Дисертації з теми "Cycle detection"

This thesis is concerned with development and implementation of an efficient and numerically reliable positioning algorithm based on the combination of code pseudorange (C/A) and carrier phase (L1) measurements with cycle slip detection.
In GPS a typical technique for kinematic position estimation is relative positioning where two receivers are used, one receiver is stationary and its exact position is known, the other is roving and its position is to be estimated. We describe the physical situation and give the mathematical model based on the difference of the measurements at the stationary and roving receivers. The model we consider combines both code pseudorange and carrier phase measurements. We then present: a recursive least squares approach for position estimation. We take full account of the structure of the problem to make our algorithm efficient, and use orthogonal transformations to ensure numerical reliability of the algorithm.
At each epoch, possible cycle slips must be detected, otherwise it may significant deteriorate the positioning accuracy. A cycle slip detection method based on the higher-order difference technique, one of typical techniques for cycle slip detection, is developed and incorporated into the preprocess of our positioning algorithm.
Finally, real data testing for our positioning algorithm and cycle slip detection algorithm are performed. The results suggest our algorithms are very effective.

The influence from buildings on global energy consumption, both residential and commercial, steadily increases each year. Growth in population, demand for building comfort and climate control ensure buildings will continue as a prominent energy consumer far into the future. Equating to over half a buildings total energy consumption, heating ventilation and cooling systems (HVAC) often operate in substandard conditions, decreasing efficiency by 15% to 30%. Much of this efficiency could improve with the widespread adoption of automated condition-based maintenance. Automated fault detection and diagnostic systems (FDD) provide a cornerstone for condition based-monitoring within HVAC systems. However, the current available FDD approaches employ invasive installation techniques, requiring fixing of various mechanical sensors to the pre-existing unit. With new research in the field of system monitoring via electrical measurements, this paper will explore a less invasive approach to HAVC fault detection. Using only electrical measurements, air-conditioning systems will undergo testing with simulated fault conditions. Machine learning algorithms are studied to predict the fault status, ultimately providing the client with appropriate diagnostic information. Providing fault detection capabilities via electrical measurements ensure a much less intrusive approach and does not restrict the measurement equipment to be local to the system. Ultimately the system would become far cheaper and convenient than traditional systems promoting installation and increasing the HVAC system’s efficiency.

Industrial robots make up an important part in today’s industry and are assigned to a range of different tasks. Needless to say, businesses need to rely on their machine park to function as planned, avoiding stops in production due to machine failures. This is where fault detection methods play a very important part. In this thesis a specific fault detection method based on signal analysis will be considered. When testing a robot for fault(s), a specific test cycle (trajectory) is executed in order to be able to compare test data from different test occasions. Furthermore, different test cycles yield different measurements to analyse, which may affect the performance of the analysis. The question posed is: Can we find an optimal test cycle so that the fault is best revealed in the test data? The goal of this thesis is to, using regression analysis, investigate how the presently executed test cycle in a specific diagnosis method relates to the faults that are monitored (in this case a so called friction fault) and decide if a different one should be recommended. The data also includes representations of two disturbances.

The results from the regression show that the variation in the test quantities utilised in the diagnosis method are not explained by neither the friction fault or the test cycle. It showed that the disturbances had too large effect on the test quantities. This made it impossible to recommend a different (optimal) test cycle based on the analysis.

UA Open Access Publishing Fund
Molecular diagnostics offers quick access to information but fails to operate at a speed required for clinical decision-making. Our novel methodology, droplet-on-thermocouple silhouette real-time polymerase chain reaction (DOTS qPCR), uses interfacial effects for droplet actuation, inhibition relief, and amplification sensing. DOTS qPCR has sample-to-answer times as short as 3 min 30 s. In infective endocarditis diagnosis, DOTS qPCR demonstrates reproducibility, differentiation of antibiotic susceptibility, subpicogram limit of detection, and thermocycling speeds of up to 28 s/cycle in the presence of tissue contaminants. Langmuir and Gibbs adsorption isotherms are used to describe the decreasing interfacial tension upon amplification. Moreover, a log-linear relationship with low threshold cycles is presented for real-time quantification by imaging the droplet-on-thermocouple silhouette with a smartphone. DOTS qPCR resolves several limitations of commercially available real-time PCR systems, which rely on fluorescence detection, have substantially higher threshold cycles, and require expensive optical components and extensive sample preparation. Due to the advantages of low threshold cycle detection, we anticipate extending this technology to biological research applications such as single cell, single nucleus, and single DNA molecule analyses. Our work is the first demonstrated use of interfacial effects for sensing reaction progress, and it will enable point-of-care molecular diagnosis of infections.

Thesis: M. Eng. in Advanced Manufacturing and Design, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2018.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 68-69).
Early and accurate anomaly detection plays a key role in reducing costs and improving benefits, especially for complicated and time-consuming manufacturing such as semiconductor production. A case study of detecting anomalies from several monitored parameters during one plasma etching process is presented in this thesis. The thesis focuses on optimized ways to build reference cycles, or centroids of univariate parameters, a critical component to determine clustering accuracy and to facilitate process engineers' offline anomaly detections and diagnoses. Three time series centroid building methods are discussed and evaluated in the thesis, arithmetic, the Dynamic Time Warping Barycenter Averaging (DBA), and the soft-DTW-based centroid. As a result, DBA is chosen considering its comprehensive performance of accuracy and calculation time. Optimizations on DBA is further discussed to reduce calculation time. The window constraint, as well as the recalculation method of combining the previous centroid and new datasets, substantially reduce calculation time with slight accuracy loss. Based upon one centroid building method, shape extraction, a novel clustering method, k-shape, is implemented and applied to the plasma etching process. It is found that it achieves great accuracy with substantially shorter calculation time than one mainstream clustering method, k-means.
by Han He.
M. Eng. in Advanced Manufacturing and Design

Traffic congestion negatively affects traveler mobility and air quality. Stop and go vehicular movements associated with traffic jams typically result in higher fuel consumption levels compared to cruising at a constant speed. The first objective in the dissertation is to investigate the spatial relationship between air quality and traffic flow patterns. We developed and applied a recursive Bayesian estimation algorithm to estimate the source location (associated with traffic jam) of an airborne contaminant (aerosol) in a simulation environment. This algorithm was compared to the gradient descent algorithm and an extended Kalman filter algorithm. Results suggest that Bayesian estimation is less sensitive to the choice of the initial state and to the plume dispersion model. Consequently, Bayesian estimation was implemented to identify the location (correlated with traffic flows) of the aerosol (soot) that can be attributed to traffic in the vicinity of the Old Dominion University campus, using data collected from a remote sensing system. Results show that the source location of soot pollution is located at congested intersections, which demonstrate that air quality is correlated with traffic flows and congestion caused by signalized intersections. Sustainable mobility can help reduce traffic congestion and vehicle emissions, and thus, optimizing the performance of available infrastructure via advanced traffic signal controllers has become increasingly appealing. The second objective in the dissertation is to develop a novel de-centralized traffic signal controller, achieved using a Nash bargaining game-theoretic framework, that operates a flexible phasing sequence and free cycle length to adapt to dynamic changes in traffic demand levels. The developed controller was implemented and tested in the INTEGRATION microscopic traffic assignment and simulation software. The proposed controller was compared to the operation of an optimum fixed-time coordinated plan, an actuated controller, a centralized adaptive phase split controller, a decentralized phase split and cycle length controller, and a fully coordinated adaptive phase split, cycle length, and offset optimization controller to evaluate its performance. Testing was initially conducted on an isolated intersection, showing a 77% reduction in queue length, a 17% reduction in vehicle emission levels, and a 64% reduction in total delay. In addition, the developed controller was tested on an arterial network producing statistically significant reductions in total delay ranging between 36% and 67% and vehicle emissions reductions ranging between 6% and 13%. Analysis of variance, Tukey, and pairwise comparison tests were conducted to establish the significance of the proposed controller. Moreover, the controller was tested on a network of 38 intersections producing significant reduction in the travel time by 23.6%, a reduction in the queue length by 37.6%, and a reduction in CO2 emissions by 10.4%. Finally, the controller was tested on the Los Angeles downtown network composed of 457 signalized intersections, producing a 35% reduction in travel time, a 54.7% reduction in queue length, and a 10% reduction in the CO2 emissions. The results demonstrate that the proposed decentralized controller produces major improvements over other state-of-the-art centralized and de-centralized controllers. The proposed controller is capable of alleviating congestion as well as reducing emissions and enhancing air quality.
PHD

Cette étude est le résultat d’une thèse CIFRE de trois ans entre le bureau d’étude d’Airbus (domaine du contrôle de l’avion) et le laboratoire TéSA à Toulouse. L’objectif principal est de proposer, développer et valider une solution logicielle pour la détection et le diagnostic d’un type spécifique de vibrations des gouvernes de profondeur et direction, appelée oscillation en cycle limite (limit cycle oscillation ou LCO en anglais), basée sur les signaux existants dans les avions civils. LCO est un terme mathématique générique définissant un mode périodique indépendant de conditions initiales et se produisant dans des systèmes non linéaires non conservatifs. Dans cette étude, nous nous intéressons au phénomène de LCO induit par les jeux mécaniques dans les gouvernes d’un avion civil. Les conséquences du LCO sont l’augmentation locale de la charge structurelle, la dégradation des qualités de vol, la réduction de la durée de vie de l’actionneur, la dégradation du confort du poste de pilotage et de la cabine, ainsi que l’augmentation des coûts de maintenance. L’état de l’art en matière de détection et de diagnostic du LCO induit par le jeu mécanique est basé sur la sensibilité du pilote aux vibrations et sur le contrôle périodique du jeu sur les gouvernes. Cette étude propose une solution basée sur les données (issues de la boucle d’asservissement des actionneurs qui agissent sur les gouvernes) pour aider au diagnostic du LCO et à l’isolement du jeu mécanique. L’objectif est d’améliorer encore plus la disponibilité des avions et de réduire les coûts de maintenance en fournissant aux compagnies aériennes un signal de contrôle pour le LCO et les jeux mécaniques. Pour cette raison, deux solutions algorithmiques pour le diagnostic des vibrations et des jeux ont été proposées. Un détecteur en temps réel pour la détection du LCO est tout d’abord proposé basé sur la théorie du rapport de vraisemblance généralisé (generalized likelihood ratio test ou GLRT en anglais). Certaines variantes et simplifications sont également proposées pour satisfaire les contraintes industrielles. Un détecteur de jeu mécanique est introduit basé sur l’identification d’un modèle de Wiener. Des approches paramétrique (estimateur de maximum de vraisemblance) et non paramétrique (régression par noyau) sont explorées, ainsi que certaines variantes des méthodes non paramétriques. En particulier, le problème de l’estimation d’un cycle d’hystérésis (choisi comme la non-linéarité de sortie d’un modèle de Wiener) est abordé. Ainsi, les problèmes avec et sans contraintes sont étudiés. Une analyse théorique, numérique (sur simulateur) et expérimentale (données de vol et laboratoire) est réalisée pour étudier les performances des détecteurs proposés et pour identifier les limitations et la faisabilité industrielle. Les résultats numériques et expérimentaux obtenus confirment que le GLRT proposé (et ses variantes / simplifications) est une méthode très efficace pour le diagnostic du LCO en termes de performance, robustesse et coût calculatoire. D’autre part, l’algorithme de diagnostic des jeux mécaniques est capable de détecter des niveaux de jeu relativement importants, mais il ne fournit pas de résultats cohérents pour des niveaux de jeu relativement faibles. En outre, des types d’entrée spécifiques sont nécessaires pour garantir des résultats répétitifs et cohérents. Des études complémentaires pourraient être menées afin de comparer les résultats de GLRT avec une approche Bayésienne et pour approfondir les possibilités et les limites de la méthode paramétrique proposée pour l’identification du modèle de Wiener
This research study is the result of a 3 years CIFRE PhD thesis between the Airbus design office(Aircraft Control domain) and TéSA laboratory in Toulouse. The main goal is to propose, developand validate a software solution for the detection and diagnosis of a specific type of elevator andrudder vibration, called limit cycle oscillation (LCO), based on existing signals available in flightcontrol computers on board in-series aircraft. LCO is a generic mathematical term defining aninitial condition-independent periodic mode occurring in nonconservative nonlinear systems. Thisstudy focuses on the LCO phenomenon induced by mechanical freeplays in the control surface ofa civil aircraft. The LCO consequences are local structural load augmentation, flight handlingqualities deterioration, actuator operational life reduction, cockpit and cabin comfort deteriorationand maintenance cost augmentation. The state-of-the-art for freeplay induced LCO detection anddiagnosis is based on the pilot sensitivity to vibration and to periodic freeplay check on the controlsurfaces. This study is thought to propose a data-driven solution to help LCO and freeplaydiagnosis. The goal is to improve even more aircraft availability and reduce the maintenance costsby providing to the airlines a condition monitoring signal for LCO and freeplays. For this reason,two algorithmic solutions for vibration and freeplay diagnosis are investigated in this PhD thesis. Areal time detector for LCO diagnosis is first proposed based on the theory of the generalized likeli hood ratio test (GLRT). Some variants and simplifications are also proposed to be compliantwith the industrial constraints. In a second part of this work, a mechanical freeplay detector isintroduced based on the theory of Wiener model identification. Parametric (maximum likelihoodestimator) and non parametric (kernel regression) approaches are investigated, as well as somevariants to well-known nonparametric methods. In particular, the problem of hysteresis cycleestimation (as the output nonlinearity of a Wiener model) is tackled. Moreover, the constrainedand unconstrained problems are studied. A theoretical, numerical (simulator) and experimental(flight data and laboratory) analysis is carried out to investigate the performance of the proposeddetectors and to identify limitations and industrial feasibility. The obtained numerical andexperimental results confirm that the proposed GLR test (and its variants/simplifications) is a very appealing method for LCO diagnostic in terms of performance, robustness and computationalcost. On the other hand, the proposed freeplay diagnostic algorithm is able to detect relativelylarge freeplay levels, but it does not provide consistent results for relatively small freeplay levels. Moreover, specific input types are needed to guarantee repetitive and consistent results. Further studies should be carried out in order to compare the GLRT results with a Bayesian approach and to investigate more deeply the possibilities and limitations of the proposed parametric method for Wiener model identification

The first section is a study on the Thai Baht using an advanced regime-identification tool by Hamilton (1989) on the 1998-2005 monthly data, nesting the special case of a monetary model with emphasis on the real interest rate differential. Three scenarios post-crisis for the Thai Baht were identified by the nonlinear detection mechanism where the unobservable states are assumed to follow the Markov chain of events where past history does not matter. The states identified are described as panic, calm, and favourable markets for the currency. Furthermore, using the Markov-switching software developed by Krolzig (1998), it is possible to provide weak evidence that the nominal exchange rate moved to restore equilibrium in the fundamentals but not vice versa. The second section tested the productivity bias for the Thai quarterly data from 1993-2005, using Johansen cointegration method and found no evidence. The final section has the whole of the Thai economy specified and exogenous shocks sent to see the effects on the real exchange rate. In particular, a surge in productivity in the fully-specified economy causes the real exchange rate to appreciate, confirming the evidence for the productivity bias for the Thai Baht.

Background. Head and neck cancers (HNC) are among the most common malignancies worldwide, and about 90–92% of oral neoplasias are oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC). Alcohol and tobacco consumption have been recognized as the main risk factors for OSCC development. Oncogenic viruses, such as human papillomavirus (HPV) or Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), as well as genetic alterations may also contribute to tumour formation.  Aims. To study the prevalence of HPV, EBV, Herpes simplex type-1 (HSV-1), and HPV-16 and their integration status as well as the molecular mechanisms that can serve as a basis for the development of OSCC. Results. In Paper I we reported a statistically significant increase in the prevalence of HPV-16 in oral epithelial dysplasia (OED) and OSCC samples compared to controls. A statistically significant increase was also seen in integrated HPV-16 compared to episomal viral forms when comparing OED and OSCC samples. Paper II reported the detection of HSV-1 in 54% of healthy samples, in 36% of oral leukoplakia samples, and 52% of OSCC samples. However, these differences were not statistically significant. In Paper III we reported a statistically significant increase in the detection of HPV-positive samples when comparing nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with single-PCR results in OSCC and fresh oral mucosa. Paper IV reported that the highest prevalence of HPV (65%) was seen in Sudan, while an HSV-1 prevalence of 55% and an EBV prevalence of 80% were seen in the UK. Finally, Paper V reported that the mRNA levels of Bcl-2, keratin 1, keratin 13, and p53 were significantly lower and that the level of survivin was significantly higher in the OSCC samples of the toombak users than in their paired control samples. Significant downregulation in keratin 1 and keratin 13 expression levels was found in the OSCC samples of the non-toombak users relative to their normal control samples. Conclusion. HPV-16 integration was increased in oral epithelial dysplasia and OSCC compared to normal oral mucosa. Nested PCR is a more accurate method of establishing HPV prevalence in samples containing low copy numbers of HPV DNA. HPV and EBV may be a risk factor in OSCC development. Our findings confirmed the role of survivin in OSCC carcinogenesis and survivin might be interesting as a biomarker to be monitored. The results presented here provide both clinical and biological insights that will bring us closer to the goal of managing this disease and improving treatment and outcomes for future patients.

A large-area electronics (LAE) strain sensor, termed soft elastomeric capacitor (SEC), has shown great promise in fatigue crack monitoring. The SEC is capable to monitor strain changes over a large structural surface and undergo large deformations under cracking. Previous tests verified that the SEC can detect and localize fatigue cracks under low-cycle fatigue loading. In this paper, we further investigate the SEC's capability for monitoring high-cycle fatigue cracks, which are commonly seen in steel bridges. The peak-to-peak amplitude (pk-pk amplitude) of the SEC measurement is proposed as an indicator of crack growth. This technique is is robust and insensitive to long-term capacitance drift. To overcome the difficulty of identifying the pk-pk amplitude in time series due to high signal-to-noise ratio, a signal processing method is established. This method converts the measured SEC capacitance and applied load to power spectral densities (PSD) in the frequency domain, such that the pk-pk amplitudes of the measurements can be accurately extracted. Finally, the performance of this method is validated using a fatigue test of a compact steel specimen equipped with a SEC. Results show that the crack growth under high-cycle fatigue loading can be successfully monitored using the proposed signal processing method.

Electricity and power generation is an essential part of our life. However, powergeneration activities also create by-products (such as sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides,carbon monoxide, etc), which can be dangerous when released to the atmosphere.Sensors, as part of the control system, play very vital role for the fluegas cleaning processes in power plants. This thesis concerns the development ofSilicon Carbide Field Effect Transistor (SiC-FET) gas sensors as sensors for sulfurcontaining gases (SO2 and H2S) used as part of the environmental control systemin power plants. The works includes sensor deposition and assembly, sensinglayer characterization, operation mode development, performance testing of thesensors in a gas mixing rig in the laboratory and field test in a desulfurization pilotunit, and both experimental and theoretical studies on the detection mechanismof the sensors. The sensor response to SO2 was very small and saturated quickly. SO2 is a verystable gas and therefore reaction with other species requires a large energy input.SO2 mostly reacts with the catalyst through physisorption, which results in lowresponse level. Another problem was that once it finally reacted with oxygen andadsorbed on the surface of the catalyst in form of a sulfate compound, it is desorbedwith difficulty. Therefore, the sensor signal saturated after a certain timeof exposure to SO2. Different gate materials were tested in static operation (Pt,Ir, Au), but the saturation phenomena occurred in all three cases. Dynamic sensoroperation using temperature cycling and multivariate data analysis could mitigatethis problem. Pt-gate sensors were operated at several different temperatures in acyclic fashion. One of the applied temperatures was chosen to be very high for ashort time to serve as cleaning step. This method was also termed the virtual multisensor method because the data generated could represent the data from multiplesensors in static operation at different temperatures. Then, several features of thesignal, such as mean value and slope, were extracted and processed with multivariatedata analysis. Linear Discrimination Analysis (LDA) was chosen since itiiiallows controlled data analysis. It was shown that it was possible to quantify SO2with a 2-step LDA. The background was identified in the first step and SO2 wasquantified in the second step. Pt sensors in dynamic operation and 2-step LDAevaluation has also demonstrated promising results for SO2 measurement in thelaboratory as well as in a desulfurization pilot unit. For a commercial sensor, algorithmhave to be developed to enable on-line measurement in real time. It was observed that Ir-gate sensors at 350oC were very sensitive to H2S. The responseobtained by Ir sensors to H2S was almost five times larger than that of Ptsensors, which might be due to the higher oxygen coverage of Ir. Moreover, Irsensors were also more stable with less drift during the operation as a result ofhigher thermal stability. However, the recovery time for Ir sensors was very long,due to the high desorption energy. Overall, the Ir sensors performed well whentested for a leak detection application (presence of oxygen and dry environment).The geothermal application, where heat is extracted from the earth, requires thesensor to be operated in humid condition in the absence (or very low concentration)of oxygen, and this poses a problem. Temperature cycle operation and smartdata evaluation might also be an option for future development. Along with the sensor performance testing, a study on the detection mechanismwas also performed for SO2 sensor, both experimentally and theoretically. The experimentincluded the study of the species formed on the surface of the catalystwith DRIFT (diffuse reflectance infrared frourier transform) spectroscopy and theanalysis of the residual gas with mass spectroscopy. Explanatory investigation ofthe surface reactions was performed using quantum-chemical calculations. Theoreticalcalculations of the infrared (IR) vibration spectra was employed to supportthe identification of peaks in the DRIFT measurement. Based on the study on theresidual gas analysis and quantum-chemical calculations, a reaction mechanismfor the SO2 molecule adsorption on the sensor surface was suggested.

INTRODUCTION: A dysfunction in fatty acid beta-oxidation (β-oxidation), particularly medium chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD) dysfunction is a major cause of mortality and its diagnosis is usually achieved by measuring specific protein activities or metabolites in blood and/or urine samples. However, these methods do not account for secondary defects that accompany primary deficiency; such as where measures of disruption in fatty acid metabolism do not account for defects in the TCA cycle and oxidative phosphorylation. These metabolic pathways are connected and dysfunction in one pathway (primary) could lead to dysfunction in the other (secondary). We propose the use of methods that combines all aspects of the bioenergetics module (enzyme activity in substrate oxidation within each individual pathway, transfer of electrons through the electron transport system (ETS) and oxidative phosphorylation for ATP generation) may be a more effective assessment technique. High resolution respirometry (HRR) is a recently developed technique that accounts for substrate oxidation, electron transfer via the ETS and oxidative phosphorylation. It measures the rate of oxygen consumption or flux at different respiratory states when appropriate substrates, uncouplers and inhibitors (SUIT protocols) are used. With this method, two substrate combinations are commonly used to assess medium-chain fatty acid β-oxidation; a) Octanoylcarnitine and carnitine, which is partial to the β-oxidation cycle alone, and b) Octanoylcarnitine and malate, which assesses the influence of the TCA cycle. Additionally, a combination of pyruvate, glutamate and malate is used to assess oxidation within the TCA cycle. We investigated the sensitivity of commonly used substrate combinations in HRR assessment to detect changes in mitochondrial respiration and dysfunction induced by the inhibition of either β-oxidation or the TCA cycle in C2C12 myotubes. Furthermore, we assessed MCAD, citrate synthase and aconitase enzyme activities when β-oxidation or TCA cycle was inhibited in C2C12 myotubes. METHODS: C2C12 myotubes were differentiated for 6 days and treated for 12 hours with a high or a low concentration of one of two inhibitors as follows; a) 2 mM or 8 mM 2-mercaptoacetate to inhibit medium chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD); b) 6 mM or 9 mM fluorocitrate to inhibit aconitase. Each treatment was compared to control myotubes grown for the same length of time without the addition of inhibitors. The activities of MCAD, aconitase and citrate synthase were determined. In addition, mitochondrial respiration measured as O2 flux at Routine, Leak, OXPHOS and ETS respiratory states were assessed in an Oxygraph-2K after inhibition or in control treatments using; i) Octanoylcarnitine and carnitine ii) Octanoylcarnitine and malate iii) pyruvate, malate and glutamate substrate combinations. For each assessment we corrected O2 flux recorded at each state to; a) approximate number of cells (pmol O2/s/million cells) b) protein concentration (pmol O2/s/mg protein) c) Flux control ratio (FCR) of each state to the maximum ETS capacity; ETSFAO+CI+CII (convergent electron flow from Fatty acid oxidation (FAO), Complex I (CI) and CII) d) FCR to either FAO-linked ETS capacity; (ETSFAO) or CI-linked ETS capacity (ETSCI). RESULTS: Treatment of cells with either a low or high concentration of 2-mercaptoacetate to inhibit MCAD resulted in no significant difference in MCAD activity. Fluorocitrate treatment decreased aconitase activity with low treatment (p = 0.011) compared to control, and conversely it increased MCAD activity in high treatment compared to control (p = 0.024). Both 2-mercaptoacetate (p = 0.03) and fluorocitrate (p < 0.01) treatment at high concentrations resulted in increased citrate synthase activity, compared to low concentration and control. Mitochondrial respiration with octanoylcarnitine and carnitine substrate combination was not altered with MCAD or aconitase inhibition. Octanoylcarnitine and malate substrate combination showed a decrease in mitochondrial respiration at the following respiratory states with both MCAD and aconitase inhibition; Routine (p = 0.01), LeakFAO (p = 0.029), OXPHOSFAO (p = 0.006), ETSFAO (p = 0.008), ETSFAO+CI (p = 0.017). FCR of each state to the maximum capacity (ETSFAO+CI+CII) revealed a decrease with both MCAD and aconitase inhibition at the following states; routine (p = 0.001), OXPHOSFAO (p = 0.003), ETSFAO (p = 0.018), ETSFAO+CAR (p = 0.008) and ETSFAO+CI (p = 0.027). Pyruvate, malate and glutamate substrate combination showed decreased mitochondrial respiration with MCAD inhibition at the following respiratory states; Routine (p = 0.004), LeakCI (p = 0.007), OXPHOSCI (p = 0.003), ETSCI (p = 0.003), ETSCI+FAO (p = 0.01) and ETSCI+FAO+CII (p = 0.003). FCR of each state to the maximum capacity (ETSCI+FAO+CII) decreased with both MCAD and aconitase inhibition at Routine (p = 0.024), OXPHOSCI (p = 0.024) and ETSCI (p = 0.035) states. DISCUSSION: The main finding of this study was related to two of the SUIT protocols 1) octanoylcarnitine and malate, and 2) pyruvate, malate and glutamate. These protocols were sensitive in showing decreased respiratory capacity and coupling control ratios and may be appropriate for assessing changes in oxidative metabolism when there is a defect in β-oxidation and/ or the TCA cycle. On the other hand, octanoylcarnitine and carnitine substrate combination is not sensitive to detect dysfunction induced by inhibition of either β-oxidation or TCA cycle. Irrespective of the enzyme inhibited, HRR detected dysfunction in complex I (CI), although, when aconitase was inhibited, reduced CI-linked respiration was more pronounced compared to MCAD inhibition. Furthermore, primary inhibition of MCAD to inhibit β-oxidation may have caused secondary inhibition of TCA cycle via aconitase, shown in decreased TCA cycle CI-linked respiration where MCAD was inhibited. In contrast, primary inhibition of aconitase seemed to be compensated for by increased MCAD activity and mitochondrial respiration related to β-oxidation. Lastly, enzyme assaysshould not be used as standalone techniques for assessing metabolic dysfunction at the level of TCA, β-oxidation and the mitochondria since they are not sensitive to low level defects, nor do they account for secondary interactions that influence either TCA or betaoxidation. HRR is useful to assess mitochondrial respiration and dysfunction, when using an appropriate substrate combination and should be used in combination with the more traditional enzyme activity assays.

Includes abstract.
Includes bibliographical references.
Breast carcinoma is a common cancer in South African women. In the Republic of South Africa, 41 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed per 100 000 population and the mortality rate is 21 per 100 000 population. Many risk factors have been implicated in the carcinogenesis of this disease; including smoking, family history and hormones, however, this only accounts for about 1/3 of the cases diagnosed. Some studies have implicated Human papillomavirus (HPV) as a possible aetiologic agent in the pathogenesis of breast carcinoma however the results have been inconsistent and sometimes controversial. This study was designed to determine the presence of HPV in breast cancer in a South African cohort and to investigate its influence on the cell cycle. A retrospective and prospective cell block study was undertaken.

Cognitive radio is an emerging technology proposing the concept of dynamic spec- trum access as a solution to the looming problem of spectrum scarcity caused by the growth in wireless communication systems. Under the proposed concept, non- licensed, secondary users (SU) can access spectrum owned by licensed, primary users (PU) so long as interference to PU are kept minimal. Spectrum sensing is a crucial task in cognitive radio whereby the SU senses the spectrum to detect the presence or absence of any PU signal. Conventional spectrum sensing assumes the PU signal as ‘stationary’ and remains in the same activity state during the sensing cycle, while an emerging trend models PU as ‘non-stationary’ and undergoes state changes. Existing studies have focused on non-stationary PU during the transmission period, however very little research considered the impact on spectrum sensing when the PU is non-stationary during the sensing period. The concept of PU duty cycle is developed as a tool to analyse the performance of spectrum sensing detectors when detecting non-stationary PU signals. New detectors are also proposed to optimise detection with respect to duty cycle ex- hibited by the PU. This research consists of two major investigations. The first stage investigates the impact of duty cycle on the performance of existing detec- tors and the extent of the problem in existing studies. The second stage develops new detection models and frameworks to ensure the integrity of spectrum sensing when detecting non-stationary PU signals. The first investigation demonstrates that conventional signal model formulated for stationary PU does not accurately reflect the behaviour of a non-stationary PU. Therefore the performance calculated and assumed to be achievable by the conventional detector does not reflect actual performance achieved. Through analysing the statistical properties of duty cycle, performance degradation is proved to be a problem that cannot be easily neglected in existing sensing studies when PU is modelled as non-stationary. The second investigation presents detectors that are aware of the duty cycle ex- hibited by a non-stationary PU. A two stage detection model is proposed to improve the detection performance and robustness to changes in duty cycle. This detector is most suitable for applications that require long sensing periods. A second detector, the duty cycle based energy detector is formulated by integrat- ing the distribution of duty cycle into the test statistic of the energy detector and suitable for short sensing periods. The decision threshold is optimised with respect to the traffic model of the PU, hence the proposed detector can calculate average detection performance that reflect realistic results. A detection framework for the application of spectrum sensing optimisation is proposed to provide clear guidance on the constraints on sensing and detection model. Following this framework will ensure the signal model accurately reflects practical behaviour while the detection model implemented is also suitable for the desired detection assumption. Based on this framework, a spectrum sensing optimisation algorithm is further developed to maximise the sensing efficiency for non-stationary PU. New optimisation constraints are derived to account for any PU state changes within the sensing cycle while implementing the proposed duty cycle based detector.

Atmospheric oxygen (O2) measurements represent an important tool for investigating carbon cycle processes that determine the magnitude of the fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO2) to and from the atmosphere. By combining atmospheric O2 and CO2 measurements, one can derive the tracer Atmospheric Potential Oxygen, (APO = O2 +1.1CO2) which is a conservative tracer with respect to terrestrial O2 and CO2 exchange processes and therefore primarily represents ocean exchange processes. The primary aim of this research was to assess the spatial and temporal variability of atmospheric O2, CO2 and APO at two contrasting locations: The Halley Research Station, Antarctica and the Weybourne Atmospheric Observatory, U.K. The measurements collected at Halley were made possible by establishing a high precision, continuous, in situ, atmospheric O2 and CO2 measurement system at the station, which I built, tested and installed as part of this research. The aim of the new measurement system was to fill in the observational O2 gap in the South Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean; a key region with respect to the global oceanic sink for anthropogenic CO2 emissions. At the Weybourne Atmospheric Observatory, I have extended and re-evaluated an existing atmospheric O2 and CO2 measurement record (2008-2015). The inter-annual variability of the seasonal cycles and growth rates of atmospheric O2, CO2 and APO were examined to assess the temporal variability of the carbon cycle processes that control them. The data were also compared to other O2 monitoring stations in the northern hemisphere to understand the spatial variability of the processes. Throughout this thesis, I have used a range of analysis techniques, including model-observation comparisons, to assess what drives the variability of atmospheric O2, CO2 and APO observed at these two locations.

This report presents the design and manufacturing process of a bionic signal messagebroker (BSMB), intended to allow communication between implanted electrodes andprosthetic legs designed by Ossur. The BSMB processes and analyses the data intorelevant information to control the bionic device. The intention is to carry out eventdetection in the BSMB, where events in the muscle signal are matched to the events ofthe gait cycle (toe-o, stance, swing).The whole system is designed to detect muscle contraction via sensors implantedin residual muscles and transmit the signals wireless to a control unit that activatesassociated functions of a prosthetic leg. Two users, one transtibial and one transfemoral,underwent surgery in order to get electrodes implantable into their residual leg muscles.They are among the rst users in the world to get this kind of implanted sensors.A prototype of the BSMB was manufactured. The process took more time thanexpected, mainly due to the fact that it was decided to use a ball grid array (BGA)microprocessor in order to save space. That meant more complicated routing and higherstandards for the manufacturing of the board. The results of the event detection indicatethat the data from the implanted electrodes can be used in order to get sucient controlover prosthetic legs. These are positive ndings for users of prosthetic legs and shouldincrease their security and quality of life.It is important to keep in mind when the results of this report are evaluated that allthe testing carried out were only done on one user each.

Semen is a biological body fluid and is among the most informative types of evidence recovered at a crime scene. In sexual assault cases, seminal fluid can be a source of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). This DNA, recovered from items of interest, links victims and persons of interest, corroborates conflicting stories or exonerates innocent parties. After a sexual assault occurs items of clothing may undergo laundering to remove any evidence pertaining to the event. Forensic analysts will take this into consideration when testing for seminal fluid and when commenting on the persistence of spermatozoa after laundering. Methods of obtaining DNA profiles from laundered fabric samples have been successfully achieved, however, there remains limited information on this subject. Furthermore, the current knowledge of secondary transfer during the laundering process is minimal. Currently, there is limited scientific literature that establishes the viability of obtaining a DNA profile from the secondary transfer of semen during laundering. This review aims to identify the research gap in the determination of secondary transfer of seminal fluid during laundering and, moreover, aid in the conceptual understanding of the secondary transfer of biological fluids during laundering in both investigatory and court scenarios.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008.
Committee Chair: Dimitri Mavris; Committee Member: Erwing Calleros; Committee Member: Hongmei Chen; Committee Member: Mark Waters; Committee Member: Vitali Volovoi.

Organic Rankine cycles can be integrated with district heating systems and in applications of biogas digestion. Evaluating the performance of the installations by Againity AB in Ronneby and Norrköping, Sweden, is a unique opportunity which can support the establishment of ORC technology in the waste heat recovery market, unveiling its feasibilities and limitations. Operational data gathered from October 2017 until April 2018, provides this thesis with information about the ORC-systems. A method using Coolprop and Matlab has been used to detect steady-state series in the Ronneby installation using moving standard deviation and inclination criteria. By screening the data and selecting these series, analytical equations can be used to determine the performance of the installations and map the linear relationship between variables like pressure and generator power. The largest impact on the system in Ronneby is developed in the condenser. Large coolant volume flow creates large heat sink capacity and higher generator efficiency and power. However, with increasing generator power the condenser pressure decrease. Lower condenser pressure results in a decreased evaporation pressure, which could be maintained if the pump was able to run at higher frequencies. The Plant in Norrköping needs further studies and a review of its sensors. The code in Matlab is a resource to Againity and Linköpings university for future work in performance evaluation. It can be used to detect errors in energy balance, local readings, and picture the machines' performance graphically.

Orientador: Daniele Barroca Marra Alves
Resumo: A observável fase da onda portadora é utilizada quando se deseja obter alta acurácia no posicionamento por sistemas globais de navegação por satélite. Mas, esta observável pode sofrer perdas de ciclos durante o rastreamento do sinal. Uma perda de ciclo é uma descontinuidade de um número inteiro de ciclos na fase da onda portadora, causada por uma perda temporária de rastreamento do sinal pelo receptor. Assim, as perdas de ciclos devem ser detectadas e corrigidas para que se obtenha posicionamento acurado. Diversos métodos foram desenvolvidos com esse objetivo. Algo que também vem sendo amplamente estudado é a detecção das perdas de ciclos nos novos sinais GPS. O advento da terceira frequência disponibilizada a partir da modernização do GPS também deve ser explorado. Na presente pesquisa buscou-se estudar os diferentes métodos de detecção e correção de perdas de ciclos e implementar o mais adequado para o posicionamento de alta acurácia no Brasil. Foram selecionadas duas metodologias para fim de detecção e correção, sendo a primeira baseada no método das triplas diferenças (TD) clássico e a segunda baseada no método de sequência de combinações lineares. Além disso, foi proposta uma terceira metodologia para melhoria do método das TD. Foram realizados dois experimentos, sendo o primeiro realizado com dados simulados e o segundo com dados reais em período de alta atividade ionosférica, e para ambos os casos foram considerados dois cenários: linha de base curta e linha de base lo... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo)
Abstract: Carrier phase observable are used in high accuracy positioning by global navigation satellite systems. However, the carrier phase measurement may suffer cycle slips during signal tracking. A cycle slip is a discontinuity of an integer number of cycles in the phase observable, caused by a temporary loss of lock in the receiver carrier tracking loop. Thus, cycle slips must be detected and corrected in order to obtain accurate positioning. Several methods were developed for this purpose. Something that has also been studied is the detection of cycle slip in the new GPS signals. The advent of the third frequency available from the GPS modernization. Should be explored in the context of cycle slip detection and correction. In the present research the different cycle slip detection and correction methods were studied and t the most suitable for the high accuracy positioning in Brazil was implemented. Two methodologies were selected for the purpose of this research, the first one based on the classical triple difference (TD) method and the second based on the linear combination sequence method. In addition, a third methodology was proposed to improve the TD method. Two experiments were performed, the first one being carried out with simulated data and the second with real data in the period of high ionospheric activity, and for both cases two scenarios were considered: short baseline and long baseline. For simulated short baseline data, the classical TD method, the proposed TD metho... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)
Mestre

Le virus de l’hépatite A (VHA) est un virus entérique à transmission féco-orale qui est responsable d’hépatites aigües. Le VHA est à ce jour le 2ème agent étiologique viral pouvant être impliqué dans les toxi-infections alimentaires collectives (TIAC). Pour apprécier le risque en virologie alimentaire, la détection d’ARN reste insuffisante pour la mise en évidence de virions infectieux. Actuellement, les souches sauvages du VHA sont difficilement cultivables : elles se répliquent très lentement en culture (libération de nouveaux virions synthétisés dans les cellules Frhk-4 à partir de 30-45 jours) sans induire d’effet cytopathogène (ECP). A l’inverse, certaines souches du VHA adaptées en culture sont capables d’induire un ECP résultant de la mort par apoptose des cellules infectées. Mes travaux de thèse visaient donc à développer une nouvelle méthode de détection par impédancemétrie des particules virales infectieuses du VHA dans le cadre du diagnostic viral dans les aliments.Dans cette étude, à l’aide de la technologie xCELLigence, l’évaluation du système d’analyse cellulaire en temps réel (« Reel Time Cell Analysis » (RTCA)) a été entreprise pour détecter l’ECP de la souche adaptée du VHA (HM175/18f) sur les cellules FRhK-4. Les résultats ont montré que les cinétiques d'impédance cellulaire, au cours de l’infection par le VHA, induisait une diminution de l'indice cellulaire (CI) en corrélation avec l'apparition de la mort cellulaire induite par le VHA. De plus, le temps nécessaire à la chute des valeurs de CI induite par le VHA dépendait de la concentration virale. Une relation linéaire sur 5 log10 a pu être établie entre la concentration du VHA et le temps nécessaire pour atteindre 50% de la diminution des valeurs de CI (TdCI50) montrant ainsi que le suivi par RTCA pouvait être utilisé comme méthode de titrage infectieux du VHA. En outre, le suivi par RTCA peut être effectué en moins de six jours au lieu de 12 à 14 jours avec les méthodes standards de titrages en plages de lyses. Par conséquent, la méthode de titrage basée sur le suivi par RTCA est un outil puissant pour l’évaluation des traitements d’inactivation virale et antiviraux.Par ailleurs, dans le but d’être en mesure de reproduire un ECP chez les souches sauvages du VHA, les voies de signalisation pro-apoptotiques caspase-dépendantes impliquées dans la mort cellulaire par apoptose des cellules infectées par la souche adaptée ont été étudiées. A partir de résultats antérieurs montrant l’activation de la caspase 3 au cours de l’infection des cellules FRhK-4 par la souche HM175/18f du VHA, les voies extrinsèques et mitochondriales pro-apoptotiques ont été identifiées. L’expression de la caspase 8, marqueur de la voie extrinsèque, en corrélation avec l’expression de la caspase 3 active ainsi que de la protéine tBid a été observée. De plus, l’expression de la protéine tBid induisait la libération du cytochrome c suggérant une activation de la voie mitochondriale dépendante de la voie extrinsèque. Par conséquent, une comparaison des voies de survie et de mort cellulaire au cours de l’infection par les souches sauvages et adaptée du VHA pourra être réalisée dans de prochains travaux. Ainsi, les résultats offrent de nouvelles perspectives dans la compréhension sur la stratégie virale pour induire un ECP dans les cellules hôtes.En conclusion, au-delà d'une meilleure compréhension de la physiopathologie du VHA, cette étude contribue au développement de modèles cellulaires pour détecter les particules infectieuses des souches sauvages du VHA. De plus, le suivi par RTCA dans les études d'inactivation du VHA améliorera l'évaluation du risque viral en virologie alimentaire, en contrôlant la transmission des virus, par leur élimination des denrées alimentaires. Ceci constitue également un enjeu en santé publique important pour réduire le fardeau des maladies virales d'origine alimentaire
Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is a fecal-oral enteric virus that causes acute hepatitis. After entering the body orally, HAV interacts with the intestinal epithelium that it must cross to reach the liver via the bloodstream. HAV is to date the second viral etiological agent that can be involved in collective foodborne illness (TIAC). To assess the risk in food virology, the detection of RNA remains insufficient for the detection of infectious virions. Today, cultivating wild strains of HAV is difficult: they replicate very slowly in culture (release of new virions synthesized in Frhk-4 cells from 30-45 days) without inducing cytopathic effect (CPE). In contrast, some culturally adapted HAV strains are capable of inducing CPE resulting from apoptotic death of infected cells. My thesis work aimed to develop a new method of impedance detection of infectious viral particles of HAV in the context of viral diagnosis in food.In this study, using xCELLigence technology, the evaluation of the Real Time Cell Analysis (RTCA) system was undertaken to detect the ECP of the HAV adapted strain. (HM175 / 18f) on FRhK-4 cells. The results showed that cell impedance kinetics, during HAV infection, induced a decrease in cell index (CI) correlated with the occurrence of HAV-induced cell death. In addition, the time required for the fall in HAV-induced IC values was depending on the viral concentration. A linear relationship of 5 log10 could be established between the HAV concentration and the time required to reach 50% of the decrease in IC values (TdCI50), showing that RTCA monitoring could be used as an infectious HAV test method. In addition, RTCA monitoring can be performed in less than six days instead of 12 to 14 days with standard lysis range assays. Therefore, the titration method based on RTCA monitoring is a powerful tool for the evaluation of viral inactivation and antiviral treatments.Moreover, in order to be able to reproduce ECP in wild HAV strains, the pro-apoptotic caspase-dependent signalling pathways involved in apoptotic cell death of cells infected with the adapted strain were studied. From previous results showing the activation of caspase 3 during the infection of FRhK-4 cells by the HM175 / 18f strain of HAV, the extrinsic and mitochondrial pro-apoptotic pathways were identified. The expression of caspase 8, a marker of the extrinsic pathway, correlated with the expression of active caspase 3 as well as tBid protein was observed. In addition, the expression of the tBid protein induced the release of cytochrome c suggesting activation of the extrinsic pathway-dependent mitochondrial pathway. Therefore, a comparison of survival and cell death pathways during infection with wild-type strains and adapted to HAV can be performed in future work. Thus, the results offer new insights into the understanding of viral strategy for inducing ECP in host cells.In conclusion, beyond a better understanding of the pathophysiology of HAV, this study contributes to the development of cellular models to detect infectious particles of wild strains of HAV. In addition, RTCA monitoring in HAV inactivation studies will improve the assessment of viral risk in food virology by controlling the transmission of viruses through their elimination from food. This is also an important public health challenge to help reduce the burden of food-borne viral diseases

GraphQL is a database handling API created by Facebook, that provides an effective al-ternative to REST-style architectures. GraphQL provides the ability for a client to spec-ify exactly what data it wishes to receive. A problem with GraphQL is that the freedomof creating customized requests allows data to be included several times in the response,growing the response’s size exponentially. The thesis contributes to the field of GraphQLanalysis by studying the prevalence of simple cycles in GraphQL schemas. We have im-plemented a locally-run tool and webtool using Tarjan’s and Johnson’s algorithms, thatparses the schemas, creates a directed graph and enumerates all simple cycles in the graph.A collection of schemas was analysed with the tool to collect empirical data. It was foundthat 39.73 % of the total 2094 schemas contained at least one simple cycle, with the averagenumber of cycles per schema being 4. The runtime was found to be on average 11 mil-liseconds, most of which consisted of the time for parsing the schemas. It was found that44 out of the considered schemas could not be enumerated due to containing a staggeringamount of simple cycles. It can be concluded that it is possible to test schemas for cyclicityand enumerate all simple cycles in a given schema efficiently.

Utilisation de la technique des immunoempreintes pour detecter les 3 proteines non structurales du virus de la mosaique de la luzerne dans des tabacs infectes. Ces proteines se trouvent dans la fraction membranaire contenant le complexe de replication viral. Les proteines p1 et p2 ont la meme cinetique d'apparition que la replicase au cours de la virose. Il est possique que p2 soit la polymerase virale; p1 ne participerait qu'a la synthese des brins. P3 pourrait etre impliquee dans la diffusion systemique du virus

Thesis (MScEng (Civil Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006.
In order to plan the engineering work of large construction projects efficiently, a model of the engineering process is required. An engineering process can be modelled by sets of persons, tasks, datasets and tools, as well as the relationships between the elements of these sets. Tasks are more often than not dependent on other tasks in the engineering process. In large projects these dependencies are not easily recognised, and if tasks are not executed in the correct sequence, costly delays may occur. The homogeneous binary relation “has to be executed before” in the set of tasks can be used to determine the logical sequence of tasks algebraically. The relation can be described by a directed graph in the set of tasks, and the logical sequence of tasks can be determined by sorting the graph topologically, if the graph is acyclic. However, in an engineering process, this graph is not necessarily acyclic since certain tasks have to be executed in parallel, causing cycles in the graph. After generating the graph in the set of tasks, it is important to fuse all the cycles. This is achieved by finding the strongly connected components of the graph. The reduced graph, in which each strongly connected component is represented by a vertex, is a directed acyclic graph. The strongly connected components may be determined by different methods, including Kosaraju’s, Tarjan’s and Gabow’s methods. Considering the “has to be executed before” graph in the set of tasks, elementary paths through the graph, i.e. paths which do not contain any vertex more than once, are useful to investigate the influence of tasks on other tasks. For example, the longest elementary path of the graph is the logical critical path. The solution of such path problems in a network may be reduced to the solution of systems of equations using path algebras. The solution of the system of equations may be determined directly, i.e. through Gauss elimination, or iteratively, through Jacobi’s or Gauss-Seidel’s methods or the forward and back substitution method. The vertex sequence of an acyclic graph can be assigned in such a way that the coefficient matrix of the system of equations is reduced to staggered form, after which the solution is found by a simple back substitution. Since an engineering process has a start and an end, it is more acyclic than cyclic. Consequently we can usually reduce a substantial part of the coefficient matrix to staggered form. Using this technique, modifications of the solution methods mentioned above were implemented, and the efficiency of the technique is determined and compared between the various methods.

A new primary torque control concept for hydrostatics mobile machines was introduced in 2018 [1]. The mentioned concept controls the pressure in a closed circuit by changing the angle of the hydraulic pump to achieve the desired pressure based on a feedback system. Thanks to this concept, a series of advantages are expected [2]. However, while working in a Y cycle, the primary torque controlled wheel loader has worse performance in efficiency compared to secondary controlled earthmover due to lack of recuperation ability. Alternatively, we use deep learning algorithms to improve machines’ regeneration performance. In this paper, we firstly make a potential analysis to show the benefit by utilizing the regeneration process, followed by proposing a series of CRDNNs, which combine CNN, RNN, and DNN, to precisely detect Y cycles. Compared to existing algorithms, the CRDNN with bidirectional LSTMs has the best accuracy, and the CRDNN with LSTMs has a comparable performance but much fewer training parameters. Based on our dataset including 119 truck loading cycles, our best neural network shows a 98.2 % test accuracy. Therefore, even with a simple regeneration process, our algorithm can improve the holistic efficiency of mobile machines up to 9% during Y cycle processes if primary torque concept is used.

Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Nuclear Science and Engineering, June 2010.
"June 2010." Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 35).
The proliferation resistance of a reprocessing facility can be improved by using a novel detection system that utilizes the nuclear resonance fluorescence (NRF) phenomenon to determine the isotopic composition of materials flowing through the plant. In an aqueous reprocessing facility, the waste stream was identified as a weak point for proliferation resistance. By identifying the isotopic composition of the waste stream and monitoring levels of plutonium and uranium, greater accountancy can be maintained. After the detection system was designed, a probabilistic risk assessment method was used to evaluate the added proliferation resistance afforded by the NRF detection system and the overall proliferation resistance of the reprocessing facility to a diversion of a small quantity of material from the waste stream by two individuals. The overall probability of success for a proliferator to divert materials from a reprocessing facility utilizing an NRF detection system is 8.73* 10-5. This is a decrease, from 3.39* 104 , over the probability of success for the proliferator if the NRF detection system is not present. This decrease in proliferator success probability demonstrates and increased proliferation resistance of the reprocessing facility. The NRF detection system is shown to increase the proliferation resistance of the reprocessing facility.
by David Ballin Smith.
S.B.

233 U est le noyau fissile produit dans le cycle du combustible 232 T h/233 U qui a été proposé comme une alternative plus sûre et plus propre du cycle 238 U/239 P u. La connaissance précise de la section efficace de capture de neutrons de cet isotope est requise avec une haute précision pour la conception et le développement de réacteurs utilisant ce cycle du combustible. Les deux seuls jeux de données expérimentales fiables pour la section efficace de capture de l’233 U montrent des écarts important allant jusqu’à 20%. Ces différences peuvent être dues à desincertitudes systématiques associées à l'efficacité du détecteur, la correction du temps mort, la soustraction du bruit de fond et le phénomène d’empilement de signaux causé par la forteactivité α de l’échantillon. Un dispositif expérimental dédié a la mesure simultanée des sections efficaces de fission et de capture des noyaux fissiles radioactifs a été conçu, assemblé et optimiséau CENBG dans le cadre de ce travail. La mesure sera effectuée à l’installation de temps de vol de neutrons Gelina de l’IRMM, où les sections efficaces neutroniques peuvent être mesurées sur une large gamme d’énergie avec une haute résolution énergétique. Le détecteur de fission se compose d’une chambre à ionisation (CI) multi-plaque de haute efficacité. Les rayons γ produits dans les réactions de capture sont détectés par un ensemble de six scintillateurs C6 D6entourant la CI. Dans ces mesures, les rayons γ de la capture radiative sont masqués parle grand nombre de rayons γ de fission, ce qui représente le problème le plus délicat. Ces γ parasites doivent être soustraits par la détection des événements de fission avec une efficacité très bien connue (méthode de VETO). Une détermination précise de cette efficacité est assezdifficile. Dans ce travail, nous avons soigneusement étudié la méthode des neutrons prompts de fission pour la mesure de l'efficacité de la CI, apportant un éclairage nouveau sur la méthode, ce qui a permi d’obtenir une excellente précision sur l'efficacité de détection des fission d’une sourcede 252 Cf. Avec cette même source, plusieurs paramètres (pression du gaz, haute tension et la distance entre les électrodes) ont été étudiés afin de déterminer le comportement de la CI et detrouver le point de fonctionnement idéal : une bonne séparation énergétique entre les particulesα et les fragments de fission (FF) et une bonne résolution temporelle. Une bonne séparationα-FF a également été obtenue avec une cible d’233 U très radioactive. De plus, l’analyse deforme de signaux entre les rayons γ et les neutrons dans les détecteurs C6 D6 a été observée àGelina dans des conditions expérimentales réalistes. Pour conclure, le dispositif expérimentalet la méthode de VETO ont été soigneusement vérifiés et validés, ouvrant la voie à la mesure future des sections efficaces de capture et fission d’233 U
233U is the fissile nucleus produced in 232T h/233U fuel cycle which has been proposed as asafer and cleaner alternative to the 238U/239P u cycle. The accurate knowledge of the neutroncapture cross-section of this isotope is needed with high-precision for design and developmentof this fuel cycle. The only two reliable experimental data for the capture cross-section of233U show discrepancies up to 10%. These differences may be due to systematic uncertaintiesassociated with the detector efficiency, dead-time effects, background subtraction and signalpile-up caused by the α-activity of the sample. A special experimental set-up for simultaneousmeasurement of fission and capture cross sections of radioactive fissile nuclei was designed,assembled and optimized at CENBG in the frame of this work. The measurement will be per-formed at the Gelina neutron time-of-flight facility at IRMM, where neutron cross sectionscan be measured over a wide energy range with high energy resolution. The fission detectorconsists of a multi-plate high-efficiency ionization chamber (IC). The γ-rays produced in cap-ture reactions are detected by an array of six C6 D6 scintillators surrounding the IC. In thesemeasurements the radiative capture γ-rays are hidden in large background of fission γ-rays thatrepresents a challenging issue. The latter has then to be subtracted by detecting fission eventswith a very well known efficiency (VETO method). An accurate determination of this efficiencyis rather difficult. In this work we have thoroughly investigated the prompt-fission-neutronsmethod for the IC efficiency measurement, providing new insights on this method. Thanks tothis study the IC efficiency was determined with a very low uncertainty. Using a 252Cf source,several parameters (gas pressure, high voltage and the distance between the electrodes) havebeen studied to determine the behaviour of the IC in order to find the ideal operation point:a good energy separation between α-particles and fission fragments (FF) and a good timingresolution. A good α-FF separation has been obtained with a highly radioactive 233U target.Also, the pulse-shape discrimination between γ-rays and neutrons in the C6D6 detectors wasobserved at Gelina under realistic experimental conditions. To conclude, the experimentalset-up and the VETO method have been carefully checked and validated, opening the way tofuture measurements of the capture and fission cross sections of 233U

This Ph.D. in Creative and Critical Writing is presented in two parts. The first part consists of a cycle of four original teleplays entitled Out of the Limelight, portraying the experiences of members of a theatre company. The main character in each case is drawn into a world of constructed realism. Each character reacts in an individualistic way, in accordance with their purpose. In some cases there is a remedy, brought about by the character himself or by an outside force. Sometimes a combination of both is required. In one case the result is tragic. The second part of the Ph.D., a critical response to the Creative Writing of the first part, is in the form of a comparative study between the four teleplays and The Singing Detective by Dennis Potter. The relationship between reality and constructed realism is apparent in Potter's text in that the main character, Philip Marlow, uses a constructed world both as an escape mechanism and as a means of self analysis. The techniques used by both playwrights (myself and Potter) will be analysed and comparisons made in order to show the use and purpose of a constructed world in the experience of the characters in both Out of the Limelight and The Singing Detective.

El reg és el principal consum antropogènic d'aigua dolça. Es preveu que l'explotació dels recursos hídrics per a millorar la producció d'aliments mitjançant pràctiques de reg seguirà augmentant en els propers decennis. De fet, es preveu que el creixement demogràfic i els canvis climàtics exerceixin una pressió encara més gran sobre els recursos hídrics disponibles. Tot i que el reg té conseqüències directes en la gestió racional dels recursos hídrics, així com en la producció d'aliments, cal un coneixement detallat dels llocs en què realment es rega a tot el món i de quanta aigua s'utilitza realment per les pràctiques de reg. En aquesta investigació s'han elaborat mètodes per detectar i cartografiar les zones on realment es rega, així com mètodes per estimar les quantitats d'aigua que s'apliquen per al reg; les metodologies proposades utilitzen dades d'humitat del sòl provinents de la teledetecció espacial. En aquesta investigació s'han adoptat dos casos d'estudi: el primer es troba a la conca de l'Ebre, al nord-est d'Espanya, mentre que l'altre és la conca de l'Alt Tíber, a Itàlia central. S'han assajat diversos productes d'humitat del sòl obtinguts per teledetecció amb diferents resolucions espacials per avaluar els que millor funcionen en la detecció de reg i, per tant, en la cartografia de les zones de regadiu. A més, s'han realitzat estimacions quantitatives de les quantitats d'aigua aplicades per al reg. L'activitat de detecció i cartografia del reg s'ha dut a terme en els dos casos d'estudi. En l'espanyol s'ha avaluat inicialment la capacitat de detecció de reg de diversos productes de teledetecció. S'han avaluat els següents jocs de dades d'humitat del sòl: SMAP (Soil Moisture Active Passive) a 1 km i 9 km, SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) a 1 km, Sentinel-1 a 1 km, i ASCAT (Advanced SCATterometer) a 12,5 km. Les versions d'1 km de SMAP i SMOS s'obtenen mitjançant la desagregació amb el mètode DISPATCH (DISaggregation based on Physical And Theoretical scale CHange). La detectabilitat del reg pels productes considerats s'ha avaluat mitjançant índexs derivats de la teoria d’estabilitat temporal aquí utilitzada sota aquesta nova perspectiva. A més, s'han elaborat mapes de les zones irrigades produïts a través de l'algoritme d'agrupament K-mitjanes. A les zones agrícoles de la conca de l'Alt Tíber, a Itàlia, s'ha realitzat una anàlisi a doble escala. En l'anàlisi a 1 km de resolució espacial s'ha aplicat el mateix procediment adoptat en el cas d'estudi de la conca de l'Ebre per avaluar la detectabilitat del regadiu mitjançant la humitat del sòl provinent de la teledetecció. S'han utilitzat els següents productes: SMAP a 1 km, la versió Sentinel-1 a 1 km publicada pel Copernicus Global Land Service, i una versió Sentinel-1 a escala de la parcel·la (produïda per THEIA) agregada a 1 km. Cal observar que els dos primers productes són els mateixos que també s’han utilitzat en el cas d'estudi espanyol. En aquesta anàlisi, així com en la realitzada sobre l'àrea d'estudi a la conca de l'Ebre, s'ha utilitzat com a suport el model de superfície continental SURFEX-ISBA (Surface EXternalisée - Interaction Sol Biosphère Atmosphère). En l'anàlisi a escala de parcel·la, les dades de THEIA Sentinel-1 agregades a 100 m s'han utilitzat per produir mapes d'alta resolució de les zones de regadiu mitjançant l'algoritme d'agrupament K-mitjanes. L'activitat de quantificació del reg s'ha dut a terme a la zona d'estudi a la conca de l'Ebre únicament; s'han realitzat dos experiments: un utilitzant SMAP amb dades a 1 km de resolució i un altre utilitzant SMOS amb dades a 1 km. Tots dos conjunts de dades s'han utilitzat per forçar l'algoritme SM2RAIN adaptat a l'estimació del reg. En l'algoritme s'ha aplicat una modelització més realista del terme d’evapotranspiració per reproduir adequadament l'evapotranspiració dels cultius segons el model de la FAO (Organització de les Nacions Unides per a l'Agricultura i l'Alimentació). Les anàlisis realitzades tenen per objecte satisfer les llacunes existents en el camp de la recerca relacionada amb el reg; els resultats obtinguts són útils per avaluar l'impacte de les pràctiques de reg en el cicle hidrològic.
El riego es el principal consumo antropogénico de agua dulce. Se prevé que la explotación de los recursos hídricos para mejorar la producción de alimentos mediante prácticas de riego seguirá aumentando en los próximos decenios. De hecho, se prevé que el crecimiento demográfico y los cambios climáticos ejerzan una presión aún mayor sobre los recursos hídricos disponibles. A pesar de que el riego tiene consecuencias directas en la gestión racional de los recursos hídricos, así como en la producción de alimentos, falta un conocimiento detallado de los lugares en los que realmente se riega en todo el mundo y de cuánta agua se utiliza realmente para las prácticas de riego. En esta investigación se han elaborado métodos para detectar y cartografiar las zonas donde realmente se riega, así como métodos para estimar las cantidades de agua que se aplican para el riego; las metodologías propuestas utilizan datos de humedad del suelo provenientes de la teledetección espacial. En esta investigación se han adoptado dos casos de estudio: el primero se sitúa en la cuenca del Ebro, en el noreste de España, mientras que el otro es la cuenca del Alto Tíber, en Italia central. Se han ensayado varios productos de humedad del suelo obtenidos por teledetección con diferentes resoluciones espaciales para evaluar los que mejor funcionan en la detección del riego y, por lo tanto, en la cartografía de las zonas de regadío. Además, se han realizado estimaciones cuantitativas de las cantidades de agua aplicadas para el riego. La actividad de detección y cartografía del riego se ha llevado a cabo en ambos casos de estudio. En el español se ha evaluado inicialmente la capacidad de detección de riego de varios productos de teledetección. Se han evaluado los siguientes conjuntos de datos de humedad del suelo: SMAP (Soil Moisture Active Passive) a 1 km y 9 km, SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) a 1 km, Sentinel-1 a 1 km, y ASCAT (Advanced SCATterometer) a 12,5 km. Las versiones de 1 km de SMAP y SMOS se obtienen mediante la desagregación con el método DISPATCH (DISaggregation based on Physical And Theoretical scale Change). La detectabilidad del riego por los productos considerados se ha evaluado mediante índices derivados de la teoría de la estabilidad temporal aquí utilizada bajo esta nueva perspectiva. Además, se han elaborado mapas de las zonas irrigadas producidos a través del algoritmo de agrupamiento K-medias. En las zonas agrícolas de la cuenca del Alto Tíber, en Italia, se ha realizado un análisis a doble escala. En el análisis a 1 km de resolución espacial, se ha aplicado el mismo procedimiento adoptado en el caso de estudio de la cuenca del Ebro para evaluar la detectabilidad de la irrigación mediante la humedad del suelo por teledetección. Se han utilizado los siguientes productos: SMAP a 1 km, la versión Sentinel-1 a 1 km entregada por el Copernicus Global Land Service, y una versión Sentinel-1 a escala de parcela (producida por THEIA) agregada a 1 km. Obsérvese que los dos primeros productos son los mismos que también se utilizaron en el caso de estudio español. En este análisis, así como en el realizado sobre el área de estudio en la cuenca del Ebro, se ha utilizado como soporte el modelo de superficie terrestre SURFEX-ISBA (SURface EXternalisée - Interaction Sol Biosphère Atmosphère). En el análisis a escala de parcela, los datos del THEIA Sentinel-1 agregados a 100 m se han utilizado para producir mapas de alta resolución de las zonas de regadío mediante el algoritmo de agrupamiento K-medias. La actividad de cuantificación del riego se ha llevado a cabo en la zona de estudio de la cuenca del Ebro únicamente; se han realizado dos experimentos: uno explotando SMAP con datos a 1 km de resolución y otro explotando SMOS con datos a 1 km. Ambos conjuntos de datos se han utilizado para forzar el algoritmo SM2RAIN adaptado a la estimación del riego. En el algoritmo se ha aplicado una modelización más realista del término de evapotranspiración para reproducir adecuadamente la evapotranspiración de los cultivos según el modelo de la FAO (Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Agricultura y la Alimentación). Los análisis realizados tienen por objeto colmar las lagunas existentes en el campo de la investigación relacionada con el riego; los resultados obtenidos son útiles para evaluar el impacto de las prácticas de riego en el ciclo hidrológico.
Irrigation is the primary source of anthropogenic freshwater consumptions. The exploitation of water resources to improve the food production through irrigation practices is expected to further increase in the upcoming decades. In fact, the population growth and climate changes are expected to put even more pressure on the available water resources. Despite irrigation having direct implications on the rational management of water resources, as well as on food production, a detailed knowledge of where irrigation actually occurs worldwide and of how much water is actually used for irrigation practices is missing. In this research, approaches to detect and map areas where irrigation actually occurs, as well as methods to estimate the amounts of water applied for irrigation, have been developed; the proposed methodologies exploit remote sensing soil moisture. Two case studies have been considered in this research: the first one is located within the Ebro basin, in North-eastern Spain, while the other one is the Upper Tiber basin, in central Italy. Several remotely sensed soil moisture products at different spatial resolutions have been tested to evaluate the best performing ones in detecting irrigation signals and thus mapping irrigated areas. In addition, quantitative estimates of the water amounts applied for irrigation have been performed. The irrigation detection and mapping activity has been carried out over both case studies. In the Spanish one, the capability to detect irrigation of several remote sensing products has been initially assessed. The following soil moisture data sets have been evaluated: SMAP (Soil Moisture Active Passive) at 1 km and 9 km, SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) at 1 km, Sentinel-1 at 1 km, and ASCAT (Advanced SCATterometer) at 12.5 km. The 1 km versions of SMAP and SMOS are obtained through downscaling with the DISPATCH (DISaggregation based on Physical And Theoretical scale CHange) method. The detectability of irrigation by the considered products has been assessed through indices derived from the temporal stability theory here used under this new perspective. Furthermore, maps of irrigated areas have been produced through the K-means clustering algorithm. Over the agricultural areas in the Upper Tiber basin, in Italy, a double-scale analysis has been carried out. In the analysis at 1 km spatial resolution, the same procedure adopted over the case study in the Ebro basin to evaluate the detectability of irrigation through remotely sensed soil moisture has been applied. The following products have been used: SMAP at 1 km, the Sentinel-1 at 1 km version delivered by the Copernicus Global Land Service, and a plot-scale-born Sentinel-1 version (produced by THEIA) aggregated at 1 km. Note that the first two products are the same used over the Spanish case study also. In this analysis, as well as in the one carried out over the study area in the Ebro basin, surface soil moisture simulated by the SURFEX-ISBA (SURface EXternalisée - Interaction Sol Biosphère Atmosphère) land surface model has been used as support. In the plot-scale analysis, THEIA Sentinel-1 data aggregated at 100 m have been used to produce high-resolution maps of irrigated areas through the K-means clustering algorithm. The irrigation quantification activity has been carried out over the study area in the Ebro basin only; two experiments have been performed: one exploiting SMAP at 1 km data and another one exploiting SMOS at 1 km data. Both data sets have been used to force the SM2RAIN algorithm adapted to estimate irrigation. A more realistic modeling of the evapotranspiration term has been implemented into the algorithm to properly reproduce the crop evapotranspiration according to the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) model. The analyses carried out are aimed at filling the existing gaps in the irrigation-related research field; the obtained results are useful to assess the impact of irrigation practices on the hydrological cycle.
L’irrigazione è la principale fonte di consumo di acqua dolce. Nei prossimi decenni è atteso un ulteriore sfruttamento della risorsa idrica per incrementare la produzione di cibo attraverso le pratiche irrigue. Si stima infatti che la crescita della popolazione e i cambiamenti climatici possano esercitare una pressione ancora maggiore sulle risorse idriche disponibili. Nonostante le importanti implicazioni che ha l’irrigazione sulla gestione razionale dell’acqua e sulla produzione di cibo, non si ha una conoscenza dettagliata di dove l’irrigazione effettivamente avvenga nel mondo e di quanta acqua venga effettivamente utilizzata per le pratiche irrigue. In questa ricerca sono stati sviluppati approcci per rilevare e mappare le aree dove effettivamente si verifica l’irrigazione e per stimare i volumi irrigui; le metodologie proposte sfruttano l’umidità del suolo rilevata da satellite. In questa ricerca sono stati considerati due casi di studio: il primo si trova nel bacino del fiume Ebro, nel Nord-Est della Spagna, mentre l’altro è il bacino superiore del Tevere, nell’Italia centrale. Diversi prodotti di umidità del suolo da satellite, caratterizzati da diverse risoluzioni spaziali, sono stati valutati al fine di determinare i più performanti nel rilevare segnali di irrigazione e quindi mappare le aree irrigate. Inoltre, sono state eseguite stime quantitative dei volumi di acqua utilizzati per pratiche irrigue. L’attività di rilievo e mappatura dell’irrigazione è stata condotta su entrambe le aree pilota. In quella spagnola, è stata valutata la capacità di rilevare l’irrigazione di diversi prodotti di umidità del suolo. Sono stati considerati i seguenti set di dati: SMAP (Soil Moisture Active Passive) a 1 km e 9 km, SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) a 1 km, Sentinel-1 a 1 km e ASCAT (Advanced SCATterometer) a 12.5 km. Le versioni a 1 km di SMAP e SMOS sono ottenute tramite disaggregazione eseguita con il metodo DISPATCH (DISaggregation based on Physical And Theoretical scale CHange). La capacità di rilevare l’irrigazione da parte dei prodotti considerati è stata valutata tramite indici derivanti dalla teoria della stabilità temporale e usati in questo studio sotto una nuova prospettiva. Inoltre, sono state prodotte delle mappe delle aree irrigate attraverso l’algoritmo di classificazione K-means. Un’analisi a doppia scala spaziale è stata condotta sulle aree agricole all’interno del bacino superiore del Tevere, in Italia. Nell’ambito dell’analisi alla risoluzione spaziale di 1 km, è stata applicata la stessa procedura già adottata per il caso di studio nel bacino dell’Ebro per valutare la possibilità di rilevare l’irrigazione tramite umidità del suolo da satellite. Sono stati utilizzati i seguenti prodotti: SMAP a 1 km, la versione a 1 km di Sentinel-1 fornita da Copernicus Global Land Service e una versione di Sentinel-1 originariamente prodotta de THEIA alla scala di parcella e aggregata a 1 km. Va sottolineato che i primi due prodotti menzionati sono stati utilizzati anche sull’area pilota in Spagna. Sia in questa analisi che in quella condotta nel bacino dell’Ebro, dati di umidità del suolo superficiale modellati tramite il modello di superficie terrestre SURFEX-ISBA (SURface EXternalisée - Interaction Sol Biosphère Atmosphère) sono stati utilizzati come supporto. Nell’analisi alla scala di parcella, sono stati impiegati i dati di Sentinel-1 prodotti da THEIA e aggregati a 100 m al fine di produrre mappe di aree irrigate ad alta risoluzione tramite l’algoritmo di classificazione K-means. L’attività di quantificazione dell’irrigazione è stata finalizzata solamente per l’area pilota nel bacino dell’Ebro; sono stati condotti due esperimenti: uno utilizzando i dati da SMAP a 1 km e un altro sfruttando i dati da SMOS a 1 km. Entrambi i set di dati sono stati utilizzati per forzare la versione dell’algoritmo SM2RAIN adattata per la stima dell’irrigazione. Una modellazione più realistica dell’evapotraspirazione è stata implementata nell’algoritmo al fine di riprodurre adeguatamente l’evapotraspirazione delle colture secondo il modello FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization). Le analisi condotte sono finalizzate a colmare le lacune esistenti nel campo di ricerca relativo all’irrigazione; i risultati ottenuti sono utili per valutare l’impatto delle pratiche irrigue sul ciclo idrologico.

233U is the fissile nucleus produced in 232T h/233U fuel cycle which has been proposed as asafer and cleaner alternative to the 238U/239P u cycle. The accurate knowledge of the neutroncapture cross-section of this isotope is needed with high-precision for design and developmentof this fuel cycle. The only two reliable experimental data for the capture cross-section of233U show discrepancies up to 10%. These differences may be due to systematic uncertaintiesassociated with the detector efficiency, dead-time effects, background subtraction and signalpile-up caused by the α-activity of the sample. A special experimental set-up for simultaneousmeasurement of fission and capture cross sections of radioactive fissile nuclei was designed,assembled and optimized at CENBG in the frame of this work. The measurement will be per-formed at the Gelina neutron time-of-flight facility at IRMM, where neutron cross sectionscan be measured over a wide energy range with high energy resolution. The fission detectorconsists of a multi-plate high-efficiency ionization chamber (IC). The γ-rays produced in cap-ture reactions are detected by an array of six C6 D6 scintillators surrounding the IC. In thesemeasurements the radiative capture γ-rays are hidden in large background of fission γ-rays thatrepresents a challenging issue. The latter has then to be subtracted by detecting fission eventswith a very well known efficiency (VETO method). An accurate determination of this efficiencyis rather difficult. In this work we have thoroughly investigated the prompt-fission-neutronsmethod for the IC efficiency measurement, providing new insights on this method. Thanks tothis study the IC efficiency was determined with a very low uncertainty. Using a 252Cf source,several parameters (gas pressure, high voltage and the distance between the electrodes) havebeen studied to determine the behaviour of the IC in order to find the ideal operation point:a good energy separation between α-particles and fission fragments (FF) and a good timingresolution. A good α-FF separation has been obtained with a highly radioactive 233U target.Also, the pulse-shape discrimination between γ-rays and neutrons in the C6D6 detectors wasobserved at Gelina under realistic experimental conditions. To conclude, the experimentalset-up and the VETO method have been carefully checked and validated, opening the way tofuture measurements of the capture and fission cross sections of 233U.

The Bethe-Weizsäcker cycle consists of a set of nuclear reactions that convert hydrogen into helium and release energy in the stars. It determines the luminosity of low-metal stars at their turn-off from the main-sequence in the Hertzsprung-Russel diagram, so its rate enters the calculation of the globular clusters’ age, an independent lower limit on the age of the universe. The cycle contributes less than 1% to our Sun’s luminosity, but it produces neutrinos that can in principle be measured on Earth in underground experiments and bring direct information of the physical conditions in the solar core, provided that the nuclear reaction rate is known with sufficient precision. The 14N(p,γ)15O reaction is the slowest reaction of the Bethe-Weizs¨acker cycle and establishes its rate. Its cross section is the sum of the contributions by capture to different excited levels and to the ground state in 15O. Recent experiments studied the region of the resonance at Ep = 278 keV. Only one modern data set from an experiment performed in 1987 is available for the high-energy domain. Both energy ranges are needed to constrain the fit of the excitation function in the R-matrix framework and to obtain a reliable extrapolated S-factor at the very low astrophysical energies. The present research work studied the 14N(p,γ)15O reaction in the LUNA (Laboratory for Underground Nuclear Astrophysics) underground facility at three proton energies 0.36, 0.38, 0.40MeV, and in Dresden in the energy range Ep = 0.6 - 2MeV. In both cases, an intense proton beam was sent on solid titanium nitride sputtered targets, and the prompt photons emitted from the reaction were detected with germanium detectors. At LUNA, a composite germanium detector was used. This enabled a measurement with dramatically reduced summing corrections with respect to previous studies. The cross sections for capture to the ground state and to the excited states at 5181, 6172, and 6792 keV in 15O have been determined. An R-matrix fit was performed for capture to the ground state, that resolved the literature discrepancy of a factor two on the extrapolated S-factor. New precise branching ratios for the decay of the Ep = 278 keV resonance were measured. In Dresden, the strength of the Ep = 1058 keV resonance was measured relative to the well-known resonance at Ep = 278 keV, after checking the angular distribution. Its uncertainty is now half of the error quoted in literature. The branching ratios were also measured, showing that their recommended values should be updated. Preliminary data for the two most intense transitions off resonance are provided. The presence in the targets of the other stable nitrogen isotope 15N with its well- known isotopic abundance, allowed to measure the strength of two resonances at Ep = 430 and 897 keV of the 15N(p,αγ)12 C reaction, improving the precision for hydrogen depth profiling.

Les séquences binaires pseudo-aléatoires sont couramment employées par les systèmes de transmissions numériques ou des mécanismes de chiffrement. On les retrouve en particulier dans les transmissions par étalement de spectre par séquence direct (e.g. 3G ou GPS)) ou pour construire des séquences d'apprentissage pour faciliter la synchronisation ou l'estimation du canal (e.g. LTE). Un point commun à toutes ces applications est la nécessité de se synchroniser avec la séquence émise. La méthode conventionnelle consiste à générer la même séquence au niveau du récepteur et la corréler avec le signal reçu. Si le résultat dépasse un seuil pré-défini, la synchronisation est déclarée acquise. On parle alors de détection par corrélation.Cette thèse aborde une autre voie : la détection des séquences binaires pseudo-aléatoire par des techniques de décodage canal. Ceci permet par exemple de détecter des séquences longues (e.g. de période 242), contrairement aux techniques par corrélation qui sont trop complexes à implémenter. Cela nécessite néanmoins que le récepteur connaisse au préalable le polynôme générateur de la séquence.Nous avons montré que le décodage d'une séquence pseudo-aléatoire est une problématique du type 'détecte et décode'. Le récepteur détecte la présence de la séquence et simultanément estime son état initial. Ceci correspond dans la théorie classique de la détection à un détecteur de type GLRT qui ne connaît pas la séquence émise, mais qui connaît sa méthode de construction. L'algorithme implémente alors un GLRT qui utilise un décodeur pour estimer la séquence reçue. Ce dernier est implémenté avec un algorithme de décodage par passage de messages qui utilise une matrice de parité particulière. Elle est construite avec des équations de parités différentes, chacune ayant un poids de Hamming valant t.Il correspond au nombre de variables participants à l'équation.Les équations de parité sont un constituant indispensable du décodeur. Nous avons donné leur nombre pour les m-séquences et les séquences de Gold. Pour le cas particulier des séquences de Gold, nous avons calculé le nombre d'équations de parité de poids t=5 lorsque le degré du polynôme générateur r est impair. Ce calcul est important car il n'y a pas d'équations de parité de poids t < 5 lorsque r est impair. Le nombre d'équations de parité est aussi utilisé pour estimer le degré minimal des équations d'un poids t donné. Nous avons montré que le modèle de prédiction estime correctement la valeur moyenne du degré minimal de l'ensemble des séquences de Gold. Nous avons néanmoins mis en évidence une grande variabilité du degré minimal des séquences autour de cette valeur moyenne.Nous avons ensuite identifié les ensembles absorbants complets de plus petite taille lorsque le décodeur emploie plusieurs polynômes de parité. Ces ensembles bloquent la convergence du décodeur lorsque celui-ci est alimenté avec du bruit. Ceci évite les fausses alarmes lors du processus de détection. Nous avons montré que des cycles 'transverses' détruisent ces ensembles absorbants, ce qui génère des fausses alarmes. Nous en avons déduit un algorithme qui minimise le nombre de cycles transverses de longueur 6 et 8, ce qui minimise la probabilité de fausse alarme lorsque le poids des équations de parité vaut t=3. Notre algorithme permet de sélectionner les équations de parité qui minimisent la probabilité de fausse alarme et ainsi réduire notablement le temps d'acquisition d'une séquence de Gold.Nous avons enfin proposé deux algorithmes de détection du code d'embrouillage pour les systèmes WCDMA et CDMA2000. Ils exploitent les propriétés des m-séquences constituant les séquences de Gold, ainsi que les mécanismes de décodage par passage de messages. Ces algorithmes montrent les vulnérabilités des transmissions par étalement de spectre
Pseudo-random binary sequences are very common in wireless transmission systems and ciphering mechanisms. More specifically, they are used in direct sequence spread spectrum transmission systems like UMTS or GPS, or to construct preamble sequences for synchronization and channel estimation purpose like in LTE. It is always required to synchronize the receiver with the transmitted sequence. The usual way consists in correlating the received signal with a replica of the sequence. If the correlation exceeds a predefined threshold, the synchronization is declared valid.This thesis addresses a different approach: the binary sequence is detected with a forward error correction decoding algorithm. This allows for instance to detect very long sequences.In this thesis, we show that decoding a pseudo-random sequence is a problematic of the kind ‘detect and decode'. The decoder detects the presence of the transmitted sequence and simultaneously estimates its initial state. In conventional detection theory, this corresponds to a GLRT detector that uses a decoder to estimate the unknown parameter which is the transmitted sequence. For pseudo-random sequences, the decoder implements an iterative message-passing algorithm. It uses a parity check matrix to define the decoding graph on which the algorithm applies. Each parity check equation has a weight t, corresponding to the number of variables in the equation.Parity check equations are thus an essential component of the decoder. The decoding procedure is known to be sensitive to the weight t of the parity check equations. For m-sequences, the number of parity check equations is already known. It is given by the number of codewords of weight t of the corresponding Hamming dual code. For Gold sequences, the number of parity check equations of weight t = 3 and 4 has already been evaluated by Kasami. In this thesis we provide an analytical expression for the number of parity check equations of weight t = 5 when the degree of the generator polynomial r is odd. Knowing this number is important because there is no parity check equation of weight t < 5 when r is odd. This enumeration is also used to provide an estimation of the least degree of parity check equations of weight t.We have then addressed the problem of selecting the parity check equations used by the decoder. We observed the probability of false alarm is very sensitive to this selection. It is explained by the presence or absence of absorbing sets which block the convergence of the decoder when it is fed only with noise. These sets are known to be responsible for error floor of LDPC codes. We give a method to identify these sets according to the parity check equations used by the decoder. The probability of false alarm can increase dramatically if these absorbing sets are destroyed. Then we propose an algorithm for selecting these parity check equations. It relies on the minimization of the number of cycles of length 6 and 8. Simulation show that the algorithm allows to improve significantly the probability of false alarm and the average acquisition time.Eventually, we propose 2 algorithms for the detection of the scrambling codes used in the uplink of UMTS-FDD and CDMA2000 systems. They highlights a new vulnerability of DSSS transmission systems. It is now conceivable to detect these transmission if the sequence's generator is known

Cryptosystems based on elliptic curves are in wide-spread use, they are considered secure because of the difficulty to solve the elliptic curve discrete logarithm problem. Pollard's rho method is regarded as the best method for attacking the logarithm problem to date, yet it is still not efficient enough to break an elliptic curve cryptosystem. This is because its time complexity is O(√n) and for uses in cryptography the value of n will be very large. The objective of this thesis is to see if there are ways to improve Pollard's rho method. To do this, we study some modifications of the original functions used in the method. We also investigate some different functions proposed by other researchers to see if we can find a version that will improve the performance. From the experiments conducted on these modifications and functions, we can conclude that we get an improvement in the performance for some of them.

Object-oriented programing languages are becoming increasingly important as are managed runtime-systems. An area of importance in such systems is dynamic automatic memory management. A key function of dynamic automatic memory management is detecting and reclaiming discarded memory regions; this is also referred to as garbage collection. A significant proportion of research has been conducted in the field of memory management, and more specifically garbage collection techniques. In the past, adequate comparisons against a range of competing algorithms and implementations has often been overlooked. JMTk is a flexible memory management toolkit, written in Java, which attempts to provide a testbed for such comparisons. This thesis aims to examine the implementation of one algorithm currently available in JMTk: the deferred reference counter. Other research has shown that the reference counter in JMTk performs poorly both in throughput and responsiveness. Several aspects of the reference counter are tested, including the write barrier, allocation cost, increment and decrement processing and cycle-detection. The results of these examinations found the bump-pointer to be 8% faster than the free-list in raw allocation. The cost of the reference counting write barrier was determined to be 10% on the PPC architecture and 20% on the i686 architecture. Processing increments in the write barrier was found to be up to 13% faster than buffering them until collection time on a uni-processor platform. Cycle detection was identified as a key area of cost in reference counting. In order to improve the performance of the deferred reference counter and to contribute to the JMTk testbed, a new algorithm for detecting cyclic garbage was described. This algorithm is based on a mark scan approach to cycle detection. Using this algorithm, two new cycle detectors were implemented and compared to the original trial deletion cycle detector. The semi-concurrent cycle detector had the best throughput, outperforming trial deletion by more than 25% on the javac benchmark. The non-concurrent cycle detector had poor throughput attributed to poor triggering heuristics. Both new cycle detectors had poor pause times. Even so, the semi-concurrent cycle detector had the lowest pause times on the javac benchmark. The work presented in this thesis contributes to an evaluation of components of the reference counter and a comparsion between approaches to reference counting implementation. Previous to this work, the cost of the reference counter's components had not been quantified. Additionally, past work presented different approaches to reference counting implementation as a whole, instead of individual components.

碩士
國立臺灣科技大學
資訊工程系
96
We propose a novel approach using a distributed algorithm for boundary detection in wireless sensor networks. The sensor networks we consider are selforganizing and with a reasonable density and communication ranges. Our approach does not require any localization information and only uses the connectivity information of the network. The algorithm divides the network into several clusters, then pieces the partial boundaries into one. We use the fact that a hole in the covered area is separated by some groups, and nodes from di erent groups can jointly find the boundary of the hole. We also use the property that more than one neighbor of a boundary node should also be in the boundary. With the sub-network formed by node’s 1-hop and 2-hop neighbors, every node can decide whether it is a boundary node. Our experiments show that our approach can find the boundaries of holes e ciently.

碩士
國立交通大學
土木工程系
89
In order to attain high precision positioning and navigation results with GPS, cycle slips must be correctly repaired at the data preprocessing stage. A slip of only a few cycles can bias measurements enough to make centimetre-level positioning or navigation difficult. What is a Cycle Slip? Briefly it is a sudden integer number of cycles jump in the carrier phase observable caused by the loss of lock of the receiver phase lock loops. Currently, the source for cycle slips can be distinguished in (1) Obstructions of the satellite signal due to surrounding interference. (2) Low SNR ( Signal to Noise Ratio ) due to ionospheric delay, multipath effect, bad DOP…,etc. (3)Failure in the receiver software. For the most part, techniques used in the detection and determination of cycle slips have not changed drastically since the first methods were devised in the early 1980s. The focus has always been on taking cycle slip into the discontinuity of phase observation, and to judge which is the better way for cycle slip detection depends on the tool you use. In this thesis, we develop a new way by using Wavelet transformation. On using this method, we can detect tiny slips and repair other tinier cycle slips and noise by using wavelet decomposition and de-noising. In the same observed sessions, we can get more precise positioning and baseline resolution.

碩士
國立雲林科技大學
電子與光電工程研究所碩士班
100
In high speed circuit, clock signal has to be highly stable. However, the many buffer stages in the circuit may impose unexpected effect on clock duty cycle (pulsewidth), which in term lower the circuit performance. Traditional pulsewidth locked circuit requires longer lock time, which may affect the functioning of digital system. This thesis proposed a pulsewidth locked circuit that can quickly detect pulse cycle and produce pulses. The pulsewidth locked circuit used a delay line to adjust and detect pulse simultaneously. Through the hardware-sharing mechanism, the proposed circuit successfully reduced its hardware area. Under the same delay-cell resolution, the circuit adapted a 128-bit pulsewidth detector in 128-bit thermometer code. Then we used thermometer-to-binary circuit to quickly transformed the thermometer code to 7-bit pulse code, which, when compared with traditional application of using shift register to count cycle number, can greatly reduce lock time. As for the correction circuit we applied a half-cycle converter, which can lock pulsewidth to 50% in one circuit operation. Since the circuit was limited by internal circuit delay when operated with high frequency, we proposed a high-speed, many-to-one CMOS multiplexer to solve this problem. The proposed multiplexer was composed of 8 pairs of level 16 transmission gates and 7 pairs of 2-1 CMOS multiplexers. When compared to traditional many-to-one multiplexer, the proposed multiplexer was not only with smaller area, its circuit delay time was also smaller due to the reduced multiplexer levels, thus enhance the overall speed and performance of the pulsewidth lock loops. The pulsewidth lock circuit was simulated by 0.18um CMOS process under VDD 1.8V. With layout verification, the operating frequency range was between 100 MHz~400 MHz. When the operating frequency was 400 MHz, the power consumption of the proposed pulsewidth lock loops was 14mW, the maximum pulsewidth error was within 3%, and 50% duty cycle can be locked within only 6 clock cycles.

碩士
國立臺灣海洋大學
通訊與導航工程學系
101
Cycle slip can cause discontinuous integer cycle jumps in phase measurements, it can lead to significant positioning errors, detecting and correcting cycle-slip is an important issue for GNSS relative positioning. In this paper, Multiscale Hilbert-Huang Transform (M-HHT) method is proposed to deal with the problem. The proposed method consists of three steps. Firstly, a time-difference GNSS phase measurement is decomposed into a trend signal and a finite number of intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) by EMD. Secondly, a “cycle-slip signal” is obtained by M-HHT. Finally, an edge detection operator is applied on the “cycle-slip signal” to detect and repair the cycle-slip. The experimental results show that the M-HHT method has better performance than the conventional EMD-based filters, and the success rate of cycle slip detection is up to 100 % (15° mask angle) in various simulated scenarios and real data over multiple days. The results confirm that the proposed algorithm is applicable for relative positioning.

Processing GPS carrier-phase measurements can provide high positioning accuracy for several navigation applications. However, if not detected, cycle slips in the measured phase can strongly deteriorate the positioning accuracy. Cycle slips frequently occur in areas surrounded by trees, buildings, and other obstacles. The dynamics experienced by the GPS receiver in kinematic mode of navigation also increases the possibility of cycle slips. Detection and correction of these cycle-slips is essential for reliable navigation. One way of detecting and correcting for cycle slips is to use another system to be integrated with GPS. Inertial Navigation Systems (INS), using three-axis accelerometers and three-axis gyroscopes, is integrated with GPS to provide more reliable navigation solution. Moreover, INS was utilized in the past for GPS cycle slip detection and correction. For low cost applications, Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems (MEMS) accelerometers and gyroscopes are used inside INS. For land navigation, reduced inertial sensor system (RISS) utilizing two accelerometers, one gyroscope, and the vehicle odometer was suggested. MEMS-based RISS has the advantage of using less number of MEMS-based gyroscopes and accelerometers thus reducing the overall cost and avoiding the complex error characteristics associated with MEMS sensors. In this thesis, we investigate the use of MEMS – based RISS to aid GPS and detect and correct for cycle slips. The Kalman filter was employed in centralized fashion to integrate the measurements from both GPS and RISS. This thesis research also offers a new threshold selection criterion resulting in a more robust cycle slip detection and correction. The proposed method was tested in different scenarios of road tests in land vehicle. Results show accuracy iii improvement over the conventional double differenced pseudoranges-based integrated system. Moreover, the adaptive selection criterion of the detection threshold proposed in this thesis improves the detection rate, especially in the case of small-sized cycle slips.
Thesis (Master, Electrical & Computer Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2013-05-06 18:11:57.076

碩士
國立交通大學
電機學院電機與控制學程
100
Capacitor voltage detection with adequate charge time control is proposed in DC-DC buck converter with the bootstrapped capacitor in this thesis. N-channel MOSFET is widely used as the high-side power switch of DC-DC buck converter due to small silicon area and low equivalent turn-on resistance. However, the N-channel MOSFET needs bootstrapped capacitor to provide enough gate-source voltage for lowering equivalent turn-on resistance and thus enhancing power conversion efficiency. The bootstrapped capacitor needs to be charged frequently because the voltage across it decreases when it drives the gate driver of the N-channel MOSFET. Thus maximum duty cycle setting that uses the off time of high-side power switch during every period to charge bootstrap capacitor is popularly used in conventional methods. Thus, it can lead to stable system but it limits the maximum applicable output voltage and reduces the flexibility of DC-DC buck converter. Therefore, the ability of capacitor voltage detection and charge time control can increase the achievable output voltage level. In the meanwhile, the extra power dissipation is smaller than 11 μA with a low complexity in the circuit design. The output voltage can be close to 98.5 % of input voltage when the load current is 2 A with the ripple voltage smaller than 2 % of the output voltage. Furthermore, the reduced operation frequency near 1/50 of original oscillator frequency can effectively improve the power conversion efficiency due to the reduction of the switching loss. The error percentage of capacitor voltage detection is lower than 2 % compared with the reference voltage. The simulation results that the system is stable when the output voltage approaches the input voltage, that is, the duty is close to 100%. Compared with the conventional maximum duty cycle control techniques, the limit of the applicable output voltage is much improved to 98.5 % with high efficiency and low output voltage ripple.