Multiple dose regimens are frequently required to optimize therapy; however, such therapy is frequently undermined by poor patient adherence. In fact, patient adherence is inversely related to the number of doses a patient is asked to take each drug. Consequently, great efforts are under way to develop drug delivery systems that are able to release drugs over an extended time interval; this could offer considerable benefits including reducing administration frequency. This dissertation describes multiple dose platforms designed to deliver a variety of drugs as a single oral administration are described in this dissertation. We believe these drug delivery systems can be used to enhance patient compliance and achieve better therapeutic outcomes. We developed and tested a novel gastroretentive pulsatile drug delivery platform. This platform could deliver multiple unit doses of a drug in a pulsatile pattern and be controlled by dissolution/erosion of a lag-time interval layer. The platform was designed to be retained in the stomach whilst pulsing drug at various timed intervals. This would allow each dose of the drug to release above or within an optimized absorption window over an extended period of time. To assure the robustness and reproducibility of the platform, various in vitro dissolution studies and physical stability tests were performed and evaluated through drug release characteristics, buoyancy, and structural integrity evaluations. The applicability of the novel multiple dose platform was demonstrated by providing repeated release profiles of ciprofloxacin and verapamil in a single, once-daily delivery system. Ultimately, this dissertation demonstrates that a novel multiple dose platform could be a suitable alternative dosing strategy for a variety of drugs to improve patient adherence and treatment efficacy. / text

In this project, I am interrogating discourse surrounding the 2008 WHO/UNAIDS controversy, which both preceded and followed the publication of an article in the U.K. newspaper The Independent. The article reported that the head of the World Health Organization’s HIV/AIDS initiative admitted that the threat of an AIDS pandemic among heterosexuals was “officially” over. These texts are particularly important for such an endeavor because, as I will argue below, the controversy enables both “AIDS” and “heterosexuality” to operate as floating signifiers whose meanings are contested in public discourse in ways that ultimately reinforce heterosexual privilege and under-attention to the AIDS crisis. In the end, the destabilization of the meaning of HIV/AIDS does not serve emancipatory ends. Although the destabilization of meaning is the emancipatory gesture ‘par excellence’ for the poststructuralist tradition, my investigation shows that the destabilization of meaning in the WHO controversy actually results in the reification of master narratives. / text

While wind energy has witnessed faster growth than any other renewable energy source in recent years, two issues—the decreasing availability of large land expanses for new wind farms and transmission difficulties arising from siting wind farms in remote regions far from load centers—have slowed down this growth considerably. Siting wind turbines offshore places the generating capacity closer to population and load centers; thus, reducing grid congestion. Also, at offshore sites, one can expect higher wind speeds, decreased turbulence, and reduced noise and visual impact constraints. Offshore wind turbines that have been built thus far have had foundations (such as monopiles or jacket structures) that have extended to the seabed. Such offshore wind turbines have thus been confined to shallow waters closer to the shore. Sites farther offshore provide better wind resources (i.e., less turbulence and smoother, stronger winds) while also reducing visual impact, noise, etc. However, deeper waters encountered at such sites make bottom-supported turbines less economical. Wind turbines mounted atop floating platforms are, thus, being considered for deeper water offshore sites. Various floating platform concepts are under consideration; the chief differences among them arise from the way they provide stability to counter the large mass of the rotor-nacelle assembly located high above the mean water level. Of these alternative concepts, the spar buoy platform is a deep draft structure with a low center of gravity, below the center of buoyancy. Reliability analysis of a spar buoy-supported floating offshore 5MW wind turbine based on stochastic simulation is the subject of this study. Environmental data from a selected deepwater reference site are employed in the numerical studies. Using time-domain simulations, the dynamic behavior of the coupled platform-turbine system is studied; statistics of tower and rotor loads as well as platform motions are estimated and critical combinations of wind speed and wave height identified. / text

Fused floating-point arithmetic units such as a floating-point fused Dot-Product (fused DP) and a floating-point fused Add-Subtract (fused AS) are employed for the implementation of the butterfly unit of the FFT due to their characteristics of low power and less area. In addition, the fused DP has less delay and lower error. Among the elements of the fused DP, two internal mantissa multipliers occupy the largest area and consume the largest power. A Multiple-Constant Multiplier (MCM) architecture has high speed, low power consumption, and small area compared to a conventional multiplier. The MCM is used for the internal mantissa multiplier, providing a solution for low power and high performance. Despite the benefits of the MCM, it lacks precision compared to a conventional multiplier. Due to this, the butterfly unit using the MCM has higher error. In this report, a new architecture of the butterfly unit has been designed by merging conventional MCMs. The new architecture provides two options. It either reduces the error or it lowers the power compared to a conventional MCM butterfly unit. / text

Darbe analizuojamos slankaus kablelio daugybos apskaičiavimo problemos. Pirmame darbo skyriuje analizuojamas slankaus kablelio vertimas iš dešimtainės sistemos į dvejetainę sistemą ir atvirkščiai. Tai reikalinga atlikti tam, kad išryškėtų nagrinėjamos problemos aktualumas. Jau verčiant dešimtainį didelio tikslumo skaičių į dvejetainį ir atgal į dešimtainį, nukenčia jo tikslumas, o dar labiau tai išryškėja vykdant veiksmus. Taip pat pirmame skyriuje paskutiniame poskyryje pateikiau keletą istorinių katastrofų faktų, kurie kilo būtent dėl slankiojo kablelio tikslumo problemų. Antrame darbo skyriuje analizuojamos aparatūrinės ir programinės įrangos problemos, kylančios realizuojant slankiojo kablelio daugybą. Šiame skyriuje gvildenta aparatūrinės įrangos įtaka algoritmų spartai, taip pat programinės įrangos įtaka gautam rezultato tikslumui ir apskaičiavimo spartai. Šiame skyriuje taip pat aprašyti ir keli slankiojo kablelio realizacijos algoritmai. Trečiame skyriuje pateikti algoritmo realizacijos reikalavimai, aprašytos pagrindinės problemos, su kuriomis buvo susidurta vykdant algoritmo realizaciją. Apibendrinti pateikiami ir rezultatai. Darbo gale pateikiamos darbo išvados, o prieduose pateikta algoritmo realizacija – programinio kodo fragmentai ir jų komentarai. / The paper analyzes the calculation of floating-point multiplication problems. The first chapter analyzes the translation of the floating-point decimal system to binary system and vice versa. It is necessary to make certain that the issue is clearly brought problem. High-precision decimal numbers translating into binary and back to decimal numbers. Even after these actions we have a loss of accuracy, and even more so come on in action. It is also the first chapter of the last section I presented some of the historical catastrophe of the facts that have arisen precisely because of the floating point precision problems. The second chapter analyzes the hardware and software problems for the realization of floating-point multiplication. This chapter examined the influence of algorithms hardware speed, as well as a software power and accuracy of the results obtained in calculating the rates. It also includes a description and a few floating-point realization algorithms. The third section of the Algorithm Implementation Requirements, described the main problems encountered in the realization of the algorithm. And summarize the results. Work at the end of the conclusions and annexes of the algorithm implementation - programming code snippets and comments.

Robot control systems evolved with genetic algorithms traditionally take the form of floating-point neural network models. This thesis proposes that digital control systems, such as quantised neural networks and logical networks, may also be used for the task of robot control. The inspiration for this is the observation that the dynamics of discrete networks may contain cyclic attractors which generate rhythmic behaviour, and that rhythmic behaviour underlies the central pattern generators which drive lowlevel motor activity in the biological world. To investigate this a series of experiments were carried out in a simulated physically realistic 3D world. The performance of evolved controllers was evaluated on two well known control tasks—pole balancing, and locomotion of evolved morphologies. The performance of evolved digital controllers was compared to evolved floating-point neural networks. The results show that the digital implementations are competitive with floating-point designs on both of the benchmark problems. In addition, the first reported evolution from scratch of a biped walker is presented, demonstrating that when all parameters are left open to evolutionary optimisation complex behaviour can result from simple components.

This interior design practicum is the design of three floating houses located on Granville Island, Vancouver, British Columbia. They are spatially efficient and aid in human-nature connections through the manipulation of thresholds. The adaptation of small spaces is best accomplished through the use of multifunctional space, efficient storage, and manipulation of views. Linking of spaces and the blurring of thresholds is best accomplished through the use of implied axial linkage to the exterior and through the addition of ornament. The human-nature connection, or biophilic design, is best accomplished through the integration of direct, indirect, and symbolic experiences with the natural environment. This is accomplished through the variation of ceiling heights, linking internal and external views, integration of natural light, and use of natural materials that vary in texture and reflectance value.

In undergraduate international economics coursework students are often exposed to the IS-LM-BP model via diagrammatic analysis. The model itself presents the intuitive mechanics behind how an open economy functions and is generally regarded as useful to policy makers. The goal of this paper is to present an in-depth investigation of the IS-LM-BP model through algebraically representing its components. Our model features a two-country framework with sticky prices and flexible exchange rates. We display some interesting relations between factors that must hold in order for monetary and fiscal policy to be effective. Additionally, a peak at a possible extension to the model is presented in the last section.

This interior design practicum is the design of three floating houses located on Granville Island, Vancouver, British Columbia. They are spatially efficient and aid in human-nature connections through the manipulation of thresholds. The adaptation of small spaces is best accomplished through the use of multifunctional space, efficient storage, and manipulation of views. Linking of spaces and the blurring of thresholds is best accomplished through the use of implied axial linkage to the exterior and through the addition of ornament. The human-nature connection, or biophilic design, is best accomplished through the integration of direct, indirect, and symbolic experiences with the natural environment. This is accomplished through the variation of ceiling heights, linking internal and external views, integration of natural light, and use of natural materials that vary in texture and reflectance value.

Darbo tikslas – nustatyti kiaulių ir galvijų mėšlui būdingas maksimalaus metano susidarymo (Bo), ir teorinio metano susidarymo (Bu) reikšmes, bei ištirti klimato kaitą skatinančių, ir aplinką teršiančių dujų emisijų mažinimo iš mėšlo priemonių taikymo efektyvumą. Darbo uždaviniai: 1) nustatyti maksimalų metano dujų kiekį galintį išsiskirti iš kiaulių ir galvijų mėšlo. 2) ištirti priedų įtaką NH3, CO2, CH4, H2S, NO ir CO dujų emisijoms iš skysto ir pusiau skysto galvijų ir kiaulių mėšlo. 3) nustatyti įvairių plaukiojančių dangų poveikį NH3, CO2, CH4, H2S, NO ir CO dujų emisijoms skysto ir pusiau skysto mėšlo laikymo metu. 4) ištirti priedų ir plaukiojančių dangų kompleksinio naudojimo įtaką NH3, CO2, CH4, H2S, NO ir CO dujų emisijoms iš skysto ir pusiau skysto galvijų ir kiaulių mėšlo. Tyrimai vykdyti dviejų kiaulių tvartų aplinkoje ir laboratorinėmis sąlygomis. Bandymams laboratorinėmis sąlygomis atlikti buvo panaudoti mėšlo mėginiai surinkti iš 28 gyvulininkystės ūkių. Tyrimų metu nustatytas maksimalus metano dujų kiekis galintis išsiskirti iš kiaulių ir galvijų mėšlo. Taip pat ištirtas mikrobiologinio preparato ir sieros rūgšties priedų, plaukiojančių dangų, t. y., keramzito, natūralių durpių, valgomojo saulėgrąžų aliejaus, medžio pjuvenų, šiaudų, polietileno plėvelės, bei priedų kompleksinio naudojimo su polietileno plėvele poveikis NH3, CO2, CH4, H2S, NO ir CO dujų emisijoms iš mėšlo. Atliki tyrimai, kuriuose įvertintas priedų bei įvairių plaukiojančių dangų poveikis... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The aim of the present study – to study the ultimate (Bo) and theoretical (Bu) methane yield from pig and cattle manure, and to investigate the effectiveness of implements on the emission reduction of polluting and greenhouse gases from manure. Tasks of the present study: 1. To measure the ultimate methane yield from pig and cattle manure. 2. To investigate the effect of the additives on the reduction of emission of the NH3, CO2, CH4, H2S, NO and CO gases from liquid and semi-liquid manure of cattle and pigs. 3. To determine the effect of different floating covers on the reduction of emission of the NH3, CO2, CH4, H2S, NO and CO gases from liquid and semi-liquid manure during the storage. 4. To investigate the effect of the complex of additives and floating covers on the reduction of emission of the NH3, CO2, CH4, H2S, NO and CO gases from liquid and semi-liquid manure of cattle and pigs. The investigations were performed in two piggeries and a laboratory. To carry out the experiments in the laboratory, the manure was collected from 28 farms. During the investigation period, the ultimate methane yield from pig and cattle manure was determined. Also, the effect of the microbial-based and sulphuric acid additives, floating covers, i. e., leca (light expanded clay aggregate), natural peat, sunflower oil, sawdust, straw and plastic film, and furthermore, the complex of additives and a plastic film cover on the emission of NH3, CO2, CH4, H2S, NO and CO gases from manure were... [to full text]