The Winner-Take-All (WTA) is an essential neural network operation for locating the most active neuron. Such a procedure has been extensively used in larger application areas. The Winner-Take-All circuit selects the maximum of the inputs inhibiting all other nodes. The efficiency of the analog circuits may well be considerably higher than the digital circuits. Also, analog circuits’ design footprint and processing time can be significantly small. A current-based Winner-Take-All circuit for analog neural networks is presented in this research. A compare and pass (CAP) mechanism has been used, where each input pair is compared, and the winner is selected and passed to another level. The inputs are compared by a sense amplifier which generates high and low voltage signals at the output node. The voltage signal of the sense amplifier is used to select the winner and passed to another level using logic gates. Also, each winner follows a sequence of digital bits to be selected. The findings of the SPICE simulation are also presented. The simulation results on the MNIST, Fashion-MNIST, and CIFAR10 datasets for the memristive deep neural network model show the significantly accurate result of the winner class with an average difference of input and selected winner output current of 0.00795uA, 0.01076uA and 0.02364uA respectively. The experimental result with transient noise analysis is also presented.

Bakgrund: Leukemi-blodcancer är en sjukdom som ökar tillväxten av omogna vita blodkroppar i benmärgen och rubbar den normala blodbildningen vilket leder till anemi och en ökad infektionskänslighet. Akut lymfatisk leukemi (ALL) är en akut form av leukemi som framför allt drabbar barn och ungdomar. De vanligaste symtomen är feber, trötthet, smärta och blekhet. Behandlingarna pågår under en längre tid med allvarliga biverkningar som är intensiva för barn och föräldrar. Föräldrarna utgör en stor del av barnets familj, därmed påverkas deras välbefinnande av barnens lidande till följd av sjukdomen. Sjukdomen medför risken att barnet eventuella avlider.  Syfte: Syftet med studien var att undersöka föräldrars upplevelse av att ha ett barn som drabbats av akut lymfatisk leukemi (ALL). Metod: En kvalitativ litteraturstudie med en induktiv ansats valdes då den var lämplig utifrån studiens syfte som var att undersöka föräldrars upplevelser. Datainsamlingen skedde via databaserna Pubmed och Cinahl. Den insamlade data kvalitetsgranskades enligt Fribergs (2022b) granskningsfrågor för kvalitativa studier.   Resultat: Resultatet sammanfogades till tre huvudteman och sju subteman vilka återspeglar föräldrarnas upplevelser. De tre huvudteman är I väntan på diagnos och påbörjan av behandling, Former av stöd och Hemkomst efter ALL behandling på sjukhuset.  Slutsats: Det är av största vikt att beakta familjen som ett system när ett barn insjuknar i en sjukdom som akut lymfatisk leukemi (ALL). Till följd av denna utmanande period upplever föräldrar ett lidande, därmed är det avgörande att sjuksköterskan implanterar en familjefokuserad omvårdnad. Detta för att ge en tryggare och bättrad omvårdnad där både barn och föräldrar beaktas.

This thesis describes the development of optical wavelength converters with an integrated coupling structure, fabricated on periodically poled MgO doped lithium niobate (MgO:LN) for optical fiber communication and other all-optical signal processing applications. Wavelength converter is an integral part of any broadband communication system. The ability to transfer information between carrier wavelengths allows for efficient use of the available bandwidth in a transmission medium. Wavelength converters based on PPLN waveguides are among the most efficient nonlinear optical devices available today, due to highspeed operation, low noise, parallel operation on multiple wavelength channels and preservation of information carried in the optical domain. However, low conversion efficiency is an issue for wavelength converter based on PPLN waveguide. Compared to pure LN, MgO doped LN decrease restriction in optical damage and increase conversion efficiency. Integrated coupling structure demonstrates a solution to mode-coupling of the input wave to the fundamental mode of DFG device and increase the conversion efficiency. Therefore, a periodically poled MgO doped lithium niobate (MgO:LN) waveguides with integrated coupling structure is fabricated. The components of integrated coupling structure are compatible with lithium nobate waveguides, including directional couplers, small radius bends, adiabatic taper, and mode filter. The integrated coupling structure combines the pump and signal waves into the DFG conversion section, and makes the single mode conversion of the pump from input waveguide to conversion section. Theoretical models and simulations are provided in this thesis, and performances of the device with this structure are also presented. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

As WDM results in an ever-increasing trend of traffic concentration, any failure on a single fiber-link or a single switching node will be catastrophic. Rapid restoration can recover the affected traffic so as to make the network more robust and reliable. The conventional restoration methods are designed mostly for reconfiguring the network topology; they are not immune from service interruption. In this thesis, an effective algorithm called backup-path-wavelength rearrangement scheme is proposed to reduce the connection blocking probability in an all-optical network. The proposed scheme performs wavelength retuning on the backup paths to improve the acceptance probability for new connection requests and introduce zero service interruption to the traffic in the network. The performance evaluation indicates that the connection blocking probability can be decreased greatly by the proposed scheme. The combination of BPWR and traffic grooming can efficiently alleviate the wavelength continuity constraint.

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According to U.S. Department of Energy, offshore wind energy has the potential to generate 7,200 TWh of energy annually, which is nearly twice the current annual energy consumption in the United States. With technical advances in the offshore wind industry, particularly in the floating platforms, windfarms are pushing further into the ocean. This creates new engineering challenges for transmission of energy from offshore site to onshore. One possible solution is to convert the energy produced into chemical energy of ammonia, which was investigated by Dr. Eric Morgan. In his doctoral dissertation, he assessed the technical requirements and economics of a 300 tons/day capacity ammonia plant powered by offshore wind. However, in his dissertation, one of the assumptions was connection to the grid which provided auxiliary power to keep the ammonia plant operational and produce at rated capacity. It also allowed selling of excess power to the grid in the scenario of excess power production by wind farm during high winds. This thesis explores the technical and economical feasibility of a similar system, except that the ammonia plant will be on a plantship and there is no connection to the grid. This creates a challenge as the ammonia synthesis plant must operate between 65-100% loads. Thus, the concept of multiple mini-ammonia plants is used to address the scenario of wind energy production at less than rated power. This will allow operation of one or more mini-ammonia plant (corresponding to the available energy from offshore wind). In the event of wind speed lower than the cutoff wind speed for the turbine, the ammonia plant will use the produced ammonia as fuel, with the help of a gas turbine running on either Brayton cycle or combined cycle, to keep the plant idling. It will maintain the reaction conditions of the synthesis chamber and will not produce any ammonia. This is an important step as it takes days to reach the reaction conditions to start ammonia production again after shutting down due to unavailability of energy at low winds. Thus, at any windspeed, a mini-ammonia plant would either idle or operate between 65-100% load. This model will be used to simulate the total energy consumption, total energy captured by the wind farm, and the total ammonia produced. This will further help in assessing the final cost of producing, transporting, and consuming ammonia as fuel and thereby provide a better understanding of the feasibility of implementing this technology. According to U.S. Department of Energy, offshore wind energy has the potential to generate 7,200 TWh of energy annually, which is nearly twice the current annual energy consumption in the United States. With technical advances in the offshore wind industry, particularly in the floating platforms, windfarms are pushing further into the ocean. This creates new engineering challenges for transmission of energy from offshore site to onshore. One possible solution is to convert the energy produced into chemical energy of ammonia, which was investigated by Dr. Eric Morgan. In his doctoral dissertation, he assessed the technical requirements and economics of a 300 tons/day capacity ammonia plant powered by offshore wind. However, in his dissertation, one of the assumptions was connection to the grid which provided auxiliary power to keep the ammonia plant operational and produce at rated capacity. It also allowed selling of excess power to the grid in the scenario of excess power production by wind farm during high winds.\\ \par This thesis explores the technical and economical feasibility of a similar system, except that the ammonia plant will be on a plantship and there is no connection to the grid. This creates a challenge as the ammonia synthesis plant must operate between 65-100\% loads. Thus, the concept of multiple mini-ammonia plants is used to address the scenario of wind energy production at less than rated power. This will allow operation of one or more mini-ammonia plant (corresponding to the available energy from offshore wind). In the event of wind speed lower than the cutoff wind speed for the turbine, the ammonia plant will use the produced ammonia as fuel, with the help of a gas turbine running on either Brayton cycle or combined cycle, to keep the plant idling. It will maintain the reaction conditions of the synthesis chamber and will not produce any ammonia. This is an important step as it takes days to reach the reaction conditions to start ammonia production again after shutting down due to unavailability of energy at low winds. Thus, at any windspeed, a mini-ammonia plant would either idle or operate between 65-100\% load. This model will be used to simulate the total energy consumption, total energy captured by the wind farm, and the total ammonia produced. This will further help in assessing the final cost of producing, transporting, and consuming ammonia as fuel and thereby provide a better understanding of the feasibility of implementing this technology.

Lucy Addison High School was an all-Black high school located in Roanoke, Virginia. All-black high schools are defined in this study as high schools that were segregated by race and attended only by Black students. Lucy Addison operated as an all-Black high school from 1928 until 1970 in two different buildings. Roanoke's secondary schools were desegregated in 1963. Addison was integrated in the fall of 1970 and closed in 1973. The purpose of the study was twofold. The primary purpose was to document the experiences of the graduates of the classes of 1963-70 of Lucy Addison High School. The secondary purpose was to determine if the supports found in the research literature about all-Black high schools prior to desegregation were present in the Lucy Addison students' experiences during the years between desegregation and integration. The supports are (a) the importance of a spiritual foundation, (b) high expectations from school administrators and teachers, and (c) parent and community support. Six common themes emerged from the interviews with participants. They were: (a) the importance of a spiritual foundation, (b) high expectations from teachers and administrators, (c) parent and community support, (d) school leadership, (e) attitudes on segregation and integration, and (f) school pride. These themes helped answer the four research questions that guided the study. After conducting interviews with the graduates, their accounts confirmed that the supports identified in the literature regarding all-Black high schools were present in their school experiences. The importance of a spiritual foundation, high expectations from teachers and administrators, and parent and community support could easily be seen in the experiences of all 16 students who attended Lucy Addison High School from 1963-1970. Upon reflection on the study, the researcher made certain recommendations for further study. The recommendations for further study revolve around the continued documentation of experiences of Lucy Addison High School students, conducting a study of Lucy Addison High School as an integrated school from 1970 to 1973, and assessing the reason why Lucy Addison High School was allowed to stay open as an integrated high school. / Ed. D.