Live-odds gambling advertising and consumer protection

In-play gambling is a recent innovation allowing gambling to occur during the course of a sporting event, rather than merely before play commences. For years, in-play gambling has been marketed in the UK via adverts displaying current betting odds during breaks in televised soccer, e.g., “England to score in the first 20 minutes, 4-to-1.” Previous research shows that this so-called “live-odds” advertising is skewed toward complex events with high profit margins which consumers do not evaluate rationally. Recent UK regulatory guidance on “impulsiveness and urgency,” aiming to enhance consumer protection around gambling advertising, states that gambling advertising should not “unduly pressure the audience to gamble.” We explored the frequency and content of live-odds advertising over the 2018 soccer World Cup, as a case study of the first major televised sporting event after the publication of this UK regulatory guidance. In total, 69 live-odds adverts were shown over 32 matches (M = 2.16 per-match), by five bookmakers. We identified two key features that made advertised bets appear more urgent than necessary. First, 39.1% of bets could be determined before the match ended. Second, 24.6% of bets showed a recent improvement in odds, including a 15.9% subset of “flash odds,” which were limited in both time and quantity. Advertised odds were again skewed toward complex events, with a qualitative trend toward greater complexity than at the previous World Cup. We believe that consumers should be protected against the targeted content of gambling advertising

Underwater Pipeline Leakage Detection Using Vision Based Techniques: Semi-AUV (SAUV) Approach

This thesis intends to convert a Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) to a Semi-Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (SAUV) using a vision-based control system. The SAUV was used for automatic underwater gas pipeline tracking and leakage detection. the leakages in the pipeline using Computer Vision. The SAUV was designed to operate both manually and automatically in underwater conditions. The proposed SAUV has 6 thrusters to achieve 4 degrees of freedom controlled by the controller unit and powered by LiPo battery packs. Our underwater vehicle is equipped with sensors providing continuous feedback signals to automatically control the vehicle to track predefined trajectories. The SAUV can be self-stabilized as the center of gravity and center of buoyancy of the vehicle is positioned in such a way in the predefined plan. The SAUV captures images to perform line tracking along with the pipeline and gas bubble images during its mission. The multi-core umbilical cable is used here for the video signal, the feedback signal, and battery charging lines. This will be used only for development and test purposes and will be removed during autonomous missions. For performing all operations, various control schemes such as computer vision algorithm for object detection using python programming, OpenCV, Hough Transform Theory, etc. are applied. The proposed SAUV is expected to pave the way for the development of advanced underwater oil and gas pipeline industrial applications by ocean scientists

Interference Mitigation Using Uplink Power Control in 5G Relay-Based Heterogeneous Networks

Heterogeneous network (HetNet) is an attractive solution for future cellular networks with high data rate and coverage requirements. In HetNets, small cells such as micro cells, pico cells, femto cells and relay node (RN) are added to the network of macro cells in the same region. A large number of low power RNs produces new cell edges with significant intra-cell and inter-cell interferences. In the uplink (UL) scenarios of time-division based HetNets with RN, the user equipment (UE) desired signal may be interfered by the transmissions of the co-channel UEs during the first time slot and by the transmissions of the co-channel UEs or RNs during the second time slot. The interference caused by the RNs may significantly degrade the UE signal. UL transmission power control (PC) is essential for mitigating interference and, as a result, enhancing the cell edge and overall system performance. This research proposes a PC algorithm in order to mitigate the UL interference in 5g relay-based HetNets. This research also investigates the UL performance of HetNets when PC is applied at the RNs. Simulation results indicate that UL PC at the RNs greatly reduces average interference and improves average UL signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) and average UL end-to-end throughput compared to the situation in which UL PC is not implemente

Molecularly imprinted polymer based on MWCNTs-QDs as fluorescent biomimetic sensor for specific recognition of target protein

A novel molecularly imprinted optosensing material based on multi-walled carbon nanotube-quantum dots (MWCNT-QDs) has been designed and synthesized for its high selectivity, sensitivity and specificity in the recognition of a target protein bovine serum albumin (BSA). Molecularly imprinted polymer coated MWCNT-QDs using BSA as the template (BMIP-coated MWCNT-QDs) exhibits a fast mass-transfer speed with a response time of 25 min. It is found that the BSA as a target protein can significantly quench the luminescence of BMIP-coated MWCNT-QDs in a concentration-dependent manner that is best described by a Stem-Volmer equation. The K-SV for BSA is much higher than bovine hemoglobin and lysozyme, implying a highly selective recognition of the BMIP-coated MWCNT-QDs to BSA. Under optimal conditions, the relative fluorescence intensity of BMIP-coated MWCNT-QDs decreases linearly with the increasing target protein BSA in the concentration range of 5.0 x 10(-7)-35.0 x 10(-7) M with a detection limit of 80 nM

Ambivalences of mobility: rival state authorities and mobile strategies in a Saharan conflict

How do ongoing histories of mobility in economic and political life affect rival state authorities’ claims over a disputed territory? In the conflict over Western Sahara, wide-ranging strategies of mobility pose a challenge to familiar tropes of states constraining movement while subjects seek to escape such control. Morocco and its rival, the liberation movement Polisario Front, both curb mobility while their mobile Sahrawi subjects evade the authority of a state; simultaneously, however, each state authority invests in the circulation of persons to support claims over territory while Sahrawis exercise mobility to enhance their position vis-à-vis a state authority. Mobility emerges as an ambivalent means of mediating and transforming power relations, especially between governing authorities and governed constituencies. [mobility, Morocco, Polisario Front, sovereignty, the state, territory, Western Sahara

Functional significance of the hemadsorption activity of influenza virus neuraminidase and its alteration in pandemic viruses

Human influenza viruses derive their genes from avian viruses. The neuraminidase (NA) of the avian viruses has, in addition to the catalytic site, a separate sialic acid binding site (hemadsorption site) that is not present in human viruses. The biological significance of the NA hemadsorption activity in avian influenza viruses remained elusive. A sequence database analysis revealed that the NAs of the majority of human H2N2 viruses isolated during the influenza pandemic of 1957 differ from their putative avian precursor by amino acid substitutions in the hemadsorption site. We found that the NA of a representative pandemic virus A/Singapore/1/57 (H2N2) lacks hemadsorption activity and that a single reversion to the avian-virus-like sequence (N367S) restores hemadsorption. Using this hemadsorption-positive NA, we generated three NA variants with substitutions S370L, N400S and W403R that have been found in the hemadsorption site of human H2N2 viruses. Each substitution abolished hemadsorption activity. Although, there was no correlation between hemadsorption activity of the NA variants and their enzymatic activity with respect to monovalent substrates, all four hemadsorption-negative NAs desialylated macromolecular substrates significantly slower than did the hemadsorption-positive counterpart. The NA of the 1918 pandemic virus A/Brevig Mission/1/18 (H1N1) also differed from avian N1 NAs by reduced hemadsorption activity and less efficient hydrolysis of macromolecular substrates. Our data indicate that the hemadsorption site serves to enhance the catalytic efficiency of NA and they suggest that, in addition to changes in the receptor-binding specificity of the hemagglutinin, alterations of the NA are needed for the emergence of pandemic influenza viruses

Qualitative Analysis of Sustainability Management in the Railway Industry: : Case Study of Railway Companies in Sweden

Sustainability Management has become a vital factor of the companies’ business strategies for itsdevelopment. While the transport sector accounts for large carbon emissions, sustainability in theRailway industry has gained high importance. This thesis explores the current sustainabilitymanagement of the selected 18 railway companies of Sweden to determine their net-zero statusand the challenges and opportunities it brings while dealing with sustainability measures. Themethod of qualitative analysis was performed through literature review and semi-structuredinterviews of the representatives from the sustainability department of the chosen 18 railwaycompanies. Also, the concept of Eco-Accelerator, which describes the stages of differentprocesses and compliance that help in evaluating and reducing carbon emissions for reaching netzero, was applied to compare the current status of these railway companies and decide thefrontrunners and the laggers among them. Legal requirements, market situation, future businessperspectives, and customer demands were the biggest drivers while sustainability committee,board of directors, and internal and external partners were identified as the biggest enablers forimproving sustainability. The results through the execution of qualitative analysis and theEco-Accelerator concept shows that companies 1, 3, 4, 9, 15, and 16 are the frontrunners inimplementing sustainable actions; companies 2, 6, 12, 14, 17, and 18 are doing good but theirperformance is average and can be improved through enacting proactive and optimisedprocesses; and companies 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, and 13 are lagging behind and have to upgrade a lot bycarrying out systematic and optimized processes