Although forty-five states have enacted statutes prohibiting discrimination in so-called "public accommodations" — broadly defined as those businesses offering "lodging, food, entertainment, or other services to the public" — the statutes of only twenty-one states and the District of Columbia explicitly prohibit sexual orientation discrimination by these businesses; the gay populations of twenty-nine states thus live without any affirmative statutory protection from discrimination in commerce. This Comment addresses the failure of these states to include gay people among those classes of persons protected by their public accommodations statutes. The presumption today is that businesses in twenty-nine states can discriminate against gay people with impunity — "that businesses, as property owners, have the right to exclude non-owners unless that right is limited by statute" and "to refuse to contract with anyone with whom they do not wish to deal unless required to do so by express statutory command."But the right to exclude is subject to certain limitations. For public accommodations, the right to exclude historically has been counterbalanced by a common law duty to serve. Over the course of the twentieth century, however, the common law duty to serve fell into disuse and was replaced by state and federal public accommodations statutes that prohibit businesses from denying service to statutorily defined protected classes. Because public accommodations statutes have come to supplant the common law duty in our modern legal consciousness, many now believe — mistakenly, I argue — that these statutes are the sole source of law proscribing discrimination in commerce, and that if these statutes do not specifically enumerate a class or characteristic as among those protected, then businesses may discriminate against that class or characteristic with impunity.Recent scholarship has largely focused on proposals to expand state antidiscrimination statutes to encompass sexual orientation discrimination; political advocacy groups' goals are similarly defined. But this Comment rejects the notion that gay people's only hope for legal protection lies in statutory law. That certain states have not yet decided to extend statutory protection to gay people does not mean that those individuals are necessarily without legal recourse if a business should deny them service, or that enacting statutes is the only way to provide protection. As discussed above, a business's right to exclude historically has been counterbalanced by a common law duty to serve. Claims based upon the foundational principles of this common law duty may offer gay people immediate protection against discrimination in states whose legislatures have failed to provide such protection expressly. This Comment argues that even in states that have not proscribed sexual orientation discrimination affirmatively by statute, such discrimination is nonetheless illegal as a violation of businesses' common law duty to serve — and to not exclude arbitrarily — all customers.


This study empirically describes the activity and costs associated with the psychiatric services in England & Wales, Scotland & Ireland from 1845 to 1985. Basic economic concepts are employed to structure data. Key hypotheses from the three historical schools (Progressive, Social Control and Epidemiological) are tested, using a neo-Popperian methodology. The literature is reviewed in Chapter 2 (general and socio-economic) and Chapter 3 (epidemiological). Chapter 4 sets the comparative legal and financing context. Chapters 5, 6 and 7 outline activity and financial data for each country. Major points common to each included: - relative stability in admissions and costs up to around 1945, - a major change after 1945 when admission rates (both first and total) rose sharply, - inflows exceeded outflows until around 1955 when the number of resident inpatients began to fall, - despite the fall in resident inpatients, spending, which was predominantly publicly financed and hospital orientated, continued to increase. Chapter 8 suggests that three hypotheses were not obviously falsified by the data: - a pharmacological hypothesis linking new drugs in the mid-1950s to the changes which occurred then, - Wagner's Law, which predicts continued high levels of spending despite reductions in hospital places, and - Hare's epidemiological hypothesis which relied on the increase in first admission rates between 1850 and 1900. Four other hypotheses related to costs were rejected. Three paradoxes are identified for further investigation. Chapter 9 shows that the decline in the stock of inpatients occurred almost entirely in the long-stay (over 5 years) group, due mainly to deaths rather than live discharges. This pattern helps explain the continued high levels of spending. Ireland's outlier status is linked to both demand and supply side factors. Chapter 10 draws some overall conclusions and offers priorities for further research.


Thomas Addison 1 was the first to observe that complete destruction of the adrenal glands results in death. He also suggested that a study of the disease now known by his name might lead to some understanding of the function of these glands. This prophecy has been amply fulfilled. In addition to the clinical approach to the problem, as suggested by Addison, knowledge of the physiologic activities of these structures has been greatly enhanced by two other methods of attack. The first of these, a corollary of the clinical method, is represented by a study of the changes resulting from adrenalectomy in animals and the effects of extracts of various portions of the gland on the disturbances encountered. By the application of this technic, the elementary and fundamental fact that the extract of the cortex is essential for survival has been established. Furthermore, it has been shown that medullary extract


An intrusion detection system (IDS) detects illegal manipulations of computer systems. In intrusion detection systems, feature reduction, including feature extraction and feature selection, plays an important role in a sense of improving classification performance and reducing the computational complexity. Feature reduction is even more important when online detection, which means less computational power and fast real time delivery compared with offline detection, is needed. In this paper, independent component analysis approach is applied to feature extraction in online network intrusion detection problem. We use the KDD Cup 99 data and try to reduce its 41 features such that significant less number of features would be fed into kNN and SVM classifiers. Also, a decision fusion method is employed to aggregate the results from multiple classifiers to achieve higher accuracy.


The major theories of finance leading into the main body of this research are discussed and our experiments on studying the risk and co-movements among stocks are presented.

This study leads to the application of Random Matrix Theory (RMT) The idea of this theory refers to the importance of the empirically measured correlation (or covariance) matrix, C, in finance and particularly in the theory of optimal portfolios However, this matrix has recently come into question, as a large part of it does not contain useful information but rather noise. Therefore, recent work has indicated that the theory of optimal portfolios, which depends on C, is not adequate. We use RMT in order to measure the noise component of C, and then we examine the methods of differentiating noise from information. We go on to develop a novel technique of stability analysis for the eigenvectors of C after noise removal.

Further, changes in the portfolio associated with the riskiest position, (as given by the largest eigenvalue and associated eigenvector), are investigated using the results of the previous chapters. From the results, we observe periods of comovements of stocks, which change regularly because of some key events m the market. These periods are characterised by a linear relationship between price and eigenvalue change. However, the residuals in this model are strongly dependent on granularity (1e sampling rate) with fit breaking down at rates smaller than five days. Possible reasons for this breakdown are presented in detail.


Abstract In order to gain insight into how to create a successful game, a developer should learn about the end user of the product, the player. For this exact reason, there must be a deeper understanding of the effects games can have on the one who plays them. The main question addressed in this paper is "How can the games positively affect the player on a psychological and emotional level?". This question has been divided into 3 different sub-question. To answer them, a combination of thematic analysis and literature study was used. Multiple studies have been previously made on the relationship between video games and the human mind, either focusing on the negative or on the positive effects. This paper has a new approach, consisting of dividing the benefits into categories determined by the main reason a player chooses to play games. The main 6 categories were established empirically, and 200 answers were arranged under the category most fitting for each. A total of 14 benefits were found for the previously mentioned categories. Additionally, 5 less noticeable benefits have been included into a new category.


The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of the factors that influence students' academic performance and also to improve teaching. The background to the study is the transition from elite to mass education in universities. It is based on the academic performance of 21 students during the first year of a teacher education. Based on academic performance, the study examines what distinguishes a high-performing, middle and a low-performing group with respect to learning styles preferences and approaches to learning. Using descriptive statistics and phenomenographic methodology, the study shows that those who are most successful use deep strategies and have auditory / visual dominant perceptual preferences. The low-achievers use surface strategies, have tactile or kinesthetic dominance and display a lack of confidence in their studies as a result of the earlier failure. This article discusses how the results can be explained and why they may be of interest to today´s university education and teacher education.


ABSTRACT Understanding Scotland's illegal drug market continues to challenge social scientists. Most evidently neglected are processes related to social supply, from supplier perspectives. When analyzing illegal drug markets, demand-based approaches, customarily sourcing drug users, grossly overlook supplier perspectives. Thus, a qualitative research inquiry interviewing former drug dealers facilitated exploration of a supply-based approach that detailed processes of supply in relation to market level. Situating the findings within the disruptive lens of Chatwin and Potters' (2014) concept of extending drug use normalization to embrace a dimension of market fluidity to drug supply dealing in Scotland, the researchers interviewed 35 former drug suppliers, learning about drug distribution behavioral patterns. Retail-level dealerships and higher market echelons exemplified an embodiment of the complexity of this social world. Any model aimed at characterizing Scotland's illegal drugs market must acknowledge and incorporate aspects of social supply (e.g., recreational drugs) and recognize the fluid nature of "normalization," taking account into its tacit embeddedness in a "local economy" with its own history and distinctive cultural geography. Unless the nuances of these various social formations are acknowledged, the potential of national policing strategies to address the crimes connected with drugs will go unrealized due to their conceptual and pragmatic inadequacies. It is ironic that a commitment to a generalized drug market conception of official enforcement is likely to sow the seeds for an unnecessary criminalization of minor serendipitous offenders and encourage reoffending patterns.


Introduction: To empirically assess and describe the emotional, sexual, and physical impact of cancer-related infertility on gynecologic cancer survivors. Methods: The study was composed of 88 survivors of cervical, endometrial/uterine, ovarian cancer, and gestational trophoblastic disease who experienced impaired or loss of fertility as a result of treatment. Patient age ranged from 21 to 49 years. Participants completed a 1-time self-report survey, including medical and demographic information and empirical measures of mood (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale), distress (Impact of Event Scale), sexual function (Female Sexual Function Index), and menopause (Menopausal Symptom Checklist). Results: Eighty-four (96%) of the 88 enrolled patients had undergone a surgical intervention as part of their cancer treatment. Sixty-three patients (77%) reported clinically significant levels of distress in relation to loss of fertility or impaired fertility. Survivors' levels of distress (P < 0.0001) and depression (P < 0.0001) were associated with the severity and number of menopausal symptoms reported. Patients who retained functioning ovaries (partial fertility) (41%, n = 36) reported being less bothered by menopausal symptoms (P = 0.01) and having higher sexual functioning than those with ovarian failure (P < 0.0001). Conclusions: The emotional and physical impact of impaired or loss of fertility can be complex and long lasting, with women experiencing high levels of distress, menopausal symptoms, and changes in sexual function persisting into survivorship. Future research should focus on the development of strategies to identify, monitor, and address, in a clinical care setting, the issues these cancer survivors face. Alternate family-building strategies should also be explored before treatment and/or upon treatment completion when feasible.


Online social networks (OSNs) allow users to generate items and tag or rate them in order to help others in the identification of useful content. In this paper, we propose a novel tag-based recommender system called PLIERS, able to identify useful contents based on users' interests. It relies on the assumption that users are mainly interested in items and tags with similar popularity to those they already own. It reaches a good tradeoff between algorithmic complexity and the level of personalization of recommended items. To evaluate PLIERS, we performed a set of experiments on real OSN datasets, demonstrating that it outperforms the state-of-the-art solutions in terms of personalization, relevance, and novelty of recommendations.


Purpose: The rehabilitation of the edentulous mandible is a challenge due to various limiting factors, of which the available vertical restorative space (AVRS) has been well understood in the literature. However, other anatomic variations such as arch form, arch size, and also the interforaminal distance (IFD) (due to the presence of mandibular nerve) are influential in the selection of size and position of implants, and thereby the prosthetic design. Materials and Method: In the present study, 30 edentulous patients from a group of 300 edentulous patients, representing all the three jaw relations (Class I, II, and III) were evaluated for designing a classification that could help in a comprehensive treatment plan for the edentulous mandible. Dental panoramic radiographs of each individual with a trial or final prosthesis were made. The horizontal IFD and AVRS values were calculated. Results: One-way analysis of variance followed by post-hoc test (multiple comparison) and Bonferroni method having P < 0.05 as significant value showed an overall mean of 38.9 mm for horizontal distance and 13.69 mm for the AVRS in 30 edentulous patients. Conclusion: The results showed that in the majority of cases (90%) there is insufficient space to place a bar attachment supported by five implants for mandibular overdentures. This suggests that a universal treatment plan cannot be followed due to varying anatomic factors. Hence, it becomes imperative to have a set of clinical guidelines based on the AVRS and IFD, for the selection of implant number and type of attachment. The article proposes a simple classification system based on the AVRS and IFD for establishing guidelines in the treatment planning of the edentulous mandible, to aid in selection of implant size, number, and position along with the associated prosthetic design.


Recent anthropogenic increases in algal turbidity in aquatic habitats have been suggested to affect the ability of fish to assess predation risk. We investigated the response of feeding three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) exposed to a sudden appearance of an avian predator (the silhouette of common tern, Sterna hirundo), under clear and turbid water conditions. As stickleback use social cues to aid in predator avoidance, we also tested whether turbidity affected social information use by manipulating group size. We found that in turbid water, a smaller proportion of fish would escape from the feeding area, that the distance escaped was shorter and that a smaller proportion of fish fled into shelter. Larger group size was associated with longer escape distance and greater shelter use. However, there was no effect of group size on the proportion of fish that escaped the arena. The effect of group size was similar for turbid and clear water. Our finding that the fish showed a weaker antipredator response suggests that turbidity impedes their risk assessment capability. However, the sticklebacks were still able to benefit of the social facilitation provided by being in a group. This suggests that algal turbidity has detrimental effects on the ability of sticklebacks to assess predation risk from avian predators in shallow water. An implication is that in shallow water fish may be more vulnerable to avian predation under turbid conditions.


Ensuring that test-score use brings about socially positive consequences for test-takers is an important aspect of test validation. While many studies use an inductive approach to evaluate test consequences, few studies have implemented Appraisal analysis. To that end, this case study investigated the test consequences of an English reading placement test administered at a large American university. In this study, English as a second language (ESL) students (n=8) who took the placement test and an ESL reading course were interviewed; an Appraisal analysis was conducted to identify the students' positive and/or negative perceptions toward the placement test and reading course. Using an argument-based approach to validity framework, the findings were treated as evidence to evaluate the test consequences of the placement test. The results showed that, while taking the ESL course helped students gain some valuable academic reading skills, students felt that test anxiety, fatigue, and verbally demanding questions hindered their test performances. Understanding what students experienced while taking the test can help test-developers devise solutions that will improve the test-taking situation for future test-takers. This study also illustrates how an Appraisal analysis of test-takers' discourses can provide a systematic and fine-grained approach to evaluating positive and/or negative test consequences.


John Trengove's film Inxeba (The Wound) was met with public outcry as it represented the sacred tradition of ulwaluko ("initiation"). The film was effectively banned in mainstream South African cinemas following a ruling by the Film and Publication Board (FPB) to assign a rating of X18 to the film. Many rights groups and activists were troubled by the FPB's decision and argued that the outcry against the film was due to homophobic reactions to the representation of same-sex sexualities within hypermasculine Xhosa spaces. However, this paper argues for a more nuanced reading of the protests against the film, taking into account the symbolic aggression that the act of "truth-telling" in the film seemed to enact on traditional Xhosa people. I analyse the controversy by using ideas from Lacanian psychoanalysis as it relates to film study. I explore the film itself as analogous to Lacan's concept of the mirror, creating tension between subject (in this case, traditional South Africans) and the image, or the representation of black individuals and cultural practices in the film. Additionally, I explore the radical alterity of the Other in the film, the seat of revulsion, threat and hostility, represented simultaneously by the queer characters and at times by constructs and images of whiteness, the whiteness of the director of the film and the whiteness represented in the text which is seen as threatening to Xhosa culture and values. I argue that the reactions to the film speak to deep psychic tensions in South Africa in terms of culture, sexuality and representation, and I explore how the controversy constitutes a pivotal moment in rethinking and reconfiguring South African queer representations, particularly concerning black subjects.


The Historical Dictionary of Malaysia encapsulates the development of Malaysia from prehistory to the early years of the 21st century. It covers not only Malaysia's history but also its politics, economy, multiethnic society, multiculturalism, scientific and technological developments, and the state of its environment. A host of contemporary issues and challenges are featured, including ethnic polarization, economic equity, and polygamy; concepts like Ketuanan Melayu (Malay Dominance), "Malaysian Malaysia," "Malay," and Islam Hadhari (Civilizational Islam); and terms like "Ali Baba" business, kiasi, bejalai, and "Twenty Points." Over 500 cross-referenced dictionary entries are contained in this reference, covering everything from ethno-historical entries to those on culinary favorites and personalities. A chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and a bibliography complement the dictionary entries, enhancing the authoritative and up-to-date information provided.


This study aims to determine the opinions of teacher candidates about using history of mathematics (HoM) in the instruction of mathematics. Research data was collected from elementary mathematics education 4th grade students through semi-structured interviews conducted for the purpose of collecting their opinions about using HoM in the instruction of mathematics. The data of this study conducted with qualitative approach was collected from six teacher candidates. The review of semi-structured interviews revealed that teacher candidates believe that using HoM in the instruction of mathematics may be useful for both teaching and learning purposes. Their concerns about using HoM in the instruction of mathematics are another outcome revealed by the study. Regarding the results, it is suggested to teach the courses of elementary mathematics education's undergraduate program that are related to educational content knowledge along with the activities of HoM.


Today, almost all the programs we use to send and receive email include support for strong security mechanisms that we can apply end-to-end. But we generally don't use those - why is that? In this article, the author briefly reviews the security features available in common mail user agents and considers what it is about those that causes us to almost universally ignore them.


Traffic congestion pricing in urban streets is one of the most suitable options for solving the traffic problems and environment pollutions in the cities of the country. Unlike its acceptable outcomes, there are problems concerning the necessity to pay by the mass. Regarding the fact that public response in order to succeed in this strategy is so influential, studying their response and behavior to get the feedback and improve the strategies is of great importance. In this study, a questionnaire was used to examine the public reactions to the traffic congestion pricing schemes at the center of Tehran metropolis and the factors involved in people's decision making in accepting or rejecting the congestion pricing schemes were assessed based on the data obtained from the questionnaire as well as the international experiences. Then, by analyzing and comparing the schemes, guidelines to reduce public objections to them are discussed. The results of reviewing and evaluating the public reactions show that all the pros and cons must be considered to guarantee the success of these projects. Consequently, with targeted public education and consciousness-raising advertisements, prior to initiating a scheme and ensuring the mechanism of the implementation after the start of the project, the initial opposition is reduced and, with the gradual emergence of the real and tangible benefits of its implementation, users' satisfaction will increase. Keywords—Demand management, international experiences, traffic congestion pricing, public acceptance, public objection.


This paper describes a number of investigations into breadfruit (Artocarpus spp), a crop that is important in terms of food security and sustainable development. The use of advanced modern technology – in vitro culture – in breadfruit propagation is supporting the growing demand for more planting materials. Another potential method of propagation was explored – somatic embryogenesis – but no somatic callus was formed after ten weeks, only thickening of explants exposed to a medium combination of 1/2 MS + 2,4-D (2mg/L) + BAP (1.0mg/L). Another investigation was carried out to identify varieties tolerant to salt, an important consideration in countries prone to salt inundation. Fiji's Uto Dina breadfruit variety did not tolerate 1% or 1.5% salt concentrations over five weeks, but one out of the five plantlets tolerated 0.5% salinity. For a sustainable supply of breadfruit, it is important to identify varieties that fruit all year round. About 65% of CePaCT's collection of breadfruit varieties has been categorised, seven of which can produce year-round fruiting. To assess breadfruit popularity, local taste-testers were given samples. The three varieties preferred were Samoa Soke, Dreu Lo and Ma'afala, especially when they were over-mature and tasted sweet. The Pacific region has a high rate of non-communicable disease and access to information on the nutritional value of breadfruit will encourage utilisation of these varieties and support efforts to reduce health related risks. Carotenoids, which are antioxidants, play a role in human health. To investigate the amount of carotenoids in breadfruit, an analysis of samples of several varieties found that the Puou variety from Samoa contained the highest carotenoid levels (44.2 and 70.2 ?g/100g) in both cooked and uncooked samples.


Recent literature in the world-systems perspective has refocused attention on questions of 'core' and 'periphery' in historical capitalism, yet rarely critically examines the underlying assumptions regarding these zones. Drawing on a developing dataset on the world's wealthiest individuals (the World-Magnates Database), we trace the development and expansion of sugar circuits across the Atlantic world from the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries to explain how the sugar commodity chain leads us to rethink some prevailing notions of core and periphery. Namely, we challenge the notion that these zones consist of geographical spaces that, since very early in the development of the world-economy, became permanently specialized in the production of raw materials (periphery) or more sophisticated manufactures (core); and that labor forces have been trans-historically relatively free/better-paid in core activities and coerced/poorly-paid in peripheral ones. We argue that, prior to the nineteenth century, the world-economy is not only characterized by the uneven and combined emergence of various forms of labor exploitation, as usually argued within a world-systems perspective, but also one in which core-like and peripheral activities (that is, those providing access to relatively greater or lesser wealth) were not yet as clearly bounded geographically as they would become in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. We find that a longue-durée analysis of sugar production by enslaved labor illustrates not merely processes of peripheralization, but of what we call coreification.


The three methods of determining the quasi-static Mode I fracture toughness (KIc) (surface crack in flexure—SC, single-edge precracked beam—PB, and chevron-notched beam—VB) found in ASTM C1421 were applied to a variety of advanced ceramic materials. All three methods produced valid and comparable KIc values for the Al2O3, SiC, Si3N4, and SiAlON ceramics examined. However, not all methods could successfully be applied to B4C, ZrO2, and WC ceramics due to a variety of material factors. The coarse-grained microstructure of one B4C hindered the ability to observe and measure the precracks generated in the SC and PB methods while the transformation toughening in the ZrO2 prevented the formation of the SC and PB precracks and thus made it impossible to use either method on this ceramic. The high strength and elastic modulus of the WC made it impossible to achieve stable crack growth using the VB method because the specimen stored a tremendous amount of energy prior to fracture. Even though these methods have passed the rigors of the standardization process there are still some issues to be resolved when the methods are applied to certain classes of ceramics. It is recommended that, when appropriate, at least two of these methods be employed to determine the KIc, especially when a new or unfamiliar ceramic is being evaluated.


Abstract This paper describes the swelling properties of two highly compacted clays, natural, untreated Wyoming montmorillonite (MX80) and Fourges smectite (FoCa7), saturated with Na and Ca, respectively. The initially compacted samples were hydrated by subjecting them to different suction pressures in a range between 100 MPa and 1 kPa. For each equilibrium state, the volume change (swelling) and water content (hydration) were measured. The samples were then studied by X-ray diffraction using a transmission device to determine interlayer distance and particle size, in order to clarify both the swelling and hydration mechanisms. The distances between clay layers ranged between 10 and 21.6 Å , i.e. corresponding to between 0 and 4 water layers. Upon hydration, the particle size decreased from 350 and 100 clay layers per particle to 10 layers per particle when the suction pressure decreased from 100 MPa to 1 kPa for MX80 and FoCa7, respectively. The first swelling stage is described as being an insertion of water molecules between the layers. Then a division of the initial particles into particles of smaller size with increasingly large inter-particle distances was observed. Observations by transmission electronic microscopy confirmed these results.


Based on responses in the General Social Survey, we construct an index that captures non-monetary qualities of occupations, such as respect, learning, and work hazards, relevant to the well-being of workers. Using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data, we document that the children of richer US parents are more likely to select into occupations that rank higher in terms of this index. We rationalize this fact by introducing occupational choice with preferences over the intrinsic qualities of occupations into a standard theory of intergenerational mobility. Estimating the model allows us to infer the equivalent monetary compensation each worker receives from the intrinsic qualities of their chosen occupation. Earnings adjusted to reflect this additional compensation show substantially larger persistence of income from parents to children. Our model further predicts that the trends in the composition of labor demand in the US over the past three decades decreased intergenerational persistence, and also led to higher growth in the welfare of the average worker than that implied by observed earnings.


Glial cells are closely associated with synapses and are modulated by neurotransmitters released during synaptic transmission. At many synapses, ATP is released during synaptic transmission and is involved in cell-cell signaling. Since glial cells have purinoceptors, it is possible that ATP mediates synaptic neuron-glia signaling. This work aims at determining which types of purinoceptors are present on perisynaptic Schwann cells, the perisynaptic glial cells at the frog neuromuscular junction, and test their sensitivity to endogenous purines by monitoring the relative changes of intracellular Ca2+. Local application of ATP induced the release of Ca2+ from internal stores. Adenosine induced Ca2+ responses that were blocked by A1 receptor antagonists and mimicked by an A1 receptor agonist and were caused by the release of Ca2+ from internal stores via a pertussis toxin- sensitive G-protein. A2 receptor antagonists had no effect on Ca2+ responses induced by adenosine. Me-S-ATP, an ATP analog, triggered Ca2+ release from internal stores via a pertussis toxin-sensitive G-protein, consistent with the activation of P2Y receptors. L-AMP-PCP, another ATP analog, induced Ca2+ entry mainly through L-type Ca2+ channels by a pertussis toxin-insensitive mechanism, consistent with the activation of P2X receptors. Blockade of adenosine receptors did not affect glial Ca2+ responses induced by nerve evoked transmitter release. However, blockade of ATP receptors reduced the size and increased the delay of the responses. Hence, purinoceptors are present on the perisynaptic Schwann cells and are activated by endogenous ATP released during synaptic transmission.


Background: For cancer patients, uncertainty is a pervasive experience and a major psychological stressor that affects many aspects of their lives. Uncertainty is a multifaceted concept, and its understanding for patients depends on many factors, including factors associated with various sociocultural contexts. Unfortunately, little is known about the concept of uncertainty in Iranian society and culture. Objectives: This study aimed to clarify the concept and explain lived experiences of illness uncertainty in Iranian cancer patients. Methods: In this hermeneutic phenomenological study, 8 cancer patients participated in semistructured in-depth interviews about their experiences of uncertainty in illness. Interviews continued until data saturation was reached. All interviews were recorded, transcribed, analyzed, and interpreted using 6 stages of the van Manen phenomenological approach. Results: Seven main themes emerged from patients' experiences of illness uncertainty of cancer. Four themes contributed to uncertainty including "Complexity of Cancer," "Confusion About Cancer," "Contradictory Information," and "Unknown Future." Two themes facilitated coping with uncertainty including "Seeking Knowledge" and "Need for Spiritual Peace." One theme, "Knowledge Ambivalence," revealed the struggle between wanting to know and not wanting to know, especially if bad news was delivered. Conclusion: Uncertainty experience for cancer patients in different societies is largely similar. However, some experiences (eg, ambiguity in access to medical resources) seemed unique to Iranian patients. Implications for Practice: This study provided an outlook of cancer patients' experiences of illness uncertainty in Iran. Cancer patients' coping ability to deal with uncertainty can be improved.


The spindle picker and brush-roll stripper are the two machines used to harvest cotton produced in the U.S. Adoption of each harvester type is dictated by regional differences in production environment, production practices, cultivar, and yield. The spindle picker is a selective-type harvester that harvests seed cotton only from well-opened bolls, collecting a minimal amount of undesirable foreign material with the seed cotton. The brush-roll stripper utilizes a nonselective harvesting mechanism to indiscriminately remove mature seed cotton, immature bolls, sticks, leaves, and any other vegetative material that is easily broken off the plant. Thus, fiber quality can be reduced for stripper-harvested cotton because of the increased presence of immature fibers relative to picker-harvested cotton. Spindle pickers are more mechanically complex than brush-roll strippers and require additional daily maintenance to ensure optimum performance. Considering conventional harvesters equipped with baskets, stripper-type harvesters cost less to own and operate than spindle pickers resulting in lower harvesting costs. Regardless of harvester type, careful attention to setup and maintenance is required to achieve maximum harvesting efficiency, field productivity, and fiber quality.


The spectrum are ABSTRACT Two most commonly used preparative methods, reverse phase evaporation and ethanol injection were employed to prepare cationic liposomes composed of Etoposide API, DMPG-Na polymer and Cholesterol binder, respectively. To overcome the hindrances of the reported HPLC analytical method in pharmacopeia which requires more time in preparation for solvent and also its bit tedious; we have developed and validated a simple method which will be applicable to detect and quantify actual drug in formulation as well as it can be applied for pharmacokinetics study. The resulting formulations were evaluated through morphology observation, particle size and zeta potential analysis, % entrapment efficiency and % drug loading. The results showed that liposomes prepared by ethanol injection method were of best quality and stability, with promising results. However ETNLE 5 shows best results i.e. particle size 197.3±0.21nm, polydispersity index 0.340±0.051%, and zeta potential of about -12.7±1.266mV. Entrapment efficiency 81.78± 0.78% and drug loading 89.62±2.53% is the highest as compared to all other batches. % In-vitro Drug release study showed 15% and 21% of drug was released in the first five minutes with a cumulative drug release of 58% and 78% for ETNLE 5 formulation at pH 1.2 and pH 6.4 respectively. Stability study of optimized batch showed no significant changes in evaluation parameters. Cell viability study on A-549 cells by MTT assay clarified cancer cells are inhibited by 200 µM equivalent etoposide liposomes as compared to 64.88% of free drug. These findings clarified the effect of preparative methods on performance of cationic liposome, as well as formulation factors on entrapment efficiency, and will provide important methodological reference for further study of liposomes carriers for drug delivery to tumor penetration.


This paper presents an integrated design flow which combines floorplanning, technology mapping, and placement using a dynamic programming algorithm. The proposed design flow consists of five steps: maximum tree sub-structure formation, levelized cluster tree construction, minimum area implementation using 2-D shape functions, critical path identification, and repeated application of simultaneous floorplanning, technology mapping and gate placement along the timing critical paths. Experimental results obtained from an extensive set of benchmarks demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed flow.


Based on the Iterative Closest Point (ICP) framework, we present a generalized solution for the registration between homologous points and lines. The transformation we seek comprises an anisotropic scaling, followed by rotation and translation. This algorithm is demonstrated using the Perspective-n-Point (PnP) problem where lines form a bundle, and the Non-Perspective-n-Point (NPnP) problem where each line potentially has its own origin. We also prove that one existing NPnP solution is, in fact, equivalent to ICP, and that a second PnP solution differs from ICP only in the iteratively estimated translation. Applications for these types of registration include ultrasound calibration, kinematics tracking under fluoroscopic video, and camera pose estimation. Simulation results suggest this ICP algorithm compares favorably to existing PnP and NPnP algorithms, and has an extremely compact formulation.


As intermodulated sinusoids are generated when a nonlinear system is subject to multiple fundamental frequencies, an approach is proposed in this paper to detect and to estimate, or simply to retrieve the intermodulated sinusoids. It is shown that both detection and estimation performance are improved by using the intermodulation relationship as an additional constraint. Although the periodogram method is used here, the approach can be readily modified to accommodate other frequency retrieval techniques. The implementation and the performance of this approach are demonstrated by simulation examples.


As public trust in technology companies has declined, people are questioning the effects of digital technologies in their lives. In this context, many evidence-free claims from corporations and tech critics are widely circulated. How can members of the public make evidence-based decisions about digital technology in their lives? In clinical fields, N -of-one trials enable participant-investigators to make personalized causal discoveries about managing health, improving fitness, and improving their education. Similar methods could help community scientists understand and manage how they use digital technologies. In this paper, we introduce Conjecture, a system for coordinating N -of-one trials that can guide personal decisions about technology use and contribute to science. We describe N -of-one trials as a design challenge and present the design of the Conjecture system. We evaluate the system with a field experiment that tests folk theories about the influence of colorful screens on alleged phone addiction. We present findings on the design of N -of-one-trial systems based on submitted data, interviews, and surveys with 14 participants. Taken together, this paper introduces N -of-one trials as a fruitful direction for computer scientists designing industry-independent systems for evidence-based technology governance and accountability.


Some riisk of fire anid explosioni accompanies the use of .methyl chloride, anid, as a suggestion was made to use a nion-inflammable mixture by emplDyingi0 thle known-i extietive properties of the correspond(fing methyl aind etlhyl .bromides, some very useful aiiimal experiments were carried out by the higlhly sikilled staff in the Bureau of Miucs of the National Rescar-clh Council.' Briefly, for short exposures of guie.a-piggs to highi concenitiations, ethyl cihloiide was found to be the least, ancd methyl bromide t1he most, toxic of the four coinpounds. Methyl chloride and ethlyl bromide occupy intermediate position s. The miiaximumn amiiount for prolonged exposure of aniimals to miiethvl chloride they put dowin as from 5 to 10 parts per 10,000 of air. A (listinet delayed effect of exposure wa.s observed with niethyl bromide and mnethyl cehloride, this uisuallv o(curring after exposure to moderately low concentrations.-I am, etc.,


A remarkable growth of public awareness towards environmental pollution caused by the synthetic dyes resulted in an increased demand of natural dyes which led to the exploration of potential plants as source for natural dyes. Traditionally, natural dyes were extracted by soaking or boiling method which requires long extraction time and plenty of water. Hence, there is a demand to exploit suitable efficient techniques to extract natural dyes from the plant materials. One of the potential plants is Xylocarpus moluccensis (Nyireh batu) species which can be found in mangroves forest around Peninsular Malaysia. In this study, a pressurised hot water extraction (PHWE) technique was employed to selectively extract natural dyes from the Xylocarpus moluccenisheartwood at different elevated temperature from 50 °C to 150 °C. This technique is more efficient and environmental friendly method and may increase productivity of natural dyes for dyeing fabrics. The dye extracts were then used to dye fabrics such as cotton, silk and viscose rayon with the addition of 3% mordant such as paddy husk ash (PHA). vinegar and alum. Each of dyed fabrics was analysed to determine its dyeability and dyeing properties. Based on the experiment, colour attained (h°) on cotton and viscose rayon was varied from 3° to 48° and 6° to 48° respectively. However, the h° of silk fabrics ranges between 40° to 48° (brownish colour). PHA and vinegar were observed to give high colour intensity (C*) and colour strength (K/S) to dyed silk compared to alum. In contrast, cotton and viscose rayon had better colour strength (K/S) and colour intensity (C*) when mordanted with alum compared to natural mordant. Based on colour fastness test, viscose rayon had the best colour fastness to washing and perspiration compared to cotton and silk although the K/S and the C*were low. The colorant compounds were extracted by soaking with methanol and dichloromethane followed by purification on a polyamide solid phase extraction cartridge prior togas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and Fourier Transform Infra Red (FT-IR) spectroscopy analysis. It was found that,the heartwood extracts contained mainly quinoline and anthraquinone moieties in their molecules.


The spine apparatus (SA) is an endoplasmic reticulum-related organelle which is present in a subset of dendritic spines in cortical and pyramidal neurons. The synaptopodin protein localizes between the stacks of the spine apparatus and is essential for the formation of this unique organelle. Although several studies have demonstrated the significance of the SA and synaptopodin in calcium homeostasis and plasticity of dendritic spines, it is still unclear what factors contribute to its stability at the synapse and whether the SA is locally formed or it is actively delivered to the spines. In this study we show that synaptopodin clusters are stable at their locations. We found no evidence of active microtubule-based transport for synaptopodin. Instead new clusters were emerging in the spines, which we interpret as the SA being assembled on-site. Furthermore, using super-resolution microscopy we show a tight association of synaptopodin with actin filaments. We identify the actin-based motor proteins myosin V and VI as novel interaction partners of synaptopodin and demonstrate that myosin V is important for the formation and/or maintenance of the SA. SUMMARY STATEMENT Here we demonstrate that the spine apparatus is assembled locally in dendrites. This process, which relies on the presence of synaptopodin and F-actin, is disrupted by interfering with myosin-V activity.


An 89-year-old man was seen for worsening left hip pain. He had a history of bladder cancer status post-transurethral resection of bladder tumor followed by intravesicular instillations of bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG). About one year later, he developed worsening pain in his left prosthetic hip that continued to worsen over the next three months. A computed tomography scan of the hip revealed loosening hardware and periprosthetic fluid collection. Aspiration and operative cultures revealed Mycobacterium bovis BCG. Susceptibility testing revealed resistance to pyrazinamide. The patient underwent a surgical washout with retention of hardware. Treatment with isoniazid, rifampin, ethambutol, and pyridoxine was initiated. This case highlights an extremely rare and delayed complication of intravesicular BCG leading to prosthetic joint infection.


Significant stress changes are generated when producing reservoirs compact due to large reductions in the reservoir pore-pressure. These stress changes are not confined to the reservoir. They are redistributed to surrounding formations, modifying the formation velocity and thicknesses. These changes manifest themselves as timelapse time differences on 4D stacks. Various authors (Hatchell et al, 2003; Barkved et al, 2005) have used geomechanical modelling to explain these 4D timeshifts, thereby gaining valuable insight into the behaviour of the subsurface around compacting reservoirs. This has been accomplished by assuming a simple relationship between thickness and velocity changes. The model is reiterated using updated relationships until a match is obtained with the observed 4D timeshifts. We present an approach in which the 4D time differences are measured on prestack data. Without relying on assumed relationships between velocity and thickness changes, we use the additional finite offset information combined with raytracing and linear least squares techniques to derive the thickness and velocity changes. These resulting velocity and thickness changes combined with density and pore-pressure well data are then converted to stress and strain changes. Hence, the technique should close the loop between seismic 4D time differences and geomechanical stress and strain changes.


A convenient synthesis of novel N-N'-substituted 1,2,5-thiadiazolidine 1,1-dioxides starting from amino acids is
reported in five step (reduction, carbamoylation-sulfamoylation, intermolecular cyclization via the Mitsunobu
reaction and acylation). The newly synthesized compounds were characterized by IR, NMR and mass spectral
analysis. Some of the newly synthesized compounds (4c and 4d) were examined for their antibacterial activity
against several strains of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.


This article reports on the working conditions within Swedish ICT-supported distancebased teacher education. Data collected from teacher trainees are analysed and discussed in relation to Swedish governmental policies concerning teacher education and distance education and theories emphasising the importance of social aspects of education. The findings indicate working conditions that are mainly controlled by the teacher education program, and that teacher trainees to a high degree are fostered into individualism. Exceptions are in group work, which on the other hand seems to be given only minor attention in teacher education. This raises questions related to the intentions of teacher education. First, there are questions concerning issues of flexibility and choice, more precisely about what aspects are flexible or not. Second, there are questions concerning possibilities of teacher education providing an education that enables teacher trainees to develop the competencies needed to be able to teach.


This study examines analog seismograms that were generated when most seismic stations had their own clock for timing, making precise comparison of time between different stations difficult. Availability of accurate relative timing facilitates differential travel-time analyses, such as seismic tomography and local earthquake relocations, to be performed using data originally recorded on paper or other physical media. These analyses allow for the investigation of longer-term processes like the earthquake cycle or climate change. We take advantage of the continuous nature of seismic noise to determine the relative time correction between two stations by leveraging the symmetry of the noise correlation function. This procedure is applied to two Global Positioning System-timed stations in the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory network demonstrating subsecond time accuracy. The technique is then applied to analog records from comparable stations between 7 and 10 August in 1988, and relative time corrections of up to about 6 s are obtained. These corrections are confirmed by the relative arrival times of teleseismic P waves of earthquake doublets.


The article deals with analysis of model data formats suitable for metadata description of digital objects (artifacts) occurring in scientific social network applications. The emphasis of analyzes is on the issue of a metadata description of artefact links to other artifacts and artifact links to individuals. The examined metadata formats include LOM (Learning Objects Metadata), MODS (Metadata Object Description Schema) and DC (Dublin Core). The article also deals with dictionaries of controlled descriptors used to refine and unify the metadata description for agricultural research.


Flagella are active, beam-like, sub-cellular organelles that use wavelike oscillations to propel the cell. The mechanisms underlying the coordinated beating of flagella remain incompletely understood despite the fundamental importance of these organelles. The axoneme (the cytoskeletal structure of flagella) consists of microtubule doublets connected by passive and active elements. The motor protein dynein is known to drive active bending, but dynein activity must be regulated to generate oscillatory, propulsive waveforms. Mathematical models of flagella motion generate quantitative predictions that can be analyzed to test hypotheses concerning dynein regulation. Here we investigate the emergence of unstable modes in a mathematical model of flagella motion with feedback from inter-doublet separation (the "geometric clutch" or GC model). The unstable modes predicted by the model may be used to critically evaluate the underlying hypothesis. The least stable mode of the GC model exhibits switching at the base and robust base-to-tip propagation.Copyright © 2015 by ASME


P200 Members of the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Stroke Team retrospectively examined administrative claims data for a pilot study of 12-month survivors of acute ischemic stroke from a locally based managed care program. New ischemic stroke cases were identified between November 1997-July 1998 and defined by an absence of a primary ICD9 code for a TIA or ischemic stroke during the preceding 10–12 months. The managed care organization provided all inpatient hospital, outpatient hospital, ambulatory care and prescription claims for 12 months prior to and after the new case. Cases (n=54) averaged 56.1 years of age, 61.1% males and all survived the 1st year past stroke. Predominant comorbidities included: hypertension (50%), diabetes (24.1%), hypercholesterolemia (33.3%), ischemic heart disease (24.1%), and chronic respiratory illness (20.4%). Total health care costs increased by 244% from the period prior to the stroke. Stroke-related costs increased over 6-fold while non-stroke costs increased by 46%. We compared the resources utilized in the period after the ischemic stroke event to the AHA Stroke Council's 1994 Guidelines for the Management of Acute Ischemic Stroke and 1997 AHA Practice Guidelines for Use of Imaging. This comparison was made to determine if the managed care enrollees received evaluations, treatments and services directed towards preventing recurrent strokes and maximizing patient outcome. An analysis of specific components of care delivered will be provided.


Estimates of the marginal value of carbon dioxide—the social cost of carbon (SCC)—were recently adopted by both the U.S. and U.K. Governments in order to satisfy requirements to value estimated greenhouse gas (GHG) changes of new federal regulations. However, the development and use of SCC estimates comes with significant challenges and controversial decisions. This paper summarizes the key issues and then derives guidance for developing, selecting, and applying the estimates that follows from the fundamental scientific nature and economic principles associated with GHGs and climate change, as well as an understanding of the state of the art for estimating the SCC. The paper evaluates recent estimates in light of the guidance and finds the estimates inconsistent with the guidance in a number of significant areas. The paper also differentiates SCC policy applications in terms of policies with incremental versus nonincremental implications for global GHGs, and identifies serious issues for application of the SCC in setting and evaluating climate policy targets. WIREs Clim Change 2012, 3:163–195. doi: 10.1002/wcc.163


ABSTRACT This paper explores the challenges of everyday practices of co-operation in UK shared housing co-operatives, situated within literatures that stress the relational basis of these practices and the centrality of 'critical associations' to the conduct of everyday life. Shared housing co-operatives, based on mutual ownership and co-residence between unrelated adults, represent a radical departure from both the traditional landlord/tenant model of shared housing and newer models of shared provision such as co-living developments. They allow sharers to access affordable housing through effectively become their own landlord. Yet the practices of co-operation that generate these benefits are challenging, necessitating high levels of commitment to a common ethos and involving an unusual mix of both formal and informal ways of relating to co-residents. These features are explored in this paper. The paper concludes that, despite wider societal pressures towards the commodification of housing, the structures and norms of shared housing co-operatives allow them to transcend the strengths and weaknesses of their membership at any given time, and hence facilitate an unusual alternative to more widespread models of sharing in the private-rented sector.


In this paper, we propose and investigate a task mapping algorithm for big data applications. As a critical resource, data are produced faster than ever before. Parallel programs that process these data on massive parallel systems are widely adopted. The task mapping algorithm however, has not been well optimized for these applications. We explore the characteristics of big data applications based on a shared cache/memory multicore processor. The latencies of cache and memory sub-systems are analysed. The proposed algorithm is designed to optimize the cache/memory latency, as well as intra-application latency. We introduce an efficient greedy algorithm to calculate the mapping result based on the congregate degree of nodes. Different numbers of search spaces are discussed and evaluated. Experiments are conducted based on synthetic simulation and running real applications on a full system simulation environment. Results confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. Average execution time of five selected big data applications is reduced by 8% compared with the first fit algorithm.


Long-term reversals in U.S. stock returns are better explained as the rational reactions of investors to locked-in capital gains than an irrational overreaction to news. Predictors of returns based on the overreaction hypothesis have no power, while those that measure locked-in capital gains do, completely subsuming past returns measures that are traditionally used to predict long-term returns. In data from Hong Kong, where investment income is not taxed, reversals are nonexistent, and returns are not forecastable either by traditional measures or by measures based on the capital gains lock-in hypothesis that successfully predict U.S. returns.


Purpose: The purpose of this research is to analyze the degree of TR transparency and its relation with the audit firm size, fees, either from audit services, or from other services, and with the human capital.Design/methodology/approach: In this study we considered 282 audit firms, and our final sample includes 268 transparency reports from 2013 through 2017. For this period under analysis, audit firms financial information, human resources information and transparency reports were collected. TR report information was divided in four types of information: Mandatory Information I, Mandatory Information II, Voluntary Information and Extra Information.  These indexes measure the fulfillment of each information on the total of information considered in each index. Firstly, a descriptive statistical analysis of the dataset was performed, for them to address the research questions, multivariate analysis was considered.Findings: Our results show a high level of transparency regarding mandatory information I, but a lower accomplishment regarding all other information. In general, the auditor experience, the number of auditors, the number of PIE clients and percentage of extra audit services have a significant impact on the information disclosed in the TR.Originality/value: Our paper contributes to the current literature by assessing the influence that human capital has on the information disclosed in the transparency reports. As far as the authors know, this an original contribution of the paper.


The realization of an health information systems for disease prevention is reported. Lifestyle management aspects are also dealt with along with business model framework for disease prevention.


This paper presents two RX models of a wind-driven wound-rotor induction generator (WRIG) with dynamic slip control for load-flow calculations of a large-scale wind farm connected to a distribution system. The wind farm contains multiple wind-driven WRIGs with dynamic slip control operated under different wind speeds. The steady-state quantities of the studied wind-driven WRIG with dynamic slip control subject to the variations of external impedance connected to the rotor windings of the WRIG are evaluated. The characteristic circles of the studied wind-driven WRIG with dynamic slip control on the R-X plane are also examined. The calculated load-flow results under various values of wind speed and the characteristic circles under different values of operating conditions using the proposed two RX models are both performed and compared on the IEEE test system. It can be concluded from the simulation results of the IEEE 30-bus test system that the proposed RX models are both effective to model the steady-state performance of multiple wind-driven WRIGs with dynamic slip control connected to distribution systems.


Paleoecological evidence and paleoclimatic records indicate that there was a plant poleward migration in latitude and an upward shift in elevation with increased temperatures after the last glaciation. Recent studies have shown that global warming over the past 100 years has been having a noticeable effect on living systems. Current global warming is causing a poleward and upward shift in the range of many plants and animals. Climate change, in connection with other global changes, is threatening the survival of a wide range of plant and animal species. This raises the question: can existing reserves really preserve current levels of biological diversity in the long term given the present rapid pace of climate change? The present paper deals with this question in the context of the responses of plants and animals to global climate change, based on a literature review. Consequently, we recommend expanding reserves towards the poles and/or towards higher altitudes, to permit species to shift their ranges to keep pace with global warming.


When they can, people like to analogize a seemingly obvious, but unnoticed point to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes story of the dog that didn't bark.1 In the story, Holmes deduced a murderer's identity because a guard dog failed to bark at the time of the crime, implying that the murderer and the dog's master were one and the same. Similarly, legal scholars like to infer the failure of various parties or institutions to speak up about something as implicit acquiescence. While we all like to make inferences from a dog's silence, however, we often never ask what was wrong with the dog in the first place. International legal scholarship is so frustrating and so disappointing for what it doesn't say, as much as for what it says. We rarely examine, however, what is so wrong with international legal scholarship that causes its failure to bark. At least the dog in the Holmes story had little choice; we can't blame a dog for recognizing the master who trained and fed him. International legal scholars, incredibly, often end up in the same place as the dog, even though they now enjoy so many choices or directions in which to work, spanning a number of disciplines and normative outcomes. The failure of international legal scholars to challenge the recent war in Kosovo serves up a prime example of the dog that didn't bark. International legal scholars' inconsistent positions on war powers suggest that scholarship in the field has failed to progress because it is too attached to the ambiguous normative goal of promoting international justice. Instead of attempting to study and analyze the nature of international law and why it appears to succeed in some areas and not others, international legal scholars devote too much time to fantasizing about the ideal international legal order and criticizing threats to it. Yet, by engaging in such a valuedriven normative enterprise, these scholars undermine the very idea that neutral law, not raw power or ideological politics, governs international affairs. Debates over war powers provide an example of the normatively-driven enterprise of international legal scholarship. In the 1980s and 1990s, prominent international legal scholars sharply criticized the use of force by Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush, who sent American forces into hostilities in places such as Grenada, Libya, Lebanon, Panama, and the Persian Gulf Throughout these wars, the leading lights of international legal scholarship argued that presidents who launched military interventions without congressional authorization had acted unconstitutionally.2 According to these professors, presidential war-making violated the Constitution's Declare War Clause, which they read to vest in Congress the authority to approve all uses of force. Some academics even allege that presidents who engaged the nation in hostilities in violation of the U.N. Charter (not in national selfdefense) compound the unconstitutionality of their actions by violating international law.3 International law, these scholars claim, is part of the law of the land, and therefore the President's constitutional duty to enforce the laws requires him to obey international rules.4 International law scholars take their views seriously, so seriously in fact that they have engaged in more direct forms of advocacy. Law professors supported challenges to the Reagan administration's military aid program for El Salvador,5 covert assistance for the Nicaraguan Contras,6 and American naval escort operations in the Persian Gulf.7 President Bush's war against Iraq provided the most notable example of the activism of international legal scholars. In an amicus curiae memorandum filed in a congressional lawsuit brought against President Bush,8 eleven prominent law professors argued that military action against Iraqi forces, without "the genuine approval of Congress," would violate the Constitution.9 In an effort to stop unilateral presidential war-making, they took to the popular press and the airwaves,10 testified before Congress,11 and even considered representing soldiers who might resist a call-up unless a declaration of war was issued. …


The XML Business Reporting Language (XBRL) is a standard for business and financial information reporting. It is based on XML so instance documents based on XBRL, e.g. a quarterly report, are highly constrained by the XML document-oriented nature. This makes more difficult to perform queries that mix information from filings from different dates, companies, or accounting principles than with a formalism based on a graph model instead of a tree model. Semantic Web technologies provide a graph model that facilitates mashing-up different XBRL sources. We have put into practice this approach mapping the XBRL filings available from the SEC's EDGAR program to Resource Description Framework (RDF) and the XML Schema taxonomies these filings are based on to Web Ontology Language (OWL). The resulting semantic metadata, though highly tied to the XML structure it is mapped from, benefits from Semantic Web technologies and tools in order to facilitate integration and crossquerying, even together with other parts of the Web of Linked Data.


A model of quasars and their associated jets as phenomena of magnetic selfcompression is presented. Magnetic field self-compression, as observed in laboratory plasma focus devices, results in increases in energy density of more than 10 8 and in even larger increases in transferred power density. Our model, based on the scaling of these phenomena to astrophysical dimensions, avoids the problems of gravitationallyconfined approaches. It presents a mechanism by which the energy of a quasar is immediately derived from a volume nearly 10 6 times larger than the observed quasar radiating volume and is ultimately derived from the volume of an entire protogalactic plasma cloud. The model's predictions of quasar energy, radiated power, lifetime, dimensions, density and rotational velocity are in good agreement with observations. Part II of this paper extends the model to radio galaxies and briefly discusses the role of similar self-compression processes in the origin of filamentary super-clusters of galaxies.


Abstract. Geomatics is trying to redefine its role in the Italian higher-level educational system according to the new technological developments. The recent thematic thread of Building Information Modelling (BIM) systems contributes to the new role of Geomatics inside universities and, more generally, in the training process. BIM systems propose new ways of managing the construction process throughout building life cycle, from design to construction and management. They allow managing large flows of information, organized and shared among the different operators in the construction chain, through databases linked to three-dimensional objects. The BIM approach is based on two principles: interoperability and digitization.BIM was born as an application dedicated to new buildings, to promote the optimization of the entire life cycle of the building, from design to management. Many countries have been active in this sector for years, while others are now joining the digitization approach. In this complex scenario, the proposal to adopt the BIM process not only for the management of new constructions but also for the intervention on the existing one, is relevant in a country, like Italy, with a very rich history and a high presence of built historical heritage. Maurice Murphy coined the term HBIM (Historic Building Information Modelling), referring to BIM systems applied to historical buildings that need intervention and subsequent management.Geomatics plays a crucial role in HBIM as it is the primary tool for the digitization of built heritage and to obtain a model of the existing, an "as-built" model. In order to achieve this result, laser scanner and photogrammetry are the main tools, and they are involved in the so-called Scan2Bim process. The other important role is connected with the modeling stage to arrive at a three-dimensional representation suitable for common BIM authoring software while maintaining the rigor and accuracy that characterize the geomatic approach.The fundamental role of Geomatics in this context requires the training of personnel specialized in surveying and managing the acquired data through HBIM systems. There are new training courses and masters in the field of BIM systems, hosted by Politecnico di Milano at the Mantua Campus, aimed at training new figures with a specific curriculum, including Geomatics.The elements that characterize the training course are the knowledge of the principles and methods of data and the evaluation of achievable accuracy and admissible errors. It is also important to address issues that are still not completely solved in HBIM community, such as the type of modeling the best levels of detail of geometric and information content and the most practical aspects of commercial BIM authoring software.The article describes the experience carried out by Politecnico di Milano and tries to define, afterward, the training curriculum for HBIM experts, in which Geomatics plays an essential role, not only in the data acquisition phase but also in geometric and informative modeling.


: The operation of stricturoplasty for Crohn's disease is now widely accepted as a procedure that has enabled the preservation of the small intestine that would otherwise have been resected. This is particularly important when there are multiple and scattered strictures, in which short intestinal syndrome can be avoided. We have used automatic staplers for this technique with excellent results for 30 strictures in nine patients.


Unlike epigenetic silencing of tumor suppressor genes, the role of epigenetic derepression of cancer-promoting genes or oncogenes in carcinogenesis remains less well understood. The tight junction proteins claudin-3 and claudin-4 are frequently overexpressed in ovarian cancer and their overexpression was previously reported to promote the migration and invasion of ovarian epithelial cells. Here, we show that the expression of claudin-3 and claudin-4 is repressed in ovarian epithelial cells in association with promoter 'bivalent' histone modifications, containing both the activating trimethylated histone H3 lysine 4 (H3K4me3) mark and the repressive mark of trimethylated histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27me3). During ovarian tumorigenesis, derepression of CLDN3 and CLDN4 expression correlates with loss of H3K27me3 in addition to trimethylated histone H4 lysine 20 (H4K20me3), another repressive histone modification. Although CLDN4 repression was accompanied by both DNA hypermethylation and repressive histone modifications, DNA methylation was not required for CLDN3 repression in immortalized ovarian epithelial cells. Moreover, activation of both CLDN3 and CLDN4 in ovarian cancer cells was associated with simultaneous changes in multiple histone modifications, whereas H3K27me3 loss alone was insufficient for their derepression. CLDN4 repression was robustly reversed by combined treatment targeting both DNA demethylation and histone acetylation. Our study strongly suggests that in addition to the well-known chromatin-associated silencing of tumor suppressor genes, epigenetic derepression by the conversely related loss of repressive chromatin modifications also contributes to ovarian tumorigenesis via activation of cancer-promoting genes or candidate oncogenes.


Eye tracking is handled as one of the key technologies for applications that assess and evaluate human attention, behavior, and biometrics, especially using gaze, pupillary, and blink behaviors. One of the challenges with regard to the social acceptance of eye tracking technology is however the preserving of sensitive and personal information. To tackle this challenge, we employ a privacy-preserving framework based on randomized encoding to train a Support Vector Regression model using synthetic eye images privately to estimate the human gaze. During the computation, none of the parties learn about the data or the result that any other party has. Furthermore, the party that trains the model cannot reconstruct pupil, blinks or visual scanpath. The experimental results show that our privacy-preserving framework is capable of working in real-time, with the same accuracy as compared to non-private version and could be extended to other eye tracking related problems.


Received: 17 May 2019 Accepted: 20 June 2019 Abstract. The objective of this study is to assess the impact of Islamic financing modes on employment through asset formation and value creation of Islamic Banking in Punjab, Pakistan. Data was collected from two randomly selected Islamic Banks in Pakistan namely Meezan Bank and Al-Baraka Bank (Pakistan) Ltd. Multistage sampling procedure was used for selection of sample respondents from three regions of Punjab. List frame of the study consisted of respondents/firms utilizing finance from selected Islamic Banks located in each district. The sample of the study comprised of 206 small and medium firms who utilized Islamic modes of financing to get financing for their business. Variables of the model comprised of employment generation, asset formation, technology, firm age and business size. Least square regression model was used for analysis of the cross sectional data. All the independent variables of the model have significant effect on dependent variable. Empirical results revealed that only asset formation has direct relationship with employment generation. Technology, firm age and business size have inverse relationship with employment generation capacity of the borrowing firms utilizing Islamic finance. The study concluded that in Pakistan, the SME's used financing tool to enhance the assets by adopting the technological change. The results of the study will support policy makers, practitioners and planners to make more informed business decisions.


The development of low-complexity blind techniques for equalization and timing synchronization is of enormous importance in the design of wireless communication systems. In this paper, we propose a practical solution for blind equalization and timing recovery in fast-fading time and frequency selective wireless communication channels. We develop a general framework for Constant Modulus Algorithm (CMA) based joint Fractionally Spaced Equalization (FSE) and timing recovery. We use differential modulation to deal with any arbitrary carrier offset. We propose a data reuse strategy to achieve improved short burst wireless communication in CMA based equalization systems. Our results show that FSE outperforms T-Spaced Equalization (TSE) with approximately 2 times faster Mean Square Error (MSE) convergence and approximately 2 dB gain in Bit Error Rate (BER) performance in wireless fading channels. In addition, we demonstrate that the BER performance of the proposed FSE receiver meets the theoretical bounds with only a few dB loss in Stanford University Interim (SUI) channels, which are relevant to IEEE 802.16.3c standard for Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks.


Acute myocarditis can be caused by a variety of organisms. Congestive heart failure and death may occur as a consequence of these infections. In recent years cardiac imaging, by echocardiography and magnetic resonance and nuclear imaging has become a useful adjunct in the diagnosis and management of infectious myocarditis. Specific examples of their usefulness will be given in the discussions of chagasic myocarditis, bacterial myocarditis, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and peripartum cardiomyopathy. Finally, we explore the exciting area of cardiac imaging of small animals, such as mice infected with Trypanosoma cruzi.


Bozepinib is a potent antitumour compound that shows an IC50 of 0.166 μM against MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cell line. It is also a very selective drug that presents a therapeutic index (TI) of 11.0 against MDA-MB-231 in relation to the normal MCF-10A. It is important to identify new cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) anticancer drugs to struggle against the resistance and the high risk of relapse in patients. In the present chapter, we show how bozepinib demonstrated selectivity on cancer cells and showed an inhibitory effect over kinases involved in carcinogenesis, proliferation and angiogenesis. Bozepinib inhibits HER-2 signaling pathway and JNK and ERK kinases. In addition, it has an inhibitory effect on AKT and VEGF together with anti-angiogenic and anti-migratory activities. Interestingly, bozepinib suppresses the formation of both mammo- and colonospheres and eliminated ALDH+ CSC subpopulations at a low micromolar range similar to salinomycin. It also induces the downregulation of SOX2, c-MYC and β-CATENIN and upregulation of the GLI-3 Hedgehog signaling repressor. Finally, bozepinib shows in vivo antitumor and anti-metastatic efficacy in xenotransplanted nude mice without presenting subacute toxicity. However, further studies in cancer patients are needed to confirm the therapeutic potential of bozepinib.


We present late-time radio observations of GW170817, the first binary neutron-star (NS) merger discovered through gravitational waves (GWs) by the advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) and Virgo detectors. Our observations, carried out with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), were optimized to detect polarized radio emission, and thus to constrain the linear polarization fraction of GW170817. At an epoch of ≈244 days after the merger, we rule out linearly polarized emission above a fraction of ≈12% at a frequency of 2.8 GHz (99% confidence). Within the structured jet scenario (a.k.a. successful jet plus cocoon system) for GW170817, the derived upper limit on the radio continuum linear polarization fraction strongly constrains the magnetic field configuration in the shocked ejecta. We show that our results for GW170817 are compatible with the low level of linear polarization found in afterglows of cosmological long γ-ray bursts (GRBs). Finally, we discuss our findings in the context of future expectations for the study of radio counterparts of binary NS mergers identified by ground-based GW detectors.


The scale and ferocity of post-war violence regularly confounds the expectations of security and development specialists. When left unchecked, mutating violence can tip 'fragile' societies back into all out warfare. In the context of formal peace support operations, conventional security promotion efforts are routinely advanced to prevent this from happening. These include disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) and wider security system/sector reform (SSR). There are also lesser known but no less important interventions to promote security that deviate from—but also potentially reinforce and enhance—DDR and SSR. Faced with dynamic post-war contexts, erstwhile warring parties, peace mediators and practitioners have crafted a host of innovative and experimental security promotion initiatives designed to mitigate risks and symptoms of post-war violence including interim stabilisation measures and second generation DDR. Drawing on a growing evidence base, the article sets out a host of contextual determinants that shape the character and effectiveness of security promotion on the ground. It then issues a typology of emergent practices—some that occur before, during and after DDR and SSR interventions. Taken together, they offer a fascinating new research agenda for those preoccupied with post-war security promotion.


The modeling of intermediate band solar cell has been developed since 90's and continued effort is made to facilitate the realization of this novel device. Two formulation has been used to model the generation recombination rate of IBSC including conventionally available modified-Shockley-Reed-Hall formulation or later proposed IBSC formulation (Luque and Marti, PRL 78 5014). This paper proves that these two formulations are actually mathematically equivalent and actually one can be derived from the other. A unified mathematical framework can thus be established and the conventional drift-diffusion model can thus be employed for modeling novel IBSC with the inclusion of new model for intermediate band carrier transport. The debate whether the addition of impurity atoms would decrease the efficiency by shorter recombination lifetime or increase the efficiency by more absorption is studied, and results confirm that the efficient removal of photo-generated carriers from valence and conduction bands and solar concentration is the key to the success of subbandgap photovoltaics.


Increased myocardial lipid delivery is a determinant of myocardial substrate metabolism and function in animal models of type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Sex also has major effects on myocardial metabolism in the human heart. Our aims were to determine whether 1) sex affects the myocardial metabolic response to lipid lowering in T2DM, 2) altering lipid [fatty acid (FA) or triglyceride] delivery to the heart would lower the elevated myocardial lipid metabolism associated with T2DM, and 3) decreasing lipid delivery improves diastolic dysfunction in T2DM. To this end, we studied 78 T2DM patients (43 women) with positron emission tomography, echocardiography, and whole body tracer studies before and 3 mo after randomization to metformin (MET), metformin + rosiglitazone (ROSI), or metformin + Lovaza (LOV). No treatment main effects were found for myocardial substrate metabolism, partly because men and women often had different responses to a given treatment. In men, MET decreased FA clearance, which was linked to increased plasma FA levels, myocardial FA utilization and oxidation, and lower myocardial glucose utilization. In women, ROSI increased FA clearance, thereby decreasing plasma FA levels and myocardial FA utilization. Although LOV did not change triglyceride levels, it improved diastolic function, particularly in men. Group and sex also interacted in determining myocardial glucose uptake. Thus, in T2DM, different therapeutic regimens impact myocardial metabolism and diastolic function in a sex-specific manner. This suggests that sex should be taken into account when designing a patient's diabetes treatment.


Today libraries are using the latest technologies and trends to make the services popular and user friendly. The concept of library as a physical place where one can visit to get information. But the way of getting or retrieving information inside the library is changed now a day's. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is very important for library to changing the existing environment and providing a smart library services. The uses of RFID applications in library increase the accuracy, efficiency, productivity and enhance the user satisfaction along with it provides safe and secured system for the intellectual property of the libraries. Though its implementation is moderately high but it really ameliorate the quality of library services. This paper discusses the applications of RFID technology which help the librarian to create a smart environment inside the library.


The potential use of Mowital B30H resin immobilized dried activated sludge as a substitute for granular activated carbon for removing phenol from aqueous solution was examined in a continuous packed bed reactor as a function of flow rate and inlet phenol concentration. The working sorption pH value was determined as 1.0 for both the sorbents, and packed bed sorption studies were performed at this pH value. The maximum specific uptakes, total adsorbed quantities, and total removals of phenol related to the effluent volumes were determined by evaluating the breakthrough curves obtained at different flow rates and different inlet phenol concentrations for each sorbent. At the lowest flow rate of 0.8 mL/min and at the inlet phenol concentration of 500 mg/L, the maximum specific uptakes and total removals of phenol were 84.0 mg/g and 27.6%, respectively, for granular activated carbon and 9.0 mg/g and 9.3%, respectively, for immobilized dried activated sludge. Data confirmed that total removals of phenol decreased with increasing flow rate and inlet phenol concentration for both immobilized dried activated sludge and granular activated carbon systems.


Adipic acid is only partially catabolized when it is fed to animals, and a portion of it is excreted in urine. The excreted portion may lower urinary pH and, as a result, ammonia emission. The present study tested this hypothesis. In Exp. 1, nursery pigs (n = 14) were fed (for a period of 7 d) either a standard nursery diet or the same diet supplemented with 1% adipic acid to assess effects on urinary pH (collected on d 5 or 6) and in vitro ammonia emission from the collected urine samples that were mixed with control feces. In Exp. 2, grower pigs housed 10 each in one of two chambers were fed a control diet or the same diet supplemented with 1% adipic acid. Ventilated air was quantified and analyzed for ammonia using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to determine the effects of feeding 1% adipic acid on ammonia emission. The results from Exp. 1 showed that adipic acid strongly reduced urinary pH (from 7.7 to 5.5, P < 0.05). In vitro ammonia emission from these urine samples was significantly reduced at all the time points evaluated (1, 3, 18, and 46 h with reductions of 94, 93, 70, and 39%, respectively, P < 0.05). Experiment 2 showed that adipic acid supplementation reduced ammonia emission by 25% (P < 0.05), which corresponded to the predicted reduction in ammonia emission based on the reduction in manure pH observed. In conclusion, feeding adipic acid lowers urinary pH and reduces ammonia emission. The reduction in ammonia emission, though, does not correspond to the reduction in urinary pH but corresponds to the reduction in fecal pH as a result of mixing the urine and feces, in which feces act as a strong buffer.


The Screw Down System (SDS) is a typical hydraulic servo control system. It is the key actuator of cold rolling mill. The dynamic performance of SDS has a significant effect on the accuracy of thickness. Hydraulic servo control system is not always optimal and stable due to highly nonlinear and parameter uncertainties. In this paper, the most important nonlinear relating flow and pressure is analyzed. A nonlinear self-adaptive compensation method is designed. Modeling and simulating the hydraulic servo control system of SDS using this method, the numerical simulation results show that the maximum overshoot and static error of the compensated system are more less than that of without nonlinear compensation. The overshoot of the compensated system is less than 10% when the cold strip is rolling. So the thickness tolerance of the cold strip can be guaranteed easily. This self- adaptive compensation method can be used to other hydraulic servo control systems.


p-Methylbenzoic acid and peroxyergosterol were isolated and identified by spectroscopic methods from cultures of the fungus Cladosporium cladosporioides isolated from a marine sponge. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that p-methylbenzoic acid had been isolated as a natural product.


CF3I has been considered to be a candidate replacement of CF3Br used in aircraft for fuel inerting and for fire fighting. In this study, the chemical effects of aircraft released CF3I on atmospheric ozone were examined with the current UIUC 2D Chemical Transport Model (CTM). Using the former estimate of aircraft emission profile for tank inerting in military aircraft as used in (1), the resulting equivalent ODPs for CF3I were in the range of 0.07 to 0.25, above the critical value 0.05, the U.S. EPA for policy consideration. As a sensitivity analysis, we analyzed a case with emissions associated with inerting occurring at lower altitudes. This case resulted in much lower ODPs. Finally, we analyzed the potential effects on ozone resulting from using CF3I in fire fighting connected with engine nacelle and auxiliary power unit applications. The resulting effects on ozone showed extremely low ODPs ≤ 0.05. The altitudes where most of aircraft released CF3I occurs seemed to be a dominant factor in its ozone depletion effects.


Traffic safety can be improved by using a vehicular dedicated communication protocol. The standard IEEE 802.11p is being developed for this purpose. The physical layer properties of this draft are based on the already widely used IEEE 802.11a standard. Nevertheless, the propagation conditions in vehicular communications are different to the ones considered for 802.11a, which is focusing on nomadic indoor usage, and well studied until now. In this paper we present the simulation results obtained from an implemented physical layer model for this standard. The used channel model describes the very peculiar characteristics of the vehicular radio channel, specially the nonstationarity. Several channel estimators are tested based on the pilot structure defined in the standard focusing on low complexity implementations. The results show that diffuse components, present in vehicular channels on highways, have a very significant impact on the system performance. Furthermore, in situations of poor line-of-sight contribution, an acceptable frame error rate is not achievable even at high signal-to-noise ratio values. Therefore, more complex channel estimation and equalization techniques based on the current standard pilot pattern have to be developed that are able to cope with the properties of the vehicular radio channel.


The application of the oxy-fuel combustion technique could tackle the combustion process's environmental issues. Experiments were conducted on partially premixed air- and oxy-methane combustion flames stabilized over a novel perforated burner in the present work. The burner has a premixing ratio of 7.0. In oxy-fuel combustion, the experiments were performed at oxygen fractions (OF%: volumetric percentage of O2 in the oxidizer mixture) of 29%, 32%, and 36% and over a range of operating conditions necessary for a stable flame. The results of oxy-combustion flames were compared with the corresponding air-combustion flames at the same operating conditions. Two sets of statistical analyses were performed for further confirmation of the experimental results. The first set investigated the operating parameters' effect, including OF and oxidizer Reynolds number (Re), on the upper flammability limits (UFL). Simultaneously, the second set studied the impact of OF and equivalence ratio on flame length. The experimental results revealed that the flammability limits get wider as the OF increases due to the resulting flame speed rise with O2-enrichment. The statistical analysis is conducted by analysis of variance (ANOVA) technique, which carries innovation and confirms that OF and Re significantly impacted the UFL. The visual flame length of oxy-flames was longer than its correspondents of air-flames due to the reduction of flame speed associated with the negative influence of CO2 dilution in oxy-flames. The statistical analysis showed a significant effect of OF and equivalence ratio on the visible flame appearance.


We have investigated the in vitro rate of replication and differentiation of preadipocytes derived from lean (+/+) and obese (cp/cp) male JCR:LA-corpulent (cp) rats in an attempt to identify mechanisms that regulate adipose tissue growth. Cp/cp rats were twofold heavier than age-matched lean rats by 9-10 mo. Cp/cp-derived preadipocytes demonstrated an inherently slower rate of replication than +/+ preadipocytes (population doubling time: cp/cp 52.3 +/- 9.6 h vs. +/+ 19.7 +/- 1.6 h), although the preadipocyte pool in the cp/cp was significantly greater. Cp/cp preadipocytes were resistant to hormonally induced differentiation (19.9 +/- 9.4% of cells accumulated lipid) but differentiated when cocultured with mature adipocytes to the same extent as preadipocytes derived from Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats (cp/cp 48.4 +/- 15.2% vs. SD 52.2 +/- 11.9%). In contrast, SD preadipocytes did not differentiate in response to mature adipocytes from +/+ rats (13.8 +/- 5.2%). Our observations suggest that preadipocyte replication and maturation may not be controlled in a coordinated manner.


In 2009 Sankaranarayanan et al published their findings from a large cluster-randomized, controlled trial of a single round of HPV testing, cytology testing or visual inspection with acetic acid--with appropriate treatment for those confirmed positive--as interventions to decrease mortality from cervical cancer. The control arm did not receive any screening or treatment. Several issues are brought up through the approval and conduct of this trial, which was carried out among high-risk women in rural Maharashtra, India. Specifically, this trial offers an opportunity to further discussion around clinical equipoise, identification of primary endpoints, observation of null effects, and the informed consent process, within the context of a low-income setting. Such discourse may shed light on the necessity and manner of examining a biomedical intervention in low-income settings, when the intervention is already considered efficacious in high-income settings.


Due to the impacts of climate change, there is an urgent need to scale up existing, and develop novel, renewable energy technologies. Although there are many types of renewable energy technology, ocean renewable energy, including established offshore wind, and novel wave and tidal energy converters, offers many opportunities due to the abundance of the resource, availability of sea space, and (for tidal) predictability. However, the extraction of energy from the ocean environment will influence sediment dynamics and morphodynamics at various temporal and spatial scales. Detailed knowledge of seabed properties is also important for device installation, affecting foundation design and cabling. In this study, 36 seabed sediment samples were collected across a region of the Irish Sea extending from the west of Anglesey into Liverpool Bay up to a maximum distance of around 35 km offshore – a region where there are many existing and planned ocean renewable energy projects. Particle size analysis at quarter phi intervals was used to calculate the statistical properties of the seabed sediment samples, including Mean grain size, Sorting, Skewness and Kurtosis. These properties were compared against the outputs of wave (SWAN) and tidal (TELEMAC) models of the region to investigate the relationship between environmental variables and sediment characteristics, and to determine the impact and challenges of renewable energy technologies deployed in the region. Most of the sediments in the study area are medium sand, polymodal, very poorly sorted, coarse skewed, and very platykurtic. We found that mean water depth and peak current speed have the largest influence on Median grain size, and Sorting can be affected by tidal range, in addition to water depth and peak current speed. Moreover, minimal influence of wave climate was found on the sediments. A thorough discussion based on a literature review of the environmental issues of various energy converters (tidal energy converter (both individual and arrays), tidal barrage/lagoons, and wind turbines) was used to determine how devices in the study region, and at other sites throughout the world, would interact with sediment dynamics. We make recommendations on ways to minimize environmental impacts of ocean energy technologies.