Abstract Radio link adaptation, multiple antenna techniques, relaying methods and dynamic radio resource assignment are among the key methods used to improve the performance of wireless communication networks. Opportunistic resource block (RB) allocation in downlink orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) with limited feedback is considered. The spectral efficiency analysis of multiuser OFDMA with imperfect feedback path, multiple antenna methods and relaying methods is a particular focus. The analysis is derived for best-M feedback methods and for a RB-wise signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) quantization based feedback strategy. Practical resource fair round robin (RR) allocation is assumed at the RB assignment, i.e., each user gets the same portion of the available RBs. The fading of each RB is modelled to be independent and identically distributed (IID). This assumption enabled a communication theoretic approach for the performance evaluation of OFDMA systems The event probabilities related to the considered OFDMA systems are presented so that the feedback bit error probability (BEP) is a parameter in the expressions. The performance expressions are derived for the BEP in the case of binary phase-shift keying (BPSK) modulation and single antenna methods. Asymptotic BEP behavior is considered for the best-M feedback methods when the mean SNR tends to infinity. The system outage capacity and the average system spectral efficiency are investigated in the case of multiple antenna schemes. Antenna selection and space-time block coding (STBC) are considered in multiple antenna schemes when each RB is allocated exclusively to a single user. Simple OFDMA-spatial division multiple access (SDMA) schemes are also analyzed when zero forcing (ZF) detection is assumed at the receiver. Relay enhanced dynamic OFDMA with single and multiple antennas at each end is considered for fixed infrastructure amplify-and-forward (AF) relaying methods. The average spectral efficiency has been derived for the best-M and RB-wise one bit feedback schemes, antenna selection and STBC methods. The best choice for a combination of multiple antenna scheme and feedback strategy depends on several system parameters. The proposed analytical tools enable easy evaluation of the performance of the investigated schemes with different system parameters. The fundamental properties of the combinations of feedback and multiple antenna schemes are extensively studied through numerical examples. The results also demonstrate that the analytical results with idealized IID fading assumption are close to those obtained via simulations in a practical frequency selective channel when RBs are selected properly. Dynamic RB allocation is attractive for practical OFDMA systems since significant performance gain over random allocation can be achieved with a practical allocation principle, very low feedback overhead and an imperfect feedback channel.

Bearings today need to be able to run at very high speed, providing high positional accuracy for the structure that it supports, and requiring very little or no maintenance. For this to happen, bearings must have tight tolerances and very low or zero friction during operation. This pushes many traditional contact-type bearings to their limits as they often fail due to friction, generating heat and causing wear. By comparison, existing non-contact bearings fare better because of their very low or zero friction. But some have their own problem too. For example, the fact that aerostatic bearings require an air supply means having to use a separate air compressor and connecting hoses. This makes the installation bulky. Aerodynamic and hydrodynamic bearings cannot support loads at zero speed. Both hydrodynamic and hydrostatic bearings may cause contamination to the work-pieces and the work environment because of the use of lubricating fluid. A potential solution to the above-mentioned problems is the new squeeze film air bearing. It works on the rapid squeeze action of an air film to produce separation between two metal surfaces. This has the benefit of being compact with a very simple configuration because it does not require an external pressurized air supply, can support loads at zero speed and is free of contamination. For this research, two squeeze film air journal bearings, made from material of Al 2024 - T3 and Cu - C101 with the same geometry, were designed. The bearing is in the shape of a round tube with three fins on the outer surface and the journal, a round rod. When excited at a certain normal mode, the bearing shell flexes with a desirable modal shape for the squeeze film action. The various modes of vibration of Al bearing were obtained from a finite-element model implemented in ANSYS. Two Modes, the 13th and 23rd, at the respective frequencies of 16.320 kHz and 25.322 kHz, were identified for further investigation by experiments with respect to the squeeze film thickness and its load-carrying capacity. For Cu bearing, the two Modes are also 13th and 23rd at the respective frequencies of 12.184 kHz and 18.459 kHz. In order to produce dynamic deformation of the bearings at their modes, a single layer piezoelectric actuator was used as a driver. The maximum stroke length and the maximum blocking force of the single layer piezoelectric actuator were determined using manual calculation and ANSYS simulation. In the coupled-field analysis, the single layer piezoelectric actuator was mounted on the outside surface of the bearing shell and loaded with an AC and a DC voltage in order to produce the static and dynamic deformation. For the static analysis, the maximum deformation of Al bearing shell is 0.124 μm when the actuators are driven at the DC of 75 V. For the dynamic analysis, the actuators are driven at three levels of AC, namely 55, 65 and 75V with a constant DC offset of 75V and the driving frequency coincided with the modal frequency of the bearing. The maximum dynamic deformation of Al bearing shell is 3.22μm at Mode 13 and 2.08μm at Mode 23 when the actuators were driven at the AC of 75 V and the DC of 75 V. Similarly, the FEA simulation was used for analyzing Cu bearing. Furthermore, the dynamic deformation of both Al and Cu bearing at Mode 13 and 23 are validated by experiments. This research developed two theoretical models that explain the existence of a net pressure in a squeeze film for the levitation. The first model uses the ideal gas law as first approximation whilst the second uses the CFX simulation to provide a more exact explanation. In terms of the load-carrying capacity, Mode 13 was identified to be better than Mode 23 for both bearings. However, at Mode 13, Al bearing has a higher load-carrying capacity than Cu bearing. This is due to Al bearing having a higher modal frequency and amplitude. Finally, the coupled-field analysis for fluid solid interaction (FSI) was studied at both Mode 13 and 23 for Al bearing. The findings are that: a) the fluid force in the squeeze film can affect the dynamic deformation of the bearing shell, especially at high oscillation frequency, more at Mode 13 than at Mode 23 due to the relatively high pressure end-leakage in the latter; b) the dynamic deformation of the bearing shell increases with the gap clearance in a logarithmic manner at Mode 13; and c) the micron levels of gap clearance provide a damping effect on the dynamic deformation of the bearing shell at Mode 13 and at Mode 23, though much less dominant.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is in up to 90 % of all cases caused by smoking. COPD often has negative effects on circulation, effects that first and foremost can be observed as respiratory insufficiency. Reduced function of the right ventricle of the heart is common in patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, especially if they also have hypoxemi; insufficient levels of oxygen in blood or tissue. The incidence of this cardiac complication reduces the survival time. It is possible in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease that the pressure in the pulmonary circulation gradually increases resulting in pulmonary hypertension followed by a slow adaptation of the right ventricle by hypertrophy of the myocardium. To investigate a correlation between COPD and pulmonary hypertension COPD patients were subjected to spirometry and ultrasound on heart. Of 14 examined patients 5 had developed pulmonary hypertension. A correlation between obstruction in the COPD- patients and an increase in left ventricular diameter was found. DLCO (diffusion capacity) of the lungs is directly connected to PA (pulmonary arterial pressure). The lower DLCO, the higher risk to develop pulmonary hypertension. However, we could not find a significant correlation between COPD and pulmonary hypertension in this study even if most patients had a decreased DLCO.

Cette thèse sur travaux, composée de quatre articles, s’intéresse à la dynamique de la diffusion des connaissances entre les acteurs internes d’un pôle de compétitivité français au travers de modélisations multi-agents individu-centrées. Les trois premiers articles constituent un ensemble de réflexions théoriques sur la diffusion inter organisationnelle des connaissances et, comme prolongement, le quatrième article intègre des spécificités d’un pôle de compétitivité. L’article 1 propose une extension dynamique de l’impact de la capacité d’absorption de Sakakibara (2003) et d’Egbetokun et Savin (2012) sur le stock de connaissances d’entreprises partenaires. L’article 2 porte sur des acteurs qui essayent de minimiser le déficit causé par une perception erronée des interactions de deux projets dans lesquels ils investissent régulièrement. Nous avons travaillé sur un grand nombre de décideurs partageant de l’information avec leurs voisins les plus proches. L’article 3 effectue une extension du modèle de l’article 1 en intégrant la mauvaise perception des informations échangées entre acteurs et étudie son impact sur l’accumulation de connaissances. L’article 4, transpose le modèle précédent en y intégrant la notion de confiance et certaines spécificités des pôles de compétitivité. / This thesis, consisting of four articles, deals with the dynamics of the diffusion of knowledge among the internal stakeholders of a French competitiveness cluster through multi-agent modeling. The first three articles are a set of theoretical reflections on inter-organizational knowledge sharing and, as an extension of this, the fourth article includes the specifics of a cluster. Article number 1 provides a dynamic extension of the impact of the absorptive capacity of Sakakibara (2003) and Egbetokun and Savin (2012) on the stock of knowledge of partner companies. Article number 2 focuses on players who try to minimize the deficit caused by a misperception of interactions of two projects in which they invest regularly. It analyzes a large number of decision makers sharing information with their closest neighbors. Article number 3 carries out an extension of the model of article number 1 based on article number 2, incorporating misperception of information exchanged between stakeholders and examines its impact on the accumulation of knowledge. The last article transposes the previous model by incorporating the notion of trust and certain specificities of French competitiveness clusters.

Devo IT and its subsidiary SoftRobot AB are planning to offer a new service to its clients to further enhance growth of the company. This new service is a website that allows clients to upload documents that are converted into machine-editable text. The website and its underlying database are developed by SoftRobot's developer, but they lack the hardware. Using Cisco's PPDIOO network life cycle model, the three first stages of the project are identified. The "prepare" stage is already done by Devo IT where the project's justifications are discussed. In the subsequent "planning" stage, the needs of the project, are identified and a gap analysis is made of what is needed. The "design" phase elaborates which specific hardware and software is needed for the project. Three servers are needed, one for the main web server, a second for the database, and a third as a cache server for relieving the load on the database. These are planned as virtual machines, so that they can be located on the same physical machine and easily moved if necessary. The disk space required for the database is calculated with test documents since the average document size, the number of clients and how much they upload is known. Disks with adequate size can therefore be chosen. Different ways of improving performance and lowering failure rate of the disks are discussed with the means of RAID levels. These levels improve both disks reliability and performance in different ways.RAID 10 is designated for the database and RAID 1 for the web server and the caching server since those levels are the most suited for these applications. CPU and memory requirements are chosen based on availability and cost. Network bandwidth is analyzed and confirmed as sufficient with the help of the test database and since the bottleneck would be the CPU converting the uploaded documents. Software for backup and administration of the virtual machines are chosen comparing their functionality and the requirements for the project and their cost. After the hardware needs are identified, an cost analysis is made between hosting in Devo IT's server room or outsourcing it to an external company. It was revealed, as Devo IT suspected, that outsourcing costs more. The results of this thesis enables Devo IT to create a service with good quality, which will meet the clients expectations and also make Devo IT grow as a company with new clients and increased revenue.

Cassandra is a NoSQL(Not only Structured Query Language) database which serves large amount of data with high availability .Cassandra data storage dimensioning also known as Cassandra capacity planning refers to predicting the amount of disk storage required when a particular product is deployed using Cassandra. This is an important phase in any product development lifecycle involving Cassandra data storage system. The capacity planning is based on many factors which are classified as Cassandra specific and Product specific.This study is to identify the different Cassandra specific and product specific factors affecting the disk space in Cassandra data storage system. Based on these factors a model is to be built which would predict the disk storage for Ericsson’s voucher system.A case-study is conducted on Ericsson’s voucher system and its Cassandra cluster. Interviews were conducted on different Cassandra users within Ericsson R&D to know their opinion on capacity planning approaches and factors affecting disk space for Cassandra. Responses from the interviews were transcribed and analyzed using grounded theory.A total of 9 Cassandra specific factors and 3 product specific factors are identified and documented. Using these 12 factors a model was built. This model was used in predicting the disk space required for voucher system’s Cassandra.The factors affecting disk space for deploying Cassandra are now exhaustively identified. This makes the capacity planning process more efficient. Using these factors the Voucher system’s disk space for deployment is predicted successfully.

Plusieurs instances contentieuses internationales ont peu à peu accepté que des enfants exercent leur droit de recours de manière autonome. Généralement frappés par le principe d’incapacité juridique, les mineurs n’ont pas la possibilité d’agir directement devant les juridictions internes. La condition de la victime prévalant sur l’âge ou la condition juridique, ils ont pu dénoncer des violations de leurs droits devant ces instances. Confortée par une approche émancipatrice, cette nouvelle position de l’enfant sur la scène juridique ne remet pas en cause la nécessité de lui accorder un statut spécial. Il ne pourrait en effet être soumis aux mêmes règles que les adultes en raison de sa condition particulière, d’autant plus qu’il doit faire face à des obstacles supplémentaires, aussi bien juridiques, politiques, socio-économiques que culturels. Ainsi, une série de mesures doivent être adoptées afin d’encadrer sa participation et d’assurer que les procédures soient adaptées. Il s’agit de respecter les garanties fondamentales du procès équitable tout en prenant en considération ses intérêts spécifiques ainsi que ses capacités évolutives. L’enjeu principal dans cet exercice d’adaptation consiste donc à trouver un équilibre entre sa protection et sa participation. Le débat sur la capacité de l’enfant réside au centre de cette thèse, de même que l’évolution de la conception des droits de l’enfant et le dilemme de différence. Se dessinent alors les meilleures pratiques au sein de ces différentes instances. Le rôle joué par l’enfant est également souligné. Considéré comme un acteur, il est aussi un partenaire guidant l’adulte dans ce processus / The procedural capacity of children has progressively been recognized by some international judicial authorities. Generally without legal capacity, minors do not have the ability to act directly before domestic courts. However, minors have been able to claim violations of their rights before international authorities, taking into account their victim status rather than their age or legal status. Supported by an emancipatory approach, this new role of children on the judicial scene does not call into question the necessity to give them a special status. Indeed, children could not be subject to the same rules as adults because of their singular status, especially since they have to face additional obstacles, including legal, political, socio-economic and cultural obstacles. Thus, a series of measures must be adopted to supervise their participation and to ensure that the procedures are adapted. Fundamental guarantees of the right to a fair trial need to be respected, while taking into account the child’s specific interests and his evolving capacities. The main challenge in this process is to find a balance between protection and participation. The debate on the child's capacity is at the core of this study, as well as the evolution of the conception of children's rights and the difference dilemma. Best practices are thus defined. The role of the child is also exemplified. Considered as an actor, he is also a partner guiding adults in the process

Kyoto University (京都大学) / 0048 / 新制・論文博士 / 博士(工学) / 乙第12680号 / 論工博第4082号 / 新制||工||1548(附属図書館) / 29813 / (主査)教授 田中 庸裕, 教授 江口 浩一, 教授 安部 武志 / 学位規則第4条第2項該当

Abstract This thesis operates at two levels of ecological research, describing the effects of withdrawal and re-introduction of management on grasslands. The aim of the community-level survey was to explore the effects of abandonment, mowing and grazing on semi-natural meadows in northern Finland. At the species level, the aim was to evaluate the responses of three monocarpic meadow species to various degrees of simulated grazing under natural growth conditions. The community-level studies suggest that strongly competitive grass species with rapid vegetative growth, especially those forming tussocks, are able to retain or increase their cover in abandoned meadows. However, most species are able to persist in a meadow for a long time after abandonment, even when a group of immigrants arrive. This leads to a temporary increase in species diversity, and it may therefore be used as an indicator of ongoing succession. Nevertheless, abandonment is harmful for the rare archaeophytic species in the long run. Late mowing does not have extensive short-term impacts on grass-dominated semi-natural meadows. Therefore, it is neither an efficient nor a substitutional way of management when the goal is to restore a formerly grazed pasture. Mowing executed early in the season may, however, be a more appropriate way of inducing changes in species composition and enhancing species richness. According to the results of the species-level studies, Erysimum strictum and Rhinanthus minor tolerate well minor apical damage, while more severe damage has a detrimental impact on the performance of both species. The observed differences in regrowth responses between the two species are presumably due to their different habitat requirements in relation to competition. The species-level experiment with two late-flowering populations of field gentian Gentianella campestris ssp. campestris revealed that the southern, Swedish population that has been regularly grazed and mown overcompensated for the intermediate (50%) damage level, whereas the northern, Finnish field gentians growing in unmanaged habitats showed at best partial or full compensation. Regular grazing and mowing have presumably favoured grazing-tolerant plant species, i.e. species with a good regrowth capacity. Herbivory reshapes grassland plant communities in two ways: directly by affecting the survival and reproductive success of individual plants and indirectly by changing the competitive environment. Tall and competitive perennial species suffer relatively more from damage than true grassland species, i.e. small herbs and grasses, which are better able to tolerate regular tissue losses and respond to damage within the ongoing growing season. As a result, certain species benefit from grazing and mowing in the sense that they may gain more through competitive relaxation than they lose in defoliation.

Title: The effects of the application of insoles in sports shoes on aerobic capacity of soccer players Objectives: Effects of insoles Bootmatetsi on aerobic capacity of football players. Methods: The research sample included a soccer player in the U16 category (n = 19). The Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test Level 1 was used to verify the interventional effect of the Bootmatetsi insoles. For the subjective perception of physical activity during the pretest and posttest was used a 15-degree Borg scale of 6 - 20. A five-point Likert scale was used to evaluate the comfort of Bootmatetsi insoles. The data was processed using Microsoft Office Excel 2010. Results: The application of Bootmatetsi insoles to football boots has provided a significant improvement in aerobic performance compared to original insoles (d = 1.1). Performance improved on average by 24%, i.e average improvement VO2max by 2,43 ml.min-1.kg-1. At the same time, research group claims that Bootmatetsi insoles have been rated as comfortable. Keywords: insoles, Bootmatetsi, aerobic capacity, VO2max