations.


Electrically large antennas are commonly used in communication systems. Thus the complex antennas which involve wire/surface junctions and surface/surface junctions are essential structures for wireless telecommunications. Different methods have been proposed to model the wire/surface junction in order to consider the rapid current distributions around the junction [1] [2] [3] . However, these models are not suitable to solve radiation problems involving arbitrary 3D conducting objects.

Different methods have been proposed to model the wire/surface junction in order to consider the rapid current distributions around the junction.


When we talk about the acceptance rate in this study, or it's counterpart the rejection rate, we mean the percentage share of formally submitted full manuscripts that end up being published in the journal in question. Most journals or editors tend to keep track of and monitor this for internal purposes, but the only way to get access to this information is if they voluntarily provide it. A simplified approximate way to calculate this, especially for larger-volume journals, is to divide the number of published articles in a given year with the number of submissions in that same year or the year before. Defining how to calculate the acceptance rate is somewhat ambiguous, and many journal editors don't specify how they have calculated it when they announce it (Khosravi, 2018) .

Defining how to calculate the acceptance rate is somewhat ambiguous, and many journal editors don't specify how they have calculated it when they announce it.


Although microalgae cultivation displays great potential, high production costs have limited industrial application. A major factor is the cell harvest, which contributes to 20-30 % of the biomass production costs (Grima et al. 2003; Mata et al. 2010; Uduman et al. 2010) . Large volumes have to be processed, since the concentration of cells is usually low at 0.5-2.5 g l -1 (Grima et al. 2003) . Commonly used separation processes are a combination of filtration, flotation or flocculation, followed by a final centrifugation step. To separate the cells from the surrounding media, high-energy inputs are needed, often exceeding the energy content of the harvested biomass (Grima et al. 2003; Uduman et al. 2011; Wijffels and Barbosa 2010) .

A major factor is the cell harvest, which contributes to 20-30 % of the biomass production costs.

Large volumes have to be processed, since the concentration of cells is usually low at 0.5-2.5 g l -1.

To separate the cells from the surrounding media, high-energy inputs are needed, often exceeding the energy content of the harvested biomass.


In this study, the coupled model of electromagnetic field and thermal field are solved numerically. For the simulation, the dielectric properties and thermal properties are directly taken from Tables 1 and 2 , respectively. The exposed radiated power used in this study refers to ICNIRP standard for safety level at the maximum SAR value of 2 W/kg (general public exposure) and 10 W/kg (occupational exposure) [6] . For the electromagnetic frequency of 900 MHz, the effect of power density on distributions of specific absorption rate and temperature profile within the human eye is systematically investigated using two models, namely, the conventional heat transfer model (models I) and the developed heat transfer model (model II).

The exposed radiated power used in this study refers to ICNIRP standard for safety level at the maximum SAR value of 2 W/kg (general public exposure) and 10 W/kg (occupational exposure).


This study presents the simulation of the SAR distribution and temperature distribution in an anatomically human eye exposed to electromagnetic field based on porous media theory. This is a pioneer work in the application of natural convection and porous media theory to the study of the interaction between electromagnetic field and the human eye. In this study, a two-dimensional human eye model was used to simulate the SAR and temperature distribution in the human eye model. Electromagnetic wave propagation in the human eye was investigated by using Maxwell's equations. An analysis of heat transfer in the human eye exposed to TM-mode of electromagnetic fields was investigated using a developed heat transfer model (included the conduction and natural convection heat transfer mode) which proposed by Shafahi and Vafai [24] . In the heterogeneous human eye model, the effect of power density on specific absorption rate and temperature distribution within the human eye is systematically investigated. In particular, the results obtained from a developed heat transfer model, considered natural convection and porous media theory, are compared with the results obtained from a conventional heat transfer model (heat conduction model). The specific absorption rate and the temperature distribution in various parts of the human eye during exposure to electromagnetic fields at 900 MHz, which are obtained by numerical solution of electromagnetic wave propagation and heat transfer equation, are presented. The obtained values represent the accurate phenomena to determine the temperature increase in the human eye due to electromagnetic energy absorption from electromagnetic field exposure. Figure 1 shows radiation of electromagnetic fields from an electromagnetic radiation device to the human body. These electromagnetic fields fall on the human eye that causes heating in the deeper tissue, which leads to tissue damage and cataract formation. Due to ethical consideration, exposing a human to electromagnetic fields for the experimental purposes is limited. It is more convenient to develop a realistic human eye model through numerical simulation. In Sec. 3, an analysis of specific absorption rate and heat transfer in the human eye exposed to electromagnetic fields will be illustrated. The system of governing equations as well as initial and boundary conditions are solved numerically using the FEM via COMSOL TM MULTIPHYSICS.

An analysis of heat transfer in the human eye exposed to TM-mode of electromagnetic fields was investigated using a developed heat transfer model (included the conduction and natural convection heat transfer mode) which proposed by Shafahi and Vafai.


The concept of linear inverted pendulum model (LIPM) was first introduced and implemented by Kajita and Tani [14] . LIPM simplifies the complex shape of the robot model into a single concentrated mass at the centre of mass (CoM). The concentrated mass is linked to a contact point on the ground via a massless rod, which is represented by the supporting leg. The linear model of the pendulum is achieved by applying constraint control so that the body of the robot is restricted to moving in a straight line. During a single support phase, the CoM of the robot is restricted to moving along constraint line and the posture is kept in the upright position. The constraint is implemented by controlling the knee and the hip joints of the support leg. Another approach of stability measurement for bipedal robot is by using the angular momentum information of the system. This approach has been increasingly explored for the past few years [15−17] . The usage of angular momentum was first introduced and demonstrated in a physical bipedal robot prototype by Sano and Furusho [15] . The motion control in the sagittal plane is achieved by controlling the ankle torque of the supporting leg in order to follow the provided reference function of angular momentum. The reference function is designed based on the changes in angular momentum undergone by an inverted pendulum in the earth s field of gravity. For the lateral plane, the motion is formulated as a simple regulator with two equilibrium states, which is a repetition of tilting the body to place the centre of gravity to the left or right supporting leg alternately.

The concept of linear inverted pendulum model (LIPM) was first introduced and implemented by Kajita and Tani.

The usage of angular momentum was first introduced and demonstrated in a physical bipedal robot prototype by Sano and Furusho.


Recreation is a wholesome activity undertaken for pleasure, as well as any action that refreshes the mental attitude of an individual [1] . Forest recreation aimed at improving physical and mental health, as well as reducing stress, is called "forest therapy" (also "forest bathing", from Japanese Shinrin-Yoku) [2, 3] . This type of forest recreation is well known in Japan and in some other Asian countries, where it is practiced as a remedy for problems induced by stress [4] . The importance of forest therapy in these countries is high, as shown by the multiplicity of organizations involving individuals and professionals interested in this topic (e.g., the Forest Therapy Society, the International Society of Nature, and Forest Medicine).

Recreation is a wholesome activity undertaken for pleasure, as well as any action that refreshes the mental attitude of an individual.

Forest recreation aimed at improving physical and mental health, as well as reducing stress, is called "forest therapy" (also "forest bathing", from Japanese Shinrin-Yoku).

This type of forest recreation is well known in Japan and in some other Asian countries, where it is practiced as a remedy for problems induced by stress.


Our work has the most overlap with the coarse-grained scheduling used in the StreamIt compiler [7, 6] . The StreamIt scheduler consists of two major phases. First, a set of transformations are applied on the stream graph to combine and split actors to ensure the computation granularity is balanced. Second, a coarse-grain software pipeline is constructed by iteratively applying a greedy partitioning heuristic that assigns filters to processors. Each filter is considered in order of decreasing work and assigned to the processor with the least amount of work so far. To minimize synchronization, the partitioning algorithm is wrapped with a selective fusion pass that repeatedly fuses the two adjacent filters that have the smallest combined work. This process reduces communication overhead by forcing the combined filters to reside on the same processor.

Our work has the most overlap with the coarse-grained scheduling used in the StreamIt compiler.


Many problems in artificial intelligence can be formulated as shortest path problems, which can be solved using heuristic search algorithms such as A* (Hart, Nilsson, & Raphael, 1968) . Unfortunately, because state spaces often grow exponentially with problem size, it is usually infeasible to find optimal solutions to shortest path problems of practical interest. Instead, practitioners tend to settle for suboptimal solutions, which can often be found more efficiently but will be more expensive to execute. One is left with the choice of spending a long time searching for a cheap solution, or a little time searching for an expensive one. We argue for a new approach that is not strictly concerned with optimizing solution cost, but with optimizing a utility function given in terms of both solution cost and search time. With such a utility function, a user can specify a preference between search time and solution cost, and the algorithm handles the rest.

Many problems in artificial intelligence can be formulated as shortest path problems, which can be solved using heuristic search algorithms such as A*.


Drilling fluid invasion during well drilling is usually the first source of formation damage. Although minimal and shallow particle invasion is required for filter cake deposition over the face of the drilled formation, uncontrolled and unrestricted invasion of these particles can have an adverse effect in the near-wellbore region. The formation permeability can be significantly reduced such that future or enhanced hydrocarbon production processes may be impaired. The depth of particle invasion and deposition depend on the concentration of the particle in the drilling fluid, particle size distribution, and the drilling fluid rheology (Offenbacher et al. 2013) . In order to minimize the formation damage, laboratory experiments are used to optimize the composition of external fluids that are intended to be injected into a formation. In addition, experiments are required to optimize the particle concentration and size distribution of the fluid.

The depth of particle invasion and deposition depend on the concentration of the particle in the drilling fluid, particle size distribution, and the drilling fluid rheology.


So the acceptability of a new tool is linked to the professional identity of the society. So, between the repondents of the entity A and those of the entity B, the frontier is not the same. The volunteering and the data anonimyzation are perceived by the respondents of the entity A as necessary elements to their willingness to be involved in the project, it is perceived as optional for the respondents of the entity B. We explain these differences by a « different firm culture more precisely by a different « global vision of the organization and its objective » [20] .

The volunteering and the data anonimyzation are perceived by the respondents of the entity A as necessary elements to their willingness to be involved in the project, it is perceived as optional for the respondents of the entity B. We explain these differences by a « different firm culture more precisely by a different « global vision of the organization and its objective ».


If studying the technical aspect of a new tool is essential, to study its acceptability is relevant. In fact, an automated system that is effective but not acceptable will not be used by the users. Some authors distinguish the social acceptability and the social acceptance [1] . The social acceptability is about the attitudes on a subject without the use of it. The acceptance is about the attitudes on a object on which the participant has an experience.

Some authors distinguish the social acceptability and the social acceptance.


Interactions can significantly change topological properties of edge and surface in topological insulators and superconductors. For non-chiral systems, these boundary modes are low energy midgap states, thus they are more susceptible to interactions than the gapped bulk states. In the helical edge Luttinger liquids of 2D topological insulators, the edge magnetic fluctuations are much stronger than those in the bulk, which can lead to spontaneous timereversal symmetry breaking and destroy edge modes [36] [37] [38] . For the zero energy boundary Majorana modes along the coupled chains of the p x -topological superconductors, it has been found that interactions can even generate gaps without breaking time-reversal symmetry in the orbital channel [39] . Similar effects are also found for the helical edge Majorana modes of time-reversal invariant topological pairing states [40, 41] . In both cases, the new topological class under interactions is classified by a Z 8 periodicity.

In the helical edge Luttinger liquids of 2D topological insulators, the edge magnetic fluctuations are much stronger than those in the bulk, which can lead to spontaneous timereversal symmetry breaking and destroy edge modes.

For the zero energy boundary Majorana modes along the coupled chains of the p x -topological superconductors, it has been found that interactions can even generate gaps without breaking time-reversal symmetry in the orbital channel.

Similar effects are also found for the helical edge Majorana modes of time-reversal invariant topological pairing states.


In the condensed matter systems, the boundary Majorana fermion has been detected in the 1D quantum wire with spin-orbit coupling [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] . A magnetic field is also applied in parallel to the wire to lift the degeneracy at zero momentum such that the system is effectively one component if the Fermi energy lies inside the gap. In this case, the major effect of the magnetic field is the Zeeman effect, and the time-reversal symmetry is not explicitly broken in the orbital channel. The proximity effect from the superconducting electrodes induces superconductivity in the 1D wire, which leads to the zero energy Majorana ending states. If we put an array of these 1D wires together and their ends are weakly connected, these Majorana modes will also spontaneously build up bonding strength by developing staggered orbital currents patterns, the consequential splitting of the zero bias peaks will be exhibited in the tunneling spectroscopy.

In the condensed matter systems, the boundary Majorana fermion has been detected in the 1D quantum wire with spin-orbit coupling.


The idea here is to incorporate a variable selection mechanism into kriging via penalized likelihood functions. Although penalized likelihood is a common technique, its utilization in the kriging models to achieve variable selection is new. It poses some challenges in that estimation and inferences with kriging are complicated. New estimation procedures and the corresponding algorithms are required because the standard maximum likelihood methods for kriging are not applicable. Moreover, the classical aymptotic results, such as variable selection consistency, cannot be applied because they are mainly based on independent observations. This assumption is violated in fixed-domain asymptotics for computer experiments (Ying (1993); Stein (1999); Zhang (2004) ). Hence, in order to pursue large sample behavior, certain Markovian properties need to be exploited so that the correlations among observations can be taken into account.

This assumption is violated in fixed-domain asymptotics for computer experiments).


Results in Table 5 , revealed a very low fungal count in control flour samples. This might be due to the effect of gamma irradiation (3.0 kGy), which was used for insect disinfestation of flour before artificial infestation, on destruction of fungal cells. Many investigators reported that irradiation in the range of 2-5 kGy greatly reduced total bacterial and fungal counts of different food commodities including grain and flour (Hammad et al., 1987; Supriya et al., 2014; Lung et al., 2015) .

Many investigators reported that irradiation in the range of 2-5 kGy greatly reduced total bacterial and fungal counts of different food commodities including grain and flour.


The interaction between insect and fungal infestation of stored products is still in an area of active research in attempts to demonstrate the relation between insects and fungi in food damage. Before the grain being milled into flour, are already contaminated with a range of potentially deteriorative agents. Fungi normally accompany or follow insect invasion (Miller, 1995) . Additionally, insects can act as vectors of fungi, serving as internal and external carriers of spores. This includes serving as a mobile source of fungal metabolites and mycotoxins (Barney et al., 1995) .

Fungi normally accompany or follow insect invasion.

This includes serving as a mobile source of fungal metabolites and mycotoxins.


In this paper, building upon our previous work, we present key design principles and their translation to details of the CTSiM architecture (Sengupta, et al. 2013; Basu et al., 2012) . In an initial study with 6th-grade students in a middle Tennessee public school, students showed high pre-post learning gains and a good understanding of the basic science concepts. However, students also faced a number of challenges while working with CTSiM. This paper presents a case study that discusses the challenges that a high and a low achieving student faced while working on a physics and a biology unit using CTSiM. We compare and contrast the challenges faced by the two students, and discuss how the challenges evolved over time. The set of challenges, and the scaffolding provided to help overcome them, suggest the design of an adaptive scaffolding framework to help students develop a synergistic understanding of CT and science concepts.

In this paper, building upon our previous work, we present key design principles and their translation to details of the CTSiM architecture.


Huge advancements in information technology have extremely affected the financial services industry, as is evident in the development of online banking in recent years (Lee et al. 2011) . Online banking can be defined as the services which allow customers to conduct financial transactions on a secure website operated by a retail or virtual bank, credit union or building society. However, online banking mostly depends on the quality of service delivered by the website. As building long term customer relationships generate positive customer value on the Internet, effective evaluation and monitoring of website quality have become prerequisites for profitable online banking (Bauer et al. 2005; Jayawardhena 2004; Jun, Cai 2001; Lee, Chung 2009; Kaya, Kahraman 2011) . In other words, the higher the bank website's quality, the higher the bank's effectiveness is (DeLone, McLean 2003) .

Huge advancements in information technology have extremely affected the financial services industry, as is evident in the development of online banking in recent years.

As building long term customer relationships generate positive customer value on the Internet, effective evaluation and monitoring of website quality have become prerequisites for profitable online banking.

In other words, the higher the bank website's quality, the higher the bank's effectiveness is.


Over the past two decades, the complexity of economic decisions has increased rapidly, thus highlighting the importance of developing and implementing sophisticated and efficient quantitative analysis methods for supporting and aiding economic decision making (Zavadskas, Turskis, 2011; Aghdaie et al. 2013) . MCDM is an advanced field of operations research, provides decision makers and analysts with a wide range of methodologies, which are overviewed and well suited to the complexity of economic decision problems (Hwang, Yoon 1981; Zopounidis, Doumpos 2002; Figueira et al. 2005; Aghdaie et al. 2013) . In this paper, a hybrid AHP and COPRAS-G model is proposed in order to evaluate the quality of bank websites. The detailed descriptions of these methods are elaborated in the following subsections.

Over the past two decades, the complexity of economic decisions has increased rapidly, thus highlighting the importance of developing and implementing sophisticated and efficient quantitative analysis methods for supporting and aiding economic decision making.

MCDM is an advanced field of operations research, provides decision makers and analysts with a wide range of methodologies, which are overviewed and well suited to the complexity of economic decision problems.


As a result of high infestation on the local variety, leaf damage was greatest, an indication of high susceptibility to A. craccivora. During the pre-flowering period, M. sjostedti nymphs and adults were observed feeding on bracts and stipules. Feeding on the stipules resulted in deformation with brownish yellowish spots. Subsequently, they attacked the flower buds and the flowers. These effects of M. sjostedti infestation have been reported by other authors (Ezueh, 1981; Agyen-Sampong, 1978) . The results of the study indicated that damage by M. sjostedti did not differ significantly among the cowpea varieties; however, the effects of this pest were most severe in the local variety. Damage caused by this pest impacted negatively on pod formation and the number of pods formed. Linking flower thrips damage to pod numbers, it was observed that the local variety which recorded the largest damage surprisingly recorded the largest number of pods, an indication that infestation of cowpea plants with M. sjostedti did not significantly affect pod formation in that variety. This could be attributed to the phenomenon of tolerance which is based on the assumption that infestation and damage are not synonymous (Singh & Jackai, 1985) . Thus the local variety which recorded the largest infestation produced more pods than Asetenapa and Asontem. Even though the local variety produced more pods than some of the improved varieties, seed formation was very poor. This resulted in significantly lower yield compared to all the improved varieties.

These effects of M. sjostedti infestation have been reported by other authors.

This could be attributed to the phenomenon of tolerance which is based on the assumption that infestation and damage are not synonymous.


It has sometimes been argued that the benchmark against which the dissimilarity index should be compared is not the perfectly even distribution which results in a zero value of the index, but rather the expected value of the index when each neighborhood is occupied by individuals drawn randomly from the population of the city (Cortese et al., 1976) . For the standard dissimilarity index, this expected value turns out to be negligible, especially in larger cities with sizeable black populations (Massey, 1978) . However, with the method of indirect standardization described above, allowing for randomness could have significant effects because even in metropolitan areas in which the share of the minority population is quite large, there could be income groups in which it is small.

It has sometimes been argued that the benchmark against which the dissimilarity index should be compared is not the perfectly even distribution which results in a zero value of the index, but rather the expected value of the index when each neighborhood is occupied by individuals drawn randomly from the population of the city.

For the standard dissimilarity index, this expected value turns out to be negligible, especially in larger cities with sizeable black populations.


In this study, we measured circulating procoagulant MPs in 728 cancer patients who were followed prospectively for a median of 710 days and in a control group of age-and sexmatched healthy individuals. In line with previous reports, MP levels at study inclusion were significantly higher in the group of cancer patients than in healthy controls without cancer [13, 19, 20, 29] . MPs were also analyzed for their potential of being a predictive parameter for the occurrence of VTE in cancer patients. However, MP levels were not found to be predictive of VTE in cancer patients.

In line with previous reports, MP levels at study inclusion were significantly higher in the group of cancer patients than in healthy controls without cancer.


The use of stochastic global optimization methods has gained popularity in a wide variety of scientific and engineering applications as those methods have some advantages over deterministic optimization methods [1] . Those advantages include the lack of the need for a good initial guess and the ability to handle multimodal and nonconvex objective functions without the assumptions of continuity and differentiability. In addition, one of the important advantages is the lack of the need for information about the gradient of the objective function. Gradient-free optimization methods can be either deterministic or stochastic, but their applications can be found in many disciplines [2] . In many applications, however, the gradient of the objective function is already available or easily obtainable. Yet, this valuable piece of information is entirely ignored by traditional stochastic optimization methods. However, for the functions whose gradient is available, the use of the gradient may improve the reliability and efficiency of the stochastic search algorithm. In particular, the quality and precision of solutions obtained with gradient-based optimization methods outperform those obtained with traditional stochastic optimization methods. For a wide variety of engineering applications, it is needed to obtain solutions with a high precision and, therefore, the conventional stochastic optimization methods may fail to satisfy this requirement.

The use of stochastic global optimization methods has gained popularity in a wide variety of scientific and engineering applications as those methods have some advantages over deterministic optimization methods.

Gradient-free optimization methods can be either deterministic or stochastic, but their applications can be found in many disciplines.


Estimation of fish meat freshness is important for the food industries for the manufature of high quality products. After the death of a fish, the decomposition of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) in the fish meat sets in and ADP (adenosine di phosphate), AMP (adenosine 5' phosphate), IMP (inosine 5' phosphate), HxR (inosine), Hx (hypoxanthine), X (xanthine) and U (uric acid) [1] . Whereas IMP is one of the major contributing factors to the pleasant flavour of fresh fish, it's degradation product hypoxanthine imparts the bitter "off-taste" [2] . In this degradation process, quantification of hypoxanthine can be used as an indication of the fish freshness.

After the death of a fish, the decomposition of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) in the fish meat sets in and ADP (adenosine di phosphate), AMP (adenosine 5' phosphate), IMP (inosine 5' phosphate), HxR (inosine), Hx (hypoxanthine), X (xanthine) and U (uric acid).

Whereas IMP is one of the major contributing factors to the pleasant flavour of fresh fish, it's degradation product hypoxanthine imparts the bitter "off-taste".


The masking of unwanted sounds from the vibrator becomes particularly difficult when suprathreshold stimulation is required, as in magnitude scaling experiments. At the present time, nothing is known regarding the effect of hearing vibrator sounds upon the performance of Ss in magnitude estimation or production experiments. The importance of determining such effects is emphasized by the finding that the largest threshold shift occurred when a pulsed auditory tone (250 Hz) was presented at a fairly high intensity level (60 dB SL). Measurements were made of the sound intensities emitted by the vibrator at vibrotactile threshold levels at both frequencies. Because of the variation in the vibrotactile thresholds, these data did not lend themselves readily to a statistical analysis. It was obvious, however, that the audible signals in the open conditions were considerably less than 60 dB SL. Although it was not studied systematically, the data show an elevation in vibrotactile thresholds as the intensity of the auditory signal increased (Gescheider & Niblette, 1967; Gescheider et al, 1970) . The finding emphasizes the need to know what cross-modality effects exist at suprathreshold levels of vibrotactile stimulation.

Although it was not studied systematically, the data show an elevation in vibrotactile thresholds as the intensity of the auditory signal increased.


Phase Change Materials (PCM) are well known in Thermal Energy Storage (TES) applications [1] [2] [3] . PCMs are used to store energy when it is available, absorbing it and releasing it when needed. The most important requirements to be a good PCM may be divided in physical, chemical or economical requirements: -Physical requirements: Suitable phase change temperature, complete reversible freeze/melt cycle, large change in enthalpy (ΔH), large specific heat capacity (Cp), large thermal conductivity (k), and little subcooling.

Phase Change Materials (PCM) are well known in Thermal Energy Storage (TES) applications.


The findings may also have implications to marketing researchers regarding research methodology. Apart from demonstrating the usefulness of the purchase rate as an alternative measurement for life insurance purchases, this study has also demonstrated the capabilities and consistency among age standardization, decomposition, and cohort analysis in analyzing life insurance whose consumption, like many other products and services, varies greatly by age class. Furthermore, the measurement of purchase rate, age standardization, decomposition, and cohort analysis can easily be applied to study other types of products and can be incorporated in forecasting models based on age segments (Hansman and Schutjens, 1993; Rentz and Reynolds, 1991) .

Furthermore, the measurement of purchase rate, age standardization, decomposition, and cohort analysis can easily be applied to study other types of products and can be incorporated in forecasting models based on age segments.


Another important issue that has to be resolved before Equation (5) can be operative is that the data cannot appear to be linear (Glenn, 1981) . But fortunately the data the authors used do not appear to be linear (see figures 1 through 3 in the following section). Furthermore, the condition index of the various models used in the later section (11 for MPR and 9 for FPR) shows that no problem of multilinearity existed. Next, because the data are in the form of rate, a logistic transformation of the data is made and the parameter estimates are derived from weighted least square to overcome the problems of heteroskedasticity (Fienberg and Mason, 1979; Green, Carmone, and Wachspress, 1977; Gujarati, 1995) . All the parameter estimates will be in logits.

Another important issue that has to be resolved before Equation (5) can be operative is that the data cannot appear to be linear.

Next, because the data are in the form of rate, a logistic transformation of the data is made and the parameter estimates are derived from weighted least square to overcome the problems of heteroskedasticity.


Sinai Peninsula is characterized by its high mountains and decentralized communities that are far from the power grid of Egypt. Most of those communities are still unelectrified. Where, the houses of those communities are characterized by poor inhabitants, low power demand, fixed load, and dispersed nature. They are beyond the economic boundary of the utility and are therefore not included in the future plan for electrification from the national grid [4, 5] . This paper presents a study on the design and economical analysis of a stand-alone PV system to provide the required electrical energy for a single residential household in Egypt. The Egyptian location selected, as the site for the study, is near Abu Rudies city of Sinai Peninsula. Fig. (1) shows the suggested block diagram of the household stand-alone PV system. Where, the function of the PV array is to convert the sunlight directly into DC electrical power and that of the battery is to store the excess power through using the battery charger. The inverter is used to convert the DC electrical power into AC power; to match the requirements of the common household AC appliances.

They are beyond the economic boundary of the utility and are therefore not included in the future plan for electrification from the national grid.


Photovoltaic (PV) energy production is recognized as an important part of the future energy generation mix [1] . Because it is non-polluting, free in its availability, and is of high reliability. Therefore, these facts make the PV energy resource attractive for many applications, especially in rural and remote areas of most of the developing countries [2] .

Photovoltaic (PV) energy production is recognized as an important part of the future energy generation mix.

Therefore, these facts make the PV energy resource attractive for many applications, especially in rural and remote areas of most of the developing countries.


Polygraphic recordings of nocturnal breathing disorders were performed with a portable polygraph (MiniScreen 4, Heinen-Löwenstein, Bad Ems, Germany). The Mini-Screen 4 Polygraph measures heart rate and oxygen saturation with a pulse oxymeter and respiration and snoring via a nasal probe. Measurements were obtained from each participant from the night before surgery, and whenever possible, from the following six postoperative nights. Data on relevant coexisting diseases, permanent medication and administered analgesics and sedatives were collected for each patient. A check-up and adjustment of the polygraph was done every evening. Two trained physicians evaluated the polygraphic recordings. Sleep associated respiratory disorders were classified according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) criteria for the scoring of sleep and associated events [12] . According to the respiratory scoring rules published by the AASM an apnea was scored, when respiratory flow dropped by ≥ 90% of baseline for at least 10 seconds. A hypopnea was scored when nasal pressure signal excursions dropped by ≥ 50%, with a duration of at least 10 seconds, accompanied by a oxygen desaturation of at least 3% [12] . Exclusion criteria for nocturnal measurements were loss of the nasal probe or the pulse oxymeter during the night, or a recording time less than 6 hrs.

Sleep associated respiratory disorders were classified according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) criteria for the scoring of sleep and associated events.

A hypopnea was scored when nasal pressure signal excursions dropped by ≥ 50%, with a duration of at least 10 seconds, accompanied by a oxygen desaturation of at least 3%.


We have previously shown that Gch1 expression is a key determinant of BH4 bioavailability, NOS regulation and thus NO generation in the vasculature of healthy mice [7, 9, 30] . In the vascular system, proinflammatory stimuli have been shown to increase the synthesis of BH4 levels by up-regulating Gch1 mRNA and expression, that accompanies up-regulation of iNOS mRNA and protein in the endothelium and vascular smooth muscle [16, 22, 23] . Increased vascular iNOS-derived NO generation reduces vasocontractile response and causes hypotension which underlies pathophysiology of endotoxaemia and septic shock. The relevant contribution of endothelial NOS production to vascular dysregulation following systemic endotoxin exposure is unknown. Previous works have also demonstrated the important role of endothelial NOS (eNOS) in the pathogenesis of LPS-induced endotoxaemia and septic shock that eNOS activity is the key determinant of iNOS expression and activity in murine model of septic shock [8, 32] . Indeed, mice with global eNOS deficiency are protected against LPS-induced vascular dysfunction and hypotension due to loss of iNOS expression and activity [8, 32] .

We have previously shown that Gch1 expression is a key determinant of BH4 bioavailability, NOS regulation and thus NO generation in the vasculature of healthy mice.

In the vascular system, proinflammatory stimuli have been shown to increase the synthesis of BH4 levels by up-regulating Gch1 mRNA and expression, that accompanies up-regulation of iNOS mRNA and protein in the endothelium and vascular smooth muscle.

Previous works have also demonstrated the important role of endothelial NOS (eNOS) in the pathogenesis of LPS-induced endotoxaemia and septic shock that eNOS activity is the key determinant of iNOS expression and activity in murine model of septic shock.

Indeed, mice with global eNOS deficiency are protected against LPS-induced vascular dysfunction and hypotension due to loss of iNOS expression and activity.


In this section, we evaluate the performance of the proposed protocol using analytical modeling technique. Performance is evaluated using the criteria of the time complexity, message complexity, and transaction throughput (commit rate). These criteria have also been used to evaluate the performance of the commonly used protocols such as two-phase commit, presumed abort, and the mobile transaction protocols [6, 19, 21] . Message complexity takes into account the number of messages required to process a context-aware transaction. The number of messages significantly affects the performance, as the time required to send a message between the participants of a protocol increases with the increase in the number of messages. Time complexity takes into account the processing time of component service transactions and also the disconnection delay. Disconnection delay is considered in the performance evaluation as context-aware transactions may suffer from disconnection due to the unreliable nature of mobile services environment (as discussed above). Disconnection affects the performance as it generally increases the execution time of context-aware transactions.

These criteria have also been used to evaluate the performance of the commonly used protocols such as two-phase commit, presumed abort, and the mobile transaction protocols.