Tin whiskers are hair-like single crystals that spontaneously grow from tin-coated surfaces. Whiskers are commonly found in electronic components, where tin coatings are used in, e.g., soldering applications, and to protect components from corrosion. Whiskers are known to cause short-circuits leading to failure of electronic components. The exact mechanisms responsible for whisker formation and gr

Convergence properties of the generalized least squares method are analyzed. The method can be interpreted as optimization of a likelihood function. The number of local maximum points of the likelihood function is examined. It is shown that this number is influenced by the signal to noise ratio. This theoretical result is illustrated by numerical examples using plant measurements. It is also prove

The maximum likelihood method of identification is a powerful tool for obtaining mathematical models of dynamic processes. To apply this method a loss function has to be minimized. The aim of the paper is an investigation of the local minimum points of this loss function for a common structure of a general form. If the loss function has more than one local minimum point, numerical problems can occ

To Ask for the King’s Permission to Marriage: Applications for Marriage between Relatives in Eighteenth Century Sweden. In early modern Western society regulations against incestuous relationships were primarily justified by religion, and kinship by blood and kinship by marriage were treated equally. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries Swedish law was among the strictest in these matters,

Many migratory species have experienced substantial declines that resulted from rapid and massive expansions of human structures and activities, habitat alterations and climate change. Migrants are also recognized as an integral component of biodiversity and provide a multitude of services and disservices that are relevant to human agriculture, economy and health. The plethora of recently publishe

Traditional consumption-based greenhouse gas emissions accounting attributed the gap between consumption-based and production-based emissions to international trade. Yet few attempts have analyzed the temporal deviation between current emissions and future consumption, which can be explained through changes in capital stock. Here we develop a dynamic model to incorporate capital stock change in co

Cell line-based proteomics studies are susceptible to intrinsic biological variation that contributes to increasing false positive claims; most of the methods that follow these changes offer a limited understanding of the biological system. We applied a quantitative proteomic strategy (iTRAQ) to detect intrinsic protein variation across SH-SY5Y cell culture replicates. More than 95% of the quantif

According to results of a recent literature search performed by the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) Task Forces (TF) on Quality of Life and Patient Oriented Outcomes (QoL and PO) and Acne, Rosacea and Hidradenitis Suppurativa (ARHS), most of the publications where health-related (HR) QoL of acne patients was studied were clinical trials. Members of the EADV TF on QoL and PO

This paper studies the Clash of Civilizations hypothesis from an economic perspective. Using data on bilateral trade and measures of culture, we evaluate how the impact of cultural differences on trade evolves over time during and after the Cold War. Evidence suggests that the negative influence of cultural differences on trade is more prominent in the post-Cold War era than during the Cold War. F

Research has been performed model the dynamics of different kinds of wastewater treatment systems. Plant models are built up from standard modules of subprocesses. Available model knowledge has been packaged into suitable software modules and a library of simulation models has been created. The paper describes this library and the kind of simulations that can be performed.

Mutually adaptive interaction involves the robot as a partner as opposed to a tool, and requires that the robot is susceptible to similar environmental cues and behavior patterns as humans are. Recognition, or the acknowledgement of the other as person, is fundamental to mutually adaptive interaction between humans. We discuss what embodied recognition involves and its behavioral manifestations, a

What is the function of Islamic signage in the visual transformation of commercial practices in multicultural neighborhoods? And how are such processes simultaneously forwarding integration processes and challenging visual hegemonies and local-historical narratives?In the wake of the Middle Eastern migration processes, the profile of European public space is rapidly diversifying. The transforming What is the function of Islamic signage in the visual transformation of commercial practices in multicultural neighborhoods? And how are such processes simultaneously forwarding integration processes and challenging visual hegemonies and local-historical narratives?In the wake of the Middle Eastern migration processes, the profile of European public space is rapidly diversifying. The transforming