Renal hypoperfusion from renal artery stenosis (RAS) activates the renin-angiotensin system, which in turn causes volume overload and hypertension. Atherosclerosis and fibromuscular dysplasia are the most common causes of renal artery stenosis. Recurrent flash pulmonary edema, also known as Pickering syndrome, is commonly associated with bilateral renal artery stenosis. There should be a high index of clinical suspicion for renal artery stenosis in the setting of recurrent flash pulmonary edema and severe hypertension in patients with atherosclerotic disease. Duplex ultrasonography is commonly recommended as the best initial test for the detection of renal artery stenosis. Computed tomography (CT) angiography (CTA) or magnetic resonance (MR) angiography (MRA) are useful diagnostic imaging studies for the detection of renal artery stenosis in patients where duplex ultrasonography is difficult. If duplex ultrasound, CTA, and MRA are indeterminate or pose a risk of significant renal impairment, renal angiography is useful for a definitive diagnosis of RAS. The focus of medical management for RAS relies on controlling renovascular hypertension and aggressive lifestyle modification with control of atherosclerotic disease risk factors. The restoration of renal artery patency by revascularization in the setting of RAS due to atherosclerosis may help in the management of hypertension and minimize renal dysfunction.

Super duplex stainless steels are applied in highly corrosive environments. To withstand such conditions, they designed with increased content of alloying elements and a duplex microstructure consisting of austenitic and ferritic phases. The result of this combination is the desired improvement in corrosion resistance, but also, the enhancement of mechanical properties. Machining super duplex stainless steels involves strain hardening of the workpiece, intense adhesive wear and elevated temperatures within the cutting zone leading to rapid tool wear and poor machined surface integrity. This research pertains to the application of commercially available PVD coatings to minimize the detrimental effects when turning super duplex stainless steel S32750. The selected coatings for this study were Alcronos (AlCrN), Alnova (AlCrN + AlCrSiN), Formera (CrN + CrAlTiN), Croma Plus (Cr + CrN + OX), Fortiphy (CrN) and Certiphy (TiAlN). The wear behavior and mechanisms in two distinct machining experiments were evaluated, and all tools failed by chipping preceded by intense adhesive wear and BUE formation. The use of AlCrN coatings improved tool life significantly. Data on the cutting force, chip formation, and workpiece surface integrity indicate less workpiece strain hardening effects, improved friction conditions at the tool/chip interface, as well as thinner chips being formed when machining with Alcronos coated carbide inserts. The micro-mechanical properties of the selected coatings were assessed and Alcronos combined high hardness and elastic modulus with a high plasticity index value that allows this coating to better manage the friction in the cutting zone and better dissipate the energy generated during cutting. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc) / Super duplex stainless steels are designed to be applied in highly corrosive environments. Like any other stainless steels, processing the super duplex grade can be challenging, especially when it comes to machining. The major causes of poor machined surface quality and rapid tool wear are high temperature, the workpiece enhanced mechanical properties, surface hardening and the tendency to stick to the cutting tool causing adhesive wear. This research explores the application of coated cutting tools to improve the machinability of the super duplex stainless steel UNS S32750. Different commercially available coatings were tested and two, Alcronos and Alnova, improved tool life significantly. These two coatings were capable of improving the friction conditions within the cutting zone which, in turn, helps with the formation of the chips and leads to a better machined surface integrity and an approximately 5 to 6 times longer tool life.

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Yes / In recent years, a new low nickel content stainless steel (EN 1.4162) commonly referred as ‘lean duplex stainless steel’ has been developed, which has over two times the tensile strength of the more familiar austenitic stainless steel but at approximately half the cost. This paper presents the finite element analysis of concrete filled lean duplex stainless steel columns subjected to concentric axial compression. To predict the performance of this form of concrete filled composite columns, a finite element model was developed and finite element analyses were conducted. The finite element model was validated through comparisons of the results obtained from the experimental study. A parametric study was conducted to examine the effect of various parameters such as section size, wall thickness, infill concrete strength, etc. on the overall behaviour and compressive resistance of this form of composite columns. Through both experimental and numerical studies, the merits of using lean duplex stainless steel hollow sections in concrete filled composite columns were highlighted. In addition, a new formula based on the Eurocode 4 was proposed to predict the cross-section capacity of the concrete filled lean duplex stainless steel composite columns subjected to axial compression.

Over the past decade, wireless data communication has experienced a phenomenal growth, which is driven by the popularity of wireless devices and the growing number of bandwidth hungry applications. During the same period, various advanced communication technologies have emerged to improve network throughput. Some examples include multi-input multi-output (MIMO), full duplex, cognitive radio, mmWave, among others. An important research direction is to understand the impacts of these new technologies on network throughput performance. Such investigation is critical not only for theoretical understanding, but also can be used as a guideline to design algorithms and network protocols in the field. The goal of this dissertation is to understand the impact of some advanced technologies on network throughput performance. More specifically, we investigate the following three technologies: MIMO, full duplex, and mmWave communication. For each technology, we explore the performance envelope of wireless networks by studying a throughput maximization problem. / Ph. D. / As everyone knows, we are now living in a connected world, where network access is available anytime and anywhere. According to Cisco’s report [97], global Internet traffic is expected to reach 2.3 zettabytes per year by 2020, and wireless data traffic will account for 65% of the total Internet traffic. There are three primary contributors for the explosive growth of wireless data demand: the rising number of wireless devices, the increasing number of new applications, and the evergrowing amount of video traffic. Each year, all kinds of smart devices with increased intelligence are introduced in market. The number of wireless devices is predicted to reach 11.6 billion by 2020 [97]. The smart devices enable people to enjoy mobile applications for entertainment, such as social networking, video streaming, and gaming. Such bandwidth hungry applications have changed the wireless data consumption pattern. According to Ericssons report [98], video traffic dominates the mobile data consumption for all kinds of mobile devices. Moreover, the amount of video traffic is still growing more than 50 % annually. To meet the ever-growing traffic demand, innovative technologies have been developed to expand the capacity of wireless networks. Some examples include multi-input multi-output (MIMO), full duplex, cognitive radio, mmWave, ultra-wideband, among others. In this dissertation, we aim to investigate the impact of such advanced technologies on network throughput performance. Such theoretical study is critical since it can be used as a guidline to design real-world network protocols.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-04T18:31:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marcia Maria Savoine.pdf: 2175715 bytes, checksum: 355bcfef34d422002fc47ef44d62e191 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-02-06 / This work presents the comparison made through simulations of discreet events, accomplished with the software ARENA, the techniques of Time Division Duplex (TDD) and Frequency Division Duplex (FDD). Techniques present in the pattern IEEE 802.16 and used by WiMAX in the bi-directional channels of uplink and downlink. The simulation model considered in the line of arrival of the services the concept FIFO (First-In, First-Out) and the simulations were accomplished considering five applications (Streaming, Download, Web, E-mail and Small-Transaction) for downlink and uplink. The number of channels in the Base Station varied from 4 to 60, with a throughput of 600 kbps. The regarded efficiency parameter was the minimum number of channels necessary in each one of the standard channels. The simulations were accomplished in three sceneries., In the first scenery it was considered the same profile of traffic for downlink and uplink, in the second scenery a traffic of downlink 2, 5, 10 and 15 times larger than the one of uplink. And, in the third scenery it was considered different proportions of traffics varying from 2 to 5 times more, 5 to 10 times more and from 10 to 15 times more. The analyses were done considering as efficiency parameter the converge of the waiting time of the users. ,It was verified that in asymmetric data traffic, the TDD technique was more efficient and there were spectrum idleness in the FDD technique. / Este trabalho apresenta a compara??o efetuada por meio de simula??es de eventos discretos, realizadas com o software ARENA, das t?cnicas de Duplexa??o por Divis?o no Tempo (TDD) e Duplexa??o por Divis?o da Freq??ncia (FDD), t?cnicas presentes no padr?o IEEE 802.16 e utilizadas pelo WiMAX nos canais bidirecionais de uplink e downlink. O modelo de simula??o considerou na fila de chegada dos servi?os o conceito FIFO (First-In, First-Out) e as simula??es foram realizadas considerando cinco aplica??es (Streaming, Download, Web, E-mail e Small-Transaction) para downlink e uplink. O n?mero de canais na Base Station variou de 4 a 60, com um throughput de 600 kbps. O par?metro de efici?ncia considerado foi o n?mero m?nimo de canais necess?rio em cada um dos canais padr?es. As simula??es foram realizadas em tr?s cen?rios, sendo que, no primeiro cen?rio se considerou o mesmo perfil de tr?fego para downlink e uplink, no segundo cen?rio com tr?fego de downlink 2, 5, 10 e 15 vezes maior que o de uplink. E, no terceiro cen?rio com propor??es variadas de tr?fegos variando de 2 a 5 vezes mais, 5 a 10 vezes mais e de 10 a 15 vezes mais. Realizadas as simula??es foram feitas as an?lises dos desempenhos, tomando como par?metro de efici?ncia a taxa de chegada e o tempo de espera do usu?rio perante aplica??es t?picas utilizadas na tecnologia de banda licenciada WiMAX, que segue este padr?o. A an?lise efetuada permitiu identificar, dada estas condi??es de tr?fego, qual das t?cnicas seria a mais indicada. Constatou-se ainda que em tr?fego de dados assim?tricos a t?cnica TDD se apresentou mais eficiente e, observou-se existir ociosidade de espectro na t?cnica FDD.