Hydrodynamic Analysis of Twin-Hull Structures Supporting Floating PV Systems in Offshore and Coastal Regions

In this paper, a novel model based on the boundary element method (BEM) is presented for the hydrodynamic analysis of floating twin-hull structures carrying photovoltaic panels, supporting the study of wave responses and their effects on power performance in variable bathymetry regions. The analysis is restricted to two spatial dimensions for simplicity. The method is free of any mild-slope assumptions. A boundary integral representation is applied for the near field in the vicinity of the floating body, which involved simple (Rankine) sources, while the far field is modeled using complete (normal-mode) series expansions that are derived using separation of variables in the constant depth half-strips on either side of the middle, non-uniform domain, where the depth exhibited a general variation, overcoming a mild bottom-slope assumption. The numerical solution is obtained by means of a low-order panel method. Numerical results are presented concerning twin-hull floating bodies of simple geometry lying over uniform and sloping seabeds. With the aid of systematic comparisons, the effects of the bottom slope and curvature on the hydrodynamic characteristics (hydrodynamic coefficients and responses) of the floating bodies are illustrated and discussed. Finally, the effects of waves on the floating PV performance are presented, indicating significant variations of the performance index ranging from 0 to 15% depending on the sea state.

Identification and functional characterization of ABCC transporters for Cd tolerance and accumulation in Sedum alfredii Hance

Cd is one of the potential toxic elements (PTEs) exerting great threats on the environment and living organisms and arising extensive attentions worldwide. Sedum alfredii Hance, a Cd hyperaccumulator, is of great importance in studying the mechanisms of Cd hyperaccumulation and has potentials for phytoremediation. ATP-binding cassette sub-family C (ABCC) belongs to the ABC transporter family, which is deemed to closely associate with multiple physiological processes including cellular homeostasis, metal detoxification, and transport of metabolites. In the present work, ten ABCC proteins were identified in S. alfredii Hance, exhibiting uniform domain structure and divergently clustering with those from Arabidopsis. Tissue-specific expression analysis indicated that some SaABCC genes had significantly higher expression in roots (Sa23221 and Sa88F144), stems (Sa13F200 and Sa14F98) and leaves (Sa13F200). Co-expression network analysis using these five SaABCC genes as hub genes produced two clades harboring different edge genes. Transcriptional expression profiles responsive to Cd illustrated a dramatic elevation of Sa14F190 and Sa18F186 genes. Heterologous expression in a Cd-sensitive yeast cell line, we confirmed the functions of Sa14F190 gene encoding ABCC in Cd accumulation. Our study performed a comprehensive analysis of ABCCs in S. alfredii Hance, firstly mapped their tissue-specific expression patterns responsive to Cd stress, and characterized the roles of Sa14F190 genes in Cd accumulation.

Role of Stimuli on Liquid Crystalline Defects: From Defect Engineering to Switchable Functional Materials

Achieving tunable physical properties is currently one of the most exciting research topics. In order to realize this goal, a medium that is responsive to external stimuli and can undergo a change in its physical property is required. Liquid crystal (LC) is a prominent candidate, as its physical and optical properties can be easily manipulated with various stimuli, such as surface anchoring, rubbing, geometric confinement, and external fields. Having broken away from the past devotion to obtaining a uniform domain of LCs, people are now putting significant efforts toward forming and manipulating ordered and oriented defect structures with a unique arrangement within. The complicated molecular order with tunability would benefit the interdisciplinary research fields of optics, physics, photonics, and materials science. In this review, the recent progress toward defect engineering in the nematic and smectic phases by controlling the surface environment and electric field and their combinational methods is introduced. We close the review with a discussion of the possible applications enabled using LC defect structures as switchable materials.

EXTRAJUDICIAL REMEDIES FOR THE RIGHT TO A DOMAIN NAME

Today, each member of the business industry in one way or another presents his company, his product or services he provides on the World Wide Web. The main purpose of the company in the internet is to create and use its own website to provide information about their product and to find a potential buyer, as well as demonstrate their advantages and how they differ from their competitors. The main purpose of registeringa specific «domain name» is to create favorable (convenient) conditions for the buyer who wanted to get acquainted with the company or its range. After all, if a domain name is associatively similar to the name of an individual company, then it will be much easier for the buyer to find the website of such a company than through a search using search engines.Business representatives do not always succeed, especially if the name (trademark, brand) of the company is widely known, or if such a company has become a «victim» of unfair competition. This creates controversy over which parties are interested in resolving as quickly and cheaply as possible.This is greatly facilitated by the work of the World Intellectual Property Organization and a number of documents, among which the leading are «Principles for Dispute Resolution on Identical Domain Names» and «Principles of Uniform Rules for Dispute Resolution on Domain Names» (UDRP), adopted by ICANN. However, their analysis, as well as the analysis of law enforcement practice, allow us to speak not only about the effectiveness, but also about certain shortcomings of the proposed ICANN procedure for resolving disputes over domain names, which entail ambiguous dispute resolution practices.The analysis of the regulation of protection of rights to the domain name is carried out with the prescriptions of the «Principles for the resolution of disputes about the same domain names» and the «Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Rules» (UDRP) adopted by ICANN. An attempt is made to highlight the advantages and disadvantages of an out-of-court procedure for resolving disputes over domain names and suggested possible ways to improve such a system in Ukraine.

Harmonic measure and Riesz transform in uniform and general domains

Let {\Omega\subsetneq{\mathbb{R}}^{n+1}} be open and let μ be some measure supported on {\partial\Omega} such that {\mu(B(x,r))\leq Cr^{n}} for all {x\in{\mathbb{R}}^{n+1}}, {r>0}. We show that if the harmonic measure in Ω satisfies some scale invariant {A_{\infty}}-type conditions with respect to μ, then the n-dimensional Riesz transform{\mathcal{R}}_{\mu}f(x)=\int\frac{x-y}{|x-y|^{n+1}}f(y)\,d\mu(y)is bounded in {L^{2}(\mu)}. We do not assume any doubling condition on μ. We also consider the particular case when Ω is a bounded uniform domain. To this end, we need first to obtain sharp estimates that relate the harmonic measure and the Green function in this type of domains, which generalize classical results by Jerison and Kenig for the well-known class of NTA domains.

The Mutual Singularity of Harmonic Measure and Hausdorff Measure of Codimension Smaller than One

Let $\Omega \subset{\mathbb{R}}^{n+1}$ be open and let $E\subset \partial \Omega $ with $0<{\mathcal{H}}^s(E)<\infty $, for some $s\in (n,n+1)$, satisfy a local capacity density condition. In this paper it is shown that the harmonic measure cannot be mutually absolutely continuous with the Hausdorff measure ${\mathcal{H}}^s$ on $E$. This answers a question of Azzam and Mourgoglou, who had proved the same result under the additional assumption that $\Omega $ is a uniform domain.

14. Branding, trademarks, and domain names

This chapter examines the role of trademarks in the creation of brand portfolios online, including internet addresses or domain names. It first provides an overview of branding and trademarks in the global business environment, trademark characteristics, and the distinction between registered and unregistered trademarks, and then looks at domain names as address tools and brand identifiers. The chapter also considers early disputes over rightful ownership of trademarks and domain names, examining the development of cybersquatting case law before the UK and US courts. It discusses the allocation of new generic top-level domains under the New gTLD procedure and examines the legal safeguards for trademark holders under the procedure. The primary focus of the chapter is the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy and its domestic counterpart in the UK, the Nominet Dispute Resolution Service.