This study has some limitations. Its purpose was to evaluate adherence to NR guidelines. For this reason, all mistakes counted equally, although it is obvious that not all the deviations are equally serious: some are mild and nontranscendental (for example, duration of oral suctioning) whereas others are potentially harmful (like timing and route of epinephrine administration). The same mistake could have consequences or not, depending on the patient. For example, placing a postductal PO probe in a patient who does not receive oxygen or ventilatory support has no impact on the maneuvers performed but may lead to hyperoxia in an intubated neonate. Only 16% of our resuscitations perfectly followed the algorithm, but the number of mistakes per resuscitation was low, and global adherence to the algorithm was 80.9%. We acknowledge that the value of global adherence in itself has little meaning without the proper analysis of the main and more critical errors. Another limitation of our study is the lack of feedback of our findings to the resuscitation team. We designed the study to assess adherence to the algorithm and find the most common errors. In the pilot study, we did not consider an active intervention with the resuscitation team. Sharing our findings with them would probably improve performance. In most cases, the resuscitation team consisted of two neonatologists or two pediatricians on-call. All of them are trained in neonatal resuscitation, although their expertise varies from more than 30 years to only a few months after completing a residency. However, 38% of our patients were twins, which may worsen performance, as in some cases, there was only one caregiver per patient [22] . All our medical staff was aware of this study when it started, and we periodically reminded them about it. All the neonatologists and pediatricians who work at our hospital participated in this study. The medical staff turned the video camera on, automatically consenting to be recorded, when they were called to the DR. Recording usually began minutes before the neonate was born but sometimes began when the newborn arrived at the resuscitation room.

This study has some limitations.

However, 38% of our patients were twins, which may worsen performance, as in some cases, there was only one caregiver per patient.


Wireless communications have been developed widely and rapidly in the modern world specially during the last decade. The future development of the personal communication devices will aim to provide image, speech and data communications at anytime, and anywhere around the world. This indicates that the future communication terminal antennas must meet the requirements of multi-band or wideband to sufficiently cover the possible operating bands. However, the difficulty of antenna design increases when the number of operating frequency bands increases and cover an octave or more. In addition, for miniaturizing the wireless communication system, the antenna must also be small enough to be placed inside the system [1] . To achieve this, planar monopole antennas are good candidates for wide-band applications, as they exhibit wide impedance bandwidth, compact and simple structure, and ease of construction [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] 13] . Moreover, the omnidirectional radiation properties of monopole antenna make them very suitable for base-station and for indoor applications.

In addition, for miniaturizing the wireless communication system, the antenna must also be small enough to be placed inside the system.

To achieve this, planar monopole antennas are good candidates for wide-band applications, as they exhibit wide impedance bandwidth, compact and simple structure, and ease of construction.


Agricultural waste is the waste produced on farm through various farming activities. Residues of crops are materials like leaves, seed pods, stalks and stems left in agricultural fields after the crop has been harvested. Agricultural waste like rice husk, rice straw, sugarcane bagasse, banana leaves, etc. can be used as an alternative for microwave absorber used in the anechoic chamber [1] . Rice husks are the natural sheaths that form on rice grains during their growth and removed as waste during the processing of rice in mills. Every year approximately 120 million tonnes of paddy are produced in India. This gives around 24 million tonnes of rice husk and 4.4 million tonnes of rice husk ash every year [2] . Rice husk is unusually high in ash, which is 92 to 95% silica, highly porous and lightweight, and is traditionally burnt in the field or dumped [3] . Table 1 shows the chemical composition of rice husk [4] .

Agricultural waste like rice husk, rice straw, sugarcane bagasse, banana leaves, etc. can be used as an alternative for microwave absorber used in the anechoic chamber.

This gives around 24 million tonnes of rice husk and 4.4 million tonnes of rice husk ash every year.

Rice husk is unusually high in ash, which is 92 to 95% silica, highly porous and lightweight, and is traditionally burnt in the field or dumped.

Table 1 shows the chemical composition of rice husk.


The presence of 35.77% of carbon that occurs naturally in rice husk is responsible for good reflection loss performance for the microwave absorbers. Mixture of rice husk and powdered coal is used as the pyramidal microwave absorber [5] . Figure 1 shows various steps to the development of rice husk-coal pyramidal microwave absorber. Figure 2 (a) shows collected rice husk from paddy fields, (b) shows grinded rice husk, (c) shows the mixture of grinded rice husk and coal.

Mixture of rice husk and powdered coal is used as the pyramidal microwave absorber.


Human populations have inherited sets of polymorphisms representing different mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroups. The effect of a nucleotide polymorphism may vary depending on the particular mitochondrial genome in which it arises. Haplogroup-level association testing is therefore valuable when analyzing the role of mtDNA polymorphisms in metabolic diseases. For example, such an approach was used to discover that mitochondrial haplogroup N9 confers resistance against type II diabetes in Asians [17] . Using individuals with European haplotypes, a recent study assessed whether or not two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a patient cohort were associated with symptoms and reported an association of one SNP with pain, chronic fatigue, and abnormal gastrointestinal motility [18] . Another study of mitochondrial genomes of 162 CFS cases carrying haplogroup H reported an association of disease status with a single SNP [19] .

For example, such an approach was used to discover that mitochondrial haplogroup N9 confers resistance against type II diabetes in Asians.

Using individuals with European haplotypes, a recent study assessed whether or not two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a patient cohort were associated with symptoms and reported an association of one SNP with pain, chronic fatigue, and abnormal gastrointestinal motility.

Another study of mitochondrial genomes of 162 CFS cases carrying haplogroup H reported an association of disease status with a single SNP.


In this section, we review the Plane-Wave matrix model, its vacua, and the dual geometries constructed by Lin and Maldacena. The other SU(2|4) symmetric field theories are discussed in section 6. We will see that each of these theories has a large degeneracy of vacuum states at the classical level. This degeneracy remains at the quantum level, since the representation theory of SU(2|4) does not allow for states with arbitrarily small non-zero energies, and therefore does not allow the zero-energy states in the classical limit of the theory to receive corrections to their energy [17, 18] .

This degeneracy remains at the quantum level, since the representation theory of SU(2|4) does not allow for states with arbitrarily small non-zero energies, and therefore does not allow the zero-energy states in the classical limit of the theory to receive corrections to their energy.


Children have been a primary target group for obesity prevention programs to date because of the difficulty associated with addressing obesity after onset and in adulthood and the tendency for obesity in childhood to track into adolescence and adulthood [6] [7] [8] . Key health organizations and independent experts consistently emphasize the need to address the marketing of unhealthy foods to children as part of the process of ensuring that children's environments are conducive to healthy food choices [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] . This emphasis reflects the outcomes of major reviews that have identified food advertising as a contributing factor to children's food preferences, choices, and diets [9, [14] [15] [16] .

Children have been a primary target group for obesity prevention programs to date because of the difficulty associated with addressing obesity after onset and in adulthood and the tendency for obesity in childhood to track into adolescence and adulthood.

Key health organizations and independent experts consistently emphasize the need to address the marketing of unhealthy foods to children as part of the process of ensuring that children's environments are conducive to healthy food choices.

This emphasis reflects the outcomes of major reviews that have identified food advertising as a contributing factor to children's food preferences, choices, and diets.


Specifically, greater exposure to advertising for unhealthy foods and beverages is associated with higher body mass index (BMI) scores in children [17] . Substantial differences in rates of child obesity between countries have been partially attributable to food advertising contexts, with countries with higher levels of television food advertising tending to exhibit higher levels of child obesity [18] . Longitudinal data indicate that it is the exposure to food advertising rather than television viewing per se that contributes to the effect on BMI [19] . This conclusion is supported by recent work that has found that children with higher levels of awareness of fast food brands have higher BMI scores than their less-aware peers [20] . Novel research using magnetic resonance imaging techniques indicates that obese children exhibit reduced cognitive control responses when exposed to food logos relative to their normal weight peers [21] . The mechanisms via which food advertising influences children are thus complex and are likely to remain poorly understood for some time.

Specifically, greater exposure to advertising for unhealthy foods and beverages is associated with higher body mass index (BMI) scores in children.

Substantial differences in rates of child obesity between countries have been partially attributable to food advertising contexts, with countries with higher levels of television food advertising tending to exhibit higher levels of child obesity.

Longitudinal data indicate that it is the exposure to food advertising rather than television viewing per se that contributes to the effect on BMI.

This conclusion is supported by recent work that has found that children with higher levels of awareness of fast food brands have higher BMI scores than their less-aware peers.

Novel research using magnetic resonance imaging techniques indicates that obese children exhibit reduced cognitive control responses when exposed to food logos relative to their normal weight peers.


A large web panel provider with access to a representative sample of Australians was used to source respondents with varying demographic profiles (see Table 1 ). After a series of questions relating to their general attitudes to unhealthy foods and beverages, one-third of the parents sampled were exposed to television advertisements for a selection of different unhealthy food products, one-third were exposed to six internet advertisements for the same foods, and one-third were shown small images of the same foods as the control condition. The foods included snacks, fast food meals, confectionery, and sodas. Respondents were asked various questions relating to their perceptions of the advertised products. The survey concluded with a series of demographic and behavioral questions, including the respondent's gender, age, postcode, television viewing patterns, and height and weight (for BMI calculation). The results indicated that both adults' and children's foodrelated preferences and social norms were influenced by food advertising, despite current food advertising regulations being based on assumptions of adult immunity to advertising effects [32] .

The results indicated that both adults' and children's foodrelated preferences and social norms were influenced by food advertising, despite current food advertising regulations being based on assumptions of adult immunity to advertising effects.


Community support is an important consideration for governments contemplating the introduction or modification of health policies [34, 35] . Research in Australia indicates strong levels of community support for stricter regulations relating to food marketing to children [36] [37] [38] . At the same time, however, there is substantial discourse around the roles and responsibilities of parents in providing healthy foods and modelling their consumption [38, 39] . Various parenting styles and practices have been examined in terms of their likely impact on children's weight outcomes, with parents who are either too permissive or too authoritarian appearing to be more likely to have poorer child-feeding behaviors than parents who adopt a middleground 'authoritative' style [40, 41] .

Community support is an important consideration for governments contemplating the introduction or modification of health policies.

Research in Australia indicates strong levels of community support for stricter regulations relating to food marketing to children.

At the same time, however, there is substantial discourse around the roles and responsibilities of parents in providing healthy foods and modelling their consumption.

Various parenting styles and practices have been examined in terms of their likely impact on children's weight outcomes, with parents who are either too permissive or too authoritarian appearing to be more likely to have poorer child-feeding behaviors than parents who adopt a middleground 'authoritative' style.


Developing and implementing effective policy responses has been complicated by the rapid expansion of food marketing into non-television media. Over the last decade, food companies have increasingly invested in alternative forms of promotion such as those involving digital media and the sponsorship of sports and events [11, [27] [28] [29] [30] . The recency of this phenomenon and the difficulties associated with monitoring and assessing the impacts of alternative media have resulted in a limited evidence base upon which to advance public policy relating to food marketing. However, the limited research to date suggests that these forms of food promotion can influence children's foodrelated beliefs and choices [31] [32] [33] . It is therefore critical that policies designed to protect children from food promotion include coverage of these elements [30] .

Over the last decade, food companies have increasingly invested in alternative forms of promotion such as those involving digital media and the sponsorship of sports and events.

However, the limited research to date suggests that these forms of food promotion can influence children's foodrelated beliefs and choices.

It is therefore critical that policies designed to protect children from food promotion include coverage of these elements.


Locus of control refers to the extent to which individuals attribute outcomes to their own efforts or other forces [49, 50] . A high locus of control is evident where individuals consider themselves to have substantial control over outcomes, and a low locus of control occurs where individuals perceive themselves to have minimal control. The locus of control dimension exhibited by the study respondents ranged from low to high. Parents exhibiting a low locus of control favored policy-level initiatives to curb or modify the advertising of unhealthy foods. Those parents whose responses indicated a high locus of control often mentioned a range of behaviors parents can enact to prevent children's diets and health from being unduly affected by food advertising. The way in which locus of control was manifest in the responses included direct reference to parents' ability to control exposure to and effects of food advertising, as well as control over their children's diets more generally.

Locus of control refers to the extent to which individuals attribute outcomes to their own efforts or other forces.


One in five respondents took additional time when completing an already lengthy survey to provide specific input relating to their views on the nature of food advertising and how it could or should be addressed. The opt-in nature of the open-ended question and the tendency for the large majority of those electing to respond to this question to discuss issues relating to food advertising indicate that the topic was of considerable interest to these parents. The high proportion of women choosing to add further comment is consistent with previous research demonstrating that women are generally more willing than men to participate in research [52] .

The high proportion of women choosing to add further comment is consistent with previous research demonstrating that women are generally more willing than men to participate in research.


Parents' whose comments were represented in Quadrant 1 interpreted food advertising as a negative force, but appeared to have internalized a personal responsibility script that caused them to attribute accountability for redressing the situation to themselves. This prevented them from identifying a need for community-level responses. They also seemed to lack an appreciation of the effects of food advertising on the social norms that influence the broader social environments in which their children are immersed [10] .

They also seemed to lack an appreciation of the effects of food advertising on the social norms that influence the broader social environments in which their children are immersed.


The channel through which military spending can affect the economy is based on boosting utilisation of capital stock and higher employment. Positive changes in capital stock utilisation may lead to increase profit rate which, in turn, drives to higher investment in short run (Smith and Dunne, 2001; Dunne et al., 2004; Kollias et al., 2004) . However, the "utilisation effect of capital stock" may have much less pronounced output effects in a longer span (Dakurah et al., 2001; Dritsakis, 2004) . The defence economics literature identified with the opportunity cost of defence spending the effects of investment crowding out, which turns out to be a drag on economic take-off (Sandler and Hartley, 1995) .

Positive changes in capital stock utilisation may lead to increase profit rate which, in turn, drives to higher investment in short run.

However, the "utilisation effect of capital stock" may have much less pronounced output effects in a longer span.

The defence economics literature identified with the opportunity cost of defence spending the effects of investment crowding out, which turns out to be a drag on economic take-off.


One of the dominant approaches to macroeconomic research in the past several decades based policy predictions on the IS-LM model. In this framework, the debates between Keynesians and monetarists concerning the effectiveness of monetary and fiscal policy played a central role in the analysis of short-run fluctuations (Romer, 2000) . One assumption largely criticized of this aggregate macroeconomic model involved in the monetary policy behaviour of the central bank concentrated on the aims targeting money supply. On the other hand, empirical policy researches have shown that the central banks mainly use the tool of the interest rate to determine the monetary policy (MP) with respect to characterize the money supply (Taylor, 2000) .

In this framework, the debates between Keynesians and monetarists concerning the effectiveness of monetary and fiscal policy played a central role in the analysis of short-run fluctuations.

On the other hand, empirical policy researches have shown that the central banks mainly use the tool of the interest rate to determine the monetary policy (MP) with respect to characterize the money supply.


Similar to above approach, shape-based features has been used for classifying masses present in mammogram [22] . The training and learning phases has been incorporated and 60 training data sets and 25 test data sets have been used for training and learning the characteristics of the masses. However, it was not clear to note about the type of masses considered and the accuracy is also low. A Modular classifier has been proposed and used for classifying the masses using shape features of masses [23] . The age of patients is used as vital property for classifying malignant. This is due to the fact that the age of the patient has high discriminating power for malignancy. However, for the experiments, they have considered very less number of masses with complex shapes such as architectural distortion, microlobulated masses.

Similar to above approach, shape-based features has been used for classifying masses present in mammogram.

A Modular classifier has been proposed and used for classifying the masses using shape features of masses.


In the past few years, the consensus problem of multiagent systems has drawn great attention for its broad potential applications in many areas such as cooperative control of vehicle, unmanned air vehicle formation, and flocking control [1] [2] [3] . Consensus means that all agents will reach a common state in a cooperative fashion throughout distributed controllers. It is called leaderless consensus if there is no specified leader in the multiagent systems. Since agents in the multiagent systems are coupled through networks, the consensus achievement depends on not only the individual agent dynamic but also the structure of the interaction topology.

In the past few years, the consensus problem of multiagent systems has drawn great attention for its broad potential applications in many areas such as cooperative control of vehicle, unmanned air vehicle formation, and flocking control.


In contrast with the leader-following consensus problem, in the homogeneous multiagent systems, the leaderless consensus problem which can include the leader-following consensus problem as a special case is more complex and challenging especially with directed communication topologies. Since the leader-following consensus problem can be conveniently converted into a stabilization problem by constructing tracking error variables, the presence of the leader in the multiagent systems facilitates the derivation [13] . As for the leaderless consensus problem, there is no specified leader. Furthermore, when the topology is assumed to be undirected, the graph Laplacian matrix is positive semidefinite. This property facilitates the construction of the Lyapunov function greatly in the derivation. As for directed topologies, the graph Laplacian matrices are not necessarily symmetric. This increases the analysis difficulty especially when there are other specified constraints such as uncertainties in systems dynamics or switching communication topologies.

Since the leader-following consensus problem can be conveniently converted into a stabilization problem by constructing tracking error variables, the presence of the leader in the multiagent systems facilitates the derivation.


Self-report questionnaires are frequently used in health research because they are easy to utilize, feasible, and cheap to apply. In order to ensure reproducibility and reliability, a test-retest study is of great importance. The reliability of such a test is assessed by measuring the responses of the same study sample to an identical questionnaire at two or more points in time. A reproducibility test will assess random measurement errors as well as the stability of the construct measured, but cannot in itself distinguish between the two [5] . Thus, one must take into consideration that any real change in the phenomenon of interest that may have occurred during the intervening period between tests will result in seemingly low levels of reliability.

A reproducibility test will assess random measurement errors as well as the stability of the construct measured, but cannot in itself distinguish between the two.


In the first part, we study the discharge characteristics and the deposition rate for various B, characterized by different combinations of magnetron voltage, U d , and target current density, J d . Subsequently, we quantify the above-listed phenomena influencing the sputtered material flux and thus a D , in the case of two distinct magnetic field strengths (high B and low B). We then elaborate in detail on the ionized fraction of the sputtered material at the substrate level. Finally, we provide a theoretical explanation of the experimental observations by adopting the phenomenological model proposed by Vlček and Burcalová [15] .

Finally, we provide a theoretical explanation of the experimental observations by adopting the phenomenological model proposed by Vlček and Burcalová.


For a computational learner, a complex building action might be composed of moving objects into a specific configuration. The class move is taken as primitive, being a superclass of translate and rotate, the two types of motions that any rigid body can undertake in 3D space. Thus, move, translate, and rotate can be composed into more complex actions, which define a compostional higher-level concept, such as building a structure, which can then be labeled (Langley and Choi 2006; Laird 2012; Ménager 2016) .

Thus, move, translate, and rotate can be composed into more complex actions, which define a compostional higher-level concept, such as building a structure, which can then be labeled.


At the UN Sustainable Development Summit in September 2015, the world leaders adopted a new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which is "a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity" designed to "shift the world onto a sustainable and resilient path" [1] . At the heart of this universal, integrated and transformative Agenda are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (Figure 1 depicts all 17 goals arranged into three pillars: social, environmental, and economic), 169 associated targets, and 232 indicators. Total number of indicators listed in the global indicator framework of SDG is 244. However, as nine indicators repeat under two or three different targets, the total number reduces to 232.

At the UN Sustainable Development Summit in September 2015, the world leaders adopted a new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which is "a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity" designed to "shift the world onto a sustainable and resilient path".


These various arguments all suggest the reasons and requirements to establish a proper framework in place, so that ICT can support delivering a change the world needs to achieve the Global Goals and make sure no one is left behind. This paper aims at proposing an ICT framework for both addressing the complexity of SDGs and providing knowledge for building ICT platforms. We are aware that there is a critical reflection on the frameworks that are based on the so called "three pillars" and the approaches to find a "balance" between the environment, economy, and society. For example, Pouri and Hilty look at "the economic system as a part of human society and human society as a phenomenon that has become possible due to the biological processes on earth which have been reliably carrying it so far" [27] . The LES model, built up to structure the impact of ICT on sustainability, was actually based on this point of view [28] . Nevertheless, we intentionally use the "three pillars" or "dimensions" of sustainability because (alongside the environmental and economic sustainability) we would like to lay stress on the sound public policies that support healthy governance systems (social and political sustainability), as ICTs will progressively change the governance and delivery of every single type of public services. With this in mind, we propose four design principles intended to (1) configure the basic building blocks of the ICT framework provided here (data module, sustainability module, and governance module), (2) implement coordinated efforts of various stakeholders at different spatial, temporal, and decision-making scales, (3) allow various governance theories to be implemented in the framework, and (4) provide incentives for individuals to take a part in the decision-making process. Hence, this work aims to contribute new knowledge to recent literature and policy discussions on the potential of ICT to offer an extraordinary platform for achieving the SDGs.

For example, Pouri and Hilty look at "the economic system as a part of human society and human society as a phenomenon that has become possible due to the biological processes on earth which have been reliably carrying it so far".

The LES model, built up to structure the impact of ICT on sustainability, was actually based on this point of view.


In this work, we investigate the time evolution of degradation in the gate and drain currents and other figures of merit under high voltage stress with voltages in excess of the critical voltage. In particular, we separately monitor permanent and trapping-related degradation of the drain current, as well as degradation in the gate current [9] . We have found that there is an incubation time during which degradation does not take place and that this incubation time is different for different device figure of merits. The temperature dependence of this incubation time is also different. The incubation time for gate current degradation was found to be almost temperature independent while that of the drain current degradation was thermally activated.

In particular, we separately monitor permanent and trapping-related degradation of the drain current, as well as degradation in the gate current.


With the first Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experimental run now underway, searches for physics beyond the Standard Model will begin to test new theories of TeV-scale phenomena in parameter regimes that were not accessible to previous collider facilities. There are many proposals for theories of TeV-scale physics beyond the Standard Model. These include supersymmetry, technicolor, little Higgs models, extra-dimensions, low-scale quantum gravity, etc., all of which posit the existence of new classes of fundamental particles [1] . In many such models, the lightest member of the new class is absolutely stable due to the presence of a conserved discrete symmetry. As a result, production of the lightest new physics particle (either directly or at the end of chain of heavier decaying particles) will lead to missing transverse energy signatures at the LHC. More generally, signatures from different models of TeV-scale physics often possess similar features, and distinguishing among model interpretations may be quite challenging.

These include supersymmetry, technicolor, little Higgs models, extra-dimensions, low-scale quantum gravity, etc., all of which posit the existence of new classes of fundamental particles.


Precision measurements of couplings is usually the domain of e + e − colliders. Indeed, there is a rich program of precision supersymmetry proposed for an experimental program at the ILC [3] . However, until the ILC becomes a reality (current projections suggest that this is unlikely during the present decade), we must rely on the LHC running at high luminosity to provide the necessary data for interpreting the fundamental nature of new physics discoveries. Ultimately, a combined LHC/ILC analysis would yield the most precise tests for the supersymmetric interpretation of new physics [4] .

Indeed, there is a rich program of precision supersymmetry proposed for an experimental program at the ILC.

Ultimately, a combined LHC/ILC analysis would yield the most precise tests for the supersymmetric interpretation of new physics.


Ideally, one would first try to identify the new particles as superpartners of Standard Model particles. Such an attempt will likely be incomplete, as the entire spectrum of the new physics may not have been revealed, and the spins of the new particles may not be reliably known in all cases. In isolation, the discovery of a neutral color octet fermion or a color triplet scalar does not necessarily imply the discovery of the gluino and the squark. Due to supersymmetry-breaking, the masses of the new particles would not provide any evidence for a supersymmetric interpretation. However, supersymmetry-breaking effects will typically have a small impact on dimension-four couplings [2] . These couplings therefore reflect the underlying supersymmetric structure. Hence, the measurement of a relation among couplings could provide very strong evidence for a supersymmetric interpretation of the new physics.

However, supersymmetry-breaking effects will typically have a small impact on dimension-four couplings.


A barrier to achieving this is the lack of an easily applicable measure of socio-economic position that is broadly relevant to many countries and that discriminates between individuals as well as between regions or countries. No method will capture all aspects of socioeconomic position but asset-based measures have been widely used in low and middle income countries because they provide an easily collected variable that is stable over short term economic fluctuations [8] . The usual method of analysing these measures is to use principal component analysis (PCA) to identify complex scores from correlated variables. An alternative is to use simpler approaches such as Mokken scale analysis, which is based on a count of assets selected and ranked for their ability to discriminate between different levels of affluence [9] .

No method will capture all aspects of socioeconomic position but asset-based measures have been widely used in low and middle income countries because they provide an easily collected variable that is stable over short term economic fluctuations.

An alternative is to use simpler approaches such as Mokken scale analysis, which is based on a count of assets selected and ranked for their ability to discriminate between different levels of affluence.


In the US two-stroke engines are used primarily in weight sensitive hand-held applications, some off-road motorcycles and small boats. In developing countries, however, two-stroke engines may make up the bulk of the engine population of the small transport sector. In some cities in India, for example, twostrokes account for up to 65% of the overall vehicle population [3] . This high vehicle population coupled with the two-stroke engines tendency to have high hydrocarbon (HC) emissions due to fuel short circuiting results in very high levels of HC air pollution in urban areas in many developing countries. It is estimated that up to 70% of all HC emissions in India are due to small-displacement two-stroke transport engines [3] .

In some cities in India, for example, twostrokes account for up to 65% of the overall vehicle population.

It is estimated that up to 70% of all HC emissions in India are due to small-displacement two-stroke transport engines.


In this section, a brief discussion of some of the previously proposed techniques in the literature is presented. Moradi presented a method that uses the infrared radiation emitted by the human body using an infrared camera that acquires thermal images of the surrounding environment [2] . This system includes six main parts: Image Acquisition, Initial Processing, Feature Extraction, Acquisition Storage, Knowledge Base, and Recognition. The features within the images are then classified using the Dystall NN. The number of nodes and layers in this system depends on the desired accuracy. The difference between the training stage and the testing stage of the NN is compared with a pre-defined threshold. If the difference is more than that threshold, then a human is detected. This method has a number of advantages that distinguish it from other similar methods such as: real-time processing speed, high efficiency, and fast learning. However, there are several factors that complicate the process of the detection and recognition such as: the absorbency of thermal energy by the environment and the victim's clothes, the existence of identical thermal sources such as fire or another living creature (e.g. an animal), and that the images taken by the IR camera usually have relatively low resolution. In addition to that, the cost of the thermal camera is relatively very high.

Moradi presented a method that uses the infrared radiation emitted by the human body using an infrared camera that acquires thermal images of the surrounding environment.


Engle and Whalen presented a simulation study for a multiple robots foraging in a simulated environment [6] . The robots were supposed to gather two different sets of resources from a walled environment containing obstacles. Each set of resources must be returned to a specific goal. The robots were equipped with laser range finder for long range obstacle detection, a thermal sensor which detects heat around resources, and a color sensor to discriminate between different types of resources. The robots were supposed to search for humans by their body heat, and distinguish humans from non-human objects by using the color sensor. The final simulation was done using just one robot due to time constraints and implementation complexity and the used navigation algorithm could not cover the whole environment. In addition, the financial cost was of the robot was relatively high. Cavalcanti and Gomes presented an approach for determining the presence of people in still images [7] . It starts with the segmentation of the skin areas in the image using YCbCr skin filter using a color space with a set of experimental thresholds. Then, the detected skin areas are grouped together to form body regions. This technique was been applied on a database of still images and achieved 77.2% correct classification. The advantage of this approach is its simplicity and relative low processing cost. However, higher-level analysis would be needed in order to achieve higher detection performance.

Engle and Whalen presented a simulation study for a multiple robots foraging in a simulated environment.

Cavalcanti and Gomes presented an approach for determining the presence of people in still images.


To account for the uncertainties associated with the stable carbon isotope values of each source, including that of the plant source isotope value, our approach is to consider two scenarios in which we vary the C 3 :C 4 plant type ratio between 40:60 and 60:40. As well as being a plausible range of environmental change, this introduces an uncertainty in the isotopic composition of each source which is similar to that associated with bottom up estimates of the isotopic composition of each source type (Table 2a) . Since the assigned isotope values of plant emissions are still not known with certainty, the range of C 3 :C 4 mix allows us to gauge the effect of this uncertainty. We also consider sink uncertainties in the global methane budget so that the total aggregate sink encompasses a large range of errors (Table 2b ) and is not significantly affected by estimated changes in OH between modern and pre-industrial times (Houweling et al., 2000) .

We also consider sink uncertainties in the global methane budget so that the total aggregate sink encompasses a large range of errors (Table 2b ) and is not significantly affected by estimated changes in OH between modern and pre-industrial times.


Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a significant role in the development of an economy and considered as the backbone of Asian countries (Nasir, Al Mamun, & Breen, 2017; Yoshino, Taghizadeh-Hesary, Charoensivakorn, & Niraula, 2016) . In Malaysia, 98.5% of the business establishment is SMEs and there are 907,065 establishments that contribute 36.6% of Malaysian's gross domestic product (GDP) in the year 2016 (SMEinfo, 2018) . SMEs contribute changes from 2016 to 2020 in terms of GDP (36.6% to 41%), employment (65.3% to 65%), and exports (18.6% to 23%) (SMEinfo, 2018) . Therefore, SMEs play an important role in the Malaysian economy. Table 1 elaborates in more details regarding SMEs in Malaysia.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a significant role in the development of an economy and considered as the backbone of Asian countries.

In Malaysia, 98.5% of the business establishment is SMEs and there are 907,065 establishments that contribute 36.6% of Malaysian's gross domestic product (GDP) in the year 2016.

SMEs contribute changes from 2016 to 2020 in terms of GDP (36.6% to 41%), employment (65.3% to 65%), and exports (18.6% to 23%).


Understanding accelerating universes remains one of the primary outstanding challenges for string theory. Acceleration requires a violation of the strong energy condition. However, the supergravity theories describing low-energy string theory in ten dimensions or M-theory in eleven dimensions satisfy the strong energy condition. This property is inherited on compactification ruling out accelerating solutions in supergravity [1] .

This property is inherited on compactification ruling out accelerating solutions in supergravity.


The control of leachate can be accomplished in two major ways. One is by preventing the precipitation from entering the refuse by an appropriate cover. The other one, a more realistic approach is the containment/barrier and collection system [13] . Since it may be practically impossible to shield landfill dumps totally from precipitation, the leachate containment concept is generally embraced. This concept is premised on liner systems. Liners for leachate management constitute a barrier system intended to limit contaminant migration into the surrounding environment to levels that will result in negligible impact [14] . The liners effectively create a bathtub in the ground and may range from a thick natural clay deposit, to engineered liner systems involving one or more Geomembranes (GM) and/or Compacted Clay Liner (CCL) or Geosynthetic Clay Liner (GCL). The primary objective of the liner barrier system design however, is to minimize the escape of contaminants to groundwater and in particular, to any underlying aquifer. Bottom liners of landfills may contain one or more layers of clay or a synthetic flexible membrane (or a combination of these).

The other one, a more realistic approach is the containment/barrier and collection system.

Liners for leachate management constitute a barrier system intended to limit contaminant migration into the surrounding environment to levels that will result in negligible impact.


Models are versatile management tools in water resources issues [1] . Traditional forecasting methods for solid waste generation frequently count on the associated factors on a per capita basis but the dynamic properties in the processes of solid waste generation and leachate production cannot be fully characterized in those model formulations [2] . Time series forecasting, one of the alternatives to static models, is an approach in which the future forecast are derived from current forecasts of the independent variables themselves [3] . To implement the traditional statistical forecasting methods, it would require collecting thorough information/data before the forecasting analysis can be performed. In many cases like in the study area, municipalities might not have sufficient budget and management capacity to maintain a complete database of wastes/leachate generation and management on a long-term basis, hence the need for a dynamic model.

Models are versatile management tools in water resources issues.

Traditional forecasting methods for solid waste generation frequently count on the associated factors on a per capita basis but the dynamic properties in the processes of solid waste generation and leachate production cannot be fully characterized in those model formulations.

Time series forecasting, one of the alternatives to static models, is an approach in which the future forecast are derived from current forecasts of the independent variables themselves.


Our study has several limitations. Although we selected only studies that reported some adjustment for confounding factors, we could not ascertain the appropriateness or completeness of adjustment in the studies. Second, the data included in some studies may have been too crude and also subject to measurement error. For example, a 'history of cardiovascular disease' may encompass a spectrum of conditions, from asymptomatic angina to myocardial infarction; this was not often specified. Such potential measurement errors would likely dilute effects in the meta-analysis. Third, we did not consider ocular factors (e.g., presence of large drusen), that have been found to be strong predictors of progression to late AMD, as we felt they could not be easily ascertained by family physicians. Neither did we consider dietary factors, such as the consumption of vegetables rich in carotenoids (lutein and zeaxanthin) or zinc and antioxidant vitamin supplementation, fish or omega-3 fatty acids in the diet, or glycemic index, because the methods for estimating such risk factors in the setting of primary health care is difficult without access to specialised personnel and resources [6, [87] [88] [89] . Fourth, despite strong associations of AMD with genetic factors, we felt that genetic testing was not readily available in general clinical practice. Fifth, we included only English language articles because a preliminary assessment did not identify any non-English language articles that fitted our inclusion criteria. Nonetheless, many studies included in this review were from non-white populations (e.g., Chinese, Malay Asians) and thus, we believe our results can be generalisable to different populations in different countries around the world. Sixth, we only included articles that were identified in the Medline and Cochrane databases. Expanding the search to EMBASE may have identified additional articles; however, given the extensive hand searching of bibliographies and the experience of the authors we feel it is unlikely any relevant articles were missed. Seventh, the assessment of the quality of the publications was performed as part of this study to provide supplementary evidence of the internal and external validity of the data. However, ultimately, we decided to present the data based on the type of study design reported in the publication: cohort, cross sectional and case control. Large, epidemiological, cohort studies had the advantage over other study designs in that they removed any temporal or causal ambiguity as the exposure precedes the disease and if follow-up is not biased selection bias is less of a problem than in other study designs [90] . Finally, whether the study findings could be used as prognostic information to refer patients with higher risk of AMD requires further research. The observed odds ratios were generally small, and there are limited interventions to prevent AMD.

Our study has several limitations.

Neither did we consider dietary factors, such as the consumption of vegetables rich in carotenoids (lutein and zeaxanthin) or zinc and antioxidant vitamin supplementation, fish or omega-3 fatty acids in the diet, or glycemic index, because the methods for estimating such risk factors in the setting of primary health care is difficult without access to specialised personnel and resources.

Large, epidemiological, cohort studies had the advantage over other study designs in that they removed any temporal or causal ambiguity as the exposure precedes the disease and if follow-up is not biased selection bias is less of a problem than in other study designs.


Composite laminates are being extensively used in advanced structural applications because of their appealing advantages when being compared to traditional structural materials. Nevertheless, these materials have also shown a susceptibility to impact damage due to lack of plastic deformation, low interlaminar strength and the laminated construction to reduce the anisotropic nature of the plies [1] . Experimental studies consistently indicate that impact-induced damage combines three main failure modes: matrix cracking, delamination and fibre breakage, among which delamination is the most severe because it may severely degrade the stiffness and strength of the composite laminate, thus compromising the residual bearing capacity of the structural component and causing a collapse under unacceptable compressive load levels [2] . For these reasons, over the years, a massive amount of research activity has been devoted to developing non-destructive evaluation techniques to identify this type of damage at an early stage, as well as numerical methodologies that can quantitatively predict the performance and durability of composite structures under impact events.

Nevertheless, these materials have also shown a susceptibility to impact damage due to lack of plastic deformation, low interlaminar strength and the laminated construction to reduce the anisotropic nature of the plies.

Experimental studies consistently indicate that impact-induced damage combines three main failure modes: matrix cracking, delamination and fibre breakage, among which delamination is the most severe because it may severely degrade the stiffness and strength of the composite laminate, thus compromising the residual bearing capacity of the structural component and causing a collapse under unacceptable compressive load levels.


Motivated by these ideas, we construct a semigroup crossed product that can model the C * -algebras of the higher-rank graphs, or k-graphs, of Kumjian and Pask [16] . The only restriction we place on the k-graphs Λ whose C * -algebras we model is a necessary finitely-aligned hypothesis, so our result applies in the fullest possible generality. This does come at a price, however, as without a locally-finite hypothesis, or a restriction on sources, the space of infinite paths is not locally compact. To get a locally-compact space we need to consider the bigger boundary-path space ∂Λ, and on this space the shift maps σ n , n ∈ N k , will not in general be everywhere defined. This means we can not form Exel systems, or even a dynamical system in the sense of Larsen [17] . We overcome this problem by first ignoring the crossed-product construction, and focusing on building a product system.

Motivated by these ideas, we construct a semigroup crossed product that can model the C * -algebras of the higher-rank graphs, or k-graphs, of Kumjian and Pask.

This means we can not form Exel systems, or even a dynamical system in the sense of Larsen.


There are several problem domains where one may want to apply our approach. First, we note that although we used Cartesian distances as a means to capture spatial dependencies, the method is very flexible and can use any feature that can be represented as a tensor. For example, it may be beneficial to track forces or velocities over different atoms to detect patterns of energy flow in protein structures. We are also extending the method to track multiple features, such as distances between hydrogen bonds/ hydrophobic interactions in the same simulation. By tracking cross correlations that may exist between different streams of data, we may be able to provide detailed information to end-users about correlated changes in non-covalent interactions and how they account for large-scale motions within a protein. This is of fundamental interest to chemists and biologists alike in domains such as protein and drug design where networks of covalent and non-covalent interactions are known to widely affect protein function [4, 3, 48, 41] .

This is of fundamental interest to chemists and biologists alike in domains such as protein and drug design where networks of covalent and non-covalent interactions are known to widely affect protein function.


Collective behavior in a protein refers to a group of amino-acid residues that may be spatially separate yet exhibit similar dynamics [13] . The similarity in dynamics refers to whether a group of residues are constrained, i.e. exhibiting small variance in distances with respect to other residues in the protein, or flexible, i.e., showing large variance in distances. Often residues at the interface of constrained/ flexible regions, known as hinge-sites, affect protein dynamics and function [22] . Collective behavior in a protein has been assessed primarily using techniques such as principal component analysis (PCA) [31, 29, 10] . Most techniques use a static structure (single snapshot) to analyze intrinsic dynamics and reason about collective behavior [11] . Other techniques use a collection of snapshots from a MD trajectory and perform PCA post-process [26] . The scientific community does not yet possess an efficient technique that provides information on collective behavior in a protein as the simulation is progressing. There are also no automated ways to track and monitor MD simulations on the basis of collective behavior observed in a protein.

Collective behavior in a protein refers to a group of amino-acid residues that may be spatially separate yet exhibit similar dynamics.

Often residues at the interface of constrained/ flexible regions, known as hinge-sites, affect protein dynamics and function.

Collective behavior in a protein has been assessed primarily using techniques such as principal component analysis (PCA).

Most techniques use a static structure (single snapshot) to analyze intrinsic dynamics and reason about collective behavior.

Other techniques use a collection of snapshots from a MD trajectory and perform PCA post-process.


Participants who had heard of or been informed about HPV (background knowledge) perceived a higher benefit of the vaccine than those who had not. Consequently, providing information about HPV and the HPV vaccine is essential for knowledge and awareness of the virus and the vaccine and can contribute to more favorable beliefs. There were also differences in the beliefs, depending on the socio-demographic variables. Parents with a daughter in the schools in Bangkok, (urban area) had relatively low benefit of the vaccine compared to those who had daughters attending the school in the suburban area. This is in line with research from Botswana and India, which showed that parents outside of cities were more in favor of vaccinating their daughters against HPV than those in the urban areas. Parents' favorable beliefs about the HPV vaccine is a key factor for acceptance of the vaccine, as discussed in previous research in different contexts [10, 20, 26, 27, 56] .

Parents' favorable beliefs about the HPV vaccine is a key factor for acceptance of the vaccine, as discussed in previous research in different contexts.


Meanwhile, Cola of global popular trade is Cola nitida. Nigeria produces 88% of the world C. nitida crop. Of this total, 90% is consumed within the country mainly in the Kola chewing area of the northern states while 10% only is exported (Quarcoo, 1977) . A few hundred tons of the dried nuts are exported annually from West Africa to North America and Europe where they are used for beverages and pharmaceuticals (Oyebade, 1973) .

Of this total, 90% is consumed within the country mainly in the Kola chewing area of the northern states while 10% only is exported.

A few hundred tons of the dried nuts are exported annually from West Africa to North America and Europe where they are used for beverages and pharmaceuticals.


The obtained expression of K is the result of this assumption and does not correspond to a diffusive approximation with model free parameters. Its mathematical structure is in terms of f and ∂f /∂r and satisfies the conservation law which states that the inertia forces only transfer the kinetic energy [7] , [8] . This expression of K corresponds to a first order term which makes the closed von Kármán-Howarth equation, a nonlinear partial differential equation of the first order in r when ν = 0. The main asset of the proposed closure on the other models is that it has been derived from a specific Lyapunov theory, with reasonable basic assumptions about the statistics of the velocity difference.

Its mathematical structure is in terms of f and ∂f /∂r and satisfies the conservation law which states that the inertia forces only transfer the kinetic energy.


Another closure model in the framework of Eq. (1) was developed by Millionshtchikov [11] . There, the author assumes that D(r) = k 1 u r, where k 1 is an empirical constant. Although both the models describe two possible mechanisms of the energy cascade, in general, do not satisfy some physical conditions. For instance, the model of Hasselmann does not verify the continuity equation for all the initial conditions, whereas the Millionshtchikov's model gives, according to Eq. (1), an absolute value of the skewness of ∂u r /∂r, in contrast with the several experiments and with the energy cascade [8] .

Another closure model in the framework of Eq. (1) was developed by Millionshtchikov.

For instance, the model of Hasselmann does not verify the continuity equation for all the initial conditions, whereas the Millionshtchikov's model gives, according to Eq. (1), an absolute value of the skewness of ∂u r /∂r, in contrast with the several experiments and with the energy cascade.


Yet, since the early phase of coagulation research there were reports on more global assays, which nowadays gain more attention. In 1948 Hartert presented the first viscoelastic test, which he called thromboelastography [6] . Little later in 1953 it was MacFarlane and Biggs who reported a measurement of thrombingeneration in blood [7] . However at that moment both techniques were very time and work intensive which made them not applicable in clinical practice.

In 1948 Hartert presented the first viscoelastic test, which he called thromboelastography.

Little later in 1953 it was MacFarlane and Biggs who reported a measurement of thrombingeneration in blood.


The experiment consisted of two sessions which were completed by participants 3-7 days apart. Participants made decisions for themselves in one session and for another participant in the other. The order in which participants completed the sessions was counterbalanced across participants. Each session was composed of two stages which were both completed on a computer using PsychoPy (Peirce, 2007) . The first stage was the choice phase where participants made choices between the paired P-bets and £-bets. The second stage was the rating phase 2 . When making decisions for themselves, participants were asked to imagine that the bets were in the form of a lottery ticket and indicate the minimum selling price they would be prepared to sell the bet for, such that they would be indifferent to whether they played the bet or received the selling price instead. When making decisions for someone else, participants were asked to predict the minimum price they think that person would be prepared to sell the bet for. Bets were rated individually and presented in random order. The 6 bets which served as practice trials in the choice phase were also used as practice trials in the rating phase. To reiterate, participants were asked to make choices for another participant in the choice phase but predict what the recipient would do in the rating phase.

Each session was composed of two stages which were both completed on a computer using PsychoPy.


The mobile humic acids in evaluated soil layer accounted for about 35-49% of the total amount of mobile humus substances. The quantity of mobile humic acids increased only in the plots of long-term application of straw by 0.99 g kg -1 compared with the plots without straw (Fig. 3) . Herewith straw increased quality of soil organic matter also. Mobile humic acids accounted for 39.8% of the total amount of mobile humus substances in the treatments without straw, while with the application of straw increased this rate till 45.6%. Reduced tillage systems had no significant effect on mobile humic acids but tended to increase SOM quality. Mobile humic acids in the treatments without straw with primary soil tillage (CP, SP and SL) amounted to 35.5-37.7% and with straw -42.3-43.6% from the total amount of mobile humus substances. These proportions in treatments without primary tillage (SR, GMR and NT) increased by 41.1-42.9% and 46.4-48.8%, respectively. This agrees with the data of other researchers that the content of mobile humic substances depended on the soil tillage method and soil layer (Slepetiene, Slepetys, 2005) . The highest content 0.76 and 0.78 g kg -1 of mobile humic acids accumulated in the soil under minimum soil tillage and two mineral fertilization levels in 0-10 cm soil layer. The residue of plants or green and farmyard manure had positive effect on mobile humic acids (Arlauskienė et al., 2010; Mikučionienė, 2010) . It has been indicated that in different organic and organic-mineral fertilization systems mobile humic acids accumulate (0.20-0.35 g kg -1 C) in the top layer; moreover, the biomass of cover crops not only increases the content of mobile humic acids, but also are essential for plants and soil microorganisms as nutrient and energy potential.

This agrees with the data of other researchers that the content of mobile humic substances depended on the soil tillage method and soil layer.

The residue of plants or green and farmyard manure had positive effect on mobile humic acids.


On 20 December 2013, the use right of a collective-owned rural land parcel in Shenzhen was officially sold in the market [1] . According to the Land Management Law in China, the use right, which is separated from land ownership, of rural land is banned from being transferred unless it has been expropriated by a city government and the land has been converted, in advance, to urban land. The rural land use right sold in Shenzhen is the first trial of the marketization of collective-owned rural land not only in the city but also nationwide. The Chinese government expects that Shenzhen's experiment can pave the way for establishing an urban-rural unified land market and promoting integrated and coordinated urban-rural development. Many commentators, scholars, and policy analysts assert that Shenzhen has launched a new-round land policy revolution in China [2, 3] .

On 20 December 2013, the use right of a collective-owned rural land parcel in Shenzhen was officially sold in the market.

Many commentators, scholars, and policy analysts assert that Shenzhen has launched a new-round land policy revolution in China.


Reproductive performance, including conception rate (the percentage of first services that resulted in conception), is an important factor that affects the profitability of dairy cattle herds. With the increase in the proportion of inseminations that are successful, especially those that are successful at the first attempt, the profitability increases as veterinary costs, calving interval and involuntary culling rate decrease (Bagnato and Oltenacu 1993) . Even though cows that require several insemination attempts to conceive have a higher milk yield per lactation, they are typically characterised by an increased culling risk and reduced lifetime production and, therefore, they generate less profit (González-Recio et al. 2004) .

With the increase in the proportion of inseminations that are successful, especially those that are successful at the first attempt, the profitability increases as veterinary costs, calving interval and involuntary culling rate decrease.

Even though cows that require several insemination attempts to conceive have a higher milk yield per lactation, they are typically characterised by an increased culling risk and reduced lifetime production and, therefore, they generate less profit.


Despite considerable works on the numerical analysis of Markov chains, the analysis of large size models remains still a problem [17] . The state space reduction techniques such as lumpable or quasi-lumpable Markov chains, and models having specific numerical solutions such as product-form, matrix geometric solution, etc. have been largely studied to overcome the state-space explosion problem [17] . It is also usual to provide approximations on the performance measures of interest by ignoring or by simplifying the complicating aspects of the underlying models. Bounding methods have received attention among other approximative methods since they provide bounds on the performance measures of interest. These methods differ in concepts on which they are based and in types of obtained bounds.

Despite considerable works on the numerical analysis of Markov chains, the analysis of large size models remains still a problem.

The state space reduction techniques such as lumpable or quasi-lumpable Markov chains, and models having specific numerical solutions such as product-form, matrix geometric solution, etc. have been largely studied to overcome the state-space explosion problem.


For linear dynamic systems with white process and measurement noise, the Kalman¯lter is known to be an optimal estimator. However, in the application of Kalman lters there is often known model or signal information that is either ignored or dealt with heuristically [1] . This paper presents a way to generalize the Kalman¯lter in such a way that known inequality constraints among the state variables are satis¯ed by the state variable estimates.

However, in the application of Kalman lters there is often known model or signal information that is either ignored or dealt with heuristically.


We used a sliding window procedure to extract initial processing frames (length: 1s, overlap: 50%). The resulting frames are randomly shuffled before training to avoid bias and the label of each frame is set to be the label of the last sample in the window. During evaluation all studied models produce sample-wise predictions, which is-in contrast to frame-wise prediction-more realistic for practical applications [5, 4] . The sample-wise prediction is generated by considering a 24 sample window preceding, and containing, the sample. This window is then fed into the model to get the label for the sample. For the first 23 samples in the time series, a valid window does not exist and for these samples the majority class is predicted. Models were trained using cross-entropy loss. Learning rate was decayed every epoch and the decay rate, along with dropout, were optimized for all models and these parameters seemingly have substantial impact on recognition performance. All hyperparameters and their values as they were used for our explorations are listed in Table 4 . All code along with the best model weights for each of the datasets and the best hyperparameters is available on our github page for reference 1 .

During evaluation all studied models produce sample-wise predictions, which is-in contrast to frame-wise prediction-more realistic for practical applications.


An examination of the effects that small reservoirs have on the hydrological regime of Lithuanian rivers was carried out [16, 50] . It was determined that the large, 100 MW Kaunas HP plant hydropeaking operations resulted in long-term river bed erosion on the Nemunas River [51] . In addition the SHP impacts on the downstream river flow were noted [52] . The findings from these studies indicate that no comprehensive research on the quantification of environmental issues due to rapid HP flow fluctuations on biotic systems in Lithuanian rivers was carried out. One exception was for macro invertebrate composition [53] .

An examination of the effects that small reservoirs have on the hydrological regime of Lithuanian rivers was carried out.

It was determined that the large, 100 MW Kaunas HP plant hydropeaking operations resulted in long-term river bed erosion on the Nemunas River.

In addition the SHP impacts on the downstream river flow were noted.

One exception was for macro invertebrate composition.


Run-of-river power projects are sometimes known as "small hydro" projects, though not all are small. References can be found in publications of hydropower plants with reservoir areas of several hundred square kilometres and more that are attributed to RoR projects [30] . For instance, in Austria, most of conventional large hydropower plants are considered RoR plants [31] .

References can be found in publications of hydropower plants with reservoir areas of several hundred square kilometres and more that are attributed to RoR projects.

For instance, in Austria, most of conventional large hydropower plants are considered RoR plants.


Hydropower plants are divided into different categories according to their installed power (P), which are usually small (p < 10 MW), medium (10-100 MW) and large (>100 MW) [1] . However these classification systems may be very different elsewhere. The European standard of SHP plants has been set to the installed capacity (p < 10 MW), although many countries adopted a lower SHP limit than indicated in ESHA website [2] . A number of publications indicates that SHP impacts on the environment are not yet clearly revealed; therefore, they receive public support in the EU countries [3] [4] [5] . Well designed, monitored and sustainably operating SHPs may have a smaller impact on the ecosystem, if this is the case, they may be regarded as "environmentally friendly" [6, 7] . The intensive land use for agriculture plays a more important role in terms of environmental impacts on the water quality of small lowland rivers than deployed SHP dams [8] .

Hydropower plants are divided into different categories according to their installed power (P), which are usually small (p < 10 MW), medium (10-100 MW) and large (>100 MW).

The European standard of SHP plants has been set to the installed capacity (p < 10 MW), although many countries adopted a lower SHP limit than indicated in ESHA website.

A number of publications indicates that SHP impacts on the environment are not yet clearly revealed; therefore, they receive public support in the EU countries.

Well designed, monitored and sustainably operating SHPs may have a smaller impact on the ecosystem, if this is the case, they may be regarded as "environmentally friendly".

The intensive land use for agriculture plays a more important role in terms of environmental impacts on the water quality of small lowland rivers than deployed SHP dams.


Our automated algorithm was able to successfully extract the left and right road edges in all the three tested road sections. In the rural road section, the completeness and correctness values for the right edge using 0.2, 0.3 and 0.5 m buffer width were greater than 97% as seen in Table 3 . The completeness and correctness values for the left edge using 0.3 and 0.5 m buffer width were greater than 90% while the values using 0.1 m buffer width were greater than 53%. The quality measure values obtained for the left edge were lower than for the right edge. The primary reason for this was the incorrect extension of the snake curve into the grass and soil area at some of the points along the left side. This was due to higher elevation difference between the grass and the soil area compared to lower elevation difference between the road surface and the soil. It can be overcome with the use of proper normalised values of intensity in the algorithm which will lead to the generation of a smoother reflectance raster surfaces. The intensity values depend upon the illuminated surface characteristics, the distance from the laser scanner to the illuminated surface and the incidence angle of the laser pulse (Kaasalainen et al., 2011) . The intensity values are required to be normalised with respect to these factors. This will allow us to assign a higher weight to the reflectance GVF energy in the algorithm. This will be useful in road sections consisting of grass-soil edges where elevation difference between the road surface and the grass-soil surface is negligible.

The intensity values depend upon the illuminated surface characteristics, the distance from the laser scanner to the illuminated surface and the incidence angle of the laser pulse.


Laser scanning systems are used to acquire LiDAR data from aerial and terrestrial platforms. The data acquired from these systems differs in terms of its intrinsic accuracy and resolution for a variety of reasons but primarily due to the distance of the scanner to the target objects (Rutzinger et al., 2009) . In recent years, the use of laser scanners onboard terrestrial based moving vehicles has led to an increase in the collection of high quality 3D data. The applicability of these terrestrial Mobile Mapping Systems (MMSs) continue to prove their worth in route corridor, urban and utility mapping due to the rapid, continuous and cost effective 3D data acquisition capability compared with static terrestrial laser scanning systems (Haala et al., 2008; Barber et al., 2008) .

The data acquired from these systems differs in terms of its intrinsic accuracy and resolution for a variety of reasons but primarily due to the distance of the scanner to the target objects.

The applicability of these terrestrial Mobile Mapping Systems (MMSs) continue to prove their worth in route corridor, urban and utility mapping due to the rapid, continuous and cost effective 3D data acquisition capability compared with static terrestrial laser scanning systems.


Despite the general growth slowdown and the overall increase in unemployment since the mid 1970s, Germany was usually considered to be an economy which coped more successfully with the macroeconomic shocks of the 1970s. Stable -although not above average -growth and, in particular, less unemployment in international comparison made some even term it "Model Germany". This picture has changed profoundly since the mid 1990s. Whereas the unification boom in the early 1990s prolonged Germany's upswing and prevented the economy from sliding into the world recession of 1991, Germany was then forced into a serious recession by the Bundesbank's monetary policy in 1993 and did not manage to recover to previous strength in the following period. During the convergence process towards the European Monetary Union (EMU) and, in particular, since the Euro was introduced in 1999 Germany's growth has been falling behind and unemployment has increased to the institutional sclerosis (Schroeder, 2003) .

During the convergence process towards the European Monetary Union (EMU) and, in particular, since the Euro was introduced in 1999 Germany's growth has been falling behind and unemployment has increased to the institutional sclerosis.


The second popular approach to achieving a high coupling efficiency between an optical fiber and a Si 3 N 4 /SiO 2 waveguide is to use a taper at both ends of the waveguide [14] [15] . The taper-based couplers are inherently more broadband than the GC-based couplers, but in most cases,it requires a precise end-facet cleaving process to achieve a high coupling efficiency. Finally, the third approach of coupling relies on the concept of evanescent-field coupling, where efficient coupling is realized between an overlap region between a single-sided conical tapered fiber and a tapered Si 3 N 4 /SiO 2 waveguide [16] . Although the results are promising, it is hard to apply this technique for coupling to multiple devices or for large scale integration.

The second popular approach to achieving a high coupling efficiency between an optical fiber and a Si 3 N 4 /SiO 2 waveguide is to use a taper at both ends of the waveguide.

Finally, the third approach of coupling relies on the concept of evanescent-field coupling, where efficient coupling is realized between an overlap region between a single-sided conical tapered fiber and a tapered Si 3 N 4 /SiO 2 waveguide.


Polyimides have found applications as enzyme immobilization membrane, due to their good chemical stabilitiy and low reactivity [13] [14] [15] [16] . The main criteria for selecting a specific polyimide as a membrane material to be used in a given commercial application are diverse and complex but, besides mechanical and thermal stability, other factors are important, such as manufacturing reproducibility, tolerance to contaminants and other economical issues, without omission of permeation rate and selectivity, which are the most important characteristics [17] [18] [19] . Flexible electronics has developed greatly in recent years. Many flexiblematerials have been used in flexible lower cost sensors, larger area manufacturing, and packages that are significantly thinner, lighter, and more compact. It is worth noting that the polyimide (PI) material is beginning to be applied in flexible fields due to its good mechanical strength, higher glass transition temperature, electrochemical stability, and flexibility in polymer materials [20] .

Polyimides have found applications as enzyme immobilization membrane, due to their good chemical stabilitiy and low reactivity.

The main criteria for selecting a specific polyimide as a membrane material to be used in a given commercial application are diverse and complex but, besides mechanical and thermal stability, other factors are important, such as manufacturing reproducibility, tolerance to contaminants and other economical issues, without omission of permeation rate and selectivity, which are the most important characteristics.

It is worth noting that the polyimide (PI) material is beginning to be applied in flexible fields due to its good mechanical strength, higher glass transition temperature, electrochemical stability, and flexibility in polymer materials.


Tissue changes following snake envenomation depend on the species of snake responsible for the bite, the composition of its venom and also the susceptibility of the tissue for a particular component of the venom (Kamiguti et al., 2000) . Snake venom affects the kidneys more frequently than the other tissues. This is more pronounced when there is haemotoxins and vasculotoxins in venom. Renal manifestations are very common following viper bites (Sheriff, 1983) . Histologically, changes due to viper venom have been seen in all renal structures (Soe et al., 1993) . Degeneration, necrosis and regeneration of tubular epithelial cells are seen in renal tubules. Interstitial oedema, cellular infiltration, arteritis, thrombophlebitis, congestion, infarction and cortical necrosis have also been observed (Sitprija, 2006; Kiran et al., 2004) .

Tissue changes following snake envenomation depend on the species of snake responsible for the bite, the composition of its venom and also the susceptibility of the tissue for a particular component of the venom.

Renal manifestations are very common following viper bites.

Histologically, changes due to viper venom have been seen in all renal structures.

Interstitial oedema, cellular infiltration, arteritis, thrombophlebitis, congestion, infarction and cortical necrosis have also been observed.


Based on the results of the exploratory factorial analysis presented above, we assumed that the most appropriate model for data processing and creation of a scale using IRT is multidimensional. Since the correlations between the three dimensions were low, as can be seen in Table 5 , the bi-factorial model can be adjusted. In this manner, the non-hierarchical models were estimated-the compensatory model of two parameters for ordinal data and the bi-factorial hierarchical model also for ordinal data [21, 49] . The first assumes that the three dimensions are correlated and compensatory, but the second assumes that there is a general dimension that is correlated with all three dimensions, yet these three dimensions are orthogonal between themselves.

In this manner, the non-hierarchical models were estimated-the compensatory model of two parameters for ordinal data and the bi-factorial hierarchical model also for ordinal data.


The parameter (di) represents the difficulty a person has in reaching the point of inflection of the curve for category k. In multidimensional models the interpretation of this non-trivial parameter can generate ambiguities [12] . However, by setting the axis of the coordinates assuming θ1 = 0 and θ2 = 0, these parameters may be used to compare the probabilities of obtaining a response in a certain category. Therefore, an increase in this parameter corresponds to a greater requirement of the individual so that a reply is given to that category. That is, an individual with an average attitude level (on the scale represented by the value 0) in item 3 is more likely to lower their score in this case by answering that they turn off the water when washing dishes. In response to item 4, this same individual is most likely to respond with the second category, i.e., they rarely donate food to charity organizations. Therefore, one can say that the results concerning these two items still do not indicate sustainable behaviors, indicating a need for increased attention by companies for training and awareness about these issues.

The parameter (di) represents the difficulty a person has in reaching the point of inflection of the curve for category k. In multidimensional models the interpretation of this non-trivial parameter can generate ambiguities.


This step was estimated with the aid of the MIRT package of the statistical computing programming language and environment R, with the mirt command and bfactor [50, 51] . The two models were compared using ANOVA and the information criteria AIC, AICc and BIC. The results can be seen in Table 6 . Table 6 indicates that the two-factor hierarchical model is better suited to the data than the non-hierarchical compensatory model, because the hypothesis test shows that there is significant difference between the models (p > 0.05) and all the criteria information indicate the superiority of the two-factorial hierarchical model. Therefore, the IRT model used in this paper is the bi-factorial.

This step was estimated with the aid of the MIRT package of the statistical computing programming language and environment R, with the mirt command and bfactor.

The results can be seen in Table 6 .


This involvement of students in social projects is of particular significance when one considers Steiner and Posch's argument about the complexity of the practical understanding of the interaction between aspects that integrate the sustainability tripod. Thus, explaining to students how sustainability works is also a complex task [52] . Note: ag, coefficient of general discrimination; a1, coefficient of environmental discrimination; a2, coefficient of social discrimination; a3, coefficient of economic discrimination; b1, coefficient of environmental difficulty; b2, coefficient of social difficulty; b3 coefficient of economic difficulty.

Thus, explaining to students how sustainability works is also a complex task.


In the humanities and the social sciences, the evaluation of human behavior in a certain field is usually analyzed with certain constructs, which are not, however, directly observed on a scale of comparative values of their items (issues in a questionnaire) that are properly organized in the interest of a latent trait. In this sense, IRT is a statistical technique that involves a group of mathematical models whose objective is to represent the probability that a respondent will describe a certain response to an item as a function of the parameters of the item and the ability of the respondent, highlighting that the greater the ability of the respondent, the greater the probability of answering the question correctly [21] . Thus, IRT stands out among other statistical techniques because it can construct a scale on which items and respondents can be positioned and compared. In this study, to address a multidimensional characteristic-the sustainable behavior of students-multidimensional models of IRT were used.

In this sense, IRT is a statistical technique that involves a group of mathematical models whose objective is to represent the probability that a respondent will describe a certain response to an item as a function of the parameters of the item and the ability of the respondent, highlighting that the greater the ability of the respondent, the greater the probability of answering the question correctly.


The recent introduction of precontoured locked-plate technology has proven beneficial in treating fractures with poor bone quality as well as fractures with short metaphyseal segments [23, 24] . The use of multiple, divergent, fixed-angle screws in the distal fragment would seem to increase pullout strength, especially when the distal fragment is small and osteopenic. In addition, by avoiding the need to bridge across the clavicle to the acromion, motion at the acromioclavicular joint is preserved. In our series, using intraoperative judgment of screw purchase in the lateral fragment as well judgment of appropriate acromioclavicular joint reduction, we determined that nine of 20 patients needed some form of additional fixation. We noted the use of multiple, divergent locking screws in the distal fragment appeared to provide stable enough fixation in most cases such that additional fixation was not needed. When additional fixation was used, those patients generally did well and went on to bony union. Using this treatment strategy, we observed no cases of fixation failure or complications related to hardware as well as a high union rate (94%). Patients with acute distal clavicle fractures managed with superior locked plating demonstrated high union rates, good function, and low complication rates. This treatment method allows for the use of supplemental fixation in the form of suture augmentation or a coracoclavicular screw when necessary.

The recent introduction of precontoured locked-plate technology has proven beneficial in treating fractures with poor bone quality as well as fractures with short metaphyseal segments.


Distributed systems in general, rely on geo-located infrastructures around the globe (Nygren et al., 2010) . This is due to their replicated built-in nature, which provides highly available and consistent data at good performance levels. In particular, the Cloud Computing model has widely embraced that idea, and proven to be very convenient for users and providers willing to deploy and manage large clusters of machines with such on-demand services that promise the best possible scalability and performance.

Distributed systems in general, rely on geo-located infrastructures around the globe.


On the other hand, with large amounts of information requiring to be consistent while highly available, there is a continuous need to find suitable workarounds to the early problem stated in the CAP theorem (Gilbert and Lynch, 2002) . Brewer stated that it was not possible to ensure the three of these properties in a distributed system all at once (consistency, availability and partition tolerance). In this sense applications were traditionally compromising and choosing between two out of those three. More often this trade-off was a matter of a binary choice among data consistency or availability, assuming partition tolerance was a must due to failures in the network. Although possible, partitions are actually rare enough to give up entirely either consistency or availability first of all. Therefore, this trade-off later evolved into a discussion about consistency versus latency, more formally defined in PACELC (Abadi, 2012) . To understand the meaning of that trade-off, one can think about how strong and eventual implementations of consistency differ in the way they replicate data, synchronous or asynchronously respectively. To tackle that, there is an ongoing wave of research efforts around that area for ensuring fully strong consistent geo-replicated data storage without giving up on availability. In that regard, for instance Google recently released a yet more robust geo-replicated storage system for fulfillment of such extreme needs (Corbett et al., 2012) . All that comes at the extra cost of implementing several synchronisation techniques on top of each other such as atomic schema changes and extended clocks accounting for uncertainty.

On the other hand, with large amounts of information requiring to be consistent while highly available, there is a continuous need to find suitable workarounds to the early problem stated in the CAP theorem.

Therefore, this trade-off later evolved into a discussion about consistency versus latency, more formally defined in PACELC.

In that regard, for instance Google recently released a yet more robust geo-replicated storage system for fulfillment of such extreme needs.


In the Northeast, dairy production was dominated by small dairies, which disappeared rapidly because of increasing mechanization and industry competition [76] . Therefore, decreasing dairy production led to pasture's natural conversion to shrub. Cropland increased by 217 ha in total, mostly converted from deciduous forest and pasture. Rapidly increasing population brought the pressure to existing agriculture land by replacing forest.

In the Northeast, dairy production was dominated by small dairies, which disappeared rapidly because of increasing mechanization and industry competition.


When aspects of time study contains a wide diversity of procedures to determine the amount of time required, under an excellent measurement of the state, for work associated with the human, machine, or a combination of both. It is has been introduced by Frederick W. Taylor since the year 1881, but is still widely used as a method of time study. Generally, time study is used to measure work. The decision results than the time study is the period in which a person in accordance with a job or task and fully trained to use specific method, will perform this task if the worker in the normal or expert. This is called the time standard for operation. Align the expert for a work may be made through several methods, where each method is used only in accordance with some specific circumstances. Time study is include using stopwatch, "Predetermined Motion Time System or Synthetic Time System", and "Work or Activity Sampling". However, in this study, only the time study using Stopwatch Time Study will be used in the time measurement. The time study was also allowed to deduct all boarders. Standardization is the objective to be achieved. In organizations that operate without expert time, 60% than the normal organization of achievement. These statistics may be proved by the work sampling operation. If standard set, performance improved to average 85%. This is a 42% increase in performance (Bon and Daim, 2010) .

This is a 42% increase in performance.


This definition applies in an enterprise, a sector of economic activity or the economy as a whole. The term "productivity" can be used to assess or measure the extent to which a certain output can be extracted from a given input (Kanawaty, 1992) . Productivity has been generally defined as the ratio of an extent of output to the unit of all of the resources used to produce this output.

The term "productivity" can be used to assess or measure the extent to which a certain output can be extracted from a given input.


Two of the most promising applications of solar thermal energy concern the supply of hot air for drying and heating [1] . Whereas drying of agricultural, textile or marine products could be interesting in the tropical regions or even 30 to 40 degrees above or below the equator in specific areas, space heating of buildings to maintain a comfortable environment in the winter season (actually preheating of ventilation air) is the most interesting application in Canada. To fulfill these needs, several designs for solar air heaters have been proposed and discussed in the literature.

Two of the most promising applications of solar thermal energy concern the supply of hot air for drying and heating.


An alternative method of dewatering high water content materials is the use of geotextile containers (Mori et al. 2002) . The high water content geomaterials or slurries are hydraulically pumped into these containers, and the material is allowed to settle and temporally dissipate its fluid through the pore openings of the container. The utilisation of geotextile containers provides a fast, cost-effective and efficient approach, owing to the reduction of dewatering time and surface area, the ease of construction, and the elimination of labour and equipment costs (Pilarczyk 2000) . Geotextile containers are constructed by sewing high-strength woven geotextile sheets together in order that they may hold relatively large amounts of high water content geomaterials. The woven geotextile sheets used in this construction generally have relatively large pore openings. The dewatering of fine-grained materials with geotextile containers can result in excessive soil piping, especially when the filling water content is very high. Therefore the use of double-layer geotextile containers has been gaining wide acceptance. Double-layer geotextile containers consist of an inner nonwoven geotextile to provide filtration and an outer woven geotextile to provide strength.

An alternative method of dewatering high water content materials is the use of geotextile containers.

The utilisation of geotextile containers provides a fast, cost-effective and efficient approach, owing to the reduction of dewatering time and surface area, the ease of construction, and the elimination of labour and equipment costs.


The rapid growth of information on the world wide web enables users to get information from multiple sources. However, it can still be difficult to evaluate which sources are trustworthy [1] . This phenomenon is not only limited to standard users, but also influences specialists such as researchers. Researchers are required to be up to date on any recent technology or research that is relevant to their own work. The main source to find information on current research projects are scientific publications. However, this is getting more and more difficult, due to the sheer amount of publications released every year. The underlying problem of this development is addressed by Bradford's law [2] . Bradford states that the effort to find relevant publications for oneself increases exponentially over time and the number of available publications. As a result, the chance to miss useful research information is very high. The miss rate is even further increased, due to the fact that not enough publications are taken into account. Most researchers mainly focus on publications that have been published in their own research field. By also considering publications with different research backgrounds, new aspects or questions for already well known problems can arise [3] .

However, it can still be difficult to evaluate which sources are trustworthy.

The underlying problem of this development is addressed by Bradford's law.

By also considering publications with different research backgrounds, new aspects or questions for already well known problems can arise.


The overall performance of the renewable energy system affected by the efficiency of step-up DC-DC converters, which are the key parts in the system power chain. The comparison and discussion of different high efficiency DC-DC step-up topologies performed [13] . And comparison of the synchronous-rectified Push-Pull converter with LLC DC to DC converter was deeply analyzed [14] . High power high efficiency boost DC-DC converters for the use in photovoltaic, fuel cell systems are discussed in view of power losses and efficiency [15] .

The comparison and discussion of different high efficiency DC-DC step-up topologies performed.

And comparison of the synchronous-rectified Push-Pull converter with LLC DC to DC converter was deeply analyzed.

High power high efficiency boost DC-DC converters for the use in photovoltaic, fuel cell systems are discussed in view of power losses and efficiency.


In the recent years, the high step up dc-dc converters have played a vital role in renewable energy applications, such as PV systems, fuel energy systems, DC-back up energy system for UPS, grid system, high intensity discharge lamp and automobile applications. In order to connect them to the grid, the voltage level is adjusted according to the electrical network standards in the countries [13] . Earlier the environmental issues have accelerated the use of more efficient and energy saving technologies in renewable energy systems [14] . The boost converters are needed for increasing low dc voltage to high dc voltage. The conventional boost converters are not preferred, because with high voltage duty ratio it causes severe losses in power devices and high voltage stress across the switching devices, which generate high conduction losses and resulting in the increase in complicity. To eliminate the high duty cycle, capacitor switching technology is used [7] . These types of converters are used to reduce the voltage stress on power devices, but while turn on the switch more current pulse is passing through the power devices, thus causing damage. To avoid these disturbances, a small inductor is introduced in circuit and it avoids the sudden damages to power devices and diode reverse recovery problem is alleviated. The advantageous that switched capacitor method reduces power devices voltage stress but the disadvantage is the diodes that create a large current path which causes the conduction loss. To rectify this, active switch method adopted to increase the voltage gain and efficiency.

In order to connect them to the grid, the voltage level is adjusted according to the electrical network standards in the countries.

Earlier the environmental issues have accelerated the use of more efficient and energy saving technologies in renewable energy systems.

To eliminate the high duty cycle, capacitor switching technology is used.